By all appearances: 1 Samuel 16:6-7

1 Samuel 16:6-7

When (Jesse and his sons) came, (Samuel) looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

I had a conversation recently with a couple I know that is a generation ahead of me. We discussed how folks do and do not dress for church these days, as well as in other more traditionally formal places. These were people who live in the South, where dress is traditionally more conservative and formal.

The fact that I said it didn't matter to me so much what people wore to church shocked them a little bit. 

It would be easy to simply look at Samuel's amazement here at the Lord not choosing Jesse's older (and more physically) impressive sons to be king of Israel as back up for my assertion that God isn't concerned about outward appearances, but that would be certainly overly simple to do, and not perhaps completely honest on my part. Because to say I have never judged by outward appearance wouldn't be true.

As much as I wish it were.

Just as it wouldn't be completely honest of me to say "how we dress doesn't matter."

Because there are times when I have to admit I think it does.

Maybe then the point is that however we see - we see incompletely.

We see on the surface.

We can't see what is really going on in the interior of a person's mind and heart.

A quote I first heard from our Bishop in Southeastern PA, but comes from author Wendy Mass, says this: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know know nothing about."

Underneath what you might see - how it might seem, how they might dress, or act, or speak - is a person who God might think is a leader just waiting to happen.

Lord, it seems so simple: do not judge. But it isn't easy. Help me. Please. Amen.

Sermon: January 15, 2017: What are you looking for?

On John 1:29-42

Near the end of the film La La Land, the character Mia, played by Emma Stone, says to another character: “People love what other people are passionate about.”

She says this to encourage a sharing of that passion. She says this to inspire movement and action. Don’t just be a dreamer who dreams, she is saying. Be a dreamer who does. Sounds a bit like Field of Dreams, “If you build it they will come.”

People, in other words, want to see the passion in others. It moves them, motivates them, guides them, inspires them, and encourages them to move beyond just dreaming to doing themselves. It gives them hope in their own lives to see life being lived fully in others. Passion for life. People are looking for it.

“What are you looking for?”

That’s the very first thing we hear out of Jesus’ mouth in the Gospel of John. A question.  Not yet a call of “follow me,” as in the Gospel of Mark. Or asking to be baptized as in Matthew. Or chastisement of the devil as in Luke.

Instead it’s a question. A question that could also be posed more completely as: “What are you seeking?” or “what are you longing for?” or “What is it that you are missing?” And the Gospel of John will spend the rest of the next 20 chapters answering that question. In fact, by the end of the gospel, John will say that his whole reason for writing it is so that:

“You may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

Have life. That’s what the Gospel is meant to do to us. Lead us to life. That’s the good news. That’s pretty passionate news.

It’s helpful to associate passion with this question we get from Jesus because the truth is that without passion as part of the context, we are left with the way culture would have us answer the question.  “What do you need? We’ll tell you what you need. A new car. A better face cream. A more expensive vacation.  An iPhone. A quick way to lose weight.”

Admittedly, I’ve encountered some who say they are passionate about traveling or technology or even their car. But is that really true passion? True passion is more than that. True passion involves relationship. True passion is when the question “what do you need” is instead phrased: “what do you need down to the very center of your being?” Or maybe today in this gospel text, the question is better phrased as “Who do you need down to the very center of your being?”

This question that Jesus asks at the beginning of his ministry – what are you looking for – is a good question to begin the year with. For ourselves, and for our churches. What ARE you looking for? To the very core of your being, what is it you are truly need?

It’s fitting I think that this text comes today on the day of our Love Does Fair.  Love Does is where Passion and Need meet. Passion for service meeting the needs of the community.  But also our own need. I think it is fair to say that those who are passionate about the ministries in Love Does need to do what they are doing every bit as much as those who benefit from their service need them.

One of the new ministries that Love Does begins today, that we heard about in the temple talk this morning is the Volunteer English Program. I had the privilege, along with Anne-Marie Walters, to meet with Terri Potrako about the program as we were trying to decide how to fit it in with our Love Does ministry. Like Emma Stone in La La Land, I was swept away by Terri’s passion. “People love what other people are passionate about.” And nowhere is the connection to passion and relationship more clear than in a situation where two people sit down together to teach and learn together.

I’ll bet there are things you are passionate about that you haven’t even realized yet, so I hope that today you will take advantage of the Love Does fair to find out exactly what it is “you are looking for.”

Give yourself the opportunity to have your passion meet someone else’s need.

Come and see what it is that God might be nudging you toward.

Come and see.

That’s the next part of this gospel text. It doesn’t end with a question, but instead, and invitation.

After Jesus asks the two disciples of John what they are looking for, they reply with their own question. (I don’t know about you, but this is a common habit of mine – to answer a question with another question!)

“Where are you staying?” they ask.

Only the word translated here is a word that we hear again and again in the Gospel of John. What they are asking really is where Jesus is abiding. Abide as in, “abide in me.” That abide. They aren’t really interested in what hotel he’s staying at so they can stop by and catch up later, or where he lives, but instead they want to know where it is that they can go so that they can simply be with him.

Just be with him.

They are looking for lasting presence with Jesus.

And that brings us right back to relationship, doesn’t it? These two disciples – one of them, Peter’s brother, Andrew - immediately know that they want to simply be part of what this Jesus is doing. Be part of his life.

And so Jesus makes an ever-so-simple invitation into this simply being.

“Come and see.” “Come and see what it’s all about.”

The disciples didn’t answer Jesus as to what they were looking for. Didn’t say, we are looking for wholeness or purpose or a way to pitch in and help out because whatever it is that they were looking for, Jesus’ answer for them is that they are going to find it in relationship.

Meaning, purpose, wholeness, peace of mind…that comes from relationship. And relationship comes from sharing and giving and leaning in and loving and hoping with and for others.

There’s another line in La La Land that resonated with me for a different reason. John Legend’s character, Keith, plays a jazz musician who has improvised and changed his style into something of a jazz/funk/pop hybrid. At one point he lectures Ryan Gosling’s character, Sebastian – a musician who sees Jazz as a dying art form and wants to save it. But Keith thinks Sebastian is going about it all wrong.

“How you gonna save jazz if no one’s listening? How are you going to be a revolutionary if you’re such a traditionalist?” He asks. “You’re holding on to the past, but jazz is about the future.”

As I heard him say those lines in the film, I thought, “Gee. Take out the word, “jazz,”  insert the word “church” and I feel like I’ve heard this line before.

“How you gonna save church if no one’s showing up? How are you going to be a revolutionary if you’re such a traditionalist?” “You’re holding on to the past, but church is about the future – and the present.”

There are plenty bemoaning the so-called death of the church.  This reading today is a good reminder about what just might be the light to reignite the passion and bring life back into the old girl.

Philadelphia Seminary President David Lose posed a challenge that speaks to this very idea.

He said that he believes that decline in our churches will stop on the day that two things happen to a critical mass of the people in our pews…to a critical mass of YOU.

First, when we can articulate what is that we value about our participation in church. In other words, when we can answer for ourselves Jesus’ “What are you looking for” question. When we can answer for ourselves just what has changed in our lives because of our faith.

And second, when we can share that with others. When we can say “Come and see” and show the others in our lives what we are passionate about.” This isn’t heavy-handed evangelism – and there are folks who rightly distrust that word for just that reason.

Instead this is about sharing an experience. Inviting others to see the powerful, the hopeful, the life-giving – the “love doing.” Don’t we all have an inclination to share the things we are passionate about? Goodness knows you all have heard enough from me about U2 to last a lifetime!

Relationship. Passion. Meaning. Simply being. That’s what we are invited into by Jesus. And we are invited over and over again – because quite honestly this isn’t a once and done thing we’re talking about today.

This is a life long thing we are talking about. A lifelong relationship. A lifelong "being" with God.

Because as John will show us over and over again in his gospel. If you want to be in God’s presence…If you really want to experience relationship and wholeness and life, come and see and participate and be. Simply be.

So…what ARE you looking for?

Do Not Fear? - Psalm 27:1

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

Fear in some ways is the great equalizer. These days, I know lots of people who are afraid.

Some are afraid of what kind of new world order we might be entering: they fear politicians, terrorists, and any manner of unknown, outside forces at work in the world.

Some are afraid of what leaving college or high school and heading into the grown up world means.

Some are afraid of losing healthcare. Or their health in general.

Some are afraid of losing a job.

Some fear moving away and leaving friends and family behind.

Some fear the strain on a relationship. Or an abusive relationship.

And some suffer from generalized anxiety disorder and just fear period.

And it should be said that many of those fears are valid and should not be downplayed.

It is easy to see this text from Psalm 27 in a cut and dried way: to see it either chastising us for any of the number of very real fears in our life.

Or dismissing the Psalm as unrealistic because of those realistic fears we have.

But we can hold both things in tension. We can acknowledge our very real fears and yet still know that God is the ultimate cause of our salvation from those things that make us afraid.

So, if you are afraid, don't let someone simply tell you not to be. 

But don't live there. Know that that thing you are afraid of does not have the last word in your life.

Comforting God, help me to work through my fears. Stay with me when that which I am afraid of feels closer than you. Amen.

What's that smell? - Ephesians 5:1-2

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

I'm not going to lie. I've never been a big fan of Jesus as "sacrifice" language. It made sense perhaps for the Jewish population of first century Jerusalem. But for 21st century Christians? 

I think it can cause us all kinds of complications and isn't really something I think we can easily wrap our minds around. 

I won't give you a treatise on my problems with substitutionary atonement theory (if you want more information, here is something Richard Rohr wrote that I found very helpful:http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Richard-Rohr-s-Meditation--Love--Not-Atonement.htmlaid=iXa_UNn2YaQ&soid=1103098668616).

However, there is something about the sacrifice of the Jewish people here that is worth investigating. 

Sacrifice offerings were fragrant.

I can attest to that. Apologies to those of you who are vegetarian or vegan, but is there anything better than the smell of a good BBQ?

Or a steak thrown on a charcoal fire pit?

What does a really great smell do for you? 

What does it do TO you?

Imagine God just relishing the fragrance of the very best smell.

That's what we're being called to be. That great smell. That BBQ. Or steak.

Or if you prefer another great smell - a rose, or fresh baked bread, or freshly ground coffee, or fresh mountain air (hmmmm..."fresh" seems to be a connector here!)*

Be that smell, Paul is saying to the Ephesians. Be that smell.

Because a great smell does something wonderful to you. And whether you like sacrifice language or not, Jesus - like a great smell - does something for us.

So go forth and SMELL like you mean it!

Lord, let my praise and prayers rise up like incense. And let me scent be pleasing to you and to your people! Amen

* if you are interested, here is a list of the best smelling things in the world from Ranker. Is your favorite on this list? http://www.ranker.com/list/best-smells/jacob-shelton

Brought to our knees: Luke 5:4-8

Luke 5:4-8

When (Jesus) had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

What has brought you to your knees?

Maybe it was joy. Or grief. Or like Peter, repentance or shame.

For me it was grief. When my grandmother died I remember falling to my knees as if they gave out from under me. I couldn't stand. 

I felt demonstrably weakened.

What has made you feel weakened? Or vulnerable?

Being weak isn't a good thing in our culture. Being strong is what it's all about. And yet, when faced with the reality of who Jesus was and what he could accomplish, Peter gave into his weakness.

And acknowledged it.

And maybe that's what an encounter with Jesus the Christ is meant to do us. Reveal us in our most vulnerable state.

And then tell us that it is in that state - that vulnerable state - that we are strong. 

It's enough to bring you to your knees.


Lord, help me not to hide from my vulnerability, and help me to remember that even in weakness, you have given me strength beyond measure. Amen.

Sing a New Song: Psalm 40:1-3

Psalm 40:1-3

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

I waited patiently for the Lord; 
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

When I was 47 years old, I did something for the first time that most 47 year olds don't do for the first time: I got a tattoo. It was meant to mark the new place in my life in which I found myself. I was an Approved Rostered Leader of the ELCA and I was in my first call. This is my tattoo:

It is the title of a song that means a lot to my faith life: "40" by the band U2. And yes, it is based on Psalm 40. It is based, in fact, on these three opening lines of Psalm 40. The first verse of the song is: "I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit, out of the miry clay." And the refrain: "I will sing, sing a new song." And then the final verse: "He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm. Many will see, many will see and hear. I will sing, sing a new song..."*

I was in a place now where I was ready to sing a new song. Where my footsteps felt more secure. Where everything that had led me to this point began to make sense.

It's something to feel like God has got you. That struggles begin to make sense. That everything in the end feels worth it.

That the tears have been wiped away.

It doesn't mean there won't be more struggles, or more tears. That there won't be times that the earth begins to feel like miry clay again, and the rock feels less secure.

But when that happens, I now look at that "40" on my arm and I am reminded of the hope and the possibility and yes, even the certainty, that will once again envelope me.

It helps me remember.

You don't have to get a tattoo to remember. But I've found that having some kind of marking or symbol can be so helpful to help you sing a new song, when the old one just isn't working for you anymore.

I will sing a new song to you Lord! Amen.

*  credit to U2: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullin, Jr. From the War Album - 1983.

No such thing as only: Jeremiah 1:6-7

Jeremiah 1:6-7

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.

How many times have I said it? I can't do that. I'm new. 

Or I'm not experienced enough.

Or I'm not strong enough.

I'm only this. Or I'm only that...

God has a long history of rejecting the word 'only'.  Jeremiah here was only a boy. 

Isaiah was only a man of unclean lips, as was Peter.

Moses was only a man for whom speech was difficult. And David was only a shepherd.

Abraham and Sarah were only older folks past childbearing years, and Mary was only a young maiden who wasn't married yet.

What is it that you feel you are "only?"

What is it that God is telling you that you truly are?

God of all, I am capable because you have equipped me. You have formed me. You have blessed me. Help me to share what you've given me with the world. Amen.