Jonah 3:1-5
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying,
“Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.”
So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across.
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
Mark 1:14-20
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good
news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
As Jesus
passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew
casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to
them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately
they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he
saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat
mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father
Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
Sermon:
Out of my distress I called to you, O Lord,
But you did not answer me.
I refused to preach repentance to the Ninevites,
But you forced me,
When I sailed away in the opposite direction,
You hurled a violent wind at me.
Your monster swallowed me and returned me to your path.
Repentance I would not preach to Ninevah,
Rather I cursed them, "forty days more and Ninevah shall be destroyed."
But you did not listen to me.
You listened to the people of Ninevah as they sat in ashes
Covered with sackcloth.
I am angry because you are a gracious and merciful God,
Slow to anger,
Rich in clemency,
Loath to punish.
If you will not destroy Ninevah then give me death.
It is better for me to die than to see my enemy live.
-Thomas Reese
I just love the story of Jonah.
He was the only prophet to ever accomplish his mission and help the people to change their ways and God looks kindly on them.
He's also the only prophet to run away and get swallowed by a whale.
Often
this is the part of the story we all remember, Jonah was the guy who
got swallowed by a big fish and that tends to be where the story lives and dies. But the story of Jonah is so much more. Jonah is a prophet
of God who is called to go to the people of Nineveh who were not very
nice people. When Jonah was called to go to these people he seems to
know two things: 1. He doesn't even want to give them the chance to
repent and be saved and 2. they are not worth his or God's time.
So
Jonah runs in the opposite direction, gets on a boat, lies about his
profession and ends up in a whole mess of trouble. God does not like
that Jonah ran away from his call and sends a great storm which
threatens to tear apart the boat and somehow Jonah sleeps through it.
The sailors find him asleep and cast lots to see which of them has
brought the storm upon them. The lots fall on Jonah and as he tells
them his story the men came to believe in God because of his powerful
acts and Jonah eventually tells them to cast him overboard to save the
ship. Even in the middle of the sea, God provides for Jonah and he is
swallowed by a huge fish and vomited out onto dry land.
God then
seems to call a redo and calls Jonah a second time. This time, covered
in fish vomit he begins his walk to Nineveh and once he is there and
finds his way to the city center he proclaims to the people, not the
words of repentance The Lord gave him but instead he tells them that God
will destroy them for their wicked ways. The amazing thing is that
even though Jonah's harsh delivery they all repented and turned to God.
Jonah
couldn't believe this and left the city and sat down on the hill
awaiting their imminent destruction. He waited there and prayed for
their destruction. While he sat and pouted God grew him a shade tree
and then sent a worm to eat it overnight. When Jonah awoke he was angry
about the tree being struck down and God spoke to him asking why he is
so mad about the destruction of one I little bush but was so happy to
see the destruction of all of Nineveh, after all they are Part of God's
creation too.
And this is where we leave Jonah, the reluctant and
pouty prophet who did his job poorly and yet still did God's work and
shared God's word to a people in need.
In today's Gospel, we hear the calling of Simon, Andrew, James and John,
four fishermen who drop what they are doing to follow Christ. In this
story very little is spoken, Christ simply says "come, follow me, and
they drop what they are doing and do just that.
They are called
and they follow at a moment's notice and spend the next three years
learning about the depths of repentance and God's love for his people.
even when they don't understand it all the time, they keep with it.
The
story of their calling is incredibly different than that of Jonah's and
these stories are different from every other biblical character who is
called and every person who has been called since then.
Sometimes
people think that God just calls people like pastors but the truth is
that God calls each and every one of us into some kind of work. God
called Jonah to speak words of repentance and love to the people of
Nineveh, God called Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow Christ,
listen to his teachings and learn. Some are called to be doctors or
lawyers or janitors or parents. Not one calling is better than another.
Not all callings are careers, some are hobbies or volunteer work.
Sometimes, like Jonah, it takes a giant fish and a second or third or
twentieth call before we listen.
So what is God calling you to do today? How is God wanting you to share his love?
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Water: A Sermon on Mark 1:4-12
Mark 1:4-12
"John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness."
Sermon:
Water is such an interesting image isn't it? Water is needed for life. We have to drink water or we will die. Our land needs water or the plants will wither away and refuse to grow. The sound of a babbling brook or gentle lapping waves calm us. And yet water is also powerful and destructive. Too much water and we can drown. Too much Water can cause flooding of homes and land. Quick moving water can cause Houses and people can be swept away.
Water is something we seek to live in balance with and even at times try to control because it is wild and powerful.
That is why I love these readings today. In Genesis we hear of the creation of the earth. One translation says, "when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was wild and waste, utter darkness covered the deep, and the Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters. Then God said, "let there be light!" And there was light!"
The blank canvas that God was working with to create the world we know was nothing but chaotic and tumultuous water. It was a wild wasteland. And God shaped it and formed it and brought order to the chaos, tamed the wildness and spoke life into the wasteland.
In Mark's Gospel we hear the story of John and Jesus. John is a man who seems at home in the wildness and the wasteland of the desert that he lives in. He wears clothes made of camels hair and a leather belt and eats locusts and wild honey. He lives in the desert and people come to him to hear his proclamations of the coming Lord and he baptizes people in the Jordan, a river which brings life to the desolateness of the desert.
Jesus eventually comes to him to be baptized. And amidst John's baptism with water the voice of God speaks. The same voice of God which spoke over the waters at the creation of the world spoke over Jesus, naming him and claiming him as his own and then sending him out into the wildness and chaos and the wasteland of the desert.
God's voice and the waters are so interconnected throughout the Bible and it's this connection that we have all experienced in our own baptism.
The Spirit of God who brooded over the chaotic waters of creation descended on Jesus in the waters of the Jordan and names him Beloved and that same spirit drives him out into the wilderness. That same Spirit of God descends on each and every one of us in baptism and names us beloved. These chaotic and wild waters of baptism drown us to our own life and make us alive in Christ and Just as Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, we too are called to live out this new life in the wild and chaotic and beautiful world that God loves so much and created for us.
**After the sermon, I invited the children forward and talked with them about baptism and had them mark the sign of the cross on one another with water from the font. We then invited everyone in the congregation forward and had the children mark everyone with the sign of the cross. I then ended the sermon time with the following blessing which was in our "Taking Faith Home" insert: "In your baptism God adopted you as a beloved child and gave you the Holly Spirit. Remember today that you belong to God. +May the spirit of God move over you and in you, filling you with faith, hope, love and peace. Amen."**
"John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness."
Sermon:
Water is such an interesting image isn't it? Water is needed for life. We have to drink water or we will die. Our land needs water or the plants will wither away and refuse to grow. The sound of a babbling brook or gentle lapping waves calm us. And yet water is also powerful and destructive. Too much water and we can drown. Too much Water can cause flooding of homes and land. Quick moving water can cause Houses and people can be swept away.
Water is something we seek to live in balance with and even at times try to control because it is wild and powerful.
That is why I love these readings today. In Genesis we hear of the creation of the earth. One translation says, "when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was wild and waste, utter darkness covered the deep, and the Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters. Then God said, "let there be light!" And there was light!"
The blank canvas that God was working with to create the world we know was nothing but chaotic and tumultuous water. It was a wild wasteland. And God shaped it and formed it and brought order to the chaos, tamed the wildness and spoke life into the wasteland.
In Mark's Gospel we hear the story of John and Jesus. John is a man who seems at home in the wildness and the wasteland of the desert that he lives in. He wears clothes made of camels hair and a leather belt and eats locusts and wild honey. He lives in the desert and people come to him to hear his proclamations of the coming Lord and he baptizes people in the Jordan, a river which brings life to the desolateness of the desert.
Jesus eventually comes to him to be baptized. And amidst John's baptism with water the voice of God speaks. The same voice of God which spoke over the waters at the creation of the world spoke over Jesus, naming him and claiming him as his own and then sending him out into the wildness and chaos and the wasteland of the desert.
God's voice and the waters are so interconnected throughout the Bible and it's this connection that we have all experienced in our own baptism.
The Spirit of God who brooded over the chaotic waters of creation descended on Jesus in the waters of the Jordan and names him Beloved and that same spirit drives him out into the wilderness. That same Spirit of God descends on each and every one of us in baptism and names us beloved. These chaotic and wild waters of baptism drown us to our own life and make us alive in Christ and Just as Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, we too are called to live out this new life in the wild and chaotic and beautiful world that God loves so much and created for us.
**After the sermon, I invited the children forward and talked with them about baptism and had them mark the sign of the cross on one another with water from the font. We then invited everyone in the congregation forward and had the children mark everyone with the sign of the cross. I then ended the sermon time with the following blessing which was in our "Taking Faith Home" insert: "In your baptism God adopted you as a beloved child and gave you the Holly Spirit. Remember today that you belong to God. +May the spirit of God move over you and in you, filling you with faith, hope, love and peace. Amen."**
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
The Shepherd: A Christmas Eve Sermon on Luke 2:8-26
I was a little nervous about this sermon, but it seemed to be well received, let me know what you think!
Luke 2:8-26
"In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."
You are never going to believe what happened tonight!
A couple of my friends and I were shepherding just outside Bethlehem.
The sheep had just bedded down for the night and We were just sitting in the field, trading stories and keeping an eye out for predators like we do every night. And all of a sudden there's this bright white light and this Angel is standing right in front of us! It was seriously the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life. But then the angel said, "do not be afraid." And the crazy thing was that I wasn't afraid anymore, it's like it had just melted away. Then the angel started telling us this story about how the Son of God, the Messiah was born in the city of David and that we could find him wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. And then there were all these other angels and they were singing praise to God and then all of a sudden they were just gone!
Well we all stood there shocked for a few minutes and finally one of my friends turned to me and said, "did that just happen?" And i knew deep down that it had and that what the angel said was true. I was so excited to get back into the city and find this child. It took us about a minute more before someone suggested we go see for ourselves what the angels had told us and we all instantly started walking. And as we walked in silence I couldn't help but start thinking about everything that had just happened. I started to think about my sheep and wonder if they would be alright while we were gone. And then I started to wonder why the angel had come to us. I mean we're just a bunch of shepherds, nobody ever invites us anywhere. We take care of other people's animals, we hang out in the field most every day and night because most of us are pretty antisocial and we're all pretty rough around the edges. And yet, the angel came to us, wow God must really love us to share such amazing news with us lowly shepherds.
And then The angel's words came crashing in and I just stopped in my tracks. He said, "I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people." This is not just good news for me and my friends but for everyone! It' snot the kind of news that is good for one person but bad for another. But it's good news for everyone. I don,t really know what that means yet but I have the feeling that this good news is going to change everything and I'm excited to find out.
So we're on our way to see this baby that is the messiah, the good news and great joy for all people. Wanna come with?
Luke 2:8-26
"In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."
You are never going to believe what happened tonight!
A couple of my friends and I were shepherding just outside Bethlehem.
The sheep had just bedded down for the night and We were just sitting in the field, trading stories and keeping an eye out for predators like we do every night. And all of a sudden there's this bright white light and this Angel is standing right in front of us! It was seriously the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life. But then the angel said, "do not be afraid." And the crazy thing was that I wasn't afraid anymore, it's like it had just melted away. Then the angel started telling us this story about how the Son of God, the Messiah was born in the city of David and that we could find him wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. And then there were all these other angels and they were singing praise to God and then all of a sudden they were just gone!
Well we all stood there shocked for a few minutes and finally one of my friends turned to me and said, "did that just happen?" And i knew deep down that it had and that what the angel said was true. I was so excited to get back into the city and find this child. It took us about a minute more before someone suggested we go see for ourselves what the angels had told us and we all instantly started walking. And as we walked in silence I couldn't help but start thinking about everything that had just happened. I started to think about my sheep and wonder if they would be alright while we were gone. And then I started to wonder why the angel had come to us. I mean we're just a bunch of shepherds, nobody ever invites us anywhere. We take care of other people's animals, we hang out in the field most every day and night because most of us are pretty antisocial and we're all pretty rough around the edges. And yet, the angel came to us, wow God must really love us to share such amazing news with us lowly shepherds.
And then The angel's words came crashing in and I just stopped in my tracks. He said, "I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people." This is not just good news for me and my friends but for everyone! It' snot the kind of news that is good for one person but bad for another. But it's good news for everyone. I don,t really know what that means yet but I have the feeling that this good news is going to change everything and I'm excited to find out.
So we're on our way to see this baby that is the messiah, the good news and great joy for all people. Wanna come with?
Mary, Mary: A Sermon on Luke 1:26-38
This sermon is from the fourth Sunday in Advent (12/21)
Luke 1:26-38
"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her."
This week we hear the sorry of the Annunciation, the story of Mary hearing that she will become pregnant and bear a son, Jesus. And I'll be honest I was struggling with what direction I should go in. I didn't know if I should focus on Mary or her connection with the prophets or her faithfulness or what. And as I went around and around in circles I did what I often do when I'm in need of inspiration and I opened up my computer and headed for the Ted talks website. If you don't know ted, you should take a few minutes to check it out. Ted stands for Technology, Education and Design and it's short videos, no more than 18 minutes, of people who are experts in their field talking about whatever it is they are passionate about. The speakers range from experts in the medical field with multiple phd's to street musicians and everyone in-between. But I digress....when I sat down at my computer The first video that caught my eye was titled "my daughter Malala". Malala is the brave young woman who is the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize, she won it because of her eloquent and passionate push against patriarchal systems which do not allow women to go to school.
This man introduces himself as Malala's father and continues his talk partly telling Malala's story but more so telling the story of his community. He tells us what it's like to grow up in an undeveloped patriarchal society. In these communities, the birth of baby girls are not celebrated and mothers who give birth to girls find themselves sad, shocked and feeling guilty because in their culture men are known for their sons, not their daughters. Daughters are expected to hold the honor of the men in their lives by being quiet, humble, submissive and obedient and they could be killed if they are even thought to have failed to uphold one of those qualities. more than that, he says, throughout history the story of women is the story injustice, inequality, violence and exploitation. One only needs to open the pages of our own Bible to see these same stories played out. There are countless women in the Bible who not only suffer tremendously but are never even named. This cycle of the treatment of women has not changed for thousands of years in some parts of our world.
Perhaps that is why this weeks lesson is so amazing.
Today we meet Mary. She is a young girl living in one of these same patriarchal societies. And when I say young girl I mean barely a teenager. She has been promised to Joseph but she doesn't quite belong to him yet, but she will soon. She has no voice of her own in her daily life and is probably ushered around From place to place by her brothers, father or uncles, not allowed to go anywhere on her own. She is not educated. She is property, the property of her father and the soon to be property of Her husband.
And one night, in the midst of her good, humble, submissive, obedient life, an angel visits her. The angel tells her she is favored, that God is with her, and she is perplexed. She sobs confused because these are words she has never heard before. She is confused because an angel is visiting her rather than one of the men in her household. She is confused because she's never been favored or wanted in her entire life. She is confused because God has chosen her, and called her by name, something that her own brothers may never have done. Do you see why Mary is perplexed?!
God has called quiet, humble, obedient, submissive Mary out of the comfort of the patriarchal world she lives in and asks her to be anything but those things. And what is even more amazing is that the angel tells her what is to come, that she will become pregnant and bear a son who she will name Jesus. The angel does not tell her what has already happened, instead there is a sense that this is ultimately up to Mary to agree to. For the first time in her life she gets a choice in what will happen to her. And she chooses God because God has already chosen her. She knows what agreeing to this divine birth could mean for her. By saying yes she will dishonor her family, she will disobey her father and future husband, she will cease to be submissive to the men in her life. This decision could very easily lead to her death and yet she says yes to God. She breaks the silence and proclaims, "here am I, the servant, the slave, of The Lord, let it be with me according to your word,
Jesus' life begins with a woman who bucks the patriarchal society which she has been steeped in. Jesus' life begins with his mother who dared to say yes to a God who was calling her out even though centuries of tradition were telling her to keep silent and not believe that God would ever speak to her.
Jesus' life begins with a woman who in order to say yes to god, to be humble to God and to help to change and bring honor to the world had to bring dishonor to her entire family.
God chooses for Christ to enter the world in such an extraordinary way that it shatters everything we have ever known. So this miracle birth that we quietly celebrate every year with beautiful songs and thoughts and feelings of joy and peace has a little bit more to the story than we normally tell. When we take Mary off the high pedestal we often keep her on, we meet a young , ordinary girl who did something extraordinary by saying yes to God. This advent and Christmas season is a reminder to us that God calls us, the ordinary people that we are, and asks us to help change the world. Amen.
Here is the video for anyone who would like to see it.
Luke 1:26-38
"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her."
This week we hear the sorry of the Annunciation, the story of Mary hearing that she will become pregnant and bear a son, Jesus. And I'll be honest I was struggling with what direction I should go in. I didn't know if I should focus on Mary or her connection with the prophets or her faithfulness or what. And as I went around and around in circles I did what I often do when I'm in need of inspiration and I opened up my computer and headed for the Ted talks website. If you don't know ted, you should take a few minutes to check it out. Ted stands for Technology, Education and Design and it's short videos, no more than 18 minutes, of people who are experts in their field talking about whatever it is they are passionate about. The speakers range from experts in the medical field with multiple phd's to street musicians and everyone in-between. But I digress....when I sat down at my computer The first video that caught my eye was titled "my daughter Malala". Malala is the brave young woman who is the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize, she won it because of her eloquent and passionate push against patriarchal systems which do not allow women to go to school.
This man introduces himself as Malala's father and continues his talk partly telling Malala's story but more so telling the story of his community. He tells us what it's like to grow up in an undeveloped patriarchal society. In these communities, the birth of baby girls are not celebrated and mothers who give birth to girls find themselves sad, shocked and feeling guilty because in their culture men are known for their sons, not their daughters. Daughters are expected to hold the honor of the men in their lives by being quiet, humble, submissive and obedient and they could be killed if they are even thought to have failed to uphold one of those qualities. more than that, he says, throughout history the story of women is the story injustice, inequality, violence and exploitation. One only needs to open the pages of our own Bible to see these same stories played out. There are countless women in the Bible who not only suffer tremendously but are never even named. This cycle of the treatment of women has not changed for thousands of years in some parts of our world.
Perhaps that is why this weeks lesson is so amazing.
Today we meet Mary. She is a young girl living in one of these same patriarchal societies. And when I say young girl I mean barely a teenager. She has been promised to Joseph but she doesn't quite belong to him yet, but she will soon. She has no voice of her own in her daily life and is probably ushered around From place to place by her brothers, father or uncles, not allowed to go anywhere on her own. She is not educated. She is property, the property of her father and the soon to be property of Her husband.
And one night, in the midst of her good, humble, submissive, obedient life, an angel visits her. The angel tells her she is favored, that God is with her, and she is perplexed. She sobs confused because these are words she has never heard before. She is confused because an angel is visiting her rather than one of the men in her household. She is confused because she's never been favored or wanted in her entire life. She is confused because God has chosen her, and called her by name, something that her own brothers may never have done. Do you see why Mary is perplexed?!
God has called quiet, humble, obedient, submissive Mary out of the comfort of the patriarchal world she lives in and asks her to be anything but those things. And what is even more amazing is that the angel tells her what is to come, that she will become pregnant and bear a son who she will name Jesus. The angel does not tell her what has already happened, instead there is a sense that this is ultimately up to Mary to agree to. For the first time in her life she gets a choice in what will happen to her. And she chooses God because God has already chosen her. She knows what agreeing to this divine birth could mean for her. By saying yes she will dishonor her family, she will disobey her father and future husband, she will cease to be submissive to the men in her life. This decision could very easily lead to her death and yet she says yes to God. She breaks the silence and proclaims, "here am I, the servant, the slave, of The Lord, let it be with me according to your word,
Jesus' life begins with a woman who bucks the patriarchal society which she has been steeped in. Jesus' life begins with his mother who dared to say yes to a God who was calling her out even though centuries of tradition were telling her to keep silent and not believe that God would ever speak to her.
Jesus' life begins with a woman who in order to say yes to god, to be humble to God and to help to change and bring honor to the world had to bring dishonor to her entire family.
God chooses for Christ to enter the world in such an extraordinary way that it shatters everything we have ever known. So this miracle birth that we quietly celebrate every year with beautiful songs and thoughts and feelings of joy and peace has a little bit more to the story than we normally tell. When we take Mary off the high pedestal we often keep her on, we meet a young , ordinary girl who did something extraordinary by saying yes to God. This advent and Christmas season is a reminder to us that God calls us, the ordinary people that we are, and asks us to help change the world. Amen.
Here is the video for anyone who would like to see it.
Messengers: A Sermon on Mark 1:1-8
A few people have asked me to start posting my sermons so I suppose I could backtrack and post the sermons I gave through Advent. This sermon is from the second Sunday in Advent (12/7) and was followed by a discussion about what it means to be a messanger using our "Taking Faith Home" inserts from Vibrant Faith Ministries. We started using this resource in Advent this year and I wanted to make sure people had encouragement to take them home and use them.
Mark 1:1-8
"The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”"
1, 2, 3, ....
Ready or Not, here I come!
How many of you have played Hide and Seek before? It's a childhood favorite. People hide, one person counts and goes out to find those who are hiding. It's an exciting game filled with anticipation.
This Sunday begins our Advent season. It is a time of preparing. A time of waiting. And a time of darkness as we prepare and wait for the light to Come, for the son of God to come into the world and into our lives.
Today we hear the words of the prophets proclaiming the one who is to come. Isaiah tells us that God so a coming. Mark tells us that God is coming soon! Paul tells us God has come and will come again! These are the words of the prophets sharing with us the words of a God who loves us, wants all good things for us and who is done counting and is saying, "ready or not, here I come!" The words of the prophets are an attempt to make sure we are ready rather than startled when God comes to find us.
Hide and seek is such an interesting game. Think about it, if you try to convince a child to sit quietly in a small space for a long time it would fail miserably. But if you add to it that someone is searching for them it suddenly becomes ones of a child's all time favorites. Hide and seek is such a great game because of the seeking. Everyone likes the thrill of waiting to be found and the explosion of energy and chaos which follows.
In today's readings we hear God's messengers telling us that God so a coming and it is during this advent season that we spend anxiously awaiting to be found by a seeking God. These messengers are preparing us for that explosion of energy and chaos that will happen which Christ gets here and finds us. These are messengers yelling, "ready or not, here God comes!"
Mark 1:1-8
"The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”"
1, 2, 3, ....
Ready or Not, here I come!
How many of you have played Hide and Seek before? It's a childhood favorite. People hide, one person counts and goes out to find those who are hiding. It's an exciting game filled with anticipation.
This Sunday begins our Advent season. It is a time of preparing. A time of waiting. And a time of darkness as we prepare and wait for the light to Come, for the son of God to come into the world and into our lives.
Today we hear the words of the prophets proclaiming the one who is to come. Isaiah tells us that God so a coming. Mark tells us that God is coming soon! Paul tells us God has come and will come again! These are the words of the prophets sharing with us the words of a God who loves us, wants all good things for us and who is done counting and is saying, "ready or not, here I come!" The words of the prophets are an attempt to make sure we are ready rather than startled when God comes to find us.
Hide and seek is such an interesting game. Think about it, if you try to convince a child to sit quietly in a small space for a long time it would fail miserably. But if you add to it that someone is searching for them it suddenly becomes ones of a child's all time favorites. Hide and seek is such a great game because of the seeking. Everyone likes the thrill of waiting to be found and the explosion of energy and chaos which follows.
In today's readings we hear God's messengers telling us that God so a coming and it is during this advent season that we spend anxiously awaiting to be found by a seeking God. These messengers are preparing us for that explosion of energy and chaos that will happen which Christ gets here and finds us. These are messengers yelling, "ready or not, here God comes!"
Living bi-vocationally
This is a post that I started back in November and am just now sitting down to finish. I'll be honest, it's been a little crazy. Anyway, here it is:
As I sit here typing from home I have Disney Pandora on and Natalie is swaying to the music "singing" along and I'm thinking about the sermon that I need to write today...hopefully she will take a good long nap so I can do that later. Today is the day that I live in both worlds. I am home with Natalie and have a few work things to get done. That normally means it will take me twice or even three times as long to get done what I would normally do when I'm on my own. At first I worried about this, that it would cause frustration but the truth is that it's rather enjoyable because I have nothing but time for both her and my sermon.
As I sit here typing from home I have Disney Pandora on and Natalie is swaying to the music "singing" along and I'm thinking about the sermon that I need to write today...hopefully she will take a good long nap so I can do that later. Today is the day that I live in both worlds. I am home with Natalie and have a few work things to get done. That normally means it will take me twice or even three times as long to get done what I would normally do when I'm on my own. At first I worried about this, that it would cause frustration but the truth is that it's rather enjoyable because I have nothing but time for both her and my sermon.
So maybe I should back up. Last week was my first week back to work since Natalie was born 8 months ago. This is an awesome amount of time for maternity leave if you can swing it but the reality is that I was awaiting my first call and last week just happened to be when I had the first opportunity to get started. It's a part time call and it's worked out so that I'll work at the church two full days a week and Natalie will be with a wonderful stay at home mom those days and then I'll finish a few things up from home and obviously I'll have church services on Sundays where Natalie will either her come with me or Frank.
This is the best of both worlds in a lot of ways. I have time away to be an adult and follow where God is calling me as a pastor and I also have time at home with my wonderful little girls and get to be a part of her various milestones, play and work on getting things done around the house so that we can enjoy our time as a family without having a bunch of chores to do.
Right now, this is where I'm called and I've been blessed by the opportunity to live out both my vocations. I am called to be both a pastor and a mother and I am so fortunate to have a husband who supported my decision to work part time as well as having found a congregation in the area who was looking for a part time pastor.
On days that I work from home, there are always challenges. Natalie always demands my time and interrupts my thought process and sometimes having to constantly multitask is frustrating but for the most part there is plenty of time to work on that sermon or send that e-mail and the interruption is welcomed having this time to play with and snuggle my little girl is priceless.
Although it's hard sometimes, I truly love living this bi-vocational life :)
This is the best of both worlds in a lot of ways. I have time away to be an adult and follow where God is calling me as a pastor and I also have time at home with my wonderful little girls and get to be a part of her various milestones, play and work on getting things done around the house so that we can enjoy our time as a family without having a bunch of chores to do.
Right now, this is where I'm called and I've been blessed by the opportunity to live out both my vocations. I am called to be both a pastor and a mother and I am so fortunate to have a husband who supported my decision to work part time as well as having found a congregation in the area who was looking for a part time pastor.
On days that I work from home, there are always challenges. Natalie always demands my time and interrupts my thought process and sometimes having to constantly multitask is frustrating but for the most part there is plenty of time to work on that sermon or send that e-mail and the interruption is welcomed having this time to play with and snuggle my little girl is priceless.
Although it's hard sometimes, I truly love living this bi-vocational life :)
Saturday, September 6, 2014
My First Tri!
Frank asked me to write a race recp and between vacation, trying to get things rolling for a potential ordination/first call, water spilled on not one laptop but two and a wonderful beautiful little girl named Natalie who has figured out how to scoot across the floor with the greatest of ease, it has taken me a while to get things written out. Also due to my current lack of a laptop I'll have to add pictures and/or videos once my laptop dries out and hopefully turns back on.
(The two ladies behind me became my race buddies)
4 Months Ago, Give or Take:
Six months ago Natalie was born and as many postpartum women I had some weight to lose as well as a general need to get back into some kind of shape that didn't involve frozen pizza and Girl Scout cookies. So once I was cleared by my doctor I decided it was time to bite the bullet and sign up for a triathlon, which I'd been working toward before I got pregnant. Frank looked at me like I was crazy but suggested the My First Tri race which is just for first time triathletes. I figured I'd be in good company and that even if I had to walk all or part of the run, just finishing the race would be a huge accomplishment. So I signed up, started training and had some amazing days and some crappy days where just looking at my goggles, bike or running shoes made me want to cry. And that brings us to:
The Day Before The Race:
I spent most of Friday ignoring the fact that I would be racing my first triathlon the next day. I went on a short but fast run first thing in the morning to remind my legs what they were supposed to be doing after a long day of travel. I tried to eat well, avoiding the delicious beers that were offered to me. And I had a ton of fun taking Natalie on her first trip to the aquarium.
Race Day! Pre-Race:
The race was Saturday, August 23rd at Centerville Lake in the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes. It was a beautiful morning! A little cool, but not cold, and overcast. I was probably 50% excited, 30% in disbelief that this day had finally arrived and 20% terrified. We got up early, I ate some breakfast, gave my gear one last once over and we hit the road. On the way my tummy was full of butterflies and I began to wonder if my hard work and training would really pay off or if I would, in fact drown in the swim, wipe out on my bike, collapse on the run or come in dead last. Once we got there I pushed these thoughts aside as much as I could and got to the tasks at hand, finding the restroom! Which of course, was locked. A locked bathroom is probably the worst thing you could encounter pre-race so I, along with probably 20 other women tracked down various race volunteers to see about getting them unlocked. While I waited, it was time to set up my transition area. For all the energy Frank puts into this I thought I was missing something because it seemed to take very little time or effort to get set up. Oh well, only time would tell! I got marked with my number, put my swim cap on and headed down to the lake for a little pre-race swim. While standing in the shallows trying to convince myself to dive in and swim I started talking with one of the other competitors. I think she was more nervous than I was but we had fun talking about our nerves and training. It turns out she had had her first child 8 months ago and was using this as a stepping stone to getting in shape as well. We had a good conversation and I eventually decided it was time to dive in and swim a little. It was a little cool but my strokes were smooth and I didn't panic so I decided a short swim was all I needed and headed to the beach to hang out with Frank and Natalie before the race meeting and the race start.
And We're Off!
The Swim: 400 yards
After the race meeting they lined us up by number and we started in sets of two every 30 seconds or so. As I waited in line I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as one of the mentors was talking to one of my fellow competitors (you could request to race with a mentor, many of which had raced not only sprint triathlons but full ironman competitions so I'm sure running with us slow first timers was no issue at all). This guy was a piece of work and rather than being there for the person he was mentoring which many of the mentors just oozed, he was definitely there for himself and to show off his skills. Needless to say I let them push ahead and started with an 11 year old girl who was being mentored by her dad who I ran into the next day at Frank's race cheering on the mom/wife of the family. Surprisingly the closer I got to the start line the more calm I was. I felt prepared and when the worker said "Go" I jogged off into the water, dove in once I was deep enough and started my swim. No matter who you talk to, the swim always seems to be the hardest part. That was true for me as well but not because I was ill prepared for the swim. Instead it was crazy hard because I was constantly going around people who had flipped on their backs, were swimming in anything but a straight line and were trying to crowd around the bouys and life guards because they were panicking (my lake training two weeks before the race had definitely made a difference!). I could never get into a comfortable front crawl stroke and spent most of the swim doing the breast stroke so that I could see the people who had stopped swimming infront of me and go around them. Although this was frustrating I had expect it, well except for the mentor from the beginning of the race. Mr. Skills kept swimming ahead of his racer and stopping dead infront of me to wait for her to catch up and to top it off one of the times he started swimming again he almost ran me over. So I kicked it into a faster stroke, passed him and did my best to put some distance between us. About 2/3 of the way through the swim people started to thin out and I was able to finish the swim strong and jog up to the transition area.
The Bike: 10 miles
My transition went well, I grabbed a gel, put my socks, shoes, bike jersey, helmet and sunglasses on and was on my way. For the bike portion we did a 5 mile loop twice. The first 2 1/2 miles were on a fairly busy road followed by a terrible 1/4 mile section through a residential area and then ended on a really nice paved trail. Overall the bike portion was pretty uneventful, I rode strong and was only passed by maybe a dozen people. That being said, the bike was also the most terrifying part of the race. When we hit the residential area I thought for sure I was going to die. It was hilly, the road was all chipped up, there was loose sand and gravel everywhere, cars were parked on both sides of the road, there were lots of tight turns and because the course looped back on itself there were racers headed both directions. Now don't get me wrong, it was super fun to see other competitors on this part of the course but I was pretty sure I was going to flat or fall or both and I was more than concerned that I'd take someone with me if I fell. I made it through but lost a lot of time. The second loop was possibly better than the first, I felt more confident on all of it including the residential section and on the last part of the trail I had two other riders chatch up to me and eventually pass me and they chatted with each other and me the whole time. It made it a lot of fun to have the comradarie. As I was finishing up the last lap, I almost missed the turn into the transition area but made it and before I knew it was off the bike and gearing up for the run.
The Run: 2 miles
In the transition area I dropped off my bike and helmet, grabbed a swig of gatoraid and was off. My legs felt like jello and I know my pace was probably faster than it should have been. In short, I was breathing hard and felt like I was standing still. As I ran I was only passed by one person but also only passed maybe 2. I don't know what that means but there it is. The run, although tough was probably the best part of the race. It was one mile out and one mile back so as I headed out to the water station thinking that the run would never be over the competitors heading to the finish line were offering words of encouragement. It was nice to hear people that you don't know cheer for you and tell you to "keep it up" or that you're "almost there". Once I reached the turnaround I was finally settling into my stride and breathing easier. I passed the two women who passed me at the end of the bike and they followed me into the finish. We bantered a bit and cheered on those heading out on their run as we headed back. I probably could have run more efficiently had I put my head down and focused on running but it was so much more fun and meaningful to cheer for my fellow competitors. This is also probably the only time in my life that I've ever been told that I have a nice pace. The women behind me were apparently pretty well matched to my slow but steady pace that was probably right around the 12 min mile mark. As we rounded the last curve I picked up my pace and finished strong. I finished the race in 1:22 which was well ahead of my 2 hour goal.
It was amazing to come into the finish and see my beautiful family and really feel the weight of my accomplishment. I had finished my first triathlon! I had finished my first triathlon in a decent time! I had finished my first triathlon in a decent time AND had had fun! It was a fun event and I think I'd like to do it again.
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