Gathering Around Jesus

Based on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

First delivered July 22, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            It’s a fishing trip I will never forget. Our family owned a timeshare on Padre Island, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. One summer, when we were down there, we took a fishing charter to go out into the gulf to fish for red snapper. It was a particularly choppy day, causing the boat to go up and down the whole time. Well, for the whole time we were out there I fished for all of 15 minutes. The rest of the time I was either throwing up or trying not to. It was not a fun experience. I did manage to catch a snapper. But it was not exactly the fishing experience I had hoped for. Needless to say I was relieved when we finally got off that boat and was on solid ground, even though for a good two hours it felt even the land was rocking back and forth. If you asked me then, I would have told you that was my last time to take a fishing charter boat. And, in fact, I haven’t gone out again.

            I’m sure the disciples were glad to be on solid ground with the boat moored after their night time journey across the stormy sea. It was a frightful storm, even for these seasoned fisher men. But the choppy seas were not the only thing that frightened them that night. They saw Jesus walking out to them on the water! They thought it was a ghost. But Jesus climbed into the boat and instantly the wind ceased and the sea grew calm. They were utterly astounded. And now, having experienced a night on the sea they would never forget, they were safe and secure on solid ground.

            Have any of you been on a boat when the surf is rough and the boat is rocking back and forth? It’s not fun. It generates anxiety. It sometimes even makes you physically sick. Sometimes life is like that. Sometimes life hits us like a gale force wind and we find ourselves rocking back and forth from one crisis to the next. Just as we can’t control the wind, sometimes situations beyond our control come at us and knock us around. And sometimes our lives get so rocky and stressful that we can actually get physically sick from it. There are times we wish we could press pause on our life so we can get out of the storm and rest awhile on solid ground.

            And in a way that’s what we are doing right now. When we come to church on Sunday morning, it is sort of like mooring the boat that is daily life so that we can stand on solid ground. I’m talking about the solid ground that is the church, this living faith that is founded on the rock which is Jesus Christ. The church that we are gathered into today is an expression of a tradition that has stretched out for over 2000 years. Empires have risen and fallen but the church remains. And so when we gather here on Sunday morning we are able to step away from the restless sea that is our daily lives and rest on solid ground.

            It is good to be here in this place for a time of rest on this solid ground, this gathered community where we find safety and security. We need times to rest from the turbulent lives we live. But we need more than just a brief hour of rest. We have other needs that need met. What are those needs? What is available for us as we are gathered here on the solid ground that is the church of Jesus Christ?

            We heard in the scriptures this morning that the crowds rushed to Jesus. They didn’t wait for him to drop by their house. They went to where he was and gathered around him. And as they flocked to Jesus, Jesus was filled with compassion for them, looking upon them as sheep without a shepherd. They were a people in need of guidance, instruction, wisdom. And so, as the people gathered around Jesus, he taught them many things.

            In the same way, we gather together Sunday after Sunday. We gather as a people in need of guidance, instruction, wisdom. Importantly, you are not gathering around me. We are all gathering around Jesus who is the Word of God. The Word is opened to us in the reading of scripture, the reciting of a psalm, and the singing of hymns. It is my earnest hope that in these sermons I deliver that there is something in them that Jesus desires to impart to us and that anything I say that is not of God would drift away as chaff in the wind. The same goes for the Friendship Circle, where Susanne, Jean, and Melissa share insights from God’s Word.

            We also hear in the scriptures that the crowds rushed to Jesus, bringing those who were ill to him, so that they might touch him and be healed. The people needed more than just instruction. There were many sick people that needed healing. And it appears that it took more than Jesus offering up a pastoral prayer for healing. Neither a general prayer, nor a specific prayer request was sufficient. Those who were sick needed to be touched by Jesus. What was required for healing was a one-on-one direct encounter with the great healer. They begged to Jesus that they might be given permission only to touch the fringe of his cloak. And so we read that all who touched the fringe of his cloak were healed. Personal, direct contact was required for healing to take place.

            Is this not true for us? We gather together, not just to receive instruction from the word of God but also to be healed. We are all in need of healing. And this healing is not limited to physical healing. The healing we need includes emotional healing as well as spiritual healing. In the rough and tumble of life we get injured in a multitude of ways. Sometimes others hurt us by their words or their actions. Sometimes we hurt ourselves by our own self-talk and our own actions.

            And yes, prayer makes a difference. The pastoral prayer I give every Sunday is not a waste of time. Praying for the well-being of others, both in a general sense and with specificity, certainly doesn’t hurt. Prayer opens up the possibility for God to act, to work the healing that God desires for every person. Prayer is one way we co-operate with God’s healing work.

            But I submit to you that for healing to occur there is a need for a personal encounter with Jesus. Of course, I am talking in a spiritual sense. And because it is a personal, spiritual connection, it’s not something I can speak about with any sense of clarity or objectivity. To have that personal connection is a knowing that is subjective. It’s like when my sister asked me how I knew that Kim was the one I was meant to marry. All I could say was, “I just know.” It’s the same thing with a personal encounter with Jesus. When it happens, you know it within the depths of your soul. And that encounter has power that endures. It is an encounter that is imprinted on your very being. You carry that encounter with you for the rest of your days. And sometimes that encounter is renewed, and you feel the effects of that encounter. At least, that is my experience.

            There’s one thing I want to highlight for you that we heard in the scripture reading, specifically vv. 55 and 56, where we hear that the people brought the sick on mats to wherever Jesus was, laying the sick before Jesus so that he might touch them and be healed. They didn’t ask Jesus to come to the sick, they brought the sick to Jesus. These were people that for whatever reason were unable to get to Jesus. So they didn’t tell Jesus where to go, whose house to visit. No, they brought the sick to where Jesus was.

            So this gets me to thinking. I am trying to think of people I know who are in need of a personal encounter with Jesus, who are in need of healing, people that I need to take the initiative to bring to church, where Jesus is, so that they too might have that encounter and be healed from whatever ails them. Do you know of anyone? As you make a mental image of the people you know or associate with, is there anyone that you feel a prompting to bring with you to church some Sunday? This is something I invite you to keep in the back of your mind. If you ever find yourself in conversation with somebody who is expressing their need for healing, in addition to maybe saying, “I’ll pray for you,” also ask, “Are you free this Sunday? I would like to take you to my church. There are some great people there. It is a place where I find peace and encouragement. I think you might enjoy it.”

            And this leads me to the last thing I want to talk about. When Jesus looked at the crowd gathering around him, he had compassion for them. Compassion is not the same thing as pity. Pity is a feeling that comes from your heart. It’s a feeling that maybe makes you sad or weighs you down a little. Pity is like feeling bad for someone and maybe thinking to yourself, “But for the grace of God, that could be me.” But compassion is a feeling that comes from your gut, from the pit of your stomach. This is a feeling where you can relate in some way with what the person is going through. It hits home. And you are drawn to respond in some way. You can’t just shrug your shoulders and then move on. Compassion drives you to respond.

            I recently heard a great story about this guy who owns a bar in North Carolina who demonstrates for me what compassion is all about. It all started when a patron told him that her wallet had been stolen and inside the wallet was not just money but her wedding band. The bartender said he would do what he could. He personally reviewed hours of security video tape until he spotted her wallet sitting on the bench outside his establishment. He then watched a young man take the wallet. He later found the man, just a 17 year old kid. The boy confessed to taking the wallet. He was homeless, estranged from his family, and was trying to make it on his own. He took the money and then threw the wallet into a lake. The bartender then hired a diving crew to go search for the wallet. They found the wallet and inside of it was the woman’s wedding band. But the story doesn’t end there. The bartender took the boy into his own home. He also hired him to work at the bar. The boy can’t thank him enough for going the extra mile to help him get back on the right track. This bar owner embodies compassion. I would love to know his backstory, what experiences he had in his life that made it possible for him to be moved to action in such an abundant way to respond to the needs of others.

            We can be inspired by this man to have the same compassion for others. But I want to leave you with this thought. We would like to aspire to be the ones acting out of compassion, but do we ever think about how we are the ones in need of a compassionate response? We would much rather be givers of compassion than receivers of it. Most of the time we don’t want to consider ourselves in need of anyone’s care, much less pity. We strive to be self-sufficient. Maybe sometimes we don’t think we are deserving of anyone’s care, much less anyone’s compassion. We would rather suffer alone than be the recipient of someone’s loving care. Why is that? Why are we afraid to acknowledge our own vulnerability, our own hurts and loss, our own need for care? I just want you to know that when Jesus looked out over the crowd and was moved with compassion, that Jesus was looking at you and me. He knows what we need, even if we aren’t so clear ourselves of what we need. And Jesus does not pity us. He has compassion for us. He is moved to action, to respond to our needs. So be grateful that when Jesus looks at you, he sees you with eyes of compassion. And he will do whatever is possible to meet your deepest needs, so that you may be free from everything that prevents you from living an abundant life, so that you might be healed.

Telling the Truth with Love in Your Heart

Based on Mark 6:14-29

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            The gospel of Mark is a story that’s told in a hurry. In chapter one alone we are introduced to John the Baptist, and then at verse 9 we read of Jesus being baptized by John. Jesus’ time in the wilderness is dealt with in two verses. Then we read of him calling his first disciples, healing several people, preaching all through Galilee, all of this in 31 more verses. The haste of the telling throughout the gospel is enhanced by the liberal use of the word “immediately.” Mark is the shortest gospel. It is told with an economy of words and with sparse detail. It’s almost like this gospel is an outline version that the teller has to then elaborate to fill in the detail.

            But today we hear a story that is full of detail. This story is almost 1/3 as long as the first chapter. There are a number of characters that interact with each other. But Jesus is somewhat behind the scenes. His shadow is cast over the story even though he is not one of the people involved.

            The story begins by reporting on who people thought Jesus was. People were saying Jesus was like John, or like Elijah, or like one of the prophets of old. But Herod was convinced Jesus was like John, like a reincarnated John. Specifically, he says that Jesus is John raised from the dead. We then hear about what Herod and John’s relationship was like, and how Herod ended up executing John. In this story we learn of Herod’s wife Herodias, who had been married to Herod’s brother, Phillip. Apparently Phillip divorced Herodias and Herod then married her, his former sister-in-law. We have Herodias’ daughter from her relationship with Phillip, which makes her Herod’s niece, now step-daughter, dancing at his birthday party. Although it is not explicitly stated, it is assumed that she danced in a provocative manner, which is gross to have your niece dance that way. But that’s how messed up this whole situation is. All this is taking place in the presence of Herod’s court and a bunch of other aristocrats and powerful people. This story portrays the debauched and vicious immorality of the elites, of which John the Baptist is the exact opposite, being by Herod’s own admission a righteous and holy man, a man who had the courage to tell Herod to his face that his marriage to Herodias was a scandal.

            What do you think Mark was up to by including this story? He barely said anything about Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness and said nothing about Jesus’ birth, yet presents this extended and highly detailed story about John and his execution. Why was this story so important to Mark?  I see this story doing a few things for Mark, a story that serves a number of purposes.

            First, it serves as a foreshadowing of what will happen to Jesus. Herodias wanted John killed because of the things he was saying about her, that he was calling out her wickedness, but she couldn’t do it. The religious leaders wanted to put Jesus to death because of the things he said about them, how he called out their sin, but they did not have the means to do it. Herod protected John, knowing that he was a righteous man. He enjoyed hearing what he had to say even though what he said often left him perplexed. Pontius Pilate protected Jesus, knowing that he had done nothing deserving of death. He was perplexed by the things Jesus said, or didn’t say in his silence. Because of the vow he had made before his court, Herod felt compelled to execute John, even though he didn’t want to do it. Because of the crowd and the pressure applied by the religious leaders, Pilate had Jesus executed even though he really didn’t want to do it. So you see how this account of John’s execution has a number of parallels with Jesus’ execution.

            This story also serves as a contrast to what Jesus and John were up to. John and Jesus are holy and righteous men while Herod and Herodias are unholy and unrighteous. Herod’s birthday feast turned into a macabre display as John’s head is brought in on a platter. Meanwhile, Jesus is feeding the five thousand. His last supper with his disciples initiates a new covenant that brings about life. Two very different banquets. And that’s the biggest contrast. The scene of Herod’s birthday party depicts debauchery and death. But Jesus’ banquet with his disciples is all about his sacrifice that brings about forgiveness and new life. Herod and Herodias are all about debauchery and death. But John and Jesus are all about repentance, holiness, healing, and life.

            And this is what I want us to focus on today. I want us to pay attention to what John was doing and why it got him into trouble. Of all that Mark was doing with this story, I think he takes the time to tell us what John did so that John can be a model, a source of inspiration, for the followers of Jesus. It would do us well to pay attention to what John is doing and wonder if this is something we can do.

            What we see in John is that he was a truth teller in spite of the risk to his own person. Whether he was intimidated or not, John would not give King Herod a pass for his wickedness. If Herod was doing something immoral or beneath his dignity, John would call him out on it. It didn’t matter if Herod was president, I mean king. John spoke out and called out immoral behavior, no matter who you were or how much power or status you had. No one was untouchable for John’s righteous indignation. And he would not stop. He made a pest of himself. He would not be silenced. And as a consequence, Herodias took the opportunity given to her to have John’s head cut off so she no longer had to hear his condemning voice, a voice that spoke the truth. For John, telling the truth about things was worth risking your life. And as history shows us, to be a truth teller is a risky proposition.

            But John wasn’t a truth teller because he had a big ego. He wasn’t an obnoxious know-it-all who gleefully pontificated about everyone else’s moral failures. John was no bully, knocking people down so that he could feel superior. John was also not a moralist. He was not holier-than-thou, or some kind of puritan prude. Again, John was not about presenting himself as morally superior to all other people. Nor was he a hypocrite. Herod himself acknowledged that he was righteous and holy. John not only called out bad behavior, he lived a righteous life. His hypocrisy was minimal. The way he lived his life gave him the authority to call out those who were in need of repentance. In other words, John was a credible truth teller because he lived by the truth that he proclaimed. His life matched his words. He was a person of integrity.

            But not only did John have integrity, I think that John was driven to speak the truth because he knew that right living was the best kind of life. He knew that living a life consistent with moral precepts leads to a better quality of life. Not that life won’t have challenges, pain, and tragedy. But it will be better, fuller, more vibrant. I mean, look what we have here. Herod is married to his former sister-in-law while her ex-husband Phillip, Herod’s brother, is still alive. How humiliating this must have been for Phillip. How disrespectful Herod was and shameful Herodias was. It’s a messed up relationship that generates a bad vibe. It’s weird for Herodias’ daughter, whose uncle is now her step-dad. And she goes out there dancing for his pleasure. Doesn’t the whole scene make you recoil? This is Jerry Springer territory. And this is the aristocracy, the ones who are supposed to be the guardians of the tradition and all that is good and honorable.

            What I’m trying to say is, John called Herod out, not to prove a point, not to stroke his ego or be a trouble maker, not out of any sense of animosity or disrespect, but because John loved Herod. He knew that Herod’s life would be so much better if he got out of this relationship, repented, made things right with his brother. He knew that if Herod would repent, that is life would be so much better. This is what drove John to call people out and to call them into repentance and living a holy life. It was love that drove John to be a truth teller. Not animosity. Not hate. Not ego or a need to feel superior. It was love, knowing that a right living life is the best life. John knew that facing up to your moral failure, repenting, and committing to living a holy life is the pathway toward healing.

            So who are you in this story? Maybe you resonate with Herod. He knew he wasn’t living right. He respects the man who tells the truth about his life. But he’s not willing to repent and when push comes to shove is willing to shut John up permanently. Do you resonate with Herodias? You have no use for people that are calling you out for the way you are living. Free to judge others you are quick to shut down anyone who dares to judge you.

            Honestly, we generally don’t like being told the truth about ourselves. We don’t like to have our stuff called out. We don’t go to the extent of cutting people’s heads off. But we do cut people off in other ways. We stop talking to them or hanging out with them. We change the subject and keep our conversations on the surface instead of talking about things that matter. We “unfriend” people on Facebook. We can cut off truth tellers in a variety of ways.

            Who do you need to be? I think we all wish we were a bit more like John. We want to be truth tellers, calling people out for their wrong doing and calling them in to repentance and living a better way, and to do that truth telling not from a place of arrogance, or self-righteousness, or as the morality police, but out of a place of love, convinced that a life lived right is the best kind of life, knowing that repentance is a key step toward healing. At least, that’s who I want to be more like. I want to become less like Herod and more like John. I hope you do too.

            Herod thought he had shut John up by having his head cut off. But here comes Jesus, who is John raised from the dead. Another holy man, speaking truth, and calling for people to repent. John may be dead, but the message of John continues. Herod can’t stop the truth being spoken. He can’t stop the call to repentance from happening. The healing work of God, to turn the world around, bringing forth new life, it can’t be stopped.

            The story prior to this one about John is the account of Jesus sending his disciples out two by two, scattering them to all the towns around with the same message Jesus was giving and with the authority to cast out demons and to bring healing to those who are sick. Not only is John’s message of repentance continued by Jesus, it is multiplied. And it’s not just a call to repentance, it is acts that bring about real healing. People are being redeemed and made whole, experiencing new life.

            Throughout the centuries and all around the world, truth tellers and healing workers keep coming. God’s work of redemption will not be stopped. Whatever obstacles are thrown in the way of God’s healing work, whether it be the execution of John, the crucifixion of Jesus, or the long train of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the gospel, nothing can prevent God’s redeeming, healing, life giving work to continue through the lives and actions of real people, people like you and me.

            This is where we find hope. Repentance is always available for us. Each day, each hour, each moment, we can choose to live the right way. And we are always able to join in on God’s healing work, speaking truth, calling for repentance, demonstrating what a life of love looks like. We are always able to continue the healing work of Jesus through our own actions and way of living.

            In U2’s recent album, they have a song that Bono wrote to be a source of encouragement. Like many other people who are concerned about the state of politics in the United States and all that is happening in the world, it sometimes feels overwhelming. So Bono wrote this song partly to serve as a source of encouragement for himself when he is feeling discouraged by the state of the world. The title is “Love is bigger than anything in its way.” That’s one of my takeaways from this story from Mark we have been reflecting on today. This is a truth that can carry us through, a truth that guides us in how to live and grounds us in our living. Love is greater than anything in its way. Out of a place of love, repent from what you need to repent from…speak truth…challenge others to be their better selves…demonstrate what the healing power of love looks like. In the spirit of John, the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of God, live a truth telling life, a life that tells the truth of God’s unlimited love.

Broken, But Not Dead

Based on Mark 5:21-43

First Delivered July 1, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            What was your life like 12 years ago? It was 2006. In that year, there was an earthquake in Indonesia that killed 6,600 people; Julian Assange started WikiLeaks; North Korea conducted its first nuclear test; and NASA revealed photographs that suggested liquid water on Mars. It was half way through George Bush’s second term. My boys were not yet teenagers. I was beginning my appointment at a church in Cincinnati. Where were you? What was your family like? Your life?

            Think about all that has happened since 2006. We went through the Obama years. We endured the Great Recession and have come through on the other side for the most part. Twitter has become a primary means of communication, from pop stars to presidents. My boys are all teenagers now, with one out of high school. How has your family changed? What are some of the big events you have experienced since 2006?

            I know that the length of time doesn’t change. Time doesn’t speed up or slow down. Still, it seems to me that the older I get the faster time moves. That said, 2006, 12 years ago, may seem like a long time ago for you. Then again, maybe it doesn’t seem that long ago at all. I guess it depends on your perspective.

            For the woman with a hemorrhage, 12 years must have felt like a long time. Can you women even fathom having a menstrual discharge for 12 straight years? Imagine 2006 being the year this began for you, all the way up to this very day. All that lost blood. This woman must have been anemic and alarmingly underweight. Surely her bodily organs were compromised. We don’t know how old she is, but we can guess that because of her illness she has not been able to bear children. It wouldn’t be surprising if her husband has left her. But not just that, because of her condition, she would be considered ritually unclean, and thus unable to enter the Temple for worship. Any person that touched her would be ritually unclean. Anywhere she sits would be unclean. This would have been for her not only 12 years of bodily discomfort and suffering, but also a period marked by abandonment. And to top it all off, she had spent all her money on physicians who were ineffective. In fact she was worse off than when she started going to doctors. Twelve long years of misery.

            But for Jairus and his daughter, 12 years wasn’t long at all. Here was his baby girl, having just made it to the critical stage in her life when she would experience her bat mitvah and become a daughter of the commandment, entering into young womanhood, and she is lying on her death bed. It is way too soon to lose your child. No parent should have to bury their own children, and especially a young child. And it’s one thing to lose your child when she is a baby, or even a toddler. But 12 years is enough time to have lots of memories, to build a close relationship, to see your child grow and develop and become a young woman. To only have 12 years with your daughter and then to have her taken from you, that’s not enough time. It’s too soon.

            Whether 12 years seemed a long time or a short time, both the woman and Jairus found themselves in a similar condition and had a few things in common: they were desperate, they believed Jesus could heal, and they would not be denied.

            They were desperate. The woman with her chronic condition had tried all that medical science could provide and nothing worked. The hemorrhage had taken such a toll on her body. Her social isolation must have been unbearable. Surely she can’t take this much longer. She is desperate to be healed. Jairus, about to lose his daughter to death, is desperate. He doesn’t want to lose his daughter. But he is running out of time. It may already be too late. He needed his daughter healed right now.

            They believed that Jesus could heal. The woman had heard about Jesus, about his healing power. She had tried everything else and nothing worked. Maybe Jesus could heal her. She had to make her way to Jesus, to put herself in his path and hope that she can get her healing. Jairus had also heard about Jesus’ power to heal. Sure, he taught some things that got him in trouble with some of his fellow religious leaders. He sometimes rubbed his colleagues the wrong way. But he also could heal. Raise someone from the dead? Doubtful. But maybe he could get to his daughter in time before she perished. Jesus was his only hope.

            They would not be denied. Jesus and his disciples were surrounded by a crowd and they were in a tight space. Everyone was pushing and shoving as they were making their way. But the crowd parted a little bit as Jairus himself approached Jesus and fell at his feet. He would not send one of his people to get Jesus’ attention. No, Jairus had to go himself. He would use the full weight of his prestige in a public display to plead for Jesus to come heal his daughter. He got Jesus’ attention and Jesus agreed to go with him. So the crowd begins to make its way toward Jairus’ house, moving along as fast as possible because they knew that time was not on their side. The girl could die any minute. They had to hurry.

            Jairus used his privilege as a religious leader to get the crowd to part a little so he could get in front of Jesus and let him know about his emergency. But the woman with the hemorrhage had no such privilege. If she was going to get to Jesus, she would have to push her way through a crowd that was moving away from her. But she would not be denied. She pushed and shoved her way toward the back of Jesus, making each person she touched ritually impure without them knowing it probably. Her relentless pursuit gets her close enough that she can reach out her hand to touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak. And that was enough. Healing energy flowed from Jesus into the woman’s body and she could feel from her inside that she was healed. Jesus didn’t even know she was pursuing her. He only knew something powerful had happened because he felt it, not the tug of his cloak, for he was being pushed about in the crowd. It was the energy that went out of him. He knew he had healed someone without knowing who he healed. Jesus had to hold everything, in spite of the clock ticking on the life of Jairus’ daughter, to find out who he had healed. Falling on her knees before Jesus, the woman had the floor, proclaiming before everyone what Jesus had done for her. Her public witness ended her 12 years of suffering and social isolation. She was not only healed of her blood flow, but also able to reclaim her place in the community she had lost all those years ago.

            Now, admittedly, these two healing miracles are just that: miracles. They were uniquely possible because of the physical presence of Jesus. There are many people in the world today who have just as much faith as this woman and Jairus who in similar circumstances do not receive a dramatic and instant healing or have their daughter brought back to life. I do not say that miracles such as these never happen. I believe miracles do happen and anything is possible. But miracles can’t be counted on, nor can miracles be the foundation of our faith and hope. We must not be naïve and sentimental about how healing works with Jesus. Not everyone with faith experiences physical healing. Tragedy is something that people of faith can experience. Not every story has a happy ending. And, of course, we will all die no matter how much faith we have in Jesus to heal. These stories of healing we hear about this morning are not so much about the faith of the woman and of Jairus, although that is part of it. They both had faith Jesus could heal and were desperate enough to have that faith because they saw no other option. But these healing miracles are more about revealing who Jesus is as the Son of God. They testify to his power. It’s just naïve to think that all you have to do is have faith that Jesus can heal you and that’s that. Not everyone with faith gets healed. Young people die, no matter how much faith in Jesus their parents might have.

            Still, there is something we can take from these miracles that can serve us through times of suffering and death, either the death of someone we love, the deaths of strangers in newsrooms or high school campuses, or any other tragedies we experience. When Jairus was told that his daughter had died, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” There’s power in that. Jairus was given factual information. His daughter was dead. But the subtext of that statement, the narrative behind it, was “Jesus can’t help you now. It’s hopeless.” It’s that narrative that Jesus came into this world to refute. See, in this life, no matter how bad things get, Jesus can always help us. Because of Jesus we always have hope. If we would but believe that to be so. It is belief, trust, faith that Jesus is our help in time of need, that in Jesus there is an abundant hope, it is this belief that gets us through the tough times. It is this belief that even can help us heal from the hurts and cuts that life brings us.

            I suspect for each one of us, in the years since 2006, some things have happened in your life that you need healed from. Maybe it is a chronic physical condition. Maybe it is a strained or broken relationship. Maybe your heart continues to hurt after the passing away of someone you dearly love. Surely over a 12 year period, something has happened to you that needs healing. I think that as we bring to mind even those points of hurt, injury, illness, brokenness, that Jesus would say to you and me, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” No quick fix. No instant healing. And maybe the healing never fully realizes in this life. But faith in Jesus does make it possible for you and me to keep moving forward, moving toward our own healing, if we not be afraid and believe in Jesus.

            Twelve years from now will be 2030. We will be at the beginning of the third decade of the 21^st century. Imagine how much healing and hope will be needed for the next 12 years: not just in your own life, or that of your family, but of this nation, and of this world. As we open our eyes wider and look around us, and particularly on the body that is the United States, we find countless wounds. And we hear the cries, from street corners, detention centers, prison cells, drug houses, and sweat shops. We live in a time perhaps closing in on desperation, a time that demands of us not to be afraid, and to only believe in the power of Jesus to heal. This kind of faith will be required of us for the next 12 years and beyond. Friends, now is the time to believe that Jesus can heal. And then, like the woman and like Jairus, it is time to pursue Jesus, to push through the crowd and noise, the distractions, the provocateurs perpetuating hate and division and the false hopes of discredited ideology, and pursue Jesus, reach out to Jesus, touch Jesus, the one who is found among the least of these, the one who is found among the discarded and dismissed, the one who is found in the halls of power and privilege. Jesus is everywhere and is ready to bring about healing, if we but reach out and point others to his healing presence. No one is without Jesus. No one is without hope. There is so much healing work that we all need to be about doing. And I don’t see it letting up any time soon.

            Even as we turn to Jesus and reach out to be healed from our past, let us be encouraged that Jesus our healer will be with us in the years ahead. As long as we are alive there is hope. And even when we reach life’s end on this earth, faith, hope and love endure. So we must press forward with our faith in Jesus, our hope in God, and the spirit of love working her way through all we think and do. Now is the time to persevere. I read of someone meeting her Lyft driver to go somewhere and he asked her how she was doing. She said “fine” and asked how he was doing. He said, “Broken, but not dead. Broken, but not dead.” Isn’t that true for all of us? We are all broken, and we live in a broken church, located in a broken city, in a broken nation on a broken world. But we are not dead. And so we live, and move, and do healing work, with hope.

Getting Through Transitions

Based on 1 Samuel 17:32-49

First delivered June 24, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            Israel found themselves in a stalemate. They were squared up against the army of the Philistines on land that had a high level of economic and strategic importance. It was land that Israel really needed to secure. But nobody wanted to fight. Both the Philistines and Israel held steady. It was as if everyone was waiting for the other side to blink, or to accidentally shoot an arrow to trigger the battle. But no one was budging. They just all stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do.

            This stalemate on the battlefield revealed the frustration that everyone in Israel must have felt during this time of transition. What I mean is, there was no leadership. Saul was still technically their king. He should have been out there, leading the charge. But he was nowhere to be seen. He was abdicating his responsibility. Yet one more sign of his failure as a king. And because he was not assuming his position of leadership everything was at a standstill. Israel was stuck. In times of transition, including transitions of leadership, there is great potential to get stuck in place. With nobody calling the shots, nobody knows what to do or whether they should make a move. Being stuck like this, with no leadership and no direction, is very frustrating.

            There is something else with transition that this deadlock reveals and that is fear. It appears that the Israelites were afraid of this well-organized and solid Philistine army. And they were certainly afraid of their champion Goliath. Israel’s future did not look good. They feared for their lives. Everyone was afraid to fight Goliath one-on-one, knowing for sure they would be killed. They feared becoming an enslaved people again. They were afraid of losing all that they had gained. Leaderless and with no good options. That’s a good recipe for fear.

            Well, if David has any fear, it does not block him from responding. He is by no means frozen in place. Maybe it was his youthful exuberance. Maybe he was naïve about the predicament that Israel found themselves in. Or maybe it was because he already knew that he was a king in waiting, anointed, filled with the Spirit, and confident of his future as well as the future of Israel. Whatever it was, David was not intimidated by Goliath or the Philistine army. Instead, in this context of frustration and fear, David was full of confidence. He had a serious amount of intestinal fortitude.

            Where does his confidence come from? Surely his confidence was not placed in Saul. And he may not have had a lot of confidence in Israel’s army. He seemed to have a bit of confidence in himself. At least that’s what he is projecting to Saul when he expresses doubt that David has the capacity to face down and defeat Goliath. David said that there were times when he had to face down lions and bears as a shepherd. If one of those beasts took one of his sheep he would smash it in the mouth and take that sheep out of their jaws. And if they confronted him he could kill that lion or bear with his bare hands. Really? That sounds a bit preposterous. But I don’t think David’s confidence only was in his fighting abilities against wild beasts.

            No, his confidence was rooted in God. He knew that the God that had led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, who had worked all kinds of powerful signs and wonders, who had led Israel to this point of possessing the land of promise, that surely God would somehow make a way out of no way to deliver Israel from this Philistine army and their champion Goliath. It didn’t matter how dire the situation looked. God was greater than the Philistines and their gods. So that is why David was so confident that he could beat Goliath. He knew that the battle belongs to the Lord.

            However, David also knew that this battle that the Lord would win had to be fought by Israel. God wasn’t going to bring a big hand down from the sky and fling the Philistines aside like they were a bunch of toy soldiers. No, Israel would have to engage the Philistines in battle. Or, more specifically, someone was going to have to confront Goliath. God would take out Goliath. But it would be through the effort of David, since no one else was stepping up.

            When we go through times of transition, either as an individual, a family, or even as a church, David demonstrates for us the value of having confidence in God. No matter how frustrating or fearful a time of transition is, God is sufficient. God is able to make a way out of no way. Not by magic. Not by coercion. God gets us through times of transition by working through the efforts of those who place their confidence in God. That’s so important in the uncertain times of transition: to put your confidence in God and then act. Find a place where help is needed, where you can contribute, and dig in. It is those who have confidence in God who have to step up.

            So with confidence in God, David steps up to do what needs done, which is to face down and kill Goliath. David doesn’t just run out there on his own, however. He knows the protocol. He needs Saul’s permission since he is still the king after all, even though he isn’t acting very king-like. Saul tries to talk David out of it but probably not too hard. I doubt if Saul wants to be shown up by some kid. Saul knew this was a fool’s errand, no matter what David said about the battle belonging to the Lord or his supposed ability to kill lions and bears with his own hands. It’s probably for the best. David the shepherd boy would be the sacrificial lamb. Israel would be enslaved by the Philistines. Hopefully Saul will be able to work out some deal to at least stay alive. They would all muddle through somehow. So Saul has David try on his armor and strap on his sword. It may give the boy some protection. And, who knows. This may work out for Saul. See, if David goes out there wearing Saul’s armor, including having the visor down on the helmet so no one can see his face, Israel may think that is Saul out there facing down Goliath. But when “Saul” gets killed and everyone is in a panic, Saul could run away and hide somewhere to bide his time. Maybe someday he will be able to put together a mercenary army who could then go in there and wipe out the Philistines when they least expect it. Then he would deliver the people from slavery and be a great hero.

            But, that’s not going to happen. David tries Saul’s stuff on but it’s not a good fit. It weighs him down. It doesn’t feel right. And David isn’t a swordsman so that won’t do him any good. No, David decides to let Saul keep his things. David will confront Goliath with his own clothing and his own gear. He’s no warrior. He doesn’t need to pretend he is someone else. David has the wisdom to know he just needs to be himself. David knew he didn’t need to be someone else. He knew that God could use him to win this battle just as he was. So whatever ruse Saul might have been planning doesn’t pan out. David was confident that God could use him just as he was to win this battle.

            But, you know, it was a smart move for David to stick with who he is because it gave David an advantage over Goliath. For one thing, not being weighed down with all that armor, David could move quickly. It would be easier for him to dodge Goliath’s blows with his great sword. But, the chance of Goliath even getting that close would be avoided because David’s weapon of choice was not something that he would need to be close to Goliath to use. No, David’s slingshot was basically a missile launcher. He would be able to hit Goliath far away from his swing. David would be able to take down Goliath before Goliath could ever get in range to do any damage to him. Goliath, of course, helped David out by not lowering the visor on his helmet, leaving his big forehead vulnerable for a well-placed river stone. And with one shot, Goliath goes down. I would say God might have had a little hand in nudging that stone along.

            But now look. After this great victory, of David taking down the mighty Goliath, the people don’t grab a throne and a crown and put David on it. No, he still is a king in waiting. Saul, their “leader” who was hanging out in his tent while all this was going on remains their king. The time of transition continues in spite of this great triumph of David’s. Transitions can take a lot longer than we wish. People in positions of power and authority don’t drift away quickly or easily. And now that David has accomplished this great feat of valor, he now has Saul’s attention in a big way. Let’s just say Saul isn’t as enthusiastic as everyone else. David has proved himself to be a threat. And for quite some time after this victory on the battle field, Saul will seek out ways to get rid of David. So, yes, one victory wasn’t enough to end this time of transition for the people Israel. Transitions can be frustrating. They can be scary. And they can stretch out for a long while.

            So, whenever we find ourselves in times of transition, whether that be a change in employment, or a change of bosses, or a change in relationship status, say from married to widowhood, able bodied to disabled in some way, whatever that change is, what can we learn from David?

            The first thing we learn is to trust in God. No matter what transition you are having to move through, no matter how frustrating or scary, believe that God is able. Believe that God always desires what is the very best for you. Believe that God is on your side, fighting alongside you, always at work trying to make a way forward that will be a great blessing for you. It’s important to put your trust in other people who care about you. It’s important to trust your own instincts and abilities. But most important of all, trust in God, who is our deliverer, our rock, our anchor in the storms of transition.

            Second, do not be afraid. Or, if that’s not realistic, try not to let your fears freeze you into inaction or to panic. Courage is the capacity to act in spite of fear. Fear has its benefits. It prevents us from doing stupid stuff. It is an alarm bell signifying that there is danger. Fear is a built in warning system for us. But that doesn’t mean that when the fear alarm goes off we need to curl into a ball, close and lock the doors of our life and hide until the fear goes away. Times of transition are scary because we are moving into the unknown. It’s prudent to be careful when you venture into the unknown. But not venturing in is not an option. Transitions happen to us and we have to make our way through them the best we can. Fear reminds us that we are in a dangerous space. But we have to find the intestinal fortitude, helped along by our trust in God, to move forward in spite of our fear. That’s what courage is.

            Trust in God. Do not be afraid. And third, be yourself. Do what you can to move forward in times of transition. David knew he didn’t need to be a mighty warrior to take out Goliath. He was convinced that God could use him for that purpose just as he was, a shepherd boy. If you have some courage and are true to yourself, God can work with that. But you do have to do something. Don’t be like the Israelite army and just stand around. Look around and see what is a positive productive thing you can do in whatever transition you find yourself and do that. God is right there with you to help you as you respond the best way you know how. And don’t say things like, “But, I’m not (fill in the blank)” or “but I can’t (fill in the blank).” If you trust God and act with courage, then you are making yourself available for what God wants to accomplish through you. God can work with you just as you are. You don’t have to be anyone other than yourself.

            And finally, remember that times of transition can last longer than you would like. Most of us crave order and certainty. We have our routines. We have our relationships that mean so much to us. We have our skills and abilities that we count on to function. And when we lose any of this and we enter into a time of transition, it throws our lives out of whack. No one wants to live in a time of chaos and uncertainty for long. But, guess what. Transitions are going to take as long as they need to take and we have little say on how long that is. And if you think about it our lives are just one long transition from one phase of life to the next, until our life ends and we enter into the transition into the life to come. So maybe we shouldn’t think that if we just hold on and muddle through somehow everything will sort itself out and life will be well ordered and certain. I kind of think such a life doesn’t last long. No, I think we all need to settle in to the reality that our whole life is one big transition. So to make it through, let’s take the lessons from David: trust God, do not be afraid, be yourself and do what you can do. And settle in for the lifelong adventure of transitions.

A King in Waiting

Based on 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            Things didn’t work out for Saul, the man whom God had appointed to be the first king of Israel. He offered up an unlawful sacrifice to God. He made rash oaths. He rebelled against what God instructed him to do. He was stubborn and greedy. He lacked the character of a king. And the people suffered for it. Saul is an example of wasted potential. Because of how Saul had performed as a king, the time was approaching toward crisis. These were challenging times for the people.

            As Samuel the elder looked upon the state of the people, and the failures of the man he anointed to be king, he was struck with grief. It was so sad and disappointing how things had gone. Sitting alone at his house, Samuel wept, hurting for his people. But Samuel wasn’t the only one who was grieving. God also was grieving over how things were turning out. In fact, we read in scripture that God regretted selecting Saul to be the king. How could God be regretful? Didn’t the all-knowing God have prior knowledge that things would turn out this way? Regret presumes that things don’t go as planned. So we learn something about God here. God selected Saul because God knew the potential Saul had to be a great and faithful king. That was the plan. But free will means that God’s expectations don’t always pan out. Even God can realize that in hindsight God would have done something different. It’s not that God made a mistake. It’s just that Saul failed to be who God knew he could be. And so, God grieved over Saul and regretted having him anointed.

            But God did not stew in God’s grief for long. Even though things didn’t work out, God wasn’t giving up. God was already at work, planning the next move, for the sake of God’s people. God remains engaged, even though nothing is working out as God originally intended. You might remember that God never intended that the people have a king. God was their king. They didn’t need a human king. But the people wanted to be like all the other peoples, so they demanded a king of their own. Even though this went against God’s purposes, God responded to the pleas of the people and selected someone for Samuel to anoint as king. It reminds me of where Paul describes the characteristics of love, saying that love does not insist on its own way.

            Now that things have gone badly, God didn’t petulantly say, “See, I told you so!” Until the people said to God that they no longer wanted a king, God knew that there would be need for another king to take Saul’s place when he dies. So God went to work, to find someone to take Saul’s place. That’s another thing we learn about God. God works with what is, not with how God wishes things were. God deals with reality and works with the situation as it is to make things the best they can be. God is always at work trying to make the best of every situation. This demonstrates the grace and faithfulness of God. When Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden because of their rebellion, God provided clothing for them. When Moses shattered the stone tablets upon which were etched the Ten Commandments in his rage against the people who had made the golden calf, God later provided another set. And when the first king God provided failed to live up to what a king should be, God provided another. God never walks away. God keeps on doing what God can do to provide a future with hope.

            Now while Samuel was still at home grieving, God was already prepared to move forward. That includes giving Samuel an assignment. God says to Samuel, “Why are you still grieving over Saul? I have rejected him as king. Fill your horn with oil and get yourself to Bethlehem.” Was God irritated with Samuel? I don’t think so. When God asked Samuel that question about why he is still grieving over Saul, I imagine God said that out of a place of empathy. After all, God had been grieving too. And I bet God was still grieving, even as God was preparing to move forward. Everyone grieves differently. And there is a need to be still and sit in our grief. But we can’t sit in our grief forever. Even though grief lingers, we have to move forward with our lives. We have to keep on living. So I believe it is with gentleness that God asks the question of Samuel and gives him something to do that is helpful. God’s assignment for Samuel is to take part in the next faithful step toward a better future for God’s people. I can imagine that both God and now Samuel start taking the steps necessary to change things for the better even though the heaviness of grief remains on their hearts.

            And move forward they did. God had seen enough. Saul was rejected by God as the king. Someone had to take Saul’s place. A transition of leadership needed to occur. But God wasn’t going to wait until Saul was dead to make the move. You remember earlier I said that God is always engaged, trying to make any situation better. What I mean is that God is constantly engaged and responding. It doesn’t seem to be God’s character to sit around and wait things out. Of course, God decided not to arrange for Saul’s assassination either. Instead, God decided to go ahead and select Saul’s replacement and have him anointed the king, even while Saul was still on the throne. God was getting things set up so that when Saul died, the transition to the next king would be as smooth as possible.

            So Samuel goes to Bethlehem with a heifer for sacrifice as a means to get Jesse and his sons together. And as Jesse’s first born son comes before Samuel, he pulls out his horn of oil, sure that this must be the one God has chosen. It makes perfect sense. Not only is Eliab the oldest son, but he looks like a king. He was tall, dark and handsome, so to speak. But he is not the one God has chosen. We find one of the best known passages of scripture, where God says, “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” God knows what is most important about you and me, and that is what kind of person we are on the inside. And the good news here is that there is little we can do with our physical appearance, aside various body modifications. But there is a lot about what we can do on our inside. We can make our hearts grow larger and softer. We can engage in a process of maturity that makes us more and more beautiful and noble on the inside.

            But there is something else I want to highlight. Like I said a minute ago, God didn’t wait for Saul to die before taking action. God has David anointed king but David doesn’t go straight to the throne. He becomes a king in waiting. And it will not be an easy path for David. In fact, he is about to enter into a time of great danger. He will face down Goliath. He will be engaged in battle. He will have to watch his back as Saul attempts to take his life. And through all the struggle that he will endure, he knows that he has been anointed to be king. He knows who he is destined to be even as he patiently waits for his destiny to manifest.

            There’s one more thing I want to highlight about David. We read that when he was anointed by Samuel, that the Spirit came upon him and continued to pour out on him from that day forward. That does not typically happen in those days. Saul received an outpouring of the Spirit, but only on a couple occasions. For David it is non-stop. The Spirit will continue to come upon David day by day, an ever fresh outpouring of the Spirit of life. It is as if God is going all out to make sure that David has what he needs to be successful so that he doesn’t turn out like Saul did. And, as it turns out, David becomes the gold standard when it comes to being king, in spite of his deep flaws. David was far from perfect. But with God’s help, and that continuous outpouring of the Spirit, David was the best king Israel ever had.

            And this is where I want to bring you and me into this story. If you think about it, our situation has some points of contact with David’s. First of all, just as David is a king, you and I are royalty as well. You remember I talked about this a few weeks ago. Peter identifies us as a royal priesthood. Paul said that we are co-heirs with Christ, who is our king. We have a royal identity.

            Second, just as the Spirit was poured continually onto David, so we are continuously receiving an outpouring of the Spirit. When the church came online that Pentecost, and the Spirit came down upon all who were gathered in that room, Peter declared that the Spirit is now being poured out on all people. The Spirit of God has been set loose in the world. That same Spirit is filling us, day by day. Oh we can squash the Spirit that is within us by our own willfulness or inattentiveness. But we are vessels of the Holy Spirit. Clay vessels to be sure. But the Spirit of God is being poured into us continuously, as God has determined to do. God does everything God knows to do to help us be all God desires us to be.

            And last, just as David was a king in waiting, having to go through a time of struggle and danger during the time of transition until he became king, so we are royals in waiting. One day we will reign with Christ. But now we have to live out our lives in struggle and danger. We know who we are. We are children of God. We are destined to share in the coming reign of God. Until then, we have to face our Goliaths. We have to fight some battles. We have to contend with the occasional betrayal. Sometimes some of us have to watch our backs. But as we live out our lives through this time of transition, from this life to the life to come, we can live it with confidence because we too have the Spirit of God to guide and strengthen us all along the way.

Chidren of the Triune God

Trinity Sunday 2018

Based on Romans 8:12-17

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer. Even though summer doesn’t begin until June 21, we all are starting to transition into what I call “summer mode.” Those of us with kids in school are transitioning from the school schedule to the summer schedule. This means longer days filled with all kinds of different activities: a summer job, camps, vacations, festivals, weekend getaways.

            But the transition into summer mode isn’t the only transition that happens this time of year. High school graduates are transitioning into college life or vocational training. College graduates are transitioning into graduate school or into a career. June is the most popular month to get married, and marriage is one of the biggest transitions in life. In a few weeks at annual conference people will be commissioned or ordained. Churches across our conference are experiencing the transition of a change of appointment of their pastor. In many ways, this time of year is a time of transition.

            With this in mind, I am inviting us all to transition from “thinking about doing” and “talking about doing” to action. The time has come for all of us to find a place in our life together and dig in. Now, I’m not saying we haven’t been active already! Obviously, we all are busy people with busy lives. And we fill our days with lots of activity. Rather, what I am asking us to do is to increase our level of engagement with the church. For St. Luke’s to thrive, each of us has to do our part. And I believe that there is something each one of us can do. If you believe you are already doing all you can do, God bless you. If you have been sitting back and waiting to see how things turn out, my word to you is, grab an oar and start paddling. We are all in this together.

            We begin this season of transition from thinking about and talking about into action on a Sunday that is a transitional Sunday in the Christian year. We are moving into a period that is sometimes called “ordinary time.” That doesn’t mean this is a time of the year that is ordinary or plain. What it means is that liturgically we number each Sunday after Pentecost, ordinal being another word for number. This is the first Sunday after Pentecost. We keep numbering these Sundays all the way to the end of November, when we begin a new year with the start of Advent.

            This transitional Sunday, from the Easter season into ordinary time is called Trinity Sunday. This is the only Sunday of the year that is dedicated to a Christian doctrine. The Trinity, of course, is central to what we believe as Christians, that God is known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three Persons in one God. We don’t believe in three gods. We believe in one God who is three Persons, co-equal, of the same essence, and so completely interrelated that the three act in total harmony. The doctrine of the trinity seeks to communicate how profoundly relational God is at God’s very core.

            Now the doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery that I’m not going to take time here to explain. It’s too difficult to explain how it is that one plus one plus one equals one. It’s a mind bender. And the attempted explanations across the centuries are more or less convincing. We claim it is true because in our tradition when we are talking about divine things we speak of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When Jesus gave his great commission, he called on his apostles to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So we know these three persons go together, but we don’t worship them as three gods. We only worship one. And how to make sense of this is a real puzzle and I’m not going to try to explain it now.

            Instead, I want to help us claim and celebrate that we live our life in a relationship with the Triune God. It makes all the difference that we relate to God as Father, as Son and as Holy Spirit. It makes a difference as we move into this time of transition into greater commitment to live our lives with God.

            I want to start by talking about the Holy Spirit, which is known by many names in our tradition. In the scripture passage read this morning, the spirit is named the spirit of adoption. As a person who was adopted, I am always attentive when the scripture speaks of adoption. Those of us who are adopted have the advantage of knowing more deeply what it means to be adopted. The first thing I want to say about this is that adopted children are in every way the children of their adoptive parents save genetics. I was adopted as a baby. My mom and dad are the only parents I’ve known. They are my parents like anyone else. The only difference is that I am not biologically related to them. The second thing about adoption is the fact that I was chosen by my adoptive parents. By their own free will they chose me to be their son. They didn’t have to be my parents. It was their decision to adopt me.

            So keep these two points in mind when we reflect on how we have received the spirit of adoption. Our relationship with God is marked by the spirit of adoption. First, we are in every way sons and daughters of God, save genetics. By that I mean that we don’t share the same essence as God. God is divine and we are not. Other than that, God is in every way our father/mother/parent and we are God’s children. Isn’t that amazing? I find this faith claim to be very moving and empowering. Second, it is by God’s own free will that we are children of God. God made the decision to claim us as God’s own children. Now I don’t want to push this too hard. God is love. So how could God have freely chosen anything other than to claim us as God’s children? How could God choose not to claim us? Still, I want to affirm that God was not coerced into choosing us. It is God’s deep desire to be in relation to us as our divine parent. God wants us as God’s children. That’s what is so moving to me. You and I are desperately wanted by God. This is what the spirit of adoption means in our relationship with God.

            But there’s one other person that is included in our adoption. Along with the Spirit and the Father is the Son, Jesus. If Jesus is God’s son, that means that Jesus is our brother. In fact, the only thing that makes us different from Jesus is that we don’t share the same genetics. Jesus is the natural son of God. That means they share the same genetics. They are both divine. Other than that, it is entirely appropriate to think of Jesus as our brother, and to love him as a brother. I can imagine that if my parents had a natural son or daughter they would have been my brother or sister in every way but genetics. It wouldn’t have made any difference if we were not biologically related to each other. We would still be family.

            And that’s the overall point here. You and I are a part of a global family. By God’s action, you and I are brothers and sisters to each other. We all share the same brother, whose name is Jesus. And we are all children of God. We are in truth one big family. Imagine how different the world would be if we identified every person on earth as our brother or sister. It would absolutely revolutionize the world.

            This is what is so awesome, and worth remembering as we continue to live out our days. We are all the adopted children of God. And because of this relationship, we share in the inheritance of our brother Jesus. Jesus has a promised inheritance as the king of kings and lord of lords. So if he is our brother, that puts us into a royal family. In fact, that’s what Peter wrote in one of his letters, that you and I are royalty. A royal priesthood is how Peter identified us.

            I can’t help but think of Meghan Markle, who entered St. George’s chapel as a commoner and came out as a princess, the duchess of Sussex. Her very identity changed, as well as the rest of her life. Kim saw a meme of Meghan looking blissfully into the eyes of Harry at the wedding and the meme said, “The look on your face when you realize you will never have to do laundry again.” But really, her life has changed in such a profound way. But her life is not going to be just sitting around being waited on hand and foot. She’s going to be busy, appearing everywhere, engaging in all kinds of events, fulfilling an exhausting set of responsibilities. You could say that she’s going to be too busy to do her laundry if she even wanted to.

            Now, obviously, when I talk about us being royalty, I’m not talking about how we need to understand ourselves to be just like Princess Meghan. It would be kind of sweet to live in a castle, ride around in a carriage and go to all those fancy parties. But, that’s not the nature of our royalty. The kingdom we are part of is not anywhere close to that of the British monarchy. It is so much greater and lasting. Our kingdom is the kingdom of God, whose reign is over the entire universe. So, yeah, it’s a whole different thing.

            Because of who we are, as children of God, we are to follow the leading of the Sprit. That’s what Paul wrote, “those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” And how does that work? It works when we ask ourselves, “What would a child of God do?” And then we listen to what our heart tells us. Why our heart and not our head? Because the Spirit lives in our heart, not in our heads. I’m not saying our heads aren’t important. Our heads help us figure out how to respond. But it is by listening to our heart that we get a sense of what we need to do. Our hearts guide us as to what to do and our heads guide us in how to do it.

            Because of who we are, as children of God, we live with gratitude to God for what God has done for us, that God has claimed us as God’s children. Paul wrote, “so then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors.” That is, we are in God’s debt. Have you heard of stories where someone saves somebody’s life? So often, when the one who was saved expresses gratitude to the person that saved them, they will say something like, “I am forever in your debt.” This person owes their very life to the person that saved them. In a similar way we owe our lives to God who saves us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who has defeated the power of death and who has given us the promise of everlasting life. We truly owe our lives to God. That’s the kind of debt that we have toward God, a debt of gratitude, devotion, and service.

            Finally, because of who we are, as children of God, we endure the suffering that comes with living in this world knowing that we have a share in the glory of Jesus. Life is full of suffering of all different kinds, physical, emotional, even spiritual. Life is hard. And sometimes the suffering is nearly overwhelming. But what can keep us from being completely undone by the suffering we must endure is to remember to whom we belong. Each of us is a child of God. Each of us has a share in God’s everlasting kingdom. Each of us possesses dignity, even nobility, as princes and princesses of the king. And when we contemplate our status as sons and daughters of God, and the share we possess in the glory of Jesus our brother, we are able to rise above, to endure our suffering with dignity and grace, mindful of the suffering that Jesus endured, and the suffering that God endures as God experiences the suffering with us. We do not ever suffer alone. With this hope, we can endure. We can break out of that which seeks to bind us and sap the life out of us: the bondage of grief, the bondage of loss, the bondage of fear, the bondage of no longer caring. We can always remember who we are, breathe in deeply the spirt of life, remember that Jesus said he will never leave us or forsake us, and continue moving forward under the loving care of our divine parent.

            The decision is yours. There is so much that needs doing, not only in our life together as a church but the vast, immeasurable need all around us in our community. Are you weary? Place your burdens in the strong hands of our Father/Mother God. Are you uninspired? Imagine Jesus walking by your side, the same one who died on the cross for your sake and who rose from the dead. Be inspired by his way of life, the things he did, the things he taught. Are you lost and not sure what to do? Listen to your heart, where the Holy Spirit lives. Let your heart guide you to where you need to be and what you need to do. But most of all, remember who you are. Live your life as a child of God who is known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Spirt Removes Barriers

Based on Acts 2:1-21

Pentecost 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

This message has a different ending. At the service where I delivered this talk, I led in to an invitation for people who had sensed a call from God to a particular form of ministry to come forward for a prayer of consecration. Seven people came forward!

            This is the day of Pentecost. It’s the day when we remember when the Spirit was poured out on the disciples of Jesus and the witness of the church began. Many consider Pentecost to mark the birth of the church. I have even heard of some churches who throw a birthday party for the church, complete with birthday cake. But Pentecost is not just a Christian holiday that marks the official end of the Easter season. This is also a festival kept by those who practice the Jewish faith, marking fifty days after the feast of Passover. It is called Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks. In the days of Jesus, this feast was a celebration of the first harvest of grain, which would be the wheat harvest. So this was a day to give thanks to God but also a reason to party. This day was also a remembrance of when Moses received the Ten Commandments, which took place fifty days after the Israelites fled from Egypt.

            Let’s take a minute and revisit how the giving of the Ten Commandments took place. The people had journeyed through the wilderness, making their way to the holy mountain, Mt. Sinai. As they approached, on the top of the mountain there was fire and smoke, lightening, the earth was shaking, it was if Mt. Sinai was an active volcano, like we have been watching in Hawaii the past few weeks. As you might imagine, nobody wanted to go up the mountain to meet with God. It was frightening! So Moses went up the mountain by himself.

            All that fire and smoke that signaled the presence of God was yet another of the many demonstrations of God’s deeds of power. We remember all the ways God demonstrated power through the process of getting Israel out of Egypt, with the sending of the various plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. God’s presence at the summit of Mt. Sinai with the fire and smoke was yet one more example. And as Moses was with God on the top of the mountain, God gave Moses the two tablets upon which was etched the Ten Commandments. The gift of these commandments helped to firm up a covenant between God and the children of Abraham. God had chosen them to be God’s people and had delivered them from slavery. How might they give their devotion and service to the God who had claimed them and saved them? The Commandments were given so the people would know what their God expects of them. The covenantal relationship between God and Israel was forged.

            Now we skip ahead a few thousand years, on the day of Pentecost, the first religious festival after the death of Jesus, although there were rumors that Jesus had come back to life. Jews from all across the world were in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot. And then, all of a sudden, God showed up in a powerful way. It wasn’t quite like a volcano eruption, but it was noisy, there was a mighty wind, and there were flames of fire. Before, God’s presence was way up on the top of the mountain and Moses alone had to hike up to the top. But this time the presence of God came down right into the midst of the apostles and all who were gathered with them in that house. The Spirit didn’t come down on one person, say, Peter. No, the Spirit descended upon all who were gathered inside.

            The noise, the wind, the fire, all of this must have gotten the attention of all those people in the area. They must have been perplexed about what was happening at that house, where there was wind and flame but the house wasn’t burning down. What is going on over there? And as people drew near, all those inside the house came bursting outside speaking of the mighty deeds of God in the native languages of all those Jews gathered around them. One hundred and twenty people streaming out into the streets declaring with boldness the mighty deeds of God. It was noisy! The streets of Jerusalem were already filled with noise and commotion, with all those people from out of town, all those people gathered for the religious ceremony and for the parties. It took a big splash to get the attention of the city. And so God acted in a way that captured the attention of everyone and filled the people with amazement and wonder as they saw Galileans speaking perfect Latin, Greek, Arabic, or whatever native language was yours. Absolutely bewildering.

            Peter then quiets the crowd gathered around them and, while still filled with the Spirit, Peter proclaims his first sermon. Using as his text the prophet Joel, Peter proclaims that the Spirit of God is descending on all people, men and women, boys and girls, from all walks and stations in life. All people means all, not some, not many, all. And Peter goes on to say that all who call on the name of the Lord, not some, not many, all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.  And on that day we are told that 3,000 were baptized and added to the number of believers.

            What an awesome act of power God displayed on that day of Pentecost in Jerusalem a few thousand years ago. It was an act of power that drove the disciples out of that building and on to the streets. It was a force that could not be contained within four walls. They had to go out as they spoke of the mighty deeds of God. They went to where the people were. But they didn’t speak in Hebrew, or even in Aramaic unless that was your native language. No, they spoke in whatever language was needed so that the person they spoke to understood what they were saying. No translating was required. Any communication barrier was broken down by an act of God. In fact, everything that happened on that Pentecost day was the breaking down of barriers: the barrier of where God would be present, not on a faraway mountain top but right in the middle of the room where all the disciples were gathered. The barrier of walls and doors were broken down as the disciples rushed out into the streets. The barrier of not knowing the language of others was removed so that people could understand each other. The proclamation was made that the Spirit comes down not on one or two, or some, or even many, but upon everyone. The proclamation was made that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, Jew and Gentile. Yes, what happened that Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem was God’s action of removing all barriers, so that all can experience the power of God with joy and wonder.

            The outpouring of the Spirit continues to this day. Have you felt it? Have you ever sensed the presence of God in your midst? Sure, we don’t experience the presence of God in a mighty wind and flames of fire. It’s rarely that dramatic. But we experience that lump in the throat, a racing heart, the tightness of the stomach, the goosebumps, the catching of the breath, the shedding of a tear, when we find ourselves in the presence of holiness, of purity, of love. That is the Spirit of God manifesting herself to us. And sometimes that same Spirit fills us up, lifts us up, and gives us the power and courage to act in ways that manifest love in the world. Sometimes the Spirit prompts us to speak to others with the language that everyone understands, the language of love. Sometimes the Spirit prompts us to tell our God story, how we have experienced God in our lives, to give a witness.

            And sometimes the Spirit of God prompts us to do a particular kind of ministry, a specific way to express God’s love in the world. I want to invite those who have shared with me that God has placed a ministry on their heart, to come forward. And if you never got around to telling me, but you sense that God is calling you to do something, come forward so that we can pray for you, asking God’s blessing on you as you respond to the leading of God’s Spirit. You may have an idea of what that something is. But maybe it isn’t that clear. You know that there is something God wants you to do, but you can’t quite put it into words. Or maybe right now you just feel that nudge to come forward, please come so we can pray for you. All of you who come down, I invite you to share with us in just a sentence or two what you are being called to do. I will go first…