Tell Me Again

At home I was told- “look it’s 10 days to Christmas, just tell good news.” Which is kind of ironic since earlier this week at our pastor’s Bible study we were talking about this week and what we were preaching and a couple of us talked about how this year we had committed to preaching Isaiah. And one person kind of lamented that decision, saying that this week’s reading is pretty much just a repeat of last week. Peaceable kingdom, things growing where once things were barren, hope and peace for God’s children. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Won’t that sound kind of cliché and repetitive?

Which got me to thinking. That the real irony is that we’ll listen to the same bad news- death, violence, destruction, anxiety and hopelessness-over and over and over again. And seemingly never tire of it. Two weeks in a row of good news?

Well then the news of the week happened- and again I stand before you to proclaim good news in a world that cannot fathom yet another school shooting, much less frankly the rest of the news of violence and despair. We think we are living in an ever changing advancing world, but we are actually just doing variations on the same unholy theme.

Why do we just keep singing the same old song? Aren’t we finding it kind of lifeless?

Tell me again, why do we do that?

Tell me again.

If you’ve ever watched TV shows or movies, there is a dramatic move called “tell me again.” Like when two people are shown in a car headed somewhere and the passenger turns to the driver and says something like, “tell me again why we’re doing this?” As they drive into the storm. It functions for the character to say out loud what everyone else is thinking- and helps the audience know where the story is going.

Tell me again. This is what John the Baptist is asking. Some people think this is about John wanting to make sure he’s not wasting his time. But John is in prison and he knows his life is likely to be at risk. He’s asking Jesus to tell him again to be reassured. Tell me again- are you really the ONE? Tell me you’ve got this.

That was what was on my mind this week- and maybe yours too. As I am frankly impatient with God. I have a holy longing. Today again we light that pink candle and share words of rejoicing, knowing they are dulled by violence and darkness, we talk of being cared for but are nursing a hunger in moments of doubt and desolation. Tell me again, Jesus.

And so I imagine John there in prison- it’s dark, and foreboding, and he’s separated from the energy of the movement he helped prepare. And he’s said all those prophetic words, but had to be weighed down with disillusionment over the world as it was, and his state. Stuck waiting, not really living and facing death. Will it really be as you say, Jesus?

And Jesus tells him the prophecy is being made true. And I imagine all the imagery of Isaiah dancing in his head perhaps- that suddenly a parched desert will be watered and life on hold will burst forth. And what seems treacherous will be made safe. That the way that has been prepared is being further prepared- healing and wholeness are beginning.

Many of us know that when we have doubts and sorrows, we find it almost impossible to believe there will again be joy, that sorrow will be followed again by gladness. Just like when the seasons bring dormant times, it can seem like they will never change. And if you stand in the desert when it is dry and parched, unless you saw pictures and heard stories of the blanket of riotous flowers you’d never believe it would happen. But it does.

Especially in the desert where it seems God knows that cacti need to have not just a flower, but a riot of color to prove it. That after months of nothing, it seems it suddenly blooms. Just like my mother-in-law’s Christmas cactus. After months of tending it, she’ll invariably say- tell me again why I tend this thing?  Wondering but one day you walk in and there’s the first hot pink bloom. And then within days- a shower of flowers spill forth. Sometimes not even for Christmas at all, but in November or March. Proof that you never know when, you just know to look for it. And that one time of blooming may not be enough. Truth is we never tire of it no matter how often it breaks forth.

It’s like God’s good news for us. Breaking forth in the word and meal to reassure us, and meet us in our waiting and longing. Where we find ourselves saying- tell me again. And God is found in our stories of where healing happens, when rejoicing comes, and how new life emerges. God present as we remind ourselves of the places we can only explain by saying God has been at work on the way. You are the one we wait for, O God. And it’s happening even though we do not see it in its fullness. Help us keep with you on the holy way, knowing you’ve got  this. That’s why we keep telling the same good news. To be met by Christ who knows we struggle to rejoice and believe but meets us with words of hope and good news. And so we look and we work and we pray- Tell us again and help us find your way. Amen.

 

Lost and Found Angels

After my sermon,

she came to see me to tell me-

All my angels have been sold or lost- beautiful angels.

I had so many.

There was the Abuse, but I have stayed sober.

But there is the addiction and the shame.

But today I realized that no one can take away the real angels

No one can take away those angels that sit on each shoulder

But I forget and the devil gets me-
I hear voices, sometimes and the doubts…

I get scared

I wish there was something that would help me remember.

She clutched and stroked a new cross necklace.

She had found it lying on the ground, lost.

And I remembered a man we would say had great faith,

Writhing on the ground, with those demons and doubts

Clutching onto a cross

I am yours, save me! I am yours save me!

another story of lost and found.

 We held onto that cross and said it together.

And we prayed for help to find again-

 that God is with us, in Jesus and in those angels

In us.

You are not alone. Not lost lying on the ground unclaimed.
You are
mine.

And she asked as she often does, for me to anoint her

With that cross that will cling to her.

And that slight but persistent fragrance in the air that lingers and remains

That somehow seems far greater

 than the smoke of dashed dreams and regrets
 of lost and stolen things

Speak to us of hope and protection,

love and healing

 no one can take away.

Overcoming the Whispers

So today we catch up with the people who are NOT in a wilderness, they are not really in a bad place. They’re pretty settled. Because God has already done the rescuing. Life’s Ok, and now they’re being asked to remember all the bad stuff they’ve lived through. In Deuteronomy we hear people being told to remember a past they really would rather not. Who wants to remember wandering in a strange land, isolated, confused, unsure? Can’t we just put that behind us? They’re called to come together and remember. Then respond. Told to bring an offering that confirms that God fulfilled a promise. Remember- remember that real moment of vulnerability. When you were really doubting and the Lord heard and responded. Remember your history not so you can be stuck there, but so you can focus upon how God responded. Remember that God has the power to provide, and to deliver and to give a future. Because you will need that. Because doubt will show up again. Remember your past and celebrate your present, you remind yourselves you also have a future with God. Because you’ll need to trust God’s history even more than your own. Your capacity to see that future will depend upon your connection to God. Remember. Strengthening that connection is as important in non-crisis moments as in critical ones.

Because lots of other voices out there will convince you otherwise. And in Scripture, those voices are called lots of names, the devil, the tempter, Satan. In the Hebrew language, the word for devil is Satan. But interestingly there are lots of satans. But there is one Ha Satan. The word satan means “adversary”. Ha Satan is THE adversary. Picture if you will being surrounded by adversaries. Maybe life feels like that sometimes. Like a contest.

Other times thought it might feel more like how the religion of Islam describes the devil. Shaytan, is the whisperer- the voice that when we listen to it, takes us from hearing God. The whisperer.

Maybe that is more like it for many of us. Being surrounded by whispering voices. Times when like the psalms we hope God will keep us free from the trap. Or we hear enemies whisper and suspect the worst before knowing if it is truth. Or fear others will turn against us. Or in Proverbs, a whisper separates friends. All ways of getting at our capacity to trust God and each other. Or not. The whisperer shows up in our doubts.

Who are you gonna listen to?

The people beyond the crisis are told to practice how to respond even when all seems well. Give thanks to God , remember and give the first of the harvest. Not something brought because the harvesting is done and you can see that it’s OK to give God a little. Come before you know the outcome. Because when you do you confront your doubts and meet God. Because if something happened to the rest of the harvest you have now given up your future for God’s in faith that God has you covered. This is where the whisperer starts.

What if a storm comes? You don’t know everything, you don’t have enough, you’re not in charge, you might go hungry. Can you hear the whispers? Who are you going to listen to?

Even if we’re not terribly stressed our world suggests that any threat to our sense of individualism or desires is a potential threat. We cannot be vulnerable. We don’t like the word loss. It makes life sound like a contest. And even God is our adversary. So when God says Come and give thanks like that and then live with everyone. Even those who are not you. Together. It just doesn’t compute. What if they need more? What if I have to sacrifice? They might mess with my tradition, my rights, my money. Or whatever else it is that I hold dear. I need my promises first. I need to fill my hunger first.

Can you hear the whispers? So many challenges where we feel alone trying to decide. Now imagine Jesus, seemingly alone when the whisperer shows up.  Tempted. Since you are the Son of God… go ahead. Do it! What difference does it make? Confronting and whispering to Jesus- you have the power, aren’t you hungry for it?

Jesus faces all our emotions and challenges.  I need to take care of me, I need to have control, I need a thrill. All things we do when we listen to the voices that say our doubts should fuel our decisions rather than our trust in God. Because sin in the end is listening to those whispers, and falling for the trap.

Jesus came and walked our wilderness and conquered to free us from this. For us to live in that belief takes practice. It takes being surrounded by others who support us, and it takes that connection to God in prayer. Jesus not only shows that God gets what it’s like to be us, Jesus shows us how to respond.

What gave Jesus the strength in the wilderness was the power of the Holy Spirit, and the word of Scripture, and the strength of prayer. I imagine him praying those same psalms for support. And it took the care of others, for him, the angels. For us it is each other here. To help each other remember who God has been, who God is and to trust God is our hope and future.  Responding to God and trusting takes community and practice. Lent is a time for us to strengthen our walk with Jesus. Together. By remembering what is really powerful and sustaining. That God’s history and power are stronger than our own.

 

So take a moment and think of something in which you feel life is pretty settled and blessed. A part of life where you feel God’s support- something that matters like love, job, relationship. Whatever you have thought of, this is a place of trust. Now think of a part of your life where it is a struggle. Something in your life that matters but that feels like not within reach. This is your place of doubt. Now ask yourself why you find it easy to trust God is in the one and not the other? And then I invite you this week to take home these lessons and to read them and ask God in Prayer to help you listen and trust that God is present and active. Practice. May you  sense Jesus walking with you in all things and filling your deepest hunger.


( Thanks to David Lose for the exercise at the end, though slightly modified)

Believing God's Power and Peace are Real

A small group gathered at evening, to share a meal, light the candles, and remember the cross. To experience what they needed here-Jesus came into their midst as they gathered in a room that was not a beautiful sanctuary, but a common room. They brought what they could share – some brought wonderful dishes of food, others brought what they had, some couldn’t bring anything, in fact coming to fellowship with the community was how they would eat that night. They gathered and shared the challenges they faced outside. Some hurried in, others were dragging and exhausted. But by the end of their time together, they began to experience peace. Gathering and telling each other Jesus was with them began to feel real. There was a peace, a peace so real that they began to realize others would want to know this peace. To realize they were the best messengers who could share – come and see, let me tell, believe! And as the small group grew in their love for each other, the power of the Holy Spirit brought them together in one mind. In a way that allowed them to see that while they didn’t share all of the same opinions, they could share in this meal; pray the hopes and joys, doubts and fears of others; and be inspired as they sang-“ Go now in peace, may the love of God surround you, everywhere you go.”  They became strengthened in their belief to do what Jesus commanded- go tell, love others.

I could be describing the earliest disciples- they’d seen the Lord, but were still wrestling with uncertainty, behind closed doors. Telling Thomas “we’ve seen the risen Lord,” yet were still letting it sink in what that meant. I could be describing the early community we hear of in Acts, so filled with the power of Spirit they’ve become of one mind, beginning to live out belief by trusting God and letting their possessions be shared. Yet this story is followed by a story of others in that same group who couldn’t live that out. They wanted to, but standing there with the money, couldn’t let go. So they lied. Even for that astounding community-some were still letting it sink in what “Christ is risen” meant.  

I could also be describing the small group who gathered here Wednesday nights in Lent for Table Church. They came, curious, but unsure. Bringing doubts and challenges after a long day in the world. But together we experienced the peace Jesus brings. Our last week, we turned out the lights and just sat in the glow of the candles and the cross, in the presence of Jesus and each other. There was peace. Can the Table Church folks please stand? These are the people who have a story to share! We have seen it, we can tell about it, and have come to more deeply believe in the peace of Christ. It’s powerful.

Last Sunday was powerful too- an overwhelming experience-beautiful music, full pews, children and baptisms, excitement!! Worship ran way over and no one got up and left. It was as though there was this in-breaking of what it means to be of one heart and mind in Christ by the power of the Spirit. I think last Sunday we could’ve done just about anything together. We experienced the power of the Spirit! And were at peace. 

But that’s not reality, right? It’s an ideal world we manage to glimpse once in a while. Now the last notes of the music have faded, the flowers have drooped, the Easter Peeps are stale and it’s back to the real world.  And it would be naïve to believe that such experiences of peace and power could really happen all the time, right? It would be unrealistic to believe that people would give freely for the sake of the gospel.  It would be unimaginable to think that anything new was really possible in a permanent way.  We know what we might hope for in the ideal world, but here we are in THIS one. I can’t see it and I don’t believe it.

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, but the earliest disciples and we ourselves have a hard time holding onto that-it’s hard to believe all the time. We can say what we believe and that it matters, but in the real world, it’s a struggle. Yet it’s into this world of ours Jesus came promising the Holy Spirit and peace. Power and peace. Yes, we live in the real world, but we’re called to see our world, not with the same old eyes, but through the eyes of God’s power and peace. God knows that when we try to walk in our world, it is anything but peaceful. Jesus comes to bring that peace into being, standing in the midst of all of our doubts and struggles, opening the closed doors and speaking God’s power and peace. Jesus is peace. And Jesus meets us to bring his presence, power and peace into our lives so that we can become believers, and can continue to deepen our belief.  

Some of us grew up in the church with the mindset was that church is just something you do-on Sunday you come to church. It’s frustrating that some don’t come. Where are they THIS week? We begin to have doubts and uncertainties about our future. They came last week, they should be here today. But Jesus doesn’t meet the disciples to say “I have risen- go to church.” He comes to say- “I have risen, become believers.” And I think Jesus makes all the post-resurrection appearances to offer forgiveness for when we and others don’t quite believe and to remind us again and again of the power and peace of God. Because while Jesus is powerful enough to take on the world, we’re not. We need to see, to hear and to share over and over again to continue to become believers. This is true for us all. Each week we have this chance to come to the table, hear forgiveness, receive a peace the world can’t make happen. We need it again and again. We need it, others need it. We need Jesus to meet us here so we can live belief by going out and telling what we’ve seen, help others believe this is real. We need Jesus to keep living this belief even when others don’t. To fully experience God’s peace and power, we need to be here. By experiencing this peace and power, the Spirit opens possibilities we might not have seen, bringing us together as one mind- for the sake of the gospel- to share the good news, draw others here and embody God’s love.  

I think it starts by not just shaking our heads about the “Christmas and Easter” crowd.  

Here’s how I hear I hear the Spirit speaking to us: After Easter worship, some of you said you saw people you hadn’t seen in a long time. People you wished I could talk to and encourage them to return here more faithfully.

But what if seeing the world with new eyes means that the best messenger isn’t me, it’s YOU? You who know them best.
How might the peace of Christ help YOU overcome fear or awkwardness to start that conversation? How might the power of the Holy Spirit inspire YOU to call them? 
I challenge you to unlock that door and see where it leads.
Trust that Jesus is with you, and that the power of the Spirit enables you to share what God reveals here. Come- See what I see-God at work. Hear God’s words.  Experience the power of God’s possibility and the depth of God’s peace.

Let’s let it sink in and live together as those who are continuing to become believers in this power and peace, believing God brings a new reality that’s just that-

It’s real.

"The Gospel Truth"

"I’ve been running around the country for the last year, going to church on Sunday mornings (waking up early is a commitment for musicians, let me remind you). From Nevada to Memphis to Dallas, and all across Chicago, I’ve been going to meetin'. These eleven songs (and it takes all eleven of 'em) illustrate how I found the Church, and the Christian Faith, to be these days: uplifting, inspiring, generous – and – fearful, bigoted, backwards -so there's much to celebrate, and much to change, both " These are the words of Susan Werner regarding her release this past year of "Gospel Truth." This release is full of wonderful music which I commend to your listening, as well her other work which is of a very different genre. A lapsed Catholic who claims to now be agnostic, she wrote this set of songs in response to a friend's question, after witnessing a gospel singing performance, " Can you have the joy without the Jesus?" In her interview with Chicago Public Radio, Werner notes that there are lots of people who have cobbled together a combination of sacred and secular which is their "religion" for whom the idea that it doesn't have to be orthodox is being recognized in her songs.
She takes on and questions many of the differences and hypocrisy of "religion" versus "God." I listened to this album for a class I am taking entitled, "Song, Mission and Culture," with the task of determining in part, is there gospel in these songs, and while I would love to have been able to have posted music here, you can hear and see both at Susan Werner.com

I have listened to this music now several times.Unlike those who researched her, I did not know anything about the artist when I began listening, but I do know that I recognized alot of what she had to say in my own faith journey ( where I was told women cannot be pastors because God does not intend it), and in the stories I have heard and continue to hear in my work as a chaplain, in the women's ministry at the Rescue Mission, and in the stories I hear from all kinds of people about why they struggle with "religion" versus "God."

Many people have experienced not getting to tell their story, or having their questions minimized or invalidated when they attempt to reconcile their Sunday school faith with their lived religion, that taking of faith to the next level- of doing more than blindly accepting and parrot-ing the code. My experience of listening to Werner was not one of hearing total rejection, but looking for affirmation that it is OK to question, that the intersection of faith and life is messy. She looks back on getting all "cleaned up" to go to Church, which I think represents putting on the right appearance even when it is not "alright." Getting there late, as the "not quite good enough." Praying to be "who they are supposed to be." Wondering if we are still loved children of God if we are not? Not happy with being told a judgmental answer. Yet on Sunday morning she thinks there is somewhere she is supposed to be.

"I know you’d damn me if you could.. if your God is so great, why is your heaven so small?" reminded me of the phrase our Dean used recently, the "idolatry of certainty.” Werner's query, "Someone somewhere excluded you?" confronts the process where though we all want to be loved and affirmed, the question becomes- by what process? This evokes the "God is on my side" philosophy that I too take issue with. Many of her songs strike me as being prophetic about the need for greater understanding and compassion, and reflect honest responses when this is not received. "How do you love people who want to shove you in front of the train? You’re bleeding- they hold their prayer meeting...Loaded their Bibles and armed their disciples..I can’t find forgiveness..Only God knows and He is not taking sides. I hope one day He shows us how to love those who will never love us who still we must love." I hear in this the challenge of the gospel message, and it reminded me of leading a Bible study at the Mission where the women studied the Good Samaritan and openly discussed their challenges in seeing others as their neighbor. Werner strikes me as trying to reconcile her own lack of acceptance with her belief that she is called to do more.

And in the midst of her reflections, she exhorts God, "Deliver us from those who think they’re you." I see this as being more than just about one denomination despite the references. My take on "lost my religion- because I saw too much and got off track" was more about abandoning a particular construct or experience than defintively abandoning God. In part because other songs wonder about the cosmic, and not wanting it to be rationalized, as well as her urging in response to what "some might say", she counters with "I beg to disagree." There is honest questioning about God- she is not ready to deny categorically, and she desperately wants to see the God with a human face and the time and place where everyone will come together, evoking eschatological hopes. While she is clearly disillusioned by the imperfection of her experiences with "religion," I see a person who is seeking faith and a meaningful understanding of God not just for herself but in community, who is challenging us to respond. Even if I am wrong about Werner, I suspect she is indeed proclaiming gospel for others that it is OK to not have it all figured out, to wonder why words and actions seem incongruous.

In my experience, a faithful response to someone seeking is first to truly listen, not just to the story, but the person behind the story. And to be willing to engage our faith in questioning- if our faith must be totally nailed down to be upheld, what does that say? As someone with an interest in urban ministry, and chaplaincy, I expect these are the stories that, if permitted rather than discounted, allow for real relationships with people and God to flourish, and as Tillich writes, " It is in helping others experience God, we experience God for ourselves."

So I wonder, when we encounter people who boldly challenge us to hold our "church" up to the bright light, do we stay and talk, or do we look for the escape hatch?