The Challenges of Either/Or and Both/And

In Luke 4: 16-30, Jesus enters his home synagogue in Nazareth and preaches the following good news:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor...Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Lk 4: 18-19, 21b).  How people reacted to Jesus' proclamation of justice for the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed is a sad and frustrating response to Jesus speaking truth to the power of those systems whic hold people captive.

As Christ followers, we're challenged to serve the hungry/homeless/lost and lonely/poor/prisoners/ mentally ill and all who suffer and struggle.  One way that we serve faithfully is to volunteer and financially support the social service agencies whose clients are described above.  But such useful and good service doesn't change the systems that hold people captive.

In "Soul of a Citizen" Paul Loeb tells Greg Ricks' story as metaphor for our dilemma:  "People try to pull an endless sequence of drowning children out of a river.  Of course we must address the immediate crisis, and try to rescue the children.  But we also need to find out why they're falling into the river - because no matter how hard we try, we lack the resources, strength, and stamina to save them all.  So we must go upstream to fix the broken bridge, stop the people who are pushing the children in, or do whatever else will address the problem at its source." (P Loeb, "Soul of a Citizen," p 147)

Our dilemma is not an "either/or" situation.  Jesus calls us Christ followers to be "both/and" people.  We are called by Jesus to respond to the immediate tragedies around us and we are called to hold systems of injustice accountable to God's intent of wellbeing and shalom for all people.

As Jeremiah 1: 4-10 reminds us, we are to trust that God will touch our lips and put the words into our mouths to "pluck up and pull down, destroy and overthrow" oppression and injustice at its source.  Then we can build and plant gardens where all are fed - where there is plenty for all - where no one is held captive.  When we band together in such efforts, we are prophets who speak truth to power and demand change.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

Lights, Camera, Action: Sunday Morning Live!

Live from Topeka, it's Sunday Morning Live! As we finish our worship series this week on "Lights, Camera, Action," Jesus will take center stage as he hosts worship on Sunday morning. What does it look like when Jesus encounters some of our most beloved Saturday Night Live characters? What if Peter and Paul were on Celebrity Jeopardy, and King David sat down with Church Lady?

The Triniteens have based their worship around one of the lectionary passages this week: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.

The Triniteens will be reminding us that Trinity is one body with many members, and that we need the gifts/callings/talents of ALL our members to be the body of Christ in the world today. Just as Saturday Night Live is one show with many sketches, so too will "Sunday Morning Live" be one worship with many sketches, one offering with many different characters. Just as the Bible is one collection with many different books, so too will "Sunday Morning Live" reflect one theme with many different perspectives. Whether you are an avid Saturday Night Live fan or have never seen the show in your life, the Triniteens hope to bring the Word of God to life through laughter, singing, reading, and playing some cowbell.

As we head in after worship for our annual potluck and gathering, I hope you hear a message in the worship led by the Triniteens - a message that the body that Trinity is not complete without you, that the diversity in our unity makes us stronger, not weaker, and that God has called you to be an essential part of our body.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate

Lights - Camera - Action: God Invites Us to the Wedding

"Ladies and gentlemen, children and youth, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining together of....."  So begins familiar words that signal we're present to one of life's greatest celebrations:  The Wedding.  Moods are expectant.  The energy of love fills the air.  The ceremony and the celebration to follow is one of life's most magical moments.

And Jesus loves celebrations!  Early in the Gospel of John (John 2: 1-11), Jesus and his disciples - his friends - and his mother are having a good time at the wedding in Cana.....til the wine runs out.  Considered a miracle, but what is really a sign directing our attention to God, Jesus turns the water into wine.  In  other words:  Party On!

And Isaiah 62: 1-5 reinforces this sense that God loves a good celebration.  God declares:  "I will not keep silent...I will not rest.  You (Israel; God's followers) shall be called by a new name...You shall be a crown of beauty...a royal diadem in [my] hand...you shall be called 'My Delight.'"  If God delights in us, surely this is cause for celebration.

But returning to the wedding in Cana, notice who knows the One who turns their water they've filled into the 120-180 gallon jars.  Jesus!  It is the ones who serve who know the secret of the best wine provided for the guests.

So, as we serve, are we part and parcel of the knowing of who Jesus Christ is?  What is it about serving that draws us close enough to the center of the action to be aware of the ministry of Christ?  In 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11, the Apostle Paul calls us to discern, recognize, and offer up our spiritual gifts.  "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Cor 12: 7)  We each are gifted in various, diverse ways, but the combination of our gifts and the offering of ourselves through our gifts is where the kingdom of God resides.

When we worship we celebrate God's presence.  When we serve others, we proclaim that the kingdom of God is alive and well among us.  Party On, Servers of God!

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

Lights - Camera - Action: God as Director

"Yes, we'll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river; Gather with the saints at the river; That flows by the throne of God." (Robert Lowry, 1864)  Baptisms - a sacrament in the Presbyterian church - are times when the invisible grace of God is made visible through the holy symbols of water, laying on of hands, marking foreheads with the sign of the cross, and God's Word spoken in blessing those precious ones whom God names and claims for God's own.

So Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan by his cousin, John the Baptist, should be extra special, shouldn't it?  As portrayed in Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22, Jesus appears on the banks of the river among the stream of people waiting for John's words of forgiveness: "I baptize you with water."  Jesus' baptism seems unremarkable - no special ritual - in Luke's gospel account:  "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized..." (v 21a).  It's not until AFTER the baptism, when Jesus is praying that people's attention is drawn to Jesus.  For the heavens are split open and the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove.  As if this weren't startling enough, there comes from the heavens a voice (think Charlton Heston):  "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (v 22b)

Jesus is affirmed, named, and claimed by God - and he hasn't even begun his public ministry yet! The transition from John the Baptist's ministry of repentance is coming to an end (a horrific end) and Jesus is preparing to launch his ministry.  His leadership as preacher/teacher/healer/rabbi/Savior/Lord begins with God's affirmation of a special relationship with God's Son.

Is God well pleased with us because we love and serve and do pleasing things - or - does God love and affirm us who are baptized into God's family?  With such affirmation, how do we respond to God?  On this week prior to President Obama's inauguration and Martin Luther King Day, Trinity also prepares to ordain and install new leadership.  While doves may or may not descend from the heavens, the words "With you I am well pleased" should ring in our Elders and Deacons ears.  May the Holy Spirit rest on their shoulders as they too prepare for the more public nature of their call to leadership and a ministry of presence.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

Lights, Camera, Action: God as Screenwriter

What exactly do you know about the wise men from the Bible? How many of them paid homage to the Christ child? Were the wise men or kings or astrologers or scholars? Where did they come from? What were their names?

Read Matthew 2:1-12 and Isaiah 60:1-6 for your answers.

Did you find how many wise men were there? No? Did you know that early Christians believed there were twelve wise men, traveling in a giant caravan, with servants and supplies and all the trappings? Can you imagine adding that to a Christmas nativity?

God as screenwriter seemingly leaves us wanting for the details of this story – how did Herod call all the religious leaders together so quickly? Wasn’t there animosity between them and King Herod? Where exactly is the “East?” Whatever happened to the wise men as they traveled home? Sometimes we feel that way about our own lives – why didn’t God stop this from happening? Why won’t God let us in on the future plan? What details has God seemingly left out of your story?

But when we stop worrying about what has been left out and start looking at what is there, a whole new story opens up. A way to Jesus appeared for a group of people who weren’t Jews, who weren’t part of the ‘in crowd.’ God sent signs for those not even expecting a Messiah, while the king of the Jews Herod hadn’t the slightest clue. By sending the exotic foreigners to worship the Christ child, it is a signal that all are welcome into God's kingdom, that salvation through the Messiah is not limited to the Jewish people.

God acts again and again in our lives. God puts a star in the sky, a light in our lives to show us the way, so that we can offer ourselves to Christ. God offers us epiphanies – revelations – of God’s presence in our lives over and over again. Are you paying attention like the wise men, looking for direction? Are you responding to the God-actions in your life, the God-nudges? For when God acts, God expects us to respond. And what a joyful response we can offer, because our God loves us enough to continue writing our story and calling “Lights, Camera, Action!”

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate