Walking on Water

When was the last time you encountered Jesus? Was it when you or a loved one was diagnosed with an illness? Or almost being in a car accident? Was it when you were in the midst of your own personal storm, a chaotic point in your life when you felt alone? Did you recognize Jesus in the moment? Were you surprised when He showed up? Or are you still waiting to see Him? 

Read Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b and Matthew 14:22-33.

Jesus had just fed the great crowds with merely a few loaves and fishes. He retreats to his prayer life on a mountain and sends the disciples along the way. As the boat gets away from shore, a wind storm picks up. With fishermen on the boat, they knew what to do – it happens a lot in their weather pattern. Yet fear takes hold of the disciples when they see a ghost walking toward them on the waters. Even after seeing Jesus perform a miraculous feeding, the disciples still don’t understand who Jesus is. After Jesus reassures them that it is Him (and it is God), Peter decides to step out of the boat and walk on water like Jesus. However, he looks to the waves and starts to slip beneath the water. His doubt at that moment is greater than his faith.

Storms are a part of life; but it’s when Jesus unexpectedly shows up that we get a little afraid. Ironically enough, even in the presence of Jesus, we (like Peter) doubt what he can really do. We doubt that Jesus will really show up. And because of that doubt, we choose to stay in the boat – we choose to stay with the familiar instead of stepping out in faith.

The Triniteens and I have recently returned from our mission trip to Goodland Academy in Hugo, Oklahoma. Stories and photos will be up in the parlor on Sunday, as well as part of worship. As we got to know the students at Goodland, I believe I see them as Peters. These boys have encountered Jesus through the love and care of their houseparents, teachers, and staff at Goodland. So they are willing to step out of the boat in their chaotic life, to take a risk to improve their lives. Those boys have stepped out in faith, moving away from home and learning how to be a family.

The Triniteens and I were like the disciples in the boat, getting to witness the miracles that Jesus is working in the lives at Goodland. And because of their act of faith, we too are saved – we too are transformed. We too get to encounter Jesus, even where it surprises us – in the laugh of a sixth grade boy, in the friendships between strangers that instantly form, in the cool rainy weather at the end of July.

So where have you seen Jesus? Are you in the boat, witnessing the grace and salvation of Jesus? Are you stepping out in faith, willing to test the stormy waters? Jesus is more than a man, more than a miracle worker, more than a good teacher. He is our Savior, the one who shows up when no one else will; the one who constantly offers us grace and unconditional love. As the Psalm says, "seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done." Thanks be to God for our Savior who walks on water.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate

God Holds a High Bar: Pole Vaulting with Jesus

Have you ever seen a pole vault athlete leap with great speed over an incredibly high bar? They get a good running start, plant their pole and trust that it will stay, and then they fly through the air, reaching heights of over 19 feet! It takes a lot of practice, a lot of skill, and a lot of trust in their pole. When all their practice and all their talents come together, a miracle occurs as pole vault athletes can fly!

Read 1 Kings 17:17-24 & Luke 7:11-17.

Here we have two healing and resurrection stories of two widow’s sons, separated by thousands of years but both testify to the divine power of God. Elijah had met the widow at the city gate, similar to where Jesus meets the widow at Nain. Neither widow is given a name; instead they are identified by their relationship (or lack thereof) to a man – a widow. A widow in these cultures was vulnerable, as they could not own property themselves. They were dependent either on their sons or charity to provide for them. They were left on the margins of society, put in the same class as orphans.

And yet Jesus and Elijah see these widows. Jesus is moved with compassion for this widow who had not only lost her husband but also her son – moved with compassion for her lack of security. There is no great declaration of faith, there is no teaching – Jesus is simply moved with compassion for the widow, and with a touch restores not only her son but the widow as well.

Do you believe in miracles? All too often in our lives, we pray for big miracles, for people to be physically, emotionally, mentally restored to life – and we don’t get it. We bargain in our prayers, promising to be the best Christian ever if only God just healed our father/mother/children/spouse/friend. While miraculous events occur, they seem to be too rare for our preference.
But what about the smaller miracles that DO happen? Do we see them? This August, hundreds of kids will get backpacks filled with school supplies and a pancake breakfast. Those kids will really have no idea where the pencils, the glue, the dry erase markers came from. They won’t know about our VBS Mission Project or you tossing a few folders in your grocery cart. It will simply be a miracle to them, a miracle for their family.

For when Christians put our grief-broken hearts together, that is a miracle. And what we can do together with the help of Jesus are miracles. When we as a church take off running as pole vault athletes, aiming for the high bar that God holds, Jesus is our sturdy and reliable pole, the one we can rely on, the one who will help us reach that high bar. Jesus is our Lord who sees us, who knows our brokenness and loves us through it. Jesus is our Lord who empowers us together to reach the high bar that God holds – a high bar of reaching out and seeing widows, the least, the lost, those in need right here in our own city. With Jesus as our sturdy pole, imagine what miraculous height we might reach together, and how we might be transformed in that process – miracle after miracle!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate

Looking Up

Look up. What do you see? Blue sky? Sunshine? White fluffy clouds? Scary storm clouds? Trees blossoming their spring blooms? An office or school ceiling? Look up! Do you see anyone? A plane? Birds flying through the air? Look up! Wait, watch out for that pole! 

Read Psalm 47 and Acts 1:1-11 to prepare for worship on Sunday. 

This Sunday we’ll celebrate the Ascension – Jesus being lifted up, Jesus exalted on high, being seated at the right hand of God the Father until He comes again in glory. The Ascension rounds out our Easter journey that began 40 days ago – the ascension completes the resurrection. Jesus moves from being lifted up on the cross to being lifted up in a cloud of glory, departing bodily from the earth and the disciples. 

I can picture the disciples, jaws on the floor, one more amazing miracle they get to witness. Even after Jesus disappears from view, they are so shocked that they stand there, looking up at the empty sky. That probably explains why God sent two messengers to bring their eyes back to earth – “You Galileans! Why do you just stand here??” Have you ever felt like the church was just standing here? Have you ever asked Jesus “Is now the time? Are you going to restore the church to her 1950s heyday? Are you going to lift up the church once more as an institution to be respected? Is it time to restore the kingdom?” Sometimes we get stuck waiting, staring at an empty sky, waiting for Jesus to just do something already – forgetting His commands for US to be the witnesses, for US to claim the power of the Holy Spirit. We get caught looking up, forgetting to look around us for those in need of food, of water, of healing, of resurrection. 

The Good News is that through Jesus’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension, we too are invited to take part in life, death, resurrection, and ascension – not only at the end times but in our daily lives. We now experience what it is like to lose somebody, the mixed emotions of grief and relief, of sadness and gladness as we enter through transitions in our life. We know what it is like to be emotionally resurrected one more time. And hopefully we have those moments where, as CS Lewis describes, we are “surprised by joy” – we are lifted up into the very heart of God. 

Let us look up in awe of our risen Lord, who prays for us at the right hand of God the Father; but let us not forget to look around, to be witnesses even to the ends of the world. For we the church are charged to be Christ’s body in the world today. We are charged to testify to the power and the glory – that our Lord, who submitted to death, is now alive – that through that power the Church can be alive today too. Praise be to God for looking up and looking around. 

Grace and peace, 
Pastor Kate

Temptations in the Desert: Believing Lies

The Devil has been portrayed in different ways, but oftentimes the image of the traditional red horned creature with a pitchfork or a slithering serpent pops into our heads. Is that what the Devil looks like in your life? Is evil and temptation easy to identify, something that looks and acts very different from us?

Read Psalm 91:1-2,9-16 and Luke 4:1-13.

I wonder what the Devil looked like to Jesus. Did he look more like Peter Cook in the 1967 film Bedazzled – or Elizabeth Hurley in the 2000 remake? Or was the entire conversation between the Devil and Jesus inside Jesus' head?

Peter Cook as The Devil

If we’re honest, we know that temptation always doesn’t appear in easily recognizable forms. In fact, we make excuses and believe the little lies – that this small act is really for the greater good. Isn’t that the exact rationale that the Devil uses with Jesus? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if Jesus had accepted the power over all the kingdoms, or if Jesus had fed himself, or if Jesus had tested God and confirmed how much God loves him and cares for him? Those don’t seem like bad things.

Yet because of who was offering them, Jesus refused. In the midst of his desert time, Jesus couldn’t say yes. But we know in the end, through God’s way instead of the Devil’s way, Jesus did feed the hungry; Jesus does rule the world with justice; and Jesus serves God faithfully. Through God’s way, Jesus invites and expects us to participate in the feeding, the ruling, and the serving. Through God’s way, we are offered an oasis in the midst of the desert of life. Through God’s way, we are offered Living Water for our parched throats and hearts. Through God’s way, we are able to be an oasis for each other as we face our own temptations, as we fight the temptation to believe lies.

So join us as we travel this Lenten journey together, unpacking and facing together our “Temptations in the Desert.”

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate

Soul Food

What is your “soul food?” I’m not necessarily talking fried chicken or grits or any traditional Southern cuisine. It’s food that somehow, no matter how bad you feel, makes you feel just the tiniest better – tells you that it’s going to be okay. Many of you know some of my favorites – pizza, macaroni ‘n cheese, or those two together. Maybe your soul food that takes you back to a happy time, surrounded by people who love you, or to special occasions – my grandmother’s chocolate cake, my mom’s blonde brownies. It’s food that does more than providing nourishment to your body – it’s food that lifts up your heart and your soul.

Read Psalm 51:1-12 and John 6:24-35.

I see Psalm 51 as begging God for some soul food – help right our souls again, make our hearts clean. And Jesus offers us the bread of life – Himself – that would feed our soul forever. The crowds want a simple recipe for the bread – what should they do for the works of God? What sign will he give them? Will it be as good as Moses giving the people manna? Just tell us exactly what to do, give us black and white answers without any complexity.

Jesus instead offers them a more nourishing meal, with a seemingly simple recipe: believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. While the crowds were concerned with their stomachs and today, Jesus makes a proclamation for their hearts, souls, minds, and bodies, one that is everlasting.

So come, hear the stories about how the “soul food” the youth ate last week on their mission trip in South Dakota. Come, hear about Jesus unexpectedly showing up. Come, hear how Jesus is patient through our incomprehension. Come and dine on the music, the prayer, the Word, and the fellowship. Come, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate

Resurrection: God's Ultimate Covenant

Do you appreciate the mystery of cliff hangers?  Whether it be a book or tv show in a series, I hate the "who-done-it" mystery that keeps us hanging - waiting for resolution.  Remember the tv show Dallas & the question heard round the world?  "Who shot JR?"

Well this cliff-hanging technique is how Mark ends his gospel with Jesus' resurrection.  We can get more resurrection details from the other three gospels.  But if we stick with Mark we can wrap ourselves up in wondering.  Why did Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome come to the tomb early Sunday morning when Sabbath was over, if they knew the tomb was sealed with a huge stone?  Why did they purchase sweet smelling spices to anoint and embalm their beloved Jesus if they would have no access to his body?  How was the stone rolled away?  Who was the young man in white robes sitting in the empty tomb?  How did he know what had happened to Jesus?  Why were the women so afraid and terrified when they heard that Jesus had been raised - as Jesus had predicted before his death?  What kind of story ends with the women running away telling no one, when they were instructed to tell the disciples and Peter?

As Tom Long says, "Is this any way to run a resurrection?" (TG Long, "Dangling Gospel," The Christian Century, 2006.)

This open-ended ending is an invitation for us to continue the story of proclaiming to the world that Jesus has lived, died, and been raised to new life.  This non-ending means that our lives and our testimonies carry the story into our time and place.  This cliff hanger invites us into a mystery of faith - provocative and inclusive of our experiences of Jesus who goes ahead of us as part of God's Promise - God's Covenant with us.  Where/when/how do you see Jesus whispering, inviting, and beckoning you to follow?  Who will you share stories of Jesus with?

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

The Edge of Glory

“I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth / Out on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you...” Have you ever witnessed something glorious? Maybe it was the birth of your first child. Maybe it was that child’s graduation from high school. Maybe it was someone who let you have that parking space up close, or let you go through the grocery line first.

Check out the glory witnessed in 2 Kings 2:1-12 and Mark 9:2-9. Three of the disciples – Peter, James, and John – are on the edge of glory in our Gospel passage this week. Jesus is transfigured – transformed, goes through a metamorphosis, becomes radiant, shining – before their very eyes. The disciples contribute nothing to the transfiguration – they are merely witnesses, absorbing what is shown and told to them up on that mountaintop, watching on the edge of glory.

Many of us, particularly those going through a spiritual wilderness, hunger for this witnessing, for a mountaintop experience, for hearing God’s voice so clearly and directly, for seeing with our eyes the transfiguration of Jesus. We hunger and thirst to just be on the edge of glory. And then, when it happens, when we are dragged to the top by Jesus, when we are finally on the edge…all we want to do is cling to that moment of truth, to hang onto that moment forever. We are frozen in terror, in awe, as we glimpse a part of the divine, a new reality. Peter, nervous and a little confused, begs Jesus to stay – to make dwelling-tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. They don’t understand the edge of glory – but they don’t want to leave it and return to the ordinary, mundane, day to day existence.

Chances are you’ve heard this story once or ten times before. You might think the most important part is Jesus being transfigured, or Moses or Elijah (the Law and the Prophets) appearing, or God speaking from a cloud. I would argue that the first part of verse 9 holds the most power: “ As they were coming down the mountain…” The disciples were on the edge of glory – Jesus was in the middle of it. And yet they all came down the mountain to continue the journey to the cross, the journey to death, to transforming the world through the ministry of Jesus and the witnessing of the disciples.

When you’re on the edge of glory, will you cling to that moment? Or will you travel down that mountain to continue the path of discipleship, the path of learning and struggling, the path of working for the kin-dom of God in our ordinary world?

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate

Divine Absence: Longing for God’s Saving Help

As we enter the season of Advent, we’re also entering the season of advertisements – featuring Black Friday, pushing all our emotional buttons to desperately want their products. What have you longed for lately? What have you wanted more than anything else What calls to you, deep to deep? Maybe it’s the latest version of the iPad. Maybe it’s a desire for a quiet, peaceful house. Maybe it’s a desperate prayer for a sick loved one to get well. Maybe it’s for reconciliation in a relationship. Maybe it’s for something that you can’t quite put your finger on, something that is missing, a hole in your life.

Our Scriptures for the first Sunday of Advent begin with Isaiah 64:1-9 and Mark 13:24-37.

This may seem like an odd way to begin Advent. Isaiah is declaring how God has hidden God’s face from us and that we are a sinful people. The reading from Mark looks not toward the precious warm Christmas image of the sweet baby Jesus, but with the challenging, confusing proclamation that Christ will come again, with cosmic signs and fig trees.

Both Scriptures speak to the separation between God and Her people, which is where we start with Advent. We start from a place of longing, of realizing just where we are and who we are apart from God. We start from a place of desperate need, of being in a hole with no way out. We start at the same place of John the Baptizer and our faith ancestors – in great need of a Savior, of the Messiah to arrive. But we also start from a place where we can cry out to One who cares, because we were, are, and always will be God’s people.

For Advent is not just about preparing for Christmas, shopping the great sales, or listening to all our favorite Christmas hymns. Advent is not just hanging the greens or Christmas pageants. Advent is a call to keep awake – to be alert – to make Advent a part of who we are every single day. We are called to work and to prepare for the second coming of Christ. God has sent God’s Son with all the saving help we need, and we bask in the hope that is the promise of the return of Jesus.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate