Temptations in the Desert: Scarcity or Abundance

When describing your worldview and your sense of available resources, where would you put yourself on a continuum that stretches from:  Scarcity - to - Not enough - to - Just barely enough - to - Enough - to - Plenty - to - Abundance - to - Extravagance?
If Jesus came to reveal what God looks like, then the story of Mary of Bethany anointing him in preparation for his death and burial with the most extravagant perfume is a story of Jesus praising her for her extravagant devotion. John 12: 1-8. To emphasize this extravagant love that Mary pours out upon his feet, Jesus chastizes Judas Iscariot (who is about to betray Jesus) when Judas demands that the perfume should be sold to provide for the poor.  Jesus realizes that Judas doesn't care so much for the poor, as he cares about keeping the common purse for his own purposes of stealing from it. Jesus rebukes Judas:  "Leave her alone." (v 7). In light of Jesus' impending death, Mary "wastes" perfume on her beloved Master and Jesus receives it with gratitude.

How often do we "count" the value of various resources (especially money), giving into the temptation that there won't be enough - that our resources are finite and must be carefully controlled?  Whether we're hoarders or cheapscapes or just reasonable folk who give of ourselves according to the time/energy/means that make practical sense in a world overwhelmed with "not-enough-ness," we operate out of the worldview that tempts us to value our efforts and our things by their usefulness or practicality or cost effectiveness.

Is the cross a symbol of our temptation or do we trust in the God of resurrection?  Father Richard Rohr writes:  "The cross is a statement of what we do to one another and to ourselves.  The resurrection is a standing statement of what God does to us in return." (Richard Rohr, Easter 2012)

Both in the extravagance and love poured out by Mary and in the promises God makes in Isaiah 43: 16-21, we are drawn toward a God of extravagant abundance, whose love and providence have no end.  Isaiah, using powerful water imagery, reminds us that God will make a way through the waters (Red Sea) just as he did for the Israelites fleeing the Egyptians.  And when we wander in the desert of our temptations, we can trust that God will provide rivers in the desert & water in the wilderness - drink for God's chosen people.

Our challenge is to move through, around, past the barriers of temptations that there will not be enough.  Our challenge is to trust God's promises of abundant healing, enough water for all, and an abundant love that sustain us through droughts.  If we remember what God has done in the past, we are able to trust in the new things God is about to do in our future.  We can trust in the love that shapes whatever new thing lies ahead.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

Topeka and Trinity Transfigured

Thinking of my own mountaintop experiences makes me think of Chapel at the Cross atop the highest hill at Mo Ranch, TX - an arduous climb up a slippery pebbled road, breathing asthmatic breaths long before reaching the top.  Upon approach I first see the outdoor amphitheater with graduated stone semi circular seating and geckos running around.  The spectacular view across the valley far below with the Guadalupe River winding through is punctuated by the gigantic wooden cross at the base of the fish-shaped chancel.  The cross reaches toward the heavens and eagles and hawks circle around flying at eye level. The communion table is hill country stone.  The "ruah" breath of the wind never ceases.  It is a numinous place where people gather expecting God's presence.  It is a place which embraces me and holds me holy and sacred.

In my imagination, here is where Peter, James, and John gather with Jesus (Luke 9: 28-36).  With Jesus  transcendent in dazzling white, almost too glorious to behold and with the appearance of mighty Old Testament prophets, Moses and Elijah, the disciples are enveloped by the clouds.  Perhaps the climb wore them out to account for their sleepiness and their lack of understanding about Jesus' coming death in Jerusalem.  But Peter, James, and John are aware enough of the exceptional circumstances that they want to hold onto such glory, offering to build booths so they could stay atop the mountain.

But mountaintop experiences serve to inspire, motivate, encourage, and provide sustenance for the rest of life's journey in the valleys of our every day-ness.  This transfiguration of Jesus is the prelude and foundation for what lies ahead for the disciples and all Christ followers.  For we must all come down the mountain to face our challenges. When we come down the mountain, we confront the challenges of suffering and sorrow; illness and disease; temptations and terrors.  The Transfiguration is incomplete without the rest of the story (Luke 9: 37-43a).  For in the valley Jesus encounters a desperate father seeking healing for his young epileptic son, whose seizures the disciples cannot heal.  "And all were astounded at the greatness of God" (Luke 9: 43a).

The great glory of God in Jesus transfigured cannot be separated from the needs of the world.  Life is whole when we can be astonished and astounded as we hear God's voice affirming "This is my Son!"  God commands us to "Listen to him."  In believing that Jesus is God's Son and in listening to Jesus, we can move from powerless disciples to Christ followers who seize opportunities to heal the world one act at a time, one day at a time, and in response to the cries of the world.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

Christ the Unlikely King

When you hear the word ‘king’ or ‘kingdom’ what do you think of? Do you stay biblical because a pastor is writing this and think of King Saul/David/Solomon? King Herod? Do you travel into mythology and think of King Arthur or King Midas? Or into fiction and think of all the competing Kings & Queens in Game of Thrones, the Lion King, the King of Siam and his relationship with Anna? Or do you think of historical kings like King Henry VIII or King George? Or maybe as a  sports fan, King James or Jerry Lawler the King come to mind?

A claim to kingship is present in the Scripture readings today: John 18:33-37 and Psalm 93.

We certainly don't tend to think of current kings; we usually don't tend to think of ourselves as being part of a kingdom, submitting and obedient to a king. And yet Jesus' response to Pilate's accusation should strike us to the core. Just when we are thinking we are free to do what we want when we want, Jesus' words draw us back in to remind us just who and what we belong to.

In our country where we have rejected the tyranny of kingship, it's even more important to reclaim that word 'king' by naming Jesus Christ our unlikely king - a king who shares power by empowering others to do the work of the kingdom. In a world where kingdom brings up images of abuse and oppression, it's even more important to reclaim 'kingdom' by describing the kingdom of God - one of equality, of inclusivity, of radical hospitality, where no one is hungry or thirsty or naked or lonely or without a family. 

As we reflect on Christ the King in the midst of Thanksgiving week, let us give thanks to Christ our King, for choosing us to belong to the kingdom of God - for choosing us to be sisters and brothers - for choosing us to share His inheritance - for choosing us to work to make this kingdom a reality. Let us give thanks that it is not up to us - that we have a redeemer King.

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

Sending Forth into the New Unknown

What do you say to your young or grown child as you send him forth into the world?  What are your last pearls of wisdom to guide her forth in safety?  Or what's in your last will and testament that will prepare your loved ones for life without you?  This "exit interview" in John 17: 6-19 is Jesus' last will and testament (his high priestly prayer) to his disciples and to us.  As Jesus prepares his disciples (and us) for life without him, what are his prayer requests?  Jesus reminds God that he has showed us God in who he is and asks God to guard us from the wiles of the world that distract us from our focus on Jesus as our center.  Jesus reminds us hearing this prayer that we are to be "in" the world, but not "of" the world - do our mission and service as we are called to care for the least/lost/lonely, work for justice, and share Christ's love as he has shared it with us.

In this month of graduations and Confirmation, we remember that we have done as best we could to prepare those who we send forth.  We have taught, role modeled, listened, and loved as Jesus has done for us.  Now it's time to trust in God's guidance, the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, and the power of prayer as we let go.  Our stance is as ones "standin' in the need of prayer."  And then we too go forth into the world.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

The Promise of a King and a Lamb

Sunday is April Fools' Day, technically not a holiday recognized by the church. But I think there is something to the fact that Palm Sunday is falling on April Fools' Day this year. Who do you think of when you think of fools, of something foolish? Today, in the workplaces or at school or even at church, we feel shame and humiliation if we say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. We don’t want to be fools – on April Fools' Day, we want to be the ones playing the tricks, not the ones being made a fool!

Read Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 and John 12:12-19.

The Gospel reading this week shapes how our Palm Sunday feels. It is mostly a joyful celebration of Jesus as the promised King, Jesus as the one to fulfill the covenant, Jesus as a miracle worker, who can bring life out of death. The people offer a welcoming parade, pledging their loyalty to Jesus as the King of Israel, running after him, stampeding after him. And yet, we end not with their joy, but the Pharisees as they continue to plot, their current plans being foiled yet again. Their presence, however, seems to be an ominous sign that reminds us of what will come later this week: a meal, a betrayal, a trial, a cross, a tomb.  

And yet, somehow, Jesus plays us all. Jesus takes on the role of the fool on Palm Sunday – riding in not on a warhorse but a young donkey, his feet probably dragging on the ground. Jesus the king rides the animal of peace, not the Messiah the people expected to violently overthrow Rome. Jesus lets the people call him king, knowing that later in the week they would be calling for his crucifixion. Jesus turns everything upside down, making wisdom foolish: emptying himself that we might be filled; saying that the last will be first and the first will be last, to save your life you must lose it; feeding multitudes with a couple loaves and fish; healing those who were said to be beyond help; and bringing life out of a dead Lazarus in a tomb. 

In a court, the fool or jester was the only one who could actually speak truth to power, who could actually criticize the king or queen or government, who could mock those in power through the gift of humor. It is said that Queen Elizabeth once threatened her fool because he did not criticize her severely enough! That is the role of Christ on April Fools' Day, on Palm Sunday: to subvert the Roman concept of Lord, to speak to the power of peace instead of violence, to find value in the people who are marginalized and oppressed. As a fool, Jesus invites people to see and live in the world in a different way. For Jesus himself is the stone that the builders rejected – only for that very stone to become the chief cornerstone, the foundation of it all. Jesus fools us, as we are promised a king and are given a sacrificial lamb. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” Thanks be to God for responding to our Hosannas with the foolishness of the Messiah, the only one who could really save us once and for all.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate

God-Promises: The Promise through Brokenness

Snakes have always creeped me out. Maybe that’s why I loved living in Ireland during my college years – a wonderful guarantee of no snakes. Legend has it that Saint Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland after a forty day fast. While that story may be more symbolic than anything, It seems like that is what the people from our Numbers Scripture this week could really use right now.

Read Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21.

God’s people are not happy. They don’t have any food, and they detest this miserable food. Wait, what? They sound like the child who opens the refrigerator, stares at all the food, and declares that “We have nothing to eat!” Now, the people have been complaining for a while in the wilderness. The Israelites complain about their wilderness experience, longing for the comforts and the certainty of slavery. In the previous chapter, the people spoke against Moses and wished that they had died. In our passage this week, they not only speak against Moses, but they speak against God as well. And rather than instantly providing the solution, as God did with the provision of manna, quail, and water out of a rock, Numbers says that God sent poisonous snakes.

After hearing about the 10 Commandments last week, I would wager to guess that the people have broken the commandment to not use the Lord’s name in vain. As we have talked about God-Promises these past few weeks, we have heard that God is the promise-maker and the promise-keeper, knowing that we are the promise-breakers. And we know that God brings us back into the covenant time and time again. Yet that does not mean that there are never consequences to the breaking of promises.

Brokenness seems to be a state of being for us as individuals, as a church, and as a world. But we do not like to acknowledge it. We want to skip Good Friday and go straight to Easter, we want to skip chemo and be rid of this cancer already, we want to not apologize and just have our relationship go back to the way it was. The truth for us in the Numbers story is that we must admit our brokenness to God and to each other. The truth for us is that sometimes healing and provision is not instantaneous, but a long, hard journey through the wilderness.

But we are not on that long, hard journey through the wilderness alone - God doesn’t leave us in our broken state. God works through brokenness of the body of Jesus to bring us the antidote to sin and death. The Good News from John is that our God turns the ultimate humiliation in death on a cross into a victory over sin and death. The Good News is that Jesus came not to condemn but to save the world. The Good News is that Jesus is lifted high in the wilderness of our lives in Topeka in 2012.

Know that in our brokenness, God is working in us and through us to lead us to the path of shalom.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate

P.S. If you are feeling particularly broken, come join us at the service for healing and wholeness on Sunday at 5:00 pm.

Wanna learn how to dance?

Jesus overturns the moneychangers' tables in the Temple courts and starts a stampede of sheep and cattle waiting to be bought with pure, image-less coins so that worshipers can sacrifice the unblemished animals as a worship offering to God.  Before Jesus became OUR Temple, this was a sacrificial system that had been tarnished with corruption.  Read Jesus' dramatic whip-dance in John 2: 13-22.

Although our sanctuary lobbies no longer have sheep and cattle milling around, I wonder which of our automatic-pilot rituals and prayers Jesus would overturn?  Do we worship with our minds on other things instead of focusing on God and neighbor in our worship?  The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20: 1-17 offer us a different way to dance as God's partner not only in worship, but in all of life.  Rather than a list of "you shalt-nots" the Ten Commandments are the dance steps we learn in order to live into God's presence fully and freely.

Using a summary from Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol 2, p 76, 78, by Craig Kocher, the life-giving possibilities of the Ten Commandments are:  "No other gods before me" means money, sex, and power cannot dance as idols onto our altars.  Instead of taking the Lord's name in vain, we honor, praise and give thanks to God for the gifts of the dance.  When we keep sabbath we remember that all creation is a gift and our responsibility is to steward it wisely.  When we honor our parents we remember that we stand on the shoulders of others because we are not independent or self made.  When we say no to murder, we acknowledge that people bear God's image to and for us.  When we refuse to lie, steal, or covet we build up community by speaking the truth of and to our neighbors.

When we dance freely with God and with our neighbor, we commit ourselves to the two greatest commandments:  Love God with all our heart/mind/soul and love our neighbor as ourselves.  God welcomes us to the dancefloor of our community.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

    

Proclaiming the Word of God

When was the last time you heard something that made your ears tingle? Something that made your ears perk up? Was it someone calling your name, shouting the score of the latest bowl game, or whispering a funny joke?

Our Scripture this week comes from John 1:43-51 and 1 Samuel 3:1-11.

I wonder how Eli must have felt at the beginning of this passage, since he certainly wasn't hearing anything that made his ears tingle. Did he feel like a failure? He had failed as a parent - his sons (the leaders of Israel) were corrupt, using sacrifices for their own personal gain and exploiting women. He had failed as a priest - the word of God was rare, a complete communications shutdown between the people and God. Even his own body was failing him – he was pretty much blind, dependent on others to help him do his work and his mundane tasks. I imagine him crying out, “Lord, speak to me! Speak to me that I may speak! Lead me so I can lead! Teach me so I can teach! Use me, use even frail, broken, old me!” And he heard nothing in return.

It’s in the middle of this despair that he is called to care for a young boy, Samuel. In the middle of this hopelessness, he is called to care for the hope of a new life. In the middle of feeling like a failure, he is called to help a new young boy succeed. In the middle of the night, God calls by name, and calls Samuel to proclaim the Word of God.

Have you ever felt broken, like a failure, completely useless? Have you ever felt that nothing was going your way, that there was nothing left for you? The Good News is that it is not the end. The Good News, as we see in the Gospel reading as well, is that God uses us and knows us, despite our skepticism, despite our own feelings. The Good News is that we are all called to proclaim the Word of God, whether we are old or young or somewhere in between.

Samuel could not have responded and grown in his faith without Eli. Nathanael could not have known Jesus without the invitation of Philip. The kingdom of God calls for collaboration, the kingdom of God begins with an invitation, begins with an epiphany as God reaches into our hearts and begins a transformation.

It is never too late to embrace your call as a proclaimer of the Word of God. The Lord calls you by name – how will you respond? Are your ears open, ready to tingle?

Grace and peace, Pastor Kate

We Are Not the Light

Have you tried to tell someone who you are by saying who you are not? In John 1: 6-8, 19-28, John the Witness confesses to the religious authorities who grill him: No, I'm not the Messiah. No, I'm not Elijah. No, I'm not the prophet. Instead, with great understatement, John identifies himself as the one called to point us toward the coming of Jesus Christ - to witness to him. John says of himself that he cries out in the wilderness and that he's unworthy to untie the thong of the sandal of the one who is coming. Like us, John waits in the dark for the coming of the Messiah, who will bring light into the world's darkness. John's "I am not" self declarations contrast to Jesus' later "I am" statements.

John's self understanding arises out of his relationship to Jesus as the coming Messiah. Who John is and what he's called to do (witness to the coming light) depends totally on belonging to Christ. One way to think about our own relationship to Jesus is that Jesus is both sun and Son. We are the moons which circle around the sun/Son, reflecting the light of the sun/Son.

This distinction helps us understand that we're neither the Christ, nor are we God. God is Creator and we are God's creatures. Like John, our call - our work - our service - is to prepare the way so that Christ's light might shine out into the world where darkness seems to prevail.

Hebrew Bible Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11 draws a powerfully poignant picture of the kingdom here on earth that will come to pass where people respond to God by:

• preaching good news to the poor
• healing the heartbroken
• proclaiming freedom to captives
• releasing prisoners
• comforting those who mourn.

Isaiah pictures the year of Jubilee in which land is returned to original owners, debts are cancelled and slaves are freed. Anticipating slates wiped clean is accomplished through the light of the world shining in the dark, never to be extinguished by the darkness. Jesus Christ is the bringer of eternal Jubilee.

While we wait, we can witness to the slivers of light and the bounteous light that we see whenever and wherever we serve in Christ's name. What good and great news this is!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Shelley