We Are Guests at the Table. We Are the Meal

Easter is two weeks gone.  Our dresses hang in the closet as we wonder how many Sundays before we can wear them again.  The lamb and deviled egg leftovers are long eaten.  The candy has been eaten or stashed away or put out on our desks for others' indulgence.  Even with the bright blooming of our yellow forsythia and redbuds, we're back to our daily routines.  We might distantly wonder about the "so-what?" of Easter if we find ourselves daydreaming.

So, it's appropriate to read John's Gospel epilogue:  John 21: 1-19.  The resurrection is over and done and seven of the disciples, wondering what's next, and having no clue, return to their livelihoods of fishing - to no avail.  Slow to recognize Jesus, their post resurrection encounter with their Lord is full of symbolism:  an abundance of fish when they follow Jesus' direction; Peter's impulse to be with his Lord by jumping right into the sea; and the communion of fish and bread awaiting them on the open fire on the beach with Jesus as host at the Table.  The climax of their encounter with the risen Lord is Jesus' command to the forgiven Peter (and to us) to:  "Feed my lambs.  Tend my sheep.  Feed my sheep."
Having been fed (literally and spiritually) by Jesus, the disciples are commissioned to go forth and care for others.  Having come to the Table as guests, they are commanded to go out to the four corners of the world and offer themselves as the meal that will open others' eyes to Jesus - as the meal that will change the world.

Having worshiped with Jesus, they are to sing the praises that epitomize a world filled with the power of God's grace as described in Revelation 5: 11-14:  "Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!  To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"

When we come to the Table and are fed, we are blessed when we become the meal for those in need.  This is discipleship.  This is mission.  This is the kingdom coming to fuller and fuller realization.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

Take it. Break It. Share It. Love It.

What comes to mind when you hear the Oregon Trail? Do you think of the trail of settlers that moved through Kansas in 1841? Do you think of the classic computer game (and now iPhone game?) Wherever your knowledge of the Oregon Trail originates, you probably know that it was not an easy journey. There were many challenges along the way, from the dangers of dysentery to finding food to broken wheels. They took the necessities from home, splitting things up in different wagons, sharing things with other families, and loving each other along the way.

With the struggles of the early American pioneers in mind, read Mark 10:13-16  and Hebrews 1:1-4,2:5-13.

The author of Hebrews says that Jesus is our Salvation Pioneer, that the one who is both fully human and fully divine, paved the way for us to follow. Jesus, being the imprint of God, could have taken a path that we couldn’t follow, or could have chosen to be ashamed of us as brothers and sisters.

Instead, Jesus as our Salvation Pioneer means that we are welcome and expected to join The Way – that we too can get close to perfection – which in this book means fulfilling the purpose to which we are called. In the midst of our hopeless world, we as Christians can have radical hope. We are empowered to live into our identity as Jesus’ brothers and sisters, who praise God alongside Jesus.

On this World Communion Sunday, we can rejoice in our calls as pioneers, as we follow along the trail that Jesus blazed, offering love and radical hospitality to our sisters and brothers around the world. We come together at the table, remembering that Jesus could have chosen a path purely of divine glory, but instead offered himself on the cross for us. We come to the table to take the bread and the cup, break it, share it, and love it, all because of the sacrifice that Jesus made and the sustenance that Jesus continues to offer us on our journey. Thanks be to God!

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate

Sacraments as Acts of God's Power

Presbyterians refer to our two sacraments of baptism and communion (Eucharist; Lord's Supper) as visible marks of God's invisible grace.  I refer to both sacraments as holy mysteries infinite beyond my comprehension.  Experiencing them and growing into these mysteries will be a lifelong quest I embrace with passion.  By trying to explain them in only rational ways ends up underestimating God's power and the presence of the Holy Spirit operating through these sacraments.  They are symbols of both God's almighty transcendence and Christ's intimate nearness to us as we open ourselves to the Spirit at work in them.  Both sacraments offer us a human-divine encounter as we are sprinkled/dipped/or drowned in the waters of baptism and as we receive a taste of the promised kingdom in bread and grape juice/wine.  We use such ordinary things as water, font, table, chunks of bread, and a chalice of juice to open ourselves to God's grace at work in our daily lives.

In Acts 19: 1-7, author Luke says "If you've been baptized in John's baptism [of repentance], you're ready now for the real thing, for Jesus." (E Peterson, "The Message," Acts 19: 4b)  The real thing is the power of the Holy Spirit.  In Mark 1: 4-11, we read of Jesus' baptism as the new baptism available to us.  The waters of the Jordan River and the presence of John baptizing Jesus were real and visible.  But who of us in our baptism experience the skies split and torn open?  Who of us is dive-bombed by a dove (the presence of the Holy Spirit) in our baptisms?  Who of us hears God's voice thundering down, "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life"?

When we are Christ followers baptized in Jesus' name, we can claim this same Holy Spirit and adoption as God's children into God's family.  We can claim God's grace and mercy.  We can regularly celebrate our union with Christ by sitting at table where he is the host.  But it's up to us to experience the power of the Holy Spirit with expectancy and openness to the regular God-sightings available if we but see and hear and look with our hearts.  While the power of the Holy Spirit can be thunderous and mighty and miraculous, this same power and presence can be quiet and profound - as Mother Teresa says:  "We can do no great things - only small things with great love."  To practice our faith as daily small things with great love is effected through the power of the Spirit at work in our lives.

May both sacraments remind you to respond to God with small acts of great love,
Pastor Shelley

The Kingdom of Heaven: Here and Now in the Vineyard with Jesus

We continue our sermon series on "The Kingdom of Heaven: Here and Now" with Matthew's parable, often referred to as the Parable of the Wicked Tenants: Matthew 21: 33-46. A supporting scripture is Isaiah 5: 1-7.

The kingdom of heaven here and now can be envisioned as a vineyard, created by God on a fertile hill and planted with choice vines. This is a kingdom vision which should yield the best grapes. But if we look around us, we see a wasteland of briers and thorns, where bloodshed dominates rather than the justice and righteousness we hope for in God's kingdom.

If we are tenants given responsibility for harvesting the vineyard/kingdom to feed the hungry, what fruits of peace and justice for all are we producing? The question from Heifer International is: If there is enough for everyone, why doesn't everyone have enough? How can we co-create with God a kingdom of shalom and wellbeing so that the kingdom of heaven becomes more and more visible?

An answer to these questions centers on Jesus Christ in Matthew 21: 42 - "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes." Through Jesus Christ we bridge the gap between the chaos/violence/oppression/lack of peace all around us and the vision of the kingdom that is realized bit by bit in faithful discipling. On this World Communion Sunday, we Christ followers recognize and celebrate that we are a part of the greater Body of Christ for whom the Easter story of this parable is our very good news. In receiving Christ's body and blood in the sacrament of communion, let us re-commit ourselves - each to our own passion about making a difference in the world as we build on the foundation Jesus has laid for us.