LIMITLESS FEEDING

Union Avenue

News Feed #1

A relatively small country – about ½ the population of New York City – known primarily as the home of the Nobel Peace Prize …a country that has never experienced an act of terror … involved in very few disputes or wars … on July 22, 2011 experienced an atrocious act of terror on government officials and youth campers.

It was done to re-Christianize Europe.

The attorney for Anders Behring Breivik claims that his client is insane and not truly religious.  Insane or not – all of that horror – done in the name of Jesus.  That cannot be dismissed.

Not only have the people of Norway been hurt.  The Church of Jesus Christ must take seriously the shame of this atrocity.  The seed that fed this act came from someone who claims to know the needs of the body of Christ.

We dare not dismiss it lightly – or blame it all on insanity.

News Feed # 2

The country seeing itself as world leader in so many ways – individual freedoms, economic stability, civility in communities – has now been showing off to the entire world just how dysfunctional leadership can be.  Many of us don’t doubt the United States will get through the next 2 days of our economic disputes.  Some understand the duplicitous nature of politicians who for weeks will name call, disrespectfully flail at each other, create havoc for power gain and then go back to normalcy after the chaos dies down.  But in the process people are hurt, disgusted, and ashamed of leadership.

We cannot dismiss this lightly or pretend that it has not hurt us all.

New Feed # 3

A governor of a region gets involved in a sex scandal. He falls in love with his brother’s mother-in-law, dismisses his own wife and marries his new love.  A rather outspoken religious leader brings the issue to the public and makes a spectacle of the governor and his new family.

The governor had the religious leader put in prison – fearing that much more retribution would cause a major riot.   At a birthday party for the governor, however, retribution was achieved.  The new wife and her daughter connived and the end result was the head of the religious man – John the Baptist – being served on a platter for the governor, Herod Antipas.

This was a stunning and hurtful event – not to be dismissed lightly …and is the prelude to our morning’s scripture.

Jesus needed some time and space after he received the news of John’s horrific death.  The body of Jesus Christ needed time and space upon hearing the devastating news of Norway’s slaughter (in the name of Jesus) last week.  We all need some time and space after the antics of our leaders in this not-so-illustrious country.  There are many  – too many – times in our lives (our families, our neighborhoods, even our faith communities) when we clearly need time and space away from shameful and dispiriting acts of brothers and sisters.

However, with Jesus, the crowds wouldn’t let him be.  He needed to be alone.  He undoubtedly needed to pray.  He probably needed to allay the fears of his disciples – for surely their very lives were also in jeopardy. The crowds needed him!  And so, Jesus gave them what he had:  compassion and love.

When evening came Jesus’ disciples were done.  They were tired.  They were probably afraid.  They had been steadfast with Jesus in dealing with this immense crowd.  But enough was enough.  And so they told Jesus to send the crowds away… the disciples TOLD Jesus what to do.  Most of you know how much I love and respect our staff …and hopefully how I encourage each one of them in their particular giftedness.  I do not recall any one of them ever telling me what I had to do.  And I do not know how I would react if they did.  Hopefully, I could be as savvy as Jesus.

When the disciples told Jesus to send away the crowds so they could get their own food, Jesus merely replied – they don’t need to go away – YOU give them something to eat!

This of course, is the beginning of the miracle story (the only miracle told by all four of our Gospel writers) of the feeding of the thousands with loaves and fish.

We probably think of the miracle as the five loaves and two fish being able to feed 5,000 men PLUS women and children.  Or perhaps the miracle is that the leftovers filled 12 baskets full.

Or was the miracle that the disciples did what Jesus asked…and indeed they fed this immense crowd (Jesus merely blessed and broke the loaves).

Or was the miracle that after such a catastrophic and painful experience, Jesus was able to regroup and give out of his true nature – give the compassion and love of God to the people who needed it most.

Dear Church of Jesus Christ we are called into all of those miracles.  We are called into knowing that there is enough for all to receive what is necessary …to be fed.

We are called to be the ones who believe so much that we can make it happen.

And we are called to give out of our own true natures…which, too are filled with the love and compassion of God.

We cannot wash our hands of the international incident in Norway …or even alleviate the sorrow with financial aid.  As church we have a responsibility to attend to the erroneous understanding that Jesus would ever want to destroy people outside the Christian faith.  But it will take some miracle working to accomplish this.  And Jesus is calmly telling us we can and we will do it.

Certainly it will take miracle upon miracle for our government to be fed with the vision they need … but again, we are in this one together.

It took Jesus’ challenge for the disciples to refocus on the ministry needs they could provide and for which God was giving them power.  And that focus allowed the miracles through their hands.

In the ups and downs of our family and congregational life, it always takes listening to Jesus about refocusing.  And then he tells us how to be involved in the miracles.

Children are waiting to be fed faith stories.  Mission groups are needing to be challenged in their endeavors.  Artists are hungry for the spirit they know lives and breathes through the ministry of this congregation.  Youth are eagerly watching how we care and how we live consistently with what we teach.  People in this neighborhood and around the world are hungry for the ministry of miracle that Jesus Christ tells us we can provide.

It is all limitless feeding and limitless possibility – when we believe the words and direction of Jesus – refocus and you give them something to eat

TELL IT!

Isaiah 55:10-13

Union Avenue

A movie of 8 years ago focused on a rather self-centered and sour meteorologist.  He begrudgingly traveled from Pittsburgh to Punxsutawney, PA, to cover the annual groundhog festivities, even more begrudgingly made his report and then tried to zoom out of town and back to Pittsburgh.  A blizzard prevented that return.

When he awoke the next morning, it was Groundhog Day – again…. and the same scenario played out as on the prior day.  No one but the meteorologist was aware of the repeat. On subsequent days, there was a continued repeat.  The meteorologist then decided to change HIS behavior – getting wild and realizing there would be no consequences.  He couldn’t end the constant looping of time.  Finally that created a despondency within him that ended in extremely bizarre behavior including kidnapping the celebratory groundhog, going on a wild drive and chase from the police killing himself AND the groundhog.  The next morning he once again woke to the beginning of Groundhog Day.

He finally shared this craziness with his colleague – who suggested rather than enjoying debauchery without consequences that he might try living a better life!

Rather miraculously he took the suggestion to heart – invests himself in the lives of the people of Punxsutawney, relayed an impressive report about Groundhog Day …and woke up the next morning to the reality that, indeed, it was the next morning …February 3^rd.

Oh – that we would have chances in life like that!  That we could repeat but stand still with the days when we goofed, didn’t care, couldn’t give our all, or decidedly chose to do what we knew would not be at all helpful to anyone else – especially ourselves!

The film was funny and sad … hopeful and despairing …very much like life.  Although fantasy, the essence of it is true – according to the faith we claim.

This morning’s prophetic scripture identifies God’s word…God’s proclamation… God’s gift being spoken, spread, shared with the universe with the expectation that it will accomplish its intention.  There is a big – huge! – however.  That word… proclamation… gift from God is not like a ‘zap and it is accomplished’.  No, the prophet likens it to rain and snow that comes down from the heavens and waters the earth … offers seed to the sower who grows grain, makes bread and at some point feeds people.  This is a long process involving us!

Even though the intention (as relayed a bit later in the scripture) is for joy, peace, and celebration to be part of the fullness of God’s life – as well as relief from thorns and briers …all of us are well aware that this process of life takes time, many foiled attempts, excuses, forgiveness, new starts … and some success.

Yet…God waits.  God, according to our faith, is not stingy with continued proclamation … is not unforgiving when we fail to follow the path hoped for and desired … but continues to give the word that will ultimately spread life.

Our days don’t get stuck as the meteorologist in Groundhog Day but if we are fortunate we are given many days, many chances, many opportunities to align ourselves with the rain from heaven that will ultimately feed the people of this universe.  Unfortunately, we also spend many days, many chances and many opportunities complaining about the rain, trying to stay under the protective umbrellas of life, and offering excuses for why we cannot or will not look for the joy at the end of the showers.

And God – according to the prophet Isaiah – speaks and that which is proposed will succeed in the end.  There is always hope.  God bases all of this creation and all of life on the hope that eventually, somehow the purposes and intentions with which the word has been spoken will be fulfilled.

Tell It! is the theme of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in General Assembly in Nashville now.  Opening last evening, those in attendance will have multitude of opportunities to listen, learn, discuss and grapple with how to tell the story of faith that has been our portion of the Church for 200 years and to identify where we are in the longer ‘tell it’ proclamation of God’s whole story.

In those early days – 200 years ago – leaders of this movement of people were anxious to reclaim/restore what they knew about the early church…that of the time immediately following Jesus.  Tied to that restoration concept was the ideal that the church was one, was unified in such a way that the world could hear and see clearly the faith and proclamation of God that was so important.  During the centuries in between the church had fractured, divided, broken into so many, many splinters that the Christian message could not have the power for people’s lives that was intended.

The ‘Tell It’ word of our forebears then was unity based on what had been in the beginning.  It didn’t work.  Like the meteorologist, trying to repeat what had been was at crosshairs with getting onto a new day.  The portion of church family of which we are a part – Disciples – had to let go of trying to literally restore what had been the New Testament Church and get on with exploring paths of unity with the many and varied other families that had grown and changed within the Christian faith… hoping and striving to maintain the essentials of the Christian faith.

Retrospectively our denominational leaders could identify with the morning’s passage.  The rain that was the beginning point of God’s proclamation never comes back as rain …but hopefully waters the earth, allowing seeds to sprout and bread to be made for the hungry.  The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) continues to lead in efforts of Christian unity and now the beginning of interfaith dialogue throughout the world …difficult as it is in times of increased nationalism, territorial fear, and economic downswings.  The rain of the beginning does not, nor will not look like the earth being watered, the grain growing or the people being fed.  But it is the same proclamation!

Individually we cannot only find ourselves within the stream of God’s proclamation …discovering a place within the process of rain becoming bread, but we can also identify our own rain proclamations.  We would all like to believe that our word – spoken – will bring the results we want …and quickly.

Stepping back to laugh at that ridiculous expectation is important.  God waits for what seems to us an eternity.  Why do we think we could put time frames on our own expectations?  It is humbling and helpful to read and re-read the prophetic word for the day.

May it be inspiring and helpful to listen to the rain – where God’s word is gently pouring into this world and align ourselves with the possibilities of joy, peace and celebration that are intended.

May we be blessed by the forgiving spirit of God when our repetitive mistakes and fears keep us from growing and hearing.

May we long for the moments of new life when we discover our part of the bread making needed to feed this world.

May we find ourselves a part of God’s proclamation…’telling it’ to the world.

WHO IS IN CONTROL?

  Romans 7:15-25a

Union Avenue

There is good news and bad news about the 235^th birthday celebration we are enjoying this weekend in the United States of America.

The bad news is that we have not perfected our communities; we still have hungry people; we are riddled with crime; discrimination is still alive and well; political discourse is often downright nasty; and not everyone is happy all of the time.

The good news is that we keep trying; we have created systems that allow for change; our mode of government makes provision for diverse opinions and varieties of outlooks.  Historically, we have tried to repair inbred discrimination and continue to do that – even as slowly as it might seem.  Through 2 1/3 centuries our laws have been altered as our vision about rights of individuals and community living have expanded. I believe we have the potential to keep working toward the good.

The Apostle Paul didn’t have the advantage of living in the United States of America.  And the law that he not only claims as good – but in other writings congratulates himself on keeping – is not nationalistic law.  Rather, it is religious law.  There are significant differences.  The similarities are in how laws (both national and religious) hold community life in balance.  They set standards for rights and responsibilities.  They set limits for behaviors, which will injure or impair some and/or give undue power to others. They create control.

So, law within the context of faith is not bad.  It’s just not enough.  Even if we were able to attend to all the clear-cut and ambiguous standards of living in community together …even when we are able to keep up the disciplines of prayer, service, good stewardship of life to which God calls us … it isn’t enough.

No…let’s stop there…because even speculating or saying that we might be able to keep up all that we know we should may be exterior posturing for others … surely no one claims that in full honesty to themselves.

And this is where Paul is taking us in his anguished wrestling.  We know what is right …we know how to live … often we set standards of our life even higher than what is merely expected.

Gloriously, we are able to meet the standards … sometimes …and even our own expectations … sometimes …but not all of the time.

Then we churn with Paul, as we do we do what we do not want to do.

Better laws … better standards … even lower expectations will not solve the problem.  The gift of Jesus Christ is not about better law.  It is not even about the reality of breaking the law.  Acts of omission or commission do not encompass the whole story.

We are incomplete within our very nature.  The why of this is incomprehensible (at least to me).  As believers in an amazing God who created this spectacular world, we have to scratch our heads about why the ‘creation job’ wasn’t a bit more complete. I like organization and order …and I would like a much more controlled world than the one in which we live! Wouldn’t you have done it more perfectly – especially if you had unlimited resources?  Because we grow in how to do it better is precisely why we continue to progress in creating better laws, fairer practices, more benevolent services.

And God longs for us to be in this co-creating process …and gives us inspiration, energy, challenge to keep it going.

And yet, we will never get it done perfectly.  The good news – the Gospel of Jesus Christ – proclaims that we are not sufficient … no system of law … no ethical rule of life … no community development procedures will take us to the pinnacle we desire or which will replicate God.

That same Gospel proclaims that when we recognize … acknowledge … and confess our insufficiency we will be made whole in a way that we can never know on our own.

And so the insufficiency with which we have been created is counted as sufficient when we lean on the source and creator of all life – who is God.  This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is why we claim him as the sovereign of life – he has shown us and brought us into this fullness.

As the Church – the living Body of Jesus Christ – we are called to share that revelation with each other and to the rest of the world.  Finding ways to carry out this responsibility that will resonate with others (and ourselves) provides a growing edge … a good one!

Entering an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting sounds quite similar to our morning scripture.  Rather than ‘Hi, I am Suzanne, and I am an alcoholic’…which would be the entry line for an AA meeting …and the response would be ‘Hi, Suzanne’… Christians, when we gather could say ‘Hi, I am Suzanne, and I am a sinner’.  The 12 steps of AA claim that it is only through that absolute confession and the reliance on a higher power will there be a change in life.  Additionally, an alcoholic understands that the process is day-by-day.

As loving, small, tightly woven a community of faith might be we do not expose our vulnerabilities as openly as any 12-step program.  And yet, at the foundation of our community – if we are a Christian community – is the knowledge that we all (as Paul claims) do not do what we want, but do the very thing we hate.

The badge of honor we must proclaim does not stop there, however.  Claiming our sinfulness … or even identifying others’ sinfulness (which has unfortunately been a more vocal part of church history) is not only uncomfortable, messy, and moves quickly into game playing … it is NOT the whole story…. it is merely the base point.

When we accept that we are inadequate (sinful) and trust the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives to make us complete —then we have a story to tell …then we have a proclamation to share … then we are living out the fullness to which God longs… and we truly know and proclaim who IS in control!

Oh, that we might know and speak that today!