O:9:"MagpieRSS":24:{s:6:"parser";i:0;s:12:"current_item";a:0:{}s:5:"items";a:25:{i:0;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-6040915200209839484";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-06-21T00:00:00.000-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-06-23T13:47:43.440-04:00";s:5:"title";s:36:"Phil Kniss: Shared until all are fed";s:12:"atom_content";s:14258:"span style="font-weight: bold;"June 21, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;""Faith, Food, and Money"br /Isaiah 58:6-10; Proverbs 13:23; Matthew 25:34-35, 37, 40; Acts 6:1-7/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Watch video.../spanbr /[coming soon]br /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...listen to audio/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/d5xeuw/2009-06-21_Shared_until_all_are_fed.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="210" align="middle" height="25"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...print text to read later or share with someone (/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-06-21.pdf"click here/aspan style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);")/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...or read it now/spanbr /br /Faith, Food, and Money?br / the economics of food,br / the justice (or injustice) of our food production and delivery system,br / and how our faith affects our participation in it.br /br /There?s probably no sermon topic I?ve taken on in recent yearsbr / that is more complicated, and potentially divisive, than this one.br /br /That being said,br / there is probably no sermon I?ve preached in recent yearsbr / that has a more simple, straight-forward messagebr /  than this one.br /br /This one message has already been articulated, in a dozen ways,br / in the scriptures that were read this morning.br /br /And to make the message even simpler to grasp,br / the Old Testament readings were readbr / in the Contemporary English Version,br /  which is said to be written at a fourth-grade reading level.br /br /Here?s a sampling of what we heard,br / in words a fourth-grader can easily understand.br /I quote:br / ?I?ll tell you what it really means to worship the Lord . . .br /  Share your food with everyone who is hungry,br /  share your home with the poor and homeless.br / The Lord blesses everyone who freely gives food to the poor.br / God gives justice to the poor and food to the hungry.br / Plant and harvest your crops for six years,br /  but during the seventh year,br /  the poor are to eat what they wantbr /   from your fields, vineyards, and olive trees.br / Every third year, take ten percent of your harvest, bring it into town,br /  and put it in a community storehouse . . .br /  Give food to the poor who live in your town,br /   including orphans, widows, and foreigners.br / If they have enough to eat, then the Lord your God will be pleased.?br /br /That?s a small sampling of the nearly infinite number of textsbr / that speak directly to God?s people aboutbr /  how God expects us to live in relation to the poor and hungry.br /br /It is clearly, and eternally, God?s willbr / that the poor are adequately fed and sheltered,br / and that food is to be shared with the poorbr /  from the supplies of those who have plenty.br /That is an incontrovertible biblical principle.br /It is a major and recurring theme in all of scripture,br / that those with plenty have a moral responsibilitybr / to see that the poor are fed.br /There will be plenty for everyone,br / if it is shared,br / if there is justice.br /That is today?s simple message.br /br /God is grieved when injustice robs the poor of what they deserve.br / Our key verse this morning is Proverbs 13:23?br / ?The field of the poor may yield much food,br /  but it is swept away through injustice.?br / And God is deeply grieved when this happens.br /_____________________br /br /Now, we need to remember that all these versesbr / about the poor, the hungry, and about sharingbr / were written in a much simpler time.br /br /It was an agricultural economy.br / Wealth was not necessarily in banks.br / It wasn?t tied up in some amorphous entity called, ?the market.?br / Wealth was in land and food.br /If you had the legal right, and the resources, to own land,br / you would grow good food on it, and you would live well.br /But some people?whole classes of people like the Levites,br / like widows and other unmarried women,br / like orphans,br / like foreign-born residents?br /  were legally prohibited from land ownership,br /  and were thus put in a position of utter dependence.br / They were always a hair-breadth away from poverty,br /  and potentially, starvation.br /br /So . . . in the laws God gave to the people of Israel,br / God made provisions for the care of the poor.br / God set up procedures that guaranteed they wouldn?t go without.br / Israelite agribusiness operated six years out of every seven.br /  They had to harvest a seven-year supply of food in six years.br /  And the seventh year, the Sabbath year,br /   they let the fields and olive treesbr /   produce whatever they would without interference.br /  And anything that grew for that year belonged to the poor.br /  It was theirs to eat, and to store up.br /br / And every third year, the tithe, the ten percent of the harvestbr /  did not get eaten up in the festivals, as in other years.br /  It went to a community storehouse.br /  And was divvied out to the Levites, the poor, the widows,br /   the orphans, and the foreigners.br /br /In God?s economy there would be a range of wealth, naturally,br / between the rich and the poor.br / But it would not get out of hand, out of normal balance.br / The poor would always have something to eat,br /  because there would be sharing.br / They would share until all were fed.br /br /That is how God wants it. Period.br / ?Is not this the fast that I choose?? God asks in Isaiah 58.br / ?Is it not to share your bread with the hungry??br /_____________________br /br /Now, as I pointed out,br / we live in more complicated times.br / We have a global economy and food systembr /  powered by multi-national economic entitiesbr /  that are too complex for most of us here to understand.br / In a simple family farm economy,br /  the scriptures explain precisely how the poor can get food:br /  by picking up the grain that gets dropped during harvest,br /  or that grows up volunteer in the Sabbath years.br / But that doesn?t help us very much today.br /  We don?t have biblical instruction onbr /   which foods at the grocery store we should buybr /   and which foods we shouldn?t,br /    because of the hardship they cause for small farmersbr /    in Mexico or Peru or our own immigrant communities.br /  We are not given specific moral guidance on how to workbr /   within the environment of a global food system.br /  We are not instructed on the relative moral and ethical meritsbr /   of eating bananas or drinking coffeebr /    produced on a former rainforest,br /   or eating grapes in the middle of winter,br /    because they were grown in Chile,br /   or shopping at chain stores versus independent grocers,br /   or at what price-point, if any, it begins to make more sensebr /    to buy food at Wal-Mart or Food Lion,br /    instead of the local farmer?s market.br /  There are no Bible verses, sorry to say, to instruct usbr /   on particular matters concerning food and moneybr /   such as industrial agriculture, discount grocery outlets,br /    Food Co-ops, and dumpster diving.br /_____________________br /br /I am not an economist, by any stretch of the imagination.br / I am no expert on agriculture,br /  or the environment,br /  or food sciences,br /  or international development,br /  or the workings of the global marketplace.br /br /But I am a follower of Jesus.br / I am a person who believesbr /  the scriptures carry some authority for usbr /  as we try to navigate life in a very complicated world,br /  and do it with some integrity.br /br /So my message this morningbr / is not to speak to the finer points of argument pro and conbr / on the various approaches to questions of global food justice.br /br /It is worthwhile talking about those issues in the church,br / that?s for sure.br /But we first need to be clear, and unified,br / in affirming what scripture saysbr / about what God wants for his people to do,br /  in regard to the poor and hungry.br /br /God wants the poor to be fed. Adequately. And absolutely.br /God wants there to be a just sharingbr / of the essential resources for life.br /When some of us have an excess, a food garbage problem,br / and others are dying for lack of food,br / God is deeply grieved.br /It is a grievous sin, according to scripture,br / for me to have plenty,br / and to have the ability to feed the hungry,br /  yet fail to do so.br /br /In fact, it?s so important,br / Jesus said it will actually be held up to mebr / as a measuring stick at judgement day.br /Matthew 25:br / ?Then the king will say to those at his right hand,br /  ?Come, you that are blessed by my Father,br /   inherit the kingdom prepared for youbr /   from the foundation of the world;br /  because . . . because I was hungry and you gave me food,br /   I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.?br /br /It?s so important,br /  that the very first church business meeting . . . ever,br / was called to solve this problem.br /In Acts 6, which was read, the twelve apostles called togetherbr / the whole community of disciplesbr / to address the issue that some widows were getting neglectedbr /  when the food was being shared.br /We don?t know all the economic and social dynamics going on there,br / and it was very early in the development of the church,br / but I think it?s significantbr / that the very first church committee in history,br / the first programmed ministry established in the church,br /  was a committee of seven deacons,br /  whose explicit job description was to ensurebr /  a just sharing of food resources within the church,br /  so that no one would go hungry.br /br /And as soon as that problem was resolved, it says in Acts 6:7,br / ?The word of God continued to spread;br /  the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem,br /  and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.?br / People were coming to faith in Jesus,br /  because the church concerned itself with food and justice.br /_____________________br /br /You know, I?m really not very concerned that we all agreebr /  on the ideal economic theorybr /   on food production and distribution.br / It?s not critical to me that everyone in the church agreesbr /  on the relative merits of capitalism and socialismbr /   and any other isms,br /  or on the relative moral goodnessbr /   of local agriculture vs. large-scale agribusiness,br /  or on whether it?s more Christian to shopbr /   at a Food Co-op, than at Red Front, than at Wal-Mart.br /br /In the whole of scripture?Old and New Testaments?br / there is one overwhelming concern that God keeps bringing up,br /  over and over and over and over.br / Are those who have much . . . sharing with those who have little?br / Are the poor getting justice?br / Are the hungry getting all the food they needbr /  for a full and healthy life?br / Those are the questions that God keeps bringing up.br / So those are the questions we ought to be asking, too.br /br /If you want to support a particular economic theory,br / or agricultural and food system model, great!br /But don?t argue it just on the basisbr / that it makes for the strongest economy,br / or that it?s best for American farmers,br / or even that it?s best for the environment.br /All those are good things.br / But that?s not what the Bible keeps bringing up again and again.br /br /If you want to defend a particular approach to food production,br / or a particular economic theory,br / defend it on biblical grounds.br /Defend it with hard evidence that it is lifting up the poor.br /Defend it with evidence that the hungry are getting fed.br /Defend it with evidence that the gulfbr / between the rich and the poor is getting smaller.br /If it?s going the other direction,br / something has gone wrong spiritually, morally, biblically.br / People are not sharing.br / And that is clearly not the way God wants it to be.br /br /From a biblical standpoint,br / it doesn?t matter how solid the economic theory is.br / If the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer . . .br / If there are more people dying of starvation and over-indulgence,br /  it is sinful,br /  because it is directly opposing God?s plan for human life.br /br /As one of our hymns says,br / ?For the healing of the nations, Lord, we pray with one accord,br /  for a just and equal sharing of the things that earth affords.?br /br /And as one of our new hymns says,br / ?Longing for food, many are hungrybr / Longing for water, many still thirstbr / Make us your bread, broken for othersbr / Shared until all are fed.?br /br /Let?s turn to Sing the Journey, the green book, and sing together #54.br /br / ?Phil Kniss, June 21, 2009br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-6040915200209839484?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/6040915200209839484/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=6040915200209839484";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/6040915200209839484";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/6040915200209839484";s:4:"link";s:75:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/06/phil-kniss-shared-until-all-are-fed.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:1;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-6690403835784059380";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-06-14T00:00:00.004-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-06-23T11:58:31.754-04:00";s:5:"title";s:28:"Phil Kniss: It is God?s gift";s:12:"atom_content";s:16673:"span style="font-weight: bold;"June 14, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Ecclesiastes 3:1-15/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Watch video.../spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5154022amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5154022amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...listen to audio/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/8729e2/2009-06-14_It_is_Gods_gift.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...print text to read later or share with someone (/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-06-14.pdf"click here/aspan style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);")/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...or read it now/spanbr /br /br /I found a new treasure this weekbr / in that pessimistic piece of sacred literature we call Ecclesiastes.br /Said to be written by wise King Solomon.br /But it sounds like the work of a depressed blues musician,br / if they sang the blues in the 9th-century BC.br / Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!br /br /You can almost hear the lyrics:br / ?I got those low-down, empty,br /  and meaningless vanity blues.?br /There is nothing new under the sun.br / all is vanity and a chasing after wind.br / ?I got those same-old, same-old,br /  nothing-new and wind-chasing blues.?br /br /It?s always been a challenge finding inspiration in this book.br / Except for this one passage we read this morning,br / ?For everything there is a season,br /  a time to be born, a time to die, etc...?br / Now that?s beautiful poetry, and even profound.br / They were inspiring enough that Pete Seeger and the Byrdsbr /  and other idealistic and forward-looking folk musiciansbr /  took the words and sang them out with hope and gusto.br / Became a great peace anthem.br /br /But pretty much the rest of Ecclesiastes . . .br / it?s not folk music, it?s the blues.br /br /But I found a treasure in it this week,br / and it shows up in one form or another all over Ecclesiastes.br /Here?s what we heard this morning:br / ?It is God?s gift that all should eat and drinkbr /  and take pleasure in all their toil.?br /br /The act of eating and drinking,br / and all the hard, physical work required to eat and drink well,br / is one of God?s generous gifts to us.br / A precious gift, lovingly given,br /  to be treasured and to take pleasure from.br /br /And the preacher in Ecclesiastes echoes that all through the book.br /Here?s just a sampling.br / ?my heart found pleasure in all my toil?br / ?There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink,br /  and find enjoyment in their toil. This is from the hand of God.?br / ?There is nothing better than that all should enjoy their work,br /  for that is their lot.?br / ?It is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoymentbr /  in all the toil with which one toils under the sun.?br / ?[To] find enjoyment in their toil?this is the gift of God.?br /And there?s more.br /br /These wise words come from a time in human history,br / when an extremely high percentage of workbr / was directed toward food production.br /Hard manual labor was required of the vast majority of people,br / just to produce life?s basic necessities for the local population?br / food, clothing, and shelter.br /br /Everything they ate they grew on their land, or hunted nearby.br /Everything they wore came from plant or animal products,br / which had to be raised, harvested, shorn, beaten, combed,br / twisted, spun, tanned, scraped, dyed, rolled, and/or woven,br /  and finally cut, fitted, and sewn.br /And they lived in houses created from scratch,br / from stuff they extracted from the earth surrounding them.br /Hard manual labor was the life of the peoplebr / to whom the Preacher in Ecclesiastes was preaching.br /br /I wonder how they heard his words.br /How did the people of Israel feel about their hard work?br / Did they find pleasure in all their toil?br /They were a very small nation, a minority culturebr / surrounded by the culture of empiresbr /  that saw the world in a different light.br /br /In the Greco-Roman worldbr / manual labor was de-valued, looked down upon.br /It was delegated to the lower working class, and slave class,br / who were deemed best suited for manual labor.br /The ?higher? things in life?br / politics, philosophy, the arts, athletics, and leisure?br / were activities fit for those with education and power,br /  those with full and free citizenship in the empire.br /br /The Israelites had a different view of work,br / according to a renowned Mennonite OT scholar, Waldemar Janzen.br / He says that in contrast to surrounding societies that devalued work,br /  the biblical view of work, is that it ?is deeply and positivelybr /   stamped by its association with God.?br / God worked!br / God worked and worked and worked, to create all things,br /  all creatures, and all people.br /  And God said, when he looked upon his work, ?It is good.?br / And then, God rested.br / The Bible develops a strong work ethic,br /  directly linked to a strong rest ethic.br / So according to scripture,br /  when we work, and when we rest from work,br /  we are participating with Godbr /   in God?s creating and sustaining and restoring work.br /  We are co-laborers with God.br /_____________________br /br /And how we view workbr / has everything to do with how we view time.br /The people of the Biblebr / had a counter-cultural view of work and time.br / How about us?br /br /We live in a society driven by the desirebr / to achieve greater speed and greater efficiency,br / and to work less.br /The American lifestyle is all aboutbr / accomplishing more and exerting ourselves less.br /Technology allows people to work 60-hour weeks?br / at a desk, phone, computer,br / or at the controls of heavy machinery?br / and then come back to a home well-stockedbr /  with convenience food and labor-saving gadgets.br /Pop open a can of soup,br / pour it in a bowl and nuke it,br / and then carry it to the La-Z-Boy chair,br /  with a built-in pocket for the TV remote.br /We have created a disturbing national paradox,br / we are a nation of workaholics,br / who go to almost any length to avoid work.br /br /We longer need to work with our hands,br / and we can still eat all the food we want.br /Why spend valuable hours in the kitchenbr / planning and working and sweating to produce somethingbr /  you can pull out of the freezer and microwave,br /  or grab at a drive-through window,br /  or dump out of a can?br /br /We have come to the point where fast-food and convenience-foodbr / is the norm.br /And the cook who regularly creates a labor of love in the kitchen,br / is practically a freak of nature,br / whose neighbors and friends speak of in hushed reverencebr /  and wonder how in the world they do that.br /br /By forgetting how to grow our own food,br / and not having a clue how to cook a meal withbr /  red beets, okra, or kohlrabi,br / we have not only lost our direct connection with the earthbr /  which brings forth everything we eat,br / we have lost our connection with each other.br /br /The same cultural forces that moved us out of the kitchenbr / have also moved us away from the table.br /It?s a waste of time to sit on our hind ends at a dinner table.br / We could save an hour or more,br /  downing a Whopper or Quarter-Pounder in the carbr /  on the way to a late evening shopping trip or the movies.br /Fewer and fewer meals are eaten at home,br / with the family,br / gathered around a table,br / with the TV turned off,br / with full attentivenessbr /  to those with whom we are sharing a meal.br /br /Thankfully, some of these things I?m lamenting,br / are beginning to trend a different direction.br /The booming success of the Harrisonburg Farmers? Marketbr / is a very hopeful sign.br /People are being introduced to new vegetables,br / and need to figure out what to do with them,br / and whatever they come up with,br /  will very likely not be consumed in a car.br / It will be savored, appreciated,br /  and often shared with loved ones.br /br /But making these lifestyle changes requires work,br / and therefore, time. Lots of time.br / More time than what we think we have.br /br /But the wisdom of Ecclesiastes would suggestbr / doing so is not just the smart thing to do,br / it aligns us with God?s very intentions for our lives.br /?It is God?s gift that all should eat and drinkbr / and take pleasure in all their toil.?br /?There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink,br / and find enjoyment in their toil.br / This is from the hand of God.?br /br /By rushing through life trying to maximize speed and efficiency,br / we are spurning a giftbr /  offered to us from the very hand of God.br /br /God knows, and we know, that time is stuff of relationships.br / Without time, there can be no nurture of relationships.br /br /In God?s great economy,br / time is what gives us the capacity to grow,br /  the capacity to change,br /  the capacity to create deep connections with others,br /  the capacity to develop into the persons God desires us to be.br /br /Time is the realm within which relationships become possible,br / within which true community is formed.br /Time is the realm within which God moves among us,br / where it becomes possible to experience the activity of God.br /Why, in our obsession with doing more in less time,br / would we intentionally turn down a gift God is wanting to give us.br / ?It is God?s gift that all should eat and drinkbr /  and take pleasure in all their toil.?br /br /Every moment we have is really a gift of God to savor,br / a gift for which to be grateful,br / a gift to receive and to use well, as good stewards.br /br /Recently when Irene was working in the church nurserybr / 2-year-old Isaac Sachs wanted a rice cake to eat,br /  and Irene gave it to him.br / But he stood there holding it, and wouldn?t eat it,br /  and finally asked Irene for a chair.br / When he got his little chair,br /  he pulled it up to a little table and sat down.br / Then he sat down and happily ate his rice cake.br /Someone is raising him well.br /br /Eating at a table slows . . . things . . . down.br /By slowing down, breathing more deeply,br / being more attentive to the world around us,br / being more attentive to the people with whom we share space,br / by taking more time to enjoy the pleasures of toilbr /  involved in good eating and drinking,br /  and in other activities of living well,br / we are opening ourselves to greater possibilities for God to act,br /  and to move in and among us,br /  and to heal the brokenness and alienationbr /   that we have brought on ourselves.br /br /When we rush through life inattentively,br / when we gulp down food and drink alone,br / without a thought of gratitude,br /We are effectively separating ourselves from God,br / from other people,br / from ourselves,br / and from the earth itself.br /br /The simple act of sitting at a table with neighbors or family,br / around dishes of food over which someone has lovingly toiled,br / and offering thanks to God for these giftsbr /  of food and drink . . . and work . . .br / that is a communal act of healing and peace-building.br /And it is one we should do far more often.br /br /Now, I am not calling for instant perfection,br / and I?m not suggesting we can live without any compromise.br /There are some food pleasures rooted in our fast-food culturebr / that I am not quite ready to give up completely.br /I think I can assure you that I have not ordered my lastbr / Whopper-no-cheese-hold-the-mayo, with a side of small fries,br /  at a Drive-thru window.br /br /I don?t do it often. And I could do it less.br / But I?m not asking us all to be the perfect gardeners,br /  and perfect cooks, and perfect eaters all the time.br /br /What I am asking us to do, all the time,br / is to take time to be more attentive and more grateful.br /br /Despite the current popularity of local foods,br / and farmers? markets, and community agriculture,br / we are still fighting against a culture that, as much as ever,br /  worships speed and efficiency,br /  and hates unnecessary manual labor.br /br /I invite us today to make a counter-cultural commitment.br / This commitment is for one week only.br / For some of us, it might be a very easy commitment to make,br /  because we are doing it already.br / For others, myself included, it might be a challenge.br /In a way, it?s building on Barbara?s challenge last Sunday?br / to eat less, more often, and with more friends.br /This one is getting pretty specific.br /br /Here it is. In two parts.br / First, today and every day the rest of this week,br /  let us commit to sitting down to a table,br /   with undivided attention on the activity of the meal itself,br /   in the morning, and around noon, and in the evening.br /  Three times a day, we sit down at a table.br /   That is, a table intended for dining.br /   A desk with a computer monitor on itbr /    doesn?t count as a table.br /   Neither does a TV tray in the living room.br / Second, at least one of those daily mealsbr /  will be shared with friends or family.br /br /I realize right away the challenges this will present to some.br / It means some will have to get up 5 or 10 minutes earlier,br /  so their granola bar and juice can be eaten at a table,br /  instead of grabbed on the way out the door.br / Or you might have to adjust an evening ritualbr /  of eating in front of the TV watching the news.br / It means some, like myself,br /  cannot stay in my office working through lunch.br /  I?ll need to walk out of my office,br /   and find a real table and eat a real lunch,br / It means that some who live alone will have a real challengebr /  to find ways to share a meal with others at least once a day.br /  It might mean more inviting others in,br /   or inviting yourself to someone else?s table,br /   even if you offer to bring the food.br / And some of you might be saying, ?What?br /  I already do this. Everyday.?br /  That?s great, just keep doing it,br /   and realize what a gift that is to yourself and to others.br /br /I do think it?s something that everyone of us is capable of doing.br / Whether we?re willing to accept the imposition of time,br /  or inconvenience, is another question.br / But it?s only a one-week challenge.br /br /I am committing myself to it.br / And I invite all of you to join me.br / And when the week is over,br /  let?s talk to each other about what we learned.br / It might turn out to be a change we want to keep.br / And if so, it will be God?s gift.br /br / ?Phil Kniss, June 14, 2009br /br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-6690403835784059380?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/6690403835784059380/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=6690403835784059380";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/6690403835784059380";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/6690403835784059380";s:4:"link";s:66:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/06/phil-kniss-it-is-gods-gift.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:2;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-4794521767063739813";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-06-07T12:00:00.002-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-06-23T11:59:31.281-04:00";s:5:"title";s:43:"Barbara Moyer Lehman: A Modest Proposal X 2";s:12:"atom_content";s:16418:"span style="font-weight: bold;"June 7, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"I Corinthians 6:19-20; Psalm 104:1-4, 14-31; Philippians 4:10-13; Proverbs 30:7-9/spanbr /br /[no video available this week]br /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Listen to audio/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/d7uwjv/2009-06-07_A_modest_proposal_X_2.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="middle" height="25" width="210"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...print text to read later or share with someone (/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-06-07.pdf"click here/aspan style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);")/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...or read it now/spanbr /br / Several weeks ago we had in our church mailboxes the latest issue of span style="font-style: italic;"Beyond Ourselves/span, the monthly publication of Mennonite Mission Network (MMN).  I was immediately drawn to the colorful cover, as well as the beautiful artwork, layout and great quotes that were in this issue.  The theme was Creation is Christ?s.  For those of you who don?t know or who forgot, the art editor of this publication is David Fast, the young adult son of John and Barb Fast.  He grew up in this congregation.br /br /Inside are many attractive pages but I was captivated by the center one, entitled Wheat, by Jesse Graber.  The art piece has an interesting interplay between the Divine and humankind..  There is progression from the seed sown in plowed fields, watered by the rivers, while the sun shines brightly over the land.  It moves to the golden field of grain ready for harvest, the wheat stalks hovering over the mortar and pestle, as grain is being ground into flour.  With the right ingredients in the hands of someone who knows what this is about, the dough will be kneaded, shaped, baked.  Hands take this bread, human hands, hands that hold it, bless it, slice it, break it, and offer it to one who is hungry.  In the art work, another sits at the side, waiting patiently to receive, to be served, to be fed.  One who might be literally hungry for daily bread, but it might also be one who needs nourishment for the soul, the spirit.  One who is searching, seeking community and a place to commune.br /br / In the Genesis 1 account of the creation, we read, span style="font-style: italic;"?Let the land produce vegetation; seed bearing plants and trees on the land that  bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.?  And it was so.  The land produced vegetation; plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.  And God saw that it was good.?/spanbr /br / Today we begin a series on span style="font-weight: bold;"Faith and Food/span.  Somehow for me, that art work in span style="font-style: italic;"Beyond Ourselves/span, touched on some of the aspects of this series.  The weaving together of our faith as Christians with important daily concerns like how we view food and how we  care for our body.  The topics are broad and could go in many directions, but let me begin by posing these two questions:br /olliAs Christians should our faith impact in any way how we view our bodies and care for our health?/lili As Christians should our faith impact in any way our understanding of food and our food practices?br //li/ol ..likebr /ulli  what we eat, how much we eat?/lili  where we purchase our food?/lili  what we feed our children?/lili  what we serve at our table?/li/ulFrom whom do we take our cues?  What are our guidelines?br /br /It soon becomes apparent when studying the scriptures, that we can find some clues and even a somewhat clear point occasionally, but there really are very few specifics.  We know that physical exercise is good for us, even necessary for optimal health, but I haven?t yet discovered a chapter in the Bible that outlines for this 60 year old female a physical fitness regimen.  And even though we keep reading that eating a small amount of dark chocolate each day can be good for you, I haven?t found that verse either.br /br / We do find in I Corinthians 6, words from the apostle Paul about how we should view our bodies.  The verses that were read are part of a larger section where Paul is responding to some practices of the Christians at Corinth that he found disturbing.   They were misusing their bodies, involving sexual immorality.  They wanted to do what they wanted to do.  They wanted freedom, autonomy.  A favorite slogan was, ?I have the right to do anything I want to do.?  Paul is arguing that, they may be able to do anything, but not everything is beneficial or appropriate.  What the Corinthians were voicing is not much different from what we hear today.  It?s my body, I will do with it what I want.  or We can do anything we want to.  In the section from verses 12-20, Paul weaves together several different arguments against the Corinthians.br / The CEV reads:(v. 19): span style="font-style: italic;"?You surely know that your body is a temple where/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" the Holy Spirit lives.  The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God.  You are no longer your own.  God paid a great price for you.  So use your body to honor God.?/spanbr /br /Paul?s arguments:br /span style="font-weight: bold;"1.)  The body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives./spanbr /  Too often we fail to emphasize and teach this in our time and culture.  We need to cultivate a deeper awareness of the indwelling presence of God.   Maybe if we would teach more about respecting our bodies and developing an authentic reverence for the reality of the Holy Spirit?s presence in our bodies, we would have less promiscuity.   Maybe we would have fewer women and men getting involved in extramarital affairs and fewer young people falling into premarital sexual relationships.  The powerful forces and temptations to abuse and misuse our bodies are just as strong in our time and culture as they were for Paul and his readers.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"2.)  The body is the Lord?s./spanbr / This is extremely difficult for us to understand and accept because our Western culture shouts different messages on a daily basis....we hear words like ?freedom of choice? and ?one?s rights? and autonomy and......br /But we are not our own.....as people who give allegiance to Jesus as Lord, we are bound to that relationship of obedient faithfulness to Christ.  We are people who are shaped by that desire to honor God with our bodies....to glorify God with our bodies.br / Even though this passage was speaking primarily to some issues of sexual immorality, it holds true for other parts of our lives?  If we are to understand that the Spirit dwells within us, that we are the Lord?s, that we are to honor God with our bodies, then I think it also pertains to how we care for our bodies...that we should become caretakers, good managers, wise stewards of our bodies.br /br /Do we pay attention to what we do in our leisure/spare time?  Is it healthy and helpful to our bodies and mind?  For some of us we may need to step away more from the computer or turn off the TV and go for a walk, or play with our children or grandchildren?  Others may need to leave the wellness center or gym earlier and spend some time with our spouse or aging parent.br /br /Do we pay attention to what we take into our bodies, and to have some understanding about the number of calories we need and the amount of exercise required to maintain a good weight for our age and build?br /br /Do we care about what we eat, how much we eat and where we get our food?br /br /That leads us to the second question I posed....br /Should our faith impact in any way how we think about food and our food practices?br / It is probably safe to say that most of us, if not all of us, like to eat, and like to eat well.  But then what does that mean....br /case in point...br / Mary Louise Bringle, a professor of philosophy and religion at Brevard College in N.C. wrote an article several years ago, titled, ?Eating Well: Seven Paradoxes of Plenty.?  She begins by sharing a story of Roger and Sally, a married couple who just returned from a holiday cruise.  It was an anniversary present from their adult children.  When they arrive home, the children are eager for a report.  ?Well, how did it go?? they ask their parents.br / ?I?ll tell you one thing,? their father replies.  ?We sure ate well! (as he rubs his stomach contentedly, remembering the delights.)? ? Everywhere we turned on that ship, there was food and more food......(describe many possibilities)....all you can eat buffet, ice cream sundaes.?br / The next morning, one of Sally?s friends, ask her the same question.  Sally, too, pats her stomach as she ponders her response, but her emotion is closer to dismay than satisfaction.  She replies to her friend, ?Oh, the cruise was lots of fun, but just between you and me, I don?t feel as if I?ve eaten well in weeks!  All that high calorie food constantly available, and so little opportunity for exercising it off....?br /br /This report illustrates clearly the tension we often have in our attitudes toward food....how do we interpret the phrase ?to eat well?.br /For Roger, ?eating well?, means good food, lots of it, immediate pleasure.br /For Sally, ?eating well? means not abundance, but moderation, keeping a balance between calorie intake and adequate exercise, thinking more of the longer term health and well being, not the immediate pleasure.br /br /It?s not necessary to take sides in this little story for both understandings can teach us something.  In Bringle?s article she describes Roger?s approach and perspective as celebration-centered.  He enjoys good food, the lavish spread readily available and knows this is a special time, not an everyday ocurrance.  It is a special occasion, a gift and time to celebrate.br /br /For Sally, in contrast to her husband?s, hers  might be called stewardship-centered.br /She knows how easily the pleasures of food and drink can tempt us to overindulge, to eat and drink in excess.  Her agenda is focused more on taking care of the health of her body.  Feasting on too much ?fat things? leaves her feeling guilty and physically out of sync.br /br /Bringle, in her article, refers to this pleasure and restraint duality as one of the paradoxes of plenty.  And it is only in a culture of some affluence, like ours, that this occurs, otherwise one would eat whatever is available when it was available.br /br /Can we practice both celebration and restraint?  Can we enjoy and participate with enthusiasm in times of feasting, knowing that there may also be days and periods of time when we are called to fast?br /br /Maybe as we think about how our faith impacts our view of our bodies and our understanding of food, we need to think about and use words like, moderation, healthy balance, wholistic, being content, satisfied, and to consider what is ?enough?.br /br /In Proverbs 30: 7-9 (CEV): saying of Agur: span style="font-style: italic;"There are two things, Lord, I want you to do for me before I die: Make me absolutely honest and don?t let me be too poor or too rich.  Give me just what I need. (TNIV- give me only my daily bread).  If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you: if I don?t have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name./spanbr /br /Several years ago, Phil and I preached on a series of the Seven Deadly Sins.  One of those sins is gluttony.  Recently I came across a book called, span style="font-style: italic;"The Virtue in the Vice/span by Dr. Robin Meyers. (Finding seven lively virtues in the seven deadly sins).  He writes that ?gluttony is not only about eating too much, it is about eating for the wrong reasons.  It is about a deeper hunger in the soul.? p.120br /In the early church the opposing virtue of gluttony would have been abstinence or temperance, but that is really impossible because we need food to live.  We also believe that a well prepared meal, lovingly served and consumed with good friends and loved ones is one of life?s great joys and blessings.  Too often in our society we think, if a little bit is good, then a lot must be better.  The simple phrase, too much of a good thing, contains much wisdom.br /br /Some folks here, I am sure, enjoy a good ?all you can eat? buffet, especially if the price is right.  Dr. Meyers writes, ?All you can eat really means more than you need, and people who gorge themselves on any good thing eventually destroy the goodness in it.?br /br /Meyers rejects the idea that abstinence needs to be the virtue for gluttony.  He offers the idea that it is communion.  He writes, ?Food is what brings us together, and food is what opens us to one another through conversation.  Communion is what happens when pain and joy are served along with bread.? p. 128br /br /Communion becomes a sacred time, a special and holy experience of eating together, moderately and joyfully.  Whether it is the sharing the bread/cup of the Lord?s Table or sharing soup and bread in the home of friends, communion and communing with one another becomes holy ground.br /br /In this book, Meyers explains the ancient act of offering a toast as one tangible way of seeing this communing experience as a virtue.  span style="font-style: italic;"?At the table of mutuality and respect, one does not belly up to the trough and begin to gulp and slobber.  One recognizes the moment, raises the glass, looks present company in the eye and with words of hope and encouragement converts nourishment of the body into nourishment for the soul.  It is not just what we eat, but why we eat and with whom we eat."/span p. 130br /br /We are among the privileged in the world.  We have something to eat almost anytime we want it.  We give thanks before our meals, whether alone or with friends. It sometimes becomes a habit.  It is not just a social custom.  It is a reminder that we are privileged and it acknowledges the meaning of food.br /br /In closing I offer you a challenge, a modest proposal, actually two of them.  During this month of June, as we continue with this series on Faith and Food, I offer you this challenge:br /ollieat less, more often, with more friends. (from Meyer?s book, p.136)/lilimake a toast occasionally, in addition to offering a prayer of blessing on your food./li/olBringle concludes her article on Eating Well with these words:br /span style="font-style: italic;"?In the final analysis, eating well is not just about what we do or do not put into our mouths.  Far more, it is about the comple4x ways we negotiate a path through the paradoxes of plenty, attending to the health of our bodies, our spirits, our communities, and our planet.  Eating well first requires that we hunger and thirst after righteousness, for then, and only then, will we be fully satisfied.? /spanp.33br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-4794521767063739813?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/4794521767063739813/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=4794521767063739813";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/4794521767063739813";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/4794521767063739813";s:4:"link";s:78:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/06/barbara-moyer-lehman-modest-proposal-x.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:3;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:67:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-1431025603193314";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-05-31T12:00:00.000-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-06-15T11:04:55.420-04:00";s:5:"title";s:40:"Phil Kniss: The Big Pentecost Conspiracy";s:12:"atom_content";s:13916:"span style="font-weight: bold;"May 31, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Acts 2:1-21/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Watch video.../spanbr /object height="300" width="400"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4989530amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1"embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4989530amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...listen to audio/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/3xrci8/2009-05-31_The_big_Pentecost_conspiracy.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="middle" height="25" width="210"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...print text to read later or share with someone (/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-05-31.pdf"click here/aspan style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);")/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...or read it now/spanbr /br /I want us to do a little warm-up exercise,br / to get ready for this sermon.br / When I raise my hands, everyone inhale,br /  when I lower my hands, everyone exhale.br / All together, now . . . inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.br /Great.br /br /Knowingly or unknowingly,br / you just joined a vast congregational conspiracy.br /I mean that literally. You were conspiring.br /br /It may not have occurred to you before,br / but it?s actually pretty straight-forward.br /The literal meaning of the word conspirebr / is to ?breathe with? or ?breathe together.?br /You break down the word into its two parts,br / and you have ?con,? a simple preposition meaning with, or together,br / and ?spire? . . . from a root word meaning breath.br / That root shows up in lots of words?br /  respiration, inspire, expire, aspire,br /  the word ?spirit? itself can easily be translated ?breath.?br / So . . . ?con-spire? . . . ?breath with.?br /br /A conspiracy is a group of people?br / could be two, could be thousands?br / but a group of people with a common goal,br / who are working together so closely,br /  that they?re sharing the same motivations,br /  the same intentions.br / Conspirators are persons who are breathing the same air,br /  fully synchronized with each other.br /br /From that standpoint,br / it?s plain to see that the day of Pentecost, as told in Acts 2,br / was one big conspiracy.br /It was a breathing togetherbr / that changed everything from that point on.br /br /Some preachers before me have pointed out this connectionbr / between Pentecost and conspiracy.br /I guess it?s too obvious a connection,br / that most of us miss it.br /See, everyone was together in one room, Acts 2 tells us,br / and then the Spirit-breath blows into and through the room,br / with a sound of a mighty wind.br / Everyone together, experiences this powerful spirit-breath.br / The disciples and the Holy Spirit were con-spiring.br /br /Barbara Brown Taylor,br / in her published sermon ?The Gospel of the Holy Spirit.?br / said that when the Holy Spirit blew into that upper room in Acts 2,br / what God was doing was, and I quote,br / blockquote style="font-style: italic;"Performing artificial resuscitationbr /  on a room full of well-intentioned bumblers,br /  turning them into a force that changed the history of the world.br / Shy people became bold,br /  scared people became gutsy,br /  and lost people found a sure direction.br / Disciples who did not believe themselves capablebr /  of tying their own sandals without Jesusbr /  discovered abilities within themselves they never knew they had.br / When they opened their mouths to speak, they sounded like Jesus./blockquoteThat?s what conspiring with the Holy Spirit does.br / It fills our spiritual lungs with the very breath of God,br /  and we are changed.br /br /It?s just like our physical breathing.br / The oxygen we inhale, and the carbon dioxide we exhale,br /  is a marvelous, even miraculous, combinationbr /  that gives us what we need for life.br / Our body processes the oxygen,br /  and turns it into a vehicle to carry away excess carbon,br /  too much of which would kill us.br /br /In the same way,br / God?s Spirit-breath gives us what we need for life with God.br / It flows into our spiritual beings,br /  transforming and replacing what we need to get rid of.br /br / It is marvelous, even miraculous,br /  what happens when the breath of the Spirit of Jesus moves in.br / And even more so when we are together with otherbr /  co-conspirators, other God-breathers.br /br /Here?s how Barbara Brown Taylor put it. Again, I quote.br / blockquote style="font-style: italic;"What happens between us when we come together to worship Godbr /  is that the Holy Spirit swoops in and out among us,br /  knitting us together through the songs we sing,br /  the prayers we pray,br /  the breaths we breathe.br / [How do you know when it?s the Holy Spirit?]br / Whenever two plus two does not equal four but five?br /  whenever you find yourself . . .br /  offering forgiveness you had not meant to offer . . .br /  taking risks you thought you did not have the courage to takebr /  or reaching out to someone you had intended to walk away frombr /  . . . you can be pretty sure that you are learningbr /   about the gospel of the Holy Spirit.br / And more than that, you are taking part in it,br /  breathing in and breathing out,br /  taking God into you and giving God back to the world again./blockquoteShe weaves some wonderful words, doesn?t she?br / Powerful. Poetic.br /So what does it really mean, in terms of practical everyday life,br / to take up the practice of breathing in God,br /  and breathing God back to the world.br /Sounds pretty esoteric.br / How we implement such a practice,br /  and how do we know it?s God we?re breathing?br / How do we distinguish between Holy Spirit-breath,br /  and just a bunch of spiritual hot-air?br /br /That?s not a question that is easily answered.br / But let me suggest this.br /br /The breath of the Holy Spirit todaybr / is the same air that God breathed into Creation;br / it is of the same stuff as the Spirit that filled the biblical prophetsbr /  and moved them to speak and act as God?s agents,br /  calling God?s people back to justice and holiness;br / it is a continuation of the same breathbr /  Jesus breathed on his disciples,br /  saying ?Peace be with you, receive the Holy Spirit.?br /br /We sometimes say, ?There?s a new wind of the Spirit blowing.?br / But that?s only partly true.br / There may indeed be a wind blowing todaybr /  that is bringing about new works of God in our midst,br /  and which calls for new responses from us.br / But it?s not new air.br / If it?s really God breathing,br /  it will be consistent with the breath of lifebr /   that God breathed at creation,br /  it will be true to the breath of God that inspired the prophets,br /  it will, above all, resonate fully with the Jesus of the Gospels.br / Because the Spirit we?ve been given is the Spirit of Jesus.br / So if, indeed, we are con-spiring with the Spirit of Jesus,br /  when we talk, we will ?sound like Jesus?br /   to use Barbara Brown Taylor?s phrase.br /br /So what I suggest,br / if we want to join this Big Conspiracybr /  that began on the day of Pentecost,br / we do like the disciples did.br / We make it a practice to actually spend timebr /  being together with,br /  waiting expectantly with,br /  living in hope with,br /  other God-breathers . . .br /   so when the Spirit moves in and among us,br /   we are in a good position to con-spire,br /   to breathe in synch with the Spirit of God.br /br / And then test the results of that wind,br /  to see if it produces the kind of resultsbr /  we?ve come to expect God?s Spirit to produce.br /br / If it?s God?s breath blowing,br /  God has a long track record to compare it to.br /br / Is new life being created, that is good, and beautiful, and fruitful?br / Is righteousness and justice and peace being brought forth?br / Is salvation being found?br / Is shalom being birthed?br /br /It?s hard for me to read the Bible and not concludebr / that God?s primary agendabr / is to save and restore and redeem and reconcile,br / and to do that through the people God has called and sent.br /br /So if we are truly con-spiring with the Spirit of God in Christ,br / we will see communities of God?s people brought together.br /And as a result of the life of these communities in the world,br / we will see enemies being reconciled,br / we will see offenders and victims being brought together,br / we will see people repenting and renouncing lives of sin,br / we will see justice being demanded,br / we will see violence being forsaken,br / we will see the hungry fed and the naked clothed,br / we will see forgiveness being offered,br / we will see the broken being made whole,br / we will see the lost coming home,br / we will see the alienated brought back into community.br /br /When the wind blows . . . trees bend.br / We can?t see the wind.br / We can?t capture it and package it,br /  but we know it is there by the evidence.br / If leaves are not rustling,br /  it?s safe to say the wind isn?t there.br /_____________________br /br /We often think of Pentecost as the birthday of the church,br / and it is.br /But let?s not be fooled.br / The proof that God?s spirit-wind is blowingbr /  is not that more churches are being established,br /  that more people are becoming church members,br /  that creative Sunday School lessons are being taught,br /  and powerful sermons are being preached,br /  and beautiful hymns are being sung.br / Yes, the drawing together of believers into communitybr /  is a foundational activity of the Spirit.br / There cannot be a Pentecost con-spiracybr /  without a people coming together,br /  and breathing together, in synch.br /br / So by all means,br /  let us continue to gather, to worship, to sing, to pray,br /   to minister to each other,br /   in large groups and in small.br / But that?s not the ultimate direction the wind is blowing.br /  Life in community is not the end but the means.br / This Spirit that brings us together to worship,br /  is the same Spirit that sends us into the world,br /  to take risks for the kingdom of God.br / It both draws and sends.br /  It breathes in and out.br /  It?s one continuous movement.br /br /If we are going to con-spire with the Spirit of God,br / we better put our seat belts on,br / because we?ll be going places.br /We will be drawn together by the Spirit-Wind,br / to open ourselves to each other more deeply,br /  more honestly,br /  more completely.br / Community will be formed?br /  in all its multilayered, complicated, exhilarating,br /   and sometimes painful beauty.br /And then, just as surely, we will be driven by that Spirit-Wind,br / out into a deeper and riskier and more richly satisfyingbr / way of living in this world.br /br /The Spirit of Pentecost comes to us in the rooms where we gather,br / but in the same gust,br / it sends us into a violent, broken, and sin-filled world,br / to be bearers of God?s Good News.br /_____________________br /br /Just as I began this sermon with a simple little exercise in con-spiracy,br / so I end it calling for another exercise in conspiracy.br / But it?s neither simple . . . nor little.br / It is a call for us to open ourselves more fully to this Spiritbr /  that longs to con-spire with us.br / It is a call to gather together with other co-conspirators,br /  and pray fervently,br /  saying ?Come, Holy Spirit,? in whatever language you speak . . .br /  and wait patiently,br /  opening yourselves completely to the Spirit-Wind that will blow.br / Test it against the Wind that blows through scripture,br /  from Creation to Revelation,br /  but then, if you find it to be true,br /  give yourself to that wind.br / Give yourself.br / Spread your wings and see where it takes you.br /br /I cannot tell you where it will take you,br / I can only assure you, it will be a life-transforming ride.br /br /Come, Holy Spirit.br /And may God have mercy on us all.br /br / ?Phil Kniss, May 31, 2009br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-1431025603193314?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:150:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/1431025603193314/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=1431025603193314";s:9:"link_edit";s:79:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/1431025603193314";s:9:"link_self";s:79:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/1431025603193314";s:4:"link";s:75:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/05/phil-kniss-big-pentecost-conspiracy.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:4;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-3648216221067619215";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-05-17T12:00:00.002-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-05-27T08:49:56.302-04:00";s:5:"title";s:73:"Phil Kniss: Fans, Friends, Followers: Relating to Jesus in a Facebook Age";s:12:"atom_content";s:17787:"span style="font-weight: bold;"May 17, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Easter 6: John 15:9-17/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Watch video.../spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4820205amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4820205amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...listen to audio/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/8i86k6/2009-05-17_Fans_Friends_Followers_Relating_to_Jesus_in_a_Facebook_Age.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...print text to read later or share with someone (/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-05-17.pdf"click here/aspan style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);")/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...or read it now/spanbr /br /Twice, as I prepared for this sermon,br /    I received a bit of a joltbr /        in regard to this notion of being a friend of Jesus.br /    One of the jolts came from today?s Gospel reading.br /    The other one came from Facebook.br /br /This is not in the order of priority, by any means,br /    but let me start with the jolt I got from Facebook.br /Facebook, as many of you know, and as some of you don?t,br /    is a website for social networking,br /    for connecting with people you know . . .br /        like some you already see in person every day,br /        and some you haven?t seen in years, like old classmates.br /    Any Facebook user that you allow to connectbr /        to your Facebook page,br /        is referred to as your ?Friend.?br /    In the Facebook world, you soon learn,br /        the word ?Friend? is very loosely defined.br /    Friends aren?t expected to be there for you if you need help.br /    Friends don?t necessarily get together.br /    Friends don?t even have to say a word to you directly,br /        in person or in writing . . . ever.br /    Some Facebook users have ?friends? they?ve never met.br /br /On Facebook, as on other social networking websites,br /    like ?MySpace? or ?Twitter,?br /    being a friend, or being a ?follower? as Twitter likes to call it,br /    requires absolutely nothing at all from you.br /    You can be a perfectly legitimate friend,br /        when all you do is sit on the sidelines and eavesdropbr /        on someone else?s thoughts or feelingsbr /            they happen to post online.br /br /I?m a Facebook user,br /    and I do enjoy making some connections with long-lost friendsbr /    and keeping up with relatives at a distance,br /    and with many of you in this congregation.br /But not long ago, I got a bit of a jolt, when I saw on my Facebook pagebr /    that so-and-so had become a ?Friend? of Jesus,br /    and were suggesting that I become a Friend, also.br /br /See, public figures can have a Facebook page,br /    even if they?re dead and gone,br /    as long as someone puts their page online, and administers it.br /Turns out Jesus actually has quite a few Facebook friends.br /    On the pages of public figures, like Jesus,br /        or Gandhi or Mr. Bean or Madonna,br /        people who connect are referred to as fans.br /    So when I clicked on the Jesus icon,br /        I saw that Jesus had well over a million fans.br /    Not as many as Barack Obama,br /        but a whole lot, nonetheless.br /br /It gave me a bit of a jolt as I thought about it.br /    The notion of what it means to be a friend in the age of Facebook,br /        fits perfectly with the way most people look at Jesus anyway.br /    Jesus has always had millions, and now billions,br /        of fans in this world.br /    Now, due to Facebook, it can be said he has millions of Friends.br /    And if Jesus was on Twitter,br /        I?m sure he would have millions of ?followers.?br /br /In the Facebook age, we have mastered the art of connecting with others,br /    without really connecting,br /    at minimal personal cost,br /    and with maximum anonymity.br /It?s perfect for the way lots of people would like to relate to Jesus.br /    Low cost. Low risk. High freedom. High independence.br /br /In the end,br /    I decided to pass on the Facebook offerbr /        of being a fan or friend of Jesus.br /    I?d rather struggle to figure out how to do it the hard way,br /        in real life.br /_____________________br /br /Well, as I said, the other jolt came in today?s Gospel reading, John 15.br /    This reading comes right in the middlebr /        of a long, four-chapter monologue by Jesus.br /    If your Bible?s a red-letter edition,br /        page after page you?re seeing red.br /    John puts this monologue in the contextbr /        of Jesus? last supper with his disciples.br /    After the meal, after the washing of his disciples feet,br /        and after Judas Iscariot runs out of the house, with other plans,br /        Jesus launches into this sermon.br /br /The Gospel of Matthew has the Sermon on the Mount.br /    Luke has the Sermon on the Plain.br /    John has a Sermon at the Table.br /br /And it?s significant that it?s at the table,br /    because this is an intimate, heart-felt, and soul-baring sermon.br /    Not the kind you?d preach to a crowd.br /    Certainly not like any I?ve preached.br /This is the kind of sermon that family elders might givebr /    to their children and grandchildren,br /    gathered around their death bed.br /Such as,br /    ?If there?s anything I want you to remember in life, remember this.?br /br /So Jesus is telling the eleven disciples who remain, things like,br /    ?Don?t let your heart be troubled . . .br /        I?m going away, but I?m sending you the Spirit as an Advocate.br /        And I?m preparing a place for you.?br /And things like, ?You already know the way to God.br /    I am the way. Follow me.?br /And things like, ?I am the Vine, you are the branches.br /        Abide in me. Stay attached. Stick with me.?br /And he finishes up the sermon with a long prayer to his Father,br /    spoken at the table right in front of his disciples.br /    ?God, take care of these disciples.br /        Don?t let go of them.br /        Make them one.br /        As I send them into the world,br /            be in them, and I am in you, and you are in me.?br /br /But in the middle of this beautiful sermon,br /    I was jolted by these words of Jesus to his disciples.br /    ?I do not call you servants any longer . . .br /        I call you friends.?br /br /On the one hand, there?s nothing surprising about Jesusbr /    calling his disciples ?friends.?br /    They had spent several years together full-time.br /        They ought to be friends.br /    But no, there is more to this statement.br /    This signifies a radical change in the status of their relationship.br /        ?I will not call you servants any longer.?br /    This is a rabbi speaking to his students.br /        No longer am I going to play the partbr /            of the wise and mysterious and distant expert,br /            and you the helpless and dependent novice.br /        ?I have already made known to you,? Jesus said in v. 15,br /            ?everything that I have heard from my Father.?br /    I?ve finished my job of dispensing knowledge to you.br /        Now you know what I know.br /    So, just go out there and do what you know to do.br /        Love each other as I have loved you . . . v. 12.br /        I love you so much I am laying down my life for you . . . v. 13.br /        So love each other.br /            Love.  Love.  Love.br /            Abide in my love.br /            Lay down your lives for your friends.br /            You are my friends.br /            Which makes you friends with God.br /                And friends with each other.br /            Now, go do what friends do.br /            Give your all.br /        Or, as I said in my sermon two weeks ago,br /            place your life in the life of the other.br /_____________________br /br /This is the polar opposite ofbr /    Facebook?s dumbed-down definition of friendship.br /    This is high risk friendship with a huge price tag.br /br /I find it fascinating that in the Gospel of Johnbr /    there is a deliberate pairingbr /        of the concepts of love and commandments.br /        ?If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.?br /        ?This is my commandment, that you love one another.?br /    In human friendships we rarely use the word command.br /    It?s too easy to fall prey to controlling and manipulating others.br /        That doesn?t fit with friendship.br /    But John sees no conflict betweenbr /        talking about our love of God,br /        and our obedience to God.br /    Our friendship with God is not a friendship of equals.br /br /But even in a relationship with such an imbalance of power,br /    it is perfectly right to speak of friendship with God,br /    because God took the amazing step, and risky step,br /        of voluntarily limiting his power,br /        and giving us freedom to shape our lives and future.br /    We are invited, not pressured, to respond to God?s grace in Christ,br /        and enter a relationship that entails both deep friendship,br /        and deep obedience,br /        a laying down of our lives for the higher purposes of God.br /br /    It is possible to have a profound and even mutualbr /        friendship with Jesus Christ,br /        because, and only because, of God?s grace.br /_____________________br /br /You know, we could give ourselves a little test,br /    to see whether we have yet to open ourselvesbr /        to God?s gift and grace of friendship with Jesus.br /    There are some marks of friendship we can look for.br /br /First, a friend takes seriously what their friend takes seriously.br /    A friend seeks to know the heart, the passions, the visionbr /        of their friend.br /    If you are truly my friend,br /        what?s important to you is therefore important to me,br /        so I?ll try to find out what that is.br /br /    We know by reading the Gospels,br /        that nothing was more important to Jesusbr /            than the kingdom of God.br /        Jesus came to proclaim and demonstratebr /            life under God?s reign.br /        He called people to submit first to the reign of God,br /            and put all earthly kingdoms and powers in their place.br /    And we know that Jesus had deep compassion for all thosebr /        who were alienated, broken, disenfranchised.br /    We know Jesus was passionate about healing.br /        Wherever there was brokenness,br /            Jesus was moved.br /            He gave himself to the workbr /                of making whole what was fractured?br /                in body, in mind, in spirit, in relationships.br /br /        So if I?m a friend of Jesus,br /            I?ll take the reign of God very seriously.br /            I?ll have compassion on the alienated.br /            I?ll devote myself to God?s missionbr /                of saving, healing, reconciling, and restoring.br /br /Another mark of friendship, which John chapter 15 makes very plain,br /    is that friends don?t keep important secrets from each other.br /    Jesus told his disciples,br /        ?I have called you friends,br /            because I have made known to youbr /            everything that I have heard from my Father.?br /    True friends hold nothing back.br /    To hold back information, is to assert power over the other.br /        Keeping a secret is a way of maintaining control.br /        The more we open ourselves to others,br /            the more self-revealing we are,br /            the more vulnerable we become.br /        Jesus was self-revealing.br /        And Jesus represented a self-revealing God.br /    Nor do we hold anything backbr /        if we call ourselves a friend of God in Christ.br /    We bring all that we are?the good, the bad, and the ugly.br /        And it will be graciously received.br /br /A third mark, closely related to the second,br /    is that friends argue with each other.br /    Friends fight . . . yes!br /    They fight fair.br /        They fight without violence, without violating each other.br /        But they fight, they wrestle, they struggle with each other.br /    It?s a form of transparency, of not keeping secrets.br /        If I?m hurt or angered or pained by something a friend does,br /            I won?t keep it under wraps.br /            I?ll be honest, painful or not.br /        To put on a false friendly front,br /            is not friendly at allbr /            It?s not what friends do.br /        Friends are honest with each other,br /            because their love and loyalty to each other can handle it.br /br /    We know about scripturesbr /        where God got brutally honest and angry with his people.br /        We sort of get that picture.br /        We don?t like to dwell on it, but we get it.br /        God loves us enough to be honest with us, even in anger.br /    But if our friendship with God in Christ is real,br /        it ought to work the other way!br /        We will be able to express our anger and frustrationbr /            and confusion and hurt,br /            when there is a rift in our relationship.br /br /        Read the psalms of lament.br /        They say, ?Hey, God! Pay attention!br /            Can?t you see what?s happening down here??br /            ?How long, O Lord? Will you forget us forever?br /                How long will you hide your face?br /        The psalmist, who loves God deeplybr /            and trusts God completely,br /            sometimes rages with God.br /        The psalmist is showing us what friendship with God looks like.br /            Friendship can be rocky sometimes.br /            But it is bound by covenant love.br /            It can be strained and stretched, but not easily broken.br /br /And another mark of friendship, also closely related,br /    is friends don?t give up on each other.br /    Friends are fiercely loyal,br /        even when their friend disappoints them.br /    Friendship with God cannot be a fair-weather friendship.br /    The whole story of the Bible, Genesis to Revelation,br /        is a story of God never giving up on us.br /    We owe that kind of loyalty to God.br /    God will disappoint us. Count on it.br /        Not because God does wrong,br /            but because we set ourselves up for disappointmentbr /            by having misguided expectations of God.br /    But even in disappointment,br /        friends don?t give up on each other.br /_____________________br /br /So this morning,br /    let us vow to learn friendship with God in Christ.br /    Let us pursue, without hesitation or embarrassment,br /        life-giving and life-long friendship with Jesus Christ.br /br /As Jesus invited his disciples in his Sermon at the Table,br /    ?I am the Vine, you are the branches.br /        Stick with me. Stay with me. Abide.br /        And your life will be fruitful.?br /br /So we are invited to a life of love,br /    by one who already loves us deeply.br /Jesus said to them,br /    and, I believe, continues to say to us,br /    ?You are not only my servants.br /        You are my friends.br /        I love you.br /        My heart burns for you.?br /br /Our work is to open ourselves to this burning love of God.br /    To create a space in our lives,br /        where the flame of God?s love,br /        can burn unhindered.br /    And where the warmth of that flame,br /        can be seen, and shared, and felt,br /        by everyone and everything that God also loves.br /br /To love what God loves.br /    That?s what friends do.br /br /May God help us.br /br /    ?Phil Kniss, May 17, 2009br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-3648216221067619215?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/3648216221067619215/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=3648216221067619215";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/3648216221067619215";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/3648216221067619215";s:4:"link";s:73:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/05/phil-kniss-fans-friends-followers.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"1";}}i:5;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-4967474655308896622";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-05-03T12:00:00.003-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-05-18T12:03:51.990-04:00";s:5:"title";s:28:"Phil Kniss: To place my life";s:12:"atom_content";s:14754:"span style="font-weight: bold;"May 3, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Easter 4: John 10:11-18; 1 John 3:16-24; Psalm 23/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Watch video.../spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4695355amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4695355amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...listen to audio/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/hqfmna/2009-05-03_To_place_my_life.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...print text to read later or share with someone (/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-05-03.pdf"click here/aspan style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);")/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...or read it now/spanbr /br /Everyone think for a moment about br / how you would describe the 23rd Psalm.br /Think about its message?br / ?The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.br /  He makes me to lie down in green pasturesbr /  he leads me beside still waters; br /  he restores my soul.?br /Think about the other phrases of the psalm you can remember,br / ?Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,br /  I fear no evil.?br /br /Now, think of one word, just one word,br / that best describes this psalm.br / Fill in this blank with one word . . . br /  ?This is a ____________ psalm.?br /  Don?t say the word out loud.br /   Just think it.br /   Everyone got it?br / Okay, raise of hands,br /  how many were thinking of the word ?comforting??br /br /Not surprising.br / Psalm 23 is one of the most comforting psalms we have.br / It is the first psalm memorized in childhood.br / Of all the psalms, it the most frequently set to music.br / It?s the psalm turned to most often when we are in distress,br /  or grieving,br /  or tired,br /  or feeling threatened.br / It?s the psalm recited more than any other br /  at hospital bedsides.br / It?s the psalm most frequently put in PowerPoints,br /  and paired with pretty pictures and soft music,br /  and emailed to everyone in the address book.br / It?s the psalm to turn to whenever we need a word of comfort.br /br /And don?t we all know . . . we often need words of comfort.br / So thank God for psalms like this.br /br /But you know . . . it?s comforting only because br / we read it from the sheep?s point of view.br / It?s a comforting psalm . . . if you?re the sheep.br /br /The shepherd has a different point of view.br / God, the Lord, who is our loving Shepherd,br /  has taken some pretty radical risks.br / Being a shepherd is no cake walk.br /br /You understand, don?t you,br / why we sheep can lie down in green pastures and rest?br / It?s because the shepherd stays awake.br /You know why we, the sheep, can be led in safety down right paths?br / Because the shepherd?s out in front, doing the bush-whacking.br /You know why we the sheep are comforted br / by the shepherd?s rod and staff?br / Because the shepherd uses them to get between us,br /  and the hungry wild animals on the attack.br / The rod in the shepherd?s hand,br /  absorbs the worst of the assault.br /br /We can rest, because the shepherd doesn?t.br /br /This is the picture of Jesus, the Good shepherd,br / that we find in today?s Gospel reading.br / ?The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep,?br /  we read in John 10:11.br /Not so the hired hand.br / Jesus said, ?The hired hand, who is not the shepherd br /  and does not own the sheep, br /  sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away.?br / That?s not because the hired hand is negligent,br /  or incompetent,br /  or immoral.br / It?s because he?s hired. He doesn?t own the sheep, Jesus said.br / After his night shift is over, he goes home.br /  He?s not fully invested, and understandably so.br /  He has another life.br /br /You can?t be a ?good shepherd,?br / until the sheep are your life.br / There is an interesting Greek idiombr /  used in John 10:11, where it talks about the shepherdbr /   ?laying down his life? for the sheep.br / The Greeks words for ?laying down your life?br /  can also be translated, ?placing your life.?br / It?s reminiscent of taking a helpless, vulnerable infant,br /  and placing that life in someone?s arms.br /br /Now, if we stick with this shepherd and sheep imagery,br / it gets even more interesting, and less comforting,br / when we move on to today?s epistle reading,br /br /Because, you see,br / this is not just an image for Jesus, the divine Son of Godbr / who has other-worldly powers, and other-worldly agenda.br /Scriptures don?t leave us with the luxurybr / of just hanging on to this comforting image of being cared forbr / by this amazingly caring, and sacrificially loving br /  God of a Good Shepherd,br /  who is ready to lay down his life for us.br /br /Listen to the apostle?s words, 1 John 3:16.br / ?We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us?br /  and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.?br /br /This thing of having my personal Good Shepherdbr / who will lay down his life for my sake,br / is not some cozy little arrangement that he and I have going,br /  strictly for my personal blessing,br /  for my own spiritual benefit.br / In reality, the Good Shepherd is just showing me how it?s done.br /  Because the very same thing is expected of me.br /  I am called to lay down my life for my sister and brother.br / It?s not enough for me to tell my brother in Christ that I love him,br /  or tell my sister that I?m committed to her well-being.br / 1 John 3:18??Little children, let us love, not in word or speech,br /  but in truth and action.?br / True love is revealed in action?the action of laying down my life,br /  placing my life in the life of another.br /br /See, laying down one?s life for another,br / is not just a message about martyrdom.br /Martyrdom is real.br / There are some persons today, although relatively few,br /  and there are some occasions, although somewhat rare,br /  and there are some circumstances, although unusual,br /  in which a person is called to willingly die for another.br / I know that some people here have been close to situations like that,br /  where martyrdom is part of real life.br /br /Now, without discounting that reality at all,br / let me say that Jesus? words are about a lot more than dying.br / Every single day, every single one of us br /  has opportunity to place our life in the life of another.br / In fact, that?s what Jesus did every day of his life,br /  not just at the end, when he paid the ultimate price on the cross.br / His whole life was bound up br /  in and with, the lives of those he loved.br /br /When I place my life in the life of another,br / or . . . when I lay down my life for another . . .br / I become deeply and spiritually connected to them.br /To place my life in another br / means that I identify, radically, with the other.br / The sharp distinction between my life and the life of the otherbr /  gets a little bit blurred . . . a little bit.br / When my own well-being is directly tied to your well-being,br /  when my own happiness is deeply affected by your happiness,br /  when your joys are my joys,br /   and your sorrow my sorrows,br /  I am laying down my life for you.br /br /This is what makes possible deep Christian compassion:br / when we blur this distinction?not do away with, but blur?br / the distinction between you and I.br /This is what makes possible genuine Christian community:br / when we blur this distinction between us and them.br /Our lives should be bound up in the lives of others.br /br /Of course, we need to be careful here.br / This doesn?t mean we lose our sense of selfhood.br /I don?t ever want to be heard as saying we erase the self.br / No, we free the self to be what it was created to be?br /  a self in deep relationship with others.br /br /It can be a fine line?but there is a huge difference?br / between being bound to the life of another,br / and being in bondage.br /I?m not talking about being in bondage.br /I?m not talking about sacrificing our truest self.br /br /When we are in genuine, God-ordained community with another,br / when we lay down our lives for each other,br / when I place my life in the life of another,br / it becomes a positive and life-giving flowbr /  that goes both directions.br / If only one side is laying down their lives,br /  that?s not love, that?s oppression.br / And the Good News of Jesus Christbr /  has nothing to do with oppression.br /br /I?m all for celebrating the individual person,br / the one uniquely created and loved by God.br / You and I, individually, are of infinite worthbr /  in the eyes of God who created us in God?s image.br / But it is a worth that is most fully realizedbr /  when lived out in community.br / That is the intention of our loving creator.br / We were created as God?s beloved individuals-in-community.br /That?s biblical individualism, if you want to put it that way.br /br /But we utterly reject the individualism our culture promotes,br / which is the worship of the free, autonomous,br /  self-determined, and independent individual.br / That, sisters and brothers, is idolatry,br /  it is sin against our Creator.br / It will ultimately unravel our social fabric,br /  and destroy the authentic self-in-communitybr /  which God created us to be.br /br /Being in deep community, being in healthy community,br / is what creates the conditionbr / whereby we have the strengthbr /  to lay down our lives for each other.br /br /It sounds like a paradox, but it?s a reality designed by God?br / we come to see and understand our true individual selfbr /  when we live in a communitybr /  where it?s safe to sacrifice this self.br / It?s safe, because the sacrifice is mutual.br /  We know that others are laying down their lives for our sake.br / Well, maybe ?safe? is too strong a word.br / Self-sacrifice is never really safe,br /  if what we mean by safebr /   is a predictable and pain-free outcome.br / Self-sacrifice may well take us on a wild ride,br /  with all kinds of surprising twists,br /   and gut-wrenching drops, br /   and long, hard climbs.br / But it takes us down a path that leads to life.br /br /That is my deepest longing br / for the people of Park View Mennonite Church.br /That we all might find a full life in deep community.br / And I?m not talking about right here on Sunday morningbr /  with 300 other people.br / This is one kind of community, and it has value.br /  Important things happen here.br /  We?ll keep doing this.br /br /But even more important,br / is the smaller, more intentional kind of community br / that is bound by a shared covenant and mission.br / It is in that kind of community?br /  of two people, or three, or thirteen?br /  where I can literally ?place my life,?br /   lay down my life for the other,br /   and I know that that act of laying downbr /   will be honored and respected . . . even made holy.br /br / It?s the kind of community where everyone br /  places their lives in the lives of the other.br / Where your well-being is so wrapped up in my well-beingbr /  that you will do just like the Good Shepherd does,br /   the one who owns the sheep.br /  You will instinctively, daringly,br /   jump in between me and whatever is threatening me,br /   and help absorb the blows.br /  And when the time comes,br /   I will do the same for you.br / Self-sacrificial caring and daring will happen by instinct,br /  in communities shaped by and led by Jesus the Good Shepherd.br /  And every person?s true self will not only stay intact,br /   it will bloom and grow.br /br /It will be like Jesus? kingdom parables?br / like the seed that falls to the ground and dies,br /  and thereby produces new life.br /And Jesus? strange words will prove to be true,br / that those who cling to their own lives will lose them,br / and those who lose them for the gospel, will find them.br /br /In that kind of community, br / where we all are led by the Good Shepherd,br / where we all embody the love of the Good Shepherd,br / where we all are at home with the sheep,br / where the sheep are our life,br /  and we don?t have another life to go home to,br / where we place our lives in the lives of others . . .br / in that kind of community the 23rd Psalm becomes fully realized.br /br /Because Jesus the Shepherd will indeed be present,br / through the Holy Spirit,br / and through the lives of each other.br /br /And there, my Shepherd will supply my need.br / And like the hymn writer says,br /br / There would I find a settled rest,br / While others go and come;br / No more a stranger, nor a guest,br / But like a child at home.br /br /Let?s sing together hymn #589.br /br / ?Phil Kniss, May 3, 2009br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-4967474655308896622?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/4967474655308896622/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=4967474655308896622";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/4967474655308896622";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/4967474655308896622";s:4:"link";s:67:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/05/phil-kniss-to-place-my-life.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:6;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-4090822997580224819";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-04-26T12:00:00.001-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-05-21T15:03:37.094-04:00";s:5:"title";s:48:"Barbara Moyer Lehman: Then He Opened Their Minds";s:12:"atom_content";s:13182:"span style="font-weight: bold;"April 26, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Easter 3br /I John 3:1-7; Psalm 4; Luke 24:36b-48; Acts 3:12-19/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Watch video.../spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4757714amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4757714amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...listen to audio/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/t3ijsu/2009-04-26_Then_he_opened_their_minds.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...print text to read later or share with someone (/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-04-26.pdf"click here/aspan style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);")/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...or read it now/spanbr /br /In Luke?s account of Jesus? post-resurrection appearance to his disciples, several significant things happen:br / 1.    Jesus reassures the disciples in several ways that indeed, he is NOT a ghost!br /  2.   Jesus instructs the disciples.  He opens up their minds to new understanding of scriptures.br /  3.   Jesus commissions the disciples.br /br /Let?s take a closer look at these three points.br /br /div style="text-align: center;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Jesus Assures the disciples he is NOT a ghost!/spanbr //div    It had already been a really long day for the disciples, when we jump into the story where the lectionary text begins for today.  It is still the ?day of resurrection?, if you remember.  Earlier that morning when the women arrived at the tomb, they found the stone had been rolled away. The tomb was empty.  They were terrified when they encountered two men in dazzling clothes who reminded them why the tomb was empty.(Lk. 24:5b-7)  Needless to say, they hurried to tell the disciples, who thought what they said was an idle tale.  Of course Peter needed to see for himself.  So he ran back to the tomb and found what the women said was true!br /br /    In Luke?s account we then have the intriguing encounter on the road to Emmaus between this traveler, who joins two of the disciples, Cleopas and another, who remains unnamed..  One can imagine what the conversation is about, but this traveler is clueless as to what has just taken place. Or at least gives that impression. Of course we know this companion is Jesus, but the disciples were kept from recognizing him, whatever that means.  They weren?t blind in the physical sense, but obviously they didn?t comprehend who he was or REALLY ?see? him.  The disciples share the ?big story? of the day and their disappointment and sadness, with this fellow traveler. Jesus, the fellow traveler, in turn interprets to them things about himself from the scriptures, but now the disciples are clueless, for they still don?t recognize who this companion, on the 7 mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus, really is.br /br /    Hospitality often enters into biblical stories, and this is no exception.  When the disciples arrive in the village after the long walk, it is almost night.  They urge the stranger to stay with them.  Food and lodging would be most welcome at the end of a long day.  But when they sit down to eat, the stranger becomes the host, blessing the bread, breaking it and sharing it around the table.  How strange, how perplexing, how confusing, but suddenly it all made sense.  Their eyes were opened and they truly recognized him.  The fellow traveler was Jesus.  And just as quickly as his true identity was revealed to them, Jesus vanished...disappeared from the table and their sight.....gone again.  And then they remembered....the two disciples compared notes.  They began discussing how each of them felt when this traveler was talking to them on the road.   Their hearts burned within them or something like that.   Strange, but why didn?t they know then?  Jesus needed to break bread with them, then their eyes were opened.br /br /    So much for a night?s rest after a long day.  Luke records,  that same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, another 7 mile walk, or did they have a fast donkey.  Who could sleep after what had just happened.  They needed to be together.  They found the eleven and their companions gathered together, all talking about the really strange, even weird events that took place this very day.  Jesus made an appearance even to Simon, but that story wasn?t recorded, just a reference to it.  Is it any wonder that when we pick up the story in today?s text, that Jesus stands among a group of very frightened, startled, confused, perplexed followers?  And into that setting and place greets them with, ?Peace be with you.?  It seems like most of us would have some doubts and questions and wonder, ?Is this for real?  Is this not a ghost?  Is this another appearance/disappearance scenario??br /br /    Jesus assures them, he is NOT a ghost.  He appeals to them through the senses.  They hear his words.  It is I myself.  They see his body.  Look at my hands and feet, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones.  He invites them to touch and see.  He offers his body for examination.  And what they see are hands and feet with scars and bruises.  These were the hands that broke bread and blessed children.  These were the hands that put mud on eyes and restored sight to a blind man.  These were the hands that took the hand of a 12 year old girl, Jairus? daughter, who was at deaths?s door and brought life back into her lifeless body.  These were the hands that were placed upon the back of a stooped over, crippled woman, ailing for 18 years, and set her free and made her body straight again.br /br /    And his feet.....he showed them his feet!  The feet that walked hundreds of miles, across the country side.  Feet that stood along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee when he called his first disciples.  These feet received the tears of Mary, as she bent over him, weeping and wiping his feet with her hair.br /br /    These feet were wounded now.  All of them, hands and feet, scared, bruised, maybe painful to see.  But the disciples needed to see them.  They hadn?t stayed around long enough to see and hear the nails being pounded into the flesh.  Barbara Brown Taylor writes in one of her sermons on this passage, ?Some of us wish that he had come back all cleaned up, but he did not.  He left us something to recognize him by, his hands and feet.?br /br /      Now Jesus says to them, ?Look at my hands and my feet, see that it is I myself.?  The risen Christ is the Jesus who died.  Fred Craddock states in his commentary on Luke, ?Easter is forever joined to Good Friday, and to follow the risen Christ is to follow the one who bore the cross.?br /br /    Jesus assures them he is not a ghost, by talking to them, inviting them to see and touch his very body, and then gives further proof by asking for something to eat.  ?Have you anything here to eat??They give him a piece of broiled fish which he eats in their presence.  What else can one do?  ?See, friends, I can even eat!?br /br /div style="text-align: center;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Jesus instructs them.  He opens their minds to understanding the scriptures./spanbr //divbr /    What he instructs them about is not necessarily new, but he is reminding them that what he taught when he was with them before must be fulfilled.  He makes the connection between himself, the risen Christ, and the Christ that lived and walked the earth with them before his death.  He makes the connection between himself and the Old Testament, the law of Moses, the prophets, the psalms.  He helps them make the connections and opens their minds to understand and receive this knowledge.br /br /    Jesus then goes on to elaborate and explain, ?thus it is written?, which really means, ?It has been God?s plan all along.?  And what is the plan,br /br /    vs. 46, ?that the Messiah is to suffer and is to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.?br /br /div style="text-align: center;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Jesus commissions the disciples./spanbr //divbr /    Jesus ends that proclamation with, ?You are witnesses of these things.?br /br /The message of repentance and forgiveness is to be preached to all nations, and this message must come from them, the disciples.  They are now to be the hands and feet of Jesus, proclaiming his message for everyone to hear, beginning in Jerusalem, and moving out into the world.br /br /BUT.....and sometimes there is a but, Jesus knows that what he is asking of them will require much. Jesus knows that the message they are to take, might not always be received well.  Jesus knows that he is asking them to take this message to the corners of the world...all nations, not just to people they know and with whom they are comfortable...people similar to themselves, but to all nations.br /br /      Are they ready?  Not quite.  Are they prepared?  Not totally.  Do they have what it takes?  Not yet. Verse 49 of chapter 24 is not included in the lectionary reading for today, but it states, ?And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.?br /br /    They must wait to be equipped with the power from on high, the Holy Spirit.  God will empower them for the task, but they must wait. And in their waiting, they continue to experience the risen Christ, to worship, to pray, to prepare for the mission ahead.br /br /    For Luke, the Holy Spirit empowers the church, the body of Christ, for its mission in the world.  It is our mission.br /br /    When the disciples saw the hands and feet of Jesus, they knew where those feet had gone, the roads they traveled, for many times they were with him.  They knew what his hands had done.  They saw the strength, the gentleness, the compassion, the healing touch.  They saw and knew from seeing with their own eyes what his hands did.  Now they were to be his hands and feet.  What an awesome task!  Jesus knew they would need to be empowered in a special way.br /br /    We, too, wait, and wonder, and prepare ourselves, as we approach and anticipate  Pentecost.  How will the story unfold for us?  Where is the Spirit leading us?  Is a new wind blowing somewhere in your life, or in the life of our congregation?  Is your mind open to new understandings of God?s plan for you?  Is your heart soft and receptive to a new thing? or is your heart a heart of stone?br /br /    Barbara Brown Taylor closes her meditation with these words,br /br /       span style="font-style: italic;" ?You are witnesses of these things,? he told them before he left them, entrusting the world to their care.  When that world looks around for the risen Christ, when they want to know what that means, it is us they look at.  Not our pretty faces and not our sincere eyes but our hands and feet?what we have done with them and where we have gone with them.  We are witnesses of these things.  We still are:  the body of Christ.?/spanbr /    (p. 123, ?Hands and Feet?, Home by Another Way).br /br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-4090822997580224819?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/4090822997580224819/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=4090822997580224819";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/4090822997580224819";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/4090822997580224819";s:4:"link";s:75:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/04/barbara-moyer-lehman-then-he-opened.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:7;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-2300814923459286206";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-04-19T12:00:00.000-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-05-05T08:43:43.388-04:00";s:5:"title";s:49:"Luke Gascho: Resurrection?s call to creation care";s:12:"atom_content";s:2076:"span style="font-weight: bold;"April 19, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"1 John 1:1-7; Acts 4:32-35/spanbr /br /Luke Gascho was a guest preacher at Park View on this occasion, for our focus on creation care. Luke is director of the "Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center at Goshen College. Click here to see his bio: a href="http://www.goshen.edu/merrylea/staff/Lukesketch.html"Luke Gascho/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Watch video.../spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4476454amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1"embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4476454amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...listen to audio/spanbr /[coming soon]br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"/spanbr /br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-2300814923459286206?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/2300814923459286206/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=2300814923459286206";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/2300814923459286206";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/2300814923459286206";s:4:"link";s:73:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/04/luke-gascho-resurrections-call-to.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:8;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-8238646233933559592";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-04-12T12:00:00.001-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-05-04T11:07:09.481-04:00";s:5:"title";s:49:"Phil Kniss: Though some have died (Easter Sunday)";s:12:"atom_content";s:13687:"span style="font-weight: bold;"April 12, 2009/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Easter Sundaybr /Isaiah 25:6-9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-10a/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"Watch video.../spanbr /object height="300" width="400"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4458388amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1"embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4458388amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...listen to audio/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/7whpuq/2009-04-12_Though_some_have_died.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="middle" height="25" width="210"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...print text to read later or share with someone (/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-04-12.pdf"click here/aspan style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);")/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"...or read it now/spanbr /br /Alleluia! Christ is alive! Let Christians sing!br /And we certainly have!br /And the real roof-raising songs are still to come.br /br /Christ is alive!br /What joy to celebrate that singular truth this morning!br /br /But you know,br /one hardly even needs to believe the content of the Gospel story,br / to get swept away by the beauty of this day,br / to revel in the sounds of singing,br /  of trumpet, and bells, and organ pipes.br /It could move an atheist to tears.br /br /You don?t really have to believe it to appreciate it.br /You don?t have to be a person of faithbr /to paint eggs, the universal symbol of God?s gift of life.br /You don?t have to love Jesus, or believe God raised him from the deadbr /to go out on your porch and hang up a banner of butterflies,br /the universal symbol of resurrection.br /Almost anyone can get into the spirit of Easter,br /can get emotionally invested in this season that celebrates life.br /Anyone can catch the contagious joy of what we sing about today.br /br /But what happens when we leave this place?br /What happens when we go back into this severely distressedbr / and broken and wounded world,br / and try to come to termsbr /  with the death that?s still all around us?br /Truth be told,br / we don?t have to go outside these walls to face it.br /This gathering of people here today,br / even though it might be a larger crowd than usual,br / even though we sing a little more than usual,br /  a little stronger than usual,br / even though we ratchet up the celebration meter,br / even though John pulls all the stops on the organ,br / even though we will, before this service is over,br /  shake the walls with the Hallelujah Chorus,br / even with all that,br / we?re the same kind of people that came together last Sunday,br /  and the Sunday before.br /When we come into this place, we still carry with usbr / a whole lot of brokenness, and pain, and death.br / A whole lot, believe me.br / Even today.br /br /I have a dear pastor friend about my age,br / whose wife is terminally ill with cancer,br / has been told to expect a few months.br /He?s in his church at this moment preaching not one,br / but three or four services of high praisebr / to the God who conquered death and the grave.br /br /Easter, or not, we?re the same people . . .br /who suffer, who are lonely,br /who are estranged from their loved ones,br /who are in financial distress,br /who are dying . . .br /Same people. Different day.br /What difference does Easter make for us broken and dying people,br / who live in a broken and dying world?br /br /Well, here is precisely where it does matterbr /whether we believe the content of the Gospel we proclaim.br /It does take more than a vague belief in the beauty of butterflies,br /more than the ability to marvel at the magicbr / of eggs that produce fuzzy yellow chicks,br /more, even, than a genuine belief in Jesus as a godly man,br / a great teacher and example.br /br /You see, scripture tells us that one daybr /God will set all things right in this world.br /Because of Easter we can say,br /?Yes! God will. And God has.?br /Without Easter all we could muster would be,br /?Well, let?s hope God does what he said he would.?br /br /Resurrection reinforces the truthbr /of what the whole Bible is saying about God.br /God is all about restoring the broken to wholeness,br /the blind to sight,br /the lost to being found,br /the dead to life.br /br /Resurrection was not some brand new ideabr /God got into his head, only after Jesus got himself in a fix.br /No, God had been on this trajectorybr / ever since Adam and Eve were sent from the Garden.br /Resurrection was what God was aiming for,br / ever since God started moving in human history.br /The resurrection of Jesus just put a grand exclamation pointbr / on everything God had already said . . . and done.br /If you read the Old Testament in light of the resurrection,br / you see it all over the place.br /br /God?s actions to bring life from death fill the pages of scriptures.br /Take Isaiah. In the earlier part of the bookbr / there?s vivid descriptions of the fall of Jerusalem,br / laments of death and destruction on the holy mountain.br /Then in Isaiah 25, which we just heard,br /God declares a resurrection.br /?On this mountain?where everything lies in ruins?br / on this mountain the Lord of hosts will make a feast.br / He will destroy on this mountainbr /  the shroud that is cast over all peoples,br /  the sheet that is spread over all nations;br /  he will swallow up death forever . . .br / It will be said on that day,br /  Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him,br /   so that he might save us.br /  This is the Lord for whom we have waited;br /   let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.?br /_____________________br /br /You know, going through the rituals and worship of Easter weekend,br /is actually an easy thing to do.br /Good Friday and Easter Sunday stand in stark contrast to each other,br /but both of them, standing on their own, are easy to do.br /They make sense to us.br /They resonate with our experience.br /br /It?s not hard, on Good Friday, to identify withbr /the darkness and pain and shadow side of life.br /We can connect with Jesus? suffering,br /  and loneliness,br /  and sense of abandonment,br /  and even death.br /Because those shadow experiences of life are all around us,br / we know them intimately.br / Not to Jesus? extent, of course,br /  but we have known suffering and loneliness.br /   We?ve felt abandoned.br /   We?ve tasted death, been around it, even close to it.br /We can do Good Friday! No problem!br /br /And . . . it?s not hard to pull out the stops and celebrate on Easter Sunday.br /New life is easy to celebrate,br / because signs of it are all around us this time of year.br /Daffodils dance by the side of every road,br / trees are pushing out blooms and soft green leaves,br / babies are being born.br /We can believe that God has something good in store in the end,br / because there?s so much tangible evidencebr / of the persistence of life.br /We can do Easter Sunday! No problem!br /br /We can do Good Friday.br /We can do Easter.br / . . . But can we bring the two together?br /br /We better.br /If we don?t, Easter is nothing more than a temporary,br / emotional, pick-me-up, in an otherwise dark world.br /Easter becomes little more than a brief escape from reality.br /We have to bring them together.br /Even the Gospel stories kept them together.br /When Jesus made his appearances to his followers,br / the wounds of his torture and crucifixionbr /  were still in full view.br /Easter did not undo the crucifixion.br /Easter did not nullify Jesus? suffering and death.br /Easter gave Good Friday it?s meaning.br /br /Easter is an invitation to us who believe,br /to live full lives here in this broken and wounded world,br /to actually move toward that brokenness, and pain, and death,br / and meet the saving God right there in the middle of it.br /Easter people refuse to let death define the experience of life.br /Believing in resurrection is not an escape.br /It is an invitation to live in genuine hope,br / while surrounded by pain and suffering and death,br / because we know who God is.br /God?s trajectory through human history was proven truebr / in Jesus? resurrection.br /God is all about saving and restoring and redeeming.br /God is all about making whole.br /Easter people say, ?God has, and God will.?br /br /To believe that, is not to deny the reality of pain and death.br /It is to take a God?s eye view of life.br /It is to choose stubborn hope in the midst of a dying world.br /It is to believe the words of the prophet Isaiah,br / when he spoke for God, saying,br / on this mountain, this mountain,br /  in this holy city that now lies in ruin,br /  here . . . God is preparing a feast,br /  and God will destroy the shroud that is cast over all peoples.br /br /The enemy of God, the Prince of Darkness,br /had already pulled the shroud of death over the human race,br /had already pulled the sheet over the corpse, and covered it up.br /That?s the image we see here, in Isaiah 25.br /But God says,br / I will destroy that shroud.br / I will swallow up death forever.br / I will wipe away every tear.br /br /Resurrection is still God?s agenda.br /We are called to live that way, even though people are dying.br /br /I love the line from our epistle reading today in 1 Corinthians 15.br /This is a letter from Paul to a church under severe persecution;br / to a church that honestly believed that any day now,br /  Jesus would return and rescue them.br /They lived in full expectation that God was about to save them,br / to keep them and their family from dying,br / to take them straight-away to heaven.br /But time was passing, and some people had started to lose hope,br / were starting to doubt what they earlier believed.br /br /Paul is telling them, v. 1,br /?Let me remind you, brothers and sisters,br / of the good news I proclaimed to you.?br /?Hold firm to the message,? he said.br /And then he repeats the message of Easter,br / ?According to the scriptures, Christ died for our sins,br /  was buried, and raised on the third day,br /  and appeared to Peter, and the twelve,br /  and to five hundred brothers and sisters,br /  most of whom are still living . . .?br /And then here?s the line,br / ? . . . though some have died.?br /br /To a church that is expecting Jesus to come any day now,br /and protect them from persecution and from death,br /Paul stubbornly proclaims that resurrection is still true,br / ?though some have died.?br /The fact that some had died,br / did not change the basic plot of God?s saving story.br /And Paul didn?t cover over the fact that people still died.br /br /The good news is that Jesus lives,br /though some have died.br /God is a God who saves and preserves life,br /though some have died.br /God destroys the shroud of death over all peoples,br /though some have died.br /br /In the midst of a world where people still die,br /and living things still decay,br /it is nevertheless true and right for us to proclaim,br /God has conquered death.br /Death is real, but it does not define the experience of life.br / It is not the last word.br / God owns the last word!br /br /Listen to this verse of a glorious Easter hymn we all love,br /?Glory to God, in full anthems of joy;br /The being God gave us death cannot destroy:br /Sad were the life we may part with tomorrow,br /If tears were our birthright, and death were our end.br /br /But you see, as bitter as tears and death may be,br /they are not what defines the life God gave us.br /br /So, as the hymn goes on,br /Lift then your voices, in triumph on high,br / for Jesus has risen, and we shall not die.br /br /Let?s raise the roof, and lift our glad voices!br /br /?Philip L. Kniss, April 12, 2009br /br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-8238646233933559592?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/8238646233933559592/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=8238646233933559592";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/8238646233933559592";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/8238646233933559592";s:4:"link";s:79:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/04/phil-kniss-though-some-have-died-easter.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:9;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-9179174257530858731";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-04-05T12:00:00.001-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-05-04T10:26:57.235-04:00";s:5:"title";s:36:"Barbara Moyer Lehman: Humble Courage";s:12:"atom_content";s:12416:"span style="font-weight: bold;"April 5, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Palm Sundaybr /Philippians 2:5-11; Psalm 118:1-2,19-29; Mark 11:1-11; Isaiah 50:4-9a/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to watch video:/spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4060147amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4060147amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/h8cxwe/2009-04-05_Humble_courage.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="210" align="middle" height="25"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-04-05.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /div style="text-align: center;"span style="font-weight: bold;" The Road Not Taken/spanbr / by Robert Frostbr /br /Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,br /And sorry I could not travel bothbr /And be one traveler, long I stoodbr /And looked down one as far as I couldbr /To where it bent in the undergrowth;br /br /Then took the other, as just as fair,br /And having perhaps the better claim,br /Because it was grassy and wanted wear;br /Though as for that the passing therebr /Had worn them really about the same,br /br /And both that morning equally laybr /In leaves no step had trodden black.br /Oh, I kept the first for another day!br /Yet knowing how way leads on to way,br /I doubted if I should ever come back.br /br /I shall be telling this with a sighbr /Somewhere ages and ages hence:br /Two roads diverged in a wood, and I?br /I took the one less traveled by,br /And that has made all the difference.br //divbr /A well known poem by a much beloved American poet of the 20th century, Robert Frost, is a simple story yet it has significant meaning.  The poet came to a fork in the road.  A decision needed to be made.  Which way to go?  What path to follow?  Both choices looked pretty good.  He gazes at length down one path, then takes the other because it was grassy and wanted wear.  He knew he could always return another day and try the first path, but most likely wouldn?t. br /br /The path he chose was the one less traveled and it made all the difference!br /br /Following Jesus isn?t always a popular choice or easy path to follow.  The road he leads us on may be full of potholes, rough gravel and uneven places.  The sharp curves haven?t been removed.  Surprises may be lurking around the next bend.  It?s far easier and usually safer to choose the 4 lane interstate, the super highway, where the sharpest curves are eliminated, surfaces are usually kept smooth, the steepest mountains are reduced.  All you need to do is put on your cruise control, sit back in your air conditioned car and follow the crowds. Many enter the lanes of traffic, one lane....two lanes...three lanes!  Wide is the gate, broad is the road, many find their way to this super highway.  Where does it lead?  Matthew?s gospel tells us in chapter 7 that it leads to destruction.  ?But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.? Matt. 7:13-14br /br /It?s the road less traveled, but it is the only one that leads to life!br /br /The road Jesus traveled into Jerusalem is not wide, is not straight, is not flat.  It probably was not smooth.  Ten years ago when I walked part of that road, I remembered thinking, this is not what I expected.  It impacted my understanding of what Palm Sunday might have been like and transformed my mental picture.br /br /The gospel account of Jesus? entry into Jerusalem from Mark 11 has its own flavor.  Mark puts his own ?spin? or interpretation on the event.  We can learn something from each of the gospel accounts.  When we read Mark, the description is low-key, ?muted?. Information is sparse.  Most of the 11 verses in today?s lectionary reading have to do with Jesus? words to two of his disciples, with direct instructions about how to secure an animal for him to ride on.  When that was accomplished and Jesus made his way down the narrow winding road, across the Kidron Valley and toward the city of Jerusalem, there were people along the way.  It was Passover.  There were lots of people in the city at that time.  Some spread their cloaks along the way, as he rode by.  Others spread leafy branches, not palms, as indicated in John?s account, but branches cut from nearby fields.  And people shouted their Hosanna?s.  It was what they did every year.  It was part of their celebration....words chanted from Psalm 118.....?Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David!?  Mark?s account alludes to the messianic identity of Jesus, but it isn?t clear whether the people along the way actually knew and understood that this very man riding by them was indeed King Jesus!  Did they have any idea that the coming of the Kingdom that they were shouting about would be connected with the horrible and unjust death on a cross of this man that was riding by?  Probably not.br /br /When we read the other gospel accounts, it is pretty clear that the people had come to meet him, to see him, to praise him for the miracles they had seen him do.  The crowds gathered around him and along the way as he made his way to the city of Jerusalem. br /br /In Mark, Jesus makes his way to the city in silence.  He has no interaction with the crowd, as far as we can tell.  He gives no response to the words they chant.  He rides on a lowly colt, as one of many pilgrims, yet as much more than a pilgrim!  Did the people even stay with him?  By the time he enters the city and arrives at the temple, it is late.  He glances around at everything and leaves.  It feels like a ?non-event?, anti-climatic.  Nothing that would draw much media attention, if it were to take place today.br /br /Many of our Bibles begin this section with the heading of Jesus? triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but Mark?s interpretation of this event makes it feel less ?triumphal? and more like the beginning of a funeral procession!  Some of the newer translations of the Bible have renamed this section, ?Jesus comes to Jerusalem as King?   and taken out ?triumphal entry?.  It is not a phrase used in any of the accounts.br /br /Yet as low key and muted as Mark?s version appears, there is something that is conveyed to the readers at a deeper level.  In his ride on a lowly animal, on a beast of burden, not a beast of war, he models something different about leadership and kingship.  Jesus will be enthroned as King, but how he leads and rules will look different from anything that they have ever seen.  Jesus? idea of kingship wasn?t one of conquest, coercion and showing strength through military power.  Jesus modeled humility, gentleness, sacrificial love, self-emptying, serving others, being obedient.br /br /Jesus came to be their salvation.  He will save them, as they cried out ?Hosanna? (which means save us),but it will require the sacrifice of his very life.  His Kingdom will come in power, but not as they anticipate or expect it to come.  His ride in silence is a powerful statement.  It portrays one with humble courage.  It models a new and different paradigm of leadership.  It requires humility and courage.br /br /Jesus? ride into Jerusalem that day did not lead to the palace.  He made a brief visit to the temple, only to return another day.  But eventually the road he chose led to a terrible place outside the city walls where he would lay down his life for his friends. ?No one has greater love than this, to lay down one?s life for one?s friends.?  (John 15-13)br /br /Jesus chose to take the road less traveled, the road of sacrifice rather than the road of conquest and domination, the road of love for us rather than security for himself.br /br /We began our service with Hosanna?s, but that is not where we end.  Maybe we should have ?toned down? our opening this year, because according to Mark?s account, Jesus? journey into Jerusalem is more about the beginning of the end, more about his entry into the suffering and death, rather than a time of celebration and triumph.br /br /In our world and in our time, few leaders model ?humble courage?.  We can reflect on political leaders, successful athletes, gifted musicians and artists, educators, church leaders, professionals in about every field of service, and we know that what we see is often a skewed version of what Jesus models.  Our culture and society pressures us to see and emulate leadership that is a far cry from what God calls us to do and be.br /br /In Paul?s letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, we read that the one who emptied himself, who humbled himself, who obeyed to the point of death..even the most horrendous, horrible kind of death..death on a cross, was the one who was exalted!!!  We might say that Jesus of Nazareth helps us redefine, transform our understanding of ?triumph?.  It really is about quiet strength, humble courage, losing oneself, the last will be first, choosing the narrow gate, and taking the road less traveled.br /br /What roads are you traveling?br /What paths are you choosing?br /Who are your models?br /What are you modeling, as you lead?br /br /Daniel Clendenin writes:br / blockquote style="font-style: italic;"Identifying with Jesus and patterning our lives after him results in endless subversions-----divestment of wealth rather than accumulation, renunciation rather than gratification, self-sacrifice rather than self-satisfaction, humility rather than exaltation, and peace for all rather than security for a few.?/blockquoteAs we choose a road less traveled, may God give us the courage to live humbly and gently upon this earth, to serve others, and to be obedient...even unto death.  For as Paul reminds us:br /blockquote style="font-style: italic;" Let the same mind be in youbr / that was in Christ Jesus,br / who, though he was in the form of Godbr / did not regard equality with Godbr / as something to be exploited,br /  but emptied himself,br / taking the form of a slave,br / being born in human likeness.br / And being found in human form,br / he humbled himselfbr / and became obedient to the point of death?br / even death on a cross.br /br / Therefore God also highly exalted himbr / and gave him the namebr / that is above every name,br / so that at the name of Jesusbr / every knee should bend,br / in heaven and on earth and under the earth,br / and every tongue should confessbr / that Jesus Christ is Lord,br / to the glory of God the Father. (Phil.2:5-11)/blockquotebr /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-9179174257530858731?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/9179174257530858731/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=9179174257530858731";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/9179174257530858731";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/9179174257530858731";s:4:"link";s:75:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/04/barbara-moyer-lehman-humble-courage.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:10;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-2139780191257911343";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-03-29T12:00:00.001-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-04-10T11:05:30.009-04:00";s:5:"title";s:38:"Phil Kniss: What God does with failure";s:12:"atom_content";s:16758:"span style="font-weight:bold;"March 29, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Lent 5br /Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:1-12; John 12:20-26/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/48vpv5/2009-03-29_What_God_does_with_failure.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-03-29.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /Human beings fail.br / Often. And miserably.br /Human beings disappoint each other.br / Often. And deeply.br /Human beings hurt each other.br / Often. And with great consequence.br /br /On the one hand,br / there?s not a lot of good we can saybr / about the human condition.br /Human failure, deep human failure,br / is in our face every time we pay attention to the news,br / whether global, national, or Harrisonburg community news.br /br /In our community a young woman is being triedbr / for the death of another woman in our community,br / because the young woman apparently drank heavilybr /  until the wee hours of the morning,br /  and in a drunken fog got behind the wheel of her car.br / Her failure to use good judgement, and moderation,br /  resulted in the tragic death of a wife and mother and friend.br / Her failure ended tragically.br /  But failures in judgement and moderationbr /   that are absolutely identical to hers,br /  happen dozens of times, daily, all over this very community.br /  The consequences may not be newsworthy,br /   but they harm just as many people.br /br /On the national front,br / a man recently went to jail for crimes driven by unmitigated greed.br / A ponzi scheme larger than any in history,br /  destroyed countless lives, and businesses, and relationships.br / And the same failure to value the dignity and worth of others,br /  the same sin of greed,br /  is continuing to destroy lives, and businesses, and relationships,br /  all over our country and world.br /br /On the global stage,br / where do we start?br / Everywhere we look,br /  the failure to respect the worth of human beingsbr /   from other nations, or ethnic groups, or religions,br /  the failure to love . . .br /  is devastating the world as we know it.br /br /Human failure is epidemic. It is endemic. br / That is, it?s constantly and everywhere present.br / We obviously don?t need to look across the ocean, or state lines,br /  to see it.br / We don?t even have to look as farbr /  as the Rockingham General District Court.br / We need only look in our church,br /  in our own families.br / We need only look in the mirror.br /br /Choices that I myself make,br / sometimes hurt, and disappoint, others in my life.br / Human failure is rampant.br /  And in many situations, even in our own lives,br /   the result is devastating.br / Human beings sin against each other, and against God,br /  often, and with great consequence.br /br /So what do we do with . . . human failure?br / What do we do when others fail?br / I think we all know what happens much of the time.br / We point fingers.br / We make sure that as many people as possiblebr /  see that failure clearly, and in detail,br /  so that we come out looking good in comparison . . .br /  so that our own failures fade in proportion.br /br /That seems to be the norm . . . br / bolster our own self-image,br / by shining light on the failure of others.br /br /I sometimes wonder whether that?s what actuallybr / drives the news industry in our culture.br / That?s why tabloid journalism sells.br / That?s why the more sensational the failure,br /  the larger the headline.br /br / It reassures us average citizensbr /  who are good people,br /  but have real-life, everyday struggles with greed,br /  that we are not anything at all br /  like those monsters who took bonuses at AIG.br / We are a completely different speciesbr /  than those corrupt thugs on Wall Street,br /  and those greedy bank executives, and corporate CEO?s.br / It helps our own lives just . . . shine . . . br /  compared to that scumbag of a personbr /  who robbed a bank or convenience store.br /br / Seeing a sordid story of some pervert?s gross sexual misconductbr /  splashed across the pages of the paper,br /  can have the effect of making those among usbr /  who struggle with sexual brokenness and addictionsbr /   minimize our own temptations,br /   or pass off our own indiscretions br /    as something completely different.br /br /What do we do with human failure?br / We create distance between us and them.br / We point our fingers, and call peoplebr /  monsters, and thugs, and scumbags, and perverts,br /  so we don?t have to do the painful work of examining ourselves.br /But what should we do with human failure?br / How do we respond to the sheer overwhelming messbr /  the human race is in?br / How do we relate to those close to usbr /  who have failed us miserably?br / Or how do we relate to our own failures?br /br /We could take a hint, perhaps, from what God does with failure.br /_____________________br /br /Each Sunday during Lent, and this is the fifth one,br / we have looked at a different Old Testament covenant.br /One with Noah, one with Abraham, br / one with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai,br / and last Sunday, the bronze snake covenant for healing.br /br /But in all of these covenants,br / and every other agreement between God and God?s people,br / the people failed.br /They did not live up to God?s intentions.br / They cheated on God, in a major way.br /br /So in today?s text, in the book of Jeremiah,br / we see what God does with these multiple failures.br /But before we look again at Jeremiah 31,br / let?s jump back a few chapters,br / and get a picture of how God really felt about these failures;br / how these human failures impacted God.br /br /Here is what God says (Jeremiah 11):br / ?Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah br /  have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. br / They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, br /  who refused to listen to my words. br / They have followed other gods to serve them.br /br / Therefore, I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape.br /  Although they cry out to me, I will not listen.br /  The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem br /   will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, br /   but they will not help when disaster strikes.?br /br / ?Do not pray for this people,? God said to Jeremiah,br /  ?or offer any plea or petition for them, br /  because I will not listen when they call to me br /   in the time of their distress.br / What is my beloved doing in my templebr /        as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?br /        Can consecrated meat avert your punishment??br /br /God could not have been more hurt, more disappointed, more angry, br / and more justified in unleashing that anger on the people.br / God wanted this relationship to be one that worked.br /  God had carried out God?s part of the covenant.br /  God poured everything into these people.br /   these people he loved,br /   these people he called friends,br /   these people he called his own wife.br /  But the people rejected God?s love, with contempt.br /  They acted like God?s love for them didn?t matter in the least,br /   and ran after other gods to worship them.br /  God was as angry as any scorned lover would be.br /br / So clearly, it?s all over for the people.br /  Those monsters, those scumbags,br /   deserve whatever they have coming.br /  Well, in fact, the disaster God predicted did happen.br /  The consequences came, right on schedule.br /   They were raided by foreign armies,br /    carried away captive into a strange land,br /    their temple demolished,br /    their holy city in ruins.br /  God?s covenant with his people was over.br / We know what to expect.br /  When we turn a few more pages in book of Jeremiah, br /   we will see the words, ?THE END,?br /   in all block letters in the center of a blank page.br / That had to be the end of the story.br / Total failure, which leads to total destruction.br /br /But instead, we turn the page and find Jeremiah 31.br / ?The days are surely coming, says the Lord,br /  when I will make a new covenantbr /   with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.?br /br /What??  A new covenant!!??  With the same people!!??br / You?ve got to be kidding.br / Jeremiah . . . you must have heard God wrong.br / After the way they treated God? Again??br /br /Is God so desperate as to try to make another go of it with Israel?br / Apparently so.br / ?This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israelbr /  after those days,? says the Lord.br / ?I will put my law within them,br /  and I will write it on their hearts;br /  and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.?br /br /After all this, God still wants to identify with these people.br / God is still enamored with the people he chose.br / God still wants his relationship with them to be rebuilt.br / God is going to see that the new covenant gets internalized.br /  It?s not enough for the law to be carved in stone.br /  It?s not enough for the people to know, in their heads,br /   what God wants.br /  Knowledge of God must be written on the human heart.br /  Deep, experiential knowledge br /   of God?s great love and mercy and justicebr /    must be deep within,br /    pulsing through our entire beings,br /    as essential to life as our very heartbeat.br /br / You see, unlike us,br /  God doesn?t deal with failure by creating distance.br /  God doesn?t try to build up his own reputation,br /   by gloating or pointing fingers at those worthless scumbags.br /  God doesn?t move away from those who fail.br /  God moves toward them.br /  God pursues them. Persistently.br / Second chances aren?t enough.br / It?s fifth, sixth, and seventh chances.br /  Seventy chances times seven.br /br /That is, to put it simply, awe-inspiring.br /But it?s also, as some have said, ?the grammar of the gospel.?br / It is the basic structure of God?s good news.br / It?s God?s powerful, persistent, unstoppable movement br /  from brokenness, toward wholeness,br /  from alienation, toward community,br /  from being lost, toward being found,br /  from condemnation, toward salvation,br /  from death, toward life.br /br /That?s what God does with failure.br / God redeems it.br / Creates new life from it.br /_____________________br /br /I think that should say something to us,br / in terms of how we respond to the failures of others.br /When people hurt or disappoint,br / do we create distance? or move toward?br /br /Now, I recognize that immediately there is tension,br / when I imply that we imitate God?s endless mercy.br / Because there is the very real and life-preserving concern for safety.br /So I want to be clear that I?m not sayingbr / we should give offenders blank checks for offending again.br /br /There are some relationships that go beyondbr / hurt and disappointment,br / to abuse and violence.br /Sometimes distance, and even strong barriers,br / are exactly what is needed,br / for the health and well-being of everyone concerned.br /br /And furthermore, God did not give God?s people a blank check.br / God called them back into a relationship that had a history,br /  a relationship based on rebuilding genuine trust,br /  and then God held them accountable.br /Of course, there never is a perfect parallel betweenbr / God?s relationship with God?s creatures,br / and the relationships of fallen and broken human beings.br /br /Nevertheless,br / God?s love, paired with God?s justice, br /  is a powerful thing,br /  and we do have something to learn from it.br /Failure happens.br / And what God does with failure,br /  is redeem it.br /  Again and again.br / That is who God is, and what God does.br /  Takes what seems dead, and creates new life from it.br /_____________________br /br /That?s why in Psalm 51 which we sang,br / the psalmist, devastated by his unspeakably horrible sin,br / could come broken and begging to God,br / and make a such bold request of God,br /  trusting that God would say ?yes,?br / ?Create in me a clean heart, O God,br /  and put a new and right spirit within me.br /  Do not cast me away from your presence.br /  Restore to me the joy of your salvation.?br /br /And that?s what the heart of Jesus? words were about br / in the reading from John this morning.br / ?I tell you for certain,? Jesus said,br /  ?that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground br /   will never be more than one grain unless it dies. br /  But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat. br /  If you love your life, you will lose it. br /  If you give it up in this world, you will be given eternal life.?br /br /It seems, to the untrained eye, br / that the seed dropped in the ground is dead and gone forever.br / The very same forces of death br /  that cause a fallen tree to decay and return to the soil . . . br /  those same forces do their deadly work on the seed.br /  They soften and begin to rot the hard outer layer of the seed.br / But those death-dealing forces are the very onesbr /  that end up freeing God?s life-giving powers to burst forth,br /  and grow new life.br / That is the grammar of the Gospel.br / That is how God works!br /br /But, here in John 12 is revealed an essential truth.br / Before God?s life emerges,br /  the seed must fall to the ground,br /  and surrender its seed-ness.br / It cannot hold on for dear life to that inner treasure,br /  or that dear life will wither away and really die.br / No, it must surrender to One greater than itself.br / In God?s economy, protection of life, equals death.br /  But surrender of life equals true life.br / It?s that simple, and that difficult.br /In the words of Jesus,br / ?If you love your life, you will lose it. br /  If you give it up in this world, you will be given eternal life.?br /br /I don?t know what this surrender looks like for each of us personally.br / It will look different for you, than it will for me,br /  because there are different things we are clinging to,br /  that hold back the life that God wants to free in us.br / But I am certain,br /  that God will wait until we drop the seed into the ground.br /  God will not knock it from our hands.br /  God waits for our surrender.br /br /God waits until we stand before him open-handed and empty-handed,br / and say ?You, God, are all I have. My life is in your hands.?br /br /It is in that spirit of surrender that I invite us to sing again,br / our theme song for Lent,br / ?You are all we have, you give us what we need,br /  our lives are in your hands, O Lord,br /  our lives are in your hands.?br /br /If you don?t need the music, and many of you won?t,br / let?s simply sing it with our palms outstretched,br / and imagine, if we can, that thing, or situation, or thought,br /  to which we cling,br /  that?s preventing the new life God wants to grow in us.br / Hold it there, loosely, in open palms, and offer it to God.br / If you need the book, that?s fine. Turn to STJ 29.br / Just find some way to also symbolically surrender to God,br /  whatever needs to be surrendered. br /Truly, our lives are in God?s hands.br /br / ?Philip L. Kniss, March 29, 2009br /br /brspan style="font-style:italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-2139780191257911343?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/2139780191257911343/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=2139780191257911343";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/2139780191257911343";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/2139780191257911343";s:4:"link";s:77:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/03/phil-kniss-what-god-does-with-failure.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:11;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-7817521184185330211";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-03-22T12:00:00.000-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-04-14T15:11:21.543-04:00";s:5:"title";s:36:"Ross Erb: What to do in the darkness";s:12:"atom_content";s:10153:"span style="font-weight:bold;"March 22, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Lent 4br /Numbers 21:4-9/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/vb6auz/2009-03-22_What_to_do_in_the_darkness.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-03-22.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /Recently there had been a lot of excitement for the people of Israel. br /Finding out that God was there and cared, br /having a hero like Moses come out of nowhere to stand up to Pharoah, br /those were great times. br /Then the plagues came, br /and the whole lot of them fleeing as Egypt mourned the deaths of its firstborn, br /seeing the Red Sea part, br /watching the Egyptian army get mired in the mud and then covered by the waters. br /It was so easy to believe that God had come back to redeem His chosen people.br /br /They sang after they got across the sea. br /A body of water between them and Egypt, br /the Egyptian army destroyed, br /the promise of a return to their historic home. God was good!br /And then the pillar of cloud and fire moved on in front, and the whole group followed. br /br /Things kind of went downhill then. br /There are at least 4 incidents recorded in Numbers, prior to Numbers 21 br /where the chosen people, God?s elect, act pretty...well, pretty much like anyone else in the world. Kind of like spoiled children. br /After 4 lessons about how they need to trust in God, you would think that the message would have gotten through. br /br /But no, as they set out from Mount Hor they start to grumble again. br /All this walking, the terrible food, not much water, it?s hot, maybe it?s cold...br /The complaining stops pretty quickly when the snakes appear. br /This is a bad situation. Snakes everywhere, and they are nasty. br /People are dying, many people.br / br /And all of a sudden the Israelites are back to Moses saying, br /?We?ve sinned, not just against God, but against you too. Ask God to take the serpents away.?br /Notice what the people asked for. br /?Pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.? br /Simple and direct. But God does not take the serpents away. br /Moses is told to make an image of the very thing that is causing the pain, a snake, br /and stick it up on a pole. br /To receive healing, the Israelites had to face that which was causing them pain and suffering and death.br /br /Perhaps more importantly, God did not just remove the snakes from their midst. br /That would have been so easy, so clean. br /Suffering comes, cry out to God for forgiveness or help, problem goes away.  br /But for healing, something was required of the Israelites. They had to have faith. br /They had to be actively involved in turning and looking toward the image that had been erected, even while the snakes were still slithering around amongst them.br /br /God?s people live today very much as they have through the ages. br /At least here in North America that seems to be true. br /When we face troubles, when life gets hard, we cry out. br /We might even blame God for the hardships. br /We complain and wonder why God doesn?t take our troubles away. br /br /But if God didn?t take the serpents away from the midst of the Israelites, br /how is it that we feel that God should be taking our troubles away? br /God loved the world so much that he sent His own Son to live among us. br /God saw humanity mired in our sin and pain and suffering, br /and made a way for us to be saved from our sin ? redeemed. br /And interestingly, the image that is used in John 3 is that image of the serpent on the pole. Jesus was raised up on the cross, just like the serpent on the pole. br /Just like the Israelites, if we turn to that which has been raised up, to the cross, br /and believe, we will receive healing, redemption. br /br /It would have been nice if God had simply removed evil and sin from this world. br /Take those serpents away from us! br /Instead, we have to, in the midst of our suffering and pain, turn to the cross and believe. br /Our journey through Lent reminds us of that task. br /We live in the midst of darkness, but we have seen the light. br /The world is not perfect, but in Christ we have glimpsed perfection br /and we have been invited to move toward that perfection. br /In the midst of darkness, we will not see the light unless we open our eyes to look. br /Otherwise, the darkness covers all.br /Christ doesn?t take away the pain and trials that we face, He only helps us to bear them and gives us hope.br /br /Vaclav Havel, was the last President of Czechoslovakia, and the first Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. He has a quote that speaks powerfully about hope. He says, ?Hope is not a prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart." We are called to orient our hearts toward Christ, even in the midst of darkness.br /br /On the eve of our tenth wedding anniversary,br /Cathy and I sat down across from each other to talk.br /We were talking about where we were going to live. br /Our three children were still young, Peyton was 4, Brendan and Aaron only about 6 months old. We were talking about where we were going to live, br /and it wasn?t like we were planning that we would live together. br /We weren?t liking each other so much just then. br /In our marriage relationship, it seemed like there was a lot of darkness. br /The next day, at a surprise anniversary celebration with family and friends, br /we put on a good front, but we didn?t want to be there.br /br /In the midst of that darkness, we did turn to God for help. br /We were not in a position where we could stand the mess we were in, br /and it didn?t seem that we could change it ourselves. br /Fortunately for us, God raised up someone to help us. br /Delphine Martin was a counselor at the counseling agency begun by churches in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. br /She met with us, probably not more than 6 times, br /but enough to get us unstuck, to get us talking again. br /That is what we needed, and we are both convinced that God used Delphine to save our marriage. It wasn?t easy, and it required a great deal of faith and commitment and hard work on our part. br /It was not quick as Cathy and I moved from despair about our marriage br /to contentment and then joy. br /We didn?t necessarily see and acknowledge that God was working in our marriage as it was happening. br /And that?s the thing about darkness. br /Sometimes it just moves from dark to light in small increments, br /and it is in looking back that you can see the change, br /or all of a sudden you realize that it is not so dark.br /br /Marilyn Chandler McEntyre wrote a poem titled, ?What to do in the darkness? br /and I find it to be a vivid image of how we can live in this present age.br /Let me share it with you.br / br /What to do in the darknessbr /Go slowlybr /Consent to itbr /But don?t wallow in itbr /Know it as a place of germinationbr /And growthbr /Remember the lightbr /Take an outstretched hand if you find onebr /Exercise unused sensesbr /Find the path by walking itbr /Practice trustbr /Watch for dawnbr /br /I have asked three people to share stories of times when they were in darkness, br /and God brought hope or healing, where they saw light. br /Children, for the first story, I invite you to come up here and join me on the story blanket. br /Lori Leaman is going to join us as well. br /After she is done, the others can come up in the order listed br /and share their stories with the congregation.br /br /I have been talking about times when are sad or scared or hopeless. Lori, can you tell us about a time like that in your life?br /br /THREE STORIES ARE TOLDbr /br /As we move toward Easter br /we have an opportunity this morning to turn our faces toward the cross. br /This Lenten season we may be facing situations where we are burdened with worry or fear, sadness or pain. br /Christ has been lifted up. br /We believe in him, and we are moving toward the light, br /even as we are in the midst of darkness. br /We acknowledge Christ as the One sent into the world, br /not to condemn it but to save it. br /We need saving, and it may be hard work. br /Our work doesn?t save us, br /but it is hard work to keep oriented toward our source of help.br /If you wish, as we sing these next songs, br /you may come forward with your burdens to ask for prayer or anointing with oil. br /We can do as the Israelites did, and as Jesus said we should do, br /and turn to that which has been lifted up. br /Really, it?s all we have.br /brbrspan style="font-style:italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-7817521184185330211?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/7817521184185330211/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=7817521184185330211";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/7817521184185330211";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/7817521184185330211";s:4:"link";s:71:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/03/ross-erb-what-to-do-in-darkness.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:12;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-8743888044953202579";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-03-15T12:00:00.000-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-04-10T10:56:52.206-04:00";s:5:"title";s:35:"Phil Kniss: Starting with the story";s:12:"atom_content";s:15508:"span style="font-weight:bold;"March 15, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Lent 3br /Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; John 2:13-22/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/mf/play/u4t9jw/2009-03-15_Starting_with_the_story.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-03-15.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /I?m a list-maker.br / I know a lot of you are too.br / Lists keep our lives in order.br /  At least if we bother to look at them, and follow them.br / I also think there?s something in our spiritual DNA,br /  and maybe cultural DNA, as Mennonites,br /  that make us likely to love lists.br / Our theology emphasizes the ?doing? side of faith.br /  Not to the total neglect of ?being,?br /   but we do like our ?doing.?br / Ours is an active faith, and rightly so.br /  We are concerned about ethics.br /  We want to do right by God.br /br /So a list like the Ten Commandments suits our spirituality very well.br / This is a good list for people prone to measure their righteousness,br /  by what they do, or don?t do.br /br /But let me make a casebr / for not reading these as just a spiritual ?to-do list.?br / Open your bulletins and look at how we printed them.br / You may have noticed these things already,br /  but look at the title?the Decalogue.br /  That?s what Bible scholars call this text.br /  ?Decalogue? just means, ?Ten Words.?br / ?Ten Commandments? is the more popular title.br / Both titles work. But I prefer ?Ten Words.?br /For a particular reason. br / Which relates to another thing you might have noticed,br / See anything strange about how these are numbered?br /br /I imagine, if you did like me,br / and memorized the Ten Commandments in Sunday Schoolbr /  or Bible School,br / commandment #1 was the first half of what the bulletin says is #2:br /  ?You shall have no other gods before me.?br / And commandment #2 was the second half:br /  ?You shall not make for yourself an idol.?br /   or in King James, ?graven image.?br / From there on they?re same.br /So what?s with this number 1?br / It?s not even a commandment.br / ?I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,br /  out of the house of slavery.?br / The traditional Hebrew and Jewish numbering of these ten wordsbr /  begins with one that is not a commandment.br /br /See, these are not just a sterile list of isolated rules and prohibitions.br / These are divine words, ?words? in the sense of br /  solemn utterance of the one God Yahweh.br / And since Day One of Creation,br /  we know the power of an utterance of God.br / Words of God have the power to create, and to define.br /  ?And God said, let there be . . . and there was . . .?br /br /We cannot underestimate the importance of these ten words,br / that God uttered to God?s people at a particular time.br / A people who, by the way, were very new br /  to this relationship with God.br / Who barely knew who this God was.br / Who very recently in their history,br /  were first introduced to this God,br /  by a man who came into Egypt from a far country,br /  and claimed to be one of them,br /   sent by God to bring them out of slavery.br / That was Moses.br / And the only thing Moses could really say about who God was,br /  was that his name was, ?I am.?br / As a people, they knew nothingbr /  about the nature and character of this so-called God,br /  whether God?s intention was to rescue them,br /   or exterminate them.br / And they honestly wondered sometimes,br /  when they ran out of food and water in the wilderness.br /br /So there they were,br / a massive movement of people wandering in the desert,br / led by a man who claimed to represent an unknown God.br /These Ten Words could not have been more important,br / or more timely.br /It cannot be overstated.br / These words meant everything to the people.br / By these solemn utterances, this loving, Creator Godbr /  was speaking something into existence,br /  speaking life and breath into a people.br / Just like in the six days of Creation,br /  God was speaking into existence.br /  Was creating a people of covenant.br /br /The ten words begin the way they need to begin.br /Word #1: ?I am the Lord your God,br /  who brought you out of the land of Egypt, br /  out of the house of slavery.?br /That word . . . was the foundation for everything that followed.br /The so-called ten commandments,br / start by becoming grounded in the story.br / These ten words cannot, ultimately, br /  be separated from that storybr /  of a God who has endless compassion and lovebr /   for the people God called into being.br / These are words that come from a Godbr /  who is seeking a mutual loving relationship with a people.br / These are words that start with the storybr /  of God intervening in history,br /  and delivering people from oppression.br /br /Most Christians today see this as a list of commandsbr / that can be isolated, abbreviated,br / neatly numbered, in two parallel columns,br / inscribed onto stone or bronze or wood,br / and hung on a wall or made into a monument.br /We can look at them, and admire the wisdom contained in them,br / as well we should.br / There?s nothing wrong with putting them on displaybr /  for a reminder to ourselves and others.br / But there is a risk in doing that, if we?re not careful.br / We are tempted to separate them from the story,br /  to let them lose their grounding in a particular history.br /These ten words started with a story.br / They are directly tied to the most important storybr /  in the Jewish faith tradition,br /  and it?s right up near the top in our own tradition,br /  the story of God delivering the people from slavery in Egypt.br /br / So, the Jewish numbering of the Decalogue, the Ten Words,br /  makes this necessary link between law and story.br / They begin by declaring who God is in relation to this story.br /  ?I am the Lord your God.?br /  I am the God who loves you. br /  Who saw your suffering in Egypt, br /   and had compassion on you.br /   I delivered you.br /   I am The One.?br /br / Word #1 is not the first thing to check off on their holy to-do list.br /  It?s not the first thing they have to do.br /  It?s the first word they have to know.br / God is a saving, redeeming, freedom-giving God,br /  who brought them out of slavery.br / That is the one fundamental truth,br /  that gives meaning to all the other commandments.br / The other nine wordsbr /  rise directly out of God?s loving and saving action toward us.br /br / So these commandments don?t come across as, br /  ?Do this, or else!?br / They come across as, ?I love you my children, I want you to be free.br /  Free from slavery. Free from bondage.br /  Free to be whole people.br /  Free to be in right and joyful relationship with me.br /  Free to be in right and joyful relationship with each other.br /br /These commandments, contrary to what we think sometimes,br / do not constrict us, they free us.br / They show us what true freedom looks like.br /br / ?Thou shalt have no other gods before me?br /  is not a tedious burden to bear.br /  We are not hindered . . . we are freed to worship one God.br /  We don?t have to worry about dividing our allegiancebr /   between multiple gods,br /   worshiping one while trying not to offend another.br /  We need not deal with conflicting loyalties.br /br / ?Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain?br /  does not constrict our full expression.br /  It means we are free to give honor to God by our words.br /br / ?Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy?br /  means that after a week of laborbr /  we are free to rest in God?s love and care,  br /br / ?Honor thy father and thy mother?br /  means we are free to be in right relationshipbr /  to those God has given us to guide us through life.br /br / ?Thou shalt not kill?br /  means we are free to enjoy mutual acts of kindness and justicebr /  in our relationships with others.br /br / ?Thou shalt not commit adultery?br /  means we are free to experience the joy and securitybr /  that fidelity to a marriage covenant can bring.br /br / ?Thou shalt not steal?br /  means we are free from the anxiety of grasping for more,br /  free to be grateful, and generous with others.br /br / ?Thou shalt not bear false witness?br /  means we can discover the freedom that comes br /  from simply speaking truthfully.br /br / ?Thou shalt not covet?br /  means we are free to enjoy what we have, br /  to be content in our own abundance.br /br /If the Lord our God who uttered these wordsbr / is the very same one who brought the people outbr /  from under oppression,br / we can be sure that these commandments are God?s waybr /  of continuing to set us free,br /  of defining for us a new, and free, and joyful, and full life.br /br /When we look at them this way,br / the commandments do not lose their authority.br / The laws still stand.br / We ignore them to our detriment.br /But they come from a God who built a reputationbr / on setting people free.br / God?s law is a fence we can welcome.br / It gives us parameters that provide security and safety,br /  and within which we have the room we need br /  to move around and enjoy a full and rich life.br /br /These ten words were welcomed by the wandering people of Israel.br / They were celebrated then.br / They continue to be celebrated.br /_____________________br /br /Case in point? Psalm 19.br / The law, according to the psalmist,br /  is a sweet and precious gift of God,br /  a gift to write lofty poetry about.br /br /Psalm 19 doesn?t sound at all like the typical sober Christianbr / who talks about God?s law.br / We like to get all serious and studious,br /  and determined and disciplined,br /  when we talk about God?s commandments in scripture.br / We like to talk about the great ethical demands they place on us,br /  and upon others.br / We like to measure ourselves, br /  and we really like to measure others,br /  against the high ethical standards of the law.br / That?s not quite the tone we get from Psalm 19.br /br /The writer, in his sheer delight over God?s law,br / has gotten downright giddy and romantic about it.br / He?s writing about laws, and rules, and statutes, and commandments. But he sounds like he?s writing a restaurant reviewbr /  after having had the most exquisite meal of his life.br / It practically oozes with poetic praise br /  and syrupy sweetness.br / ?Ah, God?s law. (mppwah!!)br /  Perfecto!br /  Revives the soul.br /  It?s clear. br /  It?s pure.br /  It warms the heart.br /  Sweeter than the drippings of a honeycomb.?br /Those are all words the psalmist uses,br / to describe the law.br /br /I?m pretty sure the psalmist wasn?t Mennonite.br /br /But it wasn?t just one romantic poet who felt that way about the law.br / It?s part of the Jewish mindset.br / There is a love and warm, emotional devotion to the Torah.br / If you visit a synagogue, you will see them carry the scroll around,br /  and everyone reaches out to touch it, to kiss it.br / And some Christian traditions are similar.br / In many high churches, the reading of the Gospel br /  is done with the utmost of devotion br /  and with a sense of awe.br / A few years back we asked a visiting Indonesian pastorbr /  to read the Gospel at one of our Taizé services.br /  At the conclusion of his reading,br /  he lifted the Bible to his lips and kissed it.br / There is something of that nature . . . br /  sweetness, beauty, priceless treasure . . . br /  that we miss out on completely,br /  if we only see these Ten Commandments as a list,br /  and divorce them from their story.br /br /These commandments are so important,br / and so valuable to our lives and faith,br / because they started with a story,br /  involving God and God?s people.br / They came as a timely gift br /  from a God who loves and redeems.br /  A God who delivers those in bondage.br /  A God who has compassion on the suffering.br /br /It is a constant, and perennial temptation for us humans.br / To take a precious and sublime gift of a gracious God,br /  and turn it into something mundane,br /   to rob it of its pulsing life,br /   to make it into a commodity,br /    a list,br /    a transactional arrangement.br /br /I wonder if that?s why Jesus got so angry at the money changers.br / They were taking a precious gift of God,br /  the joy of giving worship and sacrifice to God in the temple.br / A gift that should have inspired an outbreak of generosity,br /  a demonstration of God?s wild economy of giving away, br /   of sharing,br /   of making sure everyone had what they needed to worship.br / Instead, the whole thing became a transaction.br /  God needs animal sacrifice. You don?t have animals.br /  So you pay me cash,br /   I give you the lamb or dove,br /   you pay God by sacrificing the animal,br /   God pays you by forgiving your sin.br /  Everybody pays, and gets what they want.br /   God gets some worship.br /   You get forgiveness.br /   I get a little richer.br /br /We take a precious gift of God,br / something perfect and pure,br / something sweeter than the drippings of the honeycomb,br / and make it a common object to be purchased,br / or compiled into a list of things to do to buy our righteousness.br /br /I invite us to be resisters.br / Go from this place determined to resist this temptationbr /  to turn the precious into the common,br /  to turn the gift into a transaction.br / Let us go with a renewed commitment to soak ourselves in the story,br /  to revel in the God who loves us,br /  who hears our deepest longings, our cries for freedom,br /  who wants to redeem us,br /  to save us from whatever holds us hostage.br / Let us place ourselves right into the story br /  of a loving, saving, redeeming God.br / Because . . . "this is a story full of love, br /  and a song to set us free." (Hymnal Worship Book #315)br /br / ?Philip L. Kniss, March 15, 2009br /brbrspan style="font-style:italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-8743888044953202579?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/8743888044953202579/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=8743888044953202579";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/8743888044953202579";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/8743888044953202579";s:4:"link";s:70:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/03/phil-kniss-starting-with-story.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:13;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-2348548955721200104";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-03-08T12:00:00.002-04:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-03-17T08:58:46.239-04:00";s:5:"title";s:58:"Barbara Moyer Lehman: Family, Faith and Future Generations";s:12:"atom_content";s:14919:"span style="font-weight: bold;"March 8, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Lent 2br /Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to watch video:/spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3677437amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3677437amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDMtMDhfRmFtaWx5X2ZhaXRoX2FuZF9mdXR1cmVfZ2VuZXJhdGlvbnMubXAz/2009-03-08_Family_faith_and_future_generations.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-03-08.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br / Jimmy Carter is quoted as saying, ?God always answers prayers.  Sometimes it?s, ?Yes?.  Sometimes the answer is, ?No?.  Sometimes it?s, ?You?ve gotta be kidding!?? I wonder if Abram  might have muttered that very phrase to himself or maybe even out loud, when God announces to him that at the ripe old age, (very ripe), of 99, Abram will become the father of MANY nations.  Who knows what he said under his breath. His mutterings, if there were any, are not recorded in scripture. What is recorded, interestingly enough, is what he DID!  He fell facedown!  Eugene Peterson in The Message states, ?Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.?  Is it any wonder?  Out of the barrenness and emptiness that he and Sarai experienced for umpteen years, God is now promising something more!  Lots more, new life, fruitfulness!  But the fulfillment of God?s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way.br /br / In the first 7 verses from Genesis 17, God first reveals himself to Abram as God Almighty, El Shaddai.  He instructs Abram, commands him to,  ?Walk before me faithfully and without blame.  THEN I will make my covenant between me and you.? What does God promise?  What is the covenant?br /ulli that Abram will become the father of many nations, he will be VERY fruitful, his numbers will be greatly increased. (this also results in a name change....Abram to Abraham!)/lili that a permanent relationship, an everlasting covenant, between God and Abram, and ALL of his descendants after him, will be established/lili that God will be Abram?s God and the God of ALL his descendants after him./lili (verse following also includes the land of Canaan that will be given to him)/li/ulGod?s command requires that Abram conduct himself before God in complete obedience.  When Abram and Sarai are well past retirement age, in the over the hill category, maybe several hills, God basically tells them, ?I have something more for you to do.!?br /br / And of course, it is not just about Abram.  God tells Abram that Sarai will be blessed and that surely Abram will have a son BY HER.  Sarai will become Sarah.  She will be blessed so that she will be the mother of nations and kings will come from her.br /br / It sounds like the patriarch and matriarch have work to do.  Time to come out of retirement, tell the family the good news, try to explain to the neighbors, make some clothes for the child to come, paint the nursery, and repeat over and over again, this is NOT a dream.  We are going to be parents!!br /br / Unbelievable though it may seem, Abraham and Sarah, are to be the parents of many nations, not one single nation, but MANY! The fact that the promise to both Abraham and Sarah is recorded is significant. God?s hand is at work, in both lives!  Out of barrenness and emptiness, God is promising life and hope.  This divine covenant which God is establishing extends to all the peoples that will come from their offspring. It becomes part of our story.  And the story must continue to be told.  God?s patient and long relationship with all of these generations of offspring down through the ages is meant to form and transform people who are willing to know God, to follow God, to serve God and to be instruments of God?s blessing to others.br /br / Abraham is an important figure in Judaism.  He is the model Jew.  Abraham is also important in the New Testament.  He is mentioned 72 times. 18 times in Romans.  Another lectionary text for today, Romans 4:13-25, tells us a lot about Abraham.  Chapter 4 is often seen as a ?faith? chapter.  It focuses on Abraham?s faith, but also on God?s faithfulness.  It portrays all who believe, Jews and Gentiles, as Abraham?s seed.  The Abraham story is used in Romans to help address questions of the identity of the Christian community in Rome, the co-existence together of Jews and non-Jews.  Abraham represents the inclusion of Gentiles in the people of God without circumcision or observance of the law.  Abraham represents one who is saved through faith, not saved by works.  He is the father of us all, Jews and Gentiles.br /br /John Toews in the commentary on Romans writes: ?Because Abraham is our father, all members of God?s people stand on the same level playing field.  We become members of God?s people on the same basis, by faith and obedience, as all other believers.  Children who have the same God and the same father(Abraham) should make peace with each other rather than fight each other.?  (p. 129)br /br / Abraham trusted God.  This trust in God was not easy.  When his body seemed incapable of human reproduction, Abraham trusted God to reverse the human condition......he trusted that somehow God would perform a miracle.br /br /Peterson?s The Message, in Romans 4 expresses it this way:br / span style="font-style: italic;"/spanblockquotespan style="font-style: italic;"?When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn?t do but on what God said he would do.  And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, ?You?re going to have a big family, Abraham!?/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" Abraham didn?t focus on his own impotence and say, ?It?s hopeless.  This hundred year old body could never father a child?.  Nor did he survey Sarah?s decades of infertility and give up. He didn?t tiptoe around God?s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions.  He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said.  That?s why it is said, ?Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right.?  But it?s not just Abraham, it?s also us!  The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless.  The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right WITH God.?/span/blockquotebr /Faith in God is a struggle, especially when you see a very real situation and see no way out of it, when the reality of the circumstances are so complex and complicated that in human eyes and hearts it feels hopeless.  Abraham trusted God above the reality of the circumstances and his situation.  He lived ?out of faith?.  His children are people who live ?out of faith? in God.  Abraham is the father of those who trust God in confidence that they are included in the community of God?s people.  It is part of our story.  Are we telling the story?  How are we telling the story?br /br / We know that God?s hand was upon us as a people, down through generations in our Anabaptist history.  People who trusted God, who had to trust, because sometimes they lived in difficult times and circumstances and in desperate situations.  The seeds of the martyrs produced faithfulness for the next generations.  The stories continue.br / In 1573, Maeyken Wens is burned at the stake in Antwerp, Belgium with a tongue screw in her mouth to prevent her from witnessing during the execution.  She, a young mother with children, writes from her prison cell a letter to her family, encouraging her son, not to be afraid.  She writes that the Lord has taken away all her fear.  She lets go, relinquishes her family into God?s care, rather than renounce her faith.  That?s a story that cannot die.  It reminds us of the unconditional trust and faith that we must have in God.br / br /Are we telling our stories?  Ann Weems, a Presbyterian writer, in the mid 1980's came out with a book, Family Faith Stories.  She takes us through many stories of her own rich heritage out of the Scottish Presbyterian faith.  She reflects on the question, ?Who are my people??  For her they are the Scots who left the land of Scotland for the shores of South Carolina, and there they knelt in prayer in gratitude for God who led them to this land.br / br /Who are your people?  It is an ancient question?  What is your tribe, your clan? Where do you come from?  What are your roots?  What are your stories and who is telling them?  Will the next generation know our stories of faith?  God?s faithfulness to us?  Our faith in God that brought life out of death, hope out of despair, fruitfulness out of barrenness?br / br /Ann Weems writes:br /  blockquotespan style="font-style: italic;"Ours is the faith/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"   that directs our coming in and going out,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  the faith/span span style="font-style: italic;"that orders our lives,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  the faith /spanspan style="font-style: italic;"that demands risk and standing up and speaking out,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  the faith that asks us to believe and to love,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  the faith that asks us to live all the rest of our days/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"   for the furthering of the Kingdom of God. (p. 29)/span/blockquoteGod blessed Abraham and Sarah.  God continues to bless us.  God called them out of retirement for there was still more for them to do......become parents of nations, and kings and peoples.  They trusted God.  God continues to call us for there is more to be done.  We, too, need to trust in God.  God equipped Abraham and Sarah for what they needed to do as father and mother to nations.  God equips us for whatever task he is calling us to do. br / Our children need to know our stories, our faith stories...how God has continued to walk with us and work in our lives.br /br / In December I was Christmas shopping at a local large bookstore.  I found this book and bought two of them. (From Grandma with Love) Most of you know I am a proud grandma of two beautiful granddaughters.  This book, one for each of those girls, will tell them much about my story and the important things in our history.  It will be a huge project that will be done in stages, I?m afraid, as I have time.  The part that intrigued me most was the 4th chapter, titled, What I Leave to You.  It provides space and a way for me to share important events in my lifetime and during my lifetime.  There is a section on Hard Times (and how I survived them) Where I turned for strength....where I found comfort...what I learned from the experience...some lessons I learned.  Another section includes, Grandma?s wisdom, (what life has taught me).  The last section of that part is titled My Dreams for You.br /br /Working on this has already been an interesting experience.  It will be a major accomplishment for me to complete, but if it never gets totally finished, what I can get done, will be enough.  I want my grandchildren to know from whence they came.  I want them to know our stories, family stories, treasured memories of joy and pain, faith stories and my hopes and dreams for them.  I want them to know what connects them to the generations before them and what needs to be told to their children some day, over and over again.br /br /Ann Weems writes:br / blockquotespan style="font-style: italic;"These people who lived six generations back and I..../spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" We are linked forever throughout history./spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" I am flesh of their flesh,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  but even more,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" I am heart of their hearts,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" For who they are/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  they gave away to those of us who followed..../spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" And the children of Israel/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  (back generation after generation after generation)/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" And I/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  are linked together throughout eternity,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" For in the beginning was the Word/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  and through time the Word/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"   is spoken./spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" Those who hear the story/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"  live/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"   abundantly,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" the love of God written on their hearts. (p.43)/span/blockquotebr /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-2348548955721200104?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/2348548955721200104/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=2348548955721200104";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/2348548955721200104";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/2348548955721200104";s:4:"link";s:77:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/03/barbara-moyer-lehman-family-faith-and.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:14;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-6552669395221060362";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-03-01T12:00:00.001-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-03-04T11:33:40.030-05:00";s:5:"title";s:43:"Phil Kniss: The Great Flood -- a Love Story";s:12:"atom_content";s:17007:"span style="font-weight: bold;"March 1, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Lent 1: God provides for creation/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Genesis 9:8-17; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3429862amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1"embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3429862amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDMtMDFfVGhlX0dyZWF0X0Zsb29kX0FfTG92ZV9TdG9yeS5tcDM/2009-03-01_The_Great_Flood_A_Love_Story.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="210" align="middle" height="25"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-03-01.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /There aren?t many Bible stories like the one we read in Genesis today.br / I?ll bet you could go to just about any public placebr /  in this country right now?br /  city sidewalk, park, shopping plaza,br /  talk to the first random person you meet,br / and I think you would find,br /  even in this secular, post-Christian, biblically illiterate culture,br /  that chances are extremely highbr /  that person could recite the basic elements of this Bible story.br / They?d probably get some details wrong?br /  might even get Noah and Moses mixed up.br / But they could tell you that Noah built a big boat called an Ark,br /  and brought two of every animal, male and female,br /   onto the boat,br /  and then there was a big flood that destroyed the world,br /   except for those on the boat,br /  and after it was over, a rainbow appeared in the sky.br / Nine times out of ten, I bet. They?d get it right.br /  People know this story.br /  They?ve been exposed to it since infancy.br /br /You want proof?br /Walk into one of our local temples to the god of American consumerism:br / Super Wal-Mart, Target, Penney?s, take your pick.br / Walk the aisles, and count how many times you seebr /  this story depicted on children?s products?br /  toys, books, bath towels, pajamas, wallpaper.br /br /I don?t think you can say that about any other Bible story. Period.br / Everybody knows this story.br /But . . . do we know this story?br / I mean, really know it to the pointbr /  where the truth of this story lives and breathes in us?br / I invite us to open ourselves anew to this story,br /  and ask it the questions that need to be asked.br /br /I put it that way, because we often ask other questions of it.br / People have been obsessed about whether it?s literally true.br /  Some Christian organizations have spent millionsbr /   trying to prove this story historically and scientifically.br /  Some claim they?ve found the ark.br / Those questions might be fascinating to think about.br / They just aren?t the right questions.br / Because this primaeval storybr /  is not about science or about history.br /  It is a story about God.br / It is a story that has been given to us,br /  and told and retold through the ages,br /  because people want to know . . . need to know . . .br /   what kind of God is it that we have?br /  What is God?s character?br /  What is God?s relationship to us, human beings?br /  Those are the questions this story is intended to answer.br /br /But as soon as we frame the question that way things get complicated.br / That?s an even more thorny and difficult questionbr /  than questions of history and science.br / Who is this God who would destroy the whole worldbr /  and every living thing,br /  after he created it and called it very good,br /  just because he got mad at us human beings?br / Is this a God of love . . . or not?br /br /I just invited you to open yourself to this story in a new way.br /Well, I want you to come to know and experiencebr / this story of the Great Flood,br / first and foremost, as a love story.br / It is a love story in the classic sense,br /  with the usual plotline . . .br /  the first falling in love,br /   the disappointment, betrayal, and anger,br /   the deliberate rebuilding of trust,br /   and starting over with a new appreciation for each other.br /br /It helps us to see this,br / if we realize what was going on herebr / with the original tellers of the story.br / Here, as in many other Bible stories,br /  God is anthropomorphized.br /   That?s a long word with a simple meaning?br /    God depicted as human.br /  And that?s really about the only way we puny human beingsbr /   can get any sort of handle on what God is like.br /  We have to compare this huge, ultimately unknowable God,br /   with something we do know.br /  And this is not just something we do to God.br /   God does it for us.br /br / If scripture is inspired by God,br /  then God must have inspired the anthropomorphiz-ing.br /   I?m just trying to see how long I can make that word.br /  See, God wants to be known.br /   God is a God of revelation.br /  So God not only allowed us humans,br /   but inspired us humans,br /   to see, and to record, our impressions of God,br /   even if those impressions were only partial,br /    and came in bits and pieces,br /    and were refined and improved and clarified over time.br /br /So if we look at these ancient texts that way,br / instead of reading them like a science textbook,br / they not only come alive,br / but we can embrace the truthfulness of the whole storybr /  more completely and with more gratitudebr /   for these Holy Spirit-inspired Bible story-tellers.br /br /So . . . what makes this terrible story of death and destruction,br / a love story, of all things?br /br /Well, stick with me.br / Let?s look at it as God-inspired human story-tellingbr /  that emerged from a particular point in time,br /  that opened up the story of God a little bit further,br /  that unraveled more of the mystery.br /br /This story emerged at a time when Israel?s understandingbr / of their One God Yahweh was very limited.br / The only thing they had to compare to,br /  was the way nations around them understood their gods.br / Other nations had their own ancient stories of great floods.br /  In some of those stories, there were many gods,br /   in conflict with each other,br /   and this battle between the gods produced the floods.br /  Suffering humans were barely a blip on the radar of these gods.br /   The destruction of human life was merelybr /    collateral damage in the war between the gods.br /br / But the story that Israel was given, and that we?ve been given,br /  through the gracious gift of God-inspired scripture,br /  reveals a very different kind of God.br / Even though it?s written from a human point of view,br /  and paints God with human characteristics,br /  the God-inspired truth comes through.br / It reveals a new and profound truth about the One God,br /  the Creator of the universe.br / This God loves his human creation . . . loves them,br /  and longs for them to live in right relationshipbr /   with God, each other, and the world.br /br / The God of our Bible is a passionate God.br /  God feels . . . deeply.br / And in looking at his human creation before the flood,br /  God was deeply pained.br / The very people God created in order to love him,br /  and be loved by him,br /  were not only refusing to love God,br /  they did not love their fellow human beings.br / Gen. 6:11 says the earth was ?filled with violence.?br /  They were wasting their priceless gift of humanity.br / This was deeply painful to God, we are told.br / Gen. 6:6: ?The Lord was sorrybr /  that he had made humankind on the earth,br /  and it grieved him to his heart.?br / So in God?s deep despair,br /  God made the fateful decision to destroy this corrupt life,br /   and try again.br /br /And we know the story. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights.br / Flood waters covered the earth,br /  and destroyed every living creature,br /  except those on Noah?s boat.br / Eventually, the water went down,br /  and Noah, his family, and the animals with them,br /  came off the boat and got ready to start life all over again.br /br /Noah built an altar of thanksgiving to God, we are told in chap. 8,br / and this God (portrayed as someone with eyes and a nose)br /  looked down, and smelled the sacrifice (v. 21).br / And the implication is that God also looked aroundbr /  at what was left of his beautiful creation.br / And God was once again struck with regret.br /  Or at least, with deep sorrow at the gravity of destruction.br / Five times in just a few verses, God says, with feeling,br /  ?Never again . . . never again . . .br /   never again will I do what I have just done.?br /br /First, God was sorry he had made humankind.br /Now, God sounds sorry he had them destroyed.br /br /We naturally feel a bit uncomfortable with a God who says,br / in essence, ?Whoops! My bad!?br / But God is portrayed numerous times in scripture,br /  as one who repents, who changes his mind,br /  who alters course.br / Of course, this is the human angle on the divine will.br /  But by telling the story this way,br /   we are reassured of God?s most essential characteristic,br /  God?s core nature is love.br /br / If God is so pained by the violence of human beings,br /  and so pained when they are destroyed,br /  it must mean that God is really invested in us.br /  God must really love and care about who we are,br /   and how we live with him and with each other.br /  God is not a remote, cold, and uncaring deity,br /   who gets into random battles with other gods,br /   and who hardly notices when humans suffer as a result.br /  No, God owns what God has done.br /   God grieves over human suffering.br /  Whether the suffering was brought on by their own violence,br /   or whether the suffering was brought on by God?s judgment,br /   either way . . . God grieves when God?s beloved ones suffer,br /    or when they fail to live up to their created beauty.br /br /   God . . . the Creator of the Universe . . . is invested in us.br /    Think about that!br /   And think what a profound . . . and world-view changing . . .br /    revelation that was for the people of Israelbr /    who heard this story for the first time.br /   And whose only prior notion of God came from storiesbr /    coming out of Egypt and Babylon and such.br /br /  In the flood story, the truth about God comes out.br /   God loves them.br /   And God loves everything God has created.br /  In Genesis 9, God is essentially saying,br /   ?Don?t look back at this flood,br /    and draw the wrong conclusion about me.br /    I?m not about destroying life.br /    I?m about creating and sustaining life.br /   My heart is oriented toward you, my people.br /    I love you. And I will always love you.br /    No matter what you do to me.br /    I will keep loving you.br /    If you cheat on me again, I will be faithful to you.br /    I promise to love and sustain you forever,br /     and I will never forget my promise.br /   Just to make sure,br /    I?ll put a rainbow in the clouds to remind me.br /   Whenever I see the rainbow,br /    I?ll think of this promise to you.br /    I am for you, not against you.?br /br / When you read it this way, there is no denying it.br /  The flood story is a love story.br /br / It?s not true to the story, to read chapters 6-8,br /  and conclude that the main purpose of this story is to revealbr /   God?s terrible wrath and power to destroy.br / This is a story about how God came to decide, literally,br /  to love the world without condition, and to redeem it.br / When you read the first nine chapters of Genesis, creation to flood,br /  you see a story with lots of interesting twists and turns.br /  Love and fellowship . . . and murder and deceit.br / But in all its complexity, it is finally, ultimately, a love story.br / God, the lover, is jilted and betrayed. Repeatedly.br /  But in the end, it?s not God?s anger, judgment, and regretbr /   that defines who God is.br /  It is God?s decision to love and redeem.br /  It is God?s choice to make a covenant,br /   and provide a way to be restored.br /br /This story of the Great Flood teaches us thatbr / God is inclined toward this world; he will not turn his back on it.br / God is drawn toward this world, even with all its brokenness,br /  its corruption, its violence.br / God is drawn toward the world with love and compassion.br /br /And out of this love, comes a covenant between God and all creation.br / This is huge.br / This is not just a promise for Noah and his descendants.br / This is a covenant between God and every living thing.br /  Every . . . living . . . thing.br / And God made sure we heard that right, in Genesis 9.br /  In eight verses it?s repeated eight times.br /  Listen [count]br /   v. 10 ? with every living creature; every animal of the earthbr /   v. 11 ? all fleshbr /   v. 12 ? every living creature for all future generationsbr /   v. 15 ? every living creature; all fleshbr /   v. 16 ? every living creaturebr /   v. 17 ? all flesh that is on the earthbr /  8 times.br /br /That?s one strong theological argumentbr / for loving and caring for the earth and all its living things.br / Every living creature is a part of this covenant with God,br /  and is an object of God?s love.br /br /And it?s certainly a strong argumentbr / to celebrate God?s deep and abiding and unconditionalbr /  love and longing for us human beings.br / God is oriented toward us.br / God leans toward us.br / God, the lover, wants to be in relationship with us.br / God has been saying to his people ever since Noah,br /  ?You are my beloved child.?br / God said it through Abraham, through the psalmists,br /  through the prophets,br /  through the writers of the gospels and epistles.br / Most powerfully, God said it to his own Son, at his baptism,br /  in the gospel reading this morning,br /  ?You are my Son, the Beloved.?br / After which Jesus was thrust into the wilderness of temptation.br /  But he went there with those words ringing in his ears,br /  ?You are my Son, the Beloved. With you I am well pleased.?br /br / The wilderness is real, for Jesus and for us.br / The judgment that comes with rebellion is real,br /  in Genesis and now.br / The suffering we heard described by the apostle in 1 Peter is real,br /  both for the righteous and the unrighteous.br /br /All that is real.br / But just as real, and just as importantbr /  in this season of Lent,br /  and in this season of global anxiety, fear, and violence,br /  is . . . the love of God?br /   the unending, unconditional, unfathomablebr /   love of God for all human beings, and for all creation.br / Let us walk whatever wilderness is required of us,br /  today and in the coming days,br /  but let us walk it in the full awarenessbr /  of God?s great love, rich and pure, measureless and strong,br /   the saints? and angels? song.br / In the face of all that is wrong in the world,br /  let us stand and loudly proclaim this love of God,br /  by singing #44 in Sing the Journey. ?The love of God?br /br / ? Philip L. Kniss, March 1, 2009br /br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-6552669395221060362?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/6552669395221060362/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=6552669395221060362";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/6552669395221060362";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/6552669395221060362";s:4:"link";s:73:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/03/phil-kniss-great-flood-love-story.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:15;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-8932933593693044901";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-02-22T12:00:00.000-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-02-28T07:38:01.066-05:00";s:5:"title";s:43:"Isaac Villegas: He descended to the dead...";s:12:"atom_content";s:15325:"span style="font-weight: bold;"February 22, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Psalm 88; Mark 9:2-10; John 20:24-28/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=589049093886079906amp;hl=enamp;fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/embedbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDItMjJfSGVfZGVzY2VuZGVkX3RvX3RoZV9kZWFkLm1wMw/2009-02-22_He_descended_to_the_dead.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="middle" height="25" width="210"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-02-22.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"?If I ever become a saint, I will surely be one of darkness.?br /~ Mother Teresabr //divbr /I used to live in a house of hospitality in Durham NC called The Rutba House. As we got to know our neighbors, we decided to invite them over for a weekly Bible study. One evening Michael joined us. He was new to the neighborhood join. We settled into our chairs in the living room. I can?t remember what Bible passage we were studying that day. But I do remember that someone got us started talking about hell. It wasn?t me, that?s for sure. If I had it my way, we?d never talk about such things.br /br /Michael had been quiet most of the time, sitting there while the rest of us argued about hell. Finally he leaned forward in his chair and spoke up. ?Hey, I?ve been there.? We all looked at him curiously. He saw the questions on our faces and continued: ?That?s where I grew up? hell. You don?t know nothing about hell. I?ll tell you about this place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.?br /br /Michael went on to tell us about what it was like to grow up in a house of prostitution, an urban brothel. We heard the sounds and sights of hell echo through his memories of childhood: the gnashing teeth of an addict?s withdrawals, and the cries of weeping women. Weeping and gnashing of teeth.br /br /He told us about the terror of, as a child, waking up from a nap and seeing a dead man lying on the floor. The victim of a drug overdose. ?That?s hell,? Michael told us. That day I learned that the flames of hell flicker among the land of the living. For many, hell is a place on earth.br /br /I thought Jesus was supposed to save us from this kind of living hell. I thought the resurrection wiped away the pain and agony of the cross. Evil is supposed to be conquered, right? I thought Easter made Good Friday irrelevant?just a phase to pass through, yesterday?s news. As some preachers like to put it, ?It?s Friday, but it?s alright, Sunday?s a coming.? Don?t worry. Sure, it?s bad. But all of this is of no consequence, no lasting effects, it doesn?t matter. All will be forgotten, erased, flushed down the toilet of history.br /br /That?s how we want the story to go. We like an ending that makes all the bad stuff go away so we don?t have to think about it any more. But Jesus won?t let us do that. Look at what happens in our story of John 20, when the resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples. I?ll read verses 26 and 27 again:br /br /Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ?Peace be with you.? Then he said to Thomas, ?Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Do not doubt, but believe.?br /br /Ok. Something strange is going on here: Jesus invites Thomas to put his hand into the wound in Jesus? side! That sounds like a bad idea, a little too uncomfortable. When I was a kid, I was trying to whittle a piece of wood with my new pocketknife and I ended up sticking the knife right through the palm of my hand. The last thing in the world I wanted was for my mom to stick her finger in there. It was bad enough that she tried to clean out the hole with hydrogen peroxide.br /br /Anyhow, when there?s something strange and confusing going on in the text, I usually fumble around with my Greek New Testament and pretend I know what it says. So, I did that. And guess what I found? The Greek word for ?into? really means ?into.? Good thing I checked.br /br /Apparently the resurrected Jesus still has a hole in his side, not to mention his hands. The resurrected body of Jesus still bears the marks of his torture and death. Nothing is forgotten. His very body remembers the agony of the cross. Resurrection doesn?t erase the pain of the past. Easter doesn?t make Good Friday go away. The wounds are there. The body of Jesus still bears wounds, open wounds, deep wounds, painful wounds. Blaise Pascal once wrote, ?Christ is in agony until the end of the world.? He must get that insight from this story.br /br /We would be happier with the transfigured Jesus from Mark 9?a shiny Jesus, spectacular, exciting, dazzling, a delightful feast for the eyes. Peter is awestruck. And he does what we would want to do. He wants to hang out up on the mountain with the shiny Jesus. ?Peter said to Jesus, ?Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters?one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah?? (Mark 9:6). It?s good to be here, Peter says. Let?s build a shack! We can hang out, just us, talk about important stuff?the nature of God, the problem of evil, enjoy some fellowship, maybe even bake some scones.br /br /You have to remember what happens right before the Transfiguration. Jesus tells Peter and the others that the cross looms on the horizon. That sounds like bad news to Peter. So he takes Jesus aside and suggests some other possibilities, a way to bypass suffering and the cross. And how does Jesus respond? He looks at Peter and say, ?Get behind me Satan!?br /br /But Peter doesn?t learn. He again tries to keep Jesus from his journey of suffering and death. Hanging out in the shack sounds like a much better plan. That?s where Jesus really belongs?in transfigured glory, up on a mountain, a holy place, a retreat center, away from all the mess down below. Wrong again, Peter. But we can?t blame him. We want the same things. Peter speaks for us, and our religious sensibilities.br /br /I should say, Peter speaks for me. I?m a pastor after all; I work for the church. My vocation depends on setting up a shack where people can hang out with Jesus. Every week I say the same sort of thing as Peter: ?Jesus, it is very good that we are here, let me set things up so we can stick around for a while.? At Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship, we have a very comfortable religious experience?nice wooden pews with comfortable padding, candles, good singing. We don?t have scones, but we do have cookies sometimes after our worship service. You all are more than welcome to join us anytime you want, just a 4 hour drive south.br /br /But Jesus doesn?t stay up on the mountain. Peter doesn?t get a chance to build his shacks. The transfigured and glorified Jesus heads down, down the mountain, on a pilgrimage to the cross, a journey into darkness, a descent to the dead. ??he descended to the dead.?br /br /That?s one of the lines of the Apostle?s Creed. We just confessed it together a few moments ago. The Creed has its problems; all good Mennonites know that. The biggest problem for us is that it leaves out the life of Jesus. It goes from ?he was born of the virgin Mary? to ?he suffered under Pontius Pilate,? and there?s a tiny comma where the life of Jesus should be. That?s too bad.br /br /But the Creed also highlights important parts of God?s story, key moments in the drama of how God saves us. He descended to the dead. That?s one of those key moments, one that we don?t talk about too much. Most of the time we talk about the death of Jesus as something that happens for our sins. But what about Jesus? journey into the furthest depths, the dark recesses of the dead??what Hamlet called, ?the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller returns.?br /br /Jesus dies. He descended to the dead. For three days he abides with the dead. ?My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?? Jesus says from the cross. Forsaken, yet a display of God?s love. Abandoned by God, yet always praying to God??my God,? he says. He descended to the death.br /br /Psalm 88 is also a prayer from the dead, a prayer that Jesus could easily pray: ?I am counted among those who go down to the pit, I am?like those forsaken among the dead?. Friend and neighbor shun me; my companions??darkness.? The end. The Psalmist takes us into the darkness and leaves us there. Michael?s voice comes back to me at this point: ?I?ve been there. That?s where I grew up? in hell.? And I also hear the voice of Jesus, ?My God, my God, why have you forsaken me??br /br /He descended to the dead. That?s good news; even if it sounds a little strange. Jesus is familiar with abandonment. Jesus intimately knows the darkness. Jesus knows the cold companionship of darkness. The furthest reaches of despair are not foreign to God. Christ has traveled to the far country, the ends of the earth, into the depths of the graves. Christ has gone to hell, to be with my friend Michael. In Jesus, God has drawn near to those whom the world has abandoned. He descended to the dead.br /br /Now, what does this mean for us? To some of you, this is good news because you are in darkness; you are familiar with agony and pain; you know abandonment. Maybe you?ve seen too many friends die, and now you are alone. Maybe you feel the agony of an estranged relationship, a companion who has left you in darkness. Maybe it?s been a while since you?ve felt God?s presence.br /br /Well, the good news is that God is in the darkness too?in the silence, in the darkness. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God, no height nor depth. God?s love goes all the way down. He descended to the dead. The temptation is to run. When you feel empty, the temptation is to fill yourself with whatever you can?a quick fix. But that only leads to more trouble.br /br /Learn to wait, practice patience, be where you are, talk to the first person who crosses your path. Let go of what you thought God looks like, and instead see what turns up at your doorstep. Give up your desperate search for what you thought would make you happy, and instead take a second look at the boring stuff and the normal people. God can show up just about anywhere; Christ is known to show up in unexpected places and with unexpected people, even among the dead, even in the darkness, even with the abandoned.br /br /Let me tell you a story about Mother Teresa. In an interview many years ago, Dan Rather asked Teresa about her prayer life. He said, ?Mother Teresa, you are a woman of prayer; what is it that you say to God when you pray?? She answered: ?Well, I don?t say anything; I just listen.? Dan Rather followed with another question: ?What is it that God says to you during prayer?? Teresa thought for a moment: ?He doesn?t say anything. He just listens.?br /br /Teresa and God, sitting together in silence, enjoying each other?s presence? communion in the dark.br /br /He descended to the dead. I have to take you one more step into this good news, and this is because we?re Mennonites. We believe that Jesus? life is an invitation. Not only does Christ display God?s love for the world, but Jesus also shows us the life that is truly life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we follow in the way of Jesus. But what might it mean to follow Jesus? pilgrimage to the dead? He descended to the dead. But do we have to?br /br /The best way I can talk about what it means to descend to the dead is to tell a story, another story about Mother Teresa. It goes something like this. Many years ago a reporter was interviewing Teresa. The reporter asked her how she found the strength and hope to work day after day in the middle of so much suffering, so much death, so much darkness. Mother Teresa thought for a moment and said,br /br /One day a woman was brought to us in Calcutta. She had a very bad case of leprosy. Her body was covered with sores. So, I sat with her and started to clean her. I began with her arms. I worked my way down to her hands. And when I reached her hand, I saw a terrible sore in the middle of her hand. It looked like it went all the way through. I stopped and thought to myself, My Lord has holes in his hands. Then I prayed, ?Lord, is this you??br /br /You see, Mother Teresa followed the way of Jesus. She descended to the dead. And what did she find? She found Jesus. Among the dying, among the poor, among the abandoned, she discovered the wounded Christ, bodies with open wounds. Remember what we learned from the resurrection story in John?s Gospel: When Jesus appeared to the disciples, he invited Thomas to put his hand into the wound in Jesus? side.br /br /He descended to the dead, and Teresa followed him. Where is your Calcutta? Where do the dead live in Harrisonburg? Does hell have an address here in town? Today, this week, Jesus offers you the same invitation he offered Thomas, the same invitation he offered Teresa: touch his wounds and you will find true life, abundant live, overflowing life, eternal life. The body of Christ, broken for you. The love of God, poured out for the world.br /br /When you descend to the dead, you may find our resurrected Savior. And you shall know him by his wounds. Just like Thomas did. Then with Thomas you can say, ?My Lord and my God!?br /br /br /Prayer, Hymnal # 676:br /span style="font-style: italic;"O God, you withdraw from our sight that you may be known by our love. Help us to enter the cloud where you are hidden and surrender all our certainty to the darkness of faith in Jesus Christ. Amen./spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-8932933593693044901?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/8932933593693044901/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=8932933593693044901";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/8932933593693044901";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/8932933593693044901";s:4:"link";s:75:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/02/isaac-villegas-he-descended-to-dead.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:16;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-8888514823802346053";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-02-15T12:00:00.000-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-02-22T22:40:05.987-05:00";s:5:"title";s:37:"Phil Kniss: Wholeness: Gift or Prize?";s:12:"atom_content";s:16118:"span style="font-weight:bold;"February 15, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Sixth Sunday of Epiphanybr /2 Kings 5:1-14; Mark 1:40-45/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3244015amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3244015amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDItMTVfV2hvbGVuZXNzX2dpZnRfb3JfcHJpemUubXAz/2009-02-15_Wholeness_gift_or_prize.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-02-15.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /Naaman, army commander and leper.  Amazing story.br / On the one hand, we have someone mighty in power and wealth,br /  with all the freedom and resources to come and go,br /  to buy whatever he needs for a whole and healthy life.br /  But he is suffering deeply.br / On the other hand, we have a young girl,br /  snatched from home by an invading army,br /  carried off to a country strange in language and custom,br /  living as a slave in the household of the very onebr /   who carried her and her people away.br / And she becomes the catalyst for his healing.  Wow.br /br / The kingdom of Aram does not have a clue who Yahweh is,br /  the God of Israel.br / But even in such a God-forsaken place, br /  even in the household of an idol-worshiping army general . . .br /  God is present, because there is suffering.br /br /And God works through this vulnerable slave girl.br / Just as amazing is that Naaman went along with her advicebr /  that he seek out the healing prophet back in Israel.br / Of course, Naaman did it on his terms.br /  He knew he had to guard the power and dignity of his office.br / So he worked out a quid pro quo transaction?healing for pay?br /  brokered at the highest level: king to king.br / The king of Aram sent Naaman to the king of Israel,br /  along with a bunch of royal robes,br /  a royal chariot-load of gold and silver?br /   about three-and-a-half million dollars at today?s prices?br /  and a royal letter with the royal seal,br /   asking the king of Israel to cure Naaman of his leprosy.br /br / Not surprisingly, this distressed the king of Israel,br /  who had just been humiliated by the king of Aram.br /  This was a lose-lose proposition.br /   He couldn?t heal anyone.br /   So he tore his clothes in distress.br /  The prophet Elisha got word of this,br /   and sent a message to the king,br /   ?Send Naaman to me.?br /  So Naaman went, with his millions, with his servants,br /   to the door of the humble house of Elisha,br /   an old man with no position in the royal courts.br /  Quite an honor, for someone like Elisha, br /   to have someone like Naaman come knocking.br /  But Elisha didn?t even have the courtesy to come to the door.br /   He sent a servant with a message,br /   ?Go wash yourself in the Jordan River seven times.?br /br / It was an insult of the worst kind.br /  Elisha not only disrespected him by failing to greet him.br /   He not only refused to act like a real healer,br /    and perform the act in person.br /   His instructions were disgusting.br /    Wash seven times in the ordinary and insignificantbr /     and dirty brown river of the Jews?the Jordan.br /  Naaman had rivers back home much more to his liking,br /   and far more powerful and majestic.br /  The Abana and Pharpar beat all the waters of Israel combined.br / He turned his chariot around in a rage.br /  But once again, a lowly servant intervened.br /  ?Father, if the prophet had commanded youbr /   to do something difficult, would you not have done it? br /   How much more, when all he said to you was, br /    ?Wash, and be clean???br /br /Reluctantly, Naaman washed, br / and his skin became clean and smooth like a baby?s.br / And in the part of the story we didn?t read,br /  he returned to Elisha and proclaimed his faith in Israel?s God.br / But he continued to exert his power in the situation,br /  trying to compensate for the healing with his millions.br / Couldn?t dare be beholden to such as Elisha.br /  But Elisha refused to take it.br / Naaman left, Elisha?s servant ran after him.br /  and lied to get some of the gift money himself.br / Which resulted in the servant getting leprosy.br /_____________________br /br /Well, in the other healing story this morning,br / there was another man with leprosy.br / But his posture, and Naaman?s, were polar opposites.br / Where Naaman exerted power,br /  controlled the process,br /  carried certain expectations,br /  and offered payment to even the score,br / this poor man got down on his knees before the healer,br /  and begged for mercy,br /  and said, ?If you choose, you can make me clean.?br /br /If you choose.br / What a concept.br / To actually release control.br /  To drop all pretense of deserving to be healed.br /  To drop any attempt to manipulate the process to his advantage.br /  To drop any effort to pay for it with his own resources.br /  To drop even his expectation that he would be healed.br /If you choose.br / Words of yieldedness.br / Words of release.br / Words of submission.br / Words . . . of freedom!!br /  They freed the leper to simply be present and receive what came.br /  They freed God to work in God?s own way and time.br /br /In both these powerful biblical stories of healing,br / there seems to be this unmistakable connectionbr /  between release and healing,br /  between being yielded and becoming whole.br / To the extent that we try to barter, purchase, manipulate,br /  or otherwise control the action of God the healer,br /  we are blocking God from doing the work.br / To the extent that we yield ourselves to the healer,br /  we can find ourselves at rest, at peace,br /   and in a position to experience deep healing.br /_____________________br /br /This is a counter-cultural approach to healing, isn?t it?br /br /Our culture obsesses about health and wellness.br / I didn?t say we are healthy.br / I said we obsess about health.br /br /Probably half of the commercials on televisionbr / are for some medicine.br /And if we talk to our doctor about that medicine,br / and he or she puts us on it,br / suddenly everything from our digestion,br /  to our heart, our lungs, our allergies, our bladders,br /  and our love life,br / will not only improve dramatically,br / but we will find ourselves laughing and leaping . . .br /  surrounded by wildflowers,br /  or sailing the open sea,br /  or strolling the beach at sunset with the one we love.br /br /All we need is good health insurance, or plenty of cash,br / and a healthy, vibrant, and happy life can be ours.br /br /Of course, we don?t quite believe health can simply be bought.br / No, we also have to work for it. br /  And work hard, we do.br / People in our culture obsess over every possible risk to our health,br /  and we work anxiously and feverishly (pun intended)br /   to avoid these risks.br / The sheer anxiety overtakes us.br /  There must be something we can do,br /   to head off the latest health scare?br /   be it cancer, stroke, salmonella, the flu, or . . . anxiety.br /  Ours might be the only culture where some of us actuallybr /   stress ourselves sick, over trying to be healthy.br /br /You know, we can chase after wholeness br / with all our energy, all our money, all our time and resources,br / we can fight for health and wellness all we want.br /But unless we can get to a place of simple trust br / in the love and goodness of a God that desires our wholeness,br / we are fighting a losing battle.br /_____________________br /br /On our wedding anniversary, Irene and I had reservations br / at a fancy dining establishment in Winchester,br / connected to a luxury day resort health spa in the same building. br /While we were waiting on our meal,br / we walked around the spa store a bit, br / to see the products and services and to gasp at the prices. br /The people who frequented this shop lived in a different world.br / Hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, body masks of clay and seaweed.br /  $135 and up.br / A bright yellow luxury convertible pulled into the parking lot. br /  The woman who got out was dressed to the nines, br /   and had the bearing of a celebrity. br /  By the license plate, I assumed the car was from the D.C. area.br /  The shopkeeper obviously knew her, as a regular.br /br / I didn?t know anything at all about this person. br /  But she had all the appearances of not being?shall we say?br /   down to earth. br / I cannot stand in judgment, because I don?t know her. br /  But just seeing her walk into that health resort made me wonder br /   what the story of her life really was?br /br / Did she have a job that paid a hefty salary,br /  but brought massive amounts of stress into her life?br / Did she have a spouse that she rarely saw,br /  because they both had to work such long hoursbr /  to cover the payments on their luxury cars and homes?br / Did she have children who spent more time with their nannybr /  than they did with their parents?br / Did she suffer extreme loneliness?br /  Were her only friends a few other womenbr /   living the same jet-setting lifestyle?br /   who she could never fully trust,br /   because they were competitors as much as they were friends?br / Did she burn up five gallons of gas and two hours of timebr /  just driving to this Resort to get some treatment to compensatebr /  for the harm her daily life choices were inflicting on her?br / I don?t know.br /_____________________br /br /But the message of today?s scriptures are clear.br / It doesn?t matter who you are . . . br /  a poor beggar on the dusty streets of Palestine,br /   or the most powerful official in the nation . . . br /  the most dysfunctional superstar celebrity,br /   or a drunk in the city park.br / It doesn?t matter.br /  If you are suffering, God knows. God cares.br /   God desires your wholeness.br / God shows no favoritism whatsoever.br /br /When it comes to calling on God for healing,br / all of us alike, need to let go of our need to controlbr /  either the process or the outcome.br / We need to open ourselves to the wholeness God has in mind.br /  Which may or may not be precisely what we have in mind.br /br /This is not to say that we don?t take an active rolebr / in our journey toward health and wellness.br /I, for one, go the doctor when I?m sick.br /And we should all be wise and discerning, br / and adopt good healthy life practices?br / eat sensibly, in moderation, in balancebr / exercise regularly,br / lower stress factors,br /  like working too many hours a day,br /  like not spending enough time with the people we love.br /And we should pray, fervently, for God?s healing to flow.br /br /And then . . . we should rest.br / We should trust. br / We should thank God for whatever health we have, br /  and trust God to lead us throughbr /  whatever valley we need to walk to reach a life of wholeness.br /br /A life lived in peaceful yieldedness to the One who gives us life,br / and on whom we are utterly dependent for life . . .br / that is what I call a whole life!!br /Being whole does not mean living withoutbr / any sickness, any injury, any disability, or any loss.br / No, we cannot, and should not, try to control every variable.br / We cannot, and should not, try to purchase our healthbr /  through sheer effort or willpower or wealth or resources.br /br / Wholeness is not a prize to be earned and won.br /  It is a gift of God to be received.br /br /As we saw in the scripture,br / there is a deep and powerful connectionbr / between yieldedness and wholeness,br / between releasing and healing,br / between letting go, dropping our obsessions and anxieties,br /  and receiving God?s pure gift of wholeness of life.br /br /I don?t know what that means specifically for you.br / Only you can say what you are clinging to with anxiety and fear.br / Only you know the ways in which you are trying to strike a dealbr /  with God, or with others, or with yourself,br /   to get the relief you want.br / Only you know what you are right now guarding and protecting,br /  or obsessing about,br /  in relationship to whatever brokenness you have in your life.br /br /Most of you picked up a marble when you came into the sanctuary.br / And tucked it safely away in a pocket or purse.br / Let it stay there for the moment.br / And let it represent whatever it is that you are holding on to,br /  not wanting to let go of,br /  not willing to release control over,br /   in terms of your search for wholeness.br /br /I invite you to a few moments of prayer and meditation.br / Pray for insight, for discernment.br / Pray that you might know what you are clinging to, br /  in your own search for wholeness.br / Ask God?s Spirit to speak to youbr /  and reveal what you are being called to let go of,br /   to release,br /   to drop into the hands of a compassionate God.br /br /[pause for silent prayer]br /br /Now I invite you, if the Spirit has prompted in youbr / something you need to release,br / and if you are willing to take some concrete step of letting go,br /  whatever that might be . . .br /  sharing your burden with some friends,br /   that they might help carry it,br /  or taking some other specific risk on your path to healing,br /   a risk that means you are not in complete control.br / Just as Naaman did when he humbled himself,br /  and submerged himself in the waters of the Jordan,br /  if you are willing and ready to let go,br /  I invite you to come to the front,br /   remove the marble from its protective place,br /   and drop it into the water at the base of this fountain,br /    and let it be there.br /  You might need more time and more work of discernmentbr /   before you are ready to let go,br /   or before you even know what you need to let go of.br /  It?s okay to keep the marble in its safe place for now.br /  This is just an invitation.br /  Come . . . when, and if, you are ready.br /  While we sing together, ?O healing river.?br /br / ?Phil Kniss, February 15, 2009br /brbrspan style="font-style:italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-8888514823802346053?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/8888514823802346053/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=8888514823802346053";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/8888514823802346053";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/8888514823802346053";s:4:"link";s:74:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/02/phil-kniss-wholeness-gift-or-prize.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:17;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:69:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-484213952118016364";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-02-01T12:00:00.001-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-02-04T14:36:40.140-05:00";s:5:"title";s:51:"Barbara Moyer Lehman: Identity and Authority Issues";s:12:"atom_content";s:16093:"span style="font-weight:bold;"February 1, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Mark 1:21-28; Psalm 111; 1 Cor. 8:1-13/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /[with apologies that the beginning and end of the sermon is missing from this video...audio link has complete sermon]br /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3061435amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3061435amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDItMDFfSWRlbnRpdHlfYW5kX2F1dGhvcml0eV9pc3N1ZXMubXAz/2009-02-01_Identity_and_authority_issues.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-02-01.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br / Is it any wonder that crowds soon followed after Jesus? Within these 8 verses, Mark records two times that the people were amazed or extremely surprised at what they had heard or seen. Just what was it that amazed them?br /Two things:br /br /1.) Jesus taught them as one who had authority, not like the scribes of the law. (Mk. 1:22) Somehow the people immediately picked up on the fact that what they heard was different from anything they heard before. His teaching was authentic. He didn?t need to rely on past tradition or another?s interpretation. He didn?t need to quote the ?authorities?, for he was the authority! He didn?t need to use what the scribes did. They studied the law. They were scholars of the law. They were the professional interpreters of the law, who were often consulted as the authorities...they had their degrees! But Jesus? teaching was different. The Greek word for authority includes the sense of ?out from oneself?. So what Jesus taught came from within. His knowledge was complete, authentic to him. What he taught was not the important part, but it was the quality of this teaching that was significant. It was authoritative, uniquely him.br /br /2.) Jesus had power over the evil spirits/demonic forces. He spoke, he commanded. They obeyed him. There was no magic show, no ritual, no ceremony. By his power, he called the evil spirit out of the man. By his power he controlled the actions of the demon. No one else could do that.br /br / Is it any wonder that the very people who heard Jesus teach for the first time and witnessed this first public act in the beginning of his ministry, were astonished and amazed. Surely there was much talk and speculation, as they chatted together, and finally exclaimed, ?What is this? A new teaching?... and with authority?? WHO IS THIS MAN?br /br / Yes, WE know this man. We know who Jesus is, or do we? Are we still asking that question today? Who is Jesus?br /br /But the first verse of Mark tells us, the readers, who Jesus is. We are given this knowledge. Verse 1 states: The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  But think about the folks with Jesus in the synagogue, hearing him teach for the first time. They didn?t know who he was. Think about those first 4 disciples with him, two sets of brothers, Simon and Andrew and James and John, fresh off of their fishing boats with barely enough time to get the fish smell off of their hands and out of their clothes, witnessing his teaching and seeing him casting out an evil spirit. They didn?t really know who he was and what it meant to follow him. They had a long way to go before they truly understood that the one who called them to follow him, that this Jesus was the Messiah, God?s Son.br /br / With this first public act, Jesus makes a statement through his word and deed that begins to establish his identity. (done in two ways)br / 1.) Teaching with authority, unlike the scribes, immediately begins to set him apart from the religious establishment. It gives us a hint of what is to come and with whom he will be in conflict. After all, the scribes were the professional interpreters, the scholars. Now it appears that a new religious leader has come on the scene, one who speaks with an ?inner authority?. br / 2.) By casting out an evil spirit, it shows that Jesus had power over the evil forces, the demonic, the spiritual forces, and he used that power to silence, when it was needed. And this was the time to do it, for the evil spirit was loud. It was Sabbath. This was happening among people attending synagogue. And the evil spirit cried out, ?What do you want from us, Jesus of Nazareth? (apparently speaking for all the spirits). Have you come to destroy us? (or as a statement, ?you have come to destroy us, for the evil spirit realizes that Jesus has come to oppose not just one evil spirit, but the demonic power structure, itself.).. I know who you are....the Holy One of God!?br /br /What a revelation!!!  Who has the knowledge here?  It is the demons who know Jesus! (that is true in other parts of Mark?s gospel). There was this idea at that time that if you knew a person?s name, you could have some control or power over that person. The evil spirit thought to disarm Jesus with the knowledge he had and others didn?t, but Jesus silences and expels the demon. Jesus? rebuke of the evil spirit was not to deny the truth of what the evil spirit was saying, but rather it was to suppress the information at that time! Even though the demons know who Jesus is, the human characters of the story are not to learn about Jesus? identity from the demons.(part of the ?secrecy? theme in Mark)br /br /In the Believers Church commentary by Timothy Geddert, he states, that in Mark?s gospel, ? discernment leading to true insight into Jesus? identity comes in the context of discipleship, not as revelations from the divine or demonic world. ? (p. 47)br /br /In Mark, the gospel writer wants to show that Jesus is not an ordinary human!br /And by recording this first public act, we see that the witnesses noticed that something extra ordinary happened. Jesus? teaching was like no other. His power was beyond all others. His knowledge was more than the demons, his knowledge was more than the scribes, the best scholars of that time. People knew Jesus was different, and they were amazed!!! br /br / In the I Corinthian 8:1-13 passage for today, we read of some important insight on knowledge. The apostle Paul is writing to his congregation giving guidance and direction on the matter of whether Christians may eat meat that had been offered to idols or leftover after some pagan sacrificial rites. He writes: Now concerning your letter...br / ?All of us know something about this subject.? But knowledge makes us proud of ourselves, while love makes us helpful to others.(Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. RSV) In fact, people who think they know so much don?t know anything at all. But God has no doubts about who loves him.br /br /All of us should be open to learning, growing and gaining more knowledge. But we also need to remember that knowledge gained can be used for good or for evil. It can build up, but it can also tear down. It can heal, but it can also hurt.br /br /Paul doesn?t take sides in the dispute, but tries to challenge them in their thinking, to reconsider their actions, and suggests to them that knowledge is defective if it fails to build up the community in love. If knowledge makes us ?puff? up, it can soon lead to arrogance.br /br /In Mark, we saw that the evil spirit had knowledge of who Jesus was and wanted to disarm Jesus in public by revealing his identity, wanting to take away his power. The evil spirit was using knowledge for harm.br /br /The scribes certainly had knowledge, much knowledge of scripture. They were the professional interpreters, but often they focused on preserving and keeping the law, maintaining what was given to them to the letter. It didn?t allow for new life, for windows to be open to new, fresh interpretations. It didn?t allow for new wineskins.br /br /Jesus used his knowledge to teach with authority, to lay the groundwork for the revealing of his identity. Jesus taught boldly, confidently, from the earliest days of his ministry, using his innate knowledge as the ultimate ?authority? to distinguish himself from others. His knowledge came from within.br /br /How do we use our knowledge? br / The kind of language we use tells a lot about us. The Corinthian Christians had this saying/slogan, ?all of us possess knowledge?. Paul responds by saying that is not necessarily true. By saying that, you are automatically excluding those who do not share that opinion or have the knowledge that you do.br / It is a little bit like if I would get up Sunday morning and say, ? We don?t have it in our hymn book, but I am sure all of you know and remember the song, How Great Thou Art. Let?s sing it together.?br / Of course we don?t all know that song. Some of us might have known it, but can?t remember the words now. By what I said, and the assumptions I made, we already excluded people. As pastor it is challenging to not say, ?I won?t repeat that Bible story or verse, because all of you already know that well.?. Not true!br /br /How do we use our knowledge?br / Park View Mennonite Church includes in its membership many people who are highly educated, well -read, world travelers, gifted writers, creative artists, trained musicians, skilled professionals, leaders and executives in business and medical and educational and church institutions. How do we use our knowledge? Are we using our knowledge as a weapon or as an instrument of love? Are we so confident in our beliefs, understandings and interpretations, of scripture, of ethical issues, of economics, of politics, that we leave little room for conversation and dialogue with anyone who thinks differently, who may have more or less knowledge than we do.br / Sitting in one of our adult Sunday School classes on any given morning, can be pretty intimidating, if you never finished high school, or never learned to read and write, never traveled outside of the United State, or maybe even VA. For some people who can?t read music, or carry a tune, coming into our worship service and participating in the music can be a wonderful, positive experience, if you want to just sit and enjoy the harmonies. It can also be very intimidating and isolating, when you feel you can?t join in. Unfortunately, sometimes one of our strengths can also exclude.br / When I first came to Park View and began my ministry, it was hard not to feel intimidated and insecure. It was nothing that you did that made me feel that way. It was within me, my own insecurities, that came to the surface. I soon realized that I would need to use the computer a lot more than I had done previously. That would be a challenge and knowing that my colleague.......well it is second nature to him and he thrives on it. It amazed me to discover that many of the older generation here at PV had high school degrees, college degrees and more, were retired professors, leaders in church and university. My parents never went beyond 9th grade. Education was valued, to a certain extent, but higher education(college) was not strongly encouraged when I was growing up, especially for a girl. I hoped that I would some day get married and have kids, but didn?t think too much about a career until I finally decided to go to college, for what purpose, well that wasn?t even clear to me. So deciding to go to seminary after our two sons were in school, and actually finishing an M.Div degree, was a huge step for this PA farm girl. I was excited to become part of the pastoral staff here at PV in the fall of 2001, but also somewhat nervous. I realized that some of the books and articles I had read and studied in seminary were actually written by some of you. I would now become your pastor. How long would it take, I thought, until you would discover how little knowledge I had of what you wrote. (I remember with clarity, the week before I started working here. I was standing in my office, surrounded with all my boxes of books, trying to place them on the shelves in some order so that I would know where to find them. Norman Kraus walked by, then came back to my door and warmly welcomed me to PV and Harrisonburg. He stood there in blue jeans and a blue denim shirt. I had just placed a few books on my shelf before he poked his head in the doorway. I knew Norman wrote a few of them. I was so nervous and probably broke out in a cold sweat, afraid that he had noticed and might ask me something about one of them. I didn?t want to expose my ignorance before I even officially started. Norman graciously welcomed me and, no, he did not ask me anything about his books.)br /br /How do we use our knowledge?br / Richard Hays who wrote a commentary on I Corinthians states this:br /  Every congregation will profit from looking at themselves in the mirror of I Corinthians 8 and asking whether there are ways in which they are using knowledge as a weapon rather than as an instrument of love. Whether Bible -thumping certainty about revealed truth, or serene confidence in the latest scientific findings, or passionate discernment of the ?right? social causes, any ?knowledge? that divides community and causes the knowledgeable ones to despise those who are ignorant or uncertain is not being used in the service of God. ? (p.145)br /br /The key message in I Cor. 8 is that love is more important than knowledge. It is wrong to assert our rights and privileges, our strong opinions, if it is tearing apart the community. Rather we need to see that love, not knowledge, should be the guiding principle that helps give shape to our community life.br /br /Jesus taught with authority, for he was/is the authoritative one. His knowledge is complete. For some of us, we may be in positions of ?power and authority?, but we are deeply aware that any knowledge we have and any expertise we have gained in any field will always be only partial, at best.br /br /May we use what we know wisely, carefully, constructively. May our knowledge be used for the building up of one another and the faith community. May God give us the wisdom to know how to do that in love.br /brbrspan style="font-style:italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-484213952118016364?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:154:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/484213952118016364/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=484213952118016364";s:9:"link_edit";s:81:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/484213952118016364";s:9:"link_self";s:81:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/484213952118016364";s:4:"link";s:73:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/02/barbara-moyer-lehman-identity-and.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:18;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-5819146666263816979";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-01-25T12:00:00.002-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-01-28T06:51:02.072-05:00";s:5:"title";s:33:"Phil Kniss: Knowing the ripe time";s:12:"atom_content";s:17265:"span style="font-weight:bold;"January 25, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Third Sunday of Epiphanybr /Mark 1:14-20; Jonah 3:1-10; Psalm 62:5-12/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /object width="400" height="300"param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2985600amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_title=1amp;show_byline=1amp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" /embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2985600amp;server=vimeo.comamp;show_portrait=0amp;color=amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"/embed/objectbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDEtMjVfS25vd2luZ190aGVfcmlwZV90aW1lLm1wMw/2009-01-25_Knowing_the_ripe_time.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr / br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-01-25.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /Bible stories like the ones we heard this morningbr / simply amaze me.br / They stun me, and disturb me.br /br /Take the story of Jonah.br / Now, Jonah is an interesting story, all right,br /  what with him running away from his call to be a prophet,br /  and hiding on a ship at sea,br /  and the great storm that almost sinks the ship,br /  and Jonah being thrown overboard and eaten by a big fish,br /  and then spit up onto shore alive and well and humbled.br / It?s all a very interesting, and colorful story.br /  But that?s not the part of the story that stuns me.br /br /Where I am simply blown away by this story,br / where my ability to imagine and believe is stretched to its limits,br / is what happens in the lives of the people of Ninevah,br /  simply as a result of hearing the call of God.br / Just because they were told by a strange prophetbr /  that God was unhappy with them,br /  that judgment was imminent if they didn?t mend their ways . . .br /    . . . they immediately mended their ways.br / They underwent a radical, and complete, br /  and utter cultural transformation.br / From top to bottom.br /  From the great King and his court,br /   to the merchants,br /   to the peasantsbr /   to every one of their cows and goats.br / The king led the charge toward repentance and transformation,br /  and everyone followed,br /  all 120,000 of them, and their animals.br / Just because God spoke the word.br /br /We all know how difficult and complicated it is to change a culture.br / We know how much conflict erupts,br /  when anyone introduces any change into any social system.br / But Ninevah turned on a dime.br / They started on a new path together,br /  from king to cow.br /br /Now if that story doesn?t surprise and amaze and disturb you,br / certainly nothing will.br /And to think that the stumbling block for most peoplebr / in believing this story,br / is Jonah getting swallowed by a big fish.br /  That?s nothing.br /_____________________br /br /And then there?s today?s Gospel story,br / a pretty straight-forward accountbr / of Jesus calling four fisherman to become his disciples,br /  and they say yes.br /br /When you hold this short story over against stories likebr / Jesus turning water into wine,br / or touching and curing a leper,br / or feeding five-thousand with a few loaves of bread,br / this little story about the fisherman who followedbr /  hardly registers on the radar.br / Unless you actually pay attention to the details of this story.br /  This is a miracle story to top all miracle stories.br /br /How could two words, ?Follow me,?br / coming from an obscure itinerant rabbi,br / cause otherwise sensible business persons br /  to drop everything and go.br / Who, in their right mind, would do such a thing?br / Simon and Andrew were actually in the act of casting their nets,br /  when they heard the words, ?Follow me.?br /  And they immediately?get that??br /   immediately left their nets,br /   hanging over the side of the boat I imagine,br /   and followed after Jesus.br / And they come upon their competitors in the fishing industry,br /  a two-generation operation?Zebedee and Sons, Inc.br /  They were in the middle of a big and messy job?br /   sitting in their boat mending their nets,br /   when sons James and John heard the words, ?Follow me.?br /  And immediately they got up.br /  Father Zebedee was left holding the nets,br /   too stunned for words.br /br /This kind of thing simply doesn?t happen.br / Sensible persons who need to provide for a family,br /  do not suddenly abandon a stable job and income,br /   and head off down the roadbr /   without an inkling of where they are goingbr /    and for how longbr /    and with what resources?br /  just because a persuasive stranger asked them to.br /br /This is another stunning story of unlikely faithfulness.br /This story, and the story of the people of Ninevah,br / are stories of God?s call,br / and a human response that is unbelievably radical,br /  immediate, and sacrificial.br /br /And of course, our first thought is,br / would we be willing to do that?br /We make this into a morality story,br / a test of our commitment.br / Are we ready and willing to make such a great sacrifice?br /That?s the question preachers love to ask of their congregations,br / when they preach sermons on these texts.br / That?s the question I have asked of you before,br /  when preaching from this text.br /br /In fact, I went back and looked.br / Exactly nine years ago I preached on this text here at Park View,br /  on this same third Sunday after Epiphany.br /  I?m sure you recall.br /Here is what I said, and I quote,br / ?When we hear the invitation of Jesus, ?Follow me,?br /  can we respond, as if nothing else mattered?br /  Are we able to divest of those things,br /   and re-invest in the kingdom??br /br /That?s the question we love to ask: Can we do it?br /And the implied answer is, of course: We must do it.br / It is our Christian duty to drop everything,br /  to make every personal sacrifice,br /  and follow Jesus radically, completely, immediately.br / Faithful Christian disciples will count the cost, and say ?yes.?br /_____________________br /br /If we listen to a story like this, and say to ourselves,br / ?Yes, I can do this, too. I am ready,?br /  we?re missing something important here.br /  Honesty.br /br /Let me be brutally honest.br / I wouldn?t do it.br / I couldn?t do it.br /  To walk away from literally every commitment,br /   commitment to my wife and children,br /   commitment to myself,br /   commitment to be a good steward of my resources,br /    of my gifts, training, and experience.br /  To walk away from every commitment,br /   just because a persuasive stranger said ?Follow me??br /  It?s something I simply cannot imagine myself doing.br /Now all the rest of you need to be just as honest.br / And admit to yourself that you couldn?t do that either.br / No one, in their right mind,br /  walks away from every sacred commitment you?ve made,br /   immediately and without hesitation,br /   onto a totally new and completely undefined life path.br /br /So where does that leave us?br / It leaves us right where we need to be.br / Recognizing that this story is a miracle story.br /  That this is not a story about the resolve and willpower br /   of four fisherman.br /  It is a story about the power of God.br /br /Barbara Brown Taylor br / is a preacher, teacher, and prolific author.br /She had some thoughts on this text,br / in one of her sermons entitled ?Miracle on the Beach.?br /br /She said this is a story about God, not the disciples or us.br / If we look only at what the disciples gave up br /  (and ask if we could do the same),br /  we ?put the accent on the wrong syllable.?br /She writes,br / This is really a miracle story about ?the power of God?br /  to walk right up to a quartet of fishermen and work a miracle,br /  creating faith where there was no faith, br /  creating disciples where there were none just a moment before.?br / In our emphasis on mustering up the faith and courage to follow,br / She says we have lost ?the full sense of the power of God?br /  to recruit people who have made terrible choices; br /  to invade the most hapless lives and fill them with light; br /  to sneak up on people who are thinking about lunch, not God,br /  and smack them upside the head with glory.?br /br /What a difference it makes to see this as a miracle story.br / The call of God comes to us as grace and as gift.br / And no matter how faltering our steps,br /  or no matter how courageous and radical and sacrificial,br /  our ability to follow Jesus also depends wholly on God?s grace.br / Not a one of us can claim to have what it takesbr /  to drop everything to follow Jesus.br / Not a one of us should go from this placebr /  feeling proud that we can do it,br /  or feeling shame that we can?t.br / No, we should go from this place with gratitude for God?s grace,br /  and simply an openness to receive that grace once again,br /  whenever God calls us to take the next step.br /br /There?s a myth that abounds in our culture,br / that says we shape our own lives,br / and that we create our own destinies.br /Our new president campaigned under the slogan, ?Yes, we can.?br / And there was a lot of truth in that statement.br / Yes, working together as a community of people,br /  there is a lot we can accomplish that is impossible br /  when we?re working alone,br /  or working against others.br / But persons who put their faith in a God of grace,br /  must pause when we hear that kind of pure human optimism.br / We must add an important qualifier.br /  We can . . . br /   with God?s help.br /   by God?s grace alone.br /br /I think at this point in our history as a nation, br / many of us naturally put a great deal br /  of hope, expectation, and even trustbr /  in a new presidential administration.br /br /We hope and pray and expect br / that the power of a well-run national governmentbr / can and will restore peace and justice and hope around the world.br /br /I admit my share of hopefulness about the new administration. br / I hope, and I pray, that there might be some signs of a new day. br / A new willingness to listen to opposing points of view, br /  to engage in thoughtful, deliberate, and civil debate. br / A new openness to establish meaningful dialogue br /  with those who we consider our enemies.br /br /But you know, as a nation, br / we might have a new driver behind the wheel,br / but we haven?t traded in the car.br /We are still enamored with systems of powerbr / that bring about our collective will through pressure and coercion,br / that rely on the power of the sword,br / that are happiest when we are winning over them,br /  when we have the upper hand.br /br /As a nation, we still have no cluebr / about the power of love and sacrifice,br / such as the power demonstrated by God in Jesus Christ.br /And we probably can?t expect that from national government.br / And the Church should be a bit suspicious of the State.br /br /It helps sometimes to be reminded of how God looks uponbr / our human structures of power.br /br /Psalm 62 was chanted and sung this morning.br / Listen once again.br / Listen for clues about where to put our trust.br /br /  5 For God alone my soul waits in silence,br /   for my hope is from him.br /  8 Trust in him at all times, O people;br /   pour out your heart before him;br /   God is a refuge for us.br /  9 Those of low estate are but a breath,br /   those of high estate are a delusion;br /   in the balances they go up;br /   they are together lighter than a breath.br /  11 Once God has spoken;br /   twice have I heard this:br /   that power belongs to God,br /  12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.br /br /Now, this does not mean a life of passivity.br / Either for ourselves as a nation,br /  or for us as a church,br /  or for us as individual disciples.br / God does not intend that we sit on our hands,br /  and wait for God to whip out his rod of power, and act.br / No, we have work to do.br /  Hard work.br /  Risky work.br /  Sacrificial work.br /br /But it is not our work that produces results.br / No, it?s our work that gives God tools to work with.br /br /We don?t earn God?s favor by trying harder.br / By being more saintly.br / By sacrificing more.br / By demonstrating our holiness.br /We?re talking here about the God who said,br / I don?t want your sacrifices and burnt offerings.br / I want you to let my righteousness dwell in you.br / I want you to open yourself to my life, living in you.br / I am the source, you are the channel.br /br /So how do we follow Jesus faithfully, when he calls us?br / Some of us are prone to thinking that we have to br /  work up the strength to follow.br /  That before we can follow,br /   we need to put everything that?s in disarray br /   back into perfect order,br /   and be fully prepared in every way br /   to embark on such a life-changing journey.br /br / Did we forget that when disciples left and followed Jesus,br /  there was unfinished work?br /  There were still holes in the nets James and John were mending.br /  Simon and Andrew were in the middle of a catch.br /br / Our position, as potential disciples,br /  is to be open to the work God wants to do in us.br / God does not demand of us an immediate impossibility.br /  God invites people who are open.br /  And God provides what is needed for the journey,br /   when it is needed.br /br /God?s time may or may not be our time.br / But God?s time is the ripe time.br / When the time is ripe, the fruit literally falls off the vine br /  as a gift from God.br / When the time is not ripe, br /  we have to work extra hard to pick it,br /  and it still won?t be worth much when it gets into our hands. br / When the time is not ripe,br /  no amount of effort on our part will produce satisfying, br /   life-giving fruit.br / Try as we might. And we do try.br /br /At this realization,br / the only response that has much integrity,br / is a response of humility, and confession.br /br /Let us pray a prayer of confession.br / I will lead it,br /  and you respond, when indicated, with the words,br /  God of love and power, forgive us.br / Together,br /  God of love and power, forgive us.br /br /God who called us into being,br / and called us to follow your ways,br / we confess that we have failed to rightly understandbr /  the nature of your call.br / And so we pray together,br /  God of love and power, forgive us.br /br /At times we have launched out on our own,br / thinking we might create justice,br /  and make peace,br /  and construct righteousness,br /  out of nothing but our sheer will and strength.br / And so we pray,br /  God of love and power, forgive us.br /br /At times we have strayed down the other path,br / thinking there is nothing we can do,br /  and have chosen passivity,br /  and indifference,br /  and inaction.br / And so we pray,br /  God of love and power, forgive us.br /br /Forgive us for acting too quickly and forcefully,br / and for letting opportunities pass by.br /Forgive us for our sins of commission and omission.br / For every time we have failed to recognize the ripe time,br /  we pray,br /  God of love and power, forgive us.br /br /God of love, we look to you alone, in trust.br /God of power, in you alone, we put our hope.br / Reveal yourself to us.br / Reveal your time.br / Call us.br / And by your grace alone, by your power alone, br /  we will follow.br /Amen.br /br / ?Philip L. Kniss, January 25, 2009br /brbrspan style="font-style:italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-5819146666263816979?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/5819146666263816979/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=5819146666263816979";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/5819146666263816979";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/5819146666263816979";s:4:"link";s:68:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/01/phil-kniss-knowing-ripe-time.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:19;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:69:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-282660348077634111";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-01-18T12:00:00.001-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-01-21T13:55:02.759-05:00";s:5:"title";s:50:"Phil Kniss: The spiritual discipline of showing up";s:12:"atom_content";s:15996:"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"January 18, 2009 /spanbr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"Second Sunday of Epiphany/spandivspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"John 1:43-51; 1 Samuel 3:1-10/span/divdivbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-2895205920222041001amp;hl=enamp;fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/embed /divdivbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDEtMThfVGhlX3NwaXJpdHVhbF9kaXNjaXBsaW5lX29mX3Nob3dpbmdfdXAubXAz/2009-01-18_The_spiritual_discipline_of_showing_up.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embeda style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr / /divdivbr /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-01-18.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /How many times has someone run up to you,br / their face bursting with excitement,br / eyes wide,br / voice at a high pitch,br / mouth running a mile-a-minute,br / trying to tell about something amazing or scary or funnybr /  that recently happened.br /br /And somehow your own face doesn?t mirror theirs.br /They see your blank look, that you are underwhelmed,br / and they say, ?You had to be there!?br /br /It sounds like a cliche, but it really is true.br / There is no good substitute for ?being there.?br / You can only get the full impact of somethingbr /  if you?re right there where it?s happening.br /  If you see it.br /  If you show up and participate in it.br /br /Telling someone something that another someone sawbr / at some other time,br / and some other place,br / is . . . well . . . just a little short of exciting.br /br /TV news programs have figured outbr / they attract more interest,br / and sound more believable,br / if they call their program ?Eye-witness news.?br /  They bring the eye of the camera to you.br /  You can see it, so you can believe it!br /br /That?s essentially the message of today?s Gospel reading.br /br /Philip tried, although unsuccessfully,br / to convey to Nathaniel the excitement of his new discovery.br /He ran up to Nathaniel and breathlessly blurted out,br / ?We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law!br /  This is the one we?ve been waiting for!br /   The Messiah!br /   The one the prophets wrote about!br /  We?ve found him.br /   Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.?br /Nathaniel?s face was blank with disinterest.br / ?Nazareth?  Right!?br /So Philip said, simply, ?Come and see.?br / Come and see.br /br /And Nathaniel did come. And he did see.br / And after a few brief words with Jesus,br /  he was convinced.br / ?Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.?br /br /Coming and seeing made all the difference,br / for Nathaniel?s journey to faith.br /br /Surely it?s the same for you and me.br / If we want to grow in faith,br /  we find out where God is at work,br /  and we show up.br / To see.br / To be present.br / To pay attention.br / To be responsive.br /br /It?s a spiritual discipline, I would argue,br / simply to show up.br / To make the effort to be there.br /br /21st-century American society does not really encouragebr / this spiritual discipline.br /It doesn?t encourage us to bebr / actively present,br / and deliberately attentive,br / and thoughtfully responsive to what is going on around us.br /br /Technology allows us to accomplish more and more tasks,br / with less and less effort and input on our part.br /br /We don?t really need to pay attention anymore,br / in order to survive.br /br /Our food is prepared and packaged,br / sealed and shelved,br / bought and consumed,br / without us ever having to know, or even think about,br /  where it grew, or who worked the harvest,br /  or how far it traveled to get to my table.br /br /We don?t have to dig for the news.br / It comes to us instantly in email alerts and digital feeds,br /  and text messages,br / Sometimes we have to get it the old-fashioned way?television.br / And newspapers . . . are like dinosaurs anymore.br /br /When we travel,br / we don?t pull out a big map to get the lay of the land,br / or learn anything about the area we?re passing through.br / We type an address into the GPS,br /  and off we go,br /  doing whatever the computerized voice tells us to.br /br /Bills are paid with a click of the mouse, or not even that.br / They?re just paid automatically,br /  because we told our bank?s computers to do it for us.br /br /We don?t really needbr / to walk up to a human behind a counterbr / and smile, or talk about the weather.br /br /We even catch up with our friends without effort,br / by reading their Facebook status online,br / and typing in a witty comment on our keyboard.br /br /Many of us have neighbors within a stone?s throw,br / who we don?t even know,br / for the simple reason that we don?t have to know thembr /  to be a good neighbor in that neighborhood.br / Because good neighbors are defined asbr /  neighbors who don?t impose themselves on other neighbors.br / Everything we need for life,br /  we have inside our home, or fenced-in yard,br /  or two minutes away at the store.br /br /I?m not judging others here, I?m talking about myself.br / I get news alerts in my email,br /  travel with a GPS,br /  do automatic bill pay,br /  keep up with people on Facebook,br /  and can?t remember the last time I asked a neighborbr /   for anything more sacrificialbr /   than picking up our newspaper while we?re gone.br /br /I?m not advocating dumping all our technological advancesbr / that streamline the activities of life.br / I?m suggesting we need to be more awarebr /  of what we have lost in the process,br /  and find some ways to recover the practice of attentiveness,br /   of openness,br /   of hospitality.br /br /Because nearly all the routine tasks of daily life,br / can be done without paying attention.br / Without putting forth much human effort,br /  without making conscious decisions,br /  without creating direct human connections,br /  without considering our natural environment.br /br /The life that most of our society considers normal today,br / is a life that encourages being passive.br /br /Our living room probably has a half dozen remotes lying around.br / With the touch of a button I can switch tobr /  another song on the CD,br /  another chapter in the movie,br /  another station on the radio,br /  another channel on the TV.br / I adjust the mood of the moment with the volume button.br /br /You know, a remote control could be a good metaphorbr / for the passive lives many of us live today.br /We live our lives remotely.br / We control things, while keeping a safe distance,br /  remote and removed from any real, participatory,br /  transforming interaction on our part.br / We surf the available channels of life untilbr /  the channel that pleases us the most,br /  and demands the least comes on the screen.br / And we sit back and enjoy.br /_____________________br /br /But a life of following Jesus is not like that at all . . .br / not even . . . remotely.br /The invitation of Jesus is to ?come and see.?br / To put down the remote,br /  and deliberately show up where the action is.br / To be prepared to participate in that action.br / To be fully present and fully attentive.br /br /To show up is not as easy as it sounds.br / It?s not just putting in time.br / It?s choosing to be where you need to bebr /  in order to live the life you were made for.br /br /The God of the Bible is greatly pleasedbr / when people have the guts to show up when they?re called,br / and say, ?Your servant, Lord. Reporting for duty.?br /br /The boy Samuel showed up.br / Time after time, when he heard someone calling his name.br / It took a little while to sort out the reality of who was calling him.br /But Samuel spoke words of faith,br / words God is always wanting to hear from us.br / ?Here I am.?br /  Here I am.br /br /It wasn?t necessary that young Samuel, at that tender age,br / grasped the full reality of what God was up to in Israel.br / It was only necessary that he was willing to show up,br /  to be available,br /  to be attentive.br / It was only necessary that he could say, and mean it,br /  ?Here I am. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.?br /_____________________br /br /On the one hand,br / what?s being asked of us in incredibly simple.br / This is God?s work. God?s responsibility.br /  God?s mission that we are about.br / All we are being asked to do is show up, and listen.br /  Pay attention.br /br /On the other hand,br / what we are being asked to do is risky and counter-cultural.br / Saying ?Here I am? to God, is not really the safe choice.br /  It?s the right choice.br /  It?s the choice that leads to life.br /  But it?s not the safe choice.br / The safe choice is living life by remote control.br /  Pushing buttons, and keeping your distance.br /br /When little boy Samuel said, ?Here I am,? to God,br / God immediately gave him a burden heavy to bear,br /  a message of judgment to deliver to his hero and mentor, Eli.br / God said to this youngster, and I quote,br /  ?See, I am about to do something in Israelbr /   that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.br /   I will punish Eli and his family . . . forever.?br /br /When Philip said to Nathaniel, come and see,br / and he went and saw,br / Nathaniel was not making the safe choice.br /  And I think he realized that, while he was making it.br /  He didn?t fully understand at the time whybr /   that choice would be so dangerous,br /    but he knew.br /   In the era of oppression by the Roman Empire,br /   declaring Jesus to be the ?Son of God,?br /    was putting his life at risk.br /  That exact title, ?Son of God,?br /   was a title claimed by, and exclusively reserved for,br /   Caesar, the Roman Emperor.br /  Nathaniel not only named a minor Jewish rabbi ?Son of God,?br /   but called him, ?the King of Israel.?br /  Those words were in no way words of pious spirituality.br /  They were a statement of Nathaniel?s political loyalty.br / Nathaniel was saying to Jesus, and saying to his people and to God,br /  ?Here I am.?br /  I have come. I have seen.br /  I recognize that this is the work of God happening here.br /  And now I am ready to join whatever is about to happen next.br /   Little did he know.br /   But he came, he saw, he enlisted.br /_____________________br /br /In this confused and broken and sinful world we live in today,br / especially when so much of it is brought right into our living room,br / the easy option is to pick up the remote control,br /  and push ?Mute.?br / And sit back down, keeping a safe distance.br /br /Jesus says, ?Come and see.?br / Come to where I?m at work, see what I?m up to.br / If today Jesus is still all aboutbr /  preaching good news to the poor,br /  and recovering sight to the blind,br /  and binding up the broken-hearted,br /  and letting the captive go free,br /   then guess where Jesus might be today.br /br /Jesus is a homeless man,br / walking the streets of Harrisonburg in zero degrees,br / and hoping someone will take him in, and feed him,br /  and give him a place to rest,br / even if only from 7pm to 7am.br /br /Will we come and see, or will we look for the ?mute? button?br /br /Jesus is working night shift in the poultry plant,br / and sending money back to his family in El Salvador.br /Jesus is a frail, shriveled, woman in a local nursing home,br / whose family has all but forgotten her.br /Jesus is a prisoner at Guantanamo.br /Jesus is the head of a household in Gaza City,br / who lost two of his children in the bombing last week.br /br /We can come and see, or we can push ?mute.?br /br /Not only is Jesus represented by thosebr / ?least of our brothers and sisters? (check out Matt. 25).br /God is also actively present and at workbr / to save, redeem, restore, and reconcilebr / wherever there is sin, and injustice, and oppression, and war.br /God is uniquely and powerfully at work,br / and inviting us to join.br / To come and see.br / To be deliberately present.br / To get in the way.br / To stick our nose in, where it belongs.br / To engage in the difficult, and potentially costly,br /  but supremely life-giving and joy-producing,br /  spiritual discipline of showing up.br /br / Of putting down the remote,br /  and walking toward the life God has in mind for us.br /_____________________br /br /John Bell wrote a profound and thought-provoking poembr / about putting down the remote.br / We?re going to sing it in a minute,br /  but don?t take out your songbook yet.br / Listen to the words first.br / They preach my sermon better than I can.br /br /The first four stanzas are the words of Jesus,br / asking us to come, see, participate.br /The final stanza is our response.br / Listen.br /blockquotespan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?br /Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?br /Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,br /will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?br /br /Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?br /Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?br /Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?br /Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?br /br /Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?br /Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?br /Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,br /and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?br /br /Will you love the ?you? you hide if I but call your name?br /Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?br /Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,br /through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?br /br /Lord . . . your summons echoes true when you but call my name.br /Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.br /In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.br /Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me./span/blockquoteblockquotespan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"[words by John L. Bell and Graham Maule]/span/span/blockquotebr / ?Philip L. Kniss, January 18, 2009br /br /span style="font-style:italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //script/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-282660348077634111?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:154:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/282660348077634111/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=282660348077634111";s:9:"link_edit";s:81:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/282660348077634111";s:9:"link_self";s:81:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/282660348077634111";s:4:"link";s:74:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/01/phil-kniss-spiritual-discipline-of.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:20;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-3566453062822506737";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-01-11T12:00:00.000-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-01-14T14:38:57.128-05:00";s:5:"title";s:27:"Phil Kniss: Pronouncing God";s:12:"atom_content";s:13767:"span style="font-weight: bold;"January 11, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11/spanbr /"Baptism of our Lord Sunday"br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[no video available this week due to technical difficulties]/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDEtMTFfUHJvbm91bmNpbmdfR29kLm1wMw/2009-01-11_Pronouncing_God.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="210" align="middle" height="25"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-01-11.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /Have you ever said to yourself,br / ?Oh, if I could only hear God?s voice . . .br /  then I?d know what to do?br /   where I should go to school,br /   what I should major in,br /   what job I should take,br /   who I should to marry,br /   where I should move,br /   what I should do about this particular problem I have.?br / ?If only God would tell me out loud.?br /br /Many of us have a longing for more thanbr / just a general belief that God exists,br / or a vague sense that God is somehow present.br / We want God to speak up.br / We want to hear what God has to say about this or that.br /br /Well, there?s good news today.br / God has a voice.br / And God uses it.br / That?s what today?s worship service is all about.br /br /The first Sunday after Epiphany, in the church year,br / is called ?The Baptism of our Lord? Sunday.br / The assigned Gospel reading is always aboutbr /  Jesus? baptism by John in the Jordan River.br / And the other three scriptures connect in some way.br /br /I looked at all four of them together this week,br / searching for a common thread,br / and my first thought was ?Oh! Water.?br / In Genesis 1, the creation text,br /  the spirit of God hovered over the waters.br / In Psalm 29 we heard about God?s presencebr /  moving over the waters, over mighty waters.br / In Acts 19, there was mention of John?s baptism with water.br / And of course in Mark 1, Jesus himself goes down into the waterbr /  to be baptized by John.br /br /Well, that?s all very interesting, but it seems a theme of water is . . .br / well . . . shallow.br /There?s a much deeper connection here.br / Turns out there?s a major character that appearsbr /  in all four of these texts.br / That character is the ?voice of God??br /  a powerful, audible reality, that comes from the mouth of God.br /  The Voice.br /br /With the mouth, God pronounces things.br / In the Creation story,br /  God pronounces things into existence,br /   ?Let there be . . .?br /    And . . . they become.br /  And God pronounces these things ?good . . . very good.?br / In Psalm 29, God pronounces, and things happen.br /  The voice of God goes out, and the earth trembles.br /  Earlier, we put God?s voice into powerful sound effects.br / In Acts 19, when the Holy Spirit came down on the new believers,br /  God?s voice was translated into human voice.br /  Those who were overcome with God?s presencebr /   ?spoke in tongues and prophesied.?br / And the heart of today?s scripture, Jesus? baptism story,br /  features as its climax, the voice of God from heaven,br /  pronounced upon Jesus,br /  ?You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.?br /br /God is a pronouncing God.br / God?s words do not stay shrouded in secrecy.br /  God speaks.br /  God declares.br /  God pronounces.br / A pronouncement is an authoritative word.br /br /A week ago Saturday I officiated at a wedding in Florida.br / At one point in the ceremony,br /  I took the authority that was given to me,br /   and pronounced the couple to be husband and wife.br /  They seemed to take my words seriously,br /   and so did everyone else.br /  Because after I spoke the words,br /   everyone actually believedbr /   they were truly husband and wife.br /br / Pronouncing can be a powerful thing.br /  Pronouncing can impart life.br /  Pronouncing can also be violent, even kill.br /br /But we have the assurance in scripture thatbr / the God who creates and sustains life,br / the God who works for our good,br /  is a pronouncing God.br / This is a God who does not keep silent,br /  but declares what is, and what has been, and what will be.br /_____________________br /br /Most of the time,br / when we find ourselves wishing that God would speak,br / we?re not really looking for a God that pronounces.br / We?re looking for a God who points his finger.br /  Says, ?Go here. Go there.br /   Work at this. Study that.br /   Marry her. Hire him.?br / We?re looking for a God who says,br /  ?You should? and ?you ought,?br / But instead, we have a God who says,br /  ?You are.?br / A pronouncing God.br /br /Did you notice the language that came from heaven at Jesus? baptism?br / If Jesus? baptism was his ordination for ministry?br /  that?s how we usually refer to it?br /  sure would have been helpful for the voice from heavenbr /   to give Jesus some clear instructions for his work.br / Go preach in Galilee.br /  Heal the sick in Bethsaida.br /  Cast out demons in Capernaum.br /  Argue with the Pharisees in Jerusalem.br / Nope.br /  Not instructions. Not shoulds and oughts.br / But a pronouncement.br /  ?You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.?br / Not words of duty, but words of identity: ?You are.?br /br /In his baptism,br / Jesus came to understand, in a deeper way than before,br /  who he was, and who he was called to be, and to become.br / He was not given a to-do list, he was given a name.br / His ministry happenedbr /  because he accepted that name as his true identity.br / He did not allow anything else to rob him of that identity.br / He did not let anyone redefine him into someone he was not.br /br /If only we all had that kind of clarity.br / If only we were not so confused about our true identity.br / If only we were not so swayed by a culture that tells us lies like,br /  you are what you own, orbr /  you are what you drive, orbr /  you are what you eat, orbr /  you are what you wear, orbr /  you are what you look like.br / And we believe those lies,br /  and make decisions based on those lies,br /  more than any of us want to admit.br /br /The reason we flounder so much about what we?re supposed to do,br / is that we?re not so clear about who we are.br /br /There?s a reason why we?re all the timebr / wishing for some clear word from the skiesbr /  about where we are supposed to gobr /  and what we are supposed to do.br / It?s because we?re not clear and at peacebr /  about who we are.br /br /In our society there is a severe shortagebr / of people who know and embrace who they truly are.br / There is a shortage of people who believe they are calledbr /  by someone greater than themselves,br /  and are secure in that calling.br / Oh, people in our society talk a lot about a person?s calling.br /  But what they usually mean, is what that person is good at.br / If someone is passionate about something, and excels in it,br /  we say they have found their calling.br /br / But for a follower of Jesus, for a person of faith,br /  a true calling begins by hearing a voice that is not our own.br /  It is not a voice that originates in our head,br /   or in our heart, or in our gut.br /  It is the voice of the only One who has the right to call us,br /   and to name us.br /  The one who gave us life itself.br / Jesus? baptism brought clarity about who was calling him.br /  It brought clarity about who he wasbr /   in relation to the one who was calling:br /   ?You are my Son. I love you. I?m proud of you.?br /  Hearing and embracing our callingbr /   is less about deciding what to do,br /   and more about discovering who we are,br /    who we belong to.br /br /It?s not that our doing doesn?t matter.br / Of course not. It matters a lot.br / It?s just not the place we start.br /br /We start by listening to our pronouncing God.br / We start by believing God?s pronouncement.br / The way young couples really believe mebr /  when I tell them they are husband and wife.br / We start by believing God, when God says,br /  ?You are my child. I love you.br /   You are wonderful. I delight in you.?br /Then when we have that clarity,br / when we hear and accept those defining words, ?You are . . . ?br / we then have a basis on which to act, to do, to behave.br / We then have a good grounding for ethics,br /  for deciding between a right and wrong course for our lives.br /br /Once we are clear that our lives belong to God and not to ourselves,br / once we are clear that we are deeply loved by God who created us,br /  then we know what to do:br / We do whatever reflects well on the One who gave us life.br / We do what is authentic to the One we belong to.br /br /So what becomes importantbr / is not that we find out for sure whether God prefers usbr /  to be a doctor or farmer or fireman,br /  or to live in St. Pete or St. Paul or St. Louis.br /What becomes importantbr / is that we become clear about the character of God,br /  the priorities of God,br /  the values of God,br /  the mission of God.br / And these are things we can know.br / We have ample evidence throughout the whole of scripture.br / We have evidence of what God is like,br /  because God is such a pronouncing God.br /  God is vocal.br /  God is self-revealing.br /  And God spelled it outbr /   most clearly and completely in the person of Jesus.br /br /We know that God has special compassion on those who suffer.br / God?s heart is leaned toward the poor, the orphan, and the widow.br /We know that God loves all that which supports life,br / and hates all that which diminishes life.br /We know that God desires restoration, reconciliation, and peace.br / And abhors alienation, oppression, and war.br /We know that God loves truth and hates deceit.br /We know that God loves the earth he created,br / and expects us to lovingly care for it.br /This, and much more, we know about God.br / Because God has declared it so.br / God has pronounced it so.br /br /So when we hear the words from God,br / ?You are my child and I love you,?br /  we also know how to conduct ourselves.br / We conduct ourselves in a way that values what God values,br /  that honors what God honors.br / We live in a way that is authentic to our identity.br /br /When we are clear about who we are,br / we are also clear about what to do.br /We have such ethical confusion in our culture,br / because we have such identity confusion.br /br /We let other things, inferior things, determine our identity?br / our possessions,br / our jobs,br / our money,br / our personality,br / our friends,br / our body image.br /br /When these false identities become the basis for life choices,br / instead of the identity given us by our Creator,br / then we live less than the life we were created for.br /And we commit the sin of idolatry.br / Because we reject Godbr /  and create our own self-determined identity.br / And our culture rewards us for it?br /  because our culture loves self-made people.br /br /It?s not that God?s voice is silent.br / The question in whose voice am I tuning my ears to listen to?br /Will I listen to the One who created me,br / and the only One with the power to name me?br / the one who had the power to create me?br /Jesus chose to listen to that voice at his baptism.br / Which voice will I choose?br /br /The voice of our Creator speaks love,br / speaks full acceptance of us, as we are,br / and in so doing calls us toward something even greater.br /God has a stake in both who we are,br / and who we will be become.br /Because God?s identifying seal has been placed on our lives.br / ?You are my child. I love you.?br /br /The only valid response to that voice,br / is captured in three short lines by the songwriter John Bell.br /span style="font-style: italic;"/spanblockquotespan style="font-style: italic;" Take, O take me as I am,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" summon out what I shall be,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;" set your seal upon my heart and live in me./span/blockquoteIn a prayerful spirit of gratitude,br / of yieldedness,br / let us sing those words together,br /#81 in Sing the Journey.br /br / ?Phil Kniss, January 11, 2009br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-3566453062822506737?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/3566453062822506737/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=3566453062822506737";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/3566453062822506737";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/3566453062822506737";s:4:"link";s:66:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/01/phil-kniss-pronouncing-god.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:21;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-5937511242609750401";s:9:"published";s:29:"2009-01-04T12:00:00.001-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-01-07T15:02:49.322-05:00";s:5:"title";s:40:"Barbara Moyer Lehman: Drawn to the Light";s:12:"atom_content";s:14551:"span style="font-weight: bold;"January 4, 2009 /spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Epiphany: Matthew 2:1-12; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Isaiah 60:106/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-4081262169852631450amp;hl=enamp;fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/embedbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDktMDEtMDRfRHJhd25fdG9fdGhlX2xpZ2h0Lm1wMw/2009-01-04_Drawn_to_the_light.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2009-01-04.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br / In the bleak mid-winter, I love building a fire in our wood burning stove.  While sipping a hot drink, I sit entranced before the flickering flames  on a small stool made many years ago by John?s grandpa, Andy,   Equally soothing is sitting on the recliner next to the stove with a good book and my soft blanket, made by a dear friend.  All my senses are engaged in these activities.  I am drawn to the warmth of the fire, the light of the flickering flames, the odor of the burning wood, the crackle of the logs and the taste of good tea (or coffee) :-)br /br / On a warm summer day, I am drawn to something completely different.  If I could, I would spend more time at the ocean.  I am drawn to the seashore.  I love the sun shining brightly over the water, the sound of sea gulls, the smell and taste of salty air.  I find great delight in playing in the sand, even as an adult, or walking the beach, collecting seashells and assorted creatures.  And nothing can compare to the soothing sound of the water lapping the shoreline, the waves crashing upon the beach, the tides moving in and out, in and out.br / br /All of us are drawn to special places and experiences that capture us in some unique way.  What might they be for you?br /br / Not only are we drawn to places, experiences and things, we are also drawn to people.  We might be attracted/drawn to people who stimulate our intellect, capture our imagination, move us with their passion.  Any number of things or characteristics in a person might draw us to them.  The warmth of their personality, the calmness of a gentle spirit, the depth of their spiritual faith, the attractiveness of their smile, the joy and delight of their humor, the serenity from their inner peace.br /br / When we are drawn to something or someone, we become engaged with them.  It is not something we observe passively, but rather it is an experience, a place or person with whom we want MORE.  We want to repeat the experience, or visit it again or be with the person more frequently.  We are drawn in.. we are drawn to.....we want to follow.br /br / In the OT reading from Isaiah 60:1-6 we read of the prophet?s words that announces a new day for the people of Jerusalem, paints a new vision for the reestablishment of Jerusalem as a beacon for others, a light for all nations.  The light of God?s glory has dawned.  Even though darkness covers the earth...is all around them, the prophet proclaims, ?today God rises on you, his glory breaks over you and nations will come to your light....they will be drawn to that light.?  In the previous chapter of Isaiah, we read that it was because of Israel?s sinfulness, their own wickedness that prevents them from salvation, but now things have changed.  It is a new day.  It is time to rise up, to shine, to get out of bed, to put on a new face, one that reflects the glory of God.  Look up!  Look around!  Watch as they gather.  Your sons and daughters are returning home.  There will be a big reunion.  It is time for their spirits to be renewed!  The light breaks forth into the darkness as God enters into their brokenness.  The light will shine, the light will prevail, will pierce the gathering gloom and guide them toward a life of wholeness.  Arise, shine!  It is your time and now nations will be drawn to you!  You, O Jerusalem, will be a beacon to them!br /br / In Matthew?s gospel we see that the magi also knew what it was like to be drawn to something, something so powerful and unique, that it, too, penetrated the darkness and beckoned them to follow, to search, to question, to seek, and to find.  In Matthew?s gospel, the beacon is not a nation, but a star that leads the magi to the Christ child, the true light.  In the ancient world it was commonly believed that when the birth of a great ruler occurred there would be signs in the heavens that accompanied that birth.  The delegation from the east, the magi, claimed to have seen such a sign and made the pilgrimage to Judea to find this ruler and worship him.  In Matthew we read that when Herod is still king, this delegation arrived in Jerusalem. They are depicted as Gentiles, non-Jews, but they are seeking a king of the Jews.  They are not ordinary Gentiles, but rather the spiritual elite of the Gentile world.  When they come seeking this king of the Jews, they embody the promise of Isaiah 60:3, ?Nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.?br /br / In both Matthew and Luke?s gospel, the birth of Jesus is disclosed to a select group of persons.  They set out to discover the child, they find him in Bethlehem.  But the two groups who receive this news are about as different as can be.  In Luke, the good news is proclaimed by a host of angels to an assorted group of hard-working, rough and tumble shepherds who lived on the margins of Jewish society.  Yes, they were Jews, but often living on the edges, not part of the inner circle, more often than not, considered ?outsiders?.  On the other hand, in Matthew?s gospel, the news came to a group of elite Gentiles from a foreign country, with no connections or real link to Jewish faith and life.  True, they were from the ?upper crust? we might say, but Gentiles?    true outsiders!  In both gospels we are reminded that the visitors who come looking for Jesus are outsiders in one sense or another, one because of low social class and standing, living on the margins of Jewish society, the other because of being non Jews, Gentiles, a separate group.br /br / Magi and shepherds will be included in the salvation which Jesus brings.  Lowly shepherds and wise men were drawn to the light of Christ.  Having heard of a new king?s birth, the outsider Gentiles follow a star, seeking the child.  When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy!  And when they entered the house and saw Mary and the child, they knelt down and worshiped him.br / What did King Herod, the insider, do when he heard about a new king?s birth?  He and all of Jerusalem were frightened, fearful, and the news evoked all kinds of consternation and leads Herod to seek to destroy Jesus.br /br / Matthew?s gospel account reminds us that, as commentator Richard Gardner writes, span style="font-style: italic;"?Jesus is at one and the same time the king of the Jews and the long awaited world ruler whom all the nations will honor and serve.?/span (p. 50)br /br / People of all classes and cultures and language groups will be included in the salvation which Jesus brings.  People are drawn to the light.  Boundaries and barriers between people and nations crumble when we all kneel to worship the Christ child, the one who welcomes all. (Taize services when we kneel around the cross, bringing our prayers, burdens.... powerful image of being one in Christ..not knowing each other, yet feeling the spirit at work among us)  The welcoming face of God reaches out in loving hospitality to all peoples and nations.  The light of Christ shines upon us, and in our faces we should reflect that light to others.br /br / As we begin this new year, 2009, what is it that we are drawn to?  What is welcoming us, inviting us?  Who or what star are we following?  Are we drawn to something that reflects the light of Christ?  Are our choices and decisions good ones, ones that we can embrace wholeheartedly and know that what we are doing illumines for us and others the welcoming face of God?br /br / This is the last Sunday in our sermon series which began on Nov. 30, Advent 1.  The overall theme, ? Let Your face shine?, you saw every Sunday on the beautiful bulletin cover that Joe Alderfer designed, along with Bonnie?s stain glass and Ervin?s photograph.  That theme is not only a plea to God, to let his face shine on us, but it is also a call for us to become part of the shining transformation of our world.  The writers for the material used during this season stated,span style="font-style: italic;" ?Our faces can reflect the light of God as we welcome the Divine to dwell among us, embrace the way of Jesus, work for justice, and open our arms to include all whom God welcomes.?/spanbr /br / In New York Harbor stands the Statue of Liberty.  On the base of that pedestal a poem by Emma Lazarus is engraved.  Many of us would know parts of that poem....span style="font-style: italic;""Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.?/span  In the 19th and early 20th centuries millions of immigrants of northern, southern and eastern European descent came to our shores through those waters.  After being greeted by the Statue of Liberty and processed at Ellis Island, these immigrants purchased tickets and boarded trains at the Central Railroad of NJ terminal, that took them to new homes throughout the US.  This became an historic gateway for millions who desired so much to see their hopes and dreams realized in this new land of America.br /br / Today we continue to have people entering our country, our towns and neighborhoods.  They come from different parts of the world.  They too, come with hopes and dreams.  How are we the welcoming face of God to our new neighbors, classmates, co workers?br / br /We also know that living among us are people suffering with mental illness, facing challenges of no work, or health care, people dealing with PTSD.  How are we the welcoming face of God to these within our community?br /br / In the last few weeks I received two e mails from Brooke Rodgers, the ED for HARTS.  Both pertained to families in need. Each had several children and needed housing.  She was writing to me as a member of the board, saying she would send us in the new year demographic info that she was compiling.  But then she adds, (quoting from her letter),br /blockquote style="font-style: italic;"?The demographics will not tell you the individual stories that are incredible and very sad...the stories that provide some insight into why a person is chronically homeless or a family suddenly faces homelessness.br /This is proving to be an exceptionally challenging time for all of us and I find it particularly difficult for those who are finding themselves homeless for the first time and for those that are chronically homeless.  Your support has been and continues to be immeasurable to the success of this program.  Support in providing shelter, meals, fellowship, donations of personal items for the shelter, your response to housing the families that are coming to HARTS, serving as members of the Board of Directors, others serving on committees to address health needs and housing needs and your very important financial donations.  You are truly a community, expressing your humanity in caring for our homeless individuals and families....HARTS is evidence of that.... and for all of this I am very grateful.br /I will also say...each guest in the shelter has expressed their thankfulness for the shelter, for preparing meals for them and treating them like you would want to be treated.  Thank You!"/blockquoteBeginning Jan. 12, we will be hosting HARTS for one week and then again the end of Feb. for another week.  I know that Shirley B. Yoder has been busy organizing the volunteers from here and several other churches that will be helping us.  Contact her if you want to be involved.  Things may already be covered.br /br /On Friday, Jan. 23 another event being planned by our Missions Commission will be held here.  span style="font-style: italic;"Music to Warm the Hearth/span will be a musical event for all ages and will be a fundraiser for People Helping People, another organization in Harrisonburg that is being stretched financially and in other ways to meet the increasing needs within our town.br /br /As we embark on this new year, 2009 and embrace our own personal journey and our journey as a congregation, how are we being drawn to be the light of Christ in this time and place?  How may we be the welcoming face of God in all that we do?br /br /May God give us courage, wisdom and insight for this journey.br /br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-5937511242609750401?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/5937511242609750401/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=5937511242609750401";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/5937511242609750401";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/5937511242609750401";s:4:"link";s:75:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2009/01/barbara-moyer-lehman-drawn-to-light.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:22;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-3128319558464223824";s:9:"published";s:29:"2008-12-21T12:00:00.002-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2008-12-23T13:36:45.973-05:00";s:5:"title";s:61:"Barbara Moyer Lehman: Willing Bodies Awaiting the Divine Gift";s:12:"atom_content";s:16197:"span style="font-weight: bold;"December 21, 2008 /spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Advent 4: The indwelling face of Godbr /Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:46-55/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=8478390666749230966amp;hl=enamp;fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/embedbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDgtMTItMjFfV2lsbGluZ19ib2RpZXNfYXdhaXRpbmdfdGhlX2RpdmluZV9naWZ0Lm1wMw/2008-12-21_Willing_bodies_awaiting_the_divine_gift.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2008-12-21.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /In Luke?s gospel, Mary receives the news from the angel, Gabriel, that she is to conceive and give birth to a son.  At the end of that passage, Mary answers, ?I am the Lord?s servant.  May it be to me according to your word.?  Then the angel leaves.  It is not hard to believe that after receiving that kind of news, Mary needs to talk, to process this information.  She makes preparations and leaves to seek the listening ear, the wise counsel of aunt Elizabeth.  The delightful poem by Joyce Rupp called "The Visitation" captures what that encounter might have been like:br /br /div style="text-align: center;"span style="font-style: italic;"Mary, you went hurriedly over hillsides,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"many of them, to be with aunt Elizabeth,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"whose womb also swelled with surprise./spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"You, the woman of youth and vigor,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"weary from the long road?s rigors,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"wondering still about the mystery within./spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Elizabeth, wrinkled and wise,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"weary from the child kicking inside,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"(already a hint of wildness in him)/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"The two of you, meeting at the door,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"weeping and laughing at the same time,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"each one gasping at the other?s fertility/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"And leaping between and among you,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"those two frisky fetuses, yet to be born,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"the prophet and the One to be proclaimed./spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Did they feel the love of your hospitality?/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Did they swim and sway with your voice?/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Did they listen with tiny, eager ears to all/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"that passed between the two of you/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"in the days and weeks that swiftly passed,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"growing and feeding on your rich love?/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"I don?t know which I?d have wanted more,/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"to be in one of those glorious filled wombs/spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"or in the house of that woman-blessed place./spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"/span?Joyce Ruppbr /br /br //divTwo women whose bodies become the dwelling place for rich treasure, the gift of new life.  One woman, old and wise, but past her child bearing years. The other, young, innocent, engaged, but not yet married.  What a conversation they must have had!  Can you imagine?  Two expectant mothers, both trying to understand, comprehend, absorb what was happening to them......and Mary, still hearing those words from the angel, ringing in her ears, ?Nothing will be impossible with God.?br /br /On the long journey across the Judean hills to Elizabeth and Zechariah?s house, Mary probably had much time to think, to ponder this incredible turn of events in her life. At the mere sound of Mary?s greeting, Elizabeth feels movement within her body as her baby leaps with joy.  She exclaims in a LOUD voice to Mary, ?God has blessed you more than any other woman....... The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise.?  And Mary, full of great joy, sings her song of praise.  As one commentary writer put it, ?Mary, ?preaches? as the prophet of the poor.  She represents their hope.?br /br /Mary?s song, or ?The Magnificat?, is more than a beautiful passage of scripture.  It proclaims in a powerful way that the one who is to be born will be and already is, an agent of radical social change! (as John Howard Yoder states in, The Politics of Jesus, p.27) The fact that God chose Mary, a young servant girl, a handmaiden, to be the willing body, the receptive space for the son of God to be nurtured, already indicates the nature of God and God?s activity.  God noticed her humble position and chose her.  The upside-down kingdom, the reversal of fortunes is already at play.  It happened in the past, happens in the present context and will continue to happen in the future.....the verbs indicate a timeless truth!br /br /God brings down the powerful, lifts up the lowly.br /God fills the hungry with good things to eat, sends the rich away empty.br /br /Mary proclaims, ?the Mighty One has done great things for me..holy is his name.?br /br /Caryll Houselander in her book, Reed of God, refers to Mary as the ?warm nest?, who received Jesus into her life and nurtured him.  In recent months I have read material from several different writers that use this image of the nest as a powerful symbol of how the word of God ?was made flesh and dwelt among us.?  Houselander writes, ?we are receivers of that word as nests are receivers of new life.?br /br /Joyce Rupp suggests that maybe we should call Advent the season of nesting.  We prepare ourselves for the indwelling, for Emmanuel, for God with us.  We sing, ?let every heart prepare him room,? and ?be born in us today?, and ?O come to us, abide with us, our Lord, Emmanuel.?br /br /In recent weeks, I have noticed lots more nests than I usually do.  In the starkness of winter, leaves are stripped off trees, branches are bare, but often nests are seen cradled in arms of a branch or two.  We can see them more clearly in winter without the green, lush foliage of spring and summer, but we rarely pay much attention to them.  They are often empty, sometimes with icicles hanging from the varied grasses and feathers.  But come spring, we notice the robins gathering bits and pieces of ordinary things to make a nest for their eggs.  It becomes a warm, hollowed out, welcoming space ready to receive the gift of life.br /br /As I look out into our back yard, I see several nests high in a tree at the edge of our property. On windy days, I am surprised that they continue to remain intact, as the branches bend to and fro.  Another nest is outside a window in a large magnolia tree, as I look toward our neighbor?s back yard.  I remember there was much activity in that nest last summer.  Now I see more clearly the odds and ends gathered by some ambitious bird, grasses, feathers, even pieces of string.br /br /Each year I place this ?bird in a nest? ornament deep into the branches of our Christmas tree.  It was added to our family collection years ago, probably bought at a 50% after Christmas sale.  But it has taken on a new meaning for me this year, as I prepared for this sermon.  It reminds me that we are to prepare a way for the Lord, to make a dwelling place for the Christ in our life.  As a bird gathers everyday fragments, bits and pieces of ordinary stuff to create a nest, a home, it always leaves a hollowed out center, a warm hospitable place for the new life that will come.br /br /In the Dec. 16 issue of span style="font-style: italic;"The Mennonite/span, Isaac Villegas, pastor at Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship, wrote in an excellent piece on the inside cover,br /blockquote?Mary shows us how to extend hospitality to God....She made room for God?s life within her own.  She opened her life, her very body, to bring Jesus into the world..  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Son received life in Mary?s womb.?/blockquoteI believe that God desires for us to be willing and receptive bodies to his in-dwelling.  Jesus needs a home.  We need Jesus.  Jesus wants to abide with us, to make a nest in us, but we need to prepare the place, to make a space, to open up and hollow out a welcoming center!  If our schedule is too full, our minds too distracted, our energy depleted, then there will be no room in our inn.br /br /Isaac Villegas states, ?God desires people who offer their lives as spaces where good news is born.?br /br /Are you and I willing to ?hollow out? a welcoming center within us where Christ can dwell and be born in us each and every day?  What would that look like for you?  How does God continue to dwell among us, to empower us, to transform us, so that we can become part of the shining transformation of the world?  How does God?s face shine in us?  Do our faces reflect the light of God as we embrace the way of Jesus, as we work for peace and justice, as we become ?salt and light? in our communities?br /br /Every year about a month before Christmas, I receive an e mail or phone call from Hannah Lapp, asking me if I would like to ring bells again for Salvation Army.  Almost every year, I have said, ?YES.?  Do I do it to help out Hannah fill one of her slots, or to make myself feel good, or because it is so much fun?  Well, I do like to help Hannah when I can, it does give me a good feeling, and whether it is fun....?  I am not sure I would describe it as fun.  It is interesting, fascinating, but what I have come to understand, is that it has become for me an Advent spiritual discipline.  It is one way I carve out, hollow out, a bit more room for the Christ to dwell. For two hours I deliberately, intentionally, pay attention to people, most of whom I have never seen and will probably never see again.  I can smile, greet them, thank them, engage in small conversation, bless them, maybe even murmur a silent prayer.  It isn?t much, a few hours, a few words, a few thoughts, a few dollars.  Nevertheless, in a small way, it helps me open up, and hollow out that welcoming center.  It reminds me that the One whose birth is announced every year at this time came to lift up the lowly, to fill the hungry with good things to eat, while the rich and powerful are brought low and sent away empty.br /br /Come, Lord Jesus, dwell with me this day.  Come, Lord Jesus, be born in us today.                                                                                           br /br /I will end with a poem posted on the span style="font-style: italic;"Sojourners /spanblog. It is a contemporary take on the Magnificat.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"Mary?s Song: A Poem/spanbr /by Lisa Sharon Harper (12-17-2008)br /blockquote style="font-style: italic;"Dark timesbr /Regime change.br /?How are we gonna make it??br /?How are we gonna live??br /Tomorrow?br /br /Fear for breakfastbr /Trembling for brunchbr /Despair for dinner.br /br /Dark thick airbr /Full of fumesbr /Can?t breathe.br /br /Thick over the man on the streetbr /With feet sticking out of his shoes.br /Shoes wrapped in muslin.br /It does not cover himbr /He lay cocked to one side.br /In a fetal position.br /He was a baby once.br /Once -? he cried and cuddled and coo-edbr /Now he knows evil of this world.br /His eyes have been baptized in the warped world of war.br /They stare ?- numb.br /Dead eyes.br /Murdered by drugs and guns and bloodbr /Murdered by full metal jacketsbr /Innocent eyes stolenbr /Stolen, too, the man?s soul.br /Nowbr /He lays in a fetal positionbr /Waiting?br /br /And the woman on the trainbr /Across the aisle from me.br /Her hand stretches forthbr /Rests on the carriagebr /Rocking a sleeping baby.br /Innocent in all things.br /Deserving of nothingbr /Deserving of all thingsbr /Baby lay waitingbr /In a fetal positionbr /Baby waits to breathe above 125th street.br /Fumes hover in her neighborhoodbr /Where bus depots pepper the map.br /Cancer fumesbr /Asthma fumesbr /Fumes that shape lifebr /Limit lifebr /Steal lifebr /But for now she sleepsbr /And her momma rocks her carriage.br /br /And the GMbr /And the Hedgefundbr /And the free-market giantsbr /Three of thembr /Jolly and Greenbr /They lay nowbr /Tears trickle from baptized eyesbr /Dead eyesbr /They stare ?- numbbr /Ransacked by green greed and time catching upbr /Now ? nothing ?- or at least it feels like nothing.br /They have what feels like nothing.br /And for fear of feeling fearbr /The giants lay feeling nothing.br /br /Darkness hovers over the deepbr /And we wait.br /br /We watch with dead eyesbr /Eyes that have seen too much.br /Eyes that have known too much evil.br /Redeem! Lord, Redeem!br /br /Watch for the light.br /Wait for the light.br /It pierces darknessbr /And unfurls curled bodiesbr /It covers twisted limbs.br /It replaces fumes with blankets of breathbr /Mixed with love and sacrifice.br /br /Mary watched and waitedbr /The powerless, harassed young girl ?- 13.br /Barely a foot in the worldbr /On the runbr /Chased down by powerbr /Death surrounded herbr /Wrapped in the stench of King Herod?s dying babiesbr /br /Butbr /br /Into the darkness Mary sang!br /br /?My soul doth magnify the Lord!br /My soul doth magnify the Lord!br /The one more mighty than darkness has done great things!?br /br /For resting in her bellybr /Turning in her bellybr /Pressing on her bellybr /Light was being bornbr /br /?God scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts,?br /Mary says!br /?God brings down the powerful from their thrones and lifts the lowly,?br /Mary proclaims!br /br /And the man with feet peeking from his shoes will be lifted up.br /He will stand up!br /And the baby covered in fumes will be lifted up.br /She will stand up! Up!br /And the green giants laying with dead eyes ?- yes, even they will be lifted up!br /They will stand!br /Blessed are they now, for they are ready to be lifted up.br /They will lock handsbr /With their sisters and brothers and ?br /br /Our souls will magnify the Lord.br /Our souls will magnify the Lord.br /Our souls will magnify the Lord ?br /? together!br /And our spirits will rejoice in God our savior!br /br /Amen.br //blockquote(poem posted at: http://www.sojo.net/blog/godspolitics/?p=4790amp;title)br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-3128319558464223824?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/3128319558464223824/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=3128319558464223824";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/3128319558464223824";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/3128319558464223824";s:4:"link";s:75:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2008/12/barbara-moyer-lehman-willing-bodies.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:23;a:13:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-5922838640904230282";s:9:"published";s:29:"2008-12-14T12:00:00.000-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2008-12-16T14:19:48.539-05:00";s:5:"title";s:45:"Phil Kniss: In Search of the Christmas Spirit";s:12:"atom_content";s:16736:"span style="font-weight: bold;"December 14, 2008 /spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"Advent 3: The restoring face of Godbr /Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126:1-6/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-3766917669552003509amp;hl=enamp;fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/embedbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDgtMTItMTRfSW5fc2VhcmNoX29mX3RoZV9DaHJpc3RtYXNfc3Bpcml0Lm1wMw/2008-12-14_In_search_of_the_Christmas_spirit.mp3amp;autoStart=no" quality="high" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="210" align="middle" height="25"/embedbr /a style="border-bottom: medium none; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: rgb(45, 162, 116); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com/"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2008-12-14.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /Eleven days til Christmas.br / As usual, about this time,br /  lots of talk about ?the Christmas spirit.?br / We?re all trying to ?get into the spirit of Christmas.?br / That means different things to different people, of course.br / But generally, the ?Christmas spirit? meansbr /  feelings of hope, peace, joy, optimism, generosity,br /  friendship, family, community.br / Bottom line is, the Christmas spirit is joy. It?s happiness.br /  And it?s supposed to be contagious.br /br /But this year, there?s a complicating factor in the Christmas spirit.br / The economy.br /Listen to these news headlines from the last couple weeks:br / How to Renew Your Christmas Spirit with the Economy in the Dumpsbr / Sour Economy and Layoffs Dampen Holiday Spiritbr / Layoffs Could Put a Crimp in the Christmas Spiritbr / Shortage of Money Endangers the Christmas Spiritbr / Can Retailers Get Consumers into the Christmas Spirit?br /br /It?s clear that our culture makes a direct connectionbr / between the Christmas spirit and money,br / between happiness and our ability to buy, spend, and consume.br /br /But that should come as no surprise.br / All year round, every minute of every day,br /  we see evidence that our culture believesbr /  happiness is something that can be bought.br / And buy it we do.br / People literally try to purchase happiness by the dose:br /  by the bottle, by the shot, by the joint, by the hook-up.br /br /And don?t think this just applies to drugs and sex.br /All of us, at some level, at one time or another,br / try to purchase happiness.br / Whether in rich food, stylish clothing, sporty cars,br /  exciting entertainment, or exotic travel.br / Or simply buying new earrings, or a cool gadget,br /  or a Kline?s chocolate peanut-butter in a waffle cone . . .br / We buy in the hope that it might pull us out of our doldrums.br /br /Maybe it?s an effort to stave off sadness or maintain happiness.br /Maybe we buy because we like the sense of euphoria it brings,br / the momentary comfort, the feeling of pleasure . . .br /  even if the feeling is fleeting, which it always is.br /br /Now I don?t think anyone here truly believes, deep down,br / that money can buy lasting happiness.br /And that?s certainly not our conscious motivation,br / every time we go to the grocery, or department store,br /  or enjoy dinner and a movie.br /br /But I do think we are all on a quest for joy,br / for deep and lasting happiness.br / And on that quest, we are likely to try many different paths.br /  And most of those paths don?t lead us very far.br /br /It?s not that the quest is wrong.br / Not at all.br / On the contrary, it?s what God wants us to do.br / To pursue joy. To seek the full and abundant life.br /_____________________br /br /Every year on the third Sunday of Advent, Joy Sunday,br / the message of the scripture readingsbr / is that there is a way provided that leads to joy.br /There is a path, and God wants us to walk it.br /br /There is a Christmas spirit worth pursuing.br / But it has very little to do with sluggish retail sales,br /  or a falling Dow Jones,br /  or a diminishing 401K,br /  or rising unemployment.br /br /We have a lot to learn about joy in our scriptures.br /Let?s look first at the prophet and dreamer Isaiah.br /The words of Isaiah 61, told by Tilli Yoder,br / should surprise us, more than finding high Christmas spiritbr /  in the middle of economic collapse.br /Isaiah said to a lost people, in exile, abandoned and without hope,br / ?I?m here to bring good news to the oppressed,br /  to bind up the brokenhearted,br /  to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners.br / This is the year of the Lord?s favor.?br /br /Right in the middle of the people of Israel?s deepest suffering,br / when they stood ankle-deep in ashes,br / the dreaming prophet said,br /  ?I?m here to give you a garland instead of ashes,br /   to comfort all who mourn,br /   to anoint you with the oil of gladness,br /   to place on you the mantel of praise.?br /br /Oh yeah? Where was Isaiah?s evidence?br / On what grounds did the prophet have the nervebr /  to tell the people to cheer up, everything?s going to be fine?br / When the soil was hard and dry and cracked,br /  how could Isaiah dare talk about green shoots springing up?br /br /The joy Isaiah was dreaming aboutbr / was not joy based on happy circumstances.br /It was joy based on a larger vision.br / Isaiah was driven by a vision that came from God,br /  a vision of a peaceable kingdombr /  where God?s reign was unhindered,br /  where lion, wolf, lamb, and kid would live together in peace.br / Isaiah?s dream was faithful dreaming,br /  not wishful thinking.br /br / Wishful thinkers try to ignore present painful reality,br /  and imagine something new and beautiful into existence.br / Faithful dreamers do not deny the darkness that is,br /  but they start with the light.br /  They begin with God and God?s purposes for creation,br /   which cannot and will not, in the end, be thwarted.br /br /Faithful dreamers see with the eyes of faith.br /They don?t close their eyes to the facts.br / If they are standing in the middle of a dry river-bed,br /  they admit that the soil is dry and hard and cracked.br / But they refuse to let their lives be defined and ruled by that fact.br / They allow themselves, by faith, to sink their toes in the mudbr /  and watch the fish swim by.br / They dream God?s dream.br /br /We heard the same faithful dreaming this morningbr / in 1 Thessalonians, where Paul could tell persecuted Christiansbr /  to rejoice always, give thanks in all circumstances.br / And in the Gospel of John,br /  where in the midst of crushing oppression from Rome,br /   one of the darker periods of Israel?s history,br /  John the Baptist could come and, as it says,br /   ?testify to the light.?br /_____________________br /br /So maybe that?s the path to joy that all of us are looking for:br / Learning how to dream God?s dream.br /Maybe that?s the secret to living in a Christmas spirit year-round:br / Seeing with the eyes of faith.br /br /Well, yes it is, but something is missing.br / Let?s get practical. Let?s get real.br / If all we can say about living above the sorrows of life,br /  is ?have more faith? . . .br / If the only message of the church to a society gripped by fear,br /  is ?dream God?s dream? . . .br /  then I?m afraid we?re going to lose some folks.br /br /Because society has all kinds of practical solutions for our fears.br / And they?re for sale.br / What alternative do we have to offer?br / Well, I happen to think the church has a better alternative.br /  And it?s both simple and practical.br /  And I guarantee it will work.br / Three things we can do to stay on the path to joy:br /  blockquote style="font-style: italic;"Tell stories.br /  Stick together.br /  And love what God loves./blockquote_____________________br /br /Number 1, tell stories.br / That?s what Psalm 126 was about,br /  which we read a few minutes ago.br / The people were singing their story.br /br / When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,br /  we were like those who dream.br / Back then . . . our mouth was filled with laughter,br /  and our tongue with shouts of joy;br / Back then it was said among the nations,br /  ?The Lord has done great things for them.?br / The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.br /br /Past tense. This psalm is a look back . . . a history lesson in a song.br / The psalmist says to the people, ?Back in the day...br /  remember what God did,br /  and remember how we laughed??br / Finding the path of joy, requires looking back.br /  Joy is rooted and nourishedbr /   in the memory of God?s acts of mercy.br /br / Recalling the works of God in the past,br /  is the way we get oriented on this path of joy.br /  We can?t find our way down a hard path,br /   without knowing from whence we came.br / And to keep alive the memory of God?s mercy and goodness,br /  we have to be intentional, diligent.br /  We have to retell the stories. Over and over again.br /  Our culture is obsessed with anything and everything new.br /  That?s what drives the so-called ?Christmas spirit?br /   in the retail sector.br /   The desire for something else new.br /  As a culture, we?re losing the skill of cultivating memory,br /   of valuing where we have been.br /br / Joy is rooted in a deep familiarity with the Godbr /  who has been faithful to God?s people throughout history,br /  and is not going to abandon us now in the crisis of the day.br /_____________________br /br /The second practical activity on the path to joy,br / is sticking together.br / Maybe you didn?t know that Psalm 126br /  is part of a series of 15, from Psalm 120-134.br /  They?re called the psalms of ascent.br /   You?ll see that subtitle in your Bibles.br /  It is believed that the people sang these psalmsbr /   while they were on pilgrimage to the temple.br /  The temple was on top of a hill, Mt. Zion.br /   Thus, psalms of ascent.br /br / Picture a huge crowd of pilgrims,br /  men and women and children.br /  Out in front are the musicians playing trumpet, lute, and drum.br /  All are singing this song together, in rhythm with their steps,br /   slowly and steadily making their way togetherbr /   uphill toward the temple.br / The key part of this picture, of course,br /  is that nobody is walking up that hill alone.br /br / They?re each walking it themselves, but not alone.br / They have other pilgrims nearby to lift their spiritsbr /  when they get weary,br /  to encourage them, to egg them on.br / There are other pilgrims by their side,br /  to maintain joy on their behalf,br /  when they don?t have the personal capacity to sing.br /br / Sometimes we need people to pray what we cannot pray,br /  to see what we cannot see.br / Our pilgrimage is a pilgrimage of the people.br /  We walk together.br /  We encounter obstacles together.br /  We arrive together.br /  We meet God in worship together.br / There is no lasting Christian joybr /  without being in community.br /_____________________br /br /The third thing the church can do in an anxious and fearful culture,br / is to love what God loves.br /Maybe the most important five words in Isaiah?s dreambr / were in verse 8: ?I the Lord love justice.?br /br /Justice, or righteousness?same Hebrew word?br / is what God is all about.br /It defines the mission of God.br / God?s love and longing is to restore justice in all creation.br / God is the One who created all things right and justbr /  to begin with.br / And after creation, God said, ?This is very good.?br /  By those words, God declares what God loves.br /  God loves creation that is in harmony and peace,br /   each creature fulfilling its God-ordained part.br /   All in right relationship.br /   All reflecting God?s justice.br /br /So it stands to reason,br / that if we want to walk the path of joy,br /  we must orient our lives around what God loves.br / We will value what God values.br / We will live in the righteousness and justice of God.br /br /You know, if we were created in the image of God,br / doesn?t it make sense that we will be most alive,br /  and most fully human,br /  and most joy-full,br / when our passions line up with God?s passions,br / when our loves match God?s loves,br / when our values reflect God?s values.br /If we were created in God?s image,br / we will be at our bestbr /  when our lives accurately reflect that image.br / When we love what God loves.br /br /So the more familiar we are with what moves God,br / with where God?s heart is,br / and the more we pursue that,br / the more joy we will know in life.br /br /God?s heart is reconciling all people and creation to himself.br / God is moved to deep compassion for the poor and the suffering,br / God has a longing to restore those who are lost and wandering.br /Our path to joybr / is a path oriented around those longings and loves of God.br /br /In no way is this a denial of the sadness and tragedy and strugglebr / present in our lives in this world.br /In no way is this a suggestion that we should notbr / weep and grieve and lament and protest the darkness around us.br /The brokenness of the world is a reality.br / But it is not our starting point.br / We were created by God and for God.br / We were created in love and for love.br / We were created with joy and for joy.br /br /Even while we weep and mourn the sorrows of life,br / there is a deeper current, an underground river so to speak,br /  that is a river of joy . . .br / if we have aligned our loves with God?s loves,br /  our purposes with God?s purposes.br /br /It shouldn?t come as a surprise that a culture orientedbr / around self-fulfillment,br / around satisfying individual drives and desires,br / around the accumulation of material wealth and power,br /  is a culture that, when times are hard,br /  get paralyzed by fear, anxiety, and self-doubt.br /br /We as a church have an alternative to offer the world,br / if we make it our practice?br /  our continual practice, and our sacred practice?br /  blockquote style="font-style: italic;"to tell storiesbr /  to stick togetherbr /  to love what God loves./blockquoteWe will be a people of joybr / when we live as a community of memorybr / that commits itself togetherbr /  to orient itself around God?s mission and passion.br /We will be a people,br / who even in the midst of the most dire circumstances,br / can say with full confidence,br /  blockquote style="font-style: italic;"Faithful and true is the word of our God.br /  All of God?s works are so worthy of trust.br /  God?s mercy falls on the just and the right;br /  Full of God?s love is the earth.br /br /  We who revere and find hope in our Godbr /  Live in the kindness and joy of God?s wing.br /  God will protect us from darkness and death;br /  God will not leave us to starve.br /br /  God of creation, we long for your truth;br /  You are the water of life that we thirst.br /  Grant that your love and your peace touch our hearts,br /  All of our hope lies in you.*br /br //blockquoteGod of life,br / rain down your love and your joy on your people.br /br /?Philip L. Kniss, December 14, 2008br /br /*span style="font-size:85%;"from the song, "Rain Down," by Jaime Cortez, based on Psalm 33/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-5922838640904230282?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/5922838640904230282/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=5922838640904230282";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/5922838640904230282";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/5922838640904230282";s:4:"link";s:73:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2008/12/phil-kniss-in-search-of-christmas.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/14584052456977885511";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}i:24;a:12:{s:2:"id";s:70:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514.post-3924872086941433893";s:9:"published";s:29:"2008-12-07T12:00:00.001-05:00";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2008-12-10T07:45:06.534-05:00";s:5:"title";s:33:"Phil Kniss: Found by God at peace";s:12:"atom_content";s:15165:"span style="font-weight:bold;"December 7, 2008 /spanbr /span style="font-style:italic;"Advent 2: The comforting face of Godbr /Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to view video:/spanbr /embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=9115302602496356535hl=enfs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /embedbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;"Click "play" below to listen to audio only:/spanbr /embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://pvmchurch.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS8yMDgzMy91LzIwMDgtMTItMDdfRm91bmRfYnlfR29kX2F0X3BlYWNlLm1wMw/2008-12-07_Found_by_God_at_peace.mp3autoStart=no" quality="high"  width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" //embedbr /a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com"Powered by Podbean.com/abr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"(/spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pvmchurch.org/sermons/2008-12-07.pdf"click here for printer-friendly version/aspan style="font-style: italic;")/spanbr /br /This is Advent. The word means coming.br / God has come.br / God is come.br / God will come.br /Those are the great truths of the Christian faith.br / And in Advent, we celebrate them.br / God come. To be with us in Jesus Christ. Emmanuel.br /br /But simply to declare those truths begs some questions.br / This season of celebration is also known as br /  a season of spiritual searching.br / When God comes to us, what does God find?br / In what state does God find us?br /br /In the scriptures on the second Sunday of Advent,br / we always meet John the Baptist.br / We heard the story told by Tara this morning.br /br /The question of what God will find when he comes,br / is exactly the question John was dealing with.br /John was preparing the way for Jesus to come.br / Jesus the anointed one, the Messiah, was about to be revealed.br / John was getting the people ready.br /br /Which was no small task.br / Let?s recall what John and his Jewish peoplebr / were dealing with in the Middle East 2000 years ago.br /His Hebrew community of faith, the children of Abraham,br / were losing sight of their peoplehood,br / they were getting farther and farther from the covenant.br /Which was quite understandable.br / They were under extreme pressure.br / The Empire of Rome was slowly and surely crushing their identity.br / They were becoming more and more like the Romans and Greeks,br /  and most of the Hebrew people didn?t notice, and didn?t care.br / There were some sub-groups that were strong, almost separatist.br /  Pharisees, Sadducees, Nazarites, Zealots.br /  They tried their best to strengthen and renew the Jewish identity.br /   To help the people remember who they were.br /  These groups used vastly different methods?br /   ritual purity, fasting, denial, violent rebellion.br /  They operated out of different convictions, br /   different assumptions about what God wanted for the Jews.br /   So there was a lot of conflict between them.br /  Meanwhile, br /   God?s people were losing their communal moral grounding.br /br /Now . . . think about that description of a people.br / A faith community once close, cohesive, in covenant,br /  now fragmented, polarized,br /  under cultural and political pressure.br / A faith community losing their peoplehood in a hostile culture.br / A faith community losing touch with the corebr /  of who God called them to be in this world,br /  because they have assimilated into it, br /   rather than engage it with their faith.br /br /I could be describing 1st-century Palestinian Judaism.br /Or I could be describing 21st-century American Christianity.br /br /Seems like the social and spiritual state of affairsbr / in these two faith communities?br / are more similar, than they are different.br /So maybe John the Baptist?s message is relevant to us, too.br /br /Actually, John?s message wasn?t even original to him.br / He was comparing their state of affairs,br /  with that of his people hundreds of years earlier.br / John borrowed the text of his sermon directly from Isaiah,br /  the great prophet of Israel in the olden days.br / When the Hebrew people were floundering in exile,br /  Isaiah was calling them back into covenant.br /br /So here we have three vastly different cultures,br / in vastly different eras,br / over a period of 2,500 years,br / to which the same sermon applies.br / And it?s fresh every time.br /br /It goes like this,br /?People of God, remember who you are.br / Repent. Return to your God, to your covenant.br / Return to your mission and identity as a people of God.br / God is full of mercy. God will abundantly pardon.br /  God wants to move among you,br /   to form you as a people,br /   to partner with you, as a people,br /   to establish God?s reign in the world,br /   to bring about what is right and just,br /   to restore what has been broken.br / So repent, my people. Prepare the way for the Lord.?br /br /That is Isaiah?s message and John the Baptist?s message?br / a message to the lost people of God.br / Repent, people. Repent.br / But this is not the kind of repentance you might be thinking of.br /br /This is not exactly the same as the repentance called forbr / by a revival preacher inviting us to walk the sawdust trail.br / This is not you and me individually, feeling sorry,br /  being emotionally convicted of my personal sin.br / That might happen in the process.br / I very well might feel sorrow and regretbr /  for particular ways I?ve been disobedient to the covenant.br /br / But repentance is not the same as sorrow.br /  Repentance is not remorse.br /  Repentance is a change in our way of thinking.br /  The Greek word for repentance, metanoia,br /   literally means, to ?think again,? br /   to ?change one?s mind.?br /br / Thinking rightly, is the first step toward living rightly.br /  It doesn?t guarantee a change in behavior.br / But faithful thought,br /  points us toward faithful living.br / I?m not saying right thinking saves us.br /  No, right thinking prepares us for God?s coming.br /  It prepares us for the Advent God wants to usher in.br /  It makes us ready for God?s saving work.br /br /That?s why John the Baptist was very modest in his claims.br / He preached repentance, and he baptized.br / But he didn?t tell the people coming out of the water,br /  ?Okay, now you?re saved.?br / He said, ?Okay, now you?re ready for God to come to save you.?br / He said, ?I?m just the messenger.br /  One is about to come who will do the saving,br /   the Messiah.br /  Don?t look to me. Look to him.br /  I?m not even worthy to stoop down and untie his shoes.?br /br / Furthermore, this call to repentance br /  was a call to the whole community.br / People were individually being invited to respond, yes,br /  but the question they responded to was,br /  Do you want to identify yourself br /   with this new thing God wants to do with his people?br /  Are you ready to join this repenting communitybr /   who are going think differently about who they are,br /   and about what God is up to in this world?br /br /Communal repentance was the essential step of preparation.br / A change in thinking was exactly what the people needed br /  to get them ready.br /_____________________br /br /So if John the Baptist?s message applies to br / the lost people of God today,br / what would it look like for the church of Jesus Christ, in this place,br / to have communal repentance, br / a collective change in our thinking?br /It?s a big question. But it?s worth wrestling with.br / And we don?t wrestle with it often enough as a church.br / Critical thinking takes a lot of work, and time, and energy.br /br /Much easier to go with the flow, with what seems to work.br / If what we?re doing here in churchbr /  looks good, feels good, sounds good,br /  it must be good.br /br /The trouble with that line of thinking is,br / our thoughts and values are so deeply formedbr /  by the culture around us,br /  that what looks good to our culture looks good to us.br / And we end up with a bunch of ?successful churches?br /  that are mirror images of the culture around them . . .br /  where big is better than small,br /  where popular is better than unpopular,br /  where now is better than later,br /  where security is better than risk,br /  where individual happiness and personal fulfillmentbr /   is the ultimate goal.br / Trouble with that line of thinking is,br /  we end up with a kind of church and a kind of Christianitybr /  that is just one more product to market, to advertize,br /   and to sell to individual consumers.br / God and religion are just one more pathbr /  to a better life, a happier and more secure life.br / So the ?good life? is our end, and God is our means.br /br /Brothers and sisters,br / whenever anyone makes the God of all creationbr /  into the means for achieving something they want,br /  they have just committed the sin of idolatry.br / Idolatry is something we religious people are very good at.br /br /That?s what was getting John the Baptist all riled up.br / His people had lost themselves.br /They had become good citizens of the Roman Empire,br / but they had stopped depending on the God who walked with thembr /  out of physical and social and spiritual slavery.br / They were opting for the safe path.br / They chose not to risk the wrath of the Emperor,br /  by openly declaring their undivided loyalty to Yahweh,br /   the God of Abraham.br / John was inviting them to repent,br /  to think differently about themselves,br /  to think differently about their God.br /br /That?s the only thing that would prepare them adequately,br / for what God was about to do among them, br / in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.br /_____________________br /br /We really are in the same boat today. Most of us.br / We play it safe.br / We put our security where our culture puts its security.br /  In the strength of the dollar.br /  In the rise of the stock market.br /  In the ability to buy all the stuff we want,br /   and protect ourselves from those who would take it from us.br /br /But a collective, communal repentance of God?s people todaybr / would completely reorient us as a church.br / We would stop thinking of church as br /  just another group to belong to,br /   or activity to attend,br /   or charitable cause to support,br /   or spiritual product to consume.br / Being an active part of the people of Godbr /  participating in the mission of God in the worldbr /  would be the?I said THE?orienting reality of life.br / It would form our values and shape our thinking.br /br /So when we face threatening circumstancesbr / such as the world faces today?br / economically, socially, militarily, environmentally,br / our instinctive response would not be to hunker down in fear,br /  or to slip into our protective shell,br /  and hold on to what we have for dear life.br /No, reoriented people of God ask people-of-God type questions.br / They look for signs of God?s reign br /  even in the midst of a desolate wilderness.br / And they live in genuine hope.br /  And deep trust.br /  And peace.br /  And comfort.br / They live in a spirit of readiness for God?s salvation.br /br /Our hope and comfort and peace come br / from the voices we choose to listen to.br /A repentant, reoriented people of Godbr / will hear the voice of God in the desert,br / saying, ?the valleys will be lifted up, br /  the rough places made level,br /  and the glory of the Lord will be revealed.?br /br /They don?t consider it folly,br / when in the middle of a long exile,br / they hear a welcome word, like Isaiah?sbr / ?Here is your God!br /  He will feed his flock like a shepherd; br /   he will gather the lambs in his arms, br /  and carry them in his bosom, br /   and gently lead the mother sheep.?br /br /They don?t read Psalm 85 as wishful thinking . . .br / ?For God the Lord will speak peace to his people . . . br /  Surely his salvation is at hand . . . br /  Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; br /   righteousness and peace will kiss each other.?br /br /They take it as genuine encouragement,br / not religious mumbo-jumbo,br / when they read the apostle?s words in 2 Peter,br / ?The Lord is not slow about his promise . . . br /  Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, br /   strive to be found by God at peace.?br / God is coming.br /  Strive to be found by God at peace.br /br /When God?s people repent together, br / when they turn in their thinking and their living,br / and reorient themselves around the hopeful truthbr / that God has come, God is come, and God will come in Jesus Christ,br /  it changes everything.br / It brings deep hope and trust.br / It brings a centeredness to life.br / It brings peace.br / br /It makes them ready for the present and future Advent of God in Christ.br / I think this is at the heart of what we at Park View Mennonitebr /  are trying to do,br /  as we begin a process of re-examining our vision,br /   and our priorities as a congregation.br / It will be an opportunity for communal repentance,br /  for a collective change in our thinking about ourselves,br /   and about what God is up to in the world.br / It will put us in a position for God?s Advent among us.br /  It will make us ready for God?s saving work.br /  It won?t save us, anymore than good works saves anyone.br /  God saves. And repentance gets us ready.br /br /So whenever and however God comes, br / we will be found at peace.br /We will, like the hymn writer put it,br / have our hope built on nothing less than Jesus.br /?When Christ shall come with trumpet sound, br / oh, may we then in him be found, br / dressed in his righteousness alone, br / faultless to stand before the throne.?br /br / ?Philip L. Kniss, December 7, 2008br /brbrspan style="font-style:italic;"[To leave a comment, click on "comments" link below and write your comment in the box. When finished, click on "Other" as your identity, and type in your real name. Then click "Publish your comment."]/spanbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");br /document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));br //scriptbr /script type="text/javascript"br /var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-5697941-1");br /pageTracker._trackPageview();br //scriptdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2419340047340611514-3924872086941433893?l=www.pvmcsermons.com'//div";s:12:"link_replies";s:156:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/3924872086941433893/comments/defaulthttps://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2419340047340611514&postID=3924872086941433893";s:9:"link_edit";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/3924872086941433893";s:9:"link_self";s:82:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default/3924872086941433893";s:4:"link";s:72:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/2008/12/phil-kniss-found-by-god-at-peace.html";s:11:"author_name";s:10:"Phil Kniss";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:3:"thr";a:1:{s:5:"total";s:1:"0";}}}s:7:"channel";a:13:{s:2:"id";s:45:"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2419340047340611514";s:7:"updated";s:29:"2009-06-23T13:47:43.309-04:00";s:5:"title";s:34:"Park View Mennonite Church sermons";s:8:"subtitle";s:409:"This space is devoted to sharing the sermons preached at Park View Mennonite Church, in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Please feel free to read, listen to, or watch any of these sermons, and then offer your comments, questions, or reflections, using the "comment" link at the end of each sermon. May these sermons challenge you to think and to act in new ways, and to grow in grace and in faithfulness to God's call.";s:42:"link_http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed";s:46:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/feeds/posts/default";s:9:"link_self";s:62:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default";s:4:"link";s:27:"http://www.pvmcsermons.com/";s:9:"link_next";s:92:"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2419340047340611514/posts/default?start-index=26&max-results=25";s:11:"author_name";s:26:"Park View Mennonite Church";s:10:"author_uri";s:51:"http://www.blogger.com/profile/01098933210873336385";s:12:"author_email";s:19:"noreply@blogger.com";s:9:"generator";s:7:"Blogger";s:10:"opensearch";a:3:{s:12:"totalresults";s:2:"92";s:10:"startindex";s:1:"1";s:12:"itemsperpage";s:2:"25";}}s:9:"textinput";a:0:{}s:5:"image";a:0:{}s:9:"feed_type";s:4:"Atom";s:12:"feed_version";N;s:8:"encoding";s:10:"ISO-8859-1";s:16:"_source_encoding";s:0:"";s:5:"ERROR";s:0:"";s:7:"WARNING";s:0:"";s:19:"_CONTENT_CONSTRUCTS";a:6:{i:0;s:7:"content";i:1;s:7:"summary";i:2;s:4:"info";i:3;s:5:"title";i:4;s:7:"tagline";i:5;s:9:"copyright";}s:16:"_KNOWN_ENCODINGS";a:3:{i:0;s:5:"UTF-8";i:1;s:8:"US-ASCII";i:2;s:10:"ISO-8859-1";}s:5:"stack";a:0:{}s:9:"inchannel";b:0;s:6:"initem";b:0;s:9:"incontent";b:0;s:11:"intextinput";b:0;s:7:"inimage";b:0;s:13:"current_field";s:0:"";s:17:"current_namespace";b:0;s:13:"last_modified";s:31:"Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:47:43 GMT
";s:4:"etag";s:30:"W/"A0UCQn07cSl7ImA9WxJWF0o."
";}