Can we eradicate poverty?

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson gave the State of the Union address shortly following the death of President John F. Kennedy.  Part of that address was focused on poverty and its grip on America.  We still are plagued by the problem of poverty and many things have not changed.  What can the church do to begin down the road once again of eradicating poverty?

-->

"...Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope -- some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity....

Poverty is a national problem, requiring improved national organization and support. But this attack, to be effective, must also be organized at the State and the local level and must be supported and directed by State and local efforts. For the war against poverty will not be won here in Washington. It must be won in the field, in every private home, in every public office, from the courthouse to the White House.

 The program I shall propose will emphasize this cooperative approach to help that one-fifth of all American families with incomes too small to even meet their basic needs.  Our chief weapons in a more pinpointed attack will be better schools, and better health, and better homes, and better training, and better job opportunities to help more Americans, especially young Americans, escape from squalor and misery and unemployment rolls where other citizens help to carry them.

 Very often a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of poverty, but the symptom. The cause may lie deeper -- in our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent communities in which to live and bring up their children.  But whatever the cause, our joint Federal-local effort must pursue poverty, pursue it wherever it exists -- in city slums and small towns, in sharecropper shacks or in migrant worker camps, on Indian Reservations, among whites as well as Negroes, among the young as well as the aged, in the boom towns and in the depressed areas."

 May we find ways to move the vision of LBJ forward.

Oh the things that happen in a month

It has been a month since last posting.  How things have changed.  Went on a mission trip to Houston with Middle School youth and spent the week going hard and fast serving at different soup kitchens, clearing brush at the Arboretum and at the oldest African American cemetery, and sorting food at the Houston Food Bank.  It was a wonderful and busy week and I enjoyed spending time with the middle school youth who went. 

The day before leaving, I told the head of staff and associate pastor that I would be resigning my position because my wife had been placed in a CPE residency in Kansas City, MO.  After returning from the mission trip, life has been a whirlwind.  Trying to clean out my office, leave things in as good an order as is possible and starting to pack and sort things at home as well. 

I move without a job.  I am terrified and excited all at the same time.  It is a new adventure to see what God has in store.  There is much to be done and much to be excited about. 

Cloud Atlas

The last 2 days, Sally and I have watched Cloud Atlas.  A 2012 movie that is one story woven through 6 time periods.  It is a movie that must be watched several times to catch deeper and interwoven plots.  I am fascinated with its commentary on the power structure of the modern world.  One of the themes as it flashes through several different time periods is that "boundaries are conventions," and that boundaries are to be transcended.

But what does this look like?
What are the boundaries that we are presented with?
What are the boundaries with which I keep myself constrained?
What are boundaries that I need to transcend for myself?  That I need to help others transcend?
What are social and political conventions that no longer work and need to be brought down?
Who are the people who are my allies?

More questions than answers.
More pondering is required.
However, there are small steps I can take in transcending the boundaries I constrain myself with.

So now it is Friday

Well, it is Friday and I haven't posted in a couple days.  Life has gotten busy and I remember that I haven't blogged just about the time I am ready to go to bed.  After a day of hiking, haircuts, hanging with the elementary kids at church, and honoring a high school graduate, I am taking a few minutes to write. 

Tomorrow I must spend time working on my exam for my Christian Educator Certification.  I have some writing to do.  Some of the writing is very much about me focusing on what my passions are, how they are informed by my academic knowledge, and how they play out in the life of the church. 
I need to put more of myself into this project and let my passions come across.  Hope to post some of the work tomorrow.

oops

So I got caught up in listening to the OU Women's softball game against Tennessee for the national title last night and forgot to write anything.  Makes me want to change a quote from Airplane to "looks like I picked the wrong week to start blogging everyday."  Oh well, like I said the first night, this isn't about being perfect, it is about getting started. 

I also spent a lot of time yesterday reading other blogs, particularly ones on organization.  I am fascinated with organization and I think there are some incredible ideas, but I need to figure out ways to help myself stay organized.  I have tried lots of different things, but I find that they get cumbersome.  So here's to finding ideas and trying to adapt them to fit my not so organized style.

What a day

No earth shattering information today, just lots of frustration with my car.  Last night I went out to my car and it would not start.  I called my dad to let him listen to it.  He thought it was the battery.  I was frustrated because of how my car was parked and it would be only possible to jump the battery with extra long cables and it really didn't do me any good to call on a Sunday night as no place would be open anyway. 

I had decided to wait until morning.  However, on a whim while walking the dog once last time for the night, I tried starting my car.  First, I flipped on the headlights and they came on.  I tried to turn the ignition over and it whirred like before.  I tried it again and it tried to turn over.  The third time it turned over, but died quickly.  On the fourth time, the car fired much to my surprise. 

I grabbed the dog and put her in the car and jumped in to keep it running and went for a drive.  I called my dad again and talked to him for a minute.  Yes, I needed to drive for a while to give the alternator a chance to charge the battery a bit.  I drove up and down Mo-Pac and 183 for about 30 minutes, very glad that I had filled the gas tank a few days before. 

I got home and decided that I would get up early, take care of the dog and then pray the car would start so I could drive to the dealership.  I had phone numbers for a couple of options for jump starting my car and I had been smart enough to back into the parking place so jump starting the car was actually a possibility. 

Much to my relief, the car started this morning on the 2nd try.  So I drove to the dealership to get a new battery and to go ahead with the next 5k service which was close to being due anyway.    Then there was an hour wait to get the shuttle to work and later in the day, a 2 hour wait after calling from work to get a shuttle to take me back to the dealer. 

So at the end of the day, I drove out of the dealership with a new battery, tires rotated, oil changed, an alignment and wheel balance, so hopefully the mechanical issues are taken care of for awhile.  I so didn't need to add that to my day.

Trying to get back to blogging

So it has been over 2 years since I last blogged.  My new goal is to try and blog everyday.  I need to start writing more often.  I want to publish Christian Education books and children's theology books, but I have been scared to do it.  I have been scared of rejection and have found more excuses not to write, but it is time to change that.    Like most things, writing gets easier and better the more it is practiced.  I have lots of ideas running around in my head, but I need to give them space to begin to breathe. 

I would like to write about the importance of teaching children theological language.  The church has its own unique language, but we have neglected to continue to pass it down.  Leonard Sweet speaks to this in his book the Gospel According to Starbucks.  He talks about how if you order at Starbucks, but don't know the lingo, they will teach it to you.  They will repeat what you want back to you in the appropriate terms.  You say small, Starbucks says tall.  In the church we talk about theology, grace, sin, salvation - but how do we explain these concepts to children?  How do we help equip their parents to be the primary spiritual educator?  Are we truly passing down the faith, or are we simply passing down a set of guidelines and behaviors for the next generation to follow?

I would love to write a series of children's books on theological doctrines.  I would also love to write a children's book about the dog that Sally and I rescued.  Her name is Tilly and she was a breeding dog in a puppy mill.  She is a sweet and loving dog and it is amazing to see how she has come out of her shell in the last six months.  She is a totally different dog, from the frightened little one who came into our home last December. 

I know I may miss a day here and there, especially while on the mission trip with the middle school youth, but I want to write more days than not.  To make use of this space to begin to flesh out ideas for future books.

thoughts on Osama bin Laden

I typically post my sermons and such as I have gotten out the habit of blogging. Perhaps this is a chance to get back to it. The recent news of Osama's death has been interesting to watch, especially through the eyes of social media. Many posts I have seen are patriotic and celebratory.

Now, I will not deny that this man has been responsible in some way for countless numbers of death around the world over the years. But does that fact make it right to celebrate his death? Does the loss of life ever warrant celebration.

Hitler, Saddaam Hussein, and others of this sort need to be stopped, but loss of life is still loss of life. Marked with solemnity and reverence for life, not a party like atmosphere in front of the White House.

I think what causes me to pause most is the number of pro life folks who seem to be all about the death of bin Laden...does that not seem strange? How they value a human life that has not even been born but yet celebrate the death of another? I had a friend point this out to me several years ago and caused me to rethink my position on the death penalty.

Death of bin Laden - justice done or just a human life lost?

Maundy Thursday Sermon

An Ordinary Day
Maundy Thursday 2011

It was an ordinary day. Breakfast was being served. The man of the house was off to work. The woman of the house was off to a meeting. Then, the nanny storms down the stairs and announces she has had enough, the children have run away for the last time and she quits. (pause)

The opening song sung by Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins begins with “Winds in the east, mist coming in, like something is brewin’ about to begin” It was an ordinary day that would not stay that way. For the Banks family, the ordinary was about to change.

For the disciples, their world was about to turn upside down. These are the stories that we will tell together as we enter the Triduum. The Great Three Days. The disciples had no way to know what was brewin’. They had entered Jerusalem a few days before with Jesus. Then the crowds had dissipated. Jesus had been teaching in the temple. Life seemed ordinary. They were preparing for the Passover. John’s gospel takes place as the disciples were gathering with Jesus for an evening meal. An ordinary evening meal just before the Passover. But what would follow would seem to be anything but ordinary.

They were sharing a meal, but during dinner, Jesus got up and did something they did not expect. He took off his outer garment, took a towel and took a basin and filled it with water and began to wash their feet.

Footwashing in the first century was ordinary. Footwashing was customary. People walked everywhere. Their shoes were no more than leather tied to the bottom of their feet. Feet were dusty when it was dry and muddy when it was wet. There were usually pots of water and basins and towels at the door so people could wash their feet. But washing feet was one of the most menial tasks. Usually given to a servant or slave, it was not for the master. The holy is under the ordinary.

The meal was ordinary. An evening meal shared with friends. The disciples probably ate meals together more often than not. But we know that like the footwashing this ordinary event was changed as Jesus took the bread and the cup and made them symbols. Bread and wine, now made symbols to help them re-member their time together. The holy is under the ordinary.

How many ordinary acts do we experience in a day? We stand with Peter as he protests Jesus’ act. Peter protests as he can only see the ordinary. He could only see his teacher, his Lord washing his feet, a job for servants. He could not see that to receive Jesus’ act of hospitality and love was to be included into the days ahead. Peter could not see that he was participating in the holy.

Jesus comments that Peter does not understand what is happening, but that later he will. As Jesus finishes washing their feet, he puts on his robe and takes his place at the table with them. He tells them that he has set an example for them to follow. That if he as their Lord and master can serve them in this way, then they too should serve one another.

As the evening goes on Jesus leaves them with a commandment to love one another as he has loved them. A commandment that he has enacted in the footwashing. It is a commandment not to wash feet as we might see at the surface, but a commandment to seek the holy underneath the ordinary. To find the holiness in an everyday act. When the holiness is uncovered for all to see, people will undoubtedly know these are Jesus disciples, there is a difference in the action, the people will see acts done in love.

We are given this commandment as well. Today was probably an ordinary day for most. Got up, went to work, went through our daily routines, but tonight we have joined together to mark the beginning of Triduum.

We have come to remember, not a first century scene of dinner and footwashing, but to participate in it, to remember it here and now, and to be re-membered into it.
We are here to seek the holy beneath the ordinary.
To seek the holy in bread and wine,
to seek the holy in water and basin,
to seek the holy in handshakes and hugs
to seek the holy under the ordinary.

In the midst of the ordinary, how do we know what the holy looks like? In Mary Poppins it is seeing the woman on the steps of St Paul’s feeding the birds, it is in the tupins that Michael gives to his father, it is in the act of mending a kite and going to the park where father and son enjoy the afternoon. So what about our lives?

The holy lurks in conversation over a cup of coffee.
In reconnecting by phone with an old friend.
The holy waits for us in being church, hosting IHN, providing for those in need, providing meals for families who are sick and for families who mourn,
The holy is here at the table,
in the bread and in the cup,
it is in the basins and water
and in those who will wash feet.

As we enter the Great Three days, where might you find the Holy lurking? Where do you see the love of Christ that calls us into community, that calls us to be disciples, to love one another as we have been loved by Jesus. As we remember, reenact, and relive the stories over the next three days be looking, the holy is under the ordinary.

Where is the Pneuma blowing?

A cold blustery as the season of Lent begins. The residents of the small French village are shuffling into the Cathedral just off the town square. The mayor stands at the door of the church welcoming them. He clearly is in control. Everyone knows their place. The people look the other way rather than see what is right in front of them. The grieving widow still grieves, even after 42 years. A boy is not allowed to be a boy and run and play with the others, he is protected by his mother. A woman is an abused wife, but stays with her husband. She remarks that if you don’t fall in line with the town traditions then you are crazy. They all have their place. The town believes in order.

Just as the town portrayed in the 2001 movie, Chocolat, I think we all seek order. We like life to follow predictable patterns. Morning routines, Sunday morning worship, we like to know what to expect, to know what comes next. We are content to go about our daily lives having an idea of where life will lead us today, of what tomorrow could bring. I think Nicodemus sought that too.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, he was a ruler among his people. He stood on generations of wisdom and education. He liked the predictable. He liked the expected. Like the mayor of the small French village, he liked everyone in their place. The problem is, that things do not always stay predictable, orderly.

In the French village, the worship service starts, the congregation sings “come Holy Ghost, creator come, and take possession of our souls and make them thine own…” A strange wind begins to blow. Candles flicker. The scene changes to two figures cloaked in red, walking along the outskirts of the city blown in by a stiff wind. A woman, Vianne, and her daughter. They have come to rent the local patisserie just across the square from the church. They complete the deal with the landlady as the worship service continues.

The young priest mounts the pulpit speaking about the Season of Lent. A time for abstinence, reflection and penitence, the mayor quotes along. The priest continues the wind whistles through the church. “Where will we find truth?” asks the priest. The church doors blow wide open with a strong gust of wind. The mayor rises and quickly moves to close the doors, but only after a bit of a struggle.

The chocolatrie is something new The mayor does not want change. Not while he is in control. He writes the sermons for the young priest, he controls what the people hear. He protects the traditions and the generations of the way of life of the small town. He leads through is own example and watches over his village. He trusts the wisdom of past generations.

How many doors do we shut to keep out the winds of change? I, for one, am not a fan of the daylight savings time as it messes with my routines. We resist having to change our driving patterns for construction or special events. We argue that “we’ve always done it that way” to prevent changes to traditions. We seek truth, but are we willing to let it change us?

Jesus had been performing signs during the Passover. Many people came to faith because of what they saw. The Pharisees had seen the signs too. But what Nicodemus and others had witnessed during the Passover was anything but predictable. Nicodemus trusted the wisdom of generations and was a believer in tradition as well. Nicodemus was well versed in Hebrew Scripture, but he could sense something new was blowing into town. Nicodemus seeks out Jesus. He comes by night. We are not given any clues as to why Nicodemus comes by night. Maybe the fear of being found out? Maybe it was the only time for uninterrupted conversation? Maybe his questions about Jesus and the signs he has been performing have kept him awake?

As we listen in on the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus, Nicodemus respectfully addresses Jesus as “Rabbi.” He seems to have come honestly seeking to gain understanding into what he and others have witnessed. Even though he comes seeking, Nicodemus is unprepared for what he finds.

The encounter with Jesus does nothing to restore order it only confuses the Pharisee further. Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above. This can be translated 2 ways in Greek. Born again or born from above. Nicodemus takes the literal meaning, puzzled by how a grown person can be physically born again. Jesus answers him with another play on words. Jesus tells him again he must be born from above, be born of the Spirit, Pneuma. In the verses that follow Jesus speaks of the wind, pneuma, blowing where it chooses and that one knows neither where it comes from nor where it goes. At this point, Nicodemus asks “How can this be?”

So what is this born again/ born from above thing? How do we hear this today? Growing up in the Bible belt I hear the phrase and think of all my friends who came from traditions that practiced a believers baptism. For them, being born again was about a specific event that was when they accepted Christ. In my own understanding, I don’t really point to one event, I was baptized as an infant and I have always been on a journey of faith. I think the key is that we start on this journey of faith and that we open ourselves to the Spirit moving in our lives.

Too often, whether we come to faith at birth or later in life, we become complacent in our faith and we stick to the predictable routines. They are comfortable. It is like taking the same path to work everyday, it is familiar.

Just as Nicodemus is stumped by the born again/born from above thing, he is further confused by the play on Pneuma, the Greek word for both Spirit and wind. I can imagine Nicodemus thinking to himself, “what on Earth is Jesus talking about? I have read and studied the Hebrew Scritpures but I have never heard of anything like this.”

Just like Nicodemus, the Mayor encounters something he did not expect. As the movie Chocolat continues to unfold, the community begins to slowly change. They begin to live into the breath of fresh air that has blown in with Vianne and her chocolate. The changes occur slowly and often outside of the sight of Vianne. She becomes discouraged.

As she is set to leave, she hears laughter in the kitchen. She is surprised and touched to find members of the community finishing preparations for the Easter day celebration. The mayor watches from his office window and is distraught as he watches members of the community whom he trusts, going in and out of the chocolatrie. He can take no more and under the cover of night, he breaks in and destroys the window display and in doing so gets chocolate on his lip. He is overcome with the taste and is discovered the next morning asleep among the chocolate.

He finally gives into the encounter with Vianne. He finally gives into the encounter he has with this woman who came with the wind. There is a lightening of the spirit in the town. A freedom from complacency, from predictable order.

Nicodemus is offered this same freedom. He has encountered the living God. He is given the opportunity to be open to the movement of the Spirit. His spiritual rebirth is nothing he can do on his own as the Spirit will blow where it will. We see Nicodemus briefly later in the Gospel of John, once to defend Jesus and at the end as he brings the burial spices after Jesus’ crucifixion. We do not know much about this man, but his actions speak to the beginnings of letting the Spirit blow as it will and perhaps blow Nicodemus beyond his predictable life.

We too encounter the living Word. We too can experience a spiritual rebirth. The Holy Spirit blows where she wants and to have been born of the Spirit is to surrender to her movements, to follow where we are led. We do not know what old parts of our lives will be blown away or what new experiences will blow into our lives.

Where are the places in our lives that we experience the winds of change? Where are there places that we need to seek the leadings of the Spirit to guide us to something new? This breath of fresh air blows not only into our lives individually, but into our life together as well. Where do we as a church need to seek change? Where is the Spirit blowing new life into Westminster Presbyterian Church?

If we are willing to be open to encountering Jesus, willing to be born again, willing to follow as the spirit leads us, where might the freedom from predictable order take us? May we be willing to follow where the pneuma may blow.

Starting the Easter Prep

Dear Fellow Followers of the Way:
I know it is not Easter yet, but meetings are underway to plan for Holy Week, and last week a few of us attended a seminar at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary about The Great Three Days. Westminster Presbyterian Church has a tradition of celebrating Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil during Holy Week. They may sound like three separate services, but in actuality they are one service that spans across the days. There are lots of parts to read and prayers to be prayed. Many in the congregation will have a part to play.

You might look at the schedule for Holy Week and think “Wow! Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. That is a lot of church!” The reality of it is that it is time that we spend together retelling our story, the story of who we are and how we got here.
We begin in the upper room as Jesus shares a meal with the disciples and washes their feet. We journey through the chaos of Good Friday to the cross upon which Jesus dies. We join on Saturday to retell the salvation history of the people of God and to celebrate the Risen Christ.

This is about storytelling. And just as with good storytelling, you have to take your time and tell the stories with care. It is important for us to bring the past into our present memory, to continue to sit together and retell the story every year. These are the stories that we want to become a part of the very core of who we are. That is why we like to have lots of people involved in retelling these stories.

You may still think that it makes for a lot of church. I invite you to mark you calendars now however to be a part of this great story. Step out as you need to, there are others who will continue to tell the story, to keep the story flowing, but remember this is your story, it is our story so plan to come and join is as much of the Great Three Days as is possible.

Grace, Mercy and Peace,
Karen

Weekly Word for August

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Dear Fellow Followers of the Way:

I have been reading a book entitled Shift. It is a book about family ministry based on the Shema. These verses have long been a part of daily prayer life of Judaism. As you read the verses above, the first part is a declaration of One God and of having faith with all that we are in that One God. Then in verse 7 we are instructed to recite these words to your children and to talk about them at home and away.

While this text is nothing new, it is a great reminder to all of us that church and home are inseparable. Parents are the primary religious educators as children learn from watching their parents. Prayers at mealtimes, at the beginning and/or end of the day, and reading the Bible are great ways for families to engage in spiritual disciplines at home.

If you feel like you don’t know the Bible stories, get a children’s Bible and read stories with your children. Talk about what happens in the story and where God is acting. Ask your children where they have seen God in the world today. Maybe in the sunset, or in a bright blue sky, maybe they have seen God in someone they interacted with at school or at the store with you.

Get involved in the life of the church as well. When children know their parents are going to Sunday school or going to worship, they see that as well. There are several Sunday School classes for adults as well as different opportunities for children. Serve as a greeter and have your child serve with you; have your elementary student sing in the children’s choir, have your youth participate in youth group events, come to all church events like the retreat at Mo Ranch or the upcoming events such as Hands Across Exposition or the Barn Dance. Let your children see your faith at home and help them build it by becoming and active part of the church family of Westminster. We are a great family of faith. Let us all remember to serve the One True God with all that we are and to tell our children about God.

Grace, Mercy and Peace,

Karen

Ordinary Time

Dear Fellow Followers of the Way:

In recent weeks I have found myself drawn back to a book by Renita Weems Listening for God. It is a book made up of short stories about her spiritual journey as a pastor and theologian with all of the ups and downs that all of us encounter in our spiritual lives. One I was reading this past week is entitled “Ordinary Time.” In it she speaks of how in discovering the liturgical calendar in seminary, she began to make sense of how she felt in her personal life.

Ordinary time makes up the majority of the church year. We get excited for Advent and Christmas, for Lent and Easter, for Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, for the high holy days of the church year. There is special music, colors in the sanctuary change, the mood of worship changes. The well known stories line us up for encounters with our God who is mysterious and wholly other. We wait with Mary for the incarnation, for the birth of the Christ child; we engage in the solemn feast of Maundy Thursday and marvel with great joy the resurrection on Easter morn; and we wonder with amazement the tongues of fire as the Holy Spirit breaks forth on Pentecost. But the rest of the year is ordinary time.

However, ordinary time is not ordinary. All time is God’s and therefore all time is holy. It is a time however like summer, a time when our pace slows just a bit. I look at the calendar and can hardly believe it is the end of July. There are not as many meetings or other events going on. Committees are taking some time off. We take vacations and enjoy other hobbies. We take a deep breath.

A deep breath which is in contrast to the breathlessness that we experience in the midst of the other liturgical seasons. A deep breath as we may find God silent, but we know God is ever present. The stories we read show God’s presence in the everyday of life. The parables we have been exploring this summer are great examples of how God is always at work around us. Ordinary time is a chance to look for the everyday miracles around us and to reflect on how God is working in us and through us.

This week I invite you to take a deep breath. Look around you at the ordinary, everyday miracles of God. Pause in conversation with the Divine and reflect on how God is at work in your life.

Grace, Mercy and Peace,
Karen

From Fear to Hope

A sermon I preached recently. I had never preaching on a Revelation text before this. Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 21-22

A simple prayer. Spoken by a child as part of the prayer before dinner. Spoken in times of great anxiety. Three words. An invitation. A plea.

Dark clouds roll in. The sky turns a eerie shade of green. In the fading light of the day, a tail drops down from the clouds. A tornado forms. Sirens blare. Families scurry to take shelter. It sounds like a freight train. Come Lord Jesus!

Three words; an invitation; a plea. Eighteen inches of rain fall in a day. Water overwhelms everything. The river continues to rise. The waters crest and spill out of the river banks. The streets become cement-bottomed creeks. Homes are destroyed. Water seeps in; mud follows the water; people are displaced. For those who don’t speak English are left behind. Come Lord Jesus!

Three words; an invitation; a plea. The economy takes a downturn. Banks are struggling. There are rising costs of food and of gas. There is less money coming in; but it takes more money to stay afloat. Credit cards become an easy way out, but then personal debt increases. There is more and more debt and less and less money. Retirement savings take a hit. There isn’t going to be enough money to retire just yet. The worry over money begins to take a physical toll. Money for health care just isn’t in the budget. What to do now? Come Lord Jesus!

Three words; an invitation; a plea. When we are anxious, these words are spoken as a plea. We don’t know the outcome of an event, we are overwhelmed by apprehension and fear, we begin to doubt ourselves and our judgment. We become paralyzed by fear.

There is much to be anxious about in the world today. Every time we turn on the TV or pick up the paper, the news seems dire. Natural disasters have been in the forefront of the news almost weekly it seems. The economy is still uncertain. There is still unrest in the middle east. We encounter news that makes us nervous about what will happen next. We may feel that there is nothing we can do to help the situation. We get stuck. Come Lord Jesus!

The community to whom Revelation is written would have been anxious too. They faced persecution from the Roman Empire. If caught meeting, they could be killed. They longed for Christ to return. We have the stories in the Gospels of the disciples gathering behind locked doors after Christ’s crucifixion, the early church was in hiding as well. Their world was filled with struggle and catastrophe too. They were anxious about the future. But it didn’t stop them from gathering. As they gathered, they sang, read, prayed and ate together.


Revelation was a letter written to be read in community, to be read with the gathered faithful. They are words that speak to the fear and anxiety of the believers, to the fear and anxiety of the world. Words to calm the doubts of those who don’t feel safe. Words of reassurance. Words to remind them of their agency in the kingdom, to remind them of what they are at their best. Words to bring hope. These final words of the Bible are eschatological in nature. Eschatology, the doctrine of last things, the doctrine of hope.

German theologian Jurgen Moltman, wrote A Theology of Hope. He speaks to the hope we as Christians find in the resurrection of Christ. On this ascension Sunday, we look toward the fulfillment of the promises of Christ. The promise that we have a great high priest who has suffered as we suffer and who has triumphed over death that those who believe may have eternal life. The fulfillment of this promise ensures us that we will be made new and makes us long for that day. We see the world around us and know that this isn’t what we have been promised. Our hope gives us a purpose, to work for the coming of the kingdom of God.

Christ will return and is bringing reward to the faithful. Those who keep doing the work of the kingdom will be brought into the gates, will be given access to the tree of life. They had not been abandoned. Christ was in control. As they gathered together, Christ came into their midst. The community was important in continuing to hope for the coming kingdom. They all faced persecution, but they could hold onto each other.

Isn’t that why we hold onto church? To gather and welcome the Risen Christ into our midst? A place where there are others to hold the Christ light for us when we are living in the night time of fear. (Servant Song). Ascension Sunday is about hope. Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega has gone before us and there is nothing outside of Christ. We are not left alone.

We are in the here and now, but we believe and trust that this is not all there is. We name the injustices within the world, we work toward bringing about the kingdom. Christ calls to the church in the final words of Revelation. It is a call to the faithful to continue to work. It is a call to action. We cannot sit passively. Church, our faith are not a spectator sports.

Three words; an invitation; a plea. After the tornado strikes, the community gathers to find those hiding under the rubble, to provide for their needs, and to wrap their arms around them. Come, Lord Jesus!

Three words; an invitation; a plea. A Hispanic minster and his wife seek to help the non-English speaking people who have lost everything in the Nashville floods. Come, Lord Jesus!

Three words; an invitation; a plea. Churches provide financial planning advice. The community finds ways to gather and to support one another in times when budgets are tight. We find new places to focus our attention, going out to serve instead of simply writing a check. Come, Lord Jesus!

Jesus calls and the church responds.

Jesus says “I am coming soon”
The church pleads “Come!”

As Christ announces his coming, he also announces that he is bringing not judgment, but reward for the faithful. Reward for those who wash their robes.
The faithful know that their robes have been muddied, stained, soiled and seek to wash them and be restored to righteousness, to be have their heavenly garments be made new. They continue to work in the world.

Jesus says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” There is nothing in heaven or on earth that is outside of Christ.
The Spirit and the bride, the church cry out “Come!” All who hear the cry join in “Come!” An invitation to anyone who is thirsty to Come, to drink of the waters of life. It is the water that is offered to the Samaritan woman at the well in John’s gospel. It is this water that carries God’s grace to us in the sacrament of Baptism, the church’s outward sign of the grace of God. This water is offered to anyone who seeks it. In this water we find re-creation, new life. In this water we find community as we are grafted into the body of Christ. In this water we echo the plea of the church “Come!”

Jesus calls again “Surely I am coming soon!” A fulfillment of the promise of the coming of the kingdom, that Christ’s reign will be established. Where oppression has taken hold, God’s justice will come. A call to remember. A call to action.
The church responds “Amen! Come Lord Jesus!”

We respond to Christ’s call not from fear, but from a place of great hope that with the faithful saints we will be welcomed into the gates of the city and given access to the tree of life. We respond in hope that the here and now is not the end, that God’s justice will come! We wait with anticipation, with excitement and as we wait we continue to do the work of the kingdom and reach out to others at our best. Offering the water of life to all who seek it. Holding onto hope. Shouting “Amen! Come Lord Jesus!”

Using your Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12: 4-11
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Dear Fellow Followers of the Way:

The passage from 1 Corinthians, which is quoted above, goes on to talk about how believers in Christ have been baptized into one body and how the body needs all its various parts to function. Baptism marks our entrance into the body and we are reminded of our baptism weekly as the assurance of pardon is spoken from the font, as we celebrate Baptisms, and as we participate in the remembrance of Baptism during the Easter Vigil.

In our Baptism God claims us. It is a sign and seal of God’s grace, a reminder that we cannot do anything in and of ourselves, but that what we do is in response to the grace of God. The words most frequently spoken in the church where I grew up were a reminder that we are made new.
“Hear the Good News! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life is gone; a new life has begun. Know that you are forgiving and be at peace.”
So in being made new; in receiving God’s grace; and in joining the Body of Christ, what is it that we should do to respond to what we have been given?

As it is stated in 1 Corinthians 12, we have all been given spiritual gifts. We, as members of the Body of Christ, are called to make use of those gifts to serve God, the world, the church and one another. What are your gifts? What are the things that light you up from the inside? Are you the hands that serve the homeless? Are you the ears that listen to members? Are you feet that spread the good news?

We all have gifts and everyone is needed. Take a look around the church, where are opportunities to live out of your baptismal identity as a child of God and serve? It may be seemingly unlikely. When you find ways to exercise your gifts, you will be energized and filled. You will find yourself emptying yourself for others so that you may be filled again. May we all find our gifts and ways to use them to serve in the Kingdom of God!

Grace, mercy and peace,
Karen

Honoring Ellen Babinsky

This past Friday night Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary marked the retirement of Rev. Dr. Ellen Babinsky. Faculty, students and alums gathered to share memories and honor the impact she has had on faculty and students alike. While I was taking church history my junior year, I came up with songs to help me study for the tests.

One of the pieces of information that no student could leave Ellen's class without having committed to memory was the date of the nailing of Luther's 95 Thesis to the door in Wittenburg, October 31, 1517. With that is mind and in tribute to Ellen, I post this song here (it and others like it can be found at sillyseminarysongs.blogspot.com)


Reformation - Luther

(To the tune of the Addam's Family)

Halloween (snap, snap), 1517 (snap, snap),
95 theses on the door at Wittenburg (snap, snap)

The reformation started,
from the Catholic Church they parted,
for the contrite hearted,
Luther in Germany

Fredrick "the Wise" defended,
Pope’s authority up-ended,
Leipzig debates were ended,
Luther was condemned.

Edict of Worms (snap, snap), Condemns reforms (snap, snap),
Luther could be, killed on sight, that was the norm (snap, snap)

Charles the 5th wore the crown,
Luther’s writings all around,
the reformation abounds,
as Luther is kidnapped

Revolt of the Peasants (snap, snap), right to shoot pheasants (snap, snap),
Thomas Muntzer violent and radical, death wasn’t pleasant (snap, snap)

1st Diet of Speyer,
regulation by each sire,
to do as they desired,
in 1526.

Believers in Christ’s name,
church to believe the same,
"Godly prince" soon became
Luther’s church order

Speyer 2 diet (snap, snap), Catholics didn’t buy it (snap, snap),
Resolved to enforce, Edict of Worms, hoped Luther would bite it (snap, snap)

Lutherans lodged a protest,
they came to an impasse,
Protestant described them the best
Luther’s church reform (snap, snap)

Heading into Mission Presbytery Mid Winters

James 1:19-27
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.


Dear Fellow Followers of the Way:

January brings Mission Presbytery’s youth Mid Winter Conferences at Mo Ranch. This year’s theme “The Word: It’s What You Do” is based on James 1:19-27. Last weekend Robert Quiring and I got to accompany several of our middle school youth and this week Robert and Lesley Fields will take some of our high school youth.

As I have been preparing to keynote the high school weekend, the words of James have been ringing in my soul. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Words that I think we all need. How many conversations do you have in the course of a day that you actually stop and listen? That you set yourself aside and don’t have a prepared response before the other has finished speaking?

When we listen, truly listen to another, we honor them with our full attention and presence. It is not just their words that we hear, but we pick up on non-verbal messages. We hear all the things they are not saying. However, this is not a skill that comes easily, we have to work at it.

The second part of the passage speaks to being doers not hearers of the word. How do we put our faith into action. The concept of works is what has made the book of James questioned. Martin Luther did not think the book belonged in the Bible, that it talked about doing good things instead of having faith, but James speaks to works stemming out of faith. Our deeds, according to James, are our faith lived out. It is what keeps us from being in the Christian secret service. Those who show up on Sunday and then go undercover the rest of the week.

To live out our faith in daily life is to put our faith into action. These don’t have to be heroic size actions. It is as simple as praying for others, sharing your faith, helping those who need it, or listening to people. These actions stem from our love of God and cause us to share that love with others.
The last part of the passage talks about true religion. For James, true religion is about caring for widows and orphans, those who are most vulnerable in society. Who are the people around us who are the most vulnerable? It may look different. It may be someone you work with who is struggling with a problem and needs someone to listen to them. It might be someone who has lost a job or who has lost their way.

How do you live out your faith? Do your actions show your faith? We are called to be in community with others, to be involved in others lives. May we all work toward being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger and to find ways to live out our faith through the things we do.

Grace, mercy and peace,
Karen

Weekly Word October 2009

And I shall clothe myself in your eternal will,
And by this light I shall come to know that you, eternal Trinity,
Are table, and food, and waiter for us.
You, eternal Father, are the table that offers us as food
The Lamb, your only-begotten Son.
He is the most exquisite of foods for us,
Both in his teaching, which nourishes us in your will
And in the sacrament that we receive in Holy Communion,
Which feeds and strengthens us while we are pilgrim travelers in this life.
And the Holy Spirit is indeed a waiter for us,
For the Spirit serves us this teaching by enlightening our mind’s eye with it
And inspiring us to follow it.
And the Spirit serves us charity for our neighbors and hunger to have as our food.

Catherine of Siena (14th c)

Dear Fellow Followers of the Way:

Tuesday Chapel at Austin Presbyterian Seminary is when the community gathers to celebrate Communion. The professor who preaches usually presides at Table. One Tuesday during my senior year, I was sitting in the balcony of the chapel for worship. I had many things that needed to be done, but I wanted to hear that particular professor preach. I was going to leave after the sermon, but for some reason I stayed.

As I fell into the back of one of the lines, my mind was filled with thoughts of how much further behind I was getting with what needed to be done that day. I stepped forward to receive the elements and as I did I lifted my gaze from the floor to meet the eyes of my professor. As our eyes met, I felt the bread being pressed into my hand and the weight of her hand as well, but the eyes that I was gazing into were actually the eyes of Christ looking into my very soul.

As she spoke the words I have heard and have spoken hundreds of times before “The body of Christ broken for you” I had the sense that it was no longer my friend serving me, but Christ. I felt the impact of those words more profoundly than ever before. I encountered the risen Christ that day while being fed at the Table. It was an encounter that would not have happened had I not stayed.

I was reminded of this encounter on Sunday as we celebrated World Communion Sunday and we shared in the Lord’s Supper with Christians around the world and were re-membered into the Body of Christ. Being a part of the Body of Christ, we are called into relationship with one another to bring about the Kingdom here on earth. We are called to remember our relationship to God, others and the world as we have been talking about this fall.

As I read the words of Catherine of Sienna and as I listened to Dr. Cynthia Rigby lecture on the Trinity recently, I was reminded that we worship and serve a relational God. The Triune God is intimately related one to another. Theologian Elizabeth Johnson describes the relationship as a triple helix, three separate strands that are woven together. And just as intimately as the Godhead is related to each other, the Triune God is also intimately relational to us.

This is the God who created both male and female in God’s image, the God who became human and walked among the people, the God who gifted the apostles with the ability to speak in other languages and spread the Good News to all the world. This is the God who still acts in the world today and interacts with us. God has reached out to us,, it is our time, by the grace of God, to respond.

Everyone leads busy lives, but we make time for that which is important to us. I challenge you to look at your relationships. How are you connected to God? How are you connected to others in the Body of Christ? How are you connected to the world? Relationships only happen when we are present. How can you be present and grow in your relationships this fall? We are pilgrim travelers in this life, may we meet at the Table to be nourished and walk the road together as we seek to deepen our relationship with God, others and the world.

Grace, mercy, and peace,
Karen

Weekly Word from August 27th

Forgot to post this...

Dear Fellow Followers of the Way:
As we seek to grow Christ’s church deep and wide, we are starting the fall by talking about connection. How are we connected to God, to others and to the world? In claiming the name Christian, we worship and serve a God who lives in community. We can connect to the Triune God as God has reached out to us first and through Jesus Christ has invited us into the life of the Trinity. We do this through worship, through study, whether in groups or personal, and through our relationships with others.
Our connection to others brings us closer to God as we are greeting by the God in them. As we connect with others we also become more the body of Christ. We come together bringing our gifts to serve together. As we have opportunities to gather together over meals, during fellowship events, and even in meetings which can deepen our ties one to another. As we get to know one another, we find that we have people to turn to in times of need and in times of great joy.
The deeper we are connected to both God and others our faith naturally draws us to serve the world around us. We are met in our need and we respond by meeting others in theirs. We sense God calling us to take care of the widow, the orphan, the homeless, and the hungry. We bring a piece of the Kingdom of God into our midst.
How are you working to deepen connections with God, others and the world? Do you come to worship regularly? Are you coming to Sunday school or other study weekly and spending time with God everyday? Have you been to a fellowship or small group lately? Have you gotten to know the people you go to church with on a deeper level than their names? Are you looking for ways to serve the world and letting your faith reach out to the world?
There are opportunities to do all this things at Westminster. Worship, Sunday school, Theology on Tap, P3 playdates, youth fellowship, IHN, contributing to Manos de Christo, and the list could go on. As we start the fall, I urge everyone to seek deeper connections to God, to others and to the world.

Grace, Mercy and Peace,
Karen

Sermon July 19th - The Promises of God

This is the manuscript version of my July 19th sermon at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Austin, TX. I know for a fact that I did not stick to the manuscript the whole time.

Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-16 - God's Covenant with David


In the 2009 movie “Up” we follow Carl Fredrickson in his adventure. If you have seen the movie or even the movie poster or trailer, you have see the house floating underneath thousands of balloons. His adventure is about following a dream his wife had a young child, to live at Paradise Falls. So after her death, he takes the house with him and floats off on his adventure. When he arrives in South America, he doesn’t land where he wanted, so he carries his house, which is still supported by balloons, attached to him by a garden hose, in an effort to place the house in just the right spot. He is tied to his house not only by the garden hose, but by the memories in the house of his wife.
Buildings signify presence and give a sense of stability. Building a house sends the message that people intend to occupy that land for a length of time, the builders intend to stay put. Since 1948, there has been a building at this site bearing the name Westminster Presbyterian Church. In the 1950’s fellowship hall and the education building were added to the campus. Later the parking lot and the Annex became part of what we call Westminster. Over the past year, we have watched as the old fellowship hall was torn down and another was built in its place. We have a new addition to our house. We are planted in this place.
In our text this morning we find the Israelites planted along with their king. David, given the gift of a new luxurious palace, is settled in and as he looks around his house, he decides that God needs a house as well. David says this to the prophet Nathan. Nathan tells him to go ahead with his plan. David doesn’t ask for God’s help, but makes plans on his own. At one level, David’s decision to build a house, in this case a temple, for God can be seen as a gesture to provide for God as God has provided for him, but underneath it all, David’s decision to build the temple is political and theological.
David has brought the people from tribal associations to a united kingdom, a people governed by judges who are now ruled by a monarch. There have been many battles along the way as the kingdom has been established. This has been a time of upheaval as the people enter a new way of understanding themselves and of understanding God. God has been with David as he battled many enemies and David is looking to legitimize his rule. One of the ways to do this in the ancient near east was to construct a temple, a house that represented the divine presence with the king. A temple would give David the authority of God.
The temple would also ensure that God would stay with David and with the people. As Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the ark was carried in front of the people. God tented with the people and moved with them as they moved. The ark was carried into battle as God went with them. David moved the ark into Jerusalem, signifying that God was in Jerusalem. David’s decision to build a temple meant he would have God in a box, contained, controlled. But God has other ideas.
Speaking through the prophet Nathan, God sends a message to his servant David reminding David that God has always moved among God’s people and in the past has never asked for a house of cedar and that David will not be the one to build it either. God reminds David that God called him from the pasture to be the king; that God has been with him; and that God has cut off all his enemies. God has been faithful to David in the past and to show God’s continuing faithfulness God agrees to make David’s kingship legitimate but in God’s way. David will not build God a house, a temple, instead, God with build David a house. Not a house of brick or wood, but a dynasty.
God will not be contained nor controlled, but God promises that God will ever be with David and David’s descendants. David’s throne will be established forever. With this promise a new covenant has been formed. While in the wilderness God established a covenant with Moses on Mount Sinai. Written as a treaty , God promised to be with the people if they were obedient. The people were to follow the commandments given to Moses if they wanted God to remain with them. This covenant is what had defined the Israelites; it is why it was important for David to have the ark in Jerusalem, why it was important for David to find a way to ensure God’s presence.
The “if” of the Mosaic covenant has defined how the people understood God. They saw with Saul losing God’s favor what happened if one was disobedient. However, as the people were shifting from tribal to centralized government, from judges to a monarchy, God provides a new promise and a new relationship. God still wants obedience, but the if is no longer part of the equation.
In the new promise made in our text this morning God says “I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me.: There is relationship. “when he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings.” Obedience is required and if not there are consequences. “but I will not take my steadfast love from him as I took it from Saul.” Steadfast love is how the word hesed has been translated. A Hebrew word with no true English equivalent. Steadfast love, mercy, kindness, goodness, everlasting love, unconditional love. God declares that God will always love and will always be present with David’s house. This promise brings hope. Hope in God’s faithfulness. Hope in God’s righting of the world. Hope for the future, hope for a messiah.
Today, Christians recognize this hope in Jesus Christ. This text, often used during Advent reminds us that Jesus is born of the house and lineage of David. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament covenants with Abraham, Moses and David and we have been made heirs to these promises. We have been brought into the kingdom. There are no longer to be insiders and outsiders. We are all equal and have the same access to God. As we heard read in Ephesians, God is building a home. It’s foundations are the prophets and the apostles and Christ is the cornerstone. We are being fashioned into the bricks to build a temple in which God is at home.
Last summer we watched as the old fellowship hall was demolished. The squeals, squeaks and clunks of the machine that would tear it apart. The cracking of the timbers. We had said good bye to the old space. Messages on the wall including “I hope there will always be mac and cheese for the kids.” The messages adorning the walls, spoke of a home. A place were memories had been made, a place where friends gathered and where God moved. The land was cleared and it was time to begin to build.
The space was prepared and the foundation poured. Careful watch was kept to ensure that it cured would provide the foundation needed for our new building. Over the months steel beams went up, the walls went up, the roof went on. As the building began to take shape, I think many of us wondered what it would be like. I remember the first time I went into the nearly completed space. It felt large and empty, hollow. It was the new part of our house. But now, as we have celebrated together and we have begun to make it our own, it feels more and more like home. The space will be filled with new memories and more importantly, the space will be filled with love.
Love makes the difference between a house and a home. God did not want a house. God did not want to be contained in a physical structure. If God did not want to be contained then, should we contain God in our physical structure now? God has promised God’s steadfast love, God will be faithful, so may we find ways to transcend the physical space of 3208 Exposition Blvd and take the love of God and the hope we find in the promise made to David out into the world around us.
Israel had a new page, a new way to understand God as they are given a new covenant. We have been given a new page here as well. Will we choose to be a fort and hunker down inside the walls of the physical space, or will we choose for this to be a home. A place where God’s unconditional love transcends the brick, stone and wood, a place were we welcome the world in and where we are refreshed to go out into the world.