Worship, April 17, 2011

Worship for Sunday, April 17, 2011

Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11

We have gathered here, week after week, sharing a common quest for a deeper faith and a deeper experience of the divine. I invite you now to close your eyes and let go of the things that distract and concern you. Listen! The time is drawing near. Jesus is preparing to enter Jerusalem. How will we greet him? Will we follow him all the way to the Cross? The power of Jesus is that he lived what he taught, even when it led to his death. He lived with an abiding awareness of God, radiating the light of God in all he said and did. But that light was too much for the world. There are forces today, as there were in ancient Judea, that conspire to put it out. Where are we in this drama? What are we willing to risk to follow Jesus?

(Silent time.)

As we extinguish this light, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of grief, illness, and disease in the world.

(A candle is extinguished.)

Let us pray.

Loving God, there are so many choices before us every day. Choices offered by our friends, our families, our culture, our own past. Some of them encourage the well-being of the earth, ourselves and our neighbors; others are destructive. Help us to distinguish between them. May we learn from the choices of Jesus and embody compassion, justice, and inclusion in all we say and do. Amen.

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Prayers of the People

Challenged by the living Word of God, let us pray for strength and wisdom.

Eternal Word, who sustains the weary with a word, give us resolve during this Holy Week, the coming Three Days, and the Easter season that follows them, to continue our journey of conversion and renewal as we follow Christ on his way to Calvary. Lord, in your mercy.

Hear our prayer.

Comforter of the Troubled, let your face shine on your steadfast servants and all creation, grant peace and tranquility to all the world, especially to the peoples of the Middle East, Libya, and Japan, and those here in our own country and communities, that they may know dignity, justice, and true happiness. Lord, in your mercy.

Hear our prayer.

Just Ruler of All, your son was mistreated and wrongly persecuted by the secular and religious authorities of his day. Grant that out government and our church leaders hear your Word, heed your call, and recognize that your presence among us in the poor, the helpless, and the marginalized. Lord, in your mercy.

Hear our prayer.

Source of all Consolation, have mercy on us for your creation is troubled. We pray for all those distressed by the loss of companionship, health, or life; grant the liberation of the captives, the healing of the sick, and the reward of eternal life to your faithful servants. We pray especially for those we have named, and for those we recall now, in our hearts. Lord, in your mercy.

Hear our prayer.

Giver of All Blessings, we give you thanks for the lives of all those who have passed and whose lives have been sources of grace and blessing for us. Grant dignity and relief to all the dying and to all who grieve. Lord, in your mercy.

Hear our prayer.

Source and Summit of Grace, we give you thanks for the Holy Communion we will soon share, the gift of your presence. Lord, in your mercy.

Hear our prayer.

May we always know that you are near at all times and in all places. We pray in the name of Jesus, and by his grace. Amen.

Matthew 21:1-11

¹When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.

³If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” ⁴This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, ⁵“Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.

⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Message: Holy Weak-ness

Imagine the most terrifying show of military force possible--think May Day in Moscow during the Cold War.

Only this show of force was in Jerusalem in the year 30, and the season was the holiest of observances of the Jewish people--Passover. Jerusalem’s normal population would swell to more than a quarter million as observant Jews from the whole known world descended on the Holy City to celebrate the liberation of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt.

There they were, filling the streets with a celebratory air--it was a magnificent time to be Jewish and in Jerusalem.

And then, suddenly, the earth shook as a procession approached from the West. And the Roman legion--6,000 strong--made their way through the narrow streets. Hundreds of horses, leagues of chariots and thousands of foot soldiers marched through the city, followed by the guard of Pontius Pilate, bearing him on a sedan chair.

But this is not a royal trip to advance the Governor’s relationship with his people. There are no “royal waves” as the legion passes the stunned citizens. There is only the aspect of power, and the abject fear of the public toward this occupational army. This was a show of force--lest these Jews decide to really recreate their freedom from their oppressors. And this was not about keeping the peace. This was highly organized and executed terrorism.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a shaggy carpenter’s son has managed to climb onto a pair of donkeys and ride in from Bethany, east of Jerusalem. He slowly makes his way along the streets, swaying as the donkeys clumsily walk together along the way.

To keep the dust down, the crowds that have gathered to see this comical sight are throwing their clothes on the ground and others threw down palm branches. And they all started shouting out, “Hosanna! Hosanna!” which means save us. Hosanna to the son of David--that term being another title for the Messiah.

Now, did it happen this way? Well, it could have. Sources from outside the scriptures are clear that the Roman Governor and his legion of 6,000 would parade into the city during the Passover preparations to strike fear into the hearts of the residents and visitors--just to let them know that the people may have been freed from the Egyptians, but they were going to be under the Roman thumb for a long, long, time.

The Roman Occupation of Israel lasted nearly 200 years, beginning in the 64^th year before the birth of Jesus. So, by the time these events would have taken place, Rome had occupied the nation of Israel for 97 years. That meant that the people had never known a time when they weren’t belittled and humiliated on a daily basis by soldiers of a foreign government.

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine a family sitting around the fire in their home, and the kids say, “Grandpa, tell us the stories of how we were free before the Romans came.”

And Grandpa would say, “Well, I can only tell you what I was told…”

And once a year, every spring, the people would celebrate that time when God led them to freedom from slavery in Egypt. And of course, the Romans would put on a show of force like nothing you could imagine--just to let them know…

If America were occupied by a foreign power--and I don’t want to hear any catcalls about America being occupied now--and that this President or the previous President aren’t legitimate. We can’t possibly known what it would like to live under the thumb of a foreign power. But if we did…can you imagine the kind of significance that Independence Day might have?

Well, in the midst of this celebration and the show of force of the Roman legion and governor, on the east side of the city, a lone prophet rides in on a donkey, and the people treat him as if he were a king.

Contrast one donkey with the hundreds of horses and chariots on the other side of town.

Contrast a lone homeless man on that donkey with Pilate in all his splendor carried by four strapping soldiers.

What this is--this scene which is recreated in all four Gospels--is satire.

It’s high comedy! Peasants shouting at a prophet--“Save us!”

One procession was about the empire of Rome.

The other was about the empire of God.

Jesus’ very planned and intentional Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem was a protest much like a march during the civil rights movement in the 60s. In a wonderful statement of sarcasm, Jesus staged his march into the city on a donkey without chariots, armor, or weapons. It is always amazing what you can accomplish with sarcasm.

You know, if we were being true to this, we would not call it the triumphal entry into Jerusalem--we would call it the anti-triumphal entry.

Barbara Brown Taylor in The Christian Century, writes:

“When I listen to the most devoted followers of Jesus, they tell me what it costs to love unconditionally, to forgive 70-times-seven, to offer hospitality to strangers, and to show compassion for the poor. These are essential hallmarks of Jesus' ministry, which no followers of his can ignore… What I hear less about from Jesus' followers is what it costs to oppose the powers that be, to upset pious expectations of what a child of God should say or do, to subvert religious certainty, and to make people responsible for their own lives. Yet all of these are present in his example too”

Maybe the way we should celebrate Holy Week is to adopt the Holy Weak-ness of Jesus.

Maybe we should stage our own protest--trust me, there’s plenty of injustice to go around.

Maybe we should go down the block and convince a landlord to fix the plumbing, or repair the roof on a sub-standard rental property.

Maybe we could make sandwiches, and go hand them out in the neighborhood.

Palm Sunday is not about the beginning of a week of atonement for sins, it is about protest against injustice in the empire.

I’d love to know what you are thinking. Amen.

Call to Offering

In this week ahead we will be asked to walk the hard road of faith

and face the full cost of discipleship.

The sacrifice we are called to share involves true commitment and devotion.

In that Spirit, may we share freely our gifts, tithes and offerings.

Offertory Prayer

Loving God, as Hosannas fade to cries of despair,

may these gifts be used for peacemaking that settles strife

and justice-seeking that creates all good hope. Amen.

Benediction

This is a vision of the way it can be, the way it should be—
Shouts of welcome, a joyful procession, a community celebrating together.

The same vision is offered to us today:
We can welcome Christ into our lives;
We can celebrate his transforming power.

How swiftly things changed back then,
How swiftly we, too, can be distracted.

May we hold fast to his vision of goodness—
Peace from the practice of justice,
equality from the practice of respect.

As this week unfolds,

We will let ourselves be overtaken by God’s love
We will pour it back out into the world.

Worship, May 1, 2011

Worship for Sunday, May 1, 2011

Easter 2

John 20:19-31

Morning Prayers

Let us pray: Gracious God, when you were preparing your disciples for that time when you would be leaving them, you shared with them words of hope and promise. And even better, you said that you gave them the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Helper. In this Season of Easter, we are trusting in your promise that your Holy Spirit will indeed come, just as the Spirit came upon those first Disciples when you breathed on them in the upper room.

Come Holy Spirit, bind up the brokenhearted and for those who have been entrusted with the responsibility of caring for our resources.

Come Holy Spirit, come and remind us what it means to be your disciples in the midst of turmoil and adversity.

Come, Holy Spirit, come and bring peace to our world, and strength and wisdom and courage to the leaders of our nation, especially our President Barack, our Vice-President Joe, ourSenators Sherrod & Rob, and our Representative, Jim. Give them wisdom, justice, and mercy.

Come, Holy Spirit, come and heal the sick and the sick of heart. Bring healing and comfort to us.

Come Holy Spirit, come and surround First Christian Church as we go through this time of significant transition facing our congregation.

Come Holy Spirit, come and surround us in our uncertainty, in our pain, in our questions, in our frustrations, and in our fears.

Come Holy Spirit, come and surround this great church as we seek to find unity in the midst of our diversity and what it means to walk side by side as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Come Holy Spirit, come and empower and equip your church, so that we can be the church that you have created us to be.

Come Holy Spirit, Come. Amen.

John 20:19-23

¹⁹When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews,

Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

"Heavy Breathing"

Those of you who have been a part of a graveside service that I have perfomed know that I begin with a handful of dirt. I recall the second creation story, in which God scoops from the earth the mud which he forms into the shape of the first human being. I then go on to add that when our breath is no longer in us, that we are returned to the earth from which we came.

That image of God breathing life into the nostrils of the limp and lifeless form of a man is a haunting one--and it should be. It's a reminder that without the spirit--the breath of God, we are nothing.

And that's the same image given by our readings for today when Jesus breathes on the Disciples and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. Let's face it, the church--such as it was on Easter night on the first Easter-- was in shambles. This frightened little band had locked itself in the upper room and was fearful of anything that might be outside. After all, if they could kill Jesus, who know who might be next? They were sullen, depressed, and ready to give it all up and go back to fishing.

And suddenly, Jesus appears. Now, this is something new. They'd seen Jesus heal the sick, even raise the dead. But the pre-Good Friday Jesus had never once walked through walls, or beamed in like on Star Trek. This was big!

And then, Jesus changed the landscape of the church forever by re-creating creation. By, breathing on the Disciples (and thereby the whole church) and giving them the Holy Spirit, Jesus re-enacts that initial act of creation in which God breathed life into the human race. Luke writes that the Holy Spirit comes upon the church in a mighty noisy rushing wind in on the day of Pentecost, but for John it happens before that--right here--when Jesus breathes.

Oh, and by the way, in Greek, there's one word--(pneuma)--which is translated, breath, wind, and spirit. The breath of God is the wind, and the spirit.

And by breathing on the church, Jesus empowers it for mission and ministry. Jesus specifically empowers the church to forgive sins. That's good, because forgiveness is very hard. And by entrusting the church with that authority, he is not so much giving the church papal powers as he is giving them the task of taking God's ways into the world in the name of Jesus. He sends them out in mission to take the radical ways of the kingdom of God to the whole world.

I have shared with you my assertion that the disciples of Jesus were a bunch of world-class idiots. Scratch that. That's an insult to idiots everywhere. They'd have to have a promotion to idiot.

Right here, folks, is where they get the promotion.

So we see what the Spirit is.. The Spirit is the Breath of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
When you or I breath on someone, we give them a blast of Carbon Dioxide, a gas which if inhaled at high concentrations can cause asphyxiation and ultimately death. But when the Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus breathes on someone, they get a blast of the Holy Spirit, which in any concentration causes conversion of life, the ability to change the world in the name of the breather, peace of mind and heart, and ultimately eternally happiness.

The Orthodox theologian Joost Van Rossum, sees the two stages of giving of the Holy Spirit as the mark of a “gradual process” of the giving of the Holy Spirit - a process which continues until now. You could use the metaphor that He comes as a tidal wave or like the tide. For VanRossum, John 20 merely marks the beginning of the process.

To this problem various understandings can be taken mostly falling into two categories, symbolic and literal.Some do not consider this symbolic, but rather a literal breathing of the Spirit. Others do consider this symbolic, in that it anticipates the sending of the Spirit at Pentecost. Jesus was play acting to prepare them for the real coming.

Jesus also charged the disciples saying, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Did Jesus give the authority to the disciples to forgive sin? No that would contradict with Luke 5:21, where Jesus said only God forgive sin.

I agree with Van Rossum. This is a literal trasfer of the Breath of God, which continued at Pentecost, and continues today--every time we celebrate the waters of baptism. Every time we lift our voices in song. Every time we pray for God to fill us with the Spirit and the ability to be the church.

It's appropriate that we look at this lesson today--the day on which we receive the reports of the small groups who met to examine the New Beginnings reports and consider where and what God is calling us to do and to be. We began this day praying for the Spirit of God to come upon us and bless us in the work of the church.

When we gather downstairs and enjoy our meal, let's not speak in terms of “I want...” or “we need to...” Let's see what happens when we set out to discern which way God's wind is blowing--and let it catch our sails.

I'm sure I'll find out just what you're thinking. Amen

Offering Invitation

Let us offer a bold witness to the world with our gifts and with our lives, so that peace may be with our generation. Let us worship God with our offering.

Offering Dedication

Come, Holy Presence, and grant us peace, for we are anxious about many things. Let us see anew the marks of your Lordship. Let us meet anew the bold faithful witnesses who have gone before us. Come, Holy Presence, and ease our paralysis of doubt and caution. Grant us this day peace and certainty that you walk among us, that you are risen, that you invite us to follow boldly where you have walked. Come, touch us afresh, for we are needy. Come, prepare us for the challenges and joys of this week.

In the name of the Risen Christ. Amen.

Benediction

Worship for Sunday, March 27, 2011

The Third Sunday Within the Season of Lent

Romans 5:1-5

There is so much during the day that clamors for our attention. Friends, family, work, classes, household tasks. And the noise! We are bombarded with sound, from the clock that awakens us to the telephone, the radio, the television, the conversation that we have or overhear. Where is the time and place to listen for the still, small voice of God? Sometimes it seems that God would have to speak in a whirlwind to be heard above the clamor! Listen now. There is a place of quiet rest, and it is the place where God dwells within you. Close your eyes. Be aware of the place. In Lent we journey to the parts of ourselves known only to God, beneath the clamor. Let the story of Jesus reach us there. Let it teach us wisdom in our secret hearts.

(Silent time.)

As we extinguish this light, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of violence.

(A candle is extinguished.)

Let us pray:

All: Draw us together in your love, O God. May our restless hearts not resist you, but continue to search until they find their rest in you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Romans 5:1Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. ⁹Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ¹¹But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

“Justified”

Perhaps you will know that I am an expert in Law Enforcement. I come upon this expertise by watching criminal procedure television shows. Law & Order. In Plain Sight. Castle.

But, the best of all might be “Justified,” based on a character named Raylan Givens, created by the greatest crime fiction writer, ever--Elmore Leonard.

In the show, Raylan returns to his home in Eastern Kentucky, charged with enforcing the law against people he grew up with--even having to arrest his father!

Raylan has a pesky habit of shooting people--but only just before they shoot at him.

Brought in to account for his shootings, he simply says, “He drew on me first. It was justified.”

Being justified means that you can be in two states of being at the same time. On the one hand, Raylan did kill someone--he’s guilty of that.

On the other hand, the killing took place in the course of enforcing the laws of the United States.

So, Raylan is a killer, but justified in so doing, and therefore innocent.

In today’s lesson, we encounter this concept of being justified in a slightly different context.

In Jesus Christ, we are justified before God. This means that even though we are sinners, we stand before God blameless in Christ. Sinners by nature and by practice, we stand before God pure and innocent.

Now, this is not an easy concept for we Americans to grasp--or to accept. We want to see things as they are--and we want to earn things for ourselves and to get what we deserve. If we stand blameless before God, we want it to be of our own accord. We want grace the old fashioned way--we earn it.

And yet, justification by faith is one of the cornerstone of reformation Protestantism--in whose lineage we are.

And we still so frequently see faith is Christ as something we do--a work, if you will. We are justified by having faith in Christ--as if it’s all up to us.

And yet, it is not our own faith in Christ that saves us, but rather the faithfulness of Christ. We are saved because Jesus was faithful to God’s aims for his life and for ours. If Christ saves us, it’s not so much of our own doing, but God’s gift to us by the means of Christ;s faithfulness.

Look at this verse from Galatians 2. I’m showing it to you in the King Jimmy translation because sometimes, the older texts get it right--ar at least better than the newer translations,

“ Knowing that [one] is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

You can be the best person in the world. You can open doors for little old ladies. You can fix breakfast for the less fortunate. You can ring bells for the Salvation Army every Christmas. You can teach Sunday School and give a tenth of your income. And trust me, I want to encourage you in the strongest possible terms do all of these things.

The world will be a much better place if we would all do these things--repeatedly and frequently!

God wants us to do these things.

But that doesn’t make us acceptable or even pleasing to God.

Grace means that nothing you can do will make God love any more than you are already loved.

Grace means that nothing you can do will make God love you any less than you are already loved.

Let’s say that together: Grace means that nothing you can do will make God love any more than you are already loved. Grace means that nothing you can do will make God love you any less than you are already loved.

In the second chapter of Ephesians, Paul talks about faith being anything but something we do. Faith is a gift from God--not something of our own doing!

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works," Eph. 2:8-9

If you have faith in Christ, that faith didn’t start with you--God put it in your heart by way of the Spirit.

If you’ve done any good in your life, it isn’t by means of your own goodness, but rather God’s goodness projected through you!

And if you have faith in Christ, that is not what justifies you before God--it is rather Christ’s faithfulness which brings us to that state of justification.

Yesterday, I preached the funeral of two fine gentlemen--one of whom was also my neighbor. He and I had a number of discussions about grace and salvation. He told me that he didn’t think he was good enough to belong to God--that he had to keep doing constantly in order to curry God’s favor.

I rather gently suggested to him that perhaps all the good things that he did for others were gifts entrusted to him by God, who knew that he would not waste that gift, but use it to help others. God love him, he just couldn’t see it that way.

But, one of the advantages to being pastor is that in the funerals, I get the last word. And I am confident that Bill is held in the loving arms of God who welcomed him by saying “well done my beloved, faithful servant, well done!”

My sisters and brothers, God has graced each of us with immeasurable gifts, among them the propensity to love and to serve. We are called to use these gifts--not to earn our place with God--Jesus Christ has done that already. Rather we are filled with these gifts so that we are overflowing with them for the whole world.

What shall we do with the gifts God has given to us? What shall we make of being justified by Christ’s faithfulness. Are we not called to share with a world which so desparately needs to know it?

I’d love to know what you are thinking.

Worship for Sunday, March 20, 2011 The Second Sunday Within the Season of Lent

On Sunday morning, for a brief space of time, we leave behind the world of home and work and school—the world where we have our lists of things to do, activities to participate in, tasks to complete. We come here this morning seeking something else. We come here seeking a shift—from the ordinary to the sacred, from doing to being. I invite you to close your eyes. Let go of your list. Recall that it is the season of Lent. Remember the parable of the sower. The sower throws the seed . . . and where it lands determines if it will grow or not grow. Think of it this way: think of the season of Lent as the sower, the time when seeds of faith are thrown with special intensity, as a time a time when God calls to us in a low, urgent voice. Listen. Jesus is being drawn to Jerusalem. Where is God calling you to? What is God calling you to do?

(Silent time.)

As we extinguish this light, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of injury done to God’s creation.

(A candle is extinguished.)

Let us pray:

All: Loving God, as we journey through this holy season of Lent, may we be open to your presence. Give us the strength to make the changes that are needed in our lives and the courage to take on the work of transforming the world. Amen.

Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ,

for all the benefits which you have given us,

for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us.

Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,

may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly,

day by day.

Amen.--St. Richard of Chichester

God sent the Son into the world to save the world. As we prepare for Holy Week, let

us earnestly pray that God will grant all peoples everywhere new birth in the Spirit.

For the church throughout the world, a sign on earth of the kingdom of God.

Lord, have mercy.

For our Regional church and our ministers, Bill, Steve, Brenda, and LaTaunya, and all who minister in Christ, and for all the people of God.

Lord, have mercy.

For the members of our Pastor’s Class--Alexis, Kayla, Quintin, Sylvia, Zach, and for all who wish to be born of the Spirit.

Lord, have mercy.

For all who share the faith of Abraham, and for all nations and families of the earth.

Lord, have mercy.

For all who are tempted, oppressed, afflicted, or in need.

Lord, have mercy.

For the sick whose names we have called, and for those whose suffering is less noticeable,

Lord, have mercy.

For the dying, the dead, and all who grieve.

Lord, have mercy.

For our families, friends, and companions, and for all those we love.

Lord, have mercy.

John 3:1-17

¹Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.²He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” ³Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ¹⁷“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

At age 11, the young boy had an epiphany, prompted by the sight of his alcoholic father lying dead drunk on the front porch of the family house in Dixon, Ill. In a moving passage of autobiography, he would later write: “Seeing his arms spread out as if he were crucified – as indeed he was – his hair soaked with melting snow, snoring as he breathed, I could feel no resentment against him.” It was the season of Lent, and his mother, a member of the Disciples of Christ, put a comforting novel in his hand: That Printer of Udell’s by Ohio Disciples pastor Harold Bell Wright. The boy read it and told her, “I want to declare my faith and be baptized.” He was, by immersion, on June 21, 1922.

That novel tells the story of a handsome Midwestern boy who makes good for the sins of his father by becoming a practical Christian. That term “practical Christian” described a kind of mid-western Disciples’ attitude of the day--a way of taking one’s faith into everyday life. The young boy in the novel becomes a spellbinding orator. He develops a penchant for brown suits and welfare reform, marries a wide-eyed girl (who listens adoringly to his speeches) and wins election to public office in Washington.

Years later, the young boy--now, himself a prominent politician was asked if he were a “born again” Christian.

He responded by saying, “Well, I was raised to have a faith and a belief and have been a member of a church since I was a small boy. In our particular church we didn't use that term born- again so I don't know whether I would fit that - that particular term. But I have, thanks to my mother, God rest her soul, the firmest possible belief and faith in God.”

That politician who was uncomfortable being called “born again” was none other than Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40^th President of the United States--who was, by the way, the third Disciples President of our country.

Like many Disciples, Reagan wasn’t sure what this “born again” idea was about. Well, he was in good company. Nicodemus, the Rabbi and Pharisee who came to Jesus in secret at night didn’t understand it, either.

You must be born from above, Jesus tells him. But, how can you be born twice?

Jesus, repeats himself. Everyone is born of water--which I used to believe was about baptism, but now I understand to be about amniotic fluid. We are all born of water from our mothers’ wombs, but Jeus says, we must also be born of Spirit--from above. That’s trickier.

Being born from above is not some kind of secret-handshake-get-out-of-hell-card, but a radical reorienting of one’s self to try to understand the way God looks at the world.

Toward the end of the conversation, Jesus tells Nicodemus the key to being born from above--understanding God’s radical love for the world.

God so loved the world that he gave his son. Being born from above is beginning to understand grace--the idea that God’s love for us is greater than we can imagine.

God so loved the world--the  (cosmos) that he gave a son to save it.

David Lose points out that that word cosmos is

“everywhere else in the Gospel of John describes that entity that is at complete enmity with God. Typical is this prayer by Jesus just before his crucifixion: "I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world" (John 17:14-16).

This gives John 3:16 a bit more punch: "For God so loved the God-hating world that he sent his only Son ... ," we might accurately translate. Apparently, at least according to Jesus, God really, really, really loves the world.”

And that’s what this passage is all about. And that’s the difference between “born again” and “born from above.”

When I hear people say that they are born again, what I hear them saying is that they are in a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

But, being born from above, is seeing the world as God sees it--even a world that hates God. Being born from above is understanding that God is in a saving relationship with the world--the whole world--this world, which God loves so much that he became one of us. God so loved the world that he put on our skin and moved among to show us by his life, death, and life again how to really, really, really love the world.

This world.

Some of you might be perturbed that I use Ronald Reagan as an example of a Disciple. Some of you are thrilled.

Is President Reagan the best example of a Christian? Probably not.

But, that’s kind of the point. Being born from above is to see this world as God sees, and to love as God loves, and to understand that no one is beyond God’s grace.

At the peak of his Presidency, Ronald Reagan became friends with his counterpart in the Soviet Union. The two men liked each other, and they knew that the talks they had would have cosmic, if you will, consequences.

Reagan told his advisers that he believed Mikhail Gorbachev was a “closet Christian.” He was willing to look at the leader of the “evil empire” and see a child of God. That’s grace, church. That’s being born from above.

Three years ago, this week, Mikhail Gorbachev visited the tomb of Saint Francis, in Assisi, and confirmed what Reagan had suspected twenty years earlier--that he was indeed a Christian--even though his position of power precluded his confession of it.

In this season of Lent, we are encouraged to look inward to see ourselves as we truly are. Given the reality of this passage, maybe we should look around as well. What is God seeing in the world today? How are we to relate to this world that God loves--no matter what?

I’d love to know what you are thinking.

In our offering, we respond gratefully to what God has first given us. All that we do is a response to God’s grace. Everything we are, have, and use comes from God. Best of all, God gives the gift of Jesus Christ and the community of believers. It all begins with God. Our confession of faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior is not of our doing. As grateful stewards, let us put God first.

Loving God, we give you what is already yours--these gifts of money, and ourselves. Use them and us to make a difference in your world. Amen.

Benediction

Go forth with this truth lodged firmly in your heart:

There is nothing you can do or say that will separate you from the love of God.

In Christ we see the power of God’s transforming love;

The love that was in Christ in is the same love that is in us today.

In every moment of our lives, God knows who we are,

And with patience and love, offers us what we need.

Like Christ, we will open ourselves to God’s presence;

We will place our lives in God’s care;

We will follow Christ in the pursuit of compassion, justice, and peace.

(Thanks to the Good Folks at Process and Faith for the Lenten Liturgies!)