Sermon Notes Lk, 7:36-8:3, I Kings 21

June 12 I Kings 21, Lk. 7:36-8:3

Money-and with the power of land as symbol-when I get to work with a couple getting married-I like to spend some time with money-we approach it differently-it can be a symbol of love- Families can divide into warring factions over inheritance.We are willing to go to war, figuratively and physically, to cheat, our way into gaining possession, to closing the fist around being able to say mine, not yours.-“Comparison is the thief of joy.” ― Theodore Roosevelt Naboth being cheated out of his rightful legacy and inheritance-being powerless-Even ahab repents-Ahab is depressed-outgrowth of coveting-envy shrinks the heart-power can shrink the heart-the sense of possession and rightful owning can make us tightfisted-The human heart seems infinitely acquisitive-very difficult to say that enough is enough; no we possess a hunger for more.when is enough for us to feel secure. We are expert in telling other people that they should be satisfied, but being sated seems to be elusive  when it come to our possessions.

Forgiveness appears in this vignette.What motivates the woman? We share the discomfort felt by the Pharisee. In some circles of church growth marketing, it was popular to speak of affinity groups in churches. In other words, people should be like us in terms of say class and education. Note well that a Pharisee asked Jesus to supper.He has opened his home to Jesus.Perhaps closer to the Magdalene trope we have created than the Magdalene cured of demonic possession. I tis an interesting sexist assumption that the woman in the story gets connected to Magdalene the great disciple of Jesus. Of course, baby boomers know Jesus Christ Superstar and think that Magdalene was in love with Jesus. On the other hand, just because her extravagant action has some notes of the erotic, we leap to the conclusion that her sins were sexual.to what degree is forgiveness shown here that it should be as extraqvagant, as even wasteful as the woman’s hospitality and geneorosity-measured out lif in coffee spoons-If one sense one has been forgiven little, why bother loving much? It seems being in the right shrinks the heart.Jesus does not deny the number of her sins-in a movie, jesus says which were many-Why are  sinners easier to get along with than the prim and proper?How does Simon know what kind of woman this is? He may have opened his home to Jesus but he has not opened himself to others who receive jesus.does he envy the attention Jesus gets? Does he envy her capacity to be so gushingly giving? Don;t take the prayer of confession as seriously as we could.In part, we see our sins as very serious, so it mus t be eays for god to forgive us.

assumptions-Jesus sees clearly but Simon like all of us operates from a set of assumptions-that usually means how would I act in his place-Like it or not, it seems that we are wired to judge from appearances. Perhaps it goes all the way back to human evolution to distinguish between friend or foe, to flee or to fight.

We can forgive as the life of christ lives in us.What does that mean that christ now lives in us? Does Christ then die again and again ain in us? Gal 2-no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. What did it look like for the unnamed woman in Luke? What would it have looked like for the Pharisee? What happens to envy when the light of christ enters. Does it dispel it, because that grasping hole in our heart and souls gets filled? prayer may well bring us to the feet of Jesus and subsequently make it easier for us to look at ourselves in the mirror.

What is your alabaster jar of ointment? 2. What is Naboth's vineyard now?

Week of June 12 Points

- Sunday- Psalm 32-Human instinct invites us to retain the sins of others and to hide our own faults. This world tempts us to keep score and project outward strength so that our failures and fears cannot define us publicly. But when we hold them in at all costs, they do define us publicly. Holding onto our sin and shame is exhausting work that leaves time and energy for little else.I am in awe of the brave and vulnerable work of AA's Step 5: "We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Not generally. Not an overview. Not simply what comes to mind in the moment. This step is a labor of love that is confessed only after careful consideration of the details. Revealing these specific reflections and secrets can take a long time. It can feel overwhelming, scary, and counterintuitive. Monday-“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” “When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” --“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” Rumi \ Tuesday-“If the mystery of the Trinity is the template of all reality, what we have in the Trinitarian God is the perfect balance between union and differentiation, autonomy and mutuality, identity and community.” ― Richard Rohr Wednesday-God who offers rest to the weary, May we breathe deeply of your serenity.God who promises to shoulder our burdens,May we release our heavy loads to you.God who comes in the midst of tired moments,Come down, refresh and renew our souls.Allow us to touch the quiet essence of you,Within us, around us, behind us, before us.May we trust in your abundant love, Thursday-Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart. Washington Irving Friday-Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.  Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them.  And the point is, to live everything.  Live the questions now.  Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, and live along some distant day into the answer.  ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet    Saturday-For the Spirit of Peace that calms our mind and stills our life, we give you thanks. For the Spirit of Love that touches hearts and reaches out, we give you thanks. For the Spirit of Joy that lifts our soul and gives us faith we give you thanks. For the Spirit of Power, that gift of grace for this your church, we give you thanks.

Memorial day 2016 column

Recently we went to see Rogers and Nienhaus at the Veterans Park in Pontoon Beach.It is new, so it lists out more recent wars than one often sees in public monuments. Well over a million soldiers have perished in the long succession of wars. We have at least 28 Revolutionary War veterans buried in Madison County.Memorial Day honored the graves of the fallen in the terrible carnage of the Civil War by decorating their graves.It honors that sad fact that in the midst of killing, some of our virtues shine: courage, comradeship, self-sacrifice.

Of course, Alton has deep and abiding traditions for what became Memorial Day. This week I went to the National Cemetery on Pearl Street. I parked with  the familiar Alton sound of crushed liquor bottles along the curb. It is a well-kept patch of land, as opposed to some of the adjoining cemetery. While not large, it has three sections of burial plots; some names date from the Mexican War.  It started as a civil War burial ground. An Alton native,Lt. E.F. Fletcher, was concerned for his life the night before a battle in Buena Vista. Tomorrow we expect to have an engagement with a superior Mexican force, and on the eve of the affair, ...the object nearest my heart is the welfare of my little child; . ...Should I fall, I leave her entirely with you and your wife; but I have written to my brother, requesting him to throw his brotherly protection over her; and he should receive her as his own child and protect her... I wish that she should receive as good an education as the little means left her will afford: and above all things, teach her that truth and virtue are to woman, what the soul is to the body - the life of its life. Teach her that to be just to all - -in thought - in word - in deed, is the true - the great aim of a good mind; and those who strive to accomplish that purpose, seldom fail to live at peace with the world, and accomplish the "Great Destiny" for which they are created. I would say a thousand things more about her, and my wishes for her...In death as in life,

It has a fine speaker's rostrum at the entrance, built toward the end of the Works Progress Administration's great work. As one enters, the entire Gettysburg Address is posted on a plaque.It is a fitting reminder tha tlincoln’s words were to consecrate the huge cemetery in the Pennsylvania countryside.

Too many graves of the fallen dot our country’s cemeteries.Regard words from a letter in WWI.”Shells were landing all around us. Machine guns were shooting at us and everything else. It was there that another Alton boy got hurt. Charles Kuhn got hit with a piece of shrapnel, and our commanding officer got killed with a shell. I was about 20 feet from him when a shell landed right under his head and blowed the top of it off. I won't try to tell you all that happened, but will say that Sherman was right. There were shells bursting all around us and a few of our men got knocked off and a bunch got wounded. I have never figured out yet how any of us got back alive “( From .DEGERLIA, THOMAS S.: Alton Evening Telegraph, November 18, 1918 )

No parade, no flowers can make amends for the widowed spouses and orphaned children from war. No festive atmosphere can erase the horrors of war. May we pray and work for a peace that will have memorial Day recall only deaths from a distant past.

May 29 sermon Notes-Lk. 7:1-10

May 29 Lk. 7:1-10

A centurion would be the last person most would seek faithful expression-servant/child/slave/” close-sort of an NCO/lieutenant,went second hand-emissaries-centurion”  as one under authority-Centurions had a middling role in the hierarchy of the Roman army,.by this time they looked to be promoted in the ranks-usually excellent soldiers of skill-had a rod of authority -somewhat our captain in the army or maybe better a boatswain on the ship-this is the face of being under Rome’s thumb, the ones who took from you, made you carry their packs who roughed up your relative.

What faith is being praised by Jesus-trust in his power it seems to be able to heal at a distance. centurions in Luke get good press as one demonstrates faith in healing and one says truly this was the son of god at the cross.. I don;t care if he is a good guy; he is not one of us, not on our side.Stories of occupation-under the thumb-recipients of charity-why his servant and not mine, why not me.Jesus does speak the word. He does not go to the centurion’s home. He does not touch the slave. The amazing element of this story if that Jesus is the one who is amazed -- not the centurion, not the various groups that go to speak with Jesus, but Jesus himself. Jesus is astounded at the faith of this “enemy”, this gentile. This man’s faith engenders a “long-distance” healing, a sign of enormous divine connection. .

The centurion recognized who Jesus was -- did the elders do approach Jesus as requested Jesus does love his enemy. Jesus heals the slave of the centurion because of his owner’s faith. Are we willing to approach Jesus, for ourselves, for our friends, for our enemies? How does this story help us begin to answer the question, “who then is this?”(J. Brown-WP)  Why? Why does the centurion of Capernaum not beg Jesus himself as he does in Matthew and in John (on behalf of his son in this account)? Is he being savvy, using his network to make sure the right person "does the ask" as it is said in fundraising circles? Is it a matter of knowing a guy who knows a guy in order to get the favor, the event tickets, the bill passed, the meeting set up?Centurion truly recognizes that, powerful as he is, he is unworthy to ask for help from the One with far greater authority than he. Powerful as he is, he is powerless in this circumstance..  Jesus holds ultimate power and has ultimate authority. Not once but twice, the centurion sends others to intercede for him. First the Jewish leaders, second his friends. This centurion knows his place in relationship to Jesus. Despite the religious leaders calling the centurion "worthy" and one who loves "our people" (the word is agape, by the way), the centurion says of himself, "I am not worthy" and "I do not presume to come to you." This man is not limping along with two different opinions, as Elijah made fun of the priests. . He is clear about who is Lord and acts accordingly.As Calvin said we tend to worship the gifts and not the giver. Centurion probably believe din Roman gods especially Roman God of healing Asclepius-healing had its own shrines-linked to  Hippocrates-.caduceus. For the Romans they referred to the divine benefits of a god as salvation, as healing, as the giving of new life. Recall that frequently when jesus heals, it is the same word as save.Healing comes in many forms.Admission of humility, of dependence-entrusting one to another’s care-Old Catholic communion prayer-

Pts for week of May 29

Sunday-Ps.96 is part of a section of praise material.How would you write it in 2016? I like the end where the wordless creation erupts in praise in vv12-13. What would that sound like to you?

Monday-Martin Luther puts it this way in the third article of the creed in his Small Catechism: "I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy, and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith . . . This is most certainly true."

Tuesday- father promised his son a pony for his birthday. The big day arrived and the son went out to the barn and opened the barn door. All he could see was a pile of manure, so he began to shovel. "There's a pony in here! There's a pony in here from my father!" he said to himself. "My father promised me and he does not lie." Amid the "manure" of life, our Father provides a gift. When I told this Sufi story to my primary care physician, he shared a Buddhist saying, "No mud, no lotus."In today's reading (Rom 5:1-5), Paul writes that suffering (manure, mud) leads to hope (pony, lotus), and "hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." David Kupka

Wednesday-This Is My father’s World  was written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, a minister, would often go for long walks by Niagara Falls and Lake Huron where he enjoyed the panoramic views. It was here that he was inspired to write the poem that is the basis of this hymn. The hymn reminds me of a large painting called "Serenity." The artist portrayed a huge, roaring, roiling waterfall that fills most of painting. In the foreground there is a birch tree with a bird's nest where a mother robin perches.For me the waterfall represents the chaos, fear, and terror of life today. In the midst of this tumult sits the robin on her nest. That image for me represents the "peace that passes all understanding." As the hymn puts it, "though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet." No matter what happens this is still God's world!

Thursday-a core wound, often from childhood, amy haunt us. These wounds distort the reality of who we are and lead us to compulsive acts. They need to be tended and healed which is challenging because they connect us to our deepest vulnerability." (Abbey of the Arts)

Friday-While the "balm of Gilead" has its roots in Jeremiah, the lyrics of this spiritual link this image to the New Testament message of salvation through Christ.In the New Testament, the word for "healing" is the same word as for "saving." This means that the One who heals us through the doctors, nurses, drugs and medicines, also restores us to health and wholeness. Just as he heals our bodies, he also heals our "sin-sick" souls and saves us for eternity.

Saturday-G.K. Chesterton,  "the soul survives its adventures."

Week of May 22 Pts

Sunday-The Apollo 11 moon mission in 1969 delivered messages from the heads of state engraved on a silicon disk about the size of a fifty-cent piece. As the political head of the Vatican, Pope Paul VI sent along the text of Psalm 8. Psalm 8 is a stargazer psalm. Gazing at the night sky has a way of raising all the big questions:  I like the way Leslie F. Brandt paraphrases these verses in Psalms Now: "When I gaze into star-studded skies and attempt to comprehend the vast distances, contemplate in utter amazement my Creator's concern for me, I am dumbfounded that You should care personally about me." David Kupka Monday-Quote from Dag Hammarskjold, second Secretary-General of the United Nations, : "For all that has been, thank! For all that will be, yes!" Tuesday-"I love the way nature was a profound teacher and wisdom guide for [Thomas] Merton. He experienced all of creation as pointing the way toward our true selves, which is who we were created to be at heart by the divine creative force, and not who we imagine ourselves to be with all of our agendas, goals, and strivings. He saw the lakes, the sea, the mountains, trees and animals as saints because they are so intrinsically themselves. To be a saint means to be fully oneself. These elements of creation do not spin stories that take them away from their true nature." --- Christine Valters Paintner, PhD Wednesday-God Pause-Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Today Lady Wisdom comes in many forms and speaks through many different people. One of those through whom she speaks today is my primary care physician, Dr. Gabriel Weiss. Besides being a physician, he was also a musician who wrote and arranged music. In one of his pieces, he shares this bit of wisdom about a man who prayed:"Every day above ground is a very good day.Every day above ground gives me reason to say,Every day above ground: wipe the tears away..."See Prov. 8 Thursday-Ponder the rhythms of your life: times when you expand and step forward (God in Creation)... times when you're emptied and step back (Christ's emptying*)... and times when life becomes a dance back and forth (Holy Spirit)... I call this the "trinity of experience"--beyond theological doctrine, now as existential movements in you lived life. It's the Way of receiving live, dying to self-deceit, and giving back. And for me it's the only Way worth living. (Kent Ira Groff) Friday-"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." --Simone Weil Saturday-Prov. 8:31-31 maintains that Wisdom delights in the human race. Indeed to find joy in others, not to seek to control the other nor expect the other to be like me, but to truly delight in the other, as other, that is wisdom.

trinity sunday notes-Prov. 8 Ps. 8

May 22 Trinity sunday Ps. 8, Prov. 8, Jn 16, Rom. 5

Trinity Sunday reminds us that we worship a complex God. We attempt to make sense of the ways God is presented to us in the bible, and  we name god as Trinity this Sunday.this year let’s take a look at Prov. 8 for a neglected part of speaking of God, the Wisdom inherent in creation.The final two verses of the passage are the most crucial for understanding not only the relationship between God and Wisdom, but also that between God and that which God creates, especially human beings. In verse 30, Wisdom describes herself as beside God at creation, either, depending on the translation, “like a master worker” or “like a little child.” The former translation is in keeping with a depiction of Wisdom as God’s partner in creation, a craftsperson who assists God in the formation of the world.  Wisdom is the formative power of God’s delight. As Elizabeth A. Johnson writes of this text, Wisdom “is a beneficent, right-ordering power in whom God delights and by whom God creates; her constant effort is to lure human beings into life.” Wisdom is the creative power of God that is embedded in the world; each created thing, and the creation as a whole, speaks of the Wisdom of God.

That Wisdom is God’s very delight. It is by the power of delight that God brought forth the world. Proverbs 8 tells us that God delights  in us. God’s delight is the power that drives God to create, forming all that is through the ordering power of divine delight.  Wisdom draws human beings into delighted relationship with the divine.Webb-Amy Erickson Through Woman Wisdom, God expresses the enthusiasm of a Powerball winner for humanity. In inviting all humans to join her in her dance of delight, Wisdom invites humanity to engage in a joyful search for God's dynamic presence through and in the world. God willing, the process of seeking the divine in the world and in each other just might drive out some of the darkness.

When I was young, I wanted to be an astronomer, until I took high school physics and never grasped much. I still love looking at pictures of the cosmos and stories of it. Recently, the Kepler telescope found around 1200 new planets and nine of them are in the goldilocks zone of being just right for life as we know it.Ps. 8 what does creation and newer science tells us about God?see william brown,  McGrath book the universe is capable to be studied as it reflects a divine order, even as it contains a raft of random elements-supreme harmony of all as Jonathan Edwards said includes the very character and actions of God.

rom. 5 God’s love poured into our hearts-

God is not limited in time or space or circumstance in the spirit of John 16-The future is open. It requires our discernment, our listening, watching for, and trusting that God will continue to reveal Godself through the Spirit of Truth. Jesus has shown us is the God still at work for our illumination and strength to persist. We  acknowledge that there may still be truths that we are not able to bear, and that God accompanies us along the way Ages ago some churches called themselves more light churches, as well as in our recent history., all of which we cannot see, but all of which we dare to trust is Trinity is at work for us, revealing light here and preparing a place suitable for each and all of us in the fullness of God's reign.(Heinrich)