Learning Compassion...

Scripture Reading

Jesus and the apostles in a boat

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Introduction

There are many things in our lives to worry and stress about. With the comings and goings of life, work, family, friends and simply keeping up with our "to do" list  our lives can be very exhausting. But with our busyness, do we respond out of compassion when asked to do just a little more? Or do we respond out of irritation? 

Prayer
Dear God, let your will for me be known. 
Use me, oh God, as your creation. 
When a kind word needs to be spoken, use my voice. 
When a load needs to be lifted, use my back. 
When a hug needs to be given, use my arms. 
When a journey needs to be taken, use my feet. 
When a message needs to be delivered, use my mind. 
When a friend needs to be loved, use my heart.
In all things, in all ways, use me God,as your instrument of love, faith, peace and tranquility. Amen. 


Reflection
The response to Jesus’ ministry throughout Galilee was overwhelming, especially among those needing healing. So many were coming, says Mark, that Jesus and his disciples “had no leisure even to eat.” So finally, after many weeks of ministering to the needs of multitudes, Jesus tried to take his disciples on a retreat with him. They got into a boat and set sail on the Sea of Galilee for “a deserted place by themselves.” The thing was, many in the crowd saw Jesus’ group depart, guessed where they were going and then hurried ahead of them by land and gathered where the boat was coming to shore.



Thus, when Jesus and his party landed, they found even the “deserted place” filled with a clamoring multitude.
If you had been a disciple, how would you have felt about this development? Would you have had a burst of irritation, yelling at the crowd, “Can’t you leave us alone for a single hour?” Would you have urged Jesus to send them away or at least to deliver a lecture about respecting your need for time apart? Maybe you’d have instead huffily advised Jesus to not teach at all at that location and not heal anyone on that day so that the members of the crowd would “get the message” and give your little group some breathing room and some time to recuperate.


Jesus did none of those things, however. He saw the desperate need of the people, “and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.”


Throughout our day to day journey we are given opportunities to be compassionate to others, responding out of grace rather than irritation. How often do you take advantage of the chance to respond  out of compassion? How often do you need a compassionate response but instead receive an irritable one? 


Compassion takes practice. Practice compassion. 



Spiritual Action
Take a moment to read the Gospel for this coming Sunday. Spend 5 minutes in silence reflecting on what you have just read. Reread the Gospel once more. Reflect  on or discuss these questions:

• Who am I in this gospel story?
• Would I have responded the way Jesus did?
• When was a time that I felt compassion from another in my life? 
• How can I better practice being a person of compassion?

This week take some time each day to create a place of quiet for at least five minutes.

When Storms Arise...

When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"  -Mark 4:35-41

Introduction
Storms play an important role in our lives and in the lives of our spiritual ancestors. Storms are a symbol of God's hand working in the world about us. But storms are also a symbol of the difficult times of our lives. This week we reflect on the role and place of storms in nature, in the bible and in our lives. 



Prayer
O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving­kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 



Reflection
Summer is a time for magnificent storms. The flash of lightening, the boom of thunder and lull of the rain all combine to create a symphony of nature that is unmatched by any human composer. We need refreshing summer storms because they wash away the grime and gunk that has built up over time. Our lives in God are no different, we need an occasional storm to cleanse the build up on our souls. 


What our gospel for this week calls us is to not be afraid when sudden storms pop up in our lives. Jesus' admonition to the storm, "Peace! Be still!" is an admonition to us as well. When storms arise in our lives we are called to realize that we do not travel the road of life alone. Jesus walks with us in many ways; through the beauty of nature, the smile of friends and the gathering of community. 


How do you deal with the storms life sometimes throw at you? Do you feel God's presence during those difficult times?



Spiritual Action
Take a moment to read the Gospel for this coming Sunday. Spend 5 minutes in silence reflecting on what you have just read. Reread the Gospel once more. Reflect on these questions:

• Who are you in the gospel story?
• How do you deal with sudden storms in life?
• When have you felt closest to God?
• Where do you practice being at peace in your life of schedules, deadlines and to-do lists?

This week take some time each day to create a place of quiet for at least five minutes. 

Jesus and the wine vine of love...

The Reverend Deon K. Johnson

Preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brighton MI May 6. 2012

John 15:1-8

Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."

Jesus in our Gospel reminds us that he is the vine and we are the branches and he invites us to abide in his love. But if you've ever seen pruned bushes, you know it's not pretty. Yesterday as part of the parish cleanup we pruned and dug and divided a bunch of the plants from the front garden. If you came by here around 11:00 it would have looked like a war zone and the plants certainly weren’t winning. Roots and rhizomes, leaves and stems were everywhere!

But as any gardener can tell you plants need a good pruning every now and then. Cutting away the dead growth -- whether of a single plant or from the whole garden -- is the only way for new life to take place. So what is Jesus really saying here? I suspect that what he means is that we need to be connected to something real, to something life sustaining or we run the risk of withering up and being pruned. What Jesus is reminding us is that we are in need of life giving love and connectedness in order to thrive. But connected to what?

One of the challenges of our modern life is that we're more connected than ever, yet more people feel increasingly isolated. We have more and more friends on Facebook, but fewer friends that we actually see and talk with in person. We are "linked in" all over the place, yet rates of reported loneliness and depression are skyrocketing. Think of all the ways we are connected, we are connected to more sources of news and information and entertainment and even to each other via email and social media, yet seem to be almost drowning in information while at the same time  starved for actual experience, particularly the experience of being in real relationships.

Jesus is saying is that by being connected to him we are also able to be connected with each other. Jesus invites us to be honest, to be real, and having confessed our hopes and fears, our dreams and disappointments, our accomplishments and failures, our blessing and our sin, to know what we are accepted, loved, and forgiven. 

The question is do we live like we have real connections? Do we accept, love, invite and forgive others as we have been? Are we willing to be pruned, to let the dead, dry, barren places of our lives be burned away,  in order to let new life and new growth flow from us?

What the world is saying in things like Facebook and LinkedIn and BranchedOut and all the other social media is that there is a yearning for connection, for realness, for relationship, for experience. And if we are honest with ourselves we will realize that the church, the Christian community was the first ever social network with Christ as the vine and us as the connected branches.  That doesn’t mean that the church isn’t messy and complicated and at times in need of a good pruning itself.

But do we live our lives as though we know that we are loved and connected through Christ with each other? Can we honestly say that showing up here in church on Sundays makes a difference in our lives, in how we treat other people, in how we go about our business Monday through Saturday?

This past week I came across a quote by Desmond Tutu (you remember him...he kissed a Seminarian around here a few years back). In a sermon Archbishop Tutu commenting on his faith and on the role of the church in the world said “We have imagined that Christianity itself is a religion of virtue. But no, Christianity is not a religion of virtue; it is a religion of grace. And there's a difference. A religion of virtue says, 'If you are good, then God will love you.' A religion of grace says, 'God loves you. Period!' God loves you despite your foibles and failures, not because you're so good but as a sinner in need of mercy. God loves you; live then as one who is beloved, who has been forgiven.”

I am convinced that Desmond Tutu has a profound connection to the Divine. He hits at the heart of who we are and what we need as followers of Christ. All we need, all we want, all we long for is love. But sometimes that love is hidden under layers and layers of the dead branches we have accumulated over the years. Sometimes we have been hurt so badly by others that it is hard to let love in or even to reach out in love.

 But the thing is we already have love, we have God’s abiding and life-giving love but more often than not we don’t realize it, more often than not we don’t share it.

What our faith requires of is that in light of God's acceptance of us, we can then turn and try to accept each other, living with the imperfections of even our best relationships because we know ourselves to be imperfect and flawed and yet also so profoundly loved.

You see Love is at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Love is the measure of faithfulness; love is what connects us to each other if we let it. Love is the nourishment that flows through the vine that is Christ and sustains us as branches.

What we as a church, as a community, as outposts of God’s love and hope gathered together must ask ourselves is this: Can we allow Jesus to be at our center? Can we be a congregation that becomes a place where we admit who we are and allow others to do the same?

Just as we need the air to breathe, we need food and nourishment to live. We need shelter and community; we need a home. We need love and connectedness. We need the vine to remind us that we are all connected and in this together so that we can be faithful to our calling. “I am the vine, you are the branches…” Amen.  

Jesus makes us good enough!

The Rev. Deon K. Johnson

Preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brighton MI April 29, 2012

John 10:11-18

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."

West Indian Blackbelly Sheep

I have to begin with a confession.  My brother and I actually grew up with sheep. Not the cute white woolly wads of fleece that you see on TV but dark brown, non-woolly black bellied sheep native to the West Indies. They are not the sheep of TV, movies or Serta mattress commercials.  


They were plain, boring ole sheep that we had to take out in the morning and bring back home at night. The way we spelt sheep was C-H-O-R-E! 

The thing about the sheep that I grew up with was that they were in a word dumb! If I had a choice between the sheep, rabbits and goats that I had to take care of as a child I would go with the goats. They were at least somewhat smart. But not the sheep.

They were noisy four legged creatures that would follow you everywhere, get loose and wonder off or even worse raid the garden and eat everything green in sight, and of course I got blamed. I often wondered if the care of sheep wasn’t some unique punishment created by God specifically for my brother and I to atone for sins yet committed. 

The thing about sheep is that they have a tendency, if you’re not careful, to wonder off and get themselves hurt or worse killed. But if there is one thing that sheep know it is this: with someone to care for them there will always be enough grass and greenery to eat and that someone will always be there, loving them and taking care of them no matter how stupid they may sometimes be.  

I suspect that that is why Jesus said to his followers “I am the Good shepherd” that image of tender loving care that a shepherd has for the sheep is a timeless image. It speaks to our need to belong, to be loved and to know that someone cares deeply for us.

[Description and history of the image the image of Jesus in the catacombs from the 2^nd Century -the very first image of Jesus from the early church.]

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." And "I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord."

But why? Why does Jesus the good shepherd lay down his life? To tell us that we are, in fact, good enough. Jesus, especially in John's gospel, doesn't die in order to make some kind of payment to God or to satisfy God's wrath or to pay the penalty for sin. Jesus, in John's Gospel, is the Revealer, the One who comes to make the invisible God visible and the unapproachable God accessible. Jesus comes to reveal that God loves the whole world, no exceptions. Jesus comes, that is, to tell us that we are already beloved, that we are good enough, that we need no shoes or book or car or reputation or lover or high status job or big bank account or list of achievements or anything else to be deserving of God's love. That we've already got God's unconditional and unending love.

But that can be hard to believe. So many messages, so much money is devoted to trying to tell us that we are not good enough, that we are not worthy of love, that we need to earn acceptance, that we need something else, something more to be acceptable. Think of all the commercials on TV that tell us in subtle terms of course, that if we just got this one product, this one special thing, we would be perfect and all our friends, family and even our pets would love us! Get it, buy it, wear it, show it, give it, share it, spend it and you to will be good enough, but only with my product. (And of course two weeks later the come out with the platinum edition of whatever it is we just bought.)

But what  Jesus reminds us that we are good enough, that nothing in this world could make us any less in the eyes of God.  But it is hard to believe at times. Let's make no mistake about that. Which is why we should listen to even more of Jesus' message: "I lay down my life for the sheep," he says. "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." Jesus, in other words, didn't come just for the original group of disciples. He came also for us, and we are now invited to hear and believe this message of grace and acceptance and to share it with each other and all those we meet.

It means that in our loves we have to live like someone loves us. It means that we have to treat others as if someone loves them and loves them deeply. It means that we can't just do the motions of faith on Sundays and then live like we don't know that a Good Shepherd loves us the rest of the week.

It means reminding ourselves and others that:

"You are a beloved child of God, and you are good enough."

Lets practice that now. Turn to someone next to you and remind them. 

Feels good doesn't? We need to hear that more often. We need to tell others that more often.  That is what our faith is about, reminding ourselves that we are good enough. 

What we say in baptizing Joshua today is that he is good enough for God's love. That nothing and no one can't separate him from God not matter who he becomes in life. The challenge for us is to make sure that he knows that he is always good enough. It isn't enough for us to tell him that he is loved and cared for by the Good Shepherd we must live as if we know that we are loved and cared for as well. It means that we must work for a world where all of God's children know that they are loved and gently cared for by the creator of the vast universe.

There is a reason why the early church saw Jesus not as a king, or a ruler but as a gentle herder of sheep. They like we know that we need to be reminded that in Jesus Christ God's love is made real and tangible. That the almighty creator of the world is not some distant figure on a cloud or something far away but a real living, breathing, loving prison revealed in a man named Jesus.

In Jesus the Good Shepherd God reminds us that we are beloved and that we are good enough. May we have the courage to live our lives as though we really, truly believed it. Amen.

Jesus is hungry...

The Reverend Deon K. Johnson

Preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brighton MI April 22, 2012

Luke 24:36b-48

While the disciples were telling how they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

I have to begin by asking a question…

What is the one thing that Jesus is always doing in almost every story in the Gospels where people  are gathered?

He’s always eating! 

Feeding the 5000, dinner with Tax Collectors and prostitutes, multiplying the fish and loaves, the last supper. If I didn’t know better I’d think that Jesus main ministry message was “eat in remembrance of me” –oh wait, it is.

I suspect that the Food network would be Jesus’ favorite TV channel if they had it back then.  Jesus seems to know a thing or two about food and in almost every resurrection appearance Jesus is always eating.  Apparently after 3 days in the tomb, he’s kinda hungry, hungry to share a meal.  And a meal isn’t about just food. 

Food is more than just the maintenance of our bodies. Food speaks to who we are, where we come from, and the things we value. 

Can you think of any occasion in your life that did not in some way shape or form involve food? I suspect that you can't think of one because it is hard to avoid not sharing a meal. 

We share meals for just about every occasion; from baptism brunches to funeral wakes, we eat our way through life, and that is exactly what Jesus did in his time. Is it a wonder that our worship centers on a late night supper?  You see the thing is that Jesus knew that a meal is more than the nourishment; it is more than utensils and the place settings. It’s about companionship.  Jesus is hungry for companionship. 

Do you know what the word companion means? Com - with & panis -bread. Literally the one you share bread with. 

Our Gospel reading for today tells us that the disciples at first couldn’t believe they were experiencing the risen, living Jesus because they thought they were seeing a ghost.  Nobody ever quite recognizes the risen Jesus as Jesus until something else happens.  When Jesus points out his crucifixion wounds, they see.  But then, the thought that he is risen is so joyful and amazing, they still can’t believe it.  Too scary.  Too wonderful.  Either way, it’s hard to accept.

And then he asks for a piece of fish. Jesus is hungry: hungry to share a meal and celebrate life; hungry to gather again with his friends; hungry for them to trust the life giving power of God; hungry for them to become a new community of faithful, courageous living; hungry for them to break bread together and with strangers everywhere until strangers are strange no more. That is what Jesus wants of us as well.

There is a wonderful short story told by the humorist David Sedaris called Jesus Shaves, where Sedaris finds himself living in France and he decides that it might be a good idea to take an introductory French class. Because the class is made up of people from all over the world, with different cultures and backgrounds the teacher has them explore different cultural holidays that they celebrate BUT they can only speak to each other in French.

At the beginning of a particular class the teacher asked:  "And what does one do on Easter? Would anyone like to tell us?"

Sedaris writes:

The Italian nanny was attempting to answer the question when the Moroccan student interrupted, shouting, "Excuse me, but what's an Easter?"

Despite her having grown up in a Muslim country, it seemed she might have heard it mentioned once or twice, but no. "I mean it," she said. "I have no idea what you people are talking about."

The teacher then called upon the rest of us to explain.

The Poles led the charge to the best of their ability. "It is," said one, "a party for the little boy of God who call his self Jesus and…"

She faltered, and her fellow countryman came to her aid.

"He call his self Jesus, and then he be die one day on two . . . morsels of . . . lumber."

The rest of the class jumped in, offering bits of information that would have given the pope an aneurysm.

"He die one day, and then he go above of my head to live with your father."

"He weared the long hair, and after he died, the first day he come back here for to say hello to the peoples."

"He nice, the Jesus."

"He make the good things, and on the Easter we be sad because somebody makes him dead today."

Part of the problem had to do with grammar. Simple nouns such as cross and resurrection were beyond our grasp, let alone such complicated reflexive phrases as "To give of yourself your only begotten son." Faced with the challenge of explaining the cornerstone of Christianity, we did what any self-respecting group of people might do. We talked about food instead.

Explaining Easter and resurrection in any language is difficult at best furthermore trying to explain it in a language that is not your native tongue. But he is right when in doubt the universal language is food. Jesus knew that, Jesus lived that, Jesus died, rose and is remembered in that.

The resurrected Jesus is a hungry Jesus.  He comes to feed us with his bread and wine, his living, loving presence.  And then, he feeds us with his hunger, until we are hungry for the same things:  companionship, meals shared in community, a gathering of strangers and friends where everyone is fed and is so overjoyed they can hardly believe it, but so overjoyed they can hardly not.

That is what resurrection is about, it is about sharing a meal that has the power to transform us from what we used to be into who God wants us to be.  It is about being willing to let a simple meal challenge us and change us, and shape us and mold us until we more closely resemble the resurrected Jesus.

So come to Christ’s table. Come as you are. Come hungry, come helpless, come hopeful. Eat and live to go and tell. We are the witnesses. Whether bold or fearful, let us be full and faithful in our going and telling and inviting. There is room for all and plenty of food to share and plenty of companionship. 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is hungry indeed! Alleluia! Amen. 

Resurrection finds us...

The Reverend Deon K. Johnson

Preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brighton MI April 8, 2012 Easter Day

Mark 16:1-8

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

"When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back" (Mark 16:4).

The women approached the tomb to complete a proper burial for their friend and would-be-messiah. Dread and sorrow filled their hearts, but like women everywhere, in every time, they came simply to do what must be done. This One, who had gone beyond merely making the lame walk and proclaimed the forgiveness of sins and a new life under the reign of God, was now dead. The end of a dream -- their dream of salvation and deliverance. And then they looked up and "saw that the stone, which was very large, had ALREADY been rolled back."

Can you imagine the fear and the joy they felt on that first Easter morning? Can you imagine going to visit the grave of a loved one and finding it open and empty? You'd be mad, or scared or both. You don't expect the dead to be anything else but dead. We like our dead to stay dead. And that is the problem with Jesus he just won't stay dead! He just won't stay in the places that we put him!

You see we try to contain God. We crucify him, wrap him in a shroud and roll a stone to bar the entrance. But God can not be contained no matter how hard we try, no matter how many stones, or shrouds or cross we place in the way!

Resurrection finds us. It finds us at the point of brokenness in our lives and does something amazing. We may not always see it, may not even understand it, but God will be there to find us when we need to be resurrected the most.

We as people of faith should worry less what people say they believe happened 2,000 years ago to Jesus and worry more about whether we are living as if resurrection still happens. I believe in resurrection because I have experienced it. I experienced it when I lost my sight in seminary and my professors and classmates showed me what God’s unconditional love looked like. I experienced resurrection when I have sat at the death bed of a complete stranger in the hospital who was at peace with the life to come and left this world with a smile on his face because he lived his life to the fullest. He lived his life in a way that made him happy because he lived like God intended him to live. He let the small insignificant things fall away. How many of us when we come to our deaths will meet our end with a smile looking back at a life well lived?

I experienced resurrection in seeing a close friend go through months of chemotherapy, loose her hair, her health and at times it would seem her hope but through it all managed to smile and come out the other side a survivor. I experience resurrection in my two nieces who teach me more about God that I sometimes care to know.

The thing is we don’t have to go back two thousand years to know resurrection, we know resurrection because we live it! Because of Jesus’ resurrection we experience resurrection!

You have been there as well. You know only too well what resurrection looks and feels and tastes like in your own life. You know what it feels like when the massive stone that has been holding you back has been rolled back and you experience life in all its fullness. You see resurrection isn’t a time and place in history that happened to Jesus, resurrection happens every day.

We don’t find resurrection, we don’t get up one morning and decide…”well I have nothing else to do I think I am going to go look for resurrection.” No we don’t find resurrection, resurrection finds us. Like the women early that morning looking for the body of Jesus to anoint, they were not looking for resurrection; it didn’t even cross their minds that they would find anything other than the lifeless body of their teacher in a borrowed tomb. But instead resurrection finds them.

I think it begins by practicing resurrection. It begins by opening up ourselves to our lives being transformed when we least expect it. It means living our lives as if they had meaning, and purpose and hope. Living a resurrected life means that we have to let the massive stones in our lives be rolled away so that the life that God is calling us to can come alive! Living our lives in that truth means doing courageous and mighty things in Jesus' name. Surrendering to the resurrection means letting go of all the anxiety and fear that can so easily grip and disempower us and experiencing the joy of the resurrected life.

It means living our lives with "the peace that passes all understanding" in our hearts. And it means stopping each and every day, one day at a time, to look up and be reminded that the stone has ALREADY been rolled away. We need to live as Easter people in a world clinging to Good Friday! We need to like Jesus’ followers to practice resurrection. We need to leave behind all the dead places and things that we have followed and proclaim a God who will not be contained, who will meet us and resurrect us when we are weighted down by the instruments of death.

Wendell Barrie in his poem “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.” Here’s a taste of this poetic and prophetic masterpiece:

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion – put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.

Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary,

some in the wrong direction.

Practice resurrection.

This Easter, may you open your whole self — heart, soul, mind, and strength — to God’s inspiring call to new life and renewed love. May you feel God luring you, prompting you, goading you, cajoling you, calling you and encouraging you — each day and in each new present moment — to practice resurrection. Alleluia! Christ is Risen. Amen.

Making time for God…

"In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. " -Mark 1:38 Bertram Polloch was at one time the Bishop of Norwich. As Bishop of Norwich, Polloch was continually being pulled in a million different directions with people coming and going, clamoring for his attention. He knew that he needed time for self care, and connection with God.  Bishop Polloch had certain times set aside on his calendar for prayer and spiritual connection. No matter who came to see him at those times scheduled on his calendar, they were told that he could not be interrupted because "he had an appointment with God". I admire Bishop Polloch for his ability to ensure that he fostered his relationship with God. I often find it hard with the many things piled on my desk to take time for prayer, meditation and self reflection. I don't often put God in my appointment book and I wonder if it might not be a practice to try this coming Lenten Season. Do we really make time for God in our busy modern day 21st Century over-scheduled lives? We are tempted to say "Yes" we make time for God. We go to Church, we say the prayers, sing the hymns and even offer a hug or two at the Peace but if we are honest with ourselves, outside of formal worship we make little room for God. Most of our meetings with God are not planned. Our prayers are occasional, spontaneous, spur of the moment prayers. If we meet with God, it's usually an emergency or a crisis. Most often during those time when our backs are up against the wall, bills are due, a child is sick, it’s the end of the semester and there are exams to take, too many papers to write, too many proposals to get in, we need help. If the truth be told, God is the last resort when everything else has failed so we figure "I've tried everything else, now I'll will try God." I suspect that if I had a friend that the only time I called on them was when I was in trouble or needed help I would soon find myself one friend short. An occasional visit or prayer doesn't foster relationship with our families and friends and it certainly does not foster relationship with God. If we love God, why do we find it so hard to make time to talk to God and to let God talk to us? The truth is God will always be there when we need to talk and even more so when we need to listen but building a relationship with God can only benefit us in the long run. We need to have an appointment with God every day. It needs to be a priority engagement that cannot be broken. I invite you to join me during the season of Lent to put a "God-appointment" on your calendar that cannot be broken. I'll let you know how I do…

Beginnings....

Mark 1:4-11

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Beginnings--whatever they are--are important.  They tell us who we are, and they often tell us where we are going in this life. Think of a time in your life when something important happened…when you encountered a new beginning; the birth of a child, buying your first car, moving into your first home, meeting your first grandchild. We know that there is something sacred and holy about beginnings.

The Bible has a story about the beginning and some of us know it by heart. We heard it read as part of the readings appointed for today:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God* swept over the face of the waters.

I love that scene, that image! I love to think of God getting up close and personal, going into the midst of the formless void, the darkness. God looking into the storm tossed waters, the chaotic waters and making sense out of chaos. If we pay attention, if we listen carefully we hear of a God who is personally connected to the creation, not a God that is removed, and far off, but a God who is intimately close at every beginning. In this story of beginning we hear God parting with a part of the divine self in order to bring forth something new, something beautiful and good. This story of beginning speaks a truth to us that is beyond the simplicity of this story.

I often hear friends of mine who are not into Church complain that they can’t believe in a literal creation of the world because it is not scientific, it doesn’t make sense to them; it doesn’t fit with our understanding of evolution and geophysics. Well it’s not supposed to. The Bible is not a scientific text book or a geophysics compendium; it was never meant to be. This story and the bible, are meant to convey a deep truth that is beyond the “facts”.

The thing is the people who wrote these ancient books we have put together in one volume and called The Bible didn't think they were writing textbooks and they certainly weren’t concerned with the facts. They were writing about the experience of the holy in their life and what that experience was like in the life of a whole people; how that experience changed who and how they were. They were trying to make sense out of their common experience of encountering God as a people.

What they wrote down wasn’t a detailed account of God but rather how they came to experience God. Like us they tried to make sense of their world in the only way they knew how; in poetry, ancient stories, angry letters, legal documents, prose. Even a couple of old love songs wound up there. These stories, encounters, these writings were an attempt to capture a truth about God.

Even in the book of Beginnings –Genesis -we see the people of God struggling to make sense of the creation, to make sense of their beginning. Genesis may be the first book in the bible but it is the youngest Old Testament writing. The people of Israel believed themselves to be created at the Red Sea, in the escape from Egypt. Genesis was written while the people of Israel were in captivity and needed to be reminded that God was with them, that God created them that God was an intimate part of who they were from the beginning. This beginning story was a story to reassure the people that when their lives and the world around them was in chaos –it was not meant to be the facts of the creation because no one was looking over God’s shoulder taking notes.

I think we need this story of beginning because it is the most important kind of beginning, a story that shows us God staring down chaos and making beauty.  Because when the world feels like chaos, when we find ourselves trapped in the formless void, in the deep waters of loss or grief or despair, when God seems to us to be nowhere...in that time when we are desperate for a new beginning, we have this story.  We have a Creating God who reshapes the chaos into order, even into beauty.

You see beginnings are important.  They tell us who we are and they tell us where we are going.

One of the mistakes that most Christians and our culture often make when we read the Bible is that we think that the Bible only has one beginning.  In fact, the bible is a book that has dozens of beginnings, maybe hundreds, and many of them echo this same theme.  God creates order out of chaos. 

That is where John the Baptizer comes in. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness shouting, demanding that people rise up to take responsibility for their lives and for the state of the world.  John didn't show up in a world where everything was going just fine.  It was a world scarred and disfigured by the oppression of the many by the few, by state-sponsored violence, by greed, by the exploitation by the powerful of the powerless.  John showed up there, standing in the waters of the Jordan calling the people to see the chaos around them and to make a change. 

And then Jesus wades into the water next to John. And just as before, in Jesus there was light in the darkness.  God proclaims “You are my son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased”. As it was in the beginning, here God was in the world, creating order from chaos.  This time it was by proclaiming good news to the poor and release to every captive. 

God was in the world to speak peace to the world's strongest army, to feed the hungry as others hoarded their excess, to restore dignity to all in a world that afforded dignity to some and stripped it from others, to forgive us our sins and free us for love.

When John and Jesus arrived, the earth had again been covered in darkness.  But when God's Spirit moved on the face of the waters, God was making order from chaos through Jesus.

There's not one beginning in the Bible; there are so many.  But they contain echoes of the same theme:  when the earth was a formless void, God ordered the chaos and made a good creation. When injustice reigned in human life, God gave us Jesus to reorder lives from the inside out.  When the earth was dark and its Savior had been laid in a tomb, on the third day he rose again from the dead to show once and for all time that there is no disorder that the love of God cannot remake, there is no chaos that God's love cannot turn into something beautiful.

The same is true for us –there is no chaos in our lives, in our world that God is not able, through Jesus, to make new. We are always and everywhere given a chance at a new beginning. Beginnings are important because they tell us who we are, where we are going and remind us of whose we are.  God is calling your chaos into a new beginning. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

The Rev. Deon K. Johnson

Preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brighton MI January 8, 2012

Jesus born at K-Mart

Luke 2:1-14(15-20)

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

I have to admit that I love Christmas. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. Not because of all the gifts and cards and chocolate cookies that get baked this time of year. I love Christmas because at this time of year everyone seems to be just a little bit nicer, a little bit smile-ier, a little bit more hopeful. We get into the Christmas Spirit this time of year…

I was reading about the Layaway Angels online the other day. In case you haven’t heard about this there are a number of people who have been going around to department stores, particularly K-Marts, and paying off the lay away balance on people’s accounts in time for Christmas. I don’t me just paying off a dollar or two here I mean paying in-full the entire account.

From the Daily Mail Online:

A Californian man is the latest layaway angel to embrace the spirit of Christmas charity by paying off $16,000 still owed to one shop for presents.

David Wilson, a car dealer from Laguna Beach, contacted the K-Mart in Costa Mesa…he asked the manager to tally up the balances on all the accounts with balances of $100 or less, then wrote a check for $15,919.61 to pay off the whole lot. The manager of the Costa Mesa K-Mart, Tricia Lawrence, then spent the whole weekend calling customers to let them know that they could come in and collect their presents.

‘The funniest thing is that I haven’t been called a liar so often in my life,’ she said…
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077521/Christmas-layaway-angel-David-Wilson-pays-16k-accounts-K-Mart-store.html#ixzz1hTMXbxHh

We don’t often expect miracles, or random acts of kindness but at Christmas we don the spirit of possibility. This weekend people all over the world will hear the Christmas story once again, a story in which angels brought “good news of great joy” to a young woman, her betrothed, her cousin’s husband, and some shepherds. They will listen once more to the song of the angels and the greetings of the Wise Men.

The story of that night became far more than a story. For over 2000 years many have been inspired to live and walk in the light of that story and its subject, Jesus: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” [From John 1]

What Jesus’s birth reminds us is that God’s messengers are everywhere, in everyone who lives the message of the Jesus story, in anyone who finds a way to make light shine in the darkness.

Christmas reminds us why God came to us as a child weak and helpless. Because as we go through our regular everyday lives we don’t look for random acts of kindness, we don’t expect miracles but God reminds us that the best miracles, the greatest joy, the lights that shine brightest in the darkness are the ones unexpected. There is so much for us to be cynical and sad about in our world right about now; the economy, our job security, the environment, political gridlock, famine, war, heartache, broken relationships, loss…the list goes on and on. But at Christmas in the Child of Bethlehem we recognize God’s greatest miracle.

A few weeks ago one of our kids here asked me “Why did God come as a baby?” And I have to admit that I was at a loss for words for a little while. I could explain the incarnation and all that goes with it theologically but how do you make all that make sense for a 4 year old? So I said “God comes as a baby because everyone loves babies.”

And therein lies and eternal truth: God came as a baby because we love babies and needed a bundled miracle.

How many of you have held a new born baby? Whether it’s your child, grandchild, Godchild or a stranger’s baby you know the feeling you get when you hold a new born baby in your arms for the first time. They are so tiny, so frail, so fragile. But in that little squirming tangle of feet and fingers is a world of possibility, a long road ahead that is turned towards hope and love. You can’t help but smile when you hold a new born baby. You’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about. I remember holding my oldest niece for the first time. She was born premature and she was tiny. I was almost afraid to hold her in case I did something to hurt her. But once that little bundle found the nook of my arm it was over; your heart races, your breath quickens and smile breaks across your face because in that little tiny child is all the possibility in the world. I have seen the biggest, burliest of men reduced to tears the moment you put a baby in their hands.

As weak and helpless as they maybe, babies how the power of miracle; the power of possibility. That is why God came to us as a child, that is why we needed a savior that shared our life and our world because in a child we see possibility, we see hope, we see love made real. The coming of Christ into the world announces the wonderful news that God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love.

There is indeed something special about this season and how it inspires people to do good, to help others, to care for the poor, the weak and the sick. It is the season when we acknowledge that God draws near to the earth to be with and for all of us. It is the season when perhaps we understand most clearly that we are the new messengers, living God’s story in home and school, in work and world. Even at the layaway counter in K-Mart.

In that child of Bethlehem we are told in no uncertain terms that miracles happen! That God loves us deeply and dearly! That Christmas is not just a moment in time a few millennia ago but every day we draw breath. Christmas doesn’t end tomorrow. Christmas doesn’t end with Epiphany, or Lent, or Easter; Christmas is God’s continuing gift of God’s presence with us, and Christmas is our challenge to prepare room in our hearts, and in our lives.

And do you know why? Because as much as we hear about taking Christ out of Christmas what’s important is that Christ can’t take YOU out of Christmas… you are the reason there IS a Christmas- you’re the reason that Jesus was sent here the first place- because of God’s great love for you…because of God’s love for US! “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son!” For God so loved each one of us… because God loved, Jesus came to earth- bringing with him the foundations of everything he knows- love, joy, hope… and possibility.

And truly I tell you- that God loves you so very much- that tonight, and tomorrow and every single day that you are willing, (and even when you’re not willing…) when you’re singing carols, or heading back to work, or just watching the game you will be reminded that in you God sees infinite possibility and tremendous hope.

So as we pack up our ornaments for another year, fill the garage with boxes labeled “Christmas,” think about how your life in January and February can continue the work of Christmas. As you pull the tinsel off the tree and put away the Frosty the Snowman videos, imagine who is lost, who is hungry, who needs peace in March and April. When the shepherds are back with their flock in the box, remember their surprise and joy, and find someplace to offer the song of the angels to someone who needs it in June. As Santa Claus makes his way back to the North Pole, think of how you can carry the giving of Christmas to those in need of Christmas miracles in July and August. Christ is the Christmas baby for all seasons in you.

As Howard Thurman puts it this way in his poem “The Work of Christmas”:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.

So just remember…if we can find the love of God’s birth at the layaway counter in K-Mart how much more can it be found in you? Merry Christmas! Amen.