Jesus talks more about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven than anything else. More often than not he takes the traditional images of what people thought the kingdom looked like: a banquet, riches, bread of salvation a garden and turns it on its head. Instead Jesus says the Kingdom is like the finest and fanciest banquet that is attended by the homeless, the sick, the poor and rejected. The Kingdom is not gathering riches but selling everything that you have for the sake of the Good News. The Kingdom is not the legendary unleavened bread of salvation that sustained the Israelites in the wilderness on their way to the promised land, but instead is bread that has been transformed by yeast. The Kingdom is not a perfect and orderly garden, but a garden filled with weeds that grow into trees in order to welcome birds to nest in their branches. The kingdom of God is filled with people and things we would never expect. Who do you think is welcome (or not) in God's kingdom?
"He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’" ~Matthew 13:31-32
Jesus talks more about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven than anything else. More often than not he takes the traditional images of what people thought the kingdom looked like: a banquet, riches, bread of salvation a garden and turns it on its head. Instead Jesus says the Kingdom is like the finest and fanciest banquet that is attended by the homeless, the sick, the poor and rejected. The Kingdom is not gathering riches but selling everything that you have for the sake of the Good News. The Kingdom is not the legendary unleavened bread of salvation that sustained the Israelites in the wilderness on their way to the promised land, but instead is bread that has been transformed by yeast. The Kingdom is not a perfect and orderly garden, but a garden filled with weeds that grow into trees in order to welcome birds to nest in their branches. The kingdom of God is filled with people and things we would never expect. Who do you think is welcome (or not) in God's kingdom? "And Jesus said to them, "Follow me." ~Matthew 4:19 Repeatedly, in each of the four gospels, Jesus invites people - the rich and the poor, the whole and the broken, the religious and the seeking to follow him. Through the years we too are offered this same invitation: to follow in the Way of Jesus. As a church we acknowledge this in baptism when we vow to teach children through our words and actions about the Way of Jesus and in confirmation we extend the invitation to young men and women to join us in following Jesus. Confirmation is not the end of a journey, but a celebration. This Sunday we will celebrate as six young men and women join us in our journey of faith. We will challenge and comfort one another as we continue to seek where God is calling us. We will not always agree, but we will not be disagreeable. We will once again affirm our commitment to love one another, to hold one another accountable and to follow where the Spirit guides us individually and as a community. ~Pastor Eric "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit " ~Acts 2:1-4 A violent wind, a tongue of fire, a fount of living water, a dove descending on a newly baptized Christ, a guide and a comforter, these are just some of the descriptions we get of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is perhaps the most difficult part of God for us to wrap our mind around because it is by its very nature elusive. The Holy Spirit reminds us that no theology, no one part of scripture, not even one experience or rational argument can fully contain God. That holy nature of God, the unknownness can be disturbing, yet we can feel God's Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Creating and re-creating as it did in Genesis one over the face of the world, igniting within us the energy to proclaim the good news as it did on Pentecost, filling up with the promise of love and grace in baptism, sustaining us for the journey like a cup of living water. How is the Spirit moving in your life? ~Pastor Eric "The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. " ~Acts 17:24-25 Paul journeys to Athens and finds a very religious community. They have shrines to gods of every size, shape and culture. They even have a shrine to an unknown God in order to cover their bases. We too create shrines to gods: we worship the god of wealth at the shrines of banks, investments and dollar bills. We worship celebrities as gods at the fame and prestige, we worship power at the shrines of economic and politic might and we worship America at the shrine of the flag. There is only one God. "The God who made the world and everything in it" and God's shrine is not made by human hands, but lives in all of creation and within each one of us. This Memorial Day, may we give thanks for those who have lost their lives in the wars for peace and may we worship not the countries they fought for, but the God who walked with them into battle, held them in their final moments and welcomed them to a heavenly banquet to be reconciled with those who were their enemies. ~Pastor Eric "He stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, "Look, here are my mother and my brothers." ~Matthew 12:49
Jesus reminds his followers that the family of God, the community who followed Jesus, is at times as important as our immediate family. Last Sunday Nina and I were reminded of how blessed we are to have such a supportive and loving church family. Both of us were speechless (a rare occurrence) at the outpouring of love and support from so many of you at the surprise baby shower. Thank you all so much for your generous gifts and words of hope and joy. It can be hard to have our parents, siblings, nieces and nephews so far away, but we are truly blessed to be surrounded by such a loving community. Thank you for being our church family. We are grateful for the ways in which God's love and grace shines through each one of you. Thank you! ~Pastor Eric and Nina "Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the LORD's house as long as I live." ~Psalm 23:6 This book has always been one of my favorites and was the first book I bought as a pastor (yes even before The Giving Tree). It is the story of a little bunny who has decided to run away from home. His mother does not keep him from running away but instead tells him that wherever he runs, she will pursue him. If he becomes a rock on the highest mountain, she will be the mountain climber making her way to him, if he becomes a sailboat on the wide ocean, she will be the wind filling his sails and keeping him safe. It is one of the best metaphors of God's love. Like the mother bunny, God loves us SO much, that God will not keep us from running away, but as the 23 Psalm tells us, wherever we run, wherever we go, no matter how many times we turn away, God's goodness and faithful love will pursue us. ~Pastor Eric "Then the two disciples described what had happened along the road and how Jesus was made known to them as he broke the bread." ~Luke 24:35 How do we best encounter Jesus? Through rich theological discussion? Through spirit-filled worship? Through solitary fasting and reflection? The presence of Christ may be revealed to us in all of these ways, but in this passage we hear of a way all too often unlooked: in the breaking of bread. Fellowship, table-sharing, the breaking of bread are all too often relegated as less important than worship, bible study, or council meetings. On the road to Emmaus, it is in the breaking of bread that Jesus is revealed and made known. Not in the talking or praying or study of scripture but in the radical hospitality, the invitation to a stranger and the sharing of food. How might we follow this example in the coming days? How might the resurrected Christ be revealed in the breaking of bread at the Food Share truck on Tuesday, at Crossroads on Thursday, at the Lord's Table this Sunday or at coffee hour after worship? ~Pastor Eric Join us for Sunday Service at 10am Listen to last week's Sermon here! Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" ~John 20:27-28 Doubting Thomas...how many people have been accused of being a doubting Thomas? The phrase is never used in a positive light, but as way to chastise someone for having to little faith. It seems unfair to me that Thomas is characterized by his doubt as if it is a negative attribute. Jesus does not condemn Thomas - so why should we. When discussing this last week on our Pulpit Fiction Podcast, my co-host Rev. Robb McCoy said, "Doubt is the pathway to faith. Doubt leads to questions, and to investigation and to wondering and to discussion. It is through doubt that we come to a greater understanding... I don't want blind faith. I want a hard-fought, well-earned, forged in the fire kind of faith, and I think Thomas is a model for that." As we head into the Easter season, do not huddle behind locked doors in fear, but go forth boldly, asking questions, seeking answers and loving all. ~Pastor Eric Join us for Sunday Service at 10am Listen to last week's Sermon here! And while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, "Surely not I, Lord?" ~Matthew 26:21-22 “Surely not I, Lord?” This rhetorical question of the disciples may echo our response to this night. Surely we did not betray Christ. And yet, in many ways we are all betrayers of Jesus. There are times when we all deny, abandon, or betray our Lord, times when we opt for what we know instead of trusting God. We often read and hear the teachings of Jesus, but we do so with a grain of salt. “Do not judge”, yes but there are some people who are just …wrong. “Take up your cross and follow me”, yes but what if I get hurt or lose my reputation? “Do not worry about tomorrow”, yes but I have real things to worry about. “Love your enemy”, yes, but surely Jesus did not mean terrorists. Everyday we compromise the gospel in little ways, sometimes in ways we don’t even realize, and thus everyday we betray Jesus. Every time we rely on so called “common sense” over and above the Gospel we declare “My will be done!” Every time we try to assert our power over God’s, we refuse His cup. Thus outlines our struggle. We struggle to see God’s will above and beyond our own and to follow that will; To trust in God even when such trusting does not make rational or cultural sense; To trust in God even if it mean losing our own life. ~Pastor Eric There is an old gospel hymn that asks the question, "Were you there...?" It asks were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Were you there when they laid him in the tomb? Were you there when he raised up from the dead? Were you there? This is a difficult week. It contains the central story of our faith: the anticipation of Palm Sunday, the fellowship of Maundy Thursday, the heartbreak of Good Friday, the waiting of Holy Saturday and the risen hope in Easter. I hope you will join me and together we will sing Hosannas and wave palms this Sunday, we will break the Bread of Life and share the cup at Thursday's Potluck Service, we will weep together in the shadows of Friday night's Tenebrae Service and wait for the dawn... ~Pastor Eric |
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