SCRIPTURE: Mark 5:21-43
TEXT: THEME: God touches our world with eternity. INTRODUCTION Usually when we think about time, it is linear with a beginning and an end. But there is a theological theory that for God, time is past, present and future all at the same time. The best illustration of this was in the sci-fi movie Arrival with Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. Alien ships land in different countries all over the world. Amy Adam’s character is a linguist who learn to communicate with these visitors and discovers that they have a weapon or tool that would cause tremendous technological advancements for the nation that gets it first. In order to solve the mystery of what the aliens want, Amy Adams has flashbacks of future events, along with past events. Experiencing time in the present, past and future all at the same time. SCRIPTURE This is what gets me about this passage with two stories taking place at the same time. Jesus seems to be moving so slowly as if time was not a concern to him, as he has a flashback to the future and the girl is alive, while this woman reaches out and touches his garment. The gospel of Mark is fast paced with things happening immediately from one thing to another. But here, as Jesus arrives on the shore, time slows down. Jairus greets him at the beach and bows repeatedly begging Jesus come and heal his daughter. When Jesus agrees and heads towards his home, a crowd follows them. Time is moving towards the future, while presently another event is unfolding. An unnamed woman, who is made invisible because of a bleeding disorder works her way through the crowds, outcasted, dirty, poor and ignored. She doesn’t touch anyone but finds openings that she moves into to strategically bring her into Jesus’ space. Silently she reaches out from her dreadful past to touch Jesus’ garment, thinking this simple act connecting herself to Jesus in this way, will bring healing. It must have been electric! Power leaves Jesus’ body and Her body is immediately healed. She has stopped time. This whole luxurious scenario unfolds as Jesus seeks her out, identifies her to the crowd. All too often the disease becomes our name, but not any longer as Jesus calls her; hearer of his teaching, risk taker, toucher, truthful, brave, daughter, faithful, well, peace and worshiper. Then the second event that stops time is when Jairus’ hope is sucked out of him. The messenger arrives and tells Jairus, “your daughter is dead, why trouble the teacher any further?” Death’s past has been dredged up into our present and greeted with Jesus’ future, “Do not fear, only believe.” And off they go, continuing their walk into the future. When they arrive at Jairus’ house, Mark uses the mourners’ voices to narrate the scene: too late, too bad, no come, Jesus on the other-hand is operating in different dimensions of time: right now, bum bye, try wait, too late, try come, no can, can, not too late, and eternal. Time, past, present, and future happening all at the same time, as he name’s Jairus’ daughter; sleeping, little girl, resurrected, alive, and hungry. APPLICATION Jesus gives us names beyond what others call us. Names of relationships, renewal, healing, life and hope. How do we live into the names of transformation and change that Jesus gives to us? Jesus spent time to restore the outcasted, hemorrhaging woman back into society, by pausing, publicly declaring her wholeness for all to witness and change their relationship with her. A transformation from surviving outcast to contributing member of society. Jesus sees what she looked like, what her healing did for her and what needs to take place to ensure her future in society. Jesus takes the little girl’s parents and bring their little girl back to them, and shelters them from further attention as a sleeping girl has raised from slumber to life. For now, there is nothing to see here but a loving family. Later this will become a template for us to view Jesus’ resurrection power. Something from the past and our future to give us hope in our present. Jesus’ ministry is for the living and for the fostering of relationship in the present. As a church we have been traveling at the speed of God. Back in the past when churches were considering becoming ‘Purposed Driven’ we went “missional’. Then from ‘missional’ we also become stewards of the gifts of God and entertained the idea of the Wailuku Mission Housing. When COVID-19 hit our community we adapted, fed the hungry through our food pantry and continued to be the church and worshipped. Recently we needed a yard person and God gave us a landscaper. We needed an attorney and we got a miracle, when we need a partner and we got experts, when we needed something more than a Facebook post from an iPhone and we are getting video equipment. What is our God, who experiences the past, present and future all at the same time, saying about who we are? What is God saying about how to live? What names is God giving to us to live into? Names like; Child, loved, alive, faithful, provided for, endure, patient, forgive, love, grace, joy, celebrate, work, persistent and Community CONCLUSION In the movie Arrival, even though the Amy Adams character has a vision from her future, she chooses to live it. It will cause her joy, happiness, deep love and grief and suffering. She could make different choices that would relieve her of pain, but it would also rob her of love and joy. No matter if God’s view of the world sees the past, present and future all at the same time or not, God still views the world with hope, as good, and with love. It is towards these ends that God is all about relationships, redemption, renewal and wellness. God’s handiwork continues to be displayed in our congregation as we look towards the future and the lifting of pandemic restrictions. I am not exactly sure what that will look like. Will we have hoards of bubbles waiting to be seated in our pews? Or hundreds of Facebook and soon YouTube followers? Whatever God sees as our future, we want to live into God’s future, past and present names of Alive, Wellness, Peace and Aloha.
0 Comments
SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:35-41
TEXT: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” THEME: Take a minute of silence to center yourself on God. INTRODUCTION I am going to invite you to begin this sermon with me with 1 minute of silence. I will set the timer on my phone, as we begin in this way you can get comfortable and you can close your eyes if you like. While we are in the season of Pentecost, we are looking into the effects of the Spirit in our world, through Jesus’ ministry. Today’s passage can be seen as a battle between two forces, but in reality, the God of the Universe is the god of Nature. When the world is set in space, spinning, with centrifugal force. It creates high pressure and low-pressure zones in the atmosphere. Add in the gravitational force of the moon and we have Storms, rain, hurricanes, gales force winds as part of the weather. But this passage is not about power as much as it is about centering ourselves on God. In the setting of these events, Jesus has been teaching the crowds with parables about what the rule of God will be like. In one parable, God’s rule is like those who follow the rules and yield an abundant harvest. Then in another parable all are welcomed to come and share in God’s reign, wheat seeds, mustard weeds and birds are welcomed to flourish in God’s Garden. SCRIPTURE After teaching all day, Jesus was exhausted. Jesus asks his friends to push off in a boat and head across the lake to the other shore. Away from the crowds, silent before God, Jesus centers himself and finds rest for his body, on a cushion, at the stern of the boat. Supernatural forces of wind and waves push and swamp the boat, filling Jesus’ friends with fear. They wake the sleeping Jesus, terrified that they are going to die and for good reason, the ocean was like a washing machine. “Jesus do you not care that we are perishing?” Isn’t this the reason Jesus has come to us in the first place, because Jesus cares for us and does not want to see any of us perish? His friends were not centered. Fear had over taken them; they don’t know yet what it means to have Jesus in their boat. A minute of silence may have given them all they needed to reset themselves and ground themselves with God. Then they would have asked Jesus a different question. Maybe something more along the lines of Jesus can you help us, if we die now, we might not be able to help you fulfill the plans you have? APPLICATION How does spending time in silence before God or centering ourselves, help us in our living? When we are off center, we can be intolerant, impatient, short tempered, easily agitated, and frustrated. We have to remind ourselves to have self-control. In the Pacific School of Theology’s Certificated Education for Leadership Training, our current class is on Spirituality. Our professor interjects the practice of 1 minute of silence as we began or transitioned to something new or end. He uses a timer on his phone so we can relax into that minute. We take so much time filling our moments, taking a minute of silence throughout our day, gives us time to get our bearings, pause and see where we are headed, or give an ear to hear where God is leading or be assured of ‘peace’ that can calm the forces of nature. One minute from time to time is not hard to do, and far easier and gentler way of keeping our calm. So, when I was asked to say a blessing at a birthday party, I thought what better blessing than to share this story of Jesus centering himself with God, and having everyone there, practice 1 minute of silence. Then last night at the Music at WUC, Maui Outstanding Piano Amateur Festival, instead of a poetic prayer, I invited us to participate in 1 minute of silence. That last concert we had was just before we sheltered in because of the pandemic. Today we are just at the beginning of opening up again. In more than a year we have lost so much, we have made adaptations and have made accommodations. We could even grieve our losses in a minute of silence. Damira tells the choir how in music, it is important for musicians not to play over the rests, silence is an important element of music as it is in our lives. Yesterday was exhausting, I started out learning how to do Keynote, Apple’s version of Power Point, on my computer. Then Zooming into the Aha Pae’aina, arranging pews in the Sanctuary, trying to figure out how to do a Facebook live post from my computer for the concert, finding time to write this sermon, and the concert itself. It was amazing. These pianists were so very talented. Some pianist that we have known over the years have sharpened their skills. Damira introduced us to a couple new talent. I came home, and began writing my sermon until I was incoherent, even after a shower and went to sleep on a cushion at the stern of the boat. I awoke at 3, in the calm, to write the ideas that came through rest, took a minute of silence, and here we are. CONCLUSION Yes, the power at Jesus’ command is more powerful than the forces of nature. But the practical application of this passage is not for us to be praying away hurricanes. It is in the importance of our taking the time to give our bodies and mind time to rest in God, in silence, even if it is only a minute. Being silent with help us focus on what it really important. It may be enough for us to regain calm in our lives so we can be patient, tolerant, have a long fuse to anger, be optimistic, experience joy, reduce frustration, to be assured remembering that Jesus is there to help us, and maybe to ask a different question in our prayers, about how we can participate in what God is doing and help to bring calm to the storms in our world. When I would visit my mom, she would have lists of chores for me to do. She would say, “It will only take you 5 minutes.” Once you get started it actually took only a few moments. Silence is like that, it takes only a minute, but it maybe all we need to achieve the self-control we need to be calm. The Spirit in Storm, is a silence that brings calm. Instead of a usual prayer that I end a sermon with, I am inviting you to participate in a minute of silence. Maybe this is something that you can incorporate as a practice in your day. SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:26-34
TEXT: 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. THEME: Weeds and Birds are welcome in God’s garden. INTRODUCTION Jesus is the ‘Spirit in Paradise’ (the title of my sermon series for this month). In today’s text from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus conveys what the Kingdom of God is like through the lens of two parables. The Kingdom of God looks like two gardens. SCRIPTURE A parable is a well told story, that we can heard, related to and remembered; repeated, retold, thought about and discussed. Here we have two parables that convey truth about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is like an immaculate garden. Everything is planted in straight rows. Organic, drip watering system, no weeds, the plants are measured, 12” apart, planted exactly to a depth of 6 in. This farmer has followed the directions to a ’t’. The garden produces its crop and is harvested. But that is not all, the kingdom of God also looks like a garden where mustard seeds have blown in and sown itself, they have taken root and grown to the size of a shrub. Birds, have come to nest in the shade of the mustard shrub. The first garden is the Kingdom of God brought by the nation of Israel and their relationship with God following the law. They bring the rule of God as far as they understand it. But the second garden welcomes weeds and birds. Nobody plants mustard seeds, they just show up, blown by the wind. They are not pulled out of God’s Garden but allowed to stay. But as they do, and establish themselves as a shrub, and they invite birds to roost in their branches. Birds that eat the fruits and seeds, are welcomed residence of this garden, the Kingdom of God. This is an unsettling point about these simple stories and the inclusive nature of the Kingdom of God. Sometimes a story, song, or art piece can hide in plain sight, with a subversive message of change, renewal, and commentary of our political folly. The art work at the Getty Museum in L.A. have three things describing their pieces. First, the artist, the setting and the date, then the medium they use or style. And thirdly an interpretive piece which notes; figures, the political background, what this is making fun of, who this about or what the artist is saying to the powers that be. Many commission pieces that hung in royal setting had political cartoons embedded in the art that ridiculed the monarchs. These are modern day parables. APPLICATION The Kingdom of God is not as exclusive or restrictive as we thought. The thought of weeds and birds being invited to well-manicured gardens is unsettling, but also expresses and lavish inclusiveness of the Kingdom of God. How can the Spirit help us to practice inclusion in gardens we are planted in? I’ve used Kingdom of God to express the coming rule of God, and to connect us to the parable of the inclusive nature of God’s rule. At this part of the sermon, I’ll use, community of God, God’s people, the rule of God to expand the nearness of the rule of God in more inclusive ways. These inclusive roots of our Christian faith, are foundational to who we are as a nation founded on the principles of Christianity. At first, we had a limited view about to whom these liberties were for, but like a good parable they were discussed, retold, given insight to new and fresh interpretations and saw “All Peoples” as beneficiaries of these freedoms and inclusion. The practical expressions of these new ways of thinking are disruptive to how we have come to live our liberties at the expense of others. So, a civil war broke out to keep things as they were. These events are not that long ago, they took place about the time, this congregation was incorporated in 1866. Three years before our church began in 1863, the Civil War ends and President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in the United States. Its effects were not readily adopted, as the Lone Star state of Texas continued to enslave people under their laws until June 19th 1865. Known as Juneteenth, it is the anniversary when slavery ended in totally in all of our United States. We still struggle to live into this reality, as God’s Spirit continues its work and new parable are being written. The Gospel Reading from Mark fit this story so we sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" today as our opening hymn. Wikipedia says, “often referred to as the "Black national anthem" in the United States[1] – this hymn was written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) in 1900 and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954), for the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday in 1905.[2]…The song is a prayer of thanksgiving for faithfulness and freedom, with imagery evoking the biblical Exodus from slavery to the freedom of the "promised land.”” The citizens of the realm of God, are diverse as; wheat, mustard and bird. We recognize those who have been called and planted, those who have come by as if blown by the winds of circumstances and other who were attracted by what was going on in the garden and found a place to build their home, rest in the shade of belief in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. To be part of these United States we don’t need to be all the same either. Our history shows that we have a poor record of treating all humans with respect, honor, justice, generosity and fairness. But as seeds growing, living and striving in this garden, we can be seeds of faith practicing inclusion as citizens of the People of God. Treating each other with respect, being sensitive to their beliefs, sharing and learning from each other, and joining together to build a community where everybody belongs, everyone has a place as equals and everyone has a vote. In addition to the seeds sown in the Garden of God, we have new parables to mull over; the Parable of Colin Kaepernick, the Parable of George Floyd, the Parable of the Keystone Pipeline, and the Parable of Juneteenth. CONCLUSION Sometimes we are pickier than the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is working in the lives of people in all kinds of gardens, and in ways that we would never have thought of. God sees value in the weeds, and Birds, as being included in a Garden in addition to wheat. We all have something to bring, something to contribute, something to share, a prayer that we can offer, a feeling from our heart, an insight from God that can inspire when grown in the garden of God. SCRIPTURE: Mark 3:20-35
TEXT: 27But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. THEME: Jesus is setting up a new order of living in the Kingdom of God. INTRODUCTION The lectionary readings for the season of Pentecost or Ordinary time, features the Gospel of Mark with a few diversions to the Gospel of John. At Pentecost, God’s Spirit makes a theatrical entrance. But here’s the thing; God is not in three separate persons that come and go, but is one God, with all three parts, present at all of the time. We use the Trinity as a lens to help us expand our vision of God’s activity. Using the lens of the Spirit to look into the Gospel of Mark, the June’s Sermon Series is entitled ‘Spirit in Paradise”, the same as today’s sermon. As Jesus’ ministry begins, we are more aware of the presence of God; as life giving Parent, Incarnate Savior and Holy Spirit. Jesus and his disciples make their way from one synagogue to another in the Galilean countryside. God’s Spirit is active; healing and delivering towards wholeness, calling disciples, and teaching about God. SCRIPTURE Traveling brings the ministry to Jesus’ home town. Followed by a demanding crowd, Jesus and his crew haven’t even had a chance to eat. His family got wind that Jesus was home, along with stories of unclean spirits being cast out, fevers abating, lepers made clean and even a paralytic walking, all credited to Jesus. These stories of miracles are following with the narrative from the scribes from Jerusalem saying, “Jesus has gone out of his mind.” And have wrongly attributed, the work of the Spirit to Beelzebul. The family is distressed and want to bring him back home to settle him and see for themselves what has happened to Jesus. So, they show up as Jesus is arguing with the scribes saying, “Satan casting out Satan. A kingdom divided; a divided houses cannot stand. This would be the end.” It may sound like crazy talk but it is all part of Jesus’ strategy to tie up the strong man, then plunder his house. His strategy is to release those who are captive by unclean spirits, heal the immobile, restore the outcast and broadcast a new perspective about God and about who God’s people are, beckoning us to live in relationship with God. Our relationship with God can be more than just a subjection to legalistic commandments. Jesus is not telling us what not to do, but what we can do in living with God. If you think casting out unclean spirits is radical, being in relationship with God and not under the law is over the top. APPLICATION Jesus is bringing in a way of living with God. A new set of relationship systems, paradigms and frame works for understanding who we are with God. How do we live our newness with Christ in ways that express God’s reigning in our lives? Jesus’ strategy is three-fold. 1) Participate in God’s work of; caring, wholeness and forgiveness. Jesus healed, delivered from unclean spirits, and displayed the nearness of God. This is how the Parable of the Good Samaritan is building the Wailuku Mission Housing, by our caring for our neighbors and our partnerships with the County, the State, EAH and other Foundations, 2) Jesus calls others to come and participate in God’s work among us. We too are building a community that is Inclusive, differently abled, accepted, welcomed and belonging. Then thirdly, share what we know about God with others. We listen to what others have to say so that our thinking can be informed. Sometimes what we hear sounds like they are out of their minds or it may be just crazy enough to be the voice of God saying something we need to hear. When we see the Spirit moving, share what you think about God. I was taking to my evangelical friend, I told him that during the Pandemic I have been taking CELT classes from PSR. His knee jerk reaction was that I had compromised my faith and gone liberal. I said that I didn’t like how evangelicals had portrayed themselves during the former president’s administration. And I thought their agenda blinded them to the truth. I have discovered that all that stuff we learned about the Kingdom of God was actually talking about the community of believers and how we need to not only bring people into the fold, but also be the community of God’s people, treating each other in God’s way. Our Conversation drifted to the Matthew (25) passage of Sheep and Goats. The image that stuck in my mind was from Maru, who said, “Goats are really nasty”. She had seen some at a farm and she saw, “Head butting of even bigger goats with the littlest of goats and ‘all for what?’” Sometime we lack the spirit in us, and live “‘all for what?' kind of lives”. That’s when he suggested that I had become liberal, but I said, I don’t begin with a social justice issue and then look for biblical passages to justify our actions, rather what I have found with PSR, is that they begin with the biblical passages and the Bible brings out issues that our Christian faith needs to contend with. Addressing inequity with generosity and the perception of otherness with openness, respect for humanity for all are made in the image of God. I was beginning to think that he thought me ‘out of my mind” but he admitted that our conversation made him look at thing little bit deeper. I think that is how the Spirt sometimes uses us, to take a simple conversation and with the turn of a phrase, to go deeper theologically. CONCLUSION The Spirit in Paradise is about God who is in Jesus with the Holy Spirit, in our world. The Spirit’s work is seen in Jesus and what he is able to do in people’s lives. This is all part of a strategy for the nearness of the Kingdom of God, (aka God’s Community). Jesus’ ministry reaches out to the outcast, the marginalized, the poor, the rich, the entitled, the paralytic and the sick, or as I have heard others say it, “All, ya all’. We are all called to come, to participate and belong. And then share what we know about God with others, and listen to what others have to say about God and learn. Then we can paint a portrait of God with broad strokes, showing lots of room for interpretations where the details can be varied and many. The hold of a legalistic, self-righteous, judgmental faith will give way to the movement of the Spirit in Paradise as we see the signs of God’s nearness, feel God’s calling of us to participate and discern Who God is and who we are in fellowship with God. |
Pastor robbSermons Archives
April 2024
|