Easter 2006

"God is closer than you think"

I am a big baseball fan. I follow baseball with a passion that is perhaps just shy of being obsessive. When I lived in Dallas Texas I would go to four or five Texas Ranger Baseball games a year. When the Mariners where in town I would go to as many games as I could. One time we were at the Ballpark and as the sun was setting I realized that I was having trouble seeing the ball. I looked up and the lights were on. I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t see so well. So explained to Kendra I was having trouble seeing and she looked at me with loving amusement and said, “Bruce, you still have your sunglasses on.”

God is always there with us but there are times when we aren’t able to see as well as we normally do. Sometimes we are blind to the holy activity taking place in our midst. If we are lucky there will be someone who can lovingly look at us and remind us to take our blinders off.

Did you notice in the Gospel reading, that even after the Disciples had run to the tomb and Mary had been talking with Angels, she couldn’t see Jesus for who he was, it took the gentle word of saying her name for her eyes to be opened? Here she was in the midst of a miracle and she almost missed it. Wrapped up in her grief and her own expectations of the way things should be she almost missed God’s activity.

I find it remarkable when a scientist who studies the cosmos is unable to be filled with awe and wonder of God’s activity. There are some who get so wrapped up into the math and the theories and the questions about the nature of the physical universe they miss the miracles in their work. When you look at the stars aren’t you filled with awe and wonder? When you look at the cosmos don’t you begin to feel small in the midst of God’s wonderful creation?

Equally I find it remarkable that some who study genetics and micro biology, that they aren’t greatly humbled by God’s gift of life. Life is a gift that begins the simplicity of a cell. We can study cells, we can help them multiply and we can kill them, but we can’t create them. Life is a wonderful miracle.

As we have moved from an agricultural and rural society to an industrial and urban one, one of the miracles we have lost as a common experience is the miracle of birth in its many forms. One spring when I was a child our Cat was expecting a litter of Kittens. My sister must have been about five years old at the time and this Cat was her cat. She named it Mog after a cat in one of her story books. She fed Mog and Mog seemed to go wherever my sister went. One morning my sister awoke to a surprise in her bed, Mog had given birth to her kittens right there next to my sister as she slept. Mog seemed to have wanted my sister to be a part of the miracle of birth.

As a pastor I am occasionally asked to be present when people are near death. Like birth sometimes death can be a time of God’s grace being revealed to us. One occasion I was asked to come as the family had prayerfully made the decision to remove dad from the machines, which would likely end his life. We gathered together and prayed as we listened as his body took its final breathes. When the last breathe left his body we mourned but we also anticipated the miracle of new life, of resurrection. God’s grace was revealed as we considered the suffering that was over and the eternal joy that was beginning.

Are you ready for the truth? As John Ortberg has stated in his book, “God is closer than you think.” One of our failings as human people is that we believe so much in ourselves that we forget to notice the miracles God is performing around us all the time. Are you ready to notice the miracle of the immense size of God’s creation. God has created billions of galaxies and billions of stars in each galaxy and here we are on this one planet able to admire it all. Our life is dependent upon billions of cells working in harmony with each other. Skin cells, blood cells, tissue cells, nerve cells and many more all working so that we can enjoy life. We are able to witness the miracle of birth if we only open our eyes. We can witness the birth of new plants, or of new pets or of new members in our family.

We can even come to death with awe and wonder at God’s grace, because Jesus faced death, died on a cross, and miracle of miracles he rose again!

God is close if you are ready to notice. This is not a promise that things will always go the way we want them too. We are fragile creatures prone to disease and aging. I find it ironic that sometimes those who are most alive are those who are dying. My wife Kendra often talks fondly of her grandfather who she called “Pop.” When Kendra was about 10 years old Pop was dying of cancer. One summer he knew it would be his last and they had a great summer. They saw movies, they ate ice cream, Pop spent as much time with his granddaughter as he could. He was one who was faced with the reality that life is short and he wasn’t going to waste a moment. That time they shared together was a gift of Grace, a tangible sign of God’s love.

God is close if you are ready to notice. Take notice of the miracle of life and treasure it!

The Joy of Laughter

When we arrived at Disneyland we immediately headed for Space Mountain the newly remodeled Disneyland roller coaster. I was a bit nervous as but I practiced letting go of those nervous feelings as we quickly moved through the line. The experience of the ride was fantastic. This coaster is unique in that it is so dark you cannot see the track so you have no idea what will happen next as you climb, dive and turn. I laughed, I screamed, I had a great time. I felt so good to laugh!

Then it started to rain. Normally this is no big deal but part of the purpose of leaving the Pacific Northwest for vacation is so that you can get some sunshine! And not only that but the last time we were in Disneyland it rained for four days! I began to get depressed with the rain. We took a break for lunch and went back to our Hotel room and I looked up the forecast and became more depressed when the "Weather Channel" predicted rain all day and more showers the next day. Finally on the ride back to the park I began telling myself this is silly, relax. I bought an umbrella and that cheered me up quite a bit. At least the rain would be off of my head. Then as we began walking around the park it became evident that we were on of the few crazy people who remained at the Park. THERE WERE NO LINES. What a wonderful opportunity, Disneyland withouth the wait. Want to ride the latest attraction, no problem, walk on in. We were even offered another go on Splash Mountain. How often do you get the offer for a second ride without getting back in line?

There was one point while we were at the California Adventure park that I realized that my face hurt from smiling so much. What a joy to have been smiling so much that my face hurts!

Easter season should be a joy and it has been great to have a short vacation to prepare for this Holy Week

VACATION!

We are in Anaheim!

The whole adventure started Saturday evening when I became ill. Sunday morning I looked at Kendra and said, "I don't think I can make it to church." If there was a good time to be ill this was it. Kendra was home with a vacation day and she was able to lead worship for me at LUMC. I really missed worshiping at the church but I was glad Kendra could fill in for me. Now I owe Kendra a Sunday off.

Our vacation plan for the past several weeks had been to leave Sunday after church and drive to LA for a few days at Disneyland. We were taking 7 people, Kendra Brianna and I along with my sister, her two girls who are about Brianna's age and my mom.

I decided that I was well enough to travel when the girls came back from church. So we loaded up the rented mini-van and began driving for LA. At 1:30 P.M. we crossed the border into Oregon and the girls declared "were bored." Wow, it took them a whole hour! It was then when I understood my sister's desire to drive as much as we could through the night as the girls were sleeping. A book on CD kept the girls quietly listening for an hour and we managed to keep them relatively happy as I tried to rest and recover from my illness.

Kendra announced our crossing into California around 8:30 P.M. Soon after that the girls were asleep in the back seat and we settled down for a big drive. Kendra continued driving until about 11:00 and then my sister took over. A 2:00 A.M. Gas stop woke up everyone. I took over the driving and made it to a rest stop at about 4:00 A.M. I took a 45 minute nap while the girls decided that it must be time to be awake. I woke up and decided to start driving again and see if the girls would fall back asleep. They did. We stopped for breakfast at a truck stop about 120 miles North of L.A. around 6:00. We were hoping that would allow enough time for the traffic to lighten up.

To our great Joy traffic in L.A. was rather light (we never stopped to a standstill) and we arrived at Disneyland at 9:30! Longview to Disneyland in 21 hours!Having made such great time we enquired about extending our three day passes for an extra day. For a mere $80 per person we could have. Instead we are recovering from our drive at that hotel. The girls are swimming in the pool, and the adults are taking turns napping.

Grace and Peace,Bruce

Views of Jesus: Paul
Ephesians 2:1-10

Forgiveness in other world Religions:
Buddhism
“Take forgiveness. Two levels here. One level: forgiveness means you shouldn’t develop feelings of revenge. Because revenge harms the other person, therefore it is a form of violence. With violence, there is usually counterviolence. This generates even more violence—the problem never goes away. So that is one level. Another level: forgiveness means you should try not to develop feelings of anger toward your enemy. Anger doesn’t solve the problem. Anger only brings uncomfortable feelings to yourself. Anger destroys your own peace of mind. Your happy mood never comes, not while anger remains. I think that’s the main reason why we should forgive. With calm mind, more peaceful mind, more healthy body. An agitated mind spoils our health, very harmful for body. This is my feeling.”[1] (Quoting the Dalai Lama)
Hinduism
The concept of performing atonement from one's wrongdoing (Prayaschitta— Sanskrit: Penance), and asking for forgiveness is very much a part of the practice of Hinduism. Prayashitta is related to the law of Karma. Karma is a sum of all that an individual has done, is currently doing and will do. The effects of those deeds and these deeds actively create present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain in others.
Islam
Those who avoid major sins and acts of indecencies and when they are angry they forgive. Qur'an (42:37) and that The reward of the evil is the evil thereof, but whosoever forgives and makes amends, his reward is upon Allah. Qur'an (42:40).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgiveness

Paul is like us, Forgiven
Is a Jew born with a father who is a Roman citizen. He describes himself as a member of the tribe of Benjamin and as a Pharisee. Our first encounter with Paul in Scripture is as he is described holding the coats of those who are stoning St. Stephen to death. Paul has a good deal of social standing, in his younger life he is proud of that status and is zealous for his faith (Judaism).
Paul was not a Disciple. His only encounter with Jesus is a post resurrection encounter. Paul is struck blind on the road to Damascus and in his physical blindness he encounters the risen Christ. From Christ he receives forgiveness for his persecution of the followers of Jesus. Paul’s acceptance of God’s grace transforms the history of the world.
Paul’s life has been transformed by grace and he spends the rest of his life seeing that others have the same opportunity that he has had, to know the life changing effects of God’s grace. He is lead not to Jerusalem but to Ephesus, Corinth, Athens and Rome. He is determined that the transformational love of Jesus Christ not be reserved for Jewish people, but that all people have the opportunity to receive the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are forgiven People
This text in Ephesians is the core text for Methodist and Christian people throughout the world. This text was foundational for Wesley’s theology of grace. When he went to the poor, the young and the outcast he talked to them about the love God has for all people. He accepted those who had felt excluded by the church. That act of acceptance changes lives. When we talk about Christ, when we talk about our faith we need to talk about acceptance of God’s grace.

Forgiveness is good for us
Tension over time may cause our blood vessels to constrict or become narrow. Narrow blood vessels decrease the flow of blood to adequately supply oxygen and other nutrients to our body's cells. Furthermore, when we hold a lot of muscle tension, we breathe more shallow - robbing our body of much needed oxygen. Our digestive system may be thrown off-balance. Our immune system may suffer. Our body's response to these negative thoughts is very much like our body's response to stress. And the truth is, these thoughts are stressful. When we hold onto the hurt of a wrongdoing, we are really continuing to hurt ourselves - emotionally and physically.
http://www.mcmc.net/pdf/tyh0006.cfm

Forgive others as God has forgiven us
Paul saw Jesus through the lens of forgiveness. Who knows the guilt that Paul carried with him when he was an active participant in the murder of others because they claimed that Jesus was the Messiah? Who knows the bitterness he might have felt for those who put him in Jail because he was a follower of Jesus Christ? If he had wallowed in guilt we would not know about Jesus today. If he had allowed bitterness to become hatred we would not know about grace today. Forgiveness is vital for healthy life and faith.

Waiting for a Call

Each Spring United Methodist Clergy across the country begin to wonder, “Am I going to get a call from the cabinet this year?” The Cabinet is the group that makes appointments for United Methodist Clergy to local churches, it consist of a Bishop and her or his District Superintendents.

When I was a student at WSU, a friend of mine who is a pastor called me asking if I knew about any clergy who were moving this year. I didn’t have a clue. Apparently he was charting all the moves that he had heard about. I don’t know if he was thinking of moving that year or if he just made a chart each year.

Now with the internet we get updates as decisions’ are made about appointments. They will read something like: "Bishop Simpson has announced her/his intention (Bishops can always change their minds) to appoint Sally Smith to Gravelrock UMC effective July 1st." So now we can all chart the moves. Sally was at Riverbed UMC so now that is open . . . sometimes it’s a fun game to play, a bit like chess or a jigsaw puzzle.

This year Kendra is up for a new appointment. The church she has served these past three years is making some staffing changes for their budget. As a clergy couple we pose some extra challenges to the cabinet. We need appointments within a reasonable commuting distance. Yet, we are really not very different from most other clergy who have working spouses and need to be within a commuting distance for their jobs.

So this year we are prayerfully waiting for that phone call where a cabinet member will ask Kendra to consider an appointment. Hopefully it will be within a commutable distance of Longview. However, there is a chance that we will both have to move. If that happens I will trust in the mysterious working of the Holy Spirit to provide the right clergy person for Longview UMC.

Views of Jesus: "The Jews"

Sunday March 19, 2006
John 2:13-22

Often modern Christians forget that Jesus was not a Christian, he was a Jew. As we have seen from some of our earlier views of Jesus, he was influenced by his place and time. We don’t know a great deal about Jesus’ political leanings. Perhaps he was influenced through John the Baptist by the Essenes. Perhaps he was influenced by his friends such as Peter living in rural poverty in the shadow of the wealth of the Roman Empire.

Judaism of the first century was under the control of the temple authorities. These authorities were divided into different political parties, the two leading parties are names we know well from the Gospels: Pharisees and Sadducees. At the time of Jesus’ life the primary political role for these groups was to maintain order. While they might disagree about theological issues such as resurrection of the dead or the application of Jewish law, their primary concern was to maintain the order of the Temple.

The Temple in Jerusalem was the center of Judaism. A pilgrimage to the Temple was for many a once a lifetime event. The Temple authorities were given some cultural control and a certain amount of autonomy within the Roman Empire as long as tribute was paid. Now the Temple authorities must have been in a bit of a bind. They need to raise funds not only for themselves but also to pay taxes to Rome.

When Kendra and I were touring around England we would often go to visit one of the grand Cathedrals from the Middle Ages. These are remarkable works of architecture and to stand in one is to understand the people’s reverence for God and desire to build a place that helps you to feel small in the presence of God. While we were in England it seemed to become more and more common for the Cathedrals to begin charging a fee for tourist to visit these churches. For a few Pounds you could stand in a sanctuary that was five, six sometimes eight hundred years old. I understood the financial need yet it also seemed sad to me that the church was reduced to needing to charge tourist to visit these holy places.


From a Christian point of view we understand Jesus’ actions at the Temple. Jesus is signaling that he is going to overturn the status quo. He is right to be angry about the abuses of the system. He is right to be angry at money changers who are making a profit off of the working poor who wish to buy an animal for sacrifice. From a Christian point of view this makes perfect sense, but to “The Jews”, this only means trouble.

For insiders of the institution they must be asking “Who does this guy think he is anyway?” Especially as John has placed the text at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he doesn’t even have a following yet. He’s just some guy from Galilee with a few friends. Who does he think he is?

For the Jewish leaders Jesus outrage is cause for serious concern. Their authority is given by Rome explicitly with the understanding that they can control the people. They cannot abide any loss of control. This is a serious act of trouble, who does this guy think he is?

I believe when we consider “The Jews” in the Bible we best not hear the story as if we are better than the authorities of that time. Sometimes I am a Pharisee, concerning myself with the rules of the church. Sometimes I am a Sadducee wanting to correct what I think is the poor theology of others. Sometimes I am a Zealot who wants to overthrow the current authorities and to take control of the situation right now.

Often Christians today resemble “The Jews” of John’s Gospel. We are concerned with the maintenance of our institution. We worry about money, numbers of people and living in the midst of an empire. What would Jesus want to drive out of our churches today? Whose tables would he want to overturn?

Youth Prayer

This past Sunday the LUMC Youth Group studied prayer. We studied the Lord's Prayer and then I asked the youth to write their own version. Here is one I wanted to share with you.

Jesus's Old Man
You are my cool homedog.
You are my sanctuary.
Can I have a quarter pounder with cheese?
Please forgive me
If you can forgive me, I can forgive others.
Lead us to good things, not bad things.