Mar 28, 2024 |
The Riddle of Jesus and Judas
| The Rev. Gary LubinThe Riddle of Jesus and Judas
Having his last supper with the disciples a troubled
Jesus announces that one of them is his betrayer. And do you know, if you read that carefully,
every one of them is bewildered.
They have no clue. And their uncertainty suggests that it could be any one of them. A notable example is Peter, who refutes that he would ever deny Jesus, but then does so three times, cock a doodle doo. And speaking of Peter, he's the one that beckons John, the beloved disciple, reclining right next to Jesus to ask for the name of the traitor.
Well, and Jesus answers, kind of vaguely, It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread, he says. Well, Judas may have gotten the first piece of bread, but he didn't get the last piece of bread. They all share the very same communal bread and wine. And then we will do that very shortly together. And I take great comfort in doing that with you because I confess that I too have betrayed Jesus selling him out to suffering and death in this time and place by failing to love as I should.
Here's the question before us in this day and age, isn’t Jesus among us even now as the other? The last, the lost, the least, the lonely, and the left out. Jesus beckons us to love God and to love one another. And you know, fortunately we all have a community to do that, but many others do not. Now paradoxically, I think we can look to Judas for answers.
They have no clue. And their uncertainty suggests that it could be any one of them. A notable example is Peter, who refutes that he would ever deny Jesus, but then does so three times, cock a doodle doo. And speaking of Peter, he's the one that beckons John, the beloved disciple, reclining right next to Jesus to ask for the name of the traitor.
Well, and Jesus answers, kind of vaguely, It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread, he says. Well, Judas may have gotten the first piece of bread, but he didn't get the last piece of bread. They all share the very same communal bread and wine. And then we will do that very shortly together. And I take great comfort in doing that with you because I confess that I too have betrayed Jesus selling him out to suffering and death in this time and place by failing to love as I should.
Here's the question before us in this day and age, isn’t Jesus among us even now as the other? The last, the lost, the least, the lonely, and the left out. Jesus beckons us to love God and to love one another. And you know, fortunately we all have a community to do that, but many others do not. Now paradoxically, I think we can look to Judas for answers.
Mar 28, 2024 |
Intimacy, vulnerability, and steadfast love are interwoven
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinIntimacy, vulnerability, and steadfast love are interwoven
Jesus is describing his own death, a death he understands as necessary for our salvation. So, there's intimacy, vulnerability, and there's deep commitment born of love. We see all three of these in this Gospel reading.
In our own lives are there moments we want to shy away. We want to turn away. We want to turn inward and avoid intimacy, avoid vulnerability, avoid any soul-deep commitment to love. I certainly know I've been in those places of avoidance. It's part of our human condition. And part of our conditioning.
Intimacy may be interpreted as dependence, as vulnerability, or as weakness, as commitment to love may raise up the strongest sense of vulnerability. And yet we know love needs intimacy, of being willing to be present and close to another. Love requires vulnerability. Being willing to be seen, to be transparent in our moments of fear or struggle.
Love needs steadfastness to endure the challenges and complexities of individuals, families, of communities. Intimacy, vulnerability, and steadfast love are interwoven.
In our own lives are there moments we want to shy away. We want to turn away. We want to turn inward and avoid intimacy, avoid vulnerability, avoid any soul-deep commitment to love. I certainly know I've been in those places of avoidance. It's part of our human condition. And part of our conditioning.
Intimacy may be interpreted as dependence, as vulnerability, or as weakness, as commitment to love may raise up the strongest sense of vulnerability. And yet we know love needs intimacy, of being willing to be present and close to another. Love requires vulnerability. Being willing to be seen, to be transparent in our moments of fear or struggle.
Love needs steadfastness to endure the challenges and complexities of individuals, families, of communities. Intimacy, vulnerability, and steadfast love are interwoven.
Mar 28, 2024 |
More Intimacy than One can Handle
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulMore Intimacy than One can Handle
Intimacy is connection. Knowing one another. Care and
vulnerability. And what Mary shows to
this man who is not only her teacher, but her friend, and who we were reminded
in this story is the one who literally raised her brother up from the dead.
She drops to her knees and she pours perfume all over his feet and she takes her hair and wipes it off.
And you can imagine how uncomfortable everybody else was in the room. Judas, of course, is the one to say something because of course it's Judas. And John really makes sure to let us know what a dirtbag Judas is as if we didn't already remember, right? We know Judas, hot mess, we get it.
But in this moment, we totally, there's something about Judas is like, oh, she, she shouldn't be doing that.
You know, that money could have gone to the poor. Right? Which is no different than the kid being like, change the channel, they're kissing. It's the same thing. It's a reaction to intimacy. He has to change the subject because the intimacy on display is more than he can handle.
She drops to her knees and she pours perfume all over his feet and she takes her hair and wipes it off.
And you can imagine how uncomfortable everybody else was in the room. Judas, of course, is the one to say something because of course it's Judas. And John really makes sure to let us know what a dirtbag Judas is as if we didn't already remember, right? We know Judas, hot mess, we get it.
But in this moment, we totally, there's something about Judas is like, oh, she, she shouldn't be doing that.
You know, that money could have gone to the poor. Right? Which is no different than the kid being like, change the channel, they're kissing. It's the same thing. It's a reaction to intimacy. He has to change the subject because the intimacy on display is more than he can handle.
Mar 24, 2024 |
Here is the Messiah
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinHere is the Messiah
We know that the pain and the suffering is still to come.
Thinking about the disciples more, are, are they walking along Jesus, flanking him? Might that be something we would have done? Or are some of them acting almost as an advance team, drawing the crowds, letting them know about Jesus, letting them know that here is the person they have been waiting for. Here is the Messiah.
Way back when I was in my 20s I was very involved in political campaigns and I can remember being part of an advanced team and our whole job was to arrive early and to get people excited about the candidate who was to come, to get them excited about meeting them and to give a preview of their message. It was a very exciting time. I wonder what it would be like to be an advanced team for Jesus, to be able to tell people who Jesus was, why it was important that they meet him, know him.
And we might ask, what are the disciples telling people to draw them to Jesus? In Matthew's gospel, they talk of how the city was stirred, the whole city was stirred by Jesus's arrival. And people were asking, who is this? And the crowds were responding, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.
But what are the disciples telling people? How are they getting the people to turn out? How are they getting this incredible celebration? What would we tell people if we were the disciples? What do we tell people when we seek to introduce them to Jesus? When we want them to meet the Jesus we know?
Thinking about the disciples more, are, are they walking along Jesus, flanking him? Might that be something we would have done? Or are some of them acting almost as an advance team, drawing the crowds, letting them know about Jesus, letting them know that here is the person they have been waiting for. Here is the Messiah.
Way back when I was in my 20s I was very involved in political campaigns and I can remember being part of an advanced team and our whole job was to arrive early and to get people excited about the candidate who was to come, to get them excited about meeting them and to give a preview of their message. It was a very exciting time. I wonder what it would be like to be an advanced team for Jesus, to be able to tell people who Jesus was, why it was important that they meet him, know him.
And we might ask, what are the disciples telling people to draw them to Jesus? In Matthew's gospel, they talk of how the city was stirred, the whole city was stirred by Jesus's arrival. And people were asking, who is this? And the crowds were responding, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.
But what are the disciples telling people? How are they getting the people to turn out? How are they getting this incredible celebration? What would we tell people if we were the disciples? What do we tell people when we seek to introduce them to Jesus? When we want them to meet the Jesus we know?
Mar 18, 2024 |
Go where Jesus is
| Guest SpeakerGo where Jesus is
And often this change that we really want is to
desperately go back to when we remember what we remember as simpler or better
or easier times. We want our churches to be like they were. And of course, they
were wonderful. We want them and our
world to slow down and stop changing.
But unfortunately, staying static or spending all of our energy and
words pining for what was or what could be, really isn’t the way of Jesus.
What is it Jesus says after he tells us to lose our life? He says, if any of you wants to serve me, then follow me, then you'll be where I am ready to serve at a moment's notice. Follow me, be where I am. Be ready to go where I am going. It's a challenge for us personally, but also collectively. We have to look for where Jesus is going and ask if we are willing to go there too.
In January, 2020, just two months before COVID, before we knew what was coming our way, I was sitting in a room a lot like this with Bishop Michael Curry, and he was talking to young adults in Washington, DC, and he said something that I had never heard him say before. He said, what people forget is that the institution of the church exists in order to serve the movement of Jesus, not the other way around.
The institution exists to serve the movement of Jesus. The movement of Jesus does not exist to serve the institution. I think that's a lot of what Jesus is talking about today, especially here in the year 2024. And I think we're being asked collectively if we are willing to lose the church we want in order to follow Jesus to go where he is reckless in our love. A love that has an internal impact. Are we willing to lose the church we want in order to be the church he's calling us to be? If we were to go where Jesus is, then we have to ask, so where is Jesus, right?
Guest Preacher: Jerusalem Greer
What is it Jesus says after he tells us to lose our life? He says, if any of you wants to serve me, then follow me, then you'll be where I am ready to serve at a moment's notice. Follow me, be where I am. Be ready to go where I am going. It's a challenge for us personally, but also collectively. We have to look for where Jesus is going and ask if we are willing to go there too.
In January, 2020, just two months before COVID, before we knew what was coming our way, I was sitting in a room a lot like this with Bishop Michael Curry, and he was talking to young adults in Washington, DC, and he said something that I had never heard him say before. He said, what people forget is that the institution of the church exists in order to serve the movement of Jesus, not the other way around.
The institution exists to serve the movement of Jesus. The movement of Jesus does not exist to serve the institution. I think that's a lot of what Jesus is talking about today, especially here in the year 2024. And I think we're being asked collectively if we are willing to lose the church we want in order to follow Jesus to go where he is reckless in our love. A love that has an internal impact. Are we willing to lose the church we want in order to be the church he's calling us to be? If we were to go where Jesus is, then we have to ask, so where is Jesus, right?
Guest Preacher: Jerusalem Greer
Mar 12, 2024 |
Big Feelings
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulBig Feelings
People come at us, and we're not really sure where they're coming from. And sometimes our first instinct is to take whatever energies come up that are thrown our way and throw it right back.
Someone wants to come at you with some kind of anger or argument., you're going to knock them down. This is the way of our world friends. This is the way we think. Whenever you come with me at my way, I'm going to throw right back at you. You know who I'm going to treat, right? The people who treat me right.
And I define how I'm treated as right. And I'm not at all. If you come at me one way, I'm going to come right back at you and give it twice as hard. This is the way of the world, but also argue that this way of dealing with something coming our way that we don't quite understand what that energy is. I want to suggest that this is actually a way that we experience our relationship with God, because friends, we do not quite understand God and what God's doing and how God's doing it.
God is mysterious and confusing and uncertain to us in so many ways. And so when we interact with God, we come into that conversation, into that situation, not really knowing what we're dealing with, right? Is this God that's coming my way? Is this God coming my way with anger and wrath? Is this God coming my way in some sort of furious puff of emotion?
Is this God coming at me, judging me and here to tell me all the things that are wrong with me?
Someone wants to come at you with some kind of anger or argument., you're going to knock them down. This is the way of our world friends. This is the way we think. Whenever you come with me at my way, I'm going to throw right back at you. You know who I'm going to treat, right? The people who treat me right.
And I define how I'm treated as right. And I'm not at all. If you come at me one way, I'm going to come right back at you and give it twice as hard. This is the way of the world, but also argue that this way of dealing with something coming our way that we don't quite understand what that energy is. I want to suggest that this is actually a way that we experience our relationship with God, because friends, we do not quite understand God and what God's doing and how God's doing it.
God is mysterious and confusing and uncertain to us in so many ways. And so when we interact with God, we come into that conversation, into that situation, not really knowing what we're dealing with, right? Is this God that's coming my way? Is this God coming my way with anger and wrath? Is this God coming my way in some sort of furious puff of emotion?
Is this God coming at me, judging me and here to tell me all the things that are wrong with me?
Mar 04, 2024 |
Price Gouging
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulPrice Gouging
When Jesus gets angry, it's because someone is getting in the way of someone else experiencing God's love. In the case of the temple, the people that are there, are selling oxen and livestock and things like that which are meant for sacrifice according to the commandments, and that's part of how people atone, and keep their relationship with God.
And the people who are there selling those things and exchanging money, it's clear that they're doing something, most likely price gouging. They're praying on the people's need for confession and absolution and they're profiting from that. And instead of helping people connect with God, they're actually getting in the way of people's connection with God.
And friends, our goal as Christians always is to help people connect with the God who loves them. Our goal is to love and to help others to love and be loved.
And the people who are there selling those things and exchanging money, it's clear that they're doing something, most likely price gouging. They're praying on the people's need for confession and absolution and they're profiting from that. And instead of helping people connect with God, they're actually getting in the way of people's connection with God.
And friends, our goal as Christians always is to help people connect with the God who loves them. Our goal is to love and to help others to love and be loved.
Feb 26, 2024 |
When the Self is at the Center
| The Rev. Dr. Herschel WadeWhen the Self is at the Center
He had on multiple occasions, masterfully bested fierce
opposition for the most respected religious authorities. He astounded the crowds with his teachings
and actions. And he demonstrated both
the power and authority expected of a Messiah.
However, such an expectation comes up short. It distorts one's vision and makes one see
with the human eyes on one level, Peter's eyes did not cause him to
miscalculate Jesus's power. Peter was
able to see all of Jesus's wondrous feats.
However, he was not understanding what Jesus was aiming to
accomplish. He and the other disciples
seem to be more preoccupied where Jesus’ messianic power and title are rather
than his life-giving mission.
Of course, the title Messiah is important for establishing an authority bestowed by God. But what good is a title when detached from Jesus’ counter cultural mission to seek and save the lost, the broken and outcast? No. Peter's mind wasn't capable of envisioning all the possibilities accessible to God, especially not a God who came to serve and not be served.
Not when the stakes are so high, when doing what is accomplished by the human eye and mind would not accomplish what God accomplished through Jesus Christ for humanity. So, maybe Peter doesn't deserve any partial credit at all. Maybe placing limits on God because of human desires is something exactly from the devil.
Because there is just too much at stake. To announce Jesus as the Messiah before his true glorification would be inadequate and incomplete. For the Son of Man must undergo suffering, rejection, and death. It is precisely for this reason that his followers, including Peter, would eventually take up their crosses and lose their lives.
Of course, the title Messiah is important for establishing an authority bestowed by God. But what good is a title when detached from Jesus’ counter cultural mission to seek and save the lost, the broken and outcast? No. Peter's mind wasn't capable of envisioning all the possibilities accessible to God, especially not a God who came to serve and not be served.
Not when the stakes are so high, when doing what is accomplished by the human eye and mind would not accomplish what God accomplished through Jesus Christ for humanity. So, maybe Peter doesn't deserve any partial credit at all. Maybe placing limits on God because of human desires is something exactly from the devil.
Because there is just too much at stake. To announce Jesus as the Messiah before his true glorification would be inadequate and incomplete. For the Son of Man must undergo suffering, rejection, and death. It is precisely for this reason that his followers, including Peter, would eventually take up their crosses and lose their lives.
Feb 21, 2024 |
My Beloved
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulMy Beloved
You are a daughter of God, in you, God is well
pleased. You are a son of God, in you, God is well pleased. And I have heard
this and I have come to believe it and it has changed the way I understand my
whole relationship with God, to understand that I'm not trying to become a
beloved child of God. I am beloved.
I am God's son. And this is a part of my core identity and is meant to be a part of all of our core identities. This has been the end, the climax of a lot of the sermons that I've preached, not just here but throughout my, preaching career, to remind you all, to remind us all of our belovedness.
Because I've always thought I need to remember it, first of all. But secondly, I'm kind of a restless person. And I keep thinking, well, if I just believe in my belovedness, it'll give me some peace.
If I can just find a home in my belovedness and God's loving me unconditionally, then I will maybe be a little bit less restless. Maybe I'll be a little bit more peaceful and calm and things will get easier for me. That's my hope for me. And that's my hope for you.
But then I read the text today and you'll notice that Jesus is baptized. And he comes out of the water, and the sky cracks open, and the Holy Spirit lights upon him like a dove, and God says, this is my son, you are my son, my beloved, and in you, I am well pleased. And then it says, and immediately, the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. Well, crap.
I am God's son. And this is a part of my core identity and is meant to be a part of all of our core identities. This has been the end, the climax of a lot of the sermons that I've preached, not just here but throughout my, preaching career, to remind you all, to remind us all of our belovedness.
Because I've always thought I need to remember it, first of all. But secondly, I'm kind of a restless person. And I keep thinking, well, if I just believe in my belovedness, it'll give me some peace.
If I can just find a home in my belovedness and God's loving me unconditionally, then I will maybe be a little bit less restless. Maybe I'll be a little bit more peaceful and calm and things will get easier for me. That's my hope for me. And that's my hope for you.
But then I read the text today and you'll notice that Jesus is baptized. And he comes out of the water, and the sky cracks open, and the Holy Spirit lights upon him like a dove, and God says, this is my son, you are my son, my beloved, and in you, I am well pleased. And then it says, and immediately, the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. Well, crap.
Feb 13, 2024 |
The Hill of Your Transfiguration
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Hill of Your Transfiguration
"Maybe your mother would be up on that hill or an aunt that helped you or a grandfather that mentored you. Would it be someone who has shaped the way you see the world like Moses and Elijah did? Would it be James Baldwin up on that hill or Ayn Rand or something like that? Moses and Elijah both had a sort of national reality.
Would it be Thomas Jefferson or George Washington on that hill or the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King? Would you find Ronald Reagan on that hill or FDR? Who would be on that hill for you as you go up? Who are the people that shape you? Who are the people that have made you see the world a specific way? Because that is what happens with Jesus.
It's not just this symbolic reality that he embodies the law and the prophets. It is that he faces those who have shaped him and influenced him. And this is a moment of great importance because we realize when we hear this story that we are never actually alone in our lives. Jesus is a singular figure, we know this, but Jesus is shaped and accompanied by those who have gone before.
And as the story says, he is watched over even by God who loves him, sees him as beloved."