Jun 12, 2023 |
Perfect Faith
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulPerfect Faith
There's a man whose daughter has died, that's the height of desperation. He doesn't say he believes in Jesus. He doesn't say he's going to follow him. He doesn't say anything about faith. He just shows up and says, can you please do something? And Jesus doesn't say, well, here's what I'm going to need from you. I'm going to need you to follow the seven-point Faith Plan, and I need to see you grow in your discipleship, and then I'm going to see what I can do for you. No, he heals the daughter. And then the woman who's been bleeding for 12 years is in isolation. She's seen as untouchable and disconnected. She's afraid, she is alone, she is marginalized. And what is more desperate than, if I can just touch, as the old hymn goes, the hem of his garment, I believe I'll be made whole.
What's more desperate than, if I can just touch the tip of the robe, I might be okay. That's desperation. Desperation is faithful too. Can you be desperate? Can you bargain? Can you argue and shout? Can you bring your doubt and shout that at God? Can you take your anger and throw that in front of God as well?
Can you keep at it even when you're not sure if it matters? That's faithfulness.
What's more desperate than, if I can just touch the tip of the robe, I might be okay. That's desperation. Desperation is faithful too. Can you be desperate? Can you bargain? Can you argue and shout? Can you bring your doubt and shout that at God? Can you take your anger and throw that in front of God as well?
Can you keep at it even when you're not sure if it matters? That's faithfulness.
Jun 07, 2023 |
Plural, yet One
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlanePlural, yet One
In our reading from Genesis this morning, we meet them, the
original they, them, theirs. The one who was in the beginning before anything
else ever was. When the earth was a formless void the rush of a violent wind
swept forth from God and formed the land, water, and light and life were made,
and God was in all of it.
Speaking and seeing, and blessing and making and calling it all very good. Before humans ever came into being, God was there. And billions of years later, human beings began to tell one another what they thought God was like. Some of the very first human writings that ever attempt to explain God, still struggle to profess that God was a small and simple little thing.
How could God be that way? Have you seen how complicated and beautiful this creation is? Even in Genesis, God is plural in form. Let us make humankind in our own image, according to our likeness. So God created humankind and God's own image in the image of God. They were created, male and female, God created them. Plural, and yet one.
Speaking and seeing, and blessing and making and calling it all very good. Before humans ever came into being, God was there. And billions of years later, human beings began to tell one another what they thought God was like. Some of the very first human writings that ever attempt to explain God, still struggle to profess that God was a small and simple little thing.
How could God be that way? Have you seen how complicated and beautiful this creation is? Even in Genesis, God is plural in form. Let us make humankind in our own image, according to our likeness. So God created humankind and God's own image in the image of God. They were created, male and female, God created them. Plural, and yet one.
May 29, 2023 |
Our Story
| Guest SpeakerOur Story
Peter interpreted the events of that Pentecost in the light of his tradition and his experience of following Jesus, but not everyone welcomed the message, and it's not hard to see why. It meant that these devout people would have to significantly revise their ideas about what constituted faithfulness to their God.
We're not told what was spoken and heard in all those different languages. Only that it had something to do with God's deeds of power, that God was a powerful God They could accept. But the egalitarian and universal nature of this revelation was a lot to take on board. And what did that Galilean troublemaker Jesus have to do with anything?
How do we recognize the movement of the Holy Spirit and become a part of God's work in the world in our own day? Many of us, myself included, picked up our ideas about what it means to be Christian and about the Bible in our early years, explicitly from Sunday school or church school, or perhaps implicitly from the behavior and attitudes of our parents and grandparents. Yet, the day that we realized that we were never going to graduate from the School of Christian Learning was a blessed day indeed. In this lifelong endeavor of discipleship our Christian faith calls us to be ready to open our hearts and minds to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. And from the vantage point of seven decades of life, I can tell you that this can be an uncomfortable experience. We know that society is changing very rapidly, and it can be tiring, even painful to be asked frequently to reexamine our assumptions. It may even feel like a betrayal of our heritage.
We're not told what was spoken and heard in all those different languages. Only that it had something to do with God's deeds of power, that God was a powerful God They could accept. But the egalitarian and universal nature of this revelation was a lot to take on board. And what did that Galilean troublemaker Jesus have to do with anything?
How do we recognize the movement of the Holy Spirit and become a part of God's work in the world in our own day? Many of us, myself included, picked up our ideas about what it means to be Christian and about the Bible in our early years, explicitly from Sunday school or church school, or perhaps implicitly from the behavior and attitudes of our parents and grandparents. Yet, the day that we realized that we were never going to graduate from the School of Christian Learning was a blessed day indeed. In this lifelong endeavor of discipleship our Christian faith calls us to be ready to open our hearts and minds to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. And from the vantage point of seven decades of life, I can tell you that this can be an uncomfortable experience. We know that society is changing very rapidly, and it can be tiring, even painful to be asked frequently to reexamine our assumptions. It may even feel like a betrayal of our heritage.
May 22, 2023 |
Left With Each Other
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulLeft With Each Other
I think we've reached that point in the sermon where I talk about the frustrating thing, which is you'll notice we can't find Jesus anywhere.
Like, have you seen him lately, in person? We have all these stories today and we had this Feast of the Ascension on Thursday, and we have these stories today of Jesus disappearing. He's here one minute and he says, I'm here with you forever. I got you. And then he disappears. Whoa, wait a minute, right? I'm no longer going to be here in the way that I was, Jesus says, and then they ask, “what are you talking about?” And then the worst thing happens. They look back down and all they have is each other.
Right, oh, I'm left with you, thanks, God. And this is how we act sometimes, that we'd love to have Jesus present in real and practical ways, but I guess we'll have each other as a great consolation prize. You are not a consolation prize, my friends. This is not God's consolation.
Like, have you seen him lately, in person? We have all these stories today and we had this Feast of the Ascension on Thursday, and we have these stories today of Jesus disappearing. He's here one minute and he says, I'm here with you forever. I got you. And then he disappears. Whoa, wait a minute, right? I'm no longer going to be here in the way that I was, Jesus says, and then they ask, “what are you talking about?” And then the worst thing happens. They look back down and all they have is each other.
Right, oh, I'm left with you, thanks, God. And this is how we act sometimes, that we'd love to have Jesus present in real and practical ways, but I guess we'll have each other as a great consolation prize. You are not a consolation prize, my friends. This is not God's consolation.
May 15, 2023 |
Sunday Sermon: Suffering and Hope
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlaneSunday Sermon: Suffering and Hope
For those of you who have not yet discovered the card selection at your local Dollar Tree, I entreat you to make a trip. You are sure to see both suffering and hope in the midst of everyday life in that place.
A few years back, I made a small pilgrimage to my local Dollar Tree to get my Mother's Day cards, and I of course picked up a few other things on my way to the register. Satin ribbon for gift wrapping, my favorite reusable washcloths with the mesh on the one side. Some hair ties, duct tape, poster board for a school project and a pack of double-mint gum just for good measure.
I was next in line as I stared down the slow-moving conveyor belt toward a small stack of grocery items that the man in front of me was purchasing for his household. You'd be surprised at the good stuff you can find in that back left corner of the dollar tree across from the glassware.
As I dug into the bottom of my bag for my wallet, I looked up and caught a glimpse of the woman working the register. Something was off.
A few years back, I made a small pilgrimage to my local Dollar Tree to get my Mother's Day cards, and I of course picked up a few other things on my way to the register. Satin ribbon for gift wrapping, my favorite reusable washcloths with the mesh on the one side. Some hair ties, duct tape, poster board for a school project and a pack of double-mint gum just for good measure.
I was next in line as I stared down the slow-moving conveyor belt toward a small stack of grocery items that the man in front of me was purchasing for his household. You'd be surprised at the good stuff you can find in that back left corner of the dollar tree across from the glassware.
As I dug into the bottom of my bag for my wallet, I looked up and caught a glimpse of the woman working the register. Something was off.
May 01, 2023 |
Sad Songs
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulSad Songs
Do I like being sad? No, not really. Nobody likes being sad,
right? We all prefer if we could just be happy and joyful and not experience
any sorrow. We know that we don't want to suffer at all. Sad songs don't
actually make you sad, okay? Sad songs are wonderful because they allow you a
space for your sadness that already exists. It allows a place for your sadness
to be.
One of the things that happens with us when we're suffering, when we're in pain, when we're in sorrow, is we turn sort of inward and we feel like we're all alone. There's a deep loneliness in being sad. There's this sense that there's just us, there's nobody else, no one, and we've all had this riff, like no one has ever felt the way that I feel right now.
I feel that like once a week, but you can't listen to music and feel that way because you can say, oh, I'm not the only one. And then you hear a song that sings this, and you go, oh, I'm not alone in it. I'm not the only one who's ever felt this way. I am not alone. I think that's a great gift. I think it's a great gift for us when we are suffering, when we are sad, when we are overcome, it is a great gift for us to be reminded that we are not the only ones who have ever felt this way.
One of the things that happens with us when we're suffering, when we're in pain, when we're in sorrow, is we turn sort of inward and we feel like we're all alone. There's a deep loneliness in being sad. There's this sense that there's just us, there's nobody else, no one, and we've all had this riff, like no one has ever felt the way that I feel right now.
I feel that like once a week, but you can't listen to music and feel that way because you can say, oh, I'm not the only one. And then you hear a song that sings this, and you go, oh, I'm not alone in it. I'm not the only one who's ever felt this way. I am not alone. I think that's a great gift. I think it's a great gift for us when we are suffering, when we are sad, when we are overcome, it is a great gift for us to be reminded that we are not the only ones who have ever felt this way.
Apr 24, 2023 |
The Family Business
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Family Business
I feel like that's a lot of the ways that people see the
family business of Christianity today, of the Church of God's work. It's
something that we think is kind of interesting and cool. So maybe kind of,
well, definitely not cool. No one ever says the church is cool, but sort of
like, you know, interesting and like, oh, this thing that we're a part of, I
know we've got these customs and we're going to get these kids baptized.
It's just a thing that you do. It's part of our family, but that's not the family business that Jesus is about. That is not what it means to be part of God's family to call God Father to call Jesus brother. Jesus, from before the foundations of the world, is destined to love this world and bring healing and reconciliation; to care for this world, to bind up the brokenhearted, to save people, and to liberate people.
And now you are in the family business. If you are baptized, that is now your job too. Baptism isn't just about what happens to you in this little moment or some joyous moment that you forget in the life of the church. It's about the rest of your life. Baptism isn't about where you get to go when you die.
Baptism is about who you are when you live and what you are about. You are about the family business. You are the body of Christ. You. I'm looking at God's daughters and sons right now. And what is Christ's work in the world? To love it deeply from the heart, to change this world, to make it more just and equitable, to create a world that is meaningfully and truthfully and practically better than it was when we got here.
It's just a thing that you do. It's part of our family, but that's not the family business that Jesus is about. That is not what it means to be part of God's family to call God Father to call Jesus brother. Jesus, from before the foundations of the world, is destined to love this world and bring healing and reconciliation; to care for this world, to bind up the brokenhearted, to save people, and to liberate people.
And now you are in the family business. If you are baptized, that is now your job too. Baptism isn't just about what happens to you in this little moment or some joyous moment that you forget in the life of the church. It's about the rest of your life. Baptism isn't about where you get to go when you die.
Baptism is about who you are when you live and what you are about. You are about the family business. You are the body of Christ. You. I'm looking at God's daughters and sons right now. And what is Christ's work in the world? To love it deeply from the heart, to change this world, to make it more just and equitable, to create a world that is meaningfully and truthfully and practically better than it was when we got here.
Apr 17, 2023 |
Raise Your Expectations
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlaneRaise Your Expectations
What we look to as a Christian community is hope and joy.
Hope being the foundation of belief in resurrection. The belief that something
dead and lost and broken can live and be found healed and restored and renewed.
This is not just about being the kind of people who see a glass half full. It's
about pressing forward in desert places, confident that water will be there for
you when you need it most.
Believing in resurrection, it's about being counter-cultural. Not getting swept up in the 24 hour news cycle that obsesses over destruction and violence that promotes rightness over righteousness and upholds a system of punitive retribution rather than restorative justice. Cynicism tells us that people will always choose their own self-interests, but hope tells us that there are those who would lay down their life for one's friends like Jesus did.
We are not talking about a shallow optimism. It's so much bigger than that. What we are talking about is a radical kind of love that insists that we be in reconciled relationship with God and neighbor, and that this sort of reconciliation is the ultimate kind of joy and always to be the thing that we seek.
Believing in resurrection, it's about being counter-cultural. Not getting swept up in the 24 hour news cycle that obsesses over destruction and violence that promotes rightness over righteousness and upholds a system of punitive retribution rather than restorative justice. Cynicism tells us that people will always choose their own self-interests, but hope tells us that there are those who would lay down their life for one's friends like Jesus did.
We are not talking about a shallow optimism. It's so much bigger than that. What we are talking about is a radical kind of love that insists that we be in reconciled relationship with God and neighbor, and that this sort of reconciliation is the ultimate kind of joy and always to be the thing that we seek.
Apr 09, 2023 |
Jesus Movement
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulJesus Movement
When that stone rolls away and they see that Jesus is already
gone because he is already alive and out in the world again, doing the work. It
is not just that their friend has been raised up. It is that the movement that
Jesus began is not dead. The movement of creating a world where all people know
that they belong and are beloved. They have a place creating a world where
it's true.
The movement towards that is not dead because Jesus is not dead. They belong. You belong. And I belong because of what Jesus has done and is doing. This world right now, we are in, my goodness, we are in interesting times. The division that we are seeing, the existential dread and the fear, the people in our own culture and in others who on a systemic level are being told they are less than that they do not matter.
The Jesus movement started with a much smaller number of people than this. The movement that terrified an empire and threatened to change the world for love was a much smaller movement than this right here.
The movement towards that is not dead because Jesus is not dead. They belong. You belong. And I belong because of what Jesus has done and is doing. This world right now, we are in, my goodness, we are in interesting times. The division that we are seeing, the existential dread and the fear, the people in our own culture and in others who on a systemic level are being told they are less than that they do not matter.
The Jesus movement started with a much smaller number of people than this. The movement that terrified an empire and threatened to change the world for love was a much smaller movement than this right here.
Apr 03, 2023 |
Homecoming
| The Rev. Gary LubinHomecoming
If I were to pick a bird to symbolize Jesus' life, it would
be this albatross.
When Jesus was baptized, God declares, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. God expresses an enduring love as a parent does for their child. Just like Mary and Joseph cherished Jesus for just being who Jesus was. Then Jesus wanders the desert for 40 days, fasting, and he is tempted big time. I mean, this was the mother of all Lenten experiences. Through it all, Jesus comes to fully appreciate his belovedness and not as a possession or something to own, but as a gift to be shared with others. Then Jesus wanders the sandy oceans of the holy land for three years. Jesus heals and teaches and preaches the Good News of shared love, sharing his belovedness. And at one time a teacher of the law was so inspired by Jesus that he said to him, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.
Well, Jesus warned him what it would be like saying, foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head. Jesus had no place to call home, no real place to call home. He may have been born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, but he wandered far and wide like that albatross.
And the one time he did return to Nazareth, they tried to throw him off a cliff and he just flew away. And indeed, Jerusalem was his real destination all along. He may not have even known it. The temple is there after all, Jesus was drawn there like an albatross to its nest.
When Jesus was baptized, God declares, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. God expresses an enduring love as a parent does for their child. Just like Mary and Joseph cherished Jesus for just being who Jesus was. Then Jesus wanders the desert for 40 days, fasting, and he is tempted big time. I mean, this was the mother of all Lenten experiences. Through it all, Jesus comes to fully appreciate his belovedness and not as a possession or something to own, but as a gift to be shared with others. Then Jesus wanders the sandy oceans of the holy land for three years. Jesus heals and teaches and preaches the Good News of shared love, sharing his belovedness. And at one time a teacher of the law was so inspired by Jesus that he said to him, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.
Well, Jesus warned him what it would be like saying, foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head. Jesus had no place to call home, no real place to call home. He may have been born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, but he wandered far and wide like that albatross.
And the one time he did return to Nazareth, they tried to throw him off a cliff and he just flew away. And indeed, Jerusalem was his real destination all along. He may not have even known it. The temple is there after all, Jesus was drawn there like an albatross to its nest.