Sacred Ground

 

2026 07 19 Sermon for First Presbyterian, Inverness

Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

 Let’s begin with a question: what, for you, is sacred ground? Last weekend I was in central Ohio at Emanuel Lutheran Church, a beautiful old building in downtown Marion, a block away from the equally old and beautiful Presbyterian Church. But it was not the building that made the ground sacred, it was the folks I was with. It was the annual meeting of the Order of Lutheran Franciscans and the time we spent together made it holy ground for us. 

A place is called sacred because we have an encounter with God there. We could have been at Liberty Park or Stumpknockers here in Inverness, it still would have been holy ground for us.  You see, it’s not necessarily the location but an event or moment that makes a location sacred. It’s a place where we believe we have had an encounter with the Divine.

But, even with that understanding, we are forgetting something.  In Genesis 1, the author describes the beginning of every thing, and God calls it good. In other words, everything touched by God is sacred. It’s us people who tend to limit the holy to our own understanding and preferences. Still, we also like to identify some moments as especially sacred, and we often mark that place or moment with a marker of some kind.

In the reading from Genesis, Jacob has a dream or vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder that connects earth and heaven. He sets up a stone to mark the spot as sacred ground, because this is a place where God is. Scholars debate how big the stone was. “Was it bigger than a bread box?”, for example. It must have been large enough to be located again. Who wouldn’t want to return to such holy, sacred ground?

Today, we have a fuller understanding. We call the lands of Israel and Palatine and Egypt the Holy Lands. The land, ha-Aretz in Hebrew, al-Quds in Arabic, is holy, sacred ground. Never mind that peoples have fought for control of it since biblical times, it is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, because it was given to the people of God, by God, thousands of years ago.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells a puzzling story. It seems fairly simple to us: seeds are planted, crops grow, and there are weeds among the wheat! But pulling the weeds out while the wheat is still growing will uproot the wheat as well. So, it’s best to wait until harvest time to do the separation; by then it will be easier to see the difference and separate them. Then the weeds should be harvested first, bundled and burned, with the wheat gathered into the barn. Actually, today, we spread weed killer while the weeds are still small.

The disciples ask Jesus to explain this parable. There is lots of scholarly speculation about whether this explanation came from Jesus, because he usually doesn’t explain parables. But, it’s in the text we have, so we accept it and deal with it. The explanation is an allegory, assigning a category to each element in the parable, and separating the good elements from the evil elements, people who do good from people who do evil.

The Jews of Jesus’ time paid special attention to the labeling of people as in or out of favor with God. This radical acceptance of weeds among the wheat must have sent the disciples’ brains spinning. What do you mean, to let them stay? Don’t the weeds contaminate the wheat? Won’t the Gentiles spoil the righteousness of the Jews, and ruin us all forever?

I notice in this parable and its explanation is that the judging is done at the harvest time, at the end time, whenever that is, and that the harvesters are angels – which means they are messengers of God – and it is Jesus who will do the judging.  

And what I notice about Jesus the judge is that he welcomes many people that others would call unwelcome. So, perhaps, there will be some weeds among the wheat in Jesus’ barn. I am reminded of a quote I heard a long time ago. Weeds are plants we haven’t found a good use for, yet. So, even if the wheat could be considered sacred and the weeds not sacred, it’s not up to us to do the labeling.

Paul gives us some further instruction, I think, in what is sacred ground. We are all God’s children, and rendered sacred by virtue of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Our experience in the world may be easy or challenging. It may appear to others that we don’t know God, or that God doesn’t know us. But it is only in the sorting at the end of the age, or the end of our own days on earth, that we may be labeled wheat or weed, good fruit or not. But we know, because God has said so, that we are God’s beloved children, destined for salvation, for being made whole, holy, sacred.

Psalm 139 is my favorite psalm. Whenever I read it, I am assured, reassured actually, that I am never alone. God is always with me, even if I don’t want God watching me. There is no way to escape God. And indeed, why would I want to!? Do I feel weedy sometimes, and wish God didn’t see that? Sure! But the psalmist assures us that there is no place we can go that God is not present. God’s presence with us makes everywhere we are sacred ground. So, God sees my weedy moments and remembers that I am God’s own child, and therefore not a weed.

Our nation, and the whole world, is at odds with one another. Wars erupt. Politicians won’t work together to pass legislation. This is also true in circles much smaller than national and local politics. It happens in congregations, and in families. We find it harder and harder to have a pleasant conversation. We decry one another’s beliefs and activities, and we refuse to consider the opinions of the other as valuable. It’s too easy to label people as weeds or wheat.

What’s the antidote: to remember that everyone lives on what they consider sacred ground. And to remember that God considers each person a beloved child, filled with God’s Spirit, and to treat even those we mistrust as God’s children. Amen

Parenthood

 For First Presbyterian, Inverness, FL

Genesis 21:8-21; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39

I want to begin with Genesis 12: Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

This promise influences the entire Bible, the stories of all the characters who live in relationship with God, from Abraham to Moses to David to Isaiah to Jesus and Peter and Mary Magdalene, and to us today.

Some of today’s readings tell stunning stories. The story from Genesis sounds like a soap opera: Sarah can’t conceive so she has her husband Abraham sleep with her best friend, Hagar. Today, we call this surrogacy, and the process is done in a lab, but 4,000 years ago direct interaction was the only way.  

The soap opera continues: When baby Ishmael is born, Hagar lives in an apartment over the garage, so she can be close to her son and see him often.  Maybe she even provides childcare for Ishmael. And that works until Sarah herself finally gives birth to her own child, Isaac. Then Sarah forces Hagar to leave with Ishmael. Abraham gives Hagar some money, but it runs out too soon, and she and the baby are living in a shelter for homeless families a few hundred miles away.

The Bible story puts the blame on Sarah’s jealousy, her fear that Ishmael was Abraham’s favorite son. It doesn’t tell us how long this controversy in the family lasted. I suspect it was months, or longer. And it doesn’t tell us how Abraham felt about having to send his first-born son away, other than providing what he could to Hagar and Ishmael as they left.

In the world of soap operas, Hagar would either be gone, a lesser cast member fired because her storyline ran out, or her storyline would continue to occasionally interact with Sarah and the new baby. It’s unlikely that the soap opera storyline would include an appearance of God bringing the assurance that Ishmael would be as blessed as Isaac.

However, in the world of the Bible, as Hagar struggles to find food and water for herself and her child, God appears, and gives her a promise almost identical to the one given to Abraham years earlier. “I will make a great nation of him.” In another retelling of this story in Genesis 16, it’s even closer to the one for Abram.

The half-brothers are never close, but apparently keep in touch because both Isaac and Ishmael are at the burial of Father Abraham. And today, this story is remembered as the faith foundation story for the Muslims. The three generations of Abraham, Ishmael, and Nebaioth parallel the Jewish stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Fast-forward about 2,000 years to Jesus talking with his disciples. “I want to warn you,” he says, “that it will not be easy to follow me. There will be conflict. There will be broken families. You have to put following me above everything in your life. But I promise you that I will care for you even more than I care for the sparrows.”

 And Jesus gets even more specific: husbands and wives will be set against each other; siblings won’t agree with each other; and even parent-child relationships will be torn apart. All because some will believe in Jesus and follow his way, and others will insist that Jesus blasphemes. It’s a wonder families survived at all, because what Jesus predicted was true.

Still, Jesus promises that there will be blessings in following him. By the time of Moses and the prophets, the promise originally given to Abraham had been adapted: “I will be your God and you will be my people.” It’s the promise of a loving, everlasting relationship, expressed in many metaphors.

God is the king, who reigns benevolently over the people. God is the good shepherd, who guides and guards the sheep. God is the mother bear, who protects her cubs from danger. And God is our Father, much better than any human parent. Jesus teaches us, in other parts of the gospels, what it means for God to be our father. God is not a distant mountain but a loving parent who seeks a loving, caring relationship with all of us. Pray like this: Our abba in heaven …

Let’s look at what we might learn about parenthood, then, from these stories. Abraham and Sarah and Hagar teach us how hard it can be to be family; there are conflicts and jealousy and yet loving bonds that last a lifetime.  Jesus teaches his disciples, including us today, how hard it can be to be his faithful followers, but says, I’ll be with you, even when it’s hard. Keep on following me. And Paul explains that it’s worth it to live the baptized, resurrected life, in relationship with God the Father of Jesus.  

Many of us were raised with the image of parenting shown on TV, in shows like Father Knows Best, or Eight Is Enough. But these stories were not realistic, at least in the sense of how quickly issues were resolved, if not in the sense that some real-life issues are never really resolved.

In real life, it’s hard to be a parent, to know what is best for each child, for the family. We’re going to make mistakes, even as we are trying to be fair. I still carry resentment at a decision made by my parents. It was certainly not earth-shattering, like the story of Hagar. But I remember it. On Saturday nights in Chicago, Gunsmoke was a 30-minute show that started at 8pm and we always watched it as a family. Then, one year, it began airing in color, and lasted for 60 minutes. That meant our bedtime moved from 8:30 to 9pm, and my parents decided that it would be too late. So, we couldn’t watch it at all, and bedtime was 8pm. Mom and Dad wouldn’t even make an exception for me, the oldest at 13, a teenager!

This week, I hope you will spend some time thinking about this: What kind of parents did you have? If you are a parent or grandparent, what kind of parent or grandparent are you? In what ways is God your loving, forgiving Father or Parent? Or do you describe God differently? Amen.  

Finding and creating community

 Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Pastor Shannon Kiser, the Speaker at the Synod Assembly last week, talked about the many ways the church could be community for folks who are otherwise unconnected to a church, or even to God. Her proposal is that the church can grow in community by helping outside groups to know Jesus indirectly and informally.

Let’s look at these stories from Matthew’s Gospel with an eye out for community surrounding the people in the story. Some are stories of inclusion, while others are stories of exclusion. Since God loves all, inclusion for all is God’s plan.

Matthew the tax collector was perhaps a wealthy man, but more likely he was a middle-income figure. Tax collection was a contracted business, with the actual work being done by subcontractors and sub-subcontractors. So, his wealth would depend on his status. Most likely with the location of rural Galilee, Matthew was a sub-subcontractor.

There were several taxes. Two of them were the poll tax, levied on individuals over the age of 12 for boys, or 14 for girls, payable in coin. And the land tax, which was payable with the produce of the land. As we know today, unpaid taxes on the land can cause a family to lose its land. Then as now, the cruelty of these taxes and collection practices could cause many people to be turned off their ancestral land. Because tax collectors were ultimately working for the Romans, they were considered traitors by the Jews.

So, it was scandalous for Jesus to approach Matthew, have a conversation with him, and then eat at his home. The scandalous-ness was expanded when the dinner guests included more tax collectors and other sinners.

The Pharisees were quick to react. Why does your teacher eat with these yucky people? Of course, Jesus overhears the question and responds that healthy people don’t need medical care, but sick people do. And … Think about this saying from Amos: I desire mercy, not sacrificial actions.

So, where is the community in this first story? Of course, the Pharisees were their own community, ready to support those in the in-group who were in need. The tax collectors and other outcasts formed groups, communities, of people like themselves. They all lived with the scorn of the Jewish leaders. But as a group they could support each other, helping when someone was ill or injured, or a family was in need.

And right after this story, Gospel writer Matthew tells us another story.  In his story-telling style, Matthew occasionally sandwiches two stories together, with one story interrupting the other and offering contrasting circumstances.

A leader, a wealthy, important man, approaches Jesus and asks him to rush to his home because his daughter has just died. At the home, there is already a crowd of professional mourners. These folks are loudly wailing and playing sad tunes on their flutes, forming community around the family.

Jesus arrives and sends the mourners home, and then enters the girl’s room. Jesus takes her hand and she gets up out of bed. And now, the natural community of family and friends and neighbors can support the daughter and hear over and over the story of her restoration to health. The story of this healing spreads like wildfire.

While Jesus, surrounded by a large community -- his disciples and followers, and the family and friends of the leader -- hurries to the leader’s home, he is interrupted by a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. She says to herself, if I just touch the fringe of his cloak, I will be made well. Jesus notices healing power leaving him, and turns to see who it was.

He speaks to her, “Daughter, you have been made well.”  Another daughter, healed, in very different circumstances. Women’s bleeding makes them ritually unclean; men, even husbands and close family, can’t touch them without also being made unclean. So, this woman lacks community. She may have folks who help her, but they don’t touch her.

Some of us know what it is like to not be touched, to not be hugged, perhaps because of family situations. But we don’t know what it is like to not be touched for years because of some rule that says we are untouchable.

It is for people like this that the church can be a resource for welcoming community. What if the women of the synagogue had said, We think you should not have to go alone, so we’ll go with you and ask Jesus to heal you. We’ll make it so Jesus can’t miss seeing you. And if he says, no, we’ll still love you and care for your needs.

Leone, Kathy, Mike and I heard several presentations about communities within and outside the congregation by the Keynote speaker, Rev Shannon Kiser. Her messages cause us to wonder: where can Gloria Dei find communities that need support and encouragement? What would it mean to befriend the kids who ride through the parking lot after school every day? What would it mean to include the neighbors in a project of their choosing? What would happen if a portion of the yard became a community garden? What is God leading you to do next?

As Gloria Dei enters a new chapter of life with Pr Tony, it will take some adjusting, some learning about each other, before it feels like he belongs to this community. My prayers will be with you as you continue to grow and adapt to new circumstances and perhaps develop new communities that can come to know the love of Jesus you all experience already.

I thank you for the way you have welcomed and included Mike and me in your community. We will certainly miss you all. Amen

Divine power and authority

 

Last fall, when we were discussing the Nicene Creed in the Monday Zoom Bible study, we learned that it wasn’t until the 300s and 400s that the concept of God as Trinity was established and refined. And, last week during our Zoom study of Dame Julian of Norwich, we learned there are many ways to describe the Trinity, all centered on the single concept of God as love. And because it’s so easy to speak wrongly, heretically, about the Trinity, I have promised myself to not try to explain the Trinity in a sermon. So …

We read today the story of creation from Genesis 1. In six days, God created the earth and all that is in it. It could be six epochs, or eons, but we use the word days to fit our  human-sized ability to understand  the passing of time.

This year, I found myself pondering the idea that the earth we live on is such a small part of all of creation. And pondering the enormity of the universe, as viewed bit by bit through the amazing Hubble Telescope. Do we assume God created only earth, or did God create all that is? This is some divine power!

As Jesus walked the earth, he too has this amount of power, though he left it behind; Paul says he emptied himself, in order to be with us as a human. At times, he chooses to use such power, to catch fish, to feed a crowd, to heal hurting bodies and spirits.

After the resurrection, Jesus meets with the disciples and followers. It’s time to tell them what’s next for them. We call this passage the “Great Commission.” Jesus commissions believers from this moment on to tell the whole world about him. He is saying he now gives them the authority to go and baptize believers, bringing them all into the mission he has begun. Jesus has given us that same power and authority to speak his name to others, and bring them into the flock. They will be guided by Jesus through the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.

 For many of us, this is scary. It’s not something we think we can do. We are too shy, we don’t want to offend anyone. We’ve been taught we don’t talk about money, politics, or religion in polite society. I suggest that if the disciples didn’t talk about Jesus in polite society, we wouldn’t believe in him today.

So, it’s time to assume you/ we all have Jesus’ authority to break that rule when it seems appropriate. The proof of this is the way God’s Holy Spirit makes our hearts beat faster with the impulse to speak up and puts words in our mouths, and even helps the listener be receptive to the meaning behind our words.

I want to point out something in the text that we often skip over – the line that says, some doubted. Another way to interpret the original text is: and they had some doubt. I am comforted by this interpretation, because it’s natural for us humans to doubt.

We doubt our own ability. We doubt others will show up and do what they are supposed to do. We doubt God has the power and willingness to heal, to bring peace, to mend hearts, and so forth. And so, we don’t put all our trust in God; we have some doubt. And we say, we give our worry or fear to God,  but with the next breath, we grab control right back.

And yet, God continually invites us to trust. God gives us the authority and power to take chances, to risk, to dare try something. God shares divine authority with us, and we only need to receive it and trust in God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit’s wisdom.  

In just a few minutes today, you-all will vote on calling a new pastor to serve with you at Gloria Dei. It’s an important moment in the life of any congregation. Lay people are entrusted with the authority to choose their leaders. However the vote goes, you can trust God to be with you always.

And as your current pastor, I share with you something a bishop said to a church council many years ago.  There is no perfect pastor, and there is no perfect congregation. Yet we pastors are each entrusted with the authority to lead congregations as God’s calling sends us.

The God we believe in has the power and authority to create worlds beyond our capacity to understand. The same God has the ability to limit access to that power in order to lie on earth for a time. And the same God cares about us enough to whisper or shout to us, as fits the circumstances.

Will you trust that God is sending Pastor name to lead you? Will you trust them to be guided by God to lead Gloria Dei into the future?

Amen

 

 

Spirit on the move

Numbers 11:24-30; Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23

Let me start with this: in Luther’s small catechism, we learn that the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies us. In other words, it’s through the Spirit that we believe, learn, and are made holy. As you listen, notice how Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the people in the stories.

And, because the Holy Spirit is often connected with Lady Wisdom in the Old Testament and Sophia in the New Testament, God’s Holy Spirit often is referred to as “she”.  

God’s Spirit has been active in our world from the very moment of creation. Spirit moves over the waters of creation, inspires and guides Noah and Abraham and his family. She protects Moses and the Israelites during the plagues and the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Spirit encourages the prophets and gives them words to speak. And so forth.

Today, our first reading focuses on a moment in the wilderness when Moses realized he couldn’t do everything; he needed to appoint elders to assist in deciding conflicts. A group of seventy men was gathered, and they were given some of Moses’ spirit. Two more men were not in the original group, but also received the spirit. When some folks complained that the two men received and used the spirit even though they shouldn’t have it, Moses replied that he wished all God’s people had the spirit.

The reading from Acts reminds us that the Holy Spirit is uncontrollable; she shows up as wind and fire and the spiritual gifts of language and proclamation. It must have been a wild and crazy experience that day in the plaza in Jerusalem. Jews from all over the region heard the story of Jesus resurrection in their own languages. And Peter’s sermon moved them to believe and be baptized. This was also the work of the Holy Spirit.

Mostly, let’s think about what it was like that Sunday, after the crucifixion. The disciples, men and women, are gathered in the upper room with the door locked. They are grieving because Jesus, after all their hope, is dead and buried in a tomb. Mary has reported she has seen Jesus. Can they trust her word? She’s a woman!

And they are afraid the leaders, Roman and Jewish, will seek them out too, as collaborators with Jesus. Only Thomas is missing. Was he not afraid? Or was he, as I suggested, finding other ways to process his grief? Were the other disciples worried about him? In this room, the collective anxiety level must have been extremely high.

And suddenly, Jesus pops into the room. And raised the anxiety level even higher. We remember in those days, the folks were very superstitious and probably thought Jesus was a ghost.

Jesus says what all messengers from God say, “Don’t be afraid. Peace.” In other words, “Hey, guys, it’s me!” The text doesn’t say so, but I’ll bet they all just took a few minutes before the story John tells could continue.

As he often does, Jesus invites the group to gather around so he can explain some things. And to help with comprehension, he gives them all a gift – the Holy Spirit. Jesus breathes on them, and with a breath in, the disciples all receive the Spirit. And they are now sent to continue Jesus’ mission of sharing God’s love with all people.

From this moment on, the disciples have a new role, sharing the good news and managing the ministry. They now have the power to welcome believers and forgive sins. They will need the guidance of the Holy Spirit even more, now.

We, too, have the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Her presence officially begins with our baptism, but I believe it begins long before that. And continues all our lives, no matter what we are doing, where we go, who we are with. With the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, we can share the good news of the resurrection as well as the first disciples. There is no difference in the level of power – it’s the same Spirit as always. Let’s not let our personal doubt and fear prevent what God sends us to do.

As a congregation, what do we imagine we can do, what mission is on the hearts and minds of members, but not mentioned because we don’t think it’s possible. It could be a lawn party for neighbors, or turkey sandwiches for first responders on Thanksgiving, or a fundraiser for the women’s shelter. Whatever we decide to try, let’s not tell God’s Spirit no, we can’t. Who are we to inhibit God’s plans?

I heard this story yesterday, over sandwiches after the funeral. I was at the table with some family members. We were talking about how we express our beliefs in public.

It happened at a grocery store checkout lane. I’m going to assign some names to make the telling easier. Charlie had a full cart, put all the items on the belt, paid for his groceries and prepared to move off to his car. As he moved away, he said, “oh, wait a minute, I forgot something.” By now, Martha has put her cart-load of food on the belt. Charlie pulled out his credit card and paid for Martha’s groceries.

I detect some movement of the Holy Spirit at work here. What prompted Charlie’s generosity? Did he notice something that indicated Martha’s need? Or was it just something he did to feel good? Some people are just naturally inclined to be generous, to pay it forward. I can’t imagine that this action happened without the prompting of the Spirit.  The Spirit must also have moved in Martha’s heart, as she was the recipient of Charlie’s gift. Don’t feel ashamed, just accept the gift with love and gratitude.  

When we are feeling anxiety or pain, we tend to shorten our breaths, often into a pant. It’s hard to breathe when we do that. My recommendation is to remember we are not alone, we can do whatever is before us to do. And to slow down our breathing, so we can take in the Holy Spirit.

She is always there, so just breathe. Receive the Holy Spirit. Allow yourself to be called, gathered, enlightened, and made holy, just by breathing in, again and again, the presence of God’s Spirit. Amen

 

It’s all about love

Ezekiel 43:1-7a; John 14:15-21

On Friday evening, Mike and I went to supper with our friends at the Chinese Buffet in Inverness. Over refilled plates and good conversation and bad jokes, we enjoyed our time together. At the end of the meal, of course, we opened our fortune cookies. Most of them were pretty simple: mighty oaks grow out of tiny acorns. But mine was this: Cherish the love that surrounds you: it’s a testament to your heart’s capacity to remember. Well, I thought, there’s the opening to my sermon. So there you have it! It’s all about love!

Today’s Gospel reading should feel familiar. Jesus said: “My commandment is simple: love one another.” When we keep this commandment, we will know God’s presence is always with us. It’s a cycle: God loves us, we love others, and through loving others we love God. OR, God loves us, we love God, and through loving God, we show others how much God loves them and us.

But, over the centuries, people have added contingencies. Sure, we will love others, but just not those others, because they are icky. And then we go on to define why they are icky.

It can be simple things … their hair is too long or too short; their skin is too light or too dark; they say y’all instead of you all.

Or it can be complex things … they pray five times a day or not even once; they are pacifists or warmongers; they don’t earn enough to pay taxes, or they earn enough to avoid paying taxes. 

…It can be hard to love everyone, because it’s in our biology to be wary of those who are different. The built-in automatic fight or flight response is easily triggered when we are confronted by those who look, or sometimes think, differently than ourselves.

 When I moved to Chicago to attend seminary, all students were issued whistles along with our keys. We were warned about walking alone at night, and we were informed that the University of Chicago had its own police force and would respond much faster than any city police could. They knew to respond to the whistles.

With those thoughts in my mind, I walked to a nearby grocery store to pick up a few things. I noticed a group of young men in hoodies gathered on the corner where I planned to cross the street. Uncertain, I crossed in the middle of the block, so I could avoid them. I had no reason to be afraid of those young men, except they fit the profile I had been warned about. I used reason, choosing safety just in case, but clearly, my fight or flight response had been triggered as well. I feared those young men long before I could get to know them, and then come to love them.

… Last Friday was the feast day of St Julian of Norwich, a beloved mystic from the 1300s. She lived in turbulent times: the hundred-year-war between England and France was on-going; there were pandemic diseases like the black plague. The Church was all-powerful, and taught that if you died without confessing your sins, you were going to hell.

Julian was on her deathbed at age 30. The family had called in a priest to hear her confessions, and as she looked at the crucifix the priest held, she had what she called Shewings (in Middle English) or Showings. In 16 visions spaced over 2 days, she had conversations with Jesus, who taught her that God is love. Because God loves us, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

She survived her illness and wrote them down, the first writing by a woman in English, in a book called Revelations of Divine Love. She spent the rest of her life interpreting these shewings and counseling those who came to her. Julian became an anchorite, a person who lived in a small cell attached to a church building. For Julian, God was all about love.

…  The Ezekiel passage connected to today’s Gospel tells us that God lives among us. In this moment, the glory of God comes to fill the temple. God promises, “The soles of my feet are on this land and I will dwell with the people forever.” In John, Jesus promises that his spirit will be with us, as an advocate, a comforter, an encourager. So, the glory of God has left the building and walks among us, now known as God’s Holy Spirit.

God’s Holy Spirit, sent to us by Jesus, makes God visible, or at least sense-able, in our world. We can sense God’s presence in a hospital room, during baptism, at the table where we can taste Jesus’ body and blood, among a group of friends. And where God is present, so is love.

 In a few minutes, we will offer the opportunity for you all to come forward to receive a sign of Jesus’ love for us in the mark of oil on your forehead and the hands laid upon you. We offer this not with the expectation that you will be physically healed, though that would be wonderful if it happened, but as a reminder of the love that brings healing to all of us.

 … I wonder where you all find love. How do you give love? Are there some people you find hard to love? It can be hard to imagine that God loves everyone, but that’s how it has to be for God’s love to work. We respond by loving God as well as we can, and by loving each other, also as well as we can. And God loves us in our imperfect efforts. Amen

The way

 

Proverbs 4:10-18; John 14:1-14

Today’s Gospel text is a portion of the story of the last supper Jesus had with the disciples.  Jesus says, “Don’t y’all let your hearts be troubled.” Maybe this is similar to the angels’ encouragements found throughout scripture, “Don’t be afraid.”

Jesus continues, “But I need to tell you some things. You need to know some things. In my Father’s house are many dwelling places and I go to prepare a place for you.” The Greek word monai translated as place also gives the sense of abiding, remaining. Jesus has used this word in the image of us being branches who abide, cling, to the vine. But we cling to the vine all our lives, not just after we die. So there must be more to this image than a fancy house in heaven. Let’s read on.

Since Jesus is preparing a place, he is also preparing a way for us to get to the place. The concept of the way is about more than getting to the dwelling place we will go to or cling to. The way is following Jesus. The way is welcoming all, respecting all, healing all, and loving all. The way reminds us of Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the man who was blind, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, wine from water, an abundance of bread and fish, the good shepherd.  The way is life through death to resurrection.

Jesus has spoken often about being one with the Father. Tonight, Philip puts it right on the line. Show us the Father. Jesus replies, “When you see me, you see the Father. If you don’t believe my words, believe my actions, believe what I do. What I do is follow the way the Father planned.” The way leads to the cross, and to the empty tomb.

… We might think the concept of the way is new to Jesus, but if we read the Hebrew scriptures, we find lots of similarities. For example, the book of Proverbs is filled with them. Many of the sayings in Proverbs are from Solomon, who lived 1,000 years before Jesus.

¹¹ I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evildoers.
¹⁸ But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

In Proverbs, the way, the path, leads to righteous behavior, which leads to a healthy relationship with God.

The way is what we pray Isabelle, whom we baptize today, will follow, as she grows up. We all are charged with helping her know what the way is. Together, we will help her come to know Father, Son, and Spirit are always present with her, guiding her, loving her. We will demonstrate for her what it means to be a child of God, following the way to Jesus, and the way of Jesus.

… Following the way means to trust in Jesus, to love like he loves, to care for all like he does. We follow the way imperfectly, but hopefully, faithfully, and more concerned with following the way than with where we will be when we die. It is enough to know that Jesus has prepared something good for us, along the way, and when we get to wherever it is we are going.

This week, I encourage you to consider some ways that you have been led along the way to Jesus, and the way of Jesus. Amen

Leaders behaving badly / Good shepherds

 Ezekiel 34:7-15; John 10:1-10

A few decades ago, I learned something about sheep by watching old movies on TV about the range wars between ranchers and the “invasion” of sheepherders. It may or may not have been this movie, The Sheepman. It might have been an episode of Gunsmoke. Because sheep eat the grass down to the ground if permitted, cattle ranchers resisted having sheep on the range. The shepherd in the movie explained that the solution was to let the cattle graze first, and then the sheep.

Both cattle and sheep need to be moved to new grazing land – to wherever the grass really is greener. Good ranchers and good shepherds take care to ensure the animals have good feeding ground as well as protection from predators. Modern shepherds use llamas or donkeys to fend off wolves. In biblical times, this was also the job of human shepherds.

Good shepherds make sure the sheep in their care are protected and well fed and watered, sheared at the right time, checked for diseases, and so forth. The role of protector of the sheep has long been used as an image for a ruler, a king.

When we first meet King David, he is a young man caring for his family’s sheep. While the Bible portrays him as always faithful to God, he is not perfect. I will simply mention the whole story of the relationship with Bathsheba and the death of her husband Uriah. However, when he needed to, he confessed and repented.

Many subsequent kings and priests have the reputation as evildoers. According to an AI Overview: Based on Biblical accounts, all 20 kings of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) were considered "bad" or evil, mostly promoting idolatry. The Southern Kingdom (Judah) had 20 rulers (19 kings and 1 queen), with roughly 8-10 considered "good" for following God, while the others were deemed evil, though some good kings also had major failings.

Good kings relied on God and removed idol worship altars, prioritized the Jerusalem temple, repented – as David did, and relied on God and God’s prophets. Bad or evil kings introduced or allowed the worship of other gods, stole land and killed innocent people, and rejected or ignored prophets sent by God.

In our first reading today, the Prophet Ezekiel speaks God’s message to the king and leaders of Judah before and during the Babylonian exile. He warns the leaders of the importance of being good shepherds for the people, because if they are not, God will replace them with a true shepherd.

This passage from John’s Gospel is filled with sheep/shepherd related metaphors. Jesus uses the image of God as Good Shepherd, to describe his role among the disciples and the people. Jesus is the voice the sheep listen to because other voices lead them astray. Jesus is the gate at the opening of the fold, and will protect his sheep from evil by preventing the evil-doers from entering.

With these words, Jesus invites individuals to follow him, and warns those leaders who act like the evil-doing kings of the past that there is no place for them in Jesus’ flock. We know, of course, that some of those leaders put Jesus to death. We also know, in hindsight, that that was God’s plan.

John 10:10 is a favorite Bible verse for many people. Jesus says: I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. We can personalize it: I came that YOU may have life, and have it abundantly.

What does it mean to have abundant life? It means to live in God’s presence, and to know God is present with us, even when we are unaware, or unsure, of it. We find abundance when we notice all the little things that give joy, despite the challenging events and circumstances of our community and world.

My West Citrus Kiwanis Club, based in Crystal River, has sponsored an event for developmentally challenged students and adults for many years. Called the Key-CREST Field day, it’s an opportunity for these folks to shine, to experience abundance in a world where they often find limits. Participants run track, throw softballs, and play cornhole. Every aspect of the event is planned to help them succeed. Health Academy students accompany participants as needed, everyone gets 2 medals, and adult volunteers feel their hearts filled with abundance as the youth and adults find success.

Pope Leo is actively speaking about justice and peace, expressing his views publicly on many topics. The Pope has highlighted the imbalance of wealth and power between the Global North and the Global South. Here are two recent quotes:

To reporters on his plane he said: "I personally believe a state has a right to set rules at its borders. I am not saying that all must enter as if without order, sometimes creating more unjust situations where they arrive than those that they had left. But in saying this, I ask what we do in richer countries to change the situation in poorer countries."

He spoke to University students in Cameroon: "In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate — which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found — I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens." 

What is Leo’s point? That if we work together, all can have an abundant life. If we follow the Good Shepherd and allow the shepherd to protect and guide us, we will have the abundant life Jesus promises us. If we listen for the Good Shepherd’s voice,  we will know how to avoid the snares of thieves who come to steal the abundant life from us.

I wonder what makes your life abundant? And I wonder what you do to help others have abundant lives?  Amen