Making the Most of Our Time
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We live in a world that sometimes (ok, a lot of the time) feels out of control. The news is filled with crises after crises and it can be overwhelming. It's easy to feel like we're just passengers on a runaway train, unable to influence the direction of our lives or the world around us. Yet, amidst this chaos, the author of Ephesians offers a counter-narrative: we have purpose---encouragement to make the most of our time.
We hear, "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." These words are really as relevant today as they were in the first century. We live in days marked by injustice, inequality, and a pervasive sense of spiritual emptiness/confusion. But rather than give in to despair, Paul calls us to be wise, to be intentional, and to seize the opportunities before us. Sounds even a bit like our baptismal vows to “resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”
We can’t ignore the challenges we face-and the challenges we see in the world. We are called to respond and live out our faith --faith that equips us to respond with love, courage, compassion, and hope.
Let’s consider TIME for a minute.
Time is fascinating. Clocks and calendars are concrete things. And sometimes time can be so relative. Some things seem to take forever, while others pass in the blink of an eye. When I started here Karis was starting kindergarten. If a few weeks she is off to middle school. Time flies! Then there was 2020-2021---seemed as if it lasted forever. Last night Tom gave the adults an opportunity to practice meditation for 10 minutes. I would suspect that for some of us it was a welcomed quick 10 minutes and or some it seemed like an hour! Time!!! Time slid through my hands this week as I caught up on all kinds of thing church related after vacation! When I was pregnant 9 months seemed to be a long time and a short time all at once! Time!
How do we use it wisely as Ephesians tells us? How do we make the most of our time?
Since many of us are back to school mode---In school, I remember teachers giving us assignments to complete in certain amounts of time and reminding us to “use time wisely!” – in other words, we needed to get down to work to make sure the task was complete. It’s a valuable life skill to be sure.
Time, you see, is also a theological concept. In Greek, this is reflected by the use of two different words to recognize time. The first, chronos, as in the root of our word chronological, talks about sequential and ordered time. The second, kairos, is the one we find in our text today from Ephesians, which gets at something bigger. Namely, it calls us to consider time as the right, critical, or opportune moment, particularly in relation to God’s timing and purpose.
We have been given the gift of “time” from God, but it’s up to us to make it into something purposeful: moving from chronos to kairos.
We do that by being filled with the Holy Spirit and allowing the Holy Spirit to give us what we need to help build a better community and world-to bring about more peace and justice-to love God and our neighbor with all of our being.
When we are filled with the spirit—we make a beautiful song as our hearts overflow with love. Being filled with the Spirit means our hearts speak to others with love and encouragement and indeed it is a beautiful song to the Lord—a sweet, sweet melody!
Being filled with the Spirit is also being filled with thanksgiving during good times and bad times. Gratefulness must pour from our hearts.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles
In laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?
This song is from the popular musical Rent. The answer is in the chorus: Measure in love-Seasons of love-Seasons of love
Perhaps that is the answer when we boil it all down. We make the most of our time---by loving.
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
As long as ever you can.”― John Wesley
For however many seasons we are blessed with—may we love deeply. Amen.
Rules for Life
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Who has ever heard the saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”?
I’m guessing that we have shared this sentiment a few times in our lives (or had it said to us!) And yet, no matter how confident we may have sounded and no matter how much we may have wished it to be true, we likely walked away with pain from words.
A lesson we learn in life (and it doesn’t take too long to figure this out) is that – words are powerful and can lift up or tear down. They can mend a broken heart or create a broken heart. Sometimes the wounds created by words are difficult to heal. Words can stick with a person much longer than a broken bone. They can affect all parts of our selves. And words can and do divide us- in our personal relationships, in our relationships with others in the greater society, and in our relationships with others in the Church. And as we look at our passage in Ephesians today, we can tell it was the case for the church in Ephesus, as well.
While we don’t know the specific arguments among the Christians in the Ephesian church, we do know that there had been tension throughout the early years of the Church between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians because of their many differences:
theological beliefs and faith practices
what they ate and what they wore
their native languages
world-views
ethnic and cultural backgrounds
Outside of the Church, these differences were what kept Jews and Gentiles separate. And as Jewish and Gentile Christians began to worship together within the Church, it was quite difficult for them to reconcile all of this and fully embrace one another (as Christ teaches).
We can understand now why the tension was so high and why there was fighting. They couldn’t figure out how to be equal.
All of this fighting and tearing down is not the way God intended the Church to be. Throughout the first three chapters of his letter to the Ephesians, the author explains that though the Gentiles were at one time “far off… they are no longer strangers and aliens, but are citizens with the saints and also members of the [same] household of God.” In Christ we are ONE.
Paul pleads with the Ephesian Christians at the beginning of chapter 4, just before our reading for today: “As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you,” he says, “to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called… making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace… For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of ALL, who is above all and through all and IN all.”
“So then,” Paul continues in our passage for today. “Let us put away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of ONE ANOTHER.”
As it was back then and is now—living out our faith is not always an easy task. But we must do it. Our faith should affect our life. What’s going on inside must be lived on the outside.
Earlier in the service we read/sang Psalm 130: This psalm expresses deep longing for God's mercy, reminding us of our need for God's grace as we strive to live out our faith. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, emphasized personal holiness, social justice, and the work of the Holy Spirit. All of this is right in line with Ephesians' call for living out our faith with love—and building a loving community based in unity.
In Ephesians we are given some rules for living…Rules that are meant to bring us abundant life.
Speak the Truth:
Paul begins by urging truthful communication. Truth-telling isn't about avoiding lies; it's about fostering genuine relationships built on trust and transparency. Truth is the foundation of authentic relationships. When we speak truth, we build trust, foster understanding, and create a space for genuine connection.
Less Anger:
Anger is a natural human emotion, but it can be destructive. Paul doesn't say to suppress anger, but to keep it in check. Anger can move us to be agents of needed change but it also has the power to destroy relationships. Let’s keep it in check!
Positive Talk
Words are powerful tools. They can build up or tear down. Words filled with - bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander - is no good for the community or for our relationships. Choosing words that build up is like planting flowers in a garden - creating beauty and life.
Be Kind and Forgiving
Kindness is like sunshine on a cloudy day. It warms the heart and lifts the spirit. Forgiveness is like releasing a captive bird. It sets us free from the chains of bitterness and resentment. Kindness is sometimes overlooked but it is powerful.
Imitating God:
The ultimate goal is to reflect the character of God in our lives. This involves cultivating love, kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness – qualities often in short supply in our world. Imitating God is no small task.
We often think of rules as restrictive, limiting our freedom. But what if rules were actually a clear way for us to make the most of our time? What if they were the GPS guiding us to a life of joy, fulfillment, and abundant purpose? The rules laid out in Ephesians –although they sound quite “preachy” --rather than confining us, open up a world of possibility and meaning. By embracing truth, love, and holiness, we can become agents of transformation in our world.
Living out these rules—and our faith isn’t always easy. It requires constant practice and growth. We will stumble, we will fall. But each time we get back up and try again, we’re moving closer to the abundant life God desires for us.
The inspiring youth and adults on Bike trip this year gave me a glimpse of what it could look like for us – as the Church – to be imitators of God, living in love, embracing that we are members of one another, and speaking the truth. I saw a glimpse of this as we communed together around Jesus’ table and as we raised our voices in the dark, singing Lord, Prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true, with thanksgiving; I’ll be a living, sanctuary for you. Indeed--Therefore be imitators of God. Amen
The Body of Christ and the New Creation
This morning I’d like to frame our time together with something from Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians. In the fifth chapter he says:
When anyone is in Christ, there’s a new creation. All the old passed away. Everything made new.
Ephesians 4:1-7, 12-13
4 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. 2 Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, 3 and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. 4 You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.
7 God has given his grace to each one of us measured out by the gift that is given by Christ.
12 God’s purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ 13 until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
Hear again what St. Paul says at the end of our reading for this morning:
God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
What does that mean? It means we need to be the grown-ups.
When I was a kid, I used to think how great it would be to be a grown-up. After all, grown-ups get to do whatever they want. That turned out not to be so not true, as many of you know. Then I thought, oh, when I’m a retired grown-up, then, I’ll get to do whatever I want. And it turns out that’s not quite true either, of course.
In any case, St. Paul has a particular vision of a grown-up or mature adult in mind. A mature adult, fully grown measured by the standard of Christ. Measured by the standard of Christ.
Not every way of life or every way of being in community leads to being this sort of grown-up. A particular set of virtues, attitudes, and habits are required.
In our passage this morning, Paul calls us to at least some of that particular set of virtues. St. Paul calls us to:
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Acceptance of one another with love
And together these virtues allow us to
Make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit that ties us together – we seek agreement, ways to work together.
These virtues are at least some of the ingredients for the recipe of being grownups living out love together. For a group to live together.
To be this sort of new creation community does not happen by accident. It happens by the cultivation of these virtues. These virtues we practice together as we worship together, work together, learn together, play together, live together.
We become grown-ups together bringing forth, living out, nurturing, and demonstrating love in our lives and our life together as the Body of Christ.
Each one of us who has been called into this project – has been given grace, not measured out by mere mortal standards, not measured out by some tiny measuring spoon, but measured out by the gift that is given by Christ. I don’t know exactly what size that is, but I can guarantee you that it’s anything but small. Each of us brings some gift of grace that strengthens, widens, and deepens the web of relationships that bind us together. These are not stingy gifts.
And hear this: we are not constrained by our own individual limitations because we are being invited into a community in which our limitations will be made up for by the grace of others and our grace will make up for the weakness of others.
God’s new creation, coming into being in and through us, takes shape as a pattern of relationships of giving and receiving according to the way of love: the way of Christ.. And further, it is God’s delight to live out that economy through us.
It is God’s delight to live out that economy through us.
This new creation is God living out God’s life in the world through us as Christ’s body.
Let’s focus just for a moment on what St. Paul means when he uses the phrase “the Body of Christ.” – when he says we have been called into the Body of Christ.
How do we understand this?
Here’s the quick take version:
Jesus – flesh and blood historical human -was the Body of Christ. Christ’s presence in the world, God’s presence in the world. The Word made flesh.
But – as the Creed says – Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, rose from the dead, and then ascended into heaven. Simply put, that means that the Body of Christ left the world.
But – and here’s the critical point for us: Now we are Christ’s body, that is – God’s bodily presence in the world. We are – in Christ – God’s bodily presence in the world. We – as new creation – become together the Word of God made flesh.
This does not mean that we are the only manifestation of God’s presence in the world. But we are certainly meant to be a particular physical, bodily, real-life instantiation of God’s love in the world. Living out God’s way of radical inclusion, radical generosity, radical forgiveness leading to radical reconciliation, and radical compassion.
We are called to be an inspiration and an encouragement to the whole world to live Jesus’ way of inclusion, generosity, forgiveness, reconciliation and compassion. To live out the new creation system, a new creation economy.
We can think of this new creation economy as a circle of giving and receiving: An economy of God’s abundance.
We are being called to take our place in the new creation circle of giving and receiving: our life practicing humility, gentleness, patience, acceptance, and unity. This circle takes shape as the Body of Christ, God’s presence in the world. A community of grown-ups – measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
Our lives become larger and more abundant in the new creation as we help each other, encourage each other, pray for each other. Act as though we are in this together. Like we are one body.
We don’t live our this life alone. At our best, we live it celebrating together all the ways we experience and attend to the new creation that is breaking forth within us and around us.
We tend the new creation as we appreciate one another. As we open ourselves up to each other in open-hearted, prayerful, conversation and service.
Grownups by the standard of the fullness of Christ. To be the presence of Christ in the world bringing forth, living out, nurturing, and demonstrating love in our lives together.
What does that mean today?
In our particular context as we are FUMC today, we think about how we function together as a church, how we reach out to our local community and beyond. We think about how we support one another in the difficult situations that we encounter in our lives and how we celebrate our blessings together. We practice living the new creation as the Body of Christ in the world: grown-ups according by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
Jesus convenes a new celebration at the Last Supper at which we recount the heritage of God’s liberating love. We recount Christ’s liberating and reconciling power that is unleashed among us and through us. We recount the Spirit’s infiltration into everything with her refreshing life.
We tend the new creation as we attend Christ’s new banquet table, always hopeful that new ties, new love, new connections are being created among us and spreading out into all the world. At this table we are nourished by the Body of Christ and thus are nourished to be the Body of Christ. We consume the Body of Christ and we are consumed into the Body of Christ.
We take our place in the new creation.
When anyone is in Christ, there’s a new creation.
All the old past away
Everything made new. Everything made new.
Glorious Grace
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14
We gather today to dive into a powerful message in Ephesians. Ephesians is a letter brimming with themes of unity, love, and the power of faith. Who wrote Ephesians? Traditional scholarship attributes authorship to the Apostle Paul. However, some scholars offer a different perspective. They see Ephesians, written by a close follower of Paul, someone deeply influenced by his teachings. Imagine a student, brimming with the wisdom of their teacher, crafting a letter to inspire a new generation. The voice might differ, but the core message – the message of Christ's love and grace – remains a powerful message to us all.
Our text is a true gift for us today. I suspect that there is a message in here that many of us need to hear. There are also many (theological) questions that this text can bring to mind and even maybe wrestle with: Election? Predestination? Is God a puppet master-not giving people freedom? Is faith necessary? Are some people recipients of God’s grace and others not? Does election mean that the gospel is good news for some people and bad news for others? Are all people saved? Is salvation universal? These are just a few of the questions that might be swirling around in your head after hearing the text. Questions are always good but unfortunately we are not tackling these questions morning (feel free to discuss over brunch/lunch today!).
We are going to spend some time basking in the theology of grace.
Ephesians for many is a song of hope-and message yes, of grace, for also a message to strengthen the church of Jesus Christ---to be faithful in serving him. We are reminded again and again of who we are and whose we are and brought back to the sheer joy of living as God’s people.
How can one not like the beginning of our text: it’s a pouring out of beauty and riches. Abundant blessing and glorious grace- are lavished upon us for God’s pleasure. This is no whim of God but planned before the foundation of the earth! God has chosen us to be holy and blameless in love, forgiven and redeemed through Christ. Imagine the riches showered upon us – not earthly treasures, but spiritual blessings that empower us to live a life transformed.
We aren't chosen because we're inherently good; we're chosen in Christ, through his sacrifice and love. This is prevenient grace, God's love reaching out before we even knew to seek it. This is a big deal for United Methodists. John Wesley believed, as did many of the theologians of the Reformation, that our salvation is only possible because God moves toward us by offering grace. Now, in some Christian traditions, salvation is mainly about being saved from something—like going to hell when you die.
Wesley would say, however, that while we do need saving from sin and its consequences, we are perhaps even more so saved for something as well. God’s grace works in us to shape us into people who are holy and set apart as people who reflect God’s own image. God’s grace enables us to become the people we were created to be from the beginning—a people who can walk with God and know the power of God in our own lives in the present.
Wesley was concerned as much about how we live as about how we die, and his theology was less about a formula for getting people into heaven than it was about a way to get heaven into people. This is the way of grace.
Wesley would say that God’s grace comes to us in three movements, which he called prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace. Everything that Methodist Christians do and believe flows forth from this understanding of grace.
Today’s text is really about prevenient grace. It comes from the Latin praevenire, which means to “come before, proceed, or anticipate.” Prevenient grace is the grace that “comes before” our knowledge and love of God. It is the grace that God offers to us even before we know who God is or what God is up to. Prevenient grace recognizes that God has known us and cared for us from the very beginning of our lives. It is front and center in our baptisms. We are claimed as God’s own. To understand this kind of love and grace I want to you to think of a person who has made you feel loved. For me it is many people but I want to share about my grandma.
My grandma Helen was so very special to me. She lavished her love on her grandchildren when they came to visit- me included. See, each of her 4 grandchildren could come spend one whole week away from their parents (and rules/chores) and just be loved on by grandma and grandpa. There were special treats, special meals prepared—ones I loved like macaroni and cheese, special gifts, special trips—like the big trip to Watertown and eating lunch at the Chinese Restaurant. There were raft rides on the lakes. There were lazy afternoons playing rummy cube and swims in the lake with grandma. There was staying up late and eating popcorn. By the end of the week I knew I was precious. I was, beyond any doubt, absolutely convinced I was loved.
Ephesians reminds us of God’s love for us, and the flowing words of our passage envelop us with that kind of love; excessive, tender, richly abundant, glorious, and prevenient. Grace is what defines us. We are chosen people—Christians are a chosen people--not because we are perfect, but because of God’s unconditional, unmerited, and unbounded grace. We don’t hate people who aren’t like us; we don’t see faith as a formula. We trust instead in God’s grace for us and for the world, because God is the one who chooses God’s people. We proclaim that grace through our worship and service-through the way we move and live in this world.
So, yes we may have lots of questions that remain with us this morning about this grace—about election, predestination, and salvation but maybe it is enough, today, this moment, to soak in the wonder of being God’s beloved and the glorious grace that is ours . In the words of the old hymn we just sang a few weeks ago: All things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing?” Amen
Two by Two
Scripture: Mark 6:1-13
Watch the sermon on YouTube (apologies for the sound issue)
Who is this Jesus? That is the question that Mark continues to raise throughout the gospel this summer. We’ve seen it the last few weeks haven’t we? When Jesus stills the storm on the Sea of Galilee, those in the boat with him wonder, “who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?” When he brings Jairus’s daughter from death to life, those who witness it are “overcome with amazement”. In our story today it is not those who are encountering Jesus for the first time but those who have known him for years who are asking the same question about Jesus’ identity. And it isn’t a great response. Is it?
Let’s back it up a bit. Jesus has been out and about—performing great miracles both on the shore and on the sea and he returns back home! And then he goes to where any good Jewish teacher would go—the Temple. I’m guessing that most of the people are not expecting little Jesus who grew up around the corner or “Jesus the carpenter”—in the role of a wise prophet of God. His teachings astound them but they obviously strike a nerve when we hear “And they took offense at him.” As they try to figure out what is going on in front of them—they come to the conclusion that this is still the same ‘ol Jesus they’ve always known—one of us—not any kind of miracle worker!
But why not? Why not believe that he could be a miracle worker? Why such snarky-negative-jealous responses? Which then turns Jesus’s response not so nice either. Could it be that this is a reminder of how HUMAN they all are?
Think about it. How might we have reacted? How open would we be to someone being so very different than we knew? What would we think about a neighbor whom we believed to be just an ordinary hardworking man turning into a miraculous teacher? Let alone the Son of God? I would have to guess that we all would have our fair share of skepticism. We tend to see what we expect to see. The people of Nazareth expect to see the Jesus they have always known-the one who seems no different from them. When Jesus preaches with wisdom and preforms deeds of power, the people of Nazareth cannot see beyond their own limited view of him. They are stuck.
Perhaps one of the questions that God is laying on our hearts today is: Whom do we take for granted? What wisdom, what deeds of power are we missing because we make judgments about how and through whom God’s work can be done?
We hear that Jesus is rendered powerless---powerless by those who doubt his calling—about those who are unwilling to believe the great things God can do. I’m guessing in most of our lives there have been missed opportunities and lost blessings because of our limited faith. Times when we just couldn’t see what was right in front of us.
And because the people in Jesus’s hometown could not see what was right in front of them, he was rejected. And this rejection sets into motion the mission of the 12 and even their potential rejection. Basically Jesus is saying- If it can happen to me then it can happen to you! He tells them “If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them”. We definitely can’t’ help but be reminded of Jesus’ experience in Nazareth. Jesus keeps on going and the disciples are told to persist in their work in in Jesus’ name.
We will never be able to control someone’s receptiveness or their reactions to our work in Jesus’ name but we are responsible for our own faithfulness. And if we can hold tight to that then we can go about our ministry boldly and faithfully.
Jesus did not stop being himself when the people close to him rejected him. He did not stop his ministry. Instead, he moved forward to another town where he would be accepted. He continued to do his work, sending his disciples to the world. He even gave instructions to his disciples: Shake off the dust before you leave. This is the message for all of us. If people reject our acts of love for our neighbors, let us shake off the dust of disappointments on our feet: their rejection of our actions is the testimony against them. Let us not retreat to our little corners, but move forward to places where our actions and messages will be accepted. Like Jesus and his disciples, rejection should drive us to continue ministering to the world and to show God’s love to all.
The disciples’ journey wasn't always smooth sailing. They, in fact, faced rejection, ridicule, and even violence. Yet, they persevered. Because they were in it together. Because they were in it together. The call to persevere in ministry extends to us as well. Following Christ won’t always be easy. There will be times when sharing our faith feels daunting or the challenges seem overwhelming. But just like the disciples, we are not meant to walk this path alone. We do this together.
How can we live out this message today?
Find your person/people/small group: Seek out a fellow sibling in Christ who can be your confidant and encourager. To cheer one another on and to pray for one another.
Share the load: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We can all learn from and support one another. You have a whole church of people with amazing gifts and graces.
Celebrate victories: Take time to acknowledge the positive impact we are having, big or small.
Remember: We are part of a larger community, the body of Christ. Together, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can persevere in sharing the message of hope and love.
Let us go forth, “two by two” in spirit, supporting and encouraging each other, as we continue the mission Jesus entrusted to us all. Amen.
Keep on Believing
Scripture: Mark 5:21-43
Jesus is the master multitasker. There is a lot going on in our scripture text today! We have a healing within a healing story—it is busy—and chaotic. There is a sense of urgency and even desperation. It is dramatic. It is all these things but it also shows us more about who Jesus is and in turn-who God is. Last week, as Jesus calmed the storm we learned that Jesus had authority over the sea and the wind—and by saying “Peace, be still”—and in the sea becoming still-he did what only God could do. Jesus is God---and Jesus is Emmanuel—God with us! God is with us before, during and after the storm.
Today we continue in the gospel of Mark to learn more about who Jesus is.
In the first part of the story we meet a frantic, desperate father who meets Jesus right off the boat—begging Jesus to come save his dying daughter. And we hear that Jesus went. No questions asked. Scripture tells us that he went. But he wasn’t the only one who went with Jairus. There was a large crowd following him that “pressed in on him”. And there was someone in that crowd was also in the same boat as Jairus. This someone was desperate—and in need of healing. She was an unnamed woman who had been suffering for 12 years. She is known as the hemorrhaging woman and she had been bleeding for 12 years. She knew she just had to touch Jesus’s cloak and in doing so she would be healed. So, she did. And it was an audacious move. It was risky. She was breaking all kinds of rules in being in the crowd and by touching Jesus. See, she was known to be ritually unclean due to her bleeding.
She could not enter the Temple, the heart and soul of her religious community.
She could not touch or be touched by anyone without rendering them unclean, too. By the time she approached Jesus, she had spent every penny she owned, and “endured much under many physicians” to find relief, but her bleeding had only worsened. The woman’s very body had become a source of isolation and disgrace.
She was an outcast.
So, in faith, she reached out and touched Jesus and was immediately healed. She felt it at once and knew that she had her life back…in an instant. And Jesus feels the power leave him and it stops him mid- Operation Help Jairus’ Daughter. He stops and asks who touched him and then the woman fell down at his feet and told him the whole truth. The whole truth. All of it.
“He pauses to restore a broken woman to fellowship, dignity, and humanity. He insists that her embodied experience is no less important than a synagogue leader's. He doesn’t allow her to slink away into obscurity; he invites her to bear witness, to find her voice, to speak publicly and confidently about her story and God’s. “Daughter,” he says when she at last falls silent. “Daughter, go in peace.””(Debi Thomas, Journey with Jesus)
As he was speaking Jesus overhears that there is a report that Jairus’ daughter had died and Jesus challenged Jairus to hold on to his faith (i.e., “only believe”), a faith that led him to the healer in the first place.
“Jairus and Jesus continue on to the house, and Jairus has to learn another kind of faith. The faith to keep walking in the valley of death, simply because Jesus tells him to. The faith that endures past the worst news a parent can hear. The faith that holds steady in the face of mocking, disbelieving laughter. The faith that holds steady when despair wails. The faith that leans hard into resurrection. The faith that trusts an absurd and impossible word from God: “She is not dead but sleeping.””(Debi Thomas, Journey with Jesus)
2 incredible healings. Miraculous healings. Two daughters. One 12, one who had been suffering for 12 years. Both given life. In each story, a previously hopeless daughter “goes in peace” because Jesus finds value where no one else will.
The miraculous healings Jesus performs are undeniable. But if we are honest – with modern medicine and science, the idea of miraculous healings can be challenging. Sometimes we like to explain it all away! Or we are at least tempted to do so---in order to make sense of it. So, where does faith come into play? The miracles showcase the transformative power of faith.
The woman with the hemorrhage isn't healed simply by just touching Jesus' cloak. It's her unwavering belief – "If I just touch his clothes, I will get well" – that sets the wheels in motion. Her faith acts as a conduit.
Jairus' faith is seriously tested when his daughter is declared dead. Jesus, however, says: "Do not fear, only believe." Jairus hangs on to that belief, and his daughter is raised back to life. These miracles are a testament to the transformative power of faith, a power that works differently for each of us.
Do miraculous healings happen today? Yes. Miracles are all around us. They might not be the dramatic, life-or-death scenarios we see in the Bible. They could be a sudden surge of strength to face a challenge, a chance encounter that leads to healing, or a newfound peace amidst chaos. One thing we can learn is that just like the woman who reached out to Jesus, we too can reach out in faith, no matter how small or uncertain it feels. Keep on believing. Believe in the unseen, the potential for healing, and the transformative power within. Believe that even in the darkest moments, you are not alone. So, may we hold onto faith, nurture it, and let it be the anchor that keeps us afloat. May we teach and reflect this kind of faith as we surround Calvin on his faith journey.
Remember, faith is about trusting in a power greater than ourselves, a power that works in mysterious and beautiful ways. We see that in Jairus and in the unnamed women today. Audacious faith in Jesus--giver of new life. Let us go forth, with faith as our compass, and open ourselves to the miracles, big or small, that await us on our journey.
Who is this?
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture: Mark 4:35-41
Who is this? Who is Jesus? This is the question that the author of Mark is trying to help answer for us today and throughout the gospel. Through his unique way of sharing the story of Jesus he is painting a picture of who Jesus is. And isn’t that the question of each of our hearts as well? Who is this? Who is Jesus?
Today’s reading is a familiar one for many regular church goers. It’s the story of Jesus calming the sea. It is late evening on the Sea of Galilee —680 feet below sea level, surrounded by hills, and prone to sudden, violent storms. After a long day of ministry, Jesus is sleeping at the stern of a boat, sleeping soundly as his disciples steer the vessel. According to Mark, their boat is not alone. There are other boats. That was something new I noticed in our text today. It is a subtle detail but it shows that others are starting to follow Jesus too. All at once, the winds pick up, huge waves hit the boat, and the disciples (remember they are seasoned fishermen), fear for their lives.
They wake up the still-sleeping Jesus: "Teacher, don't you care that we are drowning?" It’s a good question; but it’s also an accusation. “Jesus, this is not the way things were supposed to go! You told us to get into this boat, and now we’re in serious trouble. We followed you. We trusted you. Aren’t you supposed to do something? Why are you asleep? The only possible explanation is that you don’t care.”
And haven’t each of us has been there too. We’ve asked that very question. We’ve been in the same boat--full of fear because there is much to fear: natural disasters, tragedies, war, inexplicable acts of violence and the pain of various kinds of personal suffering…those things can leave us crying out to God, “Do you not care that we are perishing?”
Then disciples heard a word from God and experience the word of God and it uncovers more of the “Who is this” question about Jesus. We hear Jesus say, Peace, be still!
The first thing Jesus does upon waking is calm the wind and sea. He will speak to the disciples after that. What is especially significant with this miracle is that he speaks directly to the wind and sea. And the wind dies down and the waters become perfectly calm. But what is even more significant is that he does something only God can do.
Interesting fact is that the fishermen/disciples would have been familiar with Psalm 107, written of those who do business on the waters. The fisherman would have known it well:
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
God, who created the wind and the waves, has authority over them. Jesus is God in the flesh. This is the same Jesus you and I trust and follow: Emmanuel, God with us. God is with us through all the storms in our lives. God is with us in all situations life finds us. God is right there with us. In the boat.
Graduates, you soon will find yourselves spreading your wings and starting a new chapter in your life. You are going to make amazing memories, learn a lot-academically and in life. There are going to be challenges and you might even question God “Do you even care”. Are you here? I hope you remember the message you’ve learned here at your church that God loves you and God is with you. Always. May you remember that this is who Jesus is and trust that.
I remember showing up at Cicero UMC in June of 1997—for my graduation Sunday where I had to wear my cap and gown and share my future plans in front of my church that had loved me and taught me most of what I knew of God and faith. I went with their blessing but I had no idea at the time how that blessing (of having a loving church family) would change my life. I took a 3 year hiatus from church and faith while I was living my best life at St. Lawrence University. And then in the midst of my own storm—when I thought I was all alone in the world…the voice of God spoke peace into my life. That assurance allowed me to quiet my fears and hear a call to pastoral ministry. It gave me courage to show up at a new church --the Canton UMC that would help me understand and nurture that call to ministry that God had spoken into me. I’m not sure I would have known how to pray, or have courage enough to go to church if I had not had the foundation at my home church. I needed time and space to be my own person and to explore life and I thank God that in doing that I found that God had never left my side.
If we go back to Mark’s story of the storm, the obvious fact is that Jesus is just as present in the raging water as he is in the soothing calm that follows. Despite the disciples’ inability to perceive it, there is no point in the night when God is absent or even distant. In that vulnerable boat, surrounded by that swelling, terrifying water, the disciples are in the intimate company of Jesus. He rests in their midst, tossed as they are tossed, soaked as they are soaked.
In his great tenderness, Jesus waits until the nightmare is over before he invites his disciples to take spiritual inventory. “Why are you afraid?” he asks them. I don’t read his question as an accusation. I read it as an invitation to take stock, to reflect, to learn, to grow. After Jesus calms the storm, the stunned disciples ask the most important question of all: "Who is this man?" Indeed. Who is this man, this Christ, this God, who sleeps through storms, accepts our accusations, and offers us his quiet, mysterious presence in wild and wind-swept places? Who is this God who loves us in the chaos? It’s after the vicious storm that the disciples recognize the holy in their midst. It’s after the boat fills with water that they are “filled with a great awe.” It’s after Jesus accompanies them in the chaos that they realize who he is. May the same be true of us. (Debie Thomas, Journey with Jesus)
I think I will spend the rest of my life seeking this one grace — the grace to experience God’s presence in the storm. (Debie Thomas)
Get Used to Different
Scripture: Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; Mark 2:23-3:6
Psalm 139. Isn’t it just beautiful. It is one of my favorites and perhaps one of your favorites. What the psalm tells us then is that God is with us at the core of our very being, deeper than anything we can ever try to measure or understand. The psalm reassures us that no matter what, God knows us, each and every one of us and that we are precious in God’s sight. And I see Jesus living out that reality in our gospel text for today. Jesus-Lord of the Sabbath—cares more about people—on restoring and healing them—than following the right rules.
Our Gospel reading from Mark today describes a confrontational scene between Jesus and the Pharisees. Side note: Our Bible study group is finishing up season 2 of The Chosen (a TV series about Jesus and the disciples). Just a few weeks ago we explored this very scene! I love when what we are doing in Bible study coincided with what we explore in worship.
Back to the scene: In the first part -Jesus and his disciples are walking through a grain field on the Sabbath. When they get hungry, the disciples pluck a few heads of grain to munch on; Jesus doesn’t stop them, and the Pharisees ask Jesus why he’s allowing his followers to break the Sabbath. Jesus answers, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so, the son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
In the second part, Jesus enters the synagogue, and meets a man with a withered hand. Knowing that he’s being watched, Jesus asks the Pharisees whether it’s lawful to “do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill.” But the Pharisees refuse to answer. Angered and grieved by their hardness of heart, Jesus heals the man with the withered hand. The story ends, with the Pharisees leaving the synagogue to plot against Jesus’s life.
One quote we hear throughout The Chosen series come from a simple conversation between Jesus and Simon (not yet called Peter). In reflecting on Jesus’ teaching Simon says:
“This is different”
“Get used to different,” Jesus replied.
And this is what our text highlights for us today. Jesus shows a different way of understanding the Sabbath.
Traditional ---and anti-Semitic interpretations of this text put a rigid, legalistic Judaism up against Jesus. And that is wrong. We do an injustice to the Pharisees if we write them off as bad people. They were good people trying to uphold and protect laws, rituals and traditions that that were instrumental to their faith.
Don’t we do exactly the same thing? Let’s be honest. How about when we hold fast to our favorite worship practices, spiritual disciplines, and daily rituals? Don’t we just as easily decide what is holy in our own lives and then hold onto them when even when those things are no longer life giving? The Pharisees were not wrong to uphold the Sabbath. They were absolutely right. But rightness is not love. Rightness is not compassion. Sometimes the way we interpret rules needs an overhaul.
Who or what have we stopped seeing because our eyes have been blinded by our own best intentions? What are we clinging to that is not God? (Debi Thomas-Lord of the Sabbath Lectionary Essay)
These are some serious questions for our hearts this morning. How do our eyes need to be opened? What do we need to understand more clearly about whom God is and what the love of God means?
Jesus was always revealing a deeper truth about who God is, and what the love of God means. That’s what we see unfold in our reading today and it is just as important for us as it was for the Pharisees to hear. Jesus was revealing that God cares about people’s empty bellies more than rules that were not life giving. To understand the love of God in that way might mean that the Pharisees would have to let go of certain ideas about the Sabbath.
As Jesus healed in the synagogue, he was revealing a deeper truth about what the love of God means. By healing on the Sabbath day, maybe Jesu was showing us that, in God’s mind, every day is a day to heal; every day is a day for us to do what is life-giving and good.
The disciples thought they knew what Love was all about. We think we knew what love means. And just when we think we have it figured out, Jesus takes us deeper, shows us more, asks us to let go of what we thought we knew, to love more deeply.
As we follow Jesus, he always wants to show us more and expand our vision of love of what loving our neighbor looks like. Often times we grow the most when the God asks us to let go of what we thought we knew.
Friends, it is time to get used to different. Different can be ok. Different can be life-giving.
Why would a man risk his own life to heal a stranger's withered hand?
Why?
Compassion. Love.
Sabbath is about God and God is about love. Love that feeds the hungry. Love that heals the sick. Love that sees and attends to the invisible. If we truly want to honor the Lord of the Sabbath, then we have to be willing to let go of the things that we hold so tightly—if they aren’t about love.
It might be different….but Lord, help us to get used to different!
Amen
Indeed!
Trinity Sunday
Scripture: John 3: 1-17
Today is Trinity Sunday (where contemplate our God—three in one—Father, Son, Holy Spirit/ Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer!) Next week we begin almost six months of “Ordinary Time” during which we will walk through the Gospel of Mark. Now, “Ordinary” doesn’t mean boring, it comes from the word “ordinal,” meaning “related to a thing’s position in a series.” So, we can think of Ordinary Time as an ordered, deliberate, six-month step-by-step pilgrimage through the story of Jesus’ life, with Mark as our primary guide this year (and John helping out here and there). (SALT project)
So now that we know where we are going, let’s turn our attention to where we ARE. Trinity Sunday. Fun fact, the work ‘Trinity’ is not found in scripture. And yet, it is a major doctrine (teaching) of the Church. This teaching emerges from the church’s looking back- reflection on scriptural passages like the ones we have today, as our ancestors sought to make sense of their experience and through ancient texts. The church’s understanding of who God was/is often grows deeper and wider over the centuries. Thanks be to God! When we look at scripture today we can ponder our Trinitarian God through the lens of any Scripture –even if the author of John didn’t have the doctrine of Trinity in mind when writing!
The Gospel of John was written sometime during the last decade of the first century, nearly 70 years after the life of Jesus. We don’t know who wrote this gospel. The oldest manuscripts don’t include the author’s name. Over the centuries the text acquired the name of “The Gospel of John”. And by the time we get to the third chapter of John, we see that Jesus had already upset the water and was becoming quite the talk among the people. He had been performing miracles and was developing many followers. He had started to challenge the status quo, intriguing some and making others mad. And some were even saying he was the Son of God, the King of Israel, or the Lamb of God who was going to take away the sins of the world. This Jesus was beginning to pose quite a threat to the religious system.
And so as word about Jesus spreads –the religious authorities begin to talk, as well. And that talk was probably not too good. But for some reason, Nicodemus decides to go to Jesus, to see him with his own eyes and to hear this rabbi’s words with his own ears. Nicodemus is curious. Maybe even hopeful. And so he sneaks off to see Jesus through the darkness of the night.
And when he reaches Jesus, Nicodemus says to him: “We know you are a teacher who comes from God because those great miracles and signs you have performed could not occur without the presence of God.” And Jesus’ response to Nicodemus is unclear: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above, without being born anew.”
And this concept is foreign to Nicodemus, and he doesn’t understand. So Jesus further explains: “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh. But what is born of the Spirit is Spirit.”
Now Nicodemus is really confused. Not only is Jesus saying that one cannot see the kingdom of God without being born from above, but one cannot enter the kingdom of God without being born of the Spirit.
It makes sense that Nicodemus doesn’t get it. He was born a Jew, was a Pharisee, a Jewish leader who had devoted his life to studying the Torah, if anyone were to see and enter the kingdom of God, it would be Nicodemus. He had the resume, all the credentials and was more religiously qualified than anyone around. How could Jesus tell him all of that counted for nothing?
And not only that, but was Jesus saying that this kingdom of God might be accessible to ANYONE who was born anew, to anyone who was born of the Spirit? To those who were not Jewish? Or those who did not even observe the law? This was absurd. And then Jesus uses the Jewish Scripture to help explain eternal life.
“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
God’s saving acts in the wilderness is God’s mercy and grace for God’s people. Now, the Son of Man is offering this kind of mercy, salvation, and grace. Now Nicodemus is finally starting to see…
Jesus continues. And this is when he goes on to say the most well-known verse of the New Testament, the verse that Martin Luther describes as the “Gospel in a nutshell.”
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
And for the author of John, eternal life is not just about some kind of life after death. Eternal life is a new life we are born into from above, when we are born anew. A life that we experience in the future, but one that begins in the here and now, as we believe in, put our trust in, and follow Jesus Christ. And we can experience this eternal life because of God’s great love for us, not because of anything that we have done.
The kingdom of God Jesus is telling Nicodemus about involves grace, justice, and abundant love, that is offered to ALL. God loves the whole world. Indeed! And God loves the whole world in this way: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
All of this is accomplished by the creative love of God, the redemptive offering of Christ and the empowering presence of the life giving Sprit. And these Three are ONE! (Feasting on the Word)
Indeed! This is good news. And it must have been good news to Nicodemus , who later in the story defends Jesus regarding his case and who, with Joseph of Arimathea – after Jesus’ death – takes his body from the cross, wraps it with spices in linen cloths, and lays it in the tomb.
For God so loved the whole world. For God so loved Nicodemus. For God so loves us… in this way: that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in, trusts, and follows him, should not perish, but may have eternal life.
Indeed, Good news – for all.
Amen
Powered to BE the Church!
Pentecost Sunday
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21
Watch the sermon on YouTube / Bulletin not yet available
Today is Pentecost! And then, next week is Trinity Sunday. After that nearly six months of “Ordinary Time” begins. Our Christian year appears divided almost in half: about six months of holy seasons (Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter), and about six months of Ordinary Time. I love how one commentary describes it: “Like a pendulum swinging back and forth, or a pair of lungs breathing in and out, the church alternates between these two movements each year: high holidays and everyday life, the joys of celebration and the grunt work of growth.” (SALT project)
And here we are today where the pendulum swings to one of the joys and celebrations! Pentecost Sunday! The birthday of the church! Happy Birthday! But before we get into party mode…lets unpack Pentecost (historically, first).
The text tells us that the disciples are celebrating Pentecost. While Pentecost for the church is about this passage in Acts, Pentecost for the Jewish community was a different celebration. It marked the day Moses received the 10 Commandments on Mt Sinai, 50 days after the Passover flight from Egypt-as well as a celebration of harvest. The word “Pentecost” translates as “fifty”. They’d been celebrating the harvest/Moses receiving the law for nearly 1500 years.
It was one of the three great pilgrim festivals when everyone who was able traveled from wherever they were in the world to bring their gifts to God in Jerusalem. It was like Thanksgiving with in-laws and outlaws crowded into family homes and inns and elbowing each other at the table. The traffic was terrible, especially around the temple. You could hardly get two donkeys side-by-side down the street. The festival was so important that even when Paul was traveling around the world spreading the gospel the next year in Acts 20:16, he stopped and came back to Jerusalem to observe the feast. It was an old, old feast, but in our lesson it was about to be given new meaning. (Will Gafney, https://www.wilgafney.com/2015/05/24/pentecost-something-old-something-new/)
And it certainly was!
If you recall, last week we left our disciples standing there, jaws dropped, staring into Heaven as Jesus ascended up to God. But before Jesus ascended, he told them to go and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them.
It is hard to wait for things ---especially when we are excited about something, and easier to wait for things we aren’t too excited about. I wonder what that the waiting was like for the disciples.
I’m guessing that for some of them, they were wondering if they really wanted God’s Holy Spirit to come upon them. It sounds great to have God’s Spirit with us, but the Spirit can’t really be contained or controlled. So perhaps there was some trepidation about the unknown and the uncontrollable. Maybe the Spirit will be a great thing. But maybe it will take us where we’ve not wanted to go.
The disciples are all together in one place in Jerusalem. Perhaps they’re afraid, probably feeling a little abandoned, and most of all, I think, they’re just confused. Jesus was here, he died, but Jesus is alive, but now he’s gone? Now what? What’s next? Last week we explored that the what’s next is about being witnesses to all they have experienced. But perhaps there aren’t quite ready for all of that. YET.
Earlier, back before he was arrested, Jesus had promised them he wouldn’t leave them alone. He promised to send them an advocate, the Holy Spirit, to help them, to teach them, to keep reminding them of all he’d said to them. But I don’t think they had any idea what that meant.
And then the Holy Spirit shows up. Something extraordinary happens. Ordinary people, transform into apostles, messengers carrying the good news to everyone. They encounter the Holy Spirit- the same Spirit that was blowing over the waters at creation, the same Spirit breathing into humanity at creation, the same Spirit Jesus promised to send to his disciples as their helper and advocate. The Holy Spirit shows up and something happens, something so dramatic a crowd gathers to watch. The disciples start speaking in other languages (that they didn’t know) so that those gathered from all places understood.
We’re familiar with this story, so we lose how odd all of this is. We read that the people in the crowd were trying to figure it out. All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ Some even thought they were drunk. Peter sets everyone right and assures the crowd that they were not drunk.
The Holy Spirit comes and fills the disciples with courage and the words to say. Then they start preaching and proclaiming, and by the end of the chapter, this brand-new church has grown by over 3,000 people.
The birth of the church. Powered by the Holy Spirit to BECOME the church!
And that same Holy Spirit empowers us today and gives each of us gifts to BE THE CHURCH.
It seems rather appropriate that Pentecost falls this year shortly after the convening of our United Methodist General Conference where we voted overwhelming to usher in a new day in The United Methodist Church. The day of Pentecost is the day that God’s Spirit came to dwell among the diverse people that make up the world.
Pentecost is considered the birthday of the church, but in reality it is bigger than that. It is a new day for all of creation when God comes to dwell in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
May today be the day we celebrate the birth of the Church as well as this new beginning in our denomination as we look to see what new thing God might be doing in and through us!
We were intentional in having the Ministry fair on this day of Pentecost because we are the church---together! We are the body of Christ in this time and place. How will we use our hands/feet/voice—all of ourselves-serving and loving in the name of Jesus? Not sure? Explore all the ways that Fairport UMC ---Christ’s body in this place, empowered by the Holy Spirit is changing the world.
Amen.