Weekly Lessons and Sermon
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always
acceptable in your sight, oh Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
acceptable in your sight, oh Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
Can you imagine the scene? On that first Easter Morning? When the Sabbath was over, Some women went to the tomb. They wondered how they would anoint Jesus’ body. How would they roll away the heavy stone in front of the tomb? Surely they couldn’t do it themselves. But they went anyway. Because it was important. And when they arrived at the tomb, They saw that the stone was already turned. Someone had rolled it back. Carefully, They crept into the tomb. They were nervous. Because the stone was rolled away, They were afraid of what they would find. And what they found, Was something that they never expected. Some random guy, wearing a white robe, Was hanging out in the tomb. The women were scared. They didn’t know what to think. And the guy said to them: APRIL FOOLS!!!! I’m obviously kidding. That’s not EXACTLY how the story goes. But tomorrow IS April Fools day, And Really…. That’s kind of what Easter felt like at first. If you REALLY think about the story. It can sometimes seem like some sort of trick or joke. It’s absurd. It’s crazy. You’d have to be a FOOL to believe it at first. And we’re lucky, because we know how the story ends. We know that Jesus will later appear to the disciples. But we don’t get that part in the story that we read today. Instead, Today’s story ends unsettlingly: With the women running from the empty tomb terrified, unsure, Unwilling to tell anyone else about it, And maybe even wondering if it’s a silly trick. This is Mark’s version of the story: And it’s perhaps the most confusing and strange of all of the Easter stories in the Gospels. Because of that, it’s actually the perfect one to read on this Easter day: the day before the famous “April Fools Day” Because for those women at the tomb, That first Easter morning had to have felt like a joke: Like an April fools trick. And which part seems the most foolish? The part where they really believed that Jesus was the messiah? The part where they really thought he would save himself from the sort of death meant for a common criminal? The part where He’s no longer dead, but fully alive? Or the part where the women were supposed to leave the tomb, WITHOUT Even seeing him, And tell everyone else that He’s not dead anymore? It all seems pretty crazy. Pretty foolish. A friend of mine (who is not a practicing Christian) Likes to ask me questions about church and my job. He once asked me in a text message: “Would you get in trouble, if you linked the Resurrection and April Fool’s Day in an Easter Sunday Sermon?” He might have meant it to be funny. And it is funny. But not because it’s heretical or wrong. It’s funny Because it’s SO true: That the resurrection can seem like an April Fool’s day trick. My friend probably didn’t realize that even a priest might consider how foolish the resurrection sometimes seems. And actually, that’s a huge part of the point: That God would do something so absurd, So incredible, (Something ALMOST as incredible and absurd as God putting on human flesh and becoming one of us) Something SO unheard of, That at first glance it seems absolutely foolish: Maybe even like a joke. And that’s not even the end of the parallels. Not only did that first Easter seem like an April Fools Trick, There’s also a really old Christian tradition: Where Jesus’ followers literally considered themselves to be “Holy Fools:” Or “Fools for Christ.” (google it!) The idea originally comes from the words of St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul says, “Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” And later: “We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are week, but you are strong.” It’s the classic upending, overturning, and disrupting power that Jesus brings to the world: Paul describes thisidea where what seems (to humans) to be foolish: Might (In God’s eyes) be real wisdom. Something like the resurrection of the dead, Which to this world seems like a trick or a joke, Might actually be the truest, deepest, most significant reality. It’s like all of those crazy contrary, Almost Riddle-like statements that Jesus says throughout the Gospels: Where the first become last, and the last become first. Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for Jesus’ sake will save it. The least among you is the greatest. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. The foolish become wise, and the wise become foolish. The Dead receive LIFE. Because of what God has done, Everything is flipped around. The holy fools are really the ones who are truly wise: Because they see the truth in Jesus. From the early ages of Christianity, The spiritual “Fool” Was the one who followed Jesus: Who upended the social order: Who refused to accept the common social rules of hypocrisy, Brutality, and a thirst for power and riches. The Holy Fools did this because they believed in God’s ability to turn everything around. They believed that there could be something different: Something better than the grief, pain, and suffering that this world seems to hold. The Holy Fools were really the wise. They rejected the cares of the human world, And imitated Jesus, Sometimes even enduring mockery and humiliation. (which is part of why they called themselves “fools.”) Just as Jesus on the cross, Endured the mockery and humiliation of the crowds, He appeared to be the fool. But because of what God has done, Everything is turned upside down. The foolish Christ, Becomes the saving wisdom of the whole world. In all of those up-ending riddle like statements that Jesus made throughout his life, His great finale disrupts everyone’s expectations, As the biggest, truest, most famous riddle of all: Where his own death destroys death. So it turns out, April Fools!! The joke’s on death. Death has been made the real fool: Forever, and for Every ONE. Linking Easter with April Fools, makes all the sense in the world, As Jesus through his life, death and resurrection Disrupts and upends all of our expectations. With the greatest April Fool’s joke of all time, A joke so great, That it wasn’t even a joke at all. Instead, The most seemingly foolish thing, Was also the thing that’s most true. The most seemingly foolish thing Was also the thing that’s going to save us all. Amen Announcements
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The entire service is available at the link below
Join us for Holy Week Services and Easter Sunday! see home page for the schedule
Thank you Fr. Wilson Roane for officiating today!
Happy Birthday to Mark Metko on 3/22 Join us next week for Palm Sunday Service and Easter Egg Hunt afterwards! ~bring your kids/grandkids, friends and neighbors!
We apologize for the wobbly video.
This Sunday marks the beginning of the second half of Lent:
We’re half way through this journey to Easter. But so far: the road, and the stories have been kind of rough. And as we journey to the cross: They’re just going to get rougher. The first week of Lent, Jesus was driven into the wilderness immediately following his baptism. And there, he was tempted by Satan. That’s pretty scary. The second week, Jesus’ ministry was so completely misunderstood by the disciples that Jesus snarled at Peter: “get behind me Satan!” Pretty scary: that Jesus likens one of his most earnest followers to the Satan that tempted him in the desert. Last week, we went once again to the temple with Jesus, and stood aghast as we watched Jesus in a whip-slinging, table turning, coin spilling rage. A scarier image than the sweet, comforting shepherd Jesus: As he spoke and screamed about destruction and death. And then today: We hear all about snakes. Deadly Snakes: Satan-y serpent snakes. Like the Snake that first tempted Adam and Eve, We heard today an awfully weird story about snakes in the wilderness with the Israelites: Poisonous snakes that are biting people: Killing them. And then in the Gospel reading: Jesus takes us back to that wilderness moment: In a conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus says that he will be lifted up on the cross: Like the serpent that God told Moses to put on a stick: In order to keep the Israelites from dying. Snakes, serpents, satan… Death, destruction, and crosses of execution. It might seem that half way through this Easter Journey: We’re far away from the celebration of the Resurrection. It might seem like we’re stuck in the wilderness: Stuck in the dark caves with the snakes. But we know: That in God’s story: Satan, serpents, death and destruction never have the last word. And this week: Despite all of the scary and weird stories about snakes and crosses, We also get some welcome relief: A glimmer of what’s to come: A light at the end of this forty day journey tunnel. In one of the most famous, and most widely memorized verses in the Bible: Jesus says to Nicodemus: “For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only Son, So that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” We know this beloved verse well: Maybe even too well: Where it kind of becomes rote. And this verse, As beloved as it is: Has been used in the past to induce fear: It’s been turned around: And used to warn people of eternal damnation: That if you don’t truly “believe” In the right ways: doing the right things: You’ll perish: Like the poisonous bite of a snake. This verse has been used to falsely liken God to that poisonous serpent who causes death. And that’s NOT who God is. This verse has been used to focus on “perishing,” To focus on Eternal life in the Future: Something, later: But only if you’re super good. And that’s NOT how God works. So many throughout the ages: Have memorized this verse: Yet ignored the most important part: “God so loved the world.” LOVED. God LOVED. SO LOVED. God SO LOVED the WORLD. Not God so loved only the good people. Not God so loved only the Christians. Not God so loved only the one’s who are afraid of the serpents wrath. Not God so loved the things in heaven. Not God so loved those who get to heaven. GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD. Already. It already happened. God so loved the world. God SO loved the world: That eternity begins now. And that’s why we gather here: That’s why we come to church: That’s why we strive to BE the Church: To be the TEMPLE of Christ’s body. Because God SO LOVED the world. We don’t come here out of fear: To be saved from some sort of perishing. Or to be saved by some poisonous snake bite. Because already: God so loved the world. We don’t strive to be the body because doing good will save us: We do it because God so loved the world. It’s like in the letter to the Ephesians: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; It is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us.” We are not saved by what we do: We are saved because GOD SO LOVED the world. We don’t share that love so that we can feel good about ourselves: Or be better than others: But because God SO loved. And WE love: Because God first loved us. Not out of fear: Not out of self-preservation: But out of love: The very same love that God SO loved. So today, halfway through our Easter journey: I hope you’ll take some time this week, To reflect on that love. Maybe, You’ll find comfort in just repeating this mantra: “God SO loved.” Maybe, you’ll reflect on those that YOU SO love. Knowing that you are able to Love, Because God SO loved the world. Maybe you’ll consider the love that you have experienced: In the world, and from others: The love that was not the result of works: But the gift of God: Who SO loved. And maybe, as we continue our Easter journey: Knowing that we are marked as Christ’s own forever: You will remember that you are what God has made you: So LOVED. Amen. My grandfather is a pretty fancy guy. And he’s kind of picky about which restaurants he’ll eat at. Especially if it’s an evening meal. He likes good food and good wine. But more than anything he likes a restaurant that’s quiet. A restaurant where he can enjoy a meal without TV’s blaring, Or people shouting. Or kitchen dishes clanging. Buffalo Wild Wings is not a place for grandpa. But it’s not just about fancy food. Because that guy will eat anything. He’d be happy with some Buffalo Wild Wings fried pickles. He’d be happy with a frozen pizza at home. (As long as he could have a glass of cabernet with it!) What’s really important to him: Is being free to truly enjoy a meal with the people that he loves. A place quiet enough to hear one another: To listen to one another: And to enjoy some quiet conversation while eating: Without the blaring distractions that are all around us through the rest of the day. Grandpa considers such a meal to be a special: Holy time. A time set apart from the rest. A time to focus, enjoy, and savor. This kind of holy restaurant space: This kind of quiet enjoyment of each other is why Jesus is so mad in today’s Gospel story. Because, a bit like my grandpa: Jesus is looking for the temple: To provide a special, holy, time and place. A time and place that’s set apart from the rest. And the temple doesn’t come anywhere close to what Jesus is looking for. Instead, Jesus finds a wild, clamorous scene: Loud exchanges between buyers and sellers: Shouting and screaming. Animals brawling in chaos. The temple that was supposed to be a steady place of prayer, Worship, and holiness, Has become something quite different. (And, let me be clear: It’s not just that the temple was noisy. Because there are times that prayer can be noisy!) The problem is that with all that’s going on in the temple, Prayer seems to be the farthest thing from anyone’s mind. Actually, GOD seems to be the farthest thing from anyone’s mind. The temple seemed to have lost its holiness, And become something else entirely. And Jesus: The Son of God: Gets pretty angry. This is not the sweet, cute, shepherd Jesus that we sometimes picture. Instead, Jesus pours out the coins, he tosses over tables, He causes a huge disturbance: Even amid the chaos that’s already going on. He shouts: telling everybody that this chaotic temple must be destroyed And replaced by something that nobody would imagine: Replaced by Jesus himself. He tells everybody something really shocking: That after his death and resurrection: Jesus himself will become the temple. And it’s important to note what the temple meant for Jews at that time. The temple, was meant to be the place where God dwells: Like, where God actually LIVES. That’s why we hear that funny line about the disciples remembering that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” It’s a reference to Psalm 69: And it turns it on its head: Suggesting that the Zeal or Extreme Passion that Jesus has for God’s temple, Will consume him: Actually ultimately KILL him, Before he becomes the new temple. So Jesus, Saying that the temple building will be destroyed, That he himself will become the temple, Is also saying that he will be the place where God dwells. And that’s not even all. It’s crazier than that, Because at the same time: Everybody in the world will have the opportunity to become Jesus’ body: Become the temple: Become the place where God dwells. The set a part place. The place of holiness. On this third Sunday of Lent, We hear this story about Jesus foretelling his own death and resurrection. And along with it, The story points to the real reason that Jesus has come: To bring the heavenly kingdom near. To be for us the temple. And to transform us into temples ourselves. And that’s exactly what we are. We are temples: We are the place where God dwells. And Lent is a great time for us to remember that. It’s a great time to remember that in being the Temple: We hold within ourselves the heavenly reality. And Lent is traditionally a time of fasting and prayer in preparation for Easter. A time of quieting. A time of pulling away from the noisy clamor of the world. A time to pause: To pray. Knowing that Jesus is the Temple, Coming to Church: to this temple space: Is coming to Jesus. And maybe: As we eat our Sunday meals together: As we ingest the body and blood of Christ into our own physical temple bodies: We can create that special, holy, relationship building, restaurant space: right here. We might also be able to do it as we share hospitality together after worship. We might even do it in our own homes, Or at dinner with friends, Because in the new holy temple, It doesn’t really matter what we eat. Whether it’s bread and wine, Or crackers and cheese, Cookies and brownies. Whether it’s the finest steak, Or a frozen pizza, The space and the food is holy because God dwells there. For the next three weeks of Lent, We can build a bit more of temple space: Away from the distracting noise and chaos in the world. Where we can eat the holy meal together: In quiet conversation: Enjoying every moment with those that we love. And continuing our exploration of Cultivating something new: We can consider how we might cultivate this temple space in this church, And in our own lives: Cultivating our own holy temples where God is dwelling. Because God indeed dwells here. In this Holy restaurant of a church, And also within you, As the Holy Body of Christ in the world. Amen. Announcements: Happy Birthday Cheryl! Vestry Meeting 3/10 immediately after service. See home page for Holy Week Service information
Last week, we spent some time reflecting together on the word “cultivate.”
We explored the different ways that the word is used, We thought about the kinds of emotions it strikes in us, And we thought about it in the context of the Bible and Theology. Today, you each received a little “Word cloud” with pieces of our reflection together. I invite you to take it home, hang it up somewhere, and continue to reflect on this word and what it means for you personally, and for us as a church. We’ve been talking about what we might want to cultivate, And how we might cultivate it. (I want to continue talking about that) But today I also want us to consider how God cultivates US. Because I think that God cultivates: God nourishes, gives growth, and enriches us in ways that are sometimes surprising, unpredictable, creative, and even shocking. And I got to thinking about it, thanks to the story of Abraham and Sarah, which is in our readings for today. The story of Abraham and Sarah, is a story of surprise. They have made a logical assumption that they wont be able to have kids of their own together. They live their lives as faithful Jews. And then. God moves. God cultivates them. They are changed and transformed. God blesses Abram and Sarai in ways that no one could have predicted. Not only with children, but with the blessing of a covenant: Something like a marriage, a religious vow, or even a sacred contract. God solidifies a relationship with them through a covenant and a promise, and they are transformed. They are SO Transformed, To the point that they even receive new NAMES: The name Sarai means “lady” or “princess” of one family. Her new name, Sarah, however, is expanded to “lady or princess for the MULTITUDE.” And we see the same phenomenon with Abraham. Abram means “exalted father” But Abraham means “Father of a multitude.” Their new identities are expanded in a way they never could’ve imagined. This is how god plants, and grows, and cultivates. Turning something old into something new that is beyond what we could’ve imagined. What would happen if we were open to the impossible? Open to being surprised, Open to being transformed? How would our lives change if we walked around, Open to meeting God in ways that are unexpected and surprising, And then let God cultivate us into something new? And maybe even a new thing that we haven’t ever anticipated or even considered. (Like randomly getting a new name at 99 years old!) Like Abraham and Sarah, God cultivates us out of love, But not always in ways that are predictable. The Apostle Paul understands this. In his letter to the Romans, he hearkens back to Abraham and Sarah. Paul is trying to teach the romans, these first generation of Jesus followers about inclusion and expansion: That God’s covenant with Abraham can include ALL people: Jew and Gentile. (Which wasn’t something any Jew previously thought could be possible) Paul teaches the Romans that God’s promises to Abraham and Sarah were not because they were following the right rules, or were the right kind of person. Instead, it was because they were faithful. It was not about what Abraham and Sarah did or didn’t do. It was their faithfulness to let God Cultivate them: Their TRUST that God was in control, And letting go of their own control, could lead them in unpredictable places. In our Gospel today, Jesus says we must lose our life in order to save our life. Maybe that means giving up predictability, A sense of control, In order to surrender to God’s mysterious cultivation. After all, Jesus’ entire ministry reflects the surprising ways that God works in the world, the way God takes human assumptions, and turns them on their head. In this scene, when Jesus reveals that he will suffer: That he will be rejected and defeated by his political rivals, the disciples are shocked. The savior is supposed to be a great king, a warrior, a super-human. Throughout generations, the Messiah was predicted to be a king descending from David. Instead, Jesus assumes a posture of humility: And allows himself to suffer: Like the real true human that he is. It’s a shocking twist: That the savior messiah: Would be cultivated by God to suffer death. But in God’s surprising unpredictability, Jesus expands our understanding of God to include the experience of humanity: From birth to death. Jesus’ entire life is a testament to God’s covenant and blessing. God loves us so much that God sent Jesus as a human. A human who cried, got angry, got hungry, fought with his friends, and even died. It’s a twist that both challenges our assumptions, And personalizes God in a way that builds intimacy and personal relationship. Sometimes, it’s really hard to accept God’s twisty-turny way of working. The disciple Peter really gets that. Peter releases his own confusion and anger, perhaps his own loss of control by arguing with Jesus. And Jesus rebukes him directly and openly. He reminds Peter and all of his disciples: Including us today: That God’s story isn’t ours to have as we will. We don’t get to choose what the final cultivation will look like: Or what the plant we’re cultivating will ultimately grow into. As soon as we look for the convenient, comfortable, cozier way to follow God in our lives, We have lost the power of Jesus’ death and ultimately his resurrection. Because death and resurrection—and the surprising unpredictability of God’s cultivation—is what it means to be a Christian. It’s not convenient, and its not easy. It’s not a get out of jail free card, And it’s not a ticket to heaven. Being a Christian means holding on for dear life: Holding on to God’s love while faithfully allowing God to cultivate his love in us. Being a Christian means a willingness to be transformed, A willingness to admit that we don’t know everything, And that God can AND WILL constantly surprise use. Let’s be willing, faithfully, to be cultivated by God. Amen. We had a discussion during our sermon about the word "cultivate" what it means, what it stirs in us. Homework: contemplate this for your family and for the community of St. John's. Bring your thoughts for more discussion next Sunday.
cultivate (verb) · cultivates (third person present) · cultivated (past tense) · cultivated (past participle) · cultivating (present participle)
A fever. A heat radiating through the body. Medically, a fever tells us that there’s a heightened body temperature: Due to some internal malfunction or disease. People get fevers when they’re sick. Lots of people have had them recently with the flu. And a fever is nothing too abnormal. We’ve all had one, or two, or a hundred at one time or another. When we are physically ill: We want a cure to make us feel better. But sometimes: Even though we may be feeling better: Or cured of our ailment: It doesn’t always mean that we are healed. The Bible’s understanding of healing is much more than “feeling better.” Much more than having a normal body temperature. Real & true healing is a restoration of wholeness: Wholeness in body, mind, and spirit. When we are truly healed: Even if we’re not cured of a physical ailment: We have the ability to rejoin our community: To experience, spread, and share wholeness. And this is exactly what happens to Simon’s mother in law in today’s Gospel story. She’s in bed with a fever: Like many before and many after her. There’s nothing abnormal about this. But what follows: Is something truly special. Jesus: takes the woman by the hand: Lifts her up: And the fever leaves her. She was not merely cured of her ailment. She was restored to wholeness: restored to her community. And her healing in wholeness demanded a response. And she responded. The woman then immediately begins to serve them. It’s interesting that the word translated here as “serve” Is the same word that Jesus uses to describe himself as the “one who comes to serve.” It’s also the same word used when the angels “waited on” Jesus in the wilderness. Simon’s mother in law: Is restored to such complete wholeness: That she takes on the servanthood of the Angels, and of Jesus himself. This is the embodiment of discipleship: Self-less service to others: A full commitment to give of one’s self to change the lives of others. And the response is immediate. It seems to me: That after Jesus heals this woman: Her physical, flu like fever left her: And another: quite different fever took hold. A fever of fervor: Fervor meaning: an “Intense and passionate feeling” And Another definition of fever (Besides heightened body temperature) is that of: “A state of exited emotion or activity.” A fever that causes us to move: To Act: To respond: And to serve in excited, self-giving compassion: A kind of fever of wholeness: that wont give up—wont give in. A fever of fervor. This is exactly what happened to Simon’s Mother in law. And this is exactly what Paul is talking about when he says: “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!” Because Paul has caught the fever of fervor: The fever of fervor in which he can’t imagine doing anything else: He can’t let go: He can’t give in: But has a state of excited emotion and activity: An intense feeling and expression of the Good News of the Gospel: And a need to share it with all people. But the fever of fervor is also a paradox: When Simon’s mother in law is freed of her physical fever: Her amazement, her gratitude, and her blessedness causes her to catch the fever of fervor. She has been blessed: In order to be a blessing. She has been freed in order to be a servant. Paul too: recognizes the perfect freedom in Christ: A perfect freedom which is in itself a paradox: The release of the fever from sin: Leads Paul to the fever of fervor: In which he can do nothing else but share and proclaim the good news. Perfect freedom: Leads us to the wholeness of service with the fever of fervor. We are freed in order to submit ourselves to something else: To Christ: To others: And to a life of fervent, faithful, feverish service. Jesus’ life is a life of fervent service. Throughout the entirety of his life: Jesus is in the middle of the suffering: In the middle of the sorrows, demons, sins, and physical fevers across the world, Freeing humanity of all of it. But even Jesus needs to take some time away: Some time for renewal and refreshment. Some time of quiet prayer. We hear in the story today, That after many healings, In the morning: Jesus gets up, and goes to a deserted place: And there he prayed. After all that pouring out of himself: Of giving of himself: Of serving and proclaiming: Jesus needed to get in touch with God again. To give God the burdens: To give God the desperate needs of the world: So that even Jesus: can be freed to continue in service with the fever of fervor. So that Jesus can keep going: freeing each and every one of us. In order that we might spread the fever ourselves: The fever of excited emotion and activity for what we have seen and felt through God’s astounding love. Yet like Jesus: We too need a quiet place. A place to take the time we need for ourselves. A place to pray. A place that frees us more deeply: To enter back into the paradox of free servanthood. To bring us back to wholeness. After we’ve spent our freedom giving others their needs. When your boss needs, When your family needs, When your school needs, When your church needs, When your friend needs, When you give: And you serve: In the fever of fervor: There comes the point where YOU need. Where YOU need to give it all to God. So that you can spread the fever again fervently to the rest of the world. And this is why we gather together here. To receive food for the journey. To exhale the fever we carry on behalf of others throughout the week. To give our burdens, our worries, and our fears to God. Who takes them: Frees us from them: And places inside a new fever of fervor: To return again into the world in feverish wholeness for yet another round. Amen. Announcements:
Ash Wednesday Service 2/14/2024 at the First Congregational Church of Church, 110 E. Hancock St. New London. 6 pm Pancake Supper, 7pm service. Soup Social, Sunday, 2/18/2024 Sign up available at church We welcome Fr. Wilson Roan on 2/11/24
Birthdays this week : Ken
Upcoming Events: 2.14: Ash Wedneday 2.18: Soup Social
Announcements: Annual Meeting next Sunday. Bring your ideas for 2024.
Hearty Hospitality will be available. |
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