Ramblings

Pluralism – 5/25/2014

Sermon based on Acts 17: 22-31. As many of you know we have many members as well as groups and people from the community who use our space for activities. It is a way to expand our hospitality but also a way to leverage our building to support our ministry. We have a few long term relationships, primarily athletic groups, particularly basketball and volleyball leagues and with Premier Leadership Academy, a public elementary school that uses our space daily during the academic year. Other groups are short term or for one day or night and will use our space for quinceanares or birthday parties or for other events.

For those who do not know, anyone --- other than members --- who wants to use our space needs to complete and sign a contract which details their responsibilities. Also, besides a contract in which they receive a copy, people also put down a deposit --- a deposit that may or may not be returned to them after the event depending on how they leave the space. After the contract is signed and the deposit made, we will then reserve that date for that person or group. One detail in the contract is that ten days before the event, a person is to have made their final payment based on a formula I will not bore you with.

Anyway, a week or two ago, a person from the community came in unhappy because they had either forgotten or for whatever reason had not given their final payment and per their contract they lost their reservation. They wanted to talk to me about the issue. One of the criticisms of this person was I was not being a Christian… I was not being true to my faith, in my treatment of this person because if I have been a Christian I would forgive her carelessness. Obviously that criticism was meant to hurt and to provoke a change in me and to be honest that criticism does bother me….

The reason I bring this up is first I want you to know our process so that when you are out and about in the community you can respond accurately to questions. The guidelines we have set up as a congregation for various groups and people to use our facility are meant to be fair and we do not discriminate.

But the main reason I bring all this up is because of the criticism; I am not being "Christian," I am not following my religion unless I live out my faith as this person requested. It is with that in mind that I noticed in our first lesson, the famous lesson where Paul preaches and teaches to the Greek elite on the large rock area called Areopagus or Mars Hill in the center of the ancient capital city of Athens.

And interestingly enough, the speech begins with Paul's attempt to show some respect for his audience with a compliment: "Athenians! I see that you are very religious in every way" (17:22b). Paul's evidence for their religiosity is not because they let people reserve space in the Parthenon just up the hill but rather a view taken from his tour of the city: "For as I walked around and carefully observed your objects of worship, I even discovered an altar upon which had been inscribed, 'To an unknown god'" (17:23a). Paul then uses the inscription as a point of departure for the remainder of his speech; yet within the compliment is an implicit criticism: "that which you worship in ignorance, this is what I am proclaiming to you" (17:23b). The Athenians had been worshipping an object, not a personal God, a "what," not a "whom."

You see, Paul pointedly began his speech with "I see you are very religious" ironically because the Athenians --- like this renter --- held to a common perception of religion --- it all is an attitude, one among others in a competitive environment.

There seems to be certain legitimacy to this position because so much about religion appears to revolve around a person's attitude towards life, the universe, and what is most important to them. That's what the Athenians thought. They were an intelligent people, just like us, and they saw what we see, that all around us are various voices deemed to be "religious." Now they expected Paul to behave like the other religious people they had encountered; "So Paul tell us what do you think about life, the universe and what's important."

But notice, Paul takes a different approach to helping the Athenians understand about his faith. First notice that in the past when Paul had spoken to people, Paul had begun by saying that Jesus is the fulfillment of Scripture, but that had been to a people in a different context, people immersed in what we call the Old Testament. Other people would take for granted that there is only one true God, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob, Leah and Rachel. Not so the Greeks for that name dropping would be meaningless. The Athenians were open to there being many gods, many attitudes, and many philosophies.

And interestingly enough this is the world we live in. The space for gods is everywhere, all over the map. That was Athens in the first century. You see, before being invited up to this hill, the Athenians thought this Jesus that Paul had been talking about earlier was just another local god from another land, one novel god among many. Many of the Greek gods were like that, a concept personified as a god or goddess.

So how does Paul address these intelligent, worldly Athenians? Here at the Areopagus, Paul says there is one, creator God. In other words, Paul is saying faith is more than a gracious, nice attitude, one true God is more than just another good idea from a strange land, not just something we need to add to our "things to know" so that all our bases are covered.

Rather Paul says this "unknown god" this faith that I have is different because it begin with: "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in hand made spaces, nor is God served by human hands, as though God needed anything, since God gives all us all life and breath and everything."

So here is Paul's introduction into his preaching the gospel to worldly folk. It is the doctrine of Creation: That there is only one true God, the Creator of all. There are not many gods, the creation of our own imagination. Humanity does not create God. No, it's the other way around: God has created humanity. And as created beings we are all loved by this God.

What does that mean practically for us? Well, we all struggle daily with the fact that we live in a diverse world. It is easy to get bogged down about what it means to "live the Christian life" or "make Christian choices." Our confusion can go so deep that we are unsure not only about particular issues, but also on our understanding of morality itself. There seems to be constant disagreement between those who believe that every choice is either right or wrong and those who believe that there are many shades of rightness and wrongness complicate every issue.

It is often frustrating, because we live in a pluralistic society and we live and interact with people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, customs, religions and cultures. We may personally know atheists, Christian fundamentalists, New Age advocates, Muslims, Buddhists and many others. These people not only have differing beliefs, but they may hold to widely different convictions as well. Furthermore, many of our loved ones who we thought had been "trained right" in the Christian faith are largely absent leaving us feeling marginalized and empty. Living in a world with that kind of diversity can certainly test our patience, but this diversity can also provide the ingredients for a vital, engaging and interesting time to live. It was for Paul; it is for us.

Because our faith is more than an attitude, it is more than a view on life that holds up our walls, rather we begin with the basic notion that God has created all and this world we live in and that we are loved by this God, so much so that God came in the form of a man named Jesus, who lived, died, rose and ascended back to God. And how do we respond to that creator, loving God seen in Jesus? We respond with justice because love is at the core. Love creates concern for justice and love brings mercy and compassion into a competitive, diverse world.

Why begin with a loving creator God? It is like the famous story of Vince Lombardi, an American football coach from the 1950's and 60's who after a horrible game, began practice the next day by picking up the familiar oblong, leather ball and in a deliberate manner asked a question with five simple words: "Men, this is a football." To which one of his players who reportedly understood exactly where Lombardi was going said, "Hold on, Coach, you're going too fast!"

Is faith in a loving, creator God easy or well understood? Because if we take a peek at the very end of today's story some of Paul's diverse audience mocked him (17:32a), others promised to hear him again (17:32b), and still others "joined him and believed" (17:34). Is faith a positive attitude toward negligent renters? I want to be a witness to a loving, creator God in a diverse world! Amen.

That Sweet Spot – 5/11/2014

Sermon based on Acts 2: 42-47. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan play professional basketball for our hometown --- San Antonio Spurs. Over the years they have shared an awful lot of success. However, according to recent news their relationship did not start off on such spectacular terms.

"He didn't talk to me for a whole year," Parker said after practice one day this past April, reflecting on his rookie season. "It was kind of weird coming from France and you have your superstar player that doesn't talk to you as a point guard, it's kind of tough, you know?" Then Parker added, "But as we grew together in the league and he trusted me more, I can really say it's a special relationship because I feel close to him on the court."

Who knew! I thought about that comment and it reminded me of a book from a few years ago about sports --- all about the "zone." You know what I mean? In baseball, you can enter the "zone" in the batter's box, you have no trouble getting a hit, because the baseball looks as big as a watermelon. In basketball, you're in that moment at the foul line when the basket looks like a hula hoop. In golf, every swing is effortless and every ball flies straight. According to college basketball coaching legend Dean Smith, the Zone or that "effortless present" is "where time stands still and performance is exquisite."

The book is titled, On the Sweet Spot: Stalking the Effortless Present and was written by Richard Keefe, the director of sport psychology at Duke University. What I found interesting was that Keefe describes the Zone or the "effortless present" --- as a state of mind and body --- in which action and reaction seem to happen automatically, a state that people can enter not only while engaged in sports but in other aspects of life.

It could be a musician when the music flows effortlessly. It could be at work we hit the right note and before you know it the day is successfully passed. The reason I bring this is up is because it happens in the church --- in the life of Christians. For example, in today's passage from Acts, the early church --- some call the model church --- has clearly found the sweet spot of Christian living. "Awe came upon everyone," says Luke, traditionally understood to be the author of Acts, "because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles." That early Christian community was in the zone.

Keefe explores the question that all of us should then wonder; how do we encourage those "effortless present" moments in our lives --- just what exactly is that place, and how do we get there? What does the Effortless Present look like for those of us on our Christian journey? When we have difficulties and challenges with family, and home, work and relationships, faith and life, what are the contours of our religious life so that we can have more moments when as Luke puts it "Awe came upon everyone."

Interestingly enough according to scripture, there are guidelines when we know when we are at bat and that ball is as large as a watermelon. According to Galatians we're in the zone when the fruit of the Spirit --- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control --- have a place in our life. The Gospel of John defines the Effortless Present when we're abiding in Christ and God in us. We're in the zone when we have joy and peace in spite of adversity and suffering. In 2 Peter 1we're in the Effortless Present when we're supporting our "faith with goodness and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.

Jesus says we're in the zone when we're able to turn the other cheek, when we're able to forgive 70 times 7 and when we're able to turn away from temptation. We're in the zone when we are serving God with our spiritual gifts and passion. We're in the Effortless Present when we are sharing the Good News with others. We're in the zone in our only business, as Brother Lawrence puts it in The Practice of the Presence of God, when we "love and delight ourselves in God." We're in the Effortless Present when love flows out from us to others as freely as water from a tap.

At this point you may be wondering: "In other words, I'm in the zone when I'm — like — perfect." It certainly is a struggle. Christians over the centuries have explored how to be present in this Biblical "effortless present," to be in the "zone."

Worship --- a worship experience where people feel in the language of many Americans "in the spirit."

Preaching --- a point or place when the preacher and audience are in the "effortless present."

Of all one accord --- all on same page with some basic tenet on Christianity, or as some would say "born again in the Holy Spirit" and we will be in the "zone."

Peace and Justice --- Christians over the centuries have tried to create or transform communities based on biblical principles of fairness, equality and sharing seen in Acts.

And to be honest there have been moments when those particular attempts over the centuries were fruitful, like this first community in Acts. Perhaps you and I have had Christian experiences where we have been in the "zone" providing us hope and the strength to carry on.

From Christian history and my own experience, I have come to understand that the Effortless Present, "the zone," does not happen all the time and it does not have anything to do with talent. Not for Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Tiger Wood, or Kobe Bryant. And not for you and I.

However, there are disciplines that create fertile soil so that will it seed with possibilities where we find the Sweet Spot, experience the Effortless Present that the apostle Paul calls, "walking in the Spirit." We can all work to improve our worship, preaching, strengthen our community, and live out God's kingdom of justice in our lives. But Keefe has another two helpful suggestions.

According to Keefe, to provide fertile soil it takes practice and visualization. For example, according to brain-imaging studies, professional piano players don't actually think about hitting the keys on the piano; instead, their brain neurons fire in areas associated with mechanical motion rather than consciousness. Great players --- whether they are on the piano or on the basketball court --- don't have to think about what they are doing. They just do it.

Of course, no one can pick up a golf club for the first time and hit below par, which is why professionals build routine and repetition into their daily lives. "This is how the adage 'practice makes perfect' really works," writes Keefe in his book. "The more you do something, the more the brain changes to devote its energy to that function."

Besides practice, according to Keefe, visualization can help as well. Imagining ourself doing something can light up the areas of the brain which strengthens our capacities. A pro golfer will mentally play a round, shot by shot, before stepping on to the first tee. A major-league pitcher will reflect on his strategy for each hitter, inning by inning, before he arrives at the ballpark. In other words, it is a zone of automatic action, prepared by practice and visualization.

Did you notice that the apostles and the new Christians spent a lot of time in prayer? In prayer we're able to express our longing for a deeper walk with God. We're able to "picture" what kind of experience we want and hope for during the day ahead. For example, Morning Prayer helps us set the tone for the entire day; what we hope to be and have happen. And Evening Prayer allows us to express thanks, and "review the film" as it were, to look for spots where we stepped out of, or away from fertile moments. It allows us to consider why what worked ---worked, and what didn't work --- didn't work.

Besides prayer the early church practiced; for example they "devoted themselves to teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." Did you know that the word "devoted" in Greek is rather a long, compound word that means to "be strong toward?" No one finds the zone without being "strong toward" something, because it's not just talent. There is a reason Tiger Woods lives on a golf course, because he has to be dragged away from the practice range. If it's basketball, we're shooting hoops at midnight. The early Christians were "strong toward" --- devoted --- to certain things, namely, teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer --- living out forgiveness and justice.

We often forget that as disciples early in the gospels were not really known for their clarity of thought and the richness of their vision. They didn't get the zone most of the time. The resurrection and Pentecost built on their years of missing the basket, swinging and not connecting. Now the pieces had all come together. And the early Christians couldn't get enough of what they had to share.

They were people of Community. They hung out together, which no doubt was a source of strength, courage and support. They ate in each other's homes. Think back to Parker and Duncan, a relationship that began without speaking to each other but after years of development is strong.

When a person is walking in the Spirit, he or she doesn't "think" about how the love comes, how the joy comes, how the service comes. Let us begin with practice and visualization; let us be in community; let us be about teaching and fellowship, prayer and breaking of bread. Let us be primed for those times of the effortless present --- the zone. Amen.

Fexting aka “Faith Texting” – 4/27/2014

Sermon based on Acts 2: 14a, 22-32. Let us begin by turning to the bulletin. Please look where the sermon is listed. Do you notice what follows ---- what looks to some like Egyptian hieroglyphics? Can you read it? (Dad@hvn, ur spshl. we want wot u want &urth2b like hvn. giv us food & 4giv r sins lyk we 4giv uvaz. don test us! sAv us! bcos we kno ur boss, ur tuf & ur cool 4 eva! k?)

It's a text message version of the Lord's Prayer --- a shorthand and post modernized version of it. This particular version by York College, United Kingdom student Matthew Campbell won a contest put on by the online Christian magazine Ship of Fools several years in ago, in which entrants were encouraged to update the prayer to read in 160 characters or less --- the length of a mobile phone text message.

Let me read the "literal" translation of the prayer Jesus taught us, or in this case texted us: "Dad in heaven, you are special. We want what you want and earth to be like heaven. Give us food and forgive our sins like we forgive others. Don't test us! Save us! Because we know you are boss, you are tough and you are cool forever. Okay?"

If you didn't know it already, we are living in --- the world of Generation Txt, like most everything else in the realm of the cyber world --- communication in this case has been reduced to the smallest of parts. Users can type a quick, shorthand message and instantly fire it off to a friend or coworker's cell phone or smartphone --- no need to wait for the phone to ring. Text messaging better known as "texting" --- also called SMS, or Short Message Service or in some cases IM for "instant" messaging --- has overtaken e-mail and voice as the primary means of communication among many in countless areas of the world. In 2010, for example, 72% of all cell phone users in the United States texted. The number has only increased since then.

Yet, as many of us know like most culture trends, texting has brought a new and, for some, disturbing transformation of the language. As many of us know, cyber slang found in texting has challenged our reading skills like the Lord's Prayer found in your bulletin. Take, for example, the publisher of a new dictionary, who has complained that cyber shorthand writing has created a "degree of crisis" among university students in their proper use of spelling and grammar.

On the other hand, texting is here to stay, because not only is texting fast and inexpensive, this form of communication allows users to personalize their messages and is a quick way to forward pictures and other information. There are smaller benefits for example, no longer does the receiver of information need a piece of paper to write down a phone number or shopping list. Texting allows users to communicate in situations where people do not want to hear phone conversations. For example users can text in public settings like planes, trains, and buses or in restaurants, hospitals or doctor's offices.

Well, the reason I bring this up is that in the post-resurrection experience of the disciples who are now apostles, the world was being turned upside down. And the first sign of it --- seen in our first lesson from Acts --- was that people were hearing and seeing things they couldn't understand. God was being communicated --- spoken and heard --- in new and distinct ways through these followers who are now apostles.

The advent of the Holy Spirit after Easter was in a sense, the beginning of instant messaging. It should not have a come as a surprise because Jesus before he died, was raised and ascended in to heaven had given them a heads-up about this --- that the Spirit would translate and distribute Jesus' message to and through them: "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when the Spirit of truth, comes, it will guide you into all truth. The Spirit will not speak on its own; it will speak only what it hears, and the spirit will tell you what is yet to come. The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."

Now, an example is in our first lesson, Peter is speaking quickly, boldly and using language far beyond his own previous skill and capacity, and texts a sermon straight from the Holy Spirit and the Hebrew Scriptures. "Therefore the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified." Peter's proclamation of Jesus as the Christ was prompt, to the point, and surprisingly --- for those of us who are long winded --- tremendously effective. In a message that's tighter than a country music star and their favorite jeans, you get the message real quick: Peter: God has made Jesus Lord and Christ. People: What shall we do? Peter: Repent.

If you remember today's passage is part of Peter's sermon following the original, powerful experience of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The experience of the Spirit that began with a sound like a strong wind and visible tongues of flame has now enabled the gathered to speak "in other tongues," and when the many Jews from disparate nations who were in Jerusalem became aware of the spectacle, the Spirit enabled them all to hear the Christians in their own languages. Peter then stood up to speak to the crowd.

Then in quick succession, Peter explains that it was God who worked miracles by empowering Jesus to do them. It was God who delivered Jesus into the hands of his enemies. It was God who then raised Jesus from the dead. It was God who gave the promised Holy Spirit who has now been "poured out" among us. Moreover, God made Jesus Lord. God revealed Jesus to be God, or Lord. And it was God who made Jesus the Christ, or Messiah. God. God. God. That's powerful text.

And disturbing text. The recorded response of the people to Peter's texting is just as short, quick and brief: "What shall we do?"

It is an appropriate response that all of us understand. If it is God who gave Jesus power to work miracles, and who delivered Jesus into the hands of his enemies, and raised him from the dead, and who promised us and delivered to us the Holy Spirit, what other question is there for us except, "What shall we do?"

Do we continue to live as though God does not exist? Do we stumble through life in pursuit of earthly pleasures and possessions as though the most important thing is to die with more toys than anyone else? Do we try to shoulder the burdens and responsibilities of life as though there is not a divine Presence to help us with those burdens? Do we live as though we are alone in the universe?

What shall we do? Peter's just as prompt response is quick: "repent." Metanoia. Change. Turnabout. Turn around. Stop going in one direction and go in another. Do an about-face. If you don't like it --- change.

Peter also makes it clear that this movement of the Holy Spirit that is enabling repentance --- this turn around --- this change --- is going to be widely broadcast across generational and national borders, making this language of good news available to everyone.

The disciples were now translating this instance message story of Easter for the rest of the world. If we think we have it rough communicating, just a reminder that these first disciples texted in a world where walking was the primary mode of transportation and messaging consisted of expensive rolls of parchment and months-long mail service. Our world on the other hand, has become progressively smaller because of cyber technology and it enables us to transmit a thought in less than a heartbeat.

Yet, the core message is simple: God has made Jesus Lord and Christ. In response, we repent --- daily --- and begin a new life each day text-messaging, or life-messaging the Good News to others.

This means for us that we are hard-wired to use the gift of the Holy Spirit itself and the gifts of the Spirit within us to mass communicate the love of God through Christ to a world where nearly everyone is in reach. But, this same instant messaging makes it much more essential that we communicate clearly. Take a moment and reflect on the work of the Spirit and how we communicate in our own lives: How can we understand and communicate quickly God's work in, among, and through us more clearly? There are times we may think communication is a life-long difficult and challenging process but today reminds us that it can be as short and prompt as 160 character text message. So for example, take a moment today, copy and text today's Lord's Prayer to someone that needs to hear these words. And let us repent daily so we may communicate God's love in Jesus Christ more clearly. Amen.