Sunday, August 3, 2014

This Sunday we will be looking at Matthew 14:13-21, which is the story of Jesus feeding five thousand (plus women and children) with nothing but five loaves of bread and two fish. 

It’s a story about the abundant nature of God’s kingdom, and the scandal that it is so freely shared. 

As I read this story this week, I started to see a thread that I’m not sure I’ve ever really noticed before. It’s this…that the meaning really changes depending on what you think the crowd hears. The NIV takes away a little bit of the ambiguity that’s in the Greek (I think the NRSV and even the King James do a little better job in this particular verse…verse 13)…what I mean is, there’s a good chance that the crowds are hearing the same news that Jesus heard…that John is dead and Herod is probably gunning for Jesus next. (the NIV seems to suggest the crowds are merely following Jesus because they are infatuated with him and the miracles he performs wherever he goes). 

Read in this way, the story begins to make a bit more sense. 

Time and time again in the gospels, the crowds (along with the disciples) are looking for Jesus to be someone he’s not. They want him to set them free. They want him to be the militant messiah who will lead them to cast off the yoke of Roman oppression and finally usher in the kingdom of God. 

Hearing this report about Herod, could it be that the crowds now seized upon an opportunity to follow this Jesus into battle? Could this be the moment? 

Could it be they followed him out into his solitary place, hoping and praying that he was simply choosing their rallying point? Their muster field? 

I wonder if this is one reason just the men were counted…five thousand able bodied, fighting men were present, willing and able to march on his orders, able to defend and protect their leader and fight for a more just world order; the Kingdom of God to be established. 

So Jesus sees these crowds, this throng of people willing him to be the kind of messiah they think they want…and he has compassion on them. He heals their sick. He feeds them. He turns scarcity into abundance and through it all, proclaims to their weary hearts that the kingdom of God is not yet to come, and will not come through conquest.

Indeed, it is already here. Already among you. 

The Kingdom of God is already among us; found in the breaking of bread, turning scarcity into abundance, defeating not just a particular side within a conflict, but re-defining the conflict itself. 

For the well-fed and the healthy have little reason to take up arms. 

This is the task the disciples were given here, in this solitary place where the crowd had followed Jesus. “You feed them” Jesus said. 

They protested at first…for all they saw was scarcity; five loaves, two fish. But when offered to Jesus, they become not just sufficient. They become abundant. 

Do we trust the words of Jesus enough today, to offer him what meager resources we may have?

Do we trust our master enough to simply feed the crowds instead of sending them away?

I hope to see you Sunday!

 

 

July 6, 2014 (Can We Talk?)

We’re going to spend the month of July trying to discern together what our response should be to the proposed resolution coming to a special delegate session of Ohio Conference on August 9th.

We’re adapting a series that’s been used in other contexts, and we’re calling it “Can We Talk?”.

This Sunday in particular, I will be preaching from Hebrews 1:1-4, and we will be asking the question “Can we talk about the Bible?”

As we approach the topic of homosexuality, and as we wrestle with what it means to belong to each other as members of one body, as we learn more about the ministry of reconciliation that we’ve been entrusted with, and as we digest what it means to both agree and disagree in love…it seems that how we read the Bible is an important question to ask.

Do we see it primarily as an answer book? A textbook? Do we see it as a kind of blueprint for our lives? Or do we see it as a conversation starter, an invitation into mystery, a friend who beckons us ‘come and see!’

Maybe it’s not one or the other…maybe it’s something entirely different than either of those approaches. Maybe it’s both.

The material I’m working with suggests 6 principles to guide our interpretation of the Bible. First, we depend on the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and understanding as we read. Second, we approach the text with humility (I think we’re pretty good at false humility…that’s not what I’m talking about). Third, we respect the context…this is where some research can often prove helpful.

Fourth, especially as Anabaptists, we unapologetically read and interpret the scriptures through the lens of Christ (hence we take the sermon on the mount seriously, and interpret things like Revelation based on the revelation already received, that is the person of Christ).

Fifth, we approach the Bible with an eye to discipleship. What does this mean for how I behave? Often we cannot truly understand a text until we put it into practice of some kind.

Finally, (again, especially as Anabaptists), we interpret the Bible in community. This is (I think) pretty closely connected to the concept of humility. I hope we think we’re right…but we should always be willing to acknowledge that we could be wrong. Interpreting in community means being willing to listen, and acknowledging the lessons and the wisdom we can gain in hearing different perspectives.

In short, the Bible (I think) calls us to show up. To participate. I know these are contentious times and contentious issues. I know these are uncomfortable conversations to have…but I refuse to acknowledge the understanding of church as simply one competing political agenda versus another until something snaps and we end up with two camps filled with like-minded people.

I’ll be showing up on Sunday. I hope to see you there!

June 29, 2014

This Sunday is a Mission Sunday at Millersburg Mennonite. We are pleased to welcome Tina Zickafoose, from Every Woman’s House. She will be bringing the morning message, speaking on “The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children”.

Tina has chosen Proverbs 22:6 to guide her meditation. “Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.” (NRSV).

Remember, the offering collected this Sunday will go towards mission.

 

June 15, 2014

How far into our souls does redemption reach? Can it penetrate even into the patchwork quilt of memories that define us?

This Sunday, we will be looking at Matthew 28:11-20. The passage includes two competing stories that are told, trying to make sense of the resurrection.

In the first, the guards who were guarding the tomb conspire with the chief priests to spread the story that the disciples simply came while the soldiers were sleeping, and stole his body. It’s not a flattering story for the soldiers to tell…but the chief priests are determined to control the memory as it gets passed along, and they are willing to pay a large sum of money in order to accomplish their will.

In the second part of this passage, the eleven remaining disciples go to Galilee, to the place where the resurrected Jesus told them to go in order to meet him. They go there, they worship, they bring their doubts and presumably their fears, and in the midst of this encounter they receive the commandment to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (emphasis mine).

Memory is a powerful tool. With it, we can bring past events back into the  present as effectively as if we had our very own time machine. We can relive our greatest joys and pleasures, and we can also rehearse the wrongs we’ve suffered at the hands of other people.

Memory is an important tool that we use to help us form our identity, but how do we choose to use it? How do we remember those who have done us wrong? Can our memories of wrongs done to us be redeemed by the Christ we profess? Can we love our enemies; even those who live only in our memory? Can we turn the corner to hope for their redemption and reconciliation even in the private recesses of our minds, rather than dwelling on our hope for their misery and condemnation? 

How do we treat our wrongdoers in our memory? Can we recognize their humanity? Can we extend forgiveness even there, as we remember and re-live the pain they caused us?

The resurrected Christ redeems the memories his disciples carry. It’s the religious and the social institutions that seek not redemption, but rather control.

How do you remember your life, especially those who have done you wrong, hurt you, abandoned you? Does Christ live in those memories as surely as the good ones?

We hope to explore these questions with you on Sunday!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

There are two basic, human responses to witnessing the work of the Holy Spirit in our world. We find them both in the story of the first Pentecost as we find it in Acts chapter 2.

In it, the Spirit descends on the people of God, and comes to rest upon each one as a tongue of flame. They speak out concerning great deeds of power performed by God and miraculously, each onlooker hears their words in their own native language. 

Towards the end of the story, we are told that some turn to each other and ask, concerning this mystery “What does this mean?”.

Others proclaim with certainty “They are filled with new wine” (which is a first century way of saying “they’re drunk”). 

I believe the first response is the most Christian, the most faithful to the Spirit of God working in our world. We are meant to construct meaning in this world and in this life, not just in our isolated bubbles, not just with like-minded family and friends who share our point of view, but with all who are experiencing the same phenomenon, all who ask the same question “What does this mean?” 

This question is a hallmark of those seeking the Kingdom of God. It is found on the lips of those seeking after the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit, living and active in our world. This is how we create meaning. This is how we interpret the action of God in our world…together. 

It is unfortunate, then, that so much of our conversation centers not around the actions of the Holy Spirit, but rather on the certainties we bring to the scene, no matter how completely they defy logic. We come to the scene and we would rather pronounce “they are filled with new wine” rather than make space for the mystery of it all. 

But I’m not technically preaching on Acts chapter 2 this Sunday. I’m preaching on 1 Corinthians 12. In it, Paul makes a case that there are a variety of gifts, but one Spirit that gives them. He likens the church to a body consisting of many members, all of whom need the others. 

One problem, as I see it, is that we’ve stopped needing each other. We surround ourselves with like-minded people in a similar socio-economic plane, people who more or less look like us, smell like us, and think like us. 

We have become members unto ourselves. Sure, we’re not all or eyes, or ears, or mouths…but look under the hood of any congregation and I’m guessing you’ll find more ‘heads’ or more ‘hearts’ than complete, healthy, full bodies complete with feet and hands. Can we dare to hear each other? Can we dare to seek to understand more than to be understood? Can we practice the patience of God as we pay attention to the Spirit’s work among us?

This is Pentecost Sunday, a Sunday where we pay more attention to the Holy Spirit than we might during the rest of the year. We will offer an opportunity to receive anointing this Sunday, a sign that the Spirit of God is living and active among us. We will also say goodbye to some dear friends who will be moving to Indiana in the near future, with a special fellowship time between Sunday School and the worship hour. 

We hope to see you here!

 

Sunday, June 1, 2014

This Sunday we will be wrapping up our “Choose Life” series by looking at the death penalty, and what forgiveness looks like rather than retribution. We will be hearing from two individuals who will be sharing experiences they have had with our criminal justice system and how they understand the commandment to ‘choose life’ in response.

Questions to contemplate as you prepare for Sunday… what kinds of assumptions do you carry in regards to the criminal justice system? When have you been tempted to withhold forgiveness from someone who did you wrong?

This Sunday we will also be recognizing our seniors who are graduating and taking next steps in their lives.

We hope to see you here!

Sunday, May 11

This Sunday we celebrate Mother’s Day, a time of year to give thanks to the tireless effort, time, and dedication that mothers devote to the raising of their children. Mothers do play an important role in the formation of their children.

However, Mother’s Day is a tricky time of year in church. Like Thanksgiving Day, Mother’s Day is full of good themes and metaphors ripe for the plucking on a Sunday morning. But, also like Thanksgiving Day, Mother’s Day is not a Christian Holiday.

There are women who long for children, and yet are not mothers through no choice of their own. There are women who make a truly painful, sacrificial, bold, courageous choice to place their children for adoption in the best interest of their child. There are other women who have made the deliberate, intentional choice not to have children (both married and single). There are still other women who remain single and chaste…longing for both a husband and a family. These are just a few of the people I can think of whose stories make a Mother’s Day sermon…tricky.

So this Sunday, we will be continuing our “Choose Life” series, and we will emphasize adoption. The title of the sermon is “Chosen”, and reflects the free and loving choice God has made in creating his people through adoption. It also reflects the choice we have made in accepting our place as the children of God regardless of race, nationality, creed, or past behaviors.

Adoption is far more than simply another way to form a family. It is the hallmark, the identifier, of what it means to be a Christian people, after all, “He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will”(Ephesians 1:5).

We will be using a variety of scriptures on Sunday morning. One that would be good to reflect on in preparation is Proverbs 31:8-9, which says “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

We hope to see you Sunday!

Choose Life (May 4, 2014)

This Sunday we will continue our series on choosing life, looking at Micah 4:1-4 as well as various other scriptures concerning our relationship to technology.

It’s interesting to me that the first time any technology is mentioned in the Bible, it’s at the point where Adam and Eve first fully comprehend their nakedness. In response to this revelation, they stitch together fig leaves to cover over their newly exposed shame.

In eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve enacted a new way of relating to the world, to each other, and to their God. Where once shame was impossible, now they felt the need to hide their nakedness.

I would like to suggest that ever since that fateful day, humanity has engaged in the same pursuit. We are all naked. We are all exposed. We are all vulnerable, pink, soft-skinned children in a rough and jagged world…and we turn to technology still to provide the protection we need from this realization.

The prophet Micah (along with Isaiah) offers words of hope paralleling the grace God offers the original sinners in the garden of Eden.  He offers them clothing fashioned from animal skins. He gives them technology better suited to their needs; more durable, more flexible, more suitable.

Micah offers a portrait of a time when technology meant for warfare is used instead for agriculture. It’s not simply the absence of violence that he’s pointing to…it’s an enjoyment of life, when all shall “sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees”.

It would do us well to sit for a time and reflect on our own use of technology. We are all naked, vulnerable, and ashamed of some aspect of our inner life. We all face the desire…actually, it’s a need on this side of Eden…we all have the need to hide our naked vulnerability from the world, from our loved ones, from God Himself.

But at the end of the day, do the gadgets we employ lead us to a fig tree, a vine, to the mountain of God to embrace the life and the creation he has given us?

Or do they lead us to bury our heads even further in the sand, wishing away our nakedness like a bad dream?

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD” Micah urges. Let us learn the ways of God, let us walk in his paths and not our own.

We hope to see you Sunday!

Choose Life (April 27, 2014)

This Sunday at Millersburg Mennonite, we will be beginning a series we’re calling “Choose Life”.

As a historic peace church, we Mennonites are well known for our stance against war and violence.

However, a robust biblical understanding of peace encompasses far more than naming what we are against. Deuteronomy 30:19 offers this exhortation: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live”.

So we’re going to take the next several weeks, and look at various issues concerning the choices we make between life and death, curses and blessings.

This Sunday in particular, we will be taking a look at how we relate to the creation we are part of. We will pay attention to Genesis 3:1-7 for a bit of a biblical case study. This is the account where we are told of the first sin, when the Tempter urges Adam and Eve to consider the fruit that had been forbidden. We are told that when they saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that it was to be desired…they ate.

It’s a story of boundaries being crossed and limitations being exceeded. There was a garden, full of delights. And their job, their life was to tend the garden, enjoy it’s fruits, and enjoy the fullness of the relationships they had.

Their relationship with each other.

Their relationship to the creation.

Their relationship to God.

But as is the case in any healthy relationship, there were some boundaries they had to respect in order to maintain the health of the whole ecosystem. They push beyond those boundaries. They test the limits that had been established by the creator, by God. When they see with their eyes that the fruit was good for food, and desirable to them…they ate what should not have been eaten.

I think about this story sometimes, when I’m driving down the road in air-conditioned comfort…oblivious to the mountains of air pollution I leave in my wake. I think about it sometimes when I peel a banana after thanking God for the food I so easily access. Food that’s traveled further to reach me than I’ll travel in a year. I think about it sometimes when I read articles about how our Navy has figured out a way to turn seawater into Jet fuel.

Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should do something.

There are limits to our world. There are boundaries to what it can sustain.

I think sometimes we’re too willing to bend the world to our will rather than remembering our place as stewards…those in charge of tending life.

So what’s it mean to ‘choose life’ in regards to the environment?

You’re welcome to come be part of the conversation on Sunday!

Hope to see you there!

 

Easter Morning 2014

This Sunday, we celebrate Easter. We will be looking at the account in John 20:1-18 as well as Colossians 3:1-4. The title of my sermon is “Bloom”, and it would be worth your time reflecting on the Colossians passage, specifically verse 2 which says “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

This is the time of year when I love to notice the greening of our world. I love watching the flowers bloom and the grass green up and the buds on the trees popping open after a long, cold winter.

I love the imagery of new life bursting upon a planet that’s been dormant for so long, especially after the kind of winter we have just come through here in NE Ohio.

But there is a pretty big difference between dormancy and death.

Easter has more to do with Creation ex nihilo than it does with flowers blooming. It’s more like the virgin birth than the Easter Bunny.

Mary goes to the tomb searching not for life, but for death. She seeks the lifeless body of her friend and teacher, and she is disappointed, shocked even, to discover it is missing.

So she runs and tells some other friends, John and Peter, who run to the tomb and find it just as she said.

There is no life there.

They satisfy their curiosity…they enter the tomb and confirm their suspicions…then they leave.

They returned to their homes, leaving Mary to weep at the entrance.

How often do we leave our loved ones standing alone, weeping at the scene of a tragic loss? How often do we run to the scene and take in only enough to satiate our desire for certainty before turning for home, oblivious to the tears on the face of our friend?

This Easter story offers us three perspectives on the Risen Christ and the work that God does in our world. At first, Mary sees only that the stone had been rolled away. Assuming the worst, she runs to tell Peter and John. John is a little bit faster, but stops at the tomb, bends over, and looks in to see the grave clothes lying there.

Peter, as usual, plows past John, goes into the tomb, and notices that the cloth that would have been on Jesus’ head was by itself.

See, each character discovers slightly more about the situation as it unfolds. Mary just sees the stone rolled away, John puts his eyes on the linen wrappings, but Peter actually barges in and can describe how they were laying there, including the cloth that was covering his head.

Then we learn that John enters, believing what he doesn’t understand. (I love that verse).

This is a pretty amazing story. But what gets me this particular Easter, is thinking about what Peter and John missed by going home!

They came, they saw, and they went back home. So they didn’t hear her perspective! They didn’t take the time to listen to Mary, who bent over as she wept, and saw something completely different!

Mary met the Risen Christ because she didn’t let herself off the hook with her grief. She took time to mourn, she paid attention to her tears, and she refused to ignore the gardener! 

This Sunday we don’t simply celebrate an empty tomb. Rather, we celebrate a Christ who shows up in the least likely of places, and a God who speaks through strange faces.

This is the work God does time and time again, creating New life where there is only absence, surprising his people through strangeness.

Where have you met the Risen Christ? How is your life being made “New”?

We hope to see you Sunday!