The Downward Spiral

In Mark 5:21-43, Jesus finds himself dangerously close to one of the most dangerous places in the world. In fact, he seems to be in this territory at every turn in our lesson for today. It’s a place the you and I have encountered as well. We’ve been dangerously close to it. We’ve felt it’s power. We’ve walked right into it, and we’ve spent time there.

There are all kinds of names for it, but my favorite is the one that Benjamin Zander, author of “The Art of Possibility” gives to it. He calls it “The Downward Spiral.”

Zander describes the downward spiral this way, he says it: “stands for a resigned way of speaking that excludes possibility.” He goes on to say that the downward spiral “tells us compellingly how things are going from bad to worse.”

So, you and I know the downward spiral and we are all too familiar with downward spiral talk.
When was the last time you visited the downward spiral? When was the last time it popped into your life? When was the last time you found yourself spending time there…or teetering on the edge of it? Maybe you spend a lot of time there. Maybe you’re there right now.

Jesus was there…or at least near it in the lesson that I just read. Listen to some of it again. It’s there for the woman who had suffered for 12 years, spent all of her money, and “was no better, but grew worse.” She lives in the downward spiral-no possibility for healing, things going from bad to worse. Then there’s Jairus, whose daughter is on the verge of death… Both of these people are on the edge of a downward spiral.

There are plenty of people who are more than happy to tell the two of them how things ARE going from bad to worse, and how there are no possibilities. The woman has been to doctors, religious people, healers, anyone who will take her money and all of them have told her the same thing: IT’S HOPELESS! No healing is possible.

Jairus, when he brings Jesus to his home to heal his daughter is met at the door by friends, and what do they say to him? “Your daughter is dead.” Give up, Jairus. It’s hopeless, Jairus. She didn’t get better, Jairus.

Even Jesus experiences it. When he stops to see who touched him in the crowd, his disciples give him a hard time. “how can you say ‘Who touched me’?” Come on Jesus, be serious. And in front of Jairus’ home, when he tells the crowd to step aside because he’s going to wake Jairus’ daughter up…they laugh at him.

The downward spiral-the talk, the feeling, the idea that there is no possibility, that things can only go from bad to worse-is written all over this lesson...and the voices sound pretty compelling.
The problem, too often for many of us, is that the downward spiral gets written all over our lives…and we are compelled by it. In fact, the birthplace of the downward spiral is right here. Well, not in this church per se, but here, in our hearts and minds. It’s in you and it’s in me because sometimes when we look at our life, or the world around us, or the things that are happening to us, we begin to talk less about the hope and more about the hopelessness…less about the ways things could get better and more about the ways in which they seem always to be getting worse…And when that happens, you and I inch closer and closer to one of the most dangerous places in the world-the downward spiral.

One thing we might notice, though, is that Jesus may get close, but he never falls into it. He may walk right on the edge, but he never falls in. When the woman whose condition is hopeless touches him, he stops, approaches her, and finds out why. Even when his disciples tell him it’s not possible, he goes. When Jairus comes to him, Jesus goes to the home, to meet the crowds, the laughter, the worst-case thinking…and even when they tell him that it’s too late, it’s not possible, he still goes to the little girl…and wakes her up.

Jesus walks on the edge of the downward spiral, but never succumbs to it. He does this every day of his life. Facing the hopeless talk with eternal hope. Confronting the worst-case laughter with overwhelming optimism. Walking into the dangerous places marked only by the darkness of death and bringing the light of life with him when he goes. Jesus does it for the people around him who are living in the downward spirals of life…and he does it for you and I.

In his own life, Jesus found himself always drawn into the downward spiral. People told him that the world couldn’t work the way he said. They told him that relationship with God couldn’t be as easy as he made it out to be. They reminded him, every chance they got that life is less about forgiveness and starting over and more about guilt and remaining in the spiral. He saw it, he heard it, and he felt it…and at every turn he challenged it. The cross is the ultimate symbol of the downward spiral-that there is no more possibility, that all hope is gone…that things have surely gone from bad to worse. Jesus went to the cross, embraced it, and in the process turned it into an eternal symbol of hope…of new life. He made it for us, a reminder that when God is present…the downward spirals of life, have no power over us.

When the woman with the hemorrhage and the man whose daughter is dying are on the verge of a downward spiral, what do they do? They go to Jesus. “If I but touch his clothes, I WILL be made well.” And she was made well. “Come, lay your hands on her and she WILL be made well.” And she was made well. When everyone and everything around them said it’s not possible…Jesus reminded them that “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

When we’re on the verge of a downward spiral, we can do the same thing. We can listen to the crowds, the voices, and even our own hearts…and sink further into the downward spiral. Or, we can go to God. We can take our problems, our pains, and our fears, and bring them to Jesus, knowing that if nothing else, he won’t let us sink into the spiral…he won’t laugh at us…he won’t tell us how hopeless everything is…he won’t turn us away. Instead, he’ll do what he did for Jairus, and the woman…he’ll give us his undivided attention and his loving presence.

So, the next time you feel as though you’re on the edge of that dangerous place-the downward spiral-remember, Jesus will walk with you…talk with you, and remind you that no matter what anyone says-with God all things are possible.

We are Never Sunk!

Mark 4:35-41

I think the biggest mistake that Jesus disciples in the boat, in the middl of the storm make is that they have convinced themselves that there is no possibility for survival. Notice what they say to Jesus in verse “Do you not care THAT we are perishing?”=the same as saying: “We’re sunk!”

As far as I can tell from the story, though-even though they stopped bailing, stopped rowing, stopped straining to go to the back of the boat to get to Jesus, wake him up, wait for him to wipe the sleep out of his eyes, and then look at them and say “What’s up?” so that they could say “Do you not care THAT we are perishing?”…in all the time that it took to do all of that-we have to assume that the boat is still floating, they are still in it, not tossed into the sea, and even though they are probably wet, cold, and trembling-still alive. NOT, as they put it, “perishing.”
These disciples made the mistake of making up their minds to fail, instead of to succeed. Making up your mind to fail, by the way-and you can look this up in a thesaurus-is the opposite of faith. Which is why Jesus responds the way he does: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” It’s the same as saying: “Boy, you ARE sunk!”

This is a story about a mistake, but it’s a mistake that every disciple makes every now and then. We jump in our metaphorical boat, we push off from a metaphorical shore, and we expect to coast through life as if it were a metaphorical sea that always stays as still as glass. But, before long, a metaphorical “mega-storm” suddenly arises-and when it does the wind, and the waves, and the water that rises around our feet seems awfully real. And when it happens, sometimes we make the same mistake Jesus’ disciples made-we look at it all, and we say “We’re sunk!”

Guess what? When we get to that point, we are sunk!

It would have taken a miracle for the disciples in the boat to feel anything other than that the end was near. Fortunately for them a man who was capable of miracles was in the boat with them, lying in the back, asleep on the cushion.

Sometimes it seems it will take a miracle for us to feel anything other than the deadly power of all those metaphorical winds, waves, and deluges. Fortunately for us, the man who is capable of miracles is always nearby.

I want to share a story with you of a group of people who felt that the end was never near. It goes like this. A long, long time ago there was a ruthless king named Nebuchadnezzar who built an enormous golden statue-it was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. When it was finished, he called everyone in his kingdom, he gathered them together and he told them: “This is what you will worship. So, from now on, when you hear my royal band strike up a tune, when you hear the horns blowing, the pipes whistling, the strings strumming and the drums beating-you will know it’s time to worship. And when that happens…” he said, “I don’t care what you’re doing, you’ll worship. At the sound of my music, you will stop whatever you’re up to, and you will look to my golden statue, and you will fall down on your knees and you will worship with all your heart.” Then he added: “The ones who don’t do this will be gathered up and thrown into a furnace of blazing hot fire.”

Now, in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, there were three guys. You may have heard their names before: Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego. If you have, then you know that this is their story. When they heard this decree, and when they saw the enormous golden statue, they looked at each other and said “Where have we heard this before?” Then, at once, they remembered a story from their Bible-about the time when the Israelites were wandering through the wilderness and they made a golden statue of a calf and said to one another: “This is what we will worship.” And they did. They bowed down to it and worshipped it. Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego remembered this story and they agreed with one another that the golden calf seemed eerily similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue, and that the people bowing down to that golden statue seemed eerily similar to the Israelites who bowed down to the golden calf. Well, Abednego looked at Mesach and said “What happened to those Israelites? How did it turn out for them?” And Mesach looked at Shadrach, who had gone to fetch his Bible and was just opening to that story. And as Shadrach read silently, he shook his head, looked at his friends and said “It didn’t turn out well for them. The golden calf was a fake god, and unfortunately for them, the real God was nearby as they worshipped it…and that God wasn’t happy about it.” And right then and there, Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego decided among themselves that they would worship the God they knew from the Bible, not the god that Nebuchadnezzar had created. Furnace or no furnace, they agreed, they would never bow down to it.

Before long, word got back to King Nebuchadnezzar that three men in the kingdom weren’t worshipping. They weren’t stopping what they were doing, they weren’t fixing their gazes on the statue, and they weren’t falling down to worship. Needless to say, Nebuchadnezzar was not thrilled. He called for these three men to be brought before him. When Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego arrived, he gave them one more chance. “I’m going to strike up my band” he said, “and when they do, you will fall down and worship my statue. If you don’t, I’ll have you thrown into the fiery furnace.”

And do you know what they said? They looked at the king and told him “Don’t waste your time. Don’t strike up the band. We would rather go into the fire. If the God we believe in, the God we worship , saves us, then He saves us. If he doesn’t, then he doesn’t. But we will NEVER worship anyone or anything else.”

So, into the fire they went. The king stoked the flames, and made it seven times hotter than normal. His had Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego tied up, and ordered them thrown into the fire. It was so hot that the servants who threw them in died themselves. And the king stood and watched. But then, something strange happened. While the 90 foot tall, by 9 foot wide golden statue stood on the hill in the distance and did nothing, the real God…the one of the Bible, the one that Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego knew, stood in the fire with them. Not a hair on their heads was singed. Not a scrap of their clothing was burned. When they came walking out of the furnace, they didn’t even smell like smoke! These three men were ready to die before they worshipped any God but the God they trusted for everything.

I tell this story again because I don’t believe that the words “We’re sunk” were in Shadrach, Mesach, or Abednego’s vocabulary. They walked into the most dangerous place on earth, expecting to find God there…and they weren’t disappointed.

Unfortunate though it may seem, mega storms and mega fires seem to make themselves at home right in the middle of our lives. We don’t want them there. We didn’t invite them to come. We wish they didn’t, but the reality is: they arise. That’s life.

The good news is, God doesn’t mind walking right into even the fieriest of furnaces. In fact, God feels right at home in the middle of the raging winds, the drenching downpours, the thunder, the lightning, and the high waves. If you don’t believe me, go back and re-read today’s lesson and look at what Jesus is doing when the mega-storm arises: “But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.” Storms don’t bother Jesus. Fiery furnaces won’t scare God away.

When people told Jesus to worship their way, practice their religion, and play by their rules…or die….well, you know what he did. He walked straight toward the cross and the grave because he believed that God would be waiting for him there. Then, when he walked out of the tomb, he didn’t look like death, because as painful as the whole thing was-God was there!

So, the next time you’re getting ready to sail your metaphorical boat out onto that metaphorical sea, and that very real mega-storm arises, remember that Jesus isn’t phased by storms. And the next time you’re standing in front of what feels like a fiery furnace, remember if you walk into it-God will too. But, if all you can say when the wind and the waves and the rains pound against you is “I’m sunk.” Then chances are, you will be, because faith in the God that walked Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego out of the flames…and the faith that turned the mega-storm into a mega-calm doesn’t know the meaning of those two words.

How many of you know who Ian Ferris is? Does that name ring a bell for anyone here this morning? I’ll give you a hint: he made news earlier this week in Red Sox nation. In case you missed it-Ian Ferris is the Yankees fan who planted “Yankee” grass seed in the infield at Fenway Park.

He did it while attending the recent Phish concert that was held inside the ballpark while the Red Sox were on the road. [The first indication that Mr. Ferris is trouble is that he was attending a Phish concert.] I am sure that most of us agree the only suitable punishment for this kind of thing would be to lock Mr. Ferris up and throw away the key, right?
But, I guess that’s only half the story, though, isn’t it? After all, if you asked Mr. Ferris he would probably tell you he was just returning the favor after Gino Castignoli, a member of Red Sox nation planted a David Ortiz Jersey in wet cement while the new Yankee stadium was being built.

Whether you side with Mr. Ferris-or you’re a member of Red Sox nation- you have to agree it’s fun being a fan. Strange, at times, but fun.

As for that Yankee grass, it’s not a problem-because as St. Paul wrote: only God can give the growth, and as we all know, God must be a Red Sox Fan.

The problem is, even if God were a Red Sox fan, God might be an even bigger Ian Ferris fan, because God is always a fan of growing new things. To be more clear, I think God is a fan of anyone who plants a seed-because planting a seed is an act of hope. Planting a seed is an act of complete faith. Planting a seed means being willing to let go of control and enter into the growth only God can bring. And God loves growing.

Maybe that’s why Jesus loved children so much. Children are just like the seed that sprouts without the farmer knowing how it happens…it’s automatic-Children grow. When they’re little it seems that this is all they do-each day growing a little bit more. It’s more than just, physical, as well. Children, if we let them, aren’t afraid to grow, to try out something new. They don’t have the same fear of failure that we do. For them, growing is just a part of everyday life.

God is a huge fan of little things. Jesus tells the story of the hidden power of the mustard seed-a tiny little package of potential just waiting to sprout and grow. He spends the time, standing in front of an enormous crowd of people, to tell them about a tiny seed and what it means for Gods’ kingdom.

Just as the farmer in Jesus’ story that we read today planted seeds, he was also planting hope. He hoped that they would grow. Then, when they do, he is full of faith. He is humble and honest, because when he looks at the little sprouts that emerge from the ground he has to admit, he has no idea how they do it.

“Automatically” is the word the original text uses to describe this kind of growth.
Today, God reminds us all that he is one of our biggest fans…and there is nothing we could do to ever change that.

God loves things that grow, and I think he loves it when we grow-when we take chances, when we step out on a limb, when we risk failure to try something new. God will always give us room to grow…permission to plant seeds and make mistakes…and God promises to offer plenty of forgiveness when we do.

Jesus was planted into our world to bring hope, to fill people with faith. He taught a kind of love that was meant to be just like the way a seed sprouts and grows-automatic. He shared a kind of acceptance that was just as sure-without bias, open, and growing to embrace every kind of person. Jesus, like the farmer, scattered powerful seeds of forgiveness everywhere he went-sitting by the well in the hot sun with a woman who thirsted for new life-inviting tax collectors to come and share a meal when no one else would ask them-touching the hands of those who were untouchable-he did it all to grow a new kind of love in the world that God created.

In the end, Jesus found that he had made many fans-crowds and crowds of them. But he also found that there were many who weren’t a fan of what he was growing in the earth-they couldn’t see the potential to live the love he planted. So, instead, they cut him down. They raised the cross. They tried to stopped the spread of his growing message of love.

But, like I said, God is a huge fan of growth…so three days later, somehow, that love sprouted again, and kept on growing with new life that can’t be contained-this is the new life that God wants to grow in your heart-a new life that isn’t afraid of letting the growth of God become a mysterious, certain, automatic thing in your life and in the world around you.

Today we’re reminded by them what it means to grow in God’s grace-it means that you become the kind of person who sees that God’s love for all people is “automatic” and even if we don’t know how it happens, we’re thankful to spend our time living in it and trying to live it out for the world around us.

Holy Trinity

John 3:1-17 Holy Trinity

On this first Sunday after the day of Pentecost, we celebrate the Holy Trinity.
Holy Trinity=One God, Three Persons-God (Father)-God(Son)-God (Holy Spirit)=all one God, yet three distinct persons. Any questions? Yes, of course we’ve got questions.

First, some background on “Trinity.” It’s not a term found in the Bible. It’s a term that we-the church have made up. Here’s how I picture it: some theologian years and years ago read his Bible and noticed this language- Jesus refers to God as “Father” himself as “Son” and tells his followers of the Spirit that will come after he returns to heaven. That theologian read this and said “I’m going to make this really simple to understand-I’ll call it the “Trinity” and tell everyone that it’s one God, three persons.” And from that moment on, people like you and I have heard this and said things like: “What the heck does that mean?”

Also, since then, some people have been offering all kinds of crazy explanations. They talk about how H20 can be water, ice, or steam-all are H2O, but in different forms. Someone once told me to think of a pie cut into thirds. It’s all the same pie, but three separate pieces. Or, what about an egg? You’ve got one egg with three distinct parts: yolk, white, and shell. So God is like H2O? God is like a pie? God is an egg? I don’t know how you feel, but these images leave me with more questions, and less understanding.

Leave it to us to take something that God has freely given us and make it really complicated and confusing…sometimes it seems that it’s just what we do best.

But it’s also good, because it makes us think. It makes us wonder. It makes us ask questions, even if those questions are as simple as just saying “What the heck does that mean?”

And if ideas like the “Holy Trinity” cause us to ask questions of faith, then I guess Nicodemus is the perfect person for us hear about today-he’s full of questions. The problem is, he’s afraid to ask them. Why? Because he’s under the completely incorrect assumption that everyone around him knows everything. He’s believed for a long time that he’s the ONLY one with questions about God and how God works. So, he’s afraid if he asks the questions that are rumbling around in his heard. He’s afraid that if he does, he’ll look foolish…so he goes to Jesus at night…when no one else will see or hear him.

Have you ever felt like Nicodemus? I know I have. In fact, I feel like Nicodemus all the time. When it comes to faith, I think most often I have many more questions than I have answers.
Sometimes we live under the false assumption that our faith is a faith of answers. For too long, this is the image the church has presented of itself…a house of answers, absolutes, and definitions, when in reality, if we’re honest, we are house full of people whose hearts are full of questions. In reality, if we’re honest, faith itself is almost always more concerned with the questions…lots of them.

Jesus didn’t come to give answers, at least not easy answers, but to inspire people to ask the questions that others were afraid to give voice to.

What does he say in Luke 11:9 when he’s speaking to his disciples who have posed a question about how to pray? He tells them: “Ask and it will be given you, search, and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.”

The emphasis here, if we notice, is not in the answers, the destination, or the opening, but in the willingness to ask, to search, to knock on the door even though we have no idea what lies beyond our questions, our searching, or the door itself.

Nicodemus did all three-and he got a good, simple answer about who God is and what God does… “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.”

In fact, this is the answer God gives to the whole world about who God is. God is love. The kind of love that is willing to endure hardship, and struggle…hunger and temptation…rejection and despair…shame and injustice…suffering and death…all so that we won’t have to. God is the kind of love that triumphs over all of these things with a new life that no one can explain, but everyone can share. God is the kind of God who is so big that one term, one person, one word isn’t enough to adequately illustrate God’s largeness.

This week, after visiting someone at the hospital, I saw a sign in one of the stairwells with a quote from Aristotle that read: “We are what we repeatedly do.”

Now there’s a thought-provoking statement that begs the question: “What do we repeatedly do?”

Maybe we need to think more about this on this day when we remember a term we invented that just might make understanding God a little more confusing than God really needs to be.
When we repeatedly become a place that offers answers, before long we’ll have a hard time welcoming people who are struggling with difficult questions. When we repeatedly stifle the creativity of people who are seeking the new things that God is saying in our world, then before long people will stop searching for God here. When we become people who see our primary task as guarding doors and keeping them secure, then before long, we’ll stop knocking on them looking for God.

God doesn’t seem to mind if we ask questions…in fact, when we read the Bible carefully we just might find that Jesus loved it when people like Nicodemus who asked things like, and I’m paraphrasing here, “What the heck is life all about?” On the other hand, read the Bible closely and you’ll find that he had a very different relationship with the people around him who claimed to have all the answers…he had a special word for them, but that’s a sermon for another day.
Today, I’d like to ask: “What questions do you and I need to be asking God?” Better yet, what questions do you and I need to be asking ourselves about life with the God who is Father, Son, and Spirit, and no matter which words we choose…God, time and time again…repeatedly…chooses to love the whole world enough to give us everything?

"All Together in One Place"

Acts 2:1-21

Nearly every time we gather here, the same person takes center stage. I don’t even need to name him, do I? We celebrate his birth on Christmas. We remember his baptism on another day. We remember the time he called his first disciples, those fishermen on the lakeshore. We listen to the time he went to a wedding and made it the party of a lifetime. We remember his life. We tell the story of his death. We gather on Easter and remember surprisingly that, for him, death was not the end. And because of all that, every time we gather here, no matter what part of the story we hear, we are reminded that because of him, for us, death is not the end, either. He is the main attraction. The center of attention. The man of every hour when we gather. Well, nearly every hour.

Today is different. Go back and re-read the lessons we just heard from Acts and Romans and you’ll find that his name isn’t included in any of them. We hear his words in the reading from John’s Gospel, but that’s it. Today, the man of the hour takes a backseat to someone else…and he’s glad to do it.

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”

That mighty wind rips through the room, filling the house. Those “tongues” of fire ignite among them, above them. The Holy Spirit fills them, giving them new ability, new voices, new words that they’ve never spoken.

How could we not give a day for something that makes these kinds of things happen? How could we not gather, for at least an hour and remember the morning when everything in the lives of this young community of faith changed forever? Each year, on this day-fifty days after Easter-we give a little time to the Holy Spirit. Today belongs to the Holy Spirit…but it also belongs to us, too.

Something that may be even more amazing than the violent wind, the tongues of fire, and the spirited words is the fact, that when the day arrives: “they were all together in one place.” All of them, together, in one place. When I think of that one fact, I am amazed that Pentecost-the day the Holy Spirit claimed us-even happened. All those followers of Jesus-reclaimed by the risen Christ and reunited-were actually “all together in one place.” The day of the Holy Spirit’s arrival is equally the day of the disciples’ sticking around, together.

Today, when you and I gather to remember this, we remember this same thing-it’s about the Holy Spirit…and it’s about us. So really, today is no different than any other day since the beginning of time-every day of your life and mine, because they’re all about the same thing-they’re about God and about us.

As I think of this, it also occurs to me that those first disciple’s lives were different than ours. They didn’t have cell phones or blackberrys that rang, buzzed, or beeped with a steady stream of phone calls, emails, and text messages. They didn’t have 9-5’s or 7-3’s or 3-11’s or 11-7’s like we do. That first group that gathered didn’t have mid-terms or finals, no book reports, or research papers. They didn’t have family that lived hundreds or even thousands of miles away. So maybe being “all together in one place” was a little easier for them. Which makes this Pentecost, and the fact that we are here together in one place-even more special.

It is especially important that we continue to find ways to be “all together in one place.” Together, we need to commit ourselves, more often than just on the day of Pentecost…more often than just one hour each week. Together, we need to give one another permission to turn off the cell phones and the blackberrys, to take a day off from the 9-5’s and to put the mid-term’s on hold. Together, we need to find ways to be “all together in one place.” Because it is important for us, for the world, and to God.

Imagine if those first disciples hadn’t made the time to be together. Just think if they couldn’t schedule that day to be all in one place. What would have happened on Pentecost if they were “all alone, in different places.” Maybe the wind would still have rushed, but there would have been no one to turn to and say “Did you feel that?” Maybe the flames would have ignited, but there would have been no one to look and say “Can you see that?” Maybe the words would have come, but there would have been no one there to look back at us and say “Could you repeat that?”

For as many reasons as the disciples could have come up with not to be together, each one of them knew that there was one very important reason why they needed to be together. So, once again, today becomes about that one person who came and changed everything-we just can’t get away from him. It was Jesus, who after he gave his life for them…and rose again for them…gathered them together and said “You are my witnesses…so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Jesus invites us all today to hear his words with open hearts, and to remember that it’s awfully hard to live lives, spend days, or even share hours that are about God and one another when we don’t make a point of being all together in one place.

Two Things Jesus Loves to Do

Luke 24:36b–48

If we were to make a list of the things that Jesus loves to do, what do you suppose might make the list?

Here are some things I can think of:

heal the sick, find the lost, eat and drink-go to parties, challenge assumptions about God, talk to people about God’s love, forgive sins, spend time with friends…

After reading today’s Gospel lesson, though, I thought of two things we can add to that list of things that Jesus loves to do:

1. “pop-in” on people-show up unannounced
2. Surprise, startle, even shock people

In fact, after he is raised from the dead, he seems to really enjoy doing these last two.

On the road to Emmaus, he walks with two disciples but they don’t even know that it’s him…then as they sit down to eat dinner-he takes the bread and blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them-in an instant they realize who they’ve been walking with-to their surprise, it’s Jesus…he surprises them at the table.

In Matthew 28-the two Mary’s watch as an angel descends from heaven, the earth shakes, the stone in front of Jesus’ tomb rolls away…and as if that weren’t shocking enough, when they turn to head back home-Jesus “pops-in” on them.

In John 20-Mary Magdalene is crying outside of Jesus’ grave when a man whom she had mistaken for the gardener calls her by name and she realizes-to her surprise-that it’s Jesus.

Then there’s Thomas, whose story we heard last week-After popping in on the disciples once, Jesus returns a second time, suddenly appearing among them even though the front door of the house is locked-He pops in, shows Thomas his hands and side-and Thomas believes.

And what about the story we read in John 21? Peter and the other disciples have gone back to fishing after Jesus’ death-when Jesus’ arrives on shore, tells them as he did once before to cast the net on the other side of the boat-and he surprises them with an enormous catch of fish.
After his death and resurrection, Jesus spends most of his time doing these two things-popping in on the people he loves-and surprising them.

In our lesson for today, he does both. He shows up unexpectedly, he pops-in among them. And he does startle them-the lesson says they are “terrified” because at first they think he’s a ghost-and then they are surprised to see that it is really him-alive again, beyond the cross and the grave-living and breathing, and speaking to them.

So this leads me to believe that you and I, as Jesus followers today should always be prepared for Jesus to “pop” into our lives at any moment. And, when he does, we should be ready to be surprised, shocked, even startled by his presence.

When you think about it, Jesus’ story is shocking-God lives…and then, unexpectedly, God dies.

Jesus’ message is startling- he tells one follower to sell everything he owns, he asks people to forgive seventy times seven times, he stands up for people when no one else will, he asks all who follow him to carry the cross just as he does-all of it startling.

And maybe the most surprising thing of all about Jesus is how much he loves us-his love is bigger than the cross, and stronger than death.

In fact, maybe that’s why Jesus seems to enjoy popping in and surprising us so much-because that’s exactly what God did to him. When the lights went out, and laid lifeless in the grave-God popped in. Then, in the biggest surprise of all-God raised Jesus to new life. Jesus knows how good it feels when God pops into your life, and when God surprises you with something you never dreamed was possible…I think he wants that same joy for us. That’s why he spends all of his time doing those same things for us.

How often do we as the church follow the example of our Lord? When and where to we “pop-in”-showing up in the real world for real people? When was the last time we surprised someone? Or shocked the world? Or startled our neighbors with God’s grace?

Maybe we should pay more attention to the resurrection stories of Jesus-because here’s what happened every time he popped in and surprised people:

The two disciples who were surprised at the table-they jump out of their seats and run seven miles to tell their friends about it!

The two women who are startled when Jesus pops in on them on the road run and tell the men what’s going on!

Mary Magdalene, when Jesus calls her by name falls on her knees, and then shouts “I have seen the Lord” for all to hear.

Thomas cries out “My Lord and My God!”

Peter jumps out of the fishing boat and swims a hundred yards to shore to see Jesus

And the disciples in our lesson for today-even though they are startled and terrified by Jesus sudden appearance, they go on to start the church!

We are here today because Jesus popped into people’s lives and startled them enough to respond to the amazing new life that God gives. We are worshipping because of unexpected visits, surprising sights, and startling words from Jesus that yielded more visits, more sights, and more words from the people who knew him best.

How can you and I, as people who know Jesus in today’s world get back to that? Where can you show up unexpectedly this week? Who can you surprise with a sense of God’s grace? How can you startle the people around you with God’s love? Where can you be a presence that shocks the world with the kind of forgiveness Jesus loved to share?

Because Jesus loved to do all of these things, and I’ll bet he loves it even more when he sees people like you and I doing them!

Listen...God is Calling!

Try to picture this for a second. You’re at home, watching television, and all of a sudden the picture goes dark and you hear a voice that sounds one hundred times clearer than the high definition sound you were listening to, and it’s speaking directly at you. Or, it’s an average day at work, and the phone rings and there’s this majestic voice speaking over an angel choir, addressing you by name and asking if you’ll hold for a call from God. Maybe it happens as you’re sitting in the classroom, scribbling furious notes about the Pythagorean theorem when the pen flies out of your hand and begins writing all on its own. Then, when you read the words, they are spelling out a message from God to you! What if this happened? What would you say? What would you do?

This is exactly what happens to Samuel. He’s minding his own business one day, when all of a sudden, he hears it: “Samuel! Samuel!” He hears it loud and clear, and he does what you and I might do. He starts to wonder: “Who’s behind this?” He runs to the only other person there, his mentor Eli… “I’m here, I’m here!” But it wasn’t Eli who called. Three times this happens and three times Samuel does the same thing, jumps up and runs to Eli.

You and I would do the same thing. We’d turn off the tv and look around the house. We’d sit on the line and try to figure out which one of our friends concocted this elaborate prank. We’d search the classrooms for the hidden cameras. “This has got to be a joke, right?”

God calls Samuel three times to put down the remote control, put all of his other calls on hold, stop writing theorems, and instead start speaking to the people. God’s call is clear: “I made you to be a prophet, and now I’m asking you to get started.” Samuel, this is what you’re here for.
Who could blame Samuel if he didn’t figure this out the first time? Who can blame him if it takes three separate calls :

“Samuel…Samuel…Samuel!”

After all, this little story begins by telling us that “the word of the Lord was rare in those days…” (1 Samuel 3:1) Things like this just weren’t happening.

Some people would say that the word of the Lord is rare today…that the things that happened to Samuel don’t happen at all any more.

I met someone this past Sunday, though, who would argue with that, and I happen to think that she would make a case that would be very convincing. She’s less than a year old, yet if you asked her, she would say that God is still speaking, and things are still happening. She won’t use words to tell you about it today, but give her some time and one day she’ll let you know all about it.

On Sunday, she had a Samuel-esque experience. She was held by the people she knows best as she listened to a lot of words. There, in the mix of them, she heard one word that she already recognizes: her name. “…child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”

Right in the middle of this, something strange happened to her. Amid the swirl of words she felt a sudden and cool rush of water trickle over her forehead as she was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Like Samuel, she may have wondered: “Who’s behind this?” Like you and I, whenever something unusual happens, she may be asking “Is this a joke?” Later, she’ll learn just as Samuel did, and just as you and I do…that God is behind this, and it’s no joke…because in the water God spoke her name, God called to her, and God made her His own child.

I can almost hear you asking the question, though. Thinking about an infant and wondering: “How do you know she’ll remember any of this?” “How can you be so sure that she will know?”

Why will she remember it? Because she’ll have plenty of people to help her to remember it. How will she know that God spoke on January 18 2009? Because her mom and dad and her baptismal sponsors: will tell her about it. She and her brother will get used to hearing the story of how God spoke to each of them. When she’s older, she’ll hear all about how the people who loved her most bundled her up on a very snowy day and brought her to the font because the God who loves her more than anything had something special to say to her. Samuel had Eli to point him in the right direction. She’s got people who will do the same thing.

Nathanael had a similar experience. When his friend Philip told him that God was in their neighborhood, he was skeptical. Then Jesus walked up to him and told him that he had been there the whole time, that he knew him better than Nathanael had ever dreamed. Then, he told him, this is just the beginning, there’s a whole lot more to come… “you will see greater things than these.” (John 1:50)

It’s the same with us, God meets us first in the waters, but then follows us every day of our life. At work, in the classroom, even when we’re lounging in front of the tv. God comes to us and calls us by name…always inviting us to be a part of what He’s up to in the world, always inviting us to share his message of love and forgiveness with a world that sometimes thinks he’s stopped speaking altogether.

Jesus called the world with his life, every bit of it. He did things for God that no one else could ever, or would ever do. He gave all that he had, and trusted that God would call his name even when things seemed dark and hopeless. He gave everything, He gave all that he had to meet you, to meet me, and this past Sunday to meet a little girl who he’s known before anyone else.

God comes just to tell us that He loves us, and He has a very special plan for each of us.

If you heard God’s voice, booming loud and clear through the speakers on your television or the receiver on your phone, you’d listen, right? If God’s own hand started writing a message in your notebook, you’d read it, right? If God interrupted your life to tell you what He wanted you to be and do with the rest of your days, you’d do it, right? It’s ok if you’re not sure…it took Samuel three times before he got it. It took Nathanael a little while before he heard. It will take you, and I, with the help of God most of our lives to hear it…but if we listen, we’ll find out sooner or later that God is here, and he’s calling us.