Sermon for Sunday, June 12

Day of the Church Year: Holy Trinity C2022

Scripture Passage: John 16:12-15

We are not God.  That much, we understand.  By our own power, we do not create the heavens and the earth.  By our own power, we do not lift up the valleys and bring low the mountains.  By our own power, we do not raise the dead, heal the sick, and still the storms. 

We are not God.  We cannot take in the full complexity of truth.  We cannot understand all mysteries and all knowledge.  We see as yet through a mirror dimly. 

We are not God.  Sometimes, we are wrong.  Many times, we stumble.  At all times, we are limited.  We are not God.

And because we are not, on this Sunday when we lift up the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, I have wondered: what does the trinity have to do with us? 

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the theological declaration that we worship one God who shows up in three “persons,” usually named Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or simply God, Jesus, Spirit.  Ever since this doctrine’s inception in the fourth century of the common era, more than sixteen hundred years ago, preachers have attempted to explain the Holy Trinity through clever metaphor, but dear friends in Christ, let’s just stop doing that.  No matter how deeply we plumb the depths of this mystery, we will not reach its bottom.  Given that, I more urgently wonder: what does the trinity have to do with us? 

Fortunately, God has my back and at least partially addressed my question through a sermon I heard just yesterday.  Rev. Louise Johnson who serves as the Executive for Administration at the ELCA Churchwide Office in Chicago joined us at the Grand Canyon Synod Assembly this past Friday and Saturday.  During synod assembly worship, Rev. Johnson preached on a passage from the gospel of John, part of the same conversation captured in today’s reading, where Philip, one of the disciples, tells Jesus he wants to see the Father.  Jesus, in response, basically, tells him: I’m standing right in front of you, Philip.  And when I am no longer with you, I will be IN you through the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Rev. Johnson proclaimed the good news of the Spirit recruiting us to join the dance of the trinity. 

In John chapters 13 through 17 in Jesus’ final long conversation with the disciples, Jesus makes as clear as clear can be—and as muddy as mud can be at the same time—that Jesus and the Father are one in a way we cannot untangle.  To make matters more complicated, when Jesus no longer lives on earth, he promises, he will send the Holy Spirit, a promise fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit showed up as divine wind, fire, and language.  Furthermore, Jesus says in our passage today: The Spirit will take what is mine—meaning Jesus’--and declare it to you—to the disciples and, by extension, to us, followers of Jesus today. 

We are not God, but the Holy Spirit invites us, recruits us, compels us to join the dance of the trinity.  In this post-ascension, post-Pentecost world, where we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, where we are now the body of Christ raised up for the world, God compels us to join the dance.  The dance of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In one of my favorite Holy Trinity hymns, the hymn writer Robert Leach has the people of God sing:

Come, join the dance of Trinity

before all worlds begun—

the interweaving of the Three,

the Father, Spirit, Son.

The universe of space and time

did not arise by chance,

but as the Three, in love and hope,

made room within their dance.

We do not and cannot understand the mystery that is the triune God, but we know how to dance—how to use our hands to do God’s work.  We cannot prove or adequately explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity, but we know its moves of serving meals, of advocating for justice, of studying scripture and praying, of knitting prayer shawls, of stewarding the church property that we might care for our neighbors and neighborhood in a whole host of ways.  And while we yet see in a mirror dimly, we recognize the Spirit’s dance in us, through us, among us. 

The Spirit compels us to join the dance of the trinity, to join hands, to step in time, to move with others to love, to establish justice, to form community in a culture more and more isolated and polarized. 

Today, we say farewell to Margie Betz, a long-time member of Grace, who will be leaving us for a year as she assists her family elsewhere.  While she is gone, Margie’s voice will echo in my head in a whole variety of life situations for Margie is ever declaring possibilities possible “with God’s help.”  With God’s help, we will discern the best choices in our lives and in the world.  With God’s help, we will have the strength to do what we feel called to do.  With God’s help, we will move through illness and grief and suffering to healing and new life.  We do not meet these challenges alone for we are drawn by the Holy Spirit into the dance of the trinity, and it is a dance.

Another long-time member of Grace, Esther Robbins, loved to dance.  Though Esther died several years ago now, I will always remember how, into her 80s, she took classes at the Arthur Murray dance studio at Indian School and 12th Street.  Each week, she attended dance parties where she practiced her moves.  For decades, she competed and won prizes for her graceful moves in high heels.  After suffering a stroke and moving into a memory care unit, Esther’s dance instructor came to her—so they could dance the cha-cha, the waltz, the tango.  I’m not kidding.  I personally observed Esther dancing a tango after her stroke with the guidance of her instructor—in her room in the memory care unit.  Prior to her stroke, at Esther’s urging and invitation, I too found my way to the Arthur Murray dance studio for those weekly dance parties.  As someone desperately uncoordinated, I was more than a little intimated by the smooth moves of all the seasoned dancers.  But here’s what I learned about dancing and what I observed also in Esther’s dancing lessons post-stroke: if we have a good partner, we can dance.  Even if we don’t know the moves or have forgotten them.  Even when we get confused.  Even if we go right when we are meant to go left.  Our experienced dance partner will get us back on track and lead us, in the most tangible ways, to the next step. 

Today, we are compelled to join the dance of the trinity, to join with God in God’s work, and thanks be to God, we have a good partner.  God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with whom we dance leads us to love, to establish justice, to form community.  We’re not always going to know the next step.  The school shootings make that clear; we don’t know for sure what the next step is. That’s okay.  The Holy Spirit will take us in their arms and lead us through it all.  With God’s help, we will find our way to love, to justice, to community.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Diakonia Informational Session

Interested in growing in faith and leadership?  Diakonia might be a good fit for you!  Diakonia assists in creating the next generation of leaders for our churches.  To learn more about this program, you are welcome to attend the Diakonia Informational Session right here at Grace on Thursday, June 9 at 6:30 pm in the North Room. 

New Office Hours

Our administrative assistant Jasmine is now full time with 30 hours per week administrative, 10 hours per week outreach-related.  Given that, the office hours have expanded: Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-2:00 pm. 

Heat Respite Volunteer Orientation

For those who plan to volunteer with the summer heat respite program, please plan to join us for the heat respite volunteer orientation on Sunday, June 12 at 11:30 am-1:00 pm in the North Room.  Lunch will be provided.  Come to learn how the program will work this year!

Scholarship Policy Ad Hoc Committee

Over the next few months, Grace Lutheran Church Council is exploring the establishment of a scholarship fund to support post-secondary education opportunities for Grace members continuing their education after high school. Grace members interested in drafting the policy, the guidelines for awarding the policy, and developing a funding plan to support the scholarship fund, are welcome to serve on an Ad Hoc Committee with Council members Shelia Petry and Donna Martin. The goal is to present the Committee’s work to the congregation in time for consideration at the January 2023 Annual Meeting. Ad Hoc Committee members are expected to participate in 3-5 VIRTUAL hour-long meetings between July 20-September 30, 2022. The first committee meeting is Wednesday, July 20, 2022 from 6:00-7:00 pm via Zoom. Contact Donna Martin or Shelia Petry if you are interested.

Diakonia Summer Retreat: Life of Faith Initiative

The Diakonia Program assists in creating the next generation of leaders for our churches. The GCS Diakonia program is pleased to present a retreat that welcomes all who are interested in faith development and Christian service. The purpose of the Life of Faith initiative is to stir up a culture change that frees us to make service by the baptized in the arenas of daily life the central focus of the church’s mission.

Participants will join in several interactive presentations that will help you enhance your church community by offering a substantial encounter with God. You will leave with ideas on how to serve our neighbors, wherever you encounter them and to make positive changes in your life and in your church.

Everyone is welcome! You need not be a Diakonia student or graduate to attend.

Cost: $60-Includes dinner on June 25 as well as breakfast and lunch on June 26

Register at: https://www.diakonia.education <Events/Retreat

June 25-26, 2022

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Phoenix, AZ

1212 E Glendale, Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85020

Saturday, 1:00 pm-8:00 pm & Sunday, 8:00 am-4:00 pm

PhLY Summer Lock-In

The PhLY Summer Lock-In is Saturday, June 25-26. We will start by meeting at the West Valley Lutheran Thrift Store at 12:00 pm. We will help process donations, clean around the shop, move heavier items, and assist shoppers as needed. Then we will go to St. John’s Lutheran Church for water activities and games. We will need adult drivers to get youth from the Thrift Store to St John's. If you can help drive, please let us know on the RSVP form. Go to the following link to RSVP https://forms.gle/yM1SKjgQWoN8sDxb8.

Missionary Update

Check out the latest news from our missionary, Rev. David Brondos, who is serving in Mexico!

https://dbrondos.mx/

Sermon for May 29

Day of the Church Year: 7th Sunday of Easter

Scripture Passage: John 17:20-26

In today’s Jesus story, Jesus prays.  The exact mechanics of Jesus praying is unclear for, in the gospel of John, Jesus and God are one and the same.  Regardless, Jesus prays, and in the portion of his prayer we read today, he prays for the unity of those who will come to follow him.  He prays that our unity will testify to God and God’s work in the world.  He prays that we will be so united that our oneness would be similar to the ontological oneness of Jesus and God. 

What do we think?  Was Jesus’ prayer answered—or not?  Are we one?

Nearly everywhere we look, one group of people is at odds with another.  Facebook friends “unfriended” because of political views abound.  The tension in some families is palpable around holiday tables.  Violence, including last week’s school shooting in Texas but unfortunately not limited to it, reveals our callous disregard for human life.  We are quick to complain about others but slow to talk with people with whom we disagree to try and understand their perspective.  Segregating ourselves to spaces where we pretty much agree with everyone around us is definitely in style.  As if disagreeing were a problem.

Believe me.  Hearing myself say those words—as if disagreeing were a problem—my mind automatically jumps to the variety of social issues where I would—in a different venue—argue passionately for one side and staunchly defend the importance and accuracy of my viewpoint.  Because the opposing viewpoint endangers the safety of others, from my perspective.  Because the opposing viewpoint leads to devastating health or social outcomes—and the data proves it.  Because Jesus speaks with clarity on issue x or y.   

I am so convinced that I am right and those on the other side are wrong, and we know it’s not just me who thinks this way.  The people of this nation have long held disparate views on a whole slew of issues, but we seem to have reached a new moment of polarization.  A moment when we are convinced that some others are evil.  A moment when we are shocked and dismayed by the views others hold. 

Still, it’s not simply political and social views that lead to disintegration of community.  Among Lutheran clergy, there is an inside joke about conflict in congregations caused by choosing the color of the church carpet.  As in, when a church is renovated or redecorated.  Honestly, it’s such a trope for conflict among Lutheran pastors that, when I came to preach here as part of the interview process, walked into the sanctuary, and heard that the carpet had been replaced in the year 2000 and would likely not need to be replaced again any time I soon, I gave silent thanks to God and thought: Phew!  Not that we have escaped conflict by any means, but the color of the carpet has not been the trigger. 

At our spring prayer retreat where we explored the theme Life Together, we discussed conflict.  One of my questions for everyone was: What causes conflict?  And the first answer was: Emotions.  Can I get an Amen?  For while choosing the color of the carpet is the standard bearer of church conflict, it is really the emotional aspects of that process gone unrecognized that lead to problems.  We all carry around with us histories, full histories of joys and sorrows, victories and challenges, trauma and support.  Layered on top of that are daily stressors and perhaps unhealthy coping mechanisms as well as practices that bring peace and circles of support.  When we step into a conversation or a meeting while our difficult histories and daily stressors are leading the charge inside us, nothing good comes from that.  We so easily hurt others, so easily raise our voice, so easily speak critically when we are not intending to do so.  Or if we are the target of someone else’s emotion-driven words at these moments, we often shut down instead of investigating the reasons for such unwarranted criticism, instead of remaining open and compassionate to our conversation partner who is clearly struggling.  To put it bluntly, it’s a hot mess!  

Whether dealing with political or social differences or personal, emotional attacks, we often don’t want and can’t imagine a world where we are one with “them.”  Or we feel pushed out of community,  flattened by criticism, and simply want to escape, to escape from being “one” with those who have hurt us.

Thankfully, we don’t have a choice.  For God has made us one.  God has gone ahead without asking us and made us one.  One people, one body, one fabric of humanity.  As Christians, we are bound to one another through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, forever tied up together in mystical union.  As the Apostle Paul writes, we are one body with various gifts, some of us weak, some of us strong, but all essential to the body.  Not only that, as descendants of Adam and Eve, as members of the human family created by God, we all come from the same God-shaped mold, all created in the image of God. 

We are one. 

We are.  One. 

Maybe you don’t want to be one with me.  Maybe I don’t want to be one with you.  Maybe a group of people does not care to be one with another group.  Maybe a nation does not care to be one with other nations.  But there it is, unavoidable and tender, our shared humanity.

Twentieth century poet Audre Lorde wrote in her brilliant book of essays entitled Sister Outsider: “It is easier to be angry than to hurt.  Anger is what I do best.  It is easier to be furious than to be yearning.”  I suspect, given our presence here today, given our presence in various aspects of Grace community life, that most of us are yearning, perhaps for connection with God, connection with others, for hope, for ways to serve, to be one with others, to know we are not alone.

Our yearning leads us here, despite the challenges of living in community together, a community that is not and will never be perfect.  Our yearning leads us to the table, Christ’s table where Christ is host, a table where his own body is broken and blood poured out.  At this table of Holy Communion, we are one.  We share this meal as a family gathered around a holiday table, perhaps with histories of disagreements, perhaps with resentments yet still one family.

Today, Jesus prays for us, that we may be completely one.  And the joy of Christ’s resurrected life on this seventh Sunday in Easter is that, regardless of all the ways we live out our messy human-ness, we are one in Christ, one people, one body, one fabric of humanity.  Thanks be to God!  Amen. 

Grace Time Online!

Join us on Facebook.com/Grace In The City: Grace Lutheran Church for our summer online Grace Time Bible Study! Each Sunday afternoon, the scripture lesson for the upcoming Sunday and questions will be shared on the Facebook page, and participants may share comments in the Facebook feed. The full lesson can be viewed at www.graceinthecity.com/growth. The studies will be listed by the Sunday they are leading up to.

Sermon for Sunday, May 22

Day of the Church Year: 6th Sunday of Easter

Scripture Passage: John 5:1-9

Today, Jesus encounters a man who has been ill for 38 years lying near a pool believed to bring healing, the pool called Bethzatha in Jerusalem.  In the presence of many people afflicted with various illnesses, people presumably abandoned by family, Jesus asks the man a striking question: Do you want to be made well? 

Jesus asks because the man has been ill for 38 years.  The man will later tell Jesus that he has no one to put him into the pool, that while he painstakingly makes his own way to the pool, someone else steps down ahead of him. 

But the man has been ill for 38 years.  In the ancient world, 38 years is a lifetime, actually.  In 38 years, the man has not been able to persuade a single person to help him into the pool?  In 38 years, though difficult, the man has not made it there himself—as he indicates he can though with some trouble? 

Now, we know Jesus.  We know he is compassionate.  We know he loves this man.  Jesus does not view this man with pity.  Jesus also does not lament an indifferent world that has failed to help this man.  Jesus asks the man: Do you want to be made well?  Because in the worldview of this man and all those who are lying near the pool Bethzatha, getting into the pool will bring healing.  So if the man wants to be made well, it is within his grasp.

As usual, I think Jesus is brilliant here.  A decade ago, I would listen to people’s stories, stories of wrongs done to them, afflictions endured, slights received.  I would listen to people’s stories of trauma, significant trauma, challenges raw and real, complex problems not easily solved.  As a younger pastor, I assumed people wanted me to help them solve their problems.  After all, they came and told them to me.  I would get so confused when I would offer up handy solutions to their problems, solutions they could put in motion right there in my office, and people would decline.  I vividly remember the day someone who was telling me their problems got increasingly agitated as I made one reasonable suggestion after another.  Finally, guided by the Holy Spirit, I asked them: Do you want to solve this problem?  No, they said.  I don’t.  I just want you to listen. 

Similarly, just a few days ago, after listening to someone talk about a difficulty for which they had devised a workable solution, I asked if they would like to come into the office and make the phone call that would be the first step in executing their plan.  No, they said, looking a bit abashed.  They went on to say: I know what I need to do, but I’m not ready to do it. 

Just because someone appears to be struggling, ailing, in need doesn’t mean they want to be made well, doesn’t mean we want to be made well.  Maybe our vision of what “wellness” is is different than other people’s.  Maybe we’re not ready for change.  Maybe change is scarier than the current situation.  Maybe we in some way strangely benefit from our struggle.  Maybe we assume we are not capable of being healed—or that we don’t deserve it.

When Jesus asks the question, the man responds but fails to answer Jesus’ question.  The man does not tell Jesus if he wants to be well, and I wonder if it’s because he assumes he won’t be, no matter what he does.  I wonder this because I too am prone to this type of thinking.

Over twenty years ago now, I was admitted to the hospital, my first and so far only time.  I was in my last year of college, and I was terrified.  Terrified as my symptoms began, while I contemplated going to the hospital, on the drive to the hospital, in the ER as the nurse started an IV, when they eventually moved me into a room.  I was terrified because I didn’t know yet that, when we are sick, usually, we heal.  Especially when we’re 22 and not facing a chronic illness.  I was terrified because I assumed I would live with my symptoms forever.  I assumed that every condition was a chronic condition.  In fact, I was discharged 6 hours later because my symptoms had resolved.  My body healed.  I was surprised.

Jesus tells the man to pick up his mat and walk.  Which must have surprised him after 38 years of illness.  After a lifetime, this man could still be healed. 

In what aspects of our lives do we assume healing is no longer possible?  Perhaps we have been alienated from member of our family.  Perhaps we have been living out unhealthy communication patterns we learned in childhood.  Perhaps we have lived with addiction for decades.  Perhaps there’s always been this thing we can’t shake, maybe a lack of compassion for ourselves, a particular fear, something that lives under our skin constantly and leaves us anxious.  In these aspects of our lives, we can get scared if someone asks: Do you want to be made well?  Because what happens if we seek healing and it fails?  What happens if we seek healing and it works?  Our lives will change.

Jesus shares good news today, that even after 38 years of illness, we can stand, pick up our mats, and walk.  By the grace of God, we can be made well.  It’s some tricky good news because we well know that not every illness or condition is healed.  We know that chronic illness, including chronic mental illness, is real.  And even acute illness leaves scars.  We know that the trauma some of us have endured means our emotional lives are a tangle.  We know that the complex truths of our lives require complex healing.  It’s not simple.  But if we are wondering today if healing is possible, the answer is yes.  If we are wondering if healing is possible after a lifetime of illness, trauma, and challenge, the answer is yes.

Just as Jesus says to the man waiting 38 years by the pool Bethzatha, so I say to you: Stand, pick up your mat and walk.  By the grace of God, healing is possible.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

ELCA Government & Civic Engagement Social Statement

What is important to you when you think about government? What about how the church and the state relate to each other?

A task force is at work on a new social statement about civics and faith, and it wants to hear from you. This social statement was requested by the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. A key piece of this process is hearing from ELCA members about their priorities and perspectives.

Social statements establish the basis for the ELCA’s public voice and policy decisions. They also serve as a teaching tool to help people discern and discuss their views on an issue.

This month you can connect directly with the task force to let them know what’s important to you!

Join members of the ELCA social statement task force for an ELCA-wide virtual listening event. The event will introduce what social statements are and how they’re developed. Then, participants will have a chance to share with task force members directly in breakout groups. The main questions will be:

• What themes, ideas or topics do you think the task force needs to talk about or consider for the social statement?

• What is important for the task force to consider in creating an effective social statement?

There are two opportunities to participate:

Tuesday, May 24, 7-8:15 p.m. Central time
Wednesday, May 25, 7-8:15 p.m. Central time

Click here to register: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (elca.org)

To learn more about the social statement process, visit elca.org/civicsandfaith. For more on our preexisting social statements and study materials, including a new study guide on Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action, visit elca.org/socialstatements.

If you have any questions, email civicsandfaith@elca.org.

We hope to see you there!

The Rev. Roger A. Willer, PhD, Director for Theological Ethics
The Rev. Carmelo Santos, PhD, Director for Theological Diversity and Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Engagement

Graduation Party: Sunday, May 22 @ 9:45 am!

Graduation time is right around the corner, and we get to celebrate with Grace community members as they graduate from high school and college! Please join us for a graduation party on Sunday, May 22 at 9:45 am in Hope Hall to eat cake, hear about our graduates’ future plans, lift them up in prayer, and celebrate the ways God is working in the lives of our graduates!

If you would like to help set up, clean up, or serve at this celebration, please speak with Evalyn Ehlen or Pastor Sarah. Thank you!

Thank You, Gardeners!

We give thanks to God for Rita Holsten and Ken and Evalyn Ehlen who have been hard at work in the Garden of Grace! Trees have been pruned. Flowers have been planted near memorial sites. Weeds have been pulled. A bird bath has been installed. Next up is making our compost pile more effective.

Little Lantanas Montessori Preschool, located in the church basement, has also installed a play area for the kids as well as a shed for their garden tools in the garden.

If you would like to volunteer in the Garden of Grace or enjoy it as a place of prayer, please be in touch with Jasmine, Bri, or Pastor Sarah.

The entire space is really beautiful, and we are GRATEFUL!

Wanted: Heat Respite Chaplains

Calling all pastors and chaplains! We are seeking YOU to offer open space and time to folks in our community who need a listening ear during our summer heat respite program.

We all need people in our lives who listen to us without judgment. Being listened to is a deep human craving, one that frees us from the hold of difficult emotions, sets our hearts at rest, and gives us clarity about the best possible choices in our lives. If you would be willing to simply sit and listen to members of our community for a 2 hour window during heat respite sometime this summer, please be in touch with Lisa Chachula (lchachula716@gmail.com) or Pastor Sarah (pastorsarah@graceinthecity.com).

Heat respite runs June 13-August 26, Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-4:30 pm, and we will schedule chaplains for Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 am-12 pm.

Wanted: Heat Respite Volunteers!

We are gearing up for our summer heat respite program which will run June 13-August 26, Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-4:30 pm. This will be our 17th summer of providing heat respite! Our mission during the summer months is to provide a space for heat relief while building community through the sharing of community resources, meals, water, and ourselves in a place of being, belonging, and becoming.

We are in need of:

Kitchen Hosts who will welcome and orient volunteer groups to the kitchen, organize/serve breakfast and afternoon snack, and oversee the kitchen on their scheduled days.

Kitchen Cooks who will create meal plans, grocery lists, cook, and oversee the serving of lunch on their scheduled days.

Kitchen Helpers who will assist hosts, cooks, and volunteer groups in the kitchen.

Welcome Volunteers who will greet guests, assist with sign in, answer questions, receive donations, and tend to various and sundry tasks at the Welcome Table.

Room Volunteers who will help with set up and clean up, take out trash and recycling, assist with receiving donations, and various and sundry tasks in Hope Hall.

If you are interested in volunteering, please be in touch with our outreach coordinator Ksea (outreach@graceinthecity.com), Solveig Muus, or Pastor Sarah (pastorsarah@graceinthecity.com). Thank you for helping provide space for heat relief and build community at Grace!

Work Day: Saturday, May 21

Please join in a Work Day at church on Saturday, May 21, 9 am-1 pm! We will be tending mostly exterior projects, so please come with sunscreen. Water and snacks will be provided.

May Birthdays

Sending warm wishes to those celebrating birthdays this month!

Joey L

Sheila P

Sylvia S

Adam W

Trish T

Owen L

PhLY: Walk to End Homelessness

A note from Casey, youth director of PhLY:

On Saturday, May 14, from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, we are walking with UMOM New Day Centers in the annual fundraiser to end homelessness at the Phoenix Zoo. Registration is $15 and includes a T-shirt and admission to the Phoenix Zoo for the day (a day ticket for the Zoo is normally $30, so you save $15 and you are helping a great cause.) Please sign up by joining the PhLY Ministry team by clicking this link https://fundraise.umom.org/team/417628. Once the walk is over at 9:00 am, we will be enjoying the Zoo so come prepared to walk! Things to bring: sunscreen, water bottle, snacks, and money for lunch. We will plan on being done at noon.

Founded in 1964, UMOM is located in Phoenix, Arizona and is an innovative provider of shelter, housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. Every night they provide safe shelter and supportive services for nearly 700 individuals experiencing homelessness – 155 families and 130 single women. They also offer over 550 units of affordable housing across the Valley.

If you are unable to join us but would still like to donate, you can do so at the link.

Sermon for Sunday, April 24

Day of the Church Year: 2nd Sunday of Easter

Scripture Passage: John 20:19-31

In John’s gospel, Mary Magdalene travels to Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning and discovers the stone rolled away from the entrance.  She runs to tell Peter and another disciple who go to the tomb to investigate and find only the linen wrappings.  The gospel writer John tells us they “believe” but that they then simply go home.  Quite anticlimactically, after discovering Jesus’ empty tomb, John 20:10 reads: “Then the disciples returned to their homes.”  That’s it.  There’s a longer, better story involving Mary Magdalene, but the next time the disciples enter the picture is in today’s reading, John 20:19-31.  It’s Easter evening, and they’re not rejoicing.  They’re not sharing the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with anyone.  They’re not making plans for a post-resurrection life with Jesus.  No.  They are literally locked in their meeting house for fear of the Judeans.  Now, there are good reasons for this.  Jesus is a convicted criminal, and they are known followers of his.  Jesus’ body is missing, and they would be suspect of stealing the body to make false claims of resurrection.  Though Peter and another disciple quote-unquote believe Jesus is raised from the dead, note that they only rejoice once they see him in the flesh, specifically his hands and side, casting doubt on their faith.  Whatever their reasons, the doors of the disciples’ meeting house are locked.  Thanks be to God locks on doors are no match for Jesus.  Suddenly, Jesus appears among them, says “Peace be with you,” shows them his hands and side, sends them out, and breathes the Holy Spirit upon them.  Usually, on this Sunday, the so-called Doubting Thomas steals the show.  He’s not there when Jesus shows up on Easter evening and doesn’t believe his friends when they tell him Jesus has been raised from the dead. But notice that a week later, when Thomas is with the rest of the disciples, even though Jesus had shared with them his peace, sent them out, and given them the Holy Spirit the week before, they are still shut up in their meeting house.  Still.  The gospel of John will continue for another chapter, but in none of what remains do the disciples share the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with anyone outside their own small group.  Even though Jesus shares his peace with them, even though Jesus sends them out, even though they have received the Holy Spirit.   

At risk of being too sarcastic for preaching, I wonder: has the 21st century American church learned from and emulated the disciples all too well on this point?  Have we, the church at large, shut and even locked our doors and failed to share the good news of Christ? 

Our third guiding principle here at Grace, Share the good news of Christ, probably makes most of us slightly uncomfortable for in a highly secular age, what does this really mean?  Is Jesus calling us to stand on street corners and shout: Christ is risen?  If we did that, I wonder if anyone would shout back: Christ is risen indeed!  Is Jesus calling us to knock on the doors of our neighbors and hand them Grace brochures and invite them to church?  Is Jesus calling us to buy billboard space and fill it with messages like: God is good-all the time.  All the time-God is good?  These questions make us laugh, make us wonder, make us uncomfortable.  We, the church, have handled evangelism strategies with tongs, carefully crafting programs where we share the good news of Christ in ways alien to us, acts of evangelism we wouldn’t normally do.  I think we are as confounded as the disciples by the resurrection of Jesus.  I think we’re not sure what we’re proclaiming.  I think we’re unclear as to what, exactly, we’re doing at church at all.  Just like the disciples, we have received the peace of Christ which passes understanding.  We have received the Holy Spirit in baptism.  We are sent out each Sunday: “Go in peace.  Share the good news” to which we respond: Thanks be to God!  But how do we actually do this, and what are we actually saying?

In a book entitled Breathing Spaces, Lutheran pastor Heidi Neumark writes about ministry at Transfiguration Lutheran Church in the south Bronx, her first call out of seminary in the 1980s.  When she first came to serve there, each Sunday, the ushers would unlock the church doors and let in those who had traveled to the south Bronx to attend worship.  Once all the members were accounted for, they would re-lock the doors and begin worship.  They would literally lock the doors for the people of Transfiguration were scared of the people who lived in the neighborhood.  As happens in many communities, as the neighborhood around Transfiguration changed, members of the church moved out but were still coming to worship on Sunday mornings.  No one from the neighborhood joined this worshiping community...for obvious reasons.  They couldn’t get in!  When Pastor Heidi came, she unlocked the front doors of the church, propped them open, and gradually, children from the neighborhood began to congregate there.  When some of them wanted to paint a mural on the church doors, she enthusiastically agreed.  Opening the doors led to a transfigured ministry—and a transfigured neighborhood.  The church eventually welcomed in people from the neighborhood, built a vibrant community, and, through partnerships, built affordable housing there in the south Bronx.   

Sharing the good news of Christ need not be a street corner, brochure-giving, billboard-involved task. It can be but doesn’t necessarily need to be.  Here at Grace, we have literally unlocked and opened our doors every summer for the past 17 summers for heat respite, and this has led to new avenues for building community.  Among those who seek relief from the heat in Hope Hall.  Among us who make up the core volunteers for respite.  Among ministry partner groups who come to serve a meal.  Among service providers who become friends of the congregation.  Beyond the daily table prayer, there is nothing explicitly religious about heat respite, but providing hospitality for and building community among those seeking relief from the heat shares the good news of Christ without us saying a word.

As our neighborhood changes around us, I wonder how else we might open our doors.  In an outreach coordinator interview a couple weeks ago, when asked how she had heard about the position, a candidate commented that she had passed the church many times and wondered if we were open.  Which gave me and Solveig pause.  Perhaps it was a fleeting comment, and of course, she could have googled us and answered her own question.  But as the image of the disciples huddled together in their meeting house behind closed doors flashes by us this morning, I do wonder: are we open to our community, especially as it changes?  If we are, to whom might we open our doors?  Perhaps our neighbor arts institutions, schools, coffee shops, and apartment-dwellers?  If we are, who might we call to ask: how can we help?  How can we be good neighbors?

These are not rhetorical questions.  Christ is risen and has sent us out.  Out of our locked buildings, out with the peace of Christ to share, out and empowered by the Holy Spirit.  As we, as you personally engage with anyone in our community, please ask: how can Grace help?  How can we be good neighbors?  This past Friday, when I met someone at a coffee shop on Roosevelt, the barista was telling us the city will not pick up recycling at their location.  I imagine there is a reason, and I hope it’s a good one.  But I gave her my card and said: I’m the pastor of the church up the alley.  Maybe we could help? 

Christ is risen, and the news is too good to shut and lock our doors.  So say it with me: Christ is risen!  Christ is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Amen.