Sermon for Sunday, July 17

Day of the Church Year: 6th Sunday after Pentecost

Scripture Passage: Luke 10:38-42   

For years, I thought I wasn’t a spiritual person, and I sometimes still struggle with this.  People of faith, including some of you, talk about beginning the day with prayer, spending time with God in silence, coffee in hand.  With devotionals like Our Daily Bread or Christ in Our Home at the ready, you spend time in reflection every day.  Maybe you’re part of the weekly prayer group or you diligently read and study scripture at home.  Maybe you listen to music and praise God.  Maybe you enjoy sharing your faith with others.  Perhaps you draw or paint, sculpt or make pottery and listen to God through art creation.  Perhaps you go hiking, spend time in nature, and hear God’s voice in the birds, in the wind through the trees, or maybe from the pool.  Friends, I have to be honest.  You all amaze me.  I do not do these things.  I pray for you all, to be sure, in a popcorn fashion throughout the day, and I study the Bible as part of this job that I love.  But structured spiritual disciplines—with time set aside to nurture my relationship with God—are not my jam.       

I hope you’re not offended or shocked though I understand if you are.  Like I said, for years, I wasn’t sure I could call myself a Christian or a spiritual person without claiming at least one of these spiritual disciplines.  But several years ago, I learned through a continuing education class that people’s spiritualities vary, and the instructor introduced a spirituality wheel with four primary spiritual types.  My type is an activist spirituality, one where I hear God speak and see God work in the doing, in the action.  Faith in Motion is my jam.

I share this because, today, we read a story about two women, Mary and Martha.  Martha welcomes Jesus into her home.  Martha’s sister Mary is also there and sits at Jesus’ feet to listen to him while Martha prepares the meal and attends to her many tasks.  Upset, Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her.  But Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken away from her.” 

In the two thousand years between Martha hosting Jesus in her home and today, countless sermons on this story have revealed a host of assumptions about spirituality.

That Mary is lazy because she doesn’t help her sister with the household tasks—and at the same time...

That Mary is more devoted to Jesus because she sits at his feet and listens to him

That Mary is a better spiritual model than Martha

That Martha is less devoted to Jesus because she attends to the tasks of hosting

That Jesus is chastising Martha for attending to her tasks and teaching her that, in that moment, she should be sitting at his feet         

Despite these assumptions, Jesus never actually says any of these things.  Instead, he calls out Martha’s worry and distraction and invites her to focus and be at peace.  Jesus notes that Mary has chosen the better part, but there is no indication of what exactly the “better part” is.  We don’t really know. 

What we do know is that, at this point in Jesus’ ministry, he has set his face to Jerusalem which means he is traveling.  What we do know is that Jesus depends on the hospitality of those he meets along the way.  What we do know is that all of us need to eat and a place to lay our heads, including Jesus.  Jesus is not chastising Martha for preparing a meal and assuring he has a place to sleep that night.  Instead, what he calls out is her worry and distraction. 

Jesus’ gentle corrective seems not at all to do with Martha’s actions per se but with a shedding of worry and distraction.  Jesus invites Martha to focus, to be at peace in the midst of her tasks.  And these are not simply tasks but the welcome of Jesus into her home, one of the most profound ministries of the church then and now, the ministry of hospitality.  Martha engages in a ministry of hospitality just as Mary engages in devoted listening.  Martha’s jam is Faith in Motion while Mary prefers early morning prayer and scripture study, coffee in hand.

Whatever our spirituality type, however we meet God, Jesus invites us to shed our worry and distraction, invites us to focus and be at peace.  This week with the help of Andrews Refrigeration, our friend Martin, Discount Locksmith, Evalyn, Devalyn, and a host of heat respite volunteers, Ksea and I battled non-functional refrigerators, freezers, an ice machine, parking meters, and an air conditioning unit.  There were many tasks, many, many tasks, tasks that left me worried and distracted.  These tasks are part of the ministry we share, providing meals and cool space for our community at heat respite, at worship, at pancake breakfast, for the community groups who use our space.  Though I understood these tasks are part of the ministry we share, until I reread this story, I was worried and distracted by all the loose ends, all the challenges of this week, and the challenges yet to come.  Similarly, you may be worried and distracted by all that needs to be done, by what you see and hear on the news, by the challenges in your own personal life, but Jesus invites us to focus, to be at peace, and in so doing, to hear Jesus speak.  There is no need to worry or be distracted.  In the midst of all that needs to be done, as we face whatever comes our way, as we put our faith in motion, Jesus is still speaking.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Rise + Vote

Corazon, a ministry of Neighborhood Ministries, is partnering with Kaleo Phoenix and Neighborhood Ministries to bring you Town Hall. This is a community event that is putting a fun spin on voting early! Lunch & games will be provided for the kids. Don’t forget your ballot.

Saturday, July 23 10:00am-12:oo pm Grace Lutheran Church https://corazonaz.org/

Volunteer Opportunities

We continue to move through the pandemic, and in so doing, our patterns shift and change.  We are currently looking for volunteers to help with the following Grace ministries.  If you are open to helping in any of these ways, please be in touch with the appropriate person listed.

Ministry          Description                                                                 Person / Contact Info

Breakfast         Help serve breakfast on 9/4, 6:30-8:30 am        Evalyn Ehlen or Molly Caldwell

                        Other dates: 10/2, 11/6, 12/4                     

Altar Guild      Set up communion prior to traditional worship    Fran Fry

Landscaping    Mow and trim the church lawn 1-2 times/month  Ken Ehlen or Roger Ark

Counting         Count the offering 1-2 times/month                           Evalyn Ehlen

Sermon for Sunday, July 3

Day of the Church Year: 4th Sunday after Pentecost

Scripture Passage: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

In the gospel of Luke, the work of the kingdom of God is carried out by the many instead of by only the twelve disciples. Jesus appoints and sends out people to cure the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God come near, all with a message of peace armed with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Even when the people of a particular town reject those appointed to minister, Jesus commands them to simply shake the dust off their feet, proclaim the nearness of God’s kingdom, and go and come in peace. Regardless of the town, whether or not the people of the town graciously receive these ministers, the kingdom of God comes near.

This week, last week, watching or listening to the news, I suspect it wasn’t just me who wondered: Where is the kingdom of God in all this mess? The deep polarization, the significant decisions made by the Supreme Court, the continuing war in Ukraine and violence in countless places across the world, the overall crabbiness of humans right now. Even the mess right in front of us, the bills we need to pay, the difficult relationships, the worries about health and safety. Where is the kingdom of God in all this mess?

Upon returning from the Holden Village soul journey this week, someone involved in a conflict during heat respite came to the church office asking if she could still be part of the heat respite program. Since I hadn’t been here and had only heard about the situation, I asked her to describe what had happened. As she described what clearly had been a difficult day for her, behind her anger and frustration appeared her sadness and hurt and humiliation. The urge to point out her wrongs rushed through me, but the Holy Spirit calmed me down. At the conclusion of her story, led by the Holy Spirit, the first thing I said was: I am so sorry you feel sad and hurt and humiliated. We also discussed the problematic behavior and how it would never happen again, and I went to find Ksea to make sure we were all on the same page. With tears in her eyes, she apologized, and they shook hands. Getting up from our seats, she commented: “It’s good to talk it through!” And a gentleness filled the room. The kingdom of God come near!

On our way back from Holden Village, the group of soul journeyers, including myself, were in the tiny Wenatchee, Washington airport. We had just gone through security and were waiting to board at gate #2. Eartha, one of our group members, came and told me that a woman, I’ll call her Susan, also waiting at gate #2 had seen Eartha’s tee shirt that read “Grace Lutheran Church Soul Journey 2022.” Susan had approached Eartha to say that she had been baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Wenatchee. We had actually stayed overnight at Grace Lutheran Church in Wenatchee, and Eartha is amazing in her ability to connect with strangers. So of course friendly conversation ensued. Later when Eartha came up to me, she shared that Susan was nervous about flying and suggested that we go over and offer to pray with her. So we did. Susan was, indeed, nervous, quite nervous about flying, we learned. Listening to her share, we also met her son and learned about her life. She didn’t want to pray then and there, but when we told her we would be on the same flight and assured her we would keep her in prayers on this and her next flight to Anchorage, she beamed and, with deep relief in her voice, thanked us. The kingdom of God come near!

It occurs to me that the kingdom of God comes near most often when I listen, when I don’t open my mouth, when I keep myself from making everything about me. At the same time, especially this week, I am not pleased with the unjust systems of our world, and the only way our systems will change is if we speak and act for the common good—and not simply listen. I’m not quite sure how to reconcile that. But while we anticipate the fullness of God’s kingdom breaking forth, it breaks open among us in glimpses of light, in moments of gentleness. While God’s kingdom will certainly come in all grandeur one day, the kingdom of God isn’t always grand. Sometimes, it’s quiet. Sometimes, it’s gentle. Sometimes, it’s behind the scenes.

The seventy whom Jesus sent out—some of them went to towns where they were rejected. Like us, ancient Jesus-followers lived with conflict and division and injustice. Regardless of where they went or who they met, Jesus commanded them to come and go with a message of peace and the kingdom of God come near. The way they came and went, the proclamation of good news regardless, the message of peace indiscriminately shared, the way of being Jesus-followers, this itself revealed the kingdom of God.

In this present age, at this moment in our nation, I wonder if screaming louder, posting voluminously on social media, and even unfriending people who disagree with us—whether on Facebook or in real life, I wonder if this is what God calls us to do. I doubt it. I doubt it because, today, Jesus instructs his followers, when confronted with people who reject them, to shake the dust off their feet, to wish them peace, to proclaim the kingdom of God come near, all while armed with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Today, Jesus instructs his followers in gentleness, in a way of non-violence, love, and peace. Not everyone is going to love us. Not everyone is going to agree with us. Not everyone is going to work for the common good. But we can love them anyway, wish them peace anyway, proclaim the kingdom of God come near in their lives anyway. And when we do, there, the kingdom of God appears among us.

Dr. King once said: It is no longer a choice between violence and non violence in this world. It is non-violence or non-existence. Ironically, Dr. King, Jesus, and others who practiced non-violence were killed. It is a striking truth, that violence can be tolerated but that love is dangerous. Dr. King and Jesus, they were never going to hurt anyone, yet they were killed...because non-violence, love, peace, these are the forces that change the world. They are “soul force” as Dr. King taught. And confronted with the soul force that changes unjust systems, the people who desired the status quo ended the lives of those who practiced non-violence, love, and peace.

We, the Jesus-followers of 2022, we are gathered by Jesus and sent out to counter force with soul force, to practice non-violence and love, to proclaim peace and the kingdom of God come near. In the granular details of our lives, with strangers at grocery stores and libraries, among the Grace community, with our family, friends, and co-workers, while advocating for systemic change that we might seek and find the common good. Then and there, the kingdom of God comes near! Thanks be to God! Amen.

Save the Date: Middle School Youth Lock-In

Middle school Lutherans: save the date!

Middle school youth will gather at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church at 12th Street and Glendale for a lock-in on Friday, August 19, 6 pm—Saturday, August 20, 9 am led by Pastor Karn from Our Saviour’s and Pastor Sarah from Grace. Food, games, worship, Bible study, FUN! Friends are most welcome. Please save the date! More information will be coming.

Community Building Goal

During 2022, our community building goals all focus on discerning God’s call for us in the midst of the enormous change in our neighborhood, in our culture, in the church at large.

July through September, we consider this change through the lens of our fourth biblical guiding principle.

Embrace God’s challenge to love and serve others.

Scholarship Ad Hoc Committee

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 next committee meeting is Thursday, September 15, 2022 from 6:00-7:00 pm via Zoom. Contact Donna Martin or Shelia Petry if you are interested.

PhLY Gives Back

PhLY gives back on Saturday, August 6 from 7:00 pm to 8:45 pm at Feed My Starving Children located at 1345 S Alma School Road, in Mesa. If you have never participated in a Feed My Starving Children Packing Session, it is a high energy, great time spent with friends, making a difference on a global level. We have 25 spots reserved so make reservations now to be part of this exciting event by registering at https://www.fmsc.org/join-group?joincode=WXG21L. PhLY stands for Phoenix area Lutheran Youth, so all high school students are welcome!

Preparing for your Funeral

We are honored when members and friends of Grace decide to hold funeral or memorial worship services at Grace. This is one way we can be community for each other—at a very difficult time. Preparing for your funeral or memorial worship ahead of time can be helpful for your family and church family so that we can honor your wishes. If you would like to indicate your preferences for your funeral or memorial worship, you may download the form from the Grace website (Worship — Grace Lutheran Church (graceinthecity.com) or request a copy from the church office (officemanager@graceinthecity.com). If you are looking for the form on the website, scroll all the way to the bottom of the Worship page under “Special Services.”

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.