Since the closest real movie rental place is a 20 minute drive away, Lisa and I enrolled in Netflix when we moved here. As part of the plan, we have access to a lot of online content, including old episodes of 30 Rock. So, we've been watching season 1 of this delightful show, because we didn't start watching until this year.
I thought the older episodes would be weaker in comedic value than the newer one. Typically it takes a few years for a sitcom to really hit its stride (see: Seinfeld, Cheers, Cosby Show). But 30 Rock's first season is flat-out hilarious, from partying on other people's yachts and rooftops to Donaghy's failed attempts at mentoring Liz and bottling champagne, every episode is a riot. We absolutely love the show, and it's surely the funniest thing on television. Sorry, Office crew, but your show has run its course. It's getting too Friends-ish, meaning another once promising sitcom is being run into the ground by relationship drama. For some reason, Michael Scott's antics grow old as they get more and more over-the-top, but Tracy Jordan's psychosis gets funnier as it makes the same ascent.
Thus, I must say that 30 Rock is the new bread, because it's a show that truly lives every week like it's Shark Week. "I am a Jedi! I am a Jedi! I am a Jedi!"
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Spiritual Act of Worship
That's the part of this week's Epistle text that jumps out at me. I'm not preaching on it, but I keep thinking about it. All 3 texts this week this deal with membership and involvement with the community of believers, and sometimes this issue is not as clear as we think.
I have a member of the church who is part of the extended family that makes up about 1/3 of our active membership. This guy is single, lives close by, almost all of his family comes to worship on Sunday morning, and he does not. For whatever reason, he's never been interested in worship or any other church involvement -- until 3 years ago when he was nominated to serve on the trustees. Many thought he wouldn't agree to it, but he did. He shows up to meetings, knows what he's doing, gets things done, and is basically one of the most important members of that committee. He's enjoyed his role as a member of the trustees, but his term is ending this year. With charge conference coming up in November, I'd like to get him on another committee so he continues to serve in some capacity. People tell me he's good with finances, so that's a possibility. If he's not on a committee, I doubt he'll ever set foot in our building.
Can this man's involvement in committees be considered a "spiritual act of worship", even if its his only act of worship? Can someone be an active, faithful member without ever participating in corporate worship? Is it possible that corporate worship "isn't for everybody"? Or should we seek to bring him in to Sunday morning worship? If we do, why are we doing so? Is he currently fulfilling his membership vows? Is he fulfilling those vows more or less than someone who comes to worship on Sunday and never does anything else?
These are questions to which I have no clear-cut answer. I'd love to hear what all 3 people who read this blog think.
I have a member of the church who is part of the extended family that makes up about 1/3 of our active membership. This guy is single, lives close by, almost all of his family comes to worship on Sunday morning, and he does not. For whatever reason, he's never been interested in worship or any other church involvement -- until 3 years ago when he was nominated to serve on the trustees. Many thought he wouldn't agree to it, but he did. He shows up to meetings, knows what he's doing, gets things done, and is basically one of the most important members of that committee. He's enjoyed his role as a member of the trustees, but his term is ending this year. With charge conference coming up in November, I'd like to get him on another committee so he continues to serve in some capacity. People tell me he's good with finances, so that's a possibility. If he's not on a committee, I doubt he'll ever set foot in our building.
Can this man's involvement in committees be considered a "spiritual act of worship", even if its his only act of worship? Can someone be an active, faithful member without ever participating in corporate worship? Is it possible that corporate worship "isn't for everybody"? Or should we seek to bring him in to Sunday morning worship? If we do, why are we doing so? Is he currently fulfilling his membership vows? Is he fulfilling those vows more or less than someone who comes to worship on Sunday and never does anything else?
These are questions to which I have no clear-cut answer. I'd love to hear what all 3 people who read this blog think.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Not What You Would Expect
This week’s lectionary text is actually just the last part of what I read, the story of the Canaanite woman. But this is one week in which I disagree with the way the lectionary selected the passage, as I think the story of the Canaanite woman is best understood when paired with what happens in verses 1-20. Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees and Scribes, as well as his encounter with the Canaanite woman, are stories full of expectations not met.
Let’s set this story up first. We begin with Jesus and the disciples in Gennesaret, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. You may remember that this was the disciples destination when Jesus came walking to them on the water. They’re ministering here in Gennesaret, and at this point they are pretty far from Jerusalem, about 80 miles north. Jesus’ ministry is stirring up some problems among the religious leaders of the day, who find Jesus here and begin on another smear campaign against him. According to the New Interpreter’s Study Bible, the Pharisees and Scribes were typically more interested in discrediting opponents than fairly representing their own views. So here come the big, bad, religious leaders, all the way up from Jerusalem to set this renegade group straight. These so called “disciples” of this so called “Messiah” are not following temple law of washing their hands before they eat. They are not going through purification rituals that the church has set up. They’re really not happy with Jesus claiming to be the Messiah, because the Messiah predicted in Hebrew Scripture would surely be a strict adherent to religious law. The Messiah that these religious leaders were expecting was not one who would ignore such important purification rituals. Surely, the Messiah would be the most concerned about ritual purification, because, well, he’s the Messiah, the most pure of them all! So this Jesus guy must not be the Messiah, because he’s not at all what they expect.
But Jesus is the Messiah, regardless of whether he meets the expectations of the religious leaders. And when we turn the camera around and see Jesus’ side of this encounter, we find he is also expecting something different from these religious leaders. He expects the Pharisees and Scribes, as religious leaders, to have their hearts turned toward God. It’s really not that unrealistic of an expectation, one might think. He is God incarnate, walking around the world only to discover that the people who are supposedly the “closest to God”, i.e. the religious leaders, are merely paying lip service to the one who sent him. They follow the religious traditions and laws, but Jesus clearly sees that they are not as pure as he expects. They do not have their hearts turned toward God, and they do not truly worship God, because they are more concerned with tradition than they are with worshiping God. In fact, Jesus argues that they take God’s word and twist it around to meet their agendas. This is not what Jesus expects from religious leaders. This is not what he expects from those who are within the walls of the religious community, those who are the insiders.
Clearly, he expects the insiders to truly have their hearts turned toward God rather than merely paying lip service to God. He doesn’t expect them to be hypocrites. But sadly, he’s encountered too many people who don’t practice what they preach. And I think Jesus as we see him in this passage is a Jesus getting close to the boiling point. He’s obviously getting frustrated at people speaking as insiders but not backing it up with their actions.
And at this point, he leaves and heads even further from Jerusalem, where there’s little chance of finding another hypocritical insider. He’s in Tyre and Sidon, another 30 miles or so further from Jerusalem than where he was, and he’s in a primarily Gentile area. And it must be noted that at this point, Jesus is further from Jerusalem than in any other point in his ministry. For whatever reason, he has come to the most remote place in his ministry from the center of Judaism. He is among the outsiders, the far outsiders, here in Tyre and Sidon.
So then we have an outsider, a Canaanite woman, approaching him. And get this – she’s using insider language! She addresses him as “Lord, Son of David”! New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson notes that in Matthew’s gospel, such an address would be found only on the lips of insiders – disciples, particularly. In fact, “Lord” is never found on the lips of Judas, the betrayer. For Matthew, it’s a clear way to distinguish who are insiders and who are outsiders.
So Jesus hears an outsider, a way-outsider, speaking as an insider. And this immediately follows frustration with hypocritical religious leaders who speak as insiders but act as outsiders. So naturally, Jesus is suspicious of this woman. She has come to plead for the healing of her daughter, but does this outsider truly believe that Jesus has the power to do so? Does she truly have faith that he can perform a miracle of healing? Jesus is obviously a bit skeptical of her faith, and his frustration with hypocrites comes to a head as he ignores her, then compares her to a dog. Essentially, he says, “I was sent to the children of Israel, and you are merely a dog trying to steal food from these children. How dare you try to manipulate me,” he seems to be saying. He is very frustrated, and very skeptical that this woman has any interest in him beyond what she can get out of him. Honestly, how much would someone all the way up here know about Jesus anyway? How could this outsider, in this place, have faith in him?
But unexpectedly, she fights back against Jesus with a great response. She doesn’t deny she’s a dog, but shows that even dogs deserve the children’s scraps. She proves that whether an outsider or insider, all are worthy of God’s love. Some say she even outwits Jesus here. I wouldn’t call it that, necessarily, but she is definitely proving her faith to Jesus. She’s proving that she has her heart turned toward God, and that has to mean something.
Jesus did not expect this outsider to have such faith. Heck, even the disciples, the most inside of all insiders, had just disappointed Jesus by not having faith in him when he was walking on the Sea of Galilee. He expressed to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” And here, he finds that the Canaanite woman has great faith. Great faith! Unlike the religious leaders, she does not merely pay lip service to God, but has her heart turned toward God. Unlike the disciples, she has great faith. And this is not what Jesus expected from her. He did not expect an outsider to have more faith than an insider.
And I can’t say that the Canaanite woman expected the Messiah to ignore her and then insult her. Just as the Pharisees and Scribes had their own expectations of the Messiah, one who would follow their traditions, the Canaanite woman expected the Messiah to be a warm and fuzzy Jesus, the Jesus that we prefer. Look around at the most popular images of Jesus in our churches today. Are we really all that different from her? We all love the images of Jesus smiling, the images of Jesus playing with children, the images of Jesus hugging everyone. Yes, we love us some soft, cuddly Jesus. And sometimes he’s like that. But other times he’s turning over tables in the temple or calling people dogs. And it’s these images of Jesus, the non-warm, non-fuzzy Jesus, that are not often depicted in art.
But as unappealing as this image of Jesus is, the Canaanite woman does not back down. She does not walk away from him just because Jesus is not exactly as she expected him to be. She persists in pleading for her daughter to be healed, and in this persistence shows her faith. Her faith acts as a foil to the Pharisees’ lack of faith. Because Jesus was not as the Pharisees expected, they did not believe he was the Messiah. But Jesus was also not as the Canaanite woman expected, and she reacted the opposite way: she continued to believe. And Jesus takes notice.
Some of you may be familiar with the movie Good Will Hunting. In the movie, the main character Will Hunting is a janitor at MIT who rides the subway into work from South Boston every morning. His lifestyle, his clothing, and his manner of speech are completely opposite of what is typically found among the students whose halls he cleans. These are intelligent, wealthy, successful students – the brightest scientific minds. At the beginning of the movie, an acclaimed MIT professor, one of the greatest mathematicians in the world, puts a practically unsolvable equation on the chalkboard outside his classroom. He expects that perhaps one student will be bright enough to figure it out by the end of the semester. Yet Will, the janitor, solves it in one night, and when the professor sees it the next day, he can muster no response except “This is brilliant.”
He immediately suspects it is a student, and when he discovers that the one who met his mathematical challenge is an uneducated janitor, he spends the rest of the movie struggling to come to grips with it. He and his colleagues become frustrated that someone without their academic training could actually be more intelligent than them. In short, Will Hunting is not what they expect to find as the one who solved the problem, and a brilliant mind is not what they expect to find in the head of a rough, foul mouthed janitor.
How often do we find people to be the opposite of what we expect them to be? These two stories in Matthew chapter 15 call us to question our expectations of other people, as well as our expectations of Jesus. In Matthew, there are “insiders” and “outsiders.” Nowadays, we call these two groups the “churched” and the “un-churched.” And what we typically expect is that the “churched” are the ones with great faith in Jesus Christ. The “un-churched” don’t really believe anything, we think, because if they did, they’d be hanging out with the “churched.” But just as Jesus encountered hypocrites in the church, we too find people in the midst of the group called the “churched” who really possess little to no faith. They are like Peter, who disappoints Jesus because of “little faith” and “doubting.” We don’t expect people within our own community of faith to have very little faith. We expect that anyone involved in a church has great faith in Christ.
Similarly, we rarely expect to find people with great faith among the un-churched. But they are there, and they are plentiful. I have encountered many people who have great faith in Christ, but refuse to go to church for a number of reasons. One such reason is – not coincidentally – the hypocrisy of churchgoers. But there are other reasons as well: they don’t know what being part of a church can do for them, they’ve never been invited, they were turned off by the atmosphere, they haven’t found a church they like, and so on. Regardless, what we must recognize is that churched and un-churched are not synonyms of faithful and lacking faith, respectively. The faith or lack of faith in people is very often not what we expect based on their level of involvement in a religious community. We must examine our expectations of others and really think about whether they are fair expectations. And we must not let the unexpected get in the way of our ministry. Jesus found the Canaanite woman to be not what he expected, yet he still performed the miracle of healing her daughter, still ministered to the woman of great faith. Jesus did not let the unexpected get in the way of his ministry, and neither can we.
We also find that the Canaanite woman met a Jesus that she was not expecting. She expected the warm and fuzzy, soft and cuddly Jesus, and what she met was the frustrated and angry, disappointed and skeptical, ignoring and insulting Jesus. By reading this text, we too meet this Jesus, and it is not what we expect from the Messiah either. We squirm in our seats as we hear our loving Savior ignoring people and then calling them dogs, questioning whether they really have faith. It’s just plain uncomfortable to hear. My first reaction when looking at this text was, “How am I going to preach on this? This is not my Father’s Jesus!”
We often have expectations of Jesus Christ that turn out to be misguided. But just as the Canaanite woman persevered and refused to let a hostile, skeptical Jesus deter her from believing in his power, we too must persevere and refuse to let unexpected images of Jesus deter us from having faith in whatever manifestation of God we encounter. No expectations are to get in the way of our ministry, or in the way of our faith in God the Creator, Christ the Redeemer, the Holy Spirit the Sustainer. It is only by the power of this Trinity that this truth is brought before us on this day. Amen.
Let’s set this story up first. We begin with Jesus and the disciples in Gennesaret, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. You may remember that this was the disciples destination when Jesus came walking to them on the water. They’re ministering here in Gennesaret, and at this point they are pretty far from Jerusalem, about 80 miles north. Jesus’ ministry is stirring up some problems among the religious leaders of the day, who find Jesus here and begin on another smear campaign against him. According to the New Interpreter’s Study Bible, the Pharisees and Scribes were typically more interested in discrediting opponents than fairly representing their own views. So here come the big, bad, religious leaders, all the way up from Jerusalem to set this renegade group straight. These so called “disciples” of this so called “Messiah” are not following temple law of washing their hands before they eat. They are not going through purification rituals that the church has set up. They’re really not happy with Jesus claiming to be the Messiah, because the Messiah predicted in Hebrew Scripture would surely be a strict adherent to religious law. The Messiah that these religious leaders were expecting was not one who would ignore such important purification rituals. Surely, the Messiah would be the most concerned about ritual purification, because, well, he’s the Messiah, the most pure of them all! So this Jesus guy must not be the Messiah, because he’s not at all what they expect.
But Jesus is the Messiah, regardless of whether he meets the expectations of the religious leaders. And when we turn the camera around and see Jesus’ side of this encounter, we find he is also expecting something different from these religious leaders. He expects the Pharisees and Scribes, as religious leaders, to have their hearts turned toward God. It’s really not that unrealistic of an expectation, one might think. He is God incarnate, walking around the world only to discover that the people who are supposedly the “closest to God”, i.e. the religious leaders, are merely paying lip service to the one who sent him. They follow the religious traditions and laws, but Jesus clearly sees that they are not as pure as he expects. They do not have their hearts turned toward God, and they do not truly worship God, because they are more concerned with tradition than they are with worshiping God. In fact, Jesus argues that they take God’s word and twist it around to meet their agendas. This is not what Jesus expects from religious leaders. This is not what he expects from those who are within the walls of the religious community, those who are the insiders.
Clearly, he expects the insiders to truly have their hearts turned toward God rather than merely paying lip service to God. He doesn’t expect them to be hypocrites. But sadly, he’s encountered too many people who don’t practice what they preach. And I think Jesus as we see him in this passage is a Jesus getting close to the boiling point. He’s obviously getting frustrated at people speaking as insiders but not backing it up with their actions.
And at this point, he leaves and heads even further from Jerusalem, where there’s little chance of finding another hypocritical insider. He’s in Tyre and Sidon, another 30 miles or so further from Jerusalem than where he was, and he’s in a primarily Gentile area. And it must be noted that at this point, Jesus is further from Jerusalem than in any other point in his ministry. For whatever reason, he has come to the most remote place in his ministry from the center of Judaism. He is among the outsiders, the far outsiders, here in Tyre and Sidon.
So then we have an outsider, a Canaanite woman, approaching him. And get this – she’s using insider language! She addresses him as “Lord, Son of David”! New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson notes that in Matthew’s gospel, such an address would be found only on the lips of insiders – disciples, particularly. In fact, “Lord” is never found on the lips of Judas, the betrayer. For Matthew, it’s a clear way to distinguish who are insiders and who are outsiders.
So Jesus hears an outsider, a way-outsider, speaking as an insider. And this immediately follows frustration with hypocritical religious leaders who speak as insiders but act as outsiders. So naturally, Jesus is suspicious of this woman. She has come to plead for the healing of her daughter, but does this outsider truly believe that Jesus has the power to do so? Does she truly have faith that he can perform a miracle of healing? Jesus is obviously a bit skeptical of her faith, and his frustration with hypocrites comes to a head as he ignores her, then compares her to a dog. Essentially, he says, “I was sent to the children of Israel, and you are merely a dog trying to steal food from these children. How dare you try to manipulate me,” he seems to be saying. He is very frustrated, and very skeptical that this woman has any interest in him beyond what she can get out of him. Honestly, how much would someone all the way up here know about Jesus anyway? How could this outsider, in this place, have faith in him?
But unexpectedly, she fights back against Jesus with a great response. She doesn’t deny she’s a dog, but shows that even dogs deserve the children’s scraps. She proves that whether an outsider or insider, all are worthy of God’s love. Some say she even outwits Jesus here. I wouldn’t call it that, necessarily, but she is definitely proving her faith to Jesus. She’s proving that she has her heart turned toward God, and that has to mean something.
Jesus did not expect this outsider to have such faith. Heck, even the disciples, the most inside of all insiders, had just disappointed Jesus by not having faith in him when he was walking on the Sea of Galilee. He expressed to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” And here, he finds that the Canaanite woman has great faith. Great faith! Unlike the religious leaders, she does not merely pay lip service to God, but has her heart turned toward God. Unlike the disciples, she has great faith. And this is not what Jesus expected from her. He did not expect an outsider to have more faith than an insider.
And I can’t say that the Canaanite woman expected the Messiah to ignore her and then insult her. Just as the Pharisees and Scribes had their own expectations of the Messiah, one who would follow their traditions, the Canaanite woman expected the Messiah to be a warm and fuzzy Jesus, the Jesus that we prefer. Look around at the most popular images of Jesus in our churches today. Are we really all that different from her? We all love the images of Jesus smiling, the images of Jesus playing with children, the images of Jesus hugging everyone. Yes, we love us some soft, cuddly Jesus. And sometimes he’s like that. But other times he’s turning over tables in the temple or calling people dogs. And it’s these images of Jesus, the non-warm, non-fuzzy Jesus, that are not often depicted in art.
But as unappealing as this image of Jesus is, the Canaanite woman does not back down. She does not walk away from him just because Jesus is not exactly as she expected him to be. She persists in pleading for her daughter to be healed, and in this persistence shows her faith. Her faith acts as a foil to the Pharisees’ lack of faith. Because Jesus was not as the Pharisees expected, they did not believe he was the Messiah. But Jesus was also not as the Canaanite woman expected, and she reacted the opposite way: she continued to believe. And Jesus takes notice.
Some of you may be familiar with the movie Good Will Hunting. In the movie, the main character Will Hunting is a janitor at MIT who rides the subway into work from South Boston every morning. His lifestyle, his clothing, and his manner of speech are completely opposite of what is typically found among the students whose halls he cleans. These are intelligent, wealthy, successful students – the brightest scientific minds. At the beginning of the movie, an acclaimed MIT professor, one of the greatest mathematicians in the world, puts a practically unsolvable equation on the chalkboard outside his classroom. He expects that perhaps one student will be bright enough to figure it out by the end of the semester. Yet Will, the janitor, solves it in one night, and when the professor sees it the next day, he can muster no response except “This is brilliant.”
He immediately suspects it is a student, and when he discovers that the one who met his mathematical challenge is an uneducated janitor, he spends the rest of the movie struggling to come to grips with it. He and his colleagues become frustrated that someone without their academic training could actually be more intelligent than them. In short, Will Hunting is not what they expect to find as the one who solved the problem, and a brilliant mind is not what they expect to find in the head of a rough, foul mouthed janitor.
How often do we find people to be the opposite of what we expect them to be? These two stories in Matthew chapter 15 call us to question our expectations of other people, as well as our expectations of Jesus. In Matthew, there are “insiders” and “outsiders.” Nowadays, we call these two groups the “churched” and the “un-churched.” And what we typically expect is that the “churched” are the ones with great faith in Jesus Christ. The “un-churched” don’t really believe anything, we think, because if they did, they’d be hanging out with the “churched.” But just as Jesus encountered hypocrites in the church, we too find people in the midst of the group called the “churched” who really possess little to no faith. They are like Peter, who disappoints Jesus because of “little faith” and “doubting.” We don’t expect people within our own community of faith to have very little faith. We expect that anyone involved in a church has great faith in Christ.
Similarly, we rarely expect to find people with great faith among the un-churched. But they are there, and they are plentiful. I have encountered many people who have great faith in Christ, but refuse to go to church for a number of reasons. One such reason is – not coincidentally – the hypocrisy of churchgoers. But there are other reasons as well: they don’t know what being part of a church can do for them, they’ve never been invited, they were turned off by the atmosphere, they haven’t found a church they like, and so on. Regardless, what we must recognize is that churched and un-churched are not synonyms of faithful and lacking faith, respectively. The faith or lack of faith in people is very often not what we expect based on their level of involvement in a religious community. We must examine our expectations of others and really think about whether they are fair expectations. And we must not let the unexpected get in the way of our ministry. Jesus found the Canaanite woman to be not what he expected, yet he still performed the miracle of healing her daughter, still ministered to the woman of great faith. Jesus did not let the unexpected get in the way of his ministry, and neither can we.
We also find that the Canaanite woman met a Jesus that she was not expecting. She expected the warm and fuzzy, soft and cuddly Jesus, and what she met was the frustrated and angry, disappointed and skeptical, ignoring and insulting Jesus. By reading this text, we too meet this Jesus, and it is not what we expect from the Messiah either. We squirm in our seats as we hear our loving Savior ignoring people and then calling them dogs, questioning whether they really have faith. It’s just plain uncomfortable to hear. My first reaction when looking at this text was, “How am I going to preach on this? This is not my Father’s Jesus!”
We often have expectations of Jesus Christ that turn out to be misguided. But just as the Canaanite woman persevered and refused to let a hostile, skeptical Jesus deter her from believing in his power, we too must persevere and refuse to let unexpected images of Jesus deter us from having faith in whatever manifestation of God we encounter. No expectations are to get in the way of our ministry, or in the way of our faith in God the Creator, Christ the Redeemer, the Holy Spirit the Sustainer. It is only by the power of this Trinity that this truth is brought before us on this day. Amen.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The highs and lows of being a pastor
Yesterday we stood on the sidelines at Steelers training camp. It was amazing. We were so close that at one point we had to move back to give the tight ends room to practice 4 feet in front of us with a blocking sled. We got the special VIP on-field passes from a congregation member who goes to college at St. Vincent, where the Steelers train. He works as Steelers training camp personnel, being a gopher for players and coaches, controlling stupid fans, etc. We were so close that Lisa had to step back to take this picture:
In other news, we woke up this morning to no hot water. Our water heater, leaking for months (if not more) before we got here, finally died. The previous pastor never told anyone it was leaking, but when I got here I immediately alerted the trustees. They made a plan to replace it at the last meeting, which was almost a month ago. Nothing was done. So now they have to do it tomorrow. It kinda stinks because if we were in charge of this stuff, it would have gotten done. But it's also kinda nice, because when something breaks, we just have to make a call to the chair of the trustees, and they're supposed to make sure it gets fixed or replaced without costing us anything. It's just a matter of keeping on them to get it fixed.
If you want to see more pics of our training camp trip, here's the album link: http://picasaweb.google.com/erik.hoeke/SteelerTrainingCamp
There's also an album of photos of our house and photos from our honeymoon.
In other news, we woke up this morning to no hot water. Our water heater, leaking for months (if not more) before we got here, finally died. The previous pastor never told anyone it was leaking, but when I got here I immediately alerted the trustees. They made a plan to replace it at the last meeting, which was almost a month ago. Nothing was done. So now they have to do it tomorrow. It kinda stinks because if we were in charge of this stuff, it would have gotten done. But it's also kinda nice, because when something breaks, we just have to make a call to the chair of the trustees, and they're supposed to make sure it gets fixed or replaced without costing us anything. It's just a matter of keeping on them to get it fixed.
If you want to see more pics of our training camp trip, here's the album link: http://picasaweb.google.com/erik.hoeke/SteelerTrainingCamp
There's also an album of photos of our house and photos from our honeymoon.
Monday, August 11, 2008
There's No Place Like Home
Although I had never visited West Newton until a few months ago, today made me feel completely at home again. Western PA is home for me, and I doubt I'll ever find a place to live that I love as much as I love this region. I realized this today as I woke up to a crisp, 57 degree morning and had to grab a long sleeved shirt to wear on my walk to work. It was a wonderfully cool morning, and an absolutely gorgeous day (72 as the high!). Sure, it'll get frigid in the winter, you say, but I love that weather too.
I also realized I like being in this region when I showed up for our worship committee meeting. One of the older members of our church, the woman people call "the church's angel", was the first one there after me. Picture the woman with the Swedish Meatballs in the Wedding Singer. That's her. Anyway, I kid you not, the first words out of her mouth are, "Well, I guess the Steelers got themselves a backup QB now that Charlie Batch is hurt." And we had a 5 minute conversation about how the Steelers had signed Byron Leftwich as their backup, and what that meant for the other backup QBs. Here I am, having a deep, knowledgeable conversation about backup quarterbacks with a 90 pound woman who spends most of her time growing enormous zucchini and writing encouraging notes to church members. And it seemed perfectly normal.
Looking at September's schedule today, I noticed that when school starts in the fall things are going to get crazy. I don't think I'll be looking for things to do as I was the last couple of weeks. September will be an insanely busy month, so I guess it's good that I'll be getting 2 straight weeks off of preaching on 8/31 (Hymn Sing) and 9/7 (Out-of-Town).
Phelps just won gold # 3. This guy is incredible. And he's still 4 years away from his athletic prime. Unreal.
I also realized I like being in this region when I showed up for our worship committee meeting. One of the older members of our church, the woman people call "the church's angel", was the first one there after me. Picture the woman with the Swedish Meatballs in the Wedding Singer. That's her. Anyway, I kid you not, the first words out of her mouth are, "Well, I guess the Steelers got themselves a backup QB now that Charlie Batch is hurt." And we had a 5 minute conversation about how the Steelers had signed Byron Leftwich as their backup, and what that meant for the other backup QBs. Here I am, having a deep, knowledgeable conversation about backup quarterbacks with a 90 pound woman who spends most of her time growing enormous zucchini and writing encouraging notes to church members. And it seemed perfectly normal.
Looking at September's schedule today, I noticed that when school starts in the fall things are going to get crazy. I don't think I'll be looking for things to do as I was the last couple of weeks. September will be an insanely busy month, so I guess it's good that I'll be getting 2 straight weeks off of preaching on 8/31 (Hymn Sing) and 9/7 (Out-of-Town).
Phelps just won gold # 3. This guy is incredible. And he's still 4 years away from his athletic prime. Unreal.
Sailing in Place
Sermon for 8/10; Text: Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus walking on water.
There they are – in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, fighting the storm of their life. Well, at least the biggest storm since Matthew chapter 8, where Jesus calms the storm when he’s in the boat with the disciples. But in this story, Jesus is not in the boat. Remember last week, when Jesus tried to get away from everything for some alone time, and all these hungry, needy crowds showed up? Remember how he put his own needs on the back burner as he ministered to these crowds? Well, he’s finally fed the five thousand, and we see Jesus finally getting that time away to mourn the death of John the Baptist. This time, he even sends the disciples off to sail to Gennesaret, located on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He pushes them off in their boat, and climbs up the mountain to be by himself.
But the disciples are by themselves as well. For the first time since Jesus called them to be His disciples, they find themselves traveling without Jesus being physically present with them. But it’s Jesus’ doing – they’re not straying from the flock or anything terrible like that. They’re just doing what Jesus wanted them to do – sail across to Gennesaret, where he’ll meet them later.
But as so often is the case in Scripture, the sea and wind create a chaotic atmosphere, tossing the disciples’ boat around. They’re stuck smack dab in the middle of the sea, and there’s a headwind that’s essentially keeping them sailing in place. They’re going nowhere, and battling fierce conditions. Why would Jesus send them out in these conditions? Was he really that selfish, that he needed his alone time, even if it meant risking the lives of the disciples?
You may recall a similar story, found in Matthew chapter 8, as I mentioned. In that previous chapter, the disciples are in their boat being tossed around like a rag doll, and Jesus is peacefully napping in the corner. In Matthew 8 the disciples had the presence of mind to cry out, “Lord, save us! We’re perishing!” They woke Jesus up because they knew he was their only chance. They knew that he was more powerful than they. So they called on him, and he answered their call by stilling the storm.
Yet just a little while later, they seem to have forgotten the one who is there for them. They are here in chapter 14 battling a storm yet again, and they do not call on Jesus. They do not think to call on His name. They know where he is, and it’s not with them. So he’d be no help anyway, or so they thought. And maybe, just maybe, some of them are even wondering if Jesus sent them out to die in this storm. If he could control the storm before, maybe he was controlling this storm as well. Maybe this was his will. Imagine all these things running through the minds of the disciples. And in all these thoughts, not one thought to actually call on Jesus.
Stuck. That’s what they are. Doing everything right, yet being tossed around by the chaotic storms that we call life. Going where Jesus sent them, only to encounter trials. And they don’t call on Jesus. They don’t call on the one who can save them. What a shame, these disciples of little faith.
Stuck. That’s what we are sometimes. We’re doing everything right. We’re caring for our family and friends. We’re reaching out and helping those in need. We’re taking care of ourselves physically and mentally. We’re coming to church and singing our hymns and praying our prayers and even listening to parts of the sermons occasionally. We’re tithing, we’re reading Scripture, we’re not engaging in any immoral behavior. We’re doing everything in our power to control our lives, to make ourselves out to be one of the “good people.” We’re keeping everything in order, making sure we do and say the right things, striving onward to perfection.
Yet life still knocks us down. Waves still envelop us, and headwinds hold us back from making any progress. We feel out of control even though we’re desperately trying to maintain control. And what a terrible feeling that is – the feeling that we are not in control, especially when we’re doing everything right! We’re going where Jesus sends us, but it’s still leading us directly into storms. And we know the name of the only one powerful enough to save us, and we forget to call his name. We forget to call on the name of Jesus Christ.
It’s no wonder the disciples are confused. Jesus has sent them out to encounter life. He’s sent them out to battle the stormy seas. He’s letting them explore without hovering over their shoulder all the time. He’s not babying them anymore, but letting them see that life is just as crazy as his disciples as it is as fishermen. He’s not protecting them from every little thing, like we think a savior or a protector or a guide like Jesus is supposed to do. Isn’t he supposed to come along and rescue us, once and for all, from these storms so that we can live happily ever after? Isn’t that what salvation is all about? Isn’t that how the story goes?
Not for Matthew, not for Jesus, and not for us. That’s not how the story goes, even though it seems like the best idea. Jesus can protect us from all the chaos of life, but He won’t. He won’t protect us from experiencing it all, good and bad. Christian or not, good person or bad person, we’re all going to sail directly into the storms of life, and most of the time we won’t know what we’re sailing into until it’s already overhead.
And in the midst of those storms, Jesus will be there. Even when we can’t see him, Jesus will be there. He will be coming toward us, and we won’t recognize him, and we might even be scared of him because we won’t recognize him. We’ll perceive him to be part of the storm, part of the craziness that we’re mired in. Jesus comes even when the disciples forget to call on him, even when they don’t call on him because they don’t think it would help. Despite this, Jesus still comes out and assures the disciples: “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.”
Take heart. It is Jesus Christ. Do not be afraid in the midst of the storms. So what does Peter do? Question it. Alright Jesus, if it’s really you, then I’ll be able to walk across the raging waves over there to you. If it’s really you, command me to do this.
Jesus takes the challenge. “Come, Peter.” And there Peter goes, boldly stepping out of the boat and into the stormy seas, taking that leap of faith that Jesus has his back. There Peter goes, walking across the water, as if he were some sort of deity – for in those days it was widely known that only deities walked on water. And he’s inching…forward…closer…and closer…and closer…and he’s almost at Jesus!
Almost at Jesus! He’s so close! He’s come this far, walking on the surface of the raging sea! “I’m really doing it!” he’s thinking. “This is cool – look at me out here, walking around like only a deity could!” And then it all falls apart for Peter. He’s mastered the chaos of life, acted like a deity, and then…and then.
Well, we know the rest. He gets distracted. He loses his focus on Jesus. He starts worrying about the chaos surrounding him. He gets scared. Wasn’t he paying attention when Jesus said, just a few moments ago, “Do not be afraid”? Geez, Peter, why don’t you pay attention once in awhile!
It seems to me that he starts worrying and getting fearful because he starts to realize that he’s not the one in control. This is not his doing. He is not a deity, he does not have the power to do such things. Something or someone else must be in control. And oh, how scary that is when we realize someone else is in control of our life.
So he sinks. And this fisherman who would surely have been a strong swimmer doesn’t even try to tread water. Instead, he calls out to Jesus for help. And Jesus pulls him up and they return to the boat. Jesus returns him to the safest place, and finally calms the storm. He finally quells the chaos surrounding his disciples, just as he did once before.
But just as before, there is no promise in the calming of the storm. Both here and in the previous calming of a storm, Jesus does not make any promises that the disciples won’t encounter other storms. And Jesus does not make any promises to us that we will not encounter storms in our lives. He does not promise us that things will be smooth sailing, not even when he is calling us. Christ calls the disciples to sail to Gennesaret. Yet he doesn’t promise that journey will be storm-free. Christ calls Peter out of the boat. But he doesn’t promise that Peter’s walk will be storm free. He doesn’t promise that Peter won’t sink. And if we really look at this text, Christ doesn’t even promise that Peter will walk on the water. All he does is call Peter. He only says “Come.” He does not say, “Come, and walk across the surface of the water to me.”
We are not guaranteed smooth sailing in our lives. We’re never promised that God’s call will be easy. In fact, usually, God’s call is chaotic. God’s call is stormy and windy and so rough that sometimes even the most skilled fishermen cannot sail forward, and the most skilled fisherman cannot always tread water when his life depends on it. Sometimes, God’s call forces us to realize that we are not in control, and the things we are most skilled at may not be enough when we encounter things more powerful than ourselves. Storms rage on all around us, and we must remember that we cannot battle them alone. We can sail all we want, but sometimes we’ll end up sailing in place until we call on the one who has called us.
Like the disciples caught in the storm, we too are often caught up in the storms of life. We’re mired in storms of work and parenting and activities. We’re caught up in storms of relationship issues with family and friends. We’re stuck in the middle of the stormy sea of tragedy, grief, and mourning. We’re battling dark, unjust waves called abuse, slavery, disease, war, and famine. Yes, these waves move through every corner of our world, even here in West Newton.
The storms of life. Sometimes we feel so many storms that we just want to give up. I had a friend in college who at one point was going through a very difficult time in her life. So many negative stressors were affecting her that she told me one day, “I don’t want these darn monsoons. I’m in a couple myself. I should just give up and get wet.”
None of us want these darn monsoons in our life. All of us are in a couple ourselves. What are your monsoons? Your stormy seas that you travel on right now? Are you ready to give up and get wet?
Although we may be tempted give up and get wet, the scripture this morning tells us to give up and call on Jesus Christ. Give up and let God take control. Call on the name of Jesus Christ so that you may have something to lean on when the storms of life threaten to overtake you.
Until we call on Jesus Christ and surrender control to him, we cannot fulfill the mission that we are called to do. Remember the words from this morning’s epistle reading: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This is a warning that we will continually need rescue from the chaos of life, and only calling on Jesus Christ will allow us to sail forward in the midst of it. We, like the disciples, may boldly call on the Lord to save us from a storm, and then in the very next storm forget to call on the Lord altogether. We, like Peter, may ignore Christ’s comforting words, “Do not be afraid,” and start to sink. Most of life takes place on stormy seas, and we need to call on the Lord every step of the way for comfort and strength in the midst. Then, and only then, can we move forward, for without Jesus Christ we are merely sailing in place.
And as we call on Jesus Christ, hopefully we will remember his response to us as we are mired in the storms of life: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” This is the word of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There they are – in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, fighting the storm of their life. Well, at least the biggest storm since Matthew chapter 8, where Jesus calms the storm when he’s in the boat with the disciples. But in this story, Jesus is not in the boat. Remember last week, when Jesus tried to get away from everything for some alone time, and all these hungry, needy crowds showed up? Remember how he put his own needs on the back burner as he ministered to these crowds? Well, he’s finally fed the five thousand, and we see Jesus finally getting that time away to mourn the death of John the Baptist. This time, he even sends the disciples off to sail to Gennesaret, located on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He pushes them off in their boat, and climbs up the mountain to be by himself.
But the disciples are by themselves as well. For the first time since Jesus called them to be His disciples, they find themselves traveling without Jesus being physically present with them. But it’s Jesus’ doing – they’re not straying from the flock or anything terrible like that. They’re just doing what Jesus wanted them to do – sail across to Gennesaret, where he’ll meet them later.
But as so often is the case in Scripture, the sea and wind create a chaotic atmosphere, tossing the disciples’ boat around. They’re stuck smack dab in the middle of the sea, and there’s a headwind that’s essentially keeping them sailing in place. They’re going nowhere, and battling fierce conditions. Why would Jesus send them out in these conditions? Was he really that selfish, that he needed his alone time, even if it meant risking the lives of the disciples?
You may recall a similar story, found in Matthew chapter 8, as I mentioned. In that previous chapter, the disciples are in their boat being tossed around like a rag doll, and Jesus is peacefully napping in the corner. In Matthew 8 the disciples had the presence of mind to cry out, “Lord, save us! We’re perishing!” They woke Jesus up because they knew he was their only chance. They knew that he was more powerful than they. So they called on him, and he answered their call by stilling the storm.
Yet just a little while later, they seem to have forgotten the one who is there for them. They are here in chapter 14 battling a storm yet again, and they do not call on Jesus. They do not think to call on His name. They know where he is, and it’s not with them. So he’d be no help anyway, or so they thought. And maybe, just maybe, some of them are even wondering if Jesus sent them out to die in this storm. If he could control the storm before, maybe he was controlling this storm as well. Maybe this was his will. Imagine all these things running through the minds of the disciples. And in all these thoughts, not one thought to actually call on Jesus.
Stuck. That’s what they are. Doing everything right, yet being tossed around by the chaotic storms that we call life. Going where Jesus sent them, only to encounter trials. And they don’t call on Jesus. They don’t call on the one who can save them. What a shame, these disciples of little faith.
Stuck. That’s what we are sometimes. We’re doing everything right. We’re caring for our family and friends. We’re reaching out and helping those in need. We’re taking care of ourselves physically and mentally. We’re coming to church and singing our hymns and praying our prayers and even listening to parts of the sermons occasionally. We’re tithing, we’re reading Scripture, we’re not engaging in any immoral behavior. We’re doing everything in our power to control our lives, to make ourselves out to be one of the “good people.” We’re keeping everything in order, making sure we do and say the right things, striving onward to perfection.
Yet life still knocks us down. Waves still envelop us, and headwinds hold us back from making any progress. We feel out of control even though we’re desperately trying to maintain control. And what a terrible feeling that is – the feeling that we are not in control, especially when we’re doing everything right! We’re going where Jesus sends us, but it’s still leading us directly into storms. And we know the name of the only one powerful enough to save us, and we forget to call his name. We forget to call on the name of Jesus Christ.
It’s no wonder the disciples are confused. Jesus has sent them out to encounter life. He’s sent them out to battle the stormy seas. He’s letting them explore without hovering over their shoulder all the time. He’s not babying them anymore, but letting them see that life is just as crazy as his disciples as it is as fishermen. He’s not protecting them from every little thing, like we think a savior or a protector or a guide like Jesus is supposed to do. Isn’t he supposed to come along and rescue us, once and for all, from these storms so that we can live happily ever after? Isn’t that what salvation is all about? Isn’t that how the story goes?
Not for Matthew, not for Jesus, and not for us. That’s not how the story goes, even though it seems like the best idea. Jesus can protect us from all the chaos of life, but He won’t. He won’t protect us from experiencing it all, good and bad. Christian or not, good person or bad person, we’re all going to sail directly into the storms of life, and most of the time we won’t know what we’re sailing into until it’s already overhead.
And in the midst of those storms, Jesus will be there. Even when we can’t see him, Jesus will be there. He will be coming toward us, and we won’t recognize him, and we might even be scared of him because we won’t recognize him. We’ll perceive him to be part of the storm, part of the craziness that we’re mired in. Jesus comes even when the disciples forget to call on him, even when they don’t call on him because they don’t think it would help. Despite this, Jesus still comes out and assures the disciples: “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.”
Take heart. It is Jesus Christ. Do not be afraid in the midst of the storms. So what does Peter do? Question it. Alright Jesus, if it’s really you, then I’ll be able to walk across the raging waves over there to you. If it’s really you, command me to do this.
Jesus takes the challenge. “Come, Peter.” And there Peter goes, boldly stepping out of the boat and into the stormy seas, taking that leap of faith that Jesus has his back. There Peter goes, walking across the water, as if he were some sort of deity – for in those days it was widely known that only deities walked on water. And he’s inching…forward…closer…and closer…and closer…and he’s almost at Jesus!
Almost at Jesus! He’s so close! He’s come this far, walking on the surface of the raging sea! “I’m really doing it!” he’s thinking. “This is cool – look at me out here, walking around like only a deity could!” And then it all falls apart for Peter. He’s mastered the chaos of life, acted like a deity, and then…and then.
Well, we know the rest. He gets distracted. He loses his focus on Jesus. He starts worrying about the chaos surrounding him. He gets scared. Wasn’t he paying attention when Jesus said, just a few moments ago, “Do not be afraid”? Geez, Peter, why don’t you pay attention once in awhile!
It seems to me that he starts worrying and getting fearful because he starts to realize that he’s not the one in control. This is not his doing. He is not a deity, he does not have the power to do such things. Something or someone else must be in control. And oh, how scary that is when we realize someone else is in control of our life.
So he sinks. And this fisherman who would surely have been a strong swimmer doesn’t even try to tread water. Instead, he calls out to Jesus for help. And Jesus pulls him up and they return to the boat. Jesus returns him to the safest place, and finally calms the storm. He finally quells the chaos surrounding his disciples, just as he did once before.
But just as before, there is no promise in the calming of the storm. Both here and in the previous calming of a storm, Jesus does not make any promises that the disciples won’t encounter other storms. And Jesus does not make any promises to us that we will not encounter storms in our lives. He does not promise us that things will be smooth sailing, not even when he is calling us. Christ calls the disciples to sail to Gennesaret. Yet he doesn’t promise that journey will be storm-free. Christ calls Peter out of the boat. But he doesn’t promise that Peter’s walk will be storm free. He doesn’t promise that Peter won’t sink. And if we really look at this text, Christ doesn’t even promise that Peter will walk on the water. All he does is call Peter. He only says “Come.” He does not say, “Come, and walk across the surface of the water to me.”
We are not guaranteed smooth sailing in our lives. We’re never promised that God’s call will be easy. In fact, usually, God’s call is chaotic. God’s call is stormy and windy and so rough that sometimes even the most skilled fishermen cannot sail forward, and the most skilled fisherman cannot always tread water when his life depends on it. Sometimes, God’s call forces us to realize that we are not in control, and the things we are most skilled at may not be enough when we encounter things more powerful than ourselves. Storms rage on all around us, and we must remember that we cannot battle them alone. We can sail all we want, but sometimes we’ll end up sailing in place until we call on the one who has called us.
Like the disciples caught in the storm, we too are often caught up in the storms of life. We’re mired in storms of work and parenting and activities. We’re caught up in storms of relationship issues with family and friends. We’re stuck in the middle of the stormy sea of tragedy, grief, and mourning. We’re battling dark, unjust waves called abuse, slavery, disease, war, and famine. Yes, these waves move through every corner of our world, even here in West Newton.
The storms of life. Sometimes we feel so many storms that we just want to give up. I had a friend in college who at one point was going through a very difficult time in her life. So many negative stressors were affecting her that she told me one day, “I don’t want these darn monsoons. I’m in a couple myself. I should just give up and get wet.”
None of us want these darn monsoons in our life. All of us are in a couple ourselves. What are your monsoons? Your stormy seas that you travel on right now? Are you ready to give up and get wet?
Although we may be tempted give up and get wet, the scripture this morning tells us to give up and call on Jesus Christ. Give up and let God take control. Call on the name of Jesus Christ so that you may have something to lean on when the storms of life threaten to overtake you.
Until we call on Jesus Christ and surrender control to him, we cannot fulfill the mission that we are called to do. Remember the words from this morning’s epistle reading: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This is a warning that we will continually need rescue from the chaos of life, and only calling on Jesus Christ will allow us to sail forward in the midst of it. We, like the disciples, may boldly call on the Lord to save us from a storm, and then in the very next storm forget to call on the Lord altogether. We, like Peter, may ignore Christ’s comforting words, “Do not be afraid,” and start to sink. Most of life takes place on stormy seas, and we need to call on the Lord every step of the way for comfort and strength in the midst. Then, and only then, can we move forward, for without Jesus Christ we are merely sailing in place.
And as we call on Jesus Christ, hopefully we will remember his response to us as we are mired in the storms of life: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” This is the word of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Priorities on the Sports Page
Last night, Lisa and I went to the Stillers preseason game against the cross-state Iggles, compliments of a couple in the church. They're season ticket holders and weren't able to make the game, so they gave us their tickets. When we agreed to accept them, we had no idea where they were. Turns out, the seats were 2 rows off the field in the corner of the end zone -- the corner that the Steelers' tunnel from the locker room comes out. So we were about 20 feet away from the players during introductions. That was cool. The Steelers won 16-10 (I know, it's meaningless), and Jeff Reed kicked a 50 yard FG right in front of us.
As we left the game, we called Chip, and he alerted us that the Pirates were locked in a 0-0 game in the 10th inning against the Phillies. So we turned on the radio as we got into the car and listened to what turned out to be a 2-0, 12 inning victory by the Bucs. They won the game as we pulled into our driveway -- perfect timing! Big sports night in Pittsburgh.
So the Steelers win a meaningless preseason game 16-10. It wasn't all that exciting, and nothing big happened. The Pirates win a regular season game in the 12th inning, 2-0. Which one do you think will be the lead story in the sports section of the paper the next morning? If you're from Pittsburgh, you probably guessed the Steelers, and you guessed correctly. There's a huge photo of rookie Rashard Mendenhall of the Steelers on the front page, and the headline "Steelers Start Fast." Then, at the bottom of the page, there's a one line strip that reads, in small print, "Pirates top Phillies in 12 innings, 2-0. Story page C-7."
Yes, football has taken over, and nothing the Pirates do can make them more important than even high school football from this point on. It's sad, because I love baseball, but it's also exciting because it means football season's coming! The Steelers are less than a month away from starting, college football starts at the end of THIS month, and high school football is creeping closer by the day. Lisa and I are pumped! Being in a new area of Western PA, we've got new HS football teams to learn about and watch. It's mostly AAA schools around here -- Belle Vernon, Jeannette, Greensburg CC, Yough, Charleroi, Elizabeth-Forward. Our weekends will look something like this: Friday -- travel to best HS football matchup of the week in our area; Saturday -- watch college football all day long while doing things around the house (we're back in Big Ten country!); Sunday -- Church and then watch the Steelers at home, where they're always on!
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
As we left the game, we called Chip, and he alerted us that the Pirates were locked in a 0-0 game in the 10th inning against the Phillies. So we turned on the radio as we got into the car and listened to what turned out to be a 2-0, 12 inning victory by the Bucs. They won the game as we pulled into our driveway -- perfect timing! Big sports night in Pittsburgh.
So the Steelers win a meaningless preseason game 16-10. It wasn't all that exciting, and nothing big happened. The Pirates win a regular season game in the 12th inning, 2-0. Which one do you think will be the lead story in the sports section of the paper the next morning? If you're from Pittsburgh, you probably guessed the Steelers, and you guessed correctly. There's a huge photo of rookie Rashard Mendenhall of the Steelers on the front page, and the headline "Steelers Start Fast." Then, at the bottom of the page, there's a one line strip that reads, in small print, "Pirates top Phillies in 12 innings, 2-0. Story page C-7."
Yes, football has taken over, and nothing the Pirates do can make them more important than even high school football from this point on. It's sad, because I love baseball, but it's also exciting because it means football season's coming! The Steelers are less than a month away from starting, college football starts at the end of THIS month, and high school football is creeping closer by the day. Lisa and I are pumped! Being in a new area of Western PA, we've got new HS football teams to learn about and watch. It's mostly AAA schools around here -- Belle Vernon, Jeannette, Greensburg CC, Yough, Charleroi, Elizabeth-Forward. Our weekends will look something like this: Friday -- travel to best HS football matchup of the week in our area; Saturday -- watch college football all day long while doing things around the house (we're back in Big Ten country!); Sunday -- Church and then watch the Steelers at home, where they're always on!
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Blessing of Inadequacy
This is my sermon from 8/3, a Communion Sunday. The Scripture is Matthew 14:13-21, the Feeding of the Five Thousand.
The Blessing of Inadequacy
I’m not sure why my mother sent me six Hershey bars in January of my sophomore year of college, but she did. And they sat on my desk for a week or so without being eaten. Then I went upstairs one evening to visit my friend Lisa, the tall, pretty Steelers fan. She had a half a bag of marshmallows left over from some engineering class project. They were going to solve the world’s bridge problems with Twizzlers and marshmallows. She’d already eaten the leftover Twizzlers, but there were all these marshmallows with no purpose.
We wished aloud we had Graham crackers so we could make S’mores. And within 5 minutes, we found someone with a half-eaten box of Graham crackers. Lisa and I spent that night roasting marshmallows on the dorm kitchen stove, with mechanical pencils as our roasting sticks. That night, a few Hershey bars, some leftover marshmallows, and the only Graham crackers in the building fed the entire dorm.
The crowds had gathered around Jesus. They were sitting at home that day, and heard the word that he would be in their area. They ran out their doors without any preparation, because who wastes time preparing when the Son of God is in town? So here’s a crowd of thousands, gathered around Jesus. And Jesus prays and teaches and heals among them, all day. But it’s getting dark, and no one remembered to bring oil lamps, because there was no time to prepare. And no one brought food, because there was no time to prepare. So the people that had gathered around Jesus was about to disperse. And those disciples were going to let it happen. “We’ve done enough to satisfy the crowds,” they’re saying. “We’re not expected to do anything else for them. So we should let them get on their way – close up shop for the night.”
But Jesus isn’t satisfied with the disciples only doing the bare minimum. He’s not ready to stop just because, well, how much can a dozen disciples really do for a crowd of 5,000? Jesus is ready to show love, to show compassion, to turn a little love into a great banquet. But the disciples resisted. “There’s no way we have the resources to love these people any more today. We’re not capable of doing anything on such a grand scale!”
“But we can feed them,” said Jesus. “We can give these hungry people some dinner.”
As it turns out, the disciples had packed some provisions. But not many – the disciples could barely have a meal out of the meager peasant offerings of a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. These crowds were out of luck. Too bad, no room at the inn, no free handouts today. Our funds are dried up, and our resources are depleted, and we can’t be held responsible for the crowds’ poor planning and lack of foresight. After all, we’re only a small group of people – we can only do so much!
Can you blame those disciples? They wanted to help, but they knew that with the little that they had, it wasn’t possible. But Jesus taught them a lesson about true compassion and true ministry. He taught them that “budgetary restraints” is not an excuse to “halt all ministry until further notice.” He taught them that “we’re just a small church, so we can’t do as much as the larger churches” is not a valid complaint. He taught them that “we’re tired and ready for bed” is not an excuse to shut the door on the guests we’ve invited in. He taught them that in giving what we have, ministry can occur on a greater scale than we could ever do on our own. But the gifts and resources must be placed in God’s hands if ministry is to truly occur on God’s scale.
“Bring them here to me.” That’s what Jesus commanded the disciples on that day. “I don’t care that you aren’t adequately prepared; just bring me what you can. Bring me what you have, even if it’s only enough for a few fish sandwiches. Bring me the few congregation members that you have, even if it’s only 5% of your town. Bring me the resources your church does have, and I will bless them and prepare them for abundant ministry.”
Those five loaves and two fish in the hands of the disciples were completely inadequate to meet the present need. But those five loaves and two fish in the hands of Jesus Christ were more than adequate. They were so abundant that there were leftovers.
In this story, we see a collection of meager fishermen giving over one basket of food to Jesus, and when Jesus is done with that one basket, there are twelve baskets of leftovers, and 5,000 people have eaten. 5,000 people have been fed by the act of compassion. 5,000 people were cared for by Jesus and the disciples.
Why do so many disciples of Jesus insist that the storeroom must be full in order to be in ministry? Why must we always be adequately prepared in order to meet needs? Why are we making excuses for not doing the ministry we’re called to do?
If we look around the room, we all have about five loaves and two fish to offer, and that’s it. And that’s not enough. It’ll never be enough to meet the needs of this community. It’s just plain inadequate. But in the hands of Christ, it’s more than enough. It’s enough to feed an army.
Admitting that what we have isn’t enough is easy. It’s not hard to make excuses due to inadequacy. We don’t have enough talented players, so how can you expect us to win? You don’t have adequate medical coverage for this procedure, and we don’t give handouts. I’m sorry homeless man, but I only have 6 dollars in my wallet, and if I put than in your cup, how will I eat dinner? I just graduated school, and I’m in debt myself. We’re just a small country church, not like those mega-churches in the city, so we’re just doing the best we can – and it may not be much, but what can you expect from just a few people?
We’re all inadequate in some way. None of us have enough to love 5,000 people at a time, people who are in need because they are lazy or suffering from addiction. But Jesus doesn’t let his disciples off that easy. He doesn’t let us off that easy. “I can’t” is not a valid excuse for a Christian. “I can’t” is not a valid excuse for a Church. “The crowds don’t deserve it and should fend for themselves” is not a valid excuse for the disciples, and it’s not a valid excuse for us. Because when we can’t, or we don’t want to, Jesus can, Jesus wants to, and Jesus will. When all we have is a little bit, God is able to transform that into a blessing for thousands of people.
As you may or may not know, each year all the clergy and an equal number of lay representatives of Western PA gather at Grove City College for Annual Conference. We gather for reunion with old friends and the meeting of new friends. We gather for worship and Bible study and even legislation. We gather to learn about the shared ministry we have and to plan shared ministry for the future. And this year, there was a annual conference children’s choir that they assembled. It was about 8-10 children of people who were at conference that week, and they sang a couple of songs. At the end of their singing, the adults started herding these children off the stage. And they got all of them herded off – except one little girl, maybe 3 years old. She ran the opposite direction, to a microphone close to the floor. And she stood there and sang, in her tiny little voice: “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together…”
By the end of the song, there were 1500 people singing along with her in utter childlike joy. And that moment felt more blessed by God than any other moment of Annual Conference. A girl with nothing to offer but a tiny voice and a simple Sunday school song ministered to a crowd of thousands. She put her song into the hands of Christ, and all sang and were full of blessing.
In this story, the people are filled with the love of Jesus and his disciples. They are filled by the act of feeding, not just by the amount of food. Jesus guides the disciples into joyful giving out of inadequate resources. The motive of this miracle is what heals people and fills them up. The act done out of compassion and love is the act of ministry, because any act of compassion and love is an act of ministry.
Lisa and I made about a dozen S’mores that winter night from some leftovers, a ratty old stove, and a mechanical pencil. As we did so, we rounded up everyone we could find in the dorm and brought them to the kitchen. And you know what happened? 2, 3, sometimes 4 people shared one S’more, because everyone wanted a fresh S’more on a cold winter night. We invited friends, and they invited friends, and they brought even more people. Some people went back to their room and grabbed more snacks to share with others. For some, their S’more was the first S’more they’d ever had. For others, it took them back to summer nights around a bonfire with friends and family. For still others, it conjured up memories of summer camp or camping trips with the family. But for everyone, that night was a blessing. And for everyone, the S’mores tasted of compassion.
A few people had some leftover food that, by itself, wasn’t much, and even together only created a small snack. But compassion went into giving out the little bit of food that we had, and compassion spread as others agreed to share what little was there. And it was a night filled with love and sharing. It was a night that God had blessed.
As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper this morning, we all come to this table with less than adequate resources. We come with all that we have, but it’s not much. And by laying what little we have at Christ’s table which has been prepared for us, that little bit is blessed by God and returned to us, so that it may become an abundant blessing for others. In this miracle story we see the four actions of the Last Supper. Jesus TAKES the loaves and fishes, BLESSES them, BREAKS them, and GAVE them to the disciples, which they in turn gave to the crowds. The loaves and fishes we bring to the table this morning will be TAKEN by Christ, BLESSED by God, BROKEN and PREPARED by the working of the Holy Spirit, and GIVEN back to us so that we may in turn GIVE to those in need.
“Bring them here to me,” Christ says. Bring what you have to my table. Come and kneel at this altar with what you have, and I will bless all of it. I will bless your gifts and send you forth to bless others abundantly with your less-than-adequate offerings. As we come to the Table this morning, remember Christ’s call – “Bring them here to me.” And we will bring what little we have to the table, and it will be blessed by God through the bread and wine that themselves taste of compassion. And we will be sent forth from the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper with opportunities to share that blessing with others as we reach out in compassion and love. May all these things be so in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Blessing of Inadequacy
I’m not sure why my mother sent me six Hershey bars in January of my sophomore year of college, but she did. And they sat on my desk for a week or so without being eaten. Then I went upstairs one evening to visit my friend Lisa, the tall, pretty Steelers fan. She had a half a bag of marshmallows left over from some engineering class project. They were going to solve the world’s bridge problems with Twizzlers and marshmallows. She’d already eaten the leftover Twizzlers, but there were all these marshmallows with no purpose.
We wished aloud we had Graham crackers so we could make S’mores. And within 5 minutes, we found someone with a half-eaten box of Graham crackers. Lisa and I spent that night roasting marshmallows on the dorm kitchen stove, with mechanical pencils as our roasting sticks. That night, a few Hershey bars, some leftover marshmallows, and the only Graham crackers in the building fed the entire dorm.
The crowds had gathered around Jesus. They were sitting at home that day, and heard the word that he would be in their area. They ran out their doors without any preparation, because who wastes time preparing when the Son of God is in town? So here’s a crowd of thousands, gathered around Jesus. And Jesus prays and teaches and heals among them, all day. But it’s getting dark, and no one remembered to bring oil lamps, because there was no time to prepare. And no one brought food, because there was no time to prepare. So the people that had gathered around Jesus was about to disperse. And those disciples were going to let it happen. “We’ve done enough to satisfy the crowds,” they’re saying. “We’re not expected to do anything else for them. So we should let them get on their way – close up shop for the night.”
But Jesus isn’t satisfied with the disciples only doing the bare minimum. He’s not ready to stop just because, well, how much can a dozen disciples really do for a crowd of 5,000? Jesus is ready to show love, to show compassion, to turn a little love into a great banquet. But the disciples resisted. “There’s no way we have the resources to love these people any more today. We’re not capable of doing anything on such a grand scale!”
“But we can feed them,” said Jesus. “We can give these hungry people some dinner.”
As it turns out, the disciples had packed some provisions. But not many – the disciples could barely have a meal out of the meager peasant offerings of a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. These crowds were out of luck. Too bad, no room at the inn, no free handouts today. Our funds are dried up, and our resources are depleted, and we can’t be held responsible for the crowds’ poor planning and lack of foresight. After all, we’re only a small group of people – we can only do so much!
Can you blame those disciples? They wanted to help, but they knew that with the little that they had, it wasn’t possible. But Jesus taught them a lesson about true compassion and true ministry. He taught them that “budgetary restraints” is not an excuse to “halt all ministry until further notice.” He taught them that “we’re just a small church, so we can’t do as much as the larger churches” is not a valid complaint. He taught them that “we’re tired and ready for bed” is not an excuse to shut the door on the guests we’ve invited in. He taught them that in giving what we have, ministry can occur on a greater scale than we could ever do on our own. But the gifts and resources must be placed in God’s hands if ministry is to truly occur on God’s scale.
“Bring them here to me.” That’s what Jesus commanded the disciples on that day. “I don’t care that you aren’t adequately prepared; just bring me what you can. Bring me what you have, even if it’s only enough for a few fish sandwiches. Bring me the few congregation members that you have, even if it’s only 5% of your town. Bring me the resources your church does have, and I will bless them and prepare them for abundant ministry.”
Those five loaves and two fish in the hands of the disciples were completely inadequate to meet the present need. But those five loaves and two fish in the hands of Jesus Christ were more than adequate. They were so abundant that there were leftovers.
In this story, we see a collection of meager fishermen giving over one basket of food to Jesus, and when Jesus is done with that one basket, there are twelve baskets of leftovers, and 5,000 people have eaten. 5,000 people have been fed by the act of compassion. 5,000 people were cared for by Jesus and the disciples.
Why do so many disciples of Jesus insist that the storeroom must be full in order to be in ministry? Why must we always be adequately prepared in order to meet needs? Why are we making excuses for not doing the ministry we’re called to do?
If we look around the room, we all have about five loaves and two fish to offer, and that’s it. And that’s not enough. It’ll never be enough to meet the needs of this community. It’s just plain inadequate. But in the hands of Christ, it’s more than enough. It’s enough to feed an army.
Admitting that what we have isn’t enough is easy. It’s not hard to make excuses due to inadequacy. We don’t have enough talented players, so how can you expect us to win? You don’t have adequate medical coverage for this procedure, and we don’t give handouts. I’m sorry homeless man, but I only have 6 dollars in my wallet, and if I put than in your cup, how will I eat dinner? I just graduated school, and I’m in debt myself. We’re just a small country church, not like those mega-churches in the city, so we’re just doing the best we can – and it may not be much, but what can you expect from just a few people?
We’re all inadequate in some way. None of us have enough to love 5,000 people at a time, people who are in need because they are lazy or suffering from addiction. But Jesus doesn’t let his disciples off that easy. He doesn’t let us off that easy. “I can’t” is not a valid excuse for a Christian. “I can’t” is not a valid excuse for a Church. “The crowds don’t deserve it and should fend for themselves” is not a valid excuse for the disciples, and it’s not a valid excuse for us. Because when we can’t, or we don’t want to, Jesus can, Jesus wants to, and Jesus will. When all we have is a little bit, God is able to transform that into a blessing for thousands of people.
As you may or may not know, each year all the clergy and an equal number of lay representatives of Western PA gather at Grove City College for Annual Conference. We gather for reunion with old friends and the meeting of new friends. We gather for worship and Bible study and even legislation. We gather to learn about the shared ministry we have and to plan shared ministry for the future. And this year, there was a annual conference children’s choir that they assembled. It was about 8-10 children of people who were at conference that week, and they sang a couple of songs. At the end of their singing, the adults started herding these children off the stage. And they got all of them herded off – except one little girl, maybe 3 years old. She ran the opposite direction, to a microphone close to the floor. And she stood there and sang, in her tiny little voice: “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together…”
By the end of the song, there were 1500 people singing along with her in utter childlike joy. And that moment felt more blessed by God than any other moment of Annual Conference. A girl with nothing to offer but a tiny voice and a simple Sunday school song ministered to a crowd of thousands. She put her song into the hands of Christ, and all sang and were full of blessing.
In this story, the people are filled with the love of Jesus and his disciples. They are filled by the act of feeding, not just by the amount of food. Jesus guides the disciples into joyful giving out of inadequate resources. The motive of this miracle is what heals people and fills them up. The act done out of compassion and love is the act of ministry, because any act of compassion and love is an act of ministry.
Lisa and I made about a dozen S’mores that winter night from some leftovers, a ratty old stove, and a mechanical pencil. As we did so, we rounded up everyone we could find in the dorm and brought them to the kitchen. And you know what happened? 2, 3, sometimes 4 people shared one S’more, because everyone wanted a fresh S’more on a cold winter night. We invited friends, and they invited friends, and they brought even more people. Some people went back to their room and grabbed more snacks to share with others. For some, their S’more was the first S’more they’d ever had. For others, it took them back to summer nights around a bonfire with friends and family. For still others, it conjured up memories of summer camp or camping trips with the family. But for everyone, that night was a blessing. And for everyone, the S’mores tasted of compassion.
A few people had some leftover food that, by itself, wasn’t much, and even together only created a small snack. But compassion went into giving out the little bit of food that we had, and compassion spread as others agreed to share what little was there. And it was a night filled with love and sharing. It was a night that God had blessed.
As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper this morning, we all come to this table with less than adequate resources. We come with all that we have, but it’s not much. And by laying what little we have at Christ’s table which has been prepared for us, that little bit is blessed by God and returned to us, so that it may become an abundant blessing for others. In this miracle story we see the four actions of the Last Supper. Jesus TAKES the loaves and fishes, BLESSES them, BREAKS them, and GAVE them to the disciples, which they in turn gave to the crowds. The loaves and fishes we bring to the table this morning will be TAKEN by Christ, BLESSED by God, BROKEN and PREPARED by the working of the Holy Spirit, and GIVEN back to us so that we may in turn GIVE to those in need.
“Bring them here to me,” Christ says. Bring what you have to my table. Come and kneel at this altar with what you have, and I will bless all of it. I will bless your gifts and send you forth to bless others abundantly with your less-than-adequate offerings. As we come to the Table this morning, remember Christ’s call – “Bring them here to me.” And we will bring what little we have to the table, and it will be blessed by God through the bread and wine that themselves taste of compassion. And we will be sent forth from the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper with opportunities to share that blessing with others as we reach out in compassion and love. May all these things be so in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The Short Sleeved Dress Shirt
I've never been a fan of the short sleeved dress shirt. Without a tie, they look okay, but okay is not the same as good. With a tie, they put the wearer one pocket protector short of being a 1963 NASA employee. Regardless, I've always stayed away from the short sleeved dress shirt, because I just don't think it's ever a good look on anyone. Instead, I wear long sleeved dress shirts and roll up the sleeves if it's summer time and it's hot.
Well, our church is not air conditioned, and the sanctuary is on the second floor. Needless to say, summers are very hot in our sanctuary, and I've been sweating buckets nearly every Sunday so far. Many people have made comments that I need to get myself some short sleeved dress shirts, and I laugh with them and make some joke about them trying to sweat me out of their church, and then ignore their kind (but fashion-impaired) suggestions. Well, last week, one of our older congregants thought she'd be nice and buy me a short sleeved white dress shirt. Rather than exchange it for a shirt that might actually look good (as I wanted to do), I decided to keep it and wear it from time to time. After all, it was a thoughtful gift.
This morning, I bit the bullet and wore it...sort of. I wore it with my suit jacket all morning, then changed into my robe for the service. It definitely kept me a little bit cooler, but I still felt like someone took scissors to an otherwise nice shirt. I'm still not a fan, and I doubt I ever will be, but I guess it does help when I'm wearing my robe for summer communion services. My hope is that someday, no one will wear these atrocities, and Nike will have developed some sort of "cool-flow" dress shirt that wicks away moisture and breathes better than your standard dress shirt. Until then, I'll wear this one -- but only under my robe or under a coat.
Well, our church is not air conditioned, and the sanctuary is on the second floor. Needless to say, summers are very hot in our sanctuary, and I've been sweating buckets nearly every Sunday so far. Many people have made comments that I need to get myself some short sleeved dress shirts, and I laugh with them and make some joke about them trying to sweat me out of their church, and then ignore their kind (but fashion-impaired) suggestions. Well, last week, one of our older congregants thought she'd be nice and buy me a short sleeved white dress shirt. Rather than exchange it for a shirt that might actually look good (as I wanted to do), I decided to keep it and wear it from time to time. After all, it was a thoughtful gift.
This morning, I bit the bullet and wore it...sort of. I wore it with my suit jacket all morning, then changed into my robe for the service. It definitely kept me a little bit cooler, but I still felt like someone took scissors to an otherwise nice shirt. I'm still not a fan, and I doubt I ever will be, but I guess it does help when I'm wearing my robe for summer communion services. My hope is that someday, no one will wear these atrocities, and Nike will have developed some sort of "cool-flow" dress shirt that wicks away moisture and breathes better than your standard dress shirt. Until then, I'll wear this one -- but only under my robe or under a coat.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Old friends and quick visits
Last Saturday, Chip and Jess rolled into town for a long lunch. It was nice to reconnect with the ole college roomie in the Pittsburgh apt. We're going to miss being with them in Atlanta this year, especially on those Sunday afternoons and evenings that the Stillers are (hopefully) whooping up on people.
Another Pittsburgh to ONU to Atlanta guy that visited was Evan, who stopped by with his new car for a quick lunch. He's on his way back to Atlanta from Texas to Ohio to PA to Ohio to PA again. That kid is crazy; it's always hard to know where he is on any given day. It was great to see him and his mountain man beard that he acquired in Texas this summer with Shannon. We'll miss him during Steeler season as well.
Tomorrow, the 3rd installment of quick visits will commence with Heather Parrish coming up from Jumonville, the summer camp Evan and I used to work at and where Heather is working at again this summer after one semester at Drew Seminary. I'll be excited to see her because we rarely see each other. She's usually in NJ or NH and sometimes France, and I've been in Ohio and Atlanta and now here, so it's been tough to be close by each other. I'm excited to see her, even if it's only for a few hours.
I'll be posting some of my sermons starting with this Sunday's. I'll probably post it Monday morning-ish in case anyone wants to read it.
Another Pittsburgh to ONU to Atlanta guy that visited was Evan, who stopped by with his new car for a quick lunch. He's on his way back to Atlanta from Texas to Ohio to PA to Ohio to PA again. That kid is crazy; it's always hard to know where he is on any given day. It was great to see him and his mountain man beard that he acquired in Texas this summer with Shannon. We'll miss him during Steeler season as well.
Tomorrow, the 3rd installment of quick visits will commence with Heather Parrish coming up from Jumonville, the summer camp Evan and I used to work at and where Heather is working at again this summer after one semester at Drew Seminary. I'll be excited to see her because we rarely see each other. She's usually in NJ or NH and sometimes France, and I've been in Ohio and Atlanta and now here, so it's been tough to be close by each other. I'm excited to see her, even if it's only for a few hours.
I'll be posting some of my sermons starting with this Sunday's. I'll probably post it Monday morning-ish in case anyone wants to read it.
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