The Roller Coaster of Faith - Sermon from August 17 - Based on Genesis 45

Often times I come across people who tell me, “I’m not a religious person.” I think being “religious” in this case means doing certain things, like participating in worship and reading the Bible and praying on a regular basis. Being religious, in this sense, means setting aside some portion of one’s life for interaction with a particular faith community. From this point of view religious people seem to be on a kind of merry-go-round passing through quiet prayer or Bible reading time each morning or each evening and passing through a church building at least once or twice each week. Perhaps being religious is also associated with certain prohibitions; religious people don’t smoke, or drink or play cards or dance or gamble or have any fun. All they do is work hard, and go to church. Religious people are often seen by the world as dour, frumpy and boring.

If we look at Joseph’s life in this way, I don’t think he was a religious person either. If you read through the stories of Joseph, you will see there is no account of regular worship, or any regular prayer and in those early days there was no Bible to read. Joseph was not frumpy. He was a dreamer and he wore flashy clothing, and sometimes he slacked off from his work. And Joseph’s life was certainly not like a boring merry-go-round. It was more like a roller coaster with tremendous highs, and terrible low points.

Joseph’s life started in a good place and moved up. He was the first son of Jacob’s favorite wife, so his dad favored him over the other sons. Joseph thought well of himself, and dreamed that his brothers and even his parents would bow down to him.

But then Joseph’s life took a downward turn. His jealous brothers stripped him, put him in a pit and sold him to merchants who took him to Egypt to sell him as a slave. This crisis must have helped Joseph make an attitude adjustment, and led him to turn to the God of his parents for help, for when Potiphar the Egyptian official bought him, we read that the Lord was with Joseph and he prospered in his new position, and the Lord blessed Potiphar’s household. Soon Potiphar trusted Joseph to manage his entire house.

But hold on to your hat, for Josephs’ life dips down again, and this time through no fault of his own. Potiphar’s wife was attracted to Joseph and invited Joseph into her bed. When Joseph refused, she accused him of adultery and had him thrown into jail. This was even worse than being captured as a slave. But again we read that the Lord was with Joseph in jail, and again Joseph was soon entrusted with responsibilities over the other prisoners.

While he was there, Joseph befriended two servants of the Pharaoh and helped them by interpreting their dreams. A couple years later, when Pharaoh had his disturbing dreams and none of his counselors could help him interpret them, the cupbearer remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him. So Joseph continued his climb up, from the pit of jail, to the top of Egyptian society. After Joseph interpreted his dreams, Pharaoh was so impressed he made Joseph second in command and asked him to organize the Egyptian empire to be prepared for the impending famine. Though together with the whole region, Joseph was heading back down into a valley of seven years with no rain, no good crops, the roller coaster of Joseph’s life had taught him to have faith that God would always be with him, and would help him prosper.

I think this is the goal for Christians, not just to simply be religious, doing the same thing over and over again and being “good” according to someone. Few of us who are part of the church actually have a merry-go-round life. We all experience the roller coaster of good times and bad times, joys and sorrows. It’s part of being human. The difference that Christians have as we journey through all the ups and downs of life is that we recognize that God is beside us all the way. When we gather together to worship, it strengthens us to hear about our God through scripture, hymns and sermon. When we are part of a church it means that we have a community to be with us when we find ourselves in the pit. We can be companions together which makes the pits more bearable, and the high points more celebratory. Living a life of faith means turning to God for help and guidance in the life choices we make so that even in the bad times our lives will prosper. Living a life of faith means living in such a way that those around us can’t help but be touched by God’s amazing grace.

I think of faithful Christians like Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who, together with her family, was part of the resistance to the Nazis. In her book, The Hiding Place, Corrie describes how they managed to help many Jews escape to safety. But though this work prospered for a time, she and her father and sister were eventually all arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Corrie’s story is most compelling when she describes how God was with them and answered prayers even in this most terrible place. And, Corrie stands as a witness to us that living a life of faith also helps us to choose which role we should play in the drama of our lives.

We see this most clearly at the end of Joseph’s story. Now that he was at the top of his game, with a great important job, a wife and two sons he was presented with a choice. For during the famine his brothers traveled from Canaan to Egypt to buy food, and Joseph recognized them. When they looked at Joseph they only saw a mighty Egyptian official who had the food they desperately needed. Now Joseph’s roller coaster was at fork in the tracks. He needed to choose which way his life story would go. Joseph might have just treated his brothers like the other foreigners coming to Egypt for food, let the past stay in the past and remain separated from his family. Or, Joseph could get even with his brothers. He had so much power he could easily punish them. Or he could seek to reconcile with them. It seems to me from reading Genesis 42-44 that Joseph was toying with the first two options. He did not let his brothers know who he was for a very long time, and he used his power to put them on a downward roller coaster ride.

Joseph accused his brothers of being spies and put all of them in jail for three days. Then keeping Simeon in jail, Joseph sent the others home with food, demanding that they bring little brother Benjamin to him. But Joseph also seems uncertain about being kind, or cruel because he has his servants give back all the silver the brothers brought to pay for the grain – so his family was given the food for a gift. Their father Jacob was unwilling to part with Benjamin, but when they ran out of food and were hungry enough they returned to Egypt with the boy. When they arrived, with twice the money and Benjamin, they were surprised when Joseph welcomed them, released Simeon and gave them a feast. Joseph was overwhelmed with emotion now that all the brothers were reunited, but he still didn’t let them know who he was.

Instead he toyed with them some more, this time having a silver chalice placed in Benjamin’s sack before they left for home. Joseph then sent his men after his brothers to arrest them. When they were brought back to Joseph, the brothers begged to let Benjamin return home, pleading on behalf of their father Jacob. They explained that Jacob had already lost his favorite son, and he couldn’t bear to loose Benjamin too. Seeing their love and loyalty to their father Joseph finally made up his mind. It was time to let them know who he really was, and to forgive his brothers.

While God’s power in Joseph’s life had done much to bring him out of the pit to the top of the world, Joseph’s own choices played a role too. Only when Joseph chose to forgive his brothers and reconcile with them could he ever know the truth proclaimed in today’s psalm, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” The fullest blessings of God come when we align our wills with God’s will. This is a mark of a faithful Christian, and it is a purpose of the church that we encourage one another choose what is good, and right and noble and true.

Being a faithful Christian means first to always remember that God is present with you through the roller coaster of life and turn to God for help and strength. It also means that we seek to do God’s will. Finally, faithful Christians stop to look back every now and then and notice how God has been working even in the places of life that seem the worst and when God seems far away. Through the eyes of faith, Joseph began to realize more than ever before that God had really been with him through the whole roller coaster ride. He proclaimed to his brothers, “God was behind [all this]. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives…to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant [of our family] in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God.” Faithful people need to pause every now and then in life to look back with eyes of faith for signs that God was with us all the time, and was using our times in the pit to lift us to new heights.

As a college student I was blessed when God answered my prayers and sent Gregory Harrison to be my pastor. Gregory had attended Camp Farthest Out every year since he was a boy, and had grown to become a teacher and a pastor with a special gift for working with youth. He had been leading the college group at CFO for years and often brought teenaged boys to our camp from the city where he lived. Gregory also had a deep prayer life, and a great, dry sense of humor. So when I heard he was coming to Wesley UMC, in Amherst I jumped for joy at the thought of everything he would teach me. I was sure that God was bringing Gregory to Wesley to bless me and help me to grow in my faith. Many of my prayers came true as Gregory’s presence brought many of my dear CFO friends to town, and he started a weekly prayer group which prayed a Sunday School into existence. But I also came to know a different side of Gregory, one that was moody, and stiff and hard to work with. His feelings easily got hurt and he had a hard time getting along with the wonderful people at Wesley church.

A lot happened in the six years that he served us as pastor. I saw Gregory change, becoming softer, more playful and develop good relationships with our members. But in the end he died of cancer. I was present when he died and it was a very holy experience. But as he was dying I also realized I was very angry because Gregory had never taken me under his wing and taught me all the things I had hoped he would. How could I have been so wrong? It took some time for prayerful reflection, and discussion of these things with Christian friends for me to begin to see that God had indeed been working in our lives for good, but not just for my good, for Gregory’s and the church’s too. I began to realize that as much as Gregory’s presence had blessed my life, God had been calling me to bless Gregory by constantly expecting him to be the wonderful person he was at camp all year round; by loving him and helping others to love him in spite of his prickly nature. And God also used this time to teach me a great deal about being a pastor; that an effective pastor does not have to be a perfect person; that communication of expectations and desires is critical, and much more. When I took the time to prayerfully look back over this section of my roller coaster I more clearly saw God at work in my life and in the lives of others.

And the best thing is, that once we truly see how God has been with us through the roller coaster of life, helping us out of the pits, and encouraging us to do God’s will, then our faith becomes even stronger and we can weather future, and deeper pits with more trust that God is with us. This is what equips us to share the good news with others by first seeing, and then testifying to God’s mighty work in our lives. A church that can do that will be able to attract even those people who say that they are not religious.

So, what about you? Are you a religious person, doing religious things in a way that seems like a merry-go-round? Or are you a faithful person, who is learning to trust that the Lord is by your side on your roller coaster of life? When have you last looked back on your life to better see how God was with you in the dips? Or if you already know how the Lord has preserved you, helped you use the low spots for good and caused you to prosper, have you shared this story with your friends? Let us take a moment to ponder these questions in prayer…

Life in the Pit - Sermon from August 10 - based on Genesis 37

Genesis 37 adapted from Eugene Peterson:

This is the story of Jacob. The story continues with Joseph, seventeen years old at the time, helping out his brothers in herding the flocks. These were his half brothers actually, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought his father bad reports on them.

Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons becaue he was the child of his old age. And he made him an elaborately embroidered coat. When his brothers realized that their father loved him more than them, they grew to hate him – they wouldn’t even speak [a peaceable word] to him.

Joseph had a dream When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, “Listen to this dream I had. We were all out in the field gathering bundles of wheat. All of a sudden my bundle stood straight up and your bundles circled around it and bowed down to mine.”

His brothers said, “So! You’re going to rule us? You’re going to boss us around?” And they hated him more than ever because of his dreams and the way he talked.

He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: “I dreamed another dream – the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!”

When he told it to his father and brothers, his father reprimanded him: “What’s with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?” Now his brothers were really jealous; but his father brooded over the whole business.

His brothers had gone off to Shechem where they were pasturing their father’s flocks. Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are with flocks in Shechem. Come, I want to send you to them”

Joseph said, “I am ready.”

He said, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, [see if there is peace with them,] and bring me back a report.

[When Joseph appeared on the horizon his brothers] spotted him off in the distance. By the time he got to them they had cooked up a plot to kill him. The brothers were saying, “Here comes that dreamer. Let’s kill him and throw him into one of these old cisterns; we can say that a vicious animal ate him up. We’ll see what his dreams amount to.”

Reuben heard the brothers talking and intervened to save him “We’re not going to kill him. No murder. Go ahead and throw him in this cistern out here in the wild, but don’t hurt him.” Reuben planned to go back later and get him out and take him back to his father.

When Joseph reached his brothers, they ripped off the fancy coat he was wearing, grabbed him, and threw him into a cistern. The cistern was dry; there wasn’t any water in it.

Then they sat down to eat their supper. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way from Gilead, their camels loaded [with goods for use in medicine, cosmetics, and embalming] to sell in Egypt. Judah said, “Brothers, what are we going to get out of killing our brother and concealing the evidence? Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not kill him – he is, after all, our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

…His brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites who took Joseph with them down to Egypt.

Later Reuben came back and went to he cistern – no Joseph! He ripped his clothes in despair. Beside himself, he went to his brothers. “The boy is gone!” What am I going to do!”

They took Joseph’s coat, butchered a goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. They took the fancy coat back to their father and said, “We found this. Look it over – do you think this is your son’s coat?”

He recognized it at once. “My son’s coat – a wild animal has eaten him. Joseph torn limb from limb!”

Jacob tore his clothes in grief, dressed in rough burlap, and mourned his son a long, long time. His sons and daughters tried to comfort him but he refused their comfort. “I’ll go to the grave mourning my son.” Oh, how his father wept for him.

In Egypt [Joseph was sold] to Potiphar, on of Pharaoh’s officials, manager of his household affairs.

****

Today we continue our focus on the parents of our faith found in Genesis. Since the first week of July we’ve been considering the lives of Isaac, Rebecca, and their twin sons Jacob and Esau and what we can learn from these scriptures about human nature, and the nature of God. This is a family God chose in a special way and blessed with a covenant relationship. In exchange for worshipping the Lord and living according to God’s ways, God promised to bless this family by giving them a homeland, and a very large family. If you follow my suggestion to read up on these Genesis stories on your own, especially the ones we don’t get to on Sundays, you will find out how God’s grace was at work in Jacob’s life to produce twelve sons and a daughter. Finally this family was on it’s way to becoming as numerous as the stars of heaven. Last week we focused on the story of Jacob returning home to the Promised Land with his large family and all their wealth. So finally, it seems God’s promise is being fulfilled. But don’t get too comfortable, because in just a few short verses this family’s fortune reverses again and they experience life in the pit.

Though Jacob had wrestled with God and received a new identity as Israel, it would take a while for him and his family to live into the transformation God was working in them. Many of the same old troubles remained in this family. Like Abraham, Jacob has more than one wife, and he favors one over the other. Like Abraham and Isaac, Jacob also chooses to favor one son over his other children; causing jealousy and family discord. And the apple doesn’t fall far from the stem as the younger brother Joseph relates to his older siblings, constantly pushing to be first. Finally, like their father, Joseph’s brothers deceive Jacob, causing him great grief in the process.

Joseph was son number eleven. It’s not surprising that Jacob felt especially close to Joseph because he was the first-born child of Rachel, Jacob’s first love. I think it’s probably normal in a big family for each member to have favorite relatives. Having a special bond with one person in a family wasn’t really the problem. Jacob’s mistake was in showing his favoritism publicly by giving Joseph a special gift, a beautiful coat. Such an act could only stir up resentment in Jacob’s other children. And Joseph was not the least humble about his relationship to his dad, but acted as the bratty little brother, tattling on everyone else. The result – a relationship where there was no peace, no shalom, between Joseph and his brothers. The brothers grew to hate Joseph and wouldn’t even speak to him peaceably. In the end, thinking Joseph dead, even Jacob had no peace.

Now besides the coat Joseph had another gift, a God-given talent of being able to interpret dreams. In Genesis there are three times in Joseph’s life when Joseph interprets dreams with accuracy. But the way the young Joseph used this gift the first time, in a narrowly personal way, only poured salt on the wounded relationship between him and his brothers. His dream was that his bundle of wheat stood up in the center while the other bundles bowed to him, had truth in it. Joseph would later prove instrumental in preserving the lives of his family from a great famine. But interpreting this dream as though God ordained that his older brothers worship him was not kind or wise. It did not bring peace to his family and it provided fuel for his brothers’ resentment and anger.

Last week I spoke of the dark night of the soul, a term given to us by St. John of the Cross, to name the experience so many Christians have when things are just not going right in our lives. This week we can think of life in the pit as a similar experience. We feel stuck, abandoned, unloved by everyone, even God. While we can sometimes find ourselves in this pit of life through the actions of others, often we find that we contribute to our own misery. In Joseph’s case he wound up in the pit, not only because his father chose favorites and his brothers were jealous, but because of his own focus on himself. Joseph was prideful, haughty, a tattletale, a brat. And even though God gave him gifts he them with a focus only on himself.

This gives us reason for us to wonder, when we find ourselves in our own dark night of the soul. How might we ourselves be contributing to being there? How might we be misusing gifts from God in a way that blocks shalom? A key word in the scriptures today is the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom is a rich word, which sometimes means peace, but also means wholeness. When we sing It is Well with My Soul, we are singing about God’s shalom. It is a deep peace, where everyone has everything they need, and people actively share, and participate in God’s work of blessing the world around them. But it is clear from Genesis that there is no shalom between Joseph and his brothers. Remembering this, we can laugh at the irony when Jacob sends Joseph to find his brothers and learn if there is shalom with them. It is clear that everyone’s actions in this story further hinder shalom from growing among them. When we find ourselves in a dark night of the soul, when we experience life in the pit, it is often because our sin is somehow blocking God’s shalom.

My own childhood, though full of blessings, also contained much darkness, and looking back I can see how I, like Joseph, contributed to this experience by misusing a gift from God. In my case the gift was my faith. As I’ve mentioned in my little biographical statements, I was blessed by a family who nurtured me in the Christian faith from the time I was born. Not only did we participate regularly in church as a family including Sunday school, choir and youth group, but we also had bible stories at home and from my first allowance my parents taught me to tithe. My grandparents starting bringing me to Camp Farthest Out when I was five and we never missed a year. My faith gave me some measure of blessing in my life. But like Joseph, I looked at my gift in a narrowly personal way, which ended up being a barrier to shalom.

I mistakenly looked at faith as a very good thing that I did. I was well aware that not everyone worshipped God on Sundays, not everyone followed the Ten Commandments. And so I saw my gift of faith, not as a gift to be shared, but as a way to puff myself up and boss others around. I remember in fourth grade telling my classmates in school not to say “God” unless they were praying, for that was breaking the third commandment. A few years latter I felt inspired one night and wrote a new verse to the old song “One Little Candle” moralistically exhorting people that they should go to church every Sunday. To my shame, my parents and the Jr. choir director let me sing it in worship. As a teenager I embraced some of the ethics of the Christian faith in a way that really separated me from my peers, completely avoiding the normal stage of adolescent rebellion in high school. In all of these actions I was placing myself in the seat of the judge, thinking that I was a good sheep and they were the bad goats. I was just like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, looking down on the tax collector thanking God “that I am not like other people.” As you might imagine, this way of “sharing” my faith with others did not lead to shalom, and did not win others to Christ. It only separated me from the kids around me, probably gave them a bad impression of the Church and made me very lonely. And it also adversely affected my relationship to God. Having to prove myself good all the time, meant I could not admit to my own sins, confess, or know the grace of forgiveness. My image of God was the eternal judge who I secretly feared would condemn me forever if I screwed up. So in the end, the way I was using my gift of faith prevented that gift from being used as a blessing of Shalom for others and even for myself.

But we can give thanks that our God does not leave us in the pits we dig for ourselves. Our Lord is called Emmanuel, God with us, and promises to be with us in the darkest night and the deepest well, to continue to bless us, and give us a way out. As we read through Genesis we see how God stayed with Joseph. When we get to chapter 40 we read of how God caused Joseph to be jailed with two other dreamers, and how he used his gift of interpreting dreams, not for his own benefit, but for their sakes. And by taking his eyes off of himself, Joseph was no longer blocking God’s shalom, but allowing it to flow. In chapter 41 we then read of how God makes it possible for Joseph to interpret the Pharaoh’s disturbing dreams and understand that the next seven years of plentiful harvest would be followed by seven years of famine. Josephs gift thus enabled Egypt to wisely bank up grain from the years of plenty and thus save not only their own people, but neighboring people, including Joseph’s own family from Canaan. Finally, Joseph had opened himself to the Spirit of God and had learned how to use his gift to bring God’s will, a life of shalom, to all around him.

When we find ourselves in the pit of life, we can, as people who trust God, hold fast to our faith that God’s has gifted us with everything we need to turn any evil situation into an experience of shalom. In fact, I suspect that most of us need a dark night of the soul, God’s version of time out, before we take a good look at ourselves and see how the inappropriate ways we are use our gifts in contributes to suffering in the world.

All of the gifts God gives to us are meant to add to shalom in the world. In several communities across the nation now, time banks have sprung up with the express purpose of helping people use their gifts to bless others, giving all a place to go when they, in turn, need help. Jon and his wife Doris came to time bank orientation to see what it was all about. Doris came to find a way to get Jon companionship for when she was out working. Jon has a disease that has caused him to be in a wheelchair. He spends his day at home alone. Doris was interested in finding ways that she could help others in order to earn hours so that Jon could receive companionship from others.

During the orientation, however, they learned that even as Doris could earn hours for Jon, he would also be able to earn his own hours. They were both a little surprised but went ahead with the enrollment for both of them and soon became very active.

Jon not only can finish any mailing job in record time, he also teaches piano, weeds by getting out of his wheel chair going from section to section in the garden on his hands and knees and provides entertainment for social events. He has also offered to help others rake leaves. All in all, Jon and Doris have a network that has helped them make connections that have been very beneficial to them and many others.

Time exchanges are not direct. Instead, the project promotes a circle of giving and receiving. Members ask for what they need – babysitting or pet sitting, music lessons, meal preparation, baking, sewing, an oil change and more – and return the favor with one from a similar list of services. Though focusing one’s gift to meet another’s need might seem sacrificial, it’s really a means to create shalom for everyone, because the giver is ensured of receiving what he or she needs too.

When the church is truly functioning as Jesus meant it to, it is like a time bank, with God at the center. At Camp Farthest Out we have a beautiful dance that shows God’s method of using us to spread gifts of shalom to the whole world. Though we can’t do the dance right now, I’d like you to imagine it. We are standing in a perfect circle, like the sheaves in Joseph’s dream, but the only one in the center of the circle is the Lord himself. We are facing the center of the circle, focused the throne of God. But we are also united with one another, by holding hands. Each of us carefully holds our left hand up, and or right hand down, so that everyone is both giving and receiving our gifts. As the music plays we gently sway from side to side, then we take slow steps toward the center, lifting our arms, and swaying from side to side in praise and adoration. In return for our worship of God, gifts are distributed to each one of us. Still facing the center, each one receives his or her gift, bringing arms down as we slowly take steps back out. Then when we are in place, each one of us turns individually in a complete circle, arms outstretched, to share our gifts for the shalom of the world. We repeat this pattern over and over, praising the Lord who gives every good gift, giving and receiving gifts from each other, and using them to bless all of creation. This is the way out of any pit we might find ourselves in; it is a life of true shalom. May it be so for us all.

Wrestling with God - sermon from August 3 - based on Genesis 32

I don’t believe Jacob was planning to wrestle with God. He was just trying to go home. Home to Canaan where he was born. Home to the old neighborhood, home to his brother Esau. Jacob had been away 20 years. God had blessed him at that time with a large family 11, sons a daughter and their four mothers and great wealth. Now it was time to take them home. So he rounded up all the kids, and the women, servants, sheep, goats and cattle, packed up the camels and headed off across the desert towards home. Angles of God met him along the way. Jacob even sent messengers to his brother to let him know he was coming. All was going well, until the messengers came back with news that Esau was coming part way to meet Jacob, and he had an army of 400 tough guys with him.

Then Jacob became scared. Jacob had never really forgotten how he had wronged his twin brother. That he had swindled Easu out of his birthright for a measly bowl of stew. That with his mother Rebekah’s help he later deceived his father, elderly blind Isaac into giving him Esau’s blessing as well. Deep down Jacob remembered the way he left his home, in fear for his life with his brother’s raging curses and death threats ringing in his ears. But after 20 years he had hoped that Esau calmed down maybe even forgotten all that and would welcome him home. But now, Jacob wasn’t so sure. Now, as he was heading home, Jacob was finally facing the reality of the mess he had made of his life. Now Jacob prayed to God. “Save me from the violence of my brother, my angry brother! I’m afraid he’ll come and attack us all.”

Jacob probably slept rather fitfully that night, wondering how he could pacify Esau. In the morning he sent his livestock, herd by herd to Esau, hoping that these generous gifts would appease his brother.

But Jacob was still scared, still uneasy in his spirit. He couldn’t sleep. So, in the night he got everyone out of bed, made them pack up and sent them across the river. Imagine the noise and the chaos this created. This was only an outward sign of the distress and chaos that Jacob felt inside. Finally, he was all alone, with no one to distract him, no reason to keep his cool and pretend that all was well. Jacob was no longer running away, he was facing home, facing the troubles he had created, facing himself. And he began to wrestle with God.

Many Christians find themselves in this place where Jacob was; this place of darkness and struggle. This place where it seems that our lives are in danger, things aren’t going as we planned, and we are full of fear and dread. Spanish Christian St. John of the Cross, who lived in the 1500s calls that place the Dark Night of the Soul; a time when we are touched with God’s pure light. John writes, “When this pure light strikes in order to expel all impurity, persons feel so unclean and wretched that it seems God is against them and they are against God. Because it seems that God has rejected them, these souls suffer such pain and grief that [like Job we say], ‘Why have you set me against you, and I am heavy and burdensome to myself.’ Clearly beholding its impurity by means of this pure light, although in darkness, the soul understands distinctly that it is worthy neither of God nor of any creature. And what most grieves it is that it thinks it will never be worthy, and that there are no more blessings for it. This divine and dark light causes deep immersion of the mind in the knowledge and feeling of one’s own miseries and evils; it brings all these miseries into relief so that the soul sees clearly that of itself it will never possess anything else.”

Surely this is what Jacob was thinking and feeling as he struggled in the middle of the night. Surely he had already learned that God’s blessing could not be swindled, or stolen, or in any way forcibly taken, and that by his very own sinful actions, he was not worthy to receive anything but death. If Esau killed him, well, he deserved it.

When we truly encounter the living God, and blink into God’s bright countenance, we cannot help but notice our own sinful nature and be ashamed. I truly believe this is why so many people, even those who are part of a church, do not have a close relationship with the Lord, why they let others pray for them, or they avoid talking about God all together.

Sometimes, when we are only half open to a relationship to God, God sends us angel messengers to help us along. We look for someone to give us some good news, or help us feel better for a time. But for real healing and transformation from our sinful nature to a life of holiness no angel will suffice. We must dare to encounter the living God. St. John writes words that could easily be Jacob’s, “Ah, who has the power to heal me? Now wholly surrender yourself! Do not send me any more messengers, they cannot tell me what I must hear.”

The story of Jacob is here to testify, and all of us who have been through our own dark nights of the soul can also testify, that there is no way to experience the true blessings of relationship with God without entering into a dark night of the soul. If we want the blessings God has in store for us, we must first come face to face with ourselves, and face the ways in which we have sinned, the ways in which we have blocked, diverted or ignored God’s will for our lives. Only when we come face to face with our true selves, in the strong embrace of our Beloved, are we ever close enough to God to receive the true transformational blessings God has been waiting to give to us all along.

This dark night, though frightening and even feels like death, is not something to avoid in this life. It is a holy encounter! The dark night is when God gathers us in and embraces us and brings us into the true morning of resurrection life. I can say this because I’ve been there. Sometimes my dark nights have lasted for days; sometimes they have lasted for years. But always I have experienced the purification and loving embrace of the Beloved. It is in the dark night that we become united with God. St. John writes of this as well

There he gave me his breast
There he taught me a sweet and living knowledge
And I gave myself to him
Keeping nothing back
There I promised to be his.

The time of wrestling with God is a precious time that helps us first to be reconciled with the One who made us, the One who walks beside us, and the One who died and rose again for our sakes. But it also blesses us by enabling us to reconcile with one another. For when Jacob finished wrestling with God, received his blessing and his new name, he was ready to meet Esau and be reconciled to him as well. As we prepare for holy communion this day, let us use our time of confession to expose the darkness of our souls to God’s purifying light. Let us wrestle if we must, with our sinful nature as we come close to the living God. And may we receive our own transformational blessings this day and in the days to come.

The next time you find your soul entering a dark night remember God is calling you to come close, as close as it takes to wrestle with God. Wrestle all night long if you must. And like Jacob, don’t let go of God, even when it hurts. Remember, Jacob held on even when his hip was put out of joint. This was a sign that God had changed Jacob and blessed him. When you wrestle with God and don’t let go you can trust that you will receive a blessing. Jacob came out of this night a new person, a changed man with a new name, and you will too.

We Can't Run Away from God - sermon on July 20 - Genesis 28

For the past three weeks we have been reading through the stories of one of the first families in the Bible – Abraham, Sarah and their children. We’re going to be sticking with these stories into the third week of August. But the stories we read on Sunday skips over large sections and our guest preacher next week is choosing to preach from Romans, so I encourage you to find some time to take a look at Genesis in the middle of the week – especially the parts in between what is listed in the bulletin.

Last week we focused on the story of Jacob and Esau’s birth and the strife between them, which began even as they were still in Rebekah’s womb. We left off when the two brothers were still young men, and Jacob took advantage of Esau by trading a bowl of stew for Esau’s birthright. Today we pick up at a point after Jacob ran away from home. I suspect it will be helpful, however to remember what led Jacob to flee his home and his family.

If you go through Genesis chapter 27 you will find there the tale of how Rebekah helped Jacob to trick old, blind Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing he meant for Esau. When Esau discovered the trick and learned from his father Isaac that what had been done could not be undone he was inconsolable. From Esau’s perspective Jacob had taken away everything he had and so Esau plotted to kill his brother. Rebekah couldn’t bear that; so she convinced Isaac to send Jacob back to her hometown to find a wife, hoping that this venture would keep Jacob safe from harm.

So here we have Jacob, the trickster, running away from home. How ironic that the very inheritance he thought he wanted was now, because of his impatience, and deceptive actions, because of his own lack of trust in God, now his inheritance was farther from his grasp than ever. After all, the covenant blessing the Lord gave to Abraham’s family was to live in the land of Canaan, and to make them a great family. Now Jacob had to run away, and the family of four was breaking up.

Along the way to his uncle Laban’s home, Jacob stops to rest for the night. There are apparently no hotels, or campgrounds in Beersheba, so Jacob looks around and sees a stone to use as a pillow and he slept under the open sky. And he dreamt of angels. Today we are confused about angels, we see them around a lot, especially at Christmas, and they are either beautiful women, or cute kids with wings. But the angels of the Bible come in all shape or sizes, and what is important about angles is their job – they are all messengers of God. When God seems distant, angels serve as the go-betweens, or the postal workers between God and human beings.

But the next thing Jacob knew God was not even distant any more, but standing right beside him. And God spoke to him, much in the same way he spoke to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. Only now that Jacob is helpless, running away in fear and shame, now when Jacob least feels deserving of, and least expectsGod’s blessing, our gracious God offers Jacob his own blessing, his own promises. One of my favorite Christian authors, Madeline L’Engle, has written that our God is not a forensic God. While God cares deeply about justice, the stories we have in scripture show over and over again, that for our God, justice is not about getting what we deserve. Jacob’s behavior toward Esau was deplorable. In human courts he would sentence him with severe penalties to pay for his actions. But God’s justice is tied to grace and mercy and lovingkindness so that now, when Jacob least deserves it, now when he’s finally so scared that he’s stopped trying to grab anything, now the Lord makes six, gracious promises to Jacob.

First he would be given the land of Beersheba. Second this gift was also for his offspring – which meant the promise of children. Third, his children would be like the dust of the earth, spread into every corner. Fourth, Jacobs descendants will bless all the families of the earth. And fifth, the Lord promised to be with Jacob, not only in Canaan, the Promised Land, but wherever he went. Finally, God promises Jacob, that even though he seems to be moving farther away from his inheritance, God will guide him like a shepherd until all God’s promises are fulfilled.

What interests me in this story today is Jacob’s response to all this. Here he was, raised in the faith of his parents, heir of the covenant with the Lord, yet Jacob doesn’t talk to God. When he sees the angel messengers running up and down the stairway to heaven, he doesn’t use them to send God a message. And when the Lord then comes right beside him and makes these wonderful promises Jacob doesn’t even say “thank you.” God is right there and Jacob doesn’t talk to him. In fact Jacob doesn’t even trust God’s gracious gifts.
Instead he makes a vow, “If God stands by me and protects me on this journey on which I’m setting out, keeps me in food and clothing, and brings me back in one piece to my father’s house, this God will be my God” (Peterson). Have you ever had times in your faith life when you were like Jacob? I have. Rather than thanking God for the blessings we have, rather than accepting the promises God has given us, we challenge God to give us more! And to top it off we don’t even trust God enough to enter fully into the covenant. If you bless me God, then I will trust you. If you do what I ask, then I will believe in you. What a strange way we behave. Imagine a person you don’t know very well saying, “If you do many nice things for me, then I’ll be your friend.”
Now some might look back at this story and challenge me, saying, well Jacob might not have spoken to God, but look, he built a shrine. He took the stone and set it up, consecrated it and called it the house of God – the Beth-el. Doesn’t that count for something?

It seems to me, this is the source of many of the problems we have in our churches today. We have a lot of Christians, a lot of heirs to the kingdom of God, who have spent far too much time working to set up houses of God and keep them in good repair. Many congregations spend so much time on fundraisers, suppers, fairs, bake sales, and capital campaigns. Granted most of them do this because sometime in their lives, they have encountered God and said like Jacob “surely the Lord is in this place – how awe inspiring.” So they try to make and keep a building that will capture God; that will seem like the gate of heaven, a place to remember God.
But if this is where our activity ends as people of God, then we have missed the mark. The very act of trying to build and maintain a stationary place to meet God can become just another way to run away from God, if we let it be an excuse for, or a substitute for developing a personal relationship with our Lord.

It took Jacob another 20 years before he finally got around to developing his relationship with God. You can read about those years with Laban on your own, and in two weeks I’ll share with you the story of Jacob finally coming home. But we don’t have to wait for that to start, or strengthen our own personal relationship with the Lord. Paul’s letter to the Romans can help us.

Just as the Lord promised to be with Jacob wherever he went, we can be sure that when we are in the Spirit of God, when we let that Spirit lead us through life, then we are God’s children, heirs to God’s blessings. Since God is with us wherever we go, we can be in constant communication through prayer. And we need to constantly talk and listen to God if we want God to direct our steps. We can pray on the bus, or the T, we can pray when we are trying to make a decision, we can pray when we see something delightful, we can pray when we need a particular gift of the Spirit like patience, or kindness because the person in front of us is giving us a hard time. And then we can also take time to reflect on how God is indeed answering our prayers, and directing our paths.

Most of all we can cultivate our attitude toward God as one of our favorite persons, whom we love and trust. When I was a little girl my family was quite traditional, Mom was home with us, and Dad drove away to work. At suppertime, when we heard the car pull into the garage, Dave and I would become very exited, we’d hide behind the kitchen door, and when Dad came up the stairs we’d jump out and shout “Daddy’s here! Daddy’s here!” The Aramaic word for Daddy is Abba. Paul tells us that when we cry out to God, “Abba! Daddy! Father! it is the Spirit of God bearing witness with our own spirits that we are children of God.” When we are in right relationship with God we have that same excitement and joy about spending time with God, that same trust and hope that children have when a loving adult comes through the door.

My prayer for us, as heirs to the covenant, is that we see it for what it really is. Our covenant is based on our relationship with God, not as servants preoccupied with all the business of church, but as children of God. May we draw nearer to God every day, and every time we gather. May we share with one another what God is doing in our lives, how the Spirit of God is speaking to us, answering our prayers, blessing us, and leading us, day by day. And may we broadcast that good news beyond these walls until all the families of the earth are truly blessed.

Our Birthright in Christ - sermon from July 13 - Genesis 25 and Romans 18

Last week we began our summer series of reflection on our covenant relationship with God, a relationship which began between Abraham, Sarah and the Lord and has been passed down through the Israelites. Through baptism in Christ this covenant relationship of blessing from God is offered to all the peoples of the world. We reflected last week on how Rebecca joined this covenant people through marriage and we remembered that we too are joined to Christ like his bride, as we feasted around his heavenly banqueting table of Holy Communion. It sounded like all would end happily ever after. But like all true stories, when we turn to the next chapter the plot thickens.

Just becoming part of the covenant people of God does not make us immune to the trials and troubles of this life. There is still great struggle among the people of God even after we become part of the covenant, and there is usually struggle within each one of us to uphold our part of the agreement with God. “Fightings and fears within without.” Sometimes even in the hope of new life we find ourselves in such turmoil that we wonder how to go on.

Lucy Fisk, a 70-year-old Methodist who lived in Natick in 1854, wrote about such a time of spiritual struggle, perhaps due to pain caused by several physical ailments. She said, “I felt Sabbath night, and Monday morning as though the Lord was afar off, or would not hear; and fear, dread and comparative darkness filled my soul.” Have you ever felt that way? Even for baptized members of the household of God, heirs to the kingdom, the struggles in our lives can fill anyone of us with fear, dread and darkness.

Rebekah surely struggled after her marriage. She and Isaac loved each other but it took 19 years before they finally conceived. God finally heard their prayers, and blessed them with, not one, but two sons. But even as they were being knitted together in their mother’s womb, Jacob and Esau began fighting over their birthright and blessing. The struggle in her womb was so painful, so intense, that it caused Rebekah to lament to God, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” God’s explanation of her pain was no more comforting. Her two sons and their children would be divided, fight one another, lord it over one another. We can expect that, like Lucy, Rebekah was filled with fear, dread and darkness.

Paul’s letter to the Romans can help us understand such feelings when he speaks about living enslaved to laws of sin and death, a slavery that comes when we live according to the flesh. For many Christians the term flesh is associated most with inappropriate sex. But Harper’s Bible Dictionary helps us understand what Paul means by showing us that the flesh as Paul uses it means simply the urge to sin. Flesh connotes weakness that leads Christians to behave like those who have no trust in God. When we loose our trust in God fear, dread and darkness fill our lives.

As I read Genesis 25 with this definition in mind I can see that not only Esau but Jacob also acted according to the flesh. Esau’s case is plainer. In our passage for today we read of how he despised his birthright by simply trading it for a bowl of his brother’s stew when he was hungry. Echoing his mother, Esau said “I am about to die; of what use is this covenant to me? What good is a promise of life in relationship to the living God, if my belly is empty?” In Esau we see life according to the flesh causing the sin of not valuing his inheritance as a child of the covenant, of exchanging it for something of far less worth.

A couple of weeks ago Kristin spoke about worshiping idols, when we put more of our trust in other things than on God’s promise. For Esau, hungry from a hard day’s work, his idol became food. In her letter Lucy Fisk writes of two men whose idol was “strong drink.” They had each converted and found hope in Gods mercy, but sank back in fleshly slavery to alcohol and it gave them death. What idols do we value more than our God given life in Jesus Christ? What takes our focus away from our relationship with our Beloved? In what ways do we despise our birthright, enslaving ourselves to fleshly desires, rather than live as heirs to God’s kingdom?

But this story of twins shows us that despising our inheritance from God is only one half of the problem of living according to the flesh. The other option, trying to steal, or horde God’s blessings, is just as bad. Remember, living in the flesh means behaving like one who has no trust in God. We can see by Jacob’s actions both at the time of birth, and in the stories that follow, indicate that he does not trust in God’s providence. Instead he sees God’s blessing as a limited commodity that he must fight to receive. Jacob, tried so hard to be first born that he came out grabbing the heal of his brother. As a young adult Jacob took advantage of Esau in a time of weakness, and later deceived his own father in order to receive Esau’s blessing too.

While Esau didn’t care about the gift of life represented in his birthright, Jacob wanted it too much. He misunderstood and thought that the blessing was some thing; perhaps wealth, honor, political power, or success. He thought that this blessing was something that he could take away from his brother. He was like the Grinch who thought he could take away Christmas by stealing all the decorations, presents and food. People who live according to the flesh like Jacob think that the one with the most marbles is the winner. But when they get what they think they wanted they find that they are not enjoying blessing, but are alienated from the ones they stepped on along the way. So they too end up lost in fear, dread and darkness.

But there is good news for us today. For those who are in Christ Jesus, for those who breathe deeply of the Spirit of Christ, so that they mindfully live in harmony with God, there is abundant life. This is the good news Paul shared with the Romans. It’s also the good news Lucy Fisk wanted to share. Like a trumpet of hope, Lucy continues her story. Though she was feeling as though the Lord was far off and would not hear her, she continued to seek him in prayer. This represents trust. Trust that her experience of despair was only for a time. Trust that the Lord, who had transformed so many lives and pulled them out of darkness into the light, would do so for her. Trust that God’s grace was greater than any trouble or pain that she had. So Lucy prayed.

Then Lucy says, “About noon the Lord drew near, and talked with me: He asked if I would consecrate my time and talents to Him? In heart I yielded them fully. My property was next called for; friends and family were brought up. I freely yielded. Last my life. ‘Twas done. An entire consecration was made.” Though she was 70 years old and had presumably entered into the covenant with God many years before, Lucy recommitted her life, just as she was, to Christ that day.

And as she did so, her spirit was lifted. “All fear, dread, darkness etc. departed. ‘I am the Lord's and He is mine,’” she almost sang, “what can I want beside?” Lucy tells us that faith “secures to its possessor everything, for time and eternity, that the soul needs or desires.” In other words, we don’t have to grab it from someone else like Jacob did. We don’t need to scheme, or hoard to receive our birthright. In God’s providence it is freely given when we allow God to fully dwell in us. This is what Paul means when he writes in Romans that we are in Christ, and the Spirit of Christ dwells within us.

Paul lists several benefits of living in Christ. First we are set free from the law of sin and death. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do; by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.” Second God makes it possible for us to walk according to the Spirit. It is possible to live justly according to the law when we allow the Spirit of God to dwell in us. The Methodists of Lucy Fisk’s day called this sanctification, living in holiness, or receiving a second blessing. The first blessing is being forgiven for our sins, or justification and the second blessing, is learning to live a virtuous life, free from sin, or sanctification. We don’t talk so much these days about sanctification, but as I have been studying the lives of the first Methodists here in New England, it was a commitment to living according to the Spirit which enabled the church to grow in faith and in numbers. Methodists formed societies in order to encourage one another to hold fast to life in the Spirit, to pray for one another and to help each other when one was tempted to go back to living according to the flesh.

Though Methodists talked about moving on toward perfection, they were still realistic enough to acknowledge backsliding. I know that in my own life right now I can be sure of God’s mercy and grace and have a strong faith one day, and then be nearly overcome in the shadows the next. Lucy compares this experience to an infant who though he falls a thousand times remains determined on rising to his feet again. Genesis, and Romans and the letter of Lucy Fisk all show us that life in covenant with God is a process, a journey winding through valleys with a few mountain top experiences. But one of the great blessings of being part of church, a society of fellow travelers, is that we can be there for one another to help each other up, to pray for one another and to encourage each other to trust in God’s grace.

When she gave all she had to Jesus, Lucy then felt as though she were stepping on a rock, “which alone will remain when all else is destroyed.” And her words jump off of that ancient page right to us, “Now is the time to place our feet there.”

Now is the time to place our feet there. Where are you standing in your faith journey today? Are you like Esau, hardly thinking about your birthright of life in the Spirit? Distracted by other cares and concerns and not thinking about the one in whom you live and move and have your being? Then listen to Paul’s words, “You are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Breathe in the Spirit and breathe out life. Are you like Jacob, yearning so much after a particular blessing that you have been hurting someone, creating darkness along the way? Then hear these words, “If Christ is in you, though your body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Breathe in Christ, and breathe out light. Is trouble or pain darkening your days so that God seems far away? Then take heart. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Breathe in the heavenly Father and breathe out unadulterated love. This is your birthright, so claim it. Let us come to Jesus Christ today, just as we are so that he will dwell in us, and we in him. As Lucy says, “Let us assert our right theoretically, experimentally, and practically; by taking hold of God's strength, and prove we are children of Abraham.



The Benediction also comes from Lucy Fisk
Christ is One - Eternal unchanging - unadulterated Love pure benevolence. Six thousand years ago when he pledged Himself the sacrifice for us, two thousand years ago when he fulfilled that engagement and ever since on the mediatorial throne and also in the hearts of His children. I hope you say “He is mine, and ever shall be.” Amen!

A Match Made in Heaven - sermon from July 6 - based on Genesis 24

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match
Find me a find, catch me a catch.
Matchmaker, matchmaker look through your book
And find me a perfect match.

This is a story of an arranged marriage, something uncommon to us. We prefer to choose our own partners for marriage, first by getting to know each other, falling in love and then sealing the relationship with a wedding. As the musical Fiddler on the Roof makes plain, the use of matchmakers to arrange a marriage is old fashioned. But Isaac and Rebekah were matched and married before they learned to love one another. Let’s look at the story again to be sure of the important details.

The circumstances of life are what motivated Abraham to ask his servant to become a matchmaker. God, who had called them into a covenant relationship years ago had richly blessed Sarah and Abraham with a new land in which to live, a son that made them laugh and a promise that this family would increase to be more numerous than the stars. It was God’s intent for this blessing and this covenant to be passed down from one generation to another. So after Sarah died, when Abraham was old, he wanted to make sure that Isaac had a wife, that more generations would be produced. In order for this covenant blessing to continue, new people would need to become part of this family of God.

Perhaps because he was too old to make the journey himself, Abraham asked his most trusted servant find a suitable wife for Isaac. Abraham believed it was God’s will that this wife already be part of the family, someone who was familiar with God, who would gladly enter into God’s special covenant with Isaac. So the servant set off towards the land where Abraham’s brother and his family lived, trusting that God would reveal the right woman when he arrived.

When we read the servants prayer carefully, we see that he was specific in his request. He hoped to find a woman who was generous, hard working, bold and freely offered hospitality. But most of all, the servant prayed that God’s will be done. Remember he said, “let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I’ll know that you’re working graciously behind the scenes for my master.”

Another aspect of this arranged marriage that we can read in Genesis 24 is that even as the people of God seek God’s will for their lives, it is important that they align their own wills with God’s. Rebekah was asked, “Do you want to go with this man?” and she said yes. Likewise we can gather from the end of the story that Isaac was also happy to meet his bride and receive her into his home, and into his heart.

While arranged marriages aren’t so familiar to us, we at Wesley Church have received the services of a matchmaker named Aida, our District Superintendent. Just as the family in Genesis had recently lost their beloved wife and mother Sarah, a few months ago Wesley Church was at a similar point of transition preparing for the loss of your beloved pastor Kristin. Together you and Kristin had formed a family of God, a family of blessing, tied together in the covenant of baptism, and the special relationship between pastor and people. Yet like Abraham you knew that in spite of this change God’s covenant blessing for your church family was meant to continue, and so you asked for a new pastor. Like Abraham meeting with his servant, the Staff Parish Committee and especially June and Jean, turned to Aida, your trusted servant who had already done so much for you. You expressed your desires and hopes for a new pastor to her and sent her out with prayer that God would enable her to bring back just the right person. All of this took trust, not only your trust in Aida, but everyone’s trust in God, that by being open to God’s guidance, God would provide more than we could ask or imagine.

A few months later Aida returned – with me. Like Rebekah I was just going about my life not expecting what was coming, when Aida asked me if I would be willing to join my life to yours. And like Rebekah’s family I felt that this match was not just the matchmaker’ idea, but that it was the will of God, a match made in Heaven. Unlike Rebekah and Isaac, we were not total stranger. Kristin and I have been friends for a long while, and I worshiped here before, including the day Kristin announced her new appointment in Maine. I count it a great blessing that before my new role as your pastor started I could worship and fellowship with you several times over the past couple of months.

Even so our relationship now is still more like a traditional arranged marriage than like a modern day one. We have a lot to learn about one another. There will be several adjustments we will need to make in these first few months until we find a new comfort level of worshiping, playing and working together. Just as Rebekah could not replace Sarah, and probably had a different way of speaking, of keeping house and of relating, so I am not Kristin. Though I will try to honor your ways of worship, your traditions, your concerns, I come with my own preferences and practices. Through the process of getting to know and understand one another we can expect to learn from one another and make some changes together.

You can also expect that you will not like some things that I do. I’ve learned from my past appointments that it is far better to be open about such matters from the start. I once had a church that didn’t like the way I served communion, so much so that some were not eating it after I gave it to them. But it took 18 months for anyone to tell me. I’ve also learned that it is better to discuss a change I would like with the church members, rather than just surprising everyone. But even today the bulletin is a little different than the one’s Kristin gave to me. I genuinely want to know how these changes effect you. In many churches is quite common for parishioners, at the change of appointment to dislike something about the new pastor and just stop coming rather than venture a discussion. Please, I ask you, if I do or say something that bothers you, let me know. I promise to do the same so we can adjust to our new relationship and help it to grow.

I am encouraged by last weeks prayer for God to give us all “patience, courage and wisdom so to care for one another and challenge one another that together we may follow Jesus Christ.” I trust that God has truly been at work in this appointment and hope, that like the match between Rebekah and Isaac, our partnership will serve to sustain the covenant and blessings we have from God and increase the number of people who benefit from such a wonderful relationship with Jesus Christ and his church.

While this appointment has several similarities to Isaac and Rebekah’s arranged marriage, the most important aspect is the covenantal relationship between one another other and with God. This summer we will be spending several weeks looking at stories in Genesis to examine God’s special covenant with God’s chosen people. This covenant began with Abraham and Sarah, passed on through Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob Rachel and Leah and all the children of Israel. The covenant was renewed and strengthened through the leadership of Moses who, by God’s grace led the Israelites out of slavery back to the land God promised. The covenant was continued through the Judges, Prophets and Kings of Israel. Christians believe that the covenant was made new in Jesus Christ, so that the blessings and obligations of being God’s people are now offered beyond Abraham and David’s family tree to all the peoples of the world. New Christians, like Christina, Amber, Julia and Paul enter into the covenant relationship with God and with the church through the sacrament of baptism.

Covenants are agreements made between two parties who freely choose to be in a particular relationship. Each party promises something to the other. In the covenant between God and God’s people, we promise to worship, trust and obey God and God promises to bless us with life. The covenant Methodists make with the Church when we join includes a promise to support it by our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. In return the Church promises to be with us through the ups and downs of birth, growth, marriage, sickness, challenges, victories and death. Our Church family is meant to be a comfort and support, and sometimes to challenge us when we need to grow in our faith. Like the Israelites, we find that being in covenant with God as a people, not just as individuals, enriches our life of faith and magnifies God’s blessings many times over.

It is encouraging to me to know that you have been living out this covenant relationship with God and with one another for a long time. That you are genuinely committed to your faith and to one another, that you are bold to open yourselves to new brothers and sisters in Christ, even those who come from a vastly different culture. I feel very blessed indeed to be given the opportunity to join with you as companions in Christ, to walk along beside you as your pastor for a time. And I pray that just as the blessing of God’s covenant in Christ overflowed further than the Israelites, so our blessings will overflow beyond this sanctuary out into Medford and beyond.

If the sacrament of baptism is the entry point for Christians to become part of God’s Covenantal people, the sacrament of Holy Communion is the food for the journey. It is often compared with a wedding banquet, an image I love. For this reason I love a communion table set with fresh baked bread, where those who gather there take large chunks from the loaf and generous gulps from the cup so that we truly can taste and see – and smell – that the Lord is good.

In this wedding feast we will celebrate today, Jesus Christ is both the host and the bridegroom while the Church is his bride. You can find such images in the book of Revelation and in some of Jesus’ parables. So, let us take time to think once again about weddings. How happy and joyous they are. How lovely is the bride, how handsome the groom, how lavishly they are dressed, how full of hope everyone is that this covenant they celebrate will bring forth many blessings not only for them, but for all who meet them. Now imagine yourself as the one being united to Jesus your beloved.

Psalm 45 is all about the wedding of a King to his beloved. Traditionally the Church has looked at this as metaphor for the uniting of Christ and his church. As we prepare to participate in Holy Communion today let us reflect again on the wedding images of the psalm and imagine that they describe Christ and us. “Christ, you are the fairest of men; grace flows from your lips, because God has blessed you for ever.” “Your throne, O Christ, endures for ever and ever, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom; you love righteousness and hate iniquity. Therefore God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness…” “All our garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia, and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes us glad.” “Hear, O Wesley Church, the king will have pleasure in your beauty; his is your master; therefore do him honor….all glorious are you as you enter; your gown is cloth-of-gold.” “With joy and gladness we are brought, and enter into the palace of the king.” “Beloved Christ, we will make your name to be remembered from one generation to another; therefore nations will praise you for ever and ever.” Amen.

Making the transition from one pastor to another

On June 29 during and after worship we celebrated the ministry of Pastor Kristin White and wished her well in her new appointment to serve the Untied Methodist congregation in Wayne, Maine. Kristin has been here for seven years and a loving relationship has grown between her and the members of the congregation. Today was a little like Dorothy tearfully saying good-bye to the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow. as one by one she embraced those she loves and tried to say in words what her heart was feeling.

It is not easy to let go of a beloved pastor who has helped you grow closer to God, been there with you through hard times and good times and encouraged you to grow in your faith. So often when we have anything or anyone good in our lives it is painful to make a transition to a new phase of life. I have found that the best such transitions in my own life take place when I'm still in love with my current situation, yet know that God is calling me to take the next step in my life journey. It is then when the bitterness and sorrow of leaving behind special friends, activities and places is sweetened with the joy and expectation of new adventures and new wonderful people on my horizon.

Wesley Church, Kristin and I are experiencing just such a transition. Kristin has been called by God and Bishop Weaver to move into a full time position as pastor to a congregation who needs her special gifts. Wesley Church is being given the opportunity to experience leadership from someone with new gifts and graces to lead them in new directions. And my three year break from pastoral ministry is coming to an end as I ease back into ministry on a part time bases, and continue my dissertation research at Boston University. By God's grace it is a win, win, win situation. Praise God!

Starting a new ministry at Wesley UMC, Medford

It has been over three months since my appointment to Wesley was set by Rev. Aida Fernandez and Bishop Peter Weaver. I have lived in West Medford for two years while studying at Boston University School of Theology and have have been friends with Pastor Kristin White for several years. I was even present in the congregation on the day Kristin announced that she would be moving to Wayne, Maine to begin a full time appointment to the UMC there. So when Rev. Fernandez asked if I would be interested in taking Kristin's place at Wesley, it felt just right. I look forward to getting to know this unique congregation, to learning more about the Korean culture as well as getting to know all the members, especially the English speaking members whom I will serve as worship leader and pastor. I'm hoping to reach out into the Medford community to find others who might like to become companions in Christ with us for worship, Bible study and more.

Change of pastors

On Sunday June 29, 2008 at 11 a.m. the congregation of Wesley United Methodist Church on 100 Winthrop Street gathered to praise God as bid a fond farewell to Pastor Kristin White who has been serving part time, together with full time pastor, the Rev. Chungsoo Kim. Wesley UMC is a uniquely bi-lingual congregation serving both English and Korean speaking people. Though they often hold separate worship services, they also come together to worship in both languages about once a month. The celebration on June 29 was a combined service featuring the choir, a sermon by Pastor White and Holy Communion and was open to the public. Bishop Peter Weaver has appointed Ms. White to begin serving the United Methodist congregation of Wayne, Maine on a full time basis starting on July 1. Bishop Weaver, with the assistance of District Superintendent Aida Fernandez, has appointed me to take the part time position at Wesley.