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Your Faith Journey

All of us are on a journey of faith in our lives. At Faith Lutheran in Okemos, Michigan we bring people one a journey of faith each week and share that journey with the world.
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Now displaying: August, 2017
Aug 29, 2017

This is a special musical performance by Lully from Faith Lutheran member Drew Williams!

Aug 29, 2017

I suspect some of you have experienced “come to Jesus moments” in your life.  Such moments are epiphanies in which one realizes the truth of a matter.  A come to Jesus moment can be described as a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something.  Maybe your come to Jesus moment involved coming clean and admitting failures.  Or, maybe it was realizing the true weight or impact of some situation.  A come to Jesus moment can be a time of realization, a moment of decision, a moment of truth, a critical moment, or a moment in which one reassesses priorities.  Quite often such moments in our lives mark a turning point and they are life-changing.

Today, when we meet up with Jesus and his band of twelve bumbling misfits, we hear about Peter experiencing a come to Jesus moment.  Jesus has been traveling with his disciples, teaching, listening, and reaching out to people.  There was a divine energy being released into the world through him and it included a passion for justice as well as healing and compassion for all people.  He was going about the business of accepting the unacceptable and something was happening within the lives of Jesus and his disciples.  I have to say, if one might compare these happenings to experiences in today’s culture, one could say Jesus was trending and going viral because he was lighting up social media in his first-century world!  In other words, things were really happening!

As Jesus and his band of misfits continue their travels they come into the district of Caesarea Philippi, a place of power and governmental authority where there would have been ample evidence of Roman rule and religion.  There were multiple temples and statues of foreign gods.  And, it is in this significant place that Jesus asks his followers, “What are people saying about me?  Who do people say that I am?”  The disciples then begin rattling off the results of the most recent public opinion poll: "A certain percentage of people say that you are John the Baptist, or at least like John the Baptist. And some think you're the second coming of the great prophet Elijah. And still others believe you're stern and austere like Jeremiah or one of the great prophets from our tradition. In other words, Jesus, people are beginning to put you on the Mount Rushmore of Jewish prophets! You're really making a name for yourself. You're really going places, Jesus. Isn't that fantastic?" 

Well, Jesus wasn't taking a poll. Jesus was trying to take the disciples to a deeper place. And that's why he turned to them and asked a more penetrating question. He asked: "But who do you say that I am?"  That's when ADHD Peter, always the first to react, always impetuous, always ready with a quick answer, has a come to Jesus moment and blurts out, "You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God!"  Quite honestly, when we hear the rest of the gospel story we know he spoke these words without fully understanding what he was saying.  But, Jesus responds saying, “By golly, you got it right!  God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah!  You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers.  My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am.  And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are.  You are Peter, a rock.  This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.  And, that’s not all.  This community will have power.  You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any door and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven.  A yes on earth is yes in heaven.  A no on earth is no in heaven. In other words, this community has the power to interpret the law in light of new situations.  The realm of heaven will concur with the church’s interpretation.” (The Message)

There can be no doubt that the Jesus of the Bible, particularly Jesus as described in the Gospel of Matthew, meant to build a community.  There is no doubt he meant to leave behind a community of followers who lived into the ways of God that he himself proclaimed and lived.  In this reading from Matthew, the Greek word translated as church is ekklesia. This Greek word referred to the local political assembly, or the people "called out" to a town meeting.  Matthew is the only gospel to use this word.  So, Jesus, in referring to his followers as an ekklesia, probably meant the “called out” community of the faithful that would persevere in his teachings, as his influence lived on following the fate he felt awaited him.

As we ponder this story, it is important to remember and recognize Peter’s confession when he experiences that come to Jesus moment.  This is a powerful moment of recognition, yet, later Peter will go on to screw up mightily and completely misunderstand what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah.   He will completely misunderstand what it means to confess Jesus as the Christ.  He will later resist Jesus’ intention to turn himself over to the authorities, and he will eventually deny and desert his Lord.  But, in this moment, he confesses Jesus is the Christ. 

In light of all that is going on in our world at this present time, we cannot help but ask ourselves, “Who do we say Jesus is and what does it mean to say that Jesus is the Christ?”  For all of us, as we respond to these questions, there is a certain sense in which we too have a come to Jesus moment.  More and more, as I respond to that question and confess Jesus as the Christ, what makes sense to me is this: Christ is not just a person. Christ is not just a title. And, Christ is certainly not the last name of Jesus. No. Christ is a word that names the divine being, the divine energy that was released into the world through the life of Jesus. Just as stars explode and new planets are formed, so in the life of Jesus a certain kind of Christ energy was constellated and released into the world, into the cosmos, and this energy is still changing people. This is nothing less than the energy or presence of God. Compassion exploded into the world through the life of Jesus.  Forgiveness, unconditional love and inexhaustible grace was released into the world through the life of Jesus. Creative, transforming and inspiring goodness was released into the world through the life of Jesus. So much so that I like to think of Jesus as a Christ-Burst--a burst of God energy that continues to shape the world one heart, one person, one community, and one situation at a time.

We who are part of a faith community are daily called to bear witness to that Christ-Burst wherever we live and move and have our being.  We are called to live with the same passion and commitment as that early “called out” community to which Matthew’s gospel was written.  We are being called – in our individual and communal lives – to daily confess Christ. We are called to confess the suffering Christ who always sided with the vulnerable in both word and deed.  Like Peter, we sometimes fall short, not living as deeply or truly into our confession as we should.  At times, we even get confused or scared about what that confession really means.  And, quite frankly, as we live together within this “called out” community, it can be a messy place.  But, Jesus promises that he will build his church. God is at work through this “called out” community.  And, guess what?  We who are part of this community of whacky, messed-up, bumbling misfits continue to live out our come to Jesus moments as we feed the poor, house the homeless, care for the sick and dying, mentor and support the young in their faith journeys, walk with people through the challenges and trials of life, advocate for the vulnerable and forgotten, work for justice and peace, and reach out to connect to and become engaged with this needy world by sharing the gracious love of God in Christ. 

Aug 21, 2017

This is a special musical performance of I've Got Peace Like A River which is a family choir special performance from Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Aug 21, 2017

Perhaps some of you, at some point in time, have heard the 11th Commandment.  It goes something like this, “Thou shalt not make any changes in the way we do things around here.”  Or, similar words like, “But, we have always done it this way before!”  Quite honestly, when this 11th Commandment is observed, when conventional thought and action are never challenged, when we are not open to being changed and being made new, there is hardly ever any growth.

As we hear the Jesus story we know that throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, he continually challenged conventional religious structures, religious thinking and religious practices.  And, the example in today’s gospel lesson is no exception. Jesus’ words in today’s reading not only challenge us, they are also disturbing.

As this gospel reading begins, Jesus is speaking to the crowd about tradition and conventional religious practices. He is speaking to all who hold tradition and ritual in high esteem and consider themselves to be the “in crowd” – the socially accepted crowd. This was a community preoccupied with dietary laws about what would defile and hurt the body, laws that dictated what could and could not be touched or eaten. Jesus has just confronted the people about their exclusionary practices, their clean and unclean requirements and, he has just turned conventional thinking on its head. He challenges the people regarding the importance of their strict dietary laws that place a high premium on the purity of the individual. You see, Jesus is much more concerned about the heart and the stuff that comes out of us as we live in relationship to others. He is concerned about the stuff that can defile, hurting others and hurting the world.  Theologian, Dock Hollingsworth, describes what Jesus is saying in this way:

Yesterday’s lunch is gone forever. Jesus asks, “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes into the sewer?” It is a crude image. The sewer has carried away any mistakes we may have made by putting into our body things that the dietary laws call unclean. However, the careless words, the evil, the lies, and the fornication continue to be harmful. Our words and actions have the power to defile and hurt and the pain of those choices is not washed down the sewer like yesterday’s lunch (p. 357, Feasting on the Word).

 

By confronting the people about their exclusionary practices, their clean and unclean issues and requirements, Jesus has just turned conventional religious thought on its head. And, I think he turns much of our conventional religious thought on its head as well.

Throughout history there have been many times when the church has used tradition in perverse ways. In light of Jesus’ words to us today, we should ask ourselves, what practices do we hold dear? What really doesn’t matter? What traditions do we deem so vitally important they end up excluding others? How does the way in which we do this thing called church tend to push people away?  The truth is, some of our practices and traditions really are not that important. Jesus’ words remind us that religious faithfulness is ultimately shown by the way we speak and live out the radical hospitality and love of Christ as we live in relationship to others.

What is so captivating about today’s reading is that Jesus challenges and disturbs the religious community about their “clean” and “unclean” status, and then finds himself in a position where the tables are turned and he is confronted by a clean/unclean issue. Quite frankly, we see him acting in a manner that is very uncomfortable, disconcerting and truly painful to watch.

Jesus travels into Gentile territory and is approached by a very bold, in your face Canaanite woman. She is a foreigner and tradition labels her unclean. She confronts Jesus, asking him to heal her demon possessed daughter. And, Jesus’ actions and words to her seem arrogant, racist, and just plain mean. First, he ignores her and then he insults her by using an ethnic slur, calling her a dog. I don’t like this side of Jesus. His words are degrading. Yet, I think we need to wrestle with this story. There is nothing we can or should do to water it down except honestly face Jesus’ response. Is it just possible that we see a greater glimpse of Jesus’ humanity in this story? I think that for most of us, we say we believe Jesus was “truly human” but, we do not want him to be too human. The fact of the matter is the gospel writer does not clean up this story. Instead, he shows us a very human side of Jesus.  Pastor Gary Charles, when describing this scene writes:

Jesus enters into “unwashed” territory of untouchable foreigners, a despised “toxic waste area.” Jewish religious tradition had “proven to be a ‘holy’ fence” for these foreigners, keeping them on the outside. And, not only is this woman an unclean foreigner, she is doubly despised because she is a woman.

 

Jesus’ initial actions and disturbing words to this bold woman are descriptive of conventional religious thinking within the Jewish community of that time. And, we must wrestle with something. Does Jesus respond out of his humanity and the socialization he has experienced throughout his thirty some years of life? Can we see him as fully human in his response? Is he so fully human that this very bold woman who approaches him and is not willing to back down ends up changing him and his own thinking and understanding of his mission in this world?  Most scholars think this to be the case.  Furthermore, the writer of Matthew’s gospel is telling the Jesus story to a Jewish community that wanted to exclude foreigners and Gentiles, all those they considered “other.”  It is quite likely the audience Matthew’s Jesus is addressing had some growing up to do and this bold, in your face, unclean foreign woman enabled that.

This bold woman, an enemy of Israel, who is not willing to give up and go away has faith, great faith. She ministers to Jesus and, in doing so, becomes a voice from beyond the boundaries. Jesus recognizes her faith, and her bold action is instrumental in bringing about divine healing and the release of God’s grace for the “others” in this world.  From this point on in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ mission continues to become larger, expanding to the point that it includes the whole world.

We who make up the body of Christ need to always be struggling with the questions we discover in today’s reading.  We must ask:

  • What does it mean for us to follow Jesus into the “toxic waste areas” of the world?
  • What does this mean as we address the evil of racism in our country and ourselves, and respond to the horror we have witnessed over the past week?
  • What does it mean for us to fret less about how “we have always done it this way” and listen more to the cries of those tradition considers “unclean” or “unwanted”?
  • How have we let our “traditions” become external barriers, blocking access to the overwhelming grace of God?

 

Jesus was changed that day!  Can we also change, be continually changed and made new? Are we as willing to be more welcoming to those who are different, those we consider the “others” in this world? Can we allow our conventional religious perspectives to be changed so God’s grace can become more fully realized in this world?

The promises of God are true and God’s mercy is for all. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, we discover God deeply loves this entire world in all its brokenness. And, as Pastor Charles says, we should “never tire in giving thanks that, in Jesus, God’s covenant promises stretch the length of the cross for all nations and all people.”

Aug 13, 2017

This was a special musical performance at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan by Pastor Ellen Schoepf of Pathetique Sonata, Opus 13 Adagio Cantabile by Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Aug 13, 2017

Fear!  Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger.   And, if we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But often we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and thus hang back for no good reason.  Sometimes, fear can actually be paralyzing and it can keep us from living into the fullness of life, living into life that truly matters.   Yet, exposing ourselves to our personal demons by facing our fears is the best way to move through them and past them.  In today’s gospel, we hear a story that not only addresses the fear that can literally overpower us, but we also hear a story of the even greater power of promise, telling us of a loving presence that will never let us go.

At last, Jesus has finally been able to send the crowds away.  He has convinced his disciples to get in a boat and cross the lake ahead of him. Finally, he has found time to retreat and spend some time in prayer.  As we look at today’s gospel reading, Jesus is not a superhero who has retreated to his bat cave. He is not a ghost out to haunt the already terrified. He is a man. Fully God, fully human. He is the Son of God, though those around him don't yet recognize him. His ship of faith is being battered by the rejection of his hometown folks and the beheading of his cousin John the Baptist by Herod. He knows his time is coming. Crowds of needy people have been constantly pressing in on him.  And, he needs some time alone.

Jesus is praying, perhaps lifting up each of his fears and stuggles to God and exchanging them for faith, allowing the comfort and healing and power of God to fill his inner life, his heart, mind, emotions, and will. After all, this is what the Jewish scriptures tell us to do, to surrender all our lesser fears to our fear of the Lord, which means our reverence for God, for who God is and what God can do.  And, as Jesus then looks up and squints at the horizon he sees the disciples' little boat bobbing side to side, back and forth, up and down.

The disciples have spent nearly the whole night struggling to get across that blasted lake before Jesus shows up near daybreak.  The Sea of Galilee is not a massive body of water, never more than seven miles across when traveling east-west.  Yet, they’ve not been able to traverse it, for the storm has “battered” or “thrashed” their boat.  And, as for the churning sea?  In their worldview, it represents chaos and danger.  Then, they think they see a ghost.  Fear erupts because they anticipate how the story will probably end.  All night they have been threatened by the prospect that this chaos might devour them.  They saw themselves as disciples left to die at the mercy of more powerful forces.

Then, they realize this seeming “ghost” is Jesus, striding over the watery chaos.  And, astoundingly, Peter wants to step out there on that water.  Peter steps out of the boat and enters the tumult.  And, Peter flounders.  He flounders because he grows afraid.  Quite frankly, that fear is justified.  The storm is still powerfully raging and it is so intense it could sink the boat, let alone drown a single person.  He has perfectly good reason to be afraid.

And, so do we.  There are multiple reasons each one of us might face fear.  Maybe you fear loneliness after loss.  Or, fear losing stability as you face a fragile relationship.  Or, fear aging and all the issues that come with growing old.  Or, maybe fear the return of an illness, or the progression of present illness.  Or, maybe you fear for your kids and what they are experiencing or will experience.  Or, you fear facing a new chapter in life, or making a major life-changing decision.  Or, you fear the future of our congregation, or the direction of our country, or global security….   You name it!  There are multiple situations and reasons in our individual, congregational and communal lives that make us afraid.  And that fear can be paralyzing, debilitating, and make it difficult for us to move forward or even have any sense of confidence.  In fact, as professor David Lose says, “Fear is one of the primary things that robs the children of God of the abundant life God intends for us.” 

Well, in response to Peter’s fear, Jesus doesn’t simply urge Peter to buck up, be a man, be courageous, let go of his fear and focus on him.  Instead, when Peter begins to sink, Jesus literally catches him!  He grabs hold of Peter!  Jesus grabs him and saves him from drowning.  He grabs him and restores him to his vocation as a disciple.  And, guess what?  He does the same with us.  Jesus will not, he absolutely will never, let us go.  Jesus is never going to give up on us, no matter what we do!  The God we know is truly THE LOVE THAT WILL NEVER LET US GO!  In the depth of our fear, Jesus grabs us, holds on to us when we falter and restores us to where we can again be of service to him. 

Today’s gospel, good news word to us is a message that is not only about our fear.  It is a message that is the heart of the gospel message.  It is the gospel good news of grace which proclaims that God will never give up on us, that God is with us and for us, that God – in the end – will do what we cannot do for ourselves and save us.  This is a message that enables us to cope with life and with our fear because it is a message that enables us to transcend that fear.  We may not be able to defeat it, but we can face it, stand in the swirling disorder and chaos, and do what needs to be done even when we are afraid.  And, quite frankly, this is the nature of what it means to live out an active life of faith, to be willing to throw oneself into a disorderly world and expect to encounter Jesus there. 

I love what William Willimon says about this passage.  He writes:

If Peter had not ventured forth, had not obeyed the call to walk on the water, then Peter would never have had this great opportunity for recognition of Jesus and rescue by Jesus.  I wonder if too many of us are merely splashing about in the safe shallows and therefore have too few opportunities to test and deepen our faith.  The story today implies if you want to be close to Jesus, you have to venture forth out on the sea and [discover] his promises through trusting his promises, through risk and venture.

Getting out of the boat with Jesus and going to places where Jesus goes is the most risky, most exciting, and most fulfilling way to live life to the fullest, life that truly matters, life that is abundant.  Today’s gospel reading invites us to trust God’s promises and do just that.

Aug 6, 2017

This is a special musical presentation of Softly and Tenderly by Thompson by Tammy Heilman today at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Aug 6, 2017

Jesus and his disciples have just received news of the brutal murder of John the Baptist.  And, they have just experienced a long day with large and desperate crowds of people.   They are grief stricken, exhausted, and seek to simply get away.  Mourning John’s death, physically and emotionally exhausted, Jesus tries to slip away in a boat, attempting to go to a deserted place, a place where there is nothing and no one present.  But, the crowd follows him anyway.  And, the disciples do what we would likely do, they tell the people to go away.  However, thousands follow and what does Jesus do?  He has compassion and begins healing the sick.  As dinner time approaches, the disciples are very ready to call it quits and send the crowd away.  But, Jesus invites the multitude to eat and, much to the disciples’ dismay, asks them to feed the thousands.  The disciples are shocked.  They are only able to find two fish and five loaves of bread.  So, they operate out of the perspective of scarcity and nothingness.

We have nothing…” they say, dismissive of what they see as an insufficient offering in comparison to the enormous need.  Then, something happens!  It does not really matter so much how we understand the miracle that follows.  It does not matter whether Jesus miraculously creates more molecules of bread and fish or whether you see the miracle in the possibility that sharing those first loaves and fish prompted others to begin sharing what they had until there was more than enough for all. The “how” isn’t important.  What matters is that God saw a possibility where the disciples saw nothing.  As Nadia Bolz-Weber says, “nothing” is God’s favorite material to work with.  The disciples looked at 5 loaves and 2 fish and saw nothing, but God looked at it and saw a feast!

I think this gospel story is our story in multiple ways.  First, when it comes to money, who hasn’t at one point or another looked at his or her finances and saw what amounted to nothing.  I know I have.  But, quite frankly, for most of us, it’s really a matter of how we see what we have, a matter of rejecting the societal impulse to always want more than we have, rejecting the impulse to continually consume.  Even in the church, we look at what we have and wish we had more of it, forgetting that God has promised to transform all we have.  Yes, “nothing” is God’s favorite material to work with.

This is also our story as we look at our efforts to combat hunger.  When we look at the little bit of food we give to ArrowTree Apartments or to the Caring Committee projects each year, our gifts can seem like 5 loaves and 2 fish when compared to the actual need that exists.  And, yet, God uses it in ways that begin to transform peoples’ lives.  You see, these small things begin to take on a life of their own, making dents in the need that is indeed still great.  God sees our meager offerings, receives them and sets a table for a feast!  Yes, “nothing” is God’s favorite material to work with.

While these connections to our everyday lives are obvious, there is something more to the story.  Before the disciples even identify the loaves and fish, they look out at the crowd of hungry people and see a problem.  They see nothing good coming from a hungry mob.  But, Jesus’ invitation to feed the thousands rather than send them away indicates that he looks at the same crowd and sees the possibility of a celebration.  Thousands of hungry people are not a problem but an opportunity for God to work.  Yes, “nothing” is God’s favorite material to work with.

Far too often we function out of a perspective of nothingness.  We see a world embroiled in multiple conflicts and we see no hope for peace.  Many days it seems like we are staring down a hungry crowd with nothing but 5 loaves and 2 fish.  But somehow, in the depth of this turmoil, we trust God’s promises that God sees fighting people, helpless bystanders, hungry people, and activists who go unheard, and God still sees the possibility of peace and justice.  We see nothing, but God is already planning that great feast where Israelis will be sitting next to Palestinians, Ukrainians will be eating at table with Russians, Syrians from both sides will be sitting next to one another, and North Koreans will be feasting with Americans.  Yes, “nothing” is God’s favorite material to work with.

Yes, far too often we function out of a perspective of nothingness.  How often do we look at people and see nothing, see people we judge as not enough?  It happens most often with people at the margins, those we consider the least of these.  People we see as too young or too old, people we label as disabled.  We forget that infants have something to teach us about God.  That people in nursing home beds who can’t even recognize their own family members have something to teach us about God.  That people in ICU beds who can’t speak because of breathing tubes in their mouths have something to teach us about God.  That people whose abilities are different from our own have something to teach us about God.  That people whose gender identity is different from ours have something to teach us about God.  That people whose skin color, ethnicity and life experience is different from ours have something to teach us about God.  God invites us to see not another problem, but another person who is loved by God and who is invited to join the feast! 

This nothingness perspective and thinking is also an aspect of every congregation in which I have served, either as music director or pastor.  People in churches at one time or another, including pastors, look around and see the equivalent of the disciples’ “nothing.”  Too small, too big, too many programs or not enough.  The people are too old, or too young, or not friendly enough.  Too much this and not enough that.  Have you said this our thought this about our congregation?  If only we had more people…. Or more of a certain kind of people…. Or more energy….. Or more money…. Or more people willing to help…. You get the idea?  The problem is that every church is imperfect.  And, in every church, there’s a way to look at the crowd of people and see not enough.  But, when God looks at it, God says, “Look at these people!  Let’s have a feast!”  Yes, “nothing” is God’s favorite material to work with.

In today’s reading, at the end of the story there are leftovers!  In fact, leftovers abound!  Leftovers are the opposite of nothing!  Sometimes, we even see leftovers as a potential problem.  After a long day and week like the one Jesus and his disciples had experienced, I’d be tempted to leave the leftovers on the ground for the birds, then head home and off to bed.  But, they take the time to gather them as a sign of the abundance of the feast and there were 12 baskets full.  Twelve, the sign and symbol of abundance and completeness.  You see, God’s bounty is more than a single feast can ever contain.  Yes, “nothing” is God’s favorite material to work with.

Today’s gospel reading also foreshadows what is to come.  At the end of Matthew’s gospel, the disciples will again find themselves seeing nothing.  They will look at the crucified Jesus and see nothing but a dead body.  But, three days later, they will stare in awe at the empty tomb, shocked by the sheer abundance of what it represents.  This is a reminder for each of us that all those moments when we see our “nothings” transformed into “somethings,” something beyond belief, we again experience God’s promise to us.  And, when some day we stare into the future and see nothing but death, even there, God is transforming what seems like absolute nothingness into something new.  Yes, “nothing” is God’s favorite material to work with.

When we see nothing, God gives us new eyes, a new heart and a new mind to see “nothing” as something new.  Whatever we don’t see enough of today, God still sees something.  In a few minutes, we will join the hungry crowd as God invites us to partake of this little bit of bread and wine, nothing really.  But, as we eat this bread and drink this wine, God will gift us with the very life of God, richness beyond measure.   And, in that feast, God will transform our nothingness into the broken body of Christ for service in this world.  So, come, to the hungry feast!

Aug 6, 2017

I am sure many of you are familiar with the country music song “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.”  The lyrics of this song came to mind as I was studying today’s gospel lesson. The words go like this:

I was lookin' for love in all the wrong places
Lookin' for love in too many faces
Searchin' their eyes, lookin' for traces
Of what I'm dreamin' of
Hopin' to find a friend and a lover
I'll bless the day I discover,
Another heart- lookin' for love.

 

          Obviously, this song describes a person’s quest as he or she is looking everywhere, looking in too many faces and all the wrong places, trying to find love.   He or she is trying to find someone who will fill his or her deepest desire – looking for that one person who will supposedly be the answer to one’s dreams.

          This song came to mind because I believe these words can describe something else within each of us, something that is not just a quest for a significant other or soul mate.  These words can describe the way we who are human are looking for something to fill a longing deep within each one of us, a longing that sends us seeking.  These words can, in one way, be descriptive of our quest for God’s presence in life, a presence that can only be revealed by a gracious God of love.   We long for the dream of God, for God’s kingdom and presence to become realized in this world and in our lives.  But, we tend to look for God in all the wrong places.  We tend to look for God out there someplace, up in the heavens or someplace far away.        

Today, Jesus continues to describe the kingdom of heaven, the way we talk about God and the way God is at work in this world.  And, his words are rather surprising.  He does not describe a kingdom that is far off in the distance, in some exalted place up there or somewhere out there.  No, he describes the reign of God by using analogies that are literally very down to earth – a mustard seed, some yeast, a thief and a merchant.  In his stories, he uses examples of an annoying seed and a corrupt agent.  He describes qualities that seem hidden, and he uses some rather corrupt characters in the process.   

The parable of the mustard seed is one of the best known of Jesus’ stories.  Mustard seeds are so small they are almost weightless.  They can easily go unnoticed.  They can lie hidden and undetected in a large sack of other seeds.  I can imagine an unsuspecting farmer unwittingly sowing a mustard seed in his field as he is sowing wheat.

Mustard is actually a wild weed.  It is something farmers would try to get out of the field because, once it is sown, it is hard to get rid of.  Jesus uses the example of a bothersome weed that grows from a small, hidden seed but, when germinated, becomes a huge bush that tends to take over the field.  Jesus is describing the way God is at work in this world.  And, he compares it to a miniscule, annoying seed that can hardly be seen, but grows and is transformed into a life-giving tree as it becomes a leafy haven where the birds can make their nests.  In this little parable, unnoticed beginnings of the work in the kingdom of God are contrasted with great, even surprising results.  Have we been looking for God in all the wrong places?

Then, Jesus goes on and uses another example - yeast or leaven. Yeast was an unwanted agent.  It is something that bloats and rots corpses.  It is also something women would attempt to get rid of when cleaning their homes in preparation for Passover.  In Jewish tradition, yeast was a symbol of corruption and impurity.  It was considered evil and unclean.  However, in Jesus’ parable, we find out that yeast becomes the agent of miraculous growth of God’s kingdom and it permeates every part of the dough.  Like a woman who spoils the flour with yeast, God is fermenting the kingdom of heaven within the world, within our communities, and within each one of us.  That kingdom permeates all of creation and it has transforming power in this world.  In light of these stories, do we have eyes to see God’s reign hidden in everyday life?  Are we able to trust God’s transforming presence and love in the midst of everyday life?  Or, are we too often looking for God in all the wrong places? 

In the next little story, Jesus uses the analogy of a deceitful thief.  He tells the story of a man who discovers treasure buried in someone else’s field.  The man then quickly sells all that he has to buy the field from this other guy without telling the owner about the treasure.  Actually, I have to wonder what this crooked man was doing digging around in someone else’s field in the first place.  Yet, in light of Jesus’ story, I ask, is God like that thief who gives up all he has to buy the whole field – the world, the cosmos – simply to possess that treasure and claim it and the entire purchase as God’s own?  Can we picture a God with so much grace?  Have we been looking for God in all the wrong places?

Jesus just continues telling one yarn after another.  His next one is about a pearl merchant.  Now, merchants were not held in highest esteem in ancient culture.  In this little story, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a merchant searching for that one pearl of great value.  When he joyfully finds it, he sells everything he has in order that he may buy that one pearl.  In essence, this merchant puts himself out of business by radically selling all he has to make the ultimate purchase.  In light of this story, I ask, “What is the most radical act through which we see God’s immeasurable love for this broken world?”

As we move through Jesus’ stories, we come to the Parable of the Dragnet.  When the net is cast into the sea it catches all kinds of fish, good and bad.  The fishermen indiscriminately pull in all the fish and wait to sort them out later.  In our world, the good, the shady and the bad do exist together, even within our own selves.  And, in our world, we often spend too much time trying to figure out who is in and who is not.  I have to say, if those fishermen are willing to pull in all sorts of fish and have them sorted later, I think we can let God take care of the sorting in God’s own good time because God is the one who loves us the most.

Jesus uses examples of unscrupulous people and questionable items to describe God at work in this world.  Today, Jesus shares some staggeringly good news.  The reign of God is not far away, but very close at hand.  It is present to us, between us as people of God, and even within us.  And, in the person of Jesus, we find the God of creation, not far off, but incarnate and present to us in human form.  We no longer have to look in all the wrong places to find God, to find the author of love.  We no longer have to look in all the wrong places to discover we are loved.  The truth is, God’s kingdom is closer to us than the air we breathe, and God is at work in each one of us, even in those parts of ourselves we want to hide.  God is even embracing our brokenness and transforming us in the process. 

My friends, “The kingdom of God is still under construction and we are still under construction.  But, that kingdom is growing.  The good news is that God so loves the world that God is continually at work in our lives in the world, in order to draw us, in love, closer and closer to God’s self and to each other.” (Frederick Buechner)

Aug 6, 2017

This is a special music performance of Al Shlosha D'Varim by Naplan by the Women's Choir of Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan. 

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