Definitions...

What defines you?

I've been wrestling with that question a bit for the past several weeks. What defines me? Is it how successful I am? Is it my sense of humor? My ability to sit with somebody in crisis? Maybe my ability to just hang out and have a good time? What is it that defines me? What is it that I allow to define me? Do I allow the world to define me? Do I allow my perfectionism... or the voice that speaks out of my perfectionism to define me? Who or what defines me?

I struggle with this question because at different times I have different answers. Hanging in my office is a towel that says, "Remember who you are." It's a towel because I am to remember that I am claimed by Christ, I am defined by Christ, in the waters of baptism. I know that... I know that I am Kate, a child of God. But in my weaker moments, in my times of doubt, I find myself trying to depend on me... to depend on what I can and cannot do. I define myself by the world... by the level of success or the level of failure. Or perhaps I should say that sometimes I define myself by the crazy expectations I set for myself which never seem good enough.

Advent and Christmas always seem to be a time of spiritual renewal for me... a reminder of who I am, of who defines me. It is not the world, rather a baby laying in a manger, that defines me. But how do we, how do I, carry this notion through the rest of the year? How do I constantly remember what defines me?

This is something that I ponder. Not only for myself but for my ministry. How do we as the Church remind the people what defines them? What defines us?

I continue to ponder...

Kate

You have new Picture Mail!

Odd...

There came a point last night when I thought to myself, "I'm getting too old for this..."

Last night we had a lock-in for our Sr. High students at Lord of Life and I was a chaperone. After some pizza, we went cosmic bowling until about 12:30 in the morning. I had the thought about getting too old sometime between 11 and midnight... just when I was starting to get sleepy. There were quite a few moments in that particular hour when I thought I wouldn't make it very far into the night and at only 24, I'm getting too old to stay up all night.

So I did what any other sane person in my situation (ok, so maybe sane people don't put themselves into the position I was in last night) would do - I started to consume mass quantities of caffeine. Soon I was doing alright and amazingly enough, I was awake all night and many people this morning told me that I didn't look like I'd stayed up all night at all. Many also told me that I looked better than the kids did (which I think was probably true... I think I felt better as well). Last night and this morning was unusual for me. I am usually seeking a bed around four in the morning at the latest and last night I felt pretty good at 4. I also felt pretty good at 6 and then again at 7... I started to zone out during Sunday School... but I was holding it together (at least I like to think so). So in some ways, I just needed to get through the initial sleepiness and then I was fine. Very odd...

I did come home after worship this morning and crash for a couple of hours. Now I've had dinner and I'm starting to feel pretty sleepy... probably in for an early bedtime tonight.

In other news things are going pretty well around here and I'm having a blast. Getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the Advent season. Plenty of stuff to do, to occupy my time. I've also had a good time in the past week or two hanging out with some friends and getting out a bit. Life's pretty good right now... even if I am sleepy. =)

Kate

Let It Snow!

I knew it would come eventually... snow that is. Everybody kept saying it... I kept waiting... but the last week in November was an absolutely beautiful week and while there had been a few other snow showers before then, there really hadn't been much to speak of. I started to wonder if the people here just exaggerated the amount of snow they get here.

Well, in some respects I still feel that I have yet to see a really good snow storm... but it's definitely here. Early yesterday morning we had a storm come through that left probably about four inches of snow when all was said and done. Most of it stayed around yesterday and last night but melted off today. But tomorrow promises a bigger storm. The prediction right now is to get 3 to 5 inches tomorrow and another 1 to 2 tomorrow night. We'll see how much snow we actually get... but when the forecast says the high temperature of the day comes at midnight... I know we're in trouble. =)

So that's it... snow has arrived and I'm looking forward to more of it.

Kate

What a Weekend!

It's been a wild past couple of days.

Friday was my day off and I was expecting to have lunch with a friend from Trinity. But the weather forecast didn't look good and he decided not to make the drive over from Toledo. There was supposed to be snow and ice... but it wound up missing us to the north. But we did get wind!

At noon on Friday the power went out. The wind knocked over a tree or something and both the church and my house were without power. So I went out for lunch and then bummed around town for another couple of hours. When I got home at 3:00 that afternoon, the power was still off. But within fifteen minutes of me being home, I heard a couple clicks and the water pump in my well turned on. I had water pressure, but no power in the rest of my house. After checking the breakers, I headed over to the church where we had partial power. The workroom had power and lights but the main portion of the office had no lights. We didn't have power for the phones or the server either so we had no internet.

Because I still didn't have power, I went over to a friend's house (they still had power) and took a movie I rented, Superman Returns, with me. We watched half the movie, took a break to eat dinner, and then returned to finish the movie. We got within a half hour of the end of the movie when their power went out! I stayed there for an hour and a half before heading home to see if I was still without power.

Before I could get home, Rob (my supervisor) called and asked where I was. I explained and he said he could answer the question about power at my house. He was at the church and knew that I didn't have power. So instead of spending the night at my house, I went over to Rob's (where they had power) and spent the night.

The next morning, we went to Cuyahoga Falls to elect a bishop. It was an all day meeting... a long, long meeting... Part of the issue was the time needed between the ballots to count the votes. They filled the time with presentations from a guy with Augsburg Fortress and showcasing some of the synod's congregations' websites. It could get kind of boring... but that's ok. The good part was that we did in fact elect a bishop. The next bishop of the Northeast Ohio Synod is Rev. Elizabeth Eaton. I believe that she was the best candidate out of the seven candidates the field was narrowed down to after the second ballot.

After the meeting, I ate dinner at Rob's house again and played with the kids a bit... then finally left his house around 10:45. Even as I returned home last night, there was a crew working on one of the power poles just across from my house. The night before, I had to go to Rob's the long way because they were working in the same area and had closed the road. It was nuts. But the good news is that I returned home and had power. Last night was the first time in 36 hours I was home for more than a half hour. =)

Today I had church of course and then went with our mid school students and a few high school students to sing Christmas carols at a couple of care facilities. I didn't get home until 3:45 and I was exhausted. I didn't go to bed on Friday night until 12:30 and then last night I went to bed around midnight again. Both days I got up at 6:30... so I was ready for a nap this afternoon and am probably going to bed soon.

It has definitely been a wild ride the last couple of days, but I have had a lot of fun. It was a bunch of fun hanging out with Rob, Kim, and the three kids the past two nights and even though the meeting was long yesterday, I did get to see several friends and faculty members from Trinity. I also have plenty of stories from Friday, which I might post at another time because this post seems to have extended into the length of a ten page paper. =)

Christ's Peace,
Kate

What a Change!

So... for pretty much the past week, the weather here has been gorgeous. Definitely shorts weather. I never thought I'd be wearing shorts and not require a jacket of any kind for the last week in November... but that's been the case. However, now we're returning to the 'normal' weather. Here's the forcast for the next several days:

Thanksgiving Eve Sermon

So, as promised, here's my combined Thanksgiving Eve sermon. I start, Anthony the intern from Holy Angels Catholic Church continues at the part marked "Anthony" and then I finish...

Sermon - Thanksgiving Eve, 2006

Text: Matthew 6:25-33

In his book, “The Lord is My Shepherd,” Rabbi Harold Kushner cites a story about a group of tourists on safari in Africa. They had hired several native tribesmen to carry their supplies while they made the trek. After three days, the tribesmen told them they would have to stop and rest for a day. The tourists were not tired, and the tribesmen explained, “We have walked too far too fast and now we must wait for our souls to catch up with us.”

Thanksgiving is a time to allow our souls to catch up with us…

I’ve been the intern at Lord of Life Lutheran Church for about three months now. I’ve had my share of ups and downs during that time. But until recently I’ve very much felt like one of the tribesmen carrying supplies and walking through the desert in Africa. The difference is that I’ve decided to carry my own baggage – not some tourist’s.

I’ve been walking through the last three months weighed down by worry. Worry that I won’t do my job right. Worry that what I may have learned in seminary won’t serve me at all in the parish. Worry that people won’t like me. Worry that I may not be a good pastor.

Worry, worry, worry.

It weighed on me like a ton of bricks – and I carried it with me wherever I went. To the office, to the store, visits with shut-in members, conversations with people in the congregation. Three months – a short amount of time – unless you’re carrying the weight of a dozen worries with you everywhere you go.

I walked too far, too fast and now I need my soul to catch up.

Thanksgiving is a time to allow our souls to catch up with us…

One day for our souls to catch up with us – one day out of a whole year. The tribesmen stopped after walking for only three days. We stop after walking for three hundred sixty four days, that is unless it’s a leap year, then it’s three hundred sixty-five.

One day doesn’t seem to be near enough for our souls to completely catch up after three hundred sixty-four days of walking with heavy baggage.

We spend those days worrying about what we will eat, or what we will wear.

Three hundred sixty-four days we worry about how to pay for our house and our utilities. We worry about our jobs, if we’ll be fired or if we’ll get a promotion. We worry about sports and piano lessons for our kids. We worry about our own health or the health of our loved ones. Will mom make it through surgery? Will we have to put grandpa into a nursing home? We worry about finding people to watch our kids when we have to run to a meeting. We worry about what colleges we’ll be accepted to. We worry about who will like us – who will hate us. We worry about what we will do with the rest of our lives. If what we are doing is what God has called us to do.

Worry, worry, worry.

For three hundred sixty-four days we carry the baggage of our lives. It is an exhausting task – carrying all these worries around. It can and often does drag us down.

The crowds following Jesus spent plenty of time carrying the heavy baggage of their lives too. They spent three hundred sixty-five days worrying about what they would eat, what they would drink, what they would wear.

Worry, worry, worry.

What will they feed their kids that night? Fish? Bread? Where will it come from? Will the day’s catch have enough fish to pay all the bills? Little Phillip’s tunic was ripped in half while he was playing with the other kids – how can we afford to replace it now? Can we sew it back together for a couple more months until we get the year end bonus?

Worry, worry, worry.

I can only imagine what the people thought when Jesus told them not to worry about their lives, what they will eat or what they will drink, or about their body, what they will wear.

Don’t worry??? What do you mean?? How can I not worry at a time like this – with my life and the life of my family at stake?

Yet Jesus tells them, tells us, not to worry.

Anthony’s half of the Sermon

Do not fear, be glad and rejoice for our God is doing great things among us! Stop, look around you, and allow your soul to catch up with the business of your life. We gather this evening as a Christian Family despite our worries and anxieties precisely because our God remains ever faithful to us. We must have the courage to allow Jesus to transform our worries into true peace. The worries you and I have…the heavy baggage we carry around with us…these things are very real…but as baptized Christians these worries and baggage are no longer our own…we do not have to bear these burdens alone. Christ bears them with us!

We are called as baptized Christians to never forget that Jesus Christ has the power to transform our anxieties…our worries…our burdens into peace and contentment. Our readings this evening remind all of us that there is no need to worry about our lives for the life we live as Christians is not our own but Christ is living within us! As Christian believers we were baptized into the new life of Christ…A life which transforms minds, and moves hearts…A life that is poured out for others…What greater gift have we to be thankful for? The real question now becomes: Have you and I embraced Christ’s gift of life to the fullest or not?

As a nation we have so much to be thankful for…our freedom, our democracy, the beauty of our land, the freedom to practice our faith, the blessings of family and friends, and our church communities. All of these blessed realities point to a larger truth…that you and I do not enjoy these benefits of merely our own accord…like our worries and anxieties, we do not carry these blessings on our own…True Thanksgiving helps us to recognize that all that we have, all that we are, is a gift from God!

We gather together this evening as one Christian Family to offer thanks and praise to God. In a spirit of thanksgiving, we rejoice together as a Christian People knowing that our God has ransomed us from worries, ransomed us from anxieties and fear…ransomed us from death…bringing us to new life in Christ Jesus! As a people united in the baptismal spirit of Christ, we place our fears, our worries and our anxieties in the loving embrace of Jesus.

Our prayer this evening becomes the words of the native tribesmen: “We have walked too far too fast and now we must wait for our souls to catch up with us.” Have you and I embraced Christ’s gift of life to the fullest by allowing our souls to catch up with us? This thanksgiving may we all have the courage to rest in the peace of God, the peace that only Christ can give.

Kate’s Part Again

I have had the privilege of traveling to Biloxi in the last two months to do some hurricane relief work. While I was there, I was reminded yet again of how much God is active in the world, of how much God constantly gives, even in the midst of the worry.

For the past year, the people of Biloxi and the rest of the Gulf Coast have been walking with the baggage of loss. Loss of homes, loss of family heirlooms, loss of precious photographs, even loss of life. Many lost everything they owned. For these people, their worries of food, clothing, and shelter are very real.

Yet Jesus says, “Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will drink or what you will wear.”

He says it every time a group leaves a place like Lord of Life or Holy Angels to travel to the Gulf Coast. He says it every time a volunteer shows up at a house to do some work. He says it with every person like Heather who takes a 6 month personal leave from work to volunteer in Biloxi. He says it with every article of clothing donated and every article given to somebody who needs it. He says it with every truck load of supplies sent. He says it with every nail and every screw. Every tube of caulk and every ceiling fan. He says it with every meal cooked and every comforting hug. He says it with every smile and every laugh.

Jesus says to all his children, “Do not worry… But strive first for the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”

And the only thing the people can do is say, “Thank You.”

Amen.

Good Stuff...

So I'm currently wearing shorts... not because I was playing basketball but because it's been that nice here lately. At some point today I checked the temperature and it was 67 degrees. 67! At the end of November! In Northeast Ohio! It's kind of some odd weather... particularly for some place where all the people keep telling me that I'll see more snow than I've seen in a while (doubtful... the mountains out west have a fair amount... but whatever). Also, lately I have seen quite a few people putting up sticks and poles around small roads and driveways... in an effort to see where the road or driveway is in the event of snow. Yet it's warm.

Granted, I know this will end... surely by weeks end when our warm temperatures are scheduled to end and the snow is supposed to set in. But I'll take the warm temperatures for now. =)

This has been a pretty good week for me. I preached twice... once on Wednesday with the intern from Holy Angels Catholic Church for Thanksgiving Eve and then again today for Christ the King. As such, I'm going to post both sermons for those who want to read them. Tonight, I post today's sermon because I conviently left my jump drive at the office with Wednesday's sermon on it. Expect me to post that one tomorrow or the day after.

Without further delay... here's today's sermon:

Sermon – Christ the King – November 26, 2006

Text: Revelation 1:4b-8

Some of you may have heard me say that there are two things that are the devil for me – pumpkin pie and green chile dip.

Both are oh so tasty – rich, creamy goodness. Warm pumpkin pie with just the right amount of whip cream on top… yummmmmmmm….. And green chile dip with the right combination of garlic and other spices plus the chiles to give it the right flavor and a bit of a kick.

Give me some corn chips and a tub of green chile dip and it’ll be gone in no time. Same with the pumpkin pie – give me a fork and soon the whole pie will be gone.

I’m held captive to those two foods, I can’t stop eating them and self control is something that exists only in my dreams.

Simply put, pumpkin pie and green chile dip are the devil. I can’t stop eating them and inevitably they will make me gain three hundred pounds.

I’m starting to think that I should put on the list of devils, of things that hold me captive, anything that Jim Meyers brings into the office. That includes any form of beef jerky and chocolate.

But I’m not only held captive by food. There’s always perfectionism. Feeling like I need to be perfect, to do everything right, to be the best at everything. Feeling like I need to earn everything, that what I have is due to me. I work and work and work in order to obtain perfection – but really it is unattainable and I usually just wear myself out trying to get to that unattainable goal.

We’re captive to a society that values money more than love. We’re captive to sales, to the notion that we’ll save money if only we’ll spend more. Captive to buying more stuff in an effort to fill the emptiness inside.

We’re captive to our minds, to the thoughts that drag us down. We’re captive to our desire, our need, for love. We want to be liked, we want to be loved.

Some of us are captive to an illness or disease. We’re captive to that which breaks down our minds and our bodies. We’re captive to cancer… to MS… to AIDS… the effects of the disease hold us down, bind us in shackles.

We are captive to doubt and worry. To greed, to insecurity, to war, to poverty. We are captive to terror and terrorists. We’re captive to death and most often we are captive to ourselves.

We are captive…

It’s like a bad marketing campaign. “We are captive – the story of our lives” is the slogan. What holds us down, what makes us do what we don’t want to. What hurts us; causes pain. We are bound in chains, the chains of self-absorption, of despair, of loneliness.

It’s a marketing campaign the Roman Emperor Domitian repeatedly sold. Late in the first century, at the time of the early church, he reinforced the imperial cult – the notion that the Roman Emperor was a god. People were captive to the cult – captive to Domitian. People were expected to worship the emperor – to make a periodic offering.

Those who refused, those who didn’t buy into the marketing campaign, were tortured and often put to death. Christians were often the ones who refused to worship the emperor.

But some buckled under the pressure… some were more concerned about losing their own lives. They were captive to the emperor and his marketing techniques.

But God was mounting another marketing campaign, a timeless campaign – one that proclaimed the truth. God hired a guy named John as the spokesperson – to proclaim to the people that they really weren’t captive, to proclaim to us that we are not captive. To proclaim freedom from captivity!

So John does – “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come.” Grace and peace in the face of fear and captivity. Grace and peace to you – now. Grace and peace from the one who is and who was and who is to come. Grace and peace from God your Father. Grace and peace from the one who is and the one who always was… long before that emperor of yours. Grace and peace from the one who will always be here… long after the emperor is gone. Grace and peace from the God of Moses who is the great I AM. Grace and peace.

“And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.”

Grace and peace from the one who loves us and freed us! “We are free!” John proclaims.

No need to fear the emperor, we are free. The emperor cannot hold us captive. Pumpkin pie cannot hold us captive.

Never mind the beast that comes. Never mind the forces of evil. Never mind what weighs you down. Never mind the devil that holds you captive. John proclaims that Jesus frees us from all of that.

But it doesn’t end there. There’s more to this campaign, more information.

Jesus has “made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Jesus has set us free to be a kingdom. Free to worship, free to serve, free to create justice, free to give, free to be children of God.

“Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.” Every eye will see Jesus, even those who pierced him. Even the emperor, the one who claims to be a god, will see Jesus. No one will be left out.

Jesus is the real king, the king over all the rulers of the earth, even the nasty emperor.

In the end, Jesus offers his own voice to the campaign – “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

I am the Alpha and Omega. I am the beginning and the end. I am A to Z and everything in between.

I am A for always loving you.

I am C for chemo for cancer.

I am D for dying and then rising again.

I am G for giving you life.

I am H for hugs in the midst of the pain.

I am L for love.

I am P for protection.

I am S for strength.

I am T for the tears that you cry with friends.

I am W for winning the war over sin and death.

I am everything – I am the beginning and I am the end. I was here before creation began and will be here long after it ends. I am the one who knew you before you were born. I am the one who calls you by name. I am Lord of all – Lord of all the rulers of the earth. I am the one who was, the one who is, and the one coming. I AM.

Everything that we think holds us captive cannot possibly hold us down. Christ frees us, releases us from our shackles. Christ has power over everything, everything.

Even D for doubt and P for perfectionism or perhaps even pumpkin pie. Even G for green chile dip and W for war. Even A for AIDS and M for MS. Even C for commercialism and R for racism. Christ is Lord of all.

God’s marketing campaign isn’t really a marketing campaign at all – it is truth. We are not captive! We are free!

Everything, big and small, is subject to God, subject to Jesus. Jesus is everything – Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, A to Z… and everything in between.

God wins. Pure and simple. Amen.

Emerging Church, Change in the Church, Etc...

Well, I just finished reading A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren. A good book worth pondering and I think I'm already most of the way in McLaren's "camp" in my own thinking. McLaren advocates for a post-modern church... it's not the easiest thing to explain and I'm still wrestling with what it means to be a post-modern church, so I'll probably try explaining it some other time. But for the moment I am wrestling with the notion that there is need for a significant change in the church.

Part of my questioning tonight is based on something I was faced with earlier today. I was watching Six Feet Under (a TV show) and one of the characters is talking to his priest about bringing in another priest, one who would probably shake things up a bit, and David, the character, tells his priest he's against bringing in the other priest. When asked why, David says, "My life is a complicated mess right now and I've experienced a lot of loss lately. It seems that everything around me is changing and church is the one thing that is constant in my life. I need the place that helps me understand the changes to be constant." (Or something like that... my own paraphrase)

I thought about that for a bit today. Is that the main reason people come to church? For the stability? Is this why the church really hasn't changed a whole lot in many, many years? What does Jesus call us to? Are we not talking enough about how to deal with change? What are our priorities? Are we holding on to this life too much and that's why change is such a battle for us?

So now, faced with all those questions and my recent reading, I've been thinking about transition in the church. If we are to move to something that I think is a healthier way of looking at things and probably more true to the Gospel and what Jesus was about, how do we do that in congregations where people expect the Church to be the one constant in their ever changing lives? Should we make the change, trying to be as conscious of the fear of change, and hope that those people who can't deal with the change find the Church after things settle into place? Will things even settle out soon enough for those who left to come back? Even if they did, would those people even come back or would things have scarred them to the point of having no desire to at all?

I have just spiraled myself out of control with questions that are probably only answered by trying something. But what I have become more conscious of is how we deal with change. What is constant in our lives... God. We need to continually focus on God and talk about that in the midst of the change. I think we also need to talk about the change in the church. Don't change things and hope that people deal with them. Intentionally say, "I know we are talking about some major changes here, but here's why I think it is important to do this..." Focus on God and be honest. Be willing to change if the change we started with isn't working.

A lot of pondering that will not stop for a little while I'm sure. But that's where I'm at for the moment. Look forward to your thoughts and comments.

Kate

Interesting Services

I've attended or lead at four worship services this weekend... two more than the average for me. In addition to the two Sunday morning worship services here at Lord of Life, I attended a Lutheran Revival Saturday night and a U2charist tonight. I did in fact say a Lutheran Revival... and no, there wasn't an altar call. =)

I attended both services with a group of people from Lord of Life. I had thought about attending them out of curiosity. But I started to talk with a couple of people in the office about them and since we are considering starting a satellite church which would most likely offer worship in a style different from the traditional Lutheran setting, we decided to offer these worship services as 'field trips' to explore the possibility for alternative services. So some of us went Saturday night to the Revival and then some more of us went to the U2charist tonight. Both were at other Lutheran Churches here in Cleveland.

The Revival was interesting... long, but interesting. We left when the service was basically over, but not completely and that was after two hours had already passed. There were places where I did not realize we'd been there for so long (a good thing), but there were others when I thought, we really should move on. They brought in an Evangelist from West Virginia and a good portion of his congregation came with him including their praise band. Apparently the ELCA also got word of this and is interested in pursuing the Revival movement so they sent one of the Evangelism people from the Churchwide office and a camera crew to make a documentary. It was nuts... all for something that I thought was just ok. I thought there were some things that were done well and there were others that were done not so well. So by and large the service was just ok and not something I'd like to pursue in my congregation... at least the way they did it.

As for the U2charist, it was something I thought was very well done and really enjoyed it. For those of you not familiar with the concept, a U2charist is a Eucharist service set around the music of the Irish band U2. The band's music is clearly Christian and the lead singer, Bono, is a big proponent of the ONE campaign (if you want more information about that, click the rotating ribbon in the top right corner of this blog or visit www.one.org). I thought the music was better than the revival which is not terribly surprising because I think U2's music has more depth than the praise songs played at the revival. The bonus was that the band who played the music was very gifted musically and the music sounded very much like the actual band was playing it. Additionally, the prayers and other insertions in the service were well done and very meaningful. Ironically, I believe I was more revived spiritually (what the revival was supposed to do) from this service than from the revival.

So two very different services - two different experiences. The U2charist is something I would consider doing, but only if I could find musicians talented enough to pull it off musically. But the concept seems viable to me... music with depth, music that engages, combined with prayers and a message with meaning. Now that I think about it, I think the depth is what was missing from the revival for me. I've never really been one for cheap faith - faith that is all praise all the time. Maybe I am just painfully Lutheran and looking for the Theology of the Cross - the suffering at the foot of the cross that makes me long for God's grace. But then again, maybe I long for that because that's how we get to a faith with meaning. Just maybe.

Kate

What a Headline!

My homepage is set to CNN.com partially because I need something with the news in front of me all the time so that I stay at least somewhat connected to the rest of the world. Anyway, when I looked today, I noticed the following headline:

Eunuchs find jobs as tax collectors

I wondered as I read it... have I managed to travel back to Biblical times and what kind of story does this refer to? Come to find out it's some new program in India... I'm really not sure where they got the idea or why it's working... but whatever. There it is... =)

Kate

One Advantage...

One advantage mainline churches (like the ELCA, United Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church USA) have over Evangelical, non-denominational churches is the tie to a larger system. With Ted Haggard's recent actions and resignation from his church in Colorado Springs (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/05/haggard.allegations/index.html), his church is in danger (along with other Evangelicals) of having a fall out. Often times, large non-denominational churches are led by very charismatic leaders who attract people. The problem becomes a focus on the leader perhaps above God even. Then when one of these leaders falls, God goes down with him.

In a mainline denomination, there is a larger system that can help in such a situation. Bishops or other pastors are able to step in and help the healing process. It sounds like some of that is happening in Colorado Springs at New Life Church - but the process there and the standards for leaders seem to be much less defined than in the ELCA and other mainline denominations.

It is difficult no matter which church denomination something like this happens in - but we are all flawed and human. I pray for Haggard, his family, and all the members of his church now.

Kate

Pictures...

I believe it is time for a few pictures.

So, back in October, we had our first snow here. It wasn't much, but we did have some accumulation in October. Here's a picture of the small amount of snow we got.

Also, for Halloween, I thought I should be a good Lutheran and carve Martin Luther into the side of a large pumpkin... so here are a few pictures of that.

Finally... we are barely into November and are already having our second snow. This round promises more snow than the first partially because it's colder but really because there is already more snow on the ground than the last time. Here's a picture I took tonight and imagine that it will continue to snow overnight and tomorrow morning.

A Few Things I Learned This Weekend...

My brother was here this weekend. It was a quick visit, but really a well timed visit in that I needed a few days off and it was good having Kevin around. I did learn a few things this weekend... or at least I was able to reflect on a few things along the way.

The first thing I learned... never see a movie simply because it was filmed in your hometown. Kevin and I went to see "Employee of the Month" on Friday night. It was filmed at a Costco store in Albuquerque and while it wasn't my first choice for a movie, it was the movie Kevin and I could agree on. Now, I don't know who they hired for quality control/editing control for this movie, but there was no continuity and there were many, many things that were a little off kilter. The main thing was that the checkout line numbers were never in order (read 1, 4, 6, 3, 7, 8, 10, 2...) and even varied sometimes between cuts that were seconds apart. They were never in the same order either. The movie had it's funny parts, but by and large it was just a waste of money and time and I wish I would have seen it when it was out on DVD instead of in the theater. But I'm actually ok with that because it got me out to the theater and I'm ok with that in a weird sort of way.

The second thing I learned/observed. The Barenaked Ladies have a lot of fun doing what they do and so should we. Kevin was out here not simply for a visit (who wouldn't want to come to Cleveland where it's 20 degrees colder and a heck of a lot wetter than where you live?), but came out for the Barenaked Ladies concert. It was a really good concert as their concerts always are. I saw them in Albuquerque five years ago and they were good then. But what I noted and had seen before is that they have a lot of fun at their concerts which then means that the people at the concert have fun too. Here's hoping we all have as much fun as they do doing what we do for our jobs.

Additionally, I was struck by how intergenerational the band's audience is too. There were people in their forties and fifties there as well as others my age and then a few kids with their parents. Obviously they appeal to a wide variety of people.


Ok, the last thing I observed/noted... why does "Deal or No Deal" continue to only have women holding the numbered cases? Where are the hot guys for those of us who prefer to look at them rather than women? Isn't this an indication of how far we really are from equality? We have to demean women by having them hold cases and not have any guys in the group? If we are going to pay people because they look good holding a metal case with a shiny, black number, then why can't we be equal opportunity lookers? Why can't we pay men just like we pay women?

So that's it for right now. Expect more later... maybe not observations from this weekend specifically but other observations/reflections.

Kate

Moving along...

Things are moving along fairly rapidly... I realize it's been a while since I last posted, but things seem to be flying by and I've been so busy that it's been difficult for me to find the time/energy to write something. Often times it simply slips my mind until I'm laying in my bed and thinking about the day for the 30 seconds between the time I turn the lights off and the time I fall asleep. But honestly, things are moving right along and I'm almost not sure where the time has gone or is going.

I've been here for two months now and in some ways it seems like I've been here forever and in others it seems like I've just moved in. Both are good things. As far as the first, I'm getting to the point where I'm so comfortable here that it seems like I've been here for a while now. However, time flies when you're having fun (and when you get older I'm learning) and time is certainly flying. With that in mind, it seems like I just moved in last week.

Things are going well. Friday night and most of Saturday was spent at a Confirmation Retreat with our 7th and 8th graders. I planned pretty much the whole retreat so it was a lot of work, but it was worth it. We have some really good kids in confirmation this year and while they can get a little loud at times, we had good conversations on this retreat. One of the girls' parents' told me this morning that her favorite memory was Friday night devotions. We were at a Holiday Inn in Independence (about 25 minutes away) and there was a very happening bar in the lobby of the hotel. It seemed that many of the people arriving there for an evening in the bar were locals. I find it very interesting that a hotel bar would attract such a crowd... but it did. Anyway, we had enough kids that we needed a bigger space to gather for devotions than trying to crowd into one of our rooms. So we went down to the lobby... right outside the bar in fact. There were lots of people milling about, several with a beer or some other beverage in their hands, all the while the kids (and adults) are sharing their highs and lows (one good thing and one not so good thing that happened to them in the past week). Finally, we all held hands and prayed... right in the middle of the bar crowd almost. One of the parents who was dropping off their kid after a football game and arrived right as we started praying, said that we were drawing a lot of attention from the others in the room. I bet we were! Mind you, we weren't actually in the bar, but we were close enough that we may as well have been. When I think about it, I wonder what the other people were thinking. Not that I really care, but do they think we are some fundamentalist group who was praying for their souls because they were out drinking and having fun? Honestly, we weren't praying for the people around us at all (maybe we should have been... but we weren't). I must admit that it is one of my favorite memories of the weekend too. =)

So that's probably a long enough story. I'll post more later when I am better rested. I spent the afternoon and early evening helping Rob (my supervisor) put in a Pergo floor at his house. He and I got really good at while we were in Biloxi (and I found I really liked doing it). Plus, he and his wife Kim had already made a decision to replace the carpeting in their family room with something else before we went to Biloxi. So, it was while we were down south that he decided Pergo was a good idea. I think it was a good choice. It looks good and it wasn't terribly difficult to put down. In fact, it was easier than the floor in Biloxi!

The short story is, I missed my Sunday afternoon nap. So I'm pretty beat. I didn't (obviously) sleep in this morning and I didn't get my nap. I didn't get too much sleep on Friday night either... so I'm ready for bed! With that, I'll say good night and I'll write more later.

Kate

Home

I got home from Biloxi Sunday night at about 5:00. While it is definitely good to be home, I also sort of miss Biloxi. I want to go back. It was definitely a good trip and a really good group. Even at the end of the trip when we had been with each other for a week straight and exhausted (we even slept next to each other in the Sactuary at Bethel... so literally 24 hours/7 days straight), we were still laughing. We definitely had our moments, but nothing bad and it really was good.

We spent most of the week working on Lavurta Hollingsworth's house (I hope I spelled that right... probably not). We came so close to getting her back into her house and while there were two whole rooms we didn't touch, the only room really preventing her from returning was the bathroom. We didn't get nearly as far as we wanted, but we did a lot! I spent a fair amount of time painting, helping to put up molding, and flooring. I also was often another set of hands for people when they needed it.

The week was amazing for several reasons. One was being able to get to know the other members of the group better. I think I have a better relationship with everybody who went, including Pastor Rob (my supervisor). I also valued being able to do the work and give Lavurta a good chunk of her house back. It really did go from nothing (they had gutted the place) to something really beautiful. The other reason it was good for me was to listen to the stories of all the people there. Stories of how they watched their cars wash away while huddling with 19 other people on the second story of a house. Stories of 6 feet of water in a house and hosing the hardwood floors off just to get the gunk out. Stories of giving DNA to identify the body of a son who didn't survive the storm. Stories of people watching their daughter float away in the flood. Incredible stories of what people have lost and yet are so grateful and happy for what they still have. I'll continue to tell the stories because they need to be told and there need to be more volunteers to go to Biloxi and all along the Gulf Coast.

Now for the important part... pictures. Take a look here for some pictures: http://www.loloh.org/monday.html Click on the links toward the top of the page to go to the other days for the rest of the pictures.

Now, most of the pictures on that site are mine, so at this link, you'll see a fair number of repeat pictures, but here's a few more and these have captions. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ubi1kanobi/album?.dir=/be05re2&.src=ph I also recommend clicking on 'view slideshow' to see the captions and all the pictures.

Let me know what you think.

Kate

More of Biloxi...

I realize it's been a couple of days. But it's definitely been a crazy couple of days. It has also been a really good couple of days.

We've been working for about three and a half days now. The first full day, Tuesday, I started out with a group at The Lutheran Church of the Good Shephard (Missouri Synod) working in their sanctuary and cry room. We sanded down the walls and put some more dry wall and mud up then sanded that down again. It was hard work but good. I met the pastor of the church - he's only been here about three years and is only three years out of seminary. He is only a few years older than I am. As he said, "Talk about baptism by fire!" It is kind of crazy to think that in four and a half years I could be out there some where and have to deal with something like this (not likely, but still kind of crazy). In addition to the pastor we met several congregation members who came in throughout the day. We listened to their stories and I am truly amazed by the people down here. Every single one said thank you and told us how much we were appreciated. It truly is amazing.

Tuesday afternoon my group moved on to join the other three people in our group. We started to work on a woman's home who had flood water at least 6 feet high in her house. Over the past few days we've been working on her home trying to get it to at least the point where she can move in. I spent most of today putting in flooring and putting up molding. Yesterday was spent primarily painting and doing other random jobs around the house. Today I also spent some time with another group member, Tom, and the owner of the house listening to her story. She was here through the entire storm. She eventually went down the street to a neighbor's two story house and when the water started to rise into the first story, they went to the second where she watched her car be submerged under the flood waters. After the rain stopped but the winds continued, her son-in-law went out and found several other people in need of help and at some point they had over 20 people in the second story of that house. I am in awe that these people have gone through this kind of thing. Secondly, the people around here have formed a real community, watching out for one another and definitely willing to help each other out (us included) at a moment's notice. I wonder what it was like down here before Katrina. Was there this kind of community? If not, why does such a tragedy bring people together like this? I have my own answers, but I occasionally like to just pose questions.

Ok, I should probably stop now... need to go lay in my bed soon and I'm assuming shortly after I do that I'll be asleep. We work tomorrow and then leave for Ohio on Saturday morning returning on Sunday some time.

That's what's going on now... more later. I'm sure there will be pictures after I return at some point... some of them are amazing. In the meantime, take a look at http://www.loloh.org for some pictures.

Kate

In Biloxi...

After many, many, many hours in the car, we are finally here in Biloxi. We arrived at some point this afternoon and after only being here for about 45 minutes several of us immediately went to work on the roof of the church. Apparently the roof was really the only part of the church that was damaged (from what I was told) and they did replace it. Well, apparently there was also a leak in the roof and that was what they were working on today when we got here.

Some reflections about the past 10 hours especially... when we got to Biloxi, we traveled along the coast and saw some of the destruction that has happened. It's been over a year and typically around Biloxi some sense of normalcy has returned. However, you drive along the gulf and you see lots and lots of signs where fast food restaurants used to be and where there is a sign, there isn't a restaurant. I think I was particularly struck by a condo building where on the side, somebody painted, "Mom, we're ok." It's still there... images we saw on the news over a year ago... still here, live in person. I reflected a lot on what's left after everything is taken away. When Jesus says, "Do not store up your treasures here on earth, but in heaven," I think of things stripped away. But today, I also talked with a woman who had no physical damage to her house but instead had her son and daughter-in-law killed in the storm. She had to wait two weeks for them to identify the body and she also had to provide DNA for them to identify her son's body. What's left when your family is ripped from you? The only conclusion I can come to is God. I believe that's the reason why so many poor people have such a strong faith. I also believe that is why it is so hard for me and the rest of my middle class peers have such a hard time with faith. We are so used to doing things on our own... to being able to support ourselves, be able to take care of ourselves. It's hard to rely on others, to rely on something or somebody we can't see. What's left after everything is stripped away?

I'm sure I will ponder this more as I journey through this week. Look for more posts, either while I'm here or after I return to Ohio.

Kate

Five More Days...

I guess I tend to update no more frequently than every five days, sometimes not even that frequently. So I also guess it's time for another update.

Things here are no less crazy than they were last week. In fact I might argue they are crazier. Part of it is just the crazy busy schedule that is normal with the job. The other part is that I'm going out of town tomorrow and then again on Sunday. Tomorrow morning I wake up super early and head out of town to Columbus for Trinity Days. I'm pretty excited to visit with friends down there. So I'll be down there all of tomorrow and then part of Friday before I come back up here and get back to work again. Saturday morning the semi-truck comes with pumpkins which we unload. I'll probably spend the rest of Saturday morning/afternoon getting some devotions ready and then that evening go to the Cleveland Zoo to walk with our middle school students for suicide prevention. Then Sunday morning I do two church services in addition to doing stuff with the mid schoolers between services and probably also sitting in on a class or two. Then after second service, I leave for Biloxi.

In addition to leaving, things will continue here at Lord of Life while we're gone and since both Pastor Rob and I are going to Biloxi, we need to find people to teach confirmation while we're gone. So I've been working on that as well. Crazy busy, but good.

Anyway, that's what's going on around here. Expect pictures and some reflections from Biloxi either while I'm down there or after I come back. There will likely be pictures up on Lord of Life's website as well. http://www.loloh.org

Look for more later... hopefully less than five days from now.

Kate

Finally...

It’s taken a while, but I am finally posting my second sermon (look for it at the end of this post). I’ve had some internet issues which seemed to have resolved themselves for the time being... we’ll see if that trend continues though.

Things here are crazy but good. I’m busy, but I’m finally starting to get my hands around what’s going on here and working on stuff as I go. Next week promises to be crazier than most weeks. Monday night I have Milkshakes and Ministry (Sr. High Youth Group), Tuesday night is my first Internship Committee meeting, Wednesday I have Sacred Grounds in the morning and then Caring Hearts (the seniors) in the evening, Thursday is Trinity Days so I’ll be in Columbus for that and then Friday I’ll probably still be down there. Saturday morning a semi arrives with pumpkins and we unload that followed possibly by an Indians game in the afternoon and then the Into the Light Walk at the Cleveland Zoo with the middle schoolers. Sunday morning I leave for a week long mission trip to Biloxi. Nuts, freaking nuts! But it should be good.

So... that’s what’s going on around here. Busy but good. Definitely in full swing.

As for the sermon, I should say that this was the second week in a preaching series on prayer. The week’s focus was “hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” Without further delay, here it is... for better or worse.

Sermon - September 17, 2006

Text: Mark 8:31-38

"It's the sense of touch. Any real city you walk, you know, you brush past people, people bump into you. In LA, nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something."

These words begin a 36-hour journey through the lives of twelve strangers living in Los Angeles, California. These twelve people, all characters in the movie Crash, find their lives intersecting in unimaginable ways.

It starts with a hostile confrontation between a Chinese woman and a Latino woman, each finding fault in the other based on racial and ethnic assumptions. The Chinese woman crashed her car into the back of the Latino woman's. The Chinese woman calls the other a stupid Mexican. The Latino woman picks on the other's accent, claiming that if she could see over the steering wheel maybe she'd be able to blake, as that was how the other had repeatedly pronounced brake.

The story then continues with one poor assumption after another, all based on race. Lives crashing into one another. People crashing into one another.

It continues with two African-American men carjacking the LA District Attorney and his wife, Jean, at gunpoint, both of whom are White. That evening, in an effort to maintain their safety, the couple has their locks changed. In the midst of the craziness, Jean pulls her husband aside and tells him that she wants the locks changed again in the morning. Her reason, because the man the lock company sent is Latino, wearing a plain white t-shirt and khaki pants that sag below his waist, not to mention the tattoos. She assumes he's a gang-banger and will immediately give copies of their new keys to all his homies. Her husband thinks she's being irrational and the conversation quickly escalates into a screaming match in which the entire house knows how Jean feels, including the locksmith.

The movie continues with provocative scene after provocative scene.

When I first saw it I found it painful to go on watching at times. I also found myself wondering, "Is this what the kingdom looks like?"

I thought of the beginning of Mark when "Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.'"

The kingdom of God has come near. We pray for it to be near, to come near, every Sunday. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come…

Your kingdom come, here to this place, to where we are.

Is this what the kingdom looks like?

People crashing into one another - hurting each other? People flying planes into buildings? Babies dying when they are three days old? 24-year-olds committing suicide because they have lost hope? People unable to admit they might be wrong and then refusing to talk to one another because of an argument? Teenagers crying out to spend some time with their parents? People always assuming the worst in others and acting accordingly?

Is this what the kingdom looks like? Is the kingdom really near? Was Jesus lying?

I sometimes have to wonder.

The disciples had to wonder too. They had heard Jesus proclaim that the kingdom was near, that it was coming. Yet, he was now proclaiming that "the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."

Is this what the kingdom looks like? That the Son of Man, that Jesus, must undergo great suffering? That he be rejected by the elders? The chief priests and the scribes? That he must be killed? Is this what the kingdom looks like? Is it really near?

Peter had to wonder.

Actually, Peter really didn't think it was possible. There was no way that the kingdom was near and that Jesus would, that Jesus could undergo great suffering and be killed. It was simply not possible. So "Peter took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke him," to tell him what he really thought, to get this crazy idea out of Jesus' head.

"But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.'"

In the opening scene of Crash, one of the characters turns to another and describes the crash. She says, "Graham, I think we got rear-ended, I think we spun around twice and somewhere in there, one of us lost our frame of reference."

Peter has lost his frame of reference. He is setting his mind not on divine things but on human things. Peter has spun around twice and somewhere in there, lost his frame of reference, God. He has forgotten that God is more powerful than any human thing. He's forgotten that God can work even in the midst of the worst human pain and suffering. Peter's lost his frame of reference and can't see how God is working in the suffering, the pain, and the death.

Perhaps I've lost my frame of reference. When I ask, "Is this what the kingdom looks like?" I have forgotten that God is more powerful than any human thing; that God can work even in the midst of the worst human pain and suffering. Yes, I am sure I have spun around and lost my frame of reference.

There are times in our lives when we all lose our frame of reference.

But prayer brings us back. Prayer reorients us. Prayer sets us straight after we have lost our frame of reference.

There is a quote taped to the keyboard in my office. I have no idea who put it there, but it helps remind me how to find my frame of reference.

It says, "Prayer doesn't change God, but changes the one who prays."

Søren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, had it right when he said this. Prayer is not about making sure God does what we think is right. About making sure God gives us what we think we are due or what we think we need. It isn't about changing God at all.

It is about a change in us, the ones praying. It is about taking us and spinning us back around to the direction we were originally facing, about showing us our frame of reference. Prayer, having a conversation with God, brings us closer to God, closer in relationship, closer to knowing God.

Like a magnet, the closer we get to God, the easier, faster, and more able we are to reorient ourselves. The easier it is to be able to see how near the kingdom really is.

It means that instead of simply seeing the pain in the loss of a three day old baby, we are able to see the good in the love of family and friends as they surround the devastated parents. The kingdom is present in that love.

Having our frame of reference means that we see the places in our lives where we are welcome, the places where we are comfortable. We find the places where we are able to cry, to let out some of the emotion of the difficulties of life. We are able to find release from the pain in these places.

One of these places might be church: worship, Milkshakes and Ministry, Sacred Grounds, or a conversation with another person here.

Another of these places might even be prayer, the intimate conversations with God.

Prayer opens us up to see the kingdom in the midst of the chaos. Instead of only seeing the pain of planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, we are able to see the ways the people of this country came together. The love expressed for one another, for life. The candlelight vigils, the phone calls made to loved ones, the support we find in one another. Five years later, we see new joys, new loves, that there is life after pain.

Prayer, constant prayer, helps us to maintain direction in our lives. It might mean praying for the Aurora-Streetsboro Mission Strategy, to be able to see where we are going or supposed to be going. Maybe it means praying for direction in a conflict at work or in a relationship. Praying gives us direction; it turns us around and gives us our frame of reference again. Praying regularly at 4:24… PM…. as Pastor Rob encouraged us to do last week, helps bring us closer to God, closer to our direction. One minute of prayer is one minute closer to God.

More importantly, prayer opens us to hope. Hope for a new creation for a new kingdom that is near! Hope opens us up to share in the resurrection of Christ. Yes, the Son of Man had to undergo great suffering, be rejected and then killed. But he also rose again on the third day. He lives and we do too. Our God is a powerful God who is constantly working in the midst of the chaos, setting right, what once went wrong… even in the pain and suffering of the cross. On the final day, all the chaos, the old kingdom, will pass away and there will be no more pain, no more suffering. We will live in the new kingdom, the new creation.

The kingdom is near.

After a close call with the law and another carjacking victim, one of the original carjackers rethinks some things… but maybe not everything. He continues to steal cars and when he steals a van, he finds it full of Chinese people smuggled into the country. He chooses to let them go in the middle of Chinatown instead of selling them to another man. He gives them life, he sets them free… even giving them 40 bucks for some dinner.

Something has changed for him, something has changed inside of him. He may not have folded his hands, bowed his head, and closed his eyes, but I am sure that God was working in and through him. It might seem like one little thing in the midst of some hugely wrong things in this man's life, but this is the kingdom of God.

"Prayer doesn't change God, but changes the one who prays." God changes the one who prays. This is what the kingdom looks like - our powerful God working in the midst of the messiness of life. In the midst of the crashes, God is changing every single one of us. Changing us to be able to see the kingdom, to be a part of the kingdom, the kingdom that is near. Amen.

And So it Continues...

I am currently sitting in front of the TV watching the USC/Nebraska football game. While I have an investment in every USC game (I went to school there, so it’s natural), this one is a tad more important as my advisor at Trinity is a huge, huge Nebraska fan. Well, that and my mom’s side of the family is all from Nebraska. But really, it’s all about bragging rights for the rest of the year with my advisor. =) I probably won’t be able to stay up and watch the entire game (the bad thing of being in the Eastern Time Zone) as I am preaching again tomorrow morning. I really need to try and do the early bedtime tonight.

Things are going pretty well here. I mentioned already that I’m preaching again... wasn’t scheduled to preach until October, but wound up having a switch in the schedule because Bill, our pastoral associate, anticipated spending the week trying to get his adult ed stuff together and not having enough time/energy to preach. So here I am, preaching two out of the four Sundays I’ve been here. Not that I mind, I really do enjoy preaching. Expect that my sermon will be posted tomorrow or in the near future.

I’m pretty busy, but you know, that’s to be expected. Plus, I’d rather have it that way instead of just sitting around trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do. Lots of things going on here...

I’ll continue to try and update... but thus far I’m not doing so well.

Kate

Another Week Later

I seem to be bad at updating... crazy busy is what it’s been. But it’s been good, it really has. I know that last week I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing - I didn’t. There are some things that I still don’t feel like I know what I’m doing... but it’s getting better. I’m sure it is just an experience thing. The more I do and the more I succeed or the more I fail and am able to pick myself up off the floor, the better it gets. The perfectionist in me just doesn’t like not knowing what I’m doing, it makes me feel like a failure. I recognize this and try and tell myself it... but there is a disconnect between my brain and my heart. But it’s getting better and things really are going pretty well.

I preached this past Sunday and since most of my friends seem to be posting their sermons on their blogs, I will do the same at the end of this entry.

In other news, I went to Cedar Point on Monday with Joel. It was a good way to get away and enjoy riding some roller coasters. I’ve always been a thrill junkie and will ride almost anything. Well, Joel and I rode all the biggest, baddest roller coasters in the park including one that launches you to 120 mph in 3.8 seconds, goes up 90 degrees to 420 feet before coming back down at 90 degrees and 120 mph again before stopping. Click here for a link to a movie of the coaster (you’ll need Quicktime to view it). It was nuts, but it was freaking awesome!!

And now for the sermon:

Sermon - September 3, 2006

Text: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sometimes the biggest obstacle I face is myself. Never was this more apparent to me than last summer while I was working as a chaplain at the Ohio State University Medical Center. During the course of the summer I provided pastoral care to those who needed it. I spent time with people who were dying of cancer, people who just lost a spouse, and people who were watching the chest of their sister just to make sure she took another breath. It was not an easy job, especially at first.

Last summer started much the same way internship has started. I was thrown into the deep end of the pool and told to swim on my first day. Ok, so maybe it was the third day, but it felt like the first day. My supervisor decided that I should have the most critical unit in the hospital, the Medical Intensive Care Unit (or MICU). Somewhere along the way I had said I liked a challenge and he decided that was the best place to get it. So on the third day of my new job, Marge, the staff chaplain who normally had MICU, took me up to the floor and introduced me to a few people, mostly staff and nurses. During the introductions she got a page and had to go to another unit in the hospital. She left me up there all by myself.

I had no idea what I was doing! I was petrified. I didn't know anybody and really I didn't even think I knew how to do my job. But I really wanted to do a good job. I really wanted to get it right. But I wasn't quite sure what was right. So after walking around the unit for a little while, I took the first step and found somebody to visit.

It didn't go well, but it didn't go horribly either. I was too focused on doing the job right - even if I wasn't clear about what that meant. I couldn't listen to the husband of the patient. I was too busy paying attention to what was going on inside of me. I walked out of the room and because I was so busy paying attention to my job and doing it right, I cannot possibly tell you what he and I talked about. I was so wrapped up in myself, in finding the right thing to say, in questioning every move I made, that I missed out on what was right in front of me. I was so busy doing my job that I forgot to do my job.

The Pharisees were so busy doing their jobs that they forgot to do their jobs. God had chosen the Jews to be the light to the world. That was their job, to be God's people and then to help others be God's people too. God had given them the law - a set of guidelines to go by in order to do their job. But most of the time these rules left a lot up for interpretation and like me they didn't really know what they were doing. They were not clear about how they were to do their job. They wanted to get it right, they wanted to please God. But the more they focused on trying to do their job, the less they were able to do it.

The more the Pharisees tried to follow the law and do their jobs, the more they fell into routines. Routines were easy to keep, easy to follow. You know what is expected of you as long as you stick to the routine. The longer I was a chaplain, the more I started to develop and stick to routines - things I knew that worked. For the Jews that meant keeping everything clean. It was routine; everybody, all the elders and the Pharisees did it. They kept everything clean - it was simple, it was easy - they all knew how to do it and what was expected. The problem with routines is that we become so comfortable that we miss out on what is right in front of us. We continue to be so busy doing our jobs that we forget to do our jobs.

We often get into routines in our own lives too. We wake up to go to work at the same time every day. We respond to our spouses in the same way we always respond when they ask us how things are going. We eat the same food on Thursdays that we have always eaten or order the same meal we always order at a particular restaurant. We go with what is safe - we go with the routine.

Church can become routine too. We only talk to the people we know and don't say hi to people we don't know. We worship the same way because it is what we have always done. We sing the same hymns because they are familiar and we like them. Sometimes we aren't even open to new ministry opportunities because we've never done it before. It isn't routine. It isn't safe. It isn't comfortable. It might be that we think it is dangerous or possibly even just wrong.

Like any people in a routine, the Pharisees were afraid of looking at anything outside the routine. This is why the 'dirtiness' of the disciples was such an issue to the Pharisees. The disciples were followers of a man claiming to be the Son of God and yet were not clean people. They did not follow the rules, they didn't follow the routine. How could they be children of God without following the tradition of the elders? The Pharisees were so busy worrying about the cleanliness of others they couldn't do their job. Cleanliness was the ditch the Pharisees had fallen into and they couldn't see what was standing just outside.

Instead of being obsessed with God, they were obsessed with cleanliness and making sure everybody lived according to the rules.

Jesus notes their misplaced obsession. He tells them, "8 Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' 8 You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."

"You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition." They were so busy doing their job that they forgot to do their job.

More importantly, you've missed what was standing right in front of you. It isn't about the routine. It isn't about being clean or unclean. It is about loving all people - regardless of who they are. The Pharisees have abandoned the commandment of God - the biggest commandment of them all - Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The Pharisees were so busy doing their job that they forgot to do their job. They were so consumed with doing things right, they forgot about God completely and failed to see the disciples, the people standing right in front of them.

We miss things right in front of us. I missed the husband of the patient in MICU. In fact, I missed a lot of people at that hospital. We might miss the person sitting next to us - the person who desperately needs someone to talk to. We might miss our kids who need their parents to listen to them. We might miss our boyfriends, girlfriends, or spouses. We might miss what is standing right in front of us all because we are too busy doing our jobs to do our job.

We get so wrapped up in doing what we think is right that we lose focus of what we should be doing. The Pharisees wanted to exclude the disciples because they were different, because they didn't follow the rules. We exclude people or ideas because they are different, because they don't follow the rules. But Jesus turns this upside down. It's not about doing the job right - because Jesus has already done it.

See it isn't about what is on the outside, about doing things right. It is about what is on the inside, about what is in our hearts. "14 Then [Jesus] called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile… 20 And he said, "It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

These are things that are within each of us. All of us have demons inside, none of us are exempt. The Pharisees' routine is a sham. Nobody is clean - all of us are dirty. No matter how hard they work to stay clean, they will always be dirty. That is without Jesus. Jesus heals us - he makes us clean. Jesus healed people everywhere he went - including the entire region of Gennesaret. Wherever he went, people came to him and were healed. He also cast out demons, including in the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman, the lowest of the low. The sickest of the sick are healed. Whatever ails you, whatever defiles you, Jesus casts out. Whatever makes you dirty, Jesus cleans away.

Jesus breaks down the walls that live within us. He casts out the demons that haunt us, the ones that drive us nuts. He casts out the demons of loneliness, hurt, anger, and pain. He breaks down the walls of isolation, pride, and contempt. He fills our hearts with perfect light that casts out the fear of failure. Everything from within, everything that we battle, Jesus casts out. He helps us battle our worst enemies, ourselves. He helps us to see God, to bring us closer to himself. We defile ourselves, but Jesus cleans us even in the worst of our grime.

Jesus frees us from the need to do our job right. Jesus frees us to see what is right in front of us - to see the people we need to see. To love unconditionally, to love others different from ourselves.

Jesus freed me to do my job as a chaplain. He freed me to be able to listen to people - to hear what their concerns, their hopes, and their fears were. I fell into a routine because I didn't think I was good enough or had enough to offer. But I found out that I had more than enough because I had Jesus and Jesus is always more than enough. I am more than enough because I am a child of God - a child that Jesus set free to live boldly in the world.

Jesus reminds each of us that we are children of God, just as he reminded the Pharisees that they too were children of God. Jesus brings our focus back to who we are and who we worship, God. Jesus frees us to be ourselves. It isn't about rules, how we worship God, or even what we look like. It is about the power to live as children of the light, children of the same God. It is about being able to be authentic, about being able to worship God with everything within us. It is about Jesus healing us and giving us the ability to do these things. It is about Jesus cleaning up the grime in our lives, the nastiness that gets in our way. It is about being clean, about being holy - all because Jesus does it for us. Amen.