I Heard a Rumor ...

This past Sunday as we gathered together to wonder at the art of Jesus Christ, we got to look a little deeper at the divinity of Jesus Christ that came through the most human of times. The passion story of his betrayal, trials, beatings and crucifixion shows the very humanness of Jesus' being. But the way he handled himself revealed though he was 100% human, he was also 100% divine. Jesus did not strike back. In the face of ridicule or judgement he kept his composure. When false things were said about him or negative talk about him surfaced, he only stood asking if this was hearsay or if this is how people experienced him personally.

The crowd that shouted praises to him on Palm Sunday, had a different tone only days later. Perhaps he disappointed them because he did not meet their expectations ... or even more, perhaps the voice of the crowd swayed like the wind. From there the crowd shouts out that that Jesus is a criminal and that they want him crucified. This is where we see the art of Jesus Christ and his teaching come to be embodied. He did not retaliate, he turned the other cheek. He did not resort to hate, but as he taught his disciples to pray for their enemies, he prays “father, forgive them they do not know what they do.” He was not filled with resentment … but just as he taught his disciples to give your whole outfit when you are asked just for your coat; so as he sees one of his disciples who had abandoned him he says, “Here is your mother” … providing and giving even when everything else has been stripped away. He cared not about who he was associated with as he was chastised many times for eating with sinners and the outcasts and even taught that he could be found among the poor and the least of these; and there in this moment he turns to the thieves and says, “today, you will be with me in paradise.

To love. To love. To love even when you are persecuted … even when you are insulted … even when you are betrayed …when you are misrepresented. To love those who are trying to hurt you. What I hear Jesus saying to Pilate and the high priest, is the same thing that I have heard others say to me recently, the only thing that matters is how those who love you see you. Sit on that thought for a moment... "the only thing that matters is how those who love you see you." (see John 18)

When people do not know you or your heart, they stand from afar and make their assumptions. They feel like there are pieces of a story they are missing and so they try to fill in the gaps with rumors or fabricated stories. Eventually, their story becomes truth to them and there is a momentary feeling of empowerment that they have over others. But Pilate asks Jesus, "What is truth?" Jesus comes back to this, do you say this because others are saying this or because this is your experience with me. Again, the only thing that matters (truth) is how those who love you see you.

History ...

(The following appeared in our United Methodist Conference newspaper and is written by another UM pastor. Regardless of how you feel about the outcome of the election, I hope you see historical impact given where we were as a nation just 40 years ago.)

During his Election Night speech, President-Elect Obama made a reference to “bending the arc of history.” I fear most of his audience missed the reference, but it resonated with me. It goes back to a sultry Sunday afternoon in Montgomery. Alabama in 1965. Thousands of footsore protesters had just completed a dangerous and difficult trek from the town of Selma. There, a few weeks earlier, a young black man had been shot to death by a state trooper while trying
to keep him from beating the young man’s parents. Their “offense” had been to participate
in a peaceful march calling for African Americans to be allowed to vote.

A march was then planned to call upon Gov. George Wallace, to have the incident investigated. Wallace, an arch-segregationist who had come into office, vowing “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” was not inclined to heed their pleas. When the marchers tried the first time, they got as far as the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where horse mounted troopers and officers with attack dogs charged into the unarmed protesters with clubs, tear gas
and even bullwhips. Many were beaten nearly to death. One of them was John
Lewis, who is now a Congressman and who had his skull fractured.

The march was rescheduled for a few days later. During that period, a young white Unitarian minister from Boston came to join in the march. He was set upon by a mob of whites and severely beaten. The Selma hospital refused to admit him and he was taken to another hospital, two hours away, where he died. The march was undertaken a second time, despite constant threats from the Ku Klux Klan and various other white supremacists. Marching through a gauntlet of profanity, the marchers arrived in Montgomery and heard an address by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I was just 12 years old, but I still remember that speech and being utterly captivated by what he said. This is how the brief speech concluded… I know you are asking today, “How long
will it take?” Somebody’s asking, “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?” Somebody’s asking, “When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?” Somebody’s asking, “When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?” I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.”

Tuesday, millions of white men and women voted for a black President. Not because he was black, but because they didn’t care that he was black. In fact, as many white men voted for Barack Obama. Condoleeza Rice has described racism as America’s birth-defect. In fact, the
Constitution which she and President-Elect Obama have sworn to uphold, originally
classified black Americans as just three/fifths of a human. But, through the struggles of so many saints through the years, we have come to the point where we are all not just fully human, but fully-realized as people worthy to lead our diverse nation.

(Rev. Robert Morwell is pastor of Quincy Union UMC and was the first white pastor in the conference to pastor a predominately African-American congregation when Bishop David Lawson appointed Morwell to Peoria: Bethel in 1995).

My reflection ... I was not even alive during these civil rights moments of the sixties, but as a student of history read and re-read the stories of such a turbulent times. I have heard the stories of my parents who idolized Mr. King and had to confront their own racism from their upbringings. As I stated in an earlier blog ... the only color that matters now in America is purple ... where the reds and blues can come together and be one community.

Sunrises

(excerpt from Sunday sermon)
When was the last time you saw the sunrise? This past week, I had the opportunity to take a leave for personal renewal. On Tuesday morning, I woke up early and was watching out the window and was able to catch the sun rising between two buildings on the other side of the lake. In most cases, if I am up that early I am busy working on something or rushing around the house getting kids ready or getting myself read for the day. I was really only up to grab something to drink, but with the curtain open I was stopped in my tracks and drawn over to the window. And moment by moment as the sun appeared over the horizon and then over the buildings, I was given a gift that I had not expected.

Interesting thing about taking a renewal, perhaps God had something in mind for me as well, because my cell phone died on the first day leaving with limited ability to talk with anyone back here … much against my controlling tendencies. But perhaps there was something I needed to see in that sunrise.

Most of us have seen too many sunsets in our lives without the eventual reminder of a sunrise. There are vivid images in our minds of some down times and while we also see the high moments, I think perhaps we have all seen too many sunsets and allowed the winters or the long nights to be more telling of our lives rather than the joy and anticipation that a sunrise brings. We are left after an election of negative campaigning and the racist comments that are being made, protesters joining together to make a stand for human rights, concerns about our economy and our ongoing struggles with health and personal vitality have provided more than our share of sunsets recently … so again, when was the last time you have seen a sunrise?

The reality is this, our world is filled with such beauty and such order … and such tov-me-od (remember that word? It means it is good … God’s potential put into God’s creation) but our world is filled with such beauty and such order … and such tov-me-od … and yet at the same time filled with enough heartache and pain.

But before Tuesday, when was the last time I saw a sunrise? When was the last time I stood on a mountain to see for miles? When was time we stood on a beach and gazed out into the horizon and seen the vastness of the earth, or took in the many beautiful moments of the world around us in celebrating God’s diversity? When was the last time I saw the art of creation that God’s hand painted with the stroke of God’s hand and the sound of God’s voice? When was the last time we sang “For the Beauty of the Earth” or “God of Wonders” and took in what we were singing in terms of the world around us and beyond us? Perhaps way too long.

I am not a lover of nature, nor am I typically heard saying that I find God in nature, but there are an immeasurable number of references in the Bible of not only how people experience God in nature, but also how God's care for us is seen in the perfection of creation (the grass, the birds, the seed, the trees). There are signs of God's presence and care for us in the many gifts offered around us. So again, when was the last time you saw a sunrise?

What Message?

(found this picture, I couldn't resist as I laughed for five minutes)

At Saturday's University of Illinois football game, my friend and I encountered people with brightly colored banners that were about 8' x 8'. They could be seen by a block away, and I must admit this the first time I had ever seen anything like it. I have seen such things on television, but never in person. Their signs included messages that read, "Last Chance, Repent, Obey Jesus," and "Satan rules, repent or go to hell."

Well I couldn't resist. The first man I walked by, I asked, "Sir, is there something going on that I may have missed?" He said nothing and would not even make eye contact with me. The second woman I saw, my friend offered up his friendly, "Hey, how is it going?" The young woman leaned aggressively toward him and shouted, "Repent or go to hell!" I followed up by asking what church she was with and again she leaned aggressively toward me and yelled, "I am the church!"
What message am I to hear? When I was in undergraduate at Illinois State University, there was a man we called Preacher Dan who would visit all the campuses to spread "a message." He didn't carry a sign, but he shook his Gatorade bottle full of "Jesus Juice" and shouted similar words of "repent" and "hell" and "judgement" and "burn." Students only stood and laughed at him or even mocked him. Same goes for the people who walked by the people at the game, people would either laugh and point or pass by with a smirk. My question for these folks is this, "How well is this working for you?"

Or better yet? How well is that working for Christianity. I have another friend who is anti-church and he associates me with people like Preacher Dan because that is all they have seen. I guess if that was my only experience of Christianity, I may make the same assumptions. Yet there is a difference between the Church and Jesus Christ. I think people from every place in life are fascinated with Jesus Christ. His work, his life, his teachings have been the study of many religions and philosophers, for Christians and non-Christians. The problem is that the Church for many years has messed up that message. We are human, that's expected. But consider such irony of the young woman shouting, "I am the church." Wow, scary.

But when we go back to the heart of Jesus' message and probably what draws us in is that message of love. I do not feel very loved when I am being told I am going to hell. But when I walk into a community of faith and feel welcome, or when I have been the recipient of great generosity or when I have been able to give of myself, there is love at the root of that message.

Our lives live a message ... what does your life say?