"Sing a Song" Exodus 15: 19-21

Sunday's sermon begins a summer preaching series in which we reflect on some of the minor characters in the biblical texts.  In fact, there are still a few weeks open, so if you have a minor character you want to hear more about, let me know.  We begin with Miriam.

As you may recall, Miriam was Moses' sister.  I have also been working on my sister's memorial service this week, which I suspect made the sister stuff stand out more.  I find it powerful to imagine Miriam standing out of sight as she sees Pharoah's daughter find her brother Moses and decide to keep him.  I wonder how that memory impacted her through her life.

I read an author recently who likened this story to Israel's resurrection story (http://www.patheos.com/Progressive-Christian/Resurrection-Another-Name-John-Holbert-04-11-2014), which has some interesting parallels.

Miriam is also the one who turns against Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 12).

Not sure yet where this sermon is headed.

Reflections on "Sing a Song: Miriam" Exodus 2: 1-4; Exodus 15: 19-21

I enjoy preaching narrative texts, and Miriam's story gives some wonderful opportunities to explore.

In the Chapel service (but not the Sanctuary), I noted that Miriam is not mentioned by name in the Exodus 2 story (she is jyst Moses sister) and in Exodus 15 she is introduced as Aaron's sister.  Those two examples signify how minor a character Miriam is to the ones who told the story.

The link between the wind (ruah) that blows the water away and the breath (ruah) that God blows into the mud to create humanity is a really powerful connection and descriptive of the God who works to give us new life.

The conclusion was rather weak.

(Exodus 15:19-21) When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea." (NRSV)

 “Sing a Song” May 29, 2016; FPC, Troy; Exodus 15: 19-21

Introduction: Bible Quiz time!

Before hearing the Scripture readings this morning, how many of knew that Miriam was the sister of Moses? (i won't ask you to raise your hands. In the Chapel service, several of the kids said they knew Miriam because they had watched Veggie Tales)

If you had been given the hint that someone literally watched over baby Moses as he floated among the reeds on the bank of ther river, how many of you would have known that was his sister Miriam?

Or could you have named Miriam as the person who burst into song when the Israelites had come through the Red Sea and then its waters swallowed up the Egyptians soldiers who had been chasing them on their chariots?

How many of you knew that Miriam later had a conflict with Moses and ended up with leprosy?

Or that her brother Moses cured her leprosy?

If you knew all those answers, then you do not have to listen to the sermon.

If not, you better listen as we discover a bit about Miriam this morning. She is one of the myriad of “minor” characters that we will meet in the sermons I preach this summer.

In fact, I have left a few weeks open in my planning, so if you have any minor characters in the Bible that you want to hear more about, let me know.

Move 1: Miriam reminds us that God calls all kinds of people to different tasks.

a. Do not miss the significance that in the patriarchal world of the Israelies, God call Miriam.

1. Power, prestige, status in life in that time were tied to the male, the head of the household.

2. Yet here is Miraim, the first woman called a prophet in the biblical texts.

3. At this critical juncture in the life of the Israelites, Miriam is the one who articulates the emotions of the Israelite people as they respond to how God has acted to save them.

4. Not just Miriam, but ”all the women” dance and sing and play the tambourines to sing to the Lord in celebration.

b. This is not the first time Miriam has played a pivotal role in God's story.

1. Go back to Moses' birth.

2. If I say Moses, you, of course, probably know who I am talking about.

3. Moses, one of the great leaders of the Israelites.

4. do you remember that when moses was born, the midwives had to kill all the Israelits babies who were male?

5. this was part of the way Pharoah oppressed the Israelites and kept them in submission.

6. moses mother, however, did not allow Moses to be killed.

7. she hid him for three months, and then when she could hide him no longer, she took him down to the bank of the river, put him in a little mak-shift boat, and left him to be discov ered by someone else.
8. A precarious spot for a young baby.

9. Imagine putting your three-month old adrift in a makeshift boat. But he was not alone.

10. His sister Miriam was hiding nearby watching over him.

11. We do not know what Miriam would have done if someone or something had threatened her brother, but we do know what Miriam did when Pahraoh's daughter finds baby Moses and wants to keep him.
    12. Big sister Miriam takes the initiative and asks the Pharoah's daughter if she needs a Hebrew woman to be the baby's nurse.

12. She then brings her mother, Moses mother, back to Pharoah's daughter, and Moses' mother gets to nurse him and help raise him.

13. Miriam, playing a critical role in Moses early development that will set the stage for his leadership role with God's people later in life.

c. the prophet Joel tells us that God's spirit will be poured out on all flesh, male and female (Joel 2: 28).

1.  Miriam is one fo the examples of how God's spirit was poured on on females.

2. She serves God by protecting her brother Moses, by leading God's people in celebration, by acting as a prophet among God's people.

3. A reminder that God calls all of us to engage in ministry.

Move 2: Miriam celebrates the God of resurrection.

a. I know, resurrection is a Jesus thing in the New Testament.

1. But the God who acts to resurrect Christ has been acting and continues to act to bring new life.

2. Miriam, who has already acted to give new life to her brother Moses in the face of the death decree of Pharaoh, now sings to tell the story of the God who has acted to give new life to the Israelites who saw death closing in on them as the Egyptian soldiers pursued them in their chariots.

b. Biblical scholars often speak of the crossing of the Red Sea as a resurrection moment for the Israelites (See this article for more further exploration of that idea http://www.patheos.com/Progressive-Christian/Resurrection-Another-Name-John-Holbert-04-11-2014)

1. On the near bank they see death behind them death before them – caught between the Egyptian soldiers and the water that will drown them.

2. Then God blows a strong east wind – note that the word ruah, wind, is also the word for breath used in Genesis to describe how God blew the breath of life into humanity – and a dry path emerges for the Israelites to walk across the Red Sea.

3. The God of new life acting to save the Israelites.

4. Miriam commemorates this God of new life, this God of resurrection, as she leads the Israelite women in celebratory song and dance.

c. I have often pondered how best to respond to Christ’s resurrection.

               1. In fact, that question has driven many preaching sermons from this pulpit in the Sundays after Easter.

                2. Miriam’s response is unconstrained joy

3. “With tambourines and with dancing” Miriam expresses the joy the Israelites felt that God had given them new life.(there is an interesting article on this at http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupLectionaryReading.asp?LRID=62)

We remember Miriam's story and are reminded of the joy we feel at the how the God of resurrection brings us new life.

move 3: Tell and retell the story.

a. Biblical scholars will tell us that the song of Miriam is likely the oldest poem in Israelite history.

1. It is sung again and again through the generations as the Israelites tell the story of the Exodus.

2. It becomes part of the fabric of the who they are.

3. That spontaneous joy and celebration become part of the ongoing legacy of the Israelites and the God they worship.

4. That reminds us of the power of story to shape us – as we tell the stories of how God has been at work in the lives of God's people, we grow in our faith and our ability to see God at work in our lives.

5. I am reminded of a rabbinic story – A famous rabbi told his best student: you must keep the tradition alive, my son, by going to a certain place in the forest, lighting a special candle, singing the correct psalm, and telling the story. The old rabbi died, and his student became himself a famous rabbi. Unfortunately, he could no longer remember the exact forest spot he was to go to, so he told his student to light the candle, sing the psalm, and tell the story wherever he thought right. After that rabbi's death, his student had forgotten about the candle when he told his student about keeping the tradition alive, but urged him to sing the psalm and then tell the story. That rabbi died, and his student knew nothing of the forest spot, or the candle, and forgot about the psalm. He trained his student to tell the story. And it was enough (this story is often told. I found it this time at http://www.patheos.com/Progressive-Christian/Resurrection-Another-Name-John-Holbert-04-11-2014)

b. We also need to expand the story

1. Mitch Albom, Have a Little Faith: a true story (76) a 1974 sermon preached by Rabbi Albert Lewis: Talmudic interpretation (the rabbinic study of the Hebrew Scripture) of the crossing of the Red Sea: After seeing Pharaoh's soldiers drowned in the Red Sea, the angels in heaven wanted to celebrate the enemy's demise. God grew angry with this and said, '"Those are my children too.'"

2. that was an added interpretation to the story of God's life-saving, life-giving actions.

2. In the moment, Miriam can only see the victory of the Israelites safe on the banks of the Red Sea with the Egyptian and their chariots swallowed up by the waters of the Red Sea.
3. But as the story get told through the years and the story tellers reconcile the story with the God who seeks to give new life, the story is told in a new way that expands the understanding of how God is at work.

2. We not only tell the stories, but reflect on them to see how they can better reveal the God of resurrection.

2. The God who desires to save all of creation.

As we tell and retell our stories, we reflect on them and try to share how the God of resurrection is at work in our lives.

Conclusion: Miriam only appears five or six times in the biblical texts, and a couple of them are in a negative light.

But in that one moment when she bursts into song, she reveals God to the world.

May you have moments when you reveal God to the world.

"Is Our Faith in Vain?" Deuteronomy 34: 1-5; I Corinthians 15: 12-25

I apologize for not having a blog with sermon notes.  The week got away from me.

This is the last sermon of the series, which turned out to be the hardest sermon in the series.  I am not sure that the sermon actually preached the I Corinthians text, even though I read that text.  I might also not note that when I looked at what others have done with this text, I think a lot of preachers do not quite get what Paul is writing, so I am in good company.  I'm not sure if people do not know what to do with resurrection, or if we just do not want to go where Paul goes.  Ultimately, I read some work Tom Long did on this text, and it helped me find a sermon, but I'm not sure he "stuck" to the text very well either.

The Deuteronomy passage deserves its own sermon.  I'm not even sure I connected that with the Corinthians text in a way that was fair to either texts.  I do believe the sermon was accurate about who God is and how God is at work, just not sure it explored the texts properly.

(1 Corinthians 15:12-25) Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ--whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (NRSV)

 “Is Our Faith in Vain? ” May 22, 2016; FPC, Troy; I Corinthians 15: 12-25

Introduction: Moses is on the mountaintop. He looks off into the distance and God shows him the Promised Land.

He has been God's guy; leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and through 40 years in the wilderness.

Now at the brink of moving into the Promised Land – he can almost taste the milk and honey – he is going to die.

He never makes it.

Was all this trust in God; climbing up on Mt. Sinai to be in God's presence; leading the Israelites; arguing and obeying God; was it all in vain?

That's one of the issues for the early church.

The early church was the gathering of those who had become convinced that Jesus had been resurrected.

They band together. The proclaim the resurrection.

Then things happen. Maybe a loved one dies. The jerk at work gets the promotion. 

Something happens that is not idyllic and they wonder – does following the resurrected Christ matter

Maybe you know that question.

We finish our preaching series on questions we might ask the resurrected Christ with this question: is our faith in vain?

As I pondered that question, I went from the resurrected Christ answering, “Absolutely not!” Words of certainty in response to our question.

But, then I had this idea that the resurrected Christ might answer: “I don't know. You tell me.”

Move 1: Whichever answer the resurrected Christ might give us, the answer is rooted in what it means to believe in the resurrection.

a. Paul tells us, “If the resurrection is not true, then we are to be pitied.”

1. our faith is in vain.

2. really, there would be no purpose to our lives if Christ is not resurrected from the dead.

2. Of course, Paul knows that he cannot prove the resurrection.

4. Maybe those who actually saw the resurrected Christ could say they had proof, but the people to whom Paul is writing did not see the resurrected Christ. They have only heard about it.

5. I think Paul (it's always dangerous to try and think like Paul), I think Paul is pushing the argument to an extreme.

         6. he is challenging the Corinthians to imagine what life would be like if the resurrection were not true, and then inviting them to live in the faith and power of the resurrection.

b. Tom Long, recounts a conversation he heard on a Christian talk-radio show that he stumbled upon one day when he was looking for a traffic report.

The talk show host was taking telephone calls from the listeners that day and a woman named Barbara had called in. Barbara had problems; Barbara had a lot of problems. She had problems with her boss at work. She complained about trouble in her marriage. She was at odds with her teen-aged children. She said she had occasional bouts of depression. Barbara had problems.

As she unfolded her litany of troubles and woes, suddenly the talk show host interrupted her. "Barbara," he said, "I want to ask you something. Are you a believer? You know, you're never going to solve any of these problems unless you're a believer. Are you a believer?"

"I don't know," said Barbara hesitantly.

"Now, Barbara," said the host, "either you are a believer or you aren't. If you're a believer, you know it. You know it in your heart. Now, Barbara, tell me, are you a believer?"

"I'd like to be," Barbara replied. "I guess I'm just more agnostic at this point in my life."

The talk show host reacted quickly to that. "Now, Barbara, there's a book I've written that I want to send to you. In this book I prove that Jesus was who he said he was and that he was raised from the dead. Now, if I send you this book and you read it, will you become a believer?"

"I don't know," she said. "I've had a lot of trouble from preachers."

"We're not talking about preachers," the host said. "We're talking about proof. I've got proof-irrefutable proof that Jesus was raised from the dead. Now if I send this book to you, will you become a believer?"

By this point, Barbara was becoming frustrated. "I don't think you're listening to me," she said. "I'm having trouble trusting at this point in my life."

"Barbara," he said, "we're not talking about trust. We're talking about truth. I have unassailable proof that Jesus was raised from the dead. Now if I send it to you, will you become a believer?"

"I guess so," Barbara said. "Yeah, I guess so. I'll become a believer."

Long notes that he wishes Barbara had not given in so easily.

I, too, would like for Barbara to believe the Gospel, and I, too, would like for her to find some help for her troubles in the Christian faith, but I also know that this talk-show host stepped way out of bounds in what he said. He doesn't have any irrefutable proof of the resurrection. The fact is there isn't any. There is no logical, scientific proof of the resurrection. We don't have a videotape of the empty tomb. We have no seismograph of the Easter earthquake. All we have are the stories-the stories of Jesus' resurrection passed down by people of faith from generation to generation. (Tom Long, So, What about the Resurrection?, 2/15/14; http://day1.org/476-so_what_about_the_resurrection)

1. Paul points out to the Christians the dilemma we face – the power of the resurrection is not found in scientific proof of the resurrection, but in the power of the resurrection to change lives.

2. At the core of our faith is the resurrection, but our faith is not in the theory of resurrection, but in the God who resurrects.

Move 2: Our faith is not in vain when we live our faith.

a. Paul says, “If Christ is not raised, then your faith is in vain.”

1. By faith, Paul is not talking about what we think.

2. It’s more than what we believe; it is how we live.

3. The novelist Frederick Buechner once wondered what would happen if God, instead of depending upon our faith, did decide to give us a proof. What if God did decide to clear all this religion business up and give us something scientific, something tangible, that would be beyond the shadow of a doubt. "Suppose," Buechner imagined, "that God were to take the great, dim river of the Milky Way - stars flowing across the night sky -- and were to brighten it up a little and then rearrange it so that all of a sudden one night the world would step outside and look up at the heavens and see not the usual haphazard scattering of stars, but written out in letters light years tall the sentence: I REALLY EXIST.

What would happen? Well, the reaction would be dramatic. Churches would spill over into football stadiums, crime would cease, wars would suddenly stop, an uncanny hush would fall over the world-for a while. But, then, there would be the message in the stars night after night, month after month, year after year. Every night the sky would proclaim "I REALLY EXIST," and it would become a normal part of nature. "I REALLY EXIST." So what? What difference would that make?

For, as Buechner says, what we really want in our deepest need is not proof that there is a God somewhere who exists or even scientific evidence that a resurrection happened some time ago in history. What we need is a God who is right here, knee-deep in the mud and mire of human existence-a risen Christ who comes to us every day to give life and hope. That is a God who comes not in evidence but in the relationship of trust we call faith. God cannot be seen when we draw a line in the sand and say, "Give me proof or I don't step over the line." God can be seen only by those who already step over the line in trust. When we do, our eyes are opened, and the world is full of resurrection light. When we encounter that Christ, when we experience the power of that presence, then we know in faith that Christ is raised from the dead and our faith is not in vain (Tom Long, So, What about the Resurrection?, 2/15/14; http://day1.org/476-so_what_about_the_resurrection)

b. Millenials are suspicious of the church.

1. Have questions of faith.

2. not satisfied that the institutional church can provide authentic answers.

3. but they believe.

4. they are looking for people and groups that live the faith.

100. Today we recognize our Seniors who are graduating from high school.

1. I suspect that if you ask them after church about their memories of being in this congregation, the answer will not be about some theological argument they have learned to be true.

2. They will tell you stories about how they discovered the living Christ in their lives through the actions of others toward them and opportunities they have had to serve others.

3. When they wander into a church at some point during their college years, or seek out a community of faith later in life,they w ill not be looking for a church that can argue for the resurrection the best. They will be looking for a church that lives out their belief in the resurrection.

4. they will look for churches who have people like Moses in it – people whose lives matter because they have followed God's call, not because they have reached a particular destination.

5. They will look for churches that dare to pray and work for peace, despite the fact that wars continue to rage.

6. they will look for a church that feeds the hungry, even though the never seems to be an end to the number of those who need to be fed.

7. they will look for people who actions show that their faith is not in vain. 

Conclusion: I performed a wedding recently and after the service a person at the wedding came up to talk to me.

“I noticed that the words you used in the service sounded like words you might use at other weddings” (yes, I really do have conversations like this).

“yes, most of it came straight out of the Book of Common Worship.”

“Well, it worked for you.”

(Long pause, as I'm not sure what to say).

“Do you want to know why it worked?”

“Sure.”

“It worked because you sounded like you really believed those words. Some people just say them. You believed them.”

We cannot prove the resurrection, but it we act in the belief that God has resurrected, then we open ourselves up to the God who does resurrect.

Our faith is not in vain because God is not done with us.

Reflections on "You Left What?" Pentecost Sunday Acts 2: 1-21; John 14: 15-31

For me, it was sort of a strange Pentecost sermon.  I almost always preach on Pentecost about the power of the Holy Spirit as marked by blowing winds and tongues of fire.  Even if I preach off an Old Testament Scripture passage, it ties in with the Acts story.  This year, I spent more of the sermon on the Gospel of John's image of the Holy Spirit.  Very different feel to it.

We did not do anything particularly special in worship because of Pentecost (except the obligatory wearing of red), but we received eight new members, including four adult baptisms, which felt like a mini-Pentecost here in Troy

For the Sanctuary service, I pared  the John lesson down to 14: 15-26.  Since I did not connect the presence of the paraclete with Jesus' call for us to be at peace, it seemed superfluous.

Although I barely mentioned it, there is a great point that the Pentecost story is like the beginning of the church not only because of lots of people joining, but also because they were equipped (with he gift of languages) for sharing the gospel in the world.  That sounds like the church in a nutshell -- those called to follow Christ who are equipped for sharing Christ in the world.

I don't think the conclusion and its comparison of a helium balloon (Acts story) and a regular balloon (John story) worked particularly well.

(John 14:15-31) "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them." Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way. (NRSV)

“You Left What” ” May 15, 2016; FPC, Troy; John 14: 15-31; Acts 2: 1-22

Introduction: On this Pentecost Sunday, the Sunday we wear red and read about the Holy Spirit, we continue to reflect on questions we might ask the resurrected Christ."

Today's question might go something like this: “jesus, you have been resurrected, and we went along with it.

Then you ascended to heaven. We can handle that.

But now after Pentecost, we have to ask - “you left us what?”

After the infusion of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts, Jesus' followers are wondering what this Holy Spirit thing is all about.

As our two very different stories of the Holy Spirit indicate, Jesus could answer the question in a couple of ways.

Move 1: Jesus could say, “I left you the Holy Spirit, which is powerful, exciting, and maybe a bit scary.

a. That's the image of the Holy Spirit we discover in the passage from Acts, the traditional Pentecost story that most of us know.

1. The Spirit sweeps in on a windstorm with tongues of fire – a symbol of the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. Something amazing happens -- the people receive the gift of languages so that they can go out and share the good news of Christ's resurrection in the world.

b. This story has shaped my understanding of the Spirit -- blowing into the world, sweeping us away to new places in a powerful way.

          1. A little bit scary, a little bit exciting.

2. It reveals the wildness of the spirit and our inability to contain it.
3. Connects to some of the OT stories – like the one from Numbers where the Israelites discover that the Holy Spirit will go where ti wants to go, regardless of the Israelites rules and regulations.

2. This image of the Holy Spirit can bit a bit scary if you like a smooth journey to discover God;

2. But there is a lot of excitement, lots of possibilities and opportunities for new creation.

Move 1: But if we are little bit intimidated by the Holy Spirit in the Pentecost story, Jesus might remind us of what he says about the Holy Spirit as recorded in the Gospel of John – in a word – paraclete (if you misspell it, spell check will suggest parakeet – not quite the same image)

a. Greek word parakletos

1. Paraclete literally means “one called to the side of another”

3. the word carries a secondary notion concerning the purpose of the calling alongside: to counsel or support the one who needs it.

4. Can be translated as “comforter” or “advocate.” Eugene Peterson translates it as “friend.”

5. See the different emphases in those translations.

b. This image of the Spirit fits as the answer to Jesus' promise when he tells the disciples, 'I will not leave you orphaned”

1. Orphan – no parents; in first century world, not status, no safety net, no security.

2.  John does not emphasize the power of theHoly Spirit like a blowing wind, but the power of joining with us.

3.  The way in which God comes to make a home with us.

4.  This image also has roots in the OT, this time in the Genesis story when God breathes the breath, or spirit, into the mud to create us.

5.  The God who is at the core of who we are returns to makes a home with us.

6. Not the Holy Spirit as the power of sweeping change, but the Holy Spirit as discovered in the power of companionship.

Move 2: As our companion, the Holy Spirit reminds us what Jesus has taught us.

a. Scott Hozee a preaching professor at Calvin Seminary describes the connotation as “a tutor or a prompter on the wings of a stage while a play is going on.

1. The Paraclete stands next to us or near us so that we can be reminded of Jesus’ words and teachings as the Spirit whispers those things into our hearts, prompting us to remember what we might otherwise forget. (Scott Hoezee, The Lectionary Gospel, http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/easter-6c/?type=the_lectionary_gospel)

2. Imagine a voice whispering in your ear as you go through life the things that Jesus has taught.

3. a constant call to bring Jesus' teachings into our decision-making; a constant reminder of Jesus' presence with us.

              4. this is the Holy Spirit as the Gospel of John describes the Spirit.

b. . Extending beyond the reminding what Jesus taught, the Spirit also teaches.

1. it is not enough for us to remember what Jesus has said, but we grow in our understanding of it.

2. Teach how what Jesus has aid applies to our current situation.

3.  In his essay The Present Age, Soren Kiekegaard describes a jewel being placed in the middle of a frozen lake on the thinnest ice. While retrieving the jewel is enticing, no one is courageous enough to skate on the thinnest ice. So they learn to skate in intricate ways on the think ice. The skaters develop great skills and those watching applaud the daring skaters who show their skills, but never venture onto the thin ice to retrieve the jewel. Eventually, everyone forgets the jewel. Kierkegaard wonders if the church is like that. So focused on its activities that it misses the jewel. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B458F3TQxB4qMmkzb3JFRTBvZ1k/edit)

4.  Holy Spirit reminds us and teaches us so that we do not forget the jewel, the good news that Jesus brings.

Move 3: Implications for community.

a. Pentecost as the church's birthday.

1. people joining together.

2. being equipped to share Christ with the world.

b. We receive new members today.

1. Our two images of the Holy Spirit model for us what it means to be in a faith community together.

2. Walking alongside.

3. role in reminding

4. Discover new ways in which God is at work in our lives.

Conclusion: Balloon

Helium -- Flying high

No helium -- Right there with you.

"You Left What?" John 14: 15-31; Acts 2: 1-21

Back after a week away from the pulpit (I did hear a pretty good sermon while away).  The sermon series on "Questions we might ask the resurrected Christ" continues with the question about the Holy Spirit, that part of the Trinity which moves among us now.

The passage from Acts is the traditional Pentecost story that most of us know.  The Spirit sweeps in on a windstorm with tongues of fire and something amazing happens -- the people receive the gift of languages so that they can go out and share the good news of Christ's resurrection in the world. That image of the Spirit has shaped my understanding fo the Spirit -- blowing into the world, sweeping us away to new places in a powerful way.

But we also read from the Gospel of John about the "paraclete," or "comforter,"  or "advocate" (Eugene Peterson uses the term "Friend" in The Message) that Jesus promises to leave with us.  A little bit different image of the Spirit.  This image of the Spirit seems different.  In fact, 14:26 is the only place in the Gospel of John  where the Paraclete is referred to as the Holy Spirit.

Notice the role of the Spirit to "remind" the people of what Jesus has taught them. The Spirit also teaches and gives peace.   The role of the Spirit seems to tie directly to peace and love.

What are your impressions of the Holy Spirit?  How has this gift left by Jesus for you impacted your life?

Reflections on "What Does It Mean to Believe" Matthew 16: 13-19; Matthew 11: 2-6

As part of the confirmation ritual, I gear the sermon toward the confirmands on the day they are confirmed.  I also call them by name at some point in the sermon to try to make it clear that God has a claim on them.  The downside to that approach is that it can make others listening feel excluded.  In the Chapel service where not confirmands were being presented for worship, that feels particularly acute to me as the preacher.  I tried to adjust the sermon some for the Chapel, but that is hard to do.  I did tell the Chapel group the story of the person who told the preacher after worship, "Your must have been preaching to me today.  Taht sermon was just what I needed." only to have the minister say, "No, I was thinking of so-and-so when I was writing this sermon!"  I do believe that by the power fo the Holy Spirit we can overhear the gospel, even when the preacher has some other target for the sermon.

In the Chapel I read through vs. 20 o the 16th chapter of Matthew.  I took out vs. 20 in the Sanctuary reading.  Vs. 20 is when Jesus instructs the disciples not to tell people that he is the Messiah.  This is known as the Messianic secret in biblical circles, but since I was not dealing with that issue in the sermon, I thought it might be distracting to have it in the reading.

Matthew 16: 13-19  When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”

 Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus came back, “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. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any 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.”

“What Does It Mean to Believe?” May 1, 2016; FPC, Troy; 3: 12-17; Matthew 16: 13-20

Introduction: we find the resurrected Christ in all sorts of places – on the beach; on the road to Emmaus; meeting with disciples behind closed doors; on a mountaintop.

Pick your spot. Pick your spot and imagine you are there with the resurrected Christ.
Ellie, Alle, Megan, Cayden, Taylor -- You get to ask him a question. Well, you get to ask him the question that I give you.

“What does it mean to believe?”

What do you imagine his answer will be.

Will his answer be: “Take confirmation. Outline sixteen sermons; do daily Bible readings; answer weekly reflection questions; do some mission work; go to PYC; learn enough to pass the test; meet with a mentor

OK, that's my imagination at work. Probably not yours.

What do you imagine he would tell you?

There's a Presbyterian minister who says that when he thinks about what it means for Jesus to call us, he no longer thinks in terms of Jesus calling us to a particular job, like doctor, or teacher, or manager at Macy's; nor does he think about Jesus calling us to a task like elder or deacon.

He says that when Jesus calls you, “you get a whole new life.” (complete quote is as follows – "Well, this is what I believe: The call is not to be a preacher or teacher or doctor or mother or father or elder or deacon or orthodontist or floor manager at Macy’s — even if you are any of these things. The call of Jesus is not to a particular job, but to a way of living life, no matter what job you have. When Jesus calls, you don’t get a new job; you get a whole new life." Tom Are, Jr. 11/11/12 Sermon “It's a Whole New Life”

I think that's close to what the resurrected Christ might tell you if you asked him what it meant to believe. He might say, “it means you get a whole new life.”

What does a new life look like for a confirmand in 8^th grade?

For that matter, what does a new life look like for any of us?

Clues for the new life in our work together in confirmation.

Move 1: Reflections from your faith

a. Weekly reflection questions.

1. Daily Bible readings led to a weekly reflection question.
2. Question based on biblical text.

3. Question that invited you to think about how the faith you discover in the biblical texts speaks to your life today.

b. You ought to see things differently and bring something different to your decisions and conversations.

1. As a high schooler, or as retired person, or anywhere in between, our new life in Christ ought to cause us to stop and reflect on what to say or how we should respond to a situation based on our faith in Jesus Christ.

2. “this is who I am, this is how I was raised. My faith determines all of my decisions.” Ken Niumatalolo, devout Mormon and head coach of Navy football, after announcing an end to formal meetings on Sunday during the season (as reported by Baltimore Sun) 11/24/2014 “He/She Said” Presbyterian Outlook (9)

3. When you say you want to follow Jesus Christ, it means you are called to approach the world and the situations you encounter in your lives differently.

Move 2: you need community

a. Shared experience

1. someone to go through confirmation together. Imagine what it would have been like to do confirmation one-on-one with just me!

2. I always enjoy the bonding that takes place.

3. Someone who might know the answer when you did not; or maybe you were the one with the answer helping the others.

4. part of the reason you meet with your mentors is to hear their faith stories and what they think about different things so that you can grow in your faith.

5. When you profess your faith and join the church, you become even more a part of a community that will support you as you grow in faith together.

b. people praying for you.

1. remember when confirmation started you received a prayer shawl. A visible reminder that people have been praying for you.

2. And as we worship each week you know that we pray for others.
3. That's part of being in community.

Move 3: Profess your faith in Jesus Christ.

a. where we began our time together last fall.

1. Giving you the tools to prepare to profess your faith.
2. Lots of work, but the goal was to give you the opportunity to profess your faith in Jesus Christ.

b. WE read in Matthew this morning about the time when Jesus asks the disciples who do people say that I am.

1. The disciples give some interesting answers – some say John the ?Baptist; some Elijah; some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.
2. Pretty good answers.

100. But Jesus wants to know what they believe.
     1. Not the answer the books or teachers might tell them.
     2. not the answers that they might learn in confirmation class.
     3. Jesus makes it personal.
     4. but who do you
     5. who do you Ellie, Alle, Cayden, Taylor, Megan, who do you say that I am?

500. peter speaks – “you are the Christ, the messiah, the Son of God.

1. he gets it right, in a very personal way.
2. When you profess your faith today, you get it right, in a very personal way.

Move 4: How do you know? How do you know if you are living that new life?

a. Earlier in Matthew John the Baptist has a similar question for Jesus.

       1.  he hears about Jesus, the one they call Messiah.

       2.  John is in prison, so he can't go and see Jesus or talk to him, so he sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “are you the Messiah?”

b. Jesus does not give a simple yes or no.

           1. he says look at what I do.

          2. Listen to what I say.

           3. see how I impact other.

           4. Then, figure it out.

         5.  They do not have to believe because he tells them to believe – he shows them.

b. Tweet test or Instagram story line.

1. Read your series of tweets; look at your story-line.

2. are you doing and saying things that reflect a follower of Christ?

Conclusion: Good news...bad news...then some more good news.

Good news – done with confirmation.

Bad news – eight months of confirmation is a lot easier than a lifetime of being a disciple of Christ.

Good news – Jesus Christ, the one in whom you profess your faith today, is with you now by the power of the Holy Spirit guiding and directing;

Jesus, is there to pick you up and pleads with God for your forgiveness when you mess up.

Jesus, will be faithful to your profession of faith, even when you are not.

Amen.