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O God of unconditional love, you enabled your apostles to found communities of sacrificial love everywhere they went: Grant us grace, that we too may be enabled to form a community of Love, built upon the foundation of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. – Collect for Proper 17A, The Rev. Carey Stone

From the royal halls of Buckingham palace to the top of the Empire State Building, tributes have gone out to mark the passing of Dolly Parton. Simply the mention of her name brings a smile and an image of that classic blonde wig and her rhinestone outfits! Both the royal guard and the Empire State tribute featured the theme from the movie “9 to 5.”

She was born and raised in Locust Ridge, Tenn. and was the 4th of 12 children. Started from those humble beginnings learning to sing in church and self-taught guitar player by age 10, and first appeared on the Grand Ole’ Opry at the ripe old age of 13. She would make 44 top 10 country albums, and holds the record for the most no.1 hits (by a female artist) on Billboard’s Country Charts with 26 No.1 hits. Dolly won 11 Grammys and was inducted into both the Country and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She starred as a Hollywood actor, and founded Dollywood theme park. Dolly was a major donor giving away large sums of money for the poor and needy and started a literacy program called The Imagination Library that has given away over 300 million books to children across the world. Although she was never ‘in your face’ about being a Christian, she would not hesitate to give the credit for her accomplishment to God and her faith. She managed to be herself all throughout her life and I’d like to share some of her ‘Dollyisms’ – words of wisdom she has spoken throughout the years:
“I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don’t work for money, never did.”

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”

“If you see someone without a smile, give ‘em yours.”

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”

“I’m not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb, I also know I’m not a blonde.”

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” And finally…

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are an excellent leader.”

She lived with a cool head, led with a warm heart, and sang with the voice of an angel.

She stayed true to herself and her values and no amount of money or fame ever changed her. She reminds us that because we are a child of God child we already are somebody and we have a chance to do as much good as we can with what we have been given. Her spirit, her values, and her actions all lined up and people took notice.

Jesus, through his words and deeds came and showed us the way to live. Everywhere the first apostles went they established churches filled with people who embodied the life of Christ. St. Paul, one who’s life had literally been turned upside down by his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road wrote a powerful letter to the church at Rome and the truths he shared are just a relevant today as they were in the first century. Our reading today lists many words and phrases designed to lodge in our hearts and spur us on to serve the world in Christ’s name.
He knew that is really was all about love and he started out by saying: “Let love be genuine” now the Greek word that is used here for “love” is Agape’ and means the sacrificial and unconditional kind of love. “Genuine” means to be unhypocritical,
“Hate what is evil – hold fast to what is good”
“Love one another with mutual affection.” The Greek for love combines words meaning sibling brotherly love philia and Sturge meaning parental type love – so in short, the love found in church is to be like that of a family.
“Outdo one another in showing honor.” This would be the opposite of put-downs and slander.
“Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.” It’s helpful to read this phrase in the MSG Bible: “Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame!”
“Rejoice in hope – be patient in suffering – persevere in prayer.” Keep hope alive – be resilient in tough times – keep praying like everything depended on it!
“Contribute to the needs of the saints.” We are community, we are family, each of us are in need of something all the time. We are blessed to have ministries that offer prayer, support, counseling, hot soup, transportation, and much more!
“Extend hospitality to strangers.” Providing radical welcome to all, during worship, during coffee hour, through ministries like the food pantry and clothes closet, and other assistance as needed.
All of the above may be the easy part for these next admonitions are much harder:
“Bless those that persecute you, bless and do not curse them.” Sometimes we do our best, and try hard only to be shot down or picked on by someone who is unhappy. Keep on blessing. This, dear ones is countercultural.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” This is another area where the church can really shine – by caring for each other as we celebrate the victories and milestones, and we walk with each other through sadness and pain of illness, loss, or grief.
“Live in harmony with one another.” We try to remember that everyone we come in contact with, and especially in the church are people who are fighting battles we may know nothing about – have compassion for them as we would hope they will have compassion for us.
“Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.” The church is not to be a showcase for rich and saintly but a refuge for the needy and a hospital for sinners. Humility is a key fruit of the Spirit.
“Do not claim to be wiser than you are.” Whenever we can admit that we may not to know what to do, to be at a loss for words, ideas, or plans, to not understand all mysteries. The ego will eventually fail us all.
“Do not repay evil for evil. Take thought in what is noble in the sight of all.” This one is about as opposite to the world as it gets. We must remember that an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth are Old Testament concepts and all it accomplishes is making us blind and toothless. Take the high road by not stooping to their level.
“If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Grudges drive wedges between us; the things we can’t let go of expand and entangle others. Our job as individuals is not to be drawn into the subterfuge stirred up by a person sowing discord.
“Don’t avenge yourselves – vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” “Vendetta’ is a word from the Latin meaning vengeance, that comes from a little country called Sicily and the as the Sicilian proverb goes – “Let they who go to seek revenge first dig two graves.”
Now for some of the hardest advice to follow:
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them, if they are thirsty, give them something to drink.” Then a mysterious promise is made: “For by doing this, you will heap burning coals on their heads.” I was reading a commentary by someone who saw this as a mysterious and opaque phrase, I had to chuckle for the explanation seemed simple to me – ‘it burns them up.’ The world doesn’t know what to do with this kind of counterintuitive and compassionate response, it gets under their skin and into their hearts.
On this Rally Day it is a good day to ponder our ministry and service to God to, each other, and the strangers and visitors that come our way.
I close with a fitting prayer by John Wesley and it was his “rule of life”:
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,
In all the ways you can, in all the places you can,
At all the times you can, to all the people you can,
As long as ever you can. Amen.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” – Romans 12.1

The all-American game of baseball has given us many things, not the least of which are figures of speech that we hear and use practically on a daily basis. When talking about achieving a milestone or accomplishment we say, “They hit it out of the park.” When actively showing our support for someone it is said that we “went to bat for them.” Others include, “Three strikes and you’re out, we need to cover our bases, they’re really out in left field, that one threw me a curveball, and when someone asks us to give them a “ballpark figure.” One final one, “It’s time to step up to the plate.” This one is useful during significant times of stress, challenge, whenever we are being called to ‘reup’ our commitment to an important task, or cause.

I guess I’m calling today’s sermon a “Pre-Rally Day Sermon,” because Rally Day will be held next Sunday and is the annual kick-off of the church year after summer vacation season is over. We regroup and “touch base” at the church and we’re reminded once again of all the places of service that are available here at St. Luke’s. A clarion call for volunteers will be sounded, and we’ll all be invited to “step up to the plate” to find our places of service for Christ through St. Luke’s.

In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans was calling all followers of Christ to ‘step up to the plate:’
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

As followers of Christ, we are called to put at God’s disposal our bodies, our hands, feet, all our senses, our whole selves and to become a living sacrifice. Once again, we turn to the world of baseball for a clue to the meaning of sacrifice. Whenever a baseball player intentionally sacrifices their own advance by either bunting or hitting a fly ball, so that a teammate who’s already on base can advance. This offering ourselves to God will change our way of living. St. Paul adds:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

What is it to be conformed to the world?

As I pondered this question it made me think of the blessing we have used for the past several weeks now:
“Go forth into the world in peace, be of good courage, hold fast to that which is good, etc.”

To be conformed to the ways of the world we do just the opposite:

Go forth into the world with malice, and cowardice; hold fast to what gets you ahead, when someone does you evil, do it back to them, abandon the fainthearted; mock and make fun of the weak; kick the afflicted while they are down, dishonor and criticize those who are different from you; ignore and pay lip service to the Lord; and then fully expecting to still be blessed by God.

In short to be conformed to the world is to seek our own will.

But we who follow Jesus seek not to be conformed but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The renewing of our minds happens as we practice our faith in community with other believers. As we meditate on holy scripture, as we worship through music and liturgy, giving of our time, talents, and treasure, and as we pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Through transformation the priority is not so much about getting to heaven after we die but getting heaven into us in the here and now.

One way of bringing about God’s will and our own transformation will is by each of us to using the gifts God has given us for ministry.
What gifts we may ask? St. Paul lists several not an exhaustive list but they give us some ideas: Prophecy, Special Ministries, Teaching, Exhortation (which means providing encouragement), Giving with great generosity, Leadership both lay and clergy, and the gift of Cheerful Compassion! None of us have all the gifts, so it really does take all of us to help the church function and to carry out all of our ministries.

I fear that we sometimes bring our mindset from consumer culture into the church asking what can the church do for me, as opposed to the other way around. I love what one of our visitors turned new member said after their first visit to St. Luke’s, “You know I think this church might benefit from my gifts!” Can we let that settle for just a minute… that is the mindset of someone who is ready to step up to the plate. Those of us who have been here let’s have that same spirit and reup to make St. Luke’s an even better place for people to experience Christian community.

It was such a blessing for me to visit Nancy Langlais who has just recently moved into an assisted living facility in Sherwood. She was so interested in what was happening at St. Luke’s, she said how much she misses us, and getting to be present for worship. She wants to be able to receive Holy Communion by lay eucharistic visitors. You’ll notice those who come up near the end of the service to receive communion kits take part in a brief liturgy, part of which comes from today’s reading from Romans: “We who are many, are one body in Christ…” The message is clear, we can’t make this Christian journey alone, we need each other, and it takes all of us in order to thrive and flourish.

Have you ever stopped to think about the sacraments of the church and how none of us can baptize ourselves, we cannot confirm ourselves, we cannot perform our own wedding or ordination, we can’t have Holy Communion by ourselves – a quorum for Holy Communion is at least two people – that means even priest or bishop cannot have communion with themselves. Sacraments have to be performed for us and this initiates us into a body of believers.

Frances Ridely Havergal lived in the 19th cen. and was the daughter of an Anglican priest, who began memorizing the bible from the age of four, and started writing her own verse by the age of seven. She lived her short life to the honor and glory of God caring for the needy, and writing poetry and hymns, and sharing the good news of salvation with those she came in close contact with. The hymn she is best known for was the one we sang right before the reading of the Gospel, “Take My Life and Let It Be.”
In it she gives us a beautiful picture of how to present ourselves as a living sacrifice:
Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee;
Take my moments and my days let them flow in ceaseless praise
Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love;
Take my heart it is thine own, is shall be thy royal throne.

Take my voice and let me sing always only for my king,
Take my intellect, and use every power as thou shalt choose.
Take my will and make it thine, it shall be no longer mine;
Take myself, and I will be ever only, all for thee.

Amen!

But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Am I [ not ] in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.’ In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them. Amen. – from Genesis 50.19-21 NRSV

Recap from last week we heard about the 11th of 12 sons who was his father’s favorite who became despised by his older brothers, was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused and thrown into prison, interpreted dreams, was invited to interpret Pharoah’s dreams, which he did and was paroled from prison and given a high position in Pharoah’s court. This week we will pick back up hitting the high spots and finally arriving at the conclusion of Joseph’s journey of faith.

With the interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams pharaoh praises Joseph’s wisdom and places Joseph as his second in command, and tasks him with supervision of the harvesting, storing, and distributing of all the grain during what would be seven years of famine.

The famine spread throughout the whole region of the middle east, to the point that all were coming to Egypt from the surrounding countries in order to buy food. Word comes to Jacob that there is food in Egypt so he sends his older sons to Egypt to buy food, but he kept his youngest son Benjamin at home with him. Upon arrival, they bow down before Joseph whom they didn’t recognize, but he recognized them. He treated them harshly like strangers, accusing them of being spies from a foreign land.

Joseph wanted to see his younger brother Benjamin so he plays games with the older brothers, testing them. He tells them that they are going to have to go and get Benjamin and puts them in prison for three days to think it over. Then Joseph softens slightly and makes them an offer for one of the brothers to stay in prison while the other brothers take grain back home and to return with the youngest brother, Benjamin. He and Joseph were the two sons of Jacob and Rachel.

The older brothers start understanding that Karma is at work, bad karma indeed. Reuben the oldest said ‘I told you we shouldn’t have done any harm to Joseph.’ This broke Joseph’s heart and he went into a side room where he cried.

He came back in to the brothers instructing stewards to fill their bags with grain and to put the money they had paid for the grain with, back in their sacks. On their way back home, they stopped at a roadside inn to rest, feed, and water their camels. One of the brothers opened his bag to get out some grain to feed the animals with and aghast, he found money in his sack and was sick to his stomach. He cried aloud, “What is this that God has done to us?”

They got home and told their father Jacob all that had transpired, and the deal that Joseph had made with them to leave a brother behind, take grain back home, then return with Benjamin. If they complied their brother would be released and all would be well. Jacob was greatly grieved and disappointed with his sons.

As they were nearing the end of the grain they had brought from Egypt, Jacob knew that his sons were going to have to go back. He told his sons to take some fruit and sweet treats and take double the money that was put in your sacks and take Benjamin with you.

They went back to Egypt presented themselves to Joseph. Joseph instructed his staff to prepare a feast and to have the brothers sent to his home – the brothers figured their gooses were cooked for sure. When Joseph arrived, they gave him gifts of fruit and sweet treats and bowed down to him. He asked them if their father was still alive, and they told him that Jacob was still alive.

When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, he greeted him but quickly as the steward to serve the meal as he excused himself, he was overcome with emotion at seeing his youngest brother. Then they feasted and Joseph saw to it that Benjamin got five times more food that the older brothers. Joseph then orders the stewards secretly to put an abundance of grain, along with their money just like he had done the first time, into their sacks, but this time he added a silver goblet form Joseph’s table.

They left the next morning, not long after they left Joseph dispatched his steward to follow them, and to catch up with them, open their sacks and reveal their ‘thievery.’ They each opened their sacks and when Benjamin opened his there was Joseph’s silver goblet. Joseph chooses Benjamin to be a slave as punishment for the theft. He orders the other brothers to go home to their father. But the brothers explain the family situation and that it would kill their father to not only have lost Joseph but to lose Benjamin. One of the brothers offer to take Benjamin’s place and for Pharoah to send Benjamin home. Now this friends, brings us to today’s passage from Genesis.

Up to this point, let’s face it, Joseph has been having some fun by putting his brothers through the emotional wringer, causing them to sweat and regret the evil they had done to him and their family. But he had reached the breaking point he revealed himself to his brothers. Joseph wailed so loudly that the entire palace could hear him. Then he asks them to come up close to him, and what he says to them is the key to the whole story:
Do not be afraid! Am I [ not ] in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.’
The family is all reunited including their father Jacob, as the family resettles in the land of Goshen, a province of Egypt.

If you were asked to come up with a success story about a successful person, what might you include? Well, their family would be highly functional, treating each other equally, they would have plenty of money, education, cattle, properties, and political power. That’s the way the world works right? But not so with God and the life of faith. When God is tasked with bringing success to a person for the Glory of God, he often calls of those who come from a dysfunctional family where the father or mother played favorites. There would need to be plenty of sibling rivalry and jealousy. Key ingredients would need to be added, like deception, trickery, crazy dreams, seduction, false accusations and imprisonment, betrayal, seduction, sprinkled with plenty of tears and heartache. It would take all of this plus faith to equal the salvation of an entire region from starvation. One person at the center would make a hero’s journey and save the day for his family and the entire region of the middle east.

Joseph reveals the rewards of the life of faith. Every life has it’s struggles, comedies, and tragedies, and without faith, it becomes just a series of unfortunate events. But when viewed through the lens of faith, we find that the events are connected, nothing is wasted, and a divine purpose is possible. Through the lens of faith our lives have meaning, even the dark times when it seemed that God was asleep at the wheel. The truth has always been that God has a call on our lives. Ephesians 2.8-9 is a very well-known passage: “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone boast.” But seldom do we hear the tenth verse read: “¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” God has ordained that our lives are to have meaning and purpose with works of faith for us to do that have been prepared in advance! Spiritual writer Henri Nouwen will get the last word today:

“Ecstatic living, real joy, is precisely connected with
stepping onto unknown ground, trusting that you
are in safe hands.”
• Henri Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing

Give thanks to the Lord, and call upon his Name; make known his deeds among the people. Amen.
– from Psalm 105

How many here today have ever attended a Vacation Bible School? Something many of us have in common. What was it that fueled those memorable summer experiences besides lots of Kool-Aid, popsicles and dedicated volunteers? Great bible stories from the Old Testament! Featuring Noah and the Flood, The Creation story, Moses and the 10 commandments, Ester’s bravery, and in those heroes and heroines from the New Testament Peter who walked on water, Mary Magdalene and the first witness and evangelist of the resurrection, just name a few. Besides having some cool storylines, and with props like arks, chariots and slingshots these stories tell us the deeper truths about ourselves as human beings and the fuller divinity of God.

In today’s reading from the Old Testament, we meet another biblical character from the Hall of Faith, Joseph. His story makes us listeners feel a little bit better about ourselves because he and his family definitely put the “fun” in dys”fun”ctional. He’s the next to last of 12 brothers, so not quite the baby of the family but almost – there were ten older brothers. As we would say “he was spoiled rotten” by his dad who played favorites with Joseph definitely being his favorite. The first prop in the story that’s introduced is a handmade 17th birthday present, a coat made of varied and brightly colored cloth. Dyes for dyeing cloth was very expensive – so this gift was an extravagant over display of his dad Jacob’s favoritism. As in all families that set Joseph up for some delicious mischief, and bragging but also a heap of hate from his brothers, and ensuing sibling rivalry. Besides gifting the coat, Jacob also used his son Joseph as his eyes and ears; to spy on his brothers to make sure they were doing good and honest work out in the fields as shepherds. On several occasions he tattled on his brothers and got them in trouble with their dad. This 17-year-old spoiled brat who wasn’t doing the hard work they were, had the audacity to tell Jacob that they weren’t really doing the work. He was also gifted with the ability to interpret dreams. He had two dreams that would later prove to be prophetic. The first was of 12 sheaves of wheat – one sheave stood up while the other sheaves bowed down to pay it homage. He told his brothers – their hatred increased. The second was similar the planets, sun, moon, and stars bowed down to him.” He of course couldn’t wait to share these dreams of exaltation to his brothers. Joseph sprinkles some narcissism into the pot and stirs it. In the words of the Rev. Andy Jackson, “I don’t b’lieve I’da told that!”

The brothers were so disgusted that they were ready to kill him; and were about to, but the oldest of Jacob’s sons, Reuben, said that they should not kill their own flesh and blood. He suggested they throw him into a pit, get the coat of many colors, dip it in blood and take it to their father Jacob and tell him that Joseph had been killed by wild animals. Lots of deception and trickery in this family, but God was with Joseph in the pit.
Isn’t it good to know that God is with us when life is the pits? But I digress.

A caravan of slave traders was seen coming in the distance and another of Joseph’s brothers, Judah said, “Hey why don’t we turn a profit and sell Joseph off as a slave. They do, for 20 pieces of silver, and he is taken to Egypt where he is purchased by Potiphar, the high official of the Pharoah. The brothers return home to Jacob bearing the bloody coat, Jacob wails, mourns and tears his clothes as a sign of intense suffering and grief. Jacob, the one who tricked his father into giving him Esau’s blessing, is now tricked in the cruelest way to believe that his pride and joy is dead – what goes around comes around.

But God was with Joseph, how fortunate to be placed in the highest commander just under the Great Pharoah. He intended to do his job, and stay out of trouble but Potiphar’s wife had other plans, who multiple times attempts to seduce him. Finally, one day, in desperation she grabs his cloak and Joseph makes a run for it leaving his cloak in her clutches, giving her material evidence to show her husband, who gets enraged, arrests Joseph and throws him into prison – but God was with Joseph. “Some ruler you are, hunh Joseph? What about your dreams now?” As the taunts of his older brothers filled his mind. But God was with Joseph.

While in prison he is able to put to use his god given gift of dream interpretation. Pharoah had become offended by the c chief cupbearer and the chief baker and he threw them into prison where Joseph was being held. They both had dreams on that first night. The next morning Joseph asks them what’s wrong they tell him about having troubling dreams. Joseph, gives credit to God for the interpretation and asks them to tell him their dreams. The cupbearer dreams that 3 vines spring up, bud, and they turn into clusters of grapes, which cupbearer squeezes their juice into the cup. Joseph interpreted by saying the three vines are three days and after them the Pharoah will lift you up and restore you to your previous position. Both prisoners like the sound of it. So, the baker tells joseph his dream: I had three baskets of baked goods for Pharoah, but the birds were eating them out of the top basket. Joseph said, the three baskets are three days, and after three days the Pharoah will lift you up and lift off your head! His interpretations proved correct. In three days, the cupbearer was restored and the baker met his maker. He had told both of them to remember his good deed when they got back to the palace. At such time the cupbearer promptly forgot about Joseph’s comforting gift and Joseph continued his sentence for another two years – but God was with Joseph.

Then one night the Pharoah has two troubling dreams with some similarities. In the first dream there are seven healthy cows that come up out of the Nile, followed by seven thin and unhealthy cows come up from the Nile and devour the healthy cows. The dream ended. He fell back asleep and the second dream consisted of seven healthy stalks of corn followed by seven blighted stalks of corn spring up and devour the healthy stalks of grain and the dream ended. Here we will put a comma on the story and next week we will learn what happens. Will anyone be able to interpret Pharoah’s dreams? What will happen to Joseph? But before we go what are some of the elements of the story? God’s promise of a bright future for Joseph revealed in his dreams. There are dreams, family dysfunction, parental favoritism, sibling rival, betrayal, hatred, imprisonment, seduction, and somehow, and a teaser for next week – God’s awesome plan to save a man and save two countries from starvation. To be continued next week

Danish philosopher Soren Kirkegaard clearly understood that hindsight is 20/20 when he said,
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

Taken – Blessed – Broken – Given; O Lord, make us to be your hands and feet in the world to which you have called us. Amen.

• In 1962 an obscure British band had their first demo rejected by Decca Records and they were told that guitar groups were on their way out” -that group were the Beatles.

• In 1954 a young singer was kicked off the Grand Ole Opry and told to stick to his day job driving trucks, the singer’s name – Elvis Presley.

• Back in the 1970s a young woman sang in a group called the “Breakfast Club” and worked in a Dunkin’ Donuts for her day job. In a fit of anger, she squirted a customer in the face with chocolate sauce and was fired and the band folded, but she never gave up, today we know her as “Madonna.”

• In 1967 a young musician was booed off the stage because the crowd wanted to hear the headliners – the Monkees, that young musician – Jimi Hendrix.¹

There was more than met the eye about these musicians who went on to later greatness. Most would have quit and “kept their day jobs.” They didn’t have it all together they weren’t polished, and there were many musicians out there that was better than they were. But they were willing to do what one of my college music professors would have said “share your mediocrity with boldness!” The critics, and the crowds thought all of them were mediocre, and according to some of their biographies they thought they were mediocre. They followed the advice of Winston Churchill who defined success as “Success consists of going form failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

{They kept showing up with the little they had to offer, and it was enough – more than enough!}

Jesus’ disciples often doubted themselves, and if they were honest, probably doubted Jesus just like Thomas, they just didn’t talk about like he did. Jesus helped them to realize that it wasn’t all up to them and their abilities, talents, and meager resources. This was tiring for the human Jesus and he was ready for a break from the healing, the preaching, and teaching. So, he jumped in a boat and rowed to the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee – but the crowd was wise to where he was heading and when he got to the northwest shore there they all were waiting for him. There were many who were sick and Jesus probably ‘tired to the bone’ had compassion on them and healed them. By now it was supper time and they were out in the middle of nowhere – what to do with 10,000 hungry people (I say 10K because the scripture tells us there were 5K men but additionally there were also women and children – so it was really the feeding of the 10,000!)

The disciples were worried to say the least – what to do – what to do? The idea they suggested was to send the crowd to a neighboring town on the map which was Capernaum (about an hour’s walk).

Jesus the Master and Teacher saw this crisis as the perfect teaching moment for his disciples; and calmly says, “They need not go away, you give them something to eat.” What might have been some of the thoughts going through the disciples’ heads: “Ok has Jesus lost it – maybe he did need the vacation rather than staying behind to heal the sick! We only have five loaves and two fish, basically a lunch that might feed two people, not thousands. But Jesus had asked them to feed all the people, and this is all they had. What an embarrassing moment of powerlessness. What will this do to the attendance at church next week? These people will never forget the night they almost died of heatstroke and starvation, following this obscure rabbi.”

{But they kept showing up with the little they had to offer, and it was enough – more than enough!}

Jesus then said, “Bring them to me.” The first disciples were about to witness, and we later day disciples are about to recall, the famous pattern of Jesus summed up in the Eucharist where the elements are taken – blessed – broken – and given.

This becomes the template that foreshadows our salvation, as Jesus offers his body to be blessed, broken, and given for the world. This is the pattern that feeds the souls of the world and it is shape of our discipleship as his followers. We are invited to offer ourselves to God, with all of our brokenness where he then blesses us as God’s beloved, and then sends us out into the world to whom we are given as bearers of his light and messengers of the good news! Invited to as members of the Body of Christ to become the hands and feet, and sometimes even the mouthpiece of God.

But, we, like those first disciples are susceptible to our fears, worries, and insecurities. We tend to minimize our gifts, and talents, and are too humble when it comes to sharing them. The great miracle when we realize it doesn’t all depend on us – we are invited to join with God in the wonderful journey friends and partners in the ongoing work of reconciling love, where estrangement is healed, and friendship with God becomes possible.
When Jesus joined the partnership, they didn’t just have enough, they had more than enough with 12 baskets full of leftovers. Pretty cool – takeout provided by Jesus!

{But they kept showing up with the little they had to offer, and it was enough – more than enough!}

Ok, I started with music and I’ll end with music. In fact, you’ll get a free sample: {Play excerpt from the Andy Griffith Show theme…}

Earle Hagen, a struggling Hollywood musician, got up one morning with a tune in his head. He started whistling the tune, it only took about 10 minutes to write the musical notes down. The little ditty he wrote became the theme for 1960s tv series The Andy Griffith Show. This week, I was standing in the hallway on the 6th floor of Baptist hospital waiting to go in and see Ruby Wortham when I heard someone whistling, I walked around the corner and saw that it was a custodian whistling the theme the Andy Griffith Show as he mopped.

Let us never underestimate all of our small gifts, and abilities when we dare to offer them up to him. When we do, we will experience God’s math of multiplication and there will be enough, more than enough! Amen.

1 https://www.mymusicmasterclass.com/famous-musicians-who-came-back-from-failure-or-adversity/

“If God is for us then who can be against us?” Amen
• From Romans 8

In my work as a priest one of my privileges is to be able to work with couples in preparation for marriage and officiating at their wedding. I just got back yesterday from performing one up in Jonesboro. One of the readings from scripture they chose is definitely one of the greatest hits – I Corinthians 13 sometimes referred to as the Great Love Chapter where St. Paul describes the character of true love, Love is patient, Love is kind, etc.

Another privilege of a priest is to journey with individuals and families through the valley of the shadows of death and to help them plan the funeral, and to officiate. One of the greatest hits of scripture that is most often used at funeral is the second reading we heard today from the 8th chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. It contains some great lines that have brought comfort to many who are in grief, like this one:
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death doesn’t get the last word – God does! This is good news that we can all rejoice in!

In addition to the hope we can have in death, there is more good news that can give us hope for living. One that is often quoted is Romans 8.28:
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Whenever we commit ourselves to Christ and seek to love God however imperfectly, we can claim this promise that in the midst of the things in life that are hard and that we cannot understand, God can and will bring good out of them. So dear friends we should keep offering our imperfect love to the author of perfect love. That imperfect part is important and hasn’t been overlooked by God:

The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

When were at our weakest – when we aren’t even able to put our prayers into words – the Holy Spirit offers the perfect prayers on our behalf – how’s that for some good news?! God is praying for us right now! in fact can why don’t we pause just for a moment of silence to acknowledge this: + + + + + + +… Thank you God – thank you! We so need those prayers!

St. Paul goes on with a series of rhetorical questions that center around things that distress us most about life, for example:
“If God is for us, who is against us?” Doesn’t that question hit upon something that can bring about much distress and doubt – with all of our weaknesses and imperfections with all of the mistakes we make on a daily basis is God really for me? To that this question turns into a resounding Yes! God is for us! That is what Christ’s coming to earth living, loving and dying is all about – God is for us!

“He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?”

Next our fears of being judged by others or worse being judged by God are addressed:
Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

WOW! Did you catch that last part, besides the Spirit who is praying for us, Christ intercedes for us! Right now, Christ is praying to the Father for us – giving us, not single, not double, but triple coverage from the Holy Trinity!

Finally, St. Paul addresses some of the fears and worries that occupy us:
The first he deals with is separation, the fear that one day our good deeds won’t outweigh our bad deeds and that somehow through something we did or did not do we will find ourselves separated and in the ordinary day-to-day will God be on a permanent coffee break when it comes to us, and our lives?

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ?”

He then mentions some of the big things that can be obstacles

• Will hardship?
• or distress?
• or persecution,?
• or famine?
• or nakedness?
• or peril?
• or sword?

St. Paul gives a resounding No to all of these:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
He then comes in for the slam dunk:

For I am convinced that neither:

• death,
• nor life,
• nor angels,
• nor rulers,
• nor things present,
• nor things to come,
• nor powers,
• nor height,
• nor depth,
• nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Dear friends, this is good news indeed! Today and in the days ahead may they bring comfort to our heart and hope to our souls. Amen!

“Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it.” Amen.

Some of you who know me well know that I have this habit of picking up rocks wherever I travel. I do this as a way to remember some of the significant places I’ve been. Some of these places have been made special by occasional brushes with fame. There’s the pebble from the parking lot of All Saint’s Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills where I got to talk and pray with Debbie Boone for an hour. There’s a rock from the ground at Edinburgh castle where Smantha Brown, travel show host of the Travel Channel walked up next to me to look over the castle wall, and we had a delightful conversation. There are other places like a downtown theatre in my hometown where I met, and got a hug from Donna Douglas, better known as Ellie Mae Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies. At another auditorium in Jonesboro, where I got to meet and shake the hand of the creator of the Star Trek TV series, Gene Rodenberry. While in seminary I got to meet and shake hands with the former Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, and also with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Other places have become much more than destinations they’ve become sacred places of pilgrimage on my spiritual journey; like the church where I was baptized. The two churches where I was ordained deacon, and priest. Then the church yard in London where I got a piece of the actual roman wall the church is built on, and where a distant cousin, The Rev. Samuel J. Stone was rector, and who composed the hymn, ‘The Church’s One Foundation.” At Grasmere, England, there’s an arbor covered bench in the backyard of Dove Cottage, I once sat on and it was the very spot where the poet William Wordsworth once lived and sat contemplating the glories of creation and writing mesmerizing poetry. Last but not least, there’s an orange couch somewhere (probably in a landfill now) that I once sat on in my first tiny apartment in Pine Bluff, where the felt presence of the Holy Spirit became manifest, and I knew that I would never ever be truly alone. I can look back on that day and place, and say, “Surely the Lord was in that place, and I did not know it.”

Sacred Ground, is an ordinary place that has become extraordinary due to a significant event, or a visitation. This is why we have come to refer to Israel and other territories in the middle east as “the Holy Land.” Places like Mount Sinai, Gethsemane, or Golgotha mark a special encounter with the divine. Even today in our diocese we refer to Petit Jean Mountain and Camp Mitchell as a thin place where God is encountered.

Anytime we enter a foreign country we have to go through customs. At the desk we are usually asked why we are going to be in their country “will these be for business or pleasure?” We answer one or the other or sometimes its both. There can be a third reason for travel when in danger and on the run. This is the kind of travel we encounter in today’s reading form Genesis. We drop in on the journey of the great but flawed patriarch- Jacob who is literally running for his life from his brother Esau, whom he has just cheated out of his inheritance, and who intended out of revenge to kill him. By the trickery of impersonation, he had fooled his legally blind father Issac into believing that he was the eldest son, Esau. With his life on the rocks and running on empty, he finds a hiding place near the town of Luz. He located a rock to use as his pillow, lies down and quickly falls asleep. While asleep his has a dream where he sees a ladder of cosmic proportions with the bottom touching the earth and the top part touching heaven. Jacob then notices what appear to be angels ascending and descending. Then he suddenly becomes aware that God is standing next to him who reminds his of the promise God had made to his fathers before him; Abraham and Issac, to give them the good land, and to bless all nations through God’s people.

Jacob then woke up and said:
“Surely the Lord is in this place – and I did not know it!”

The awareness that he has been sleeping on holy ground moves Jacob with awe and he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” So, he picks up the rock he had used for a pillow and sets it up as a sacred pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He then changes the name of the town from Luz (that meant almond grove) to Beth-el which means house of God. The name change indicated how an ordinary town named after a very ordinary almond grove, as a place where God dwells. It is here that God promises not to abandon Jacob and that God would be with him wherever he went.

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it!”

This very flawed man goes on to accomplish great things for God.

When he pulled in that day to the town of Luz “almond grove” he had no idea what was in store, that it would become a place of transformation and of promise. This is just how God continues to work through his modern day people. In the psalm today we find that there is no place on earth we can go that God is not present:
Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast.

As we reflect on Jacob’s experience, we are invited to recall the places where we have known and felt God’s presence.

Faith invites us to see ourselves not as wanderers hopelessly lost but as pilgrims on a sacred journey. God meets us in our lowest, most broken moments—turning places of lonely exile into sacred places of hope and of divine promise. The Holy Spirit is our constant companion, even we can’t feel anything, the fact remains that the Spirit of God dwells within us. This power of God can take the ordinary and make them extraordinary.
French Jesuit Priest and Paleontologist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once said:
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience”. 

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and did not know it.” Amen.

“Jacob’s Ladder,” by Marc Chagall

“Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” – John 1.51

Refresh thy people on their toilsome way, lead us from night to never ending day; Thy true religion in our hearts increase, thy word our law, thy paths our chosen way. Amen.
– From “God of our Fathers” The Hymnal 1982, Words by Daniel Crane Roberts c.1841-1907

Happy Birthday America! This weekend we have been marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of our country! As we look back over our history we find much to celebrate from the invention of the telephone to the first landing on the moon. We are also aware that there are a great many things of which we aren’t proud, such as slavery and the internment of Japanese Americans during the second world war. Freedom certainly isn’t free and it comes at the high cost of lives lost.

There have been periods of peace and progress as well as periods of war and regression backwards by filing to hold the moral high ground. A national anniversary such as this is a time for us to examine where we have made progress toward the realization of the American Dream of freedom and justice for all, and where we are falling short.

One of the ways that we have been falling short is our labeling and demonizing those who are different from us, either in the color of their skin, in their socio-economic class, their religion and politics, or in their sexual orientations. As Christians and Americans, we find ourselves living in the tension of dual citizenship – as citizens of the United States and as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. With responsibilities to both, we pledge allegiance to the flag of our country, and we pray to Our Father in Heaven.

This tension has been there from the founding of our country until the present day, but I think most would agree that not since the Civil War has our nation been so bitterly divided. What has happened over these last few decades to widen the gap and to increase the bitterness and discord?

My wife and I took our daughter to Sewanee last weekend for a young writer’s conference. While on our several hours drive, we listened to some podcasts. One was called, “Stuff You should Know” by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant. The episode talked about something called “the Fairness Doctrine.” This was term used to describe laws and rules set up by the Federal Communications Commission starting in 1949 that required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. It emphasized the duty the media had for to the public welfare by a clear presentation of the facts, and to cover both sides of key issues and folks were free to make up their own mind.

This fairness doctrine came to an abrupt end in 1987 when the FCC abolished it.¹ This then cleared the path for the explosive growth of partisan and single-perspective talk radio and television programming in the late 1980s and 1990s.² Market share and ratings began to determine how the news was presented to the public, resulting in multiple news programs that intentionally slanted their perspective to suit the views of the corporate sponsors as well as particular partisan segments of the general public.

In the mid 1980s a volatile mixture of media, market share, and partisan politics developed and added to the mix was the religious right which became like kerosene on the fire – the result is what we have today. We are told what to believe about the news by our favorite media outlet. It really doesn’t matter whether it’s CNN or Fox News or MSNBC, we will be getting a one-sided spin without the whole story rarely ever being told. People selected media based on partisan preferences and things grew more inflamed. In the early 2000s along came social media, and I’m not sure what kind of incendiary chemical to call what that threw onto the fire, regardless it was explosive. Now people can’t fully hear a different perspective, we’ve lost the ability to have a dialogue and we’ve forgotten there is really only One team – it’s called America.

There is an allegory called the Allegory of the Long Spoons and it is used to describe the difference between Heaven and Hell. As the allegory goes, in each location, the inhabitants are given access to food, but the utensils are too long to feed oneself with. In hell, the people refuse to cooperate, and consequently starve. In heaven, the diners feed one another across the table and are nourished.
As the Rev. Edmund Harris pointed out:
“The Gospel does not ask us to reject our love of country. But it does ask us to measure every nation—including our own—against the character of Jesus Christ.”³

As dual citizens we can hold two truths simultaneously 1) we as American citizens are free and independent to vote an participate into the political process and 2) we as followers of Christ and citizens of heaven we are totally dependent upon Christ and to follow with God’s help his teachings.

During Jesus’ life on earth, he managed to disappoint both the political and the religious leaders of the day, by not siding with a single political party, and by not agreeing with religious fundamentalism.

If you find yourselves weary with all that is going on in our world today, you would not be alone, that’s why the best advice comes from Jesus himself, in the last paragraph of today’s Gospel reading:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Amen!

1 https://dividedwefall.org/fcc-fairness-doctrine
2 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116
3 The Rev. Edmund Harris, Sermon given in St. Thomas Church in Medina, Washington. 

IN THE PRESENCE OF THOSE WHO LIVE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS

Only two verses we read this morning, and in these verses Matthew gives insight into how Jesus welcomed people and how he understood the value of welcoming each other; and we learn much about the church in Matthew’s day in the 80’s, about 50 years after Jesus’ Earthly ministry.

Jesus opens with telling us the good we receive by welcoming those who come in his name and live and teach his ways. Jesus sent out his disciples to preach the Gospel ahead of him. Those people who received and welcomed the disciples learned the Good News of the Gospel, that God is with them, that God, the very source of love, is living within them and resuscitating their difficult lives, renewing their love of life and love for each other. Jesus comes to restore joy and hope and heal their brokenness. Welcome the disciples, and you welcome Jesus himself; to welcome Jesus is to welcome God, and the rewards are the benefits of the Kingdom of God.

In Matthew’s day 50 years after Jesus’ Earthly ministry, the churches did not have priests or ministers, but there were people who traveled church to church, like Paul did, who proclaimed the Gospel to the churches. Proclaiming the Gospel is what prophets do, so these traveling preachers were known as Prophets. Most stories and teachings about Jesus were still being told word of mouth, so these preachers told the stories and teachings shared and passed down by those who were with Jesus. Matthew was one of the people who wrote these things into Gospel Accounts. Today, we have the written materials of the New Testament and priests and preachers and teachers, but that was rare in the early church. When a Prophet came to town and the church welcomed them, they were rewarded with information about what Jesus said and did, and gained wisdom and encouragement from these encounters: the prophet’s reward.

Jesus also told his listeners that to welcome a righteous person would result in a reward of a righteous person. When I was in my third year of seminary, I interned with a church in South Louisiana. In that church, a couple in their 40’s worked with the youth groups and programs of the church. They were rather more conservative than typical United Methodists, so as an unaware 20 something year old, I was leery of them. One day I was in their home for dinner, and suddenly I felt the warmth and love this couple radiated to those around them. They were right-living people living out of love and kindness because they loved God. And you couldn’t help but know you were in the presence of God’s love when you were in their home. They taught me a lot about judging people; it’s not healthy. Righteous people in the Gospels does not only refer to the outward actions of people whom we say live right and do the right things; it does not mean self-righteous or judgmental or self-important people. No, it refers to people who have given themselves over to the love of God, taken it in, and share that love and kindness with the people around them. To welcome right-living people into our life is to share in a glimpse of the Kingdom of God and experience the incarnated presence of God in physical life. That’s the reward of welcoming righteous people.

Finally, Jesus turns our attention to “little ones.” Here it refers to little children, and it refers to followers of Jesus (his own disciples, the 12). Jesus often referred to children as examples of who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God, or whom we should be like in order to be receptive to God’s presence (see Matthew 18: 1-5). Jesus was particularly enamored by their humility, trust and quick ability to forgive and accept people. But he was also aware of their vulnerability, powerlessness, and exposure to being easily harmed. He warns against harming “little ones,” but in our scripture today, Jesus applauds anyone who meets the basic needs of children, like giving them a cup of cold water.

This verse goes further. In Matthew’s day, the members of the churches were often referred to as “these little ones.” And Jesus sometimes referred to his disciples as “little ones.” Here Jesus says there is reward in welcoming his disciples, then and now. When the people of the church show hospitality and kindness to each other and to newcomers, we welcome Jesus himself. When we welcome Jesus, he says we are welcoming God. So, when we speak to each other and to visitors to our congregation with kindness, we are welcoming Jesus. When we greet each other in the passing of the peace in a bit, we will be welcoming God. When we pray for each other, or check up on each other when we sense someone is struggling, or when we go out of our way to do a simple kindness for each other, Jesus says there is reward in this welcoming. There is community and belonging when we do this here. There is healing in this.

Amen.