tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63665826151983381192024-02-18T20:08:41.202-08:00Sacred Space. . .We are a group of students and young people, desiring to form community through prayer, worship, shared meals, play, and service at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. We rather like each other, and we enjoy our congregation. And we like long walks on the beach.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger428125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-17799225026028218182013-05-12T22:05:00.000-07:002013-05-27T22:10:14.218-07:00Sermon: Holy Belonging, Holy Witness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>John 17:20-26</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<em><span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> ‘I ask not only on behalf of
these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, </span><sup><span style="color: #777777; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-hide: all;">21</span></sup><span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">that they may all be one.
As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,<a href="javascript:void(0);"><sup><span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;"><span style="color: #0000bb;">*</span></span></sup></a>
so that the world may believe that you have sent me. </span><sup><span style="color: #777777; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-hide: all;">22</span></sup><span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The glory that you have
given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, </span><sup><span style="color: #777777; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-hide: all;">23</span></sup><span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I in them and you in me,
that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have
sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. </span><sup><span style="color: #777777; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-hide: all;">24</span></sup><span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Father, I desire that
those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory,
which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the
world. <o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<em>
</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<em><span class="vv1"><span style="display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-hide: all;"><span style="color: #777777;">25</span></span></span><span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> ‘Righteous
Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you
have sent me. </span><sup><span style="color: #777777; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-hide: all;">26</span></sup></em><span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>I made your name
known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have
loved me may be in them, and I in them.’</em> </span></div>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">On Sunday
evenings, a number of people come from a variety of places and directions, and
at 7pm, they gather together in Freeman Chapel. Some are long-time members of
this congregation. They have seen this church take risks, act creatively, and
put visions of inclusion into practice over the course of decades. Some are
people who served as part of the Sunday Night Dream Team, a ministry team of
discernment that met together for seven months last year and acted on a deep
sense of call that this congregation was commissioned to form a new worshiping
community centered around a Sunday Evening Service. Some are people whose names
were once unknown to us, but who are now a core group of people who are present
every week, people who have made this little family of worshipers their church.
And some are first-time guests, people who have wandered on foot into our
worship service from Colorado Boulevard after seeing a quirky sign outside,
wondering with their own curiosity what a phrase like "spiritually hungry,
but institutionally suspicious" could possibly mean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And every Sunday
evening, a miracle takes place. Every Sunday evening, all of these people,
spanning a variety of ages, backgrounds, and personal needs become a community.
Every week, this happens. It happens in worship. It happens around cafe tables
of coffee and snacks after the service. By the grace of God, these people who
are individuals with a variety of life-stories are becoming a community.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And no one on our ministry team
ever said, "Hey, let’s make sure that we use the word 'community' all the
time in this service," but week in and week out, we do. And no one on our
ministry team ever said, "Let's make sure that every single week we say,
'We are a community of prayer,'" but week in and week out, at least one
worship leader manages to say that aloud.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the Evening Worship Community
miraculously becomes just that, a community, and as we are becoming a community
of prayer, I’ll tell you that every single Sunday evening, a beautiful moment
happens when we’re praying.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We celebrate communion every
time we are together, and during the communion prayer, we always leave a holy
space. In this holy space, we invite people to voice the names of individuals
aloud. Suddenly everyone is leading the prayer, naming aloud the people who are
on our minds and hearts. "Jim. . . Cathy. . . Miguel. . . Grant. . . Heather.
. ." The names swirl around the room as we pray for them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a reminder that the
church is always larger than the worshipers in a room. And human love is always
larger than a few individuals gathered in together prayer. Others are always
present through the love of God. This is a miracle too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is Holy Belonging. And
when we live into it, when we act upon it, when we put it on display, this is
our Holy Witness.<o:p></o:p></div>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another moment in the life of our church:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On Tuesday night, the Elders of our congregation met for our monthly
Session meeting. We didn't spend a lot of our time on committee reports.
Instead, we spent time reflecting and discerning what it would mean for PPC to
become a stronger mentoring environment for young adults. We were all invited
to bring a photo of a person who has served as an important spiritual mentor in
our lives, and we broke into groups to talk about the significance of these
individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In my group, we were each introduced to a father, two uncles, and an
influential campus minister. We laughed as we told stories. And as we discussed
each person one by one, we all seemed to mention that we had learned something
significant about what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be human,
just by watching these individuals live – just by watching how they loved us
and others. And when we had all finished that conversation, we sat back and
reminded ourselves that when we are gathered together as a church, especially
in worship, there are always more people present than the ones we can see.
These influential people are so embedded in our lives, that we are constantly
presenting them to each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This is Holy
Belonging. And when we live into it, when we act upon it, when we put it on
display, this is our Holy Witness as a church. This is our Holy Witness to the
world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus led a
community of prayer. Jesus was a spiritual mentor, and of course, even more to
his disciples. In our scripture text this morning, Jesus is praying with his
disciples in a holy, significant moment, and he does something miraculous too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He prays for the other people embedded in
that room – for the ‘beyond people’ – people like you and me, people who were
not physically present in that prayer and yet, people who are deeply connected
to the disciples sitting in front of him because we are the people who will
believe in Jesus through their word. “I ask not only on behalf of these, but
also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,” Jesus
prays. He miraculously makes present the entire Church present – that is,
Church with a capital C – and he prays for all of us together, recognizing that
there are disciples beyond that room of disciples, disciples who are centuries
in the making, and yet, disciples who have names. Jesus prays for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And for what
does he pray? He prays that we would be one. “I ask not only on behalf of
these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,
that they may all be one.” And how do we see and understand this oneness? It
starts with the life and love of God. Jesus prays, “As you, Father, are in me
and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you
have sent me. . . I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one,
so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as
you have loved me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“. . .that the
world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.”
Jesus desires to be embedded in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus has embedded us into his own life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He’s done it with grace before we could even know that we needed it, and
we are all present in the love that he shares with God. Within the love of God
– Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – within the love of God, near to us like a
tender Mother, we are found. It is as if our very lives are being swept up into
this love, caught up into the very life of God for a life of love and freedom.
Friends, this is Holy Belonging. And when we live into it, when we act upon it,
when we put it on display, this is our Holy Witness to the world. It is our
Holy Witness to the ‘beyond people’ – disciples in the making who will believe
in Jesus through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">our</i> word. It is our
life – the Life of Jesus embedded within us; life that came to us through other
lives before we were born, life to be lived in love, belonging, and witness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus calls us
to be one. Jesus prays that we would live out that love in unity. And here is a
miraculous gift for the world too: Unity is not uniformity. Unity is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> uniformity. People with names who
span a variety of ages, backgrounds, and personal needs are entering holy
belonging here. They’re doing it in the unity of the love of God, not in the
uniformity of what some tell them they should be. People with names who come to
us from the many nations of this world – Mexico, Korea, Guatemala, China, Iran,
Japan, El Salvador, Haiti, Thailand, and other places – we are entering holy
belonging here. We’re on Holy Ground. We’re doing it in the unity of the love
of God, not in the uniformity of what some tell us we should be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This is a church
where people can be themselves – a miracle of community where people can live
as their transformed selves! When we come as we are and allow ourselves to be
swept up into the life of God’s love, when Jesus becomes embedded into the very
fabric of our lives, when we are placed in a community of other lives, when we
live as transformed people who have been redeemed and commissioned into service
– when we do it together, as one unified, miraculous community of disciples –
we are belonging to God and one another in a holy way, and we are proclaiming a
particular witness in a holy way. This is our Holy Belonging. This is our Holy
Witness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I in you and
you in me,” Jesus prays. “One disciple in the life of another disciple, one
community being formed over time.” It is a miracle of God. We are a miracle of
God. Let’s belong and gives witness in holy ways. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">-Pastor Renée Roederer and the Community
at Pasadena Presbyterian Church<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiKWHYVGQRgOgkCNebZeJdjQHEPia4PYm4F1timV13PnHkG_6vcKG_GzP-z5vG98-ioh-qV3RyH3Qddx7pJbQLWcqYznWlU2GfhWHnOiGdxgS3ig2JinsqMnS9mFfKH0eqwjK2CcIXTQK/s1600/tables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-52839596418291623992013-04-14T14:43:00.001-07:002013-05-27T22:00:09.720-07:00Sermon: The Epilogue Community<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong>2 Corinthians 5:15-21</strong><br />
<br />
<em>So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! <sup class="ww" style="display: none;">18</sup>All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. . .</em><br />
<br />
<strong>John 21:1-19, 24-25</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<em>This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. <sup class="ww" style="display: none;">25</sup>But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.</em> <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I love the final stories of the Gospel according
to John. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I really do. I love how this Gospel ends.
It’s intriguing, giving us interesting images and conversations with Jesus on
the beach -- one who is known to us and recognizable, and yet, one who is also
mysterious, beyond us, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unrecognizable</i>
– one who calls us to follow him and venture into unchartered waters of
discipleship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I love that this passage closes in a
rather open ended way. We don’t know what will happen next, and yet, the Gospel
closes with us knowing exactly what will happen ultimately, though we can’t
even come close to summing it up: Jesus is going to keep meeting us, feeding
us, walking with us, and calling us to follow. Jesus is going to do more things
in and through the lives of countless disciples – Peter, John, the disciple
whom Jesus loves; disciples all around the world, us too – healing,
shepherding, teaching, reconciling. . . I suppose if we could write down all
the things that Jesus has done and is about to do among us, the whole world
could not contain the books that would be written. But the stories are still
being written all the time. Jesus’ story with us is an ongoing, unfolding
narrative. The Risen Christ is shepherding us into shepherding others with love
and care, with redemptive stories that are still being written. You and me and
countless others. . . we are narratives of reconciliation that are still being
written. . .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For all of these reasons, I love how
this Gospel ends. These final stories are interesting, and they’ve intrigued
scholars for a long time too. The Bible wasn’t written with ready-made chapters
and verses. The church added those many years after all these books were
written. But this final chapter of this Gospel, chapter 21, has been especially
puzzling for students and scholars of the Bible over the centuries. And one of
the main reasons for this is that we don’t know who wrote it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As you know, authors have specific
writing styles. For instance, it’s not hard to tell the difference between. . .
William Shakespeare and Michael Crichton. If we sat down and read their works,
we wouldn’t even have to know who authored them in order to tell that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Romeo and Juliet</i> is not quite the same.
. . as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jurassic Park</i> (though there is
a certain level of tragedy to them both). We wouldn’t even have to know who
wrote them to say, “Yep. There are different authors here!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Something similar is going on with
chapter 21, the last chapter of this Gospel. For the first twenty chapters, we
get a particular writing style, and then. . . William Shakespeare becomes
Michael Crichton! Well, okay, okay. . . it’s not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that </i>dramatic and different. But the style of writing in the
original language suddenly changes, and scholars feel confident that a
different author or set of authors has taken the reins in this storytelling
adventure. Chapter 21 with its concluding stories of resurrection, fish, and
conversation is an epilogue. The chapter is a holy epilogue, a conclusion to
what has come before it and an opening toward ways of imagining what might come
next. That’s what epilogues do, and that’s part of what’s happening here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Now the metaphor between William
Shakespeare and Michael Crichton eventually breaks down because we certainly
don’t have a situation of dinosaurs pairing themselves into warring factions of
Capulets and Montagues. Shakespeare and Crichton don’t only have two different
writing styles. In their case, we’re talking about two completely different
stories!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This holy epilogue is not like that.
There might be a difference in the authorship and writing style, but the story
is a deliberate continuation of what has come before it. In fact, I find myself
amazed at the ways that this concluding chapter circles back to include images
and allusions to the beginning of Jesus’ narrative with his disciples. I’m
amazed at how beautifully it weaves themes and symbols together from many
stories that unfolded among the first community of people who followed Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">There are many stories within this
epilogue that are connected to other stories, and each one of them could be the
focus for a sermon. (Don’t worry, I won’t preach them all! But let’s touch upon
them). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">After experiencing the emotional whiplash
of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and sudden resurrection into new
life, the disciples were in the midst of figuring it all out. It’s hard to
imagine what that must have felt like. So Peter decides to go back to the
basics. He and many of first disciples were common fishermen before they
started following Jesus. So they get back to the basics and go fishing. They
can’t catch a single fish until the mysterious Jesus on the beach tells them to
cast their nets differently. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Do you remember another time that Jesus
did that? Do you remember that when Jesus first called Peter, James, and John
as disciples, they were in a boat, fishing? They couldn’t catch a single fish
until Jesus told them to try one more time in deeper water, and then their nets
could hardly pull in all the fish. In that first encounter with Jesus, Peter,
for once in his life, was speechless. And Jesus said some words that work mark the
course of his life, “Follow me. From now on you will be catching people.” Do
you remember that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Peter wanted to get back to the basics
of fishing, but instead, he got an opportunity get back to the basics of his
life-calling. After they caught all that fish, another disciple recognized the
mysterious stranger on the beach as Jesus, and I love what happens next. I
think it’s hilarious. The story says that Peter “put on clothes, for he was
naked, and jumped into the sea!” What a funny image! Peter is so stunned at it
all that he puts his clothes on only to plunge overboard and get them all wet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Funny. But beyond humorous images, several
foundational stories weave their way through this epilogue. Jesus feeds them
the fish and bread on the beach. . . remember how he once took a simple meal of
fish and bread and multiplied it to feed 5000 people?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember how he took bread and cup among his
disciples and said, “Eat and drink. This is my body and my life-blood given for
you?” Remember that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And then, there’s a connection to a
heavy story. Do you remember how Peter betrayed Jesus by denying him three
times, right when Jesus was on the verge of condemnation and death? Do you
remember how gut-wrenching that denial was? I wonder if Peter feared that he
had ruined that relationship with Jesus. I wonder if he feared that he may have
marred his own call to the point that it was no longer available for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">After the miraculous catch and a holy
meal on the beach, Jesus does what he so often does. Jesus engages in a
ministry of reconciliation. Peter denied Jesus three times, and now, three
times Jesus restores Peter with a foundational question. “Peter, do you love
me? Do you love me, Peter? Peter, do you love me?” “Then follow feed my lambs.”
Jesus reconciles Peter for a life of reconciliation, for a life of shepherding
people through Jesus’ love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So this is our <span class="yshortcuts"><span id="lw_1365954406_0">epilogue</span></span>, our holy epilogue with stories of
the past, retold again in new ways to launch us into the future. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I've told you
many times in this sermon that I love this epilogue. I do. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But do you know what I might love the
most about it? Most scholars believe that this epilogue was written by a person
or a set or people who represented a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">community</i>
- a community that had immersed itself in the stories and theological language
of the Gospel of John. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And the words of this community
close the Gospel of John by telling us that the story is still being told, and
that if we could possibly write down all the stories of Jesus' presence and
ministry among us, the whole world could not contain the volumes that would
exist! That’s probably what I love most. Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” “Then
feed my lambs.” “Get out there and love with a Love that rewrites the world’s
story! Be my story! Be a ministry of reconciliation in this world.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Friends,
do you know that we’re an epilogue community too? Do you know that Jesus is
still writing stories of ministry and reconciliation among us? Jesus’ story
with us is just one of those volumes, but we’re really in that library! I’ve
seen it. I’ve heard it. And I’ve only scratched the surface of the depth that
is this epilogue community called Pasadena Presbyterian Church! You have
personal stories of being reconciled to God in amazing ways. You have personal
stories of ministry, reconciling toward others and saying, “This is a place
where love will find you and will change the direction of your life story!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
is a place where God writes our story and says, “I call all nations,
ethnicities, languages, and cultures to myself. I will put that on display
right here in this holy epilogue that is PPC.” This is a place where God says, “Come,
bring your story. Tell us of the great love and great pains you’ve experienced
in your life. Come and experience healing and love here right here, and be in
ministry with us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All
of these stories are a part of God’s narrative for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
there are unchartered waters for us too, stories that are still being written
in our uncompleted volume. There is a neighborhood beyond these doors that is
in pain. I see some of the faces of this neighborhood on Sunday nights in the new
Evening Worship Community. The people there have dealt with some difficult
experiences, and they’re exploring faith in light of big questions that they
bring. It’s healing and a beautiful thing to witness. We invite you into this new chapter in the life of our church.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let's give great praise to the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus is the author of all the stories that the world cannot contain. Let's live that praise as a reconciling, story-filled church.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thanks
be to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Pastor
Renee Roederer and the Community of <a href="http://www.ppc.net/">Pasadena Presbyterian Church<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-36018003072136771682013-03-11T20:52:00.003-07:002013-03-26T17:26:44.072-07:00Sermon: Offensive Love<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4uEBSyyNfZ-IgL3YJ2DYURgAYOqSrz0gHOrP-AM1EbWdAg9wRMlf7PgVtd0fst6MUM2tX9PaiAL2v7Qv5e1J55SggZng9j9N_iPkNTV_moL5t4FNH6ZIL2F7SZ5KW4uLe4tarRK7DbJ9l/s1600/securedownload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4uEBSyyNfZ-IgL3YJ2DYURgAYOqSrz0gHOrP-AM1EbWdAg9wRMlf7PgVtd0fst6MUM2tX9PaiAL2v7Qv5e1J55SggZng9j9N_iPkNTV_moL5t4FNH6ZIL2F7SZ5KW4uLe4tarRK7DbJ9l/s320/securedownload.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Luke 15:1-3, 11-32b</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He did a very, very offensive thing. . .
The younger son in our scripture lesson today certainly offended all the
customs and conventions of his day. He stepped outside of the norms, crossed
over the lines, and acted in ways that were shocking and shameful – shocking
and shameful to himself, his family, and his neighbors.<br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps he had considered his plans for
a while. Maybe he practiced how he might ask the question, how he might make
the demand. “How should I word this exactly. . .?” he may have asked. Or
perhaps his plans were simply made on the spur of the moment. Maybe the desire
for immediate gratification overcame him, and he didn’t really consider how his
words might hurt or wound those around him.<br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Father, give me the share of the land
that will belong to me.” That wasn’t really a question at all. It seemed to be
a demand, an expectation, and entitlement. And did you catch that? That word
‘will?’ “Father, give me the share of the land that <i>will </i>belong to me.”
He’s asking to translate ‘will’ into now.<br />
<br />
He did a very, very offensive thing. . . Because under all conventional
standards of the day, the younger son would not have gained this inheritance
now. The ‘will’ of it all – “Father, give me the share of the land that <i>will</i>
belong to me” – hinged on one thing: the death of his father. In other words,
as we translate this demand into the cultural language of the day, the younger
son is in effect saying, “Father, be dead to me. I can’t wait around for your
death. I want my share of the inheritance now.” That was a very, very offensive
request to make.<br />
<br />
And he receives that inheritance. But he doesn’t use it to care for himself or
his father. Instead, he runs off to a distant country and squanders the entire
inheritance on dissolute living. He asked for his father to be dead to himself.
And then he became dead to <i>him</i>self – dead to the person he was called to
be.<br />
<br />
And yet, thank God, there is grace. Thank God that grace can come even in the
rock bottom moment. A famine comes, and though the younger son may have assumed
that his inheritance was abundant enough to last forever, like all things that are
perishable, his monetary inheritance hit rock bottom. And so did he. He was so
poor and so in need, that he did something else that would have seemed wildly
offensive to anyone he grew up with back at home. He hired himself out to be a
swineherd, to tend to pigs which were unclean under Jewish law. And his rock
bottom moment comes when he is so hungry that he envies those pigs. They have
sustenance even in that slop, and that’s more than he can say for himself. The
scripture says that there was grace even in this filthy moment of needy
destitution. The text says that, “He came to himself.”<br />
<br />
Isn’t that an interesting phrase? He came to himself? His monetary inheritance
had run out, but he was on the verge of discovering there's an inheritance that
isn’t perishable, an inheritance that cannot be squandered under any
circumstances, an inheritance that has to do with identity through love.<br />
<br />
There was grace in a glimmer of understanding. And yet, he underestimated it
for what it really was. He began to dream of return, but he underestimated it.
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to
be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” He set off to return,
to be less than the one he was called to be.<br />
<br />
<br />
He did a very, very offensive thing. . . He stepped outside the norms, crossed
over lines, and acted in ways that were culturally shocking and shameful. The
father did a very offensive thing, culturally speaking. Though shamed by his
son and treated as though he were dead, the father continually sought after his
son. He did not avert his eyes, constantly looking in love, dreaming for the
wellbeing of his treasured son. He broke every standard, every expectation, and
looked like a fool to his neighbors. In love, perhaps beyond what we can
imagine, he did an offensive thing. . . Like a fool, he <i>ran</i> with open
arms to greet the one who had disowned him and wronged him. He kissed his son.
He did not let his son finish this speech, this tainted version of who he was
in his father’s eyes. “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I
am no longer worthy to be called your son.” There would be no talk of acting as
a hired hand. This was his beloved child, and he had returned. He had come to
live as the one he is. “Bring the robe – the best one! Bring the best sandals
and a ring to place on his finger. My child! My child! My child has come home!
My child! We will eat and celebrate, for this child of mine was dead and is
alive again! He was lost, and he was found!”<br />
<br />
The younger son may have treated his father as though he were dead. But there
is <i>nothing</i> he could do – no distance that he could travel – that could
render his father’s love dead. This love was alive, and for that reason, he
named his son as the one he had always been, who he would always be - his fully
alive, beloved child. The father welcomed him in love and threw a lavish party
to celebrate that deep, rich, love – love which was wildly offensive in the
world’s eyes – deep, rich, unconditional love toward this child who had
returned.<br />
<br />
<br />
And. . . he too, did a very, very offensive thing. . . The older brother was
hurt by this lavishness. Perhaps he felt as though this feast – this abundance
– was being squandered too. His younger brother had not only shamed himself. He
had shamed everyone! He had left more work, more labor for his older brother,
because he was not here to do it himself. He had literally demanded his share
of the land, and then he squandered the proceeds it provided him. And because
his father was still alive – and thank God he was still alive! (He didn’t want
his father dead like somebody else. . .) – the older brother had to take care
of his father with a smaller pool of resources than they had before. His
younger brother had tarnished his family’s name, and for what? For a lavish
party! Since when had his father done anything like this for him? He had stayed
here. He had toiled. He had been faithful. Where was his party? Where was his
feast? And he did an offensive thing. He refused to enter the party. He chose
to be alone. Self-righteous, yes, but also alone. Somehow, self-righteousness
can make hermits out of us. . . And he stood there, scowling, sulking, he
himself distant from his father.<br />
<br />
And again, unconditional love can look so downright foolish. It’s offensive
really. The father’s deep, rich, unconditional love was offensive in the way that
it was willing to enter even the most offensive of places. Again, the father
stepped outside the norms, crossed the lines, and acted in ways that were
culturally shocking and shameful. He did what no host would do it his culture:
He left his guests, and he went out to meet his older son. The older son made
his complaints. He expressed his frustrations. It’s easy to empathize with him,
but it’s also easy to forget the same thing the older son had forgotten about
himself. His father listens, but he also lavishes his son with abundant love,
“Son, you are always with me. You cannot truly be distant from my love for you.
All that is mine, is yours.” And then the challenge: “This brother of yours was
dead and has come to life. He was lost and has been found.” Yes, the challenge.
“He is mine. Will you let him be yours? Will you come in, where my love is big
enough for the both of you?”<br />
<br />
What a story. . . How offensive. How challenging. How profound.<br />
<br />
Do you know who you are? Do you know it? Do you know Whose you are? Do you know
who and Whose you were created to be?<br />
<br />
The first epistle of John says it so well: “See what love the Father has given
us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” “God is
love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”
Beautiful words. True words. And then, these words which are true and rich with
challenge, “Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one
another. . . if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected
in us.”<br />
<br />
Hear the good news of God’s love for you: You are included in God’s love. Wake
up to that on Daylight Savings Sunday! Live like it’s actually real and true! Let
it seep into every living cell inside yourself. And hear the good news of God’s
love for the world: The world is included in God’s love. God’s love for you is
so big, that it can include the world – those you love, those known unto you,
those unknown to you, those you can’t stand. . . – without ever diminishing
God’s deep, rich, unconditional for you. God’s love for the world is so big
that it can really and truly include you – yes, even you! - without diminishing
any of that love for the world. This love is endless and boundless.<br />
<br />
So what are you waiting for? Won’t you go into that party and celebrate?<br />
<br />
You may feel as though you have wandered so far away from God, that God has
stopped waiting for your return. You may feel as though God would never run
after you with open arms. It may seem as though you’ve squandered it all, and
you might as well indulge in pig slop. Well, the good news for you today is
that you are not pig slop, and you were never made for pig slop! God is
looking. God is watching. God is loving with open arms. There is nothing you
can do to nullify that love. You can’t <i>un</i>-beloved child yourself! And
because that’s true, here’s the challenge. If you don’t know that love, or
you’re not living as if that love is real, you are missing something. Turn
around. Come to yourself – your true self, your true beloved self. Leave that
distant country – whatever it is; addiction, rage, pettiness, pride, self-loathing,
isolation, greed, hoarding, competition, gossip; whatever it is – and come
home. Come home. There is a Love so deep that it’s offensively running after
you. It’s on the offensive! Run in the direction toward the One who runs after
you.<br />
<br />
Or you may feel as though you’re standing outside these days. Perhaps you’re
resentful. Perhaps there are people you’d rather God <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> love. Perhaps you define them as outsiders, and yet, you are
the one refusing to enter God’s deep love. Or perhaps you feel ostracized
yourself. Remember that God’s love for them cannot nullify God’s love for you.
And God’s love for you cannot nullify God’s love for them. If all that is God’s
is lovingly yours, your neighbors and your enemies are yours to love. Embrace
them. Run after them as God runs after them. Or allow yourself to be loved by
them. Enter that lavish party. You are included. There is a Love so deep that
it’s offensively coming into your isolation. <br />
<br />
All the love in the world is right here for us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_nr2hkr0n9BuUlc89vsIXp7BR18AbHN1Qm2OEoYZdMvapeoJdDp7Mc0827YrgcgesOQ0iqGToy8mMA2gaAMlJk0DnJwFUKvLz43zS03ZHk40QVtGyzB4rMRyT5GrTGX5W0vRFjki-eNm/s1600/securedownload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">All the love in the world is right here
for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Won’t you come inside?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">-Pastor Renée Roederer and the Community
at <a href="http://www.ppcyoungadults.blogspot.com/">Pasadena Presbyterian Church<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-15837147696220687072013-02-13T10:18:00.000-08:002013-02-13T10:18:54.508-08:00Ash Wednesday at Pasadena Presbyterian Church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXy5vOSQgSyZ15laSJdoSQJRAgX60vUywobZoqolFcLFD8Kv_GRYl4_gH00jTPXYxXKxy0l7PBbzb2ISpqOqRRXeQSYAE6YLTgJ60GLT-F592Ahv8FOQGqK6aOqY2NcFc4ZJazWdgq6vw/s1600/225px-Crossofashes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXy5vOSQgSyZ15laSJdoSQJRAgX60vUywobZoqolFcLFD8Kv_GRYl4_gH00jTPXYxXKxy0l7PBbzb2ISpqOqRRXeQSYAE6YLTgJ60GLT-F592Ahv8FOQGqK6aOqY2NcFc4ZJazWdgq6vw/s1600/225px-Crossofashes.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">We invite our congregation, friends, and neighbors to
join us Wednesday, February 13th at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.ppc.net/" style="color: #0b5394; text-decoration: none;">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">for our Ash Wednesday Service.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A light meal of bread, cheese, and fruit will be held
at 6pm before worship in the Fellowship Hall, and worship will begin at 7pm.
</b>Our English/Korean service will be held in the sanctuary. Our Spanish
service will be held in Freeman Chapel. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday" style="color: #0b5394; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ash Wednesday</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> marks the
beginning of Lent, a 40 day contemplative period before Easter. On Ash
Wednesday, we turn in repentance and consider God's love toward us, even as we
recognize our own fragility and mortality. We invite you to enter deeply into
spirituality and community during this season.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our
service on Wednesday will be a Taize Service, a style of worship that includes
contemplative singing and meditative prayer. We will also have the imposition of
ashes.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please
join us. All are invited.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-23841187590447388772013-02-12T08:08:00.001-08:002013-02-12T09:10:26.170-08:00Sermon: Follow Jesus Down the Mountain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Lx4tHFTV3M32PFECkBjsikaN9HXJY_JewgZBEeDhPZpYkMKqw3-Cjn3lsta5LVd29JxcWb9xY26ryX6VU5ZHbjZPbSg7DnDnev_vmk6DHNPIA4gDa22YhLcEU5mlJ2J3nWQXRsPb9bU_/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Lx4tHFTV3M32PFECkBjsikaN9HXJY_JewgZBEeDhPZpYkMKqw3-Cjn3lsta5LVd29JxcWb9xY26ryX6VU5ZHbjZPbSg7DnDnev_vmk6DHNPIA4gDa22YhLcEU5mlJ2J3nWQXRsPb9bU_/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Luke 9:28-43</strong></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I wonder what
the life of the church would be like if the Christian story ended with the
story of the Transfiguration. . . Let’s imagine that for a moment: What if we
only had one Gospel – say, the Gospel according to Luke - and what if it ended
with this story of Jesus, his disciples, and Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop?
What if it ended right there, nothing more?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And what if this was the final story about Jesus? What do you think the
life of the church be like?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps <span class="yshortcuts">this Sunday</span> would be the high holy day of the Christian
calendar. We would invite our friends and relatives to join us in worship, and
then we would go home for the annual Transfiguration dinner. Grandma would
probably make her cheesy potatoes, and we would dress in our Transfiguration best.
Our churches would likely be filled to the brim with guests - filled people who
come to worship with us twice a year, you know, at Christmas and
Transfiguration.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Pastors and
church leaders would be simultaneously filled with energy and exhausted as they
worked every day of the week to build up to this story of Jesus and the
disciples on the mountaintop. We would all tell the story successively over
several days: On one day, we would celebrate Jesus and his disciples climbing
the mountain. On another day, we would commemorate that moment when they began
to pray. Throughout the course of a week, we would build up to this special Sunday,
the day where we would celebrate Jesus being transformed before our very eyes –
his face changed and his clothes dazzling. If the Gospel of Luke were our only
Gospel, and if it ended here, we would certainly worship Jesus in a triumphant
way. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would make sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And if it ended
right here, and if this were the only Jesus we knew, Christian life might be
primarily concerned with personal triumph. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mountains would be depicted in our
stained-glass windows and on our bulletins. We would wear mountain shaped
pennants on necklaces. The mountain would be our primary religious symbol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we might become concerned with building
ourselves into mountains too as we practiced the triumphant meaning of that
symbol. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we would build our own
churches that way, and like Peter on that mountaintop, we might construct them
into holy, ever-lasting dwellings to hold and commemorate all that is
triumphant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Triumph could
become our primary aim, in fact, and we could spend all kinds of money, energy,
and resources to ensure that we stay on top of the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the mountains on our necklaces, we might
create an institutional church based on that symbol, determined always to be
solid, to stay on the mountaintop, triumphant no matter what.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We might be concerned with our image – after
all, we’re mountaintop people -- and we might use all sorts of techniques and
marketing to tell our culture that we, the Church, are indeed a mountain and
that others can also have a mountaintop experience if they would just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">climb</i> into our pews and join us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knows?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even their money and time and talents might ensure that we stay solid
and on top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We might invite people to
join the church to ensure that we stay safe, secure, and triumphant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could be a mountaintop church with a
mountaintop Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Maybe that’s who
we would be if the Christian story ended here, if we had only one Gospel that
ends with chapter 9 verse 36.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
But that’s not where it
ends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> triumphant in this story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is triumphant
in a story that is strange to us in some ways because it’s filled with symbols
and images that were important to a culture and time period so distant from our
own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus meets with Moses and Elijah,
two men who were prophets in the stories of the Hebrew Scriptures, people who
symbolized the Jewish law and the prophetic writings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To include Jesus in their company was to
convey that Jesus is connected to these figures and to the law and the
prophetic writings themselves. To have Moses and Elijah conversing with him
about his departure – or as the original language puts it, his upcoming exodus
- was to communicate that Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and
prophets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His face shone and his clothes
became dazzling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was glorified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And in a moment
of awe and wonder, Peter just doesn’t know what to say or do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Awkward words come pouring from his
mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re actually kind of funny if
you imagine him fumbling about: <span style="color: #010000;">“Master, it is good
for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and
one for Elijah.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t know what
he’s asking for, really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in
response, the voice of God declares who Jesus is, “This is my Son, my Chosen;
listen to him!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The disciples are so
awestruck by the entire experience that they don’t say anything to anyone about
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could they even put it into
words?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Whatever
it was, they probably wanted to stay longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They wanted to build the experience into a structure and dwell in it
until the end of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But
that’s not the end of Jesus’ story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
that’s not the end of our story either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We
value mountains, and our city is surrounded by them. But we don’t have a
mountain hanging in front of our stained-glass window. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, we have a cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus may be triumphant, but not without
cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because in great, unfathomable
love, Jesus shows us over and over again in the Gospel stories that he is
determined to be with us – determined to be with us where we’re vulnerable and
in need, to be with us where life is messy, and to transform us there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus doesn’t stay enshrined on a
mountaintop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He does the opposite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus comes down the mountain and leads his
disciples in doing the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In
this story, Jesus leads his disciples down the mountain, and at the foot of it,
they all encounter a man and his son, two people who are suffering greatly.
There was nothing neat and clean about this experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It involved sickness, pain, injury and
uncertainty, and the disciples had no idea how to heal the boy or this
difficult situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus enters the
situation and is troubled himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
it is from that place that he heals the boy and restores him to his father. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And
the story continues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus will walk
with us, and Jesus will demonstrate such radical love that the powers that be
will feel threatened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus will risk
that love even if it leads to a cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And a love like that transforms the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
will be with us, no matter the cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even when it is messy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Especially</i> when it is messy. When the
diagnosis comes. . . when the loved one dies. . . when we can’t seem to put the
bottle down. . . when human beings are reduced to skin color. . . when
depression seems to have taken over. . .and when we don’t know where our next
meal is coming from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This
is a Jesus who willfully comes down the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will love us at great risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His love transforms everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And
is church not also called to follow Jesus down the mountain, to go straight into
all those places where life is messy and there is suffering?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that not our call?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To go there and to love <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">there</i>?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.michaeljinkins.com/">Michael Jinkins</a> is a mentor of mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he
wrote a book that has a provocative title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Church Faces
Death: Ecclesiology for a Post-Modern Context</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the pages of his book, Michael Jinkins
proclaims that the church is called to love so greatly that it risks its own
death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in fact, he would say that
the church is only alive when it lets go of its need for safety and
institutional survival, when it loves and serves first -- not to gain or to
grow but to follow Jesus. That is a church alive, one that will follow Jesus
down the mountain and be with others in love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It changes everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes,
the Church does get caught up with mountains and a desire to stay solid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The church gets caught up in great anxiety to
ensure its own survival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to be
around for generations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want our
legacy to continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know it’s easy to
get caught up in that frame of mind, but when we do, and when the anxiety takes
over, we get sidetracked from what really matters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">David Johnson, a
seminary professor of mine, caught my attention last week with a Facebook
status of all things. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He writes great
ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to share this one with you:
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“In
an increasingly secular age (I suppose, although I suspect it is merely
increasingly idolatrous) the church's task is not to be palatable. The church's
task is to be real. Dressing the body of Christ in clown pants will not save
it. Putting it in work clothes just might.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We’re about to enter the season of Lent, where we journey to
and through the cross with Jesus, contemplating God’s mission among us and our
call in this city and world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder
what our work clothes ought to be. . . Will they dazzle?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But not like clown pants. Perhaps our work clothes will transform us
when we allow ourselves to get messy alongside the needs of this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder what our work clothes should be. . .
could it involve the immigration conversation that will happen right after
worship?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could it involve renewed energy
into our congregation’s food ministry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Could it involve caring for that coworker?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could it involve reconciling with that lost
friend?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could it involve mentoring
children? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whatever our work clothing we be, I hope we will follow
Jesus down the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope Pasadena
Presbyterian Church will risk its own institutional survival to do ministry in
this place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, we know that the
story of Jesus doesn’t end on a mountaintop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It continues on to a cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
it doesn’t even end there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even death is
transformed by Christ’s love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">May God’s great risk to us call forth our own risk, and may
God’s great resurrection call forth our own resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May it be. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
-Pastor Renee Roederer and the Community at <a href="http://www.ppc.net/">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-23909350946085661172013-01-07T15:42:00.000-08:002013-01-07T16:23:32.921-08:00New<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY82ZQJRqI9wfHIs0g5i3kdz78W5cNbDyUY1LhxBPYgQRCuQZC_icHjVfJLwBYfo_rR-xDEtARPwIkXwhKcK7b9KoQbubjKAEUTto-RZ-6XXXR2UABA4LUT43hRKoAtHr7OQ-uSCVGOwuY/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY82ZQJRqI9wfHIs0g5i3kdz78W5cNbDyUY1LhxBPYgQRCuQZC_icHjVfJLwBYfo_rR-xDEtARPwIkXwhKcK7b9KoQbubjKAEUTto-RZ-6XXXR2UABA4LUT43hRKoAtHr7OQ-uSCVGOwuY/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>Isaiah 43:1-21</b><br />
<br />
<i>". . . Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So I've been thinking about the word ‘new.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's a really simple word, one that we use all
the time. And of course, seven days ago, we celebrated a new year so we've been
hearing that word even more lately.<br />
<br />
In one sense, it's a really basic word. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
use it all the time. But in another sense, I'm realizing that the word itself
can be hard to describe. When something is new, and we want to describe it in
that way, there aren't a lot of alternative adjectives that we use. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">There are a
lot of alternative ways to describe 'happy' or 'sad' or 'hot' or 'cold' - other
basic experiences that we have. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
there aren't a lot of alternative ways to describe something as ‘new.' We just
say it’s new. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know this, because I
went to a thesaurus, and virtually all of the synonyms for ‘new’ tend to be
bigger words that only capture one aspect of what 'new' means - words like ‘inexperienced,’
‘uncontaminated,’ or ‘modernistic.’ Those are words we understand, but they're
not good, catch-all,stand-ins for the word ‘new’ and what it means to us.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Even the dictionary gives awkward sounding
definitions of the word! Here are some examples from <a href="http://dictionary.com/" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color: blue;">dictionary.com</span></span></a>. They were awkward enough
to make me laugh a little:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>1. of recent origin, production, purchase, etc.; having but lately come or been
brought into being</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Awkward sounding!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>2. of a kind now existing or appearing for the first time; novel</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Also awkward!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b><br />
3. having but lately or but now come into knowledge</b><br />
<br />
The most awkward sounding!<br />
<br />
How is it that we use the word ‘new’ so often because it's so basic to us, and
yet, it's so hard to describe when we need to define it precisely?<br />
<br />
Well, so far we're just talking about a word – a simple adjective. So what
happens when we start to talk about something more complex and vibrant and hope
filled – something like new life?<br />
<br />
Well, here’s the interesting thing: It does get more complex. We need more
words to do that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I actually think it
actually gets easier. We might not have a wealth of words to use when we
describe something as new. <b>But we have experienced it. We have lived it.</b> And we
have ways of hoping for it, longing for newness when that experience is hard to
find. <br />
<br />
We don't define new life as something out of a dictionary. We do it with
stories - our stories and the stories of others and the stories of faith
communities who existed long before we were born. In this community, we can say that new life is
born when God's story (which is so much bigger than us) sweeps us up and
really includes us. New life is when God's story enters our story and utterly
transforms it so that we become full persons and we all become a full
community.<br />
<br />
New life can't be captured on a page or in a dictionary's definition. It has
flesh and bone and love and service and belonging. New life is something
tangible. It involves God in us. It involves God in you. It involves God in
this world.<br />
<br /> Now of course, the other simple way to define 'new' is to say it’s 'not old.' <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It stands in contrast to something that
preceded it.<br />
<br />
In the Scripture story at the top of this post, a prophet is speaking new and powerful
words to a community that needs a different reality. The Kingdom of Judah was
the southern portion of the land Israel, and in 586 BC the world was turned
upside down for the people who were living there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Babylon was the ruling power of the day, and
the Babylonians invaded Judah and Jerusalem and took the people captive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people were forced out of their land and
became exiles in the land of Babylon, living in a new land away from everything
they had known and loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But God had
not forgotten them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this passage, we
hear that God is going to make all things new and bring them back home into a
better reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">God was making something new out of
something old – a 70 year period of exile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So as this new year begins, our hope and
prayer for our community and for all people is that God will make something new
out of the old, that God’s story will enter our story, and that we will begin
to define ‘new’-ness, not from a Dictionary, but from how we live our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are part of that definition!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get to embody newness!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">May it be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Welcome, 2013.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">--Pastor Renee Roederer and the Evening Worship Community at <a href="http://www.ppc.net/">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-44892774644504910112012-12-12T16:11:00.002-08:002012-12-12T17:15:42.168-08:00Sermon: Praise for the Unfolding Story<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><u><strong>Praise for the Unfolding Story</strong></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Luke 1:57-80</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It's been nine months since <span class="yshortcuts">Zechariah</span> has made a sound. No words. No singing. No
liturgical chanting of the Torah in the Temple. No talking in his sleep in the
middle of the night. And no advice (which was probably convenient for his wife
Elizabeth, since his silence lined up precisely with her entire pregnancy.)<br />
<br />
Nothing. No sound at all for nine months.<br />
<br />
And then, at a circumcision naming ceremony, these holy and miraculous words
just pour out. They suddenly burst forth in the presence of the people, like
they've been stored inside Zechariah, like they've been forming inside him with
cells and sinews and life of their own.<br />
<br />
This song of praise is suddenly born among the people in Zechariah and
Elizabeth's own living room. And everything large, cosmic, and magnificent
about God breaks into this particular moment. This song of praise at once large
and expansive, and at the same time, particular and specific to these people,
this party, and this child who is indeed to be named John.<br />
<br />
It's a song of great praise.<br />
<br />
And, you know, that's a big deal because up until this point, Luke, the author,
has pretty much depicted Zechariah as an Old Grump! Yep, a really Old Grump.*<br />
<br />
But Zechariah also had a few reasons to be in that place. Zechariah and
Elizabeth had known great pain. They longed to be parents, but for many years,
their hopes led to nothing but disappointment. And as their pains are told in
Luke's story, Elizabeth even says that she has endured disgrace among her
people simply because she remains childless. But suddenly, all of that is about
to change when Zechariah receives an unexpected visitor. Zechariah was a
priest, and when he was serving in the sanctuary, a messenger from God appeared
to him. That messenger's name was Gabriel, and he said, "Do not be afraid,
Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a
son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will
rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. . . Even
before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of
the people of Israel to the Lord their God."<br />
<br />
Incredible news, right? But like us, Zechariah was not quick to believe
everything he hears, especially something that would be so miraculous,
especially something that would speak to his disappointment. Sometimes, we
prefer the certainty of misery to the misery of uncertainty.** How could he
possibly trust this incredible announcement? Zechariah said to Gabriel,
"How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is
getting on in years." An Old Grump. But I think we can understand his
reservations.<br />
<br />
And he was about to have reason to become grumpier. Gabriel replied, "I am
Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you
and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words,
which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak,
until the day these things occur." And there you have it. Grumpyville for
nine months. Maybe this wouldn't be so great for Elizabeth after all…<br />
<br />
Who knows what happened during those nine months? What we do know is that
Elizabeth did conceive a child who would be named John, a child in fact, who
would grow up to become famous as John the Baptist, issuing cries for
repentance along the River Jordan, teaching that the Kingdom of God is about to
come near, and preparing the way of the Lord Jesus. This child was with
Elizabeth for nine months, and as he remained silent, words of praise were
forming inside Zechariah too.<br />
<br />
So they were all in the living room. Simple enough. Maybe Elizabeth and
Zechariah had argued as they were in a rush to get their place ready for a
party. (In that case, the silence would be helpful for Elizabeth). They were
tired, new parents at an old age. And to bring some modern sensibilities into
the moment, maybe party favors were strewn all over the place. And friends were
gathered alongside that really annoying uncle who regularly embarrasses
himself.<br />
<br />
In such a simple and mundane moment, Zechariah was about to be freed. When he
wrote down the name of his newborn son - JOHN - his tongue was freed and he
began to sing words of great praise – words about God's large, unfolding story
with the people of Israel and ways that this large story was sweeping into the present
moment in the life of this child.<br />
<br />
A new child was before them with great promise, and Zechariah was newly born
too.<br />
<br />
I love moments like these. I love the moments when God's large story of love,
commitment, and new life, breaks into the present moment, and we are restored
and sent forward as new people. I love those moments because they happen all
the time! And perhaps what I love most of all, is that every single moment - no
matter how mundane - is ripe with the possibility of significance. Martin Luther
trekked off to his bathroom of all places and read the Book of Romans there
(I'm not making this up) and in the process, he has a Life Aha big enough to
ignite a church reformation. A woman gets on a bus on a mundane Thursday, but
this time, Rosa Parks won't sit in the back. In another living room 13 years
ago, a question is raised that will eventually change our life and witness as a
church: "What are we going to do to become a multicultural
congregation?" Our lives are filled with moments like these - moments
pregnant with possibility, and in this season of Advent, we remind one another
to wait and watch for them. That is what we do together.<br />
<br />
So here we are in our living room, the place where we gather weekly, and
whether we've been expecting much or whether we're fixated on distractions this
morning, God is in this place among us. God's large story breaks into this
sanctuary every Sunday, and we are new people because of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now sometimes we’re like Zechariah and
Elizabeth’s friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You can’t name him
John!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need to choose a family
name!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve always done it that way. .
.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we’re like that. But at
other times, we are made free by God’s Spirit, and we are able to praise God
for all the amazing gifts of our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are able to praise God for all the amazing gifts of this
congregation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So let’s have a time of praise this
morning in our own living room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can
become a pep rally moment, and even God’s Presbyterian Frozen Chosen might join
in with an Amen or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For a church filled to capacity last
night with guests who have so much to teach us, and for the resounding music of
hope and praise that happened here, Amen?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For children who are singing with spirit
and. . . sunglasses. . . who teach what it means to be a person of trust and
joy in this world, Amen?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For a vibrant Spanish Language Ministry
that is growing and unfolding with strength in the midst shared meals,
empowerment, and a new tradition of posadas that will happen here next Saturday
night, Amen?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For doors of a Chapel that are flung
wide open to our city in a new Sunday Evening Worship service, where bread is
broken every week and the “Spiritually Hungry but Institutionally Suspicious”
are invited into community and love, Amen?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For people who struggle through this
season because memories and losses are difficult, but who know in their gut,
that when they come here, they are loved to their core and provided with deep
purpose, Amen?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For a congregation that is growing with
strength as God’s Spirit gets inside our bones invites us to take risks and
live our lives on behalf of this neighborhood and this world, Amen?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For God’s story sweeping up our own
story, Amen!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
-Associate Pastor Renee Roederer and the Community at <a href="http://www.ppc.net/">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</a><br />
<br />
* I owe Robin Gallaher Branch for this observation and description which I found in <em>Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C Volume 1</em>.<br />
** This powerful phrase and observation comes from <em>The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories from a Child Psychologist's Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love and Healing</em> by Dr. Bruce Perry.</span><br />
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<img height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCkHtS9gUSoNpYVSKF0V9qCYNc1LEI_vRgZEbmnh6RWr5KHfmi4WwyN_6Me2Fu77bC28JqwZUkA3bSLL5EJsM1Dx1FShVzvMQQbVgOM-N96Dgur4Py4EwSYwXx3b5m4hkvMb8MiIy93nVz/s1600/praise.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 426px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 481px;" width="93" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-3948538425815977542012-11-14T10:33:00.003-08:002012-11-14T10:38:42.711-08:00The Worst Sermon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFeOKQLfTQQRGdZpl-1S1TBeWXtlUCrYmULoLvox-WjpG8JkrmVTj0L8snrGWCVS1AexP5iGUj0v2Bd8FwV1P0MoyrdMsJ612m9v15uPmY9XVlJ50Tldo5KghEM42N7FdR09nFTNbWG1Q/s1600/widowsmite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFeOKQLfTQQRGdZpl-1S1TBeWXtlUCrYmULoLvox-WjpG8JkrmVTj0L8snrGWCVS1AexP5iGUj0v2Bd8FwV1P0MoyrdMsJ612m9v15uPmY9XVlJ50Tldo5KghEM42N7FdR09nFTNbWG1Q/s1600/widowsmite.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Mark 12:38-44</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">This morning, all across the country, pastors of various backgrounds woke up with determination, energy, and joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They hopped out of bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may have even bypassed the coffee!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they sped off in their cars, making a beeline for their churches, knowing that something had lined up favorably in the universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s right: It’s Year B in the Revised Common Lectionary, and that means that the scripture lesson today is about the widow who gave everything she had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the text that the universe placed smack dab in the middle of Stewardship Seasons all across our nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you, universe! (And parenthetically, thank you creators of the Revised Common Lectionary!) Slam dunk!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Pastors will stand in their various pulpits today, and they’ll uplift Jesus’ observations about this poor widow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ll call attention to the great sacrifice that she made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And putting my humor and sarcasm aside for a moment, let me say there will be something great to learn and experience in those sermons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those sermons will remind the people in the pews that we too are called to give deeply of ourselves and to trust God with all that we have and all that we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those sermons will be convicting and meaningful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">And thanks to the universe, many pastors will draw parallels to the Stewardship Season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ll say that these rich leaders gave so much, but it cost them so little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, this poor widow gave everything she had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ll tell their parishioners that we too should give deeply and sacrificially to the Stewardship Campaign and the ministries of the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now let’s be honest: We do know that some of these sermons will be terribly manipulative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But not all of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some will draw great parallels and inspire church members to greater giving, ministry, and vision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Thanks to the universe, those sermons will be happening all across our country today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of pastors are grateful for such favorable synchronicity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve heard those Year B sermons, and I’m grateful for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve even preached in that direction myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this time, I’m thinking a bit differently because I also think that there might be a problem here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe this text doesn’t line up in the way that some might hope, at least, not in the exact way I’ve outlined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe Jesus’ observations about the widow aren’t really celebratory at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I imagine that Jesus is moved by the widow’s commitment and sacrifice, but I wonder if his observations are really about a tragedy that is taking place in front of his very eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">So let’s take our own eyes to that scene, and let’s try to imagine what Jesus and his disciples observed on that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, Jesus observed the scribes, and he saw great hubris, enormous self-pride that surrounded them in all they were doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scribes were experts and teachers of the Jewish Law, but it’s clear that these scribes weren’t practicing the same laws they were teaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder what caught Jesus’ attention first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What moved him so strongly that he shared words of warning when he voiced his observations to his disciples?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it how the scribes were dressed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it how they interacted with others?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was deeply affected by what he saw: He said, “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and be greeted with respect in the market places and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus saw something so dangerous that he warned his disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it wasn’t just the scribes’ robes or their desire to have others fawning all over them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was more than that. “They devour widows’ houses,” Jesus said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And their prayers weren’t ultimately for widows, the poor, or others who were struggling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus said these particular scribes gave long prayers for the sake of appearance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They will receive the greater condemnation,” Jesus tells his disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re in the wrong here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">And then Jesus and his disciples sat down opposite the treasury and watched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s imagine the scene together along with them: Some rich people came and put in enormous sums of money, and these enormous sums didn’t go unnoticed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sound of them clamored through the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The treasury of the temple had long, metallic receptacles that were shaped like trumpets, and people placed their offerings inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes, they flung their offerings inside these receptacles, and when all those metallic coins made contact, the sound went before the givers, and all took notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what happened when Jesus saw the rich, the powerful, and the leaders of this religious institution making spectacles of themselves only to be followed by the little tinkle of two copper coins given by a vulnerable widow?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus saw her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called attention to her and voiced his observations perhaps because the others said nothing and noticed nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were too busy making spectacles of themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would they value the great sacrifice of this widow?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the tragedy is actually greater than ignoring her: These were the people who had the resources to help her and come alongside her and yet, they were spending their time “devouring widows’ houses.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This woman – this child of God – was giving all she had to live on to the very people who were willing to destroy her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is the tragedy of this text.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">And that’s why I’m unsure if those universe-favoring, Year B sermons are most authentic to what’s happening in this story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But let me be clear: They aren’t “The Worst Sermon” as my sermon title indicates today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, “The Worst Sermon” is the one that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> preach too often – the one that we all preach too often with our very lives – the one that bypasses those who are poor and suffering, sometimes because we ignore them and we ignore their great contributions, but other times it’s even worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The Worst Sermon” we preach as the <st1:placename w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Church</st1:placename> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Jesus Christ</st1:placename></st1:placename> is the one where our lives fortify and serve the very institutions and situations that are devouring and destroying those who are most vulnerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is our very worst sermon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">And it’s a tragedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s one that should give us pause, and it’s one that should provoke our prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can we repent?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can we turn around from living this way?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">It’s not easy, but good news today is that this doesn’t have to be our sermon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it doesn’t have to be our church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a grace-filled opportunity right here to be a place and a community of faith that lives differently in the face of need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First of all, we can’t ignore it anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you know that 30% -- 1/3 – of children in this zip code live in poverty?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I live in this zip code.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I live in this neighborhood, and I am almost completely insulated from that reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you know other needs and other struggles that you observe in your lives, in this city, in this nation, and around this globe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that you know them is in and of itself a grace-filled opportunity, and you yourselves are a grace-filled opportunity when you bring these concerns into our sanctuary and into the life of our community through your prayers, your voice, and your actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You do that here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see it, and it is a grace-filled gift of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Our doors and the buildings of our campus don’t have to be an edifice – certainly not a fortress of power, might, and tribute to ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know, of the most important ministries of this church will happen in just a few minutes actually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to pay greater attention to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we walk out of these sanctuary doors, and when our Spanish Language service finishes in the chapel, some of its members will go into the Fellowship Hall to faithfully serve people who are struggling: There will be a hot meal, and the God Loves You Food Ministry will distribute groceries to individuals and families who are in a tough place in this economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a vibrant ministry of this church, and yet, it can only be our Best Sermon when you and I become personally involved with it – yes, that means bringing food and contributing funds – but even more, it coming to know those who are receiving and even more than that, coming to realize their strengths and leadership and great sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You and I can do that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Our doors and the buildings of our campus don’t have to be an edifice at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can open them up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, we do open them up to a large number of support groups and anonymous groups throughout the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A large number of people come to these meetings, looking for direction and support as they make some of the most important and empowering decisions of their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can pray for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can greet them and welcome them when we see them here at our church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Our doors and the buildings of our campus don’t have to be an edifice, but to many of the young residents who live in these nearby apartment buildings, the church has seemed like nothing else but an edifice to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People of the millennial generation often believe that the institutional church hates those who are outside its doors – that it hates those who don’t have Christian commitments and that it certainly hates those who are gay and lesbian as our nation battles so called “culture wars.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this church doesn’t hate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has great love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We believe differently than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now, a ministry team at PPC has started a weekly Evening Worship Service in the hopes that we can connect with these residents, that we can build relationships with them and welcome their gifts and talents here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can support that ministry as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">There are so many ways that Pasadena Presbyterian Church can preach and live its Best Sermon – a sermon of welcome, love, and empowerment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are so many ways right here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">So guess what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This turned out to be a Stewardship sermon after all!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is true that your money and contributions help us preach our Best Sermon here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I actually want to say something deeper than that today: You help us preach our Best Sermon through these ministries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your yourselves are the resource.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so this week, I pray that God will give us the stewardship of good eyes to see the value and contributions of those who are in vulnerable places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I pray that God will give us love and strength to come alongside those very people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t want to preach our Worst Sermon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to preach our Best Sermon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we do that when we serve those that Jesus notices and loves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How will you contribute to this great proclamation in the days ahead with your very lives?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">I can’t wait to find out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">So let’s<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> start now with proclaiming what the Christian Church believes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I invite us to stand and speak the Affirmation of Faith together. . .</span><br />
<br />
-Renee Roederer, Associate Pastor of <a href="http://www.ppc.net/">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-22382433646216347872012-08-22T16:44:00.003-07:002012-08-22T16:46:03.670-07:00Love Looks Like This. . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkUWhu0gkYXXabMBjT9bSTZAQomRcizV5MJn77loqlFco2TXyhRJenlF3YgT0NjBuki-Vy0L7trkxrwyxm7HaEVuZwJdQ_V2q5v1TU7tYuRmcv-lFY1i5d87zX1edEcGk_hWw3k4lMpf2/s1600/staff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkUWhu0gkYXXabMBjT9bSTZAQomRcizV5MJn77loqlFco2TXyhRJenlF3YgT0NjBuki-Vy0L7trkxrwyxm7HaEVuZwJdQ_V2q5v1TU7tYuRmcv-lFY1i5d87zX1edEcGk_hWw3k4lMpf2/s320/staff.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And it goes forth to also include others. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-35996239083734443712012-08-19T16:28:00.000-07:002012-08-22T16:45:46.516-07:00The 'Very True' Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79ltU2V9l2Ui0Svx4zIiQmZbuM8_W9PiPskmhBhAz6cH_p8Gp4WIVdHWDNxWzA7spLk3b454yMOw-NrA7vXJ_6_OAIsvEX0kMP5R-U7X8k5uFKTnGevWfQ6DKm6T7IO6D1ytIfFhpWPee/s1600/tweety1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79ltU2V9l2Ui0Svx4zIiQmZbuM8_W9PiPskmhBhAz6cH_p8Gp4WIVdHWDNxWzA7spLk3b454yMOw-NrA7vXJ_6_OAIsvEX0kMP5R-U7X8k5uFKTnGevWfQ6DKm6T7IO6D1ytIfFhpWPee/s1600/tweety1.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7yvTcCxYvMuH48DqpwDDcDfEfyfQsJWxOYn0Teec43NHjetGOOg1zZA7-I1MeqLP0FTOrUppWwv7_6o0M84QnMntMCBHpbn12KmJ_h7X4wQ23CO_NfeS964OFRiz4kixMhGEPasnF7ac/s1600/tweety2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7yvTcCxYvMuH48DqpwDDcDfEfyfQsJWxOYn0Teec43NHjetGOOg1zZA7-I1MeqLP0FTOrUppWwv7_6o0M84QnMntMCBHpbn12KmJ_h7X4wQ23CO_NfeS964OFRiz4kixMhGEPasnF7ac/s1600/tweety2.jpg" /></a></div>
<strong>John 6:51-58</strong><br />
<br />
<em>The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. . .</em><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I know a little
girl whose name is Sylvia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s eight
years old now, but I’d like to share something that she said when she was just
four years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never really forgotten
it because it was at once, wildly silly and beautifully childlike and at the
same time, pretty observant with language that was wise beyond her years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">One day, out of
nowhere, Sylvia suddenly brought up a topic with an intriguing introductory sentence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said, “I’m going to tell you something
that isn’t true, but it’s also <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Very True</i>.”
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmm. . . what an interesting way to
introduce something. . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t true, but
it’s also <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Very True</i>. . . Sounds like
some kind of metaphysical riddle, like something of absolute depth was about to
come out of her mouth. . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Well, what
is it, Sylvia?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Did you know
that Tweety Bird can fly AND hold things because she has wings AND arms?!?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Yep, there it it
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At once, wildly silly and
beautifully childlike and at the same time, observant with language that was
wise beyond her years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It really
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had observed that most birds
don’t have wings and arms, but the cartoon Tweety Bird did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And since Tweety Bird is a cartoon, she isn’t
real, so this observation “isn’t true,” but at the same time, according to four-year
old Sylvia, somehow wings and arms both get to the <u>crux</u> of who Tweety
Bird is and what she can do (fly and hold things at the same time!) so the
observation is also Very True.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t
true but it’s also Very True.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Well, that
language has stuck with me over the years, and I find myself thinking about it
from time to time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not True but also
Very True.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I found myself thinking
of it again this week when I began to study the passage we just heard from the
Gospel of John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus tells his
followers what they must do in this passage, and let’s just be honest here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The language is pretty graphic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It involves eating his flesh and drinking his
blood, and that sounds kind of cannibalistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now of course, we know that isn’t really what he meant, and we might not
want to admit in church that our minds kind of moved in this direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we can be honest: Some of us went
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank goodness we don’t have to
take this command to eat flesh and drink blood at face value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I’m going to
insert something here that theologian John Dominic Crossan says, that no one
actually takes the Bible <em>completely </em>literally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He says, “When the Bible tells that Jesus is the Lamb of God, no one
says that Mary had a little lamb!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I
love that).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And that reminder
might be helpful for us today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
language might not be the first set of words we would use to describe our
relationship with Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it has
something to say to us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t have to
take it at face value, but that also means we also don’t have to dismiss
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now get to enter one of those
wonderful situations of faith where something isn’t true, but is at the same
time, Very True.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus says, “The
bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we think of Jesus giving his flesh, we
might think of what we know to be true: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
Jesus was eventually crucified, killed unjustly on a cross. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And around here, we say that that Jesus died
for a reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t in order to
offer up some kind blood and gore on our account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, Jesus died because he lived a life of
such radical love that he threatened those who were in power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you know why radical love can threaten
those in power?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Radical love does that
because it goes to those who have no power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Radical love sits with the powerless and loves them through and through
as the people they are -- people worth love, value, and attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People who love radically like Jesus did, naturally
challenge structures of power because they love the powerless, and by choosing
to be with them, they tear down the very barriers that have made them excluded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s how Jesus lived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Very
True</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we believe that Jesus
modeled that love – love for the powerless and love for you and me – even unto
death if that’s what it took to show God’s love, even unto death on a
cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He never stopped loving all the
way there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The
bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus didn’t say, “The bread I will give for
the life of the world is a bunch of ideas.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or “The bread I will give for the life of the world is bunch of really
good theological propositions.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or even,
“The bread I will give for the life of the world is a blueprint to implement
forms of charity that help people, but keep them at arms’ length so that they
remain anonymous.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is the Bread that has come <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">down</i> from heaven. He aims to give himself
to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He aims to live on our
behalf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He does it now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gives himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And what are we
to do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are to focus our energy and
attention so deeply on him that we take this kind of life <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We take it to be within
ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the bread, and he is
the life-blood that is to be in our bones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Eating flesh and drinking blood?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But consuming this
great love and putting it into action? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Very
True</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the Very True life to
which are called.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
have people in this church who know what it’s like to feel powerless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
have people who know what the cancer wing of the hospital is like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
have people who know the deep and abiding fear that someday they might lose
their mental faculties or memories, and we have spouses and adult children and
grandchildren in this church who have painfully watched this happen to people they
love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
have people who are bright, intelligent, and gifted in various ways, but who
have struggled deeply to know whether they’ll have a job and enough money to
pay the bills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
we have people in this church who come here weekly for food assistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels as though this economy has eaten
them and spit them out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of them
speak Spanish. Some of them are fearful about discrimination and
deportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of them have great
gifts and abilities, great hope and dreams for themselves and their children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Some
of us give food and money to help them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And this is a great start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I ask
myself some tough questions and wonder if Jesus would do something differently
if he walked in this church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder he
would stand in the food line with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m certain he would know their names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am a pastor of this church, and I am ashamed to tell you that I only
know a handful of names of the people from Spanish Language Ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t that sad? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I know some
people, and that’s good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say hello to
them on Sunday mornings, and that’s a start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it’s just a start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bet the
Very True life calls you and me to know these people by name and to love them,
to go over and sit with them sometime, to even work really hard to learn their
language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, so many of them
have worked hard and are working hard now to learn ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if we learned theirs too?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bet we wouldn’t just learn vocabulary
words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bet we would learn about human
lives – stories, passions, dreams, struggles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe those are the kinds of things we need to eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we need to eat the Bread from heaven of
being together and loving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we need
to eat the Life-Blood that says, “I’m not just going to do things anonymously
for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to enter kinship with
you and let you change my life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">That is the Very
True kind of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the kind of
life where people eat around the same table and consume who Jesus is and how he
lived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder, how will you live the
Very True kind of life, loving most deeply and living for that which matters
most?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How will you do it, and how will
this church do it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t wait to
discover this feast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s find out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Renee Roederer, Associate Pastor, and the Community at Pasadena Presbyterian Church</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-38612928497994390422012-08-14T13:55:00.002-07:002012-08-14T14:08:03.516-07:00Young Adults in the News!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvZ83x6lL7DcB7-G6Z8oikwtDCF1wWvkGDXi1IJE60Qfj6plxSek2qwcN6rf2NfXGAPDizm7bZfSwuvm8faiLg1D-j8BVO3PstsHepelikhvt1zYQdif-u4GjvNA8G1BpfXGq4-Ox-Hw0/s1600/bodyimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvZ83x6lL7DcB7-G6Z8oikwtDCF1wWvkGDXi1IJE60Qfj6plxSek2qwcN6rf2NfXGAPDizm7bZfSwuvm8faiLg1D-j8BVO3PstsHepelikhvt1zYQdif-u4GjvNA8G1BpfXGq4-Ox-Hw0/s1600/bodyimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvZ83x6lL7DcB7-G6Z8oikwtDCF1wWvkGDXi1IJE60Qfj6plxSek2qwcN6rf2NfXGAPDizm7bZfSwuvm8faiLg1D-j8BVO3PstsHepelikhvt1zYQdif-u4GjvNA8G1BpfXGq4-Ox-Hw0/s1600/bodyimage.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As a young adult community, we want to
stay aware of the particular gifts that young adults bring to our world as well
as the particular challenges that young adults face. We are curious to learn
about culture and trends among young adults. Here are some recent news stories
and blog posts:</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/young-adults-expect-marriage-a-lifetime-article-1.1135222?localLinksEnabled=false">Most Young Adults Expect Marriage to Last a Lifetime</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/08/14/young-adults-value-appearance-more-than-health/43079.html">Young Adults Value Appearance More than Health</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://nbclatino.com/2012/08/14/dreamers-getting-ready-for-big-day-tomorrow/">'Dreamers' Getting Ready for Big Day Tomorrow</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-1167926953585985322012-08-12T12:59:00.000-07:002012-08-14T13:00:07.581-07:00Wednesday Night: Music and BBQ!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMvg60zfNQTJT8zdA9J3dVEc6qbDIRsXn3i84tXLAACa2ps-XpsGRiU3IDEKRCcOSvHqtbPT9y-tvoCHY2aoi5HnGf6n04Nsejz1fhubDicKXBq_8W7L_x3slQqQ1uYO_4CDrBlKgOwpo/s1600/korean+bbq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMvg60zfNQTJT8zdA9J3dVEc6qbDIRsXn3i84tXLAACa2ps-XpsGRiU3IDEKRCcOSvHqtbPT9y-tvoCHY2aoi5HnGf6n04Nsejz1fhubDicKXBq_8W7L_x3slQqQ1uYO_4CDrBlKgOwpo/s1600/korean+bbq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMvg60zfNQTJT8zdA9J3dVEc6qbDIRsXn3i84tXLAACa2ps-XpsGRiU3IDEKRCcOSvHqtbPT9y-tvoCHY2aoi5HnGf6n04Nsejz1fhubDicKXBq_8W7L_x3slQqQ1uYO_4CDrBlKgOwpo/s1600/korean+bbq.jpg" /></a>This summer, <a href="http://www.ppcyoungadults.blogspot.com/">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</a> is having four Wednesday Night BBQs featuring music groups that are fun and quite talented! And the next event is this Wednesday, August 15! <br />
<br />
<strong>All are welcome!</strong><br />
<br />
We invite you to join us on our patio on Wednesday at 6:30pm for Korean BBQ. At 7:15pm, we will have the gift of hearing music from The Oasis Singers. We are grateful for such great opportunities for music.!<br />
<br />
At at 8pm, we invite you to a meaningful Evening Worship Service in the Chapel.<br />
<br />
Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday night!<br />
<br />
Peace,<br />
Renee Roederer<br />
Associate Pastor, Pasadena Presbyterian ChurchUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-61414706934658815512012-07-28T08:45:00.000-07:002012-07-28T08:45:00.463-07:00Man and Goose are Friends!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zcPuWdtkS1s?fs=1" width="459"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-56130051187314901252012-07-27T12:45:00.000-07:002012-07-27T12:45:00.763-07:00Becoming an Innovative Church!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZJ8-dAGYiXPnEBZlZKG2f1jOESbcP2mQfzaTMzsprngiuJl_VAnIoNYg5eAZH45yZfjhtumKZ_RR06lHrCRgChF7EynuaGVAVaCX7FMHGnjKZ_MHKpYmfQE6HWOpMRtuWDr-wykvT9if/s1600/walking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZJ8-dAGYiXPnEBZlZKG2f1jOESbcP2mQfzaTMzsprngiuJl_VAnIoNYg5eAZH45yZfjhtumKZ_RR06lHrCRgChF7EynuaGVAVaCX7FMHGnjKZ_MHKpYmfQE6HWOpMRtuWDr-wykvT9if/s1600/walking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZJ8-dAGYiXPnEBZlZKG2f1jOESbcP2mQfzaTMzsprngiuJl_VAnIoNYg5eAZH45yZfjhtumKZ_RR06lHrCRgChF7EynuaGVAVaCX7FMHGnjKZ_MHKpYmfQE6HWOpMRtuWDr-wykvT9if/s1600/walking.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We believe that </span><a href="http://www.ppc.net/" style="color: #0b5394; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> is in a season of dreaming. Who are we? Where have we been together, and how are we called to move forward now? How is God stirring our hearts and minds?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As part of our ongoing mission and call, we want to be </span><a href="http://www.ppc.net/" style="color: #0b5394; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sacred Space for the City</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. And in that posture toward the people and neighborhoods around us, we are curious about innovative forms of ministry and mission that are happening within our larger Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) denomination and in other churches and community groups. We are also interested in questions being asked around us - by those who have a faith commitment and by those who do not. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 20px;">We have much to learn from everyone!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 20px;">Here are some commentaries. We hope that they will call us anew to be an innovative, creative church that meets the needs of people around us! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://dreampcusa.org/archives/83">#dreampcusa: God is at Work. Are We Paying Attention?</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://videoaudiodisco.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-share-your-faith-evangelism.html">How to Share Your Faith (Evangelism Radio Style)</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/stories/walkingchurch">Walking Church</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-21924200827524879532012-07-25T11:17:00.002-07:002012-07-25T11:17:41.710-07:00Partners in Service!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8I5RaIea8Wv74J8GBQTNSt7Ge1hwivHIFCAidhl44FjU1xQEV7rvzm32CALS_lM-VqmxEtJ4frxJWlbomkYmsrOz6EFD7rQbQSpahMlwI9eIGwL2wiunw_X43g9nfJHv5CbRogtctfWS/s1600/mission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8I5RaIea8Wv74J8GBQTNSt7Ge1hwivHIFCAidhl44FjU1xQEV7rvzm32CALS_lM-VqmxEtJ4frxJWlbomkYmsrOz6EFD7rQbQSpahMlwI9eIGwL2wiunw_X43g9nfJHv5CbRogtctfWS/s1600/mission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8I5RaIea8Wv74J8GBQTNSt7Ge1hwivHIFCAidhl44FjU1xQEV7rvzm32CALS_lM-VqmxEtJ4frxJWlbomkYmsrOz6EFD7rQbQSpahMlwI9eIGwL2wiunw_X43g9nfJHv5CbRogtctfWS/s320/mission.jpg" width="320" /></a>This week, we celebrate many people from <a href="http://www.ppc.net/">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</a> who are partnering with others in mission. We add our prayers and hopes to their hard work, and we are grateful for the relationships they are building.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<u>Korean Ministry in Partnership with Aguacalientes, Mexico</u></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In the wee hours of the morning (1am today to be exact!) sixty members from the Korean Fellowship at PPC traveled to Aguacalientes, Mexico where we have mission partners and friends. Together, they will be hold medical clinics and plan Vacation Bible School for children.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are traveling, that they might learn, grow, and serve as they deepen relationships with the people of Aguacalientes. We are grateful for the wisdom and opportunity of our mission partners and friends in Aguacalientes. We pray that they would teach us and evangelize us through their lives and witness, and we pray that our Korean members and friends will serve well and bring this wisdom and passion back to Pasadena where we can continue to do great work!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
God's peace on your endeavors. We add our prayers to that peace!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<u>Lissett Matos in Partnership with the Synod of Ayacucho in Peru</u></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our thoughts and prayers are also with Lissett Matos this week. A recent high school graduate, Lissett is one of several youth traveling to Peru on the Living Waters Mission Trip through San Gabriel Presbytery. You can learn more about that trip <a href="http://www.sangabpres.org/youthmission.htm">here</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
San Gabriel Presbytery has partnership with the Synod of Ayacucho in Peru, and youth from Southern California churches are traveling to build relationships and assist others as they create opportunities for clean water throughout the region.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We are grateful for Lissett -- all the ways she learns and serves here at Pasadena Presbyterian Church!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our prayers are with all our friends and mission partners this week!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-36253203046605177582012-07-25T08:50:00.000-07:002012-07-25T08:50:00.245-07:00Sister Madonna Buder in the Ironman Contest!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nUp9v8A46dk?fs=1" width="459"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-5232640510613583402012-07-24T09:06:00.000-07:002012-07-24T09:06:04.970-07:00Young Adults in the News!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCcUHvw7CEm9RKKRlcetoYstWvG2IVVqVk23FBb8Fx63KjCqox2tbabkxDTsKMz9SQkW_nLXmevlXihnYpxBhI4x3xdnpU8QWrAPCCTnfURv1UXD1RPnzjYzhCeCD86mghmbDRTh-hiDk/s1600/kuyak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCcUHvw7CEm9RKKRlcetoYstWvG2IVVqVk23FBb8Fx63KjCqox2tbabkxDTsKMz9SQkW_nLXmevlXihnYpxBhI4x3xdnpU8QWrAPCCTnfURv1UXD1RPnzjYzhCeCD86mghmbDRTh-hiDk/s1600/kuyak.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As a young adult community, we want to stay aware of the particular gifts that young adults bring to our world as well as the particular challenges that young adults face. We are curious to learn about culture and trends among young adults. Here are some recent news stories and blog posts: </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/2/21/new-vision-collegiate-ministry/">A New Vision for Collegiate Ministry</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/miss-manners-some-young-adults-live-at-home-because-they-like-it/2012/07/10/gJQAdiWt0W_story.html">Miss Manners: Some Young Adults Live at Home Because They Like It</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/24/living/first-descents/index.html">Extreme Kayaker Helps Young Adults with Cancer Through Outdoor Adventures</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.higheredmin.org/fundraising.htm">Raising Funds and Friends for Campus Ministry</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-81130475717686215882012-07-23T11:32:00.000-07:002012-07-23T11:32:14.610-07:00Poem: With That Moon Language<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_g6AyvDIHZd9StrD2mQq4WiFh26qwaWI7wWDu1zfIV2laRYfIcDJ7g0rSrIREsMTBEl6Ltb57HBHNphp3LGlhIQ7FDAwOrolAH7jyDB2BuKgyKCT2mWnN-i1iYvoLn9lP1uAuxyXVjDA/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_g6AyvDIHZd9StrD2mQq4WiFh26qwaWI7wWDu1zfIV2laRYfIcDJ7g0rSrIREsMTBEl6Ltb57HBHNphp3LGlhIQ7FDAwOrolAH7jyDB2BuKgyKCT2mWnN-i1iYvoLn9lP1uAuxyXVjDA/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With That Moon Language
</span></strong></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Admit something: </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Everyone you see, you say to them, "Love
me." </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Of course you do not do this out loud,
otherwise someone would call the cops. </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Still, though, think about this, this great
pull in us to connect. </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Why not become the one who lives with a full
moon in each eye</span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">that is always saying, </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">with that sweet moon language, </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: #339999;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">what every other eye in this world is dying
to hear?</span> </span></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">-Hafiz</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-17425870709097841972012-07-18T11:46:00.000-07:002012-07-19T11:47:11.869-07:00Mainline Summer<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DyljerhkIbk?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-47888909592344385022012-07-17T08:57:00.000-07:002012-07-19T09:27:18.946-07:00Young Adults in the News!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZObAqfc3Kqhn_VCAXOqPpXlDr2Rbya8Q_R8B7XMJRwZ9HACVWRKl732ItlylpiNK4Zg4jiFV59bh-Q0ghsmuyOHYPcsnkPhL2VYAA-Y_3sQht_1e9jvzi7OpIXx0HRgaoDGEvfhyphenhyphengtc7/s1600/images2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZObAqfc3Kqhn_VCAXOqPpXlDr2Rbya8Q_R8B7XMJRwZ9HACVWRKl732ItlylpiNK4Zg4jiFV59bh-Q0ghsmuyOHYPcsnkPhL2VYAA-Y_3sQht_1e9jvzi7OpIXx0HRgaoDGEvfhyphenhyphengtc7/s1600/images2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZObAqfc3Kqhn_VCAXOqPpXlDr2Rbya8Q_R8B7XMJRwZ9HACVWRKl732ItlylpiNK4Zg4jiFV59bh-Q0ghsmuyOHYPcsnkPhL2VYAA-Y_3sQht_1e9jvzi7OpIXx0HRgaoDGEvfhyphenhyphengtc7/s1600/images2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As a young adult community, we want to stay aware of the particular gifts that young adults bring to our world as well as the particular challenges that young adults face. We are curious to learn about culture and trends among young adults. Here are some recent news stories and blog posts: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/opinion/sunday/douthat-can-liberal-christianity-be-saved.html">Douhat: Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-butler-bass/can-christianity-be-saved_1_b_1674807.html">Bass: Can Christianity Be Saved? A Response to Ross Douhat</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6366582615198338119#editor/target=post;postID=4788890959234438502"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Douhat & Bass: Asking the Wrong Question?</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/texting-phone-calls_n_1683756.html">Texting Dominates as Teens and Young Adults Make Fewer Phone Calls</a></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-54821892790503268592012-07-15T14:55:00.000-07:002012-07-19T15:48:36.174-07:00Sermon: Belonging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em><strong>The following sermon was preached by Kaci Clark-Porter on June 3, 2012 at University Presbyterian in Austin, Texas. Kaci is the Director of Campus and Young Adult Ministries.</strong></em><br />
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<em>Psalm 100, Psalm 139, Deuteronomy 7:6-11, Romans 8:31-39</em><br />
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<strong>Introduction to sermon series:</strong><br />
<br />
Well, I dare say it would not be summertime at UPC without, you guessed it, a sermon series. We may be without a senior pastor, but we are certainly not without sermons.<br />
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When the staff met earlier this spring to decide what topic our series should cover, we decided not on something predictable like The Lord’s Prayer or The Beatitudes; no, this summer we decided on something distinctly Presbyterian.<br />
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We would focus on one of our church’s confessions; namely, <em>A Brief Statement of Faith</em>.<br />
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This confession of faith was commissioned in 1983 after the “Northern” and “Southern” branches of the church reunited to form our current denomination, the Presbyterian Church USA.<br />
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Our denominational leaders at the time believed this monumental event called for the preparation of a brief statement outlining our core beliefs as newly united body.<br />
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In front of you you should find, there in the pew rack, a small [insert color] card with the <em>The Brief Statement of Faith </em>printed on it. This is for you to use this summer either as a fan or, if you choose, as a reference aid. You’ll see that it’s been broken down by lines into small manageable chunks; each chunk representing that Sunday’s text.<br />
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For instance, this morning we’ll be focussing solely on line 1; and next Sunday Ted Wardlaw will be focussing on lines 2 through 6. That’s right, Ted Wardlaw has to follow me. Please keep him in your prayers this week. (I’m kidding, of course, and say this only because I know he’s preaching in New York this morning.)<br />
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With that being said, my preamble is complete. Let’s begin with line one. But first, let us turn our hearts and minds to God in prayer. Let us pray:<br />
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May the words of my mouth and the meditations of each heart in this gathered body, be acceptable and pleasing to you, God, our strength, our hope, and our redeemer. Amen.<br />
—<br />
“In life and in death we belong to God.”<br />
<br />
That’s been my Facebook status since Thursday morning, and can you believe it’s only gotten 26 likes? What is wrong with my Facebook friends?! I could upload a picture of our dog wearing reading glasses and it would get more likes than that!<br />
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It did, however, get some pretty great comments. One, in particular, from our own Randal Whittington, who shared that whenever she hears those words, she always thinks of Jack Stotts.<br />
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Jack Stotts, you may know, served Austin Seminary as it’s president from 1985 to 1996, and was often referred to as “a gentle giant.” He was tall, but his hugeness had more to do with his intellectual prowess and cheerful spirit than it did with his stature.<br />
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What you may not know about Jack Stotts is that he was appointed as moderator of the special committee responsible for writing <em>A Brief Statement of Faith</em>.<br />
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It took the committee 8 years to write the 80 lines that make up the confession. And of those 80 lines, Stott’s says, the first one is the most important. Perhaps that’s why Randal thinks of Jack whenever she hears those words; words he believed were foundational to who we are as Reformed believers, as Presbyterians, and as God’s own chosen and beloved children: “In life and in death we belong to God.”<br />
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Shortly after the document was adopted into the Book of Confessions, Stotts shared some of his reflections on the Statement during a chapel service at Austin Seminary. I listened to this address, which I could unfortunately find only on cassette tape, earlier this week while sitting in my car because that was the only tape player I could find.<br />
<br />
And while sitting there, motionless in my carport, not knowing whether there would be anything of worth on this crummy, 20-year old cassette tape, I heard Jack Stotts deliver an eloquent defense of those first nine words. He said:<em><br /></em><br />
<em>“The 80 lines are summarized in the first line: In life and in death we belong to God. Those nine words are, I believe, the throbbing heartbeat of what we hold most dear. They’re the anchor we toss out when times are difficult and waters are assail by storms. They’re the star that can guide us in the midst of sorrow and joy both. They are the handholds on a rocky cliff that prevents us from falling into the abyss. They reflect what is at the heart of the reformed heritage, the sovereignty of god. In life and in death we belong to God.</em><br />
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<em>Those nine words, he said, have the rhythm of a mantra. Words to be said over and over again. Words to soak down into ones experience and into ones consciousness and into ones unconsciousness, so they may bubble up when we need to hear them or we can say them to ourselves or to some others whom we believe need to hear them. Listen, in life and in death we belong to God.”</em><br />
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<em> </em>The tape, I decided, was worth listening to. He was right, those nine words need to be heard over and over again. And each time we hear them, they are perhaps something new for us: a throbbing heartbeat, an anchor, a guide, handholds on a rocky cliff. Whatever their manifestation, they are, at their very core, words of deep reassurance and hope. Words that rescue us even in the most desperate of situations.<br />
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In life and in death, and in the midst of life, we belong to God.<br />
<br />
One of the younger members of the committee responsible for preparing the Statement, a theologian by the name of Bill Placher, says of this first line, “It does more than say where life and death are to be found. It says where <em>we</em> are to be found in life and death–belonging to God.”—<br />
<br />
In an age where it would be unacceptable to list God as your child’s emergency contact, it’s difficult not to believe that we belong to our parents and our children belong to us.<br />
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It’s not uncommon for a parent to list the experience of holding their child for the first time as one of the most profoundly meaningful experiences of their life; their life forever altered in the moment they realize, seemingly all at once, both the responsibilities and privileges of parenthood.<br />
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And yet in spite of the gravity of such a moment, some parents still fail to live into their parental responsibilities and abuse their privileges.<br />
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On Wednesday evening, Holly and I went to an informational meeting for people who are interested in becoming foster parents in the state of Texas. Prior to the meeting I had tried to prepare myself for what I might hear; I knew I would likely be disturbed by some things and surprised by others, but ultimately I had no idea what to expect. Before the meeting started, as I watched people walk in, pick up their handouts, and take their seats, I noticed the wide range of types of people there. There were young people and older people, white people and persons of color, single people and couples, people who already had children, and people that currently had none. But in spite of all this diversity, there was one characteristic we all shared: the desire to provide a child with a place to belong–even if only for a little while.<br />
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And so I couldn’t help but think about those words: in life and in death we belong to God. <br />
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Throughout the entire meeting that short phrase looped and looped and looped in my head like a pesky tune. It bumped into memories from my childhood and adolescence: to whom I belonged was <em>never</em> anything I questioned! I always knew. I knew my parents would take care me, and if something happened to them and they weren’t able to, then I knew another important person in my life would swoop in and claim me. I began to worry that my understanding of belonging was only one sided. What would someone whose life has been riddled with displacement think or feel about the word “belonging?” What conscious or subconscious thoughts would bubble up for them?<br />
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And then it occurred to me: these words weren’t written for a denomination torn asunder who put themselves back together again. These words were written for lives that have been torn asunder by powers and principalities that claim we belong, not to God, but to them.<br />
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Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, not even death can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ.<br />
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There is a reason, I believe, this climactic and reassuring passage from Romans is so popular at funerals. Funerals, of course, imply that someone has died. But this passage is not for the deceased; it’s for the living, for those struggling to survive the severe pain of separation.<br />
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What can separate us from Love? Nothing. <em>Nothing</em>. Not even death.<br />
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One criterion the committee required of <em>A Brief Statement of Faith </em>was that it must help us have hope for the future. Without hope, God’s involvement in our present lives, especially in the midst of great suffering, might amount to little more than a feeble expression of the company that misery loves.<br />
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I believe these nine words: in life and death we belong to God, contain enough enough hope for a lifetime–from birth and death and every time in between.<br />
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[Reformed theologian, Shirley Guthrie, is often remembered for saying, "The best insight we have into what God will do is found by looking at what God has done. In other words, Christians remember the future."<br />
<br />
Hope does not belong exclusively to future; in many ways, without our past we our hope for the future is dismal at best. In 2008 a storytelling project was founded. Stories for Hope, is a storytelling project to help young Rwandans overcome a violent legacy. Many of their lives were ruptured in the 1994 genocide. Their remaining elders were quiet, fearing new grief or the spark of revenge. Lots of young women and men were left as orphans, without knowing the important stories of where they came from. They needed access to the past, without having to repeat it, and that's where the storytelling project came in, helping to facilitate dialogue between young story-seekers, and their chosen elders. These conversations revealed hundreds of untold family and cultural stories. But, in order to carry young Rwandans to the brink of hope, the elders were encouraged to include difficult accounts of resilience and strength. And because of their courage to share stories about their past, the young listeners have since reported improved family relations, self-esteem, and the motivation to keep moving forward.<br />
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These nine words are our story, a complete account of our faith containing enough hope for a lifetime--from birth to death and for everything in between.]<br />
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Jack Stotts concludes his reflections on <em>A Brief Statement of Faith</em> with these words of hope:<br />
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When disappointment comes to your life as surely it will, remember you belong to God, not to disappointment.<br />
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When failure comes as surely it will, in some way, some time, and in some place, remember you do not belong to failure, you belong to God.<br />
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When suffering comes, as surely it will come, to me and to you, to our dear friends and neighbors. Remember, you do not belong to suffering, you belong to god who suffers <em>for</em> us and <em>with</em> us.<br />
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No matter what happens in the future, remember this promise: In life and in death we belong to God.<br />
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That is a solemn promise on which we depend. It’s God’s promise in which we have confidence.<br />
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The confession itself ends with a resounding echo: with believers in every time and place we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.<br />
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Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.<br />
<br />
-Kaci Clark-Porter, Director of Campus and Young Adult Ministries at University Presbyterian ChurchUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-9646886389418211442012-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:002012-07-14T06:00:03.656-07:00It's You I Like<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CP_cLHIYGiI?fs=1" width="459"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-81102303877795786692012-07-13T08:25:00.000-07:002012-07-19T08:35:27.779-07:00Becoming an Innovative Church!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIaNpa5TtZytfjAKVSPazrYHDwsRa-sGzh4GgLShtNvH57ejN-L9YN6sf0oavAF2aHpbGpIOZiRx7DO-oUmKlwsw0MCZP05C_xmO3nQXpv4xFYopMLYC2cs52alxm3hpbfuzgKx5v5mrv4/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIaNpa5TtZytfjAKVSPazrYHDwsRa-sGzh4GgLShtNvH57ejN-L9YN6sf0oavAF2aHpbGpIOZiRx7DO-oUmKlwsw0MCZP05C_xmO3nQXpv4xFYopMLYC2cs52alxm3hpbfuzgKx5v5mrv4/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">We believe that </span><a href="http://www.ppc.net/" style="color: #0b5394; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Pasadena Presbyterian Church</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> is in a season of dreaming. Who are we? Where have we been together, and how are we called to move forward now? How is God stirring our hearts and minds?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As part of our ongoing mission and call, we want to be </span><a href="http://www.ppc.net/" style="color: #0b5394; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sacred Space for the City</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. And in that posture toward the people and neighborhoods around us, we are curious about innovative forms of ministry and mission that are happening within our larger Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) denomination and in other churches and community groups. We are also interested in questions being asked around us - by those who have a faith commitment and by those who do not. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 20px;">We have much to learn from everyone!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 20px;">Here are some commentaries. We hope that they will call us anew to be an innovative, creative church that meets the needs of people around us! </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jbjsoulkitchen.org/">Jon Bon Jovi's Soul Kitchen</a><br />
<a href="http://www.homeboy-industries.org/">Homeboy Industries</a><br />
<a href="http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/news/differentchurches">Fresh Expressions: Different Churches for Different Cultures?</a><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-5984142768175060022012-07-11T06:00:00.000-07:002012-07-11T06:00:17.958-07:00The Missional Church... Simple<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/arxfLK_sd68?fs=1" width="459"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6366582615198338119.post-38353213305985048062012-07-10T06:00:00.000-07:002012-07-10T06:59:35.780-07:00Young Adults in the News!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB43zlQJ6PJqJ8E1vbIivpfYILYLbUZMr4QoytLKIf5WecYO_ivOBpQAUN7U74WcgpdGUPm8FzDI5VPAqcM-J3tLPTD-k8kCWoXMvFna-f05eh118OyR3T2470E62oJVDWxm0_yOkW4Yw/s1600/fudge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB43zlQJ6PJqJ8E1vbIivpfYILYLbUZMr4QoytLKIf5WecYO_ivOBpQAUN7U74WcgpdGUPm8FzDI5VPAqcM-J3tLPTD-k8kCWoXMvFna-f05eh118OyR3T2470E62oJVDWxm0_yOkW4Yw/s320/fudge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">As a young adult community, we want to stay aware of the particular gifts that young adults bring to our world as well as the particular challenges that young adults face. We are curious to learn about culture and trends among young adults. Here are some recent news stories and blog posts: </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.breadnotstones.com/2012/07/church-we-mean-to-be.html">The Church We Mean to Be</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://theresaecho.com/2012/07/03/in-the-middle-intersection-between-age-wisdom/">In the Middle: Intersection Between Age & Wisdom</a> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://angierines.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/the-ministry-of-fudge-and-loving-youth/">The Ministry of Fudge and Loving Youth</a> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.newsday.com/opinion/crisp-young-adults-are-driving-less-fueling-change-1.3827340">Crisp: Young Adults Are Driving Less, Fueling Change</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.golocalworcester.com/politics/grace-ross-young-adults-having-a-harder-time-making-a-living/">Grace Ross: Young Adults Have a Harder Time Making a Living</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0