Sermon: For Us - The Double Movement

Philippians 2:1-13

I'd like to begin this sermon with a story.

It's a story about a day I don't really remember. There are a few foggy, incomplete memories in my mind. But even though my memories are typically pretty sharp, in order to tell this story, I am dependent upon the memories of others who love me.

The day was March 14th, 2007. I was 25 years old, in my second year of seminary. I was spending a week away from Austin, TX where I was currently attending seminary. I was stepping into a long tradition, but for me, it was the first time. I was with a bunch of college students from University Presbyterian Church. I was on the annual ski trip to Salida, Colorado.

It was my very first time on the trip. But I should also say it was my first time skiing. On the first day we hit the slopes, I learned something quite obvious about myself: I was awful at skiing. Awful! In fact, I remember sitting at the bottom of bunny slope on the first day (and you know how far down that was. . .) completely frustrated that I was so terrible at skiing. Unknown to me at the time, in a few short years, I would join the ministry staff at University Presbyterian Church. At that time, I would be campus minister for a different group of students from this church, and I would be in charge of this annual tradition of a ski trip. But on this year, I was simply a participant. Some of the students in this group were the same age as me, and a few were some of my best friends in Austin. They were having a blast on those slopes. Meanwhile, I was nowhere near mastering the bunny slope.

So as you might imagine, it was a big deal that I improved vastly over the next couple of days. Everyone was cheering me on. In fact, I improved so much that on the last day, I was able to ski some of the blue slopes. I had moved beyond the bunny hill to the green slopes. (Greens are the easiest). And by the last day of the trip, it seemed like a miracle. I was on the blue slopes, the intermediate level hills. If we were giving out awards on that trip, I would have been the person to get the Most Improved Award.

The last day of our trip was March 14th, 2007.

I remember my improvements. I remember being quite pleased with myself in fact! But after lunch, the day took a different turn. I took the ski lift up, and I was about to come down a particular blue slope with Amanda and Jonathan, two of my best friends. The day was a bit of an anomaly in terms of weather. It was very warm for a March day. And that affected the snow on this hill. The snow had melted a bit and clumped together in big chunks.

I was coming down this hill - doing everything I was supposed to do, going back and forth in S-Curves - and Amanda and Jonathan were behind me watching me. All of the sudden, I hit that chunky patch of snow, and I began to lose control. "I need to fall," I thought. I made a decision to fall on purpose so that I didn't fall on accident. And with a few foggy exceptions, that decision is the last thing I remember on March 14, 2007.

What happened next was a beautiful string of actions - actions of care, concern, love, and I would even say salvation.

Amanda was behind me, and she saw me fall. She quickly skied down the hill, but when she got to the place of my fall, she couldn't find me. She was confused. She kept looking, and she even called out my name.

I didn't answer her. I was unconscious. Then she saw me in a thicket of trees, and I was bleeding all over the place. We still don't know exactly how I got there. Did I fall into a tree? Did I fall purposely, only to slide into a tree? All Amanda knew at the time was that this was serious. I had a cut on my head, and the scene was very gory.

So she immediately went into action. Amanda entered that reality with me and made things happen. She called ski patrol and kept calling out my name to bring me back to awareness.

Meanwhile, Jonathan, saw none of this happen. He just skied all the way down the hill and was confused to reach the bottom without us there. He found Ben and asked about us. Ben was in charge of the trip that year. He suggested that they just take the ski lift back up and meet us on the hill on the way down.

But from the ski lift, they saw everything. I'm sure they heard it too. I had come to and was screaming intensely about my back. It must have been terrifying to view it from a distance.

They skied down to us as quickly as they could. And that's when the members of Ski Patrol were putting me on the sled. It was like a stretcher on a sled. It was time to come down the mountain. And that was the moment where I have a foggy, beautiful memory. It's one of the only things I remember from that day.

No visual memory. Just Ben's voice. The one thing I remember on that day is him saying different variations of "I'm with you, Renee," over and over, all the way down the mountain. Ben entered that reality and was with me. "I'm right here, Renee." "I'm with you, Renee." "We all love, you." "I'm right behind you." "I'm right here. You're doing a great job."

Ben and I got into an ambulance. The fast speed of the ride down the mountain was terrifying, though I remember virtually nothing. But you'll love this: The EMT was working to keep me talking. "So Renee, what do you do?" he asked. I did not say my response. I screamed it with gusto. "I'M A THEOLOGIAN!!!!"

Later that put some levity on the whole event. But it was scary for everyone involved. Given the gore and the screams about my back, people were terrified I might not be able to walk. It turned out that I had cut my head and severely broken my shoulder. But thank God, but that was all.

So why do I tell this story in relation to the passage we just heard?

It's this: From beginning to end, from the moment Amanda found me, to Ben's voice on the mountain, to the couple from a local church who let me stay with them that night, to the moment that some of my peers washed all the blood out of my hair the next day - this community, by the grace of God, lived in the mind of Christ. This community, by the grace of God, mediated the mind of Christ to me - Christ's love, Christ's presence, Christ's desire to save me and heal me. Jesus Christ aims to be with me - and with you, with all of us - and in this moment, we are called to imitate his love, giving it freely to one another and to people beyond these walls.

I love the scripture passage that we heard today. Paul, the apostle, itinerant missionary, and church planter, wrote these words to a particular Christian community he founded in the city of Philippi. He was experiencing a great deal of pain in his own life. Persecuted, he was writing these words from prison. Later in the letter to the Philippians, Paul says that he's unsure about whether he will live or die. And yet, many people look to this letter as the most joyful and most encouraging of Paul's writings.

The passage we read today connects us to the convictions of Christians who lived long before us. Most scholars believe that Paul didn't write all of the words from this passage. Instead, they believe he was quoting words that were intimately known to the Christian community at Philippi. Paul was likely quoting a hymn, a beautiful hymn about God's presence in Jesus, a beautiful hymn about humanity's presence in Jesus, a hymn that tells us who God is, how God loves, and the lengths God will go to love and save us.

Scholars believe that the Epistle to the Philippians was written in the year 62 AD. And if Paul is quoting a Philippian hymn that existed earlier, it is among the earliest writings of the New Testament, earlier than the Gospels which were written a few decades later.

Let's hear that hymn again, listening to the deep convictions shared about Jesus, one who empties himself, coming down to meet us and be with us, and one who is exalted, bringing even us to the very life of God.

Let the same mind be you that was in Christ Jesus. . .

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death --

even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Karl Barth, one of my favorite theologians, wrote volumes of theological treatises during his life in the 20th century, and he did so, in part, based around a Double Movement of salvation. And so often, he looked to this passage because it gives us convictions about this Double Movement and beautiful visions of the truth of who Jesus is with and for humanity.

The first part of this hymn illustrates a downward movement. Jesus Christ, equal to God, did not regard that equality as something to be exploited. A commentary by William Greenway, one of my seminary professors, put it this way: "The point is not that Christ Jesus was in nature God and so it is stunning that Jesus did not grasp after equality with God. . . The point is that being in nature God, Jesus Christ did not grasp after equality with God because that is not God's nature."1

This hymn reveals the nature of God to us. It tells us that the very God who has loved us and breathed life into us through the Spirit seeks to be with us. And this God will go to great depths to be with us and be one of us in Jesus Christ. There is a downward movement to salvation. Jesus Christ is human for each one of us. He lived, taught, served, and loved for you and for me. And so great was his love - so great was his movement to be with us - that he never once let that love die in the face of adversity. The hymn tells us that Jesus loved us all the way to the end - to his last breath - and to the end - to the aim, the goal. He loved us even to and through death on a cross.

But the story doesn't stop there. There is also an upward movement of salvation. God raised Jesus to new life, and as our humanity is found in his life, we too are raised to new life. God highly exalted him, giving him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Wow, every knee, every tongue. What a vision. . . In my shortsightedness and arrogance, years ago I used to look at this vision of everyone bowing and confessing, and I thought, "Ha! In the end, everyone will have to do it! In the end, everyone will see!" But that is a shortsighted and arrogant way to view it. In fact, that understanding is exploitative, and as we said before, that's not who God is. What if we saw this upward movement differently? What if the very God who loves us so deeply to be with us pursues us consistently with such a saving love that one day, each and everyone one of us - everyone who has ever existed! - will bow of our own volition in awe, in confession, proclaiming that this love is for each one of us and for the world.

That is quite a vision and quite a reality.

So how has God saved you? How has the Double Movement of salvation been at work in your life? How has Jesus descended to be with and for you, and in Jesus' exaltation, how are you too raised to new life?

Why don't you tell someone this week?

Maybe we can live into that vision and practice some of that proclamation right now of our own volition. Maybe we can be part of that vision today and this week. Thanks be to God. Amen.

-Renee Roederer, Director of Young Adult Ministries, and the Community at Pasadena Presbyterian Church

1 The commentary to which I refer is Feasting on the Word Year A Volume 3. Dr. William Greenway wrote the 'Theological Perspective.'

Young Adults in the News!

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 also curious to learn about culture and trends among young adults.

Here are some recent stories that concern young adults:

Young Adults Exchange an Average of 87 Text Messages a Day

New Study Shows Significant Rise in Cigar Use Among Young Adults

Austin City Limits Green Efforts Target Young Adults

Census: Young Adults Embark on Urban Migration

We Love Students!

After discussing our dreams for our community, many of us at Pasadena Presbyterian Church are excited to work toward building a student ministry this year! And we've been doing this through a fun, hospitable, welcoming cookie ministry.

We love students! And we love cookies! (Also students love cookies. WIN!)

We've been giving out free cookies on the campus of Pasadena City College - just for fun! People seem happy to welcome surprise cookies into their day. Who wouldn't? We enjoy watching people smile. People often want to take pictures with us or give us hugs. This makes us smile too. :)

We also extend an invitation for students to join us in worship. All are welcome with us. Our congregation is a place for people of all ages and cultures. We are a tri-lingual congregation with worship services in English (10am) , Korean (12:30pm), and Spanish (10am) on Sundays.

Come join us any time!

And keep enjoying those cookies!

This Sunday: Homecoming!

Please join us at Pasadena Presbyterian Church this Sunday for a meal and a celebration of the many ministries that happen here!

Tommy's will be catering our meal, and while you're enjoying a yummy bite to eat, you can explore the patio, the colonnade, and Fellowship Hall where there will be numbers of tables highlighting the various ministries and community groups at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The tables will include information from our three language-ministries: English, Korean, and Spanish-speaking fellowships.

And please tell us about your summer! We'd love to see you and hear how you're doing.

Please join us for this special day on September 18th. Lunch will begin at 11:15am. The cost is $7 per person.

Concern for Texas. . .

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people in Central and East Texas who are fighting intense wildfires because of a strong season of drought. This photo of the Austin Skyline was taken by Deanna Roy. It shows the large clouds of smoke which rise much higher than the tallest buildings of the city.

In order to obey evacuation orders, some people have not been permitted to get back into their homes to retrieve pets. Please give your thoughts, prayers, and support to the people living in Texas and also to firefighters who are greatly overstretched at this time.

Here are some news articles about the fires in Texas:

Texas Wildfires: More than 1,000 Homes Lost, Thousands Evacuated

"No Containment" of Texas Wildire

Texas Wildfire Plumes Spotted By Space Station

Sermon: La Vision de Dios y el Santo Ahora (And Translation)

Romanos 13:8-14

Ahora. Ahora mismo.

¿Alguna vez has tomado un momento para simplemente contemplarlo todo? ¿Alguna vez has tomado un momento para saber tu presente ambiente? ¿Lo que esta alrededor de ti? ¿Quién esta compartiendo este momento contigo? Y ¿qué esta pasando dentro de ti – ahora mismo, en este mismo momento? ¿Qué son tus pensamientos? ¿Qué son ahora mismo tus emociones? ¿Qué sensaciones sientes en tu cuerpo? ¿Quién eres y cómo estas ahora mismo en este mismo momento?

Aquellas son buenas preguntas.

Si eres del todo como yo, probablemente no haces aquellas preguntas tan a menudo como quisieras hacerlas. No siempre estamos conscientes del momento presente, ¿verdad? A veces vivimos por todas partes menos el momento presente.

A veces, nos gusta vivir en el pasado: Pensamos acerca de eventos en el pasado, y tenemos pensamientos y emociones acerca de lo que entonces paso. A veces hacemos esto cuando guardamos resentimientos: ¿Puedes creer lo que ella me dijo? ¿Puedes creer cómo el se portó? O en otros tiempos sentimos profundos dolores del pasado, y nos recordamos de temores que hemos llevado por largo tiempo dentro de nosotros. A veces estamos viviendo en nuestros temores.

Y en otros mementos, nos gusta vivir en el futuro: Constantemente pen-samos acerca de eventos que todavía no se han llevado a cabo, y tene-mos pensamientos y sentimientos acerca de aquellos también. Nos preocupamos acerca del próximo por venir. A veces, estamos ansiosos acerca de co-mo vamos a terminar todo. Otras veces, estamos pensando acerca de una persona que sabemos que vamos a ver en algunos días, una persona que nos hace sentir fuertes emociones --- ansiedad, enojo, o frustración. Vamos a través de tantas situaciones tratando imaginarnos que vamos a decir o cómo nos comportaremos. En nuestras mentes, a menudo vivimos en el futuro, pensando acerca de lo que vendrá.

Vivmos y respiramos ahora mismo en el momento presente, pero muy a menudo, nuestras mentes, cuerpos, y espíritus estan casi viviendo en el pasado y el futuro en lugar de este momento presente.

Así que voy hace otra vez nuestras preguntas que nos ayudan pensar, sentir, y vivir en este momento que nos ha sido dado:

¿Qué esta pasando dentro de ti – ahora mismo en este mismo momento? ¿Qué son tus pensamiento? ¿Qué son tus emociones ahora mismo? ¿Qué esta alrededor de ti? ¿Quién comparte este momento contigo? ¿Quién eres y cómo estas ahora mismo en este mismo momento?

Buenas preguntas para nosotros hoy.

A menudo somos atrapados en el pasado o en el futuro cuando se trata a nuestra vida emocional. Pero ¿qué de nuestra vida de fe? Piensas que Cristianos alguna vez quedan atascados en el pasado o más en el futuro que vivir en el presente momento? ¿Esto ocurra a ti o a otras persona que conoces?

Conozco a Cristianos que a menudo viven en su pasado personal. Miran a atrás sobre sus vidas y sienten que han hecho grandes errores. Todos he-mos hecho errores – a veces aún horrendos errores que nos han lastimado a nosotros y a otros – pero a pesar de nuestros errores, Dios nos perdona y nos ofrece libertad. Pero a veces verdaderamente luchamos para perdo-narnos a nosotros mismos. Llevamos la carga de nuestra vida pasada, y a veces se siente más pesada de lo que podemos aguantar. Vivvmos en el pasado, aunque nuestra fe ofrece gracia en el presente.

También conozco a Cristianos que viven casi totalmente en el futuro. Antes que yo y mi esposo Ian nos mudamos a Pasadena hace un año, estuve sir-viendo como una Ministra Universitaria en Austin en la Universidad de Tejas. Todos los miércoles, miembros de una iglesia en particular venían a la Universidad para predicarles a los estudiantes. Su mensaje a la larga no era tampoco libertador. Parecían preocupados solamente de las cosas finales, preocupados solamente con el último futuro. Y parecían ver el aquel futuro casi totalmente através de juicio.

Puedes ver la escena conmigo: Cada miércoles, un grupo de personas se paraban afuera con grandes letreros. Los letreros eran usualmente ama-rillo vivo para que la gente los captara con sus ojos. Y ellos a menudo tenían mucho rojo en ellos también. Estaban llenos con escenas de ardientes llamas. Y los mensajes sobre los letreros eran más o menos duros y enojados. Estaban llenos con comentos sarcásticos, exilíando los estudiantes a un futuro infierno de tormento. Esto es, a menos que los estudiantes escucharan al hombre gritando através de un megáfono. Esto es, a menos que los estudiantes tomarían los tratados que los miembros de la iglesia estaban en esperanzas de dar. Estoy segura que estos hermanos Cristianos creían que ellos estaban a la larga ayudando, que ellos a la larga estaban haciendo una cosa amorosa. Pero parecían ser afectados por una creencia del futuro – una creencia que la salvación era solamente un asunto de un futuro cielo o un futuro infierno. Y parecía como si todos sus pensamientos y emociones estaban centralizados en algun futuro final, tal vez indiferentes con a quien estaban atacando con sus palabras duras en el momento presente.

¡El futuro es importante, pero la vida de fe es mucho más que un seguro de fuego! A veces es algo más profundo que aquello. En el pasaje que hemos escuchado hoy, parece que el Apóstol Pablo cree lo mismo. Porque nuestro pasado ha sido cambiado por la gracia y el amor de Dios por nosotros, el momento presente es lleno con vida nueva. El momento presente esta lleno con salvación. El momento presente esta lleno con la posibilidad para transformación – ¡vida nueva aquí mismo. Ahora mismo! – para ti, para mi, y para todo el mundo entero lleno con el pueblo que Dios ama.

Pablo nos dice, “Y esto, conociendo el tiempo, que es ya hora de levantarnos del sueño; porque ahora está más cerca de nosotros nuestra salva-ción que cuando creímos.” La Salvación y la vida nueva son para este momento, este precioso momento del presente.

Ahora. Ahora mismo.

¿Sabías que tu eres un pueblo de salvación? ¿Sabías que tu eres un pueblo de transformación? Eres llamado a una vida transformada. Eres llamado para ayudar la transformación de otros. ¡Tu! Eres un bello pueblo de lo santo ahora. Si, tu como un individuo, y también ustedes como una familia de fe, una familia de fe en esta misma iglesia en Pasadena. Son llamados a este momento. La Salvación esta más cerca de nosotros que cuando creímos. Estan rodeados por el cuidado de Dios de ustedes, y estan equipados para traer aquel cuidado a esta ciudad y el pueblo que te rodea. No nada más en el futuro sino ahora mismo. Hoy.

Como una familia de fe, podemos tener una vision del futuro que abarca la belleza de la gracia de Dios para la humanidad y el mundo. Esta visión del futuro se encuentra en nuestras propias escrituras. Cuando era una seminarista, tuve una profesora de teología llamada Cindy Rigby. Es alguien que admiro mucho. Ella siempre enseña con grande pasión, y a veces se emociona tanto que sus palabras llegan a ser muy poderosas, imaginarias, y libertadoras. Y sus gestos llegan a ser tan grandes y llenos con entusiasmo. Ella quiere decir lo que ella dice.

La he tenido en mi mente mientras preparé este sermón. Esto es porque la recuerdo haber dicho más que una vez, que si dejamos a nuestras mentes ser capturadas por el futuro final de Dios para usted y este mundo, aquel futuro de amor y gracia puede capturar nuestro presente. Puede llegar a ser vivo para nosotros ahora mismo. Es como si aquel futuro se dobla en si mismo y nos mueva a nuestro presente momento.

Me pregunto si Pablo esta diciendo algo similar a nosotros en este pasaje. ¡Ahora es nuestra hora de salvación! La verdad final acerca del amor y la gracia de Dios ha venido para hacer su hogar con nosotros justo aquí – aquí justo en este mundo, aquí mismo en tus vidas, aquí mismo en este santuario. Es realmente santo. Este momento es realmente santo. Ustedes son realmente santos.

Y esto nos capacita para vivir diferentemente. Como dice Pablo, somos libres para vivir como un pueblo que es llamado a ser – ¡ahora mismo! “…somos liberados para “no deberle nada a nadie, sino el amaros, unos a otros.” Y podemos guardar los mandamientos de Dios para nuestras vidas.

Así que ¿Qué nos quiere decir esto? ¿Cómo puedes segir adelante de este lugar para vivir el momento presente con gratitud, sabiendo que el futuro final de gracia y amor de Dios vienen para vivir en ti y através de ti ahora mismo?

Así que termino haciendo nuestras preguntas una vez más:

¿Qué te rodea? ¿Quién esta compartiendo este momento contigo? ¿Qui-én eres y cómo estas ahora mismo en este mismo momento? Vivid como un transformado pueblo que eres. Gracias sean a Dios. Amén.

Romans 13:8-14

Now. Right now.

Do you ever take a moment to simply take it all in? Do you ever take a moment to realize your present surroundings? What's around you? Who is sharing this moment with you? And what's happening inside of you - right now, in this very moment? What are your thoughts? What are your emotions right now? What sensations do you feel in your body? Who are you and how are you right now in this very moment?

Those are good questions.

If you're at all like me, you probably don't ask those questions as often as you'd like to ask them. We're not always aware of the present moment, are we? Sometimes we live everywhere but the present moment.

Sometimes, we like to live in the past: We think about events in the past, and we have thoughts and emotions about what happened then. Sometimes we do this when we hold grudges: "Can you believe what she said to me?" "Can you believe how he acted? " Or other times we feel deep pains of the past, and we remember fears that we've carried around for a long time within us. Sometimes we are living in our fears.

And other times, we like to live in the future: We're constantly thinking about events that are yet to happen, and we have thoughts and feelings about those too. We worry about what's coming next. Sometimes, we're anxious about how we'll get everything finished. Other times, we're thinking about a person who we know we'll see in a few days, a person who makes us feel strong emotions - anxiety, anger, or frustration. We go through so many scenarios trying to imagine what we'll say or how we'll act. In our minds, we often live in the future, thinking about what will come.

We're living and breathing right now in the present moment, but so often, our minds, bodies, and spirits are almost living in the past and the future instead of living in this present moment.

So I'll ask some of our questions again, questions which help us think, feel, and live in this moment we've been given:

What's happening inside of you - right now in this very moment? What are your thoughts? What are your emotions right now? What's around you? Who is sharing this moment with you? Who are you and how are you right now in this very moment?

Good questions for us today.

We often get caught in the past or in the future when it comes to our emotional life. But what about our life of faith? Do you think that Christians ever get stuck in the past or in the future rather than living in the present moment? Does this happen to you or to other people you know?

I know Christians who often live in their personal past. They look back over their lives and feel that they've made big mistakes. We've all made mistakes - sometimes even horrendous mistakes that have hurt ourselves and others - but despite our mistakes, God forgives us and offers us freedom. But we sometimes truly struggle to forgive ourselves. We carry the burden of our past life, and sometimes it feels more heavy than we can bear. We live in the past, even though our faith offers of grace in the present.

I also know Christians who live almost entirely in the future. Before my husband Ian and I moved to Pasadena one year ago, I was serving as a Campus Minister in Austin at the University of Texas. Every Wednesday, members of a particular church would come on campus to preach to the students. Their message wasn't ultimately freeing either. They seemed to be concerned only with final things, concerned only with the ultimate future. And they seemed to view that future almost entirely through judgment.

You can picture the scene with me: Each Wednesday, a group of people stood outside with large signs. The signs were usually bright yellow so people would catch them with their eyes. And they often they had a lot of red on them too. They were filled with scenes of fiery flames. And the messages on the signs were pretty harsh and angry. They were filled with sarcastic comments, banishing the students to a future hell of torment. That is, unless the students would listen to the man screaming at them through a bullhorn. That is, unless the students would take the tracts that the church members were hoping to give. I'm sure that these fellow Christians believed that they were ultimately helping, that they were ultimately doing a loving thing. But they seemed to be caught up in a future belief - a belief that salvation was only a matter of a future heaven or future hell. And it seemed as though all their thoughts and emotions about faith were centered on some ultimate future, perhaps unconcerned with who they were attacking with their harsh words in the present moment.

The future is important, but the life of faith is much more than fire insurance! It's something deeper than that. In the passage that we heard today, it seems that the apostle Paul believes the same. Because our past has been changed by God's grace and love for us, and because our future holds great promise of God's grace and love for us, the present moment is filled with new life. The present moment is filled with salvation. The present moment is filled with the possibility for transformation - new life right here, right now! - for you, for me, and for an entire world filled with the people God loves.

Paul tells us, "Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers." Salvation and new life are for this moment, this precious moment of the present.

Now. Right now.

Do you know that you are people of salvation? Do you know that you are people of transformation? You are called to a transformed life. You are called to help transform the lives of others. You! You are beautiful people of the holy now. Yes, you as an individual, and also you (plural) as a family of faith, a family of faith in this very church in Pasadena. You are called to this moment. Salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers. You are surrounded by God's care for you, and you are equipped to bring that care to this city and to the people who surround you. Not just in the future but right now. Today.

As a family of faith, we can have a vision of the future which encompasses the beauty of God's grace for humanity and the world. This vision of the future is found in our very own scriptures. When I was a seminary student, I had a theology professor named Cindy Rigby. She is someone I admire very much. She always teaches with great passion, and sometimes she gets so convicted that her words become very powerful, imaginary, and freeing. And her gestures get so big and filled with excitement. She means what she says.

I have had her on my mind as I've prepared this sermon. This is because I remember her saying more than once, that if we let our minds become captivated by God's ultimate future for us and this world, that future of love and grace can captivate our present. It can become alive for us right now. It's as if that future folds in upon itself and moves into our present moment.

I wonder if Paul is saying something similar to us in this passage. Now is the hour of salvation! The ultimate truth about God's love and grace has come to make its home with us right here - right here in this world, right here your lives, right here in this sanctuary. It is really holy. This moment is really holy. You are really holy.

And this empowers us to live differently. As Paul says, we are freed to live as the people we are called to be - right now! We are freed to "owe no one anything, except to love one another." And we can be freed to keep God's commandments for our lives.

So what does this mean for you? How can you go forth from this place to live the present moment with gratitude, knowing that God's ultimate future of grace and love are coming to live in you and through you right now?

So I'll finish my asking our questions one more time:

What's around you? Who is sharing this moment with you? Who are you and how are you right now in this very moment?

Go live as the transformed people that you are. Thanks be to God. Amen.

-Renee Roederer, Director of Young Adult Ministries, and the community at Pasadena Presbyterian Church

Welcome Back PCC!!!!

And we're excited that students have started back at Pasadena City College. Welcome to PCC, everyone!

The first day of the academic year started on Monday. So what has L.I.F.T. been doing? We're distributing free cookie packets to welcome students. People seem pleased to receive cookies with no catch involved! (It's rare on a college campus for free food to be offered without a requirement to sign something or do something).

We hope that everyone has a great start to the academic year. We are grateful for students!