Holy Spirit

look beyond the physical and see what God is doing

Today is a very important day in the life of the church. Today is the festival of Pentecost. Pentecost is the day we remember the first pentecost when the gathered were blessed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. But as it is in all our celebrations and Holy Days, our remembering is not like the times when you pull out the old picture album and reminice about days gone by. We remember in such a way that we live into a new reality. We join our spirits in worship on this Pentecost Sunday and invite a new workng of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We come fully expecting to be brought further into a purifying and holy relationship with The Almighty. Pentecost is not just an event that happened in a place on the other side of the globe about 2000 years ago, it is a reality that we enter into.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I m going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.”

The hearts of the disciples were FILLED with sadness. They watched as Jesus was crucified and were, I am certain, horrified at the brutality with wich their teacher, friend and lord was treated but he defeated death and they had him in their midst once more. Now he is telling them that he is leaving. He gave them a pretty grim assessment about what was life was going to be like when was gone. “They will put you out of the synagogue, yet a time is coming when the one who kills ou will think he is offering service to God. They will do these things because they have not know the Father or me.”

They would certainly miss the presence of Jesus but that is just the beginning, life got more dangerous with out Jesus.

So why did Jesus have to go? Why couldn't he just say? Imagine if he did. His group of disciple would certainly grow. But there would still be those who would go unconvinced. He would likely become an earthly king. But the unconvinced would likely oppose him. Then what? War? Should the followers of Jesus kill to defend the Kingdom of God?

Jesus came to that all might be reconcilled to God. That the divisions of humanity would be dissolved and that we might be one people.

Jesus didn't come to set up an oppositional Kingdom. Jesus didn't even come to start a new religion. Jesus arose out of a particular people at a particular time in a particular place to initiate the growth of the Kingdom of God through love and forgivness.

So Jesus ascended to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit.

We spoke befofe about Jesus' metaphore that he is the vine and we are the branches. Well the Holy Spirit is that very connection. The Holy Spirit is what makes it possible for us, the branches to be connected to the vine, Jesus. When we say in the communion prayer that we lift our hearts to God it is because that is where God is. God is trancendant. Jesus, the incarnated form of the God that is beyond catagorization and any idea we can have of God, has ascended and is with the Father. Jesus is no longer of the earth. And so by the power of the Holy Spirit we lift our hearts to God and seek to be joined with him. We seek transcendance while in this earthly form. NO SMALL TASK, let me tell you!

Jesus says the Holy Spirit will do some things. The first thinng is that the Spirit will testify about Jesus and will glorify Jesus.

Well great! If the Holy Spirit is going to come and has come, and it's the Holy Spirit's job to testify about Jesus then we are off the hook. We don't have to share the good news about Jesus. We can just let the Holy Spirit do it right?

No, no, no!

Jesus said “he will testify about me and you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

He was speaking to his disciples that were with him during his entire earthly miistry. They saw everything. They heard him teach. They knew who he really was...the son of God. Jesus expected them to tell the world abut what they knew along with the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a partner in the process of telling the world about Jesus. But we are not seperate from the power of the Holy spirit

We are not only empowered to testify about Jesus but the Holy Spirit, according to scripture, will prove the world wrong about sin because they did not believe in Jesus. Jesus was on the earth, the incarnation of God and yet people could not believe. Those that executed him were aware of the claim about who Jesus was but could not see the truth.

Being blinded by ones own ambition, or agenda or need for power or pleasure or what ever it is that drives you, is a sin if it is not about seeking God first. The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth was the ultimate example of this. Even then Jesus said, “father forgive them, they know not what they do.” even this ultimate in sin, Jesus prays for our forgiveness.

The Holy spirit will prove the world wrong about righteousness because Jesus went to the father and they saw him no longer. And concerning Judgement because the ruler of tis world has been condemned.

The Holy Spirit empowers the gathering of God's people to be the presence of Christ on Earth.

the church is Christ's presence on earth.

So does that mean that Christ is present only on sundays and only at certain locations such as this one as we gather, pray, search the scriptures and praise Him?

His purpose is not to be occasionaly present but to do the father's will. And what is the Father's will but to Proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come near, to bring with you, where ever you go, a message of repentance and forgiveness, to make a way for the children to come, and to give a cup of water to the thirsty.

The problem comes when we try to institutionalize aned systemitize these things. When the proclaimation of the Kingdom becomes one not of good news but of condemnation. When the message of repentance and forgiveness is about other people repenting and other people forgiving and not having those things in your own life. When making a way for children to come means we speak in terms we understand rather than communicate in a way that they understand. When giving a cup of water to the thirsty becomes a program rather than heart felt compassion for those who are suffering. That is life and ministry with out the power of the Holy Spirit.

A life and ministry in partnership with and in submission to the Holy Spirit is one that transforms. It transforms you and it transforms the world around you. There is nothing what we can do outside the power of the Holy Spirit that will make this world a better place. There is no social program that will cure our ills unless it is in submission to God and His will.

The reality that we enter into on this Pentecost Sunday is not merely a recollection of a special event in history but one that transforms us on a daily basis as we re-orient our attention from our will, our effort our desires to God's will for us and for our world.

So, how is it with you today on this pentecost sunday? The Spirit will partner with you. The Spirit will empower you. But you have to be a willing participant.  

Fulcrum

Jesus is the center of it all; To find true balance, we have to submit to him.

We can spend a lot of time and energy trying to find peace and happiness in this life. We have plenty of opportunity to spend money to achieve happiness in this life as well. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson lists happiness as one of our inalienable Rights. Does any one ever use the word “inalienable” outside of quoting the Declaration? Its a strange word 'inalienable'. Inalienable means that they cannot be taken away. It is something that is belongs to us by our very nature. We can't give it up even if we wanted to.

So we always have the right to pursue happiness. We try to do things that will bring us happiness and it seems that Happiness comes and goes or rather our awareness of our happiness comes and goes.

It seems like happiness came a little easier when we were kids. Your memories are probably different then mine. But it seems like the simple things of life brought the most happiness. At cookie at grandmas house has a greater impact than the most extravagant gift. Getting out of school at the end of the school year creates an unparalleled bliss for students (at least it did for me). Getting the attention of someone you particularly like...that's the stuff of happiness.

We forget these things though, or we think we can have more happiness by getting more cookies, or more attention or more of what ever. So we focus on getting more, so that our happiness will increase. We need to make more money to get more things. So that means we have to get a job that gives us that money...so that means that we need to pick a career that will give us that money...so we need to make the right life decisions that will lead us to that career. All in the pursuit of happiness. We struggle, work, toil all so that we can have the THINGS that will eventually lead us to that lifestyle that we have in our minds that will make us happy.

Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, flour, baking soda, chocolate chips. Do you know what that makes? A pretty good chocolate chip cookie.

Will a chocolate chip cookie bring you happiness? No not in an of it's self. But there was a day at my grandma's house on cold water lake a few decades ago when she and I combined those ingredients and I licked that raw batter of the beater she removed from her mixer and I felt happy.

It must have been the recipe that she used, right? It must have been the right combination of the high humidity from the lake along with atmospheric pressure that day at that elevation. It must have been the temperature outside along with the deep shade of green that was the color of her lawn. It must have been the brand of products she used as ingredients to produce that kind of care free contentment, right?

In the Gospel lesson today Jesus ascends into heaven before the eyes of his disciples. That part is a mystery. When I was a child in the faith I imagined that scene as Jesus floating higher and higher as a kite would go as you let out more and more string. I am less sure about that image but what I do know is that he was with them then he was not.

But before that happened Jesus did something wonderful for his disciples.

He opened their minds so the could understand the scriptures. He explained to them how everything in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

Jesus was the fulfillment. But we are also partners with Jesus in the fulfillment. Jesus gives the disciples and us a role to play in that fulfillment. “He said to them that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, (his part) and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (our part). And look, I am sending you what my father promised. Bu stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The law, prophets and psalms leading to Jesus, the fulfilled promise of the Holy Spirit centered on the Revelation of God on Jesus is our spiritual reality. Jesus is the center. Jesus is the focus. Jesus is the fulcrum.

It's like this: a simple lever. We have the whole system (a lever consisting of a board on a block). It only works if we have the fulcrum.

This reminds me of when I played with Lincoln logs as a kid. This was way before Wii, way before Nintendo and a little before the personal computer. With Lincoln logs you could build little log structures. It was fun for a while. But when the fun of building started to run out I would take the log pieces and place on it one of the plank pieces used for roofing . on one end of the plank piece I would place one of the small log pieces. Then I would strike, as hard as I could the other end of the plank to send that little piece flying as high and as far as I could make it go.

Sure ...I made dents in the ceiling but I was learning about physics, right?

Levers are useful. I found out how useful when Alex and I went on a mission trip a few years a go and we were dry-walling. It was my first experience with that kind of work and I was shown how to use a crow bar to lift a piece of dry wall into place so we could attach it to the wall. I would have struggled to hold that thing up while trying to attach it and it would have looked terrible. The tool worked.

The thing is we have to be careful that we are not using Jesus as a tool. Jesus did not come for us to use him as leverage.

Instead of a crowbar think more in terms of a teeter-totter. Teeter-totters are meant for children to enjoy. The good thing about teeter-totters is that you need someone else to make use of it. You lend your wight and your friend lends theirs and together you have fun. The problem with teeter-totters is when you friend decides to leave when you are still elevated and you hit the ground faster than you had hoped you would. You can play on a teeter-totter by your self but you have to be in the middle. You have to find balance. Either way Jesus, the fulcrum is at the center of it.

There is still a problem with this analogy though. Jesus is at the center but it is us who is in control. It is us who is striving and making the decisions. The spiritual life should look more like this (put the block on top of the plank.)

Jesus is the center of it all but to find true balance we have to submit to him. Jesus is not our tool. Jesus is not our source of entertainment. Jesus is our Lord. He has to come first. He has to be over us and before us before we can find true happiness.

So how is it with you today? Are you striving for happiness. I want to invite you today to look to Jesus for your happiness. Not as a means to get what you want. Not as a vehicle to get to where you want to go but finding happiness in his presence as his disciple learning from Him and listening for his voice.   

Mother's Day Mysticism

The fruitful life comes from a spiritual/mystical connection to God and each other.

“I give you these commands that you may love one another.” This is the purpose; this is the goal; this is the intent; Loving each other.

So does that we mean we build a campfire and sing Kum Ba Yah!? Does that mean we donate more to our favorite charities or to the Church? Does that mean we send cards to those we are thinking of? What does it mean to love one another?

In the United States Military the highest Award is the Medal of Honor. It is given for actions during combat to people who take action, at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty. The deed performed must have been one of personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved the risk of life.

What does it take for a person to risk their own life to save another?

The United States Military sees this act as being so special that the recipients of the Medal of Honor are placed on an honor roll for life, receive a better pay even in retirement, their children get automatic U.S service academies among other things. www.gruntsmilitary.com/moh.shtml

What is it that causes people like the members of the Fire Department of New York to rush into a building at great risk to their own live to save the lives of strangers.

Is it love?

We often think of Love as that emotional reaction that we have for those whom we have affection for. The word “ Love “is reserved for those who treat us well and those we like particularly well.

There is no doubt that There is love between a mother and a child. That kind of Love is powerful. That kind of love is self-sacrificing. The love a mother has for her children is constant whether or not her children return that love. Jesus said that no one has greater love than the one that lays down ones life for a friend. There have been times when a mother has indeed lost her life to save and protect her children. But there are many ways in which we lay down our lives for each other. Tell me who thinks it is a great for weeks on end to wake up every two hours for a half an hour or so and go back to bed? Medical professionals say we need 6 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night for good health. Who would willingly choose to tend to the daily health and hygiene of someone who is completely ungrateful for your efforts. Who would go to practices and competitions of a sport that one has no original interest in and where the athletes are not even close to being at a professional level in their skill? Who chooses to stay up late worrying about someone's decisions and life circumstance.

I tell you mothers lay down their lives everyday for their children. there is no medal of Honor for moms, but there is Mother's Day. (Now the transcript of this sermon is posted every Sunday to my web page and I know that my mother reads it every week so: Happy Mother's Day Mom!)

But what about those soldiers that sacrifice themselves? Some might say that there is a deep connection with those whom you have shared great adversity with and it is similar to a family relationship and so there is an emotional need to protect those that we love...perhaps.

But what about those fire fighters? Rarely do they know the people that they are rescuing. Some might say that it is their Job, that being a fire fighter attracts those who are willing and able to do such things. Maybe so.

What about the stranger that jumps onto the train tracks to help someone who has fallen? What about the perfect strangers who risk their lives to save another? I believe in this case and in the case of the firefighters and in the case of the soldiers and indeed in the case of mothers that there is a connection that goes beyond human understanding that exists between all of us. That in the moment of self-sacrifice there is a recognition that you and I are no different. That in saving you I am saving myself. That in caring for you I am also caring for myself. Not in a selfish way but in a way that God intended. The second great commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.

The Gospel lesson for today is a continuation of what we read last week in which Jesus said he is the vine and we are the branches. He tells us to abide in him just as he abides in the father. This is a beautiful image of the Oneness of creation. When we can see that through Jesus Christ we are connected to Almighty God and thereby are connected to each other the divisions and barriers that we create between ourselves can begin to dissolve. Jesus doesn't discount the possibility of disunity and brokenness. Remember he said that the branches that don't produced fruit are removed from the vine and even the branches that to produce fruit are pruned. Not everyone will have this understanding. Some will be blinded from the fact that we are all one in God. The natural way of behaving when we think that we are all on our own is to do everything that is best for me. It is a reasonable way to act given the information available. But that is where we come in. When we love unconditionally. When we demonstrate God's great love, it wakes something up in the life of the spiritually blind. I causes them to search for a reason why you are being so kind and generous.

The problem comes when the can actually find a reason. “Oh, they just want my money.” “They just feel guilty for what they have done and are trying to make up for it.” or “they are doing this for show so they look good.” there are tons of reasons that people can do kind things that are outside of the oneness of God and God's people and I am probably guilty of most of them at least some of the time. But the thing is we keep on loving. We keep on loving God and we keep on loving our neighbors because that is what God commands us to do.

However he doesn't command us as his servants. He gives us these words as a friend. He desires for us to have all that we need. God has held nothing back. If we choose not to love there is no punishment in store. But if we choose not to love then we have separated ourselves from that beautiful life that God promises. The life in which God produces fruit in us; the life in which we have all that we need; the life in which we begin to understand that there is no difference between you and I and that by laying down my life for you, whether it is literally dieing to save your life or sacrificing some of my comfort so that you may be released to serve God and produce fruit in the way that you are called to do so, I am actually gaining life for myself.

Jesus said that if you lose your life for his sake you will gain it for eternal life. God chose us for this life. We did not choose God. If God did not but in is a deep knowledge that we are all connected and are all one in Him we would be nothing but selfishly motivated individuals trying to grab a bigger and bigger portion of the pie.

So How is it with you on this Mother's Day? If you have a mother, thank her today for laying down her life for you. If your mother has gone on and has received the promises of God and is living in eternity, then thank God for her. 

Church work-Day

A few church-folk gathered for the annual spring church yard spruce-up. It was a beautiful day.

John 15:1-8

The title of this message is “Tree of Life” which seems a little off since I just read that Jesus was referring to himself as the “Vine” and we are the branches. Though vines and trees both have branches, both can produce fruit, both need to be pruned but they are not the same. You can't say that an apple tree is the same thing as a grapevine.

Pruned branches from fruit trees being burned.

Jesus was using the image of the vine but there is, of course, a very important image in our faith story about the Tree of Life. Its in a book of the Bible called Genesis.

It says in chapter two that “out of the ground the Lord God made every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for good; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They were free to eat of any tree but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And just like any kid who is told what not to do, just like any kid who has a limit or a boundary set upon him, they went and ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. When the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened to the knowledge of good and evil the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, since he may also take of the tree of life and live for ever: The Lord God sent Adam and eve out of the garden.”

Did God send them out of the garden for their disobedience or for the life course because of and the consequences of their disobedience? Did God stop loving them when they were outside the garden? Did God continue to speak to them and their descendants? No God still wanted them to be obedient. Abraham was considered righteous by God because of his faith. Noah was worth saving from the flood. David was called a man after God's own heart all because they trusted God.

Alex and Julian heading to the "Skyline Trail" at Ludington State Park.

Yesterday I went to the State park with my two oldest sons. We followed the trails. We climbed the many stairs that lead to the “Skyline” trail and saw the wonderful views of the lake and of the dunes. But then something drew us further we walked down the paved path toward the dam and then we went beyond the trail and followed a worn path into the “wilderness.” we followed the path through the trees until the trees opened and we saw wide a open grassy area filled with hills. You all probably know the place I am describing since it is in your back yard but it was all new to us. We continued to follow the foot path up a large grassy hill (dune) and we saw a sign. We thought it might be a no trespassing sign or a “You are Not Where you Belong” kind of sign. But it was a sign that simply communicated that beyond that point, hunting was allowed. It didn't matter what the sign really said what it felt like was leaving the known and entering the unknown. It stirred in us that sense of adventure that is often suppressed. We continued to climb. We wanted to get to the highest elevation we could. And when we did we just sat and enjoyed the view. After a while we walked along that ridge line and down one side was the grassy hill that we climbed, but down the other was a very steep tree strewn hillside that went a very long way before it leveled out again. If a person were to slip and fall, I don't imagine that one would be able to stop before hitting the bottom or hitting a tree. So I instructed my 8 year old to stay to the other side of the path, away from the steep side. He did. Then he forgot, and I reminded him. I apologized, I said, “I know I may seem like the 'Fun Police' but I want to keep you safe. He said, “Oh, no dad. I get it! (pointing down the steep side) That's dangerous.”

He understood that I wasn't instructing him for the sake of having my way. I gave him commands for his own good and protection. This is how it is with God. God did not say, “Because you have disobeyed me you have to leave the garden.” He made Adam and Eve leave the garden because they were going to get to big for their britches. But he still loved them.

In fact he loved them and us so much that he became a human to be with us, to teach us, and to show us the way to a fruitful and eternal life.

The abundant and fruitful life doesn't just land in our laps. It doesn't happen passively. It doesn't happen by agreeing to a set of beliefs. It happens by listening for the voice of God. By understanding the Word of God, and by obeying the commands of God. Because we have complex lives and not every moment and every motivation may not be directed to glorifying God there may be places in our lives that require energy and attention but are doing us no good. To have an abundant life may require some pruning.

In the Gospel today we read about those branches that produce no fruit are cut and thrown into the fire. Now be careful where you go with this one. This is, as all scripture is, valuable for teaching and building up your faith. However it is not meant for you to use as a tool of judgment against someone else. You don't know the fruit that is being produced in another. So it is not your job to do the pruning. It is not our Job to say who is in and who is out. Our job is to invite, and to tell the story and to live obediently.

The pruning that will happen will come from God. Even branches that bear fruit need to be pruned. Brothers and sisters I know you are bearing fruit. I know that you love God. I know that Jesus is your savior. Thanks be to God. I also know that you are being pruned. You are facing challenges, you've experienced loss where you thought you would have abundance. There is a humbling of the spirit when there is a pruning.

You ever want to say, “God I think I've been pruned enough”?

Sometimes we can, if we have the wisdom to see, we can prune ourselves. That is we can look inside, we can look at what we do, we can look at where we spend our energy and see the places that produce no fruit. That is place that do not glorify God. We can also look at the areas in our life where we are doing things that are pleasing to God and we can do some pruning so that we are even more effective.

Jesus said abide in me as I abide in my Father. We can do nothing apart from Jesus.

Abiding in Jesus is like walking along the tricky ridge-line of life with dangers on either side and listening for the guiding voice of one who loves you. But it's not just avoiding the danger it is pausing to see view from the top of the hill and thanking God for it.

Jesus said he is the vine and we are the branches. A vine is not a tree. From the tree of life in the garden we take what is produced. But Jesus is not the tree he does not produce so that we can take. We are attached to Jesus so that he can produce fruit in us. The new tree of life is a vine that connects us all. The new covenant that God made with us, His people was made when Jesus sacrificed himself, died on the cross and lifted himself back to eternal life. When we stay connected to Jesus we have that eternal life.

This Juice was made from the grapes of many vines. This bread was made from the grain that grew from seeds that were planted in the ground, died and were transformed into new life. If you intend to be connected, stay connected and produce fruit then I invited you to join us at this Holy meal. You need not be a member of this church or of any church.

So how is it with you today?

Would you pray with me?