Saturday, March 22, 2008
Are You Amazed?
March 20th Sermon
Holy Thursday
John 13:1-15
We are here to tonight to remember the one who transformed all of creation through a love that was amazing. A love that was amazing, because it so completely disregarded conventional ways of being in relationship.
The amazing love that Jesus lived ignored the hierarchal relationships that nations and businesses so relied on to keep people subjugated… controlled.
The amazing love that Jesus lived overlooked the patriarchal relationships that would treat women and children as chattel to be used or abused at the discretion of the head of the household.
The amazing love that Jesus lived confronted the notion of a ruler who would take unhealthy advantage of leadership and transformed it into the concept of the servant leader.
Jesus completely disregarded the conventional ways of being in relationship that placed power over another as the ultimate goal and offered a relationship of love that gave up any pretext of power. Are you amazed?
Here is how the story goes:
On a Thursday, less than a day before the harsh sound of nails being pounded into a rude cross were heard around the world, Jesus gathered with his closest followers in a large, borrowed, upstairs room, somewhere in the city of Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The machinery of murder was already moving toward an isolated garden overlooking Jerusalem. Judas had already committed himself to a path different than his fellow sojourners. Common people, sniffing the winds of rumor with animal accuracy, were not ignorant of the hostilities roused by Jesus of Nazareth. The man was a fugitive and those who followed him put themselves at risk.
Yet they still gathered together during the tenuous security that night offered, to break bread together, to worship, and to continue learning amazing things from this fugitive.
Over their roughly three years together, this irregular group of miscreants had indeed been amazed. Wonders beyond imagination had taken place. The religious elite had been exposed for the hypocrites they were; outcasts had been welcomed into a community that really cared; leprous untouchables were touched in ways that made then whole; even the dead had been brought back to life and everyone was amazed.
So what words would Jesus share with them on this holy night? What insights might be gleaned from this rebel, as together they shared in the paschal feast and remembered how God delivered the Jews from bondage, so long ago. Would they too be delivered from the yoke of persecution and was this indeed "The One" - the Messiah? How would they be amazed in that “upper room?”
The Bible suggests that Jesus knew everything rested on the way he might respond to the disciples on that momentous night. The Bible suggests Jesus knew his hour of humiliation was near, and that he knew his hour of glory was near. Awareness like that can be dangerous and cause a person to be filled with pride. It would have been easy for Jesus to turn the revolution in another direction - a direction that even Judas would have approved of. The officials could still be avoided and the mass of people in Jerusalem, directed to destroy Rome. There was still time to misuse the power of the times in conventional ways: to control.
Power can be a dangerous commodity and Jesus knew that his teaching on this pregnant evening would have its most profound effect. So… filled with the knowledge of the power and glory that were his; aware that he could control and use the anger of the other twelve in that borrowed, upper room; poised with the knowledge that could make him the King of all kings...
...he washed their feet.
That's right; Jesus washed his disciple’s feet! At the moment he might have had supreme pride, he had supreme humility. At the moment he could have used absolute power for absolute gain, he became the absolute servant. The same night in which he was betrayed he cared for the needs of others. Confused? Does it seem like a contradictory action? Are you amazed?
Then you are not unlike the others gathered around the table that night.
The love Jesus expressed is utterly unaccountable - except that he is God and God is love. It has no cause in us. It reacts to, or repays, or rewards nothing in us. It is beyond human measure, beyond human comprehension. It is amazing.
That night, so long ago, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. And they were amazed.
Sometimes we feel that to be a Footwasher is beneath us. The disciples certainly felt that, but not Jesus. Even knowing that he was Lord of all he washed his disciples’ feet. What a lesson for the disciples and for us. It's just not the lesson the disciples were expecting and it's not an easy lesson for us to put to practical use.
You see, it's hard to be a foot washer in this world. It ranks right up there with changing sheets in a nursing home or spending time with aids patients. It is smelly and at times dangerous. It is a job that has low reward, low status, is hard work, and puts you too darn close to the rest of humanity. It is work that no one wants to do because it tends to put people in either a one up or a one down position.
Foot washing is the intentional reaching out to others in service. Not because you want to feel better about yourself, or because you deem yourself to be superior. Not because you have been a victim and don’t know how to change. Foot washing, is only effective when done as modeled by Jesus – when it is done with love that is both intentional and authentic.
More uncomfortable than being a Footwasher, however, is having your feet washed by someone else. Just ask tough ole Simon Peter. He wasn't nicknamed Rock just for the heck of it. Strong, secure in who he was, capable at whatever he set his mind too, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound - you know the type. The Rock was a regular superman. No way was he going to allow Jesus to just wash his feet - that would imply a dependency on someone else; a weakness. He would do more than what was asked which would show his strength.
So, in response to Jesus' saying, "Either this or nothing," Rock had to boast, "Then wash my hands and head too." You see he wasn't going to be outdone; it was like being double-dared. Rock was going to show Jesus just how loyal he was. Rock was going to show Jesus that he regarded him as the Christ and would do anything for the kingdom. Rock was going to show Jesus just how much power Rock possessed.
But Simon Peter was letting his own agenda get in the way. He was letting that old record play over and over. "I need to be the one in control, can't let anyone appear more capable than me." Sound familiar?
Peter just didn't seem to get it. Didn't seem to understand what Jesus was doing. Wouldn't, in fact, understand where the real source of power was until a few days later. Simon Peter, "The Rock," had to experience Jesus washing his feet, had to experience his own denial of Jesus, had to experience the empty tomb, and had to experience the unconditional, accepting love of Jesus the Christ, before he could finally understand true power. Peter was then amazed.
How about you? Are you amazed by the experience of Jesus in your life?
Tonight we re-enact that Foot washing event, as we wash each others hands, and we remember the "Mandatum Novum" or new commandment that Jesus gave to Peter... and us:
"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
I invite each of you to find a relationship of strength and peace with Jesus Christ. I invite you to be amazed.
Holy Thursday
John 13:1-15
We are here to tonight to remember the one who transformed all of creation through a love that was amazing. A love that was amazing, because it so completely disregarded conventional ways of being in relationship.
The amazing love that Jesus lived ignored the hierarchal relationships that nations and businesses so relied on to keep people subjugated… controlled.
The amazing love that Jesus lived overlooked the patriarchal relationships that would treat women and children as chattel to be used or abused at the discretion of the head of the household.
The amazing love that Jesus lived confronted the notion of a ruler who would take unhealthy advantage of leadership and transformed it into the concept of the servant leader.
Jesus completely disregarded the conventional ways of being in relationship that placed power over another as the ultimate goal and offered a relationship of love that gave up any pretext of power. Are you amazed?
Here is how the story goes:
On a Thursday, less than a day before the harsh sound of nails being pounded into a rude cross were heard around the world, Jesus gathered with his closest followers in a large, borrowed, upstairs room, somewhere in the city of Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The machinery of murder was already moving toward an isolated garden overlooking Jerusalem. Judas had already committed himself to a path different than his fellow sojourners. Common people, sniffing the winds of rumor with animal accuracy, were not ignorant of the hostilities roused by Jesus of Nazareth. The man was a fugitive and those who followed him put themselves at risk.
Yet they still gathered together during the tenuous security that night offered, to break bread together, to worship, and to continue learning amazing things from this fugitive.
Over their roughly three years together, this irregular group of miscreants had indeed been amazed. Wonders beyond imagination had taken place. The religious elite had been exposed for the hypocrites they were; outcasts had been welcomed into a community that really cared; leprous untouchables were touched in ways that made then whole; even the dead had been brought back to life and everyone was amazed.
So what words would Jesus share with them on this holy night? What insights might be gleaned from this rebel, as together they shared in the paschal feast and remembered how God delivered the Jews from bondage, so long ago. Would they too be delivered from the yoke of persecution and was this indeed "The One" - the Messiah? How would they be amazed in that “upper room?”
The Bible suggests that Jesus knew everything rested on the way he might respond to the disciples on that momentous night. The Bible suggests Jesus knew his hour of humiliation was near, and that he knew his hour of glory was near. Awareness like that can be dangerous and cause a person to be filled with pride. It would have been easy for Jesus to turn the revolution in another direction - a direction that even Judas would have approved of. The officials could still be avoided and the mass of people in Jerusalem, directed to destroy Rome. There was still time to misuse the power of the times in conventional ways: to control.
Power can be a dangerous commodity and Jesus knew that his teaching on this pregnant evening would have its most profound effect. So… filled with the knowledge of the power and glory that were his; aware that he could control and use the anger of the other twelve in that borrowed, upper room; poised with the knowledge that could make him the King of all kings...
...he washed their feet.
That's right; Jesus washed his disciple’s feet! At the moment he might have had supreme pride, he had supreme humility. At the moment he could have used absolute power for absolute gain, he became the absolute servant. The same night in which he was betrayed he cared for the needs of others. Confused? Does it seem like a contradictory action? Are you amazed?
Then you are not unlike the others gathered around the table that night.
The love Jesus expressed is utterly unaccountable - except that he is God and God is love. It has no cause in us. It reacts to, or repays, or rewards nothing in us. It is beyond human measure, beyond human comprehension. It is amazing.
That night, so long ago, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. And they were amazed.
Sometimes we feel that to be a Footwasher is beneath us. The disciples certainly felt that, but not Jesus. Even knowing that he was Lord of all he washed his disciples’ feet. What a lesson for the disciples and for us. It's just not the lesson the disciples were expecting and it's not an easy lesson for us to put to practical use.
You see, it's hard to be a foot washer in this world. It ranks right up there with changing sheets in a nursing home or spending time with aids patients. It is smelly and at times dangerous. It is a job that has low reward, low status, is hard work, and puts you too darn close to the rest of humanity. It is work that no one wants to do because it tends to put people in either a one up or a one down position.
Foot washing is the intentional reaching out to others in service. Not because you want to feel better about yourself, or because you deem yourself to be superior. Not because you have been a victim and don’t know how to change. Foot washing, is only effective when done as modeled by Jesus – when it is done with love that is both intentional and authentic.
More uncomfortable than being a Footwasher, however, is having your feet washed by someone else. Just ask tough ole Simon Peter. He wasn't nicknamed Rock just for the heck of it. Strong, secure in who he was, capable at whatever he set his mind too, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound - you know the type. The Rock was a regular superman. No way was he going to allow Jesus to just wash his feet - that would imply a dependency on someone else; a weakness. He would do more than what was asked which would show his strength.
So, in response to Jesus' saying, "Either this or nothing," Rock had to boast, "Then wash my hands and head too." You see he wasn't going to be outdone; it was like being double-dared. Rock was going to show Jesus just how loyal he was. Rock was going to show Jesus that he regarded him as the Christ and would do anything for the kingdom. Rock was going to show Jesus just how much power Rock possessed.
But Simon Peter was letting his own agenda get in the way. He was letting that old record play over and over. "I need to be the one in control, can't let anyone appear more capable than me." Sound familiar?
Peter just didn't seem to get it. Didn't seem to understand what Jesus was doing. Wouldn't, in fact, understand where the real source of power was until a few days later. Simon Peter, "The Rock," had to experience Jesus washing his feet, had to experience his own denial of Jesus, had to experience the empty tomb, and had to experience the unconditional, accepting love of Jesus the Christ, before he could finally understand true power. Peter was then amazed.
How about you? Are you amazed by the experience of Jesus in your life?
Tonight we re-enact that Foot washing event, as we wash each others hands, and we remember the "Mandatum Novum" or new commandment that Jesus gave to Peter... and us:
"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
I invite each of you to find a relationship of strength and peace with Jesus Christ. I invite you to be amazed.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Nourishment
nour·ish·ment /ˈnɜrɪʃmənt, ˈnʌr-/ [nur-ish-muhnt, nuhr-] –noun
1. something that nourishes; food, nutriment, or sustenance.
2. the act of nourishing.
3. the state of being nourished.
4.a process, system, method, etc., of providing or administering nourishment: a treatise on the nourishment of international trade.
[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME norysshement]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Nourishment is more than just caring for the body. There is also nourishment for the soul. That's why I love cooking. When I cook it becomes nourishment for both the body and the soul. And not only for me, also for those I cook for. It's the total package.
1. something that nourishes; food, nutriment, or sustenance.
2. the act of nourishing.
3. the state of being nourished.
4.a process, system, method, etc., of providing or administering nourishment: a treatise on the nourishment of international trade.
[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME norysshement]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Nourishment is more than just caring for the body. There is also nourishment for the soul. That's why I love cooking. When I cook it becomes nourishment for both the body and the soul. And not only for me, also for those I cook for. It's the total package.
This is a picture of tonight's supper. Portobello stuffed, pep-a-dew pepper ravioli on a bed of blanched yellow, green, and red peppers with a pesto of cilantro, pecans, and garlic. The slaw is cabbage, carrots, ginger and Robusto Italian dressing.
The creative side of me was nourished as I cooked and plated the food. My need to care for my wife Sue was nourished as I watched her enjoy the meal. My body was nourished as I enjoyed the meal. And my soul was nourished as I listened to jazz, sliced, diced, and let go of the angst of life.
Cooking is, for me, the total package and my sabbath. My nourishment.
Monday, March 17, 2008
“Miracles Beyond Reason or... Living With Noisy Stones”
March 16th Sermon
Luke 19:28-40
You know, there are some events in life that are just so remarkable and so joyous and so needed, that no matter what reality might say to the contrary, they are going to happen.
Take the story of eleven year-old Angela, as told by Hanoch McCarty:
“Angela was stricken with a debilitating disease involving her nervous system. She was unable to walk and her movement was restricted in other ways as well. The doctors did not hold out much hope of her ever recovering from this illness. They predicted she’d spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. They said that few, if any, were able to come back to normal after contracting this disease. The little girl was undaunted. There, lying in her hospital bed, she would vow to anyone who’d listen that she was definitely going to be walking again someday.
She was transferred to a specialized rehabilitation hospital in the San Francisco Bay area. Whatever therapies could be applied to her case were used. The therapists were charmed by her undefeatable spirit. They taught her about imaging - about seeing herself walking. If it would do nothing else, it would at least give her hope and something positive to do in the long waking hours in her bed. Angela would work as hard as possible in physical therapy, in whirlpools and in exercise sessions. But she worked just as hard lying there, faithfully doing her imaging, visualizing herself moving... moving... moving!
One day, as she was straining with all her might to imagine her legs moving again, it seemed as though a miracle happened: The bed moved! It began to move around the room! She screamed out, “Look what I’m doing! Look! Look! I can do it! I moved, I moved!”
Of course, at this very moment everyone else in the hospital was screaming, too, and running for cover. People were screaming, equipment was falling and glass was breaking. You see, it was the San Francisco earthquake that occurred a few years back. But don’t tell that to Angela. She’s convinced that she did it. And now only a few years later, she’s back in school. On her own two legs. No crutches, no wheelchair. You see, anyone who can shake the earth between San Francisco and Oakland can conquer a piddling little disease, can’t they?”
Beyond reason Angela was able to walk again. It was a remarkable, joyous, irrational event that needed to happen. It was a miracle beyond reason.
And isn’t that what we celebrate today. Hear us shout! Because of a remarkable, joyous, irrational event that occurred thousands of years ago we can be victorious in life today. A king with no apparent power, riding a donkey into the most powerful city of the time, set the stage for the most transformational and controversial event of eternity.
Without a doubt this was the moment that the people Israel had been waiting for. The messiah had arrived. Gathered outside the city on the Mount of Olives, the celebration began. As the procession wound down the mountain the crowd increased in number and in anticipation. Then, entering the gates, the frenzy of adulation became overwhelming. The triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem could not be stopped.
The joy of the people, anticipating all that surely was going to happen with their new king could not be silenced. Now the Romans would get what was coming to them. Control this crowd? No way. Jesus told the Pharisees that they were crazy!
No one can stop the joy that comes when a person feels the release of one’s soul. No one can put down the elation felt when those imprisoned by the circumstances of life are offered even the slightest sense of hope. And the hope that was offered by Jesus to a people who were at the point of losing all hope caused such a joyous response, that if there was an attempt to stifle the words and actions of the people, it would seep out from even the lifeless rocks and stones. The very rocks and stones themselves would ooze joy and would start to sing! Hosanna! Hosanna!
In the movie, The Shawshank Redemption, Freeman Morgan is serving a life sentence for murder. He utters a line that speaks volumes to Tim Burton who is also serving a sentence for murder and is relatively new to the prison: (Show clip)
“Hope is dangerous for a prisoner.” A reference to the fact that for the “lifer,” hope would only cause insanity. Cause you ain’t getting out! For some, this world is a prison. A prison every bit as harsh and as filled with hopelessness as Shawshank Prison. When you see your circumstance as a prison... hope IS dangerous. When you live your life as a prisoner... hope IS dangerous.
But we are not prisoners, as Christians we know better. We are not prisoners....We are not “lifers...” We are “livers.” We have been given hope. We can live to the fullest because God’s presence through Jesus Christ has transformed us. Filled with the Holy Spirit we can wave our palm branches today even more fervently than those early believers because we know the entire story. While they could only celebrate an earthly king, we can celebrate the inspiration of hope given to us by a heavenly king.
Try as we might to be somber during this time of lent; try as hard as we can to grieve the one who died on the cross; try, with all humility, to bow our heads in sorrow as the stone is rolled across the tomb; we just can’t be made silent. We are the noisy rocks. The joy in our lives can’t be stopped from being expressed. Jesus is king. Hosanna! The Messiah is here. Hosanna! “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna! “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Hosanna!
The message that God loves us... is very much a part of us, gives us hope... can never be quieted. I know. I tried to quiet that message in my own life. In high school I felt called by God to somehow share the good news that Christ offers us. I was going to be a minister. A short way into my first year of college I tried to squelch that feeling. For thirteen years after that I hid the palm branches behind my back. For thirteen years I denied that Jesus was my king and had a use for me. But even in the lifeless stone that I had become, the noise and the joy had to come out.
There’s no way God will let us remain silent. There’s no way God will let us stagnant. There’s no way God will allow you... or me... or anyone else... to stop celebrating “The Life” in our lives. And at the point someone tries to tell us otherwise... why... even the very stones God created, will be pulled into the act of celebration.
That is why we exist as a church. We are called to shout the joy of Jesus Christ. We are called to become a church that is so remarkable, so irrational, so joyous, and so involved in sharing the good news that people can’t help but be transformed. Beyond all reason we exist and are here waving our palm branches. Hosanna.
We are in the midst of a miracle... Let me rephrase that. We are in the midst of miracles... remarkable, irrational, transforming, noisy rock miracles. The miracle of living, the miracle of relationship, the miracle of salvation in Jesus Christ, and today... gathering together as believers in the ministry of Jesus Christ, we are participating in the miracle of hope.
We are here to shout out the ways that God has blessed us through the presence of Jesus Christ... here to shout out the ways we have been blessed in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are here to give tangible evidence of the blessings of God. We are the noisy rocks and stones singing out the hosannas.
Luke 19:28-40
You know, there are some events in life that are just so remarkable and so joyous and so needed, that no matter what reality might say to the contrary, they are going to happen.
Take the story of eleven year-old Angela, as told by Hanoch McCarty:
“Angela was stricken with a debilitating disease involving her nervous system. She was unable to walk and her movement was restricted in other ways as well. The doctors did not hold out much hope of her ever recovering from this illness. They predicted she’d spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. They said that few, if any, were able to come back to normal after contracting this disease. The little girl was undaunted. There, lying in her hospital bed, she would vow to anyone who’d listen that she was definitely going to be walking again someday.
She was transferred to a specialized rehabilitation hospital in the San Francisco Bay area. Whatever therapies could be applied to her case were used. The therapists were charmed by her undefeatable spirit. They taught her about imaging - about seeing herself walking. If it would do nothing else, it would at least give her hope and something positive to do in the long waking hours in her bed. Angela would work as hard as possible in physical therapy, in whirlpools and in exercise sessions. But she worked just as hard lying there, faithfully doing her imaging, visualizing herself moving... moving... moving!
One day, as she was straining with all her might to imagine her legs moving again, it seemed as though a miracle happened: The bed moved! It began to move around the room! She screamed out, “Look what I’m doing! Look! Look! I can do it! I moved, I moved!”
Of course, at this very moment everyone else in the hospital was screaming, too, and running for cover. People were screaming, equipment was falling and glass was breaking. You see, it was the San Francisco earthquake that occurred a few years back. But don’t tell that to Angela. She’s convinced that she did it. And now only a few years later, she’s back in school. On her own two legs. No crutches, no wheelchair. You see, anyone who can shake the earth between San Francisco and Oakland can conquer a piddling little disease, can’t they?”
Beyond reason Angela was able to walk again. It was a remarkable, joyous, irrational event that needed to happen. It was a miracle beyond reason.
And isn’t that what we celebrate today. Hear us shout! Because of a remarkable, joyous, irrational event that occurred thousands of years ago we can be victorious in life today. A king with no apparent power, riding a donkey into the most powerful city of the time, set the stage for the most transformational and controversial event of eternity.
Without a doubt this was the moment that the people Israel had been waiting for. The messiah had arrived. Gathered outside the city on the Mount of Olives, the celebration began. As the procession wound down the mountain the crowd increased in number and in anticipation. Then, entering the gates, the frenzy of adulation became overwhelming. The triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem could not be stopped.
The joy of the people, anticipating all that surely was going to happen with their new king could not be silenced. Now the Romans would get what was coming to them. Control this crowd? No way. Jesus told the Pharisees that they were crazy!
No one can stop the joy that comes when a person feels the release of one’s soul. No one can put down the elation felt when those imprisoned by the circumstances of life are offered even the slightest sense of hope. And the hope that was offered by Jesus to a people who were at the point of losing all hope caused such a joyous response, that if there was an attempt to stifle the words and actions of the people, it would seep out from even the lifeless rocks and stones. The very rocks and stones themselves would ooze joy and would start to sing! Hosanna! Hosanna!
In the movie, The Shawshank Redemption, Freeman Morgan is serving a life sentence for murder. He utters a line that speaks volumes to Tim Burton who is also serving a sentence for murder and is relatively new to the prison: (Show clip)
“Hope is dangerous for a prisoner.” A reference to the fact that for the “lifer,” hope would only cause insanity. Cause you ain’t getting out! For some, this world is a prison. A prison every bit as harsh and as filled with hopelessness as Shawshank Prison. When you see your circumstance as a prison... hope IS dangerous. When you live your life as a prisoner... hope IS dangerous.
But we are not prisoners, as Christians we know better. We are not prisoners....We are not “lifers...” We are “livers.” We have been given hope. We can live to the fullest because God’s presence through Jesus Christ has transformed us. Filled with the Holy Spirit we can wave our palm branches today even more fervently than those early believers because we know the entire story. While they could only celebrate an earthly king, we can celebrate the inspiration of hope given to us by a heavenly king.
Try as we might to be somber during this time of lent; try as hard as we can to grieve the one who died on the cross; try, with all humility, to bow our heads in sorrow as the stone is rolled across the tomb; we just can’t be made silent. We are the noisy rocks. The joy in our lives can’t be stopped from being expressed. Jesus is king. Hosanna! The Messiah is here. Hosanna! “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna! “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Hosanna!
The message that God loves us... is very much a part of us, gives us hope... can never be quieted. I know. I tried to quiet that message in my own life. In high school I felt called by God to somehow share the good news that Christ offers us. I was going to be a minister. A short way into my first year of college I tried to squelch that feeling. For thirteen years after that I hid the palm branches behind my back. For thirteen years I denied that Jesus was my king and had a use for me. But even in the lifeless stone that I had become, the noise and the joy had to come out.
There’s no way God will let us remain silent. There’s no way God will let us stagnant. There’s no way God will allow you... or me... or anyone else... to stop celebrating “The Life” in our lives. And at the point someone tries to tell us otherwise... why... even the very stones God created, will be pulled into the act of celebration.
That is why we exist as a church. We are called to shout the joy of Jesus Christ. We are called to become a church that is so remarkable, so irrational, so joyous, and so involved in sharing the good news that people can’t help but be transformed. Beyond all reason we exist and are here waving our palm branches. Hosanna.
We are in the midst of a miracle... Let me rephrase that. We are in the midst of miracles... remarkable, irrational, transforming, noisy rock miracles. The miracle of living, the miracle of relationship, the miracle of salvation in Jesus Christ, and today... gathering together as believers in the ministry of Jesus Christ, we are participating in the miracle of hope.
We are here to shout out the ways that God has blessed us through the presence of Jesus Christ... here to shout out the ways we have been blessed in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are here to give tangible evidence of the blessings of God. We are the noisy rocks and stones singing out the hosannas.
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