Sacred Quest

My wife and I were invited a few days ago on a 'shroom hunt. Our friends own a large timber area and we spent a couple of wonderful hours meandering with our heads down and expectations high.


We were rewarded for our contemplative demeanor by a grocery sack overflowing with morels. Both greys and yellows were discovered but the holy grail is, in my opinion, the Morchella esculenta or yellow morel.

Sliced in half and sauteed in olive oil and butter with a flourish of fresh ground pepper, what was once an elusive fungi in the forest becomes an epicurean delight that is an ambrosia on the palate

What I find most remarkable, however, is that I am twice blessed because of the morel. Not only are my gustatory senses impacted in profound and glorious ways, my very soul is renewed in the midst of the search. The chance to slow down, to be removed from the concrete insulating me from God's creation allowed for a glimpse of the divine.

In some ways, the search for the sacred is not unlike the quest for that edible golden sponge. When I stopped looking so intently; when I began to relax, rather than try to force the discovery; when I enjoyed the moment, rather than seek to be the first or most prolific discoverer of the timber's bounty is when I would glimpse its ethereal presence.

Brilliant Lord

Psalm 8
A David Psalm (from The Message)

"God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?

Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.

God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world."

Spring causes me to be filled with a peace that takes away my breath. If you have ever stood on a mountain top like one in the Rockies and breath in the lightness, then you have come close to experiencing what I feel on a Spring day.

If God's breath is what inspires us, then it is breathed into me on a spring day in Iowa when the colors and the smells and the textures of the wind and the soil... fill my soul.

Finding The Sacred In A Bonsai

A few years ago I saw a PBS special on creating Bonsai sculptures. It was a shortcut method that would take any variety of small plants, cut the roots way back, repot the plant in a small container, and snip some of the growth away to reveal the new possibilities. So I chopped and snipped and created and... for awhile, had a Bonzai plant. It only lasted about a year....

This week, as a way to decompress from all of the Holy Week activies and responsibilities, I decided to try creating again. I found a juniper bush in a 6" pot at a garden store for $5.95 and spent part of an afternoon chopping and snipping and creating and decompressing. It was wonderful. In a short time I found myself being renewed. In the simplicity of creating and listening for God's Presence I was re-inspired. The "ruah" of God, the holy breath resurrected my soul.

If you want to know more about Bosai a good start is at Bonsai Gardner.

What Then Shall I Do With This Jesus Who Is Called Christ?

Matthew 28:1-15
March 23, 2008 8:00 & 10:30
Easter Celebration

What a remarkable, joyous, event we celebrate this morning. Easter. Resurrection. An empty tomb. When the body begins to move the funeral is over and let me assure you... Jesus is moving. The funeral is over and it is time to celebrate! Alleluia!

There are numerous accounts of the resurrected Jesus, stories of someone’s encounter with Jesus after he was crucified, died, was buried, and the tomb found empty. Numerous accounts of the reactions to both his appearing and the rumors of his appearing.

That is what we celebrate today...

...our own encounter with the resurrected Jesus. You see, it’s not an event that only happened 2000 plus years ago. It is not a one-time... frozen in a-moment-in-time proposition. It is a very present... very now... very real experience that is ours.

There was a question raised that is perhaps the most profound question in all scripture. A question that occurs before the death of Jesus. A question that is asked by a person who has no regard for Jesus, a question that is meant to wash one’s hands regarding any responsibility toward Jesus, and yet.... and yet... leads us directly toward responsibility.... responsibility to be aware of and respond to our own experience of this Jesus who we call Christ.

I am speaking of the question Pontius Pilate asked when Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin to be condemned.
The custom, during the feast of Passover, was for the Governor to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. When asked, the crowd shouted out for Barabbas to be released. “Barabbas, give us Barabbas” The crowd wanted Barabbas, a two-bit thief, released. Not Jesus. Confused by the incongruity of the crowd Pilate asks a question that for the rest of eternity none can ignore: “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” None can ignore the question because inherent in the question is our responsibility to understand what a relationship with Jesus, who is called Christ, means. What a relationship with Jesus, who WE call Christ, means.

Make no mistake about it.... when you encounter the risen Christ you will be affected. In the resurrection account from Matthew the guards became so frightened they were like dead men. Riga Mortis of the living set in because they were really dead to the presence of the holy. They failed to grasp the life that had conquered death. In contrast are the Marys who were afraid, but also filled with Joy. They were filled with the joy of knowing that Jesus was, is, and always will be.

Mark gives a rather different account that suggests the Marys were filled with fear to the point of trembling and so afraid they spoke to no one.

Luke speaks of the disbelief of the disciples because the words of the women sounded like nonsense. Later as Cleopas and another disciple were walking down the road toward the town of Emmaus they encountered the resurrected Jesus but had no clue it was him. Their vision was faulty, their hearts clouded with despair.

John writes of the sorrow of Mary Magdalene being turned into joy and the doubt of Thomas being turned into belief.

Make no mistake about it.... when you encounter the risen Christ you will be affected. As the resurrected Jesus is encountered by each person... as the Christ who is no longer dead but alive is experienced... a gamut of emotions flooded the women, the guards, the disciples, the religious authorities... you and I... and each of us has to ask the question: “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?

Let me share with you what Jesus says we should do. Turn with me to Matthew 28 verse 10: “Do not be afraid.” Jesus says, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” In Matthew 28: verses 19 & 20, he directs his followers to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Turn now to Mark chapter 16 verse 15 and you will find these words: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” In chapter 20 verses 22 & 23 of the book of John, Jesus tells all the disciples, except Thomas, to "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

And in John chapter 21, over a meal of fresh grilled fish, Jesus admonishes Simon Peter to take care of others saying “Feed my Sheep.”

What shall you do then with Jesus who is called Christ?

Recognize the fact that he is present... now... in this moment... in your life... and do not be afraid to live the experience of faith. Go to others and share with them the good news that Jesus, who we call Christ, can be a part of their lives also. Then, being open to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit... living as one who has been forgiven... share your experience of forgiveness with others... and, in the process, feed those who are spiritually hungry.

What shall we do then with Jesus who is called Christ? Take responsibility for the spiritual person you are becoming in Christ. Base your decisions... your actions... your relationship with others... on what God has done in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Live as if the funeral is over and life has just begun. Alleluia, Jesus the one we call Christ lives! AMEN.

I Have Seen The Lord!

“I have seen the Lord!”
John 20:1-18
March 23, 2008
Easter Sunrise

During the last seven weeks leading up to today, we have been busy preparing to celebrate the pivotal point of our faith. We call this holy collection of moments Lent. It is a time that is pregnant with symbols. Ashes are placed quietly on foreheads. Penitent acts of sacrifice such as fasting are accomplished. Additional devotional studies take place. Palm branches get waved. A meal of wine and bread is shared. Feet get washed and feet with nails driven through them are remembered as the collective memory of broken hearts is experienced.

All of it leading up to a radiant sunrise; an empty cross and an empty tomb. This is Easter… the day of resurrection.

However, all of the preparation… and none of the symbols mean a thing… without developing a relationship with the one they point to - Jesus Christ. The symbols are empty if we fail to experience what the "new" covenant through Christ is all about.

Quite simply… It is about God's unconditional love for us.

And when we grasp the reality of God’s unconditional love we become whole. We can become, as Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "a new creation."

"...If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation...”

I would offer that no one else in scripture has experienced with such depth the one we call The Christ, and no one else in scripture has understood how transforming, God’s unconditional love can be, than Mary Magdalene. Here was a woman who had experienced Jesus first hand. She had been healed of demons, cared for and fed Jesus and the disciples, even paying their expenses. She suffered with Mary the mother of Jesus as the Christ was nailed to the cross. Followed as Christ was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb, returned to discover that death had been beaten and was the one to whom Christ first appeared.
Oh, to have been her!

To have experienced a fraction of the emotions and to have witnessed even one of the miracles that she had experienced in knowing Jesus. What a transforming event that would be.

Mary Magdalene - now there is a name that conjures up a variety of images! Hair that is long and in total disarray, clothes that are too revealing and usually torn, or at the very least a little dirty. Hollywood and Sunday school classes have done a real number on her image, building upon years of speculation and unfounded interpretation. Through those years, she has gotten the reputation of being a whore, and one who is wasteful of precious perfume. She has been offered up as the kind of person that we would just as soon not be around. At least… not if any one else might find out about it.

It's interesting, and quite sad, how we attach certain stigmas to people, without really knowing them. Interesting, also, how we place people in a role or group, assuming we have an insight as to their worth. We judge their financial, intellectual, or even spiritual worth, without even speaking to them. It is kind of like carrying around a black box in our heads, into which we drop either a white marble or black marble, voting yes or no to accept them. Trying to keep it secret how we voted, but making it very clear by our actions toward them that they don't quite fit into our world concept.

I happen to think Mary, the woman from Magdela, has gotten a raw deal from the press and from us. Nowhere, in the Bible, does it say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. In point of fact, the Bible really doesn't say much at all about her. What we have done is assume certain stories are about her; like the story of the woman in Luke 7:36-39.

Luke 7:36-39 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."


Another story also accuses a Mary of wasting precious oil, pouring it on the feet of Jesus. It can be found in John 12:1-8, but that is Mary the sister of Martha. You may remember that they are the sisters of Lazarus who Jesus raised from the dead. You can read about Lazarus in John chapter 11. It is the Bible's version of "Return of the Mummy." But it doesn't shed any light on the Mary we are seeking to know.

The fact is we have no idea who Mary Magdalene was, or what she has been. The glimpse we get, however, through a few short comments found in the scripture, is who she has been freed up to be.

Matthew records those who kept vigil, while Jesus hung on the cross: None of the male disciples were present, but chapter 27 verse 55 reports "There were many women there...among who were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee." In Mark 16:9 we read that after the resurrection, "[Jesus] appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons." And in John 20:18, part of the reading for today, "Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, `I have seen the Lord.'"

We may not have a clue as to her previous identity, but we are given some very powerful images of how she lived out her faith, after having experienced the One-who-transforms.

In all of the stories about that first Easter morning, and the events leading up to it, Mary Magdalene is the one constant presence throughout Jesus’ ordeal. Yes, she saw Jesus. But even more important is to realize that no matter what had occurred in her past - real or imagined by others, whether there had been seven or seven hundred demons, Jesus saw her. Jesus saw her. Jesus accepted her and trusted her enough to come to her first, as the risen Christ. Trusted her enough, to send her to the others and proclaim that God was not dead, but alive!

Oh, to have been her!

But wait a moment.

Aren't we in the position to experience Jesus with the eyes of Mary Magdalene? Aren't you and I modern day Magdalenes having struggled with our own demons? Some of us have battled far more than seven demons. Some, if not most of us, are still struggling? Haven't we too battled the assumptions and preconceived images of who we are that have been placed on us by others and even by ourselves? And aren't we continually being offered God's accepting, transforming Grace, through Jesus Christ?

Even though the others at first didn't believe her, Mary was the absolute best one for the Risen Christ to first appear to. She could share the Good News because she had lived it. She had lived the relationship that the symbols point to.

What about you? Have you experienced the relationship that these symbols point to? Have you experienced the Good News of God's accepting Grace? Have you experienced the power of the resurrection? I tell you today that your sins are not only forgiven - they're forgotten. The stone blocking you from a life of wholeness has been moved.

The full impact of the Easter message can only be shared with others by someone who has lived it, someone who has lived the story like Mary of Magdela… someone who has lived the story like you and me. Reminiscent of Mary we too are being sent to others to share the message that Jesus lives and because Jesus lives we too can live! Like Mary Magdalene, we too can say that “We have seen the Lord.” We too can share in the joy of the risen Lord.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus lives!

It's Friday

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.

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.

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.