7 March 2004

Sunday in Lent, Year C
Opens with ‘what you own” from Rent

We are livin’ in America

We are what we own…
In nominee…

Who am I?

I am a girl, I am a daughter, and a child, and a student, a Christian, an Episcopalian, living in New Jersey, in a house, with a car—I- am a female youth living in a suburban neighborhood.

Is this who I am, what I want to be—living in America, at the beginning of a millennium, leaving the conscience at the tone. We are living in America at the beginning of a new millennium, are we what we own? Mark and Roger, the main characters in the Broadway show Rent, apparently thought so as they sang the song you just heard.

It’s an interesting question though—what are we? I mean, how do you identify yourself? Say to yourself- I am a ---- like, Fr. Jack would say I, Father Jack am a.. what… What’s your first association? You already heard mine.

PAUSE

In today’s gospel, Jesus laments, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” Jesus wept over Jerusalem, the world, because his arms were open, begging people to go to him, to be with him, not to be what they own, not to, as Paul said to the Philippians, have “their god, their belly, and their glory their shame, their minds set on earthly things.”
Jesus is begging them to be children of his, of Gods, BUT GUESS WHAT!! Jesus isn’t dead! He’s still waiting, begging us to come to him, still weeping, still waiting.

Now, I’m not going to stand up here and say “We should act like Jesus.”
That we should throw out all of our associations, and totally act like the children of God that we are to the fullest- I won’t because well, because that expectation is completely unattainable and well- its silly and unproductive.

What I am going to suggest however, is that maybe we could at least try to TURN towards God. Not be like this, but like this… or least, we can try for catty-corner.

Maybe not throw out your associations, but revise them. Look at what you consider yourself first, I am a what? … Second? … Third? … Do any of these need to be reprioritized? What’s not on the list that you think should be? Do any of the things in the beginning of your list make “your belly your God” and put your mind toward earthly things, and not toward God?

But also, how many of our I am’s, are really I haves, like, someone might say “I am a housewife,” is really, I have a house, I have a husband. See, that I am is really an I have. Its lovely to be a housewife, but, that as an initial association gives an interesting idea of how we define ourselves.

Indeed, we are living in, at the beginning of a new millennium, with all the opportunities therein, and we don’t have to leave our conscience at the tone.We are living in America, at the beginning of a new millennium, a millennium of possibility, and we are not what we own, but what we strive to be, klutzy children, trying to turn towards God, each of us, an individual child for whom Jesus is weeping.We are living in America, in New Jersey, and in the world, at the beginning of a new millennium, and we belong to Christ.

And first of all, we are His.

Amen.

11 January 2004

January 18, 2004
Second Sunday in Epiphany

My hour has not yet come.
In nomine…

My hour has not yet come…Its not yet time...

I have a friend who has a medical disorder.

Its severely affects his daily living,

and as he jumps from specialist to specialist, it remains undiagnosed.

All of us have experienced things like this.

I want my friend to be better. I want everyone to be better. I want everything to be good, I want- I want- I want, but it isn’t about me-but GOSH DARN IT, I want it to be!

But as Jesus says: It’s not yet time.

When we ask God for something, and we don’t get it, it can often make us doubt- doubt the existence of God, or doubt that he’s really out for our good.

We want what we want, when we want it, and though we can wait, sometimes it can seem like an eternity, and sometimes what we want just doesn’t work. In the recent Jim Carrey movie “Bruce Almighty,” Jim Carrey’s character, after complaining about his life to God, is given God’s powers. He grants EVERY prayer, exactly as they are asked… so this should be a good thing… right? Yeah… right… think about it,

if EVERYONE who prays to win the lottery won, how much would everyone get? Well, in the movie, it was about $17.

But anyway, think of people’s places in life, a young boys prayer is granted, and in the future, instead of becoming a world-renown poet, he becomes a wrestler who quickly tests positive for steroids. A woman on welfare wants money and wins a lawsuit. If she hadn’t, she and her sister would have gotten back together; instead, she is rich and alone.

A friend of mine back at school is fond of the quote by St. Augustine that goes something along the lines of “Of his bounty, the Lord often grants not what we seek, so as to bestow something preferable.”

And indeed, in many of these situations something bad WOULD have turned into something even better,

if only people would have waited for God, as painful as that wait can be.

I remember my mom telling me about a time a friend of hers dragged her to this friend’s company dinner party. Mom didn’t want to go, and actually prayed that something would happen to stop it, nothing big… but something. Well, she went to the party and was seated across the table from what she described as a sandy-haired, blue-eyed young attorney— by the name of John Graham.

I’m sure all of us can think of a time something like this has happened,

when we wanted one thing, but the other thing that happened was better. Okay, think of one…. I’ll wait… got it? Good.

I knew you would.

Now, hold on, I’m not saying “don’t pray” I am definitely not saying that! Praying is definitely good!

I mean, without asking, how is God supposed to know what we want, well, aside from the fact that he’s omniscient,

but anyhow, even Mary had to tell Jesus that they needed more wine at the wedding in Cana.

But she had faith in Jesus. She trusted him, well, yes he’s her son, but still, she trusted him, all she told the servants was to do what he told them.

That was her faith in God. God's timing, and God’s ideas.


Wow, and I’m thinking of some of my prayers which are well, rather specific.

Something along the lines of, God, please help me to get an A on my paper, make my friends stop fighting, help my friend feel better, help that girl I baby-sit get that toy she wants, oh yeah, please deposit $15 into my bank account and umm, world peace is good too. Thank you, I love you, Amen?

I mean, as I rethink that, its like, I’m telling God how to make all these things work. Its like the current sign in front of the bible Baptist church on White-Horse Mercerville Road: “Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.” And, we can’t do that. In my above prayer, I’m telling God how to make all these people happy, and I guess there isn’t a big problem with that,

but of course, God still knows what people need better.

Maybe that toy isn’t really what will make the girl I baby-sit happier (though, I’m not sure if I could convince her of that).

That TRUST in God is imperative! The trust that makes us aware that God’s will for us is health and salvation.

When we get what we want, or thinking, as Augustine makes us think, what we need, is such a gift. The -- pain – is -- waiting.

Waiting for healing, for approval, for -- for anything, it can hurt.

But, God knows best, and God is good, and God wants the best for us,as hard, and often painful that is to remember.

We have to have faith, and we have to be willing to make it happen.

As Paul mentioned in his letter, we are all given gifts by the spirit, sometimes God sets things up so we have to use them… and sometimes we just have to wait. We have to wait for the right hour, as Jesus said to his mother at the wedding.

And maybe, hopefully, with faith, and time, we may experience our Lord, turning our own water into wine.

9 August 2003 (after GC)

From the primal elements you brought forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. But we turned against you, and betrayed your trust; and we turned against one another… Have mercy, Lord, for we are sinners in your sight.

For those of you who have been living under a rock, and don’t know, Father Jack and I have spent the past two weeks in Minneapolis, attending :clears throat: The 74^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

And for someone watching from the outside, these lines, modified from Eucharistic Prayer C which we will use later today, truly did describe the goings on of convention~ in a polite, reasonable, skillful, Anglican way, there was a lot of tension and grief. But, the more I think about it, we may have turned against one another, but, not one person intentionally turned against God… in every single hearing, people were passionate, because, they were trying to figure out what it is that God wants… no one wanted their own glory, and no one meant to betray God’s trust, and even with the strife, prayer and worship, everyone together, were daily happenings.

Indeed, we celebrated the Eucharist everyday at convention, and this truly showed how close to God we strive to be. Why, The main convention Eucharist on Sunday morning, was amazing! I remember looking around, and seeing over 5,000 Episcopalians in lines, receiving communion, the body and blood of our Lord. All the disagreements and hurt melted away, the fact that bishop-elect Gene Robinson’s fate would be decided in a few short hours didn’t matter. We were all Episcopalians, who for the record, agreed on most pieces of important legislation. Through this mass, there was a present reminder, that, as I said before, all the arguing was about God, about securing what She wants for us. Tears were streaming down my face as I looked with awe at the praise and love for the creator of all of us.

As we sang “I am the bread of life” after communion, a thousand voices rang, truly believing the words, waiting, as the chorus keeps shouting, waiting to be risen up, everyone, many whose voices are mediocre at best, singing, praising our Lord,~~ as the hymn says, thanking him, that we will be risen up, and that we shall live forever, and I realized, that this my friends, this is the church, and quoting The Rev. Michael Hopkins, the president of Integrity, which is the Episcopal organization of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transsexual people of the Episcopal church, quoting the Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris, right then , and that moment, the church said, Amen!

This past Thursday night Integrity had a mass at a local church to thank their volunteers and in exorbitant jubilation over their victories that were passed, and in sadness for those were not joyful with these pieces of legislation.

Fr. Jack, another priest from the diocese and I, as well as many, many others joined for a night of singing, worship and prayer. The spirit of the night was empowering, as was the sermon, by Integrity president Michael Hopkins. And I have never seen that many people clappin’ and yellin’ and whoopin’ and hollerin’ and screamin' and stompin’ when a white man is preachin’ to a predominantly white congregation. To quote Fr. Hopkins again, when the church says Amen, amen to freedom, amen to loving, amen, it be so! It was glorious!

The spirit that filled those masses, God in action is so evident in the WORKINGS of this parish. People truly going out for other people, and I’ll miss that most about this parish when I leave for college, how the Spirit evidently flows through everyone, and how warm that feels! But when it comes to masses, well, the mass can easily become monotonous- but we must strive to have it not become the Sunday “ordinary”, but the Sunday, and everyday EXTRAORDINARY! The spirit can fill even the tensest moments, God can actively be felt in worship, if we let ourselves go, let ourselves be taken over by the powerful spirit, think of the energy that could be in this church every Sunday, think of the beauty that occurs when the church, not turning away from God, and betraying Her, but turning to God, says Amen. Amen to adequate insurance for church staffs, amen to diversity, amen to medical research, and amen to youth ministries. When the church, when all of US, caring for those who grieve and who are joyous, conservative, or liberal, gay, straight, black, white, purple, blue, yes when the whole church in its debating, disagreeing, caring, loving, God-given glory, says one loud AMEN!

July 6, 2003

“She touched His cloak, and by trusting Jesus, she was healed.”
In nomine…

I’m sure you all remember being little, falling down, and having a mother, or another adult rub it and make whatever hurt “all better.” Or later, after being made fun of by the other kids, or after a pet died, seeking solace in the lap of a parent. Soon, when the world seemed uncomprehendable, dark, and much of the outside humanity seemed to attack, a boyfriend or girlfriend’s arms provided renewal and a reminder that someone understood. Or looking a newborn baby, gently touching its hand, and having it firmly grasp the hand, well finger, of whomever touched it, trusting it implicitly.

Touch, is, in many ways, a healer. It is a part of growing up, indeed, it is IMPOSSIBLE to grow up successfully if deprived of this simple but imperative gesture. This is clearly evident in children –for example: orphans raised in Romanian institutions. These children, deprived of touch, indeed, deprived of any attention and sensation whatsoever, left in cribs for years with nothing but the “physical essentials,” with no stimulation, often die at depressingly young ages. Those who live past babyhood may have been better off dead. They are often devoid of emotions and intelligent thought. Indeed, scientists have discovered that there is a very brief window of time for these to develop, so even if given a chance as young children, it is often too late for many of these necessary “skills” to develop. Their lives become vacant—are vacant, because no one – touched—them.

Many missionaries spend months traveling throughout Africa, using their precious time to travel from orphanage to orphanage, spending all their time doing nothing but holding babies and toddlers who have AIDS and other illnesses, to ensure that these children have some sort of chances.

Touch, when used sincerely and faithfully, is a significant comfort. Indeed, when someone is far away, the reminder of their touch can bring us comfort. Like when a relative signs a card “Hugs, Aunt Sylvia.” Or “Give yourself a pat on the back for me, Grand Pop.” These reminders bring us both a longing and a warmth. They make us feel special, and when we are sad, these reminders make us feel better, or at least, they try too.

But sometimes touch, real touch, truly can make you feel better, and at times, really make you better. Many parishes have services of healing, with the laying on of hands. As hands are laid upon the head, or shoulders of a person, and prayers are said, true healing, with God coming through the mediator or meadiators may take place, if they trust and pray faithfully.

This diocese, and many others, has an INCREDIBLE program for high school age youth called Happening. I have both attended this Youth Event and served on its staff. Over the course of the Happening weekend, numerous talks are given, and before and after every single talk, whether it be by a youth or a member of the clergy, the speaker is “prayed up” and “prayed down.”
By this, I mean a team of people stand around the speaker, with their hand gently upon the speakers head, arms, and back. They go around the circle, praying for numerous things, such as calm for the speaker, and for the listeners to take away a message from God. With everyone’s deep faith, it is a very powerful time. When I was “prayed up” before giving a talk at Happening, I could feel myself grow physically calmer, something that seldom happens before I have to speak before large groups. Through these friends, and fellow Christians, touching me, I could feel the Holy Spirit reaching and surrounding me.

Confirmations are a time when everyone gets touched. The Bishop lays his or her hands on the confirmand’s forehead, again, a person serving as an intermediary for God’s work.

Faith that the touch, when in the name of Jesus Christ, may heal, is almost as important as allowing the touch. You have to believe when you reach out to touch others, God’s belief is stronger than our unbelief.
In today’s gospel, a woman with a debilitating disease crawled through a crowd, hoping, knowing, that Jesus could cure her. Indeed, there was not a doubt in her mind that Jesus would cure her. No, that’s not entirely true, I’m sure she had plenty of doubts, hundreds of doubts, thousands of upon thousands of doubts. Why, she was sick woman, he, a man, surrounded by men, many “bad things” could have happened. But that didn’t matter to her, the doubts were irrelevant, all that was important, all that could be focused on, was that she knew that Jesus would heal her.
When this happened to her, there were not yet gospels written about Jesus’ miraculous deeds, in fact, many of the deeds we think of had yet to happen. He was not looked at as a hero, with Broadway musicals, fiction books, and movies made about His life. The woman had no way to know that Jesus truly was the Son of God. All she knew was that he had helped people, and that by reaching out and touching Jesus and, in turn, having Him touch her, and by not being afraid of His reaction, she would be healed.

Unlike this woman, we have books, musicals, movies, songs, even billboards telling us of Jesus’ wonderful deeds, of His sacrifice, and of His presence. If that woman, who had none of this to rely on could still hope to reach out to Jesus, why can’t we? PAUSE
Why can’t we reach out, and truly be ready to have our lives be touched by Jesus Christ.
Let us pray:
O God, the source of all health: So fill our hearts with faith in your love, that with calm expectancy we may make room for your power to possess us, and gracefully accept your healing; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

July 14, 2002

July 14, 2002
In nomine...
I remember a day when I was home and I broke something of my mother’s.
To be quite honest, I don’t remember what it was anymore, but it was something that was very important to her.
I remember she was a bit upset, and I remember yelling
“WELL, I’M ONLY HUMAN-”


-- Only human. It sounds so negative.
But, Jesus, Jesus was fully God, and fully human
– and Jesus was – is, perfect.
We are told to strive to become “more fully human”
so why do we use this gift to describe something bad? - Something weak?

Only human, only makes it sound as if it’s something to be admonished
– but it’s not!
We are not only human, but wonderfully human!
We’re hopefully, irrevocably, unforgettably, undeniably human,
and what a blessing our humanity is!

Today’s gospel compares us to seeds;
seeds that were randomly thrust upon the earth.
These seeds had no choice in where they grew-
where they landed was where they were forced to live - - or perish.

As was our Sunday School theme this year, in God’s Garden
we must grow where we are planted.
But, I propose that where we land is not necessarily where we must stay planted,
AND that our plots can, and most likely will, change many times

Everyone has a different journey,
a different path that leads them to God.
Some paths have more sharp turns than others, and some seem to do others are rather straight- but are filled with bumps,
some are obvious, others more subtle,
but all of them are right and true and eventually lead to the same place.

If someone had told a nine-year old Alicia Graham
that she would be standing in an Episcopal Church,
a place filled with people who would become a second family to her,
giving the sermon,
I would never, in my wildest dreams (or nightmares) have believed them.
I was a little Jewish girl anxiously awaiting the four years till my Bat Mitzvah. Look where my path had led me,
and I’m only seventeen!
I can only imagine where I’ll end up in 20 – 40 – or even 80 years!
Some paths are very different.
I have some friends who are atheists,
and I find nothing wrong with that as they are also seventeen,
and if only they knew where their paths might lead them.

That’s what’s so great about being human!
We have experiences, journeys, and decisions to make.
We experience highs, lows and stumbles
on our way to becoming more fully human!

So--- I guess the question is,
what does it mean to be fully human?
The answer – brace for the punch line—
I have no idea, or, at least, I don’t think I do.


I have a secret to tell you. I have a neighbor who suffers from Alzheimers.
She was widowed a little over a year ago by a wonderful man to whom she had been married for many years.
Her sister, an elderly nun has since moved in with her and relatives visit fairly often, even though they live somewhat far away.
My neighbor is very proper and very kind.
Directly after her husband’s death I wanted to go next door and ask her if she needed help with anything…anything at all.
But, well, I have a confession to make: I didn’t…and still haven’t. I really mean to, but, I’m nervous- okay, scared. Why… because I’m human, remember those bumps in the road I mentioned…this would be one of them. Regardless, I know that helping her, or at least offering assistance is something I need to do, something weighing down on me, – it’s something that’s blocking me on my path to becoming more fully human.
We all have things that we know we need to do, some big, some small: things that lead us to becoming more wonderfully and powerfully and delightfully human, what St. Paul described as the measure of the fullness of Christ. If we let God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who dwells in each of us, whether we know it or not, lead us, we’ll all eventually find ourselves together at a great merge leading to one road, God’s road, and the discovery of our fuller humanity.

26 August 2001

Proper 16, Year C
Isaiah 28:14-22
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-19
Luke 13:22-30

...And behold, some who are first will be last, and some who are last will be first. In the name of God...
And the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
Being last, well, Father Jack must know what its like to be last alphabetically speaking, and
Vaun must know what's its like to be last and ask someone first by height,
but somehow, I just don't think that's what Jesus was talking about.
There's a line from the musical "Fiddler on the Roof", where two sisters are discussing what they want in a man,
when they come across a major "reality check" about what being first and last really mean in this world.

Did you think you'd get a prince?
Well I do the best I can
With no dowry, no money, no family background
Be glad you've got a man.

Ouch! Without those prized possessions, getting a man is hard…not that’s it’s easy with them,
but if you don’t have them, you’re going to end up last.

But, let's look at this another way.
With no money, no dowry, and no family background, you might not have a home.
With no dowry you obviously haven't inherited anything. With no money, its very difficult to buy a house or pay rent, so, you need to get a job,
but, in order to get that job you need transportation, and I'm sure we all know how great the public transportation is in this area,
in some others it's even worse.
But then, what if you have children?
Well, with no other family, and no home, hence no neighbors, there's no one there to watch them for you,
so even if you find transportation, there's no one to watch your kids, and that vicious cycle just continues on.

These people are some of our last.
The last to get food, the last to get housing,
often the last to get a chance.
Those often hidden, and often not so hidden people have the same needs as we do, but often just aren't given the chance.
They could be people asking for money on the streets,
or the IHN families who stay with us every few months
or the kid who walks into class who you can tell hasn't showered, but you don't know that her family can't pay the water bill.
They're often the people who we see and want to yell...
"Oh, go get a job you bum!," and sometimes, I guess that's true,
but other times, these last need more than that "bit of helpful advice."

I know a woman who would most certainly be considered first.
She has a fairly spacious apartment on Park Avenue, around the corner from where Jackie Onassis used to live.
She's well off and often gives money to charity,
but she often makes me realize how important it is to consider what you're donating (and not donating) to.
All of her money goes toward the arts.
She gives a lot of her money to museums and art galleries.
Don't get me wrong, but she also seems to live by the mentality that the poor and homeless should be off the streets.
She doesn’t seem to consider or care how, as long as it all looks pretty. She believes that she is one of the first, and that she shouldn’t have to be bothered by the last. This is how the first and the last seem to be distinguished here.

Well, let’s look at today's Gospel to examine how God sees first and last:
...you will weep and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out.
And people will come from east and west and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God.
And behold some who are first will be last yadda, yadda, yadda.

Obviously God's way of deciding first and last is "slightly" different from ours.

I guess the sixty-four thousand dollar question
(actually, let's calculate for inflation, and for fun..., okay, the million dollar question is) well, so who get's in?
And wouldn't you just like to know.

Well, examining the gospel,
some who think they will get in won't.
Thinking doesn't equal happening, okay, check.
Those who eat and drink with Jesus won't necessarily get in.
Food intake with Jesus doesn't mean in. Check.
Banging on door and saying "Lord take us" doesn't help either.
Don't break door...and check.
Got it.
Okay, so, thinking, ingestion, and banging will not get you in.
How clear is that??!!
It seems to be just as clear as who’s first and last!
---right---
Who here is as confused as I am?
So what can we do?
Obviously our type of categorizing of who is first and who is last doesn't work with God.

In fact, since none of us are God, it can feel like none of us can truly know what God wants.
But we are told to love God with all our hearts and with all our souls, and we are told to treat our neighbors as we would like to be
treated ourselves,
so, maybe that's a place to start.

I mean, I don’t particularly know anyone who prefers to be treated like the bottom of the trash heap,
the majority of people I know most defiantly prefer to be treated like the first rather than the last.

Saying this, consider how we personally treat others, all others.
When walking down the street, do we look at a homeless person differently than someone walking in a nice suit, with a briefcase, talking on a cell phone?
I mean, I’ve personally noticed, that if two people are walking, and they accidentally collide, the person who considers themselves more “first,” will automatically make it the others fault,
whether it is their fault or not,
well, maybe not everyone who considers themselves more “first” will,
but then again, if you’re going to consider yourself above someone else, then, you very well may blame the other person.

You might say we need to treat our last like our first, but,
I don’t know if I agree with that.
I think we need to treat everybody like everybody, without treating group B like group A, just treating everyone the way people should be treated,
the way we’d like to be treated ourselves.
What would happen if we did treat both the first and the last
the way we want to be treated?
Maybe, with the respect, dignity, and kinship all people will feel, maybe,
sometime, there won’t be a first or a last, and we can all be neighbors, brothers, and sisters sitting down to eat together, in the Kingdom of God.
Amen.

July 30, 2000

July 30,2000

God sees you when you’re sleeping, He knows when you’re awake, He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so WAKE UP for goodness sake! In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

What is the most comfortable thing you can think of? Lying on the beach on a warm summer day, jumping into a mother’s waiting arms, -chocolate-, a teddy bear you’ve had since you were little, sitting on a sofa close to your favorite pet by the fireplace on a cold winter night while watching the stars twinkling out the window as they reflect off the white snow, shedding an eerie glow over the whole –

(Oh) Anyway, comfort is, most often, a good thing. Far be it for me to tell someone’s personal opinion, but in most cases, people seem to prefer being comfortable to the alternative of being uncomfortable.

Comfort, it is such a curious thing, isn’t it? According to Webster’s New Twentieth Century Unabridged Dictionary, comfort comes from the Middle English word conforte. As a noun, its definition is “relief from pain, grief, distress, etc.”

Comfort can come from all sorts of different places, and the appropriateness of the place from which comfort is derived can depend on circumstances.

In today’s Old Testament reading, when Elijah was to be taken to heaven in a whirlwind, it’s obvious that Elisha was having problems coping with Elijah’s imminent departure, in fact, he refused to speak of it. He was in complete denial. (Oh, so denial is not just a river in Egypt). In the end, because Elijah was gone, and Elisha hadn’t come to terms with this departure, he was so distraught that he tore off his clothing. This brings to mind a recent “Dear Abby” letter and the many reader responses from people who could empathize with the writer.

The writer was a woman whose mother had recently died. Throughout the mother’s illness, she would ask her daughter if she was dying. Though it was obvious that she indeed was dying, the woman always told her mother she was not, and refused to discuss that topic. Once the mother did die, the daughter felt horrible not only because she lost her mother, but also because she did not give her mother the time to get her affairs in order, and she never took the chance to bid her mother goodbye.

Steadfastly denying her mother’s imminent departure gave her temporary comfort, just as Elisha was comforted by hovering over Elijah and not speaking of his departure. Both the woman and Elisha seemed desperate for comfort, no matter how temporary, no matter the consequences.

Don’t get me wrong, comfort is good! Jesus comforted his disciples during the storm. When the current was against them, Jesus gently walked on the water, comforting them when they were terrified. He made the winds die down, sort of like, when I was younger, whenever I was scared I could crawl into mommy’s lap, and suddenly, the winds would die down. That’s another type of comfort, parental, grandparental, aunt, uncle, etc., and it isn’t unlike God’s.

Once I crawled into my mother’s lap, I would forget my problems and soon go back to playing. And, I guess that’s what comfort is about. It’s to relieve you of your problems so you can live your life again. Once the disciples were comforted, they could continue rowing to get to Bethsaida.

Elisha wanted comfort, but he was looking in the wrong place. He was hiding from his problems and from his fear. He found a temporary refuge in staying with Elijah all the time, but in the end, he felt left alone, God was left in the dust.

Everyone has needed comforting in some way, at some time. Whether it’s taking medication so you can return to work or school, getting chicken soup from a neighbor or friend when you are sick, or just having a shoulder to cry on, comfort helps all people in the same way. It helps us to feel better and enables us to keep on living. Running away from problems only makes them worse, and makes us feel alone..

As I said in the beginning, God knows when you are sleeping, She knows when you’re awake, and She knows if you’ve been bad, or good, or happy, or miserable, always. God is always there, ready to give her comfort to those who need it.


“Take heart; it is I, have no fear.”

Amen.

8 August 1999

As I was sitting down to write this morning’s sermon, a story my
Coptic Christian Egyptian friend Marianna told me came to mind. Back in Egypt, every Easter Eve, people crowd around the tomb where tradition says Jesus was lain.
After the tomb is checked for matches, a special priest, who is also checked for matches, enters holding a handful of UNLIT candles. The door is closed, and no one knows what goes on inside.
When the priest comes out again, all of the candles are miraculously glowing.
People then touch their own candles to those which came from the tomb so that they too may be part of this profound miracle.
These flames may be placed anywhere and will NOT burn anything.
People even place the lit candles in their purses.
You can see God’s light glowing from inside the purse, but none of the contents are burned.
I assure you, this story is not a myth, it is true.
Wow, doesn’t that just give you goose bumps?

This story reminds me of a few things from this morning’s readings and Gospel.
Though today’s reading was not specifically Jonah’s story, but rather his prayer from inside the fish, his story tells a lot like Marianna’s story.
As you know God wanted Jonah’s help to deliver a message to
Nineveh, but Jonah did not want to help God because Nineveh was such a messed up and horrid city.
So he tried to run away from God.
Uh, yeah, I would really like to have seen that one.
I guess it was an interesting attempt.
Anyway, Jonah went to sea, but because God was so P.O.’d at him for his lack of trust, God made a big storm, and the boat rocked violently.
Jonah finally convinced the crew to throw him overboard
because he knew he was the cause of the storm.
After being thrown into the sea, Jonah got swallowed by a big fish.
Jonah prayed, said he was wrong and sorry and the big fish spit him out.
Jonah went on delivering God’s message and preaching in God’s glory

Anyway, these stories both remind me of each other in quite a few ways.
Though the Jonah and the priest have very different reasons for being in their circumstances, they have (at least) two things in common.
One, both were in a physically dark place where they couldn’t see, and came into light.
The priest entered the dark tomb and came out with bright flames.
Jonah was in the dark belly of the big fish and was spewed forth into the brightness of day and the knowledge that you can’t run from God.
Two, they both entered with some doubt.
Jonah doubted himself and his ability to preach and be a messenger for God
Though the priest probably does not doubt himself or this miracle, others may have.
Perhaps some in the crowd may doubt.
Possibly some of you even doubt this story’s truthfulness.
But out of the tomb with special flames in glory the priest comes forth --
Hopefully clearing the doubt of the crow, - that is unless you think you can come up with fire that won’t burn through anything.
But out into glory, both come.

Now Jonah totally DID NOT want to go to Nineveh.
Have you ever totally and completely not at all wanted to do something, but you did it anyway and it turned out for the better?
Were you ever forced or begged to go to a party which you absolutely DID NOT want to attend?
Your friend wants you to be there with her; she wants you to join in the fun, but you just don’t think parties are your thing,
For your friend you go, secretly knowing that you will have a simply horrid time.
So you go.
You get to the party and wind up having a good time, and are glad you went.

I guess the big question is “Why do we walk into these dark situations anyway?”
For the priest at the tomb, it’s probably not a so dark a situation, unless you count that visibly there is no light.
The priest must be apprehensive about going in.
After all, what if the candles DON’T light?
How will he face the crowd of believers?
But, he knows that this HAS to get done.
If, for some reason, it doesn’t work, he would probably be smarter not to come out . . . .
But, he trusts in God, and knows it WILL work out.

Now Jonah on the other hand . . .
Jonah probably feared for his life.
In case you haven’t noticed, the God of the Old Testament’s punishment were often harsh, to put it mildly.
How would you like to be swallowed by a big fish for three days?
I think I’d prefer in-school detention.!

But why do we, not dead Bible characters or clergy - us normal, average, everyday people walk into these situations.
And no, I don’t think stupidity is always the answer.
There’s peer pressure.
“Friends” have convinced people to do almost anything!
Who wanted to go to that party anyway?
I didn’t really want to go, but I had a decent time.
There is also fear.
People are often afraid of what would happen if they DIDN’T take a particular path.
Would the consequences be worse?
Cancer patients often endure painful treatment.
I doubt chemo tops their list of their favorite things to do, but the alternatives are often far worse.

The knowledge of what you can get out of a seemingly dark situation is a different reason.
People often do things because they believe they will gain something physically, mentally, spiritually, or financially
But sometimes, what you CAN get out of a dark situations amounts to NOTHING when you ask yourself the question, “Am I GOING to get out of this situation?”
I don’t think, for instance, you’re likely to emerge intact if you walk into an eruption volcano while in a bathing suit. Just an opinion, but . . .

Let’s assume we’ve decided to do something worthwhile which seems dark at the time
We are sure we will get through and out of it.
We are ready to proceed (anxious, but ready.)
STOP!! How do we know we are going to get out of it?
Well, trust has a lot to do with that.
Jonah finally trusted God when he decided to go to Nineveh and deliver the message.
Granted, his trust came after a few swift kicks in the pants.
When Peter trusted Jesus, he could walk on water;
it wasn’t until he doubted that he started to sink.
The priest trusts God, knowing that the Easter miracle will reoccur.
I’m not saying that with trust in God, anything will be completely fine.
You can trust all you want to, but if you put your hand on the hot stove , you will get burned.
Trust needs to be tempered with common sense.
But then again, isn’t it always common sense to trust in God?
I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
As you ponder this question,
I want to remind you not to let you own doubting cloud you from hearing God’s call -
even when God’s call tests the limit of your doubt!

Why this blog

Since I'll be losing my space on the YCP server soon, I've decided to move my sermons here.