I've been trying to figure out how to have my sermons on here without requiring people to read through them all if they don't want to. This is when being a little more computer savvy would go a long ways. Alas, I'm just a poor seminary student whose geekiness shines through in ways other than computer know-how. So, here's a sermon I don't believe I ever preached, so I need to remember to keep it around. It's on the Ephesians text "that they may all be one" and I think on the ascension... maybe...
"That they may be one" is the passage on the UCC logo and yet, I don't think I ever took the time to find out which text it was from before. So, today as I'm looking at the lectionary passage for the day I preach at the church i'm hoping will license me as a lay pastor... THERE IT IS!!!
This past year has been a test or lesson on why I am UCC to the heart... why I am no longer Lutheran... and why, ultimately, there isn't much difference between the two. I'm going to school to learn how to pull out the tiny threads of differences in beliefs, to draw out the nuances of people's perspectives and discover multiple layers in every thought, word and deed of the church and its people. Then they give us tools to weave it all back together again, seeing the unity of all things, the similarities that connect us all to God. Through all this, the seminary helps us see a world made up of a kaleidescope of beliefs and experiences. And, then, when the professors have thoroughly turned our world upside down, made us dizzy with 4 syllable words and reeling from thousands of pages of reading, they pick us back up again, brush us off and say "Haha! Just kidding! Go back to your everyday life, go back to doing dishes and walking the dog... your mountaintop experience is over."
It's quite a let down sometimes, let me tell you! Here I am, on a roll, writing page after page of theological jargon, getting into the discussions on soteriology, ecclesiology, eschatology and every other kind of -ology... and then bam! Back to the real world.
I imagine that is what the apostles felt like when the resurrected Christ left them, finally ascending into heaven. First their world is turned uspide down by this man drawing them away from their fishing boats and other jobs, telling them the world is not as it seems...revealing the richness and beauty of faith in God. Then their leader, no, actually not just a leader, their Lord, their messiah, is executed by the government. Talk about a shock to the system. They think the mountaintop experience is over, time to go home... but WAIT! Christ resurrects from the dead, renewing and energizing their faith in him and his work in the world. The mountaintop experience is even more revealing, even more profound. This time, Jesus is more pointed about what they are to do, preparing them for when he leaves them again, ascending into heaven. Imagine the disappoint they must have felt to see Jesus rise up and leave... watching the incarnation, the inspiration of all that God is, go away... again.
Personally, I'd want to follow Jesus, leave all the trials and tribulations of this world behind. After all that talk of how wonderful being with his Father is compared to our world... Buy me a ticket, I'm going to paradise. It's like watching all your friends go to the Bahamas for Christmas, why aren't you taking me, Jesus?
But some of the scriptures read today tells us why. There is still work to be done. We are to be witnesses to the ends of the earth of what God has done through Christ. We are to continue the ministry Jesus began, reflecting God's love and grace to all the peoples. Easier said than done, boy, I tell you! I'm still looking over my shoulder, pining away for heaven, for those glimpses in my life of the resurrected Christ. The apostles were a bit stubborn about it too. In fact, angels had to come and tell them to get off their rear ends and get to work. They asked them: "Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?"
Now I'm a person that really likes to daydream, I like to stand, or sit, or lie around looking towards heaven, thinking about who God is, who I am, what tomorrow may bring. My mom, on the other hand, is a pretty practical person. I heard the other day the quote from Ben Frankiln that says don't put off doing something tomorrow when you can do it today. And I immediately thought of my mom and I. Busy, busy ,busy even when she's havng fun. It takes a lot to get my mom to sit down sometimes. And sometimes, it's just the opposite for me. :) It's not laziness. I'm a busy person, too, really, I am. Many days I leave my house near sunrise and get back 12, 14, 18 hours later. But, here's some examples: In her spare time, Mom likes to garden. In mine, I like to learn how the garden grows. Mom does Tae Bo, I do martial arts to learn the history and theories behind the moves. Mom reads mystery/crime suspense books and I read science fiction and fantasy. While we both are movie junkies, I also like watching those artsy flicks nobody can ever figure out. Mom became a lawyer and I am becoming a minister. There's nothing wrong with how either of us goes about things. The world needs people like my mom and I believe the world needs people like me too. But sometimes, when I'm stuck staring at the clouds, looking for heaven, I need someone like my mom to bring me back to earth and tell me to do the dishes. And sometimes, when my mom is doing the dishes, she needs someone to tell her sit down and read a book.
The messages in the scritpure read today are telling us to both slow down, pay attention to God, hand over our burdens to God and to also get off the couch and bring some of God's kingdom to the people around us. Nothing like a well-balanced lectionary to start the day off with... :)
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