Our series this year during Lent is “From Hurt to Healing” and will address both the hurts that we have in our lives and the hurts that we have caused in others’ lives. The worship service & sermons will follow the topics listed below. In addition to our worship services, there will also be a Bible study to follow this theme. Listed below are the themes & topics we will be covering in each session. We will be using the DVD series Nooma for our sessions together which will cover passages from Scripture and the theme for the week. You are welcome to attend the sessions that you are able and do not have to commit to the entire series. I would ask that you prayerfully consider attending these sessions both for yourself and for the church. This will be a powerful series for those who are willing to engage and allow God to transform our hearts. I look forward to being on this journey with you. Please look closely at the dates for these sessions, due to some previously scheduled meetings there are some dates when the group will not meet.
Wednesday, March 4, 10:00 am Tuesday, March 10, 6:30 pm
Rain—“Things don’t always work out the way we want them to, or the way we think they will. Sometimes we don’t even see it coming. We get hit with some form of pain out of nowhere leaving us feeling desperate and helpless. That’s the way life is. Still, it makes us wonder how God can let these things happen to us. How God can just stand by and watch us suffer. Where is God when it really hurts? Maybe God is actually closer than we think. Maybe it’s when we’re in these situations, where everything seems to be falling apart, that God gets and opportunity to remind us of how much he really loves us.”
Lump—“A lot of us have done things in our lives that we’re ashamed of. Some are small thins, and some of us have really big and devastating things. Some of us even have things that people close to us don’t know about. Personal junk that we keep to ourselves so we don’t have to deal with it. Because we don’t know how to deal with it, do we? We’re afraid that if we try it’s just going to make everything worse. But no matter how big our junk is, no matter how much we’ve done has impacted the way other people feel about us or how we feel about ourselves, it hasn’t changed how God feels about us. God loves us, he always has and always will, and there’s nothing we can do to change that.”
Tuesday, March 17, 6:30 pm Wednesday, March 18, 10:00 am
Store—“We all get angry about things from time to time—some of us more often than others. For some of us, it feels like we’re constantly on the brink of losing it, where it doesn’t take much to get angry about anything. And this kind of anger can be seen everywhere we go—at work, in traffic, at the store, at home. But what is really at its root? Anger is often looked at as a bad thing, but are there things actually worth getting angry about? Maybe if we had a better understanding of our anger and where it comes from, we could learn how to channel it toward something constructive—something that’s bigger than ourselves.”
Tuesday, March 24, 6:30 pm Wednesday, March 25, 10:00 am
Matthew—“Suffering the loss of someone we love can be the most difficult thing in life to deal with. One moment we have them and the next they’re gone. What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to feel? The truth is, there’s no certain way we’re ‘supposed’ to feel. Whatever we’re feeling, it’s okay. And if we don’t feel anything at all, that’s okay too. It’s okay to have no answers and no explanations. Because sometimes all the reasoning and comforting words in the world just aren’t what we need. What might help us, however is to understand how Jesus dealt with this kind of loss.”
Tuesday, March 31, 6:30 pm Wednesday, April 1, 10:00 am
Luggage—“Maybe a friend turned their back on you. Maybe someone you loved betrayed you. We all have wounds and we end up carrying around these things that people have done to us for weeks, months, and sometimes even years. It isn’t always easy to forgive these people and after awhile these hurts can get really heavy. So the only way to feel better seems to be somehow getting back at the people that hurt us, to get revenge. But does revenge ever truly satisfy? Maybe forgiving isn’t something you do for someone else to get them off the hook. Maybe forgiveness is about you. God didn’t create you to carry these wounds around, God created you to be free.”
Tuesday, April 7, 6:30 pm Wednesday, April 8, 10:00 amOpen—“Many of us have experienced situations where we’ve prayed and it felt like God wasn’t listening. And yet other times we’ve prayed or known someone that prayed and the situation changed. Does God answer prayer? Sometimes, but not all the time? Or does God always answer prayer and it’s just that sometimes God says no? Some of us are angry with God for not answering the prayers we’ve prayed for years. Why did he answer their prayer, but not ours? What if there’s more to prayer than just God listening and answering? Maybe if we understood how Jesus prayed, our concepts and expectations would change.”
Tuesday, April 14, 6:30 pm Wednesday, April 15, 10:00 am
Today—“How much time and energy do we spend wishing things were how they used to be? We often think about times in our past when things were different and want our lives to be like that again. Some of us have even come to believe that our best days may actually be behind us. But if we’re in some way hung up on the past, what does that mean for our lives now? How are we and those around us affected if we’re not fully present? If we’re longing for the way things used to be, what does that really say about our understanding and appreciation of our lives today? Maybe we need to learn to embrace our past for what it is, in order to live our lives to the fullest, right here, right now.”
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
From Hurt to Healing
From Hurt to Healing
On Wednesday, we will begin our Lenten journey with Jesus…Our theme for Lent this year will be “From Hurt to Healing.” I was sharing recently about this series with a friend of mine when she stopped me and said, “Wait a minute…You’re not Catholic…You do Lent?” She then spent a good 15 minutes trying to convince me that Lent was something that only Roman Catholics practice. Now, some of you may be thinking yourselves… “Yeah, we do Lent too?” Yes, Lent is a part of the Christian journey and no one denomination holds control over this practice. Now, one of the reasons that many people think that only the Roman Catholic Church practices Lent is because there are many rituals & symbols…And one of the things that our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers do very well is remember the rituals & symbols of the Church. This is something that we can certainly learn from and help us in our practice and understanding of faith…
So, what is Lent? Lent is the season in the church preparing for Easter. It is the 40 day season beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter. These 40 days do not count Sundays, as Sundays are recognized as “mini-Easters” or reminders of the hope that we know that we have through Jesus’ death & resurrection. Ash Wednesday & Easter Sunday bookend this season nicely as we are reminded on Ash Wednesday that we are indeed mortal beings and we were formed from dust and to dust we will return—ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Easter brings us through that journey as we remember and celebrate that Jesus has been raised from the dead and therefore, Jesus defeated death. What happens throughout these 40 days is joining Jesus on that journey.
Jesus’ journey ultimately culminates as Jesus is nailed to the cross and crucified and then Jesus does what no one thought was possible, Jesus rises from the dead—Jesus has been resurrected…But we can’t jump too far ahead here…because we need to make the journey before we can jump to the end. Just as Jesus’ journey ultimately takes him to resurrection, our journey this Lent will take us from hurt to healing.
I want to share a little bit about this series and how it came to be. Honestly, God and I have been arguing about this series for a couple years now. It’s been ruminating and forming for couple years as I’ve experienced the life of the Sheridan-Norway United Methodist Churches. I’ve spent a lot of time in churches and if there’s nothing else that churches share in common it’s that they are full of hurting people. The congregations of Sheridan & Norway are not different. As I’ve been here, I’ve heard some of these stories from you in private conversations and visits. And there are some of these stories that even those that you have known for years don’t even know. That’s what this series is about. Making that journey through our hurts to healing. For some these hurts are huge and will take more than 40 days to work through…There may be some of you who have experienced hurts that some can’t even begin to imagine…Some of you may have been abused, raped, attacked, been through tragic accidents, or some other deep hurt. These hurts are significant and not something to be dismissed or for you to be made to feel you just need to get over…Hopefully this journey will give you some of the tools that you need to confront these hurts and make the journey to healing…Now that is also not to say that those who may not have experienced hurts like that have not experienced hurts or pain. Each person’s hurts no matter what has happened are significant to each person and something to be addressed in order to make the journey to healing.
This series will address not only those of us who have been hurt or who have hurts, which will be most people, but also those who have hurt others. For those of us who have become offenders and have hurt other people…Because the truth is, we’re both people…victims & offenders…We’ll wrestle with those questions and struggles of what it means to be a victim & offender…
Our journey from Hurt to Healing will take us through a variety of emotions and ways to deal with them. We’ll begin by exploring shame and what it means to be ashamed; next we’ll explore guilt and the difference between guilt & shame and how to deal with both emotions; the third week of Lent we’ll work through anger—and try and understand the difference between guilt anger & shame anger; the 4th week of Lent, we’ll look at some responses to these emotions as we work through resistance & repentance; the 5th week of Lent, we’ll explore forgiveness—both being able to forgive and to ask forgiveness; the last week of Lent, we’ll look at justice & justification by faith which will ultimately lead us into healing & wholeness on Easter morning. Each of these topics are issues & questions & lessons that Jesus wrestled with & shared about during his life and we will make this journey with Jesus in mind.
For each week, there will be a time in our worship service together for physical acts to work through these emotions and hurts…sometimes it will be something that requires much action and others that requires some deep thinking. I would encourage you to engage in this during Lent. Be open to hearing from God as well as working through the hurts you have.
I said that this was has been a series that I’ve been arguing with God about for 2 years…I’ve heard God calling about this and I’ve ignored it…Until the call became so loud that I just couldn’t ignore it anymore. Why did I ignore it? Well, because I can’t ask you to do something that I’m not willing to do myself and I haven’t been willing to go on this journey. In preparation for this series, I’ve already begun the journey from hurt to healing and I’ve been taking an inventory of sorts of those things that have caused me pain and taking a look at how those hurts affect the way that I act and react. I fully understand that this is a journey that will be very difficult for some. It will take energy and focus and admitting some things that may be very difficult to admit. I understand completely. If you need to process through anything as we go along, I am happy to work with you on that…Or you may want to find a friend to talk through things with. However you choose to take this journey, know that you are not alone with it. There are others in the congregation who are journeying, I am journeying, and of course we join Jesus on this journey.
Whenever you go on a journey or a trip, you have to prepare by packing and getting directions and of course ultimately knowing where it is that you’re going! Well, that’s been all mapped out for us and the packing will be done next week. Next week, we will pack our suitcase of the burdens that will keep us from going on this journey. You may want to bring in an object or you may want to write some things down. Whatever it is that keeps you from going on this journey with Jesus…Maybe you’ve found something that helps with the hurts that you have—maybe you’ve turned to alcohol in order to mask the pain…Maybe you escape from the world through TV…Maybe you put on a happy face when you leave the house, but at home you are anything but happy…Whatever it is that keeps you from going on this journey, bring next week and we’ll place it in our suitcase in order to go on this journey.
Why is this series so important? Everyone has hurts that they have experienced—some that seem more difficult to others, but all are important because they are our hurts. Those hurts and that pain affects how we live our lives and how we treat others. For example: If you have constantly been left by people that you love, it may create a fear of abandonment in you and you no longer get close to anyone because they’re just going to leave anyway…Or someone with red hair may have done something to you and you are rude to all people with red hair…Sometimes our hurts so affect the way that we act that we become just like the person or people that hurt us.
Jesus died for both the victim & the offender….that’s part of the foolishness of the cross that Paul talks about in his letters. When Jesus was on the cross, he forgave the soldiers who put him there, because they didn’t know what they were doing…he forgave Peter who denied him 3 times…Jesus suffered and died and was ultimately resurrected. Jesus has taken this journey from hurt to healing…
Maybe this morning, you’re feeling like the leper from our Gospel lesson…Wanting to be made clean, to be made whole. The leper risked much by going to Jesus…The leper knew that he was declared unclean by the law…he was damaged goods…he was outside of all of society…and he cried out to Jesus, begging to be made clean…That’s where our journey begins—kneeling and begging Jesus to be made whole and to be healed…This was a huge risk for the leper because he knew just where he stood in society and he was not allowed to approach someone like Jesus—a rabbi? The Messiah? And yet at great risk to himself and to Jesus, he came…He came begging to be made whole…
And Jesus took great risk as well because as the leper begs him to be made whole, Jesus touches this leper’s hands…Jesus becomes unclean in order to make this leper whole…That’s what Jesus does for us as well—He is willing to become unclean for to make us whole…Jesus is willing and ready and able to take on our burdens and our hurts in order for us to be made whole. Are we willing to risk sharing those with Jesus? That’s a decision that each of us will have to make…I can tell you for me that some days are easier than others. There are times when I’m like the leper and I throw everything aside and I come to Jesus on my knees, begging to made whole…And then there are times when I want to come to Jesus for nothing more than a handshake and an acknowledgement…But Jesus wants us to come with reckless abandonment…to die to ourselves and the pains that we have and be raised with Christ and to be healed.
The leper poses a question to Jesus—do you choose to heal me? And Jesus answers, I do choose! That’s the answer that Jesus gives us as well…I do choose to make this journey with you, I do choose to make you whole, I do choose you! Jesus chose us, why don’t we put our full trust in Jesus?
So, this Lent let us journey with one another, with our friends & family, and with Jesus…Because Jesus chooses to make us whole…
On Wednesday, we will begin our Lenten journey with Jesus…Our theme for Lent this year will be “From Hurt to Healing.” I was sharing recently about this series with a friend of mine when she stopped me and said, “Wait a minute…You’re not Catholic…You do Lent?” She then spent a good 15 minutes trying to convince me that Lent was something that only Roman Catholics practice. Now, some of you may be thinking yourselves… “Yeah, we do Lent too?” Yes, Lent is a part of the Christian journey and no one denomination holds control over this practice. Now, one of the reasons that many people think that only the Roman Catholic Church practices Lent is because there are many rituals & symbols…And one of the things that our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers do very well is remember the rituals & symbols of the Church. This is something that we can certainly learn from and help us in our practice and understanding of faith…
So, what is Lent? Lent is the season in the church preparing for Easter. It is the 40 day season beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter. These 40 days do not count Sundays, as Sundays are recognized as “mini-Easters” or reminders of the hope that we know that we have through Jesus’ death & resurrection. Ash Wednesday & Easter Sunday bookend this season nicely as we are reminded on Ash Wednesday that we are indeed mortal beings and we were formed from dust and to dust we will return—ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Easter brings us through that journey as we remember and celebrate that Jesus has been raised from the dead and therefore, Jesus defeated death. What happens throughout these 40 days is joining Jesus on that journey.
Jesus’ journey ultimately culminates as Jesus is nailed to the cross and crucified and then Jesus does what no one thought was possible, Jesus rises from the dead—Jesus has been resurrected…But we can’t jump too far ahead here…because we need to make the journey before we can jump to the end. Just as Jesus’ journey ultimately takes him to resurrection, our journey this Lent will take us from hurt to healing.
I want to share a little bit about this series and how it came to be. Honestly, God and I have been arguing about this series for a couple years now. It’s been ruminating and forming for couple years as I’ve experienced the life of the Sheridan-Norway United Methodist Churches. I’ve spent a lot of time in churches and if there’s nothing else that churches share in common it’s that they are full of hurting people. The congregations of Sheridan & Norway are not different. As I’ve been here, I’ve heard some of these stories from you in private conversations and visits. And there are some of these stories that even those that you have known for years don’t even know. That’s what this series is about. Making that journey through our hurts to healing. For some these hurts are huge and will take more than 40 days to work through…There may be some of you who have experienced hurts that some can’t even begin to imagine…Some of you may have been abused, raped, attacked, been through tragic accidents, or some other deep hurt. These hurts are significant and not something to be dismissed or for you to be made to feel you just need to get over…Hopefully this journey will give you some of the tools that you need to confront these hurts and make the journey to healing…Now that is also not to say that those who may not have experienced hurts like that have not experienced hurts or pain. Each person’s hurts no matter what has happened are significant to each person and something to be addressed in order to make the journey to healing.
This series will address not only those of us who have been hurt or who have hurts, which will be most people, but also those who have hurt others. For those of us who have become offenders and have hurt other people…Because the truth is, we’re both people…victims & offenders…We’ll wrestle with those questions and struggles of what it means to be a victim & offender…
Our journey from Hurt to Healing will take us through a variety of emotions and ways to deal with them. We’ll begin by exploring shame and what it means to be ashamed; next we’ll explore guilt and the difference between guilt & shame and how to deal with both emotions; the third week of Lent we’ll work through anger—and try and understand the difference between guilt anger & shame anger; the 4th week of Lent, we’ll look at some responses to these emotions as we work through resistance & repentance; the 5th week of Lent, we’ll explore forgiveness—both being able to forgive and to ask forgiveness; the last week of Lent, we’ll look at justice & justification by faith which will ultimately lead us into healing & wholeness on Easter morning. Each of these topics are issues & questions & lessons that Jesus wrestled with & shared about during his life and we will make this journey with Jesus in mind.
For each week, there will be a time in our worship service together for physical acts to work through these emotions and hurts…sometimes it will be something that requires much action and others that requires some deep thinking. I would encourage you to engage in this during Lent. Be open to hearing from God as well as working through the hurts you have.
I said that this was has been a series that I’ve been arguing with God about for 2 years…I’ve heard God calling about this and I’ve ignored it…Until the call became so loud that I just couldn’t ignore it anymore. Why did I ignore it? Well, because I can’t ask you to do something that I’m not willing to do myself and I haven’t been willing to go on this journey. In preparation for this series, I’ve already begun the journey from hurt to healing and I’ve been taking an inventory of sorts of those things that have caused me pain and taking a look at how those hurts affect the way that I act and react. I fully understand that this is a journey that will be very difficult for some. It will take energy and focus and admitting some things that may be very difficult to admit. I understand completely. If you need to process through anything as we go along, I am happy to work with you on that…Or you may want to find a friend to talk through things with. However you choose to take this journey, know that you are not alone with it. There are others in the congregation who are journeying, I am journeying, and of course we join Jesus on this journey.
Whenever you go on a journey or a trip, you have to prepare by packing and getting directions and of course ultimately knowing where it is that you’re going! Well, that’s been all mapped out for us and the packing will be done next week. Next week, we will pack our suitcase of the burdens that will keep us from going on this journey. You may want to bring in an object or you may want to write some things down. Whatever it is that keeps you from going on this journey with Jesus…Maybe you’ve found something that helps with the hurts that you have—maybe you’ve turned to alcohol in order to mask the pain…Maybe you escape from the world through TV…Maybe you put on a happy face when you leave the house, but at home you are anything but happy…Whatever it is that keeps you from going on this journey, bring next week and we’ll place it in our suitcase in order to go on this journey.
Why is this series so important? Everyone has hurts that they have experienced—some that seem more difficult to others, but all are important because they are our hurts. Those hurts and that pain affects how we live our lives and how we treat others. For example: If you have constantly been left by people that you love, it may create a fear of abandonment in you and you no longer get close to anyone because they’re just going to leave anyway…Or someone with red hair may have done something to you and you are rude to all people with red hair…Sometimes our hurts so affect the way that we act that we become just like the person or people that hurt us.
Jesus died for both the victim & the offender….that’s part of the foolishness of the cross that Paul talks about in his letters. When Jesus was on the cross, he forgave the soldiers who put him there, because they didn’t know what they were doing…he forgave Peter who denied him 3 times…Jesus suffered and died and was ultimately resurrected. Jesus has taken this journey from hurt to healing…
Maybe this morning, you’re feeling like the leper from our Gospel lesson…Wanting to be made clean, to be made whole. The leper risked much by going to Jesus…The leper knew that he was declared unclean by the law…he was damaged goods…he was outside of all of society…and he cried out to Jesus, begging to be made clean…That’s where our journey begins—kneeling and begging Jesus to be made whole and to be healed…This was a huge risk for the leper because he knew just where he stood in society and he was not allowed to approach someone like Jesus—a rabbi? The Messiah? And yet at great risk to himself and to Jesus, he came…He came begging to be made whole…
And Jesus took great risk as well because as the leper begs him to be made whole, Jesus touches this leper’s hands…Jesus becomes unclean in order to make this leper whole…That’s what Jesus does for us as well—He is willing to become unclean for to make us whole…Jesus is willing and ready and able to take on our burdens and our hurts in order for us to be made whole. Are we willing to risk sharing those with Jesus? That’s a decision that each of us will have to make…I can tell you for me that some days are easier than others. There are times when I’m like the leper and I throw everything aside and I come to Jesus on my knees, begging to made whole…And then there are times when I want to come to Jesus for nothing more than a handshake and an acknowledgement…But Jesus wants us to come with reckless abandonment…to die to ourselves and the pains that we have and be raised with Christ and to be healed.
The leper poses a question to Jesus—do you choose to heal me? And Jesus answers, I do choose! That’s the answer that Jesus gives us as well…I do choose to make this journey with you, I do choose to make you whole, I do choose you! Jesus chose us, why don’t we put our full trust in Jesus?
So, this Lent let us journey with one another, with our friends & family, and with Jesus…Because Jesus chooses to make us whole…
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
What's Love Got to Do With it?
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
For some, Valentine’s Day is a special day to celebrate with someone that they love—a spouse, a significant other, a good friend…For some it’s a painful reminder of love lost or maybe even love never found…and for others still, it’s just another day and has little meaning at all. And in this congregation this morning, there are people who feel all those things…But regardless about how anyone feels about Valentine’s Day and what it has become.
Did you know that the holiday was originally a Catholic Feast for a saint? St. Valentine’s Day…In Christian history, there were several Valentines who were martyred—who were killed for professing their faith in Jesus Christ. Up until about 1970, the Roman Catholic Church celebrated numerous Valentine’s Days. Now, St. Valentine’s Day represents 3 Valentines who were martyred. Not much is known for sure about Valentine, as legends have crept into the facts of history, but here is what is most commonly believed about St. Valentine. St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". But that part has been believed to have been added later as Valentine’s Day began to be associated with romantic love.
So, Saint Valentine’s Day was recognizing a Christian who had died for his faith. Someone who had accepted the love of God so much that he was willing to give his life…That’s not something that you’ll read on any Valentine’s Day card today!
Now regardless about how you feel about Valentine’s Day, it is impossible to escape the message of romantic love that wafts through the air with the smell of roses and chocolate or in the cardboard hearts and greeting cards in every store…But since romantic love was not the original intention of St. Valentine’s Day, but rather celebration of someone’s love for God…Let’s focus on that for a few moments…
Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth—the 13th chapter is one that is known by most people. Many people don’t know that it comes from Scripture when they quote it…It’s beautiful poetry and has profound meaning to it and it is used in most weddings. Verses 4-8 are the ones that are used most often, but as with all of Scripture, it’s important to read the context around it to completely understand the passage.
Paul begins by writing, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Paul is responding to something specific in the church at Corinth—perhaps there was an argument of some kind—there was something going on in the church that was causing a division. If all the people in the church at Corinth are shouting at one another and arguing at one another without any love in their speech, it must be quite a noisy place…a lot of gongs and cymbals! Have you known any gongs or cymbals throughout your life? It’s hard to miss them sometimes! I knew someone who would point out all of your faults and flaws to you without regard for feelings or with a hope for growth and change, and without a hope that there would be equality in the sharing, that you would be able to share with her where her growing edges were, but just because she wanted you to feel badly about yourself so that she could feel better about herself…There have been times in our lives that we have all been noisy gongs or clanging cymbals.
Paul continues by saying that he can have anything and everything in the world—he can understand the mysterious powers of faith or have all of the knowledge in the world, but without love, he is nothing…And he can give away everything he has and even offers himself for martyrdom, but does not have love, he gains nothing. Love is a pretty powerful thing! Love is deep to Paul and all consuming…Not romantic love, but the agape love—the love that is all consuming, is a holy love…The love that God loves with. And Paul goes on to describe that love in verses 4-8…
Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or rude, love does not insist on its own way, love is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice in wrongdoings, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends….That’s the kind of love that we all should strive for…That love that encompasses all things…The love that is so beyond anything that we can begin to comprehend…the love that God loves us with…Can you honestly say that you have lived up to this love? I can’t…Because as much as I love someone when they have done something that I knew was wrong, it’s a good feeling to say, “I told you so!” Or sometimes we are able to be the nastiest to the people that we love the most—we can take out our frustrations of the long work day or of something someone said to us…It’s easy to then be irritable or rude to the ones we love the most. And who doesn’t want their way most of the time? Who here is willing to say, “That makes me uncomfortable, but I know that it’s for the best.” As long as that is done in love and not seeking accolades for attention, that’s what love is. Everything else…is a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal.
Paul continues in this part of his letter to talk about the things that will end…but that love will continue on. Because right now we can only see a small part of the picture…But when completion happens—when the New Heavens & the New Earth are re-created, we’ll see the whole picture and we’ll understand…It’s like when you get to the end of something and suddenly everything before it makes sense. You come to the end of something and you go, “Oh! That’s why this, this and this happened…Now I get it!” Even though we only see through a mirror dimly, we like to think that we see everything and we know everything…You think you know, but you have no idea…There is always more to the story than we can even begin to see and understand…
But what we do know is that although we don’t know it all…We are fully known…Even though we don’t even know our full potential and full beauty…God does and we are fully known by God’s love…We are being perfected in God’s love…We have been justified by God’s love…We are being sanctified by God’s love…We are known by God’s love. That’s all we need to know…But we also need to remember that just as we are fully known, all people are fully known…Regardless of what we think of them, they are surrounded by God’s love as well…For now we see in a mirror dimly…
Our Gospel passage for this morning is Jesus’ first miracle from the Gospel of John…Don’t think that it’s an accident that it was at a wedding! But, if you read also…Jesus wanted nothing to do with the miracle that was going to follow…When his mother came up to him, she said “They are out of wine.” And Jesus says, “So? What does that have to do with me? My time has not yet come.” And Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus told them…Jesus doesn’t go to the host of the party and ask what kind of wine they’d like the best or even if they want more wine…Jesus just turns the water into wine…And he does it because he wants the celebration to continue…The celebration of love…Yes, it’s the romantic love between the couple, but it’s also the love of all of those who have gathered together to share in this occasion…the friends and family who may not have seen each other for years…The enemies who put things aside for the celebration of the day…The love that is shown throughout the celebration…
This morning, as part of our worship service together we will have a time for those couples here who would like to reaffirm their marriage covenant. For those who want to recommit their lives to loving one another…If you and your significant other would like to do that this morning and did not sign up ahead of time, you are still welcome, all couples, please come forward during the offering for instructions and directions. And for those who would like to reaffirm their marriage covenant, but their spouses have died…For those of you who want to honor and remember your spouse, please come forward following the reaffirmation of vows for a lighting of candles and prayer.
These are acts that we do as a community of believers because we share in the same love from God and we share together all pieces of our lives. God does indeed love you…Let us love and show that same love to others…
For some, Valentine’s Day is a special day to celebrate with someone that they love—a spouse, a significant other, a good friend…For some it’s a painful reminder of love lost or maybe even love never found…and for others still, it’s just another day and has little meaning at all. And in this congregation this morning, there are people who feel all those things…But regardless about how anyone feels about Valentine’s Day and what it has become.
Did you know that the holiday was originally a Catholic Feast for a saint? St. Valentine’s Day…In Christian history, there were several Valentines who were martyred—who were killed for professing their faith in Jesus Christ. Up until about 1970, the Roman Catholic Church celebrated numerous Valentine’s Days. Now, St. Valentine’s Day represents 3 Valentines who were martyred. Not much is known for sure about Valentine, as legends have crept into the facts of history, but here is what is most commonly believed about St. Valentine. St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". But that part has been believed to have been added later as Valentine’s Day began to be associated with romantic love.
So, Saint Valentine’s Day was recognizing a Christian who had died for his faith. Someone who had accepted the love of God so much that he was willing to give his life…That’s not something that you’ll read on any Valentine’s Day card today!
Now regardless about how you feel about Valentine’s Day, it is impossible to escape the message of romantic love that wafts through the air with the smell of roses and chocolate or in the cardboard hearts and greeting cards in every store…But since romantic love was not the original intention of St. Valentine’s Day, but rather celebration of someone’s love for God…Let’s focus on that for a few moments…
Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth—the 13th chapter is one that is known by most people. Many people don’t know that it comes from Scripture when they quote it…It’s beautiful poetry and has profound meaning to it and it is used in most weddings. Verses 4-8 are the ones that are used most often, but as with all of Scripture, it’s important to read the context around it to completely understand the passage.
Paul begins by writing, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Paul is responding to something specific in the church at Corinth—perhaps there was an argument of some kind—there was something going on in the church that was causing a division. If all the people in the church at Corinth are shouting at one another and arguing at one another without any love in their speech, it must be quite a noisy place…a lot of gongs and cymbals! Have you known any gongs or cymbals throughout your life? It’s hard to miss them sometimes! I knew someone who would point out all of your faults and flaws to you without regard for feelings or with a hope for growth and change, and without a hope that there would be equality in the sharing, that you would be able to share with her where her growing edges were, but just because she wanted you to feel badly about yourself so that she could feel better about herself…There have been times in our lives that we have all been noisy gongs or clanging cymbals.
Paul continues by saying that he can have anything and everything in the world—he can understand the mysterious powers of faith or have all of the knowledge in the world, but without love, he is nothing…And he can give away everything he has and even offers himself for martyrdom, but does not have love, he gains nothing. Love is a pretty powerful thing! Love is deep to Paul and all consuming…Not romantic love, but the agape love—the love that is all consuming, is a holy love…The love that God loves with. And Paul goes on to describe that love in verses 4-8…
Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or rude, love does not insist on its own way, love is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice in wrongdoings, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends….That’s the kind of love that we all should strive for…That love that encompasses all things…The love that is so beyond anything that we can begin to comprehend…the love that God loves us with…Can you honestly say that you have lived up to this love? I can’t…Because as much as I love someone when they have done something that I knew was wrong, it’s a good feeling to say, “I told you so!” Or sometimes we are able to be the nastiest to the people that we love the most—we can take out our frustrations of the long work day or of something someone said to us…It’s easy to then be irritable or rude to the ones we love the most. And who doesn’t want their way most of the time? Who here is willing to say, “That makes me uncomfortable, but I know that it’s for the best.” As long as that is done in love and not seeking accolades for attention, that’s what love is. Everything else…is a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal.
Paul continues in this part of his letter to talk about the things that will end…but that love will continue on. Because right now we can only see a small part of the picture…But when completion happens—when the New Heavens & the New Earth are re-created, we’ll see the whole picture and we’ll understand…It’s like when you get to the end of something and suddenly everything before it makes sense. You come to the end of something and you go, “Oh! That’s why this, this and this happened…Now I get it!” Even though we only see through a mirror dimly, we like to think that we see everything and we know everything…You think you know, but you have no idea…There is always more to the story than we can even begin to see and understand…
But what we do know is that although we don’t know it all…We are fully known…Even though we don’t even know our full potential and full beauty…God does and we are fully known by God’s love…We are being perfected in God’s love…We have been justified by God’s love…We are being sanctified by God’s love…We are known by God’s love. That’s all we need to know…But we also need to remember that just as we are fully known, all people are fully known…Regardless of what we think of them, they are surrounded by God’s love as well…For now we see in a mirror dimly…
Our Gospel passage for this morning is Jesus’ first miracle from the Gospel of John…Don’t think that it’s an accident that it was at a wedding! But, if you read also…Jesus wanted nothing to do with the miracle that was going to follow…When his mother came up to him, she said “They are out of wine.” And Jesus says, “So? What does that have to do with me? My time has not yet come.” And Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus told them…Jesus doesn’t go to the host of the party and ask what kind of wine they’d like the best or even if they want more wine…Jesus just turns the water into wine…And he does it because he wants the celebration to continue…The celebration of love…Yes, it’s the romantic love between the couple, but it’s also the love of all of those who have gathered together to share in this occasion…the friends and family who may not have seen each other for years…The enemies who put things aside for the celebration of the day…The love that is shown throughout the celebration…
This morning, as part of our worship service together we will have a time for those couples here who would like to reaffirm their marriage covenant. For those who want to recommit their lives to loving one another…If you and your significant other would like to do that this morning and did not sign up ahead of time, you are still welcome, all couples, please come forward during the offering for instructions and directions. And for those who would like to reaffirm their marriage covenant, but their spouses have died…For those of you who want to honor and remember your spouse, please come forward following the reaffirmation of vows for a lighting of candles and prayer.
These are acts that we do as a community of believers because we share in the same love from God and we share together all pieces of our lives. God does indeed love you…Let us love and show that same love to others…
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