"Only Tourists Look Up in New York City"

 Acts 1:1-11

He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

This week is the beginning of our annual Summer Sermon Series. In previous summers we have talked about blockbuster movies, nostalgic toys, camping and other fun stuff that reminds us of summer. This year, we will focus on that rite of summer, the "SUMMER VACATION."  What do we learn from our travels? About ourselves? About other people? About the ways different cultures view the world? About the way your mode of operation is forced to change if you are in an unknown place that operates differently than you do?

After all, that is where the disciples and early apostles of Christ find themselves in the days after his resurrection and just before and immediately after his ascension. They find themselves in a radically different landscape. Maybe THEY haven't actually gone to a new place geographically, but their worldview has been forced to change.  And now, with the pronouncement from Jesus, the Christ, that they are to "be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth," they DO find themselves in the position of having to navigate this early evangelism thing in new cultures and places and to people who are unlike them.

"Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?" A question reminiscent of the phrase Jesus utters in the Easter passage when he says to Mary, "Don't hold on to me." The men in white robes are suggesting that they cannot look to a physical Jesus anymore to guide them. That they need to find the inner Jesus, the Holy Spirit's beckoning, to carry them to another way of seeing things.

I have heard countless jokes, seen videos and read many travel guides that suggest that New Yorkers can always tell who the tourists are because they are always looking up. The ones who don't live and work in the city day to day are awed by the magnificent skyline and the amazing skyscrapers.  That tourists can't help but look up while those who live there never do.  My son Jake says he never looks up anymore in NYC after spending a school year there. And that he, too, gets frustrated by the mobs of people who DO stand around clogging up the sidewalks looking up all the time.  Only tourists look up in New York City.  

I have always struggled with the idea of blending in on a trip and not looking like a tourist. Because, after all, I AM a tourist. Why do I need to look like a New Yorker while I'm there when I'm a Coloradan?  Why does a New Yorker need to look like a Coloradan while visiting this fine state?  But I guess the point is it is just easier for you if you will attempt to assimilate a bit into the culture so that you can absorb more of the local culture rather than creating distractions for yourself.

In the context of the scripture this week , it is a concept in letting go of your own view of the world. The men in white are urging the disciples to not look heavenward toward that Jesus, the Christ, who just ascended. 

Don't look up.  Because if they only look up, they will miss everything that's going on around them. The will miss the opportunities to minister to those in their own worldview.  

Don't look up. Because if they only look up, they are relying and depending on what WAS... the time when Jesus led them, rather than what IS.. the present time in which Jesus inspires them through the Holy Spirit's work in their lives.

Don't look up. Because if they only look up, they will look lost and detached and a little more like people who are disconnected from the world around them, in town like tourists only for a short while, rather than in town to connect to the people who Christ called them to reach.

Do you have times when you have tried to 'fit in with the locals' on summer vacation trips?  Or do you just embrace the tourist role instead? What are the pros and cons to both of these approaches? Email me or comment below.  Happy SUMMER!

"Priestly robes and stoles"

Ex 40:12-15

1 Cor 12:1-12, 27-31

We are back to Exodus 40 one more time. To that scripture where God sets up the church. The people sense that God is calling them to be in community in this way, following these customs and patterns. And part of that is the priestly robes and stoles being placed on Aaron and the others who will become priests of the people. Those set aside by God to follow the priestly functions for the temple are adorned with vestments. To show people who is leading the community.

I haven't always worn a robe and stole here at NUMC. And I often don't in the summer because it's just too hot in our non-air conditioned space. But I was reminded a couple of years ago in reading about these very matters that it is important. That the robe and the stole, they mean something. That they show the gathered community that my role is ordained by God in this place. Not over and above theirs, certainly. But, different than. I struggled with that, I admit it. But then, yes, I finally did understand it. When you decide to follow or act on what you believe to be a call from God to enter into the world of ordained ministry, you put yourself out there in a different way of serving.

Last year at our annual pet blessing, I had on my usual jeans and t-shirt to bless the animals. Makes more sense to wear jeans and T's around pets, instead of robes and stoles. But, for whatever reason, at the last minute, I ran inside and grabbed my stole with the kids handprints on it. And, I realized that it was the right thing to do. We had a lot of visitors at our pet blessing (YAY!). Probably as many visitors as church members. And each one of them came up and started talking to me and showing me their pets as soon as they walked down the drive because they identified me by the stole. Oh, SHE's the one who will bless Tiger! I want to speak to her.  It made a difference to them that they could identify right away who was carrying out the blessing role for their pet in a place they wanted to come, felt compelled to be, but had never been to before.

As the 1 Corinthians scripture points out, we all have roles to play. We aren't all called to the same function in the body of Christ. Some are teachers, some are prophesiers and so on.  In our church, we distinguish these roles by what we do mostly. The physical act of being the person, like Karen, in the kitchen. The physical act of being on the stage singing, like the choir. Each living out our roles in special functions. 

But we also do it in visual ways, too, not just with me in a robe and stole, but with our acolytes.  Our service does not begin until the acolytes begin it. It is the children acolyting who set the tone that lets us know worship has begun. They put on their robes. The grab their candle lighters. They process in. Then and only then do I know it is time for me to live into my own role.  They lead me. They lead all of us. The acolytes create our worship space. They draw it out for us like a road map each week, Leading us in and taking us out. They bring the light of Christ in and they take the light of Christ into the world. Their role is a major one. Most significant.

I heard a sermon once called "Follow the Acolyte" and I have never forgotten it. If you don't know what to expect, or what should happen, or how things are going to play out when you arrive, don't fear. Sit down, take a seat, take a breath or two and wait for the acolyte to lead you.  Pastors wait for the acolytes all the time. If it's a new church and we don't know what do do, we just follow the acolyte because we know THEY know what is going on.

So we remember to thank God for the many gifts we share in this one faith community. And we remember to give thanks for those acolytes who don their robes and grab the light of Christ and lead us into worship. And we remember and give thanks to the choir and the paid musical staff for leading us in the most important thing we do, singing together. And we give thanks that God gave us all a role to play in this deal. We aren't all called to the same path. But we are all called to walk together toward the same God. What are your gifts and do you use them to worship God? What roles do you see others called to, and how can you help encourage them to live into the roles? Email me or comment below.

Singing in Community

Psalm 100
Ephesians 5:15-20

We read these familiar words in Psalm 100:
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come into his presence with singing.

and these lovely words in Paul's letter to the Ephesians
... be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, ...

and we smile. There is something about the notion of singing and 'making melody' that makes our hearts glad, whether or not we can actually carry a tune.  And, in our religious communities, unlike most other places in our lives, there is a designated time when we all do join our voices together and sing.

An article published in The Atlantic a couple of years ago notes that in our current American society there is a noticeable absence, almost a complete and total absence, of communal singing, of singing in a group together.  Save the moment in the seventh-inning stretch where we all rise to our feet and sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," or the occasional group singing "Happy Birthday" around a table, we pretty much do not sing together as a society.

And yet, even in the most ancient of cultures, the importance of singing in community is apparent. From an early time, the Jewish people were singing and chanting from the Book of Psalms, which is actually a 'hymnal' of sorts. Even in non-religious elements of the great civilizations in Greece and elsewhere, songs were sung in unison and in community as ways of marking the passing and rituals of life.

Today, almost the only place we have definite, regularly-appearing moments in time to sing together is in church. In our faith communities. And people of faith who are gathering together and choosing to eliminate this integral part of the faith experience are missing a beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful, way the people of God come together. Singing in community is a way for the faithful to lift their lives and voices in praise and thanksgiving, in lament and penitence, in reflection and wonder.  The community voice singing together the old hymns of the faithful, the new hymns of joy and justice, the poetic prayers lifted to God... these are the most important moments we share together.

The Methodist movement historically has huge reliance on the hymns of Charles Wesley, perhaps even more than the words of his brother, John Wesley, to spread its gospel message.  Who can imagine Easter without the words of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" or Christmas without the words of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!"  Thank Charles Wesley for both of those iconic hymns.

Last year, Todd and I were fortunate to attend the CU Christmas Concert at Mackey Auditorium with combined CU choirs and orchestra, thanks to the generosity of Dick and Marian Walker who supplied us with tickets.  The whole concert was wonderful, magically produced. But the heart-warming part where the whole room stood and sang Christmas carols together made every spirit soar.  There is just no way to connect to one another and to praise the Divine quite like a community raising their voices together.

This week we praise God for the gift of music. We remember the legacy of psalms and early hymns that continue to bind us together in harmonious rhythm as the people of God. What are your favorite hymns and songs of the faith? What psalms did you memorize as a child? Email me or comment below.

Candles, incense, altars, and that kind of stuff

Exodus 40:1-11

Acts 17:16-27

"It sounds rather strange to us," say philosophers to Paul about the teachings of the good news of Jesus Christ.

And it was indeed new in many ways. This Jesus, crucified, dead and risen as the Christ.  And yet, the faith and religious practices were still firmly rooted in the people of the Abrahamic faith. The Jews who devoutly followed God, then disobeyed God, then repented and devoutly followed.  Jesus and the new Way was a branch of a very ancient path toward God.

And one of the earliest ways people encountered what they perceived as the 'place of God' was in the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, later called temple. Later still, though the concept was somewhat different, the synagogue.  The tabernacle of the tent of meeting that was breathed into life by the Lord speaking to Moses, as recorded in the book of Exodus. "You shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting." God orders in the candles (called lampstands), the altar for offerings, the basin of water, the anointing oil, the furniture, all of it, spoken to Moses by God.

So, this week, we discuss candles, incense, altars and that kind of stuff. The stuff of the original tent of meeting that still carries into the synagogues and churches of today.  Why is it that God wants candles there? Is it just to be able to see the scrolls? Why the burnt offering altar? Why the anointing oil? The incense?

I caution us though... It is important to remember that these things, though declared by God as holy are not God-like themselves. They might be consecrated by God for the worship space, but they themselves are not idols to be worshiped. It's important to remember that because when memorial gifts are given, sometimes people allow the gift to take on an idol like status. But of course the original intent is to praise God through the gift.

The 'stuff' of the worship space is a part of the whole structure. It is a part of our 'weirdness' that identifies us and makes us different in this place. It is a part of the atmosphere that says this space is set aside for God to be our focus, for us to praise and give thanks to God as a community.  We don't anoint our heads with oil in the sub shop. We don't have a child process in with the light of Christ in places that we aren't intending to beckon God's presence to be with us.

Once I preached at a church that had to 'set up' church every week because they met in a school. Now I know week in and week out that would get pretty old, but for me that day, it was a beautiful thing to see an ordinary gymnasium become a church with an altar, and candles, and paraments (the cloths on the altar and pulpit) and a Bible being placed just so.

The weird stuff of church is special to us for a reason. Let's explore some of that this week. If you have comments, email me or comment below.