Tuesday, February 25, 2014

"Prophet Mountain High"

Matthew 17:1-9

The Transfiguration. The moment that Peter, James, and John go up a high mountain with Jesus and see him suddenly transfigured into a dazzling shining Jesus alongside the prophets Elijah and Moses. It is a shocking moment which gets even more shocking when they heard the voice of God speaking. They fell to the ground, those disciples, overcome by fear.  But Jesus reminds them not to be afraid.

Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."


While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.

But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid."


What is this story, which appears at the end of the Epiphany season, supposed to teach us each year?  The Epiphany season is called the Season of Light. It begins with the light of the star over Bethlehem that the Wise Men follow to reach the Child Jesus.  And now, here, it ends with the light of a shining Jesus, glowing with the prophets Elijah and Moses in the moments before Jesus begins his journey toward Jerusalem and a cross. In fact, just before this story, Jesus has hinted at this certain journey he must take with the disciples, telling them that if any wish to be his disciples, they must take up their own crosses and follow him.  

It is almost as though Jesus needs this moment of glowing and the assurance that he is God's Beloved as he takes on the journey.  In the same ways his prophet Moses would have had in the moments with God on Mount Sinai when he is receiving the Commandments. God gives Moses the Law to protect the people, to continue to seal the covenantal relationship the Hebrews have with God. Jesus would have had so much respect for this leader of the Exodus, the leader of the Israelites, his people.  So, it's almost as if the moment of connecting on the mountain top is as much for Jesus as it is for the disciples.

Who do we consider transformative leaders of our own faith journeys? Who, just by knowing their story, inspires us to 'glowing' praise and aspirations to be similar people of faith?  What do we need from our own 'mountain top experiences' to connect us to our faith this Lenten season? Lent focuses more on the valleys than the peaks.... so why is this story at the top of a mountain today so valuable to us as we head down that 'lonesome highway' toward the cross?

Email me or comment below.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

"The Sound of Your Soul"

Matthew 5 (The Message)

We have spent the whole month in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. We have heard about those who are blessed, about being salt and light for the earth, about teaching AND obeying the commandments, about finding those we need to forgive and offering them forgiveness, about loving even, and especially, those who persecute us.  Heavy stuff. Strong words and important commandments. Love always, in all circumstances. Be generous. Be gracious. Always. Mission impossible, right?

This week we are fortunate to have our healing bowls friend Myrna Castaline joining us. She was here a couple of years ago and we have had many requests for her return. This is the perfect way to end our series on the Spirituality of Sound. We have heard the sounds of everyday life, the sounds of secular pop/rock tunes, the sounds of Djembe drummers, and now we slow our heart rates down with the Tibetan healing bowls.

Our service will be in the style of Taize. We will read again each of the scriptures we have heard from Matthew 5 in February. We will hear other readings. And Taize songs. And the sounds of the bowls.

What makes you find your quiet center? Do you even have one? How can you commit to making your life less crazy and more holy?  How can you decide that the most important place you can be on any given day is with God in quiet reflection?

Email me or comment below.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

"Letting Go"

Matthew 5:21-24, 38-48

So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? 


In Eugene Petersen's version of this text in The Message he says, "in other words, Grow UP! You're kingdom subjects, now live like it."  I kinda like that... quit taking yourself so seriously, quit worrying about what every single person does or says or doesn't do or say to you.  Love everyone who shows no love. Pray for those who turn their backs on you.  If you come to receive God's grace during communion, but are holding grudges against someone... go find that person and say, "hey, let's let it go." And hug that person. Embrace a new path with that person.

So much easier said than done, but so true. It relates to last week's passage about teaching AND obeying the commandments.  It is important to let go that which holds us back from being our whole selves.  Not forgiving people doesn't hurt them, it hurts us.

And so we have the drums, the inner beat of our heart, tha-thump tha-thump, the ringing in our ears, the sound of our rhythmic breathing.  We are all instruments, sounding our souls. If you don't think you connect to the visceral sounds of the earth, the ancient, tribal sounds... you just might change your mind after you sit for a while in the presence of drums. Drumming is an ancient practice that puts us fully and wholly in tune with our souls. Even deaf people feel the beat. Drums are able, possibly like no other instrument, to connect us to one another.

Once I was part of a drum circle. Some people in the circle I liked, others I tolerated. But within the span of a couple of minutes, we found a common rhythm together and it was like my soul connected to God, to earth, to all of life. Why? Because I let go of that which held me back and just let the drumbeat steer my thoughts, my heart, my life.  

How does God offer to be the drumbeat of our souls every day? Do we let God in so that we can let go?  What are some real and tangible ways we could better do this? Email me or comment below.




Tuesday, February 4, 2014

"Salty Spirit Sound and Silence"

Matthew 5:13-20

You are the salt of the earth. You are a light on a hill. Jesus says these words just after those famous words of the Beatitudes. Telling the disciples that a certain responsibility lies within them. A responsibility to not lose their saltiness, to not become so stale and dull that they get thrown out.
Telling the disciples that they are like a light and a light should not be put under a basket and hidden.

He goes on to tell them that they are responsible for teaching the commandments AND obeying the commandments. That it is only in teaching AND obeying God's commandments that the disciples are called greatest in the kingdom.  He stresses that righteousness is important.

We let a lot of 'word baggage' get in the way of absorbing the meaning of Jesus' words. We don't like the word commandment or the word righteousness in our sophisticated and secular world and so we ignore the clear call of Jesus in these words.

The band plays the music of The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel this week.  I would say it is modern music, but the truth is Nowhere Man is 50 years old next year. The Beatles debut in this country is 50 years old this year, after all.  And Sound of Silence is also almost 50, written 50 years ago this month in response to President Kennedy's assassination and released in 1965.  So, this is no longer the music of the young, right?

But we're not talking about youth, actually, we're talking about all people. This cry of  Jesus to not be pointless in your endeavors is the theme of Nowhere Man.  And listening for the voice of God nudging and perhaps shove of God to send us into directions that keep us 'salty' and 'shining' can only happen if we sit in the sound of silence.

Music that moves us.  Sounds that moves us. Not just in a feel good sort of way, but move us into action. That is a lot of what early rock and roll did. And actually current rock and roll, too.  We are moved to become better people. We are moved to follow a better way and become lights that shine and beacons on a hill. To be sassy and salty to a world that often looks, tastes, and feels stale.

But also to listen for that voice speaking in such unsuspecting places. through the sound of music, but also through so many other places. Paul Simon says it best in these lyrics:
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence



How do you keep following the Way of Christ?  How do you keep your lamp lighted? What do you hear in your sounds of silence?