How fitting that we celebrate Pentecost this Sunday. This week, barely three days old, has already confronted us with a hurricane of historic headlines. Why, on Tuesday alone we had two major announcements. Early Tuesday morning we had the opportunity to celebrate a first for Latinos and Latinas, the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Regardless of your politics and regardless of the outcome, I hope you can enjoy the significance of another barrier coming down, of another "first" for a community of often marginalized people. Second, we heard the crushing news from California, that the state Supreme Court had affirmed 6 to 1 that a simple majority vote can deny rights to a group of people based on...anything? Distaste, misinformation, religious beliefs, tradition, fear, better fundraising?
If it weren't so close to Pentecost, I might become a cynic.
But Pentecost won't allow it. Think back through the history of Pentecost. The Jews celebrate Shavu'ot 50 days after Passover, as both the early spring harvest and the giving of The Law, Torah, on Mt. Sinai. Christians know Pentecost as the day 50 days after Easter on which Jesus' disciples offered the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to the Jews gathered for the Jewish Pentecost. On that day two miracles occurred: one, the Spirit descended upon the people with power, as tongues of flame, and each person gathered for the festival heard the Gospel proclaimed as if in her own language. The new Christians were united as one community through the power of the Holy Spirit. There were no barriers. You might describe it as "church without walls."
Even through subsequent exile and persecution, Jews have continued to understand Shavu'ot as a day of extravagant hope. Passover freed the Jews from physical bondage in Egypt, but the giving of the Torah freed the Jews from spiritual bondage to idolatry and immorality.We Christians celebrate a similar hope in Pentecost. We celebrate the knowledge and hope that God is at work in and among God's people through the Holy Spirit. Just as our Easter enthusiasm begins to wane, just as the new begins to wear off the renewal we find in the Resurrection, Pentecost comes along to revive us in mission and purpose.
That's why I can't become a cynic. Even though most days half the news or more is bad, I keep reminding myself of what Dr. King said, "Social change cannot come overnight, but we must persevere, and work as if it were a possibility the next morning." That's the promise of Pentecost: at any given time the headlines can change because the Spirit is alive in God's people.
Please come worship with us this weekend as we Dare To Believe. Oh, and wear red-this weekend it's totally appropriate to be flaming.
Always in Hope,
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Dare to Pray!
Oh, my! If we haven't strettttcccchhhhed you yet during the Dare Ya series, we certainly will this weekend. This Saturday and Sunday, we'll dare you to pray dangerous prayers, and we'll give each one of you a personal copy of Regina Sara Ryan's poem "Dangerous Prayers."
I want to take the opportunity today to look both forward and backward a bit. First, I want us to look back to Easter and the beginning of the Dare Ya series. In our daring to dance, to cry, to fly, to dream, and to pray, we are daring to claim that we are Easter people. We are daring to announce that the entire course of history changed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but we are affirming that we have been and will continue to be personally changed by our relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Who knows better than we do what a risk we take when we dare to be changed, dare to be different!
Looking forward, we end the Dare Ya series next week with "Dare To Believe." Next week is Pentecost, the "birthday" of the church, if you will. It is the day, fifty days after Easter, when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, arriving like tongues of flame and "firing up" the baby Christians to come out of their closets-or their safe spaces-and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
Of particular relevance to us as we celebrate this Pentecost is the multicultural, radically inclusive nature of Pentecost. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, every person present that first Pentecost could comprehend each other's words even though they were speaking in a variety of different languages. We've been trying to recreate that experience in worship. Have you noticed over the past several weeks that we have been blending a variety of languages into our Sunday worship services? I have enjoyed hearing the surprised whispers of recognition all around me as the congregation realizes that an unexpected language is being spoken. "It's German!" someone will whisper excitedly. "Is that Hebrew?" someone wonders. The Sunday that Daniel sang the consecration in Spanish, I couldn't hear your words, but I could see the tears in many of your eyes.
Is there anything more amazing than feeling like the Word of God is being spoken directly to us? In the way we most want to hear? In the words that cut through all our filters and our "stuff" and our defenses and break our hearts wide open?
I dare you to let your heart be broken wide open by the vastness and reality of God's presence. And I dare you not to rush to patch your broken heart back together, but to leave it open...leave it open to life, laughter, tears, learning, joy, dancing, dreaming, love and always, more love.
Liebe, Karlek, Amore,
I want to take the opportunity today to look both forward and backward a bit. First, I want us to look back to Easter and the beginning of the Dare Ya series. In our daring to dance, to cry, to fly, to dream, and to pray, we are daring to claim that we are Easter people. We are daring to announce that the entire course of history changed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but we are affirming that we have been and will continue to be personally changed by our relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Who knows better than we do what a risk we take when we dare to be changed, dare to be different!
Looking forward, we end the Dare Ya series next week with "Dare To Believe." Next week is Pentecost, the "birthday" of the church, if you will. It is the day, fifty days after Easter, when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, arriving like tongues of flame and "firing up" the baby Christians to come out of their closets-or their safe spaces-and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
Of particular relevance to us as we celebrate this Pentecost is the multicultural, radically inclusive nature of Pentecost. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, every person present that first Pentecost could comprehend each other's words even though they were speaking in a variety of different languages. We've been trying to recreate that experience in worship. Have you noticed over the past several weeks that we have been blending a variety of languages into our Sunday worship services? I have enjoyed hearing the surprised whispers of recognition all around me as the congregation realizes that an unexpected language is being spoken. "It's German!" someone will whisper excitedly. "Is that Hebrew?" someone wonders. The Sunday that Daniel sang the consecration in Spanish, I couldn't hear your words, but I could see the tears in many of your eyes.
Is there anything more amazing than feeling like the Word of God is being spoken directly to us? In the way we most want to hear? In the words that cut through all our filters and our "stuff" and our defenses and break our hearts wide open?
I dare you to let your heart be broken wide open by the vastness and reality of God's presence. And I dare you not to rush to patch your broken heart back together, but to leave it open...leave it open to life, laughter, tears, learning, joy, dancing, dreaming, love and always, more love.
Liebe, Karlek, Amore,
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Daring to Dream
This weekend we will Dare To Dream, and that’s not all. We’ll also be commissioning our Building Team and praying for God to bless them with creativity, energy, and endless hope as they work to shape the dreams we bring to them into a new home for our worship and work.
I thought that when we actually reached this point, I would be nothing but happy. For one thing, we’re building for the best of reasons: our family is growing! We need more seats for worship. We need more childcare and classroom space for our children. We need more meeting space for our growing number of WoW U. offerings and ministries and community gatherings. God is great and it’s all good!
But…every time I step into our sanctuary, walk across the golden-brown floors, feel the sunlight filter down around me, and look at those rising, rounded walls that nurture us like a mother’s womb, I wonder how much of my heart I can truly give to a new building. This place, this unconventional, built by loving hands, hauled in on a truck place is a home like I have never known. I’m certain those words “We are standing on holy ground/And I know that there are angels all around” were never true until the people of MCC Austin sang them for the first time at Freedom Oaks.
I think what I’m doing today is inviting you to enter into this new building journey with us in any way that is authentic for you. Some of you will be like me, riding high on waves of excitement and then slipping below the swells of nostalgia. Some of you will be facing only forward, ready for every bit of challenge and change a capital campaign and building program can bring. Some of you will be looking back, wondering if the best has already been or is happening right now and longing to keep everything just the way it is.
I encourage you to be patient and loving with yourself, allowing yourself to feel whatever you feel. When enthusiasm is running high, call a Board member or email the Building Team and share your thoughts and dreams. When every sign of new construction heightens your sorrow over the coming changes, call your deacons or your pastors and share old stories and prayers for peace of mind.
I am going to keep reminding myself over and over that God has called MCC Austin to be a Church Without Walls, and we can be faithful to that calling in a cathedral of stained glass and stone, in the most unconventional of church buildings, in a rented gymnasium, a converted office building, or standing beneath the oaks with dirt under our feet. Wherever we gather in God’s name, God is most assuredly with us, and we are on holy ground.
Love and Blessings...
I thought that when we actually reached this point, I would be nothing but happy. For one thing, we’re building for the best of reasons: our family is growing! We need more seats for worship. We need more childcare and classroom space for our children. We need more meeting space for our growing number of WoW U. offerings and ministries and community gatherings. God is great and it’s all good!
But…every time I step into our sanctuary, walk across the golden-brown floors, feel the sunlight filter down around me, and look at those rising, rounded walls that nurture us like a mother’s womb, I wonder how much of my heart I can truly give to a new building. This place, this unconventional, built by loving hands, hauled in on a truck place is a home like I have never known. I’m certain those words “We are standing on holy ground/And I know that there are angels all around” were never true until the people of MCC Austin sang them for the first time at Freedom Oaks.
I think what I’m doing today is inviting you to enter into this new building journey with us in any way that is authentic for you. Some of you will be like me, riding high on waves of excitement and then slipping below the swells of nostalgia. Some of you will be facing only forward, ready for every bit of challenge and change a capital campaign and building program can bring. Some of you will be looking back, wondering if the best has already been or is happening right now and longing to keep everything just the way it is.
I encourage you to be patient and loving with yourself, allowing yourself to feel whatever you feel. When enthusiasm is running high, call a Board member or email the Building Team and share your thoughts and dreams. When every sign of new construction heightens your sorrow over the coming changes, call your deacons or your pastors and share old stories and prayers for peace of mind.
I am going to keep reminding myself over and over that God has called MCC Austin to be a Church Without Walls, and we can be faithful to that calling in a cathedral of stained glass and stone, in the most unconventional of church buildings, in a rented gymnasium, a converted office building, or standing beneath the oaks with dirt under our feet. Wherever we gather in God’s name, God is most assuredly with us, and we are on holy ground.
Love and Blessings...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Flying Forward, Looking Back
Oh, you must worship with us this weekend as we Dare To Fly! Once again, you might be hard pressed to find the connections between our theme and scripture, but trust me, they are there and we will be blessed as we explore them together. Additionally, we will celebrate Mother's Day, and I encourage you to bring not only your moms to church, but also bring all of the special people who have nurtured and inspired and been "like a mother" to you. And of course, I offer a special invitation to all of you who are mothers, who show through your words and actions the amazing love of Mother God.
We have all that to look forward to, but I'd like to change directions and invite you to look backward with me for just a moment.
Last month, our MCC Board of Elders met in what we were led to expect would be a landmark meeting in respect to the challenges that our denomination is facing and the changes that might need to be made. We were asked to pray specifically for our Elders to have the courage and wisdom to let themselves be inspired--filled with and moved by the Spirit.
I think all of us who heard Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson's sermon on the Sunday immediately following and then read her pastoral letter on that Monday believed that indeed, the Sprit had moved among our leaders and they were renewed and refocused and ready to lead us into a new day.
Since then, Rev. Elder Wilson has released another pastoral letter, this one with more detailed information about what our new provisional structure will look like and how our elected leaders will work with other denominational staff and with churches to enact some of the changes they have envisioned.
I remind you of all this for several reasons. First, I want you to know that this is not about "they" or "them" but about "we" and even "I." If you give of your time, talent, and treasure to an MCC church, you are not only part of but an important part of MCC. MCC Churches are first and foremost a fellowship in which all of us are welcome to bring our gifts and voices to the communion (common) table. If you don't know in your heart that you are vital and included in our dream of "Tearing Down Walls, Building Up Hope," then you just haven't "gotten" it yet. But don't worry, we'll stick with you till you do!
Second, I remind you of all these significant events so that you will continue praying. Many of us are more "acute" pray-ers than we are "chronic" pray-ers. In other words, something comes up that freaks us out or demands our attention and we start to pray. However, when the immediate crisis is eased, we often turn our prayers to other needs or even drop them altogether. This time, let us be chronic pray-ers, and let's pray for our fellowship and our leaders without ceasing.
Finally, I raise these thoughts because I want you to know that the health, mission, and vision of MCC Churches is very important to your local MCC Austin leaders. What happens at the denominational level matters to us greatly, and we are committed to offering input on, responding thoughtfully to, and supporting prayerfully and practically our denomination and our leaders. This does not mean that we accept all decisions and directions without questions or even, when appropriate, challenges. Rather, it means that we constantly affirm that we share the same goals for our united ministry and that we encourage and demand the best that can be offered from our leaders and ourselves.
I leave you with these three questions today: First, will MCC Churches succeed in Tearing Down Walls and Building Up Hope because MCC Austin is helping lead the way by becoming a Church Without Walls? Or will MCC Austin succeed in becoming a Church Without Walls because MCC Churches are helping lead the way by Tearing Down Walls and Building Up Hope? And finally, does it matter?
I can only answer the third question. It doesn't matter at all how these things are accomplished as long as they are. May we continue as individuals and as a body to be led and inspired and graced by God.
Dios Te Bendiga,
We have all that to look forward to, but I'd like to change directions and invite you to look backward with me for just a moment.
Last month, our MCC Board of Elders met in what we were led to expect would be a landmark meeting in respect to the challenges that our denomination is facing and the changes that might need to be made. We were asked to pray specifically for our Elders to have the courage and wisdom to let themselves be inspired--filled with and moved by the Spirit.
I think all of us who heard Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson's sermon on the Sunday immediately following and then read her pastoral letter on that Monday believed that indeed, the Sprit had moved among our leaders and they were renewed and refocused and ready to lead us into a new day.
Since then, Rev. Elder Wilson has released another pastoral letter, this one with more detailed information about what our new provisional structure will look like and how our elected leaders will work with other denominational staff and with churches to enact some of the changes they have envisioned.
I remind you of all this for several reasons. First, I want you to know that this is not about "they" or "them" but about "we" and even "I." If you give of your time, talent, and treasure to an MCC church, you are not only part of but an important part of MCC. MCC Churches are first and foremost a fellowship in which all of us are welcome to bring our gifts and voices to the communion (common) table. If you don't know in your heart that you are vital and included in our dream of "Tearing Down Walls, Building Up Hope," then you just haven't "gotten" it yet. But don't worry, we'll stick with you till you do!
Second, I remind you of all these significant events so that you will continue praying. Many of us are more "acute" pray-ers than we are "chronic" pray-ers. In other words, something comes up that freaks us out or demands our attention and we start to pray. However, when the immediate crisis is eased, we often turn our prayers to other needs or even drop them altogether. This time, let us be chronic pray-ers, and let's pray for our fellowship and our leaders without ceasing.
Finally, I raise these thoughts because I want you to know that the health, mission, and vision of MCC Churches is very important to your local MCC Austin leaders. What happens at the denominational level matters to us greatly, and we are committed to offering input on, responding thoughtfully to, and supporting prayerfully and practically our denomination and our leaders. This does not mean that we accept all decisions and directions without questions or even, when appropriate, challenges. Rather, it means that we constantly affirm that we share the same goals for our united ministry and that we encourage and demand the best that can be offered from our leaders and ourselves.
I leave you with these three questions today: First, will MCC Churches succeed in Tearing Down Walls and Building Up Hope because MCC Austin is helping lead the way by becoming a Church Without Walls? Or will MCC Austin succeed in becoming a Church Without Walls because MCC Churches are helping lead the way by Tearing Down Walls and Building Up Hope? And finally, does it matter?
I can only answer the third question. It doesn't matter at all how these things are accomplished as long as they are. May we continue as individuals and as a body to be led and inspired and graced by God.
Dios Te Bendiga,
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