Well, if you still have any doubt about how God can raise us from death to life, you weren’t here last Sunday!  We have been raised up!  We have been set free.  Now it’s time to fly!

A few weeks ago I came across this quote from a book called “Experiencing God:”

When your life is in the middle of God’s activity, God will start rearranging a lot of your thinking. God’s ways and thoughts are so different from yours and mine they will often sound wrong, crazy, or impossible. Often, you will realize that the task is far beyond your power or resources to accomplish. When you recognize that the task is humanly impossible, you need to be ready to believe God and trust God completely.

from Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby and Claude King

This Sunday, the last Sunday in the season of Easter, our scripture is from the mystical tradition of Christianity.  It’s a story in which the risen Jesus blesses his friends and followers with uplifted hands (the sign of passing on God’s blessing) and while blessing them, the Risen Christ is parted from them and “carried into heaven.”  To me, this story is symbolic of our empowerment ministry.  Immediately after the death of Jesus, his friends and followers needed a lot of reassurance that they were not only going to be “ok” but be able to carry on the ministry that Jesus began.  The “Ascension story” is the last piece of the resurrection story that they needed to experience.  They had been raised up, set free, and now it was time for them to “fly on their own.”

One of the great things about the resurrection story is that God doesn’t leave us alone (literally) until we “get it.”  God keeps pestering us, annoying us, coming to us, poking, prodding, encouraging, leading and always, lifting us up, until we’re ready to be set free to fly on our own.

This Sunday we’re going to watch a video of a person’s life story, which I guarantee you’ll walk away saying, “if this guy can be raised up and set free to soar to new heights, so can I!”  It’s also a wonderful image of what our new identity in Christ means for us as we grow into our new life as West Hollywood United Church of Christ.

Last Sunday we had a 19 year old guy come in off the street and join us for worship.  After worship he asked to talk with me.  He came down to Southern California to help out a family member who ended up in the hospital and he ended up on the street trying to find a way back home to Northern CA.  He said to me, “My life is totally messed up. I’m living on the street and I’m scared to death.  No one has been able to help me.  I just happened to be walking by this Church and saw your banners out front, so I came in.  I have to tell you, I’ve never been in a church where they sing Lady Gaga and Beyoncé!  Awesome!” “But even more,” he said, “I have never experienced a church where everyone is so positive and loving.  I just felt surrounded by the love of God all morning, and right now I need that so badly.”

We got him to a safe shelter for the night and hopefully he is back home in Northern California.  He said to me, “I hope to come back here again when I’ve got it more together.”  I hope he does too.  I could see his life was transformed.  He was raised up and empowered by Christ’s love at a moment of desperation in his life.  That’s what the Ascension and Resurrection is all about.

Blessings, even as we are being raised up!

Dan

~ This Sunday’s Scripture ~

Luke 24: 46-53

Jesus blesses the disciples and is parted from them.

And Jesus said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in Christ’s name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And I am sending the promise of my God upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, and with uplifted hands blessed them.  While blessing them, Jesus parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.  And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

On Saturday, May 12^th we became

West Hollywood United Church of Christ

at The Central Association

of the Southern California Nevada Conference

of the United Church of Christ

Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship

2085 S Hobart Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90018

Just south of Washington Blvd & Western Ave

As it became more and more clear that God was calling us into the UCC, I began to reflect on the long history of this church as well as all I have given to the Presbyterian Church.   I also began asking myself “why it has taken so long?”

The same questions confront many of us at other difficult times in our lives.  Why me?  Why now?  Why have I had to suffer so long?

There is no easy answer to that, but one thing I have found in my faith journey is that just when I think I’m not going to live to see things change, God surprises me.

Abraham and Sarah had that same experience.  Abraham and Sarah were old, and I mean “old, old.”  Very old.  Tradition has it Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah 90.  In the time in history in which they lived, most people died as children or adolescents.  If you made it into young adulthood, you would probably live a normal life span of 35-45 years at the most.  So 90 and 100 is “really old!”  The one hope and dream they had for the future of their lives didn’t happen for them and wasn’t possible.  They had no male heir to continue their family.  The best they could do was proceed in a way that we today find morally abhorrent.  Sarah had a slave named Hagar.  She offered Abraham her slave for sex. Abraham rapes Hagar until he gets her pregnant.  Hagar bears a son named Ishmael, and that’s “the best they can do.”  Sarah grows to hate Hagar, and doesn’t much care for Ishmael either.

Then one day God comes to visit Abraham and Sarah.  God reveals to Abraham that God has a BIG PLAN for Abraham.  God tells Abraham that God is going to create a great nation of people from him!  Abraham falls on his face and laughs at God.  He asks God, “Is a child to be born of a man who is 100 years old?”  [Not to mention that he and his wife have not been able to conceive even one child their entire lives.]  So God appeared to Abraham again outside the tent in which they lived and told him the same thing.  This time Sarah was inside the tent and overheard this conversation. When Sarah heard this, she laughed and said, “Now that I am so old and my husband is even older, is pleasure to come my way again?  Will I really deliver a child at my age?”  And God says, “Is anything too extraordinary for God to do?”

Sarah does conceive and bears a son, who is named Isaac, [which in Hebrew means “Laughter”].  The birth of Isaac allows God to carry on the covenant God made with Abraham and his offspring.  That’s us!  We are the contemporary children of Abraham!

So here we are as a church at 99 years old, a church of primarily childless adults and a lot of families who just aren’t going to get pregnant, at least not in the “old fashioned way,” yet God has come to us and said, “It time to give birth to newness.  You have a new life, a new purpose, a new ministry ahead of you.  14 months ago this seemed impossible!  But as we hear in this story, “Is anything too extraordinary for God to do?”

So here we are on Mother’s day, 99 years old and celebrating our new birth and the life that is before us!  Awesome.  Totally Awesome!

Blessings, even as we are being raised up!

Dan

~  This Sunday’s Scripture ~

Genesis 17-18

When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared and said, “I am El Shaddai [a Hebrew name for God which means ‘the God who nurses you.’]  Walk in my presence and be blameless.  I will make a covenant between you and me, and I will increase your numbers exceedingly.”

Abram fell on his face before God, and God said to him, “This is my covenant with you:  you will be the ancestor of many nations.  You are no longer to be called Abram [which means ‘respected Parent,’] but Abraham, [which means ‘The originator of a Multitude,’] for you are the ancestor of a multitude of nations.  I will make you most fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and rulers will spring from you.  I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you, and your descendants after you for generations to come.  I will be your God, and the God of your descendants after you.

God continued, “As for Sarai,” her name will now be Sarah, [which means ‘noblewoman.’]  I will bless her, and I will give you a child by her.  I will bless her, and she will become nations; rulers of peoples will come from her.”

Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, “Is a child to be born of a man who is 100 years old?  And will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”  So God finished speaking with Abraham and left him.

God then appeared to Abraham by the oak grove of Mamre, while Abraham sat at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Looking up, Abraham saw three travelers standing nearby.

When he saw them, Abraham ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, said, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by our tent.  Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves beneath this tree.  As you have come to your faithful one, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves.  [Then Abraham prepared a banquet to welcome them, and they ate.]

While sitting under the tree, they asked, “Where is Sarah?”

Abraham replied, “There in the Tent.”

One of them said, “I will surely return to you this time next year, and Sarah will then have a child.  Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.  Now Sarah and Abraham were old, well on in years, and Sarah no longer menstruated.  So Sarah laughed to herself and said, “Now that I am so old and my husband is even older, is pleasure to come my way again?”

God said to Abraham, “Why does Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really deliver a child, at my age?’  Is anything too extraordinary for God to do?”  And God said, “At the appointed time, at this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a child.”

Genesis 21

God was gracious to Sarah as it had been foretold, and did what had been promised.  Sarah conceived and gave birth to a child for Abraham, who was now in old age, at the very time God had promised.  They named the child Isaac, [which in Hebrew means “Laughter”] and Abraham circumcised the child when he was eight days old, according to God’s command.  And Sarah said, “Now God has given me laughter, and all who hear of this will laugh with me.”

I am convinced there is a huge difference between boys and girls.  When five and six year old girls are together, they laugh and giggle and play well together.  There’s an occasional meltdown and hurt feelings but they make up much easier than boys.  Put five and six year old boys together and the testosterone automatically kicks in.  It doesn’t take long before someone gets punched or hit and the tears start rolling.  Put them back in the sandbox and soon one boy will be hitting another.  Black and blue marks become a rite of passage for boys.

Yes, boys do like to fight.  And, that’s a difficult reality when you are a gay boy who doesn’t like to fight!

This Sunday’s scripture is a boy’s story.  It is about two big boys, fighting it out – David and Goliath.  Every time I see the new TV ad for “AndroGel 1.62 ^®” I think of the David and Goliath story.

OMG, here’s this middle aged guy with graying hair surrounded by letters and numbers that make him look puny and an erector crane hauling a bunch of fake plastic letters and numbers.  His obvious weakness is to be made strong if he uses AndroGel 1.62%^®.  In case you don’t know, AndroGel 1.62%^® is a testosterone supplement.

In 1998 Pfizer Pharmaceutical Corporation pulled off the unthinkable.  They convinced millions and millions of men that they understood a guys’ fear of impotency.  Yes, they were selling men product based on “feelings!”  See, the Impossible IS possible!  In true male fashion, it didn’t take long to figure out what’s good for the weak is even better for the strong – so to speak.  And now, teenagers are seeking prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs.

It was this same testosterone laden world that led David and Goliath to fight.  The Philistines were “The AndroGel 1.62% Team” and they sent out their most valiant warrior, Goliath.  Put together Viagra^® and AndroGel^® and read the first paragraph of the scripture below. It’s a hoot!

Then along comes the “girl-ish” David.  He tries to “man up” by referring to Goliath as “this uncircumcised Philistine” whom he’s going to take out.  So, they armor-up little David with a bronze helmet, a heavy coat of arms from head to waist, probably made of leather and metal, and a sword over his armor, and then he’s humiliated.  Poor little David can’t even walk with all this armor on!  So he takes off his armor and decides to confront the Viagra^®-AndroGelled^® Goliath as he really is, instead of the warrior he wishes he were.  He’s a shepherd boy with five smooth stones in his shepherd’s bag.  Goliath taunts David saying, “Am I a dog that you have come to me with sticks?”  And David yells back, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the living God of hosts, whom you have defied.”

Now in this text David is made out to be the weakling.  He’s described as “comely in appearance” – that meant he’s effeminate. He looks like “a girl.”  It’s that horrible put down that every gay boy dreads especially from your pubescent peers.   But David grows into himself over time.  By the time he is chosen as King of Israel, he’s described as drop dead gorgeous.  He has a harem of wives including the stunning beauty, Bathsheba, and of course dear old King David has Jonathan, “whom he loved even more than his women.”  That’s a direct quote from scripture, not me!  [2 Samuel 1:26]

Peel away the testosterone and the androgyny and this story is really about weaklings with a STRONG FAITH.   The only reason I’m alive today is that I was a skinny runt who could run faster than my older brother.  I know for sure that more than once he would have killed me if he could have caught me.  His mantra in adolescence was “Might makes right.”  He was a total jock and outrageously strong.  Like I said, the only reason I’m alive today is I could run faster than he.  Thankfully, later in life he learned the lesson of the David and Goliath story: “Might does not make right.”  The strongest do not always win.  And of course Jesus transposed these categories of power and might as the words of one of our favorite songs say:

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”;

Let the poor say, “I am rich”

because of what God’s love has done for us.

In a world where we are quick to resort to war and militarism, where bullying and bashing are common every-day occurrences, where the poor are becoming increasingly powerless, where the Pope complains that a bunch of Nuns (Religious Sisters) are spending too much time and energy speaking for the poor and not against homosexuality and abortion, in a world where multinational corporations wield unbelievable power, we are given this message of God’s Truth.  The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is about changing power dynamics.  What counts is not testosterone, but faith.  David may have been a weakling, but he had a mighty strong faith!  Same for us!

Blessings, even as we are rising,

Dan

~ This Sunday’s Scripture ~

I Samuel 17

The story of David and Goliath

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle.  And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, whose height was six cubits and a span.  He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail {a heavy coat of arms from head to waist, probably made of leather}, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.  And he had massive amounts of bronze upon his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.  And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him.  And he shouted out to the Israelites:  “Choose for yourselves one among you, and let your warrior come down to me.  If your warrior is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against your warrior and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”

And David went to Saul and said, “Let no one’s heart fail because of Goliath.  I will go and fight with this Philistine.”  And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine, for you are only a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.  But David said to Saul, “I, your servant, used to keep sheep for my father; and when a lion, or a bear, came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and killed it, and delivered the lamb out of the animal’s mouth.”  Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”

Then Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.  And David girded his sword over his armor, and he tried in vain to move, for he was not used to them.  Then David said to Saul, “I cannot move with these; for I am not used to them,” and David took off all the armor.

Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s bag.  His sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

The Philistine came and drew near to David with his shield in front of him.  And when the Philistine looked, and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and comely [effeminate] in appearance.  And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog that you have come to me with sticks?”  And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the living God of hosts, whom you have defied.

As the Philistine drew near to David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.  And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his fact to the ground.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him.  Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took Goliath’s sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed Goliath.  He cut off Goliath’s head with it, and when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

In a CNN report, columnist and gay-rights advocate Dan Savage is standing by his comment that “we can learn to ignore the bulls**t in the Bible about gay people” at a recent conference for high school students, a line that prompted some to walk out and spurred intense online debate.

In a blog post on Sunday, Savage wrote that his remark was “being spun as an attack on Christianity. Which is bullshhh… which is untrue.”

“I was not attacking the faith in which I was raised,” Savage wrote. “I was attacking the argument that gay people must be discriminated against — and anti-bullying programs that address anti-gay bullying should be blocked (or exceptions should be made for bullying ‘motivated by faith’) — because it says right there in the Bible that being gay is wrong.”

Some Christian students walked out of the Seattle speech, prompting another controversial line from Savage: “It’s funny to someone who is on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the Bible how pansya**ed people react when you push back.”

Savage apologized for that specific remark in Sunday’s blog post, writing that his word choice “was insulting, it was name-calling, and it was wrong.”

Did the anti-bullying advocate become the bully?  Bullying is what happens when anger and rage overtake us.  Bullying happens when a person feels insecure or threatened by someone else and so they react in abusive ways to humiliate, disempower or harm someone else.  Bullying happens when one allows stereotypes or prejudicial beliefs about another to replace rational truth and respect for difference.  For me, Dan Savage did cross the line by using the very same tactics he is trying to get others not to use.

In the religious struggle for LGBT equality it’s not the Bible that’s wrong.  It’s the way SOME PEOPLE interpret the Bible.  Setting aside the “bullshit” argument, there is not one word in the Bible that relates to homosexuality as we know it today.  None.  Nada.  Zip.  There is a lot of anger against Christianity for the way many Christians have used the bible, but Dan Savage doesn’t do anyone any good by stereotyping all Christians as anti-gay or by highlighting Biblical texts as authoritative when they are not.  Why not just say the obvious:  “They’re wrong.”

Let me be so bold as to tell you why I think Dan Savage was wrong.  It’s because I’ve crossed that same line myself.  I know full well that when you constantly fight homophobia and religion, the frustration, the hatred, the angst and anger can build up within you and then it doesn’t take much to cross the line and “dish out” the same abuse you’ve received.  This is exactly what the Apostle Paul discovered about himself after fighting for the good of Christ to both a religion and a government that didn’t want to hear anything of it.  Paul confessed:  “I do not understand my own actions.  I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  …I do not do the very good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”  Romans 7:15-19

Today I received a quote from Cornel West’s new book, The Impossible Will Take a Little While.  It’s a wonderful commentary on Sunday’s sermon (the story of Lazarus) and the Dan Savage event.  And, it’s good news for all of us!

Cornel writes, “We’ve forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice.  In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing, and just hoping to land on something. But that’s the struggle. To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never allow despair to have the last word.”

So, take it from one who knows and who has been there:  Jesus, Gandhi, Cornel West, Dan Smith, Dan Savage.  We all have much to learn on this journey, but the one thing we don’t want to do is to become the evil we deplore.

In the Hope and Spirit of the Risen Christ,

Dan

In July of last year I attended the General Synod (national gathering) of the UCC and was invited to a cocktail party to meet some of the leading social justice advocates in the UCC.  This rather short woman, about my age, joined a conversation group I was with, so I introduced myself and told her about our exploration and discernment process with the UCC.  She in turn introduced herself as “Donna Schaper.”  I was stunned!  I asked, “Are you the Donna Schaper who wrote ‘Calmly Plotting the Resurrection?’”  She smiled and said, “Yes, but that was a long time ago!  “I said, OMG, we’ve got to talk!”  After the party we got together and talked until about 1 in the morning.

Of all the titles of the millions of books written about the Resurrection, none of them strikes me as profoundly as, “Calmly Plotting the Resurrection.”  First of all, “Calmly” is not a word often associated with the Resurrection.  “Mystery.  Excitement.  Fear.  Joy.  Surprise.  The Unexpected.” All of those are words I associate with the Resurrection, but “Calmly?”  Nope.

And “Calmly Plotting” is also a concept we don’t often associate with the Resurrection.  “Plotting” usually means “planning in secret, especially to bring about an illegal or subversive act.”  Well, now you can see my intrigue.

Donna’s book is much like a primer in spiritual activism.  It begins with the premise that the Resurrection IS a subversive act, a subversive act by God.  God is not about to let death or evil win, nor the political shenanigans of the religious and political power-barons of the time. Resurrection, Donna states, is a process that takes a lot of time and “plotting.”  Radical, liberating change does not happen on our timeline, it happens on God’s.  And it is often when we least expect it that God’s subversive act of justice and love breaks into our consciousness and world.  Her understanding of Resurrection transformed my understanding of Resurrection and has fed and nurtured my spirit especially in those dry, desolate moments when I think the church or society is not able to be raised up.

The Biblical story that I always associate with “calmly plotting the resurrection” is the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  Lazarus is the Patron Saint of our recent history in and with the Presbyterian Church.

The story of Lazarus’ death is both sad and unsettling.  Throughout the Gospels, it is clear that Martha, Mary and Lazarus are Jesus’ “family of choice.”  We all know what that means.  So, one day while Jesus is teaching in a nearby town, Lazarus falls critically ill and is near death.  Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters and two of Jesus’ closest friends, send word for Jesus to come immediately to save/heal Lazarus.

When Jesus gets the message about Lazarus, we would assume he, like so many of us have done, would try to get to Lazarus as quickly as possible.  But Jesus doesn’t.  He intentionally stays away for a couple extra days, insuring that Lazarus would be dead and buried by the time he got back to Bethany.  When he finally gets back Mary and Martha greet him and all three break into tears.  Then Martha expresses her anger at Jesus.  In Biblically polite language, she says to Jesus, “If you cared, you could have saved Lazarus’ life.”  Ouch!  But Jesus replies, “It’s not that I didn’t care, it’s that God had a different plan than yours.”  Cut to the chase….Jesus goes the tomb where Lazarus is buried, instructs that the stone be rolled away from in front of the tomb and shouts into the tomb, “Lazarus COME OUT!”  And Lazarus comes out, wrapped in the cloths of death and burial.  Jesus then commands the community standing and watching this scene, to “unbind him and let him go!”  And they do!

Sunday, we had a Lazarus-Calmly Plotting the Resurrection-experience.  Our members voted to be unbound and set free to do the ministry we are called to do and bear the witness we are called to bear.  The energy, the joy, the excitement, the hope is STILL RISING!  As we have gone through our process of discernment it has been clear to me from early on that this was a decision that was beyond our control.  God was in control of our future.  Just like life.  But it does seem to me that God was actively at work among us, “calmly plotting our Resurrection.”

What a joy to know that we are still rising!  And what an even greater joy to know that God is still raising us up into the fullness of God’s love and grace.

Blessings, even as we are rising,

Dan

~ This Sunday’s Scripture ~

John 11: 17- 45

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.  Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha with whom Jesus stayed when in the town of Bethany.  Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the town’s women had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother (as was their religious custom).

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house.  Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”  Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”  Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; those who believe in me, though they die, they shall live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?”  Martha said to Jesus, “Yes, I believe that you are the Christ, the Child of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

When Martha had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”  And when Mary heard it, she rose quickly and went to Jesus.  Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.  When the women who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.  Then Mary, when she came and saw Jesus, fell at his feet, and said, “If you had been here, my bother would not have died.”  When Jesus saw her weeping, and those who came with her also weeping, he was indignant in spirit and troubled, and said, “Where have you laid Lazarus?” They answered, “Come and see.”  Jesus wept.  Those who were with them said, “See how Jesus loved Lazarus!”

Then Jesus came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.  Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”  Martha, the sister of the one who had died, said to Jesus, “By this time there will be an odor, for Lazarus has been dead four days.”  Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”  So they took away the stone.  And Jesus looked up and said, “God, I thank you that you have heard me.”  Having said this, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”  The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

And that’s not just from “general friends.”  A few months ago we remembered and celebrated the life of David Muller.  David’s mom, who knew him for 56 years, has said to me every time we talk, “I didn’t know [this or that] about David.  His Memorial service was so beautiful to me.”  And then she pauses and asks, “Is it okay to say that about a Memorial Service?”  Of course it is.  What made that service so beautiful for her was the honest sharing about David’s life and the way he touched so many people.  Some pastors include a “eulogy” that gives “vital” information about the person.  That usually includes where they were born, where they went to school.  Awards, accomplishments, professional achievements, etc., etc.  Years ago I learned that that kind of stuff is not what people remember or even care about.  What we care about is how the person who has died touched our lives.  We care about their humanness and the way they related to us.

How is Jesus remembered?  The gospel writers, his followers, and even those of us who follow Jesus today don’t know anything about his educational background or professional accomplishments.  Even his place of birth is relatively unknown, or debatable.

Was Jesus born in Bethlehem in Judea, or in Nazareth, or in another Bethlehem?

Christian tradition states that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea (now Palestine). This is about six miles south of Jerusalem.

However, the location of Christ’s birth is not certain.

• Matthew 2:1-6 quotes Micah 5:2 as one proof that Jesus was the anticipated Messiah. Micah predicted that out of Bethlehem would “come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.”  The picture drawn by Matthew is of an engaged couple who were living in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth.

• Luke 2:1-7 describes Joseph and Mary as residents of Nazareth in Galilee. They would have had to travel for about a week to cover the approximately 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem in Judea.   Luke says that they had to do this in order to take part in the Roman census and taxation. However, there is no record what so ever of such a tax or the governor who supposedly ruled during this time.  Add in to this story that Mary is 9 months pregnant and it becomes pretty clear that such a journey would be nearly impossible, with or without a donkey!  It is much more logical that Jesus was born in Nazareth in spite of Luke’s attempt to “get him to Bethlehem.”

• Mark 6:1 contradicts Matthew by identifying Nazareth as Jesus’ birthplace … and his “hometown.”

• John 7:41-43 also contradicts Matthew. It has people in a crowd rejecting Jesus as the Messiah because the Messiah was expected to come from Bethlehem in Judea, whereas Jesus was known to have come from Galilee.

• There are numerous references in New Testament that identify Jesus as coming from Nazareth. The early Christians were called “Nazarenes.” Jesus was called “Jesus of Nazareth” or “Jesus the Nazarene” – and never “Jesus of Bethlehem.”

Long story short:  the statistical data, or what legal scholars call “vital information,” isn’t vital at all.  At least not when it comes to remembering what is important and meaningful about someone’s life.

This Sunday’s Gospel is the story of the two criminals who are crucified with Jesus, one on his right; one on his left.  The one criminal “trashes” Jesus from the cross, the other says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your glory (kingdom).  Who makes a greater impact in this story, the first or the second criminal?

Those words, “Jesus, remember me,” became the text of one of the most beloved songs from the Taizé community. We often sing Brother Roger’s setting of “Jesus, Remember Me” during Communion.  The Taizé community is an ecumenical religious community formed by Brother Roger who was a Protestant.

From 1937 to 1940, Roger studied Reformed theology in Strasbourg and Lausanne, where he was a leader in the Swiss Student Christian Movement, part of the World Student Christian Federation.

In 1940, he rode a bicycle from Geneva to Taizé, a small town near Mâcon, about 390 kilometres (240 mi) southeast of Paris. Taizé was then in unoccupied France, just beyond the line of demarcation of the zone occupied by German troops. For two years Brother Roger hid Jewish refugees before being forced to leave Taizé. In 1944, after the war, he returned to Taizé to found the Taizé religious Community which to this day is committed to the pursuit of peace and the “one-ness” in Christ among all religious traditions.

Brother Roger was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 1988 and wrote many books on prayer and reflection, asking young people to be confident in God and committed to their local church community and to humanity. He also wrote books about Christian spirituality and prayer, some together with Mother Teresa with whom he shared a cordial friendship.

Ironically, Brother Roger was stabbed to death during the evening prayer service in Taizé on August 16, 2005 by Luminiţa Ruxandra Solcan. He was stabbed several times and, though one of the brothers carried him from the church, he died shortly afterwards. The assailant was immediately apprehended by members of the congregation and was placed in police custody.  Ms. Solcan had a life-long history of suffering from mental illness.

The funeral took place on August 23, 2005. In a highly unusual move, the funeral of this Protestant monk was presided over by a Catholic cardinal. Walter Kasper, the president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who celebrated the Mass with four priest-brothers of Taizé concelebrating. In his homily he said, “Yes, the springtime of ecumenism has flowered on the hill of Taizé.” In reference to Brother Roger’s concern for social justice, Cardinal Kasper said “Every form of injustice or neglect made him very sad.” Br. Roger’s successor, Br. Alois prayed for forgiveness: “With Christ on the cross we say to you, Father, forgive her, she does not know what she did.”

On this third Sunday of Easter we continue our Easter exploration: “When the Impossible Is Possible.”  How will you be remembered?

Easter Blessings,

Dan

~ This Sunday’s Scripture ~

Luke 23: 32-34, 39-43

One of the criminals crucified with Jesus said,

“Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.”

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with Jesus.  When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.  Then Jesus said, “Loving God, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing.

The people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, God’s Chosen One!”   The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jewish people, save yourself!”  There was also an inscription over Jesus’ head, “This is the King of the Jewish people.”

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding Jesus and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?  Save yourself and us!”

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this person has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

If you shop at Ralph’s Supermarkets, you can now select West Hollywood Church’s Sack Lunch program as a Community Contribution recipient.  Depending on the amount you spend each month, our Sack Lunch Program will be eligible for a grant of between 1% and 4% of your month’s total purchase.  To register, go to the Community Contributions page on Ralph’s website.  Scroll to the bottom of the page to “Participant Enroll.”  When you reach the enrollment box, type in “West Hollywood Presbyterian Church.”  Click the selection icon and you’re done.  Go back and verify that you have registered by clicking the community contribution link again.  Or you can get a bar code sheet from us and take it to Ralph’s.  They will enter our program number using the bar code sheet.

Yesterday, April 15^th – the traditional “tax due day” we looked at the values and priorities we as a country hold through the way our government spends our tax dollars, and who pays for this.  Using Ben Cohen’s “Oreo” pyramid, we saw the outrageous disparity between what we as a country spend on the “Military” and what we spend on “human services.”

As in all things in life, one’s perspective has everything to do with how we see things.  I didn’t realize until after the service that a lot of you couldn’t see the full impact of this display, so here are a couple pictures from “behind.”  A huge thanks to Deb for taking these!

What is clear in these pictures is it takes a lot of human resources to sustain the $700,000,000,000 (seven hundred billion) military industrial complex; and the differential between the 70 cookies (each cookie represents $10 Billion) and the next largest discretionary expense categories: Housing; Environment, Energy & Science, and the US Government – 7 ½ (seven and a half) cookies each.  Spending on Veterans Affairs and Health – 6 cookies; Spending on Education – 4 ½ cookies; Transportation – 4 cookies; Food – 1 ¼ cookies.  YIKES!

Are these the values of Death or Resurrection?

In our national conversation about “reducing” the deficit, who is going to be cut and what does that say about our values?  Can we change this pattern of spending?  Some say, “No.  We’re powerless to change this.”

Are we really?  Look what’s happened all over the world as “ordinary people” find their voice and power through social media – Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.  And even before Twitter, it was people’s faith in God that changed the world.

Whenever you find yourself thinking or saying, “That’s impossible!  I can’t do that! I can’t change that!” just remember one thing:  “God’s BUT.”

Everyone was sure Jesus was DEAD – and with him, his values, his teaching, his story, his witness to who God really is, had died too.  ”But God raised Jesus up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held by death’s power.”  Acts 2: 24.

Resurrection is always about dying to the old and being raised up into the new.  Resurrection is for the living, more than the dead.  It’s not just about what happens at the end of our lives; it’s about what happens NOW.  It really does take a while to grasp that concept – to let it soak deep into our being.  So every time I fall back into the place of “disbelief,” of saying, “I can’t change that,” or saying, “that’s impossible!” I remember “God’s BUT!”  “But God raised Jesus up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held by death’s power.”  This same power from God is given to you and me today.  But God raises us up from all forms of death and destruction, because it is impossible for us to held by the powers of destruction, even self-destruction.

Read on.

Blessings to you as your Rise Up this Easter Season,

Dan

This week we have another first!   Artist and all-around creative girl, Emma B, is producing our first WH Utube video.  Em has spent the last weeks interviewing some of you with the question, “What does the resurrection mean to you?”  This Sunday we’ll see the edited version!  Totally cool.

We also will receive New Members and Celebrate the Baptism of Hortensia Ruiz.  This New Members Class is the first class in the history of our church (which is pretty wild and untraditional) in which a majority of the class is Hispanic/Latin-American.  Awesome!

And in honor of Mike Hargrove’s 30^th birthday, Mark’s family will be here to celebrate.   Mark’s dad, Jorge Abulencia, will be playing with our worship band and singing the Offertory.

As if that were not enough, I’m going to preach a sermon that is bound to get people talking.  Since Sunday is April 15^th (the day that our Income Taxes are usually due) I thought I’d preach about “Taxing.”  We’ve all heard the sayings, “The only thing sure in life is death and taxes.”  Well, if God make something new out of death, maybe we can change our attitude about taxes as well.

Last year the “Occupy” movement started an intense discussion in America about the 1% vs. the 99%.  Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, two of the three richest persons in the world (yes, the whole world!) have redirected the conversation about wealth. They speak quite similarly to those in the “Occupy” movement.  But long before Buffet, Gates and the Occupy movement, the world’s wealthiest have demonstrated humanitarian giving and philanthropy in both the use and giving of wealth.

There is one person in the crucifixion story who is named every year, but his gift is quite glossed over.  Maybe it’s because the gift was used for such a short period of time, but without it, the story of Jesus’ resurrection would be radically different.  Can you guess who this is?

One clue.  “He” (it’s a male) is a very, very wealthy person who in the midst of the chaos of the crucifixion gives Jesus and his family an unbelievable gift – a gift that only the 1%, the wealthiest in that time in history had.

His name is Joseph of Arimathea [Air-ih-mah-THEE-ah].  And what was his gift?  The tomb in which Jesus was buried.  This man, whose story is glossed over so often, is mentioned in all four Gospels:  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which means everyone in the early Christian Church was greatly touched by Joseph’s action!   Without Joseph’s giving, Jesus would have been buried in the desert as all peasants were.  Joseph’s gift was an amazing gift of generosity and a deep expression of caring.

As we look for the resurrection of our country and our world – moving from economies of debt to financial health and stability, we need to be careful not to demonize the wealthy.  From a Christian perspective wealth is value-neutral.  In fact, in both Christian and Jewish tradition, all wealth actually belongs to God.  We just have our wealth “for a time.”  As the old sayings goes, “You can’t take it with you.” However, many of us wouldn’t mind helping God out by managing a little more of God’s bounty!  But seriously, what counts in the Christian tradition is what we do with our wealth and how resources are shared especially with the poorest of the poor.

This Sunday we’re going to have a little more fun than normal as we play the wealth game.  Can paying taxes feel less taxing?  Can we rise above partisan bickering so that the Impossible is Possible?  If God can transform death into New Life, I think there’s a good chance God can help us discover that the Impossible is Possible.

Join us for Easter 2.0.

Easter Blessings,

Dan

~ This Sunday’s Scripture ~

Matthew 27: 50-62

Joseph of Arimathea buries the body of Jesus in his own new tomb.

And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.  (Jesus died.)

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split and many of the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of other tombs after Christ’s resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

When the centurion and those who were with Jesus, keeping watch over him, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the child of God!”

There were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him; among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph (and Jesus), and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.  He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.  And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulcher.