Susan Lember hugs good friend Evie Wommack as she arises from the baptismal waters Sunday, May 13th 2012

Your New Best Friend (BFF)

We were blessed to have two new members baptized last Sunday AND thier first act as newly baptized christians was to serve at our table and present communion for all the church. That was amazing and a very fine experience.

After the baptisms but prior to communion, the sermon concerned a beautiful excerpt from the Gospel of John, John 15:9-17, Jesus's discourse to his disciples and a new commandment about LOVE! Key to any understanding about love is the friendship of God, and that was the gist of the message --that and the fact that we barely understand this great overture of love that God expresses toward us.

Here's the sermon from the Sixth Sunday of Easter 2012 -a beautiful day at Chalice Christian Church.

I added another wonderful quote from
The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message
by Cythia Bourgeault
read some of it here at Amazon.com

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Alexandre-Denis Abel de Pujol (1787-1861)  Saint Philip baptising the Eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza    1848  Oil on canvas    2.4 x 3.06 metres     Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes

Out of the Blue, -Again

Working our way into the book of The Acts of The Apostles, we discover that the protagonist of this book that follows the gospels is not Peter, Paul, Philip or anyone else --the main mover and shaker --what ACTS is about --is the Spirit of Holiness, or The Holy Spirit!

For the fifth Sunday of Easter I chose --ahem,...I mean, the Spirit chose (through me), to use Acts chapter 8 and the story of Philip and the Foreigner.  Luke includes the detail that the stranger was an Ethiopian and a eunuch, which is information some would prefer not knowing about.  But the strangeness of this story is in those and other details and in the surrounding chapters as the gospel is depicted invading Samaria and is extended out of the familiar boundaries of the Temple of Herod, Jerusalem, and ultimately, as we shall see, even Israel. I don't think we can grasp the shocking insight that is conveyed in this story --that the good news is not just heard but embraced by a exotic person of color and a castrated male!  Yikes! Some must have asked, "What's the world coming to?" The Holy Spirit certainly is operating in the shocking mode here and we should imagine that most or many of Luke's readers/listeners knew exactly what this story was getting at. The question is, do we?

Here's the sermon from the Fifth Sunday of Easter 2012.

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Here's the sermon from the Fourth Sunday of Easter 2012.

  
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, c. 1601–1602  in the Sanssouci of Potsdam, Germany

Believing Thomas and You!

Oh the poverty of our nomenclature!  Actually, Thoreau said, "Such is the poverty of our nomenclature.", in reference to a beautiful pond somehow poorly named Flint's Pond.  I've always liked that reaction of Henry David, and think of it often in regard to all sorts of names and titles.  During the Easter sequence I  remember that whenever we speak of Thomas, one of the disciples, and we can hardly stop ourselves from adding the moniker Doubting to his name.  Such is our poverty and the impoverished state of the church after nearly two thousand years of accommodation and custom when reading, speaking or hearing the gospel traditions.

However, If we have eyes to see, or ears to listen, we discover something about old Thom that is remarkable and even more so that any would glibly confuse him with doubting or unbelief. Isn't his statement, "MY LORD AND MY GOD!' a profound affirmation of really getting the point of the risen Christ?  And what about the other disciples?  After seeing Jesus on Easter Sunday they are still hiding out a full week until Thomas is with them again. Reading between the lines --they, the other ten disciples are inside hiding --but Thomas is out, somewhere, doing who knows what --the ten are chicken of what could happen to them and though seeing the Lord they are powerless and not sure of what it all means. Thomas is only a reasonable doubter of the disciples, and with their record --can we blame him?  I think the picture above isn't Thomas but Peter and some of the others. Caravaggio understood the story and knew Thomas didn't need to stick his finger in the side of Jesus or touch his wounded hands.

So what about you and me?  What will they say about us?  What moniker with they add to your name?  Are you a finger sticker or a Believing Thomas?

-Jack

The wonderful quote is from
The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message
by Cythia Bourgeault
read some of it here at Amazon,com

Here's the sermon from the second Sunday of Easter 2012.

Previous posts and sermons are always available through the menu bar above (organized by the church year and seasons).

An angel greets the Holy Women at the empty tomb of Christ on Easter morning. Meanwhile, soldiers flee.

EASTER SUNDAY!

An empty tomb started the week for the disciples so very long ago!  As contemporary disciples (and Disciples) we, too, started this week with an empty tomb, but for some it may have seemed more like we actually ended the week that way --that after the busy week that began with Palm Sunday and all the Holy Week services, after the Good Friday passion and the quiet Saturday/Sabbath --finally Sunday dawned as the end of that week!  But obviously it is the first day, in many ways. By bridging between a full past week of preparation and the following week and weeks of coming surprises at his appearing, Easter Sunday was and still is a pivotal moment.

We all know attendance usually drops in churches on the low Sundays after big church Sundays and national holidays like Easter and Christmas.  But what can be more exciting than these appearances of the risen Lord that we will read about in the weeks following Easter?

I've tried to point out how desperate these early disciples were, how devastated they felt over the fact of Jesus's death. On top of that, now it appeared that someone may have stolen the body of their Lord! They could only have initially thought that the empty tomb was a really bad sign that their connection with this dead guy was going to mean lots of trouble for them, too. If they could only have know how true that would be --but not in the way they thought at first.

We can try and fit ourselves into the shoes of the fisherman and the other disciples and realize what a shock the empty tomb was --well, maybe we can come close to understanding, but at least then we'll have a decent chance at extending our sojourn with Jesus a bit further, for as 21st century Disciples we have an option to grow in Christ through this Easter experience --like the ones that went before us. This is not just some theoretic rehearsing of an old crazy story. It is our story --ours!  For us! About us!  We are them! They are us!  Not exactly, but the similarities are close enough for us to get the point --I hope! Please read the passion stories again this week. Read further and beyond and pray for understanding and a way into and through these amazing texts.

Here's the sermon from Easter Sunday 2012  --based on the shorter ending of Mark.  God bless you!

The scripture reading is based on The New International Version

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Who We Are! What We Are!

Have a look at this Video from Disciples.org.  We have a rich tradition that has much to offer this complicated age.  Learning about us is not just for newcomers, all our members and friends would benefit from seeing this film.