yesterday's sermon.

yesterday i preached at one of the episcopal churches on the hill. the priest said to me, "you might not believe this but one time there were 6 episcopal churches on the hill." i looked at him and said, "i am a lutheran from minnesota. it makes perfect sense to me."

i didn't love the lessons appointed for sunday. i didn't dislike them either. they weren't lessons that make me feel warm and fuzzy. but out of them i got a sermon i like.

Acts 17:22-31
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

here is the sermon:

April 27, 2008
Sixth Sunday After Easter
John 14:15-21

Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thank you for giving me the privilege of your pulpit today. I am always humbled by the weight of preaching and the gift of sharing God’s word with God’s people. Thank you.

I discovered when I worked for a language and cultural immersion program that I love to teach. I was the Head Cook and taught French culture through food. I loved teaching my staff how to cook and watching them get excited about successes in the kitchen. I discovered this fall that I also enjoy teaching confirmation. This was a bit more of a surprise. You see, at Reformation I have eight boys in confirmation! Only boys! When I found this out I was a little frightened of the challenge of teaching the Bible to boys. What do you talk to boys about? Soccer, football, and paintball to start with. Plus, they are the sweetest kids. I had nothing to worry about.

We began with the Old Testament. The boys grumbled about all the genealogies. “Why do we need to read another list of names?” They would say. “Well,” I would respond, “we need to know why these people are righteous. We need to know why these people are important. Do you remember that Abraham had a special promise? Well, when we know that all these people are related to Abraham, we know that they are inheriting that special promise.” The boys would grumble an assent to my answer. They still didn’t like reading the genealogies, but they understood the answer.

They thought they were done with family trees when we got to the New Testament in January. Nope. Not a chance. Little did they know that genealogies were in the near future. I decided that we would read the introductions to each Gospel and compare them.

Here is what we found:
Saint Mark gives us Jesus as a fully grown man. No genealogies there. Just a strange man that appears on the scene.
Next…
Saint Matthew begins, “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Matthew gets more specific in the following verses and lists important ancestors. There also seem to be some numerical meanings to the genealogy, but that is for another day.

Saint Luke has a genealogy as well. He begins with Jesus and works back to, “Son of Cainan, son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.” Luke is also considered the author of the Book of Acts that we read today.

Saint John is a little different. He places Christ at the beginning. Which is also helpful for today’s conversation, but it is not technically a genealogy.

Back to confirmation class. The boys whined about more genealogies. I reminded them that these are important. I reminded them of Abraham and righteousness. Ah, yes. What does a genealogy mean? It means an author is proving the righteousness and legitimacy of a person.

In the reading from Acts today St. Paul says, “The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him- though indeed, he is not far from each one of us.”

Dearly Beloved, from one ancestor the Lord God made us all! The Lord God made you and Christ! Abraham trusted God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Because of this, everyone who came after him was considered blessed. Yet, St. Luke took Christ’s genealogy one step further. It was not just because of David or Abraham, but because of Christ being descended of Adam, who was truly Son of God.

Isn’t that a wonderful genealogy to ponder? Finally, any one of us could trace back to those first parents. Adam and Eve. And God created them. They claimed God as ancestor. You get to claim God as your ancestor. You get to say that on the top of your family tree is God the heavenly parent. It is a delightful way of imagining the world.

When Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” It changes a little bit if we think about this like we are one giant family. Jesus is not leaving you an orphan. You are not being abandoned. And, Jesus is with his Father, who is also a part of you. It is a little strange to think about, but also quite incredible.

There is such a sense of family intimacy in this little passage. The love. The strange systems at work. Lets face it, families sometimes get a little entangled and messy. And certainly living in a person and having another person live in you sounds messy. Family systems are not always simple or healthy. Yet, we are called to love one another in the system. As the church we must broaden our system. Today we have broadened our view of the system by living into our ecumenical relationship. We must continue to broaden our view of our family system. In this way people will remember the family relationships that we encounter in God. The Gospel is messy. Yet, the love is real. And Jesus will not leave you orphaned. His family system is always there.

One more little story.

Last weekend I did the toddlers’ night at Reformation. I decided to talk with them about one of my favorite things: Baptism. I decided that since they are toddlers that I would keep it very concrete. I had water, oil, certificates, and a candle. All the fun stuff we have around to celebrate baptism.

As we finished our time together I told the boys (it seems Reformation only has boys around) one last delight of baptism. I told them that they were all my brothers and that I was their sister. A big shout of happiness came up. You see, I think this is one delight of baptism that we forget. We really are brothers and sisters. We really can go anywhere in creation and have family. We can trust that God has put family for us all over the place. The toddlers thought this was a great thing. And you know, it is. God does not leave us orphaned. God does not leave us as only children. God gives us so much community that we don’t always know what to do with it. Let’s take a lesson from the toddlers and shout with happiness for the giant family tree we have! Amen

hmmmm.

well.
i always feel proud when:
1. i look like i might have a clue in DC.
2. i get asked for directions and...
3. i am ABLE to give said directions.

this week i got asked twice in a very short time frame for directions. one was for galludet. galludet is the university for deaf folks hear in town. it is kind of close to howard university. kind of. someone was driving on the hill and asked for directions. named a street...then the university...i was able to say with the certainty of a local that he needed to be in one of the other quadrants...the NE one. i was so proud. hey, i need to be proud of something!

i am going home to minnesota for a week. in that week i will be cramming: a three day clergy retreat, time with some of my good friends and their 2 year old daughter, more good friends, relatives, and my cute little church, with social work practicum interviews added in for good measure. may as well make the plane fare worth it!

i have felt a little stymied by how to dress for the interviews. i am now going into reverse cultural transitions...of some sort. i fought so hard the need to wear heels, black, skirts, business suits....blah, blah, blah. finally, i gave in. i have done a fair bit of shopping...though minus shirts, since the shirt is always picked out for me. the beauty of being a member of the clergy is that at least the shirt is picked out.

so now, i am headed back to the midwest. when i dress up now, i have it beat into my brain that i wear: heels, black pencil skirt, black jacket, black clergy shirt. i know. that is what i wear on sundays. sigh. immediately i thought, "do i wear that to my practicum interview?" this dual vocation thing just got complicated in a weird way.

today i went and got a new blouse. my mom said not to wear the clergy shirt. i honestly was totally baffled by the whole thing. thank goodness for a mom to put my head on right.
then...i had the feeling...will i over dress for minnesota now?

i just can't win. i feel neither here nor there at the moment. ugh.
i didn't think i would ever adjust to DC...now, maybe i have started to. is that scary?

we made it!

so anneka and i got quoted in the times! now, some may not think that is a big deal, but i certainly have had fun today. it is in both the print and online versions. and then i got jehovah's witness reading material today too! it has been a good ecumenical week. and i have had fun.

the article

the papal experience!

i got to see the pope! it was really quite fun. though, i don't much care for some of the positions he takes, it was still very cool to get to see the pope motorcade. i found myself waving to him and then thinking, "why am i waving at the pope? i don't follow anything he says." i suppose it just seemed like the right thing to do.

anneka and i (i made anneka come with me) were interviewed by a ny Times reporter. i looked her up, turns out she wrote a nice little piece on our churchwide assembly, with pictures of the rainbow stoles. a strange and small world it is.

she was a little baffled by a female, lutheran seminarian coming to see the pope. as in, "why do you care?" it was fun.

and i got pictures! and kitsch...a flag with the pope on it. it was a great day. and it was gorgeous out. perfect temperature. so i was quite happy when i went back to church.

tomorrow the traffic is going to be BAD. and i live near the nationals stadium. i really want one of the mass passes for the metro. sigh. i can't have all the kitsch i want.

it was a good day in DC.

more pope photos.

 

 

 

 

 

waiting for the pope! where is he?

 

here it comes!

 

THE POPEMOBILE! with pope.

 

top of popemobile.

bobblehead...pope style.

the pope is coming!

and he is bringing the popemobile! i live a few blocks from the new nationals stadium, which is where the papal mass will take place. they say traffic won't have been this bad since ronald reagan's funeral! 50,000 people flooding in. there are special "mass passes" for the metro the day of the mass. i really want one, just cause it sounds cool. mass pass.

i could go get a benedict bobble head. those are a hot commodity right now...i know you are all thinking that i will end up with something strange out of this.

the office manager is not surprised by my desire for a benedict bobble head.

there are two official popemobile routes. i am so going to see the popemobile...i am more excited about that then seeing the holy father.

i will take pictures of the exciting event...and share them all with you!

a tent.

april 12-13 has been designated as a weekend to ask the US government to support and uphold the peace processes that were begun in Sudan. it is a time to show Darfuri people that there are americans that support them and their desire for a peaceable community.

i was asked to organize a Tents of Hope event for the congregation. a pastor at reformation works for the faith section of Save Darfur. i ordered a tent. i am buying paint with some of the confirmation boys. you know, that whole, constructive use of their paintball skills thing. we will wrangle up some food and paint the tent on the front lawn on sunday.

i am a wee bit of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl. i don't stress about things too much. i know they will happen.

and then...

when i registered our group, i noticed that we are the only tent in DC being painted this weekend. the main event in DC is on the national mall. it is a rally to support folks in darfur. of course this is just short metro ride or slightly longer walk from the church. um, okay. convenient place to make a statement. right?

and then...

i got an email today. it seems some of the more national organizers have noticed the fact that we are on capitol hill and painting a tent.

now i am a wee bit freaked out! there might be media! AHHH! okay. i will just breath. it will be okay. this is not about me, but about making sure folks understand a little more about what is happening and raising a little money. maybe that will make me feel less crazy.

by the way...
Tents of Hope would like to raise $1 million this year. there are three organizations designated to take money. one is lutheran world relief. please feel free to give a little to LWR for Tents of Hope.

here is the link to the tents. tents of hope it is really a wonderful church project. it is a lovely kid friendly and family friendly way to teach about something horrorific. it is also a way to take something awful and talk about how we can have hope.

love letters.

so the kids at reformation apparently think i am fantastic. now, i am not quite sure how this happened. i think i said, "hello, how are you?"

there is one little girl, who is 5 and has 2 brothers and a cousin in my confirmation class. she is a very girly girl. always in dresses and frills. BUT, very spunky and self assured. it is a great combination.

this little one has decided to call me her "teddy bear". i am not sure why. at every potluck and annual meeting she follows me around and gives me hugs. very sweet.

today, for the first time since september, we had a children's sermon. a few parents wanted one and pastor asked me to take this on. since the congregation has gotten out of this habit, the kids were a little surprised. but this little girl was the first one up front and stood right in front of me and made sure i got my hug.

and of course, i asked questions and got answers that i did not expect. children never operate on our schedules or syllabi. which is what make them so fantastic. a little boy said he had a cut on his knee. in the context of the little chat, i said that Jesus knew about the cut. the little boy looked at me and said, "wow." then, "does he know about everbody?" me: "yup. everybody." i got some big eyes from the little boy in response.

as we were recessing out during the last hymn, the little spunky girl slipped me a note from the edge of her pew. it was FANTASTIC!!

she drew pictures of me and her. i am pretty certain she drew my nose rings. which made me giggle. very realistic. and on the picture she wrote, "i love vicar margaret." very sweet. i hope she is always that loving to people. i hope that she is always that thoughtful and gracious.

things were hectic with pastor being sick through the end of lent and holy week. i have needed two weeks to recover. to get a little note from a kid definitely reminded me to hang in with the good stuff. and that the best stuff is usually very little. like a sweet little note slipped into your hands by a child.

forgiveness.

here is my sermon from this past sunday. apparently it was a good one. i preached the doubting thomas story without actually talking about doubting thomas. i was quite proud of myself.

March 30, 2008
Second Sunday of Easter
John 20:19-31

Peace Be With You.

Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” to the disciples three times during this story. This story takes place during the two weeks between the resurrection and Jesus’ final appearance at Galilee. This is a familiar tale. We have heard the tale of Doubting Thomas so often we could probably recite it without a Bible in front of us. But, today let’s look at what is happening around Thomas. Let’s look at all the details that are in the tale that make the story of Thomas whole.

First, the disciples are shut up in a room. They are still fearful of the Jewish leadership. They are fearful that they too might be crucified. You see, crucifixion was political death. A form of capitol punishment reserved for the most dangerous of political prisoners. Another detail we lose sight of is that the cross and all it represented was considered shameful at first. It was considered an embarrassment that Jesus, this man that claimed to be the messiah, the anointed one, was killed. It does not matter that he was resurrected. For the first disciples it was confusing and shameful that their leader had been captured and been killed in such a disgraceful way.

So imagine the heartache of grief compounded by the embarrassment of Jesus death. I wonder if Senator Obama had similar feelings about his pastor. That struggle of having your spiritual leader publicly shamed. Wondering how to feel. Wondering what to do next. Wondering what this means.

Up the intensity of the experience. That is perhaps what the disciples were feeling in the closed room. Now enters Christ. And Christ says, “Peace be with you!” Just those words. Just his presence. And the disciples rejoiced. From pain and suffering to rejoicing! From fear to joy!

That is what the disciples received in that moment. They began to recover from their time of shame and grief. But then something new happened. Christ breathed on them. He breathed the Holy Spirit on them. This sounds much like the creation story. God breathed over the earth. God breathed spirit on the earth. Then creation began. Now Christ is breathing on the disciples and they become apostles. They become ones that are sent. Apostle comes from the verb that means to send. They are the ones that are sent by God.

This is a little part we miss when we focus on Thomas: “Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

This statement by Christ is referred to as the office of the keys. There is a tradition that Saint Peter was given the keys to heaven and the only one given permission to forgive sins. But, if we look closely at this passage we realize that Jesus was speaking to EVERYONE in the room! Everyone was given the authority to forgive and retain sins. There was not one person set aside for such a task, but the whole community was given the glorious task of forgiving.

Now let me tell you about another tradition that used to be active in many communities. The passing of the peace used to occur IMMEDIATELY after the confession and absolution. Yup. Think about it. You were expected to not only confess and be forgiven in an intellectual way, but you were supposed to live out that peace within the community. As a part of the worship service the space was made to live into the absolution. Live into the forgiveness. Live into the Lord’s Prayer when we say, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

The passing of the peace can still serve this purpose. We still do it after absolution, but now it waits until you have heard a little more preaching and are about to give your offering.

So. Christ says, “Peace be with you.” He then tells the disciples they can forgive anyone their sins. Do you know my dear ones, that you can forgive anyone their sins? Do you know you have that office? You have that permission and commission from Christ to joyously forgive the sins of your neighbors? Think about that a little.

Now think about what it can mean when you say, “Peace be with you.” It is the peace that comes from God. Not us. It is the forgiveness that comes from God, not from us. It is the wholeness that comes from God, not us. It is the healing that comes from God. Not us.

This is why we do it week after week. We need help keeping peace. We need to be reminded that our peace does not last long, but God’s peace and reign is eternal. I encourage you to seek out those in your lives that you struggle to say, “peace be with you” to. Try it out. See what happens. Maybe God’s peace will take root in surprising ways. And rejoice that Christ gave you the ability to forgive. It is a wonderful gift.

they're here! the cherry blossom episode.

okay. my mom has called me MANY times wanting pictures of the cherry blossoms. this is self preservation at this point! :) this is to keep the matriarchs of my family happy. grandma, mom, i suspect my aunt...

enjoy the pictures of the blossoms. they really are quite lovely. though, they have taken up residency in my sinuses. i swear there are little cherry trees growing in my face. pretty, but gross.








the jefferson memorial across the tidal basin...and cherry blossoms.







way in the back is the white house...and the cherry blossoms.



'cause it is just so silly...port a potties and cherry blossoms!








the washington monument and the blossoms.