If Cats Disappeared From the World

   I recently read Genki Kawamura's If Cats Disappeared From the World, a short novel that follows the main character as he receives the untimely notice that he'll die immediately unless he agrees to the devil's terms of making one thing disappear from the world each day.  Cell phones and clocks and movies disappear, each buying the protagonist one additional day, and the book is a reflection on how those items change our lives and what really matters when faced with impending death.  

  It's a short book, and one that inevitably leads to deep thoughts about relationships and possessions, how we spend our time and what impressions we leave upon one another in this life.  I wouldn't recommend this book if you're looking for a light read, but it's helpful if you're looking for the chance to think some bigger thoughts about how you want to spend your time and where you'd like to invest.  There's some beautiful thoughts about the role pets play in our lives and how they allow us to deepen our relationships with one another.  

  The most thoughtful part of the book to me is a short discussion at the end about regrets.  As someone who often spends time wondering 'what if', the main character reflects that "there's a certain beauty in regrets.  They're proof of having lived."

  I've spent a lot of time thinking about this.  Every choice leaves the possibility of wondering what might have happened if one had made the other choice, but the fact that we have the opportunity to make the choices we do is a blessing, and what a gift it is to be alive and make choices and move forward based on the best information we have.

Galatians 1:18-24

Galatians 1:18-24 

English Standard Version 

  The poet Percy Shelley wrote a poem called Oxymandias about a statue that proclaimed the mighty works of a king long dead and a kingdom long fallen.  This passage makes me think of the foolhardy king who thought his kingdom would last forever, and our foolhardy efforts to build our own kingdoms, forgetting that we are mortal and the walls of our kingdoms will erode as time goes on.  As the old quote goes, the graveyards are full of indispensable people.

  We are invited to invest our lives in something eternal if we choose.  We can pour our time and energy into a kingdom that will truly last forever, a kingdom that shall reign forever, even if the gates of hell attempt to prevail against it.  

  When Paul preached, the people glorified God, not Paul.  

  May our lives emulate Paul's, that they point beyond ourselves.  In striving for heaven, we'll find earth thrown in as well, rather than striving for earthly kingdoms and missing out on both heaven and earth.

Galatians 1:11-17

Galatians 1:11-17 

English Standard Version 

  I have made lots of mistakes in my life.  Not my favorite pastime, but the reality of poor choices spread over four decades.  I try to be honest and upfront about this, that I am no less broken than anyone else.

  That said, I try not to highlight these, but Paul was very upfront about it, because the church was being established and Paul wanted to be as honest as possible about what God was doing -- because then the church is being based not on what Paul was saying and doing, but rather what God was doing.  God was working miracles through broken people, demonstrating the power of God and the incredible openness of the Gospel.  

  Paul had a checkered background, persecuting the church at one point, but God was at work, and so Paul wasn't beyond redemption, just as anyone hearing this letter wasn't beyond redemption, just as you and I are not beyond redemption.  God is still at work, still building the church, still making disciples.

  So may we give thanks for the grace that invites even us into the church, and may we not look down upon anyone in society, but rather think about how God's grace is reaching out to all.

Sermon for the first Sunday of Advent, 2021

Galatians 1:6-10

Galatians 1:6-10 

English Standard Version 

  If you go to any modern sporting event, there's a good chance that at some point during that event, an announcement will be made that will drive people to go absolutely crazy.  What is the announcement?  It'll be that there are free t-shirts being given away.  At Blue Jackets games, the arena goes absolutely crazy.  At Reds games, a cart with a giant t-shirt cannon drives around while people lose their minds.  All for a free t-shirt that likely doesn't fit.  

  People love free stuff.  My favorite announcer for the Reds used to talk about watching someone ruin a $300 suit for a $3 baseball hit into the stands.  There are things people would pass by if it cost $2, but they'll grab it and go for free!  

  But when it comes to the Gospel, we've been struggling with free grace since the beginning.  It feels like it should cost something, like we should have to do something to earn it.  We can't wrap our minds around the Gospel being given for free, and so when preachers come and start putting conditions on grace, that somehow speaks to some anxiety we have in our hearts and we listen and we follow.  It makes sense that we'd have to give up something to get something.  

  But grace is free.  That's the Gospel.  Any other message is not the Gospel.  

  So may we go wild with joy at what God has freely given us.

Galatians 1:1-5

Galatians 1:1-5 

English Standard Version 

  I believe the hardest thing for Christians to accept and understand is what God has done for you.  The Gospel is the message about the lengths to which God will go to save you from your sin, and here in the beginning of Paul's letter to the church in Galatia, he's rooting this letter in the fact that he's an apostle through Christ, and he begins his letter with the declaration that God gave himself up for sins to deliver us, and that it was the will of God.

  This is the foundation for everything we are building, for everything that we are.  We so badly want to do things on our own, but the heart of the Gospel is that we both can't save ourselves and that we don't need to.  Jesus loves us, and that love led him to his death, all so that you might be saved.

Rabbit Hole

   I recently finished Mark Billingham's Rabbit Hole, a mystery set inside a mental health hospital.  I read a decent amount of mysteries, as they're easy to be absorbed into and a complete distraction from the outside world.  

  Rabbit Hole revolves around a sudden and suspicious death that takes place in the hospital, and the main character is a former police officer who suddenly is immersed in her old role while still dealing with the trauma that led her into her current situation, where her view on reality became tenuous as she struggled to deal with traumatic recent events.

  It's an interesting story, one with an unexpected twist at the end, but I think the real value is the insight that changes in mental health can happen to anyone, at any time.  Life may be cruising along as expected, and then things can change in an instant.  It's easy to take mental health for granted, until it's gone, and suddenly you're trying to make sense of things you never thought you'd have to grapple with.  I remember spending many an hour in bed in the wee hours of the morning trying to deal with racing thoughts and invented situations, something I never would have expected mere months beforehand.  Life changes in an instant, and none of us are immune from this.  

  So when we look at the world around us, and we see brothers and sisters struggling with mental health, may we be compassionate, and recognize our common humanity.  I pray that society continues to invest in pursuing mental health for each and for all, and that we understand how mental health impacts every aspect of life -- it's not a silo that stands on its own, but rather a central point which radiates into every relationship and every part of life.  

  May we always treat one another with kindness, for we need that kindness ourselves.

Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 28:16-20

English Standard Version 

  I know I say this a million times, but if you were making this up, would you include the detail that some doubted him here at the end of the Gospel?  You'd probably want to finish stronger, right?  But this is what happened -- some doubted, despite having met the resurrected Jesus.  They'd seen him crucified, they'd seen him resurrected... but they still doubted, because dead people don't come back to life, right?

  Despite their doubts, they still followed him here to Galilee.  They had questions, but still wanted to learn more, still wanted to be around Jesus -- he was compelling to them, even if they weren't certain of his identity.

  So do you have doubts?  There's still room in the community of believers for you, for we become disciples as we travel with Jesus.  We learn as we go, growing in faith.  And Jesus is with us, every step of the way.

Sermon for Christ the King Sunday!

Matthew 28:11-15

Matthew 28:11-15 

English Standard Version

  One thing that we find in today's society, and likely every society, is an attitude of arrogance towards the past.  It's easy to think that people from earlier times were simpler, and that our benefit of additional scientific knowledge makes us superior.  It's easy to forget that in 100 years, people will look back at us and marvel what we didn't know.

  Some have accused people from Jesus' time of being less intelligent, more gullible, more willing to believe in the extraordinary.  But they were just as skeptical then -- people simply didn't rise from the dead.  The elders and chief priests didn't believe it when the soldiers told them what happened.  They made up a story to try and keep the peace.  Despite being told the miraculous had occurred, the chief priests, the ones who should be most eagerly awaiting the Messiah, chose to believe that dead people stayed dead, because that's the way the world worked.

  I hope we believe that God can do the miraculous.  I believe that God is still at work, raising hearts to new life, and still doing miracles, even if I can't always see them or grasp them.  I believe and I trust, and I'll move forward with that.

Matthew 28:1-10

Matthew 28:1-10 

English Standard Version 

  Come and go.  This is the rhythm of discipleship -- come to the tomb to see for yourself, and then go into the world and tell.  Come to church to spend time in God's presence, and then go into your community to love as you are loved.  Come to find a community of people broken and redeemed, and then go into the world and tell of the welcoming message of grace and redemption we find in the church.

  Come and go -- they work together.  We are invited and sent.  May we attend to both sides of faith, not neglecting the importance of enjoying the miracle of the resurrection while also paying attention to the world into which we are sent.

Matthew 27:62-66

Matthew 27:62-66 

English Standard Version 

  I love the idea that the guards at the tomb actually needed to be more worried about keeping the dead man inside than the alive people outside!  Little did they realize the cosmic forces they were messing with.

  Some people will say that the grave was robbed and that it's all a hoax.  There's a lot you have to believe for in order to support that point of view.  You have to buy into the idea that the disciples somehow overcame an entire guard of soldiers who were protecting the tomb, and then you have to ignore all the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.  Most of these disciples would die as martyrs, proclaiming to the very end that Jesus had risen from the dead, when any one of them could have pronounced it a hoax and given up the game.  What are the chances they would all die for a hoax?  

  When Pilate tells a guard of soldiers to protect the tomb, it must have taken something supernatural for that tomb to have been emptied.  God was at work!

Matthew 27:57-61

Matthew 27:57-61 

English Standard Version 

  There's a place in the Gospel story for everyone -- Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man, saw a place for him and his resources, and he stepped forward when that time was apparent.  Do we hold onto our resources in anticipation of finding an opportunity to invest them in the kingdom?

  And the women were there, always faithful.  A question worth asking -- who are we dedicated to in this world that we'd be there even at this point?  How invested are we in our community that even at the end, we'd still be there.  Maybe it's family, maybe it's friends.  I hope there are people in your church that you are this close to.  Relationships matter.  Find relationships you can commit yourself to.  Let us love selflessly, fully, and in so doing, reflect the endless love of God.

Sermon for November 14

Matthew 27:51-56

Matthew 27:51-56 

English Standard Version 

  If I speak, my words sometimes have impact.  When I'm speaking... more assertively towards my children, perhaps when they're misbehaving, they often stop short and will listen attentively.  At other times, my words don't always have the intended impact, like when I'm warning my children ahead of time about doing something, or perhaps advising them about how to handle certain situations.

  When God speaks, there is immediate impact.  Always.  It's how when God speaks in Genesis, there is immediate impact -- the world is created by the power of God's voice.  We see throughout the Old Testament that whenever God speaks, action follows.

  The same is true in the New Testament -- God's Word, Jesus Christ, has immediate impact in the world.  God's Word has authority over creation, which is what enables Jesus to heal people by speaking. This is something Jesus can do that we cannot.  We are under the authority of Jesus Christ (so be comforted that Jesus speaks a word of grace and love into your life, saying that he will not lose any the Father has given him!).

  When Jesus gives up his life, atoning for our sins, there is immediate impact.  The curtain in the temple is torn in two, signifying our full access to God.  There are immediate resurrections, with saints appearing in the city to many -- one of those things that was written in the Gospels because it could be verified by the many witnesses.  Again -- this was not done in secret, but there were many witnesses to the actions of the Gospels.  

  And through it all, the women were faithful to Jesus Christ.

  

  May we faithfully love and serve Christ in the same way!

Matthew 27:45-50

Matthew 27:45-50 

English Standard Version 

  Jesus, ever in control until the end, gives up his spirit.  He chose to die for you -- it wasn't the nails or the torture or the spears of the Romans that caused his death.  It was a choice, even there -- that's his love for you.  There were so many other choices, but he chose death, because love is the only option for God.

  I don't think we marvel often enough at the life and death of Jesus.  Maybe we've heard the story too many times, or maybe we're just so caught up in what we're doing in the here and now.  It's an incredible thing, someone choosing to die for you.  If someone did that today or tomorrow, perhaps pushing you out of the way of a moving car and taking your place, it would change your life.

  How does Christ's death change your life today and every day?  He laid himself down so that you might live forever.  It should impact us, heavily, every day.

Matthew 27:38-44

Matthew 27:38-44 

English Standard Version 

  At what point do you suppose people realize they've made some poor choices in life?  I suppose some never do -- Matthew reports that the robbers being crucified with Jesus reviled Jesus even as they were dying on the cross with him.  You'd think they'd be in prime position to perhaps reevaluate some life choices and reach out to the one person who offered a path beyond the cross, no matter how slim those chances might be.  But instead, they clung to their old ways, mocking Jesus as they died with him.

  We get stuck in our ways.  It reminds me of the sign by the freeway in Alaska that says to choose your rut wisely, because you'll be in it for the next 50 miles.  What I love about the Presbyterian order of worship is that it includes a prayer of confession every week -- if not more often, we're given at least one opportunity every week to confess everything to God, to notice our ruts and think about how we might change.

  What structures are in your life to confess?  How do you pay attention to your ruts?  And how might you pray to God for the wisdom to change them, and the courage to ask a trusted friend to help?

Matthew 27:32-37

Matthew 27:32-44

English Standard Version 

  As the writer of Hebrews says, for the joy that was set before him, Christ endured the cross.  

  Never forget that you are that joy.  You are the joy that Christ had on his mind and heart when he went to the cross.  You are the joy before him, and the hope of that joy held him to the cross -- it certainly wasn't the nails.  Legions of angels were on hand to sweep down and deliver him from that cross at a word, but that wouldn't have brought him to you, and you were worth it, in God's eyes.

  So don't let anyone tell you that you are not a person of infinite worth.  God considered you worth dying for.  That's a pretty high valuation right there.  So live with grace and peace, never afraid of weakness.

Matthew 27:27-31

Matthew 27:27-31 

English Standard Version 

 We've all made mistakes.  While making some piece of furniture out of wood, I've more than once cut a piece of wood, gone to install it, and then realized it was cut too short.  At that point, there's no board stretcher -- there's nothing to be done but hope I can somehow repurpose other wood to fit the intended design.  

  But this has got to be all time top 10 of mistakes, right?  Right up there with 'I guess we really shouldn't have eaten from that tree after all' is 'maybe we shouldn't have mocked the guy who rose from the dead.'  Imagine how these soldiers felt after Easter morning, when Jesus rose from the dead to demonstrate his power over sin and death.  I bet they felt fairly foolish.

  The incredible thing about Christ is that he wouldn't hold it against them.  There's a spot in Christ's church for everyone, no matter what, even if you're the soldier who mocked Jesus right before they crucified him.  There is grace enough for that. 

  And if there's grace enough for that, then there is grace enough for you.

Sermon from November 7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skz1mX2_YeM

Matthew 27:15-23

Matthew 27:15-23

English Standard Version 

  You can't help but wonder how many of those in the crowds had followed Jesus to see him heal people.  Maybe there were even people who had carried loved ones to be healed.  Jesus had been preaching and teaching to large crowds for three years.  Surely, there must have been some overlap.  

  If Jesus had chased the crowds for affirmation, he surely would have been dismayed.  But Jesus never pursued the crowds for their applause -- he served them in the hopes of converting hearts and minds to see that he was the true Messiah.  That's why Jesus was never afraid to speak harshly when it was appropriate -- Jesus wasn't seeking approval for the day, he was building something eternal, and he knew that he would have to pay a terrible price to build that.  

  Crowds are fickle -- we see this on social media all the time, with the crowd turning on someone once considered popular or beyond reproach.  The affirmation of the crowd, while wonderful in the moment, doesn't last.  

  So may we seek what is faithful and not what is transient.  It may seem as though we sacrifice much in the short-term, but Jesus is building a long-term kingdom, one that will last forever, and that wisdom, that approval, is worth far more in the end, for in Jesus' kingdom, there is no end, only eternity.

  

Matthew 27:11-14

Matthew 27:11-14 

English Standard Version 

  There's an old joke about a ship that's sending morse code messages in the midst of a storm.  It's signaling to what it thinks is another ship that it's the largest ship in the sea and the other ship should turn away out of fear of being run over.  Eventually, the other 'ship' signals back that it's a lighthouse on the shore and the ship should turn or perish on the rocks, no matter how strong it may think it is.

  I think of Jesus like a lighthouse on the shore, strong and steady, ever faithful no matter what storms may come.  Like a lighthouse, meant to guide us safely home when the world is dark.  Jesus is silent before his accusers because he doesn't need to defend himself before their accusations -- they will see, soon enough, how wrong they are about him.  He is confidant in who he is and what his mission is, and so he doesn't bend before the wind.

  The great truth of the Gospel is that Jesus isn't just a lighthouse, hoping we can navigate the waves and rocks to reach the shore safely.  No, Jesus goes out into the sea and rescues us, before we even think we need a light, at great danger to himself, so that we might be saved.  The light shines in the darkness, and the light comes to us, so that we might be saved!

Matthew 26:69-75

Matthew 26:69-75

English Standard Version 

  I know I say this a lot, but if the apostles were going to make up a story, they certainly wouldn't include this, right?  I mean, who highlights the worst moments of their lives?  What does it take to be honest about that?

  It's an incredible amount of confidence in grace to be able to disclose your failures.  But when you get it, when you really get it, then suddenly you realize it doesn't matter what other people think of you.  When Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has declared you beloved and called you to lead the church, despite your failures, then you don't worry about your failures, because the love of God Almighty counts for so much more than the opinions of those who might mock your failures.  Their mockery means nothing in comparison to the love that showers into your life.

  And by being honest about those failures is an invitation into the church.  Those of us with failures in our lives are no longer afraid or feel unworthy -- we see there is a roadmap into the church for sinners.  As Augustine says, the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.  I can be confidant that I'm not the only broken one in the church -- there are plenty of us, each bringing our scars and warts and secrets.

  May we learn not to fear our failures but to trust God's grace even more.

  May we also learn to be open about our failures and invite others to experience the same grace.

Matthew 26:63-68

Matthew 26:63-68 

English Standard Version 

  Any two people can hear the same thing and come to different conclusions -- we see that consistently in the world today.  What's meant to be words of assurance can be interpreted differently and cause alarm in some people.  We can choose how we hear words -- we can listen and search out comfort, or we can listen in fear.

  When Jesus says that the Son of Man is coming, we can listen in hope, or we can listen with skepticism.  What if Jesus being Lord means you have to change everything?  What if Jesus being Lord means you might lose some of your power and influence?  The high priest heard Jesus' claim and was ready to be skeptical, because of what it might mean for the high priest.  Just imagine how this might have been different if the high priest had been willing to set aside his preconceived notions and listen with honesty, with humility?  He'd have seen the Messiah standing before him, and he'd have fallen in worship.

  We can look back and know this now, but who knows how many chances we miss today?  When we read Scripture, and when we listen to one another, may we do so with honest inquiry, listening in hope, listening in love, and looking for how God might be at work.

Matthew 26:57-63

Matthew 26:57-63 

English Standard Version 

  The chief priests and scribes had three years to build a case against Jesus, and after all that time, they were calling in false witnesses, grasping at straws, desperate for anything to use to convict Jesus.  

  If you or I were in the same situation, we'd likely be pretty anxious.  We'd be looking for any way out, worried about what the next steps might be, worried about repercussions to our reputation or outlook.  

  Jesus, however, is a calm in the midst of the storm.  He's been wrongly arrested, wrongly accused, and yet there is no anxiety there.  He remains silent before his accusers, completely certain of the outcome no matter how broken the process may be.

  This level of confidence and trust is something we aspire to.  When life seems to be falling apart at the seams, the ability to tune our hearts to hear the Holy Spirit whisper silently to us is something to grasp for, to work towards.  May we pray for the spiritual maturity to have such trust in the long-term outcome that the short-term setbacks do not lead us to despair.