Things to Praise

Good morning, Loved Ones,

One of my favorite passages to inspire:
Philippians 4:4-9 (The Message)
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

My 'things to praise' today are . . .

. . . my mother who celebrated her 77th birthday on Saturday. So thankful that she is well and such a great part of my life.
. . . a safe trip for son, Sam, to Guatemala where he continues his Border Studies program.
. . . being in a warm place when the wind chill outside is 7 below.
. . . our friend, Terry Huntington, an energetic humble friend who made our Monday night bowling league joyful by dropping to his knees in expectation of a strike nearly every throw. Terry died at 47 in a car accident last weekend. I give thanks for his positive attitude and his work with young people.
. . . a parlor full of youths writing down their personal stories and feelings about how a broken immigration system has impacted them and their families.

Now I feel 25% better. Imagine how much better I'll feel after I hear what your 'things to praise' are.

Gimme cinco!
Pastor Rick

Divine Subversion

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
February 21, 2010

Divine Synergy
What is it?
When we work together and the Holy Spirit produces an explosion of energy that makes the sum greater than the parts.

Divine Symphony
What is it?
When we come together in harmony and our lives hum together with the beautiful music of unity sung first by the Divine Trinity.

Have you experienced Divine Synergy or Divine Symphony lately?
How about exactly one week ago today in this very room?
We were led in a worship service of Divine Synergy and Symphony.
The young people modeled it for us.
It took planning and practice.
It wasn’t something they did on a whim.
Diosselyn and Karina didn’t just get up in the pulpit and say whatever was on their minds.
The youth planned, they practiced and there was the Holy Spirit right beside them.
An explosion of synergy . . .
A harmonic convergence of disparate voices with one purpose . . .
Beautiful
Awesome
Que bonito!

There is another Divine ‘S’ we want to share with you today.
It, too, was evident last Sunday in the youth service.
Divine Subversion

Who can tell me what subversion means?
Literally “under–turn”
Sub – Latin for under, of course.
Version – surprisingly for me, is from the Latin vertere which means ‘to turn.’

The first image that comes to mind for me is a farmer . . .
A farmer who has to turn under the land for it to receive the seed.
You can’t just throw the seed on top of hard ground.
I think Jesus said something about that.
You’ve got to subvert the earth.
You’ve got to under-turn it.
Flip it.
Mix it up.
Shake it up.

That’s what the youth did for us last week.
They practiced Divine Subversion.
That’s what we should be about everyday as well.

There is a woman who runs a food pantry in St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco.
Her name is Sara Miles.
She and the leadership of that church have taken the food pantry and moved it into the sanctuary.
The sanctuary looks like a farmer’s market on food pantry days.
Baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables surround the communion table.
The people who run the pantry are the people served by the pantry.
They are not called “clients.”

You see the world wants us in the church to act like the world.
You’ve got to establish intake procedures.
You’ve got to “screen”
You’ve got to “test”
You’ve got to “ration”

That’s not Gospel
That’s not Bienvenidos
That’s the world subverting the church.
We are supposed to ‘turn under’ the world, not let the world turn us under.

This food pantry in the sanctuary became so successful that Sara, who organized it, was asked to speak to churches around the country about how to do it.
And as she went around to visit churches with food pantries she saw things like . . .
Ten pastors eating lunch by themselves in a huge, light-filled hall, while below them 200 hungry men, women and children crowded into a shabby cafeteria half the size of the hall upstairs where the preachers sat together.
She saw locked sanctuaries and parish halls, while food pantries were placed in dark, dingy basements and people waited in cramped hallways to have their documents checked.
She heard elderly church members complaining about having to carry the food down into the basement and then complaining that no one comes to church anymore.

And then, as she told the story of how they brought their food pantries into the sanctuary . . .
As she told these other churches how they turned the leadership of the pantry over to the hungry people . . .
The other churches said, “Well you must have some really special hungry people there in San Francisco. We could never do that here.”
They said, “You must have some very creative folks in your congregation. We’re just boring mid-western Grandmothers.”
It was as if they wanted to explain away the power of the Holy Spirit to subvert the world.
Sara said she wanted to cry when she heard these excuses.
She said, “What more permission do they need? Receive the Holy Spirit isn’t enough?”

Whether you know it or not, you are part of a subversive church.
Pastor Alfonso and I get the same reactions when we go out and tell about how we are Juntos en Cristo.
When we talk about how we speak two languages in worship . . .
When we talk about how God has brought us together to be one body . . .
Not English speakers at 11 and Spanish speakers at 2 . . .
No.
Together
Juntos en Cristo
People say, “Oh that’s really neat, but we could never do that at our church.”
People say, “That’s great. Your people must be really patient.”
People say, “That’s takes a special kind of congregation.”
And I say, “Yeah. It does. The Christian kind.”

But I understand.
Subversion is hard work.
Under-turning the world isn’t easy.
It’s hard to change.
It’s easier to remain the same . . .
It’s easier to go along to get along . . .
It’s easier to lay down and die than it is to live . . .
But it is just that kind of subversion that Paul talks about in the passage we read today.
The world gets turned upside down when we serve the Lord.

Today we are ordaining new leaders.
Elders and deacons.
The work of church leaders is Divine Subversion.
Under-turning the world’s influence,
Under-turning the world’s power structures.

Paul says that God will be there to help you.
Always.
When crises come, as Pastor Alfonso says, we are not together in crises, we are together in Christ.

When we get beaten up fighting for immigration reform . . .
When we work all day long and go to bed hungry . . .
When we tell the truth and people don’t like it . . .
When we work for justice and people blame us and accuse us . . .
When we are called by God but ignored by the world . . .
When we are terrifically alive, yet rumored to be dead . . .
When we refuse to die even though we are beaten within an inch of our lives . . .
When we are filled with deep joy even while we are crying our eyes out . . .
When we are living on handouts and yet enriching many . . .
When it appears we have nothing and yet we have everything.

This is our job as Christians, as Christ’s followers.
We don’t make excuses.
We flip it.
We mix it up.
We under-turn it.

Sara Miles, that woman who subverted that food pantry says,
“It takes so little to see God in this world. You just have to open the door.”
Open your door this day to Divine Subversion.

(Special thanks to Eugene Peterson for his subversive translation work in The Message and to Sara Miles for her article "Kitchen Communion" in the Feb. 9, 2010 issue of the Christian Century.)

All Is Grace

Good morning, Loved Ones,

Last week we shared a quote from Henri Nouwen's, "Bread for the Journey." Today we share a passage from his Latin American Journal, "Gracias!" may it inspire your gratitude.

“The word I kept hearing, wherever I went was, 'GRACIAS!' Gracias a usted, gracias a Dios, muchas gracias! I saw thousands of poor people, spent many hours with people who do without many material things. But in the midst of it all that word lifted me again and again to a new realm of seeing and hearing: GRACIAS! Thanks! . . . Maybe there would be food tomorrow, maybe there would be work, maybe there would be peace. Maybe, maybe not. But whatever is given . . . money, food, a handshake, a smile, a good word or an embrace is reason enough to say it - - 'GRACIAS!' . . . What I claim as a right, my friends in Latin America received as a gift; what I take for granted, they celebrate in thanksgiving. And slowly I learned what I must have forgotten somewhere in my busy, well-planned and very useful life. I learned that everything that is is freely given by the God of love. All is grace. Light and water, shelter and food, work and free time, children, parents, birth and death . . . it is all given. Why? So we can say gracias, thanks: thanks to God, thanks to each other . . .”

My Gimme Cinco for today are . . .

Thank you, Lord, for an Ash Wednesday begun with Cafe en la Calle, an offering of morning refreshment to day laborers in KCK. "This is the kind of fast I'm after . . . " Isaiah 58:6

Thank you, Lord, for bright sun on another cold day. Let's soak up some vitamin D.

Thank you, Lord, for 12 yr old Mario who held the offering plate on Sunday and said, "God bless you!" when I dropped in our gift.

Thank you, Lord, for people, young and old, who can envision a brighter future even in the midst of crises.

Thank you, Lord, for the food you will provide for me today, the handshakes, the smiles, the good words and the hugs.

Now it's your turn. Let's share our gratitude. Comment on this note below with your Gimme Cinco. What are you thankful for today?

Pastor Rick Behrens
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com/

All of Our Lives

Good morning, Loved Ones,

Welcome to Wednesday! I have selected a passage from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey to inspire us for the day.

To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives--the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections-- that requires hard spiritual work.
Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for.
Let us not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God." - Henri Nouwen, from Bread for the Journey

Thank you, Lord, for conflict. I want to run when it happens, but I know, when you empower us to stick it out, that conflict can become a blessing.
Thank you, Lord, for the losses I experience. The losses remind me that I have more room for you, your love, your grace, your hope.
Thank you, Lord, for the pain I feel every day when I see or experience injustice. The pain is your call to get to work.
Thank you, Lord, for tears that sometimes come when I least expect them.
Thank you, Lord, for those with whom I disagree. Without them I would be more sure of who I am and less likely to change.

Let's give thanks for everything!

Shalom,
Pastor Rick

Divine Symphony

Isaiah 6:1-8

(Click the link below or copy and paste into your browser to hear Sufjan Steven's version of Holy, Holy, Holy)

http://matt0009.110mb.com/Sufjan_Stevens-Holy,_Holy,_Holy.mp3

Symphony
What is the meaning of symphony?
The meaning is literally a "harmony of sounds" L. symphonia "a unison of sounds, harmony,"
Symphony happens when voices or instruments come together to make beautiful music.
There are just a few voices and two instruments in that Sufjan Stevens version of Holy, Holy, Holy and yet it is symphony.
Every Sunday Ruben’s crew leads us to become symphony.
But a “harmony of sounds” is oftentimes not what I hear outside this sanctuary.

The same was true for Isaiah.

Isaiah’s world was in tumult.
A good king had just died from leprosy due to his own lack of respect for God’s holiness, God’s otherness.
And now God’s people were about to go through a long period of crisis, pain, suffering, exile.
Symphony was not what Isaiah was experiencing out in his world.
A unison of sounds, harmony, was not in existence among the God's people.

But when Isaiah steps into the temple sanctuary he gets symphony.
This harmony, unison of sound was so powerful it measured about 8.0 on the symphony scale.
This unison of sound was so powerful the temple shook and swayed.
The pillars that held up the roof were knocking together like an old man’s knees.
And the heavenly beings were in symphony.
One message of harmony and unison.

Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-angel-armies.
God’s bright glory fills the whole earth!

Isaiah thinks it’s all over for him because he cannot sing such beautiful harmony.
Isaiah’s knees shake, and, trembling with fear he says, “Oh Dios mio!”
“I cannot sing such beauty.” Isaiah says.
My lips, my tongue cannot form such symphony.
I live among a tone-deaf people who know nothing of symphony, who know nothing of this Holy Harmony, this unison of sound, this beauty, this glory.
This holiness, this symphony, this unison of sound and harmony is too much for me.

But at that moment one of the great divine singers comes to Isaiah . . .
The divine singer comes to Isaiah with a burning coal from the altar and touches his lips . . .
And says,
“All those ugly sounds your lips have made --- they are gone . . .
All that dis-harmony . . .
All that discord . . .
All that dissonance that has come from your life . . .
Gone . . .
All . . .
Those . . .
Ugly . . .
Sounds . . .
Gone!

And the holiest, the most harmonious voice of all sings out . . .
Whom shall I send?
Sing it with me --- God sings out, “Whom shall I send?”
And Isaiah, seemingly without hesitation, without fear replies . . .
“Here I am, Lord!”
Sing it with me, Isaiah sang out, “Here I am, Lord!”

Praise
Confession
Forgiveness
Mission

Praise
Confession
Forgiveness
Mission

Praise
Confession
Forgiveness
Mission

This is the four-part harmony of worship and Divine Symphony.

Praise
Confession
Forgiveness
Mission

We sing out our awe at the holiness, the absolute otherness of God!
Praise
Then we remember how unholy we are, how much discord and dissonance come out of our mouths and lives.
Confession
Then the sacrament of grace touches our lips and our voice is restored.
Forgiveness

Then we go home and watch the Super Bowl.
No?
That was only a three-part harmony?
What did we miss?

Mission or Commissioning

Our symphony does not end with the benediction.
No, we are sent.
We are sent with a new song on our lips.
We are sent with a message and a mission.
The Divine Symphony is not divine if mission is absent.

What song is God teaching you to sing to your neighbors?
What part does God want you to sing in this beautiful Divine Symphony called Grandview Park?
What’s keeping you from the Holy Harmony?

Don’t wait for a personal invitation.
Don’t think that because God hasn’t sung out your name, you’re not invited.
God didn’t call Isaiah, personally.
God simply sang out, “Whom shall I send?”
And Isaiah, like a giddy child, said, “Oh, oh, here I am. I want to go. I want to sing. Can I? Can I please?”

God’s “Whom shall I send” is constantly echoing from the holy of holies.
God is looking for more singers.
Don’t you want to be part of his Divine Symphony?

Called Out

Good morning, Loved Ones,

Another day to express your gratitude. Psalm 138 is a great song of thanks.

Psalm 138 (The Message)

^1-3 Thank you! Everything in me says "Thank you!" Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
and say it again: "Thank you!"
Thank you for your love,
thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
you made my life large with strength.

Today I am thankful for . . .

. . . new construction. KU School of Architecture students who are building a new passive/green home around the corner from the church. The first new home in our neighborhood in 40-60 years.
. . . open arteries. Two successful heart procedures for my mother and father over the past two weeks. Two caths and a total of five stints between the two of them.
. . . people who say, "Yes!" -- to serving lunch, to serving as church officers, to serving coffee in the street, to serving . . .
. . . people who say, "Good morning!" "Como estas?" "Thank you!" "Da nada!" "Can I help you?" "Dios te bendiga!" with eye contact and a smile.
. . . connections and divine synergy - happening all around me!

Have a great day and gimme cinco!

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com/