Love is Greater

Good Morning Loved Ones,

Well, morning is over and the afternoon is well on it's way, but it's never to late to say "Thank you!"

1 John 3:16-24 (The Message)

^16-17This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

^18-20My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

^21-24And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

1) I give thanks that God's Love goes before my failings. I give thanks that God has loved me before I even had an inkling about God. I give thanks that the Love of God is deeper, wider, broader, stronger and incarnate in the world in ways I cannot even begin to imagine.

2) I give thanks that our self-criticism within the Body of Christ can be shut down by the Love of God. Thank God that condemnation and accusation are not signs of God's Love. Thanks be to God for those who practice God's Love among us.

3) Thank you, God, for the team that has stepped up to help the youth. Thank you, God, for Javier, Greg, Abia, Martha and others who have stepped into the gap and done their best to make God's love real to our youth in the last few weeks.

4) Thank you, God, for the new Personnel Committee that is seeking out a way to practice real love through listening.

5) Thanks be to God that our worried hearts are not greater than God's love and that in the end "all will be well and all will be well and all manner of things shall be well." (St. Julian of Norwich)

What is well with you today?

Pastor Rick

You Have Made Me Glad

Good Morning Loved Ones,

I realize there is not much morning left, but I hope this email finds you enjoying this beautiful day and giving thanks whatever your circumstances.

Psalm 92

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

and your faithfulness by night,

to the music of the lute and the harp,

to the melody of the lyre.

For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;

at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

Last night I had trouble falling asleep. This is not particularly unusual. The unusual thing is that DeDe was still awake. She reminded me of a conversation she had with Pastor Terry. Terry told her that when he wakes up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep he begins to do a Gimme Cinco list right there in bed. Instead of worrying about what the next day might bring and puzzling over how to handle something, he simply begins to think about the things for which he is thankful. Before long his mind is at rest as well as his body and he is back to sleep. It's amazing what can happen when we change the conversation in our heads.

1) I give thanks for the return of warm, sunny days and the opportunity to get on my bike and ride to and from work. I feel so much better when I am able to exercise, and biking is especially good for me because even when I am riding through the city I find myself much more at peace and hopeful than I am in my car.

2) I give thanks for the young people from our WYCO high schools who came to Rotary the last two weeks to speak and compete for our two scholarships. The boys who spoke yesterday were an incredibly talented bunch and were inspirational in their presentations. The first young man spoke of the Buddhist philosophy which says that we must fill our cups before we are able to spill out and help others. He said that he respected Buddhism, but didn't think that was correct. Even though his cup wasn't full he was intent on spending his life helping others and his presentation confirmed my belief that he will do just that. The young women who spoke the week before were equally talented and inspiring and related many stories of overcoming incredible family situations to excel in their academic and service lives. Thank God for these talented, committed young people.

3) I give thanks for my partner in crime, DeDe, who continues to give to her church family, her community, her patients and her family. I'm thankful that we can be partners and work together at church and at her office and in our home. I give thanks for her patience and persistance.

4) I give thanks for Xavier Sagal who, out of nowhere, showed up last night to coach our soccer team. It was great to have a break from having to lead the group for the night and for the team to have a break from me. I give thanks for these kinds of rare and wonderful surprises.

5) I give thanks for the women's and men's bible study groups. Although I have not been able to be present or participate in either of these groups, I have seen and heard wonderful results from their sharing.

Well, it's closer to noon than it was when I started, but still morning. Let's help to calm our worries and troubles by recounting the goodness around us and in us. Change the conversation in your head for a few minutes and see what happens.

Waiting to hear from you!

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com/
P.S. I have started posting my sermons on the gimmecinco blog. So if you missed church or want to check to see what heretical things I said this week, then visit the blog.

The Breath of Life

John 20:19-23

I remember it like it almost five minutes ago.
But it was really 44 years ago.
I was five years old.
My father, who was a policeman, had just died of cancer.
It was time to go to the funeral home and have the visitation as we like to call it.
Time to view the body.
What I remember clearly as a 5 year-old was walking up to the casket and looking in and not recognizing my father.
Perhaps it was a classic case of denial.
But clearly I remember running from that casket toward the back of the room because what I saw there I did not recognize as my father.
What I expected to see I did not see.
Something was missing.
It was the Breath of Life that was missing.
And as a 5 year old, looking at that bag of bones and flesh in that casket, I did not see my father.

One of my favorite Old Testament passages is chapter 37 of the prophet Ezekiel.
The people have been carried off to exile in Babylon.
Jerusalem and the temple have been destroyed and demolished.
The spirit of the exiles has been crushed.
And Ezekiel has a vision.
God’s Spirit sets Ezekiel down in a big, open field where there are dried up bones all over.
There are dry bones everywhere, bleached white by the sun’s relentless rays.
God’s Spirit takes Ezekiel for a walk through the bones.
The Spirit asks Ezekiel, “So, what do you think? Can these bones live?”
Ezekiel gives the non-committal but theologically correct answer, “Master God, only you know that.”
And God’s Spirit says to Ezekiel, “Speak the Word of God to these dried up, bleached out, picked-over bones.”
God’s Spirit spoke to the bones, “Watch me work. I’m bringing the breath of life to you old bones and you’ll live again. I’m gonna put meat on your bones and breathe life into you. You’ll wake up and know that I am God.”
So Ezekiel repeated the Word of God, the words of the Spirit.
And as Ezekiel spoke the Word the wind began to kick up and the tumbleweeds started blow away.
The old, dead bones started to come together.
The bones came together and even flesh came onto the bones.
But there was no breath in the bodies.
They still weren’t recognizable as humans.
Then the Spirit of God said to Ezekiel, “Speak to the breath, now. Tell the breath to come from the four winds. Come breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!”
And Ezekiel did what he was told.
And as he spoke to the breath it entered the bags of bones and flesh and they came alive and stood up, a huge army.
And God said, “Look, Ezekiel. These bones are my people. They are dried up. Their hope is gone. They’re barely recognizable as human beings anymore, much less my people.”
God said, “Tell my people. I’ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive and bring you home. You’ll know that I am God and I’ll put the very Breath of Life in you. Believe it. It’s happening.”

It’s an incredible vision. I think movies makers and fiction writers have liberally stolen from Ezekiel’s incredible vision over the years.
But the story today from John’s gospel reminded me of Ezekiel’s vision.
In John’s story it’s Easter Sunday, resurrection day.
The rumor about Jesus is spreading.
Mary Magdalene has seen the empty tomb.
She has reported it to Peter and John who ran and found the empty tomb.
Mary then talked with the Gardener who turned out to be Jesus.
She went and told the disciples and what do they do?
They lock themselves up in a house in fear.
What are they afraid of?
The scripture says the Jews.
But I can’t help believe that they were afraid that it might actually be true.
What if Jesus really was alive again?
What would that mean?
Peter had denied him.
One had betrayed him and all of them had abandoned him.
If the rumors were true, what would Jesus think of them and what would it mean for their lives?

The disciples locked up in that house are like Ezekiel’s field of dried up old bones.
They are a house full of fearful, cowering, lifeless men.
When we see people like this we don’t recognize them as God’s people, they hardly seem human.
When we are like this we fail to recognize ourselves as God’s children.
Guilty, afraid, they’ve locked themselves away from the world.
But what happens?
Jesus will have none of it.
He enters the room.
We don’t know how. Through the wall, through the door, maybe he still had the key. We don’t know.
But we know that a locked door won’t keep him away from his people.
We know that fear and guilt won’t keep him away from his people.
We know that the worst enemy of all, death, won’t keep Jesus from us.

The disciples were excited to see Jesus. My suspicion is that it was a nervous excitement.
“Wow, Jesus. This is fantastic. Great to see you. Sorry about that denying you thing and that abandonment thing . . . “
And Jesus’ first word is what?
“Peace”
Peace to you.
His first word to this motley crew of guilty, fearful cowering men is . . . “Peace.”
“As the Father sent me so I send you.”
He grants them peace and immediately gives them marching orders.
God sent me here, so I’m sending you. Unlock the door because you need to get out there.
At this point I think the dry bones have come together and are starting to resemble humans again, but “unlock the door and go out”? I don’t think so.

And Jesus does what?
He takes a deep breath and breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit, my Spirit.”
Become human again. Become my children again. Cast off the fear. Forget about the guilt. Breathe!
And then he links this gift of the Spirit, this new life, to forgiveness.
He says, “If you forgive someone’s sins they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”

There are times when we don’t look human, much less like God’s children.
There are times when God’s children are no better than a bunch of lifeless, dry, bleached out bones.
There are times when we seem to have lost the gift of the Spirit and we don’t recognize each other or ourselves as God’s children.

It’s interesting that this first giving of the Spirit in the gospels is connected not with some dramatic manifestations, speaking in tongues or wild spontenaity, but instead connected with the quiet, difficult task of forgiveness.
People who refuse to forgive, people who hold onto their resentments, eventually become unrecognizable as human beings and especially as children of God.
Our inability to forgive leads to death --- death of relationships, death of community and ultimately the death of our very own spirits.
The very first thing that Jesus asks us to do is use the Spirit’s power to forgive one another.

Forgiveness is a supernatural act.
It doesn’t come naturally or easily.
But, according to this passage, forgiveness is the first command of the Risen Jesus and the first fruit of the Spirit.
Forget about energetic, lively worship or speaking in tongues or long spiritual prayers.
If you don’t exercise the power to forgive, then you’re still just a Spiritless, unrecognizable bag of bones and the Breath of Life is not in you.

Is it easy to forgive? Absolutely not. But Jesus has given us the power.
So what are we going to do with this power?
Hold onto the sins we believe others have committed?
Or are we going to receive the Breath of Life and become the army of God’s forgiven children we are meant to be?

There have been some times lately when I have had some trouble recognizing us.
I keep creeping up to the casket and looking over the edge only to be shocked at what I see.
Hoping to see the resurrection, hoping to see forgiven and forgiving people, instead I am seeing something else, something resembling death, and I want to run away sobbing.
A body without the Breath of Life is unrecognizable.
Christians without the ability to forgive are unrecognizable as Christians.

We have been given Peace by Jesus.
Jesus has breathed the Breath of Life into us.
By this gift of the Spirit we have power to forgive.
Let’s receive the Gift and the call and live.
Let’s make the vision of Psalm 133 real and alive among us.
“How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! That’s where God commands the blessing, that’s where God ordains eternal life.”

I remember clearly the unrecognizable, lifeless body of my father from 44 years ago.
May I never see such lifelessness here among God’s children.
May the Spirit of God breathe life and forgiveness into our very marrow so that we have eternal life now, tomorrow, next week and everyday forever.

Say it with me . . .“Peace to you.”
“As the Father sent me, so I send you.”
(Breathe)
“Receive the Holy Spirit”
“Receive the power of forgiveness.”
Amen.

Peace To You

Good Morning Loved Ones,

For those of us whom this day are feeling the pain of rendering unto Caesar, an extra measure of grace and peace. Today's passage for reflection is from John's gospel. It is part of the lectionary passage for this Sunday.

John 20:19-23 (The Message)

To Believe

^19-20Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you." Then he showed them his hands and side.

^20-21The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: "Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you."

^22-23Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. "Receive the Holy Spirit," he said. "If you forgive someone's sins, they're gone for good. If you don't forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?"

We are too often locked up in rooms of fear and doubt. To be visited by the risen Jesus is to be challenged to receive new life and a new calling. Jesus breathes his life into us and we receive peace and the Holy Spirit. This gift of the Spirit has something to do with the power to forgive.

1) Today I give thanks for the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in my friends, family, neighbors and even my enemies. I give thanks for all those who have forgiven me and allowed me to have new life and a fresh start.

2) Today I give thanks for those who work to bring peace through non-violent methods. I give thanks for parents who find the strong will to discipline without hitting or yelling. I give thanks for those who work so hard to bring peace through words and actions of hope and accountability. I give thanks for the Holy Spirit who is always at work through us to bring about reconciliation and shalom.

3) I give thanks for two strangers and two friends who helped to start my day with peace and welcome. I give thanks for the person who walked in the bank before me and stopped to hold the door and offer a smile. I give thanks for the person I passed on the sidewalk who raised her head, smiled and said, "Good morning." I give thanks for Barbara at the bank who always is the first to ask me to come to her desk and is ready to smile and ask about Sam. And yes, I even give thanks for our tax preparer, Don, who this morning at 8 am on a challenging day was smiling and laughing and delivered our bad news with a measure of grace.

4) I give thanks for phone calls from Sam that can come at anytime and for his readiness and willingness to share what's going on in his life with his crazy old parents.

5) I give thanks for the time I get to spend with Lucas in the car, at soccer practice, staying up late and watching exciting champions cup matches on a school/work night, the occasional sharing of music leadership on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and the nightly ritual of "Goodnight. Te amo." at bedtime.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is precious and changes our lives from the inside out. Let's give thanks today for this Gift of all gifts.

"Peace to you."

Pastor Rick

http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com

Dont forget!
Prayer group tonight at Stella Perez apartment. Call for directions or to car pool (816-807-6931)
Prayer group tomorrow night at the Parrett's home 117 S. Tremont St. 66101

Kicked Over and Spilled

Good Friday Morning, Loved Ones,

Today our passage is the one Jesus quoted upon the cross. It is the psalm passage from the lectionary for Good Friday.

Psalm 22 (The Message)

A David Psalm

^1-2 God, God...my God! Why did you dump me
miles from nowhere?
Doubled up with pain, I call to God
all the day long. No answer. Nothing.
I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.
^3-5 And you! Are you indifferent, above it all,
leaning back on the cushions of Israel's praise?
We know you were there for our parents:
they cried for your help and you gave it;
they trusted and lived a good life.
^6-8 And here I am, a nothing—an earthworm,
something to step on, to squash.
Everyone pokes fun at me;
they make faces at me, they shake their heads:
"Let's see how God handles this one;
since God likes him so much, let him help him!"
^9-11 And to think you were midwife at my birth,
setting me at my mother's breasts!
When I left the womb you cradled me;
since the moment of birth you've been my God.
Then you moved far away
and trouble moved in next door.
I need a neighbor.
^12-13 Herds of bulls come at me,
the raging bulls stampede,
Horns lowered, nostrils flaring,
like a herd of buffalo on the move.
^14-15 I'm a bucket kicked over and spilled,
every joint in my body has been pulled apart.
My heart is a blob
of melted wax in my gut.
I'm dry as a bone,
my tongue black and swollen.
They have laid me out for burial
in the dirt.
^16-18 Now packs of wild dogs come at me;
thugs gang up on me.
They pin me down hand and foot,
and lock me in a cage—a bag
Of bones in a cage, stared at
by every passerby.
They take my wallet and the shirt off my back,
and then throw dice for my clothes.
^19-21 You, God—don't put off my rescue!
Hurry and help me!
Don't let them cut my throat;
don't let those mongrels devour me.
If you don't show up soon,
I'm done for—gored by the bulls,
meat for the lions.

If you've been in the ministry for very long, or have attempted to provide servant leadership to your community, or even simply tried to love your family, you have no doubt, at some point, felt you were a "bucket kicked over and spilled." You have cried out to God and too often been met with silence. As the life flowed out of Jesus, he drew on his scriptural tradition and uttered this psalm. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." It is your cry and my cry when the doctor brings the news about the cancer, when the policeman and the chaplain show up at your door with the news, when your best efforts to serve your church, your community, your family results in conflict, despair and persecution. Good Friday comes around once a year to remind us that we are not alone. We are not the first to have experienced hopelessness and anguish. We are not the first to feel forsaken and abandoned. David voiced our pain long before we doubled up with pain. Jesus lived our suffering long before the bulls started chasing us. Knowing this does not stop the hurting. But it does set us in a new community --- a community that recognizes and confesses the pain and the suffering as well as the joy and redemption. Today I give thanks that Jesus was honest with God about his feelings of abandonment. Today I give thanks that I am part of Jesus' alternative confessing community. Today I give thanks that I know, through Jesus life, death and resurrection, that it's Friday, but Sunday's comin'.

The Peace of Christ be with you on this Good Friday,

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com

Don't forget this week's schedule:
Stations of the Cross - Good Friday - Noon - Washington Park on the north side of Crown Center (Sponsored by Holy Family Catholic Worker House)
Deacons and Elders meeting - Saturday - 3:30 pm (Please be in prayer and fasting for this meeting)
Sunrise Service - Sunday - Begins at 6:30 at Huron Park behind the downtown KCK library (Bring a chair)
Easter Breakfast - 8 am after the sunrise service (Cooked by the men of the church)
Sunday School - 9:45 am
Easter Sunday service - 11 am (No lunch after worship)

Love One Another

Good Morning, Loved Ones,

Today, on Holy Thursday, we look for ways to follow Jesus on the day of his betrayal.

John 13 (The Message)

Washing His Disciples' Feet

^1-2 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

^3-6Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, "Master, you wash my feet?"

⁷Jesus answered, "You don't understand now what I'm doing, but it will be clear enough to you later."

⁸Peter persisted, "You're not going to wash my feet—ever!"

Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you can't be part of what I'm doing."

⁹"Master!" said Peter. "Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!"

^10-12Jesus said, "If you've had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you're clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you're clean. But not every one of you." (He knew who was betraying him. That's why he said, "Not every one of you.") After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

^12-17Then he said, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master,' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.

How do we follow One who is going where we cannot go? How do we follow One who gives his life for the whole world? The disciples wanted to follow Jesus. But Jesus knew they could not follow where he was going. So he gives them an example of how to follow him. Then he gives them a commandment which calls for a new kind of leadership. Jesus calls us to become leaders who serve. In Jesus' day the Master did not wash the feet of the disciple. Once again, Jesus turns our expectations, our relationships upside down. Jesus knows that his betrayal is only moments away. He even is aware that Peter, his rock of a disciple will deny him. Peter and the disciples, even Judas, needed to be purified. Even as the worst approached, Jesus was looking for ways to serve and instruct his disciples. Even as the forces of chaos and death appear to have the upper hand, Jesus shows that "the Father has put him in complete charge of everything." I Thank God that Jesus has given us a new commandment: ^34-35"Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."

On this Maundy/Holy Thursday, let's give thanks and try to follow Jesus' instructions.

The Peace of Christ be with you all this Holy Week,

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com

Don't forget this week's schedule:
Potluck/Seder/Communion - Thursday - 6:30 pm (please bring a side dish to share)
Stations of the Cross - Good Friday - Noon - Washington Park on the north side of Crown Center (Sponsored by Holy Family Catholic Worker House)
Deacons and Elders meeting - Saturday - 3:30 pm (Please be in prayer and fasting for this meeting)
Sunrise Service - Sunday - Begins at 6:30 at Huron Park behind the downtown KCK library (Bring a chair)
Easter Breakfast - 8 am after the sunrise service (Cooked by the men of the church)
Sunday School - 9:45 am
Easter Sunday service - 11 am (No lunch after worship)

Haunted by Heroes

Good Morning, Loved Ones,

Today our lectionary passage comes from the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (The Message)

^5-6God's Message:

"Cursed is the strong one
who depends on mere humans,
Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone
and sets God aside as dead weight.
He's like a tumbleweed on the prairie,
out of touch with the good earth.
He lives rootless and aimless
in a land where nothing grows.

^7-8"But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They're like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.

In Jesus' life and journey to the cross he redefines for us weak and strong, first and last, rich and poor. His redefinition really is not new. All the prophets and the faithful kings and priests of Israel knew that God's values and our human values are often in opposition. I was raised on the great American doctrine of the rugged individual who takes control of his own destiny and vanquishes all foes by virtue of his strong will and moral superiority. John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Superman, Batman, Kwai Chang Caine of Kung Fu fame. These were the fictional heroes of my youth. Though they sometimes battled for the underdog and on occasion were the underdog, they always managed to win in the end because of their will and moral superiority. Although I have long-since left behind these childhood heroes, I'm afraid they still haunt me. They still live inside me and are at war with my faithful understanding of Jesus and his mission and ministry. Strength is not the ability to vanquish your foes by any means. Being first does not necessarily mean winning. Wealth has little to do with financial resources. Jeremiah the prophet contrasts the "Strong one" and the "trusting one." The trusting one is like a tree. The strong one is like a tumbleweed. The tumbleweed sets God aside. The tree sticks with God. I thank God today that Jesus stuck with God. I thank God that his life gives us an alternative to the death-dealing values of our superheroes. I thank God that in Jesus' life and death we see the end of violence as a means of redemption. Thank you, Jesus, for your faithfulness which allows us be serene and calm through the droughts and to bear fruit even after a late freeze.

I close today with a portion of the lectionary passage from Philippians.

Philippians 4:4-9 (The Message)

^4-5Celebrate 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!

^6-7Don'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.

^8-9Summing 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.

The Peace of Christ be with you all this Holy Week,

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com

Don't forget this week's schedule:
Potluck/Seder/Communion - Thursday - 6:30 pm (please bring a side dish to share)
Stations of the Cross - Good Friday - Noon - Washington Park on the north side of Crown Center (Sponsored by Holy Family Catholic Worker House)
Deacons and Elders meeting - Saturday - 3:30 pm (Please be in prayer and fasting for this meeting)
Sunrise Service - Sunday - Begins at 6:30 at Huron Park behind the downtown KCK library (Bring a chair)
Easter Breakfast - 8 am after the sunrise service (Cooked by the men of the church)
Sunday School - 9:45 am
Easter Sunday service - 11 am (No lunch after worship)

Reckless In Love

Good Morning, Loved Ones,

We follow up yesterday's daily lectionary Gospel passage with today's.

John 12:20-26 (The Message)

A Grain of Wheat Must Die

^20-21There were some Greeks in town who had come up to worship at the Feast. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee: "Sir, we want to see Jesus. Can you help us?"

^22-23Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip together told Jesus. Jesus answered, "Time's up. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

^24-25"Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.

²⁶"If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you'll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment's notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.

Today I give thanks that Jesus' hour, his time, has come. I give thanks that he has shown us that conflict is necessary and can bring new life. Jesus demonstrates that new life only comes when we go through conflict and not around it. When we hold onto our old ways of living, our old ways of relating, the result is only more of the same old crap (sorry, but that was the best word I could use!). But when we walk head long into the lion's den with our arms open and let go of our fear we have the opportunity to change and be changed. Fear of death, fear of embarrassment, fear of confrontation, fear of conflict, fear of the future and whatever it may bring causes us to hold on to our dear little lives. Jesus shows us that this is no way to live. Jesus' challenge to us is not unlike this tough question from Mary Oliver: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" You life is precious and can be lived in a wildly faithful and satisfying way. That way is a way that recklessly follows the love and life of Jesus, not ignoring our fears, but walking through them hand in hand with the Lord of Life. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord Jesus, for showing us the hour has come, the time is now to be reckless in love, to follow you and to be ready to serve at a moment's notice.

One of the Psalms for the day is 146.

Psalm 146 (The Message)

Psalm 146

^1-2 Hallelujah! O my soul, praise God!
All my life long I'll praise God,
singing songs to my God as long as I live.

^3-9 Don't put your life in the hands of experts
who know nothing of life, of salvation life.
Mere humans don't have what it takes;
when they die, their projects die with them.
Instead, get help from the God of Jacob,
put your hope in God and know real blessing!
God made sky and soil,
sea and all the fish in it.
He always does what he says—
he defends the wronged,
he feeds the hungry.
God frees prisoners—
he gives sight to the blind,
he lifts up the fallen.
God loves good people, protects strangers,
takes the side of orphans and widows,
but makes short work of the wicked.

¹⁰ God's in charge—always.
Zion's God is God for good!
Hallelujah!



The Peace of Christ be with you all this Holy Week,

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com

Don't forget this week's schedule:
Potluck/Seder/Communion - Thursday - 6:30 pm (please bring a side dish to share)
Stations of the Cross - Good Friday - Noon - Washington Park on the north side of Crown Center (Sponsored by Holy Family Catholic Worker House)
Deacons and Elders meeting - Saturday - 3:30 pm (Please be in prayer and fasting for this meeting)
Sunrise Service - Sunday - Begins at 6:30 at Huron Park behind the downtown KCK library (Bring a chair)
Easter Breakfast - 8 am after the sunrise service (Cooked by the men of the church)
Sunday School - 9:45 am
Easter Sunday service - 11 am (No lunch after worship)

Confounded by Jesus

Good morning, Loved Ones,

Your Gimme Cinco this week is going to be a little different. For Holy Week I plan to reflect with gratitude upon the daily lectionary readings Monday through Friday. Each of the five days will be a thanksgiving meditation related to the daily readings. Feel free to respond daily, on the traditional Hump Day Wednesday, or as you are able throughout the week.

The Gospel passage for the day includes John's version of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.

^{St. John 12:12-19 (The Message)
12-15}The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in God's name!

Yes! The King of Israel!
Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:
No fear, Daughter Zion:
See how your king comes,
riding a donkey's colt.

¹⁶The disciples didn't notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.

^17-19The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, was there giving eyewitness accounts. It was because they had spread the word of this latest God-sign that the crowd swelled to a welcoming parade. The Pharisees took one look and threw up their hands: "It's out of control. The world's in a stampede after him."

I give thanks today that the coming of Jesus confounds the religious establishment. I consider myself part of this confounded group. Like any other institution, the church and other religious organizations put a premium on control. We want to control the crowds that show up. We want to be gatekeepers and control who gets in and who gets out. We are oftentimes willing to sacrifice spontaneity and freedom of the Spirit at the altar of decency and order. The religious establishment of Jesus' day seemed to have that feeling about Jesus and his followers. Jesus was a threat to the established religious order. The world was in a stampede after him. We learn what this means when the passage following this one brings Greeks seeking to meet Jesus. The Pharisees weren't happy that the walls they had carefully built to keep out the unclean were being torn down by a Peasant on a donkey. I give thanks that, somehow, faithful people throughout the ages have been able to stay open to the dis-ordering of the Spirit. Many "good," mainline Christians might show up at Grandview Park and say "It's out of control." The world is indeed in a stampede after the Good News of Jesus. We get a taste of that every Sunday morning at GP. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, for opening our doors and coming in to be with us. Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

The evening Psalm for today is one of my favorites. So, I close with Psalm 121.

Psalm 121

A Pilgrim Song

^1-2 I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
^3-4 He won't let you stumble,
your Guardian God won't fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel's
Guardian will never doze or sleep.
^5-6 God's your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.
^7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.

The Peace of Christ be with you all this Holy Week,

Pastor Rick

Don't forget this week's schedule:
Potluck/Seder/Communion - Thursday - 6:30 pm (please bring a side dish to share)
Stations of the Cross - Good Friday - Noon - Washington Park on the north side of Crown Center (Sponsored by Holy Family Catholic Worker House)
Deacons and Elders meeting - Saturday - 3:30 pm (Please be in prayer and fasting for this meeting)
Sunrise Service - Sunday - Begins at 6:30 at Huron Park behind the downtown KCK library (Bring a chair)
Easter Breakfast - 8 am after the sunrise service (Cooked by the men of the church)
Sunday School - 9:45 am
Easter Sunday service - 11 am (No lunch after worship)

Two Minutes a Day

Good Morning, Loved Ones,

A bit more evidence that writing about your life has benefits. From the Christian Century, April 7, 2009:

"Researchers have known there are health benefits from journaling, whether the writing is about good experiences or traumatic ones. Researchers at the University of Missouri concluded that it doesn't take much writing to matter: they saw results after only two minutes of writing for two days. (British Journal of Health, October 30, 2007)"

The Psalmists and the biblical writers must have experienced this benefit. They were not afraid to write about the whole of life, good, bad and everything in between. Isaiah writes about the Suffering Servant and, although he was writing about the coming One, clearly he writes as one who has experienced suffering.

Isaiah 50:4-9 (The Message)

^4-9The Master, God, has given me
a well-taught tongue,
So I know how to encourage tired people.
He wakes me up in the morning,
Wakes me up, opens my ears
to listen as one ready to take orders.
The Master, God, opened my ears,
and I didn't go back to sleep,
didn't pull the covers back over my head.
I followed orders,
stood there and took it while they beat me,
held steady while they pulled out my beard,
Didn't dodge their insults,
faced them as they spit in my face.
And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me,
so I'm not disgraced.
Therefore I set my face like flint,
confident that I'll never regret this.
My champion is right here.
Let's take our stand together!
Who dares bring suit against me?
Let him try!
Look! the Master, God, is right here.
Who would dare call me guilty?
Look! My accusers are a clothes bin of threadbare
socks and shirts, fodder for moths!

1) I give thanks for the challenges of ministry, the disappointments, the misunderstandings, the conflicts, the frustrations, the lack of financial resources, the opposition to the Good News. It is in the midst of these challenges that God's love and presence is made real and we are given sustenance in the wilderness of doubt.

2) I give thanks for sustaining moments I was able to share with Luke and Sam over the last two weeks during their spring breaks; moments of work, play and relaxation as well as sharing musical moments in the company of the faithful.

3) I give thanks for the chance to help in the office remodel at iSmile KCK. The tiring work of painting was frustrating at times, but it is a pleasure to be able able to look at a painted room and see a job completed.

4) I give thanks for our confirmation class and the sharing of leadership with Jennifer. Each week 10-15 young people are learning about "The Big Picture" of God's love.

5) I give thanks for all those I know who intentionally seek to make the reality of God present with questions, prayers, music, art and sharing their lives. (That's all of you, when you respond to Gimme Cinco!)

My Holy Week discipline for next week will be daily Gimme Cincos, Monday-Friday. Feel free to respond as often as you like. Don't forget that just two minutes a day makes a difference!

Don't pull the covers back over your head! Get out there and make the reality of God present.

Pastor Rick