Thursday, May 31, 2012

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday

June 3, 2012
Scripture: Romans 8:12-17
Prop: A Tripod w/ Collapsible Legs, or Photo

Good morning!  Today is a special day in the life of the Church.  It isn't Christmas, or Easter or even Pentecost.  Today is Trinity Sunday!  It is the day that the Church has set aside to celebrate the Trinity.  The Trinity is not an easy concept, but I will try my best to explain it.

A tricycle has 3 wheels, right?
And a triangle has 3 sides, right?
I have with me a (picture of a) tripod--a stand with 3 legs.  You may have guessed that tri means 3--tricycle, triangle, tripod--each with 3 of something.  (Set up tripod.)  A tripod is used to hold something up, such as a camera or a telescope.  The 3 legs of the tripod make it very stable, so that the camera or telescope doesn't shake when the photographer takes a picture or the astronomer looks at Venus.

But watch what happens when I take away one of the tripod's legs.  (Shorten/remove 1 leg.  Allow the tripod to lean, but catch it before it hits the floor.)  The tripod needs all 3 legs to stand--to do its job, doesn't it?  In fact, without 3 legs, it is no longer a tripod at all, because tri means 3.

The word Trinity begins with the same three letters as tricycle, triangle and tripod--t-r-i, meaning 3.  The word Trinity refers to God in 3 persons.

Sometimes when we think of God, we think of the Creator--the One who made heaven and earth, the light and darkness, the sea and dry land, the plants and animals, you and me.

Sometimes when we think of God, we remember Jesus--the special baby born in a stable, the One who cured people of their diseases, who taught people to love one another, who was crucified, who died and who rose again to live in Heaven.  Jesus, our friend and our Savior.

And sometimes when we think of God, we think of the Holy Spirit--the Helper Jesus sent to the disciples at Pentecost--the One who gives us guidance and strength to carry on God's work in the world, showing love and sharing the power of forgiveness.

All of these together--Creator, Savior and Helper, is what we call the Trinity.  One God described by Christians in 3 different ways.

(If the congregation sang or is going to sing "Holy, Holy, Holy" during the service, you might make reference to the last line.)

Let's Pray.  Gracious God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we thank you for your presence with us this morning.  Help us throughout our lives, to strive to understand and serve you.  And when we don't understand everything, may faith fill in the gaps until the time comes when all of our questions are answered.  Amen.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Day of Pentecost

Photo Source

The Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

Good morning, everyone!  Good morning!  Buenos dias.  Guten tag.  Bon jour.  Mahalo.  Ohayo gozaimasu.  Dobri ranok.  Yamanga fanin.  Shalom. 

If you didn't understand everything I just said, it's because I was speaking in different languages.  I  just said "Good morning" in English, Spanish, German, French, Hawaiian, Japanese, Ukrainian, Wolof and Hebrew.  People from different countries sometimes speak different languages.  For example, most folks in Mexico speak Spanish, and those in Germany speak German.  If a person from Germany and a person from Mexico were to meet, they would not be able to understand each other, if they didn't know one another's language.  They would need a translator--someone who knew both Spanish and German--to translate the conversation for them, telling each person what the other said in his or her own language.

One day, Jesus' disciples were all together in the city of Jerusalem.  This was after Jesus' death and resurrection.  The disciples were in Jerusalem for a big Jewish festival called Pentecost.  Jews came to Jerusalem from all over the world to celebrate Pentecost in the holy city. 

Suddenly, a sound came from heaven.  It was loud and sounded like a violent wind--like a tornado--and this loud sound filled the entire house where the disciples were gathered.  It wasn't an actual wind, so things weren't blowing around, but just the sound of wind.

Then, the Bible tells us that divided tongues that looked like the flames in a fire, appeared and one of these flame-looking shapes rested on each disciple.  (Don't worry--they weren't  hot, so the disciples didn't get burned.)

And then, the most amazing thing of all happened.  The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages.  They didn't know these languages.  They had never spoken them before.  They were from Galilee and spoke only Aramaic.  But the Holy Spirit made it possible for them to speak in languages, or tongues, from all over the world.

People from the homes and streets nearby heard all the racket and came to the house to find out what was going on.  When the people realized they could understand what the disciples were saying no matter what language they spoke, the people were confused and amazed.  They knew the disciples were from Galilee, and yet folks from as far away as Egypt, Mesopotamia and Asia understood the disciples' words.  The crowd wondered what was happening.  And then Peter came forward and spoke to the people in a strong voice.

He explained that the promises of God were coming true--that God poured out the Holy Spirit just as God had promised.  Peter told them that with the gift of the Holy Spirit, amazing things were going to happen.  And then he told them about his friend and Savior, Jesus, and that Jesus came to be their friend and Savior, too.  The Bible tells us that about 3,000 people believed Peter's message, became Christians and were baptized that day.  Three thousand people from near and far, who spoke many different languages but who were able to understand Peter thanks to the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let's Pray,  Dear God, we thank-you for the gift of the Holy Spirit and all of the amazing, good things that happen in the world because the Holy Spirit is with us.  Thank-you for our friend and Savior, Jesus, and for your love and grace. 

Friday, May 4, 2012

A Parable: The Velveteen Rabbit

A Parable: The Velveteen Rabbit
Easter 5
I John 4:7-21

Today I want to tell you a story that children have loved for generations.  It was written by Marjory Williams, and is called The Velveteen Rabbit.


 THERE was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen. On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming.

For a long time, the Velveteen Rabbit lived in the cupboard, or on the nursery room floor, and no one thought very much about him.  The other toys, especially the mechanical toys that wound up and moved on their own, thought the rabbit was old-fashioned and wouldn't give him the time of day.  The only toy in the nursery who was nice to him was the Skin Horse.

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.
"The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."
One evening, when the Boy was going to bed, he couldn't find the china dog that always slept with him. Nana was in a hurry, and it was too much trouble to hunt for china dogs at bedtime, so she simply looked about her.  "Here," she said, "take your old Bunny! He'll do to sleep with you!" And she dragged the Rabbit out by one ear, and put him into the Boy's arms.
From that moment on, the Boy and his bunny were inseparable.  The Boy played with the Velveteen Rabbit more than any other toy, and took him with him wherever he went. 
And so time went on, and the little Rabbit was very happy–so happy that he never noticed how his beautiful velveteen fur was getting shabbier and shabbier, and his tail becoming unsewn, and all the pink rubbed off his nose where the Boy had kissed him.
Weeks passed, and the little Rabbit grew very old and shabby, but the Boy loved him just as much. He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and his brown spots faded.
And then, one day, the boy was ill.
His face grew very flushed, and he talked in his sleep, and his little body was so hot that it burned the Rabbit when he held him close. Strange people came and went in the nursery, and a light burned all night and through it all the little Velveteen Rabbit lay there, hidden from sight under the bedclothes, and he never stirred, for he was afraid that if they found him some one might take him away, and he knew that the Boy needed him.
It was a long weary time, for the Boy was too ill to play, and the little Rabbit found it rather dull with nothing to do all day long. But he snuggled down patiently, and looked forward to the time when the Boy should be well again, and they would go out in the garden amongst the flowers and the butterflies and play splendid games in the raspberry thicket like they used to. And presently the fever turned, and the Boy got better. He was able to sit up in bed and look at picture-books, while the little Rabbit cuddled close at his side. And one day, they let him get up and dress.
It was a bright, sunny morning, and the windows stood wide open. They had carried the Boy out on to the balcony, wrapped in a shawl, and the little Rabbit lay tangled up among the bedclothes, thinking.
The Boy was going to the seaside to-morrow. Everything was arranged, and now it only remained to carry out the doctor's orders. They talked about it all, while the little Rabbit lay under the bedclothes, with just his head peeping out, and listened. The room was to be disinfected, and all the books and toys that the Boy had played with in bed must be burnt, including, said the doctor, the Velveteen Rabbit.  "It's a mass of scarlet fever germs," the doctor said.
And so the little Rabbit was put into a sack with the old picture-books and a lot of rubbish, and carried out to the end of the garden behind the fowl-house. That was a fine place to make a bonfire, only the gardener was too busy just then to attend to it. He had the potatoes to dig and the green peas to gather, but next morning he promised to come quite early and burn the whole lot.
The little Rabbit felt very lonely and sad.  He wriggled himself a little bit and stuck his head out of the sack and could see the garden where he and his Boy used to play and have so much fun. 
And a tear, a real tear, trickled down his little shabby velvet nose and fell to the ground.
And then a strange thing happened. For where the tear had fallen a flower grew out of the ground, a mysterious flower, not at all like any that grew in the garden. It had slender green leaves the colour of emeralds, and in the centre of the leaves a blossom like a golden cup. It was so beautiful that the little Rabbit forgot to cry, and just lay there watching it. And presently the blossom opened, and out of it there stepped a fairy.
"Little Rabbit," she said, "don't you know who I am?"
The Rabbit looked up at her, and it seemed to him that he had seen her face before, but he couldn't think where.
"I am the nursery magic Fairy," she said. "I take care of all the playthings that the children have loved. When they are old and worn out and the children don't need them any more, then I come and take them away with me and turn them into Real."
And she held the little Rabbit close in her arms and flew with him into the wood.
It was light now, for the moon had risen. All the forest was beautiful, and the fronds of the bracken shone like frosted silver. In the open glade between the tree-trunks the wild rabbits danced with their shadows on the velvet grass, but when they saw the Fairy they all stopped dancing and stood round in a ring to stare at her.
"I've brought you a new playfellow," the Fairy said. "You must be very kind to him and teach him all he needs to know in Rabbit-land, for he is going to live with you for ever and ever!"
And she kissed the little Rabbit again and put him down on the grass.
"Run and play, little Rabbit!" she said.
 Instead of dingy velveteen he had brown fur, soft and shiny, his ears twitched by themselves, and his whiskers were so long that they brushed the grass. He gave one leap and the joy of using those hind legs was so great that he went springing about the turf on them, jumping sideways and whirling round as the others did, and he grew so excited that when at last he did stop to look for the Fairy she had gone.
He was a Real Rabbit at last, at home with the other rabbits.
The Boy's love made his toy bunny a real rabbit.  God's love makes us real human beings.  And because God loves us, we are able to love one another.
Let's Pray.  Dear God, we thank you for the love and care you shower upon us.  Help us to love and care for one another, knowing that this precious gift comes from you.  Amen.