Servanthood

 Mark 10:35-45

I have a confession to make.  I spend too much time on my phone.  Do you know anyone who has this same problem?  Sometimes I tell myself, "I'll just check Facebook real quick to see whose birthday it is so I can post "Happy Birthday" wishes.  Then, 45 minutes later, I'm still staring at my phone.  The other day, however, I read something on Facebook that was actually worth my time.

A woman named Darlene posted a story about a FedEx driver named Rondy, who was on the road, delivering packages.  As he drove by a mobile home park, he noticed an elderly gentleman in the ditch by the side of the road.  He seemed to be having difficulty, so Rondy pulled a U-turn and went to the older man's aid.  It turned out that the man was walking home from the food bank with groceries in a push cart, when he became overwhelmed by the heat.  He fell into the ditch with his cart, and could barely stand.  Rondy was helping the 75-year-old when two other people stopped to offer their service as well.  They helped the struggling man home so that Rondy could get back to his job, delivering packages.

Jesus calls us to serve one another; to be helpful and kind.  In this way, we serve God and help to make the world what God intended for it to be all along--a kind and loving home for all people.

Prayer:

Loving God, we thank you for Rondy and people like him, who put aside their own agendas to help those in need.  Help me to serve you by serving others, too.  AMEN.

      FedEx driver Rondy, lending a helping hand
      Posted on Facebook by Darlene Griffith Pittman
      June 15, 2023

New Season: New Life

 A Story for the Coming of Spring

Tomorrow, March 20, at 5:24pm, marks the Spring Equinox.  In other words, tomorrow is the first day of Spring!  

People of different cultures welcome the arrival of spring in a variety of ways—

·       Every year, hundreds of thousands of people climb 360 steps up the ancient Pyramid of the Sun near Mexico City.   When they get to the top, they throw their arms up to the sun and welcome Springtime.

·       In India, the first day of Spring is called the Festival of Colors.  During this festival, people walk through the streets, throwing colored powder on each other.

·       In Gloucester, England, they roll a huge wheel of cheese down a steep street called Cooper’s Hill.

     The people of Thailand reach for their cannon-sized water guns, buckets, pressure hoses, or any other creative way they can think of to drench their neighbors in water on the first day of spring.

·       And finally, each Spring Equinox, at sunrise, people living in the town of Zenica in Bosnia, gather at the Bosna River and enjoy a community breakfast of scrambled eggs.

Spring is a season worth celebrating!  It is a season of promise and hope as we see new life springing up all around us.  Each day in springtime grows longer and warmer.  There are fresh, new leaves coming out on the trees, and beautiful flowers like daffodils and crocus tell us that Spring has arrived.  

Christians around the world welcome Spring with joy.  When Spring comes, we know that Easter will soon be here.  And Easter is the most important day of the year for those who love and follow Jesus.

You’ll hear more about Easter and why it is such an important day in the coming weeks.  For now, let’s thank God for Spring and all the promise and new life it holds.

MOVING DAY

God's Call to Abram and Sarai

2nd Sunday in Lent, Year A
Genesis 12:1-4a
Prop: A moving box

Good morning!  How many of you have moved from one home to another?  How many of you have always lived in the same home?  When I was young, my family and I moved around a lot.  I was born in Hollywood, California.  Then when I was five weeks old (I barely remember it), my family and I moved to Western Springs, Illinois.  Then we moved to Park Forest, IL, then to Union, Missouri, then back to Park Forest, then to Belleville, Illinois, then back to California.  A few weeks later, I started third grade. 

Moving from one home to another is a lot of work.  You have to go through everything you own, decide whether to take it with you, sell it, give it away or trash it.  You put all of your toys, books and clothes in boxes which often get loaded into a big truck with your furniture and taken to your new home.  Once your stuff arrives, it has to be taken off the truck and put away at the new place.  It’s exhausting!

Many, many years ago—about 3,900 years ago—God asked a man named Abram and his wife, Sarai, to move to a new place.  Abram and Sarai were used to moving.  They were nomads, and their home was a tent.  They would set up camp in a place and live there for a while, and then move to a new place where there was new grass for the animals to eat, fresh water, a different view of the desert.  But God wanted them to move to someplace far, far from the land they called home.  It would be like starting over completely.  They wouldn’t be able to visit their old friends and their family would be far away, too. 

God had an important reason for asking Abram and Sarai to move away from everything and everyone they knew to start over again.  God wanted to do something brand, new.  He wanted Abram and Sarai to be the start of a new nation—a nation of people devoted to God.  God said, ““Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”

And do you know what?  They went.  They packed up their tent and all of their stuff, loaded everything onto camels and headed off to a new adventure, a new life, a new relationship with God.  They stepped outside of their comfort zones in faith.  God richly blessed Abram and Sarai and in turn they were a blessing to others.  

Thanks be to God!

The Art of Listening

First Sunday in Lent, Year A

Matthew 4:1-11

Good morning! Today I'm going to tell you about three super-talented, famous people. They have accomplished amazing things in their lives, but when they were young and just getting started, they were told they didn't have what it would take to make their dreams come true. Let me show you what I mean.

First, Walt Disney. Walt Disney was the person who dreamed up Disneyland and Walt Disney World. He created wonderful movies, like Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Dumbo. The first cartoon he drew to become famous was Mickey Mouse. But he wasn't always a world-famous artist. Before he drew Mickey Mouse, he was fired from the Kansas City Star newspaper in 1919. because, his editor said, he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

That editor was wrong, wasn't he?

Next, Elvis Presley. Elvis was a wildly popular singer and also an actor. It is estimated that during his lifetime, Elvis sold more than one billion records--more than anyone else in record industry history (Graceland.com). But Elvis wasn't always so popular. After one of his early performances at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, Elvis was told by the concert hall manager that he was better off returning to Memphis and driving trucks (his former career).

That concert hall manager was wrong, wasn't he?

My final example is Stephen Spielberg. Stephen Spielberg is a famous director. He directed E.T., Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, to name only a few of his movies. He has won 155 film-making awards, including several Oscars. But Spielberg wasn't always a household name. Spielberg was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three times. The people at the famous film school thought Spielberg didn't have what it takes to make it in films.

The admissions committee at the University of California was wrong, wasn't it?

Here's the thing. We have people telling us stuff all the time. Some of those people just aren't worth our attention. When someone tells us we are "less than"--that we will never make it in this world, that we don't have what it takes, that we are untalented or unlovable, it is OK not to listen to those people. Their opinions are not worth listening to.

I'll tell you who IS worth listening to--God. One way we listen to God's message is in the Bible. Here are some of the things God tells us:



"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever." (Psalm 106:1) God loves us, and His love lasts FOREVER! Not just yesterday. Not just today, but forever and always.

“You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14); the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13).” Isn't that a great thing to be a light in this world?

“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are." (I John 3:1)

God loves you, and you, and you, and you, and you. You are God's beloved child. That is the most important message, the most important voice that you will ever hear. That is a message worth listening to.

Labor Day Sunday

Good morning!  The children and youth in our school district started school last week.  This got me to thinking of all the groups and committees which will start meeting again now that the summer is over.  Life is about to get a lot busier for many of us, students and adults alike!  Let me show you what I mean.  We’ll use me as an example.

Imagine that this plate is my life.  I have a lot of interests, activities and obligations which I try to balance on my plate, or fit into my life.  (Go through list, adding representative items to the plate one at a time.  For example, a spiral notebook and a pen could represent your work, a spatula cooking, a framed picture of your family, etc.)  Keep the plate balanced until the last item is placed on the plate, if you can, then let the whole thing fall to the ground.)

OH, NO!  What happened?  I put too much on my plate, didn’t I!  The same thing happens when we try to fit too much into our lives without taking time to pause.  To rest.  To regroup and refresh with God.  If we keep going, going, going without an occasional break, everything we want to do suffers.  We don’t do as well in school as we could.  We don’t have the energy and focus to excel in sports, or music, or dance, or whatever we like to do.  We can neglect our friends and family members. 

God tells us that we all need rest.  God rested.  After creating the heavens and the earth, God took a break.  Jesus, too, walked away from the crowds and spent time alone with his thoughts and with God every now and then. 

I encourage you to follow this example.  Take time out of your day and your week to unplug, unwind and spend quality time with God.  If you do this, the rest of your life will be in better balance and everything else will benefit. 

Discipleship & Thomas

John 20:19-29

When you hear the word, "Disciple," what comes to mind?

In the most general terms, a disciple is one who studies and follows the teachings of someone else.  It could be an individual person or group, or even an idea or philosophy.

We find 12 named disciples in the Bible, but there were many others--people of all sizes, shapes, colors, backgrounds--men and women, too, who studied and followed the teachings of Jesus.  We are Jesus' disciples today, even though we've never met Jesus in the same way that Peter, James, John, Mary Magdalene and Thomas did.  As Christians, we study and do our best to follow the teachings of Jesus, which makes us his disciples.  

After Jesus' death and resurrection, he appeared to the disciples who followed him around for three years, listening, watching and learning from him.  He showed Thomas the scars on his hands and side, and Thomas believed that Jesus was alive once again.  Jesus said, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes.  Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing."  (The Message)

Jesus was talking about people like you, and like me, when he said those words--words which have been true for nearly 2,000 years!  We haven't stood face-to-face with Jesus, but by God's grace we are blessed with faith and friendship through His Church.

AMEN.

Palm Sunday

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES              

John 12:12-27

Have you ever heard the expression, "What a difference a day makes?"  It is often used when talking about a sudden change in the weather--like when one day it's sunny and warm.  You're outside, riding your bike, playing ball, maybe even swimming at the beach or pool.  Then the next day you wake up and it's super cold and miserable--maybe it's even snowing!  That's when someone might say, "Wow!  What a difference a day makes!"

Toward the end of Jesus' life, he went back to the city of Jerusalem to celebrate a festival called "Passover" with his disciples.  Celebrating the Passover Feast in Jerusalem was a big deal, so there were lots of visitors in town.  Jesus was becoming known in Judea as someone special.  He healed a blind man.  He provided lunch for a huge crowd from only a small amount of food.  He even brought a man who had died back to life.  So when Jesus approached the city gate, news spread fast that this amazing rabbi was coming, and the crowd got super excited!  They tore branches from the trees and waved them as Jesus approached.  They were so happy to see Jesus, they shouted, "Hosanna!  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord--the King of the Jews!" 

But their happiness did not last for long.  By the end of the week, the mood had changed.  Jesus was arrested, and Pilate, the Roman governor, asked the crowd, "What should I do with Jesus, the King of the Jews?"  This time they shouted, "Crucify him!  We have no king but Caesar!"  

What a difference a week makes!  This was a very sad time for Jesus, but it is not the end of the story.  Come back next week, and I will tell you the exciting, and happy, ending.

Prayer:  Dear Jesus, Sometimes our feelings are changeable, like the weather.  Help our love for you to be constant, even when other things in our lives are not always the same.  Amen.