Windows into heaven The main street window- The Shekinah of God First UMC 2/ 22-23/ 2020

Windows into heaven

The main street window- The Shekinah of God

First UMC 2/ 22-23/ 2020

Did anyone else have a little plastic glow in the dark Jesus when they were growing up?

I did. It is long gone, and I couldn’t find a picture exactly like it, but this is kind of close. My glow in the dark Jesus didn’t have a painted face, though. Do you want to know the kicker?  When I found this glow in the dark Jesus on Amazon with 2 week shipping it cost $34.55 +tax. I think Peter may have had the right idea. Maybe he is the one selling these to Amazon.

When he saw Jesus and Elijah and Moses shinning, he said, Let’s build three booths here. In other words, let’s hang on to this experience. He doesn’t say it, but I wonder if he had visions of glow in the dark Jesus, three booths where he could charge people big denarii to see this. Maybe 2 denarii for the opening act, and 5 for Jesus who would be the main attraction.

 Maybe he would call it the Holy Land Experience. You can imagine how things would develop. The disciples might set up a priority pass system for an extra cost of course. They might rope off the area outside the shrine so that the faithful could cue up in lines, kind of like at an amusement park or the bank. They would take everyone’s picture but you would have to pay an extra denarii to take it home. They’d set up a gift shop that would double as the exit like at Disney. Who knows, they might even start selling these wonderful glow in the dark Jesus’s for a mark-up of course.

This might sound ridiculous and sarcastic, but I think Luke kind of intended for Peter James and John to look ridiculous. The bumbling disciples could hardly stay awake to see one the greatest shows in heaven let alone on earth.

I think Luke is intentionally making them look foolish because he wants us to see beyond the wow factor. He wants us to understand that this is more than just a cheap magic trick. There is an important message here.

The closest we can come to that message is reflected in one of my favorite stained glass windows in the church. The window over The Main Street entrance depicting a sunrise… it could be a sunset, but I just have a feeling.

If you are looking at the screen and saying “I don’t remember that” it might be because you don’t come in the evening very much. During the day the window doesn’t look like much, but let the sun go down and the lights go up and I think it is beautiful.

Maybe the closest we can come to the experiencing the transfiguration is watching the glowing sunrise or sunset. It doesn’t matter if it is from your deck, at Swan lake, over the mountains or sitting by the ocean, or even in stained glass. Sunrises and sunsets are as close as we can get to the Shekinah of God.

This window reminds me that in spite of all the ugliness in the world… in spite of all the meanness around us… in spite of all the hatred and crime and sickness and prejudice and war… in spite of the darkness of sin in our world, The Light and power of God transfigures each and every day into a kingdom day. And the Light and power of God transfigures each and every one of us each … every day into kingdom people. As the darkness moves in on the parking lot, or the world, or our lives, the light of God shining through this window takes over as a beautiful glass reminder of God’s transfiguring power

 Just before the hiking trip we read about today, Jesus and the boys were hanging out and apparently out of blue Jesus announced

“The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Now in Matthew this is where Peter steps up and says, God forbid, lord. This will never happen to you.! And Jesus famously replies, “Get thee behind me Satan.”

 Jesus continues in Luke

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

The disciple might have though, “A cross might be in yoru future, but I have an aversion to painful torturous death.”

Jesus continued, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”

 8 days later, Jesus and the 3 disciples, Peter, James, and John head off for the mountain top. When they got to the top the 3 disciples were tired. And in their groggy stupor, these bumbling disciples almost miss the light of heaven, the light of eternity, the light of the one who is the light of the world, the light that was sent forth as the very first act of creation. They almost miss God’s notarized signature on Jesus as God’s beloved son and hear the command “LISTEN TO HIM.”

 Let’s talk about this piece by piece. First the Shining- or as we usually call it the transfiguration. Jesus’ transfiguration, visible to the disciples on the mountaintop is the Shekinah of God the light of God’s presence

Sunday school kids studying the 10 commandments… listen because I have a question for you. Listen

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him.

You young folks studying the 10 commandments, why did shine when he came down from the mountain with the 10 commandments? He was filled with the light of God’s presence. We call that the Shekinah of God.

Moses wanted to see God’s face, and God says, “no one can see my face and live.” So, he let Moses look at his back. Even just looking at God’s back Moses came back to the people shining with the shekinah of God. The indwelling of God which is described as shining.

Shekinah is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word which means to dwell or stay. It came to be connected to the tabernacle and in the wilderness, and the temple in Jerusalem.

There is no place is Elijah’s story where he shines with the shekinah of God, but he is one of only 2 people who were taken to heaven without dying. Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, a chariots of fire and horses of fire separated him from Elisha as he rose out of sight. The chariots and horses of fire? Maybe that was Elisha’s way of describing the shekinah of God. I don’t know for sure.

So, before even one word is said, we know that Jesus’ shining with the Shekinah of God is a strong sign of the presence of God, the light of God in him. This shinning Shekinah says that Jesus is indeed God, God’s only son. As the Nicene creed says, “light from light, true God from true God.”

Before a word was spoken, we know this was God in the flesh.

 Then the voice comes from heaven with two messages. THIS IS MY SON. God said, “this is my son.” This stirring revelation comes 10 verses after Jesus asks the disciples “who do you say that I am?” And Peter replies, “you are the messiah of God.”

Here is definitive proof of Jesus divinity. If the shekinah of God is not enough proof for you, God’s voice speaks from heaven says this is not a glow in the dark Jesus… it is my son. Then there is no room left for doubt.

Finally, God says, “listen to him.” When God says listen to him what are we to hear. Perhaps we go back to what Jesus has said most recently. That Jesus must “suffer and be rejected and die and be raised gain.” LISTEN TO HIM. The light I see in this window is the light of God’s salvation shining on a world of sin. It is the shekinah of God seen on Easter morning shining light into the darkest corners of the world where people are entombed by sin and guilt. Their eyes may be closed, but they see the light anyway.

Shortly before that Jesus asked who do you say that I am? Peter said you are the Christ eh son of the living God. LISTEN TO HIM. The light I see in this window is the light of faith in Jesus Christ shining faithfully from the church night after night into the skeptical world that usually doesn’t believe it even if they see it. They might not want to see, but the light shines on them anyway.

Jesus said love your neighbor. Love your enemy. Love one another. LISTEN TO HIM. The light I see in this window is the light of love shining through the darkness on neighbors and passersby. Some of them live in the darkness where they believe no one loves them. They may be right. They may be considering taking their life. No one would notice anyway, right? This window says there is light in Christ and there is the light of love in this place and no matter how deep your self-hatred might be, our light shines just for you because someone does care, and someone does love you.

Jesus said the father hears and answers our prayers. LISTEN TO HIM. I see in this window the hope that someone is listening to the prayers of the person in the ambulance as they speed past to the hospital. I see in this window the hope that someone is listening to the prayers of the parents who are searching for their runaway teenager. I see in this window the hope that someone is listening to the prayers of the police officer who speeds by in the middle of the night praying that they will be able to diffuse this domestic disturbance before anyone gets seriously hurt. I see in this window the hope that someone is listening to the prayers of the mother returning home from her second shift Job, hoping that her check will be big enough to keep the electricity on.

Jesus said the kingdom of God is at hand. LISTEN TO HIM. I see in this window the vision of justice for the imprisoned, jobs for the unemployed, services for the disabled, shelters or homes for the homeless, treatment for all kinds of ills including mental, physical, addictions, emotional, and relational; equal treatment for all people no matter in what pigeonhole society places them. This is the light of justice, healing, and hope.

Jesus teaches that he is the vine and we are the branches- he is the source of abundant life that is ours if we stay connected to him LISTEN TO HIM. I see in this window the call for those who are hungry for a closer relationship with God to come and sit in the light with us. For those who need a reminder that God is still with them to come and feel the light of God’s presence in this place. I see in this window the call for anyone who feels guilt or shame to come and be forgiven. I see in this window the call for anyone who feel empty to come and be filled with the life-giving light of God’s power. This is the light that calls all the world unto him.

Jesus teaches that we are the light of the world. I see in this window a charge for us to shine with love as bright as the sun. I see in this window a charge for us to treat others as we want to be treated. I see in this window a charge for us to go into the streets and alleys and pray with hose who can’t seem to find words. I see in this window a charge for us to bring those same people back to God so they too can grow close to God. I see in this window a call to make a difference in this community, in the state, and around the world being leaven in the loaf. I see in this window as a call to teach the little ones, steady the elderly, support families, encourage single people, visit the sick and lonely, and to worship with a light so bright that all the world will know how much we love Jesus.

Former American Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky, said, “we never know which point in our lives marks our zenith, and it’s probably a good thing we don’t.” I don’t know what the future holds for us. We are all a little scared, but we need to stand together in the light of the transfiguration and the light of this window. I see in this window a promise for the transfiguration of each new day into a kingdom day. I see in this window the hope that God will transform each of us daily so we never be afraid that the darkness will put us out. I don’t think our best days are behind us. I don’t know if today is the best day in the history of this church, or tomorrow or 5 years from now. But as long as we shine as bright as we can, love as much as we can, work as hard as we can, give as generously as we can, pray as much as we can each and every day… the stained glass sunrise over our doors will be a God-rise.  Whether we realize it or not God will rise up and make us into the church God wants us to be.   God will rise up and make us unto the people God wants us to be. Remember, when the world gets darker out there, or in here, the God-rise only shines brighter.

We don’t need a bunch of glow in the dark Jesuses. We have people who glow with God’s love as they are the hands and feet of Jesus. Go transfigured by God’s presence and power in you bring a Godrise to someone each day.

The light of heaven: Light from the darkness of the cross 2/15-16, 2020 Carroll First UMC

  The light of heaven: Light from the darkness of the cross

2/15-16, 2020 Carroll First UMC

The cross is one of the best-known symbols in the world. Upon seeing a cross, just about anyone, from any country in the world associates the cross with Christianity. It is by far one of the most universally recognized religious symbols on the planet. It has not always been so.

  In the early days, Christianity was illegal. Displaying a cross was dangerous. The anchor became the primary symbol for the faith. We see it in the Bible in Hebrews 6:19. We see it inscribed on tombs in the early catacombs until about 400 AD. The anchor is a reminder that Jesus is stability in an ever-changing world.  It is a symbol of our firm hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ who is our anchor in all the storms of life.

   Do you know we have an anchor stained glass window? It is the same age as the Jesus window, 119 years old from the previous building. It is found on the landing as you go upstairs to the third floor. You can also see it lit up at night if you drive Adams street.

   This window is a rose window, but it has an anchor and a cross in it.

 It looks like maybe too many people have touched it over the years, but it says, “Faith, Hope, and Charity.”

 See how the anchor contains a cross?

We also have a hidden cross in the sanctuary… OK, it isn’t hidden, but you must be very observant to see it. Where is it?

 Yes, up there above the Jesus window is a cross in the brick. There are crosses everywhere in the church.

 That brings us to what I call the cross window. This beautiful window presents the cross in three different ways. Individually, the symbols are simple. What I find interesting is the relationship between the three symbols. I am sure they can be interpreted a variety of ways and I will only share one today. I’d love to hear how you interpret that set of images. Let’s start by looking at each symbol separately.

 First let’s look at the symbol on the right. We see a Bible, some leaves, and the cross.

Most prominently we see the Holy Bible. The Bible reminds us that Jesus is the Word of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word took on flesh and dwelt among us.”

Then we see the vine. Do you member what our first thought should be when we see a vine in a stained-glass window? “I am the vine; you are the branches.” Jesus came that we might “have life and have it abundantly.” He is the vine; we are the branches. If we abide in him (the Word) we have life, and apart from him, we can do nothing (we have death).

Look at the Bible again. What color is it? Purple. Purple represents one of two things Christ’s suffering, or the sovereignty and royalty of God. Think about the altar cloths. In lent, we use purple to remember suffering. In Advent we use purple to welcome God’s mighty act in becoming Jesus Christ. Given that the purple Bible is on a cross, I’m going to guess that in this case it points to Christ’s suffering.

Jesus suffered on the cross because he met some broken, sinful, evil, and unjust people and they tortured and killed him. The world in which we live is a broken, sinful, evil, unjust, and oppressive place. Why? Because we are broken, sinful, evil, unjust, and oppressive people. We are sinners, and we have turned the world into something very different from the world God intended in the Garden of Eden. God’s ultimate answer for that was to be born among us, live among us, and die for us. Whether you say, he died to pay our penalty, he died to ransom us from hell, he died to be our sacrificial lamb, or he died to show us just how much God really loves lost sheep like us… they all come down to “Jesus died for us.” That is one of the fundamental meanings of the cross. It is reminder that Jesus died for us, and the empty cross reminds us that God raised him from the dead so that we might be raised to eternal life in him.

I think this symbol, then, is about remembering. Remembering that Jesus lived to bring us life. Remembering that Jesus died to bring us eternal life. Remembering the whole good news of Jesus Christ. It contains the story of how God saved us and is saving us. We remember because that’s what disciples do.

Let’s turn to the middle window. I see this as the discipleship window. This is the way we should be living today.

The crown in the window of course reminds us of a king. We need to live as though Christ really is king in our lives. We need to live like we really mean it when we say, “Jesus is Lord.” We need to take our comfort, our desires, our ego, our prosperity out of the driver’s seat of our lives and subject them to our lord and master Jesus Christ.

If we do that the palm branch makes more sense. When Roman warriors came back from battle victorious palm branches were laid at their feet as a sign of victory. Remember the triumphal entry into Jerusalem in which people waved palm branches and shouted, “hosanna! Save us! Hosanna!” I think this palm branch reminds us that Jesus has already won victory over all the sin, evil, and oppression in our lives. It is not enough for a disciple to say, “Jesus is Lord.” A disciple must live as one who knows that the battle is already won by Jesus. Because of Jesus, we are no longer victims of sin. We are saved people. We need to live as saved people because that’s what disciples do.

But wait how can the cross, the symbol of Roman torture and oppression, be part of this symbol of victory? Those of us in the church are accustomed to hearing the story of Christ’s victory on the cross and victory over the grave. But to outsiders it seems ridiculous. Paul says, the “message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” It does sound foolish or unbelievable that the almighty, all powerful, all knowing, creator of heaven and earth; the God of yesterday, today and tomorrow would come as a baby in the flesh for our salvation. And it is even more foolish to say that he died on the cross to save us. But it is not foolish it is a story of love: God’s extreme love for us. Even the name Jesus tells us that “he will save his people from their sins.” (1:21) So even in the face of the cross, even surrounded by sin, we are victors in Jesus Christ. We need to live as victors, because that’s what disciples do.

Finally, we move to the last panel in this window. I love this image. I took the liberty of replacing the stained glass with what I see when I look at the window.

  We talked about the first window being a window of remembering what God has done in  the past. The second window is living the victory we have in Christ today. You might have guessed that this window has to do with the future.

Imagine a great storm and your boat is swamped and sunk. You bob around in your life jacket for a few days, but that is getting old and the odds of being saved are dwindling by the hour. And then you see this. This tiny safe spot in a whole ocean that is trying to kill you. You might have to share it with 300 or 400 seagulls, but it is land, it is safety. It is hope.

We float around in our lives, sometimes bobbing fiercely with the stormy waves that come. Waves of poor health, grief, the loss of a job, the loss of a relationship. Maybe you share the churning wave of mental illness with me, I know several of you face fierce wave of addiction one day at a time. Whatever your storm might be, we bob around going nowhere, having no hope of being rescued, no hope of finding land, just waiting to be swallowed up by the sea, or even worse by a shark.

Is that the way Christ wants us to be? No, we are disciples of the lord of hope. We are followers of the one who brought hope to a hopeless world. In Christ there is hope. For all of us who bob around aimlessly Christ is our hope for tomorrow an all the tomorrows to come.

Again, skeptics look at the cross and laugh. They think that is a stupid way for God to act. But for those of us who live spend our lives bobbing up and down in the dark cold sea, Christ is our only hope. We know that the love of God is greater than the skepticism of people. God’s vision is greater than the vision of any person. God’s weakness is stronger than human strength and God’s foolishness is greater than our wisdom. In him all things are possible.

We can’t see what tomorrow will bring… and that’s probably a good thing. But we always have hope because tomorrow is in Jesus’ hands. We always have hope because it is Jesus who calmed the storm. We always have hope because Jesus proved that God’s power to give life is greater than any power people have to take it away.

“Don’t worry about tomorrow” Jesus says, “Tomorrow will have enough troubles of its own.” I wish I was better at not worrying about tomorrow, or this summer, or next year, or 5 minutes from now. But in Jesus we have all the hope in the world. Nothing, nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Because just when we need it most, Christ appears as a small island refuge for us. Jus when we need it most Christ appears silhouetted with the sun of a new day rising behind him. We need never lose hope because he is not only the alpha… the beginning… he is also the Omega… the end. Jesus is first and last and everything in between, and because of him there is always hope. That is the way disciples live.

The cross the a most powerful symbol for us… The cross of remembrance, the cross of discipleship, the cross of hope. What a powerful message in that window.

 There is a tower called the FAIR ZE TURM tower. It just means television in German. Between the years 1965 and 1969 the tower was built to transmit television signals. Imagine the shock of the hard-line atheist-communist government of East Germany discovered that the 1200-foot-tall tower they bought and paid for was topped with a 105-foot tall cross. Well, it isn’t really topped by the cross, but the tiles that were used in construction reflect in such a way that much of the time there appears to be a cross on the sphere. The government was furious and embarrassed. The architect has always denied that he knew that would happen… but people call it the pope’s revenge on the atheistic, communist government that used to grip that nation. The government has tried everything to get rid of the cross, including painting the tiles with special paint, but the cross can not be removed.

 Kind of an amusing story, but in the tradition of Aesop’s fables it teaches that nothing is more powerful than the cross of Christ.

I am so thankful for our cross window that reminds us of what Jesus did for us. Shows us how we live as disciples and assures us that we can never be so lost that we are out of reach of the cross of hope.

May the cross in our window and the cross you bear on your heart be reminders of God’s great love for you in Jesus Christ.

 May the cross in our window and the cross you bear on your heart make you more loving and faithful each day.

May the cross in our window and the cross you bear on your heart be a sign of hope. Let it remind you that not even the tomb is the end of the story for God.

May the cross in our window and the cross you bear on your heart be just as bright, just as beautiful, and just as stubborn as the cross on the tower.

Windows into heaven The Jesus Window- The light of Christ love. February 8 and 9, 2020

 

 Windows into heaven

The Jesus Window- The light of Christ love.

February 8 and 9, 2020

Look at this beautiful window. I suspect it speaks to people in many different ways. Choose one word that captures at least a slice of the meaning of this window for you. In one word, what do you see? <<<>>>

All of those are great words. Today I want to focus on three words salvation, sacrifice, and safety.

 

The original painting on which this window is based was done a painting by British artist Sybil C. Parker. Born in 1860 she was 35 years old when she painted “The Door of the Fold”.

  I only found 3 other works of art that are consistently attributed to her: “Maternal Instinct,” “The Peasant Girl,” and “The Storm.” It seems quite likely that there are more, but I was not able to find wide agreement.

“The Door of The Fold” is certainly her most famous piece. There are several churches who have windows modeled after this same painting. It was only 6 years after the painting was completed that it was rendered in stained glass and given to our church by the young people.

  Over here you see the logo with “E-L” for Epworth League and over there “J-E-L” for Junior Epworth League. I always thought the Epworth league was High school and the Junior Epworth junior high, but I learned that the Epworth league was founded in 1889 for young adults 18-35 years old. Junior Epworth league was the high school version of the group.

  

The motto of the Epworth league is on the shields below the logos: "I desire to have a league offensive and defensive with every soldier of Christ." It is a John Wesley quote meaning that he wants to work with every other Christian for the work of the gospel.

The window was on the north side of the previous building on the land where the great western bank now sits.

We have Duke’s dad to thank for having it here. The story goes, that Dr. Anneberg was on the building committee for this building. When the architect came in with a contemporary design that did not include stained glass windows, Dr. Anneberg told him “go back to the drawing board and include the stained-glass windows or he would find a new architect.” Thank goodness he spoke up, right?

Just out of curiosity I superimposed the window on the painting to see how well they matched,

 and it is a very close match. There are a few differences.

 Most obviously, the stained-glass artist chose to render the robe in red. I don’t know for certain why they did that, but the change from white for purity, to red for sacrifice may be significant. I found one other window that shows Jesus in a white tunic and red robe. I wonder if it was as simple as it showed off the lamb better.

Additionally, the glass artist did not include the 2 doves over Jesus left shoulder and one sheep at his left foot. I don’t know if that was an artistic choice, but I wonder if the medium of stained glass just did not lend itself to the kind of detail necessary to include the doves. The doves would be either a symbol of peace or a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

 To Jesu’s Left- (your right)- you see a rock. The rock would be part of the landscape except on this Rock, Mrs. Parker has placed a shepherd’s crook, a red robe, and the sign saying “King of the Jews” that hung above Jesus on the cross. Those three symbols together might represent the good shepherd that lays down his life for his sheep. With those symbols the stone becomes representative of Golgotha.

 Cindy and I have debated about whether the stained-glass artist might have had something else in mind. The robe is much darker than the painting and the sign takes on a goldish color almost looking like a crown. You can decide for yourself whether you think there is another meaning there. I am going to stick with the shepherd that lays down his life for the sheep.

Let me point out a couple of things that you might not notice:

 

Did you notice the cross behind Jesus which Is made by the intersection of the door header and the vertical beam behind him? In fact, Jesus seems to be just stepping off the cross.

In the stained glass it is hard to tell whether Jesus is wearing a crown of thorns like the painting. It could be my imagination, but I think it is there… but the detail was difficult in stained-glass.

  

Have you noticed the abundant clusters of grapes and sheaves of wheat above Jesus head? These communion symbols remind us that Jesus does not stay in the window but steps off the cross to celebrate with us whenever we partake of the sacrament.

 Have you noticed that the door has a key that has to be unlocked by Jesus in order for the sheep to enter? Just as Jesus unlocked salvation for us through the lo  ve exhibited in the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.

  

Finally, it is hard to render in glass, but in the painting, it is clear that Jesus feet still bear the marks of the nails of crucifixion.

Keeping those details in mind, let’s step back and look at the window as a whole what do we see.

 When I first look at the window, I am immediately drawn to Jesus: The perfectly proportioned, gracefully dressed savior with the glow around his head stands in the door. Parker’s title points to John 10: 9 that says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

Just reading that, doesn’t give our 21st century minds the right picture. You see shepherds would have a pen or coral in which they kept the sheep at night. The pen would consist of rocks piled up high enough to discourage the sheep from jumping out. But just for good measure the shepherd would put brambles or thorny branches on top of the wall. But how do you suppose they built a door out of stone and brambles? They didn’t. The shepherd was the door. They would sit down or lay down in the one and only way to get in or go out.

John 10:7-10 says “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Life is filled with thieves and robbers who want to destroy us. Some come from outside us like bullies, abusers, terrorists, unemployment, and crime. Most come from inside: greed, lust, pride, hopelessness, hatred. You know the list. Jesus is the door, at the end of the day, the shepherd calls to us and makes himself the door that keeps us safe from all the wolves and bandits. Jesus says, “Whoever enters by me will be saved.” Jesus is the shepherd of salvation.

 The second thing I notice is all the symbols of sacrifice: the cross, the crown of thorns, the blood red robe, the hole in his foot, the rock representing Golgotha, the sign that says king of the Jews. This reminds me of verse 11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The good shepherd was indeed ready and willing to die saving his sheep and it was not unusual that he might do just that.

Our good shepherd, Jesus, came to earth knowing full well that in order to save these sheep-like human beings, these selfish, sinning, straying sheep beset by the wolves of sin, he would have to die. One does not do battle with sin and Satan and expect to get out alive. I look at all the symbols of sacrifice in the Jesus window and it reminds me that Jesus willingly and knowingly sacrificed all he had and all he was even sacrificing his life, so that we could be raised up with him by the power of sacrificial love, into eternal life and eternal communion with God. Jesus is the shepherd of sacrifice.

  Finally, and maybe you notice these in a different order, that’s OK. Make note of the care and love with which Jesus cares for the sheep. I don’t think it is just my imagination that Jesus is cradling that little lamb with special tenderness. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” Maybe this is the lamb that was lost, and he left the 99 to go back to find me… or is it you? Jesus tells the  parable “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4) It could be any of us.

Or maybe we are the white lamb at Jesus’ feet that he is so carefully ushering back into the safety of the pen where he is protected from all danger, harm, sin or fear.

Or maybe you are one of the dirty sheep behind the white one, who have not been cleansed by the saving love of the shepherd. Look, he has unlocked the door and holds it open to invite you. All you have to do is take the step of faith through the door. The door of cleansing grace, the door of salvation the door of eternal life. It is right there for you. One step of faith and the great shepherd will do the rest. Jesus is the shepherd of safety.

  This beautiful stained-glass window is not intended to be a decoration. It is a sacrament. Not like communion or baptism. A sacrament is when God’s grace is conveyed through some material object.

Open yourself to the messages of this window. Let Jesus step out of that window into your life.

I like to imagine myself as the lamb Jesus gently carries.

Sometimes I feel lost, and Jesus steps out of the window into my life to reminds me that he snatched me from sin and saved me by his grace and love. And he now carries me home in his strong arms of salvation.

When I am tempted or questioning, Jesus steps out of the window into my life and I become aware that the hands that hold me so gently and the feet that carry me bear the marks of the extreme sacrifice that Jesus made for me. And he is the one who suffered, bled, died, and rose again for me is carrying me on the merits of his sacrificial love.

When I am afraid, Jesus steps out of the window into my life to reminds me that he holds me tight saying, “I have you now. You’re safe with me… no wolves, no brambles, no danger, no fear.” I remember that of al the sheep in the world, Jesus came looking for me, me personally to ride in his strong arms as he carries me to safety.

  Watch and listen. When Jesus steps out of the window to speak to you, what does he say? What message does the great shepherd have for you?

HELP!!!!! Help, thanks, wow Carroll First 1/19/20

HELP!!!!! Help, thanks, wow

Carroll First

Most of us know this much about Jonah. He spent time in the belly of a fish. But there is more to his story you might not know. Jonah is not just an average person. He is a prophet of God. He is a preacher with a special call to speak a particular message from God to the people… in his opinion that meant Israelites. You know, God’s “chosen people.”

When God called Jonah to go to Nineveh. His response… “NO WAY!” Now don’t be too hard on Jonah. You might have the same response when you discover that Nineveh is in modern day Iraq.  Do you remember the Iraqi town by the name of Mosul? That’s what Nineveh is called today. I’m afraid that if God called me to go to Mosul and preach the Christian gospel, I just might find myself in the belly of a fish somewhere. And if I found myself in the smelly belly of a fish, I’d certainly pray for help like I have never prayed before.

That’s what Jonah did. The passage we just read is Jonah’s prayer from the fish.          

I did a lot of research into the Hebrew language used there and there is a better translation. That translation is “HELP!” That is the best translation ever …HELP!!

 Then Jonah “remembers” God and trusts in God’s ability. The Cliff’s notes version is, he was spit out on the shore and went to do what God wanted him to do in the first place.

We have all been in the belly of the fish. It is dark, it stinks, we are in ick up to our knees (or sometimes up to our chins), we can’t believe we are there, we can’t figure out how we got here, let alone imagine how we are going to get out. We feel alone and powerless and hopeless, and we don’t know where to turn… here only one logical response; scream as loud as you can… HELP!!!! SOMEONE HELP!!!! CAN ANYONE HAR ME????

The belly of the fish comes in a lot of different shapes. I’ve rarely felt so helpless as I did during Amber’s heart surgery. HELP! I have rarely felt so out of control as I did the day Richie was born and they loaded him up in the neonatal ICU ambulance and whisked him off to Iowa City. HELP! I have rarely felt so defeated as I did the day the church burned down. HELP! I have rarely felt as alone as I did when I got laid off for the first time. HELP! I’ve never been so scared as I was coming back into the church after being a carpenter for 9 years.  HELP!

 Those are the most gut felt and honest of all prayers.

Anne Lamott who wrote a little book called HELP, THANKS, WOW defines prayer as “reaching out to be heard, hoping to be found by a light and warmth in the world, instead of darkness and cold.” Prayer is not at is essence words. Praying help is the heart or the gut reaching out, grasping for, yearning for, begging for something outside of the belly of the fish. For some people that is fate, or nature, or human intervention. When you are that deep in the belly of the fish. The only real answer is calling out to God. Prayer is “reaching out to be heard, hoping to be found by God.”

The instinct to cry out for help is right in our genetic code. What is the first thing a baby does when they need something…anything… cry out. They don’t know what they need. They don’t know who can help. They don’t have a plan. They don’t blame anyone. They just cry.

Somewhere along the way we stumble into thinking “I can do it myself,” “I shouldn’t have to ask for help.” “I am an independent 2-year-old, or teenager, or adult and I don’t need anyone’s help.” That works pretty well…until it doesn’t. And then we spend the rest of our lives trying to learn to ask for help again.

 Why is it so hard to pray help?

Perhaps pride is the number one reason. We will try anything and everything we can think of until we run out of good ideas or even bad ideas… before ewe admit we need help and turn to prayer.

The second reason is the opposite of pride. It is a feeling of being unworthy. Thinking God has more important things to worry about than me. Occasionally someone in the hospital says, “You didn’t have to come… you are so busy… I want to tell them, ‘You’re in the HOSPITAL! This is exactly what I’m supposed to be busy doing.’” I don’t, but there is something in us that says we are not important enough to get help.

Third, I think praying for help might be hard for us is we believe God somehow caused our suffering… Don’t believe it.  Or we have the idea that God doesn’t care… Don’t believe it.  Or we have the notion that God can’t do anything for us. Don’t believe it!

We have to jump over those hurdles and just cry out “Help me God!” Sometimes, a gut-wrenching “God help me”... might be all we have.  But what I want to tell you today is that’s all we need.

 Let me point out two lessons from Jonah’s story. The first lesson is just do it. Don’t wait.

Take a look at Jonah in the belly of the fish on page 800 of your pew Bible.… In verse 2 he says, “I called to the LORD out of my distress. But how long did he wait?  This was his last resort. In verse 7 we read ““7 As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the LORD.” It was after three days and with his last dying breath that Jonah called out to God.

When I was at one of the lowest points in my life, when we left the church and moved to Bettendorf without a plan, or jobs, or anything… I’m sorry to say It took years…. And a thousand little tiny steps before I was able to open up to God and cry “help.” It took folks from the church doing a hundred kind things for us…it took our friends from the church inviting me to do kind things for others with them… It took my going back to worship, not for me, but to be a good example for Richie (and the crack began to open) …. It took being rooked into chaperoning a mission trip (a little bigger crack) It took hitting rock bottom and realizing that I had no options but to cry out to God. And the light began to shine through e crack. Even then I didn’t have the strength to reach out… I opened a crack and God’s grace began to shine through… and it wasn’t long before God reached in and saved me again.

God will still be there if you wait, that’s not the issue… but how bad does it have to get?  Don’t wait. Just do it.

 Just do it… and then just TRUST. It is hard to trust. But when we have run out of ideas, and excuses, and blaming, and cursing what is left but to trust someone else. Trust that God didn’t put you in this bad place. That is not the way God works. Trust that God cares… and he does. Trust that God wants to help… and he does… trust that God can help… and God can!

Notice the second half of the 2nd verse in Jonah’s prayer. Jonah almost sounds surprised! “and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”

I believe every time we can trust God actually deepens our relationship with God. When we pray, “OK, God. I’ve got nothing left. Did you really mean it when you said you loved me no matter what? Well, here I am, warts and all.” It’s at that moment, in that moment of helplessness and. vulnerability, and trust that our healing begins.

  What is your belly of the fish right now?

what is your belly of the fish? We all have one or two or three, maybe it doesn’t look to bad right now or maybe it looks like the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming freight train.

If everything is good right now think about a time when it wasn’t or think about a friend who needs help right now.

Take you piece of yarn. Tie a knot in it. And pray for help. Maybe your problem is bigger than one knot, feel free to tie another or two more… Feel that knot and pray for help. Hold on to that knot like your life depends on it and pray for help. You know they say when you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. That is kind of what we are doing. Tie a knot or 6 and take it home to hold when you pray… pray for God’s help for you or for others.

Remember there is “KNOT” one thing that can separate us from God’s love. KNOT angels KNOT principalities, KNOT life, KNOT death. KNOT anything in all creation can separate us from the love of god in Christ Jesus our Lord. It’s OK to pray “help.” It’s a good and indispensable prayer. “Help!” For now, and evermore. Amen.