A pastor gave a message on evangelism and one family thought they had better do something to witness to Jesus. So they invited their neighbors to dinner the following Friday night. When it came to the meal, the believers were keen to show their neighbors that they upheld Christian standards in their home. So the mother asked her 5-year-old son to say grace. Little Johnny was a bit shy. “I don’t know what to say.” There was an awkward pause, followed by a reassuring smile from the boy’s mother. “Well darling,” she said, “Just say what Daddy said at breakfast this morning.” Obediently, the boy repeated, “Oh God, we’ve got those bad people coming to dinner tonight.” That’s probably not a good way to share the good news of Jesus and a good reason to be cautious as you listen to this sermon.

We often cringe when we hear the word evangelism. It has so many negative connotations. Evangelists are usually hard working, dedicated and well meaning individuals. And yet our minds often turn to examples of people who do evangelism in a way that we don’t appreciate. So, for example, our minds may turn to television evangelists that we think are disingenuous when they ask for money from their followers. I think of Jesse Duplantis, a televangelist. It was reported in the Washington post that Duplantis has asked for donations of $54 million from his flock so that he can purchase a Falcon 7X private plane that will allow him to fly non stop throughout the world. This plane would be the fourth one in his fleet of private aircraft. I know that I am not supposed to be judgmental, but that seems excessive to me.

You might think about people who go door to door seeking to evangelize people. Most of these people do their best but perhaps we do not want someone to convert us in this way.  Your thoughts might turn to someone who stands in the streets and cries out that we need to repent and return to the Lord. Or you may even think of the European powers who colonized many countries and sent missionaries to convert the people to their religion. Despite these examples of evangelism, you and I are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus. I am sure I make some of you nervous when I talk about it. But, evangelism does not have to be such a difficult task. Much of it has to do with simply behaving like Christians and sharing the story of Jesus.

Today’s gospel lesson is about evangelism. There may be some clues about how we might approach the subject. Jesus went to his hometown of Nazareth and tried to help the people but had little success. The people who knew him when he was a child were unable to understand how he could be so wise and so powerful. He was a carpenter and the brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon. So they rejected him and his teachings.   

Then, Jesus directed his apostles to go out and evangelize others in the world. Their job was difficult for he sent them out without food or money. They were totally reliant on the charity of those they met for their survival. Perhaps Jesus thought their lack of wealth and their need for food and a place to stay would help them share the gospel. They came to visit people just as they were. That may be the key to how evangelism really works. I say we just need to be who we are. It might be as simply as giving a stuffed animal to someone in hospice or helping a non-profit in need.  

Jesus sent his disciples out with a partner. Having a partner must have given them someone to talk with on the journey, someone who could provide encouragement when it seemed like things weren’t working and someone who might be able to say things to others in a way that the first person may not. So much good can come from partnerships. Perhaps it is a good idea for us to consider partners in our evangelism efforts.

I believe that Jesus was humble in all of his ministries. He met people were they were. Often he answered their questions and responded to their needs.   Paul wrote that God had given him a thorn, a reminder that God was in charge and that he should not be too proud. In all that we do, let us be humble.

Jesus sought to heal people. Let us try to heal people as well. Jesus told us to love one another. When the Christian Church first started to form, many people decided to join. In his book The Early Church, Henry Chadwick writes, “The practical application of charity was probably the most potent single cause of Christian success. The pagan comment ‘see how these Christians love one another’ (reported by Tertullian) was not irony. Christian charity expressed itself in care for the poor, for widows and orphans, in visits to brethren in prison, and social action in time of calamity like famine, earthquake, pestilence, or war.”

When Jesus went to Nazareth, he was rejected. When Jesus sent out his apostles, he told them to be prepared for rejection. Shake the dust off your feet he said and move on. If you invite someone to join us please do not worry if they say no.

Are there things we might avoid in our evangelism efforts? A religious writer and public speaker named Tony Kris begins his evangelism talks by asking folks to list the lies that Christians tell when trying to evangelize. People quickly come up with examples. Let me give you two. Kris would say “We lie when we don't acknowledge our doubts within the drama of faith”. Kris offers his own doubts, “Where did evil come from? Why did God put this whole human story into motion when it has caused so much pain?”

A second is “We lie when we pretend that the Bible doesn't say some really nasty things when in fact it does”. In Psalm 137 there is a verse that says "Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks”. I usually try to skip over that verse. Tony would say we need to own the whole Bible not just the parts we like.

Our presiding bishop continually asks us to focus on the love of Jesus. On Tuesday, a few of us gathered to watch Bishop Michael Curry discuss ways to use the sermon at the Royal Wedding in our daily life. That Royal wedding sermon was about the message of love. He spoke about God’s love for us and the love of Jesus who gave himself as a sacrifice for us. 

Bishop Curry often speaks about the Jesus Movement. He would say that we should share the story of Jesus with others. The story is not about the church as an institution, it is about the love of Jesus and the actions and teachings of Jesus. Our job is to live our lives as much like Jesus as we can. We are at our best when Jesus is at the center of our lives.

In his sermon at the beginning of the General Convention on Thursday, Bishop Curry continued this encouragement. He mentioned that for centuries monastics have used a guide called a rule of life to help them follow Jesus. Curry suggested that we identify our path as a rule of love. He hopes that we would pick up our own rule of love and use it to practice our faith.

I would suggest that evangelism is not so much about what we say but how we act. It is not about going to other people and telling them that they need to change. Instead, we should think about evangelism as an invitation to join a community that is seeking to follow Jesus. Come and see we might say. I wasn’t told that the Episcopal Church is the best way to be a Christian. My invitation was not judgmental. An invitation is about joining a community that admits everyone is sinful, all of us are trying to find our way. We ask people to join us along our journey. We say that we follow Jesus in the Episcopal way, understanding that there may be other ways. We speak of the love that Jesus has for us and the love that he offers to all.

Evangelism for me is about being yourself, not trying to be or do what others might do. Evangelism starts and ends with being centered in Jesus and to contemplate what Jesus did and what Jesus taught us.   Evangelism is sharing how the love of God has affected our lives. Only then can our invitation to another be sincere and helpful. Amen.

 

The latest issue to divide our nation is that of immigration. The feelings about this issue run deep on both sides. Some people are worried for their safety, they are concerned about dangerous gang members entering the country and they are worried about the amount of drugs that cross into the United States. Many of these people wish that everyone followed the laws of the United States and that no one would enter the country illegally. On the other hand there are people who wish that we cared for the stranger, people who worry about children and their safety and wish that we could help the people of Central America who are facing danger and hardship. I have visited several Central American countries. I have been a tourist in Mexico and Costa Rica where I saw many people living in great poverty but I never felt close to them. I have visited Honduras twice as part of a mission to the children and staff of El Hogar, the Episcopal school which this congregation has supported. In Honduras, I experienced poverty up close and personal. I visited the home of a lady who struggled to make ends meet. She made tortillas over a wood fire outside of her one room house. I know that parents make painful choices when they send their children to El Hogar because they will no longer have children to sell their goods on the street. We were told to be very careful because the streets were not safe. We learned that one former student had been killed because he joined a gang and was gunned down by the opposing gang. We went to El Salvador with one of our seminary professors who had family members living there. I once again experienced the harsh realities of poverty in that country, especially among the native people. I became aware of the number of gangs who threaten folks with either helping the gang or loosing their life. Many of the people crossing our borders are here because the alternative is death if they return to their homeland and don’t comply with the gangs. I also came to understand the beauty and the happiness, the hope, the gentleness and the loving kindness of so many people who live in those two countries. Given my own experience, I would say that the vast majority of people living in Central America are faithful Christians. They are humble and hard working and they wish to live safe and healthy lives just as we do. Everyone here is welcome to their own opinion. I myself would prefer a more friendly position on immigration. I am OK with closing our borders to illegal immigration but I would wish that we would allow people to file for asylum because I think they are legitimately in danger and deserve the chance to find safety. I support citizenship for dreamers. I don’t agree with separating immigrant families. But I am not here to change anyone’s mind. Whichever side of this controversy you support is fine for me. My responsibility is to speak about scripture and to speak about what Jesus taught us. So, we study scripture to find God in our life today to see if scripture fits our current issue. This week, scripture speaks specifically to the compassion of God. By extension, I believe we are called to have compassion for others. Scripture speaks to God’s gift of life and I think we too are called to give the gift of life. As a church community, we perform many outreach functions, seeking to help our neighbors in need. There is plenty to do for people living right here in this neighborhood. Many need food, clothing, and shelter. If you decided that your calling is just for those in Arizona right now, that is fine because there is so much to do. Still, I think by his word and his example, Jesus reached out with compassion to people who were outside of his Jewish community and people who had been shunned from society. The reading from Lamentations says it clearly, “Although God causes grief, God will have compassion according to the abundance of God’s steadfast love; for God does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.” Yes, God has compassion for us. In the gospel, Jesus had compassion for Jairus. After all, Jairus interrupted the teachings of Jesus and Jesus allowed that. Jesus went immediately to heal his daughter. It is one example of Jesus’ compassion. Jesus also had compassion for the woman. The woman was an outcast, she was depressed from her constant bleeding. She was poor from paying the doctors, and she was afraid that she might be noticed and forced to leave the crowd. According to Mosaic laws, the woman was not supposed to interact with other people. Her bleeding made her ritually impure. But she took a chance. She had faith that just touching Jesus’s clothing would make a difference. When the woman touched Jesus, healing occurred instantly. Jesus knew that someone had been healed because the energy flowed from him. When they spoke, he had compassion. He didn’t say, you cannot touch me. Rather he said, “your faith has made you well.” I say we wish to be touched by Jesus, to be held by Jesus. Touching is an important word for us today because we have been told that the immigrant children who have been taken from their parents were well cared for but the workers were not allowed to touch them. I understand that there may be a concern about whether the children will be harmed by any of the workers. But touching is important for children. Touching changes us. The woman’s story has special meaning to me because of my nose bleeds. I sure want to be touched by Jesus and healed. I also want to focus on the message of life that comes to us today. In Wisdom, we are told that God did not make death but rather God created us in God’s own image. God wanted us for life. Jesus gave the gift of life as well. He gave the woman a new life, free from bleeding and free from her life as an outcast. And he gave the young girl a renewed life, life from death, life with her family and life to grow into God’s love. In doing so, he overcame the laughter of those who believed that he could not bring her back. He showed the nay sayers that God can do anything. He confirmed that we should have faith and ask God for what we need. All of us have times when we struggle and need God’s help. All of us have had difficult times of sickness or poverty or loneliness. We have lost loved ones. Jesus is the one who brings us back to life. How do compassion and life giving fit into the immigration story? Well, whether we wish for open or closed borders, we can still have compassion. Let us have compassion on the children and parents who are separated from one another. Let us have compassion on those who seek asylum from dangerous living conditions. Let us have compassion on those who have walked thousands of miles to find a new life. Compassion doesn’t mean we let people do whatever they want. Rather it means trying to find a way to care for these people even if we turn them away. At the very end of the 2nd Corinthians passage, we are reminded that both the rich and the poor have something to give. Paul believed that people should have sufficient wealth not only to satisfy their own needs but also to share the excess with others who should reciprocate. I have read that the poor are more generous than the rich. In Honduras, I heard stories about poor people giving food and clothing to those even poorer. We sat with a child who saved some of his lunch for his brother. Perhaps when we show compassion to others by sharing what we have, we will receive something of value in return. I am trying to find a way that I can be more helpful in this immigration challenge rather than just sitting back and judging the work of others. I hope that you will do the same. I hope that we can find a way as a country to use compassion and life giving in a way that helps us find solutions to the complex issues of immigration. I would hope that we would find a way to deal with immigration by being strong and caring at the same time. I hope we can find a way to deal with this issue in such a way that we find safety and health for all. May God bless us on this difficult task. Amen.

This past week, I had three personal interactions with people dealing with depression. And in the public space, we heard about two people who committed suicide. The first was Kate Spade. She and her husband started a business that changed the look of women’s fashion. My daughter prefers Kate Spade purses and carries the latest Kate Spade handbag with her everywhere she goes. Kate Spade was only 55 years old when she died. She left behind a daughter who is thirteen years old and other family members. Anthony Bourdain was the host of a popular television series called Parts Unknown. It was certainly about finding unusual kinds of foods and international cuisine but I think it was really about meeting people, learning about cultures. He helped us connect with people we don’t know. Anthony Bourdain leaves behind a family including a daughter. By all of our normal measures, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain were successful. Both had lots of money, they were famous people, they lived a good life and they made our lives better. Most of us probably thought of them as happy people, but instead they struggled with depression and sadness. These two figures are not the only famous ones. Actor Robin Williams, Football player Junior Seau, and author Ernest Hemingway also killed themselves. Perhaps you have had a personal experience with suicide. I had an uncle who killed himself. In the last five years, I have known 3 people, all quite young who either killed themselves on purpose or accidentally overdosed on drugs. My niece’s brother-in-law died just last week from an overdose. Although I never contemplated suicide, I did have bouts of depression many years ago. Suicide and depression are difficult topics to discuss. Yet, I believe that it is important for us to discuss because I want to encourage those who are depressed to reach out to organizations and people that can help them. I also want all in this community to do everything we can to help those who are depressed. I encourage you to investigate suicide. It is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. The Center for Disease Control reports that the suicide rate has increased by nearly 30 per cent since 1999. Depression is something that can be caused by a physical issue. It can also be caused by circumstances, the loss of a loved one, a physical ailment that keeps the person from living their life in a way that they consider normal, perhaps the loss of a job or a divorce. Combinations of these factor simply make depression more likely. In our church service Steve Dingle spoke about his perspectives on depression and suicide. Steve is a psychiatrist who has worked in that profession for about thirty years. Here are some things I heard from Steve during our service. The large majority of people who have tried to commit suicide have never sought treatment for depression. This makes it very difficult for professionals or others to know whom they should help. It makes it difficult to determine who is at risk. A key part of depression is loneliness. Steve would encourage us to look for people who are withdrawing from others, who may no longer feel that they are a part of society. These people may be potential candidates for suicide. Thank you, Steve. Depression may be a side effect of prescription drugs. Over 200 prescription drugs list suicide and depression as a potential side effect including painkillers, blood pressure medicine and heart medication. The potential may increase when several drugs are taken together. When depression becomes so strong that the individual reaches a point of hopelessness or loneliness it may cause that person to feel that taking their own life is the only way out of their situation. If you ever feel this way, I encourage you to reach out for help. I am not an expert on depression or suicide, but I am willing to listen and to see if there is a way that I can assist you. You may also choose to reach out to another person in our congregation and ask for their help. I encourage you to have some phone numbers available to you. The Maricopa crisis service hotline is 800-631-1314. The national suicide prevention hotline at 800-273-8255. Our faith is an important place for us to return when we are depressed. Today, we heard that we “walk by faith and not by sight”. Our faith helps us maintain our equilibrium. Faith helps us to stay focused on what we should be doing and where we are going. As a child, I was taught that suicide was a sin. One of the commandments says Thou shalt not kill. Some denominations think that suicide violates that commandment. After many years, I am not so sure. While I wish that people did not commit suicide, I understand people who are in so much pain that living offers no real alternative. We also should remember that humans are not the judge. God is the only one that can see inside of an individual, understand their motivations and determine what judgment should be applied. Our faith is there to help us when we struggle. God will help us when we are depressed. I often use an app called the Daily Office from Mission Saint Clare. It includes music along with the words and scriptural passages of that service. I find great solace in a hymn that was written many years ago which is based on the words of Psalm 86. It is often part of the Mission St. Clare office. Allow me to paraphrase: Lord I humbly turn to you. Please hear my words. Save me, O Lord for I have no help, nor hope except from you alone. Lord, please send me your relieving gladness to my soul which has so much sadness. I seek to free my soul from the bonds of this earth and fly up with eagerness to be with you. God is there for you even if no one else is. That is what I hear in this hymn. Psalm 23 is another place to turn. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. You will also find great comfort in the Book of Job. God is able to make things happen in our lives. In today’s reading from Ezekiel we hear about God’s power, “All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree;” If God can make high the low tree then God can lift us out of our depression and make us whole. And we should not rely too much on wealth or fame or other temptations of the earth for God can bring down the high tree. In today’s lesson from 2nd Corinthians, I find words of hope in our hopelessness. “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” When we are feeling alone, let us turn to Jesus. For Jesus came to earth for everyone of us. Jesus sacrificed himself for us. Jesus wants to see us healed from ever sort of problem that we face. Jesus will encourage us to continue our journey and stand beside us as we go. And Jesus is the great healer for all that troubles us. In the ninth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, there are several stories about healing. The centurion’s daughter was returned to life and the bleeding woman simply touched the cloak of Jesus and was healed. Two blind men were healed and a man who couldn’t speak was healed. Near the end of the chapter we are told “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness”. And we learn that Jesus had great compassion on all of the people. If Jesus had compassion on those he met along the road, doesn’t he also have compassion on you and me? I believe that Jesus wants us to be healed from all of our sicknesses. As a faith community, we are called to help those who are sick and suffering. Today, I remind you that we are called to care for those who are depressed or alone. I ask each of you to look out for others, to reach out to them and help us to make sure that no one is alone. I am so thankful to the ladies who are seeking to grow our ministry to those who need help. We get to know others better when we give them rides and offer companionship. We lift the spirits of others when we offer food. I hope that you will join in this ministry. Whether you add your name to this group or not, I hope that you will have compassion on others around you, that you will seek out someone who is alone or in need of a companion. I hope that you will help someone who struggles with the symptoms of depression. Whatever our situation, let us be firm in our faith, for in our faith God will give us the wisdom and strength to deal with all the things that trouble us and others. Amen.

I recently heard some older people complain about the younger generation. They said the younger generation does not work as hard as they did. The younger generation doesn’t take financial responsibility. The younger generation does not behave as they should. The younger generation relies too much on their parents. That last complaint got a lot of press recently when the parents of a 30 year old took their son to court and had him evicted from their house. The son had lived in the house for eight years as an adult and despite several efforts to get him to leave, the son was still there. A judge agreed with them and the son was forced to move out. Some would suggest that this is an example that millennials are unable to live independently. In 2001, Time Magazine wrote, “They have trouble making decisions. They would rather hike in the Himalayas than climb a corporate ladder. They have few heroes, no anthems, no style to call their own. They crave entertainment, but their attention span is as short as one zap of a TV dial.” I remember similar things being said about my generation when I was in college. Older people at that time complained about young men having long hair. They complained about hippies and communes. They complained about the peace movement. Complaints about the younger generation have existed forever. In the 4th century BC, Aristotle wrote that “(Young people) think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.” Parents frequently complain about the excuses that their children give when something goes wrong. My brother started it. He looked at me funny. It wasn’t me, it was the dog that did it. Blaming our problems on someone else or giving excuses isn’t new either. Today, I ask you to ponder times that you might have made excuses for your bad behavior, most especially I would ask you to think about times that you have made excuses for your sins, for your failure to follow God’s will. Excuses have been given since the beginning of humankind. In our first reading, Adam and Eve gave excuses to God for their behavior. The first sign from Adam of his sin is that he tried to hide from God. He told God that he was hiding because he was naked. Of course, God already knew that. God knew that Adam had eaten the forbidden fruit. But let us listen to the excuses that both Adam and Eve had for their behavior. The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” Neither Adam nor Eve was responsible for what had happened. I know that people keep secrets as a way to surprise another person. But often, hiding something that we have done is a sign that we have committed a wrongdoing, we have sinned. If you ever find yourself hiding an act from someone, then you should at least question yourself, ask yourself why. Am I ashamed of what I have done? Am I concerned that the outcome would be bad if other people found out what I had done? And how about excuses. Do we ever give ourselves a free pass for our sins? We may blame another person for our own actions. Or we may blame our sins on some uncontrollable situation. Someone gave me this book titled “Get over yourself; God’s here!” By Kate Moorehead. In the introduction priest Kate reminds us of all the excuses we give. For example, some people talk about their issues. In today’s culture, it is acceptable to say, I have issues rather than to say I have done something wrong. Another word we use is mistakes. I just made a mistake as if we did something we really didn’t mean to do. If it is a sin we have committed wouldn’t it be better to say, I screwed up rather than to say I made a mistake. Mistake implies that we didn’t do it on purpose. Some people speak about an addiction as if it is something that cannot be controlled or dealt with. In my time the most famous excuse for a sin is the one Flip Wilson made popular, “The devil made me do it”. I am here to suggest that admitting we have sinned is the best first step towards dealing with that sin. I don’t care if all you do is say to yourself, I committed a sin and I was wrong. Of course, you may choose to say something to a person that you have wronged and offer an apology. In the Episcopal tradition, we confess our sins in community, jointly saying the confession each Sunday and receiving an absolution from the priest. The risk that we run when we confess our sins together is that we may not identify our specific sin to ourselves. We may just say God, I am sorry for what I have done wrong. While that is good, it may not help us to deal clearly with a sin that we have committed over and over again. By the way, you always have the option of going to a priest for a private confession. Several times, I have had people come to me for a private meeting to share a specific sin and ask for God’s forgives for that sin and to seek God’s help in changing their behavior. It really isn’t as hard as you might think. Today, I ask you to identify your sin by that name not with some excuse. Adam and Eve were punished for their sin. Not only were they banished from the Garden of Eden but they were also told they would experience pain, suffering and their work would be difficult. It would be hard for them to scratch out a living on the hard soil. It is possible that God will punish us for our sins. That may be reason enough for us to stay on the straight and narrow, to stay away from those sins that haunt us. But an even better reason for us to admit to our sins and to commit to stop those sins is the benefit of living in God’s grace. Do you remember that Adam hid from God after he had eaten from the forbidden fruit. Our sins can be something that causes us shame. It may cause us to hide from God or even to hide what we do from other people. Wouldn’t life be so much better if we find a way to live in God’s love, to live in the light instead of in the darkness? There is good news in the rest of our scripture readings for today. It is found in the forgiveness that God is always prepared to offer us. Forgiveness is found in the Psalm. The Psalmist wrote that we call out to God from the depths of our failure, from our grief at what we have done and from our wish to be reunited with God. And God responds. We say, “For there is forgiveness with you”. In another verse we hear that “for with the Lord there is mercy; With him there is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.” Not only do we know of God’s forgiveness but we have a foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus, the one who redeemed us from all of our sins. Isn’t that the best of reason to forgo our sins, to admit to our faults and to strive to live all of our lives in Jesus. For we know that God loves us and we know that Jesus loves us and came to redeem us for our sins. Adam was ashamed and hid from God. Both Adam and Eve tried to place the blame for their choices on someone else. As we listen to their story, we realize that not much has changed. There is a little bit of Adam and Eve in all of us. Instead of being ashamed, let us turn our faces to God and say, God I am sorry for my wrongs. God, lift me up and take me from this dark place. In the reading from Corinthians we hear that good news in another way, “Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” God is working in us and for us all the time. All we need is to accept God’s work in us, to let that love and grace come in. Amen.

I want to share a funny story that happened at our house last week. It probably doesn’t connect with anything in today’s lessons. Last Saturday, I bought muffins for our vestry retreat. There were four muffins left over and I brought them home. I suggested to Jan that I might take them to church on Sunday for coffee hour. I was surprised that Jan didn’t want them to go anywhere. She wanted the muffins to stay in our house. I didn’t pick up on her strong statement very well. You see, we never have muffins at our house for breakfast and Jan chooses to eat things that don’t have carbohydrates, so I didn’t understand how important it was for her that we keep the muffins for her to eat. So, on Sunday, silly me once again suggested that I might take some of the muffins to church. Jan said, something like, “Why do you keep trying to give away my muffins?” I learned that while she doesn’t usually eat muffins, she really likes them and wanted these muffins to stay in the house. I agreed. Before we left for church, Jan took great care to put a note on the muffins that they had to stay in the microwave so that our daughter’s dog wouldn’t eat them. Unfortunately, our son-in-law left the muffins out by mistake after warming the baby’s milk in the microwave and they were eaten by the dog. Jan didn’t get her muffins and I didn’t take any muffins to church. Jan and I had a good laugh about that outcome. I thought to myself that God must have decided that if we are going to disagree about what is going to happen to the muffins, then neither of us will get them. Or maybe this was such a small thing that God didn’t really decide to do anything about the muffins. I do know, however, that God wants us to treat each other with love and to remember that we are all children of God. In the epistle for today, there is a verse about how we treat children of God. It goes like this, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” I like the way the Contemporary English version of the Bible says it, “If we love and obey God, we know we will love God’s children.” Let’s spend this time remembering all the different ways we are God’s children and what it means to love and obey God. It seems appropriate to do that this Sunday, family Sunday, when we are especially reminded of our children. There are so many references in Scripture to help us realize that we are all children of God. One of my favorites is this verse from Galatians 3:26 and 27: “for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” It is through our baptism that Jesus has chosen us as children of God. I also like this quote from 1 John 3:1 “See what amazing love the Father has given us! Because of it, we are called children of God. And that’s what we really are!” In Romans 8:14: we are told that “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” Scripture is clear that everyone one of us is a child of God. We have been adopted as God’s children through God’s love. Jesus made sure that we are children of God through his life and work and sacrifice. As we live in the spirit and ask the Spirit to guide us we continue to live as God’s children. The acceptance that we are God’s children can actually be overwhelming. We sing about it in songs taught to young people like All God’s Children of the World. We write about it. Here is what Maya Angelou once said, “I believed that there was a God because I was told it by my grandmother and later by other adults. But when I found that I knew not only that there was God but that I was a child of God, when I understood that, when I comprehended that, more than that, when I internalized that, ingested that, I became courageous.” As we follow in Maya Angelou’s footsteps, we too become courageous. We live in God’s love and we share that love with others. Knowing that we are God’s children lifts us up but today’s lesson is about how we respond. The reading from 1 John encourages us to love God and to follow God’s commandments. I sometimes wonder if it is easier to love God than to obey the commandments. But that is a silly idea. The truth is we show our love by doing what God commanded us to do. And the model we have for doing God’s will is Jesus. In the gospel today, Jesus spoke of following God’s commandments and abiding in God’s love. The word abiding isn’t used much anymore. I think abiding has a sense of continuity to it. Synonyms include enduring and everlasting and permanent. Abiding in God’s love is a commitment that we make for our entire life. Abiding means accepting the gift we have been given. In particular, it is about the gift Jesus gave us in his death and resurrection. It is about the water and the blood that came from Jesus when the soldiers pierced him in the side. It is the gift of life that Jesus gave for us. It is the promise of everlasting life. That is why we choose to abide, to choose an everlasting love. This week, I once again felt a strong connection between our epistle and our gospel reading. The gospel speaks of following the commandments of God. It speaks of the love of Jesus and the love of God. The epistle has similar words about God’s love. These two scriptural texts seem to be perfectly paired with each other. Last week, we learned that when we love one another God lives in us. This week it says that when we love God, we love one another. It sounds as if these are two opposite theologies. But it is as if love leads us in all directions. Loving others means God is in us. Loving others, the children of God, means that we love God. It is like a circle of love lifting us up and bringing us close to God and each other. Jesus spoke of another gift. It is the freedom to live as his friend. We are no longer servants, he said, but rather his friends. Our friendship means that we are no longer bogged down by sin. We follow God’s word because we have been taught by Jesus. We understand the truth that is found in Jesus. Of course our friendship doesn’t make us equal to Jesus. It instead makes us able to live our lives in joy and thanksgiving. We often think about following God’s commandments as if it were a hardship. We have to set our mind to it and have a grim determination to see it through. Jesus never saw it that way. When we abide in God’s love, it makes things easier. Our life is no longer difficult or a chore. The commandments are no longer burdensome we are told. Jesus thought of following God’s commandments as something he did with joy. I believe Jesus thought that when he asked the disciples to follow God’s commandments, he expected that they would do so with joy. It certainly gave them a sense of fulfillment, a knowing that they were doing the right thing. We seek that sense of fulfillment as well. We too want to bask in God’s love. That is why Jesus spoke of his own joy and why he wishes for us to share in that joy. It is the joy that is found in obeying God’s wishes for us. Our theme throughout this Easter season has been about God’s love. We understand the gift that has been given to us and we accept that gift which brings us comfort and strength. We understand how Jesus wants us to live and we do so with joy. Most especially we are joyful because we share our love with God’s children. Today, I think about the young people that we encounter, the real children who need our help and support and love. I am thankful that people have worked hard to make a difference for the young people in this state through increased funding for our school systems. I am thankful for the gifts we give to those who need it the most, the backpack program that feeds hungry children. All the while, I remember that everyone here is a child of God, a person who needs our love and support whether they are a newborn or the most mature person in this congregation. Let us cross those barriers that divide us, cross the barriers of age or race or gender and accept and share in the love that we all have as children of God. Amen.

Today, we hear a lot about grape vines and branches. It takes a lot of time and work to produce grapes. A new grape vine may take up to three years to produce fruit. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, pruning a grape vine is not a little thing. “Pruning maintains the vine's form, size, vigor, and next season's fruiting wood. Grape vines produce more wood than necessary. Typically 70-90 percent of the new growth is removed on a mature vine. Balanced pruning involves only wood produced during the previous growing season. Wood two years and older is not counted or pruned annually in this system.” I am not sure that I am the best one to discuss gardening skills. After all, Jan and I have tried from time to time to grow different vegetables in our garden but not often with a great deal of success. It seems that we are pretty good at growing plants but we are not usually very good at getting vegetables to produce fruit. There are many in this congregation who do a much better job. I am sure that it has to do with skill and I also think they put more time into their gardening. I am also certain that they know much better than I how to coax their plants into producing the most fruit possible. That is what Jesus does for us. In the gospel Jesus spoke about pruning. Jesus told his disciples that he is the vine and we are the branches. Let’s pay attention to the message that Jesus is the true vine. It means that Jesus is our God and the one that we follow always. It also means that Jesus provides us with the Word of God. It is the word of God that feeds us and helps us to bear fruit. As it says, without Jesus we can do nothing that is worthwhile. In the story, the branches that bear no fruit are cut off and thrown away. Notice that Jesus said God removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. It suggests that some people have left Jesus and they must be destroyed. We think of the pruning as painful to us but Jesus must have been pained by those who left him. Those that do bear fruit are pruned regularly. Yes, we are the branches, we need to bear fruit every season. And when we are successful at bearing fruit, our branches are pruned so that we may bear more fruit. This idea of pruning our branches sounds pretty painful. I don’t think that is what Jesus meant. I think a better way to think about this message from Jesus is that Jesus wants us to always be healthy. Healthy comes in several different ways. It means healthy in our relationship with God. It means healthy in our relationships with other people. It means healthy in body, mind and spirit. For me, then, being pruned is more like having your nails cut than it is like having a finger cut off. The reason pruning would help is not that we should be punished, but that pruning promotes health of the whole person. It is more about taking away the growth that we have done and going back to basics. It reminds us that we are not able to produce fruit on our own, rather it takes Jesus to help us produce fruit. It means staying close to Jesus as our source of nourishment. We need pruning because we may have started to think that we can do it all on our own. We may have forgotten that we need Jesus. Jesus feeds us with the words of scripture and Jesus feeds us in the communion service. Jesus also feeds us by sending the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort us. In the 19th century, there was a Dutch Reformed missionary named Andrew Murray who was sent from Scotland to South Africa. Murray ended up writing about 200 books, one of which was called “The True Vine”. It was a book about today’s gospel reading. Murray matters because he believed that Christians were free to experience the grace of God. I like that. He wrote this about Jesus as the vine. “Christ Jesus said: I am the Vine, ye are the branches. In other words: I, the living One who have so completely given myself to you, am the Vine. You cannot trust me too much. I am the Almighty Worker, full of a divine life and power. You are the branches of the Lord Jesus Christ. If there is in your heart the consciousness that you are not a strong, healthy, fruit-bearing branch, not closely linked with Jesus, not living in Him as you should be—then listen to Him say: I am the Vine, I will receive you, I will draw you to myself, I will bless you, I will strengthen you, I will fill you with my Spirit. I, the Vine, have taken you to be my branches, I have given myself utterly to you; children, give yourselves utterly to me. I have surrendered myself as God absolutely to you; I became man and died for you that I might be entirely yours. Come and surrender yourselves entirely to be mine.” I would say that Andrew Murray’s words fit nicely in our thinking in the 21st century. I would say that the most important message in today’s gospel is about Jesus as the one. Jesus feeds us and comforts us and gives us strength. That is what I hear Andrew Murray wrote. But the gospel is never just about comfort and sustenance. It is always about what we are called to become. Jesus told us that we are called to be fruitful. During this Easter season we have been reading from the gospel of John but we have also been reading from the letter which is called 1 John. It is not nearly as well known as the letters from Paul. As with many scriptural books, we don’t actually know who wrote it. It may have come to be called 1 John because it does mirror in some ways the gospel of John. The clear message from 1 John is about God’s love which is the basis for salvation. It was out of love for us that God sent Jesus to live among us and to sacrifice his life for us. It connects so well with the image of Jesus as the vine and we are the branches, doesn’t it? This passage from 1 John, is like a reprise of what Jesus himself said, that we are to love one another. 1 John adds that we love because love comes from God. “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” And later, “Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.” Isn’t it wonderful to think that when we love others then God lives in us. So we are fruitful when we love one another. When we love one another, then we do things for other people. Loving one another means that we help those who are less fortunate, we take care of people when they are sick, we console others when they have lost loved ones. We come together to show hospitality to each other. We make sure that someone who is alone is not forgotten. Andrew Murray offered these words, “How can we glorify God? Not by adding to His glory or bringing Him any new glory that He has not. But simply by allowing His glory to shine out through us, by yielding ourselves to Him, that His glory may manifest itself in us and through us to the world.” I am sure that when Jesus was telling us about pruning, he wanted us to get rid of the sins in our life. Whatever has come into our life that separates us from God needs to be gotten rid of. But when we listen to 1 John, I think pruning is more about bringing ourselves back to Jesus, perhaps going back to the word of Jesus for sustenance. I would say it is about trying to do as Jesus did, to love others and to show our love in the way we talk to others and care for them. Let us allow Jesus to feed us so that we may feed each other. Amen.

I hope that you have some big plans for today. An Easter dinner with lots of people is a great event. Someone in our congregation told me that they were going to have nine people at their house today and they were excited. Jan and I are going to Flagstaff to see our family and we plan to have a big Easter dinner with our family and friends. We can’t wait to see our new baby granddaughter again and her sister. It should be wonderful. There are many other Easter traditions that you may take part in. Easter egg hunts are fun. Perhaps you will have a chocolate Easter bunny. Or maybe the Easter bunny will bring some Easter eggs stuffed with some goodies to your house. Jan has prepared Easter baskets for our children and grandchildren. I suppose we should appreciate the fact that so many traditions have grown up around Easter Day. I am sure that these rituals all started for good reason as people wanted to make Easter special to celebrate. But these various traditions seem to have established a life of their own, no longer connected to the real reason for Easter. In this increasingly secular world we live in, many do not even stop long enough to appreciate that Jesus rose from the dead on this day. After all Easter has not kept the college basketball finals from taking place. I love all of the trappings of Easter. I can easily fall victim to all that happens today and forget why we do it. For example, I love that the Alleluias are back and I am so happy that we have uplifting music rather than the quiet hymns of the Lenten season. Despite all of the distractions and events, each of you has come here to take part in a celebration for the real meaning of Easter, to give thanks to God for the glorious resurrection of Jesus; To take part in the good news that Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place for us. Through his resurrection we often say that Jesus has opened the gates of heaven. That image is helpful. We so often have fences to protect something we value. In my subdivision, we have fences so that only those who are authorized can come in. And the gates into my subdivision have a code so that only those who know the code can enter. The image of a gate is often used in Scripture. For example, in Matthew Jesus said, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” The devil cannot stop the followers of Jesus. In the Apostles Creed, we say that after Jesus was crucified, died and was buried that he descended into hell. The idea is that Jesus went and freed those who had died before him and took them up to heaven. Jesus opened the gates of hell. In another passage, Jesus gave Peter and the apostles the authority to forgive sins. Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.“ It is out of that passage we come to the belief that Peter will meet us at the gates of heaven and will only allow in those who have been faithful. I like to think that Jesus has already opened the gates and Peter is just inside enjoying it. In the Psalm today we ask God to open the gates for us, “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; he who is righteous may enter.” And in today’s collect, we hear these words, “Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life”. And that is why we celebrate so much on this day. The resurrection of Jesus has changed everything. Jesus rose from the dead and through his rising, he opened those gates for us. In John’s gospel Jesus says, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?* And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” It was the promise of everlasting life given to us by Jesus. That same promise is found in Paul’s letter to the Romans, “We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” What joy we have to look forward to. Thanks be to Jesus for all he has done for us. Jesus has opened the gates of heaven to us and Jesus has promised that the faithful will follow him there. It doesn’t get any better than this. Let’s reflect for a moment on the resurrection story. Mary Magdalene arrived first and when she saw the tomb was empty she ran to get Peter and the other disciple. The two men see the empty tomb and even go inside but strangely they do not encounter Jesus. If you came here today and do not feel the joy and hope of the resurrection then you are not alone. Because someone as faithful and well known as Peter was uncertain as well. I wish we knew how Peter felt but we are only told that he did not yet understand what the empty tomb meant. I imagine that Peter struggled with what to think. Is it possible that he thought the authorities took the body of Jesus? Was he afraid that something would happen to him if he shouted excitedly about Jesus being raised from the dead? Was he like Thomas, waiting to see Jesus for himself before he came to a conclusion? We just don’t know. All that we are told is that the two men simply went home. The story might have ended there but Mary stuck around. Mary encountered Jesus and she was the first to go out and proclaim that Jesus was resurrected. Every one of the gospel stories reports that it was the women who told what had happened. Doesn’t it help you to appreciate the role of the women followers? I know that the role of women was different in those days. They had the responsibility to go and anoint the body with oils. And I know that the women might have been able to move around more freely because the authorities would not have worried about what the women were going to do. The men may have been more cautious about their activities. Despite all of this, I would bring your attention to the fact that the women are the ones who go and tell everyone what had happened. They were the ones who got everyone excited. The reading from Acts reminds us that the resurrection of Jesus offers the hope of salvation to everyone. That same Peter, who was uncertain when he first saw the empty tomb had grown so much. Peter had become a leader of the early Christians community and was willing to speak out about his Savior, Jesus Christ. Peter gives the best summary of our Christian beliefs in his talk with Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and other Gentiles. Peter had come to the conclusion that Jesus died for the sins of all and that Gentiles did not have to convert to Judaism in order to be faithful followers of Jesus. Let us welcome all who would be followers of Jesus for that is just what Jesus taught us to do and what Peter did himself. I hope that most of you are here today full of joy, full of hope for everlasting life. It might make you wish that you could just sit back and take it all in, absorbing the glory of God and of his son, Jesus. I would just ask you to realize that the story doesn’t end with the resurrection of Jesus, nor does it end with the announcement by Mary Magdalene that she had seen the risen Lord. For Jesus appeared to his followers several times after his resurrection. Jesus continued his ministry of peace and love until his ascension into heaven. The ministry continued as the apostles began to share the story of Jesus with others starting on Pentecost. It continued with Paul who was converted when Jesus appeared to him on his ride to Damascus and Paul began to tell the story of the risen Jesus. And it continues to this day as we share the joy we have with others loudly proclaiming that Jesus Christ is risen today. Amen.

John’s gospel opens this way, “In the Beginning was the word”. He was referring to Jesus as the word. In the passion story, I am drawn to the words that Jesus offered to Pilate. Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Earlier in John’s gospel Jesus said, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." The words of Jesus are truth which guide us and give us courage. When we listen to and follow the words of Jesus we are free from sin and free to do God’s will. Today’s truth is that Jesus died on the cross. He died because the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem believed that Jesus was preaching against their faith. It is also likely that they were jealous, afraid the people would listen to Jesus more than they listened to the chief priests. Jesus died because he loved us and wanted to show us how to be in relationship with God. We often say that Jesus died for our sins. I think that is true but I don’t believe that Jesus’ sacrifice was some payment made to God for our sins. There are many times in Scripture, both Old Testament and New, where God forgave the people. So, Jesus didn’t have to convince God to forgive our sins. That happens when we ask for forgiveness. I believe Jesus death was an effort to change us, to take us out of our sinfulness. We often use the word atonement for the sacrifice of Jesus. It can mean reparation for some wrong that was done. But a Christian definition of atonement is the reconciliation of God and humankind through Jesus Christ. Jesus wanted to bring us into one with God. I read a sermon this week given by Diana Butler Bass, a distinguished author from the Episcopal tradition. She pointed me to the words of an English lady named Julian of Norwich. Julian lived a long time ago from 1342 until 1416. She was an anchoress, that is she led a solitary life in a small building connected to the church. All the interactions she had with people were through the window of her small cell. When Julian was about 30 years old, she contracted some illness, perhaps the plague. She was lying on what was believed to be her deathbed. While in that state she had a series of visions of Jesus Christ bleeding in front of her. A web site called the Julian Centre offered this information, “She received insight into his sufferings and his love for us. Julian’s message remains one of hope and trust in God, whose compassionate love is always given to us. In this all-gracious God there can be no element of wrath. The wrath — ‘all that is contrary to peace and love — is in us and not in God. God’s saving work in Jesus of Nazareth and in the gift of God's spirit, is to slake our wrath in the power of his merciful and compassionate love’.” I would say that Jesus came to show us God’s love, God’s mercy and in so doing change us from people of wrath into people of peace and love. Julian eventually wrote about her visions in a book called Revelations of Divine Love, which is thought to be the first book written in English by a woman. In this book, there is a place where Julian focused on the suffering of Jesus. She wrote, “Of all pains that lead to salvation this is the most pain, to see thy Love suffer. How might any pain be more to me than to see Him that is all my life, all my bliss, and all my joy, suffer?” As followers of Jesus, we have pain because Jesus had so much pain. This led her to a conclusion, that Jesus suffered with us. She wrote, “Here saw I a great ONEING betwixt Christ and us: for when He was in pain, we were in pain.” That expression, ONEING, is just like that other expression I mentioned, atonement. Jesus suffering brings us into one with him and with God. Diana Butler Bass concluded that while we might say that Jesus died for us, we might better say that Jesus died with us. With us is so much different than for us. It joins us in community with other people. It indicates that we are experiencing an event together rather than separately. When we say that Jesus died with us it makes all the difference to me. Jesus isn't somehow apart from us. He joins with us in our lives, coming to meet us where we are, sinners who struggle, and yet he is right there with us. When I feel that Jesus is with me, it makes my journey easier. It creates an understanding that God didn’t just come to earth as some strange person but rather as someone that knows me and stays with me. It is like a best friend. Jesus showed how he is with us when they arrested him in the garden. They asked if he was Jesus of Nazareth. He responded ‘I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.’ This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, ‘I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.’ Jesus was with his disciples and protected them from harm. What does it mean to be with Jesus? Today, it means that we suffer with him, we join him in his agony. It means that we share in his sorrow for some deserted him when he died while others refused to give up their sins. It means that we commit ourselves to following the will of God, even if it hurts us in some way. So, we reflect on the suffering that Jesus went through both for us and with us. We are thankful for his sacrifice. Given what we know about the word of Jesus, the truth of Jesus, we commit ourselves to be with him, walking with our Savior, staying committed to God each step of the way. Amen.