Easter 3B Acts 3:12-19 The sermon after the healing of the lame man at the Temple

Peter welcomes any opportunity to preach. Here he has a crowd with mouths gaping open that he has healed the lame man; the guy everyone walked past every single day. He was just a beggar with a cup, maybe a few people would take pity on him and drop in a few coins. The sermon is classic kerygma, a pattern found throughout the book of Acts.

But today I am not thinking along the lines of classic kergyma commentary. Today I am thinking of opportunities to tell the good news of Jesus Christ that I miss every day. Today I am thinking of the beggars I see every day holding signs up at the stop lights. This seems to be the equivalent of catching people going into the temple. It must work or people wouldn't do it. I hand a dollar or two out my window. I've pushed blankets, jackets, and whatever food I have in the car into shaking hands. There is a well known homeless man that holds up a sign at a busy intersection near I-40 in Oklahoma City that says, 'Tough day? Yell at a bum! 50c an hour!' Now that is creative. I handed him a leftover burrito without yelling at him last time I saw him.

But would I say as Peter did to the beggar, what I have I gladly give? In the name of Jesus Christ stand up and walk? Or In the name of Jesus Christ, be healed of your addiction or bad luck or lack of job skills or mental illness that has caused you to beg for money in any way possible? Or am I afraid to speak to such people? And when I do stop and there are staring eyes, do I take the chance to speak to the curious eyes looking at a person so crazy to do more than hand a bum a dollar?

Then I ask myself, what is it about my culture that allows such people to beg for food? Why do we have so many homeless people in every single city? What is going on in our system? Am I seeking justice for the hungry?

The people of the village noticed that there were babies floating down the river. They kept pulling them out to save their lives. This is charity.
After thousands of babies were pulled out of the river, one person asked, who is throwing these babies out of the river? I will walk up the river until I find out and put a stop to this.
This is social justice.

Both are needed. The babies who have already been thrown in the river need to saved. But more will be saved in the long run if the people throwing the babies in are stopped.

Peter could have put in a coin, if he had one. Instead he healed the man in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Easter 2B Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 133, I John 1:1-2:2, John 20:19-31 Doubt

Doubt is a part of faith but many evangelical denominations do not want to admit this. Yes, Jesus says blessed are those who do not see and yet believe, but how does he treat Thomas's doubt? He simply asks him to put his hand in the wounds.  There is no shaming, no asking if he remembered the prophecies, only love. 
When someone comes to be doubting their faith, or even doubting God I assure them that God can handle it. 
I find it interested that the Psalm and the Acts passage are about unity. How does this connect to Doubting Thomas? The disciples were gathered together when Jesus first appeared and Thomas was absent. We have never heard where he was. Was he hiding or did he have a legitimate excuse like a stomach virus? We will never know. Did his doubt bring more unity or less or did it affect it at all? 

'We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.' Thomas can say this now, but what about those of us who have not seen and heard and still doubt? Can we proclaim? Isn't that what the essence of faith is?  This song expresses Doubting Thomas better than I ever could: Doubting Thomas Nickle Creek Live/

Advent 4B Luke 1:39-56 The Magnificat

I once read, "What if God had sent  Gabriel  to many women before he came to Mary many times and they had all refused?"  Was he giving Mary a choice? She seems to voice consent. What if she had said no?

Mary said, "Let it be to me according to your word." Wow. What faith it took to say that. She had no idea what she was getting into. None of us who sign up for parenthood, or have it thrust upon us "surprisingly," really know what we are getting into until we experience it. But Mary has more ahead of her than just parenthood. She has the potential disgrace of being unmarried and pregnant. She has the prediction of Simeon, "A sword shall pierce your heart." She has the pain of watching her son leave for ministry; and then the unspeakable horror of watching him die a tortured death.

advent week two 2B Mark 1:1-8

John the Baptist seems to have a lot of humility. Sure, he is screaming in the wilderness that there is one coming. It seems that is not very humble, to call attention to one's self in such a way. But he is not yelling about his own fame, but he simply prepares the way for another.

Is humility something we think about just before Christmas? It doesn't seem that our culture speaks to humility in any way shape or form. Two days before the beginning of Advent, we see people knocking each other down to get a good deal on toys. I don't think that has anything to do with humility.

If you find yourself on the floor of Wal-mart sometime in December, think humility.

Easter 3 B Luke 24:36-48 Road to Emmaus

The road to Emmaus is one of my favorite passages. There is something so refreshing about Jesus showing up while someone is traveling down a lonely road. The two travellers accuse Jesus of being clueless, but they are the ones who are clueless. I love the way Jesus tells the story without revealing who he is until they sit at the table. And thanks to Luke, wow, what an easy message to preach! Jesus reveals himself at the Table. And he reveals himself at our Tables over and over and over again. The painting to the side was in my house growing up and has always spoken to me. I always pictured myself walking down the road. But of course, I would have recognized Jesus (this is my arrogant childhood self talking). Sadly, I realize as an adult I don't recognize Jesus as often as I should. Usually he is beaten and bruised and it hurts to look upon his wounds.

Lent 4B Love Darkness? Love light?

Lifting up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, Moses saved the people from the bites of snakes. All they had to do was look up to his snake rather than focusing on the snakes around them.

What a pictures that Jesus draws when he speaks, "So must the son of man be lifted up."

Look at the cross. Don't look at the snakes crawling around you. Especially the ones tempting you into sin.

Christmas Eve Luke 2:1-4 Year B

Today my family & I delivered groceries, something we do once a month with the local Catholic worker house. It is a chaotic sort of crazy event, esp. the Christmas delivery. About 30 people fill over 200 bags of groceries & then we divide up and deliver them all over the city.

We are given lists of people who have requested food. Today we approaced a door that had a padlock on the outside. The mail was overflowing from the mailbox. Obviously there was no one home. What to do? The next delivery was a duplex. I knocked on the wrong door. "They are over there." She pointed. Four tiny children ran outside, one a 3 year old boy in only a shirt & underwear. It was 38oF. I asked her if she needed food. She said yes. We brought the bags we had left.

The grateful thank yous from the children break my heart. Last month some kids came screaming to the door when we delivered, so glad to see us.

Our leader calls this organized anarchy. It's called Food Equality and redistribution. Whatever it is, it feeds hungry children at Christmas.

So different, the two views I've had this weekend. Last night I shopped at SuperTarget with the rest of the city. Lots of last minute runs for toys and stocking stuffers. I saw no tree or lights at the house where the hungry children lived.

I ask, which is closer to the stable where Jesus was born? What child understands Christmas better, the one receiving food in their hungry belly, or the one seeing a pile of gifts under a fancy tree? Don't get me wrong, I love giving & receiving gifts...but my heart is breaking today. Because I saw Jesus with a runny nose and bare legs run out in the cold, so glad to get a box of Rice Krispies 5 days before Christmas.