SHARING JOY

A Midweek Lenten Meditation
by Laura Gentry

In this painting, I have put candles in each person's hand. This is to signify how we are called to shine forth the joy of God in the world. The bible makes it clear that joy is an important expression of faith. So often we take ourselves and our stresses so seriously that we experience and share little joy. The Psalmist testifies that we ought to share the joy of the whole earth and praise God with great exhuberance and joy. May this painting serve as a visual focus for you to discover new depths of God's joy and share it with others. The scriptures below are from the New Revised Standard Version.

Psalms 96:12
Let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Psalms 65:12-13
The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy: the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Psalms 89:12
The north and the south—you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.

Isaiah 55:12
For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Luke 1.14
The angel said to Mary: “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at the birth of your son.”

Luke 2:10
The angel said to the shepherds: “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.”

Matthew 2:10
When the wise men saw that the star had stopped over the place where the Christ child lay, they were overwhelmed with joy.

John 15:11
“I have said these things to you,” Jesus said to his disciples,”so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

1 Peter 1.8
Although you have not seen Jesus, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.

Jeremiah 31.13
God says, “I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow!”

Psalms 30.11
The Psalmist cries: “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.”

1 Peter 4.13
But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

Psalms 98.4
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

PRESS ON

A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 25, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Philippians 3:4b-14
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circum-cised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (New Revised Standard Version)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In this morning’s second lesson is an excerpt of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Things have been going well there. Their church is growing steadily, both men and women are involved in leadership, and their stewardship is going well. The church has plenty of money. But all is not well. Believe it or not, this congregation has issues within and without. Inside the congregation, there is petty fighting, jealousy and cliques forming. Outside the congregation, Jewish neighbors are looking down on these new converts to the faith and believing themselves superior because they follow all the Jewish laws and rituals.

Good old Paul to the rescue! He writes to the Christians in Philippi to help them deal with all of these issues. He sees that they are having some pride trouble—that they are getting all puffed up about themselves and therefore missing the point. So Paul uses himself as an object lesson. He recites all of of his pedigree, as if putting together his religious resume. He was born a Jew and his family followed all the rules and had him circumcised on the 8th day, just like you’re supposed to. Not only that, he is an elite purebred Hebrew. Not only that, his family comes from the Tribe of Benjamin! He’s virtually religious royalty. That ought to impress. But that’s just the start. He’s got the right education and behavior as well. He recalls how zealous he was, how righteous and blameless under the law. In fact, all these things had Paul pretty puffed up (like this paper bag I’m blowing up).

But Paul had a dramatic religious experience in which he encountered Jesus Christ and all of that changed. All of his confidence in himself, in his fabulous religious resume and pedigree became unimportant. In fact, he says that he counts it all a loss because of Christ. He counts his own accomplishments as nothing more than trash (pops paper bag), compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ. It is just not important in comparison to what Christ has done for us on the cross. It is garbage now. What matters is his new life in Jesus.

And this relationship turns Paul completely around. In fact, he even gets a new name. This radical encounter with the living Christ turns him from persecutor of Christians to the first and perhaps boldest Christian missionary. Now, because Christ has taken hold of him, he has all new priorities.
Bulking up your religious resume has not benefit, he tells the Christians at Phillipi. Getting puffed up and thinking you are somehow better than this person or that only leads to conflict. What is most important is knowing Christ. Paul puts it in this way: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings.”

During Holy Week, which begins next Sunday we will be focusing on Jesus’ passion and death, and that is a necessary part of our journey to Easter. But even in the heart of Lent, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are Easter people. It has been said, truly, that you can’t have Easter without Good Friday. But Good Friday wouldn’t be “good” if it weren’t for Easter. If Jesus had simply suffered and died, and that was the end of the story, why would we want to share in his suffering? In fact, if we were putting our trust in a Christ who was not raised from the dead, we would be, as Paul tells us in another passage, “of all people most to be pitied.”

But just what does Paul mean to “share in his sufferings?” What does this mean for us? Suffering is not something we generally sign up for. Perhaps this Lent we have been practicing some kind of “fasting”: in the kinds or quantities of food we eat, or in our enjoyment of some other pleasures. Or perhaps we have chosen instead to take on some spiritual discipline for this holy season—like more time for prayer. This is a very small way to share in Christ’s suffering, to become like him in his death. Perhaps we need simply to “die” a little more to ourselves—to focus on others and not just on our own concerns and the concerns of those near and dear to us. Jesus said that whatever we do to the least of his brothers and sisters we do to, or for, him. How might we enter into the suffering of those brothers and sisters—the sick, the poor, the homeless or hungry, those who are alone, who are oppressed? It’s not too late to make that a part of our Lenten practice. In fact, we can and should do it anytime, no matter what the season.

Our reading concludes with one more passionate remark from Paul. He writes: “This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

I press on! What lies behind is unimportant. We can’t impress God with our fabulous religious resumes. They are trash. What we need is Christ’s resume. We need the one who paid the price for our sins to earn God’s favor for us. We have a friend in Jesus who has redeemed us, and who is calling us, who is calling us to enter into his suffering, death and resurrection. That is the ultimate prize! And it is ours for the taking. So we must press on!

Eugene Peterson has written a paraphrased bible, called The Message. In it, he paraphrases this verse by saying: “I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”

No my friends, we’re not turning back. We know Christ and in our heart of hearts we want to know him more. We want to love him. We want to be entirely his own. Let us press on to follow his call wherever it lead us!

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Tonight's theme is love. I've created this painting with the cross embedded in a heart, symoblizing that Christ's act of self-sacrifice was an act of love. And there are figures embracing beneath the cross, showing how followers of Christ are called to share his love. The following scriptures upon which to ponder are all from the New Revised Standard Version.

Isaiah 54:9-10
This is like the days of Noah to me: Just as I swore that the waters of Noah would never again go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 43:1-7
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

John 15:9-13
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Isaiah 30:18-26
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, “Away with you!” He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water—on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.

Ephesians 1:3-13
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;

1 John 4:7-11
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 18, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable:… "There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate. "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus was known for his parables—stories used as teaching tools. In this morning’s passage, he relates the famous parable of the prodigal son. “A man had two sons,” he begins. This would have been a very typical way to start such a teaching. In Matthew’s gospel we hear Jesus telling another story about two brothers—one who promises to work in the vineyard and then never shows up and the other brother who refuses to do the work but later changes his mind and does it. And Jesus sums up the lesson by asking who did the will of his father. Clearly it was the one who did the work, who had the righteous actions.

But just when we are expecting this prodigal son story to go in this direction, it takes a surprising turn. In this parable, the sinner son returns after his wild, money-squandering days and instead of getting the punishment he deserves for his folly, he gets a gigantic welcome home party! Jesus has really thrown us for a loop here. What are we supposed to learn from this teaching?

Well, it begins with the younger son asking his father for his share of the inheritance. But wait a minute, his father’s not dead yet. Do you realize how insulting this is? The son, in doing this, is treating the father like he is dead. He is saying, “You are dead to me. I don’t care about anything but your money, so give it to me so I can get out of this awful place.”

Instead of causing a family feud, the father kindly offers the money to the son and off he goes. Jesus says that he goes off to a foreign country and squanders his property in dissolute living. Often it is assumed that he lost it with wine, women and song, but it doesn’t say that. It could have been bad investments or extravagant spending. Whatever the reason, he finds himself penniless.

So he goes and hires himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. Now to the Jewish audience to which Jesus told this parable, feeding pigs was the lowest a person could stoop. Pigs, of course, were considered unclean. And not only is the son feeding the pigs, but he is finding himself jealous of them! He’s wishing he could dine on their slop. Even today, we cringe at such a thought.

Then, it says that he came to himself. Now some would say that this means he repented, that he recognized the severity of his sin and wanted to make it right with his dad. But it seems his aim is not quite so noble. He is hungry as he can be, he’s fighting pigs for food and it dawns on him that being one of his father’s servants would at least be a better situation. So he trots home, rehearsing a very self-serving speech.

And here comes the biggest surprise of all! Before the prodigal son even gets to the gate—while he is still far off—his father sees him and is filled with compassion; he runs and throws his arms around his son and kisses him.

Now it is tempting to interpret this as a call for repentance. Look at that younger son, he recognized the problem with his sinful lifestyle and repented. Some artists have depicted this scene in a way that emphasizes that repentance of the son. One painting from the 1600s by an artist nicknamed Guercino (pictured left), shows the son wearing nothing but a loincloth and delicately sobbing into a hanky in his father’s outstretched arms. It is as if the artist is hailing the wonderful action of the son’s heartfelt conversion.

But Jesus doesn’t say the son comes home all sobby-eyed. He doesn’t even say that he has a chance to apologize to his old man. He simply says that the father runs and throws his arms around his prodigal son and kisses him. There is another painting by Rembrandt of this scene, which was painted just a few years after Guercino’s. In Rembrandt’s version of it (pictured below) the son is kneeling in front of the father and we can only see a shadowy profile of his face. What Rembrandt emphasizes in his work is the grace and forgiveness of the father who bends down in compassion to put his arms on the son’s shoulders in a gesture that looks like a blessing.

I think Rembrandt’s work highlights what Jesus is really trying to teach here. Remember that the reason Jesus launches into this lesson is because he has been accused by the Pharisees of welcoming sinners and eating with them. Jesus, through this lengthy parable, is endeavoring to show that he eats with sinners because he welcomes sinners as God welcomes sinners. God, like the father in the story, forgives the wrongs of his children and runs to embrace us when we return, whether we’re truly repentant or not. And because we’ve been given this kind of extravagant mercy, we are given the job of sharing it with others.

Paul eludes this in the second lesson for today when he writes that God has “given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So,” he continues, “we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us.”

Yes, our job is to be ambassadors for Christ, not to sulk on the sidelines with the older brother in the prodigal son story, thinking how unfair it is that God is so forgiving. Well, my friends, let us be grateful that God is more merciful than fair and does not treat us as we deserve but forgives our sins in Christ.

In this season of Lent, as we draw near to God let us nestle into the arms of our all loving-Creator that we may be made into ambassadors worthy of our calling. Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007

PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU

A Midweek Lenten Meditation
By Pastor Laura Gentry

For this evening's Lenten meditation, I have created this liturgical painting to help us focus on receiving Jesus' gift of peace (photo will be coming soon). It features a person standing in a pool of water to symbolize the gift of God's peace in baptism. For in these healing waters, we are promised God's eternal love and given the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is also pictured in this painting. The flying ribbons are to evoke a sense of celebration at the glory of this gift of peace. Far too often, our hearts are filled with turmoil and anger, anxiety, rather than the precious state of peace. I invite you to open your hearts to these scripture passages, that they may sing peace to our hearts. (All scriptures below are from the New Revised Standard Version)

Psalm 52:8-9
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.
I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good.

John 16:25-33
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.” His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”

Psalm 4
Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.
There are many who say, “O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound.
I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

Luke 12.22-32
He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Isaiah 9:5-6
For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 55.12
For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Luke 1.74-2.4
...That we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007

ARE YOU THIRSTY?

A Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent
March 11, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Isaiah 55:1-9
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (New Revised Standard Version)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Are you thirsty?

As a nation, it seems that we are. Americans drank more than 23 gallons of bottled water per person in 2004 — about 10 times as much as in 1980. And we drank more than twice as much high fructose corn syrup per person as in 1980.

But that’s not the end of our thirst. We’re thirsty for all kinds of things. We are thirsty for more things and bigger houses. The Census Bureau found that the average floor space in new single-family homes has expanded to 2,227 square feet in 2005 from 1,905 square feet in 1990.

And we’re really thirsty for entertainment. Last year, Americans spent more of their lives than ever—about eight-and-a-half hours a day—watching television, using computers, listening to the radio, going to the movies or reading. For this year, 2007, the average adult is projected to spend 65 days in front of the TV; 41 days listening to the radio; a little over a week on the Internet; a week reading a daily newspaper; and another week listening to recorded music.

A recent survey found 65 percent of respondents spend more time with their computer than they do with their spouses or significant others. That’s not surprising given the infinite amount of things to do on-line: shopping, researching, playing games, selling stuff, meeting people and even caring for virtual pets! That’s right, one of the top twenty most visited websites is called neopet.com. There, you can “adopt” a virtual “neopet” and then feed it, groom it, play with it, take it to the vet, have it send e-mail to other pets, and even have it adopt a virtual pet of it’s own—a pet’s pet (isn’t that what everyone needs?) Right now, there are 199 million neopets out there using up people’s time and energy!

While buying things and being entertained aren’t in themselves bad, they do reveal the desperate thirst that we have to fill our lives with something—anything. “The demand for information and entertainment seems almost insatiable,” says James P. Rutherfurd, executive vice president of a media investment firm that did research for the Census Bureau.

“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters,” says the prophet Isaiah in today’s first lesson. “Ho!” he begins, and not in a Santa sort of way. It is an interjection to grab our attention. Ho! Sit up and take note, this is urgent—extremely urgent! He’s speaking to a thirsty ancient audience who needs to hear from God because they’ve been living in exile. And at the same time, he speaks to us today—to our terribly thirsty, postmodern, almost insatiable, media-dominated, digital world. He cries out to us: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” You can drink all the bottled water you want, and it won’t quench your spiritual thirst. You can have a 25% bigger house but it won’t satisfy. You can adopt all kinds neopets with pets of their own but it won’t fill you up. You can watch every Oscar award-winning film ever produced and while it may entertain, it can’t give you peace. Ho! Ho, Americans in 2007—yeah you—listen up! You’re in harm’s way!

“Listen carefully to me,” Isaiah goes on to say, “and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” Don’t we want to live? Don’t we want to eat what is good and be delighted? Don’t we want to find what it is we’re looking for? It seems obvious that we do, but so often we are seeking this fulfillment apart from God and wondering why we always end up feeling so empty.

Stop doing that, Isaiah urges us. Instead, he offers this word of advice: “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” There it is. There’s the Lenten theme of repentance.

Repentance seems like an outdated concept. It’s just not hip or trendy in today’s world. It requires that we stop thinking about ourselves only. It requires we recognize the futility of our culture that tells us we just have to keep buying things and entertaining ourselves endlessly. We have to open our eyes and see that such a philosophy just doesn’t work—at least not if we want to really live. In a bold, counter-cultural move, Isaiah invites us to turn away from all of that and to turn back to the God who made us. We are told to seek the Lord before it’s too late.

In the verses that follow this Isaiah passage, it says that you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace. That’s what God in Jesus Christ offers us. Joy—lasting joy. Peace—true peace. These are things you just can’t buy on e-Bay.

Lent is an invitation to take a long, hard look at our lives. It is the time for spiritual spring cleaning. What are we spending our time and money and passion on? Does it satisfy? Likely, what we will find if we’re honest with ourselves is that much of what we’re striving for is self-serving, futile and empty. We’re desperately thirsty. But it’s not too late! There is grace waiting for us. We can seek the Lord. Ho! We can turn ourselves around again and start heading for the light. We can drink of water that quenches our deep down soul thirst. We can eat and be satisfied without money. We can have what is good and discover delight. We can go out in joy and be led forth peace. Ho, my friends, that is worth striving for!

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007

MOURNING INTO DANCING

A Midweek Lenten Meditation
by Laura Gentry

For this evening's Lenten meditation, we will be opening our hearts to the healing God offers. I've created this liturgical painting as a visual component to the meditation, to help you focus more deeply. I've simplified the forms into a stained glass type of design. It depicts four versions of a person, beginning at the bottom, bent over and in pain and sorrow, then reaching for help, then receiving the healing waters and then dancing for joy. This healed figure reaches for a butterfly, symbolizing the new life of resurrection. May it inspire you to receive healing as well.

We'll listen to each of the following scriptures and spend some time in silence . Be open to how the Spirit may be speaking to you, offering you healing. Following these meditations there will be an opportunity for you to come forward and receive anointing with oil and a prayer of healing. (All scriptures below are from the New Revised Standard Version)



Luke 4:40
As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to Jesus; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them.

James 5:13-16
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
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 prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.

Mathew 8: 14-17
When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

Isaiah 58:8-11
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

Ezekiel 37: 1-14
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.

Psalm 30:6-12
As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!”
You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007

THE LOVE OF THE COSMIC MOTHER HEN

A Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent
March 4, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Luke 13.31-35
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me, "Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem." Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord."’ (New Revised Standard Version)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In this morning’s gospel text, we have one of the strangest juxtapositions of animal imagery. That’s right: we have talk of a fox and a hen within two verses of one another. You remember the old children’s story of the crafty sly fox and the little red hen? These two opposites have often been put together in stories because they are natural foes in the animal kingdom, kind of like cats and dogs.

But why would Luke, our storyteller here, put these images together? What is he trying to teach us?

Well, it begins when the Pharisees come and offer a friendly word of warning that Herod is plotting to kill Jesus. He reponds by saying: “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.’” Yes, Herod is a sly fox. He is the predator who sees Jesus as a threat and wants to get rid of him. He’s just as we would expect a fox to be. There’s nothing out of the ordinary with this image.

But then, Jesus bursts into a surprising public lament. He bemoans the state of the city, crying “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

This is rather shocking on a number of levels. First of all, Jesus is very demonstrative of his emotions. For those who are used to keeping a stiff upper lip, it is a bit disarming that Jesus, our role model, would let his feelings show with such abandon. Perhaps he is even weeping as he utters these words. He is clearly shaken by the disobedience to God and the cruelty of the people of Jerusalem.

To know Jesus is to know God. So this is telling us how much God hurts for the world, how much God’s heart aches when we turn away and follow other things, when we choose self-centeredness and injustice. It tells us how much God longs for us to return. It is shocking that God is so passionate about us.

The second thing that surprises that he likens himself to a mother hen. Did we hear that right? He compares himself to a female chicken? What in the world are we supposed to do with this bizzare image? Chickens, as you know, just aren’t that glamorous and for those who are fixed on the maleness of Jesus, this feminine metaphor can be a stumbling block. But for now, let’s try to look past these barriers to our understand and open our minds to what Jesus is saying to us.

First, let’s deal with the hen thing. When we know that Herod—the fox—is out to get Jesus, we would rather Jesus be a wolf or some other powerful predator who can take care of that nasty fox. Instead, he calls himself a hen. We all know what short work foxes make of hens. In so doing, he shows his vulnerability.

But it is this very vulnerability that makes Jesus so spectacular. He says, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.” Have you ever seen a mother hen do this? Apparently, the mother has a wonderful ability to scoop up her little chicks and tuck them right under her wings where they will be safe. When the wee ones peep out and try to make a run for it, she simply scoops them back in where they can nestle securely, unaware of the dangers of the outside world.

What an amazing tenderness this show us! Jesus longs to gather us under the loving wings of the eternal God. Isn’t there something incredibly moving about this idea? Isn’t there something deep within us that yearns to be gathered in by the cosmic mother hen? Don’t we hunger for this kind of incorruptible love?

But Jesus goes on to say to the people of Jerusalem, “but you were not willing!” It reminds us that our hearts are divided. Even though a part of us may long to run to the wings of our Savior, another part of us is stubborn and completely unwilling. We’d rather go anywhere but God. Martin Luther described this as being saint and sinner at the same time.

We, like Jersusalem, are not willing. Yet, Jesus goes to the cross for us anyway. He becomes the vulnerable lamb of God for our sake. He subjects himself to the wicked fox. And in emptying himself in this way, he is glorified. Jesus triumphs over sin and death and with this victory in hand, he continues to long for us. He desperately wants to gather us under his wings, despite our unwillingness.

There is a song by singer-songwriter Celia Whitler called “Love Will Find You.” The chorus goes like this:

Love will find you when you think you’ve lost your way
Love will speak to you when there are no words to say
Love will reach your heart when you’re lost in this world of doubt
Love will find you somehow

In this song, Celia is talking about the ever-present, ever-searching love of God that is eager to find us, to speak to us, to reach our hearts no matter how much we turn away from God.

In this season of Lent, we are invited to tune our hearts to that love, to listen for the voice of God amid the babble of our daily lives. We are beckoned to nestle into those feathery wings, to be willing to receive the love which God offers us in Jesus. Let us allow ourselves to be drawn in by the tender, vulnerable heart of God and find peace. Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007