April 24 Sermon: The Good Earth

Scriptures: Isaiah 55 and Matthew 13

Readings for "God the Gardener" Bible study on Scripture and Creation

Hi friends,
A study guide that we'll follow fairly loosely is found here
http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/CreationStudyGuide5.pdf

Some readings that may be helpful can be found here
http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/CreationarticleMorgan.pdf
http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/Creationquotationsvarious.pdf

Remember, we're trying to become familiar with our bioregion and the history of the land around Morris, OK.  Some resources for those things may be found here:
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/AxeHandleAcademy/axe/placequiz.htm
http://www.ogs.ou.edu/pubsscanned/EP9_2-8geol.pdf

Readings for "God the Planter" Bible study on creation in the Scriptures

I'm looking forward to this Bible study more than any I've ever led, I think. This is an issue that is very close to my heart. It looks like we'll be able to utilize another great Bible study discussion guide from the Christian Reflections series from the Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University.

The major article is linked here
http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/CreationarticleHiebert.pdf
The study guide is linked here:
http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/CreationStudyGuide1.pdf
In the study guide, there are two pieces of art mentioned.  There are two short descriptions of those pieces linked below each picture.  I look forward to seeing you at the study.  Whether or not you have a chance to read the materials, come and share your perspective--you'll be welcome!

http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/CreationartMichelangelo.pdf

http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/CreationartEzekiel.pdf

Sermon Texts: Luke 24: 1-39 (with emphasis on Emmaus story)

Sermon illustration:


Sermon Notes:
Gorilla Video experiment

Sermon Title: Seeing Jesus

At the beginning of Lent, I shared the idea of that season that precedes this day being a lot like a compost pile. It is a time when we examine ourselves for things that might be spoiled or rotting, and we throw it in a pile. Then we turn that pile, we poke it and prod it and water it through devotion and prayer and practice, and we have faith that God can do something miraculous with it—in fact, God can make it into the perfect food for new life.

Well, today we hear about that new life—That new life isn’t only Jesus’ resurrection some 1980 years ago. It is the new life that can occur in us powered through that resurrection. That new life grows out of the compost of our sin and death, and it blossoms into a mysterious and sometimes elusive flower.

The risen Christ isn’t necessarily an overpowering presence. He might be like that gorilla walking into the middle of a circle and beating his chest. The Risen Christ is definitely someone you think you would just have to recognize, but in reality, unless we are expecting Jesus to make an appearance in our lives, we may not see him waltzing right in.

The disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus, and they were joined by someone they did not at first recognize.

Stuff about Jesus being present in the breaking of the bread………………….

They did not expect to see him, so they didn’t see him for who he was. Jesus was like the gorilla walking into the midst of the basketball passes and doing a little jig.

• He spoke with them about the prophets, and why they should not be troubled about their rabbi being gone.

He gave them the same reasons he gave them before he had been crucified, but still they did not see—they didn’t see, but they felt. After they invited him in to their home, and he broke bread at the table, after that cue that clued them into the supper they had shared together just three days before, they saw him, they knew what they were looking for, and then they said to one another—didn’t our hearts burn as we walked down the road. He is with us. Praise God.

Sometimes the power of an experience doesn’t fully catch up with us until we have finished it and we reflect on it, right?

May this holy meal open your eyes, not only to the presence of Jesus Christ here and now in this communion, but along the road—the path that is your life. May this meal, today, where Christ will be present in the breaking of the bread, cause you to remember a time in your own life where you might say, “didn’t our hearts burn within us…”

Pastor's Perspective: Holy Week and Beyond

Pastor’s Perspective: Holy Week and Beyond

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  (Luke 24:5)

These words, spoken by an angel at the empty tomb on Easter morning, haunt us—don’t they?  They are words of hope but also of chastisement.  We are people of the empty cross—we claim to celebrate the Resurrection every Sunday—and yet so often, we look for the living and breathing Christ only in the pages of record of a history that is dead and gone.  We look for the living among the dead when we try to trap Jesus in the pages of the Bible only, and we fail to see him in the everyday world that we inhabit.  As Jesus himself said, God is a God of the living, not the dead.  That isn’t to say we should have no appreciation for the story of what happened.  On the contrary, we gather together in the first week of April on Thursday and on Friday nights to remember that story that so often moves us to tears. 

            On Thursday we hear about the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples.  It was a celebration of the Passover meal, that yearly ritual in which all Jews remembered together with friends and family the powerful events of their own history, in which God brought them out of slavery in Egypt and carried them into the Promised Land.  God had commanded his people to remember this event by participating in a meal each year.  God knows us so well because God created us.  And isn’t it true that sometimes a smell or a taste can cue a memory in our minds so vividly?  Remembering is re-membering the past and how it continues to shape us. 

            On Friday, we hear the story of Jesus’ passion in the Tenebre service.  “Tenebre” means darkness, and as the story unfolds and candles on the bare altar are extinguished, we’ll experience together perhaps a small taste of the darkness that must have been experienced that day by Jesus and his followers.  That darkness is important.  Darkness is integral to a deep and vibrant spirituality.  St. John of the Cross was a 16^th century Spanish priest who wrote about a “dark night of the soul” when describing the spiritual journey toward God.  It is our fate to suffer and to grieve and to not comprehend the depth and breadth of the Truth and Love which envelops us.  Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that we suffer and grieve on our own or remain ignorant forever.  So on Good Friday we gather in the darkness together.  We huddle beneath the cross and hear the last words a loving savior gave his faithful followers. 

            On Easter Sunday, the Good News breaks open like that jar of nard that Mary used to anoint Jesus’ feet for burial.  The Good News “fills the whole” place, as we hear of the surprised wonder of the disciples.  But, as the angel said, we do not look for the living among the dead.  The miracle of the resurrection, for us, is not only that Christ conquers death and returns to his disciples in a living and breathing body.  It is the miracle that continues 50 days later, at Pentecost, when Jesus imparts his Spirit on the group that is gathered in his name and changes them into a living, collective, body.  So, when we only seek Jesus in the pages of a story, however rich and beautiful and life-giving that story is—if our gaze is only directed toward the scriptures to try and find the meaning and power of a Living and Loving God, we are looking for the living among the dead.  When we enact those scriptures, when we respond to them by living lives that are inspired (literally “breathed into”) by them, they become the “Living Word” that we so often call the Bible.  Those words tell us to look around for God—look in our daily lives.  Look especially at the poor and mourning.  Pay close attention to those who are oppressed or maligned.  It is easy to be inspired by the beauty of creation—and I can attest to the power of finding God’s presence in a magnificent sunset or in a grand mountain vista.  But Jesus reminds us to not forget about the underbelly of creation too. Do we see God’s presence in the people the world says are repulsive?  Jesus says, “I am there.”  It is when we open our eyes to this truth that we seek the living among the living.

Palm Sunday Sermon: Throw your cloak on the ground!

Sermon Texts:

Luke 19: 28-40

Philippians 2: 5-11

Zechariah 9: 9-10

Sermon Notes

Jesus came into the world after being carried in his mother’s pregnant belly being jostled around on the back of a donkey bound for some place to stay in Bethlehem.  He was placed in a feeding trough while his mother rested after giving birth.  And here, at the end of his life, we see another donkey, carrying a 33 year old man in a parade where the excitement of the crowd was bubbling with hope and fascination.  Here is our hero!  Here is our Messiah!  He is the one we’ve been waiting for! 

Jesus enter Jerusalem as the prophets had foretold—on a donkey.  This is strange to us, it doesn’t seem like a very kingly type ride.  It is as if a newly elected president made a special request to be driven to the inauguration speech in Washington DC in a farm truck.  

But, though the choice of a donkey may seem odd, it certainly is consistent.  This man riding the donkey is the embodiment of the Holy of Holies.  He is the living, breathing incarnation of God.  And yet, as Paul writes to the Philippians in the words of an ancient hymn known to the church, “he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, ⁷but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” 

This riding in on a donkey thing isn’t just to put on airs, it’s not part of the story merely to fulfill a prophecy, though a close look at some of the Gospel writers details surrounding this story may lead one to believe that “fulfilling a prophecy” is the main objective.  Matthew, confounded with the repetition found Zecheriah’s poetic description,  “See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey,” actually describes Jesus riding into Jerusalem simultaneously on a donkey and on a colt. 

It is what the prophecy means that Jesus is interested in.  Zechariah continues in his prophecy,

“I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.” 

A donkey symbolizes peace and a horse symbolizes war.  Jesus comes into this city knowing full well what will happen here over the next few days.  The writing is on the wall!  He doesn’t have to be omniscient to see that those in power want to do away with him.  And he comes in peace.  He will never show hostility toward those who arrest him, accuse him, whip and beat him, or even nail his hands and feet into a cross.  On the night he is arrested, in fact, he must re-iterate this aspect of his mission to one of his disciples who draws a sword and tries to defend him. 

“You live by the sword and you die by it,” he says.  And so he shows us another way.  “You live by peace, and you die at peace.”  Paul goes on to say in that hymn, that this God made flesh “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.”  He is humble as he stands there before the Sanhedrin, and they try to find blame in him.  He is gentle with Pontius Pilate, who callously plays politics with his life.  He is obedient as he is stripped, beaten, and dressed up like a bloody thorn-crowned king: mocked and ridiculed before being forced to carry the beam he would hang on to the trash heap of Golgotha.  And he is righteous on that cross, as he finds a moment, even in his own agony to impart grace and confidence to a common thief being crucified with him who sees him for what he is. 

 Humble and obedient, gentle and righteous—that’s how Jesus shows us to confront the madness of the world that seeks to blame, dominate, and crucify.  That’s a lot.  That’s a lot more than those 12 men who walked with for three years could handle.  They ran for their lives.  It is asking a lot of us to “carry our own cross” and follow Jesus.  He endures all of this punishment, and he does it by coming in peace. 

The disciples, we are told, throw their cloaks on the donkey for Jesus to sit on.  They want to serve their master by making him more comfortable on this humble ride.  Then, as Luke tells the story, people take off their own cloaks as Jesus makes his way into the city, spreading the cloaks before the feet of the donkey to keep the dust from getting stirred up. 

That’s how this story is different than the other Gospel writers.  The others tell of palms, or palms and cloaks, but only Luke is devoid of palms.  We’ll call it Palm Sunday anyway.  Perhaps Luke wants us to think of cloaks.

What is a cloak worn for?  It’s worn to shield us from the elements.  And throwing them on the ground in front of someone used to be a gesture of honor and good-will.  Imagine all the waste and animal by-products in the road in those days.  We don’t really do that anymore, do we?  That gesture has gone out of our culture.  Has anyone ever thrown their coat on the ground so that someone didn’t have to step on something?

We also use the word “cloak” figuratively, a cloak may be anything that disguises or conceals something.  Magicians wear cloaks, don’t they?  This week is the most important in your spiritual year.  It is a week where we will hear about our savior being laid bare for the world.  We will hear about his fearful night in the garden, when he prays to be relieved of this task.  Jesus will be laid bare in the hands of the Romans, where he is stripped and beaten.  He’ll be laid bare on the cross, and nailed there and raised up into the air to hang.  And while he’s hanging on that cross, Jesus will lay bare his soul in the words of the Psalmist in the face of what seems to be utter abandonment, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” 

He will leave nothing concealed or disguised in his own walk with the Father.  This is his example to all of us.  In this week, don’t cloak your relationship with the Father.  His only son has made that unnecessary.  Join the crowd who sees Jesus and throws their cloaks on the ground as he comes.   Lay your soul bare to God’s love.  Don’t hold anything back. 

I find that this week, with it’s two special days when we recognize the events of the last days of Christ for what they are, God uncloaking His own love for us.  

How can you take your coat off for Jesus

So, the Messiah’s entry into Jerusalem upon an animal of peace is made ready with Palm branches yanked off the trees, and people’s cloaks from their backs.  They are impromptu displays of preparing the way for peace.  

Holy Week Schedule

This coming Sunday, March 28, we will begin our observance of Holy Week with our Palm Sunday service at 10:55am and Easter banquet and Easter Egg Hunt after church. Yes, we jump the gun a little with Easter activities, but we know many families have Easter lunches of their own on Easter Sunday, so we meet together on this Sunday to eat together as a church family. Everyone is welcome to bring a dish and join in the meal. Ham is provided by the UMW.

On Thursday at 7pm, we will remember the Last Supper and the Great Commandment of Jesus in our Maundy Thursday service. The service concludes with the ritual of stripping the sanctuary, which is a reminder that the sadness and grief of Good Friday happened after this meal of love and fellowship.

On Friday at 7pm, we will gather to hear the solemn story of the betrayal, abandonment and crucifixion at the Good Friday Tenebrae. "Tenebrae," or "Darkness" is based on a twelfth-century late night/early morning service, and is fairly stark and simple. Participation in the service typically enhances the power and reality of Easter Sunday.

Easter Sunday is the most important occasion of the Christian Year. It is when the bold message of the resurrection is loudly and beautifully celebrated in song and in word. Our Easter Sunday celebration will begin at 10:55 am and continue for the rest of the year!
Communion will be served on Easter Sunday, so that Christ Jesus may be known "in the breaking of the bread." All are welcome to receive our Holy Sacrament.

Lent 4 Sermon: Lost at Home

Sermon Texts: Corinthians, Psalter, and Luke
This is the story we always refer to as the “Prodigal Son.” What does prodigal mean anyway? It’s not a word we commonly use, except when referring to this story.

Etymology: Latin prodigus, from prodigere to drive away, squander, from pro-, prod-forth + agere to drive — more at PRO-, AGENT
Date: 15th century
1 : characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure : LAVISH
2 : recklessly spendthrift

I don’t know that Jesus would have preferred this title. He, after all, tells the story of two sons, and the second is as prodigal as the first when it comes to driving away people from his own heart and squandering his relationships.

We are most likely overcome with the story of the younger son because his story is so dramatic. He goes from a comfortable home to a pig sty in two sentences.

It is also compelling to us because it is the story of grace…..

I’ve always lingered over this older brother outside the party, asking the servants to give him news of what’s going on, and then complaining to his father for accepting his brother back into the fold.

The first part of the story is compelling because it is so dramatic in its shifts and so honest and bare in its emotionality. The second half of the story is so compelling to me because it so real. It seems more complex and subtle. The first son has lost his way, that’s clearly apparent to him by his realization that he is getting hungry looking at pig slop.

But, the older son who stayed home and helped on the farm perhaps doesn’t even realize that he too is lost. He’s lost right there at home.

More often than not, we don’t have dramatic “bottom of the barrel” type experiences like the younger brother. Some may, and those are compelling and inspiring times in our life, no doubt. But I don’t want to give the whole story to the younger son. After all, Jesus, the master storyteller, leaves the older son’s story as the lynchpin. He leaves it unanswered, compelling us to integrate the experience into our own lives and ask ourselves, “well, what would I do?”

I think it’s a great truth of this story that we can become just as lost in our work and in our dedication and in our obligations and sense of duty as we can by turning our back on the Father and going our own way and “scattering our substance” in dissolute living.

Yes, we can become just as lost dutifully coming here to sit in these pews every single Sunday as those who have never stepped foot in a church. And the glaring evidence of our disorientation can be found in our attitude toward those who find their way home and toward a God who welcomes everyone, no matter what, with open arms.

The reality of being home, being found, being alive to God’s grace has everything to do with an attitude of the heart. Do we harbor contempt? Do we consider others unworthy of God’s grace?

God is running down the road to throw His arms around a lot of people who I might not believe deserve a second chance—am I willing to not only accept that but celebrate that? To come in to the banquet and toast my brother’s return home—that is participating in grace. That is being alive to God’s grace.

Sometimes I wish I had a better story to tell. I wish my faith life was big and dramatic and compelling so that I could persuade all of you to a life of redemption and purpose because I have lived it—because I’ve been in the gutter, and boy can I tell you—you don’t want to be there. I hear preachers who have those kinds of stories, and there’s a part of my heart that whispers, “frauds!” “hucksters!” “What are you trying to sell?” “What are you trying to pull?”

My story isn’t as dramatic. My story isn’t as exciting, and I know you know this about me. I’ve been here close to four years now, and I know my story, who I am has not reached some of you—it has not “lit many fires” or prompted many Kleenexes to be used. Perhaps I’m boring, perhaps I’m pedestrian, perhaps I just haven’t had what it takes to convince you. I’m no prodigal son.

No, I’ve spent my whole life here on my Father’s farm. I’ve tended the sheep…and the goats. I’ve stuck around here like most of you. That’s not all that exciting. I’ve haven’t really had many compelling changes of heart. I’m pretty much the same person now that I was 5, 10, 15 years ago. I’ve never felt desperate for the nourishment and safety of home like that son sitting in the pig sty. I may have gotten some postcards from “distant lands” where debauchery and dissolute living are the trade, but I’ve never really been there—at least I don’t consider myself to have been there.

So, I feel the cliffhanger of Jesus’ story. I get it. I want to believe that I’m excited and celebrating what God is doing in the world—where grace is being shown—but sometimes I look out at the kind of people who are claiming God’s grace, and I say to myself, “what ass...inine people"

Let me assure you—it’s as easy to be lost here at home as it is out in the distant lands. And by God’s grace I’m reminded by this Heavenly Father—“Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. But we had to celebrate.” I want to go in to the party. I want to applaud God’s grace wherever it is being shown. I want to accept the grace that has been with me my whole life. I want to admit this grace into my spirit and let it shape me and mold me into the likeness of my Father, who is pure and unbounded joy and forgiveness. I want to go into the party.

U2Charist Highlight: Atticus Dellinger plays and sings "Yahweh"

Our U2charist service was a lot of fun this morning.  The order of worship can be found here, and the highlight of the service, Atticus Dellinger singing U2's Yahweh, was fantastic.  Take a listen.

Readings for "Singing Our Lives" Study

The readings for our study group this Sunday evening are about U2--how's that for timing?  We'll debrief the U2charist service, and take a look at the article linked here.  The study guide can be found here. 

U2charist Service this Sunday, March 7

In this service of worship, we will be drawing from the music and lyrics of the band U2 to express our praise and thanksgiving, confession, and yearning for connection with God. The band has been making music on a world stage for 30 years. Each time they tour in concert, they draw millions of people, where they offer a sensory rich spectacle that attempts to focus fans toward goals in humanitarian causes developed by the United Nations. They offer prayers and even play Psalms and recite other Scripture when they play. They are a “secular band” that unabashedly proclaims their faith, and what it compels them to do in the world. Approach this service with the prayer that whether you are a longtime fan of U2, or have never really listened to them, God will open something new inside you.

Lent 2 Sermon: All Hail the Holy Hen

Sermon Texts: Philippians and Luke 13

Sermon Notes

Rick Steves kind of sermon today. 

Dominus Flevit, description.  The church that commemorates this occasion we hear about today.  Jesus wept, the chapel is shaped like a tear. 

Window—Barbara Brown Taylor: Inside the chapel, the altar is centered before a high arched window that looks out over the city. Iron grillwork divides the view into sections, so that on a sunny day the effect is that of a stained-glass window. The difference is that this subject is alive. It is not some artist’s rendering of the holy city but the city itself, with the Dome of the Rock in the bottom left corner and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the middle. Two-thirds of the view is the cloudless sky above the city which the grillwork turns into a quilt of blue squares. Perhaps this is where the heavenly Jerusalem hovers over the earthly one, until the time comes for the two to meet?

Can you imagine Jesus looking out over a very different Jerusalem, perhaps with the view as clear as this window makes it for us that there is a new Jerusalem, a heavenly Jerusalem, waiting to join the earthly Jerusalem, and he knows he will be the one to usher in that new city? 

He is met by the Pharisees, who do him the favor of telling him he has a death threat against him, and he starts talking about animals. 

He calls Herod a fox, and then tells the Pharisees what to tell Herod, basically, I’m going to go about my business, and you mind your own! 

I used to enjoy imagining what kind of animal I’d be if I could be an animal.  I remember running around the playground when I was about Wesley’s age imagining I was a rhino.  I also enjoyed thinking I’d be a St. Bernard.  In fact, I wanted to change my name to Bernard as a kid, because I thought it would make me bigger.  Now that I think about it, a rhino is pretty big too, so maybe I had a thing with wanting to be bigger. 

You would think Jesus would have chosen a little better.  CS Lewis pictures the savior as a fierce Lion in the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and we certainly can see why.  The Bible talks a lot about the Messiah as the great Conquering Lion of Judah. 

But, if Jesus cared to venture into bird territory to find a good animal representation of himself, then certainly the Eagle of Deuteronomy 32:11 makes sense, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.   Yes indeed.  That’s strong, protective imagery.

But instead, Jesus chooses a hen.  A hen!  His choice is commemorated here in the Dominus Flevit chapel with this mosaic.  Though if you ask me, and even though I’m from Arkansas, I don’t know a lot about chickens mind you.  But, I thought that only roosters had those combs on their heads. 

Well, we can imagine why the artist has taken liberties, can’t we?  At least a rooster offers some form of defense.  He’s got those spikes on the back of his legs, and I can tell you from the experience of being the cause for alarm to a rooster, they can be awfully intimidating, can’t they?  They certainly think they are!  I remember thinking, surely I could just kick the thing in it’s head, couldn’t I?  But instead I just made a habit of taking a wide berth and kind of scooting across that rooster’s path pretty quickly when I was a visitor to a farm that had a rooster. 

Yes, at least a rooster is a little more like an eagle.  A little more formidable opponent to a fox, but Jesus very clearly likens himself to the female chicken, which   Barbara Brown Taylor said, "About all she can do is fluff herself up and sit on her chicks.  She can put herself between them and the fox, as ill-equipped as she is.  At the very least, she can hope that she satisfies his appetite so that the fox leaves her babies alone."

The medallion is rimmed with red words in Latin. Translated into English they read, "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!" The last phrase is set outside the circle, in a pool of red underneath the chicks’ feet: you were not willing.

My dad’s dad was a Pentecostal preacher, and every once in a while, my dad tells me about one of the gems that they’d sing in church.  One is, “The Devil is a sly old fox; if I could catch him, I’d put him in a box; I’d lock the door and throw away the key; for all those tricks he’s played on me!  I’m glad I got salvation, I’m glad I got salvation, I’m glad I got salvation, by the grace of God!” 

So, all Hail the Holy Hen, The one who takes away the sin of the world by offering himself as a holy and perfect sacrifice, perhaps praying that the “Sly old fox’s” appetite would be satisfied. 

The hen has already given her life for the chicks, and she calls out to all who will listen, come and gather under my wings!  Are you not willing? 

hymn and singing study readings for 2/28/10

You can find the study guide at this link, and the songs that are referenced there here. Also, we will not only discuss new hymns, but our favorites. Come prepared to speak about your favorite 1 or 2 hymns and why you like them. You can get a hymnal from the church, or just look up the hymn on Cyberhymnal which allows you to search for the hymn by title, then has the story of the composer, then the lyrics. If you download the plugin in the left hand corner, it will play the hymn in a midi file.

Ash Wednesday Service: Feb. 17 at 6pm

We hope you join us in marking the first day of Lent this Wednesday. Be there at 6pm for a special service.

Readings for Hymn Study feb 21

We'll be focusing on Prophetic Music on Sunday the 21st. You're welcome to join us.
Click here and here

Transfiguration Sunday Sermon: More than Meets the Eye

Sermon Texts were from Exodus and Luke

Texts:
1 Corinthians and Luke

Today's sermon was a midrash, or an "imaginative retelling" of Luke 4 and 5. I imagined I was a resident of Capernaum who observed the call of Simon, James, and John.

A fishing story:
You want to hear a fish story?
I remember that day Simon, the bully of Bethsaida, took that wandering prophet out in his boat to let him preach from it.

He had come once before, and had been welcomed by Simon. Simon usually gathered the largest men and went out to meet any newcomers in town, in case they were zealots or soldiers. But this man had come alone, and Simon had heard of him. He was a healer and a prophet—so he invited him to stay at his own home, where his mother in law was suffering from a fever. That night, the man rebuked the fever, and it immediately went away.

As soon as word had gotten around about Simon’s mother-in-law, everyone brought their sick and ailing to see the man named Jesus. I remember how everyone crowded around Simon’s house, and his daughters tried to organize everyone into groups small enough not to overwhelm the saint. This went on through the night, and he healed all of them, and then slipped away at dawn to be alone in the wilderness. When a group of us found him, he told us that he was going on to preach in more places.

So when he returned one morning, just as the fishermen were cleaning their nets from an unsuccessful night on the lake, everyone gathered around and wanted to hear what he had to say. Sound echoes well over the water. Every fisherman knows you don’t speak with your partners about things you don’t want to get out while you are fishing. Voices just seem to carry over the water, don’t they?. This day, I didn’t have to listen closely for the words of that man. They danced out over the water, and the lake itself seemed to stop lapping at the shore and listen attentively.

The man spoke for awhile about how the Lord was not some far off and aloof God, but was right there with us. He said that God wanted to be known to all of us a child knows his father, and that God wanted to be trusted. Then he told Simon to row out to the deeper water. Seeing him tell Simon what to do made me chuckle to myself. I’d never seen anyone do that before! Usually, Simon stormed around town telling everyone else what to do! He was larger than all the other men in town, and he was persuasive in ways that go beyond words. But, Simon obeyed the strange man.

Then, even though he had already folded his nets and finished for the day, I saw him throwing out the nets again. I couldn’t believe my eyes when they hauled up a catch so big it seemed as though the nets were about to snap! James and John, who were known as the “sons of thunder” because they were also large and commanding young men whom Simon had chosen as partners and everyone thought as future sons-in-law, since Simon only had daughters, were standing on the shore, dumbstruck by the prophet’s words. When they saw the full net, they leaped into their boat and rowed out to help with the haul.

Two boatfuls of beautiful fish shining in a new day’s sunlight weighed down the two boats so low that water actually started seeping over the tops of them. Waterlogged, it took the boats three times as long to bring the boats to shore as usual. When they got the boats to shore, Simon was weeping. I had never seen him shed a tear! There wasn’t a single stray catfish in the haul. (We would have had to throw the catfish back, as we are prohibited by the Law from eating them.) All of them were beautiful tilapia, which after that day we started calling by the name “Simon’s Fish,” and then when Jesus gave him a new name, “Peter’s Fish.”

Simon stumbled out of the boat, and made a plea to everyone there, “forgive me for how I’ve wronged you. Forgive my impatience and my temper and my haughtiness. At these words, James and John fell to their knees as well and joined in the prayer. Jesus stood in the boat, with the fish flopping around at his feet. He said, “Today these men bring in plentiful fish, but I am going to make them fish for people. Care for their families while they are gone. They will return, and you will have the chance to follow too.” Then, he turned to Simon and his brother Andrew and James and John and said, “Come, follow me.”

And they did! They left the fish and the boats and their homes and followed him. I looked at Simon’s wife Ruth, expecting her to be frantic, but she was peaceful. Ever since he had healed her mother, Ruth had spoken of Jesus with reverence. She looked as serene and joyful that day on the beach as she’d been that night, laughing and darting around the room serving the guests with her newly rejuvenated mother.

I wondered what would become of Simon and our town. I wondered if I would go if Jesus had called me. I wondered all of these things, because later that man who seemed so glorious and powerful in that boat would be nailed up on a cross and left to hang and die. Simon Peter would tell everyone who listened that he had seen him in the flesh after his death, but I never saw him again. And so I wonder, because his voice still echoes in my ears, and he seemed to be speaking to me when he said, “Come, Follow me.” .

Readings for Hymn Study

This week, our focus is on the Psalms. Click here and here to find the readings.

Souper Bowl Luncheon

Have a bowl of soup and support our mission work this Sunday at 12 noon. Many soups and desserts will be available from the great cooks in our congregation. You can make a donation at the supper. All funds will be used for charitable benevolences.

Upcoming Workshop on Prayer

The First United Methodist Church of Owasso is hosting 2 special events on prayer. Our leader for these events is Dr. Tom Albin, Dean of the Chapel at the Upper Room in Nashville , Tennessee . Tom is a clergy member of the Oklahoma Conference and is excited to come back to Oklahoma for these events. He is a featured speaker at national events and is known for his insights on prayer, our Wesleyan heritage and the spiritual life of Christians.
The first event, “Teach Me to Pray” will be held on Saturday, February 20. This event is designed for anyone interested in developing their prayer life. We think it could enhance the prayer ministry of your church and hope that you and your lay people will attend. Registration is from 9:00-9:30 a.m. The day will end at about 3:30-4:00 p.m. The cost for the event is only $10 and includes lunch. Childcare is provided at no charge for those who register by February 15.
The second event “Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit”, will be held on Monday, February 22. This event is designed for clergy and staff to have a “day apart”. This day will be a good way to start the season of Lent. Registration will be held from 9:00-9:30 a.m. with the day ending at about 3:15 p.m. The cost will be $10 which includes lunch. Childcare will be provided if needed. Please let us know by February 15.
If you have any questions please call Chris Tiger at 272-5731. We look forward to hosting these events and hope you and your church can come.


Yours in Christ,
Chris Tiger