a poem

I love Jesus, who said to us:
Heaven and earth will pass away.
When heaven and earth have passed away,
my word will remain.
What was your word, Jesus?
Love? Forgiveness? Affection?
All your words were one word:

Wakeup.

-- Antonio Machado

sermon 10/10: Learning to Feel Again

luke 17:11-19

“Learning to feel again”

In my small Methodist church growing up, I became familiar with the question that Pastor Jeff asked every week, “has anyone told you today that you are the beloved? because you are. beloved sons and daughters of God.” This was an idea taken from the great theologian Henri Nouwen who explains that being beloved is being unique and precious in God’s name and that we are blessed.  His ideas on belovedness came about primarily because of his work with people with developmental disabilities. He came to realize that everyone is the beloved, no matter what.  God loves us each unconditionally, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. So, with that, know that all of you are beloved sons and daughters of God, and remind your loved ones of that as well. 

People on the margins aren’t always considered to be beloved. For instance, people with Leprosy.  A problem in Jesus’ day, and still a problem today. The World Health Organization estimates that there are 211,903 cases of leprosy in the world today. These people are still in 2010 considered to be outcasts and untouchables.  Back in the time of Jesus, people with leprosy were considered unclean, and were cast out from everywhere.  Not only were they physically disfigured but they were often considered spiritually deadly. Often times the lepers of those days would bond together and make the best of it.  The only way back into society was if a priest declared them clean--this came from the law in Leviticus. They could then, and only then, rejoin society. 

In the passage, we find Jesus on his way to Jerusalem in the area between Samaria and Galilee and he comes across ten lepers who call out to him, “have mercy on us!” Now, I don’t know about you, but many people today wouldn’t normally stay and hang out with these lepers. Often times we, when approached by those on the “margins” will turn the other direction, and ignore them.  Even cast them out.  Consider for a second the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s where affected people were considered to be unclean and many unaffected people were afraid of those with the disease. We avoided them, and even shunned them. Jesus doesn’t shun these people. Jesus takes the time to reach out to those people. Jesus knows that these people are children of God--they too, are beloved.  He doesn’t care that they have a disease, he cares for them.  As he sends them back to the priests, they are healed of their disease.  At this time, nine of the ten lepers continue on to the priests.  That one that stayed doesn’t continue on.  He or She decides to turn around and praise God. 

We know from the text that this one person isn’t just any person,  it is a Samaritan.  The other nine were not Samaritans, making this one significant. The Jews and the Samaritans didn’t have a good history.  They didn’t get along very well.  The samaritans were rarely portrayed in a positive light, so this is a complete shock. In Luke 9, we read about how when Jesus entered Samaria, they did not receive him and his message. They reject Jesus. For his one leper to praise God after the healing was a pretty big deal. Something is out of the ordinary here. However, we know that when Jesus is around, unordinary things don’t usually happen.  Jesus was known for turning the tables and causing a stir. 

The other nine lepers do as they are told.  They did what was expected and go to the priests.  But it is this one leper, this Samaritan who does the unexpected. He comes back to Jesus and feels something deeper and recognizes what Jesus is doing, and what Jesus has done for him and thanks him.  He has “seen the light” and not only been healed physically but has been made whole, restored, and drawn back into relationship with God and humanity.  It’s more than just a physical healing.  In fact, when closely looking at the different translations of the text, Jesus says to the Samaritan (In the NRSV), “Your faith has made you well.” In The Message translation (a more modern paraphrase), the verse is translated as “your faith has healed and saved you.”  The word that gets translated from the Greek into the English “healed” is sesoken, from the root sozo, can be translated as healed, made well, or saved.  It’s not just a physical being made well and magical physical healing. it’s whole body.  This person’s life has been changed, and they are able to function in society.  This person is able tot both live completely and feel again. 

Shane Claiborne, the author of The Irresistible Revolution and the founder oft he Simple Way in Philadelphia, describes himself as an “ordinary radical.” he truly lives out the gospel in ways that i could only imagine and is a firm believer in living out the gospel.  When he was in college, Shane decided he wanted to find a “Christian,” which he defined as “someone else who might be asking, What if Jesus meant the stuff he said?” He came across Mother Teresa, who he described as a sassy contemporary radical. He and his friend decided to write her a letter that said the following: 

Dear Mother Teresa, we don’t know if you give internships out there in Calcutta, but we would love to come check things out.

Time went by and no return letter came. So, Shane contacted a bunch of nuns and finally figured out a way to contact her. He spoke to a nun who gave him the number for mother teresa in Calcutta. Shane calls, and hears on the other line, “this is the Missionaries of charity. This is Mother Teresa.” Shane proceeded to explain that he wanted to come hang out with her for the summer. She said yes, and they went. Shane spent time in Calcutta working in an orphanage, homes for the Destitute and dying, and finally decided to spend some time in a leper colony outside of Calcutta. Shane lived with the lepers, who are still considered to be outcasts and untouchables, even now. People who don’t know how to say thank you because they have never needed to use language of gratitude. 

Shane lived with these lepers, and took care of them, and confessed that he “saw a clearer glimpse of Jesus in this leper’s eyes than any stained-glass window could ever give him.” He watched how they came together to teach each other how to function and to say thank you.  

In the book, Shane describes his experience: “I learned from the lepers that Leprosy is a disease of numbness.  The contagion numbs the skin, and the nerves can no longer feel as the body wastes away.  The way it is detected is by rubbing a feather across the skin, and if the person could not feel it, they were diagnosed with the illness. To treat it, we would dig out or dissect the scarred tissue until the person could feel again.  As I left Calcutta, it occurred to me that I was returning to a land of lepers, a land of people who had forgotten how to laugh, to cry, a land haunted by numbness. Could we learn to feel again?” 

Perhaps Shane is right.  Maybe Jesus not only needs to heal us physically, but also heal our souls which have been numb to going on in the world. We keep hearing about disaster around us but we often would prefer to stay in our ivory towers and watch, and put money in the plate.  But perhaps we should do as Mother Teresa said, “Calcuttas are everywhere if only we have eyes to see. Find your Calcutta.” Shane admits that his Calcutta is the United States, and he only learned that by understanding what it really means to feel and to feel the love of Jesus and to see the love of Jesus in the eyes of the lepers. And to understand that we need to learn to feel again.  And it is through Jesus’ love and acceptance that we are able to do that.  God loving us as God’s own helps us understand and feel and become less numb to what is going on.  God works through us to become able to feel again. 

Amen. 

engagement story

i figure since many of you are really curious and i fail at communicating with my friends sometimes (sorry y'all--it's been a long few weeks...)

i was in london a few weeks ago for a few days...while there, it turns out fiance had contacted my parents and sent a text saying "if you guys have some time, can i talk to you because I have a question to ask you." so, sunday 8/8, he went over to my parents house and asked them permission. of course, my mom was a wreck and matt was shaking (he was so scared...even though my parents knew it was coming, and he already had the ring...). they gave him permission after my dad gave him the mr. responsibility speech. so, i return from london late sunday night after being sick over there and missing my family. he drops me off at home and says that he'll see me tomorrow.

monday comes around and i go to work, am jetlagged, and feel gross. mind you, it's like a thousand degrees in jersey. absolutely gross. i get home from work, and we decide to hang out. so, we go to his house and are hanging out. he turns the tv on and asks what i want to watch. i proceed to say something along the lines of "i don't care what we watch-you should know what i like to watch. blah blah blah" and i went on and on about that for a while until he settled on watching dirty jobs by mike rowe (romantic, right?). so, as mike rowe is being disgusting, matt says "i have a surprise for you. close your eyes and pick a hand." so, even though this is difficult with my eyes closed, i pick a hand, and he says to open my eyes. in his hand is a little container with a fake ring in it (ones you get at a grocery store as a kid) that fit my toe. i was like "what is this? a toe ring? it doesn't even fit my pinky." so he says. "oh, well, try this one." so he pulls out another one and gives it to me and it's a funky ring from the 80's. similar container. in my mind at this point, i'm wondering what is going on, and if he's fake proposing because i had a dream that he proposed with a fake ring as a "placeholder." so i'm like, alright. he gets up and starts moving the coffee table out of the way. i proceed to throw the container at him playfully. and he comes around and gets down on one knee and says "well, how about this one." he gives me the real engagement ring in a similar container and says "kaleigh, will you marry me?" meanwhile, i am going nuts. saying "holy shit. is this really happening? i can't believe this!" this goes on for about five minutes until matt reminds me that i never answered the question. and i was like "wait, what was the question again?" so he asks again, and i say yes. :)

i still can't believe that i'm ENGAGED. i keep looking at this pretty ring and thinking about how this means i'm grown up. it's so weird!

anyway, that's the story :)

peace.

so, i'm engaged and stuff

well, hello there blog. it's nice to see you again. my life has been pretty nuts the last few weeks.

long story short?

went on mission trip, volunteered at music camp, preached my first sermon, went to delaware for skating coaches college and technical panel school, became a technical specialist, went to the beach for two days, went to england, saw alastair and lucy get married, threw up in gatwick airport (damn flu), explored london, got engaged (!!!), celebrated with family, had junior team bootcamp, vacation bible school, skating kick off camps, and here i am today in my quiet office thinking about wedding stuff.

man. my life has been crazy! but yes, i'm engaged, and we are so very excited about getting married. the wedding is going to be in may 2012...a nice long engagement to ensure that i have plenty of time to plan and get everything the way we'd like it to be. so, along with ministry and seminary ramblings, you'll have to hear about that too.

however, in the midst of all this crazy summer stuff, i started reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller (the author of Blue Like Jazz) which is all about our stories, and how to create a better story with your life. i've actually been trying to read it since it came out, and since i have book a.d.d., i never finish books that i start. he tries to figure out how to live a better story with his life. i was talking to one of our off-ice coaches recently and she says "what a year you've had!" and i thought about it for a moment, and agreed with her. what a year i HAVE had. an amazing year. maybe one of the best ones ever. i mean, considering today marks a year i have been at the church i work at...it's been pretty incredible the things that have happened--mainly because i took risks, and listened to where god was calling me to be this year.

two years ago, i read the book eat, pray, love by elizabeth gilbert. the movie is now in theatres. i want to see it, but i haven't had time! the book changed my life. her story inspired me. i wanted to be able to do things like that. move to other places. i always felt that i wasn't doing any of that. i wasn't taking chances. but i'm realizing more and more as i look back, i many telling a story that could be just as inspiring as elizabeth gilbert. it's just not the same. no two people have the same story. but all of our stories were written by god, and god leads us to those experiences.

i got a job at a church, figured out i wanted to go to seminary, with a team of others coached our juvenile team who were the national champions, went to two countries (sweden and england), did a million amazing things this summer, preached a sermon, got ENGAGED, became a technical specialist, did a ton of traveling, and the list goes on!

sure, at times i was exhausted. i was even heartbroken a bit at sometimes. but, i lived a great story. and i am continuing to do that. i'm finding more and more that i need to take chances and do things i wouldn't normally do. i'm growing up in the process as well.

anyway. enough rambling for me. hope you are well. tell your story.

peace.

sermon 7/25 (first one EVER!)

in case you are interested, here's a copy of my sermon from this past sunday. bear with me. i've never had a preaching class or sermon writing. it pretty much comes from the heart.

the scripture i chose was luke 4:14-21.

Whenever I begin something new, I typically pray.  A lot. I surround the experience with prayer, and ask people to pray for me, and pray for the people I will meet.  A lot of praying happens at first because I’m anxious and excited, but mainly that I want God to be with me during that time of NEW things happening.  When I was discerning my call to seminary, I prayed.   A lot. I knew that Drew would be a whole new experience for me, and so I prayed.  A lot. It’s amazing that God knows what you need at the time.  So, on my second day of orientation, there was a small worship service in the chapel at Drew.   The worship service was based on the lectionary text for that week, which is the text from Luke that I chose today.  The director of the chapel, Tanya, decided to have a small anointing service, where she placed oil on our forehead in the sign of the cross--an ancient practice--and said to each of us, “Kaleigh, God has called you to bring justice and joy to a world in need.” I have taken those words with me ever since, and often remind myself of the service and hear those words over and over.  These words are similar to when Jesus read the words from Isaiah that say “God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” Those words were spoken at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  The Holy Spirit was with Jesus as he started something completely new that would change the world.  Just as the Holy Spirit was present with me when I started seminary. It was an answer to all those prayers asking God to be with me.  It was an affirmation of my Christian life, and the fact that yes, God is calling me to bring justice and joy to a world in need. Just like Jesus was called to do. 

But let’s zoom in on how Jesus was called.  That word spirit appears a lot in this passage.  Twice. Jesus was filled with the spirit when he arrived in Galilee and the spirit was “upon him.” An interesting fun fact about the gospel of luke: the word Spirit appears eighteen times in the gospel of Luke; and it’s often called the gospel of the holy spirit.  The Holy Spirit, by definition, is what impels people to act, gives them wisdom and moves them to prophesy.  Throughout the Old Testament we hear stories of prophets who were commissioned by God to bring a message to the people and could speak it because the Spirit was upon them.  The words Jesus reads in this passage are straight from the book of Isaiah, who was called in the same way.  The use of the holy Spirit is the way God enables leaders and prophets (who were often common people like you and me) to carry out God’s will for them.  This happens in the NT as well.  The Holy Spirit is active with Jesus, and is how the ministry of Jesus begins.  It also gives us a link back to history.  Isaiah prophesied the coming of Jesus.  God does a new thing by bringing Jesus into this world and in turn, Jesus does something new in his ministry by reaching out to those in need, those on the margins of society, the broken, the poor, the oppressed.  Bringing justice and joy. Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus encounter lepers, tax collectors, and women.  The mission that God gives to jesus is to engage the world and its people and their needs as a way to be a light, and bring joy to a dark world. 

So, that’s Jesus. Jesus reached out to those in need. God called him to do that.  But it’s not only Jesus who is called to do that. It’s US as well.  When people ask you what being a Christian means, what do you say?  I would bet that your answers might include going to church, reading the bible, and serving others.  My answer? following the teachings of Jesus.  Doing what he did. Reaching out. Loving others. It’s not all about standing up here, or saying my prayers everyday. It’s reaching out.  Francis Assisi once said, “preach the gospel. and when necessary, use words.” It’s by our actions that people know we are Christians. There’s that hymn that goes “and they’ll know we are Christians by our love...” It’s how we use the Holy Spirit to reach out to others.  

There’s a great quote in a book called “Listening at Golgotha” by Peter Storey, the former president of the methodist church of Southern Africa that hits this point well. 

“Some tell us that following Jesus is a simple matter of inviting him into our hearts.  But when we do that, Jesus always asks, ‘May I bring my friends?’ And when we look at them, we see that they are not the kind of company we like to keep.  The friends of Jesus are the outcasts, the marginalized, the poor, the homeless, the rejected--the lepers of life.  We hestitate.  And ask, ‘Jesus must we really have them too?’ Jesus replies, ‘love me, love my friends.’”

I was just at music camp with Mark Miller this past week counseling, and we often sang the song draw the circle wide. I think that’s what Jesus is talking about. We have to draw the circle wide and reach out to those who we wouldn’t normally encounter. On Friday night, we went to Sunrise Mountian, which is part of the Appalachian Trail to watch the Sunset.  We ran into a man camping up there who was hiking the trail for the ninth time.  We explained who we were, he told us he was raised united methodist and is from Georgia, and was headed to Maine to finish up. All of the youth at the camp were intruiged by his story and we spent lots of time talking to him, and giving him leftover sandwiches from our picnic dinner.  We also shared our stories. He was really interested in hearing about my experiences in seminary, and working with youth. And i was interested in what kept bringing him back to the trail.While up there, we were in the midst of a huge thunderstorm.  After it was over, and we were getting ready to leave, we were saying goodbye to Jim. He told us how he was going to leave earlier this afternoon, but felt there was something telling him to stay. And how he needed to hear our stories, and how he thought it needed to happen. No talk about God, but I could feel the Holy Spirit at work. Here we were, ordinary campers and counselors having a picnic dinner, impacting the life of this one man, and maybe giving him some added strength on the journey.  We proceeded to tell him how we learned something from him as well. So, from us spreading our joy, we also received joy and affirmation of God’s call in our lives. 

We must love those that Jesus loved.  That’s what is being a Christian is about, and is what we are called to do.  When we were on RISE a few weeks ago with the youth from the church, I reminded them that God called them to that place. God called them to work on the houses of the two families. There are a few images I remember from that week which I will likely take with me forever.  We had a lot of time to relfect in car rides on the way home from the sites, and what stuck with the girls I had in my car was the tears that streamed down Elva’s face when we pulled up and introduced her self and proceeded to tell us how thankful she was that we were there and that she had been praying for this for ages.  Also, we’ll never forget Xzavier, Dakota and Cordell, the three grandsons whose smiling faces brought us joy every day.  And of course, seeing the quiet, shy, Harry, smile at the progress we had made. Also, the smiles while Elva and her daughter painted.  This was pure JOY that we had brought them. Not only did we paint their house, but we brought joy to this family who knows what it means to love and to live.  AT the end of the week, when we were leaving, we all cried. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, and as we pulled away from the house, I couldn’t help but think what a difference we had made. We brought joy to a family who needed it.  Seven common people answering a call from God to go and paint the house of a family in need. But not only did they find joy.  I think each youth and adult on RISE came away with a newfound understanding of what true joy is.  Seeing Elva’s face when her three grandsons came to visit, and to see how much her family meant to her.  She brought joy to us, which is why it was so hard to leave. 

God calls each one of us-ordinary, common, people--just like many of the old testament prophets to bring justice and joy to a world in need. Jesus wasn’t anything out of the ordinary either; he was a carpenter’s son, born in a manger. Whether it’s helping with IHN, going on a habitat build, sending care packages to soldiers, making quilts for those in need of healing, sending health kits to Haiti, or have you be it, God has called you to it, and continues to call you to bring justice and joy to this world in need. 

Amen. 

tired.

From the UM Portal

Ordination can make you tired

Monday night I had the privilege of attending the Service of Ordination and Commissioning of the North Texas Conference of the UMC. (I say "privilege" not only because of the enormity of the event, but also because even the overflow room became so packed that they had to turn people away. Thank heaven for live web streaming and archived video!)

During the Annual Conference business sessions on Monday and Tuesday, we viewed pre-recorded speeches by each of the ordinands. I know many of the people who were ordained this year, but among all of their speeches, which were limited to two minutes, the one given by the Rev. Marc Corazao stood out:

Bishop Bledsoe and members of the North Texas Conference,

My name is Marc Corazao, and I currently serve as Associate Pastor over Outreach Ministries at Floral Heights United Methodist Church and as Pastor with the Breakfast at the Heights Community in Wichita Falls.

So, I’ve finally gotten to this point of being voted on at clergy session and ordained as an elder, and you know what? I’m pretty tired…

I’m tired of watching pastors and churches cater to the comfort of an affluent constituency.

I’m tired of mission efforts that actually keep those in poverty at arm's length by drawing lines of givers and receivers, privileged and lowly, blessed and cursed, community and other.

I’m tired of coming to Annual Conference and repeatedly witnessing us being more concerned with the outcome of a vote than our sisters and brothers we run over, shut out, dismiss, and demonize to get what we want.

I’m tired of hearing us fearfully talk about our sinking ship that we supposedly need to figure out how to float again.

I’m tired of the part I have played in fostering all of this in the church today.

I’m pretty tired.

So, if I’m tired, and I go to sleep, maybe I’ll dream of something else...

Maybe I’ll dream of a people with the mind of Christ, who encounter the world with basin and towel in hand.

Maybe I’ll dream of a community that lives and works and laughs and serves together with sisters and brothers who live in poverty.

Maybe I’ll dream of holy conversation at Annual Conference that is characterized by outdoing one another in showing honor to each other.

Maybe I’ll dream of the lost, the marginalized, the outcast, the lonely, finding maybe the one place of welcome, acceptance, and counter-cultural love in their lives with us.

Maybe I’ll dream of a church not driven by the fear of self-preservation but by the calling of God to transform the world in love no matter what the cost.

Maybe I’ll dream of my own need to repent and God’s voice calling me and my family in Christ to live and love so dramatically, so humbly, so boldly, so differently, that people everywhere will ask, “What is with those United Methodists?”

And when I wake, you better believe that something’s going to change, and I’m not sitting this one out.

You know what, Marc?  I'm getting tired, too. Thanks for this prophetic word.

thoughts on compassion.

the current dalai lama wrote a great op-ed for the ny times today called "many faiths, one truth." if you haven't read it, you should. it's about all different faiths, religious intolerance, and compassion.

i was struck by the title and thought it sounded interesting. well, the article was great. and so important in this time when we are all trying to figure out how our faith fits in with the rest of the world. at least, that's something that i struggle with. i find it important that we, as "christians," remember the basis of our faith, which is what i think is love. i mean, god created us in god's image because god loves us, right?

with that, jesus' number one commandment to us was that we love others. love others and love god. i think love translates into compassion as well, especially in the parable of the good samaritan. it was the samaritan that was compassionate towards the hurt person, right?

yes.

the second to last paragraph in this article says it best, i think:

"Finding common ground among faiths can help us bridge needless divides at a time when unified action is more crucial than ever. As a species, we must embrace the oneness of humanity as we face global issues like pandemics, economic crises and ecological disaster. At that scale, our response must be as one."

 oneness is so important. no longer can we stand divided. no longer can democrat or republican separate us. no longer can race define who we sit next to on the bus. and what the dalai lama is saying in this article is that no longer can religion divide who we stand with fighting for justice. as believers, as people created by GOD, no matter what we believe, we must come together and fight for justice and a better world. our world needs us now more than ever before.

amen.