“The Sound Of A Great Wind”

Here are the thoughts for Pentecost Sunday that I presented at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen on May 18^th. The Scriptures for this Sunday were Acts 2: 1 – 21 (I used the Cotton Patch translation), Romans 8: 14 – 17, and John 14: 25 – 27.

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When you grow up in the South, you learn real quick the signs of a possible tornado. In Georgia, for example, it is said that you should listen very carefully when the wind goes silent.

In Missouri, they will tell you that a tornado is probably eminent when the sky is green.

And every person who has ever survived a tornado will tell you that you will never forget the sound of a tornado as it roars by your house.

And whatever the signs might be, you learn quickly to heed them and to know what to do if one should come. Unfortunately, we were reminded of this with all of the death and destruction that took place outside the Dallas/Fort Worth area this past week.

As we view the destruction that took place in Texas and which will undoubtedly see again through this summer, we can begin to imagine what the people gathered in Jerusalem must have felt when they heard the roaring winds that Clarence Jordan described as a tornado.

And surely they must have thought they were in the midst of a summer thunderstorm when the room was filled with fiery bolts of lightning.

And what did those outside the room think as they rushed to see what was happening, imagining death and destruction but finding celebration and rejoicing? We know that they were confused and convinced that those who had just experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit must have been drunk.

Here were all these people, gathered from every part of the world, speaking in their own language and yet understanding what everyone else was saying. It was a reason for rejoicing, a reason for celebration.

Peter will speak of the prophecy of Joel and how the young will once again have visions of the future and the old will again begin to dream. He will speak of the new community that begins on this day.

For those who remember, there was once a time when all the people of the world basically spoke the same language. But their own pride, their own greed, and what the Greeks called hubris lead them to build the tower of Babel and seek to be the same as God. God, perhaps rightly so, created the different languages to separate the people and force them to find new ways to work together.

Our history tells us how well we have done in that regard and how well we understand the cultures and personalities of other countries.

And so it is on this day, this Pentecost, that people have come together and the Holy Spirit gave each one the ability to hear others and speak to them. It brought back the sense of community that was torn apart so many years ago but which Jesus sought to build during his ministry.

Howard Snyder points out that Jesus probably gave as much or more to building a community of disciples as He did proclaiming the Good News.

He did this because it is in the community where individuals can grow in faith. Our task today is to recognize each individual’s responsibility before and to God (and not God’s responsibility to the individual as many people think) and recognize that we gather as a community so that Spirit can grow in all who gather together. (adapted from The Community of the King by Howard A. Snyder)

Pentecost will have no meaning for us if we see the church as a collection of saved souls and not as a community of interacting personalities.

Paul wrote to the Romans about the life we received when we came to Christ,

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him

We have said before and we will continue to say that this time together on Saturday mornings was never meant to be just a meal but the beginning of a new community.

Jesus told the disciples before He ascended into Heaven that He had shown them the way to the Father and He would send the Holy Spirit to give the ability to show others the way.

The challenge before us is perhaps daunting but not impossible.

For some, it is to help the church today regain the sense of community that it once had. It means tearing down the walls, both physical and spiritual, that keep people apart. It means seeing worship in a new way, offering new opportunities for people to come to Christ.

For others, on both sides of these spiritual and physical walls, it also means removing the barriers in their own lives that keep Jesus from being a part of their lives.

Today is the day 2000 years ago that the church began. It began as a community, a community for all, not just some. It was community that offered to all, not just some, the Hope and Peace that is Jesus Christ.

Today, in 2013, we celebrate that community of Christ and we invite all who seek Him to join this community today.

“The Gift Of Love”

I am at Monroe UMC (Monroe, NY) this morning; services are at 8:30 am and 10:15 am and you are welcome to attend. The message for Mother’s Day and Ascension Sunday is based on the lectionary readings for the 7^th Sunday of Easter: Acts 16: 16 – 34; Revelation 22: 12 – 14, 16 – 17, 20 – 21; and John 17: 20 – 26.

Monroe UMC is contemplating a program similar to what we are doing at “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen”. While the specifics of such a program are for another time and place, I felt that this message should provide a reason for doing the project. I hope I have achieved that goal.

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I could easily begin this message with a tribute to my mother and/or my grandmother as I have before; for that is what this day is about. But it would be much easier to speak about what my mother gave me and what that gift of love means to each one of us today.

When I was a sophomore in college back in 1969 I was very involved in the anti-war and civil rights movements on campus. Now, I thought that being involved in such things was the right thing to do and I also thought that doing the right things was what would get me into heaven. I still believe that my involvement in those activities was the right thing to do and I would do it again if presented with the opportunity (of course, if you read my blog you know that I never stopped being involved).

I would, however, find out that spring that simply doing the right thing would not get me into heaven and that it was only by God’s grace that the door to heaven would be opened. And perhaps the story could end there but I was also reminded that having said that I was a Methodist I was obligated to do the right thing.

Now, as Mother’s Day, 1969, approached, I sought to find the perfect Mother’s Day gift. What I found was a pendant with the words “War Is Not Healthy For Children And Other Living Things” engraved on it. It came from an organization known as “Another Mother For Peace”. Now, admittedly it was not the most elegant piece of jewelry one could conceive; in fact, it was rather clunky and probably very garish. But it expressed my thoughts and what I thought was right; so I bought one for my mother.

Now, you have to understand that my parents raised my two brothers, sister, and myself to be independent, to think for ourselves and to take responsibility for our actions. Our parents and especially our mother laid the foundation so that we could choose our own path, knowing that no matter where it might lead, we would be supported in our efforts.

Also, my mother was never one to get involved in politics and her guiding words to me on more than one occasion were to “not rock the boat”. So it was that this particular gift and my involvement in the on-campus civil rights and anti-war protests didn’t set well with her and she let me, in no uncertain terms, know that she (and my father) disapproved of my actions.

I probably have the letter she wrote to me somewhere in the various files I received when she died two years ago but I don’t really need a copy to remember what it is that she wrote. While she wrote that she did not approve of what I was doing I was still her son and she would still love me.

But I think that is what this day means and what love is about. It is the love that one expresses for another that goes beyond the moment and is unconditional and eternal. I know of too many parents and people today for whom love is very much conditional; people who put conditions on their love.

By the way, my mother would later tell her third granddaughter that she was glad that neither my two brothers or I were drafted and sent to Viet Nam. It should also be noted that the organization from which I bought that pendant in 1969 still exists and has its own website (Another Mother for Peace) and it still sells the same pendant. I guess we haven’t quite learned what the gift of love means on a broader, more global basis.

And as I was thinking about this idea of love on Mother’s Day and what is required of us in today’s world, I remembered Senator Edward Kennedy’s words when he eulogized his brother,

My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. (from http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ekennedytributetorfk.html)

Edward Kennedy closed his eulogy with the following words, a quote that I have always kept in my mind and my heart,

As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him:

“Some men see things as they are and say why.
I dream things that never were and say why not.”

These are the words that we remember, as perhaps we should. But in finding these words that so many of us remember, I also found words about love and our responsibility to others, words that I think we have forgotten or never remembered.

Senator Edward Kennedy, in speaking of the love he had for his brother said,

A few years back, Robert Kennedy wrote some words about his own father which expresses [sic] the way we in his family felt about him. He said of what his father meant to him, and I quote:

“What it really all adds up to is love — not love as it is described with such facility in popular magazines, but the kind of love that is affection and respect, order and encouragement, and support. Our awareness of this was an incalculable source of strength, and because real love is something unselfish and involves sacrifice and giving, we could not help but profit from it.”

And he continued,

“Beneath it all, he has tried to engender a social conscience. There were wrongs which needed attention. There were people who were poor and needed help. And we have a responsibility to them and to this country. Through no virtues and accomplishments of our own, we have been fortunate enough to be born in the United States under the most comfortable conditions. We, therefore, have a responsibility to others who are less well off.”

In one sense, these words from a son about his father echo the words I expressed about my mother this day.

But in today’s society, such unconditional love is funny because it works so much against what we think this world is about and how it works. We expect something in return for what we give; we expect to put strings on our love and concern for others.

The Scriptures for each Sunday are compiled in what is called the lectionary and are designed so that over a three year period it is possible to read through the entire Bible. What this means is that for every three years you get the same set of readings for a particular Sunday in the church calendar.

This Sunday happens to be one of the Sundays where the preacher, pastor, or lay speaker has a choice of two sets of readings. This is the 7^th Sunday of Easter; last Thursday, May 9^th, was the 40^th day after Easter and is the day on which Jesus ascended into Heaven. Next Sunday will be Pentecost Sunday and the day on which the Holy Spirit descended on all those gathered in Jerusalem.

As it happens, I picked the readings for the 7^th Sunday of Easter because I felt they were more appropriate for Mother’s Day. And as it happened, these were the same three readings I used in preparing the message that I gave for this same sunday, the 7^th Sunday of Easter, three years ago.

There is a certain degree of irony in all of this. Three years ago, I offered the following thought:

The reading from Acts today starts off with a young slave girl who offers visions for a price. There were a number of things in this piece that spoke of labor practices and their application to today’s society but I will save such a discussion for later. (from “Should We Explain This?”)

In light of what has transpired around the world these past few weeks, it would appear there is a need for that discussion today.

Let us review what transpires at the beginning of the reading from Acts. We have a young slave girl who sees visions for the benefit of her owners. She follows Paul and Silas around proclaiming that they are servants of God who can show the people the path to salvation.

Now, one would think that Paul and Silas would be greatful for such pronouncements; after all, that is what they have come to Philippi to do, preach the Good News of Jesus Christ and offer a path to salvation. And I would think that they were greatful.

But then again, the people came to this girl because they wanted to hear the truth and they were willing to pay her owners (not her, mind you) for the truth. Though she was speaking the truth, others were profitting from her skills, not her.

So Paul removes her ability to prophesize and then the trouble begins. This young slave girl must have been very good at what it was that she did because those owners go after Paul and Silas for taking away their livelihood. Yet, according to the laws and customs of that time, Paul and Silas did nothing wrong and the corresponding court action is not about the welfare of the girl but rather the loss of income for her owners.

And how can we not see, in light of the tragedies in Bangladesh and perhaps the financial problems of this country today, that our love of money is greater than our love and concern for people.

As a society we turn a blind eye on the working conditions in the 3^rd world just along it does not interfere with the production of low cost goods for the people in 1^st world. And how is that the rich have kept getting richer in today’s society while the rest of society struggles?

Some 1700 years later, John Wesley would put it this way – it is okay to earn as much as you can but don’t do it on the backs of others.

What happens when we put the love of money above and before our love and concern for others?

As I was re-reading Edward Kennedy’s eulogy I found other words of Robert Kennedy that speak to this time and this moment. They were spoken when Robert Kennedy was in South Africa in 1966 and speaking to a group of young people.

“There is discrimination in this world and slavery and slaughter and starvation. Governments repress their people; millions are trapped in poverty while the nation grows rich and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere. These are differing evils, but they are the common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, our lack of sensibility towards the suffering of our fellows. But we can perhaps remember — even if only for a time — that those who live with us are our brothers; that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek — as we do — nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.

Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men. And surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again. The answer is to rely on youth — not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to the obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. They cannot be moved by those who cling to a present that is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger that come with even the most peaceful progress.

Robert Kennedy concluded his remarks in South Africa by saying,

*The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of new ideas and bold projects. Rather it will belong to those who can blend vision, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals and great enterprises of American Society.* Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live.”

Those words of Robert Kennedy, spoken almost fifty years ago, seem so eerily prophetic when read again today.

Over the past few weeks, as we have concluded the season of Easter and approach the Day of Pentecost, we have journeyed through the Book of Revelation. For some, this book is the culmination of life, with victory in Heaven for a select few. But I have come to understand that this is not the end but only the beginning. The Good News is that God wins and evil is defeated. The vision of John the Seer is one of hope and promise for all, not just a select few. But it is also a call, a call to respond, a call to action.

Who will step forth? Who will answer the call from Christ to offer the drink from the Tree of Life that John the Seer foresaw in his visions recorded in the Book of Revelation?

Who will be the ones that prepare the table for the hungry, offer the medicine for the sick, and comfort for the needy? Who will be the ones to remind and show others the love of God that was expressed by Jesus?

Some fifty years ago, my mother told me that her love for me was unconditional. Two thousand years ago, God sent His Son to this world to die for my sins because of His love for me, unconditional and with no questions asked. How can I not express that same unconditional love for others?

On this day when we express our love for our mothers, how will you show the gift of Love that God has given to you this day?

“What Does Your Church Look Like?”

I am at Sugar Loaf (NY) United Methodist Church this morning (May 5^th). The message is “What Does Your Church Look Like?” and is based on the Scriptures for this Sunday, Acts 5: 27 – 32, Revelation 1: 4 – 8, and John 20: 19 -31. Services are at 11 and you are welcome to attend.

I will be at Monroe UMC (Monroe, NY) on May 12th; services are at 8:30 am and 10:15 am and you are welcome to attend. The message for Mother’s Day and Ascension Sunday is “The Gift of Love” and is based on the lectionary readings for May 12^th, Acts 16: 16 – 34; Revelation 22: 12 – 14, 16 – 17, 20 – 21; and John 17: 20 – 26.

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When I began thinking about this message, it was first based on the last lines of today’s reading from Acts,

After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, “If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.” We hesitated, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Here was a woman, who at the very moment of her conversion, opened her heart and responded to the Gospel message of Paul. Now, in an effort to understand this moment, I turned to one of my favorite references, the Cotton Patch Gospels of Clarence Jordan.

This translation of the New Testament is a distinctly Southern version of the New Testament written by a Southern Baptist preacher and Greek scholar who sought to make the words of the Bible relevant to the people of the South and in terms that related to the world of the South in the 50s and 60s to the time when Jesus walked the roads of the Galilee. Sadly, Dr. Jordan died while working on the translation of John so I am not able to read how the Gospel of John or the other books attributed to John would have been expressed.

This, I think, is important. If you cannot put the words of the Bible into the context of your own time, then the words of the Bible become somewhat meaningless. I knew when I was in high school where the church in Corinth that Paul was writing to was but I am sure that many people in the Memphis, Tennessee, area where I went to high school would have first thought of Corinth, Mississippi, before thinking of Corinth, Greece. And when I hear of Mount Moriah I am as apt to think of the most dangerous streets in Memphis as I am to think of the place where God told Abraham to take his son Isaac.

So it was when I read of Dr. Jordan’s translation describing Paul’s journey through Louisana and Mississippi and going to St. Louis, I could not help but think of my own journey and my ties to St. Louis and Missouri. As a graduate of the University of Missouri, I can relate to the Holy Spirit telling Paul not to go to Kansas. But I should also add that my own journey as a lay servant/speaker began in Odessa, Texas.

So while I was thinking of the hospitality of Lydia and what it means for us today, I was also thinking about my own journey throughout the South and up here in the North. I began thinking about the fact that I can often tell if a particular church that I see before me is a United Methodist Church long before I see the sign in the front. That was the case when I first came here to Sugar Loaf.

Sometimes you can see what you know is a church from miles away. I still recall the first time I ever saw the cathedral in Conception Junction, Missouri rising above the plains of northwest Missouri. I don’t know how far away I was but I could see that it was a church and it was something that I wanted to see up close.

Sometimes, that’s not the case though. There is a church in Springfield, Missouri, that looks like a three-story office building, square in shape and in the middle of a parking lot. It is not that different from the other office building along its street. The only way that you could ever know that it was, in fact, a church (besides the sign) is that the windows on the street side of the building form a cross.

And in the hills of eastern Kentucky you will see houses that could only be best described as run-down shacks; yet they are the homes of active Pentecostal churches.

Now, I have never been inside that church in Springfield, Missouri nor the Pentecostal churches that dotted the roads of eastern Kentucky (probably because I was on my way to my own small non-descript but decidedly United Methodist Church in Neon, Kentucky). I have been inside the church at Conception Junction and can understand why the people built it as an expression of their faith in the late 19^th century.

But I also know of the massive cathedrals in Europe, built as an expression of faith, but now, for the most part, lie empty or serve more as tourist destinations than places to find God.

But it is not the outside but the inside of the church that tells you what a church looks like. I return to Lydia and her act of hospitality. Luke, the writer of Acts and companion on the journeys of Paul, probably included that note in his recording because Lydia probably began a church in her own home as did so many others in the early Christian church.

You may recall that many of what are know established United Methodist churches in this country, especially in this area began as gatherings in homes because the religious establishment would not let them meet in churches or build a church of their own.

It was the faith and desire to meet God that brought people together, even when it was perhaps difficult and possibly illegal to do so. And we can only imagine what it might be like to have been invited to visit one of these early home-churches or even a church today. (There was a great discussion on a blog that I follow on whether or not to invite a fellow Christian to one’s church.)

Some of us, I know, first came to church because someone invited us to come with them. Others, perhaps, were dragged kicking and screaming and not necessarily as children (though that perhaps describes my own situation).

There is a pastor in the New York Annual Conference who will tell you about the time before he was a Christian when he was told that he needed to be in a particular church on a Sunday morning for the baptism of a sibling’s child. And he will show you the bulletin for that Sunday that he still keeps on his desk so many years later that reminds him of that day and the lady who helped him get a cup of coffee after the service.

He will tell you how he found that bulletin a few weeks later and how he came back to the church, not kicking or screaming or rather reluctantly, but quite willing. He will gladly show you the spot at the altar rail where he answered the call and gave his life to Christ. This, by the way, was and is a United Methodist Church. It was the church that gave him the push and the backing to change his life and become a minister.

These are the stories that we want and need to hear; of people finding Christ and people, through simple acts helping some one to Christ.

This pastor told his story in that very church a few weeks ago. Unfortunately and rather sadly, there were some in the congregation who did not want to hear the story and who were complaining, before the service was over, how long the service was going. Instead of being time with Christ, church was, for them, a brief moment on Sunday mornings and not to interfere with their daily routine.

My own journey is perhaps a little different. Yes, I was brought kicking and screaming to church when I was in school and I could think of so many Sunday mornings when I was in college when I would have rather stayed in bed. But I made a decision to follow Christ when I was in high school on my own and the Holy Spirit spent much time and energy reminding me of that commitment. And while I may not have wanted to go, I also knew that I needed to be in church on Sunday morning, perhaps for reasons not yet evident.

I do know this; were it not for Marvin Fortel, the pastor of 1^st United Methodist Church in Kirksville, Missouri, when I began attending college there, my own journey with Christ, let alone my journey as a lay servant/speaker would have taken a different path and I probably would not be standing here today.

His words and his actions showed me the walk that I needed to walk; his counsel and the counsel of others at that time put the Gospel message in the context of my own life and gave me hope for the future. But I also know that Reverend Fortel’s words, thoughts, and deeds, with regards to the civil rights movement and his opposition to the war in Viet Nam which were similar to my own words, were not easily accepted by the other members of that congregation and he was asked to move on.

It does not matter what a church looks like on the outside; what matters is what is in the hearts and souls of the people inside the church. Have they built walls that exclude others? Have they built walls which they think protect them from the world outside but actually lock them in a prison?

The first Christian churches were in the homes of the followers because there was no other place to meet and to meet in public somewhere almost certainly meant the followers would be arrested. The first Methodists in this country met in homes as well because they were barred from meeting in the churches and they built meeting houses because the laws would not allow them to build churches of their own.

They met because they wanted to be with Jesus and help others meet with Him, even when the establishment would not allow it.

But there are no such rules and laws in place today in this country that prevent us from meeting openly in a church of our own, no matter what it may look like.

But what is it that people see. In the Gospel reading for today, Jeuse tells us that a loveless world is a sightless world. The world cannot see Christ if the love of Christ is not present. It was perhaps that knowledge of the love of Christ that prompted Lydia to extend her hospitality to Paul and Timothy. It was that expression of hospitality that allowed one man to get a cup of coffee and begin walking a new path.

It is that hospitality that says to the world that this is a place where one can be among friends and find Christ. John Wesley once said (I hope) that the world was his parish, that his call to ministry extended beyond the walls of the church where he preached.

There is a crisis in this world that is not just a counting of the number of wars or acts of violence. It is a crisis in that we see war and violence as the answer to our problems. We as a society, not just here but throughout the world, are not willing to seek other solutions, even when present solutions do not seem to work.

The other day, I heard Willie Nelson say that one person could not change the world but that one person with a message could. The message that Jesus carried across the roads of the Galilee and to Jerusalem is the prime example.

Many people today see the words of Revelation as the end, the end of everything. For them, these words are dark and exclusionary, meant only for a select few. But John the Seer may have written them knowing that darkness could not win, that darkness and evil will not and would not prevail. If we read the Book of Revelation with the thought that God has won and that evil in whatever form it may take has lost, then we see and hear words that tell us what we must do.

John wrote that the Tree of Life will yield twelve kinds of ripe fruit but who is to pick the fruit and distribute it? The leaves of this Tree are for healing nations but who will heal the nations and the people?

There are people outside the walls of the traditional church seeking to come in and find Christ. Would it be better if, perhaps, the people inside the church were to go outside and show them what Christ is like through their words, their deeds and their actions? What might happen in this world today if we extended the love of Christ to all we meet?

It is a frightening thought but perhaps no more frightening than that first time you came into the church, perhaps reluctantly, perhaps kicking and screaming. Jesus told the disciples

I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

So we know that we can go out into the world, we know that we can as Lydia did, invite the world into our homes, perhaps not all at once but surely one person at a time.

The call goes out today to follow Jesus, to accept Him as savior. And the call goes out to allow the Holy Spirit into your life, to empower you and provide you with the strength for the task before you.

What does your church look like? I think it looks like each one of us for in each one of us, people will see Christ and we will see Christ in those we meet.

Dedication of the Grannie Annie Kitchen Banner

This was a special day at “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” as we dedicated the banner that will now hang outside the door to the building announcing to the neighborhood and community that “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” is open.

The following is the litany that we used to dedicate the banner (the banner was created by Leetha Berchielli, a member of Grace UMC and we want to give our thanks for the work and love she put into making this banner).

 

And I know that you are asking, “What banner?” This is what it looks like hanging outside the door. And that is Grannie Annie herself.

The Grannie Annie Kitchen banner with Grannie Annie herself

Dedication of the “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” Banner

Pastor Frank: And the preacher said, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

People: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

There is also a time to feed the body and a time to feed the soul.

Pastor Frank: Let us pray

Everyone: We have come from afar and waited long and are wearied.

Let us sit side by side, sharing the same bread drawn from the same source to quiet the same hunger that makes us weak.

Then standing together let us share the same spirit, the same thoughts that once again draws us together in friendship and unity and peace.

Pastor Frank: Grannie Annie’s Kitchen began as a response to a need, to feed the hungry of this neighborhood and community. It has been done much in the way that Jesus told His disciples that they should feed the people who had come to the mountain side so many years ago.

Ann: Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”

But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”

Tony: Just as Jesus commanded His disciples to feed the people gathered to hear him supper, so too do we feed the people breakfast.

But it is not just a meal that is shared these two hours on a Saturday morning but the fellowship of community just as it was on that mountainside some two thousand years ago.

Pastor Frank: Today we dedicate this banner that tells the neighborhood and the community that Grannie Annie’s Kitchen is open and all are welcome to come and enjoy the breakfast and the word.

Everyone: Let us pray – Our heavenly Father, you sent Your Son to save us from a life of slavery to sin and death. You sent Your Son to remind us of Your love for us and how we must love others as You have loved us. Let us hang this banner proudly outside the door so that all who see it may come and let their body and soul be feed. Let those who see it come be reminded that Your Son, our Lord and Savior is a part of our lives now and tomorrow. AMEN

The Message for April 27th

The following is the message that my wife, Ann Walker, or as she is perhaps better known, “Grannie Annie” gave on Saturday, April 27^th, for the Saturday morning worship service at “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen”.

This morning, May 4^th, we dedicated a new banner to announce that “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” was open for business. I will post the litany of dedication along with a picture of the new banner in the next post.

Scheduling note – I will be at Sugar Loaf (NY) United Methodist Church tomorrow (May 5^th). The message is “What Does Your Church Look Like?” and is based on the Scriptures for this Sunday, Acts 5: 27 – 32, Revelation 1: 4 – 8, and John 20: 19 -31. Services are at 11 and you are welcome to attend.

I will be at Monroe UMC (Monroe, NY) on May 12th; services are at 8:30 am and 10:15 am and you are welcome to attend. The message for Mother’s Day and Ascension Sunday is “The Gift of Love” and is based on the lectionary readings for May 12^th, Acts 16: 16 – 34; Revelation 22: 12 – 14, 16 – 17, 20 – 21; and John 17: 20 – 26.

And now, Ann’s message for April 27^th:

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ. First let me say I am not a minister or a lay speaker/servant. I’m not a Biblical scholar but have read the Bible since I was a child in school. I went to CDC and Sunday school classes, confirmation class and studied the Bible in classes while in college. The first thing I remember from my reading of the Bible is that God is my Heavenly father and always loved me.

So why am I standing here talking to you this morning? All my life I have wondered why, if God spoke to so many of the people we find in the Bible, He did not talk to modern day people. From Genesis 18: 1 – 8,

“God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

He said, “Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path.”

They said, “Certainly. Go ahead.”

Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread.”

Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.”

You have Moses (Exodus 3: 1 -11) at the mountain of God which was called Horeb,

“The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.” Moses couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!.”

He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”

God said God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”

Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

“The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Now, I don’t expect God to appear to me out of a burning bush. I don’t think I could take the shock, but I know that throughout my life He has spoken to me on many occasions. It took some years for me to figure that out. He was always with me and always speaking to me. He speaks to us through the Bible. We speak to Him when we pray. But there is another way He speaks to us. Like the angel who came to Joseph to warn him to take Mary and the baby Jesus we can hear Him if we listen.

When I was a child and a teenager I would often get into trouble with my parents for disobeying. I had a choice to obey or disobey because there was this voice that would warn me not to do something, i.e., to be home at a certain time or not to go some place my parents did not want me to go. Many times I didn’t listen to that voice and as a result I spent many hours sitting in my bedroom contemplating the errors of my way. Eventually, as I got older, I started to listen to that voice and staying out of trouble.

My first memory of God warning me to do something was when I was four. My grandfather was the superintendent of a luxury building in Buffalo and we lived in a beautiful apartment in what was considered the basement even though it was above ground. My sister and I shared a bedroom above the boiler room. The rest of the apartment along with the bathroom was on the other side of the hall, about 80 feet away. The year I was four the building was being converted from coal to gas heat. I had a habit of waking up during the night to go to the bathroom. I would usually go alone. No sweat. However, one night during the conversion of the furnace I woke up and a voice told me to wake my three-year old sister up and take her with me to the bathroom. Normally my sister would have objected. That night she didn’t. She grabbed her “blanky” and with thumb in her mouth, followed me to the bathroom. We weren’t in the bathroom more than a few minutes when there was a horrific explosion. What had happened was gas had been leaking and somehow caused an explosion. Our bedroom was gone, nothing more than a gaping hole in the floor. Something or someone made me get up and take my sister with me. Looking back I believe that it was God who warned me to get out of that bedroom.

As I grew up I began listening to that voice more and more. Some would say it was my conscience but I don’t think my conscience warns me. It might make me feel guilty or sorry for doing something but it’s not a warning alarm or a guardian.

I often have to make important decisions in my life, decisions that are life changing. I start to pray to God that I make the right decision. If I listen to that voice I will often hear it tell me what the right thing is to do, just as in Acts 10: 9-16,

“The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”

Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”

The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”

This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.”

Some years ago I had to make a decision about taking a job that I had been offered. I had just returned from living abroad and my brother-in-law who was the CEO and President of a major insurance company told me to go to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and apply for a job. It had tremendous opportunity and a great salary. However, I had worked in international health prior to going to Norway to live and I loved the work I had done with the developing nations. I was offered a job with a non-government organization. It was at a much less salary but I knew that the work was worthwhile and would bring me life satisfaction. I also didn’t like working in a building higher than the 7th floor. You could say I didn’t like the feeling of being high in the sky. I chose the job at the non-government agency. On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Center was attacked when two planes slammed into the two towers. Had I taken the job with Blue Cross/Blue Shield I would have been on the 86th floor of the one tower. I remember thanking God for helping me to make the choice I did as I watched the plane hit the Trade Center. I knew God had warned me and I had listened.

We are faced with making choices and decisions everyday of our lives. As young people we make the choice of whether we take that first drink or smoke that first joint. If we listen to the “voice,” the warning that says “don’t,” we understand that that voice is coming from God. Like a good father, He helps guide us through life if we are willing to listen.

I answered God’s call when Tony and I decided to open “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen.” Many times I have wanted to quit but that voice of God keeps telling me “no, feed my people. “Love each other as I have loved you,” as Jesus told us to do.

Jesus listened to His Father in Heaven as He preached and died on the cross for us. He didn’t have to obey His Father; he didn’t have to die but He chose to do so because in doing so He was saving His Father’s children. God spoke to Jesus too – From Matthew 3: 16-17,

“The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

You too are chosen and marked by God’s love. You too are the delight of His life. You will always be His child; He will always love you but you need to listen to Him. He gave you life. You are His miracle. He talks to you through the Bible. Pray for His guidance and love but also listen to the voice.

God loves you and saw do I.

The following is the message that my wife, Ann Walker, or as she is perhaps better known, “Grannie Annie” gave on Saturday, April 27^th, for the Saturday morning worship service at “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen”.

This morning, May 4^th, we dedicated a new banner to announce that “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” was open for business. I will post the litany of dedication along with a picture of the new banner in the next post.

Scheduling note – I will be at Sugar Loaf (NY) United Methodist Church tomorrow (May 5^th). The message is “What Does Your Church Look Like?” and is based on the Scriptures for this Sunday, Acts 5: 27 – 32, Revelation 1: 4 – 8, and John 20: 19 -31. Services are at 11 and you are welcome to attend.

I will be at Monroe UMC (Monroe, NY) on May 12th; services are at 8:30 am and 10:15 am and you are welcome to attend. The message for Mother’s Day and Ascension Sunday is “The Gift of Love” and is based on the lectionary readings for May 12^th, Acts 16: 16 – 34; Revelation 22: 12 – 14, 16 – 17, 20 – 21; and John 17: 20 – 26.

And now, Ann’s message for April 27^th:

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ. First let me say I am not a minister or a lay speaker/servant. I’m not a Biblical scholar but have read the Bible since I was a child in school. I went to CDC and Sunday school classes, confirmation class and studied the Bible in classes while in college. The first thing I remember from my reading of the Bible is that God is my Heavenly father and always loved me.

So why am I standing here talking to you this morning? All my life I have wondered why, if God spoke to so many of the people we find in the Bible, He did not talk to modern day people. From Genesis 18: 1 – 8,

“God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

He said, “Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path.”

They said, “Certainly. Go ahead.”

Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread.”

Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.”

You have Moses (Exodus 3: 1 -11) at the mountain of God which was called Horeb,

“The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.” Moses couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!.”

He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”

God said God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”

Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

“The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Now, I don’t expect God to appear to me out of a burning bush. I don’t think I could take the shock, but I know that throughout my life He has spoken to me on many occasions. It took some years for me to figure that out. He was always with me and always speaking to me. He speaks to us through the Bible. We speak to Him when we pray. But there is another way He speaks to us. Like the angel who came to Joseph to warn him to take Mary and the baby Jesus we can hear Him if we listen.

When I was a child and a teenager I would often get into trouble with my parents for disobeying. I had a choice to obey or disobey because there was this voice that would warn me not to do something, i.e., to be home at a certain time or not to go some place my parents did not want me to go. Many times I didn’t listen to that voice and as a result I spent many hours sitting in my bedroom contemplating the errors of my way. Eventually, as I got older, I started to listen to that voice and staying out of trouble.

My first memory of God warning me to do something was when I was four. My grandfather was the superintendent of a luxury building in Buffalo and we lived in a beautiful apartment in what was considered the basement even though it was above ground. My sister and I shared a bedroom above the boiler room. The rest of the apartment along with the bathroom was on the other side of the hall, about 80 feet away. The year I was four the building was being converted from coal to gas heat. I had a habit of waking up during the night to go to the bathroom. I would usually go alone. No sweat. However, one night during the conversion of the furnace I woke up and a voice told me to wake my three-year old sister up and take her with me to the bathroom. Normally my sister would have objected. That night she didn’t. She grabbed her “blanky” and with thumb in her mouth, followed me to the bathroom. We weren’t in the bathroom more than a few minutes when there was a horrific explosion. What had happened was gas had been leaking and somehow caused an explosion. Our bedroom was gone, nothing more than a gaping hole in the floor. Something or someone made me get up and take my sister with me. Looking back I believe that it was God who warned me to get out of that bedroom.

As I grew up I began listening to that voice more and more. Some would say it was my conscience but I don’t think my conscience warns me. It might make me feel guilty or sorry for doing something but it’s not a warning alarm or a guardian.

I often have to make important decisions in my life, decisions that are life changing. I start to pray to God that I make the right decision. If I listen to that voice I will often hear it tell me what the right thing is to do, just as in Acts 10: 9-16,

“The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”

Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”

The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”

This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.”

Some years ago I had to make a decision about taking a job that I had been offered. I had just returned from living abroad and my brother-in-law who was the CEO and President of a major insurance company told me to go to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and apply for a job. It had tremendous opportunity and a great salary. However, I had worked in international health prior to going to Norway to live and I loved the work I had done with the developing nations. I was offered a job with a non-government organization. It was at a much less salary but I knew that the work was worthwhile and would bring me life satisfaction. I also didn’t like working in a building higher than the 7th floor. You could say I didn’t like the feeling of being high in the sky. I chose the job at the non-government agency. On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Center was attacked when two planes slammed into the two towers. Had I taken the job with Blue Cross/Blue Shield I would have been on the 86th floor of the one tower. I remember thanking God for helping me to make the choice I did as I watched the plane hit the Trade Center. I knew God had warned me and I had listened.

We are faced with making choices and decisions everyday of our lives. As young people we make the choice of whether we take that first drink or smoke that first joint. If we listen to the “voice,” the warning that says “don’t,” we understand that that voice is coming from God. Like a good father, He helps guide us through life if we are willing to listen.

I answered God’s call when Tony and I decided to open “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen.” Many times I have wanted to quit but that voice of God keeps telling me “no, feed my people. “Love each other as I have loved you,” as Jesus told us to do.

Jesus listened to His Father in Heaven as He preached and died on the cross for us. He didn’t have to obey His Father; he didn’t have to die but He chose to do so because in doing so He was saving His Father’s children. God spoke to Jesus too – From Matthew 3: 16-17,

“The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

You too are chosen and marked by God’s love. You too are the delight of His life. You will always be His child; He will always love you but you need to listen to Him. He gave you life. You are His miracle. He talks to you through the Bible. Pray for His guidance and love but also listen to the voice.

God loves you and saw do I.

“The Greatest of These Is Love”

Monday, April 22^nd, was Ann’s (“Grannie Annie”) birthday. The following poem was written by our pastor, Frank Windom, and was read to the people who came to Grannie Annie’s Kitchen on Saturday the 20^th. The youth of the church were engaged in the “30-Hour Famine” and, as part of the effort, came up to help serve the people. They provided what was the first of many surprises that day by leading the group in singing “Happy Birthday” to her. She will tell you that it was the best birthday she has ever had.

————————————————————————————————-

And The Greatest of These Is Love

Ann Marie Mitchell

April 20, 2013

There are those whom we meet whose life says love.

There is Mother Teresa of India who committed herself in love to the peoples of the streets and poverty.

And there is Ann Marie who gave herself to the children and women of India to better their lives through developing and using their God given gifts.

There was a man who immersed himself in the tranquility and beauty of nature: the flowers, the butterflies, and the birds.

And there is Ann Marie who digs in the garden of the church, plants the seeds that give new life, and feed the birds that bring their songs.

There were some women who called themselves Methodist who saw older women who lived in the street and they started The Methodist Home for Older Women.

There were some women who called themselves Methodist who went to Ellis Island with food to feed the new arrivals and to welcome and assist them to their new home.

There were some men who saw that the sailors from all over the world had no safe and decent place to stay or eat when in the Port of New York. They started The American Seamen’s Friend Society and Sailors’ Home and Institute. This place near the waterfront of Manhattan served as home for many transient voyagers.

There is Ann Marie who cooks the finest breakfast on the banks of the Hudson and opens the doors with of cup of Joe, a beautiful smile, and the Word of Love to all.

Come, ye who are hungry. Come, ye who have no family. Come, ye who have no church. Come, ye who seek peace from the street.

Grannie Annie’s kitchen is open. Come and be fed.

THANK YOU ANN FOR BEING YOU, FULL OF LOVE.

Happy Birthday,

Pastor Frank

Must You See To Believe?

I am at Sugar Loaf (NY) United Methodist Church this morning. The Scriptures are Acts 5: 27 – 32, Revelation 1: 4 – 8, and John 20: 19 -31. Services are at 11 and you are welcome to attend.

This has been edited since it was first posted.  I will be at Monroe UMC (Monroe, NY) on May 12th; services are at 8:30 am and 10:15 am and you are welcome to attend.  I will also be at Sugar Loaf again on May 5th.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

I began working on this message back on March 13^th, the day that just happens to be the anniversary of William Herschel’s discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781.

Now, to be sure, Herschel wasn’t the first person to observe this planet in its journey across the evening sky. In fact, its presence had been recorded as early as 1690 but it was considered more of a star than a planet because it moved slower and was far dimmer than the planets known at that time.

It speaks of our own natural skepticism that those who first saw Uranus as it traveled across the sky were unwilling to characterize it as a planet. Even Herschel thought, despite the lack of evidence to support his thought, that what he had discovered was a comet rather than a planet. But as others looked at what Herschel described and gathered their own data, it became apparent that what was being observed was, in fact, a planet and not some other stellar object.

Science is very much an observational experience and others must be able to replicate what has been observed. The validity of one’s observations is predicated on the ability of others to see, for the most part, the same results that you have reported.

We are reminded of this by the announced discovery of cold fusion in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Fusion, in chemistry and physics, is the combination of atomic nuclei to form a new nuclide. The fusion of hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms is the reaction that gives our sun and all the stars their source of energy. If we could develop reactors here on earth that could replicate what takes place on the sun, then we would have a relatively safe and relatively unlimited energy source. But such replication requires that we create on earth a mini-star with its accompanying high temperature and pressure. There are those who feel this is a possibility that will be accomplished within the next few years.

But what if we could some how force hydrogen atoms to fuse together and form helium atoms at room temperature and pressure? We would be saved the expense that comes with high temperatures and pressures and have an easily developed power source that ran on our tap water.

And this was what was announced in 1989 – the discovery of cold fusion, the combination of hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms at room temperature and pressure. Unfortunately, the discoverers of this process were more interested in gaining the fortune that would come with the discovery and they rushed their announcement. As others attempted to replicate their discovery, flaws in the process were discovered and ultimately the discovery was discounted.

Now, there is nothing wrong with the theory behind “cold” fusion; in fact, it was first proposed in the mid 1930s. But because others could not replicate what was first proposed in 1989, very few people are willing to pursue such research today.

The failure of others to replicate what was first reported is a natural extension of Thomas’ thoughts to his friends that night in the closed room some two thousand years ago, “if I don’t see it, how can I be sure that it happened?”

It is only natural that Thomas would ask for proof. It is in our nature to do so. Now, we also read in today’s Gospel reading that Jesus told Thomas that others would believe though they would not see the evidence that Thomas wished to see.

My question this morning is how those who did not see will come to believe. John gave part of the answer when he wrote that the stories were written down so that others will believe.

In Hebrews 11: 1 we read, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Clarence Jordan translated this in his Cotton Patch Gospels as “Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds; it is betting your life on the unseen realities.

We are here today because something brought us here. Perhaps we have come because we have questions about our faith that could only be answered by things seen and unseen, in this time and place. But these are difficult times in which to question faith or even to begin asking questions about God, Christ, Christianity or religion in general.

And the answers that we often get don’t help our seeking.

We see a world of hatred and violence, death and destruction, and we want to know where God is in this world.

We see the church today, both in general and in denominational and local terms, as a dying church and if it is not dying it seems to be one that is no viable in today’s society. Somewhere along the line, the church that began as a movement and gathering has lost its direction, its ability to show others what it is that they first saw. The skeptics in today’s society see the church and they do not like what they see; they see a church that is closed and inflexible, unable to meet the needs of the world in which it lies.

And there are those who would say that the answer lies in a strict adherence to a set of rules and regulations that are to be accepted without question or hesitation. What we need today is a society grounded in some sort of Judeo-Christian law such as was first expressed in the Old Testament. And those who offer such solutions tell us that they and they alone understand what it is that God wants and that we are not to question our faith or their authority. To do so is to destroy one’s faith.

But it is the challenge that allows our faith to grow; it is the challenge that gives us the ability to help others come to know and understand. It was Jesus’ own challenge to the rigidity and inflexibility of the religious authorities that was the central focus of His mission. It was Jesus’ challenge to the power of the religious authorities to dictate to the people what they were supposed to believe that gave rise to our presence here today. And it was how Jesus taught the people and showed the people what was possible that gave them hope that tomorrow would be better.

But this is not possible in a church today that is more of a social club than a place to know and meet Jesus.

In Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar”, Cassius tells his friend Brutus, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” The cartoonist Walt Kelley had his cartoon hero Pogo expressed it this way, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Most people, if you were to ask them, would probably say that Jesus Christ is very much the image described in Revelations, a man cloaked in the whitest of white robes and bathed in the brightest of bright lights.

But we are also reminded that Jesus Himself told us that

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

I am afraid that many people have encountered Jesus sometime during the journey but they did not know it.

Laurie Beth Jones, in the prologue to her third book, Jesus in Blue Jeans, described her encounter with Jesus as follows,

Many years ago I dreamed that I was standing in a meadow. Suddenly I saw a man approaching me. As he got nearer I gasped to realize that it was Jesus in Blue Jeans. When he saw the expression on my face he said, “Why are you surprised? I came to them wearing robes because they wore robes. I come to you in blue jeans because you wear blue jeans.” (from “A Chance Encounter”; I first mentioned Laurie Beth Jones’ encounter with Jesus Christ in a message I gave at Tompkins Corners back in 2003 (“And When You Least Expect It”) but I didn’t really explain what happened to her; I would do that in “A New Vision” (which is also a companion piece to what I said last Thursday – “To Offer a New Vision” ) and “By the Side of the Road”.)

We are more apt, as Laurie Beth did, to meet Him in a casual encounter during the day; in fact, we are probably not even going to know that it was Him until later. The prayer that guides us when we are in “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” includes a statement that one of those who come to be fed each Saturday might well be Jesus.

And if they did not know they had encountered Jesus, it is highly unlikely that they can help others see Jesus. If our own lives mirror the society that rejected Jesus two thousand years ago, how will those who society has rejected today see Him today?

During this past week, I heard something that reminded me of a Yardbirds song from the early 1960s. For those who remember such things, this was the rock and roll band that Eric Clapton was first a member. Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page also played for this group. The particular song that I was reminded of was a post-Clapton song, “You’re A Better Man Than I.”

You’re A Better Man Than I (B. Hugg / M. Hugg)

Can you judge a man,
By the way he wears his hair?
Can you read his mind,
By the clothes that he wears?
Can you see a bad man,
By the pattern on his tie?

Well then, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Yeah, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Oh, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Yeah, Mr, you’re a better man than I.

Could you tell a wise man,
By the way he speaks or spells?
Is this more important,
Than the stories that he tells?
And call a man a fool,
If for wealth he doesn’t strive?

Well then, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Yeah, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Oh, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Yeah, Mr, you’re a better man than I.

Can you condemn a man,
If your faith he doesn’t hold?
Say the colour of his skin,
Is the colour of his soul?
Could you say that men,
For king and country all must die?

Well, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Yeah, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Oh, Mr, you’re a better man than I,
Yeah, Mr, you’re a better man than I.

What exactly was it that got Peter and the other disciples in trouble with the authorities two thousand years ago? Was it that the just preached that the authorities hanged Jesus from a tree? Or did they, the disciples, do the same things that Jesus did, the same things that John as well as Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote about – heal the sick, feed the hungry, found clothes for the poor, and give comfort to the oppressed?

Was it that they disciples continued what Jesus began? Were the things that got John Wesley in trouble with the authorities the same things that Peter and the disciples did, heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give comfort to the oppressed and give those forgotten by society knowledge that they are part of society and not simply on the edge?

We are challenged today to see the world in the same way that Jesus saw the world; as those who have come before us have seen the world. But to see the world with these new eyes, we need to understand and believe that which cannot necessarily be seen, our faith in Jesus. It is very easy to do the things that others have done – feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick and bring comfort to the oppressed – but if we do it solely as a cognitive exercise, we have done little for ourselves.

We may feel good about what we have done but we really haven’t shown Jesus to others. If we have not experienced Jesus, then all of our works are done with our mind and not our heart.

I began this message by talking about the discovery of Uranus. Many had seen the planet before it was “discovered” but it was only when the proof was confirmed that everyone understood that they were seeing something new.

Must you see to believe? It is an interesting question because to believe, to have faith is to trust in the unseen. But you trust in the unseen, the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit, because others have and you have seen the change in their lives. Jesus told Thomas that others would believe even though they had not seen but Thomas went out into the world and told them what he had seen and that is why they believed.

Will others see Jesus in you and what you do every day because Jesus is in your heart and soul? Will what you do each day to help others be because you have encountered Jesus, not in some whiter than white robe, bathed in the brightest of bright lights but rather as someone walking along the street dressed in blue jeans or a business suit?

When we proclaim to the world that we have decided to follow Jesus, we proclaim that we have opened not only our mind but our heart and our soul. Is that what others see when they encounter you? There is an opportunity today to open your hearts to Jesus, to say to Him that you want to walk with Him, no matter where that walk takes you. You make that decision on faith and on faith alone. But others will see where you are going and they will see Jesus and they will come to you.

It may be that you have accepted Christ into your heart but have been looking for ways that in which you can show the world that you have encountered Jesus. Today is the day to open your heart to the power of the Holy Spirit to lead you to that solution.

“Just a thought”

I get a daily summary of science news from Sigma Xi and the end of each newsletter is a quote. The quote for March 7^th was

Scientific progress makes moral progress a necessity; for if man’s power is increased, the checks that restrain him from abusing it must be strengthened.” –Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, Swiss author

I wanted to post this because 1) I thought it was interesting and 2) I wanted to put it somewhere where I could find it in the event that I wrote a piece on that idea. And I also wanted to share it with you all.

This coming Sunday, 17 March 2013, the 5^th Sunday in Lent, I am scheduled to be at Grace United Methodist Church, Putnam Valley, NY. The Scriptures are Isaiah 43: 16 – 21, Philippians 3: 4 – 14, and John 12: 1 – 8. I have tentatively entitled the message “What Path Shall We Walk?” Services are at 10 and you are invited to attend.

On Sunday, April 7, 2013, the 2^nd Sunday of Easter, I am scheduled to be at Sugar Loaf (NY) United Methodist Church. The Scriptures are Acts 5: 27 – 32, Revelation 1: 4 – 8, and John 20: 19 -31. The message is tentatively entitled “Is Seeing Believing” and there is a possibility that the above quote will be used. 

To update things, I will not be at Putnam Valley Grace UMC this Sunday and the message that I am scheduled to give at Sugar Loaf UMC is not entitled “Must We See To Believe?”  Services are at 11 am and you are welcome to attend.

“The Decision We Must Make”

I am at Grace United Methodist Church in Slate Hill, NY this Sunday morning, the 4^th Sunday in Lent (10 March 2013). The service is at 10 am and you are invited to attend. The Scriptures for the 4^th Sunday in Lent – Joshua 5: 9 – 12, 2 Corinthians 5: 16 – 21, and Luke 1 – 3, 11 – 32. Part of this message was given at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen at Grace UMC in Newburgh, NY, on Saturday, March 9^th and entitled “The New Paradigm”.

When I began preparing this message I thought about what I wanted to title it. For me, the title is the key thought that I want to express in the message and also perhaps link the three Scripture readings together.

At the beginning this proved to be a little difficult because there seemed to be no link between the three readings. But the link would appear and I would also find the words that would be the focus of the message I gave at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen on Saturday.

The link appeared and the title came to me when I saw that “Amazing Grace” was one of the hymns that we could use for this Sunday. The popularity and power of this hymn is such that Bill Moyers once did a one-hour documentary on the song (see “http://www.pbs.org/americanrootsmusic/pbs_arm_es_religious.html”) and its popularity as a folk song. The song speaks to me, in part, because the melody comes from our Southern heritage. But it is the story behind its writing that speaks to the power of God’s Grace and what it means for us. It is a story that many people do not know.

John Newton was the author of the hymn and he was a British ship captain in the mid and late 18^th century. Like so many other ship captains, he was involved in what was politely called the triangle trade, of sailing from England to Africa with a load of rum which would be sold there. From Africa, he would sail to the Americas with a cargo of slaves to be sold. He would pick up a cargo of sugar in the Americas to be shipped to England and made into rum which would complete the triangle and begin the process anew.

It was a very lucrative business and John Newton became very wealthy. But on one of those sailing trips, the storms that define sailing in the Atlantic were far rougher than normal (keep in mind that it was similar storm that caused John Wesley to begin having doubts about his own life and mission). The severity of the storms began to give John Newton cause to think about his life and what he was doing. When Arlo Guthrie sings “Amazing Grace” at one of his concerts, he tells the audience that John Newton turned his shipped around and began a new life.

However, it does not appear that this is what he did. But it was clear that he began to question the morality of a business that involving the selling and transportation of other humans and he began to change his life. He would leave the sailing business altogether and ultimately become a vicar in the Church of England, a leading anti-slavery advocate, and a writer of many hymns, some of which are in our own United Methodist Hymnal today.

The one question that we might ask today is “which son in the parable of the lost son was John Newton?” Was he the younger son, who took everything he had and squandered it away, whose life was such that he was reduced to eating corn cobs? Or was he the older son, who stayed home and worked for his father and lived the proper and correct life?

And how should we see our own experiences in this story and in the story, perhaps, of John Newton?

The New Paradigm

As some of you know, I hold a Ph. D. in Science Education from the University of Iowa. In my studies, I had to take a course in the philosophy of science and I was introduced to Thomas Kuhn and his book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. In this book, Kuhn coined the phrase “paradigm shift.”

I happen to think that this is one of the most abused phrases in the English language today. Everytime someone makes some sort of change in something, they refer to it as a “paradigm shift.” But change alone cannot do that. What Kuhn meant by a paradigm shift was a complete change in thinking.

Too many people today think that any change in the way we do things, especially if it is radical or steps outside the normal operation, is a paradigm shift. The church today, be it the church in general, a specific denomination, or a specific church within a denomination, is faced with the problem of reaching out to many people. So they seek to be “hip” or “cool”, offering upbeat music with guitars and drum or having their pastor wear outlandish Hawaiian-style shirts and blue jeans while preaching from a pulpit-less stage. If you see some of these pastors today, look closely at the stage and tell me where the cross is; I don’t think you will find it because, as I have written and others have noted, the cross scares people away from the church. So churches have come up with ways to bring people back to the church. But I will tell you this; it does not matter if you have the hippest or coolest church in town and your pastor really digs what’s happening, if the message that the church gives is the same old tired message, it won’t work. It doesn’t do any good to change the appearance of things if the thinking behind the changes is the same old stuff.

Consider the following if you will and when you answer the question, think of the answer a child would give – does the earth move?

Now, hopefully we know that the earth is moving around the sun and the solar system that it is a part of is moving through the universe. But when we see the clouds above us move or we watch the stars move across the nightly sky we can conclude that the earth is stationary and it is the universe that moves around us.

Early astronomers were so convinced of this that our first model of the solar system placed an immovable earth at the center. As it happened, this model worked quite well for over 1000 years or so. But as we gained new information about the stars and the planets, it began to run into difficulty. To keep the earth-centered model with all of the information that we were gathering required constant tinkering with the model. All this did was make the model more and more complicated and more complex.

When this happened, the astronomers of that time had to make a decision. It was either try to force the model to work, despite the evidence that it wasn’t, or step back and create a newer model. And this, of course, is what was done; led by the work of Kepler, Copernicus, and Galileo, astronomers created the sun-centered model of the solar system.

The only way that this model could have been created was to step back and re-think the solution, not merely make force the old solution to work. This is what Kuhn termed a paradigm shift, a changing not in the way we do things but in the way we think about the solution. Such a change is often met with resistance and, some times, hostility. We are quite aware that the 15^th century church saw this change in the solar system as an attack on the church. And we know how that turned out.

It was noted in the Gospel reading for this morning that the Pharisees and other religious authorities were very upset because Jesus ate with the sinners and others with questionable reputations. One can understand why; it violated every known rule of social behavior. And it seems that Jesus gave little thought to the purity codes that dictated one’s life in those days.

The mere act of eating with those who were sick or through some action of life were deemed ritually unclean made Jesus and those who sat with the sinners also unclean. And if you were unclean and failed to follow the proper procedures to regain your cleanliness, you would not be allowed to enter the Temple.

And if you could not enter the Temple, how would you ever hope to meet God? In being with the sinners and telling them there was a new way to meet God, Jesus was striking at the very core of religious life in Israel.

The people of that time had been brought up with the notion that only a select few could meet God. And one might hope to meet God if they followed the regimented life of laws and regulations that were imposed on them and enforced by the Pharisees and other religious authorities. Yet here was Jesus telling them there was another way. How many times did Jesus say that when you were with Him, you were with the Father? How many times did Jesus say that the way to the Father was through Him?

Jesus made it very clear that there was a new process in place and this, to me, was a very clear paradigm shift.

The parable of the lost son makes this clear, I think. There are those who are like the younger son, having lost everything (perhaps not physically but most certainly spiritually) and cut off from life.

There was more to the story than the younger son eating the corn cobs that were given to the pigs to eat. The very fact that this son was working with pigs made him an outcast in his own society. His contact with the pigs would have caused his family, his friends, and all in society who knew him to shun him. He couldn’t get anything else to eat because society had cast him aside and wouldn’t have anything to do with him.

But there are many today who are like the older son, the one who stayed home and dutifully did all that was asked of him. They get angry when they don’t get the same banquet that the younger brother got.

But those who react like the older brother don’t get the point. Doing everything by the book doesn’t mean that you get God’s Grace. If you only see Jesus Christ with your mind, you might miss Him. You have to see Him as much with your heart as you do your mind.

And here Paul’s words ring true. Our world is a different world when it is viewed in the light of Christ. It is what is inside our hearts that counts, not what is on the outside.

The Pharisees and authorities saw Jesus eating with sinners but they did not see what was happening to them. What did they discuss with Jesus? What questions did they ask Him? Our Scripture reading tells us that they listened intently; I am sure that Jesus, as a Master Teacher, listened to their cares and concerns as well.

He spoke then and He speaks today of a Hope and a Promise. But it was a Hope and a Promise that could only come when one changed their life.

I sometimes think that the greatest challenge we face today is not the world outside the church walls but what goes on inside. There are so many people who live a life like that of the older brother or the Pharisees. But there are many who live the life of the younger brother. When you think of it, neither life is really worth the living.

There is a new life in Christ. The Old Testament reading for today speaks of the end of the manna that feed the Israelites throughout the Exodus. But now the manna no longer comes and the people must work for their food. We see so many people who expect God to give them everything they have (and it does not matter whether one takes on the role of the older brother or the role of the younger brother) and that is all that they do. If we have truly come to Christ, we must do Christ’s work.

Borrowing an idea expressed by John Meunier, “if the people are faithful, God will see them through the struggle, but they must exert themselves and they must show their faithfulness.” (from “Reading Joshua 5: 9 – 12”)

Repentance is the one true paradigm shift because one is to give up all of the old ways and take on the new life in Christ.

The call to repentance is not for one group of people but for all people. And one group cannot say to another, “you must repent but we don’t have to.” The contradiction of that statement should be self-evident.

And now I return to John Newton and the storm that caused him to change his life. Perhaps I should have entitled this message “The Storms in Your Life”, as I did once before. But there is a time when you will have to make a decision. For some it is a decision to come to Christ; for others who have come to Christ, it is a decision to now go out and live for Christ, to show others what Christ can do.

No one can make that decision for you; it is one you must make for yourself. The Gospel message is a prophetic message and it is a radical message; it is about who has the power in your life. When do not have to commit your life to Christ but then who has the power? There are forces in place that will enslave and destroy you. But a commitment to Christ breaks those bonds of enslavement and destruction and frees you.

The decision one has to make is very clear; are you prepared to make it?

“Where Are You Going?”

Here is the message I gave for the morning worship at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen (Grace UMC, Newburgh) on Saturday, February 23, 2013. I based this message on the Scriptures for the 2^nd Sunday in Lent (Genesis 15:1-12, 17-21; Philippians 3:17-4:1; and Luke 13:31-35. I emphasized the reading from Philippians.

Writing these Saturday messages is interesting. The people who come are not always interested in the message, desiring more the food that is offered. They perhaps have only a basic understanding of the Bible, Christianity, and Methodism; there is also the possibility that they have rejected the church, both the traditional and non-traditional forms. To preach the same message that one would preach to a Sunday morning service doesn’t always work. It may very similar to what transpired for John Wesley when he moved from the prepared multi-hour sermon of the Anglican church to the extemporaneous sermon of the fields and factories.

If you are interested in giving the message some Sunday morning, let me know (either through my regular e-mail – TonyMitchellPhD “at” optimum.net or on Facebook). Dates in March are still open and I will be opening up April in a couple of weeks. We open the Kitchen (and please do not even think of this as a traditional or typical “soup kitchen” because it is most definitely not that) at 8. After everyone has settled in, we offer this worship and then begin serving. We will serve until around 9:45 or when we run out of food. We close the doors at 10.

To me, this time of Lent is a time of a journey; of a change sometimes in place that we are but most definitely a change in who we are. Many people are uncomfortable with those changes, never wanting to move from where they are and, most definitely, never wanting to change who they are.

Perhaps that is why we have this season called Lent and why it takes some forty days to prepare for Easter. To change who we are is not always an overnight thing but one that requires time and focus. Paul writes the Philippians and tells them that those who are more concerned with the material world or life on easy street are headed in the wrong direction.

As I read those words that Paul wrote, I wondered about who he was talking about. Most of the people I know would tell you that life is nowhere near an easy street and that life is a struggle. But I know many people who will tell you that you have to grab everything that you can because you don’t have too many chances in life. And it is what you have that, in the end, counts the most.

We all know people like this. Interestingly enough, it is a broad spectrum of individuals. It is the individual who stole a radio out of my car many years ago. I don’t know what drove him to do it but I am pretty sure that the word desperate would have been involved. For this individual did it between 2 and 5 in the morning on a night when it was something like -20^o F. And, yes, when I went out to my car that morning to go to work and school, I was mad and angry. But I also had to smile a little bit because I am not sure what that individual was going to get for his efforts; I know that he probably took it to a pawn shop somewhere but how much was he going to get for a tape player that didn’t work? For all his efforts, this individual probably didn’t get much in return.

But is also those individuals who say that they are Christian but who are unwilling to do the things that come with saying that they believe. I haven’t quite figured out how to respond to these individuals but I should because there are so many of them. They have no desire to come close to the Cross because it means to them that they must give up everything that they have gathered together. How are they any different from the people Paul writes about who are only interested in their bellies and their appetites?

But what is that you have “in the end?” Paul also wrote, to the effect, that if you have everything but your soul is empty then you have absolutely nothing.

That’s why Paul also speaks of one’s life in Christ. Paul does not want people to follow him but to follow Christ because in doing so, their lives are transformed from the mundane and boring to the beautiful and exciting.

I was introduced to a saying yesterday that goes like this, “Christ is in each one of us; we just have to recognize Him.”

When Ann opened up “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” it was with the purpose of feeding people. But it was to be more than just a quick breakfast. Some people come here on Saturday morning expecting something entirely different from what they get. But that is because of how we see this kitchen and how we see our lives in Christ.

How you see this kitchen depends on where you are in this journey called Lent and in your own life. You can see this place as a good place to get food on a Saturday morning and that is fine. But we hope that you see this place as a place where not only your physical body but your soul is feed as well.

How you see others depends on how you see yourself. You have the opportunity this day to decide which way you want to go in your own personal journey. You have the opportunity this day to decide that you want to change your life.

Next Saturday, as you are preparing to come to this place once again, someone may ask where you are going. I know that many of you will say that you are going to get a good breakfast at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen; but I would also hope that you are saying that you are going to a fellowship of people gathered together to find and know Christ.

Where are you going this day? Where are you going tomorrow? That is what this journey is about.