Footprints of Children

16th Sunday after Pentecost B
Mark 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples are walking along towards Capernaum, headed toward Jerusalem. They are walking, all of them together -- several people walking along on a road, chatting about things in different little groups. You can imagine how it was, the disciples discussing which one was best.
John, "Jesus likes me the best."
Peter, "But I'm clearly the leader."
Matthew, "I gave up a lucrative career for this. I'm the greatest."
Judas, "You are are men of narrow vision. I'm the one headed to glory."

When they arrive at the house where Jesus is staying in Capernaum, a family's house with children running around, as they settle in to their evening meal, Jesus casually asks them, "What were you discussing as we walked along?"

There is an awkward silence. Then, "Uh, nuthin." "We weren't talking about anything at all, really." "Just chatting, you know."

Jesus picked up one of the children running through the room. "If you want to be great, be like this child. If you welcome this child, you welcome me."

Of course they didn't get it. Just another chapter along two of them, James and John, will ask, "Can we sit at your right and left hand, Jesus?"

They wanted to be with Jesus. They wanted to sit at his right and left hand, to sit at his feet, to be in his presence. They wanted to be part of what was going on with him. They wanted a piece of the action. But they had no idea what the action was.

You see, the places at the right and left hand of Jesus were already taken. They were taken by the two criminals who were executed on either side of him.

The place at his feet was taken - by the outcast woman who anointed his feet before his death, and by the woman who touched his robe when he wasn’t looking so she would be healed, by the poor and sick who came to him asking to be healed.

The place in Jesus presence was taken by children -- powerless, property of their parents, unable to protect themselves.

We also want to be with Jesus. We want to be near him, to be in the inner circle, to be close, to walk in his presence. Yet those places are taken. What do we do?

The places on Jesus right and left are taken by two criminals being executed. But we can care for the criminals. One woman in the congregation is regularly writing to a young man imprisoned for a violent deed, listening to him, praying for him, offering him the care of Jesus.

This may seem impossibly hard - but we could pray for Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr. who was sentenced to death in North Dakota this last week.

The places at Jesus' feet are taken by the poor, the sick, the outcast. But we can care for the poor, those with no voice, those who are sick.
One man in our congregation is developing a project to link businesses with the unemployed clients of CHUM to mentor them into being good workers.
One woman supports the Program for Victims of Sexual Assault.
One woman volunteers at the Foodshelf.
Some women knit chemo caps and take them to the area hospitals.
Many of you work with the sick to bring them comfort and healing.

The place surrounding Jesus was taken by the children, the ones of whom he said, "Welcome them and you welcome me and the one who sent me."

We can welcome the children.

This church building welcomes about 80 children every weekday, for about 60 hours a week. The University Nursery School has been here for over thirty years, but it is important how we feel about them, how we treat them, how we work with them. We want to welcome families and they walk through our door everyday. So sometimes we have to negotiate the use of our classrooms, sometimes they leave a dirty spoon in our sinks, and certainly the children track sand in here and there, and sometimes we leave a mess for them - but we are providing a welcome to children here, and the community knows it. The community may not be sure where Hope United Methodist is, but they know we host the University Nursery School.

And we welcome the children in our worship, in our programs, in our lives. When we welcome them, we are welcoming Jesus.

Want to be with Jesus? Follow the footprints of the condemned, the lost, the sick; follow the footprints of the children. There you will find him.

Footprints in the Shadow

15th Sunday of Pentecost, Year B
Mark 8:27-38

This week Time Magazine features an article, “Does God Want You to Be Rich?” It is referring to the Prosperity Gospel, which has been around for awhile but is making a comeback in certain, prosperous, very large churches – including a United Methodist church in led by Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell.

They quote the Bible as much as any of us, and assert that the Bible says God wants us to do well: to have land, to be prosperous. The Gospel does say: “I come that you may have life and have it abundantly.” Although only a small number of Christians say they follow the Prosperity Gospel, 61% of Christians say: “God wants people to be financially prosperous.”

Mother Teresa, on the other hand, says that we are not to strive to “be successful, but to be faithful.” And John Wesley, founder of the United Methodist Church<>, said, “Whenever I get any money I try to get rid of it as soon as possible.”

People have always struggled with this dichotomy – always. What does God want from us? What does Jesus call us to? What kind of life are we to have, what does it mean to follow Jesus? If we follow Jesus, where will our footprints lead?

The Gospel of Mark has three stories that struggle with this tension; today’s story is first. In Mark 8:31-33: Jesus teaches that the Son of Man – Jesus – will suffer and be killed, and then rise again. Peter responds to this by rebuking him. Jesus names this behavior “Satan.”

In Mark 9:30: Jesus tells the disciples not to talk about his being the Messiah, since they don’t seem to understand what it means yet, and again he teaches them about the suffering that is to come, and then he will rise. Then he asks them what they were discussing as they walked to Capernaum, and they did not want to answer, for the were discussing which one of them was the greatest.

Do you see the pattern yet?

Mark 10: 32 begins by telling us that Jesus took them aside and began to teach them again about what will happen to him in Jerusalem, where they are headed – he will be tortured and killed and then rise again. Just after this James and John ask him to place them on his left and right hands in glory.

Do you see the tension there? Jesus speaks of new life that will come after suffering, after death, after what looks like the greatest defeat, and the disciples keep saying no, thinking of their glory. Three times Jesus tells them what he faces, and three times the disciples are caught up in something else.

So when the maid asks Peter in the garden, after Jesus was arrested, if he knew Jesus, he may not have been lying when he said, “No, I do not know this man you are talking about.” He really didn’t know this Jesus who walked directly into suffering and death, not into glory.

In the Gospel of Mark the footprints of Jesus lead relentlessly and directly to the shadow of the cross. What does that mean for us? If we follow this text, the Gospel of Mark, we might discover that when things go wrong in our lives it isn’t that our faith hasn’t been strong enough. We might learn that whatever we go through, Jesus is not afraid to suffer with us. We might come to the conclusion that there is nowhere we can go where God will not go with us – not even death, since we see Jesus walking right up to the shadow of the cross, and then beyond, past the cross, and the tomb, into new life.

Well, there’s the Gospel of Mark. The proponents of the Prosperity Gospel are right, of course – there are a lot of other books in the Bible. So one other possible way to look at it for you today. I heard Huston Smith yesterday morning – one of my favorite professors from college. At the event someone asked him how to tell a true religion from a false one, a true spirituality from a false spirituality, and he said, “You can tell if it is true if it enlarges our hearts. You can tell it is true if it increases our empathy for other people. You can tell it is true if it leads to love.”

Does your Gospel make your heart bigger, or your wallet? And where does your Gospel lead?

Feet of Faith

James 2:1-17
14th Sunday of Pentecost B
September 10, 2006

You've all heard the story of the "Footprints in the Sand": One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it: "LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied: "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
When we think of our relationship with Christ as a journey, this is often how we picture it: the companionship, the carrying, the support -- but this isn't the only picture of our life with Jesus.

At our new membership class a few weeks ago the group asked what it meant to be a United Methodist. What is different about United Methodists from everyone else? James is one key to the difference. Martin Luther said that the book of James was straw, worthless, and shouldn't be in the Bible, but for John Wesley, who started the Methodist movement, James was the straw for the bricks of a life of faith.

James is a book that emphasizes how we behave as Christians - what we do. We do not earn God’s favor, we do not earn God’s love, but what we do and how we behave matter. I think of it as a way of responding to God’s love, inviting God to move in and work in us. For United Methodists the walk of faith is not so much Christ walking with us but us walking with Christ. We follow. Our journey is to discern what path Jesus has for us, to sort out where God wants us to go. So our footprints are not just those that have Jesus as a companion, but the ones that have Jesus as a guide.

Now James says one way we do that is how we treat people. James tells us two things. The first is don’t favor the rich over the poor. Don’t give them a better seat and make the poor stand in the back. The second is don’t be indifferent to those who need you. James then goes on to say, "what good does it do if you say you have faith and don’t give them what they need?" What you do matters.

I've had this experience. I met a powerful clergywoman once right after I'd dropped out of seminary. I was introduced to her and when she asked me where I was attending school I said I had just dropped out. She turned around and walked away. Another time I served on a committee with a laywoman. I was twenty six and looked really young. She treated me rudely, thinking I was a youth. When I was introduced to her as "Rev" her behavior changed immediately. I knew something about her!

Have you had this experience, or is it just clergy?

It matters how we behave, and it matters at church. If our floor was sand, and we could see distinctly where our own footprints had been after a morning here, what would the pattern of your footprints be? Where would they go? To whom would they go, and where would they lead?

And where would Jesus footprints be in this place?

We talk about how we behave at church because this is the place we practice living as Jesus calls us; this is the place we practice living in the kingdom of God. We practice walking over to someone who needs our concern, we practice offering the care that we can for one another regardless of what we might receive. Then, when we leave, we take that practice with us and our footprints go right out the door.

I'll tell you a story I may have told you before, but it is so good I want to share it again today. (This is Mike Yaconelli's story.)

A man from church agreed to drive the youth to the nursing home for a worship service. The first month he was in the back with his arms folded as the kids were doing their thing up front. All of a sudden, someone was tugging at his arm. He looked down and here was this old man in a wheelchair. He took hold of the old man's hand and the old man held his hand all during the service. The next month that was repeated. The man in the wheelchair came and held the hand of the deacon. The next month, the next month, and the next month. Then the old man wasn't there. The deacon inquired and he was told, "Oh, he's down the hall, right hand side, third door. He's dying. He's unconscious, but if you want to go down and pray over his body that's alright."

The deacon went and there were tubes and wires hanging out all over the place. The deacon took the man's hand and prayed that God would receive the man, that God would bring this man from this life into the next and give him eternal blessings. As soon as he finished the prayer, the old man squeezed the deacon's hand and the deacon knew that he had been heard. He was so moved by this that tears began to run down his cheeks. He stumbled out of the room and as he did so he bumped into a woman. She said, "He's been waiting for you. He said that he didn't want to die until he had the chance to hold the hand of Jesus one more time."

The deacon was amazed at this. He said, "What do you mean?"

She said, "Well, my father would say that once a month Jesus came to this place. ‘He would take my hand and he would hold my hand for a whole hour. I don't want to die until I have the chance to hold the hand of Jesus one more time.'"

We have feet of faith, hands of faith, whole bodies that live out our faith in the world, so we can be the presence of Christ for someone else. It does matter what we do because we offer the presence of Christ to a world that needs the love of Christ, the hope of Christ, the touch of Christ, and we can share it with them. Our life is a pattern of footprints, but it isn't just Jesus walking nicely alongside us -- Jesus is leading us to places we would never have gone ourselves. Amen.

Wash Your Hands!

13th Sunday after Pentecost
Mark 7, selected verses

I once worked with a pastor who, every Sunday after church before coffee hour reminded me, “Wash your hands! wash your hands!" Think about it -- we clergy touch nearly everybody in church, and then we go eat cookeis. It makes sense to wash our hands inbetween those things, and we had these darling bathrooms in our offices so it was really easy. Every Sunday after church she would remind me, "Wash your hands!" A month or so after I married Kelly I showed up to work with a cold, much like I have today, and she said, "How did you get a cold?" "Well, Kelly is sick; I think I got it from him." "Wash your hands, wash your hands!" she said.

As a clergy person I take washing my hands seriously. I touch almost all of you on a Sunday morning, but I do wash my hands before cookies. If I have a cold I use something to clean them before I touch the bread for communion. At the hospital I wash my hands before and after every single visit. With soap and water. Everytime. I don't want to give you something, especially when you are sick in the hospital.

As we’ve talked about the possibility of avian flu and how we might prepare we’ve discussed germs, washing hands, touching in church. I’ve heard from some who don’t like to shake hands - maybe you always have a cold, have a suppressed immune system, or arthritis. Some folks don't like the shaking hand we do at the beginning of the service. But greeting each other is so important at the beginning of the service, I think; I think it is part of the character of this congregation. I want to keep that part of the service, but I wish we could be more aware of how we touch each other.

But what if Jesus came to church? Would he wash his hands before greeting all of you? Would he wash his hands before coming to communion? What does it mean that his disciples hands were “defiled?” Ick.

In Jesus culture, you’ve heard this, there was a clear line between clean/unclean. Not dirty or washed, but clean or unclean - a designation more than an actual state. People were unclean if they were menstruating, or for several weeks after giving birth, or for a certain period of time after touching a woman is that state, or someone who was dead, or someone who was sick. They had to be purified, and that required water and a certain ritual. The text today says that this tradition was not just washing hands but also ritually washing cups, pots, and kettles. Other texts tell us that even the couches had to be sprinkled with the special water. Then everything was clean. Then the pure could eat in purity.

Of course people who were sick couldn’t become pure, so they couldn’t eat or cook with any of these people. Women had to be separated quite a bit of the time, too. The poor - they certainly didn’t have access to all this cleanness. This was a strict way of separating people. It's called social distancing, and only the rich and the privileged can do it.

We know this doesn’t apply to us today - we don’t have rituals like this at all. We don’t have different standards of purity, clean or unclean, touchable or untouchable. We don’t have people who are separated from us because they can’t wash, or because they might have germs, or because they don’t have enough money to get clean. We don’t refuse people in church who smell, or haven’t had access to a shower. We wouldn't be worried if someone came to communion smelling bad and reached in and grabbed a big hunk of bread. We aren’t like this at all. What could Jesus be saying to us?

Tony Campolo tells a story -- we heard it when he came to town last January -- of a bum walking down the street in Philadelphia, with a McDonalds cup. He was dirty, he hadn't had a shower and laundry like we offer at CHUM, and he had bits of food in his long beard. He was carrying a coffee cup, and as Campolo walked toward him he said, "Here, take a sip of my coffee." Campolo cringed, but he took a small sip and said thank you, then, "Why did you want to share it?" "Because it's so good. It's particularly good, and when you have something particularly good you want to share it!" Campolo thought he was really being set up, and he almost reached for his wallet, but he said, "What do you want from me?" thinking, here goes five bucks. The man spread his arms out wide. "A hug!'

I don’t think Jesus would be opposed to washing your hands so you don’t get sick - he did heal people, after all; he seemed interested in health. I bet Jesus would wash his hands when given the opportunity. But Jesus is talking about the kind of behavior, the things of the heart, that make us not want to hug that man on the street. The rituals of clean and unclean worked to separate people, they built walls around people, they kept people from eating together, they put distance between people. That's what Jesus was against, anything that separates me, especially me as pure and clean and better, from you, especially if "you" are not clean and pure and better. wouldn’t keep people away from the table with ritual. Jesus wouldn’t let illness, dirtiness, or who you recently touched keep you away from his table. Jesus wouldn't let the mess of your life keep you away from his table. Jesus wouldn't let poverty or social standing keep you away from his table.

It isn’t what goes in to you that makes you pure in the eyes of God. It isn’t whether your food is organic, whether your water is bottled, whether you have antibiotic soap and antibacterially clean countertops that will win you acceptance in Jesus’ circle. It isn't how clean your hands are. It is what is in your heart. It is what you say. It is how you act. It is what comes out of you, and the way you connect with the people around you.

Go wash your hands if you want, its okay. But open your hearts. Open them wide. Open them to the people all around you. That's what you need to come to Jesus' table.