Potential Energy

An icon of the Nativity of John the Baptizer

When you hear the name “John the Baptizer” or “John the Baptist” what comes to mind?

-Someone in the desert dressed in camel’s hair?

-A wild man who ate locusts and wild honey?

-A cousin of Jesus?

-An aesthetic who lived in the wilderness?

-An angry man who called stuffy religious folks, “A brood of vipers!”?

-One who was unjustly executed?

-The forerunner of the Lord?

-The Prophet of the Most High?

-The baptizer of Jesus?

-Someone who proclaimed the Good News of repentance and forgiveness of sins?

-How about all of the above?

John the Baptist captivates our theological imagination in ways that few others can. Perpetually we are gifted by this rich character whom we specifically remember during Advent and Epiphany. In Advent we remember John’s prophet-ability as we await Christ’s coming and during Epiphany we celebrate Jesus’ Baptism by John. But, today on the transferred Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist we are not there yet.

As we dwell in this moment from Holy Scripture when John’s elderly parents celebrated the miracle of this child’s birth, all that we know of this great character is potential. Now, I am no physicist. And, I do not profess to possess a wealth of knowledge about energy, but I do remember learning about potential energy in middle school.

One way of defining this term is “The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position relative to others, stresses within itself, electric charge, and other factors.”[1] A body possesses within itself a certain amount of could be energy based on where it is, how it relates to surrounding bodies, and other factors both internal and external. This physics definition appears even more intriguing when we connect it to how we relate to the universe theologically or spiritually.

All of us have potential within us. Just like how Zechariah—once his tongue was loosed—spoke of John’s trajectory, we too have a potential path that is laid out for us by our God. God has placed in us energy, life, a divine spark so to speak, through which we eternally connect with our Father in heaven. This is beautiful and wonderful and reassuring to know that like John we have the potential in us to be heralds of the Most High. But, how does this potential become actualized? How does the spiritual energy in us explode from perspective to reality?

All of the wild things that stand out about John would have been completely for naught had it not been for one thing, one catalyst. John knew, his family knew, perhaps the whole countryside of Israel knew John was not acting on his own. He was in the service of God. Put another way, the potential energy in John was actualized by coming in contact with Christ. Sure he would have been an interesting character on his own, but he blasted onto the scene as one who prepared the way. John got people ready to receive the Good News that Jesus had come. John enabled people to repent, so that they could know fully the Most High God was incarnate and was present.

What potential energy lies within you? What is the ministry into which you are called? What is it that God has in store for you? There are a multitude of ways to serve God, here in this church and beyond. Whether it is through preparing for worship, studying God’s word together, reaching out to the community of Decatur, or reaching in to serve other parishioners, there are many ways to actualize the potential spiritual energy within you. Take some time this summer to listen to what God is calling you to do.

Once you see that trajectory allow Christ to inspire you. As you see what God is calling you to do allow the Good News of repentance and the forgiveness of sins to free you. Trust that the spark of Jesus’ love will energize you and ignite in you a ministry like that of John the Baptist.

May all of us trust the potential that God has planted within us. May we be inspired by the Good News of Christ Jesus through repentance and forgiveness of sins. And, may we be energized by the Spirit of God and go light up the world with it.

[1]https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&q=Dictionary#dobs=potential%20energy

The Other Side

How will you face the storms of life?

When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” If I had been one of those disciples, I would have known better than to get in that boat. No, I cannot predict the future, but I can—I think—learn from the past.

After my freshman year in college, a good friend who was graduating from high school, invited me on a fishing trip. I thought it sounded fun, so I went. Ten of us made our way from Vestavia Hills, Alabama to Nags Head, North Carolina. And, my friend’s uncle had spared no expense. We stayed in a lavish beach house, played on top-of-the-line jet skis, and took out two fully rigged deep sea fishing boats—five in one and five in the other.

The morning of our fishing expedition I slept through my first alarm. It may not sound like a big deal, but it meant that I had passed the window when I could effectively take any motion sickness medicine. Now, I bet you know where this story is going, but I couldn’t at the time. So, I got on the vessel to travel a hundred miles out into the Atlantic Ocean, and I was oblivious to what was about to happen.

At first everything went fine. All on our boat were joyful and excited for the day’s adventure. However, none of us had been that far offshore. And, despite our captain’s reassurance, the seemingly tiny boat did not do well when we hit the ten and twelve and fifteen foot swells. Up and down and up and down we went. We caught a couple of big fish, but when the action ceased a queasy quiet descended upon the five not-so- brave souls who were the customers in that boat.

As fear sank into all of us and seasickness overcame us, we could not help but beg our crew to take us back to shore. They radioed the other boat to tell of our cowardice. I can still remember when we made it back to land teetering off the boat and kissing the pier. Looking back, what stings most—besides the other boat coming home with a record catch for that charter company—what stings the most is knowing that once the fear overcame our boat, there was nothing that we knew to do that could change it. Once we got scared, we could not shake the feeling, and this was a sea without any great storm. So, I would be hesitant if Jesus invited me to get in a boat.

What happens when we let fear overtake us? What do you do when fear overwhelms you? On a boat long ago, Jesus asked, “Why are you afraid?” On the choppy sea that is our life, we have a multitude of answers: challenging prognoses, unfulfilling jobs, and broken relationships; stories of families being separated, gun violence, and nuclear proliferation; worries over children, grandchildren, and our world. When Jesus asks us why we are afraid, we do not hesitate with our answers! But, I wonder, “What happens when we face these storms of our lives?”

Our desire might be to rush back to shore when the first dark clouds appear. Or, we might turn back at the first sign of seasickness. But, if we are to go to the other side, how will we face the tempests of life?

The cop-out answer of course, is to say that we face those storms with Jesus. But, what happens when he scares us more than the storms? In today’s story, we see that
the disciples, some of whom were themselves experienced fishermen, turned to Jesus in the face of a great storm swamping their boat. He woke up and immediately calmed the storm. And at that point, the disciples did not know what to do with him.

Sure, the storm itself was perplexing and frightening, but what about the one who calmed the storm. Are we more afraid of the storm or the one who conquers it? And even the way Jesus pacified the gale leaves me puzzled. For Jesus did not so much say
“Peace!” when he rebuked the wind and the waves, so much as he said “Silence!” And, the disciples did not so much have peace and awe when he calmed the storm, as much as they had fear in response to Jesus. In this light, answering “How do we get through life’s storms?” with the Sunday School answer of Jesus is not so reassuring.

Going through life with Jesus does not automatically mean peace and comfort. It may mean our lives are swamped and blown upside-down. And, in the dead calm after the storm, Jesus will ask us, “Have you still no faith? Why are you afraid?” Therein lies the real challenge: do we respond to life’s storms with fear or with faith? Do we respond to life’s storms with fear or with faith?

In our first lesson for today, David answers this question for himself. David, a lowly shepherd, not a warrior, had faith that he could defeat the mighty Goliath. He trusted this because he knew that he had Almighty God on his side. And, although this is a story of violence, in this tale, we see the power of faithfulness conquering fear, even more than a shepherd defeating a giant. Of course, we lose track of this. For we tend to gravitate toward the underdog story. The long shot winning despite the odds. We love those who have faith in themselves despite everything being stacked against them. But, that’s not what this is about. It’s about having faith in God despite all the odds. So, again what about us: do we respond to life’s storms with fear or with faith?

This week in Vacation Bible School we heard some powerful stories of faith. Our topic at V.B.S. was Daniel’s time in Babylon. And, we also studied his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (man, those are fun to say!). Even if you were not at V.B.S. maybe you recall their story. They were strangers in a strange land. Jewish exiles in Babylonian Captivity under King Nebuchadnezzar. The king made a golden statue that all were required to worship, but Jewish law prohibited such idolatry. So,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bow down. And as a result, they were sentenced to suffer and presumably die in a fiery furnace. King Nebuchandnezzar was so enraged by the men that he ordered the flames of the furnace to be made seven times hotter. Even the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the flames died in the process. Well, what happened when they were tossed into the flames? Miraculously they lived. And, even more miraculously a mysterious fourth person—a protector? an angel? God himself?—watched over them. And yet, what stands out is not this miracle, but what the men said to the king before being tossed into the furnace.

They said, “If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O King, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). Boom! Mic drop! Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego embodied faithfulness. They said it does not matter what happens. We will trust our God, even if we must die. This is faithfulness. This is trusting God. This is choosing to follow God even in the face of fear. Contrast this with my seasickness or the disciples crossing open waters. Still, God leads all of us further.

For a long time I have told myself that fear is the opposite of faith. And, some will argue that. However, as we traverse with Jesus to the other side of life we will discover that they are not opposites. Instead fear is a check point on the journey of faith, a by- product in the process. As Jesus bids us to draw closer the path will NOT be a choice between fear and faith. Instead, our faith will be that force which allows us to do those thing that frightens us. Faith will not take away our fear. But, with faith we face our fear with courage. As we cross the ups and downs of life our trust in God transforms us from afraid to courageous. That’s what these stories show us.

When David faced a giant warrior his courage squashed any doubt because he trusted
God. Even though they were about to be burned to death, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had faith in God who melted their fear into courage. And, Jesus most clearly exemplified trusting God even through his betrayal, torture, and death. We too are called into this faithfulness. As God is always faithful to us, we are called to be faithful to God. So, let us get in the boat. The journey will not be easy there will be storms. But, when we trust God we ride through fear and into courage—this is the other side of life with Jesus.

Silence!

A wonderful James Spann meme.

Storms have always fascinated me. When I was a kid I used to sit in my maternal grandfather’s lap to look at his digital weather gauge. It was fancy for the early 1990s. We could see the temperature, the rainfall, the windspeed, the barometric pressure, and the dew point. The only channel he ever seemed to watch was the weather channel. While most Southerners love talking about the weather, my “Bubba” really knew what he was talking about. Perhaps he is the reason I love storms. 

As I grew older, I kept this fascination. When big storm systems would roll through the Birmingham area I would flip back-and-forth between James Spann and the Weather Channel. My friend Jon and I would even interpret the radar ourselves as we talked into a tape recorder pretending to be meteorologists. All of this was cute until one day I realized that storms aren’t just a fun diversion or a polite conversation topic. 

Storms harm. Storms destroy. Storms kill. 

We do not have to go back very far to recall disastrous tornadoes and hurricanes. We remember them simply by a date or a name of the storm, such as April 27, 2011, or Harvey. It is no wonder then, that we will often use the word storm not only literally, but also figuratively to describe an upheaval in our lives. With this in mind let us turn to this coming Sunday’s Gospel lesson in which Jesus calms a terrifying sea storm, and there we can explore storms from more than the literal level.

Jesus has just finished his parable of the mustard seed. He had spoken of the expansive nature of faith. A tiny mustard seed grows into the largest bush and birds can come and nest there. In other words, he taught that from a small genesis the action of trusting God blossoms into an immense ecosystem in which others can come to receive life themselves. It is quite a beautiful analogy for life with God. However, the disciples did not immediately get this. 

Right after that teaching unfolded the disciples decided to make a journey across the sea. They took Jesus along for the ride, just as he was. And, by just as he was I mean he was tired. So he lay down in the stern. Although the order of events appears a bit odd here. Mark pointed out that a storm swelled and water began to fill the boat, then he depicted Jesus already lying on the cushion asleep. The terrified disciples did what any of us would do in a state of emergency: seek someone wise—whether that be a meteorologist or a community leader or in this case the Son of God. Jesus’ reaction to this literal storm is layered, as in it is literal and beyond literal. 

The disciples awakened Jesus from his nap. On the one hand it is surprising that Jesus was napping during all the commotion and on the other hand I know I love sleeping in the midst of a downpour, but I digress. After Jesus woke up, the disciples said to him, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” What a wakeup call? Set against the story of the mustard seed we see a stark contrast. Jesus urged those with ears to hear to have faith, to trust God, to believe even in the face of adversity and yes, storms! The disciples immediately do not get it and they doubt. How did Jesus respond?

Well, first Jesus stilled the wind and the waves. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translates his first word as “Peace!” which I love. I especially love it set against the story of David pegging Goliath in the noggin with a stone. Still, the actual word that Jesus speaks is unique. This is the only time in the whole New Testament we hear it. While it can be rendered as peace, it can also mean silence. 

“Silence!”

Jesus created silence by speaking the word. And, I wonder if we would be wise to withhold our use of peace at least for now. For in this moment the wind and the waves may have died down, but the disciples were far from a peaceful state. Jesus emphasized here that the disciples’ fear prevented their faith. It is hard to be peaceful when one lives in a state of fear. Whether during a literal or figurative storm fear only exacerbates how we continue onward. The last sentence in the original language of this section doubles down on this by almost overstating the disciples’ state: “And, [the disciples] feared with great fear and said to each other, ‘Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” 

We are much like these disciples. Even though Jesus tells us to have faith when the storms roll through our lives causing devastation and pain, we are all too quick to seek our own methods of fixing everything. Instead, we may do well to first seek the silence that Jesus provides us. Then, once we inhabit that place of quiet prayer, we might just find a peace that passes all understanding. 

Faith Stands With The People

Enmegahbowh was the first Native American ordained in the Episcopal Church.

This morning at staff meeting we read this coming Sunday’s Gospel lesson. We do this every week to start our time together. Always I hear something that gives me a new insight on the Good News of Christ Jesus. Usually though, someone else says those wise words. This morning though I heard something come out of my own mouth that I really needed to hear.

In regards to the Parable of the Mustard Seed, which is this Sunday’s lesson, I said this story is an opportunity for us to trust God more deeply—even when the evidence is not there. Today and every day, we have this option. We always possesses the opening to have faith. Of course, this is not always easy.

There are moments in life when our hearts are troubled. Times when we receive difficult news, when we face adversity, or when that which previously brought us strength no longer does. During these days we can respond in many different ways.

We can give up on God, try to rely upon ourselves, turn to some other substitute for God, complain that life is not fair, or avoid our troubles altogether. I have done all of these before with only pain to show as a result! And, while in the moment they may feel good and right and fitting responses, they do not in the end lead to the fullness of life in Christ. There is of course, a generous other course to take when this world seems hard to bear.

In today’s Gospel lesson from Luke we discover the wild, counter-cultural path to blessedness. Jesus tells his followers that despite what the world told them God’s hallowed ones were poor, hungry, weeping, hated, and persecuted. What? Jesus’ words make no sense! I have spent my life avoiding these negative things. And, perhaps you have as well. So, how can these things lead to blessedness?

When facing poverty, hunger, sadness, hatred, or persecution one can respond with fear, anger, or bitterness. Or, one can see these moments of hardship as blessed moments when one trusts more fully in God. Yes, it sounds illogical. Sure, it’s a bit crazy. Of course, I would expect you to look at me funny at this moment. Still, when we face big challenges and when we find ourselves without the elements of a “good life,” then we discover that we cannot make it on our own. This is a natural next step in maturing our faith, and what is more we have countless examples in the history of the Church that show us this path. And, we celebrate one such hallowed one today.

Enmegahbowh was the first Native American to be ordained in the Episcopal Church. Even before his ordination, he showed great faith in God—even against great adversity. Enmegahbowh grew up with some standing among the Ojibwa people, and he was raised to be a medicine man. Despite his position, the chief of the Ojibwa tribe imprisoned Enmegahbowh, presumably because the latter had professed his faith in Christ.

During Enmegahbowh’s imprisonment, the tribe leader planned a general massacre of white people settling in that part of Minnesota. Enmegahbowh escaped imprisonment to inform the settlement at Fort Ripley. This prevented more blood from being shed.

When after this, Enmegahbowh was offered a more comfortable life in Canada, he chose another path. Enmegahbowh’s name in English means “The man who stands by his people.” He truly lived into the fittingness of his name by staying with the Ojibwa people despite opportunities for an easier life. His faith in God meant that he would remain poor, hungry, and even hated by some for some hard years. He did this not because he expected something more, but solely because he trusted in what God was doing. Eventually his trust in God was tangibly rewarded as his people received a new settlement, a steam sawmill, and church missionaries to help assist in the mission.

This one who stood with his people shows us an example of faithfulness. We too have opportunities every day, every hour, and every moment to trust God. This is not easy work. And, in fact, it may be the most difficult thing we ever do. Still, our lives as followers of Jesus call us to have faith even against the greatest troubles we face. Our faith will not make our problems disappear, nor will we be guaranteed a happy ending on this side of the grave. But, as we grow deeper in our faith what we will discover is that God walks with us and is present with us always. And that is the greatest blessing of all.

A House United

Our EYC Work Week shirts for this year.

This sermon was preached at St. John's Church, Decatur, AL on Sunday, June 10, 2018. The readings for the day were the following:
1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15)
Psalm 138
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

Mark 3:20-35

Human beings have developed an impressive skill. All across the world we are good at observing differences among people. Whether it’s a contrast in creed, skin color, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, socioeconomic status, or favorite ice cream flavor, no two people on this planet are exactly the same. We see the variety of people so easily. But, why is that? Why do we notice differences so well?

From a scientific point of view, our species grew and evolved over the years. And, as we did we needed to spot differences in the environment around us to survive. So, whether our ancestors were looking for a certain plant hidden within an overgrown forest or watching out for a lurking predator camouflaged in the prairie, we needed to see patterns and how they differ. Thus, humans developed a great skill of seeing patterns and differences. Some scientists even state that we are the resulting descendants of the best pattern-spotters from the past. This ability of seeing differences and making split-second decisions based on what we observe though is not without some harmful side effects. 

Our ability to make connections and find patterns can have some drawbacks. People have “heard” voices in radio static, “seen” images of the Virgin Mary on a slice of toast, and even “believe” in radical conspiracies against mountains of evidence to the contrary. Put bluntly, sometimes people see patterns where there are none.

Unfortunately, in our God-given abilities to observe patterns we do not also have an innate nonsense test. That is to say, we do not know instantly if the pattern we see is real or a trick of our mind. Stereotypes and prejudices may have started as the result of an actual experience someone had, but why hold onto them against new contradicting evidence? What about when we see a false positive? What happens when we see something that truly is not there?

With our great ability to spot differences, we may even go overboard. It is almost as though we are looking for differences—seeking them out when they are not even there. Our God-given abilities to connect the dots have made us so good at noticing how we are dissimilar that we do not perceive how alike we truly are. On top of this our own experience of spotting differences has made it so easy to distance ourselves from one another.

And, so we do what the crowd did to Jesus. We call each other names. We think that the odd other person has come from Satan. And, we divide the kingdom and split the house because we think that we are on separate missions competing for limited resources. If we are pretty good at spotting patterns, we are even better at splitting things up when we get scared of what we see. But, if we honestly believe we are not meant to be divided, but unified, if as followers of Jesus we trust he will unite us, if we truthfully think that we are called to be ruled by the love of God, then what do we do?

Jesus will not say it for another seven chapters in Mark’s Gospel account, but we must be like little children. We are called to see the world through the eyes of little ones. Little ones are not instantly good at separating things that are different. They do not come out of the womb with the skill of segregation. In fact, that seems to be a sinful plague that perpetually infects us. Instead, what I have noted picking up my son at daycare is an inherit gift children possess: they do not yet note differences.

It matters not a classmate’s skin color or biological sex or religion or economic status or parent’s political affiliation. Little children play together, cry together, laugh together, and teach each other to scoot and crawl, hug and talk. But, we forget this worldview and in its place we get good at spotting all our differences.

Perhaps we would live life more fully if we would remember the perspective of a child. If we would receive the reign of Jesus as a child. If we would remember Maya Angelou’s beautiful observation in her poem Human Family, “We are more alike, my friends/than we are unalike./We are more alike, my friends/than we are unalike.” But, today of all days, this may be particularly difficult. As, it feels particularly easy to get divisive.

It is easy to get divisive not only because we have tribal politics between Republicans and Democrats. Not just because our society seems determined to separate and tear at each other. Not simply because we self-segregate many times and especially on Sunday mornings. But also because we here at St. John’s may be worried about what is going to happen in our church moving forward. It is easy right now to get scared and contentious. In times of transition when we celebrate bittersweet news, it is quite easy to form camps that are disparate and desperate. So what do we do?

While they are not children, I saw some beautiful examples of how teenagers receive the Kingdom of God this week. Our Episcopal Youth Community (EYC) spent several days in Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, TX completing relief work in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The youth endured sunburn, windburn, and attacks from sand. They went through changes in plans, sleeping on deflating air mattresses, and weak shower pressure. They overcame cramped working conditions, learning new skills, and riding in the church bus (a lot!). All the while they not only completed projects, but also modeled what a united house in the reign of God looks like.

For a couple days of the trip, our youth worked in the home of a woman named Wanda. Wanda is over 90 years old. She paid $5,000 to a contractor who partially installed some shoddy Sheetrock and then left town with most of her money. As our teenagers painted Wanda’s ceiling and fixed the patchy drywall, the nonagenarian took note of not only the work our teens did, but also how they did it. Wanda skeptically began watching our work from a back bedroom, but by the end of the first day of work she had moved in to the living area where our group worked.

As we were about to leave, she said something to us. Wanda told us thank you for what we did, as she was grateful. Then, she voiced something else. She expressed how amazed she was at how well all of our youth got along while working. There was not bickering or fighting, just working hard and laughing all the while. She was right. As we made our way back home by way of New Orleans I kept this observation close at hand. While our youth were putting a house back together, they were modeling what a house united under Jesus might look like.

A house divided will not stand. We can so easily spot differences between us; however, these distinctions do not have to separate us. If we are to live as a family—brothers and sisters of Jesus, adopted children of God, united in the Spirit, then we must seek unity over estrangement. We must find communion even when things are difficult, even when we are frustrated, hurt, or angry, even when the world seems mad!

But, how will we live together? How will we be a house united? Pray for each other, pray for our church, and pray for the Church. Share in each other’s grief and sorrow, as well as joy and triumph. Worship God together. Dig in deeper within this community. Find ways to be with those who are different from you. Seek out ways to serve together. And mostly, remember that all are children of God the Father, all are loved and redeemed through Christ Jesus, and all are sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. If teenagers can live united with Christ, can't we all? Amen.