The Disruption of Service {Maundy Thursday}
text :: John 13:1-20
theme verse :: “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15)
Any musician will tell you that honoring the ‘rests' are just as important as playing the ‘notes.’ Even so, we are culturally all about the notes and much less interested in the rests. The disciples, ready to party for the Passover and equally ready to act on Jesus’ next move to kingship were taken aback when Jesus essentially says, “Let’s start with the rest.” Amidst betrayal and greed and ignorance, Jesus chooses to serve and suggests we do the same.
reader :: Rev Courtney Richards
special music :: 'Song for Someone' (Bono/U2) : The Rising Band; Isaac Herbert, leader
preaching :: Rev Mark Briley
reprise :: 'Song for Someone'
communion anthem :: 'Remember Me' (Taize) : Chancel Choir; Kelly Ford, director
John 13:1-20
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. 20 Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”
And there is a light… don’t let it go out. What an ending, eh? That Bono knows how to leave you hanging. This “Song for Someone” was released to the world in 2015.[1] Bono’s little band called U2 gave us this gift. He mentioned it was initially a song for his wife – childhood sweetheart named Ali whom he later married and has been married to ever since. What a world that opened before them? Bono told Rolling Stone, “Before I even knew what commitment was, I ended up as a young man in the arms of this young woman, in a world somewhat hostile to the concept of the childhood sweetheart and a first love.”[2] He went on to say, “This Song for Someone is about first journeys.” It became a song for anyone trying to find their way. For a lyric describing a childhood existence, there’s certainly some depth there. Some pain… that perhaps he could only imagine from the distance of decades. Did you hear it? “You got a face not spoiled by beauty… I have some scars from where I’ve been. I don’t know how these cuts heal… but in you I found a rhyme.” First journeys, it turns out, tend to happen over and over again in our lives. Pain, especially, is something… even when we think we’re numb to it from bearing so much of it… comes back with a fury … almost like it’s new every time.
Listen… for a moment… to this excerpt from Rob Bell’s Drops Like Stars. It’s a bit of a trip but see if you can’t hold the ups and downs of first journeys that are more repeatable than we might think.
“In 1941, in a village in Nazi-controlled Poland, a young man came home to discover that his father had died while he was at work. What made his father’s death exceedingly more unbearable was that several years earlier, both this young man’s sister and mother had died. As he held his father’s dead body in his arms, he lamented, “I’m all alone. At twenty, I’ve already lost all the people I’ve loved.” One writer described it like this: “Ripped out of the soil of his background, his life could no longer be what it used to be. He now began a journey to deeper communion with God. But it didn’t come without tears, and it didn’t come without what seems to have been a certain existential horror.” Suffering can do that to us. We’re jolted, kicked, prodded, and shoved into new realities we never would have brought about on our own. We’re forced to imagine a new future because the one we were planning on is gone. The key word here is, of course, “imagine.” That young Polish man sitting on the floor with his dead father in his arms was having all of his boxes smashed to pieces. “His life could no longer be what it used to be.”
Rob then makes a seemingly random transition. Play along…
Now for a multiple-choice question: If we went to a performing arts center on a Saturday night and as we walked in we noticed that everybody was dressed up and backstage there were various performers pacing back and forth in tights and slippers and they had Russian last names, we would know we were at:
- The rodeo
- An insurance convention
- The grand opening of a new hair salon
- The ballet
The location and time and clothes of this event are what art theorists call “insulators.” Insulators frame an event, providing context and helping determine the meaning of an experience for us. If we went to the ballet and everybody in the audience was wearing snorkels or the musicians were all red-haired banjo players with no teeth or instead of being handed a program we were handed a squirrel, we would immediately begin asking, “What is this?” But our real question would be, “Where is this? Where do we put this? How do we place it?” Because our standard reference points—the usual insulators – wouldn’t be there to guide us. That’s often what happens when we suffer. We had things well planned out. We knew what meant what. We had all of our boxes properly organized and labeled. But all of that was disrupted when we began to suffer. So there’s “out of the box,” which is often merely a variation of the same thing. And then there are those who think and feel and live and create from a different place. They’ve had their boxes smashed and their insulators dismantled until they had no other option but to imagine a totally new tomorrow.
We could call this the art of disruption. [a life defining shifter]
… that young Polish man? His name was Karol Jozef Wojtyla, but later in life he was known as Pope John Paul II.
Things change. Insulators implode. Life shifts. Then Rob quotes Catherine of Aragon who said, “None get to God but through trouble.”[3]
Huh. All the pain… the scrappy nature of the human journey. The firsts, the middles, the repeat offenders, the endings. This is a Song for Someone. Maybe it’s a song for you tonight. This Table stuff? Maybe not your first time… but maybe worth coming as if for the first time again. It is probably the first time today… maybe in a while. Maybe since that new pain hit. That new loss. That new sense of darkness. Something’s always happening to disrupt the rhythm.
This was no doubt the case that first/last Passover gift of what we’ve come to know as sacred and standard. John’s Gospel account gives us the disruption more than the meal. The gathering… the Passover… the meal and celebration… and yet the lingering knowing of Jesus that things were going to be different and more quickly than any of them had clue. He was about to hand his disciples a squirrel. The meal was presumably going as planned. The people were there. The food hit all the menu requirements. The respite from the road a welcomed pause. The energy of Jesus’ recent entry to Jerusalem still ripe with the flow of adrenaline. In it all, however, something wasn’t sitting right in Jesus’ own spirit. Luke’s gospel notes there’s a little dispute at this meal about “Who is the greatest among the disciples.” Seven-year old’s ask this question sometimes: “Who do you think is the best player on our baseball team, dad?” John doesn’t mention this piece but perhaps it was hanging as a bit of a cloud over the gathering as far as Jesus was concerned. And… the fact that Jesus gets up during dinner to wash the feet of his disciples suggests that the team may have all been too proud to set up the water basin and towel so that all could wash their feet when they entered the room.
Standard practice before dinner was the washing of the feet. The Palestinian roads were unsurfaced and uncleaned. In dry weather it was inches deep in dust and in wet weather it was liquid mud.[4] Feet are more purposeful than beautiful anyway so washing the dirty feet of your peers was kind of a chore. Wealthy parties had servants for that job but this crew with Jesus likely couldn’t afford such a service. It probably fell among them as a task of taking turns. My kids like cuddling with our dog but they scatter quickly when it’s time to take her out to use the restroom. Given the rise of attention on Palm Sunday and these questions about greatness, the job of washing the feet before dinner may have seemed beneath them.
So, sitting at dinner with dirty feet, arguing about who is the greatest, and who knows what else, Jesus knows this is a moment that can’t be ignored. What transpires is perhaps the most profound leadership teaching that Jesus ever offers. What do you do when you realize you’re the most powerful person in the room? You serve. Jesus pushes back from the table while the rest are carrying on. He grabs a bucket, fills it with warm water and pulls the “Happy Passover” dish towel that was hanging on the stove handle. He rolls up his sleeves, gets down on his knees and starts washing feet without saying a word. The table gets quiet. There are confused faces. It gets a bit awkward to be honest. Jesus silently washes the muck off the feet of a couple of his disciples, dries between their toes and rubs their feet dry with the towel, squeezes them gently maybe offering a short blessing and moves on to the next.
Peter, as vocal and stubborn as any of the team, is about third in line. He ain’t comfortable with this at all. Jesus gets to him and Pete breaks the silence by asking Rob Bell’s question: “Whoa. Hold up there, Teach. What is this?” Peter’s grabbed that “Happy Passover” towel out of Jesus’ hands to get Jesus to look at him. “This is silly, Jesus. I’m sorry that we flaked out on the feet washing job tonight. That’s our bad. Andrew? It was your turn, Bro. Whatever the case, I’m sorry we didn’t get it done but you’re just being ridiculous now.” But Jesus, as if to say, “You miss this lesson and you miss the whole thing,” says, “Peter… you either let me do this or there’s no place for you in the future movement.” If you can’t learn to serve humbly like this, you’ll never fully grasp the thrust of the message. Peter relents but he’s not happy about it. And the pain of the silence as Jesus goes one by one… no sound in the room except the splash of the water and the pat of the towel.
This is it. The disruption of service. And when Jesus is done, sweat on his brow from the hard work, fingers wrinkled from soaking in too much dirty water, he stands and says, “Do you get it now? Do you see what I’ve done? This is a song for someone in this room who will never forget this moment. This is a song for someone who’s too proud to serve like that. This is a song for someone who’s worried about being the greatest. Greatness is found only in this way. Get it wrong and everything else will start going to your head. I’ve set the example. Go and do likewise.”
That’s one way to put a damper on an otherwise fun dinner party. But such is the case of first journeys. Every moment with Jesus was new… a renewal of an old practice… a shift of some tradition to turn it on its head. The question moves from “What is this?” to “Where is this? Where do we put this? How do we place it?” It makes no sense. And… we’re always trying to figure this out. Paul was the one who gave us that vulnerable and all too honest line, “Why do I always do the very thing I don’t want to do. I do the thing I hate and I can’t seem to do the very thing I want to do.” And here we sit in such a similar state… repeat offenders wondering if we can journey again as if for the first time.
I have a high school classmate who I haven’t spoken to since high school, but we became Facebook friends a number of years ago. We hung out a few times in Middle School but not really after that. Even so, went to a small school in a small town so you know everybody and I generally counted everyone a friend. I’ll call him Rico… not his real name… but if you’re gonna make up a name, might as well be a cool name like Rico. Rico’s little brother died when we were in Middle School. He went missing for a while and was later found in an abandoned well on their farm. It was so sad. Rico was a bit of a bully on into high school… maybe had a bit of a chip on his shoulder as I could understand. He was a little guy but talked big. He became a father as a teen himself and via his posts, I’ve learned he became a grandfather by his mid-30’s. Rico posted recently a “Rest in Peace” message, naming his sister who apparently passed a few years ago – she was several years younger than us. Rico has had some trouble with the law and has maybe been a bit of an over-poster on social media but he puts it right out there: issues he’s got with other people; job’s he’s started, lost, started again. He’s ranted and asked for forgiveness. He’s declared fresh starts and repeat attempts at giving up nicotine. He’s been up and down with posts about faith… starting over… hoping anew … declaring trust in Jesus as Savior… “This time for real!” he’ll say.
He’s posted many scripture verses this week… longing for the truth of this week to settle in the world. And I just long for his heart. He’s been through a lot… many fits and restarts and mistakes… some beautiful; others with wounds that still gape wide open. I believe, in the depths of his soul, he’s good. He’s got a desire for God. And he’s been burned and rejected time and time again. This night is a song for Rico. It’s a song for someone here too. Bono says it this way: “I’m a long way from your hill of Calvary… and I’m a long way from where I was and where I need to be…”. If that’s you tonight? This is a song for you. If you could journey again… as if this was your first communion experience… how would you approach it? How would it feel? How would it taste? Would you pray? What would you say to Jesus? If you felt him kneel, slide off your shoes and holy socks and washed your feet, how would it change your heart? …
Where have you been since you’ve last been at this Table? What miles have you run? What struggle have you endured. What loss has you reeling? What sin has your gut churning?
We watched alongside the world, the Cathedral of Notre Dame go up in flames on Monday… that spire, with cross that pierced the sky, tumbled down on top of itself. Rico posted about it… “a sign of the times,” he said. What are we do to with this? Where do we place this? Another colleague posted this: “All who are saddened by Notre Dame should make a pilgrimage to their own house of worship… Please thank those who have cared for it, adorned it, left legacy in it.” Then he quoted Fred Craddock, the humble preacher, who said, “A plain, cinder block two-room country church, with a concrete floor and hardwood benches, is a heavenly palace where angels reside when you bring and receive the love of Jesus every week.”
What are you bringing into this moment? What are you willing to take out of this moment? There is suffering, yes. There is sadness and grief, yes. There is trial and error and trial again, yes. And there is betrayal. But… the invitation Bono offers to his beloved in this song for someone may be one we offer Christ tonight: “You let me into a conversation; a conversation only we could make. You break and enter my imagination… whatever’s in there it’s yours to take. I was told I’d feel nothing the first time… but this could be the night.”
I want to tell you a secret. You’re in on something tonight that most are missing. They maybe don’t mean to miss out. Maybe they don’t care. Maybe they just don’t know. When you told them you were going to a Maundy Thursday service tonight, they responded, “Is that like Taco Tuesday?” Or maybe you didn’t tell anybody at all. But since you came, I hope you know this song for someone? It’s for you. This could be the night. May you receive the grace of Christ as if for the very first time.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFjcd_d2PhY. Song for Someone. U2.
[2] https://www.songfacts.com/facts/u2/song-for-someone
[3] Drops Like Stars. Rob Bell. Harper One Publishing. 2009. Pg 27-33.
[4] Exegetical background as shared in William Barclay’s commentary on the Gospel of John. Westminster Press. 1975.
“Try again in 25,536,442 minutes.” That means Osnos’ iPad will not be unlockable until the year 2067.
It has inspired many-a 40th birthday cake ever since. The press conference went viral… one of the very first viral videos in college football to do so as Social Media was a new medium. Mike Gundy’s offensive coordinator at the time, Larry Fedora, missed the blow up of his boss but knew something had gone down at the press conference. That night, Fedora walked across the cul-de-sac where he lived to Gundy’s house, knocked on the door and said, “What the heck happened in your press conference?” Gundy invited him in and said, “I’ll show you. It’s already on YouTube.” Fedora said, “OK, but what the heck is a YouTube?”
Then, this. 
The text says, “a solitary broom tree.” He’s the last lonely prophet and so his greatest affinity is this lonely, solitary broom tree. Elijah is just going off: “God, kill me now. I’m done.” We all have surely felt this way… and often when our bodies are exhausted… it’s why Sabbath keeping and care of our bodies and rest are not just “good ideas,” they are essential to our wellbeing. Our spirits will not be well if we can’t do our best to care for our bodies. Now… I know our bodies betray us sometimes… from no doing of our own, we are stricken with disease or injury and we have struggles that are out of our power to heal. It’s part of the amazing mystery that is our flesh and bones. How are these fleshy suits somehow vessels where God’s spirit is planted to do some meaningful work? And why is it that we are so abusive and hateful to our own bodies and the bodies of others? We reach moments where we have claimed that male bodies are more important than female bodies or straight bodies are more important than gay bodies or white bodies are more important than bodies of a deeper hue.
It is considered one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world..jpg?bwg=0)
onto these ships simply to guide them through the passage – some ten times a day – which ultimately moves $24 billion dollars in goods each year through this passage. Can you imagine a passage so treacherous that an expert withness is flown in to help you get through it? I wonder if that is the kind of company God keeps with us when we’re in those most difficult or uncertain places. And I imagine not a lot is said … just focused company… just a hand held in the waiting room at the hospital… just a tear wiped when the pain was clear but no words could repair. So many will say in times of tragedy or deepest challenge, “I just don’t know what to say.” “Just be there,” I’ll offer back. Just be good company. Silent presence is as powerful a prayer as you’ll ever pray. The Spirit already knows and recognizes the sigh.
It is impressive. They had a running ticker 
of how many Bibles they had printed… tick, tick, tick. Amazing! Some six billion copies of the Bible have been sold. Harry Potter has only 400 million copies sold, coming in third place. Nine out of ten American households own a Bible – the average American household has three. The YOUversion Bible App
What could God open to you if you opened the Bible in a whole new way? That’s what we’re after today.
Ouch. We are the most over-informed, under-reflective civilization in human history. Whoa. Information is more accessible than ever. And we may eat it but we certainly are bypassing the chewing and digestive processes. My son Dane reminds our family of this every time we eat. He reminds me of his great-grandma Briley who always took an additional twenty/thirty minutes to eat her meal after the rest of us were done. Dane is the same way. And we’ll wait and he’ll say, “I’m just savoring my food, guys.” And like our information, we hardly have the patience to savor anything anymore. When’s the last time you savored Scripture? And if you are reading… are you just trying to get through it… to reach some reading plan goal?
How many of you are ready to sign up for that life now? Emma may be on to something. The truth is, we live in a society that values productivity, success, achievement, and all-star status. Imagining time of solitude… silent space to listen to your own heart beat and feel your soul and your very breath again… in and out… gift, gift, gift. Forget about it. But this is extremely critical to building a spiritual foundation that can hold the rest of your life. Even daily doses of solitude will save you from the crash and burn that often takes down too many of us when we just can’t keep up anymore. 
I thought of you… named you in my spirit… held your pains that I knew of and celebrated your joys. I sat with myself in a way I hadn’t for a long time. It’s sort of a big reflective year in my household. My wife and I both turn forty. We’ll also celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary. This will be our tenth year of living and serving among you. The church turns sixty in just a few short weeks. And I just sat with my soul… and allowed it to feel what I hadn’t made time to feel. It was hard and it was sweet. There were tears and there was healing. There was uncertainty and there was hope. Now I stayed on that mountain for a good while… honestly part of it was I realized it was going to be a lot harder to get down than it was climbing up. There was no path… it was reaching, stretching and climbing rocks. But I also felt so close to God. I came down the better for having made the climb.
even Canaan in full Spiderman garb. As they left, Giselle asked Canaan, “Can you tell me what the ashes mean?” “I have dirt all over me,” he said. His mom then asks, “and what does that have to do with Jesus?” Canaan says, “He washes the dirt off of me.” 
Lent is a sacred season that always affords us such an opportunity if we are willing. Where are you willing to go? Where are you willing to grow? What is your deepest spiritual desire? Do you long for more? The movement from desire to discipline is important and so tonight… in what may be the most straightforward and honest night of any church night, is a perfect place to own where we are and be willing to go someplace else.
“Wow!” every time. Absolutely breathtaking. I look forward to it everyday. It makes me so grateful. Humility does this … it widens our sense of awe and gratitude and acceptance that God is so good that we should do everything in our power not to take that gift away from someone else.
but love does what love does and her parents knew of course that they would want to learn sign language so they could engage and enjoy their daughter. They worked at it fervently the first couple years of Sam’s life. As Sam found her feet and began to bounce around the neighborhood, the neighbors were sad that they couldn’t engage Sam as they’d like. But… you can’t expect all of the neighbors to learn sign language can you? Certainly, you cannot. But, you sure can appreciate it when they do. Thus began the story of twenty neighbors who sit in silence to learn a new language so their littlest neighbor will know what their own kids raised in that neighborhood had always known: community; friendship; and inclusion.
this is how love widens the circle. Terry Nowak, one of the neighbors said, “We will all be participants in helping her as she grows. We do that with each other’s children. The community is already in place. This is just a new way to express it.’’ Sam parents were speechless and humbled in their gratitude. They’ve noted how much it has changed Sam’s demeanor already… and honestly… the demeanor of the ever-widening neighborhood as well. That’s how American Sign Language has become the second tongue now spoken on one end of Islington Road. Why? Because that’s Samantha Savitz’s language. And there was no way her neighbors were going to let her practice it alone. That neighborly warm embrace is now there every time a neighbor leans down and signs with Sam. 
Every chance encounter of inclusion in the local grocery store. Every time Sam points to the living room chairs where her neighbors meet to learn her language, she makes the sign for “friend.’’
who sang to us wearing their brand new choir robes of which they were so proud. And we met a saint of the church, a beautiful woman of 102 years, who had never met a foreigner before. 
She smiled and clapped as their choir sang and as we offered a spontaneous song back to them too. She held my face in her hands and offered me a blessing. I wonder if she’s celebrating 105 years soon or if she’s joined the resurrection. If the Good News isn’t true for her, it’s not true for me. That woman loved her some Jesus.
– all shapes, colors and varieties with a message that says: 19 people: That’s all we could pack into the handful of family-style tables and counter seats in our tiny shop on South Congress Street in Austin back in 1971. Everyone – hippies and politicians, artists and farmers – sat side-by-side. We’ve always believed that whether it’s food or people, when you welcome all flavors, you get an experience to savor. That’s our spirit of originality. GLAD YOU’RE HERE! And of course, I’m always thinking about church. Here we are, all God’s children, making the journey on our own and together – wondering if God, or anyone else, is glad we’re here; curious if there is any real purpose for our existence. I’d put your picture on a side of a cup if I could so that you might know I’m glad you’re here… not just in this sanctuary in this moment, but here in the world, eager, longing, yearning for a life that is full and meaningful. A life that is whole.
He also concluded that people are more prone to believe the “Wondrously False” than the “Wondrously True.” “Of all the offspring of Time, Error is the most ancient, and is so old and familiar an acquaintance, that Truth, when discovered, comes upon most of us like an intruder and meets the intruder’s welcome.”
that said, “Sorry I’m late. I didn’t want to come.” Even that guy joined in on the rage of the mob. We are addicted to outrage.
written by a black senator, Tim Scott, and white congressman, Trey Gowdy, who say that we’ve got to stretch ourselves to create unlikely friendships in order to make room for the creation of a unified vision, purpose or melody. While we need legislative change and need to press those in power to do right by all Americans, they note that we clearly aren’t getting anywhere with loyalty to labels above all else. Tim and Trey note the limitations and struggle for legislative remedies right now. You certainly don’t have to buy all they say (or what anyone says) to find common agreement. What stuck with me was this word: “We believe the firmest foundation for positive change is found with individuals in relationship with one another. Laws are external. Relationships are internal. Policies make you have to. Relationships make you want to. Relationships contain the power necessary to change the course of history, and the delicate, personal touch needed to change the trajectory of a single life.”
“What would it mean for Christians to rediscover their faith not as a problematic system of beliefs, but as a just and generous way of life, rooted in contemplation and expressed in compassion, that makes amends for its mistakes and is dedicated to beloved community for all?”
Your friends determine the quality and direction of your life. Your friends determine the quality and direction of your life. Your friends determine the quality and direction of your life. This mantra is one leadership guru and pastor Andy Stanley shared with his kids more times than they’d like to count. If even to the point of annoyance, Stanley felt it was worth restating over and over again so that it was front of mind. Your friends determine the quality and direction of your life. To whom, in this life, are you soul bound? We are naturally designed to be soul bound to others. If there is a part of God in each of us, if we are in fact made somehow in God’s very image, it makes natural sense that there would be a magnetism of our souls that is constantly yearning to be connected. It is why feeling disconnected is very hard and why loneliness hurts as it does. It’s why break ups and relationship fights and family drama have accompanying wounds… they can heal over, yes, they can scab and scar and, sometimes, become stronger in the broken places but what is undeniable is this deep longing we all have to be connected. Even more simply stated, this desired connection is why we do the wave at sporting events or have a moment of excited curiosity when we go to the curb to see what’s in the mailbox and why you check your phone every ninety seconds hoping to find more “likes” on your latest social media post.
My soul felt bound to his joy.
for forty-five minutes or so before returning to my parents to sleep. It snowed all night and I tossed and turned wondering how we’d get back home. But we rose, packed up, and headed home to Tulsa. Our waking connection to my family was only a few minutes while the time in the car was significant. Why do we do things like this?
There are now more than 900 regular Death Café events taking place in 19 countries across the world where people simply come together and talk about heavy topics over light refreshments. I’ve learned that there’s a monthly Death Café gathering held here in our own city.
Mr. T. Of course. Paul was guiding a people in a faith-filled conversation. We would do well to remember that. He’s talking about things with these folks that no one really knows anything about. He’s not teaching a science class. He’s talking faith. He’s using the best of his human limitations with words and descriptions to describe something otherworldly. It’s every preacher’s hindrance. We’re so limited. You want to know about heaven and all I can tell you is a story about playing ping pong with my brother on New Year’s Day. I actually love this humbling quote by Barbara Brown Taylor that says 
Warren Zevon appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman shortly after finding out he had cancer, Letterman asked him, “From your perspective, do you know something about life… that maybe I don’t know?” Zevon answered, “I know how much you’re supposed to enjoy every sandwich.” There is something in your life right now… something you’re struggling with, wrestling with, concerned about, maybe down right fearful of. How can getting some perspective on that very matter, grant you a new opportunity to see it as a seed… one day producing something bigger and greater than you can possibly see from this vantage point? How can talking about those matters… even the fear of death itself… bring about a new possibility for life? Jon Underwood, the British Web Designer and self-named “Death Entrepreneur” who started the Death Café phenomenon along with his mother, a psychotherapist who helped facilitate says, “When people sit down to talk about death, the pretense kind of falls away, and people talk very openly and authentically. And… they say things in front of strangers which are really profound and beautiful.”
Marcus Mumford, offers a line of faith in the title track of their latest album release entitled, “Guiding Light.” In his signature raspy grit, he sings, “Even when there is no star in sight, you’ll always be my only guiding light.” This is the draw of relationship with Christ and our eyes adjusting to the light as we move out of the dark corners of our realities into a humble willingness to follow the ways of Christ even when we struggle to see the glory. And on this first Sunday of the year, I’m betting that we’re all here ready for something more; hungry for it even. In that same song, Mumford’s lyric, says, “If we come back and we’re broken; unworthy and ashamed; give us something to believe in and you know we’ll go your way.” What do you need to make that commitment to God today? What do you want most that you’re willing to stick with the necessary discipline to forego what you want now? Arise. Shine. Light. Glory.
Do you know what that emoji is supposed to communicate? I probably gave it away already but that’s okay. I always thought it meant you were cry-laughing – you know, you’re laughing so hard that tears just flow. And I think that’s pretty much the idea, but I looked it up and it is most accurately intended to represent uncontrollable joy. And who doesn’t love uncontrollable joy? It generally means guards have been put down, all fear is abandoned and this contagious connection between you and the sender of that uncontrollable joy is satisfying. I want that for you this morning… on JOY Sunday… also known as Gaudete Sunday – a Latin word meaning rejoice. While we still carry a spirit of waiting this season and maybe even a weariness that things in our lives still exist in tension and conflict and challenge… Gaudete Sunday is where we begin to make the turn toward the manger. It is why the advent wreath candle we light today is pink instead of purple. It’s Advent’s hump day – the time we turn from expectation to celebration. The rose candle invites us to intentionally make the turn with expectant confidence that what has been promised will come to pass. It’s an invitation into uncontrollable joy. And the RSVP on that invitation was for today’s worship gathering. I want our guards to be relaxed, our fears released, our connection to the coming Christ and each other to be full of joy.
But not at all. Elizabeth’s joy is not diminished by Mary’s own news. In fact, it is enhanced. Do you have that kind of joy? The kind of joy that can celebrate another’s? It is a disposition of joy… and Elizabeth’s got it. How could you be an Elizabeth to someone else in your life right now?
Jennifer Hudson always offers the encouragement to a contestant’s singing that has moved her: “You better sing!” Most people, even those without any musical talent, find joy in music. You’ve likely been so moved in hearing someone sing that you felt what JHud feels even if you couldn’t verbalize it that way. “You better sing!” she shouts! It’s a feeling. It’s passion! It’s freedom! It’s uncontrollable joy! It’s as if she’s saying, “You better praise God!” “You better keep it up!” “You better sing!” It’s not a threat. It’s not an “or else.” It’s “How could you not?!!” Elizabeth has this spirit with Mary. “Mary,” she says with uncontrollable joy, “You better sing!” And, of course, Mary sings – the Magnificat follows. Her soul magnifies the Lord. Her spirit rejoices with uncontrollable joy. It doesn’t mean that it won’t be a hard road. There will be morning sickness, and ridicule from her community, and struggle for her and Joseph as they sort out this unexpected addition coming to their lives. If we always waited until everything was just right, just so, before we could express our joy, we’d likely never get there.
It always makes the rounds on most channels during December. One of the favorite scenes is that of Linus, standing on a bare stage, reciting the story of the birth of Jesus from the gospel of Luke.
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“How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” What a title – and what a challenge to imagine how you would go about such a thing. But Bono admitted concerning the grandness of the title, “Actually I was talking about my father Bob. He was the atomic bomb in question.”
Some people refer to it as the “Cathedral of Saint John the Unfinished.” It’s an impressive landmark in New York – 601 feet long and 124 feet high. It features the longest Gothic nave in the United States and the largest rose window in the country as well. 
10,000 pieces of glass. Besides the sanctuary, there are seven chapels. It’s an architectural beauty. Construction began in 1892. Worship and other ministries started taking place there in 1899. The building wasn’t opened end-to-end until 1941 but even then, there was much work waiting to be completed. Over the years, the structure was plagued by financial woes, changes in building plans, wartime delays, engineering problems and in 2001, a destructive fire. And so, today, 126 years to the month after the cornerstone was laid, this massive church is still sometimes dubbed, “Saint John the Unfinished.” ‘Unfinished’ seems like such a downer of a word. You never like when the idea is attached to your personal projects. She didn’t finish the race. His dissertation was never completed. The remodeling of your bathroom may not have begun as far back as 1892 but still, as you step around the unfinished tile every day and the counter-top-less sink area, it could be called “the john unfinished.”
of 95-year-old war veteran and senator Bob Dole, with all his strength rise from his wheelchair to salute 94-year-old war veteran and past president George H.W. Bush. Man, that was a moment. And across the land, if but for a little while, there was a peace that focused on dignity and respect over poorly constructed spewed words of hate and division. It shouldn’t take death for us to treat each other with dignity. To whom can you offer some dignity that you’ve been withholding of late? What relationship can you restore? Not easy, I know, but you can take a humble step if even the other person will not. The staff team named Romans 12 in our Bible study last Monday. In it, Paul writes: “As far as it is up to you, be at peace with everyone.” You’ve got some agency in this peace-work. Theologian Paul Tillich said, “Faith is the courage to accept acceptance.” Not a bad word for us on either side of the forgiveness equation. In Christ, we are loved beyond measure and we are in turn called to love in that same way. That’s a kind of love that breaks chains.
God will never cease to amaze me.
Never.
lost his right eye to an improvised explosive device while serving our country. He continued to serve even after that injury. Most recently he was mocked on Saturday Night Live as Pete Davidson made fun of several politicians. Many were outraged. Crenshaw, a Navy Seal who had experienced the chaos and injury (of all kinds) of war had been through harder things than a comic’s mockery. Crenshaw was invited onto SNL 
the following week where he and Davidson did a bit together, bridging the difference in a light-hearted way, honoring veterans who have served faithfully and sharing a need to forgive, heal and move forward together. Crenshaw said, “I try hard not to offend others and try even harder not to be offended.” Not bad advice and maybe some helpful feedback for you and me to remember.
In front of his home, in between a few shrubs, stands a curious tower. It’s about four feet tall, filled to the top with stones. Inspired décor you ask? Well… sort of. “It’s there,” he says, “to remind me how brief life is and how important the time we have here is.” Okay. But why the tower of stones? “It’s a little morbid,” he admits, “but it’s a tool my Bible teacher taught me in high school.” The stones were inspired by the Psalm his teacher shared with him that says, “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Cousins said, “It’s about making a deposit in people’s lives in a way that matters.” We only have so many days. The quarterback transformed that verse into a visual reminder: 720 stones. 
He calculated what he considered a feasible number of years he had left given his health and history, measured that time in months and came up with 720 months left in his life Lord willing. “Every month I’m going to take out a stone,” he said, “put it in my pocket and think: ‘Once this month is over, this is gone. You can’t get it back.’” Cousins was going to be intentional about how he spent the time he had left… wanting to stay the course of his faith, his call to live generously, in pursuit of his life’s purpose. Carrying each stone reminds him to be less selfish and more giving to others because, in the end, he says, “It’s not going to be about what I did for myself, but what I did for others.” So he pulls a stone and he asks the question, “What impact am I making, not only today, but for eternity?”
Staff Sergeant Johnny Jones with his quote that reads, “People ask how I stay so positive after losing my legs. I simply ask how they stay so negative with theirs.”
Bishop Michael Curry, most known for the sermon he gave and Harry and Meghan’s Royal Wedding this summer, was interviewed this week as he has a new book coming out entitled, “The Power of Love” which also just happens to be, arguably, the title of one the best songs from 1985, “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News. Back to the Future soundtrack. “The Power of love is a curious thing…” If I got that song stuck in your head, you’re welcome. Enjoy! But I digress. Bishop Curry was first asked to respond to the words of Rabbi Jeffrey Myers who experienced eleven of his own being executed a week ago Saturday at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. The Rabbi quoted the Psalms, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. But,” he added, “I want those eleven lives back.” Curry noted that “When it hurts, it hurts and we need to own that.” He spoke of the Jewish tradition that never allows a dead body of one of their own to be left alone. He said, “We do it together. We have to exist in the rituals of faith which were beta tested a long time ago. Those disciplines hold us in the difficult seasons while God’s energy finds a way to be reinfused into the community.”
“Nebraska: honestly, it’s not for everyone.” Some marketers are calling this genius. Sort of a reverse psychology notion. The thought that it might not be for you makes you want to know why. Now I have to go! A terrific and tested sales tactic – transparency. When someone asks, “Why should I hire you?” it may be best to answer, “I don’t know if you should. I’m not a good fit for everybody.” All the sudden the person leans in to understand further. The honesty campaign is attempting to change the perception that people will say anything to get the sale… to get you to come to Nebraska. But honestly, it’s not for everyone.
The claim expands to say this: “The Gathering Place is a world class riverfront park designed to welcome all Tulsans to a vibrant and inclusive space that engages, educates and excites!”
You can see the results in this picture. This set off a series of prank/counter-prank, between the two schools that ultimately had to come to a close before things got seriously dangerous. As to this initial stunt, many were amused. TCU did blank the Mustangs of SMU that day 21-0. The paper’s report had this to offer from TCU’s grass experts: “The annual rye will likely reappear next year, but will eventually fade out, much like SMU’s football program.”
He and his wife, Jennifer, have three beautiful daughters for which he coaches each one of their soccer teams – ‘Dad of the Year’ material here. Andy’s mother passed away a couple of years ago now and he posted a beautiful story this week in connection to that great loss and has allowed me to share it with you this morning. “I have this scrappy little African violet 
that was part of a basket that Sharon and the PTA at my kids’ school sent for my mom’s memorial service (I was serving as treasurer at the time). For a couple of years, I’ve watered it, and I’ve looked at it thinking “I should really do something with that.” It just kept hanging in… a little water, a little light… and it puts out these beautiful, delicate blooms once in a while. Somewhere along the way, it became “mom’s violet” in the back of my head. It needs a better pot. It probably needs some fertilizer. It needs me to read up on how you take care of these beyond mild neglect. Somehow, it made it beyond a couple of years. Somehow so did I.”
Thomas’ character was known as “The Soup Nazi” which was also the name of the episode. The plot line follows Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer and their struggles to stay on the good side of Larry Thomas’ character so that they could enjoy his most delicious soup. One false move, however, and The Soup Nazi held a forever grudge. Try to order soup after crossing that line and you would receive that harsh, famous line, “No soup for you!” Of Seinfeld’s run of nine seasons and 180 episodes, “The Soup Nazi” ranks second on the list of most popular episodes of the series. Larry Thomas called it, “The easiest four days of work I ever did.”
Alexander Campbell migrated to the United States, a Scots-Irish immigrant, with his family. He and father, Thomas, would be two key founders of the movement that became the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Coming out of the Presbyterian tradition, the Campbell’s wrestled with a number of the practices of the church. One that stuck out more than most, perhaps, was the practice of communion. The church had created an elitist practice when it came to communion which essentially resulted in only the privileged wealthy being invited to share in communion. Church leadership would give them tokens which had to be presented before receiving the elements. No token – no communion for you. The pivotal moment was captured in a poorly produced video I watched as a child, learning about our denomination. It was a low budget production. Tom Hanks did not play Alexander Campbell, okay? But the point was clearly made. Alexander Campbell is standing in line to receive communion, with great angst by what had become such a restrictive experience – not the freedom flowing, grace-filled salvific experience he believed was the first intention of Jesus. And so, when Campbell reaches the front of the line, and with great drama of a made-for-tv movie, he slams his token down on the Table and walks away. The music swells, the camera shot widens, and behold, something new was taking shape. That was the beginning moment of our denomination; a movement that would be defined by an Open Table where any and all were invited to share in the meal. The invitation belongs to Christ, and is not merely our own. This is why Disciples churches have communion at every worship service and why the Chalice is the symbol you’ll see on Disciples church signs. The Table defines what we most deeply value – that the love of God, in Christ, is a wide invitation; open for any and all people who will come. The invitation is yours today. Will you come? This I know, we don’t always come, even when we’re invited.
the very Table where she was humbly invited and received for the first time, the gift of encountering Jesus. The Food Pantry builds community and empowers people to work together and share food with the neighborhood. There’s not much bureaucracy. They don’t ask hungry people to fill out forms or prove that they are deserving. “We’re strong on participation,” Miles says. “Most of our volunteers are folks who came to get food and stayed to feed others. They welcome everyone to the table––disabled workers, retired grandparents, homeless gay teenagers, middle-aged cleaning ladies, long-time San Franciscans and new immigrant families from all over the world––and they invite everyone to pitch in. Our volunteers speak a dozen different languages. Some are young and strong, some old and sick; some live in houses and some on the streets. But at The Food Pantry, every Friday, we share the privilege of doing meaningful work together, and feeding our community.”
