SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 6 
Joshua 5:1-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
​
The ordination service yesterday for Tracy Howe Wispelwey was very beautiful and provocative.  After the other leaders of our Shenandoah Association and I officially declared that she is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, all who were present sang this song from South Sudan, where the Christians speak Arabic:
     Shukuru Alla,
          nina kulu Murassalat.
     Nina Kulu Murassalat le Yesu!
(translation: )
     Thank God,
          we are all ambassadors.
     We are all ambassadors of Jesus !
This was a very fitting message for the ordination of a minister: it must also fit each one of us who claims the name of Jesus Christ. 
To be named as an ambassador is a very noble thing.  In the New Testament, Jesus names his disciples to be “apostles” – that is, ones who are sent… which is what ambassadors are. 
Maybe you can point to a particular moment in your life with God, when you knew that God was sending you on a mission or calling you to some kind of task.  Or maybe you have not yet committed yourself to be such an ambassador or apostle in God’s service: maybe you are putting off responding to God’s call on your life.
In my experience, there were many years in which I gave myself partly, half-heartedly to God’s call.  At various times during those half-hearted years, I said prayers of repentance from my half-heartedness: sometimes when my own plans hit the proverbial “brick wall;” sometimes in spiritual moments when I became able to hear God’s voice. 
And then there have been the times— some of you have walked with me through these times— when I truly repented (changed my mind) from my half-heartedness toward God’s call and made concrete commitments to serve God and God’s people for Jesus’ sake.  Foremost in my heart are the Spring of 2006, when leaders from Bethel called me to serve here as a licensed minister,  and October of 2012, when you-all, in cooperation with the Shenandoah Association of the United Church of Christ, ordained me here. 
The sin of neglecting God’s call on one’s life is as problematic as any other sin.  Try as we may to run or hide, this sin is always gnawing at our guts until we repent (change our minds / hearts).
Happy are those
     to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
          and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
While I kept silence, my body wasted away
     through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
     Your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up
     as by the heat of summer.
(Selah)
Then I acknowledged my sin to You,
     and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
      and You forgave the guilt of my sin.
(Selah)
Psalm 32:2-5
This is a message of good news:  change is possible; God’s forgiveness is freely available: our repentance is the key.  While you are alive, it is not too late.
God always calls us to reach out beyond ourselves in self-sacrificial love.  So, here’s more good news: the annual One Great Hour of Sharing is coming, this Sunday !  Through our gifts, we can reach out to people like 2-year-old Adi, who went to Christian Hospital Mungeli in India, after suffering symptoms of hydrocephalus caused by tubercular meningitis.  The CHM surgeons were able to implant a shunt from his brain to drain excess fluid buildup.  Three months after his surgery, little Adi was bursting with a 2-year-old’s energy !  With his ongoing physical therapy there, Adi is expected to have continued improvement.  One Great Hour of Sharing supports three workers at CHM: two physicians and an intern, who helped turn CHM around from ruin to success. 
Pray about giving to One Great Hour of Sharing: if not this,
​then in what way is God calling you to serve?
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
   since God is making His appeal through us;
   we entreat you on behalf of Christ,
   be reconciled to God.           2 Corinthians 5:20

​As we have done for many years, on the first Sunday in March this year we will celebrate Holy Communion and begin to receive our annual One Great Hour of Sharing (“OGHS”) offering. 
This year, the theme of the OGHS campaign is “Go the Extra Mile.”  It is especially fitting at this time, when refugees are so much in the news.  While expenditures for refugee or “displaced persons” ministries represent only 14% of the total spending of OGHS gifts, the refugee experience is so poignant, it is worth focusing on.

“In a world where communities are being displaced by the catastrophes of war, famine, and natural disasters, the Church is called to reclaim the spiritual discipline of solidarity.  Christians are summoned to adopt and live out a “theology of accompañamiento [accompaniment],” in the words of the theologian Roberto Goizueta.  As natural, economic, and political forces disrupt and uproot communities, the Church is called to stand in solidarity with those who seek to move beyond the trauma of displacement toward a promise of healing and peace. …
“This option for accompaniment is truly a biblical principle that saturates the pages of Scripture.  From God Who is present with Hagar in the desert and calls her to remain close to her son Ishmael (Genesis 21), to the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats where the criterion for judgment is that of compassionate accompaniment (Matthew 25), to
 
St. Paul’s exhortation that Christians should “rejoice with those who rejoice [and] weep with those who weep” (Romans 15).  This promise to walk together is mutual and reciprocal, where both parties are in need, and both experience the real power that emerges from the spiritual discipline of solidarity. …
“Through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, we, as the body of Christ, have opportunity and power to help those who are living in despair as refugees.  If refugees had the choice to return home, many would not have a place to return because their home most likely has been destroyed— either burned, severely damaged, or is still an unsafe place to live.
“This year, as you consider your gift to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, for one moment, think of what it would be like to not have a place to call home, and then make your very best gift…. Let us live out the call of solidarity with all people, especially those who are displaced by disaster, war, and famine.”
(source: http://www.ucc.org/oghs_resources
Click on “Go the Extra Mile”)
 
Among the many options we might hear about for helping people in need, One Great Hour of Sharing is among the most efficient and accountable.  On average, of every dollar given to One Great Hour of Sharing, 92 cents is used directly for mission programming; 6.5 cents for interpretation materials and 1 cent for administrative costs and .5 cents for program monitoring and evaluation (accountability).  Most administrative costs are paid by gifts to Our Church's Wider Mission National Basic Support.  In addition to the United Church of Christ, six other Christian denominations in the USA support One Great Hour of Sharing: American Baptist Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and Presbyterian Church (USA).  All of us cooperate with the organization called Church World Service, to get maximum effectiveness out of every penny.
Please consider helping— in response to God, Who says to us,
“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and you that have no money, come, buy and eat !”                           -                                               - Isaiah 55:1

Scriptures for Sunday, February 21st, 2016
Psalm 27
Genesis 15:1-18
Philippians 3:17 - 4:1
Luke 13:31-35

Once again, today I was moved by the StillSpeaking Daily Devotional from the United Church of Christ’s Writers Group, and I want to share it with you all.  It is written by Quinn Caldwell, pastor of Plymouth Congregational UCC in Syracuse, NY.  Rev. Caldwell led workshops on vital worship practices at our Central Atlantic Conference Annual Meeting two years ago.

“In Christ God was reconciling the world to Godself,
          not counting their trespasses against them,
          and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.”                                                          - 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
You know what would make Christianity a lot easier ?  If we could just do away with this whole "forgiveness" thing.
I mean, none of the other religions requires it.  Also, it's inefficient.  Achieving it can take a lifetime.  Also, it's not as fun as holding a grudge, or as just smacking the person who wronged you.  Also, that person totally doesn't deserve forgiveness.  They deserve an eye for an eye!  They deserve quid pro quo !  They deserve to feel bad forever!
Also, it's hard.
On the other hand, doing away with the whole forgiveness requirement would make Christianity a whole lot less, well, Christian.
See, here's the thing: You think forgiving your ex is hard?  Try being a deity, getting a body and entering history to try to bring your creations back to you because you love them so much, and then getting killed by them.  Now, that's hard to forgive.
But somehow, God did.  Right?  Isn't that why we're here?  Isn't that what your church is built on, what inspired the music your choir sings, what made them write the Bible you read, what saved the world you live in ?
You know what would make Christianity a lot easier ?  Doing away with the whole forgiveness thing.
But then, what would be the point ?
 
Prayer
God, I know You wouldn't ask this of me if You didn't have a plan for helping me do it.  So, thanks for any help You can send my way.
http://www.ucc.org/daily_devotional
 

Forgiveness and reconciliation are urgently needed in our church family and in our wider community now.  Almost everywhere we look, neighbors and family members are enmeshed in grudges, old quarrels, and despising one another.  Repairing broken relationships is a wonderful project for the holy season of Lent.
First, we ought to thank God for any and every relationship we are in which is loving and kind and free of these obstacles to God’s grace.  Make a list of your healthy, reconciled relationships and thank God for them: then call or write the people you have listed, and bless them !
Second, review all of the broken and damaged relationships in your network of people.  Sisters or brothers; parents; daughters and sons; the people next door and those across town; the ones who owe you money and the ones you’re indebted to; folks from church and from work, play, or school.  Then set about praying for each one.  Meditate on ways that, by the grace of God, you might forgive and make amends and repair the breaches… or at least let them know that you are ready to try. 
We have seen miracles of healing in the bodies of individuals: God also works miracles between members of His body the church, and between neighbors.
Taking inventory of your relationships in this way could open your eyes to some blessed opportunities God is holding out for you, to make your life more like God intended it…  forgiven.

​
                                              Luke 13:34

Always remember, Jesus gave himself in love for the very people who crucified him.

SCRIPTURE READINGS
ASH WEDNESDAY
Psalm 51
Joel 2
Isaiah 58:1-12
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14
Psalm 91
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13

By the time you get this, we will be in the season of Lent, but this morning, I’m still getting ready for Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday. 
Lent is the traditional period of forty days (besides Sundays) leading up to Easter, during which Christians prepare their hearts to more fully appreciate the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Since early Christian times, Lent has been honored as a time for repenting of our sins, a time for cleansing our hearts of worldly passions and filling them instead with the pure and self-sacrificing Holy Spirit of God that was in Jesus.
The kickoff for Lent each year is Ash Wednesday, and this year it falls this week.  We at Bethel have a worship service planned for Wednesday evening to help us all begin this journey toward the cross— and beyond the cross, to the glorious celebration of resurrection life that we call Easter.
But before the Ash Wednesday of repentance for sins, many Christian communities celebrate a centuries-old tradition called Fat Tuesday (French: “Mardi Gras”).  Where Lenten self-sacrifice calls for abstaining from meat (“carne”) and fat (“gras”), Fat Tuesday is a last fling when folks get all of that sinning out of their system.  Mardi Gras flaunts the fat and the flesh— everything that Lent forbids.
Here are some samples of the carnival (literally, “goodbye to meat”) spirit, from our all-American New Orleans Mardi Gras carnival tradition:
You old so-and-so,
   you’re gonna wish you’d never been born !
I took you into my home--
   You wouldn’t leave my woman alone !
You old so-and-so,
   you’re gonna wish you’d never been born !
 
I’ll be glad when you’re dead, you rascal you !
You’ll be hangin’ in a tree--
   We’ll ship your body C.O.D.--
I’ll be glad when you’re dead, you rascal you !
♠        ♣       ♥       ♦
Next, a classic from the “second line” tradition:  in a funeral, on the way to the cemetery, the brass band plays solemn hymns about holy living and hopes that the deceased will rest in peace.  But after the burial, on the way back, the band breaks into what they call “second line” music, rollicking and bawdy, a funeral-day party, recounting the wild life that the deceased actually lived:
Teachers used to warn that boy,
   time and time again,
      ‘You’re holdin’ a losing hand
          And you’re playin’ a losing game’--
Said, ‘When you play you got to pay,
   And you gotta pay one day--
Ah, but when you do,
   the groundhog’s gonna be shakin’ your hand !’
 
Didn’t he ramble ?  Didn’t he ramble ?
He rambled ‘round and ‘round, in and out of town--
Didn’t he ramble ?  Didn’t he ramble ?
He rambled ‘til the butcher shot him down !
 
His head was in the market place,
   And his feet were in the street;
The lady was passing by;
   She said, ‘Look at the market meat.’
He tried to lift her pocketbook
   And he said, ‘I wish you well.’
She pulled out a .32,
   Said,  ‘I’ll see you first in hell !’
 
Didn’t he ramble ? …
 
Now he snuck into the cathouse
   And made love to the stable;
The Madam caught him cold--
   He said, ‘I’ll pay you when I be able.’
Six months went past,
   And she stood all she could stand:
She said, ‘When I’m through with you,
   The groundhog’s gonna shake your hand !
 
Didn’t he ramble ? …
 
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust--
If the brown whiskey didn’t kill him,
All the rambling must.
 
The carnival spirit is not restricted to the notorious neighborhoods of New Orleans:  there is a bit of it in each of our hearts.  What to do about it ?
Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to Me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
tear your hearts and not your clothing. 
Return to the LORD, your God,
for He is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.                                 Joel 2:12-13

Scriptures for Sunday, February 7, 2016
Psalm 99
Exodus 34:29-35
2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
Luke 9:28-43

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. 
As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 
When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him.
                                              - Exodus 34:29-30
I am not a fan of scary movies, nor of scary religious people.
Sometimes when I hear a preacher ranting, I guess that the audience includes a lot of the kind of people who like that frightened feeling some people get from a horror flick.  They may want a preacher to scare them-
in a religious way.
​
In Exodus 34, the Hebrew verb which we now understand to mean “shone” is very similar to the word for “grew horns.”  People who read a popular Latin translation of the Bible were led to think that Moses grew horns on his head after his encounters on the mountain with God— so, paintings and statues of Moses depicted him having horns.


In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:16)  Paul says to faithful followers of Jesus Christ, “you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. …  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  (2 Corinthians 3, verses 3 and 17)
Looking around at the diverse ways that folks practice Christian faith in our world, I see some groups achieving success with scare tactics.  I am thankful that we live in such a free nation, in which everyone may choose to practice their faith, or lack of faith, in virtually any way they choose (short of harming others).  If you have a taste for scary Christianity, there are plenty of places where you can find it… and who am I to tell you that you shouldn’t like it ?
As I understand God’s call on my life, it flows out of this kind of teaching, as found in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.”  With this in mind, I would not want to use the fact that “the Lord is near” to scare people, as preachers sometimes do. 
Similarly, from Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 8:  “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.  For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption.”  
And from 1 John 4:  “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”
I am sure that if I had one-on-one meetings with God like Moses had, I would come away looking scared— and scary !  I can only imagine.
 
[S]aid Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
                - C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/cs-lewis-daily/2016/01/29 
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