Category: Uncategorized

Scripture: Psalm 145, Luke 24:13-35 (NIV)

This is my favorite Sunday of the year, because the Sunday after Easter is the day ‘Alleluia, He is Risen!’ stops being a worship response and starts determining how we LIVE.

Because we believe that Jesus is risen, we make different choices–we live differently, work differently, form community differently.  Because Jesus is risen, we fight different battles in different ways, we celebrate different victories, and we find ourselves in a different family.  Because Jesus is risen–we think differently, see differently, love differently. For us, everything changes.  Because Jesus is risen–everything is new.  And while the scope of the change is cosmic, the way we change is deceptively simple.

Love becomes the way we measure everything.  And when love is the measure–everything is made new.

I hope you’ll join me as we look at a beautiful story in a new and transformative way.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10

Dear Church,

On Good Friday, we gathered at 7 to watch and pray.  On Holy Saturday, as we waited, we walked the stations of the cross in our Labyrinth.

But friends–we know the end of the story.  We did not watch or wait as those without hope.  Sunday is coming–resurrection is coming.  I hope you’ll join us and add your hallelujah to the celebration.  We’ll be flowering the cross, so bring a bloom. (Don’t worry if you forget, we’ll have lots of extras!)

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture: Matthew 21:1-17

As he left Jericho and began his very last journey to Jerusalem, Jesus passed two blind men on the side of the road.  Hearing he was coming, the men cried out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’  The crowd tried to shut them up and push them aside, but Jesus heard their voices and he stopped.  He asked them, ‘what do you want me to do for you?’

‘Lord, we want our sight.’  They called his name; they knew who he was–but they couldn’t see him.

And so–Jesus gave it to them and immediately they could see and began to follow him.  

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus opened their eyes so they could see.  And once they could see, they began to follow.

And now we are entering into Holy Week.  Like those men on the side of the road–we also know who Jesus is, but there is still so much we can’t see.  We too need our eyes opened.  

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Dear Church,

Sometimes the good news sounds like bad news at first.  As we move deeper into the shadows of Lent, this is one of those times.

This Sunday we gather around the communion table and consider the words Jesus gave us when he gave us this sacrament: ‘This is my body, which is for you: do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way after supper he took the cup saying, ‘this cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

What if this is more than a ritual?  What if Jesus is showing us, in word and deed, a new way to live in a violent and broken world?   At the communion table we first see that there are treasures buried in grief and loss, church.

Most of us are completely uninterested in that revelation because we still desperately believe that Jesus is never going to allow anything unbearable to happen to us.  I wonder how we got that idea from a savior who taught us that life and salvation are found in his broken body and spilled blood?

God brings meaning, salvation, goodness, and life out of pain, injustice, violence and suffering.  This is bad news if you believe right living and believing is going to protect you from pain. 

But if you are grieving right now, if you are suffering the loss of a loved one, the loss of a dream, the loss of a future, the loss of security or hope — if you are wondering why, if God loves you and you love God, why, why, why did you end up here — then the news that God’s glory manifests most powerfully and tenderly and transformatively in the midst of suffering and in the face of death — that is good news indeed.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture: Luke 1:26-38 & Luke 1:46-55

Dear Church,

Today (if you are reading this note on Friday) is the day the church celebrates the annunciation of the Lord–the moment that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, a poor young girl and announced that Almighty God was inviting her to become the mother of the messiah, son of God, the long awaited savior who would break the curse of the fall and finally crush the head of the serpent.  The savior who would change everything, turn creation upside down to set it right again.  And Mary said yes:  

Here I am, the servant of the Lord.  Let it be with me according to your will.

This moment–the annunciation—is about the brilliant light of God shining in the darkness.  Usually people assume it is the angel Gabriel who brings that light, but for me, Mary’s answer is the light which pierces the darkness.  She is old enough to know how the world is, old enough to understand the price she will pay, the risk she is taking, the centuries of condemnation, shame & rage that will crash down on her young shoulders.  But she says yes–because she also understands that the world that is, isn’t the world that could be–or the world that will be.  She believes God is good and trusts God for salvation, so she offers her whole self to God to do God’s will–even when it is beyond her understanding.

The light of Mary’s yes pierces the shadows of Lent–her faith-filled yes testifies that while the past has surely malformed the present, it will not distort the future.  The kingdom of God has broken in and the revolution has begun–bringing new creation that centers the weak–not the strong, the poor–not the rich, the sick–not the healthy.  This Sunday, we look at how the Holy Spirit is calling us–like Mary–to say yes to the ways that God is breaking the power of the past as Jesus unleashes new creation.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture: Matthew 16:13-26

Dear Church,

As we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us past what is bright and familiar into the shadows of our faith, we begin to see that many of our foundational assumptions about Jesus are unhelpful.  We rejoice that our savior is strong and powerful and unshakable–and he is.  But we overlook how Jesus uses his power and his strength.  We live in a world where the strong use their strength to please themselves.  We live in a world where the powerful wield their power against the weak.  We love to think and sing about the power of Jesus because we believe he will use it on our behalf, to give us the life we choose and protect us from all harm and distress.  Jesus does use his power for us–but to give us the life we need, not the life our broken hearts are set on.

We see the power and glory of God in Jesus most clearly, not when he works miracles or reveals supernatural knowledge, but when he surrenders to the will of God and embraces weakness, suffering and vulnerability.

Jesus promises to save us not by making us all-powerful and invulnerable–Jesus saves us in our weakness and through our wounds.

This isn’t the savior we want, but this is the savior we have.    A savior who cannot be followed in strength for power.  A savior we only find in our weakness and vulnerability.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture: Luke 4:28-30, Luke 4:40-43, Luke 5:15-16

Dear Church,

In Luke chapter 5, a man with leprosy finds Jesus, falls on the ground before him and begs, ‘Lord, if you are willing, I know you can make me clean.’  We see God’s heart for those who suffer in Jesus’ answer.  ‘I am willing.  Be clean!’  Instantly, the man is healed.   And even though Jesus asks him to keep it quiet, word gets out.  Soon a huge crowd surrounded Jesus–seeking God, seeking wholeness, seeking healing. 

And Jesus…left.

He escaped to a quiet place to pray.  And Luke tells us Jesus did this often.  Slipped away from the crowds at Nazareth, at Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Over and over, people seeking food, seeking healing, seeking forgiveness, seeking God came to Jesus.  And he healed, freed many, fed many, helped many–but not all.  Some were left hungry, left sick, left behind when Jesus went away. He could have stayed and done more–but he didn’t.  Why?

Why did the one who taught us that God leaves the 99 to rescue the one lost sheep, why did he leave before all the need was met?  Resting and praying are important–but are they more important than healing the sick?  After all, Jesus got in trouble for healing on the sabbath–surely praying could have waited a little longer? How can it be that Jesus left some people behind–and what does it mean for us?  

Would you believe me if I told you, it was good news?

Beloved, our God is worthy of praise–and even though sometimes it surely looks otherwise, our God never leaves anyone out and never leaves anyone behind.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11

Before he began any ministry, Jesus was baptized–and as he came up from the water, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove and rested on him. And with the Spirit, a voice:
‘You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.’

All this happened before Jesus did a thing for God.

Years ago I served a beautiful church in South Boston.  A community a lot like ours in many ways–people from every background, every circumstance gathered together in sincere, imperfect love for God and neighborhood and one another.  And every year we would have a special service remembering Jesus’ baptism and after the message the pastor would call everyone forward and anoint our heads with oil and say over us the words that God spoke over Jesus:

You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.

People would come undone–weeping uncontrollably in joy and relief.  It was so beautiful and holy and I knew it was as faithful. I knew it was true, but I didn’t understand how it could be. 

I loved those people so deeply, but I knew them–almost as well as I knew myself.  How could God be pleased with us–when we were still such a mess?  Love us–sure, but be pleased with us?  Not just pleased, but well pleased?  How can that be…surely we have more work to do, more growing to accomplish first.  
And even if it is somehow true, surely it can’t be good for us to hear it now?

But what we see in Jesus’ story–both in his baptism and in the season of temptation he endured just after–is that we cannot grow, we cannot heal, we cannot even begin to join the work of Jesus and we cannot resist the forces that pull us from God, until we know that God is well pleased with us.  Until we believe that we are beloved–right now, right where we are.  Our right beginning is in being with God–not in doing for God.  Being–resting, rejoicing–in God’s loving voice calling us beloved, astonishing us with the revelation that when God beholds us, God is well pleased with us. 

Until we know this, we know nothing of God. 

Until we believe this, we can do nothing for God.  

This Lent we are allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us Into the Shadows–to face the things we run from, to confront the powers that overwhelm us.  And if we are brave (may God give us the grace to be brave), we will learn that God is in the shadows as much as in the bright.   And in the shadows we will find a deeper, richer, stronger, healthier faith in Christ.  

Peace,

Pastor Kate

P.S.  If you’d like to learn more about ‘being before doing,’ one of the truths a season in the shadows reveals to us–check out this podcast by Pete Scazzaro.  

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Scripture: Exodus 16:21-36

Dear Church,

The first thing the people had to learn how to do was–trust God.

The second the people had to learn was how to do was–rest.

Once you’ve mastered the first, the second is easy.  Without the first, the second is almost impossible.
If you want to measure how much you trust God, try to rest.  

You can’t keep sabbath until you trust God.  And if you can’t keep sabbath…

I hope you can join me for worship this Sunday. Together with the Holy Spirit, we’ll co-create a culture of sacred sabbath rest.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture: Exodus 16:1-21

‘if only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted…’

That’s what the Hebrew people said to Moses just 30 days after the Lord liberated them from Egyptian enslavement.  Isn’t memory a funny thing?  We compare the worst of what is to the best of what never was–and then we are swallowed up in despair.

It was a tricky moment for the soon-to-be-Israelites–they were camped out in the Desert of Sin and stuck between the life they had, and the life God was creating for them.  They were living in in-between times. The past was gone, and the future was unknown–they were scared and sad and so, so far out of their comfort zone.  So they grumbled and they complained, and they turned on Moses and God and one another.

And Moses told Aaron, ‘Say to the entire community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’

The people gathered in terror to find out what God would do to them.  And what happened next reveals everything about the nature of our God–whose goodness is far more beautiful than we ever dare to imagine.  

I don’t think I’m the only one struggling with fear and despair these days.  The pandemic should be over, but it isn’t.  I do a lot grumbling and complaining and creative remembering.  Sometimes, when I remember God hears, my heart fills with dread.  And then the Spirit leads me to stories like this one, and I remember–God is better than I expect or deserve. I remember, God’s goodness is for us, not against us. God meets us where we are, not where we think we should be.

If you are seeking hope and strength and grace in these days, I hope you join us as we gather to worship the God who met our ancestors in the Desert of Sin and fed them with the bread of heaven.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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