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Getting Clarity on Calling, by Pastor Kinsey

1/26/2015

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Readings for Epiphany 2, January 25, 2015
  • Jonah 3:1-5, 10  
  • Psalm 62:5-12  
  • 1 Corinthians 7:29-31  
  • Mark 1:14-20


Getting Clarity on Calling, Pastor Fred Kinsey
The disciples follow Jesus immediately, leaving their nets and boats behind, to begin their journey with Jesus.  But Jonah’s journey is a long one through Ninevah, all by himself, a three day’s walk across an exceedingly large city! 

Let’s be clear: Jonah didn’t like the Ninevites.  They were his sworn enemies, at one time the greatest power in the region, he didn’t want to ask them to repent.  And he knew God was a loving God, full of mercy, and slow to anger.  But Jonah thought he knew better, and he had no intention of helping his enemies.  Which is why when God first called Jonah to go there, he took off, in the opposite direction.  Thanks God!  But no thanks!  Not me!  Don’t involve me in your plans of forgiveness! 

The direction of Nineveh was east, near Mosul, in Iraq, on the Tigris River.  So Jonah heads west, down to Joffa, on Israel’s coast of  the Mediterranean, and books a cruise on the first ship out. 

Not so fast, God says, and causes the waters to rage and storm out of nowhere!  The ship’s crew start praying, each to their own gods, for help.  Jonah though, was sleeping down below.  What did he care, as long as he didn’t have to go to Ninevah!  The crew decided it had to lighten the boat’s load in order to save themselves, and threw all the passengers luggage overboard.  Still, Jonah was tucked away down below, without one pang of guilt.

Finally, the crew retrieves Jonah from his place of denial, and say, didn’t you tell us you were fleeing from your God?  Who is this God of yours anyway? 

The God of heaven and earth, and the seas, says Jonah.  I have a feeling you’re gunna have to, throw me overboard if you want to calm God’s seas.  But they were afraid, and suddenly had a deep respect for Jonah’s God.  So at first they tried rowing as hard as they could.  But still they were about to capsize.  And running out of any other options they could think of, they finally take Jonah by his arms and legs, and they do, sling him overboard.

The wind ceases, but Jonah begins to sink.  A large fish, sent by God, comes to swallow Jonah up.  Jonah is rescued from death. 

Aldous Huxley wrote a poem, once upon a time, about this scene:

Seated upon the convex mound
of one vast kidney, Jonah prays
and sings his canticles and hymns.
Making the hollow vault resound
God’s goodness and mysterious ways,
till the great fish spouts music as he swims. 
Aldous Huxley, “Jonah,” in The Cherry Tree: A Collection of Poems, ed. Geoffrey Grigson (New York: Vanguard, 1959) 211.

On the third day, hearing Jonah’s prayer, God causes the great fish to throw-up Jonah on dry land. 

And that’s where our First Reading begins today: “The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time… 

Jonah – sometimes called, the reluctant prophet – begins his long walk through the exceedingly large Nineveh, and what he thought of as, enemy territory, a mean city.  So even when his journey proves successful, and the people believe Jonah and repent, Jonah is unimpressed and decidedly unhappy about God changing God’s mind about the calamity God said God would bring upon them.  Jonah, Jonah, Jonah!

How long has your journey been?  Long and winding like Jonah’s?  Have you been trying to flee God, longer than you’ve been trying to follow God?  Did you jump up out of your boat, like James and John, and follow the LORD right away, only to find that the road on dry land was taking a lot longer than you expected?  Did you give up a comfortable living, and wish you could have it all back?  Did God call you to a job you don’t like, to go and work with a people you see more, like enemies, than friends? 

It seems to me that one of the things we are called to do in these stories, is examine the truth of the message we bring, wherever we are.  Are we working at something that we have a passion for?  It can’t always be in our paying job.  But maybe it’s in raising a family, or in some volunteer work that’s close to your heart, which is really, closest to your calling, as a child of God.  Until we are clear about what it is God is calling us to do – that something, that fits who we are, the person God created us for – we can’t expect to want to be doing it.  And we’re likely, running in the other direction, booking a ticket on the next boat out of town.  Either, it’s not what we’re made for, and it’s the wrong vocation.  Or it’s truly what God has called you to, but you’re still not ready, there’s something personal in your life you have to resolve first.

St Paul’s discussion in our Second Reading, from 1 Corinthians, is in some ways, hard to square with our world today.  But one thing I think he has right, is ‘the urgency of now’:  “For the present form of this world is passing away,” said Paul.  That doesn’t mean the world is about to be destroyed by a large meteor that God is sending, or in a nuclear attack.  It means that, the present form of this world, is the form of Ninevah, the form of Rome, the forms of oppression in our lives constructed around race and class, sexual orientation and gender identity.  Paul says he saw these passing away, because Jesus brings a Spirit of grace and peace, a cleansing fire and justice, where forgiveness and new life, service and non-violent resistance, reign, in a new world God is creating through us.  It’s the resurrection life, that God revealed in Jesus, uncovering how we all have been the Ninevites – the enemy is us, every bit as much, as it is them.  Or to say it the other way around: God’s reign in Jesus is loving our neighbor as ourselves, and going the extra mile, to love, even our enemies.  When Jesus and Paul said the old form of this world is passing away, they never meant this globe, or that, the new world wouldn’t happen here on planet earth.  The war we need to win is a spiritual war, within and without.  They are very real world’s – winning hearts and minds – and God will take care of the rest.

Today we fight hunger, not with guns of course, but with donations of food, on this “Soup-er Bowl of Caring” Sunday.  A nationwide effort, started by one church down south, because they had a passion to offset the excesses of Super Bowl munching and snacking we do, in such impressive sizes.  If we can consume 1.23 billion chicken wings, and enough guacamole to fill a football field 12 feet high on Super Bowl Sunday, they reasoned, certainly we can each give a grocery bag of soup cans to our local food bank for those that are hungry and struggling to put food on the table, which, is as much as 1 in 5 kids in America today, and certainly more in our neighborhood.

How long is the journey?  It’s looking like we’d better plan for a sustained slog of it!  Our democracy is under attack, from outside, and from within.  The income gap between rich and poor, continues to widen.  And the institutional church is taking a hit, some of which is deserved, for sure.  But the spirituality of Americans remains high.  Here at Unity we believe that “the church is the people.”  And that’s what we’re going to celebrate next week, at our Potluck and Annual Meeting.  Because, we are convinced, that as a baptized people, our journey in faith, our walk with the Lord, and our cry for justice, is a life-long commitment.  We are being called and organized by a spiritual agenda, which is the new world Paul talked about, coming into being, through us.

Today we also celebrate our status as a “Reconciling in Christ” church for 7 years now.  This is our anniversary of becoming a welcoming congregation, and that too is a life-long commitment, and a journey with both victories and continued struggles.  But, we continue to walk with each other, “as sisters and brothers, united in love,” here at Unity, and as a witness to our neighbors and the world. 

Peter and Andrew, John and James, left their boats and nets immediately, but it was only the beginning of the journey.  There were many struggles and lessons learned along the way.  And when we follow the Rabbi, the captain of our boat, our Prophet, our Savior, and Friend, we know we are rowing in the right direction.  We may be called to pack light for the journey, shedding things that belong to the world that is passing away.  In the baptized life, we throw all our luggage from that old world overboard, and we make the decision to leap into the baptismal waters of chaos and renewal, for we place our trust in our forgiving God who will rescue us on the third day, and bring us safely to the other side. 

If we are clear about the purpose of what God is calling us to, we feel more and more renewed every day for the life-long journey of, making a difference in the new world we have in Christ: “to act with justice, to love tenderly, to serve one another, and to walk humbly with God.” (David Hass; We Are Called)  God bless us on our way!  
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Listening for what is Rare and Precious, by Pastor Kinsey, 1/18/15

1/18/2015

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1/11/15  "Life in Baptism," by Rev Fred Kinsey

1/11/2015

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Readings for January 11, 2015
Baptism of the Lord
  • Genesis 1:1-5  
  • Psalm 29  
  • Acts 19:1-7  
  • Mark 1:4-11


Life in Baptism, by Pastor Kinsey
Its football playoff time, and my Green Bay Packers are in!  Sorry about that, Bears fans.  But today the Packers take on the Dallas Cowboys in a game being billed as the Second Ice Bowl, a repeat of the 1967 Division playoff, when the very same teams, played on the same frozen tundra of Green Bay’s Lambeau Field in brutal minus 15 degree weather.  That was before thermal underwear, and Heat Gear Receiver Gloves.  My Texas cousin’s, who live in Dallas, bet me and my Wisconsin siblings, a six pack of beer on the game – Shiner Bock if we lose, and Pabst Blue Ribbon, if we win.  I’m actually only a fair weather football fan, but now that the stakes have become so high, maybe I’ll have to watch!

 

This season I haven’t been the only ambivalent football fan, unhappy with its negative image, yet still excited to watch.  This year, of course, there’s been a string of public disasters for the NFL, especially the high profile domestic abuse cases, shown in shocking, hard to watch, video’s.  And the casual reaction of the league’s management has only highlighted the problem. 

 

And then there’s the building revelations of long term health effects on players, for the all too common concussions that happen at every level of the game, and now they’ve found that even just multiple hard knocks to the head without a concussion can be just as devastating over time.  This too, the NFL has tried to sweep under the rug.

 

So, in the popular mind, the NFL has had a horrible year.  The perception at least, is that it’s not only dangerous to be a player in the NFL, but it’s also dangerous to be a family member. 

 

So, can you be a fan of football, without at the same time, approving of the very unpopular image of football? 

 

Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, this turning point moment, in the ministry of the ‘Anointed One.’  It’s noteworthy that reading from Mark’s gospel, as we did today, the baptism of Jesus is where the story begins.  There is no birth of Jesus story in Mark, like in Matthew and Luke, or even in John, who has that beautiful Prologue on the Pre-existence of Jesus as the Logos, the Word of God.  In Mark’s gospel, the divinity of Jesus appears by way of John the Baptist’s introduction of him, who spoke of his younger cousin Jesus as, “one who is way more powerful than he was” – though John was no shrinking violet himself, boldly challenging everyone to get their ‘behinds’ down to the Jordon River to be baptized, right away, including the hot shots in Jerusalem.  And when they didn’t show, he railed against those lazy contented hypocrites from downtown, just like Isaiah or Elijah would have.  But of Jesus, John says, “I am not worth to stoop down before him and take off his sandals.” And suddenly, Jesus comes, and, John baptizes him anyway! 

 

Jesus is submerged into the Jordan River.  He holds his breath, and when he comes up, “the heavens are ripped open!”  Not just the usual little window opening in the sky, where the rain would fall through, as they believed.  But the heavens were torn open, so that God could send the Holy Spirit, something like a dove swooping down.  And God whispered in his ear, ‘I’m so pleased with you, Son, and I love you!’ 

 

John’s punishment for trying to outdo his cousin Jesus, is that he must fade from the story, and doesn’t return until his sudden, and murderous exit, a few chapters later, at the hands of Herod.  Which is also a disturbing foreshadowing of the fate of Jesus.  Cousin Jesus will indeed be greater and more powerful than John, but only to the extent he is obedient to his life’s calling, even to the point of dying on the cross.  

 

Jesus invites us to be baptized as well, and to follow him by wading in the water with him.  Just as Jesus went in all the way, holding his breath, and came up the other side, a new person – as a sign of his death and resurrection, his dying to sin and being raised to new life – so we too die and rise with Jesus in baptism.  One day Jesus’ breath, his Spirit, would be brutally taken away from him, by powers that claimed to protect and provide. 

 

And so, is Jesus, who died the human one like us, also able to be Jesus the Christ, the anointed one, the Son of God for us? 

 

This week, saw the brutal murder of journalists in France, who published highly controversial, even offensive, satire.  Just like my recommendation for ‘The Interview,’ the Seth Rogan movie, I don’t recommend the content of lots of the cartoon images published at Charles Hebdo, but I do defend their right to speak freely.  I think we can do better for our neighbors, by respecting them enough not to offend them, on purpose.  Though of course, that’s not always going to work, either, for any of us.  But the point, I think, is that we draw the line, at murder.  Seriously, I think this is actually a perennial problem.  A problem for extremists, like those who took the lives of 10 journalists in Paris, and a problem for us, as well, who have, for example, fanned the flames of violence now, with 12 years of unnecessary war and killing in the Middle East.

 

The reason we believe in the power of baptism, is because we believe that Jesus died and rose again for us.  And that Jesus did it, on purpose.  He didn’t just die on a cross as a nice guy.  There were others that did that.  But because Jesus was uniquely seen as the powerful one, the anointed one, uniting the chosen people in a new life of humble sacrifice, and a ministry of healing, and modeled what God’s king in this world is for us, our lives have been transformed.  We believe in the power of baptism because only Jesus could rip open the heavens for us, who were the ‘not-yet-chosen-people,’ enough, to reveal the heavenly, the divine truth that life does not come from murderous death.  That revenge, and an eye for an eye, only increases the power of death and the devil, and corrupts this very good world God gives to us.  

 

When we believe in baptism, we understand that dying and rising with Christ is a symbol, and a reality of, life that begets life.  When we die to our sin and our fallen humanity in the waters of baptism, then we see that not only is murder always wrong, but it is rooted in an evil power that robs us of our true humanity, and our true connection with God’s saving divinity.  In Jesus on the cross, we see how, when we raise up innocent victims, over and over again, only to violently expel them, we are part of a fatal mistake.  And we are horrified! 

 

And so, it is right, if we are horrified by the murders in Paris this week.  But as a baptized people of God, it causes us to also ask where our own responsibility is in the violence in the world.  

 

Jesus came to baptize us with the Spirit, his cousin John said.  And when St Paul, in our 2nd reading, found disciples who were only baptized in the Baptism of John, for the forgiveness of sins, and didn’t know that the Holy Spirit was the breath and power of God moving in our lives and in our world, Paul immediately baptizes them in the name of the Lord Jesus, and they were transformed, and they began to speak powerfully about the life of the risen victim, Jesus, and the new life now available to us. 

 

In the contradictions of the NFL, or the fog of war being cheered on, in so many places, as our redemption, Jesus is wading in the waters of baptism, and just like us, holds his breath.  We go in one side, and symbolically come up the other side, emerging as a new creature, from death to life.  In baptism, we enter the same sacrificial life Jesus lived, even in the face of his enemies. 

 

In Jesus’ baptism, the heavens were torn open, just like they are every time we are baptized too.  And God comes down to whisper in our ears, you are my daughter, you are my son, I love you.  Go and share this good news: Life comes from life.  Today’s murderous crusades, in the name of righteousness, cannot save the world – but you can, says the Spirit – whenever we hold the fragile good news within us, the gift of life!  This news is the open secret underlying creation itself; it is the light tearing the heavens open, it is the descending Spirit, the noisily flapping vision of the dove, into our world.  It is the possibility of new life, at every moment, that God continues to create, and make possible, for us.  We are a Baptized people!  Go and share this message of Life!

 

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