IN MEMORY OF CHARLOTTE SICKLES

Charlotte Sickles turned 3 on Feb. 11... and on Feb. 13,
      she died in a house fire, along with her father.
On Friday, Feb. 22, I officiated at her funeral service,
      where I met her mother, her grandmother, and her dad's parents.
 
The parlor was decorated with Charlotte's pictures and stuffed toys.
      Videos were playing and tears were flowing.
I was told that there would be a handful of Penney's friends speaking,
      and that I should not make my message "too religious."

Then, at 2 pm, it began and I took my place at the podium.
      We were gathered, I noted, to cry our tears (just as Jesus as cried over Lazarus),
      to celebrate a beautiful life that had blessed us with joy, to join hands and give
            support to one another, and to claim that Charlotte is in heaven.

We acknowledged that little girls aren't supposed to die.
      They're supposed to laugh, dream, grow-up, and fall in love.
We acknowledged that love demands tears and people cried.
      Penney cried, all of her chosen speakers cried, and others did too.

When I talked to Penney earlier, she told me to mention what a happy-go-lucky
      kid Charlotte was... and to make sure and say that she is in heaven!
I did these things to the best of my ability.
      I stressed the joy that Charlotte gave to so many and how she loved to play.

I stated unequivocally that little girls go to heaven! Joyful, beautiful, trusting,
      little kids- they go to heaven because Jesus invites them to come to Him.
After the service itself, we shared a meal together-
      all of us, everyone was invited, and I joined them for few moments.

I told Charlotte's grandparents that I was saddened to hear that their son had died,
      and Penney- who was always graceful- told me that my words were good.
Then, I left, praying that someone would spend the night with Penney,
      and praying also for broken-hearted parents and grandparents wherever they are.

I told them that they would see Charlotte again when "heaven's gate" opened for them,
      and I promised that I would mention the GoFundMe site that has been established,
            which I am doing now, hoping that some of you will give a gift of love.

May God be with Penney and with all the little children in the world. Amen.

THE RICH MAN, THE BEGGAR, JESUS, AND ME

After he chose his 12 apostles, Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, where he encountered a huge crowd from Jerusalem, Judea, and the costal area of Tyre and Sidon. According to Luke, Jesus healed everyone who had a need and when he was finished, he looked up at his disciples and said, “Blessed are you who are (desperately) poor for yours is the kingdom of God.” In his better known Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lifted up those who were “poor in spirit,” but as he stood on the plain, he referred to the real poor and to those who were really poor. The Greek word for poor which is used here is the same word that Luke used to describe Lazarus, the beggar who laid and died beside a rich man’s gate, with running sores and nothing else at all. (Luke 16:19-31) It’s the word “ptochos” and it doesn’t refer to those who are just eking out a living, but to people who have absolutely nothing and count on the generosity of others for life itself. 

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.”  This was Jesus’ second point. If you are hungry now you will be filled in the kingdom of God! Not in the abstract, but in the concrete! If you’re starving now, you will eat your fill at the Great Banquet. You will be first in line, while there are still deviled eggs and the best desserts, and you will be fully satisfied when the meal is done. “Blessed are you- we note that Jesus is speaking directly to his listeners- who weep now (where the word “weep” means “sobbing” as Peter did when he denied Christ) for you will laugh.” Blessed are you who weep now for you will laugh.” It’s not easy to be poor. It’s not easy to beg and to stand in line for a hand-out. It’s not easy to worry about the most essential of things. It weighs on people. It breaks them down. If you’re sobbing now, you will throw you head back and laugh with joy someday. This is the promise!

Throughout his gospel, Luke focuses on an upside-down world where… sinners dine with Christ, unclean shepherds are the first to know that a Savior is born, children are welcomed by the Lord himself, women are included in Jesus' ministry and heard when they speak out, and foreigners are blessed. Luke’s gospel is filled with surprising grace, unexpected blessings, and radical challenges to conventional wisdom. In Luke’s view, those who are poor, oppressed, chained, overlooked, and silenced… are blessed by God… simply because they are poor, oppressed, chained, and abused during their lives on earth. 

The Sermon on the Plain is addressed to the those for whom life on earth is something of a hell. It’s hard to hear it differently, but Luke goes on, adding “woes” that weren't mentioned in his Sermon on the Mount. “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation; woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry; woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.” It’s radical message for a rich, mostly happy, and well-fed Christian like me to hear. It’s a tough message for a 21^st century American Christian to hear because most of us are rich and satisfied… but it’s a needed reminder for us to get busy and involved!

It’s not easy for a rich man to get into heaven because rich men (and women) cling to their money as if it was their god. They are tempted to hang on to their riches even if they pass by "Lazarus" every day... but it doesn't have to be that way! With God all things are possible and we have many, many opportunities to bless the poor (ptochos) with our riches. Instead of allowing our riches to be an obstacle to faithfulness, we can use them to minister in Christ's name. Riches, if they're shared, can feed and clothe people, provide shelter and opportunity, heal people and rebuild lives. 

If we won't share, if we’re full of ourselves and unconcerned about the sadness all around us, we’re on the wrong path. But it doesn't have to be that way! We can make it our business to serve Christ in every corner of the world we know. We can seek him among the least among us and we can serve him when we find him. One thing is for sure- Christ is among us. Somewhere, even now, he’s begging for food, seeking a drink of water, shopping for clothing, calling  for assistance, hoping that we’ll cross the road to help him up, or have the grace to look him in the eye. We’ll meet him in many forms. He will be an old man in overalls, an old woman in rags, a young woman with too many tattoos, a person who's numb with rejection and grief, a teen with disabilities. According to the Bible, he will be among those who are in need and it’s our calling to meet His need, in ways big and small. It’s as simple as that! Amen.

LET'S GET INTO THE FISHING BUSINESS!

      When the crowds began to press in, Jesus stepped into one of the boats he saw on the shore and proclaimed the word of God to them. Then he told Simon to put his boat out into the deep water for a catch. Simon and the others had been fishing all night. They knew what they were doing. They were tired, but Simon did what he was told to do, saying, "Master... if you say so, I will let down the nets." It was against his own judgement, it seems, but when he let down the nets, "they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break!" So, they signaled their partners in another boat to help them and together, they filled both boats with fish- to the point that they were beginning to sink! It was amazing. It was a "God-thing," an Epiphany for sure, Simon thought... and in the manner of Isaiah, he cried out, "Lord, go away, for I am a sinful man." What do you do with an epiphany? How do you act when you've seen the Lord? Well, Simon literally fell down in awe (where the word includes both wonder and fear). Don't be afraid, Jesus said, "from now on you will be catching people!" So, they brought their boats back to the shore, left them and the fish that filled them, and followed Jesus!
      This is a "call" story. It's an "epiphany" story. It a story of trust and obedience. It's a story of how God's blessings can change our lives. Finally, it's a tale about fishing- fishing for the tilapia, sardines, and carp that were in the Sea of Galilee- and fishing for people. ICTHUS- the sign of the fish, which we see on bumpers and in Christian bookstores. It stands for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, and its foundation lies in this fishing story... and in Christ's Great Commission for us to make disciples of all people! Yes, we're called to the fishing business and our aim is to catch people. But most Christians, and certainly most mainline Christians, don't want to catch people. They don't want to be in the fishing business. It's a distasteful thing in their view- intrusive, manipulative, and a bit unsavory. ICTHUS. When I think of the "E word," I think about Greg, who was one of two men who joined me for Bible Study when I first became a Christian. Greg was fundamental in his beliefs and his actions. He prayed over his brother when he came home drunk time and time again; he prayed over his car when it didn't start, and he often asked Jewish co-workers if they "knew Jesus as their personal Savior." I could hardly believe Greg's courage, but the "E word" also reminds me of Pastor Lu, who invited me to join his evangelism committee when I joined his church. I soon discovered why he and I were the only two members of the evangelism committee... because we walked around neighborhoods in Omaha, NE. and asked total strangers if they were sure that they would go to heaven if they died that very night. Surprisingly, Greg was never fired and I was never thrown out of anyone's home, but I developed a healthy respect for those who "fish" in this way.
      Oh, the "E" word. How can we make disciples of all nations without irritating all of our relatives and most of our neighbors? Well, let me suggest that we do our  "fishing" through invitation, story, and service. Let me begin with story because we all have a story. I had a rough beginning and an addiction; some people have experienced divorce or abandonment; some people are lonely because they've lost a loved one; some people were disoriented because they were laid-off, downsized, or fired; some people- some of the wealthiest people I've known- are "empty;" some people- many people- believe that others wouldn't love them if they knew them; some people, even in our time, haven't heard the good news; some people have been broken by bad experiences and disappointment. I could go on, of course, but my point is this: we can tell them what our Lord and our faith has done for us. "I know what you mean," we can say; "I've been there," we can say, "and God gave me a new beginning, or a loving community, or a purpose for living"! If Jesus has amazed us with the blessings we've had, if we've had an Epiphany, we can tell others about it. We can tell others, across our kitchen tables, across our office desks, at the cafe downtown, or at a bar somewhere... that God has saved us from the demons that had a hold on us.
      We can all tell our stories. We don't need a degree or a clerical collar to do that, and we can invite others to come and see what Jesus can do for them. We can tell them about the number of fish we caught when we trusted Jesus and we can invite them to come and see for themselves. If you believe that God is moving in this place, invite others to come and see; if you believe that God has blessed us with a love that transcends our differences (and I know that you do), you can invite others to come and experience God's love for themselves; if you've found meaning in one or more of our ministries- the Resale Shop, Quilting for Valor, feeding the hungry with food boxes, calling on those who are shut-in or shut-away for any number of reasons, you can invite others to come and experience that joy and purpose for themselves; if you think that we're preaching the gospel in ways that are faithful and relevant, invite others to come and see if they agree! We can fish by telling our stories and inviting others to come and see, but we can also make disciples by ministering to them in Christ's name. Actions can speak more loudly than words and if we do what Jesus would do, or what he did, when we meet someone who is thirsty, hungry, wounded, ill, broken, blind, or chained... we will be "catching people" for Christ because those who received God's love from us will have experienced an epiphany from God!
      One of my interests in my post-graduate studies was church growth and I learned a lot about it over the years. I know about targeted mailers, large signs, guest speakers and musicians, and fellowship events that draw people in... and I've used them. But here's what I've discovered- every community that gets into the fishing business... must fish in ways that are authentic to them and to their stories. And for us, as we sit in a small, settled town, this means that our fishing will have to come from personal stories about our own faith journeys. We won't be able to purchase the wonderful sign that we purchased in Peoria and again in Rock Island... but we can tell others how great our God is and we can invite them, in small clusters and one by one, to come and see what Christ can do for them! If we put our boats out deep and let our nets down- if we risk a little in faith- we may discover that God has planned to bless us all along. Amen.
   

IT'S HARD TO BE A PROPHET AT HOME

Throughout her life, my mother always called me “Kenny,” and if she had the opportunity, she would tell her well-worn stories about the time a rooster chased me around our barnyard when I was a toddler and/or the time I put a kernel of corn in my nose … and it took root. I told her to quit telling these old stories and to call me “pastor Kenny,” but I was never a pastor to her. Some time ago I called an old high school friend of mine and, in the course of our conversation, I asked him how he and his wife were doing. He told me that he and she “didn’t make it” and he wondered what I was doing. “I’m a preacher now,” I told him. “You? A preacher?” he exclaimed, and then he began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. It never stopped and we said goodbye! Me, a preacher? It was sort of surprising, I confess, but it wasn’t that funny. It’s hard to be a pastor at home because there are too many thoughts, doubts, secrets, and memories in the way.

It’s also hard to be a prophet at home. That’s what Jesus said to the congregation in Nazareth after he told them that HE had been anointed by God to touch, heal, empower, and forgive the very people whom they generally ignored. At first, the congregation seemed to be amazed, but their amazement was anchored in their unbelief. This is just Mary’s boy, someone said, the kid who ran on our streets, the young man who worked in his father’s carpentry shop. Who does he think he's fooling? Who does he think he is? Well, as his homecoming in Nazareth was deteriorating, Jesus rebuked the gathering and said that, like God’s other prophets, he would be doing his miracles somewhere else! Upon hearing this news, the congregation became a mob, which drove him out of town and planned to hurl him off of the cliff. (Luke 4:30)

Jesus, it appears, barely escaped with his life... and the best thing to come out of Nazareth left town and made Capernaum his home. Jesus was rejected in part because he was a “prophet at home,” but he was also rejected because he told the truth! People are eager for the truth when it favors them, neutral toward the truth when it doesn’t involve them, and downright hostile to the truth when it threatens or condemns them! To use an old movie line, some people can't take the truth. It hurts their feelings. It asks to much of them. It indicts them and it makes them mad. Be careful with the truth.  People don’t like it when they're asked to help others get out of the places to which they've been relegated. They don’t like it when they’re told that, instead of receiving miracles, they’re being called to serve people whom they consider inferior. People don’t like it when they expect to be honored and are told instead, that God is more likely to heal a leper from Syria than he is to heal them!

Prophets get killed for telling the truth to people who don’t like it. Period. But the main reason the congregation at Nazareth rejected Jesus was this: they didn’t believe in Him! They didn’t believe that God had anointed him to usher in a new age. They couldn't believe that he was speaking for God. Matthew tells us that Jesus didn’t do many deeds of power in Nazareth because of their unbelief. (Matt. 13:58) Mark tells us that, other than laying hands on a few people, Jesus didn’t do much at Nazareth because “He was amazed at their unbelief.” (Mark 6:6) Our journey in Christ begins when we’re willing to trust because no one is going to carry a cross for a man whom they don't believe in and trust. We may like and admire such a person, but we aren’t likely to surrender to him… unless we believe that he is who he says he is. 

The people may have objected to parts of Jesus’message. Some of them may have thought that the oppressed were to blame for their own oppression and they didn't want to see them released. Some of them may have thought that Jesus should not have suggested that a widow in Sidon was more important to God than they were. The leaders of the synagogue may have held a meeting in the parking lot. The members may have complained over lunch… but the die was cast when Jesus said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” because I have been anointed to usher in the kingdom of God. The die was cast when he uttered these words because the people didn’t believe them!

There are many wonderful prayers in the Bible, but I've always been especially fond of this one: "I believe, Lord, help my unbelief!” Help my unbelief! Let this be our prayer then our faith begins to wane. Let this be our prayer when the winds of life blow against us and batter our dreams... because it is in believing that we will find the courage and the grace to love God with every fiber of our being and our neighbors as ourselves. Amen!