Will I Dance for You?

 Scripture:

2 Samuel 6: 1-5 & 12-15

1 Peter 4: 7-11

The bulletin today has my title for this message, "Will I Dance for you, Jesus?" Don't worry; this has to be a metaphor. I am certainly not going to start dancing here in front of you. So, what am I going to say about Dancing? 

I don't know anything about dance, I don't know how to dance, and I am not good at It. I Don't Dance.

I do feel bad for Kila, who took years of dancing lessons throughout school.  I mean, we met at a church dance, and I have taken her to many school dances; I even accompanied her when she led and chaperoned this year's Prosser High School prom.  But other than a slow spinning, I don't really dance.  I have never really done any type of "fast dance," not even a line dance. I don't know; maybe it goes back to my elementary experiences failing at Dosey-Do.  I will slow dance, but that's about all I can manage. 

Yet today's lectionary reading has us reading about King David Dancing. So, I guess; let's talk about Dancing.

2nd Samuel tells us that David gathered 30,000 chosen men of Israel, and they went to retrieve the Ark of the Lord from where it was being held in the house of a man named Abinadab.  The Ark was brought on a new cart, and David and all of the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, and cymbals.  Did you notice twice in the scripture Kila read, in both verses 5 and 14; we are told that David and those chosen men were dancing before the Lord with all their might?"   Wow, that is not just a little slow turning to the music. They took the Ark to the City of David, rejoicing all the way.  

Blogger Lillian, in "Growing Up, God, and Being Busy,"  writes that King David  was "thankful for the blessings God had given him so much, that he didn't hold anything back when praising Him. He wanted to worship the Lord with his movements and let the Spirit lead him. He didn't care what his people would think; he knew that God's opinion was the only one that mattered."

The former missionary and dancer Linda Wells writes that dance allows us to show how we feel.  She writes, "It connects our heads and our hearts by expressing God's wonderful gifts through the movement of the human body."  She goes on to share one experience she had working as an interpreter for people who are deaf or hard of hearing in England.  

She had been asked to sign and dance in a worship service.  Afterward, a middle-aged deaf man approached her with tears in his eyes and said that for the first time in his life, he had been able to hear music.  The man explained that when "he saw her sign language AND the dance rhythm together, he was able to hear with his  eyes."   

Pretty Cool.

In the song "I Can Only Imagine," songwriter Bart Millard of the band MercyMe said that he can only imagine what it will be like to meet the Lord God in Heaven.  

He wrote:

Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for You, Jesus

Or in awe of You, be still?

Dance can truly be a gift.  I have been blessed to see dancers, both local and professional.  As a dad of a ballet dancer,  I have seen the happy, hopping, and giggling three-year-olds following their teacher across the stage, and I have seen devoted high school students interpret complex music and choreography.  I have also seen professional dancers on stage too.  Kila and I once saw Riverdance in Dublin, and let me tell you,  Wow.  Dance is an art.  And Scripture makes it very clear that singing, playing musical instruments, and Dancing can all be a form of worship.  

Enough said.  However, Dean doesn't dance.  

In our second Scripture from the Epistle of Peter, we are told to offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Peter writes that we should use whatever gifts we "have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its varous forms."  I believe these specific words are very powerful.  We have received our different gifts to serve others as stewards of God's grace.  

Maybe this means we worship and praise God when we serve His church and others through our gifts.  Whatever those gifts be, if the Lord gave them to us, I believe that we worship Him when we use these talents to serve others. 

My mother in law is a painter, she has spent long hours painting banners for Spokane Valley United Methodist Church so the banners will enhance worship in their chapel.  My father in law has done another kind of painting, working with their men’s group covering up local graffiti on the church. You know what, I think they are maybe both dancing for our God.

You know what else?  I believe that when Reba plays the piano here for our worship. I think she is also dancing for the Lord.  I think when Shara and others gift us with song, they dance for Jesus. When the Methodist Women raised money for UMCOR, World Hunger, and other mission outreach, such as providing soup for the hungry during COVID-19; I think they are also dancing.  I don't know what Don or Fred or the rest of the Men's group  are going to say about this, but I think when they come in on the First Saturday of each month to work around the church, I think they are dancing for our Lord.  So yeah, maybe I should call you all out as a bunch of Dancers.  I see you standing by the stairs greeting people who come to church, providing treats after the worship service, reading the Scripture, serving on various committees, helping at Hobbs or Jubilee, or donating as you can to the church's finances.  When you sing or drive someone to the doctor; I think you are also dancing for the Lord.  I believe that Bo danced in front of us, with us, and taught some of us to dance for sixteen years.  

Returning to our Scripture, 1st Peter verse 11 concludes with  "If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen."    I don't know what the future holds for this church, for this community, for this nation, or for the world, but I do believe the more we serve each other through the worship of our Lord, the more we dance through the Love of the God, the more blessed our lives and this world will be.  

Just to conclude,  many of you in this congregation know what a super nerd I am and how much I love technology.  I am sure I could have easily found a well-written, better-explained sermon about this Scripture online. It probably would have included a few good jokes too. Alas,  forced by a deadline from our amazing Dancing Lay Leader, Donna, I was compelled to read today's Scripture not once but a few times and to really think about it.  I don't know; Perhaps I chose to write this because I really wanted to dance.  

Walking Through the Storm, Thoughts on Matthew 14:22-33

I titled today’s short commentary   “Walking through the Storm”  because that is what I visualized in my mind when I read the scripture from Matthew (14:22-33.)

Matthew’s story starts immediately after the feeding of the 5000.  Jesus sent the disciples out on the Sea of Galilee while he went up a mountain to pray.  That evening the wind came up strong against them.  Throughout the night, the storm’s fierce waves battered the ship.  I can imagine the stress and fear of all aboard that small boat as the storm’s fierce waves battered its sides.   We are then told that the disciples saw Jesus walking towards them on the sea early in the morning.  Afraid and truly exhausted, I am sure they thought they were seeing a ghost.

Jesus offered simple, powerful words. He said to them, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."   

At this, Peter asks the Lord to command him to walk on the water, and Jesus does.  We are told that Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.

 Verse 14:30, however, is a bit problematic; of course, the famous line is where Peter notices the storm's winds, becomes frightened, starts to sink, and calls out,   "Lord, save me!"

Jesus does, of course, reaching out his hand, catching him, and saying, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"  They got in the boat, and the winds ceased.  

This is a famous and great story of the power of faith.  When Peter’s faith was shaken, he needed the Lord to lift him up.  Let's come back to that in a minute.

However, let's look at other witnesses to this story.  One of the amazing truths of the four Gospels is how they complement each other.  Like any good lawyer or historian would tell you, witnesses are essential to the story.  The fact that witnesses sometimes differ in what they remember is valuable.  I teach this to my students while working on National History Day projects.  No one person saw everything:  different witnesses offer a different view of an event.  Together, these different testimonials create the collage that becomes our view of the story.  In this case, the storm on the Sea of Galilee is also told in the Gospels of Mark and John.

Let's now hear the same story in Mark 44-51:

Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsa.     And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea.  And when they saw Him, they supposed it was a ghost and cried out. But immediately, He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  

Peter’s walking on the water is left out in this shorter version of the story.  However, the scripture emphasizes that Jesus saw the disciples straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. He came to them walking on the sea, and though they feared seeing a ghost, He told them to “Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be afraid.”  The winds immediately ceased.  When I read this, I visualize Jesus looking out at his friends in the storm's juggernaut, understanding their fear, and walking out to where they were, walking out to them to calm the storm.  

Now let's hear John’s account in Chapter 6: 16-21

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now, it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing, and the waters grew rough.

 

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”   Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

John’s account reinforces the distance from land, the exhaustion of the disciples, and the Lord’s walking out to them.  Again we learn that He calls to them through the storm;  “It is I, Do not be afraid.”  Also, in John’s story, note that with Jesus, the boat reached the shore where it was heading. 

A daily devotional of the  De La Salle  Medical and Health Sciences Institute reflected on this account:  John talks about having faith in Jesus even in somewhat hopeless times. It was hard for the apostles to believe it was Jesus, though He assured them it was He. But when they opened their eyes, they saw that they had arrived at their destination. It may seem impossible to see Christ in times of chaos, but if we believe, we will be led forward with Him, even if we may not notice or realize it.

My personal takeaway from all three accounts, what I visualize when I read these stories, is Our Lord Jesus going out to his friends to quiet the storm.  In each case, He sees their fear, their turmoil, their storm.  He personally goes out to meet them, to quiet the storm, to get in their boat with them, and to take them to the shore. 

In Mark and John’s accounts, I believe we see the story from the point of view of our Lord, who went up to the mountain to pray and saw from afar his disciples in the storm.  

But, Matthew’s story feels more to me the point of view of the frightened men who spent the entire night on the boat as the storm raged.  They were tired and exhausted, and when they saw him coming, they feared a ghost; perhaps they feared even more danger.  

Revisiting that story of Peter walking on the waves, I may have, in the past, misread the story.  Jesus indeed admonishes Peter when his faith weakens, and he starts to sink. But perhaps Jesus was also proud when Peter asked to be commanded to walk out on the waves.  Perhaps Jesus was proud that Peter was reaching out to his lord during the frightful storm.  

I like how preacher Jeffery Poor of RethinkNow.Org summarizes the story: Peter’s walk on the water teaches us that in the middle of storms, we can have peace if we keep our eyes on Jesus. The storms of life give us good reason to be afraid. But Jesus is bigger than even the scariest of storms. Peace is not found In the absence of the storm but In the presence of Jesus.

In our modern world, the nightly news, newspapers, and social media bring us daily accounts of local and world tragedies and natural and manmade disasters. The awful deadly fires in Maui are a sad example of this.  The truth is that  Life is full of storms, from strong gales to our own Hurricane Katrinas.  We all experience difficult, painful, and scary events.  Some of us, or our family or friends, are now in the midst of storms.  For me, Matthew’s story is reassuring.  In the heart of the storm, Jesus says to his friends,  "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." 

The Intersection of Wisdom and Gratitude

 The Intersection of Wisdom and Gratitude        

When I think of an intersection, usually I think of a location where two roads cross.  Using the idea of cross streets can be a good way to give relative directions to someone.  They can go down one street and turn where the other streets cross.  Intersections are also used by mathematicians when plotting a line or shape.  Of course, an intersection can also be where two different ideas or concepts meet; a place where different practices can come together.  Today I have been thinking about how wisdom and thankfulness can be complimentary if not two sides of the same coin.

When Bo asked me to speak today, I went first to this week’s lectionary. Now for those of you who do not know, the lectionary is a series of Scripture readings for specific days of the year. The United Methodist Church uses the Revised Common Lectionary, which is a three-year cycle of readings. Each Sunday, four passages are recommended, usually two from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. Thus, over a 3-year period, much of the Bible is covered. Until I took some classes on Lay Speaking, I had never heard of it. And full disclosure, when I first read this week's scripture selections, I really was not sure what God was telling me. The first scripture talks about Solomon, King David's Son, and the text from Ephesians is about being thankful. In fact, when I looked for ideas on a United Methodist website for preaching this week, the suggestion was to talk about Thanksgiving in August. The idea was that on the fourth Thursday of November, we usually say a prayer of Thanksgiving and maybe share at the table what we are thankful for from the year.  Of course, however, for many of us, we forget to be thankful throughout the year for what we have received.  Many of us find ourselves realizing that we should be thankful always, not just before carving the turkey.

One Methodist commentary I found online, reminded me of playing three wishes games as a kid. I am sure you know how they go; a lamp is found, and a genie offers three wishes. Most of the stories come down to the idea that one must be rather wise with their wishes. Let's see, have you heard this one?

 

• A young man finds a magical lamp. He rubs the lamp, and a genie appears and says: "What is your first wish?"

• The kid says: "I wish I were rich!"

• The genie replies: "It is done! What is your second wish, Rich?"

• I found this one that I thought might be a little more accurate for the last year and a half;  

• a man stumbles across a genie's bottle and is granted three wishes;

§  He tells the genie, "I am a simple man. All I wish for is to spend more time with my family, have a shorter commute to work, and since I like a beer now and then, how about a case of Corona?"

If you didn’t get that. Corona is a Mexican beer company. Totally different meaning nowadays.

 

In our first scripture, following his father’s death, the new young king Solomon has made some rather significant sacrifices to the Lord. In the night, he dreams that God asks him what Solomon would like the Lord to give him. It is interesting to look at the structure of Solomon's reply. Before making his request, he first states his thankfulness for God's steadfast love for his father David and for himself. He thanks God for the gifts that he has received.  Solomon then explains that he is a child as far as being a leader and that he has a great deal of responsibility to lead all the people of the kingdom. And so, he asks God to Give him an understanding mind to govern God’s people and the ability to discern between good and evil. The scripture goes on to tell us that this pleased the Lord, and He replied that "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you, and no one like you shall arise after you. The legendary Wisdom of Solomon, Wow, that was quite a gift. But consider how the scripture shows that it was Solomon's gratitude that pleased the Lord.  He did not ask for treasure or wealth. He asked for help in being a good leader of the people of Israel.  

The second scripture from this week's lectionary is found in the New Testament, in Ephesians. Verse 5:15 says to "Be Careful then how you live, not as unwise people, but as wise, making the most of the time. Verse 5:20 says to give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The author is saying to be thankful and to live carefully, wisely. 

I think most people would agree that this is good advice. But honestly, for me, at least, sometimes it is easier said than done. Sometimes, it's hard to be thankful. I just shared an online joke about the Corona Virus, but let's be honest, the last year and a half has been hard. And really, this virus is no joke. My family has lost two if not three to this ugly virus. Around the world, as of July 30th, 4.2 million people have died; in our country, 612,000 have died, with more than 6000 from our state.  It is a vile, awful disease. It has wrecked lives, crushed the world economy, and left so many struggling educationally, emotionally, and socially. I am not thankful for this disease.

And yet, it is true that there have been some things that I am thankful for in the last year.  On August 4th, oud kids Serena and Braydon had a beautiful baby Rosalie Noelle Selby Smith.  She is truly beautiful  And yes, I am quite biased.  But she is.     My family has been able to spend a lot more time together. This last Christmas, we were able to have an online Christmas that included all of my side of the family celebrating and unwrapping presents from six different homes. My very non-tech-savvy parents participated and joked and unwrapped presents along with the rest of us. Not just my family, I have read that the environment in some places has rebounded slightly with the reduction of smog as many have worked from home, our technology in many places including networking has grown exponentially, many districts like Prosser have gone to providing every student a computer and done what they could to provide all families access to the Internet.  In the field of medical science, the money and research that was injected into the development of the vaccines have demonstrated potential gene science that hopefully will help provide a quicker response to future diseases. As a community, it seems that we have put more value on hygiene and appreciation of essential workers, and many of us are finding new ways to connect with ourselves, our families, and our loved ones. By the way, I hear that the dogs and cats of the world are a lot happier too.  

       For me, I think of wisdom as an understanding of Christ’s teachings, and I think of gratitude as a joyous appreciation of those teaching. I believe that where such wisdom and gratitude intersect, we will hopefully find the divine meaning of the scripture.

Of course, this intersection of wisdom and gratitude has been described by many people.  The Greek Stoic Epictetus wrote:  "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."  And Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: "In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich."   The Old West Pioneer author Mike Ericksen wrote "I truly believe we can either see the connections, celebrate them, and express gratitude for our blessings, or we can see life as a string of coincidences that have no meaning or connection. For me, I'm going to believe in miracles, celebrate life, rejoice in the views of eternity, and hope my choices will create a positive ripple effect in the lives of others. This is my choice.”   I particularly like what Alan Alexander Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote when he said that "Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude."

       Piglet’s quote reminds me of an old story my dad shared with me, about a miraculous pitcher that forever pours out its contents into the world, but remains forever full.   Maybe the human heart was designed to be like that, forever pouring out gratitude, while remaining forever filled with it.

When looking through the scripture, Kila found a story that I would like to share with you. The story takes place in a college classroom.  

 

Upon entering the classroom, a professor told his students that he was about to spring a pop quiz on them and handed out the tests, text facing down. Then he asked his students to turn over the paper. To their surprise, they were staring at a blank sheet graced by a single red dot. Puzzled, they looked at their professor, who calmly instructed the class to write a short essay on what they saw before them. The students went to work. They wrecked their brains. Uneasily, they scribbled down a few sentences. The task was tough. They tried to describe the location of the dot, its size, and its color. After all, what can you say about an unexplained dot on a piece of paper? When the allotted time was up, the professor collected the papers and proceeded to read the answers out loud. After all the papers had been read, the professor spoke again, "I am not going to grade you on this. But I want you to ponder something. Did you notice that each of you focused on the dot? Not one of you wrote about the empty part of the paper. The same applies to life. Life is like this large piece of paper. Ready to be written on.  All of life is there to enjoy. Yet, we tend to focus on life's limitations and imperfections, which may be the dot on the paper. Instead of enjoying the good things that surround us – home, family, friends, and nature – we zoom in on the unexplained dots – issues concerning health, relationship, work, or finances. Even though the dot is tiny in comparison to the blank sheet, it becomes the focal point of our thoughts. As we embark on a new year, try to pay more attention to the good things in your life, enjoy each moment, think outside the box and keep the other dots in perspective."

       I believe that the professor’s unexplained spot on the blank sheet can be a metaphor for life as we live it.  And it ties in with what I am saying, wisdom helps us to deal with the troubled and concerning side of life, while gratitude enables us to fill the emptiness with joy.  To put this much simpler, in the words of my older brother, perhaps a person cannot truly be wise unless they can feel gratitude.

What spots dots do you see in your life? Consider lifting them up to God. In a few moments, when we pray together, I encourage you to offer them up to God. But also, think about your blessings. Wisely think about that open space.  What are you thankful for? In the words of the author of Ephesians, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

Givin Opportunities

I would like to start off today with a Christmas story.  Its an old one, but not as old as some.

My dad was very young during the great depression and his family in Spokane truly had very little. My grandfather was a disabled World War I veteran. No Bonus had yet been given Great War veterans and my grandmother tried to support the family with two boys on the small money she earned as a part time housekeeper. As Christmas season approached, my grandparents tried to prepare my dad and his brother for the fact that this year there would be no Christmas gifts. My dad’s older brother understood. He would have been about 12 then, and at that time, children knew how scarce money was. But my six year old dad kept telling his parents that Santa Claus would indeed come. As Christmas Eve approached, Grandma was beside herself. No matter how they tried to prepare my young dad for a giftless holiday, he would not believe it. Santa Claus would come, he kept saying. That Christmas morning, dad went charging out the door, out the door of that horribly poor flat as Grandma described it: he charged out the door and smacked into a little red truck sitting there outside the apartment. Santa Claus had come, he had come indeed.

 In the Gospel of John, Jesus explicitly invites Nathaniel to join him. He says, "Very truly I tell you, you will see 'heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on' the Son of Man." Wow, that is quite a clear call to service.

 In our first scripture, the boy, Samuel, has gone down to sleep in the temple with the ark of the covenant while Eli slept in another room. The boy hears a voice calling and three times arises and goes to Samuel to ask what he wants. Meanwhile, we know that it is God calling the boy, but he does not. Even Eli does not understand what is happening right away. Eventually, however, Eli figures out that God wants to talk with Samuel and tells the boy to answer the Lord. The lectionary reading ends at verse ten with Samuel doing as Eli has asked.

Pastor and professor Beth Tanner’s online scripture commentary includes an anonymous comment where a person told Mrs.Tanner, “My mother taught me to pray Samuel's prayer "Speak, Lord, your servant heareth and is listening." I liked that. Maybe we all need to spend a little more time listening for our call, listening for the opportunities that God provides. Samuel’s call, of course, was a little less obvious than that of Nathaniel’s and he needed Eli’s help to recognize it. Beth Tanner notes the ease with which we may often miss God's call, or attribute it to someone or something else. Tanner reports that many religious leaders speak of their call not as a major disruption in their lives or an audible announcement. Instead, they speak of a quiet, slow awakening−perhaps to a life of service or an injustice that needs to be addressed. Like Samuel, they often tell about a period of uncertainty regarding what they are being called to do or be. Also, Samuel needed Eli to explain to him what these stirrings meant. Tanner points out that it often takes others in our lives to help us understand when and how God calls.

To be honest with you all here, I don’t know for sure if I have ever been called to service. But I can truly say to you that there have been times in my life when I have felt the pull at my heart. Maybe it is the disabled vet with a can collecting money by the side of the road, maybe it is the family you hear on the news that had their home burn down, or maybe it was a fellow worker who you found out has a child with an inoperative condition from which her child will die. Sometimes the opportunities to help seem easy, like calling the Jerry Lewis telethon and making a pledge, and other times it require hours, days, or weeks of feeding, painting, working, or doing other types of service. Audubon Park United Methodist Church in Spokane, rotates with other city churches providing food and a place to sleep for their local homeless. They, like so many support organizations, are able to exist only because of the volunteers who are called to cook the food and stay with the homeless. Members of our congregation, many years ago, felt called to serve the people of this community, they were fundamental in the forming of Jubilee Ministries. Members of this congregation continue to serve there today and fill bags of food for the hungry in our community. There is nothing novel about being called to serve, I suspect that God has been providing us the opportunity to help our neighbors for as long as we have had neighbors. Whether it be providing a temporary shelter and food in your home for a stranded family or building a Habitat for Humanity home, or giving blood; the Lord keeps providing us opportunities to give and to serve. How have you been called? When have you heard or felt that tug at your heart?

 Going back to my dad’s red fire truck story I shared with you; My grandmother later learned that one of the poor men living in the apartment complex had heard that there was a little boy in the apartment and had decided to give this boy from a family he didn’t know a gift from the very little money he had. Did that unknown man here the voice of God telling him to buy the unknown child a fire truck? Was there just a pulling at his heart? Why did he feel called to give the gift? I guess, that is not for me to know. What I do know, what I truly believe with all my heart is that Santa Claus visited that small poor apartment that morning. And you know what, he continues to visit.

 God has continued to give my mom and dad the opportunity to be Santa Claus and they have given a fire truck to a poor child every year for over 50 years. Each Christmas, besides their pledges and special donations, they have a tradition of giving a red truck to Toys for Tots. The Christmas before last, on the 23rd of December, as many of you know, my mom had a serious seizure as a result of encephalitis, she was in the hospital on Christmas Eve and we did not know if she would awake. Accompanying my shaken dad, my wife Kila helped him to buy a little red truck at a nearby Toy’s R’ Us and dad found a family in the hospital and gave it to a little boy there. God gave my dad the opportunity to continue giving and because of God’s wonderful healing, my mom and dad were blessed again this Christmas with the opportunity to give yet another red truck.

The red fire truck, is a nice story of Christmas giving, but to truly help the homeless and hungry in our country, and in our world, we need a lot more Christmas giving opportunities that last throughout the entire year.

 I am not a pastor, I am just a substitute helper while our minister Bo is out of state. And so, perhaps I can get a little political and not worry about being fired. In our country, we have many concerns. From threats to our national security, road construction, to education and food safety, there is much that our political leaders must deal with on a daily basis. However, I think we make moral statements about who we are, when we decide to cut taxes for the most wealthy while we have millions who live in poverty, millions without homes, millions who do not have basic health care access. I am distressed. I have heard some politicians note that they feel that since Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 26 that “you will always have the poor,” maybe the poor should not be our primary focus. Maybe God is more interested in us living a moral life and following the Ten Commandments than in our providing handouts for the hungry. I will tell you for me, I believe that nothing could be a more incorrect understanding of that scripture in Mathew 26. To me, the fact that we will always have the poor, means that each generation will continually be given the opportunity to decide if they truly understand what it means to love their neighbor as they love themselves. Each generation will continually be called upon and be given many ‘Giving opportunities’ if you will. We must be willing to listen for that call and to act on those opportunities that God provides.  We must hear God’s call and His giving opportunities


Lectionary:  1 Samuel 3:1-10 and John 1:43-51.
Good comentary by Professor Beth Tanner:  http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=224

Learning Styles for Christians

Learning Styles for Christians                       Scripture: Luke 24:36-48 & Acts 3:12-19

Once Upon a time, there was a woman who was taken from her husband and kids by a mean witch. She was transformed into a pretty rose that would sit in the witch’s garden along with several other identical rosebushes. Each of the rosebushes were the same shade of red, had identical fragrance, and shape. In fact, they all had the same number of petals, leaves, and thorns.

After much pleading, the witch agreed to let her visit her family every night when the sunset. But as soon as the sun rose in the morning, she would find herself one of the three identical rosebushes again. Still, she wanted to be with her family night and day, of course. She continued to plead for her freedom. Finally, the witch said that if her husband truly loved her, he could identify her among the other beautiful roses.

That night, she told her husband, “tomorrow morning go out to the field before noon and look at the witch’s rose garden. If you can pick a rose from the bush that is me, I will be set free.”

When the sun began to rise, she was suddenly gone and back in the garden. After tending to the children, but well before noon, her husband went to the field and found the beautiful red rosebushes exactly alike. He looked carefully and then picked a rose. Instantly his wife was returned to him.

 But how did he know which rosebush was his wife?

 

 

 

Truthfully, this puzzle had me stumped. We have here in our congregation some experts on roses and they, no doubt, probably already figured out that the husband just looked for the rosebush that had no dew on it. Since, after all, she was able to spend the night in her own house; she would not have been covered by the night’s dew.

 

To be honest, When I first read the story, I didn’t get it. I was thinking that somehow his wife must have had a brighter shade of red or been a bit of a thorn in his side at times. Once I turned the page, however, it seemed so simple. Once I had someone explain the answer to me, that is, it seemed so clear that I wondered how I could have missed its meaning beforehand.    You see, I am the kind of learner who needs to have things explained to me. 

 

Short and tall, young and old, Thin and … let’s say, not so thin, We humans, of course, come in many different diverse packages, and of course, inside, our thinking styles tend to be just as diverse.     Educational psychologists have classified seven unique learning styles.  Your individual learning style has more influence than you may realize. Your preferred styles guide the way you learn.

Research shows us that each learning style uses different parts of the brain. Here is the key, By involving more of the brain during learning, we remember more of what we learn.  

 

 

The seven learning styles are:

·       Visual:  Needs to see the learning

·       Aural:  Audio learners, need to hear it, musical sounds and rhythms

·       Verbal:  Speaking, Writing, word based recording events; Reading is key.

·       Kinesthetic or Physical (hands on learner,)

·       Logical: Not to be too Spock like, but a logical understanding helps us connect the stories

·       Social: Learns better in groups or in teams

·       Solitary: Learn individually, makes personal individual connections.

 

So Why all this talk about Learning Styles?  Well, I guess that I am revving up for back to school in a week.  Today, I want to talk about Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher. 

According to Dr. Ray Pritchard of Crosswalk, 

 “Other words come more quickly to mind—Lord, Savior, Master, and Redeemer. But here’s an amazing fact. Of the 90 times Jesus was addressed directly in the gospels, 60 times he was called Teacher. This was the word the multitudes used. This was how the disciples referred to him. Jesus himself used the term when he said, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am” (John 13:13). When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, he said, “We know that you are a teacher who has come from God” (John 3:2).”

 

So let’s consider Our Teacher:

In our first scripture today, we read in Luke chapter 24 that following His resurrection, Jesus found the disciples in the upper room, the same room where He had shared the first communion with them. At this time, of course, following his unexpected execution and then the crazy stories of his missing body, His friends were no doubt a bit disheveled. Actually, I think I would use the term “freaked out.” Then, Jesus appeared to them. The scripture reports that he had some food and invited them to examine His wounds in order to fully believe. This was obviously a Visual lesson but remember the more kinesthetic tactile lesson he saved later for our doubting Thomas. The scripture explains that He then opened their minds to the scripture and explained their meaning.

This was not, of course, not at all the first time that the Lord had spoken to the disciples about scripture. I want to be careful here and not offend anyone, but to tell you the truth; I don’t really think that the disciples were always the sharpest tools in the shed. There were quite a few instances where they seemed a bit; shall we say, slow. Jesus, of course, the Master Teacher, believed in NCLB, you know, No Christian Left Behind.

·       So let’s examine their early education. The Lord healed a sick Centurion’s child, raised a young man from the dead, healed lepers and the blind, and cast out demons. Yet on board a ship in a storm, the disciples despaired and called out to Jesus that they were going to be lost at sea. Perhaps they were not the best auditory learners.  But He had faith in them.

Later, Jesus told the disciples that the Son of Man must suffer and Peter actually argued with Him. When they witnessed the miracle of the transfiguration and saw Jesus actually talking with Elijah and Moses, Peter was thinking about putting up a tent for the new guests. Maybe they were not always real visual learners either.  Another teacher might have been rather frustrated, But Jesus was patient that Peter would eventually get the bigger picture.

 

After Jesus fed 5000 people with a couple loaves of bread and a few fish, He and the disciples got into a boat, and Jesus warned them, "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod?" According to Mark (8:14) the disciples thought that Jesus meant that since they didn’t have any bread for the journey, they shouldn't buy any bread from any Pharisee they might see on the other shore because something was wrong with the yeast they used. For His disciples, Metaphors, and verbal and social learning were also not always a strength. 

At this point, I can just see myself complaining in the staff room about this impossible class of students.  But not Jesus, He continued to teach. From the Good Samaritan to the Master with his talents of silver, Jesus told stories in His parables that were both culturally relevant and yet individual enough to apply to everyone.  He used visual illustrations as He washed the feet of the disciples to teach servant leadership. 

Always the Master Teacher, He used repetition and logical social and culturally accurate stories that challenged and questioned His audience.  He asked deep Socratic like questions of both his student disciples and the Pharisees that challenged Him.  To His disciples he asked, Who do the people say I am, who do you say I am?  To the Pharisee he asked, “Whose face is on that coin?”

When Mary anointed Jesus with perfume, she was disciplined by the disciples for wasting expensive perfume that could have been sold for cash. When Jesus tried to tell them that He would soon be executed but then would be raised up after 3 days, they still didn't get it. In fact, on the night Jesus was arrested, the disciples ran for their lives. Peter couldn't even stand up to a servant girl who identified him as a friend of Jesus.

It really seemed like they just were not going to get it. They needed to hear, see, touch and then say it for themselves. But you know what?  They did. Jesus opened their minds and their hearts, the Master and very patient Teacher once more explained the scriptures to them and they finally did get it. They were not left behind.

In our second scripture in Acts, we read that Peter and John explained to a large crowd that included priests and Pharisees that Jesus’ crucifixion had been foretold by the prophets. Through faith they explained the meaning of the scriptures and taught others to understand Jesus’ resurrection. Through the mercy of Christ, they got it and now they were the teachers.

In Washington State, in order to graduate, students used to study for the WASL.  Now it’s the Smarter Balanced: English language arts and math tests, the Measurements of Student Progress (or MSP): for Science test for grades 5 and 8 and the High School Proficiency Exams (or HSPE): Reading and writing tests for students through the Class of 2016. Students in grades 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 need to show on state mandated assessments that they are at standard.

 

Wow, that is a lot of assessment and as teachers, we spend a lot of time teaching to those set standards.  Jesus also taught to a standard and he was very clear in Mathew 7, 11: When he said, “Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the meaning of the Law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets. 

Let me say that yes, the assessments for each of us will be unique, but the standard applies to all of us and I can tell you that that you will not need a number 2 pencil, just the ability to believe, and this Teacher always gives “make ups.”

The noted bishop and church father, Saint Augustine once said that, “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.”  

This is what this passage means to me: There with Jesus in the upper room, following His death and resurrection, when the disciples truly believed, they were ready to fully understand, and to begin teaching His message. Today, God continues to open our eyes and open our understanding, He opens the scriptures to us so that we may open our mouths and tell others about Him. Jesus, the Master Teacher, continues to teach to us individually and socially, He provides us a written record in the Bible, with logical audial stories, and many opportunities to see and touch His vision of the world through countless mission outreaches opportunities.