Sermon for April 20

So, did you feel it? Did you feel the quake? A few weeks ago Pastor John asked us if we felt the quake of Easter in our hearts. If we felt the quake of Christ in our lives. But today, I’m not asking you if you felt the spiritual quake of Easter. But I’m asking if you felt a more earthly kind of quake. Well, I don’t know about you, but on Friday, I sure felt a quake, and I was relieved that I had learned about the New Madrid fault line in the sermon a few weeks ago, or that unexpected quake would have scared me at lot more than it did! But Friday’s quake was a different kind of quake than the one talked about in the sermon a few weeks ago. This earthly quake woke me (and the rest of the state) up at 5:40 am on my day off from work. It shook the walls, knocked a wooden statue off a shelf and caused a picture in my house to end up sideways on the wall. This earthly quake only lasted 45 seconds. If it had been any longer, I would have stood in the doorway, something this Midwestern gal is glad she learned by watching disaster survival shows on TV. Jeff asked me “should we call the police or something?” I said “I think they felt the quake too.” And I thought it was a big, earthly quake. I even went to the website Pastor John mentioned in his sermon and filled out the assessment by the US Geological Survey. Anyone else fill out that form? I checked “moderate” when it asked me “how severe was the quake.” But as I continued to read the form and fill out the “damage report” I realized that while I felt “ the quake” it could have been a lot worse. (there was none to report, but I was having fun filling out the form and wasn’t going back to sleep) The suggested types of damage included concrete structures falling, cracks in the walls, broken water pipes and foundations being split from homes.

Ironically, there was a big quake on the same day as our exciting, little quake. That quake was on April 18, 1906 in San Francisco CA and also struck during the 5:00 am hour. And they felt it. The quake was estimated to be between 7.8 and 8.3 and modern estimates believe the death toll, which first was listed at 700 was more like 3,000-5,000 people. But the quake also ruptured gas and water mains, causing fires to break out and leaving the fire department with no water to fight them. San Francisco, was a tightly compact city with a lot of wooden structures, and it burnt.

The fire lasted nearly four days, and some believe the fire was started in part by arsonist building owners. They wouldn’t receive money if their property was destroyed by an earthquake, but the payout would be greater if damage was due to fire. By the time it was over the heart of San Francisco lay in ruins. In all, 508 city blocks had burned to the ground.

So, these earthly quakes can rock us to the core and break our foundations. And we don’t just have to look to earthquakes to see and feel things that threaten our earthly foundations. Between April 17 and April 20, there are countless anniversaries of brokenness. Let me share a few with you: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma City, Waco, Bay of Pigs, and, my personal broken foundation, the Grand Forks/East Grand Forks flood which inundated and burnt my home town in 1997. The earthly quakes that rock our foundations are real, and they hurt and they destroy. What is your earthly quake? Is it an illness? A broken relationship? Fear? Well, you aren’t alone, these quakes destroyed in biblical times as well. In Acts, Stephen is killed with rocks for recognizing and calling out the name of our eternal rock…for sharing the heavenly quake with the earth. People could feel the heavenly quake, but they couldn’t handle it, they covered their ears, yelled out and rushed at him. Stephen believed in the heavenly quake, but never the less, the earth quaked and killed.

But, even with all of these earthly quakes, we seek out a rock to build our foundation on. And that rock began as an unstable and rolling, shifting rock. That rock shifted, and broke, and rolled away from the tomb, to reveal the promised, always stable, never failing rock of our resurrected Savior!!! That rock in front of the tomb, which was to keep our hope locked away, dead, in a tomb, could not be still. The rocks and stones themselves will start to sing as they roll away to reveal the promise of Christ. Jesus speaks in the Gospel: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms…I go and prepare a place for you.” Jesus, who places that heavenly quake in our hearts, is making a home for us, on a solid foundation. In our second reading, we are welcomed to this new home as we hear “come to Him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious. And be like living stones, built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood…” We are welcomed into a new house, one in which the cornerstone, Jesus, was rejected by the earth. Our Psalm tells us that this rock is also “a refuge and a fortress”. And we need it, don’t we? We need refuge from the earthly quakes that seek to destroy us, to destroy believers like Stephen in the book of Acts, to destroy believers like us in Muncie.

Can you feel it? Can you feel the quake and not be afraid of your foundation cracking, not fear a flood destroying, not fear death conquering? Some days, I do feel the earthly quakes, and, even though I know I have Christ as a cornerstone, even though I know my home, my hope and my future are built on the unshakable rock of Christ, I doubt, I fear, I quake. I trouble over the damage done by earthly disasters. 11 years later, I still shake and tremble on the anniversary of a flood that destroyed so much of my community’s foundation. I still remember the smells of sewage water, the sting of smoke from the downtown fires, the tears of those who went home to find the lot, which at one time contained their home, was empty, but with a concrete foundation remaining. Afterwards, even as the earthly quake shook us to the core, we were humbled by the heavenly quake of Christians who aided in the recovery. Church groups from around the country sent resources, volunteers, and donations to people they never met. In the 11 years since my broken foundation, I have met members of this heavenly quake. This community, Holy Trinity, sent donations, prayers and letters to churches in Grand Forks and helped a small town in the Red River Valley sustain and grow and come back. Even when our foundation appeared to be ripped apart due to earthly quakes, the rock of Christian brothers and sisters showed us how strong the foundation of God can be.

The earth will still quake, and rip open holes in the fault lines of our lives. But these gaps will not swallow us up. Because we still have our solid foundation! In the most difficult of times, we have the hope of Christ, and the gift of a foundational community of Christian brothers and sisters. Jesus says “I will go and make a dwelling place for you.” FOR YOU. You don’t have to wait to get to heaven to experience the joy and relief of our Father’s house. The foundation of Christ is felt in the community of believers that surround, encourage and continue God’s mission, even in the midst of our earthly quakes. The heavenly quake can be felt because WE ARE THE FOUNDATION. As individuals, and without Christ, we will fall. But together, we endure the quakes and not fear because nothing can destroy the rock of our foundation. The stone has been forever rolled away, and the new promise will carry us through.

The New Madrid fault is still there and it’s possible that another quake will come again in the future. I’m not too worried, since the last quake of this size hit in 1968. But there will be other quakes, other Columbines, other floods, fires, famines and personal, earth shaking events. We will feel that our earthly foundations are battered to the core. But we will feel a bigger quake, the heavenly quake that grounds us as a Christian community. The quake of our faith will keep us grounded, no matter how shaky life becomes.

A few days after the flood hit Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, a notable public figure came to the GF AFB to speak to the thousands of evacuees who called the base home. After discussing all the details of money and politics, he ended by speaking of faith and community. He said, “well, you’ve had blizzards, you’ve had a flood, you’ve had a fire. But you also have faith and hope. And a blizzard can’t blow that away, a flood can’t wash that away, and a fire can’t burn that away. And if you don’t give it away, your faith will bring you back, stronger than ever.” Did you feel it? Can you feel it? Will you join with me, as we continue to feel it together? AMEN.

Earthquake in Indiana

We're just fine (and waiting for the folks in CA to giggle) but we had an earthquake!!! At 5:40 EST, we woke up to hear wall hangings shake. It continued for about 45 seconds, got stronger and then quit. About 10 minutes later we felt a tiny little shake (we Midwesterners hear they're called "after shocks" :) It was strong enough to knock a statue off the wall and pull us from our peaceful slumber.

The quake was centered near Salem IL, (located NO WHERE NEAR US 230 miles southwest) and was registered as a 5.4 at the center. News reports are telling us it was felt all through the area, from the IL border, Chicago, Louisville KY and the OH border. Louisville KY was just shown on the news with some damage in roadways and a firetruck on site. We recently learned about the US geological survey website where you can report your experience (thanks to a sermon). We got to report what the earthquake felt like, and it told us we felt something between a 4 and a 5 (but, it asked "was the shake mild or moderate"? Well, this Midwestern gal thought it was moderate!!! Don't know what CA people would think!).

In all seriousness, as we read the US geo website, we realized how minor this was for us. The question "was there damage?" included damage of separation from the building's foundation. So, a few statues falling is mild.

Enjoy our pictures!

Shahra as a PK

Top 10 reasons you know Shahra is a PK (pastor's kid)

1) She runs around making the sign of the cross on everyone's head saying "Jesus, forever and ever, AMEN!!" (Just like the communion blessing)

2) She passes out little pieces of bread when she has a sandwich saying "giving for you, and you to mommy!!"

3) She sees a cross and yells "church! church!"

4) Mommy working means: a) helping people who are going to see Jesus (ie hospice) or b) mommy help pastor john at church!!!

5) Weeks after easter, she still yells "alleluiah come back!!" (after the Easter children's sermon which included a balloon rising up with "Alleluiah" on it)

6) On Ash Wednesday, Jeff brushed off her ash cross and she freaked out yelling "I want my Jesus back!!" The next day she looked for it on her forehead.

7) stained glass windows of any kind elicit the response: CHURCH! I want Autumn!!! (a church friend)

8) Appropriate music will render the response: "Church music mommy?"

9) When she finishes reading a book, she closes it and says "AMEN"

10) She reminds mommy and daddy to say grace, and repeats her fav. prayer over and over and over.....

A day with Obama

We had a fabulous day seeing Obama. The crowd was "a small intimate gathering" with 3,000 people at Irving gym at Ball State. Shahra was great and made it through 3/4 of the speech. Obama spoke for about 45 minutes and then took questions for about 30 minutes. It seemed everyone has seen him (including my Canadian mom :) and I've been waiting for him to speak somewhere near us. It's insane that Indiana counts in the election, and Obama even said he hopes to come back for a stadium event once he gets the Dem. nod. I've included a few pictures, but the bright lights made it difficult to get a good picture. A wonderful day of civic participation.
Some of the cool highlights:

*Mentioning local businesses (including Borg Warner) that are struggling and possibly closing. It's the personal references that were meaningful.

* Thanking supporters for making the campaign what it is. Through $25 and $100 donations, average people now own a piece of the campaign.

*Promising to think of average Americans each day when he's in the White House.

Sermon for April 12

Just over a week ago, the “voice of God” died…I’m not in any way referring to our God, the God who we worship, instead, I’m referring to the Hollywood “voice of God” Charleton Hesston. Hesston, who was 84 was known for many Hollywood features over the years and played the greatest roles of the 20th century, or any century: Buffalo Bill, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Michelangelo, John the Baptist, Marc Antony. Heston even played God. It was while shooting The Ten Commandments on location at Mount Sinai that Heston, already cast in the starring role of Moses, talked himself into the biggest part of all. He and legendary director Cecil B. DeMille were having dinner with the abbot of St. Catherine's monastery at the base of the mountain. "Heston said, 'You know, Mr. DeMille, it seems to me that if you hear the voice of God, you hear it inside yourself. I'd like very much to do the voice of God in the burning bush,'" Heston later recalled. "DeMille said, 'Well, Chuck, you've got a pretty good part as it is.' But the abbot, fortunately, was intrigued by that. He said, 'I think that's an interesting idea.' So Mr. DeMille said, 'Well, we'll see about that.'" So it is that in the 1956 classic, when Moses hears the Almighty, he hears his own voice -- disguised by audio effects and speaking the "thy-thou-thine" language of the King James Bible, but still unmistakably Heston (parts taken from http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13011).
I don’t know about you, but “The Ten Commandments” has been a very influential film when it comes to my understanding of the voices of God, the look of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. Yes, I’ve never actually sat through all 5 hours at one time, but I remember watching the program when I was a kid at my grandparents house—for some reason, it always seemed to be on around EasterJ I heard the voice of Moses saying “let my people go” and the voice of God from the burning bush. Those voices, of Moses and God, permeated my mind, and are the first voices I hear when I think of “the voice of God.” Maybe like me, you just know that voice.
But knowing the voice of God doesn’t keep you from experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly of life. Knowing the voice of God doesn’t keep you from making decisions you’d rather not make. Knowing the voice of God doesn’t always keep families united, children fed or communities intact. We only have to look back at John 9 to recognize this. Remember a few weeks ago when we heard about the blind man who had his sight restored by Jesus? Well, in John 9, the blind man was thrown out of the temple for knowing the voice of God—knowing Christ. Jesus, who is speaking to the Pharisees at the end of chapter 9 begins chapter 10 by talking about being a gate keeper. The only legitimate ways for the sheep to access the pen is through the gate—just as the only legitimate way to access the Word of God is through the gatekeeper—Jesus. Christ is the legitimate voice of God, welcoming in the outcast blind man, the man who was just kicked out of his community. Jesus doesn’t simply interact with those already on the “inside” the educated Pharisees who think the voice of God is reserved for a select few. No, instead, Jesus stands at the gate, allowing the supposed outsider access to the inside. Jesus stands on the edge of two seemingly contrasting places—those supposedly on the outside, and the promise of God for the insiders. Instead of closing the gate and keeping the outcast away, He welcomes them in, bringing together all peoples. Jesus didn’t say “I AM THE WALL.” He says “I AM THE GATE.” Through Jesus, the voice of God is able to permeate outside places and welcomes all.
In Mike Yankoski’s book “Under the Overpass” Mike details his 6 month journey of being an outsider by choice. As part of his spiritual journey, Mike decides to live as a homeless person in cities throughout the US and truly experience the pain of being an outsider. He sleeps in shelters, outside under bridges and earns money playing guitar for handouts. Along the way, Mike and his friend Sam attend local churches. In part, their decision is to see how the insiders react to outsiders like them. But the duo are also longing for community. Mike says they spent every Sunday morning at a church somewhere during their travels, but even so the lack of community was taking a toll. Even at church, they felt isolated because of how they looked, how they smelled and who people perceived them to be. They walked into a church, hoping to find genuine fellowship only to be met by condescension or suspicion (from “Under the Overpass”).
We don’t go to church, we are the church, challenged to be the living expression of Christ’s presence to the world. Once the gatekeeper has guided us in through the legitimate doorway, we aren’t supposed to stay inside, comfortable with other sheep like ourselves. Instead, we are challenged to go back out that gate! To not only be AMONG the “outsiders” but to BE “outsiders” ourselves for the sake of sharing the gospel with others. Through us, others are to hear the voice of God, to allow it to permeate in them, to be welcomed to the gate and to join our community. The community of outsiders. The community of sinners. The community of blind men who were thrown out of the temple. The community of blind men who now see, thanks to the gate keeper who welcomes us all in.
But, fellow disciples, you don’t have to be afraid of being an outsider. For you are known, you have been given a name, an identity. You are Anne, a mother, wife and teacher. You are Karen, our organist. You are Jill, a new HTLC attendee. But, friends, more than that, more than any title you wear at work, or any self given description, YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. The voice of God proclaims “I have called your name, and you are mine.” The voice of God permeates as He reveals Himself as the shepherd, who leads his sheep to still waters and restores their souls. In baptism, we are named as members of God’s family. Hannah, who is sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. We will not follow the voice of a stranger, but will follow the voice of our good shepherd as He guides us, joins us in community and sends us out to share to voice of God with the outsiders, with the insiders, with each other.