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Message from Easter Sunday April 21, 2019

Latest news from the UCC on Love of Creation... Rev. Dorhauer leading the way on addressing climate change.

He is Risen! Did you know that this is just the beginning of the season of Eastertide? We'll celebrate new life and transformation this spring - and we invite you to join the party.

Lenten Journey Day 40 —April 20, 2019 Focus Verse: We are rightly condemned, for we are receiving the appropriate sentence for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus replied, “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23: 41-43) Reflection: It is Holy Saturday; our Lenten journey is at an end. Tomorrow is Easter and all the things you might have given up you can pick up again. Bright colors and flowers and Hallelujahs will fill the air, candy and fancy feasts will fill our tummies, and being reflective about our journey with Jesus may also go by the wayside till next Lent. God’s okay with it all. The liturgical calendar is an invention of humans to give some order to our “seasons” of faith. God is good with us all the time, and we find proof of that in this passage. Jesus accepts the guy on the cross near him;, he doesn’t tell him to recite a prayer that he gives to him, nor does he ask him how many sacraments are holy, did he ever take communion, or confession, or did he keep all the commandments? Jesus asks none of it, but he does give a promise—today you’ll be with me in paradise. Was this guy a Gentile or a Jew? It doesn’t say? What color was he? Was he gay or straight? Did he drink or play cards? Jesus didn’t even ask him what his sins were, nope, just an invitation to be with him. AND, the guy didn’t even ask to be forgiven or to go to heaven, just that Jesus remember him; that is certainly left open to imagination. Let us pray: Loving God, thank you for accepting us. In following your ways and seeking to see the world through your eyes, we are made stronger, more loving and compassionate. We love you. Amen. See ya in church, you are always welcome! Easter is a good day to begin. First UCC, 930 Harding Memorial Parkway (near Marion General). Worship at 11:00am. No matter who you are or where you are on your journey, you are welcome here. Shalom, Pastor Gale

Lenten Journey Day 39 —April 19, 2019 Focus Verse: But me? I trust you, LORD! I affirm, “You are my God.” My future is in your hands. Don’t hand me over to my enemies, to all. (Psalm 31: 14-15) Reflection: Same psalm as yesterday but look at what a few verses can do to attitude. Laying out our concerns, crying out to God can bring us hope, reconciliation, and even new faith. The psalmist resolves to put it all out there to God, and in doing so finds that God cares. In the 1970s there was a saying, it is still heard sometimes today, “Fake it till you make it.” Truth be told, I didn’t care much for that saying, yet, there is some truth in it. Have you ever had a time when you needed to put on that brave face and pretend you knew what you were doing and then discover, gosh, you did know that stuff? Maybe it is not really faking it but giving yourself permission to experiment with what you know or do and see if you can stretch a little more. I decided to try seminary when I was in my 40s. I had not been in a classroom as a student in a long time. Graduate school was different than college, and seminary required a new way of thinking, on just about everything. I was scared, lost, overwhelmed, and miserable. I thought I could never catch up on the reading, writing papers was so intense, and the most frustrating part was unlike college, seminary studies overlapped in every class. Almost completely unglued, a feeling I really didn’t like, I went to see my advisor; my intent was to quit classes. She helped me to see seminary in a new light. She told me of course everything over laps, it is supposed to be that way! She told me I could do it, I was just a little rusty, but practice would make it better. She also told me, I’ll walk you through it, don’t quit, I’m sure God has called you here. For a while I “faked it,” but in time I no longer needed to because, I got it. Give God praise, God’s “got you.” Let us pray: Holy God, when I am overwhelmed, unsure or really just tired, remind me, you’ve got me in your loving arms, and I will be okay, sooner than I might imagine. Amen Shalom, Pastor Gale

Lenten Journey Day 38—April 18, 2019 Focus Verse: Have mercy on me, LORD, because I’m depressed. My vision fails because of my grief, as do my spirit and my body. (Psalm 31) Reflection: So yesterday’s reflection was about having the attitude of Christ, and today’s lesson talks about depression, deep overpowering depression. Life can be like that. I have known this deep depression, the kind where getting out of bed seems a monumental task. I count myself lucky because even in my depression I could will myself out of bed, but my vision certainly was not clear and my body (in particular my brain) failed me a lot. When you are depressed, things narrow around you, tunnel vision is true. You wonder why the outside world can possibly go on, and you may find the noise of the world just too much to handle. Even in quiet places you may not find silence or peace. Depression is hard to work through, and depression is a legitimate feeling. Many situations can bring on depression: illness, loss of job, family, a dream, your pet, losing hope, losing faith. Friends help in these times, and sometimes a professional helper might be what you need. The only shame in depression is not asking for help. Asking for help is a sign of strength, seeking companionship to share your troubles, a wise move. Seeking God in prayer and asking who might help is a wonderful step to take. Let us pray: O God, when I begin to feel “down” for so many reasons, speak truth to me about sharing this burden so I do not go very far down this road alone. You are always near me. Point me in the direction of those who will help me and let me allow people to minister to me. In Jeus’ name we pray, Amen Shalom, Pastor Gale

Lenten Journey Day 37—April 17, 2019 Focus scripture: Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2: 5) Reflection: Obviously this passage goes on, if you wish to read it the whole pericope is 5-11. The verse listed is the complete verse and that intrigued me. A lot is packed into that little verse. While it goes on to say that Christ humbled himself to become a human, and then humbled himself even more in serving folks, I started to think about the attitude of Christ. After all we do hear a bunch about attitude these days. People tell us to have a good attitude, but what does that mean? Good is certainly a relative word; what is good for me may not be good for you. How about a positive attitude? I know many who can turn that on its head; they say “I’m positive I’m going to hate doing this”, or “I’m positive this will taste terrible, so I’m not going to try it.” A helpful attitude is harder to twist, so is having a hopeful attitude, most of the time. So back to Jesus, he had a positive attitude, most of the time, always looking for the good in every situation. He certainly had a helpful attitude with people, healing them, feeding them, teaching them. Jesus had a faithful attitude towards God and a worshipful attitude of praise in his prayers. Looking at the way he saw the religious authorities at the time, he seemed to have a frustrated attitude, or how about the rich young man who wanted to follow him, but could not give up his riches? The word compassion is also mentioned about Jesus. Jesus appears to have a positive, hopeful attitude for life 9 out of 10 times, maybe even 99 out of 100 times; having an attitude like Jesus does seem to be a good thing. Let us pray: Loving God, we do get to decide on our attitude each day. Even if life can get us down, we can choose how we accept that. Help us to choose the attitude of Christ. Amen Shalom, PG

Lenten journey Day 36—April 16, 2019 Focus Verse: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19: 38-40) Reflection: The gospel of Luke tells us this story. When the disciples, the many, many folks who have seen Jesus and the miracles and had heard his teaching, see Jesus even at a distance they begin to shout to him and give praise for all they have witnessed in him and thru him. The Pharisee are not happy. Why? This is exactly the sort of thing that might make the Romans want to exert some muscle to show who is boss. It is further not reassuring to the Pharisee that Jesus says if the people are quiet the very rocks will sing his praises; now that might really get him noticed! Jesus never asks the people to call him King; it is their desire to honor him, and to indeed, perhaps, make him King. There were many at the time who wished for rebellion, and the Romans usually could kill off the leader and it all went away. If this gets out of hand, the Pharisee hope the “usual” response from the Romans will end these ideas. In their hearts they just want to eat Passover and send the pilgrims back home. So often we just want to have the celebration and not think of the whole story. Many will skip the painful story of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, returning next Sunday for Easter. These stories bring up questions not easily answered. These stories may bring up memories of feeling never addressed, and we would just as soon skip the reflection. Where ever you are, God is with you. In peace let us pray to the Lord, Lord have mercy. Amen. Shalom, Pastor Gale

Lenten journey Day 35—April 15, 2019 Focus Verse: Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty? (Isaiah 50: 9) Reflection: This week we think of Jesus, of the promise of the Messiah from the Old Testament and the stories of his life from the New Testament. This is from the suffering servant verses in Isaiah, the servant not being identified, although some people read Christ/Messiah as the servant. The passages are hard to read as the suffering is immense. This calls into question of course, why does Jesus suffer so? Is he this servant? Why does he die on the cross? It is a difficult question and many answer by saying God needed Jesus’ sacrifice to pay for our sins. That seems wrong to me; however, this I can believe, from an essay by Rev. Alan Brehm, “the servant is called to suffer on behalf of the wayward because that’s who God is.” God suffers on our behalf. The God of the Bible is not some cosmic bully who enjoys inflicting pain on us. The God of the Bible is a God who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” The God of the Bible is the one who is completely faithful, which means that God never gives up on relationships. And so, the suffering servant can say, who judges me guilty? God is with us all, faithfully watching, walking, defending and calling. These days are difficult, yet made so much better by knowing God never deserts us. Let us pray: O God, as we walk through this week we want to scream, we want to yell, we want to tell people that your love is always real, and that while it is true Jesus died on the cross, he was not deserted by you. As we are left to ponder about Jesus’ death, we rejoice knowing that even death could not hold him, for your power is over all. Amen Shalom, Pastor Gale

In the ancient world, the palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory.In a few days, the same people who hail Jesus with branches now will send him to his death... Palm Sunday is just the beginning of the drama of this Holy Week.

Lenten Journey Day 34—April 13, 2019 Focus Verse: The Lord is God. And he has shown kindness to us. With branches in your hands, join the feast. Come to the corners of the altar. (Psalm 118: 27) Reflection: A little trivia, do you know the shortest psalm? It is 117, two verses, memorize it on this Palm Sunday Eve. It seems a good way to get ready for Palm Sunday, a day of celebration that leads us into Holy Week. With great celebration Jesus rides into town on a donkey, not the noblest of steeds. The esteemed theologian, Marcus Borg, writes that this is an act of protest. As Jesus enters in one gate, officials of the Roman government, the rulers over Israel, are entering, not on donkeys, but with horses and chariots, to be present for the High Holidays. They come to have a presence and remind the people that they (the Romans) keep the peace for the Israelites and “let” them have celebrations of their religions. Benevolent rulers, reminding their subjects to remember who is in charge, don’t rock the boat. Jesus is rocking the boat. Having recently raised Lazarus of Bethany from the dead, the word is out that the great healer is in town. Could this be the long-awaited Messiah? The officials on both sides, the Hebrews and the Romans, are nervous. The Hebrews have witnessed how the Romans put down previous “rebellions,” and it was not kind in any way, a bloodbath. Even Jesus is aware of the tension in the city. Will you come and raise the branch in celebration? Will you stand with the one who has loved us, always? You may stand and shout or watch and wonder, but in either case, God will continue to love you. Thanks be to God! Let us pray: Thank you, Jesus, for the lessons you taught, for the life you showed us, for the seeds you have sown in us, for the faith to sustain us as we walk with you on this journey. Amen. Shalom, Pastor Gale

April 7, 2019 Sermon based on John 12:1-8

Lenten Journey Day 33—April 12, 2019 Focus Verse: The Lord says, “Forget what happened before. Do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. (Isaiah 43: 18,19) Reflection: First United Church of Christ is a 175-year-old church on a mission for our future. We have many, many years of service in the community, and we could rest on our laurels, but if we did, would we still be the church? We hear so much about change; actually we hear so much about how people appear not to like change. Yet things change daily, and sometimes many times within the same day, and most of the time, changes come without an announcement. There are times when change comes slowly, at times so slow you may think it has stopped moving, but it is still moving incrementally. As a church, when we were making plans for our future and the idea of leaving our building was first “floated,” it was scary. In our hearts of course we knew that the church was the people and not the building, for most, the church was the people, in the church. It was our place, it was beautiful (even if in need of repairs), it held memories. It also held a feeling of security. Making plans for a new way, pretty scary. Now we are moved, well sort of moved. We rent space from another congregation, financially we are still striving for a more secure footing, and at the same time giving thanks to God that we had the provision to be able to do this move. The past has been good for us, but it is now time for us to do a new thing. What is new in your world? Trust God. Let us pray: When situations seem too big to tackle, too scary to contemplate, encourage our trust to see the new thing you are doing, and let us give praise. Amen. Shalom, Pastor Gale

Lenten Journey Day 31—April 10, 2019 Focus Verse: When the Lord gave the riches back to Jerusalem, it seemed as if we were dreaming. Then we were filled with laughter, and we sang happy songs. (Psalm 126: 1,2) Reflection: As we read this psalm, we assume that the psalmist is talking about coming back after the exile in Babylonia. Of course they are happy, they have been away from their homeland for about 70 years, but remember, not everyone went, so as they return, they see things have changed a bit. Coming back is such good news; it propels them on their way, but they have no idea how they would find the land they had left. Yep, the family business was often taken over by the children or a neighbor, and upon their return, it no longer belonged to THEM. The cry goes up to God, “Yes God we are glad to be back, but give us our land”. Seventy years is a long time, longer than two generations of folks, so confusion is going to reign. The people who stayed have not done anything illegal. Folks were not here, somebody had to work the land, or we would face famine. We did the work, so how can you return and say it is your land? Much time has passed, we worked the land, now it belongs to us. People have been fighting over land for generations. We know God provides, but we also know you have to open your own doors, make your own way, hmm, really? Is that God’s way or the way of the world? Never fear, I am not sojourning to a place where we wait for God to drop all that we need in our laps, only reminding us that God does ask for action. Just like the manna and water in the desert that God did provide, once the Hebrew people reached the land of their own, God’s daily provision from the sky stopped. Praise is always good, and we can praise God in many ways, even when times are tough and not going the way we had planned and dreamed. Let us pray: Loving God, sometimes we ask and believe that circumstances will “magically” change, and sometimes things do change. In the times that they don’t, show us the way to go, and help us to find the peace in prayers that are answered in unexpected ways. Amen. Shalom, Pastor Gale

Lenten Journey Day 30—April 9, 2019 Focus Verse: Now that I belong to Christ, I am right with God and this being right does not come from my following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him. (Philippians 3: 9-10) Reflection: Today is my Grandmother’s birthday; if she were alive, she would be 109! My Grandmother’s granny knew fellows who went off to the Civil War; they were Confederates. I tell you this because this verse reminds of things my Grandmother used to tell me about my great-great-granny. She had some very definite “rules” to her life. First, she believed you needed a shot of whiskey and some chewing tobacco every day (she said that what kept her young; she lived to 101!), always act like a lady (she carried her own petite spittoon for her tobacco spit), have a hankie in your sleeve, and yes ma’am and no sir are a way of life. In the apostle Paul’s time, people believed that rules would keep you safe, and lots of places had rules. The Torah had rules, the Romans had rules, and most families had rules, also. This new group of folks following the one called Jesus was different. Loving one another was stressed, helping each other, living in the way Jesus did, seeing life with new eyes instead of only through the eyes of the law. This was radical stuff. It was so radical because it broke down barriers that living by the law could never do. Gentiles and Jews did not eat together. They only talked with each other if a business arrangement needed to happen. The Jews were suspicious of people who wanted to follow THEIR rabbi, Jesus, but the Jews that wanted to stay traditional Jews, didn’t trust the Jews that did go to follow him and considered them heretics. It was a difficult time for everyone. Along comes Paul with credentials as a Roman citizen and also with a claim that all he knows of Jesus, Jesus taught him on the road to Damascus in a vision. Pretty good credentials. Good credentials, but that is not his message. His message is this: it is not in the keeping of the rules of religion, but it is God who accepts and transforms you. And the proof then is in how you practice this love for each other. Ponder that. Let us pray: Loving God, you call us to be your hands and feet, to see others with new eyes of love and compassion. You give us new rules, but even before we can implement them in our lives, you proclaim your love for us, and you then send us off to pass on the message. Thank you, God. Amen. Shalom, Pastor Gale

Lenten Journey Day 29—April 8, 2019 Focus Verses: Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.” He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them. (John 12: 4-6) Reflection: Judas sometimes gets a bad rap. Here the writer in John assigns him nefarious actions and tells us information that we didn’t need to know. So Judas was a thief and Jesus didn’t notice? Unfortunately, the writer was correct, and since the gospel was written after it happened, we would expect that, right? While it might be fun to rag a bit on Judas, don’t you have people in your own church that might behave as he did regarding the perfume? Sell it, give the money to the poor. On the surface this feels like a good idea but is it really? Why are we giving it to the poor? Do we trust the poor will do the right thing with it? I frequently hear people say things like, well I wish I could have a steak for dinner like those folks on welfare. If you see someone use their SNAP card to buy steak, you’d better believe there is a pretty good reason. Food stamps will not cover most people’s needs; that’s why so many folks would come to our last Saturday breakfast and ask to take some home. There often is more month than money. It sounds good to say we will sell something and give the proceeds to the poor, but often something else comes up, and the poor never see “that” money. There is something else going on here, something I bet all of us have done at one time or another. Judas is saying what he thinks is the right thing. It’s the same as the kids at church thinking the answer to anything I ask them is Jesus. Even when sometimes I think the answer is squirrel, they say Jesus; isn’t that what we are talking about, and 9 times out of 10, it is Jesus. New understanding on my part, I think I need to update my children’s chat. Now, do you ever remember a time when you said or did something because you thought someone expected that behavior from you? Did you ever “play act” tears, happy face, or even being mad, because you thought that is what the situation at hand needed? At times I will see a mom embarrassed by her child’s behavior giving her kid heck because she thinks that’s what people think she should do; well, I used to do that sometimes. I think that’s what Judas is doing, saying what he thinks is expected, and yet Jesus knows his heart. Jesus calls him out without embarrassing him by saying, leave her alone, this is a good thing she is doing for me. And so, we all learn a lesson; sometimes what we might consider “over the top” behavior is just what someone needs. Let your heart lead at times, logical or common-sense thinking is not always the right answer. Let us pray: Holy God, lead us by our hearts to see others with compassion and to act in compassion to meet needs when we can. Make us slow to judge and quick to help, even if that help is just a smile to say, I see you, you’re doing fine. Amen. Shalom, Pastor Gale

Lenten Journey Day 32—April 11, 2019 Focus Verse: I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that. That is the reason Christ made me his. (Philippians 3:12) Reflection: I wanted to return to a few more verses in this Philippians reading because Paul is talking here about goals. Our society is all about goal setting. Everyone sets goals. Churches set goals for building projects, and people in the pew and new folks attending, lots of goals. Businesses and city planners, and certainly sales organizations set goals, and if we do not meet them for some reason, any reason, we will probably feel let down and maybe even defeated. Paul on the other hand suggests that we strive towards the goal because Christ (God) is calling us to that goal, and oh by the way, it is a lifetime pursuit, and God made us for the pursuit. So much for achieving perfection in this life! Isn’t it difficult to know we will not reach the goal of being perfect in Christ without Christ’s help? Yet it’s comforting to know God is our cheerleader and encouraging us to keep going. Let’s be honest, in life we want to reach, even conquer goals, so constantly striving for a goal seems, frustrating, right? We know that life changes all the time, and as it changes we change, and in those changes we find more ways to strive towards the goal, knowing God is always in that striving. Just another example of how God does not work like the rest of the world. We are used to checking things off our lists, from shopping to bucket list items. In this case, we know we will always be on the journey, and we give God praise for that knowledge. Let us pray: O God, it is so good to know that you walk with us. Encourage us to reach all of our potential as we follow you. It is also good to know that perfection is not our goal. The goal is to grow closer to you and to see life as you see it. It is good to know your forgiveness is waiting if we fall short, and that you are in it with us for the long haul. Thank you, God! Amen. Shalom, Pastor Gale