July 28 2019 Anne Hoffman Letter to My Grandsons

                                                                                                           August 2019  (revised)        

Dear Grandson,                                                                                             

This is a grandmotherly advice letter to all four of my grandsons, realizing that it will be one of very few letters you’ll ever receive because I know that people in the generations after me will rarely communicate by actually writing a letter.  You don’t live as close as I’d like and you have so many activities, so talking to you face to face is not always easy.  I wanted to write this because I know that you are growing up in the hardest and most confusing of times the world has ever seen, and the temptations to take the wrong path are overwhelming.  I thought a little advice from a grandmother who loves you might be of value to you.  I hope you will read my letter thoughtfully and take it to heart. 

When I grew up there were only land-line phones.  We didn’t call them land-line because it was the only type of phone available.  It was a phone with a cord that you had to dial and usually you had to share your line with three other houses. It was called a party line. When you heard the phone ring you listened for the length and number of rings to see if the call was for you.  I think our ring was 3 longs and a short.  You could listen to other conversations if you wanted (and my mother occasionally did) and, if you had an emergency while some other family was using the line, you kindly asked them to hang up.  Privacy was hard to come by.  Even in college there was no such thing as a private line or a phone in your room.  Long distance calls were expensive in those times so letter writing was common. 

Smart phones are a huge technological advancement and a real asset in terms of personal safety, yet I will never appreciate them the way you and your parents do.  With all the wonderful things they can do, their inappropriate use sometimes causes car accidents, hurts the feelings of some who are being talked or texted about, and ruins the atmosphere in social situations (like dinner at home or in a restaurant)  I hope you will always be responsible and considerate with the use of your phone.  I guess I could say, “Technology should not get in the way of good manners”.   

No matter how good a job your parents did raising you, you will find yourself in situations where the temptation to do the wrong thing will be very great.  The things you may be tempted to do may not be unlawful but they can cause great harm to you and others (in all likelihood the people you care about the most).  In particular I am thinking of the abuse of drugs and alcohol and pornography.  I’m sure that if you go to college you will be exposed to them all. And I would not be surprised if it has happened already.  In the past two years I have known three families that lost a son to opioid abuse, and the grief that they suffered is heartbreaking.  The loved ones of these young men will never be the same and they will always wonder what they could have done to prevent such a tragedy.  I hope it will never happen, but at some point I imagine that you too will be offered harmful drugs.  I pray that you will have what it takes to say NO.  I have heard of parties where all kinds of pills are dumped into a bowl and those present just swallow a handful of whatever and hope that nothing seriously bad happens.  The only words that come to mind concerning such activity are dangerous and stupid.  I’m counting on you to have no part in this sort of thing.   Friends who dare you to do stupid things can never be true friends.

Alcohol can also be devastating.  Too much alcohol can harm your brain and damage your liver and even cause death.  My mother had two older sisters and both of them had issues with alcohol.  One of them died in her early 70s and, though I don’t know for sure, I believe the cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver which happens with alcohol abuse.  I’ve seen both of my aunts drunk and it made me very sad.  Alcohol abuse is never funny and often very dangerous.  As a freshman in college I too was foolish when it came to alcohol.  I shudder to think what could have happened.  Be smart when it comes to alcohol, and under no circumstances should you drive if you have been drinking.

As to pornography I don’t want to embarrass you but it is a huge problem in our society and not one that parents are comfortable discussing.  It is very prevalent, and very hard to resist for some people, especially men and boys.  It has even been called “Every Man’s Battle.”  People will tell you that it doesn’t harm anyone but it most definitely does.  Pornography always has victims.  It is addictive and it can ruin relationships, especially a marriage.  It would be heartbreaking to be married to someone with this addition because it would feel like infidelity.

I think one of the secrets to my marriage to your grandfather is that we think alike spiritually.  We both believe in God and in His Son, Jesus, as our Lord and Savior.  We believe the Bible and read it regularly, more now than when we were younger. We hold its teachings as a standard for the way life should be lived.  Both of us have been in Bible studies for years and know that there is always something new to learn.  At your age I didn’t know that God had a purpose and plan for my life.  I guess I thought that life just happened and you made the best of it.  If you were lucky you were born into a good family, got a good education, found a good career, got married, and had a family.  Those are good things but the most important thing is to live in the will of God.  It is in the will of God that you find peace and contentment.  One of my favorite verses from the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11  and is says “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” You can start now asking God to direct your life according to His will.  The world values fame and money and success.  You may have those things and still not feel fulfilled because you are not doing what God wants you to do.   Your grandfather knew that he wanted to be a veterinarian from the age of five.  I doubt that he asked God about that, yet I truly believe that it was the profession that God wanted him to follow.  I can clearly see that he is gifted with the abilities he needed.  At age 76 he still finds fulfillment in his work.  He was never disappointed that his children didn’t follow in his footsteps, believing that God would direct their paths also.  God most definitely has a purpose for your life too.

Not everyone is meant to marry, yet the desire of my heart is that you find that special person that wants to share her life with you.  You might do a lot of dating or very little, but I would always hope you would respect the young women in your life.  This world would tell you that sex before marriage is the norm but that doesn’t mean that you have to do what everyone else seems to be doing.  Respect yourself and God’s standard for marriage.  Be very careful and very certain when you choose the person you will marry, asking God to make it clear.  Marry with the intention of growing old together, letting no one come into your life that would undermine your marriage covenant.  Realize that young love changes as your trust in each other and your commitment to each other grows and becomes more special. My maternal grandparents, my parents, my brother and his wife, and Darrell and I have all celebrated 50^th wedding anniversaries.  Darrell’s parents were married 49 years and five months before his mother passed away.  Couples that have been married a long time often have had just as many problems than those whose marriages ended in divorce.  God doesn’t expect you to stay in a truly abusive relationship but He wants you to honor your marriage vows and to work on a marriage that might be heading for trouble. What a joy it would be if you were able to say that you are the 5^th generation to celebrate 50 years of marriage.  If you marry, may God have it bless your life until one of you is taken home to be with Him.

As your grandmother I would like to wish you all the happiness in the world, but I want something even better than that for you.  What I truly want is that you walk with God – to believe Him, trust Him, and obey His Word.  By faith, it is important that you believe that Jesus is His Son and that He is your Lord and Savior. Having done this, you will find a comfort and joy that the rest of the world does not understand.  You will be able to cope with everything that you face because you have God helping you.  The best thing that God offers is eternal life with Him when all evil will be gone.  Before I read the Bible regularly I asked God to give me a love for His Word and He did.  I still struggle with some of the things in the Bible, but, by faith, I take it as truth and have never found better guidance for living my life.  You will never be sorry if you come to be a reader of Scripture.  Never be embarrassed to have a Bible in your home or in your hand.  Establish the habit of praying privately and, yes, even in public.

As I close this letter I realize that I am asking you to say,”No” to so much of what the world has to offer and I know that won’t always be easy.  So I will pray that you have the courage it takes and that God will protect you.  In addition to what I have already written I am asking you to please respect and obey your parents.  Screaming at them or refusing to do what they ask you to do is unacceptable (even if they do a little yelling themselves). They love you more that you will ever know.  Don’t carry around resentment or bitterness toward anyone, but especially toward any member of your family.  Another favorite passage in the Bible is Ephesians 4: 31, 32.  It says ,”Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you”.  Also, please do your absolute best in school.  It will be no guarantee of success in your future career but I have to tell you your grandfather would have never been a veterinarian had he not done his very best in high school, college and veterinary school.  He would be the first to tell you that hard work pays off.  Many opportunities will come your way.  Some you will want to say “no” to because they are difficult or boring or you feel unqualified for what is involved. Just know that some of those opportunities may be orchestrated by God.  Remember that your grandmother is praying that God will direct your path. Weigh your choices carefully and remember that God equips those who He calls to serve Him.

There will be times in your life when you are going to mess up.  When that happens do not try to put the blame on someone else or make excuses.  Apologize, make it right if you can, and face any consequences.  Ask God to forgive you and help you to not make the same mistake again and He will.  When you are grown, if people can say …………………is an honest man, a man with integrity, a man who is generous and compassionate, a man who walks with God, then you have done very well.  Nevertheless, it is only what God thinks of you that will really matter.  Every word of this letter is written with love and, I truly believe, inspired by God.   I care about you and love you with all my heart,

                                                                                                                          Grandma

July 21,2019 Luke 10:38-42 “Martha, Martha…tsk, tsk, tsk”

July 21,2019  Luke 10:38-42  “Martha, Martha…tsk, tsk, tsk” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

I had an aunt who was more dedicated to her little church than anybody else in the family as I was growing up. She was at the church day and night, which was easy since she lived next door to the church. The pastor and his family lived across the street. My auntie was known for her sweetness, her constant smiles and her contagious giggles.

She was rewarded greatly for her service. People gave her constant hugs and applause and kind words. Not many seemed to notice that she was working herself into a frazzle at home and at church. Her little boys all sat in the front pew, with crisp white shirts and bow ties, shiny shoes and hair combed to perfection. Her little girls pretty as princesses with the longest, silkiest, curliest hair than anyone in town.

There was no thought given to the idea that she was overdoing it. There was no thought given to the idea that she could not say “no” even that day she was found sitting in her kitchen, staring into space, frozen by anxiety. She was still smiling as we stood near her bedside in the emergency room a few years later. We listened as the doctor noted there was no real physical reason for her sudden dysfunction that was apparently stress related.

By the time we understood that she was not able to speak up for herself, she was not able to say “no”, that indeed she was partly exhibiting the behavior of a little girl, instead of a grown woman, she had suffered, even been abused, and pushed around in more ways than one.

She was meticulous and careful, probably to the point of obsession and compulsion, about many things as Martha was. Jesus and all his friends were always welcome in her wonderful home. Like Martha, we enjoy our work, we appreciate the applause and the nice rewards. Still, Jesus has something greater than the joy and the comfort we get from serving and doing a good job and accomplishing great work.  

When we want to be blessed, we do what Mary did, make it a priority to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn. There we can learn at least three ways to a deeper, sweeter, and richer relationship with the Lord and with one another.

The first thing we can learn when we sit at the feet of Jesus is that praise is powerful. Praising the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit and even the children of God whether in song, testimony, loving words or deeds is meaningful – praise matters. [slide # 1 Praise ]

Praise has the power to position us in our proper place and deliver us from improper places. Praise puts us in the right place at the right time. For every labor of love and every labor pain, praise pushes us into the deep waters where plentiful treasures and pleasures are found. Praise can placate an enemy and bring peace. Praise pays. A genuine, insightful pat on the back can earn us a friend forever! Most of all praise pleases God and when God is pleased, the heavens rejoice, the trees clap their hands and the rocks sing loud hallelujahs. A plan to praise is a plan to win. Let us not be too distracted to praise God and God’s people.

The second thing we learn at the feet of Jesus is that prayer matters. [slide # prayer] Every prayer we breathe out, like every breath we take in matters. Even short prayers like short breaths are critical to our wellbeing. Prayers that are long and deep, like breaths that are long and deep, calm us. Prayer changes the atmosphere for good, within and without. Prayer informs. Have you ever breathed a prayer and noticed that God gave you the words to pray as you took your next breath? Have you ever received thoughts and ideas that were the answer to a prayer that you did not even pray yet? Have you ever prayed a prayer that was in scripture because it resonated in your heart – such as Jesus’ prayer – “not my will but yours be done” or Thomas’s prayer – “Lord show us the way,” or a desperate unspoken prayer of the many biblical parents for their children – ‘save my child.’  Prayer can take on peculiar patterns that weave us tightly together and unite us a one. Prayer has a particular momentum that moves hearts and minds, making a difference that matters. Let us not be too distracted to move at the impulse of God’s love and pray for ourselves and for God’s people.

The third thing we learn as we sit at the feet of Jesus is to meditate, to be still and know that God is God and we are not. [slide# 3 meditation] A few weeks ago I went on a preaching planning retreat and enjoyed working for 25 minutes and then alternated walking quietly in the woods for 25 minutes, listening and giving thanks and waiting as the quiet refreshed my soul. After that retreat, I spent several days fasting from my usual routine of television news and radio broadcasts. The long silences made room for more of God, more space to hear myself think, to hear God’s love for me and others. Even a couple minutes of meditation can change the course of your day and your life. Let us not be too distracted to meditate for God’s sake and for ours.

There are important blessings that we can only get at the feet of Jesus. We learn that praise, prayer, and meditation draw us close to God and to one another in marvelous ways. May we pay the price for peace and be a little less distracted and be content to sit at the feet of Jesus today and forever. [slide # 4  new life sign] Amen. [slide# 5 little boy…rejoice]

July 14 2019 Luke 10.25-37 “Lucky Lawyer and Lazy Levite”

July 14 2019 Luke 10.25-37 “Lucky Lawyer and Lazy Levite” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

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Luke, said to be the writer of the gospel, was in close relationship with  the Apostle Paul. Apostle Paul wrote more than half of the New Testament. Luke was close to Paul even as Paul was dying for he was imprisoned while preaching and teaching the good news. [slide  #  1  Luke and Paul] Like so many missionaries and other faithful Christians Paul was detained, restricted, imprisoned, physically assaulted and persecuted because of the gospel.

Paul says Luke was a physician, so when we see Luke’s gospel reporting of the healings of Jesus, we are not surprised that Luke shows more interest in the medical details than the other gospel accounts. What may come as a surprise is the thought of many scholars that Luke was not likely from a Jewish family. He may have joined the church under Paul’s leadership which is how they became friends. Luke is a Christian but he is not a Jewish Christian, just as our Catholic sisters and brothers are Christian though they are not protestant Christians.

In this story today we see a few more lines of separation that are drawn for our reflection. There are several people who are alike yet at the same time they are living in different worlds. There is a man traveling, tending to ordinary business. He is in stark contrast to a group of men who somewhere along the way decided to band together and go into the business of robbing people. They robbed this man who was coming down the street. They also made it their business to put their hands on people, to beat them physically. [slide #   2  beating a man] This day they decided to rob a man, beat him and leave him, not caring if the man was alive or if he was dead. What kind of world does one have to live in in order to keep that kind of thinking going on? What kind of friends does Epstein, Weinstein, R. Kelly and the rest have to have in order to hurt people? What kind of world are they living in?

In this morning’s text we see the world of the lawyer [slide #  3  lawyer with Jesus] who knows the law inside and out and the world of those who are in need of the knowledge lawyers have. There is the world of the Levite, who generally speaking, is a religious servant doing such things as – lighting the holy fires representing God’s presence to be eternally worshipped like acolytes do today. [slide #  4  lighting candles] Levites can light the fire, but they are a world apart from the priests who offered sacrificial offerings for sins and celebrations, saving some meat for the poor and for the priests as payment for their work. Priests were similar to today’s ministers who are authorized to do communion and to give authority for others to serve communion to those otherwise not authorized. [slide #  5 communion]

Today, our sanctuary is a space for priestly functions as it was thousands of years ago, [slide # 6 courtroom] yet the West Chester courtroom and many courtrooms have so many similar patterns to a sanctuary where God can be seen as a judge, wearing a robe, high and lifted up, the choir is positioned like a jury stand, the doors have security guards in a courtroom. In church we know them as greeters.

There are similarities, still the church is worlds apart from other worlds. At times the different worlds coincide at times they collide. Jerusalem was the holy City while Jericho had been cursed and doomed for destruction because of its unspeakable inhumanity to man.

The Samaritans, the priests and the Levites in Luke’s story all had the same Hebrew roots. If we had to impose a pecking order, the Samaritans would be on the bottom because during the Babylonian exile when the young and talented like Daniel were taken into captivity and the rest left wandering or wasting away as political refugees, things changed in the Jewish community.

Some sources suggest Samaritan Jews followed the laws too loosely and as a result, their Jewish roots and their histories took different turns and they claimed Mt. Gerizim as the center of worship rather than Jerusalem. Jerusalem was considered to be the very city of God.  Perhaps the Samaritans did not go to Sabbath meetings to worship God like those who worshiped in Jerusalem. Maybe they stayed home and washed their camels instead. Perhaps they sat around wells drinking and playing games and wishing instead of working to make their dreams come true. Perhaps those ideas were just stereotypes used to keep a brother down.

The Samaritans were the Hebrew brothers and sisters of the Levites and the Priests, yet they were worlds apart and not even on speaking terms; the Jews and Samaritans did not socialize together according to the Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at the well. [slide # 7 woman at the well]

But Jesus is all about bringing together different people from different worlds in order to abolish the pecking order, in order to highlight the idea that everybody is somebody. We imagine Jesus would boldly wear a t-shirt that says, “No matter where you come from or where you are going, I have a place in my heart for you.”

What a world it would be if we could communicate the idea whether in a whisper or on a megaphone – and say to the motley homeless person living under the bridge, to the blind beggar, to the person who hates our guts, to the person who makes us sick. How our world is daily transformed when we are able to wear such a t-shirt on our backs or in our hearts that says, “No matter where you come from or where you are going, I have a place in my heart for you!”

The lawyer in Luke’s story was lucky because Jesus had mercy on him instead of ridiculing him for asking the silly question, who is my neighbor when everyone knows our neighbors are every child of God, whether near or far. The priest was lazy because to be lazy is the opposite of disciplined. We disciples need to be disciplined, we need to do what is needed when it is needed. To be lazy is to leave God’s good work undone, to be indifferent when others suffer, to be selfish and cold-hearted. A disciplined disciple is trained to go wherever God leads them and alleviate trouble and triumph over trauma. A disciplined disciple is a prayer warrior and a peacemaker.

The priest in Jesus’ story acted in the same way that the Lazy Levite did in the parable. Who knows? Perhaps the Levite was following in the footsteps of the priest, going in the wrong direction. They should rather have been following God.

The Samaritan, unlike the priest and the Levite who avoided the wounded man and crossed over on the other side of the street,… the Samaritan had extraordinary compassion for this man. We can believe that the Samaritan had walked a mile in this man’s shoes. We can believe that the Samaritan had also been robbed, and beaten by a few who did not care if he lived or if he died.

If you thing about it hard enough, you can also conclude that God is the Good Samaritan. God is also the one whom humanity has robbed. God is the one whom humanity beats down, caring not that God lives or dies.  

Does Jesus not tell us that we need to be like God? We need to be the Good Samaritan. We also need to walk a mile in the shoes of those who are the least, the last, and the lost. And if we have not experienced someone else’s heartache, heartbreak, and despair, we ought to at least get close enough to care as God leads us. We ought to at least be able to listen and articulate what they say instead of always saying what we think.

Is the church not called to stay in the path of those who are victims rather than cross over on the other side? [slide # 8 Good Samaritan] Are you not called to bandage wounds, pouring soothing oil on them and wine that protects and disinfects like the center for disease control? Are we not called to do our part in making sure the hurting have transportation and a place to lay their heads in peace? This is what the United Methodist Church does day and night, night and day. And we want to be on board with that. We want daily to ask God to keep us in God’s will.

Are we not called to serve as a church that has hundreds of dollars’ worth of compassion like the Good Samaritan who provided two denarii, worth two days’ pay? Are we not called to network with others who can help us take care of those beat down in our world?

Are we not called to care for each other today and not forget about them tomorrow? To go and see about them in their tomorrows and to pay the price that God is pleased with as long as God is pleased with it?

We are to be like God. God is the Good Samaritan. We are to seek God’s will so we can be a part of God’s plan. One of the students in my English class wrote a story about the time she and her siblings were hungry because her parents were not taking care of them. The parents were afflicted with the disease of addiction. A drug dealer appeared at her door with a bag full of food. She was grateful to this drug dealer and one thing led to another and as a child she began to work for the drug dealer. The first thought that came to my mind was, “Where were the Christians? Why did a Christian not feed those children?” So we ask ourselves today, where are the least, the last, and the lost and am I on the same side of the street that God is on? Amen. [slide # 9 imitators of God]

July 7, 2019 Luke 10.1-11, 16-20 Savior Sends Seventy

July 7, 2019  Luke 10.1-11, 16-20 Savior Sends Seventy Pastor Jacqueline Hines

Just like our United Methodist Church appoints pastors to at least 500 churches and ministries beyond the church in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, Jesus appointed seventy disciples to – as Luke tells us – with the purpose of going to every town and every place that Jesus intended to go himself.

Jesus sending 70 persons has historical significance. Numbers become sacred when they are used in a context of holiness. Throughout our Judeo Christian heritage we see the significance of numbers and the number 7 particular. The number 7 represents perfection, meaning maturity; fruit that is ripe and ready has fulfilled its purpose in growth, it is ready to be eaten and enjoyed. It is perfect fruit. A wound that is healed, allowing one to get back to one’s routine is perfectly healed.

Because the number 70 is 7 times 10, we recall that 10 represents completeness, so 70 is interpreted as a sacred moment when God’s will and way is not only ripe and ready, but it has completely fulfilled and satisfies God’s sacred purpose.

So Jesus sends 70 disciples who are ready, who like United Methodist Disciples, are trained, equipped, committed, and now ready to be deployed to a particular mission.

Jesus sent them in pairs, two by two. The number two is sacred for choices. [slide # 1  Adam and Eve] Adam and Eve, or any two in partnership constantly have to make good choices in order for connections to be correct in the eyes of God, in order to alleviate chaos and exemplify good character for the children.

Jesus sent the seventy two by two to save some from their sins and to save them perhaps from the sins of their family, friends, and neighbors.

What stands out for me in this text is the idea that Jesus sent them to prepare the way for his work. Jesus sends disciples to places where he is planning to show up! That is exciting. There is always a blessing when Jesus shows up.

We as today’s disciples can learn from the way Jesus appointed and sent the early disciples.

First, Jesus instructed the disciples on prayer, and that prayer is still for our instruction as disciples today. Jesus said in verse 2, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord [ slide # 2 Ask the Lord] of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. There is so much goodness and so much salvation and so many blessings that we can reap. The harvest is plentiful. There are only a few who can make holy things happen. There are only a few who are willing to accept those who have been rejected. There are only a few who are willing to learn and train for a job no one else wants. There are only a few who are available to clean up as well as to mess up. This week news reports told that there are fewer and fewer men and women entering the armed forces these days. Many want peace and protection, but there are fewer and fewer willing to train as peacekeepers.

The harvest is plentiful. There is plenty of good spiritual fruit to satisfy and delight us, but there are few who are available to pray and work to make it happen. We need to pray that God would stir hearts and minds to great and important work in this world.

The other day, I asked someone to help with an important task. They said many golden words we can all appreciate: “I have something else planned pastor, but I will work it out so I can be there.” “I have not done it before pastor, but I will do my very best.” “What time do you want me to arrive?” Those are golden words, and we are so grateful when we hear them when we have an opportunity to be a blessing great or small! Jesus said the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few and he instructs us to pray that our God, the Lord of the harvest would send laborers, and indeed God hears our prayers.

It stands to reason that the next thing Luke records Jesus as saying is that he was sending the seventy disciples like lambs among wolves. [ slide #  3  I am sending you like lambs among wolves] If you are in a situation where all the good that can be done is not being done, then there are bound to be some wolves who are not doing good, but rather undoing the good; not building but tearing down, not planting but uprooting, not improving but deteriorating.

Jesus sends us into this world like lambs among wolves. Being a disciple is not always a picnic. It is said that we come to the church like sweet little lambs, giving no thought to the idea of wolves and other predators.  Still, each of us has a wolf that has an eye on us and drools at the thought of devouring us.

Jesus understands that the good we Christians do is considered bad by some. Jesus understands that not everybody wants what we want. There are wars fought to keep Christianity out of schools, out of countries, ot of families. Christianity brings peace only to those who want the peace that Jesus brings with justice, truth, and mercy.

That is why Jesus tells the disciples when you go ^6…… if anyone shares  peace with you, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, let it return to you. Keep peace yourself. [slide #   4  keep the peace] In other words, they were not sent out to defend the political cause of Christianity, create conflict, or to fight for their faith. They were sent to bring peace. They were sent to care, to be calm and considerate, even when others were neither caring, nor calm, nor considerate to them, they were to be such to themselves and to everyone else.

Jesus also instructed the 70 disciples to eat what was put in front of them. Disciples are to be gracious and accepting. It doesn’t mean you have to do what Andrew Zimmerman does while exploring food around the world, eating snails, and snakes, snickers, or knickers. [slide #  5  Andrew Zimmerman with strange food]   [slide #   6  food/ kabob] We have to be ourselves as long as we are our best selves, gentle and kind and loving and accepting!

The most intriguing thing Jesus commands disciples to do is to heal the sick. [slide #  7  heal the sick] To heal in this text is not only to restore to health, but to heal in this text is to serve as in to do something to bring solace.

Through the ages, Christians have been disappointed when looking for a Jesus who is a butler, [slide #   8  butler] who does whatever we command. Or we look for a Jesus who is a magician who can make whatever we want come or go until we applaud and cheer. [slide # 9  magician] As we dig deeper in the text, we understand that the work of healing is not like a drive through in McDonalds but more like a farmer in a field, working and watching for the harvest, giving thanks for whatever the Lord of the Harvest gives and resting in spite of the worries, trusting in spite of the losses. [slide #   10  farmer lady]

We are not medical practitioners, but even medical practitioners tell us that there are many medical problems that have spiritual or environmental roots. Correcting attitudes, developing hopeful and positive mindsets and ridding the environment of harmful chemicals can bring health and healing to many.

In order to follow the command to heal, we have to know what is going on around us. We need emotional intelligence. We need training on the environment. We need to pray for direction and information that we can only receive from God.

There is so much to know that we need to be in partnership with others who can assist us and teach us. That is why the Church is so great, especially our United Methodist Church. With laity academy coming up in August and trainings every week in the classroom or online, we have access to more information than we can take in.

In order to heal people and help people, we need to be healed, and helped ourselves. We need to know Jesus as healer whether in ways small or great. [slide #   11  he is my healer]

Many of us have dozens of ways the Lord is in our lives to heal us. We do not always appreciate being healed because we are focused on the pain or the process of being sick or not being perfectly whole, but healing is a part of life and we have all experienced it. Therefore, as disciples, we can all be healers, in little ways or big ways.

Disciples always have something in our hands and our hearts to bring healing to someone’s mind, body, soul, or spirit. We have a kind word, a referral to a great doctor, therapist, or knowledge of a supplement, or a sermon, or a story that heals or some humor that helps, a joke that makes you jolly, a quip that makes you quake with laughter. We all have something!!! We are disciples sent to heal.

In Germantown, I recall someone vandalized my car and a colleague brought healing and refreshment by putting a little flower on the broken window or whatever it was. I don’t remember the details of the vandalism. I do remember the flower. Both Edie’s of Bethel, bring healing with flowers, others bring smiles, hugs, humor, honey buns, and sweet words. We all have something and you better use it because we are disciples sent to heal.

Jesus sent the seventy and when they returned they rejoiced. It was party time. Jesus had given them authority and power. We also have authority and power from Jesus. Some of our authority and power come from our officially elected positions. Some come from informally using our gifts and talents. We need Godly power and authority. It is what makes the engine of our mission run correctly to get us from one point to the other.

The Saviour sent seventy and they rejoiced as they returned to report their results to Jesus. Even then Jesus reminded them that the real reason to rejoice was that their names were written in Heaven, that they were acknowledged as being on the Lord’s side, that they were known for doing the right thing for the right reasons and that in the end they would reap the good they had sown.

In the end of all good work, only one thing matters. At the end of the day, at the end of a life, at the end of the world, only one thing matters. Are we on the Lord’s side? One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is an angel with a sword crept up on Joshua when he was ready to fight the battle of Jericho and Joshua immediately asked the angel, “Are you on my side or are you on my enemy’s side.” The angel said he was not on either side. He was on the Lord’s side. “Take off your shoes,” he said, “the ground you are standing on is holy ground!” [slide # 12  this is holy ground] Wherever we are, God is with us, helping us to stand on holy ground, to be grounded in love and faith.

In the end Jesus is our savior who can save us from the quick sand of our sins that Satan has for us. In the end, only one thing matters: knowing Jesus is our Saviour. Some may know him more than others or in different ways, but the bottom line is when we hit bottom or we need saving from anything or anyone, he is the only one who can save us. If you need saving today or know someone who does, remember Jesus saves and he sends us to that holy work, too! Amen. [slide# 13 Please, help me Jesus]

The Real Demon June 23, 2019

June 23, 2019 The Real Demon Luke 8.26-39 Pastor Jacqueline Hines

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You have no doubt heard your share of stories about demons, devils, and derelicts who are down on their luck, devastated with dire needs, self-destructive, treating people like door mats and chaining daughters in dungeons or downtown begging and living under damp bridges. We all have our stories, too numerous to tell.

In pristine parlors we dare not believe in demons. They are certainly to be named “fake news”, “false stories”, and “frivolous tales”. But the gospel of Luke would beg to differ with us. For he tells the real story of a man in the country for whom demons were very real and even vicious to the point that he could be found naked in the streets  just like my good friend’s daughter few years ago. She was living in Manhattan working on a Master’s Degree, attending high society events, even took photos with   when she suddenly slid of the grid. They called it schizophrenia. Her mom, my friend, had hid the raucous for years as long as she could. She brought her daughter home to live with her in Baltimore and lo and behold one day the police picked her up after police reports were made about her walking through the neighborhood naked, her long wooly hair covering only her face.

This was certainly not the work of God, but the work of misfired DNA, the evolution of lack of care for the environment, chemical chaos, the evil of the life and death medicines being marked up for profit for some crazy CEO rather than the wellbeing of those who need it, refusal to budget treatment for the mentally imbalanced. Why blame God, when WE can do something!

The gospel writer Luke is said to have been a physician and his care for pertinent details is particularly poignant. For this pitiful man in the country of the Gerasenes that Luke tells us about was soon detained and put on heavy guard like Jesus was one day, but even the chains that bound him could not hold him. He would escape detention again and again.  He was indeed a very scary man like our neighbor on Ellis Wood Drive who would sit at the curb side looking lost and lonely and livid, not at all luscious. People were afraid and then one day, he disappeared and neighbors felt safe again.

Somehow this Gerasene Demoniac, a city boy from the Country of the Gerasenes, met Jesus at the shore – probably near the Lake of Gennesaret or the Sea of Galilee – though not really a sea – but really associated with Jesus walking on water and feeding the five thousand and now meeting a scary man.

Strangely, Jesus did not run away from him. Jesus, who sees all the people, immediately took charge and ordered the demon to come out of him.

The demon that had taken over the life of this now helpless child of God, caused him to fall down at the feet of Jesus. What a fall that must have been. The man was not himself. Because of the evil working in him, he was disturbing the peace. He was loud and argumentative, asking questions, demanding answers, saying “What have you to do with me.” In other words, “What business is it of yours that a life is being ruined?”

That is a question that comes to all of us when we witness trouble. What business is it of ours? Sometimes, Jesus makes it our business. Trouble is not always our business, but sometimes, Jesus makes it our business!

Once I frequented a grocery store in a low income neighborhood. In the evenings, all the seafood was regularly removed from the display area and kept in the back, otherwise it would be stolen. It was common to see a police officer escorting adults into the back of the store because they had a couple steaks tucked under their jackets. Besides prayer, it seemed to be none of my business.

One day, however, while checking out, I witnessed two uniformed security guards – a man and a woman – arguing outside the window. I prayed and went to the window, got as close as I dared to distract them. They did not know me, but just by poking my nose in their business, God was able to distract them and interrupt their senseless arguing that was disturbing the peace. Arguments are often demonic according to 2 Timothy chapter 2.

When Jesus saw the scary man with a demon, according to Luke’s gospel of the good news, Jesus was not there answering any questions, he was there asking questions. Jesus interrupted the demon and asked, “What is your name?” He answered, “My name is legion for we are many.” The name told Jesus something important. His name was legion. The name indicates that he suffered from many arguments, many disturbances of the peace, many chains, many wounds. That was what identified him, and he knew his name.

Real demons have real messages from the devil. Real demons communicate and instigate real chaos and rough news for no good reason. Real demons can look like and act like angels and preachers and teachers and terrorists and hair stylists. They can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.  That is why we must pray all the time about everything. Because we depend upon God to guide us day and night.  

This world has some bad demons. They have numbers rather than names. They are anonymous statistics, mere numbers on the edges of manila folders, characters on computer files, and many diagnosis – but few names. But the good news is that Jesus is in the world to extinguish arguments, create peace, deliver us from chains, heal our wounds, make miracles of our messes and unite us in our separateness.  

When I was in seminary with a room full of ministers-to-be, green behind the ears, ready to rule the world, ready to conquer evil and cast out demons, the professor burst our bubbles real good when he said, “If you want to see the devil, look in the mirror.” The whole class was shocked. We Christians do not think of ourselves as having negative or demonic attributes.

In reality, to the degree that our lives do not reflect God’s light and love, we easily become pawns for evil.

But, in order to be in the world and not of the world, we must stay in God’s presence through prayer and soaking in God’s word. We must be thankful every hour and repent every day. We must remember that it is God who has made us, not we ourselves.

We must confess that we have not loved the lord with our whole heart.  We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done God’s will. We have broken God’s law. We have rebelled against God’s love. We have not loved our neighbors. We have not heard the cry of the needy.

Even good Christians need to be forgiven so that we can be free for joyful obedience through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that we can tell the world the good, good news that while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us, that proves God’s love for us. That proves God’s love for US. Amen.

June 2 2019 The Real Lord's Prayer

June 2 2019 John 17.20-26 “The Real Lord’s Prayer” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

At one point in my faith journey, it occurred to me that there is more than one Lord’s Prayer. There is the Our Father that Jesus taught the disciples, then there is the prayer Jesus himself prayed that is recorded in this morning’s gospel lesson John 17. In each case, the prayer of Jesus is good for us to have in our hearts and minds. We ought always feed our souls with all the good we can in order to dilute all the not so good.

We are surrounded, inundated by all kinds of ideas that we must weigh and pray about whether we should allow them into our lives. Our technological age has us reeling with opportunities, entertainment, and access to whomever and whatever around the globe. At the same time, parents walk a tightrope to help children and youth keep a proper balance in their lives when screen time is so much a part of our lives. We have to sift out the inappropriate and unhelpful ideas that are pushed toward our brains and our hearts.

The American Academy of Pediatrics tells us that on average kids spend 7 hours a day on electric media, which is more than any other activity. [slide # 1 child with remote]

It is important that parents monitor what goes into children. Jesus’ prayer is a prayer that God’s children would have love inside of them, a love that would pour out of their being for all the world to experience, a love that would make a difference, make peace, make joy; a love that would unite humanity, demolish division and create harmony.

Jesus prays in John 17 that we have love in us, not just around us. The world has other ideas. Marketing has no morals. Marketing works to convince us to take in medicine whose side effects are worse than any disease. Marketing convinces us when cigarettes come into our lives, we come out cool and guzzling down soda with high fructose corn syrup refreshes us. Marketing has no morals.

Morals come from the master, Jesus. We Methodists market morality and we nurture our souls with that which is holy and wholesome. So when the research tells us that when children have less screen time they are less aggressive, sleep better, get better grades, have more opportunity to exercise and deepen relationships, we listen, we learn, and we pray that God would lead us in the way of wisdom.

British research challenges American researchers saying that the only restriction that should be made for screen time is an hour before bedtime. In order to sort out the details, of which research we should pay most attention to, we must pray. Every child is different. Every family is different. God gives wisdom to all who seek it. [slide # 2 God gives wisdom]

The world is so very complex that if we do not pray and wait on the Lord for insights and ideas, we will be missing the most important guidance ever. There is no way we can see all we need to see with our natural eyes. No prayer means no power, little prayer means little power, much prayer means much power.

Jesus prays in verse 20 for those who believe, those who put their faith into action – who work together – individually and collectively by the grace of God and by the power of the Holiest Spirit. Bethel has a compassionate care Team that seeks to walk with those who need a helping hand, whether it be providing a meal as they recuperate, or a ride to the doctor or the hairdresser. There are over a dozen persons at Bethel who have said, “Yes! I will be on Bethel’s Compassionate Care Team so I can be a blessing where needed.” Such helpfulness has always been a part of the Christian culture and the Bethel culture. The Team works together. [slide # 3  …Team] 

In last week’s Daily Bread devotional reading, it was shared that the Indonesian culture had similar caring teams. They have an attitude called gotong royong. [slide #  4 gotong royong]  which means mutual assistance. Indonesia is over 9 thousand miles from us; a 16 hour plane ride. Australia is to the south of Indonesia. To the north is Viet Nam and China. The Indian Ocean is west, the Pacific Ocean is on the east. Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population and 10 percent of its 264 million people are Christians, a little smaller than the US with 327 million. Their primary language is Indonesian – which sounds very much like the Chinese language to me,  for good reason I am sure. “Gotong royong” sounds Chinese.  The word for “hello” is “Halo” [slide # 5  HALO] which looks like our greeting. So often we find similarities among those with whom we are different in so many ways.

Indonesia is not a place where I would want to vacation to, but the devotional reminded me that the Holy Spirit nudges people to act compassionately anywhere and everywhere. I imagine our United Methodist Church has churches and missionaries in Indonesia. [slide # 6 Indonesian praying] We have dedicated and daring missionaries in countries such that we cannot even tell you their names or where they are serving. It is amazing that there are missionaries who choose to serve under strange circumstances, and they serve with God’s peace and joy in their hearts.

I was so sorry I did not get the chance to see the play at People’s Light Theatre that shared the story of the Diary of Anne Frank [slide # 7  Frank family] because everyone who saw it was blessed. This week a colleague who saw it said that though Anne and her family were in hiding from the Nazis, their suffering was undergirded by God’s persistent and enveloping joy. [slide #  8 annex]

There are blessings everywhere and good in all of us, but even more so when we are intentional about letting Jesus into our lives. Our spiritual life blossoms when we let go and let God. We also do well to let God guide us into letting other Christians into our lives. That is when unity happens. And when we step past our comfort zones and accept the invitation to bring the Jesus in us into the lives of others, we are more apt to become one family.

Recently a Christian grandmother shared some good news about her relationship with her grandsons who are also Christian. She dared to follow the Spirit’s leading and relate to them in a fresh way. She bridged the gender gap. She bridged the generation gap. She invited her grandsons into a deeper oneness with her, a unity, and a harmony that is intended for all God’s creation. Perhaps the Lord has put it on your heart to do or say or be something new for your grandchildren or for someone. Continue to pray and talk to other Christians and see where God leads you.

When we believe in the goodness of Jesus, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, when we humble ourselves before our creator, we become one with the Spirit and with one another. When we put our money where our mouth is, when we submit ourselves to the idea that Christian actions and attitudes speak louder than the most pious and politically correct words; when we turn our hearts to loving mercy and doing justice, we are  in harmony with God’s purpose and God’s people. In spite of the fact that we are miles or generations apart, we are constantly drawn to each other in magically magnetic ways. We bring a unity, a oneness, a harmony to all the places God leads us. Things start to click. [slide #  9 magnets]  

Jesus prayed in verse 23 that we would be one. [slide #   10  completely one] Rev. Dr. Eric Law, founder of the Kaleidoscope Institute [Slide #   11 Eric Law] taught us an important lesson on unity during Annual Conference a couple years ago. He told the story of two persons standing on a street corner when a police car drives up. One person on the corner believes that the police are coming to help. The other person believes the police are coming to harass. When Christians agree on what the story is, unity happens.

In our Methodist conversation about LGBTQ issues, [slide #  12  rainbow] we did not even agree with our esteemed episcopal leaders about what the story could be going forward. After spending a couple million dollars and many months of dialogue and debate, many fear for the future unity of the United Methodist Church.

Some remember how our other stories ended: the story of accepting nonwhites in the Church, the story of accepting women, the story of allowing alcohol in moderation instead of total abstinence, we have many stories. The stories are not always easy to live into, but we are yet alive. If we seek God faithfully, God will help us live to tell new stories that we can share that the world will become a better place.

Our story may even be like the story of the 23 million dollar Millennial Bridge over the Thames River in London. [slide #  13  Millennium Bridge] The thousand foot long footbridge opened on June 10, 2000 and came to be called the Wobbly Bridge because as thousands of people walked over it in just a couple days, it began to wobble and wave. Engineers weren’t worried about the bridge falling, but walking on the bridge was as uncomfortable as walking on an ice rink. [slide #  14  Millennium Bridge lower view]

The problem was that the bridge was a suspension bridge. Parts of it hung by heavy cables, but the engineers did not realize they needed some type of shock absorbers. When you walk across a suspension bridge it sways naturally. Soldiers who march in sync know that when you walk across a suspension footbridge you can’t walk in sync. You can’t walk in unison. Just like a driver sliding on an ice patch knows you have to turn your wheels in the direction the car is sliding – which is counter intuitive, a trained soldier knows that in order to get across a suspension bridge together without losing one’s equilibrium, everyone must step forward in their own way.

There are many such situations in our spiritual life when, as the song Many Gifts, One Spirit reminds us, “In our difference is blessing, from diversity we praise one Giver, one Lord, one Spirit, one Word known in many ways, hallowing our days. For the Giver, for the gifts, praise, praise, praise.”

The Millennium Bridge was closed just two days after it opened and engineers took two years and fixed the problem. After all, there was no way to train pedestrians to walk in counterintuitive ways. Unless they were soldiers with training, they would always play it safe by going with the flow and following whatever wave that came there way.

So it is a good thing for us to walk by our own faith, to pray our own prayers, to listen with our own ears, and make our own moves and our own choices at the impulse of God’s love. Then regardless of our differences, we will walk in harmony with God and we will become united and one another in amazing ways! May it be so today. [slide #   15  Millennium Bridge] Amen. [slide #  16   if God brings you….]