January 17, 2016 Human Relations?

January 17, 2016 Human Relations? Isaiah 62.1-5, * I Corinthians 12.1-11 “Human Relations?” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

The U.S. postal service has been talking about decreasing their deliveries during the week. They might eliminate Saturday deliveries. We are on the edge of our seats waiting to hear the news because we look forward to going to the mailbox. Mail keeps alive the possibilities of good news and pleasant surprises. 

The church at Corinth was happy to get mail from the Apostle Paul. We read that same letter today. 

Of all churches, the church in Corinth needed good news because they ministered in a city that was not especially known for its holiness. Corinth was a place where God’s talents were used, but not necessarily used to glorify God.

Tony Campolo professor at Eastern University is famous for telling the story of his confronting a bunch of thieves. He straight up asked them why they simply do not get a REAL job. They explained that robbing people WAS a real job. They had to sneak around and spy out opportunities. They had to break in homes with crow bars and jump over fences in order to avoid being caught. All of that was hard work.

All of us have gifts. They are given that all God’s children can be blessed, that the church can be strong, that God can be glorified, at least to those who acknowledge God as the creator and giver of every good and perfect gift. Using our gifts encourages us to treat one another as human beings worthy of love and respect rather than as anything less.

When we use our gifts for God’s sake, we see the wonders of God. When we use our gifts for God’s sake, we can have loving conversations about hard topics like poverty and about human sexuality.

Our conversations are creative and life-giving. With conversation and cooperation, we understand how to share and how to care and we understand how to partner and to produce. Our understanding of God’s will, of course, is always evolving, always developing and becoming more mature as we get to know God and as we get to know one another. 

When we use our gifts we apply them to the problem of poverty and the powers of Governments to care for their own people while at the same time knowing that no country is an island and if we do not work together as united nations, we are all at risk.

Recently there was a court proceeding involving Philadelphia police. They hired a former CIA agent who began to spy on Muslims in the community and there were charges of discrimination. The lawsuit was initiated with the question, “Why should anyone be spied on just because they are Muslim?”

Yes, our fears are justified, for those who instill fear in us are homemade as well as foreign born. As long as God creates a church and gives some the gift of courage, we will always find our way to freedom from our fears, but “just say no” cannot be the answer to every situation.

How wonderful it is to be a part of a connectional church where we find God’s people everywhere in the military, in the white house, in the Middle East, and in the belly of the beast, working to do God’s good for the sake of us all.

God’s church has a unique job of spreading good news and good examples  of a holy and righteous God and making disciples. Even a powerful government with a mighty army does not have all the answers or all the power; God calls the CHURCH to lead the way, to be the example and to use our extraordinary and powerful gifts in order to beautify and purify this wicked world.

In the midst of the same challenges we face, Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the COMMON GOOD.” 

In verse 8 Paul tells us that to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of  Wisdom knows what to do and when to do it. In the church, the church has the wisdom of a Supreme Court.

And to another the utterance of knowledge. At times God reveals information that we cannot get from any other source. The information may come through dreams or pressing thoughts that provide insight into the reasons for a situation or something that may occur in the future, or an important choice that we need to make even when we do not understand the purpose. In the church, God gives us the knowledge of a central intelligence agency.

We have the gifts of faith that Paul talks about, for God has given us dreams that are so big they can only be fulfilled divinely. 

The gift of healing is a part of the Church and it is a part of our life at Bethel. We experience healing through the soft, gentle, caring ways we speak and live and serve and converse, and study together. We experience healing when we pray and support others for good anywhere, anytime. We experience healing for every dollar of missions we give, for every soup kitchen we serve in, for every blanket made by Edith, Mary and Gracie, for every reward and certificate we earn for reading an inspiring book about extraordinary human beings.

God has healing everywhere for our minds, our bodies, our souls. Just as every day our bodies create new and healthier cells, we know that God’s healing happens constantly in every area of our lives. Healing does not make the body of Christ perfect. God’s healing matters. The bottom line is that love heals. The more love, the more the healing.  

God’s gifts among us are too numerous to count, and we need to share what God has given us. Paul talks about other gifts like the ability to perform miracles – that is beating the odds of nature, to discern different spirits like the difference between good and evil – to see when a coach is a convict or a performer is a perpetrator. God gives us gifts to speak in tongues and to interpret languages.

At times we may focus on the gifts, thinking that gifts suggest God values one gifted human being more than a human being with other gifts, or that our gifts imply that we are more holier than thou. Neither turns out to be true, biblically or in my experience. God gives us gifts to help us help one another to relate to each other as if we are all human.

Staying busy using our gifts and experiencing God’s wonders as we work, leaves us very little energy and time to shun somebody because they have had a certain surgery. Surrendering our gifts to the work of the Holy Spirt makes us unwilling to threaten each other’s live because we do not agree with whom we marry.

We may agree on only one of 1000 different issues but if our arms are wide open to one another, our caring for one another will create an atmosphere where miracles are manifested, where wisdom is plentiful, healing happens, where someone in the circle can discern the heart of the matter, and someone will be bold enough to prophecy what thus saith the Lord, and others have faith to dream big dreams, and someone might get so excited they bow down before the Lord and learn Japanese while another interprets and yet another gets so tongue tied with the joy of the lord that  they start to speak in ways that can only be understood by those who care.

I like that, so I will say it again. We may agree on only one of 1000 issues, but if our arms are wide open to one another, our caring for one another will create an atmosphere where miracles are manifested, where wisdom is plentiful, healing happens, where someone in the circle can discern the heart of the matter, and someone will be bold enough to prophecy what thus saith the Lord, and others have faith to dream big dreams, and someone might get so excited they bow down before the Lord and learn Japanese while another interprets and yet another gets so tongue tied with the joy of the lord that  they start to speak in ways that can only be understood by those who care. May it be so today at Bethel and every church who call themselves children of God. Amen. 

You Are Mine All Mine!

January 10, 2016   Acts 8.14-17, *Isaiah 43.1-7 “Mine, All Mine” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

When we read and study and listen to God’s word we cannot assume that every conversation is to be taken literally. We cannot assume that every biblical proclamation is absolute and sealed in concrete.

When we hear David say, ”The Lord is my shepherd,” We clearly understand that David is a King and not a sheep and Jesus is a carpenter and not a shepherd. We hear the spiritual truth as well as the and physical reality that surrounds the biblical symbolism.

We have less confidence in our interpretations whenever the bible uses directives, such as remember the Sabbath and do not kill. Our culture teaches us to do what we are told to do and not to ask too many questions.

Our God is not confined to our culture or any other culture. For example, God wears what God wants to wear. If God wants to come to us wearing a nose ring, a tattoo, a hijab, or a crew cut then God does what God wants to do. God thinks about what God thinks. God does not necessarily think about what you or I think about. If you get under your warm covers at night after you have had a tasty supper and you are thinking about that person who does not have enough food or enough covers, then you are probably thinking about what God thinks about. If you are thinking about what financial plans you have to make to prepare senior citizens for social security 20 years from now like the Social security Administration is doing, then you are probably thinking about what God is thinking about. 

God comes in an assortment of ways and speaks in a variety of languages and appears in whatever way is necessary to get our attention so that we can hear what was given to us through Isaiah.“

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;”   ----That is I have paid whatever price is to be paid to claim you.

“I have called you by name, you are mine.”  We belong to God. At times that feels real good and comfortable. At other times we may feel a bit constrained and controlled, when we have something else in mind to do or be.

When I was a teenager, I worked in a gas station on the night shift. There was a hospital up the street and employees would come throughout the night to fill their tanks with gas. In between there were many quiet moments when I could gaze at the stars and the wonders of the night and talk to God.

In God’s own way, God spoke back to me. One night I sensed God’s presence and love and embrace and the words “You are mine, all mine,” came to my heart.  Years later I read this passage in Isaiah 43 and verse 1 where God tells the people, “You are mine,” and I realized our life always connects to the Scriptures!

Isaiah continues, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

3 For I am the LORD your God,

   the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.

 4 Because you are precious in my sight,

   and honoured, and I love you,

I give people in return for you, [it sounds like God is negotiating hostages – God’s patience and longsuffering with us may lead to a negotiating conversation at times, too]

 5 Do not fear, for I am with you;

God’s message is clear and personal: I know you, I love you,

I will be with you.

What a wonderful world it is when we sense that we are known by God in this infinite universe. How awesome it is when, when we feel loved though evil surrounds us. What a comfort to be certain that we are not alone.

Made in God’s image we humans often communicate those same messages to one another  - I know you, I love you, I will be with you.

Being known and loved and with each other keeps us real like the Velveteen rabbit – a stuffed animal who was so loved day after day that he became real.  Or as one of the characters in the book says, “Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

Being a Christian and being a United Methodist is all about being known by our names, loving each other and, keeping the promise of the covenant to be with one another. We keep our covenant with each other all the way around the world.

That is why I try not to get upset when I am asked to support people I don’t even know around the world. I can’t complain after knowing that we have missionaries who are giving their lives and sacrificing their luxurious lifestyles in order to pour love into the lives of God’s children, getting to know them by name, loving them day after day and staying with them until the mission is fulfilled.

I wanted very much to make the Conference No More Malaria Campaign go away, but I realize more and more every day that God is on the side of the poor and Malaria is definitely a disease of poverty. Malaria is treatable and preventable.

We have spent millions on education, medication, and nets under which people can sleep and avoid being bitten, since the mosquito feeds at night. At one point 3000 children would die in one day because of malaria. We as the United Methodist Church have participated in cutting the mortality rate in half. We have sent 45 million nets, trained and equipped nurses and doctors and much more. 

We work together because we are called to stand up for the poor and because we know it could be us. The Ebola epidemic reminded us last year that we are our neighbor’s keepers. In 2012 more people died of malaria than they did of HIV and AIDS in this world.

Over half the soldiers serving in the South Pacific in World War II came down with Malaria. Those working on the Panama Canal saw 20,000 deaths from Malaria. Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Jackson all suffered from malaria.

Fortunately, in 1949, the United States was declared malaria free. Medicine and insecticide have evolved with global conversation and cooperation. Today, those most effected are the poor, and God is calling his children to stand together as always.

In March of last year, the World Health Organization formally notified the world of an outbreak of Ebola virus. Six months later in August, they declared the epidemic to be a "public health emergency of international concern.”

Like wildfire, we also have an epidemic of domestic terrorism – whether it be shooting out our shooting up.  We have much to do to learn about responding to our fearful neighbors, to those whose mental health is strained, and those who need real people to share a little love.

I am ever so glad that we are a part of a church that cares and puts our faith in action. Tamie is a candidate for ministry in our Conference. She is attending Lancaster seminary and we are her mentoring church for the year. Her seminary training required that she go on a foreign mission. She is at this very moment in Haiti – the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Her husband is giving us a day by day synopsis of her activity through emails. When she returns she will share her story with us and we will listen because we are ever so ready to hear what God has spoken to her heart.

In the meantime, inasmuch as we grow convinced that we belong to God and God’s people – that is that everybody knows our name, that we are much loved and adored, and that we are never alone, we too are hearing God speaking and we are grateful for God’s word. For, we know that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Amen.

Epiphany: Do You See What God Sees?

January 3, 2016 Isaiah 60.1-6, *Matthew 2.1-12 “Epiphany: Do You See What God Sees?” Jacqueline Hines

Matthew the tax collector tells us in chapter 2 that wise men came from the east to see Jesus, born to be the savior of our world. There is not a day goes by that we do not appreciate having a savior from one predicament or another, whether our predicament be personal or global.

It is said that the wise  came from the East (that symbol of what is right), for God always comes from the East - the right side. Every step of our journey has its purpose to make something OR someone right with God.

The wise ones observed a star. They kept their focus on Heaven. The star is the symbol of wisdom that is visible, yet beyond our grasp, far beyond our control or corruption. God puts stars in the heavens like visions in our hearts that force us to look up, especially in the dark.  Often, if we are going to follow where God leads us, we must often stretch in order to see God’s glorious vision.

Herod knew about the star, but he was not coming from the right, like the Wise men. Herod was coming from a wicked place. But, the wise men, coming from the right, knew how to do their part in sabotaging Herod’s evil plan.  

The story of the wise men is an old story that is repeated throughout every generation. At Bethel, we too come from the East, (the right) to worship the King. We too have seen a star – a vision that is far beyond our human ability to comprehend or attain.

I have always appreciated Joyce Kilmer’s famous poem saying : “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree….A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear a nest of robins in her hair…poems are made by fools like me, but only Go can make a tree.”

It is so true, only God can make a tree. It is also true that only God can make Bethel a church. How many businesses can be in continuous existence for 171 years as we have without the help of God? How many community organizations have a Compassionate Care team that reaches out to our seniors and all others who are in need like me when I lost my mother? It is because you have faithfully followed the star that there is not enough time to tell all the spectacular stories of the impact of our Bethel Christian Preschool on this church and 19 preschoolers and their families enrolled in Bethel’s Christian Preschool. Who could have dreamed that the church that began at the bottom of the hill built with hard working farmers donating field stones and Trustees digging the basement by hand would have such an awesome vision of handicapable accessibility?  

God gives us dreams, big dreams reminding us that our God is a big God. Just when we were wondering who would lead our youth, Amy  and Kim  emerged out of the clear blue sky  - like the brightest stars we could ever imagine. And if that were not enough we have in this Church family countless crafters, organizers, financiers, and musicians. God sent us two teenage preachers who brought messages for young and elders alike - messages that are truly a sign that God is with us.

Surely the leaders we elected in September’s Charge Conference, whom we dedicate this day, have done their part and have seeded and watered an atmosphere that has helped these two preachers, and all of our youth to grow spiritually. Which one of us could make such beautiful things happen in our church? Which two of us? Which committee working alone could do what we have done together? It takes every one of us doing our share, working in unity and harmony. When God is pleased, our blessings satisfy our hearts.

Our dreams are great and quickly fulfilled when God sends us extraordinarily generous givers – who are wise and kind. God has sent us tithers and those who make sacrifices, those who are faithful because they have seen the star shining in the East and they come to worship him.

So this year as we dream big, again, let us keep in focus at least three things that God illuminates in our paths: our health, our habits, our hubbub.

First, every age and nation has its own challenges to staying healthy. It is said that newborn American babies are born with 92 foreign chemicals that strain our health. Adults have over 200 that come from the environment and contaminants in makeup and medications and such. Research helps us to see that exercise and a healthy diet of plenty of fruit, vegetables, uncured meat, water, vitamins, and enough sleep can make us stronger. 

Secondly, our personal habits go a long way in pouring more peace into our lives. It is amazing that most Americans are in credit card debt – on average about 8,000 dollars. We easily buy twice as much, when we use credit cards. What would our country, our township, our homes and our lives look like if we lived within our means and stopped living off of our credit cards? It would not always be pretty at first, but it is worth our best efforts. When God is in charge of our money and our spending, life changes.

Finally, God wants to be a part of our hubbub.   According to Merriam Webster dictionary, hubbub is a loud mixture of sounds or voices, it is noise, confusion, activity, uproar, turmoil. God has a plan to lighten our load and lighten our path   and lift us up in the midst of whatever hubbub the year brings.  God is ready to bless us in our health, our habits, and our hubbub in this year and the years to come.  Pray always that we see what God sees. Amen.    

You Can't Stop Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2015

Christmas Meditation     “You Can’t Stop Christmas!” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

How blessed we are on this Christmas Eve to be in the House of God. Our name “Bethel” actually means “House of God in the Hebrew language.”  We are the family of God and with a family as wonderfully blessed as ours, Christmas is unstoppable.  

For the family of God, Christmas is all year round. Throughout the year we share and care and serve and learn and grow until we are strong enough to change and be more like the one who created us. With a family as wonderfully blessed as ours, you can’t stop Christmas.  

The little drummer boy did not stop his journey toward Jesus just because he had no gift for the Christ child. He simply honored God with what he had – his musical talents. That familiar Christmas carol, Little Drummer Boy was written by a Czechoslovakian and recorded by the Von Trappe family from Germany.

You may also remember that the song Jingle Bells was written in, of all places, a Massachusetts Tavern, by a church music director who may have been filled with the sauce. James Pierpont wrote Jingle Bells as a Thanksgiving Song to remember the pleasant sounds of bells on the horse’s harness during a peacetime journey.   We use his song as a Christmas song because Christmas finds a way into our lives from -  more places and people than we can imagine.

Christmas comes to remind us to keep the Christ in Christmas, to be just as busy getting ready for the coming of Christ in our daily lives as we are busy getting ready for Christmas. After all, whose birthday is it anyway? If you are looking for the best gift to give to the King, give him your whole life. We are better off in the hands of God than we are on our own.  

Let this Christmas be a time when we give ourselves completely over to the one who shaped us and molded us in our mother’s womb. Let the love of God sweep you off your feet, rock you in the cradle of his arms, heal your wounds, set your feet on higher ground, root you and ground you in a loving and righteous life that surpasses understanding. Let God’s unstoppable love flow in your life, because you can’t stop Christmas.   Amen.