April 26, 2020 "The Walk Toward Emmaus"

April 26 2020  Psalm 116.1-4, 12-19 *Luke 24.13-35 The Walk…toward Emmaus Pastor Jacqueline Hines

Good to see you my beloved Bethel Flock on this 5^th week of our quarantine.

I heard Dr. Dobson talk about the experiment with bumble bees and house flies. Twelve bees were placed in a jar in a darkened room.  Light was beamed on the bottom of the glass. Then the top lid was removed. Instinctively, the bees flew toward the light at the bottom though freedom was at the top. They did not explore other avenues to freedom, they simply focused on one way out. All twelve bees died trying to buzz their way through the bottom of the jar. Then the researchers repeated the experiment with 12 common house flies. Within two minutes the flies had found their way out of the jar. The flies found freedom because they searched for new ways to get out. Whenever the flies encountered a dead end, they did not stop seeking a way out.

As spiritual creatures, we do well to keep our minds open to new paths to blessings that God has for us. We know so much, yet there are many things we do not know.  As we talk to God and as we are serving God, we can always learn new ways to deal with our toughest problems.  

In chapter 24 Luke tells the story of two guys walking together on a path toward a city called Emmaus. They were talking about things that had happened, in Chapter 23, the arrest and trial of Jesus, his burial and resurrection, those who believed in him and those who rejected him... While they were talking about Jesus, Jesus himself appeared on their path. It is one thing to talk about Jesus. It is another thing to be in the presence of Jesus, talking with Jesus.  Verse 14 – 15 says they were:  ¹⁴ talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and started walking with them,… the conversation began taking a new turn.   Verse 27 tells us “…beginning with Moses and all the prophets, Jesus interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.”

Jesus appearing and walking alongside these two reminds me of a Methodist pastor who was recording her Easter service last week.  She said something marvelous occurred. God showed up! Pastor Evelyn Clark Kent, who is soon to be our district superintendent, was exercising social distancing with three parishioners. Suddenly they experienced the presence of the Lord in an extraordinarily powerful way. They were moved to tears as they sat quietly in the sanctuary, recounting a feeling of being impacted by such a visitation of the Holy Spirit. They were blessed and stunned, in ways that only a good God can make happen.

We are all doing everything we can to be the church we have been called to be, even as we are being terrorized by the coronavirus. We are facing our fears and God is guiding us in profound ways to the places we need to go. As has been said, “When we face our fears in our journey, we find our faith.”

When we find our faith, we find a way out from sin and destruction and a way into holiness and into the kingdom of God; we become free, as the communion prayer of confession asks God, to “forgive us and free us for joyful obedience.”

There are three important things about our journey in the faith that that free us for joyful obedience. Number one, the journey leads to Jesus. Number two, Holy Communion opens our eyes to see things that are very important for us to see. Number three, the truth sets us free from a lie.

We don’t like to admit it, but human ears are itching for the juiciest gossip. Why? Because it is easier to talk about someone else’s life and problems rather than to reflect honestly on our own.  

As the two walked together toward Emmaus, they were talking about what everybody else was talking about – not the OJ Simpson trial or Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding, or any of the three presidential impeachments, or the celebrity college admission scandals or the global coronavirus war. No, they were talking about the hanging of Jesus on a tree at Calvary and how the town talk was about a crucifixion that turned into a resurrection.

Jesus appeared right smack dab in the middle of their conversation. They didn’t recognize him at first, but they were so eager to tell him the latest news, and he seemed very eager to hear every detail. They walked and talked, they talked and walked until the sun began to set.  Hospitality to strangers was so much a part of Middle Eastern culture that they said to this person, whom they thought was a stranger, whose conversation they were really enjoying - “It’s getting late. Please stay and have dinner with us.” So, Jesus joined them. At the table, Jesus broke off some bread and said a prayer of thanksgiving. Having bread at the table was evidence that it was a very good day. Bread at the table was a sign that God had blessed them with enough peace and patience for planting several months earlier. Every day that bread appeared on their table indicated that they had enough health for harvesting. Bread baking in the oven filled the house with a sweet, savory smell of joyful anticipation and celebration. Breaking bread together is definitely a time to give thanks because once again God has blessed us by bringing us together from places far and near, from hard places as well as pleasant paths. Bread tells us that God is with us and everything is going to be alright.

Our journey of faith always leads us to a table with Jesus who walks with us and talks with us and tells us we are his own. We are together at the table because we belong. We belong to the wonderful family of God. Our faith journey always leads us to Jesus, who makes everything alright, one way or another.

As Jesus broke the bread, he gave thanks and there was something about that moment that helped the two who had walked with him to recognize Jesus as savior and Lord. Like the walk to Emmaus, OUR journey of faith leads to our holy communing with Jesus. Our spiritual eyes are open, and we see things that we really need to see.

When our eyes are open we see Jesus as our Saviour, we put our hands in his hands and we follow him so we can be saved from our sins as well as the sins of others. In every crisis we can call on him and never get a busy signal. He never runs out of money to fulfill his purpose and plan, always has good news, and always provides something we need. We know that at the table, our eyes will be opened through a dream, a still small voice, a scripture, a devotional, a friend in the faith, or by any means necessary. One way or another, as we break bread together, we will see that Jesus is the savior we can call on and he will definitely answer.

Finally, we know in our journey of faith that the truth of God’s love sets us free from a lie. Before the crucifixion Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” Then Pilate went out and told the crowd of Pharisees the truth. He said, ‘You have sentenced Jesus to death and he is innocent.’ That was the truth and it had to be told.

It is our all-too-human nature to want to kill the truth of Jesus in our life. There may be sins from which we do not want to be saved. Can you name any? Do you have any demons in your life from whom you do not wish to be delivered?  Any bad habits that you are holding onto for dear life? Any sickness or disease for which have not labored in prayer for healing? Do you want to be healed?

I recall praying with a friend for healing of a mass that had grown on her neck and had been there for a while. It was painful to the touch and when we prayed the mass went away in just a few days. She later told me she had mixed feelings about being healed because now she had to go back to work and give up her disability check. She also had to give up the free salon services she was receiving because a beautician wanted to bless her under her condition. Faith changes our life and some of those changes are more comfortable than others.

There may be an area in your life where you want to be saved, delivered or healed. I invite you to bring that to your mind at this moment. Whatever your need, we will commit it in prayer to the only one who can help us. He is the one who always shows up as we journey. He is the one who opens our eyes to reveal important things through dreams, friends, family, scripture, or a still small voice. He is the one who gives us a truth that must be told.  

Let us pray.

God of grace and mercy, we give you thanks that it is a well with us as it is this day. You have loved us with an everlasting love. Open our hearts wide to your great love today. Speak to us a truth that we might be set free from fear, dread, worry, anxiety, stress, nervousness, and tension. Center us in your will that we would find comfort, calm and safety. Help us to let go and let you handle our affairs, God…we pray as you taught the disciples…   Our father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.  

The joy and peace of our Lord be with you today and always.

April 12 2020 Easter "Earthquake" Matthew 28.1-10

April 12 2020 Easter Psalm 118.1-2, 14-24 * Matthew 28.1-10 “Earthquake!” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

Blessed Easter, My Friends.

Listen to this fabulous story from the gospel of Matthew 28. Verses 1-10

28After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he^* lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead,^* and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ ⁸So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

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The title of the message is “Earthquake.”

Easter is here at last, but it is not the Easter we have known and loved.  The Coronavirus is affecting everything and everybody. Some are recovering, thankfully. Others are passing away to their eternal home in heartbreaking numbers, too many to count.

This is not the Easter we have known and loved, but it is the Easter that humanity has dealt with time and time again.

It was announced this week that People’s Light Theatre is cancelling all their 2020 shows for the entire year. Shakespeare experienced the same cancellations in London in the 1600’s. The theatres were shut down for six months because of the bubonic plague – an infection from rat fleas. King James, whose authorized English translation of the Bible was completed in 1611, was scheduled for a coronation in 1603 but it was delayed for a whole year because so many were infected.

Our world is turned upside down, but this is not the first time. Some of us have had our world turned upside down as individuals or families or organizations, or countries. We may have been isolated with health challenges, family concerns, and political problems while the rest of the world had no skin in the game. This time, everything and everyone is shaken to its core.

Perhaps this is the most real Easter of all.

Matthew says when the women came to Jesus’ tomb, there was an earthquake. But there wasn’t just an earthquake. He says there was a GREAT earthquake. Or as Tony the Tiger would say, “GRRRRRREAT!  Easter is our season to remember that God pays attention to the tiniest details of our life, but God also works to do great big things, intense things, unbelievable things, bigger-than-life things, and hard-to-manage-on-our-own things. Sometime God reveals Godself as a great big God working among the great big issues.

During the pandemic, the smallest things have been blown up like a big air balloon in the sky for the whole world to see. Now more than ever we see broadcasts of multi-million dollar gifts from celebrities, gestures of kindness from local businesses to the thousands risking their lives, we see grand and creative ways to cope, support, and applaud one another.  At the same time, we see hunger magnified, homelessness on many doorsteps, a rise in domestic violence, inmates continuing to be consigned to years of solitary confinement, families suffering from inadequate medical care when they need it the most, persistent violence with lines longer than ever to purchase guns.

The angel of the Lord came down from Heaven with an earthquake that shook everything up. A shake up prepares believers to witness a resurrection. A shakeup can mean a wake up, a break up, a break down or a breakthrough. A shakeup is whatever God allows it to be. It tells us that God’s resurrection power is at work.

The empty tomb is evidence of the resurrection after a shakeup. The Gaither family said it well. “God sent His Son. They called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future and life is worth the living just because he lives.”

The earthquakes in life remind us that God always has a purpose and a plan to work all things for the good. A shake up reveals the faces of the lonely. The resurrection commits to a conversation with the lonely. A shake up hears the hungry crying. The resurrection sets a table. A shake up points to the street where the homeless are living. The resurrection leads them to a house. A shakeup shows bruises on the hearts of domestic violence victims. The resurrection calls the police. A shakeup exposes the traitors that treat inmates like animals. The resurrection advocates for justice. A shake up counts the number of people who lack health care. The resurrection teaches all to have faith and trust God’s treasury of healing, hope, daily bread, and wisdom. A shake up records the names of haters so that we can take revenge. The resurrection fills us with love for our enemies because love is patient, or as the king James versions says – long suffering- sometimes suffering longer than at other times. Enough love and patience turns us into peacemakers and harmonizers instead of troublemakers and instigators.

God sent an angel to shake up the world. I imagine the angel the women saw at the tomb was so tall that he had to duck like some have to do when they walk through a doorway. I imagine that angel probably had muscles as big as the Hulk. Only he was wearing all white instead of green like the Green Giant and he was as striking as a flash of lightening.

Pilate sent soldiers to secure Jesus’ tomb so that the disciples couldn’t remove his body and claim he had risen. When they saw that angel, they were terrified and they passed out cold.

God’s angel had no one blocking him when he rolled the two-ton stone away from the tomb, breaking through the wax seal and all.  Then he sat on top of that big rock, a solid rock, no doubt praising God for the victory. The women approached the tomb, no longer wondering who was going to roll away the stone for them.

What a sight they must have seen. Two security guards passed out, rocks tossed around from the earthquake and of all things, God’s messenger, waiting to speak personally to them. The angel calmed their fears, a message the soldiers never got. The angel invited them to see the empty tomb, the evidence that Jesus was not there. “He is risen.”

The women listened. They understood.  ‘Don’t be afraid. Jesus is risen. He’s on his way to Galilee. Tell the disciples to meet him there.’

 At times, those four words - “Don’t be afraid” seem so ridiculous and counterintuitive. But, we need to turn them on in our minds like we turn on a light switch, again and again because we need them to keep from stumbling in the dark, to keep anxiety and depression at bay, to avoid blocking our blessings, to feed our faith and not our fears.  

After hearing the angel’s message, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary left the tomb quickly with mixed feelings of fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Surely God is pleased when we run to do God’s will with great joy.  

⁹Suddenly, verse 9 tells us that Jesus cut them off in their path. Greeting them enthusiastically. They rushed toward him, bowed before him and worshipped him. Jesus gave them the same message the angel gave them… ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to meet me in Galilee. It is wonderful to have good messages repeated by good messengers.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary accepted the job Jesus gave them.  Jesus always has a job for those who dare to show up for Easter. Sometimes the job seems tiny and insignificant, but it may be as critical as the next heartbeat. Sometimes the job is a great big Easter-size job, for the whole world to notice.

Every Sunday is a Resurrection Sunday in the Christian tradition. Week after week we recognize the power of God to bring life where we have killed each other with our sins. Every week we are given the job to die daily to our will and rise to live in Christ. For we live because he lives, even when our world has been shaken up.

Let us pray….Life-Giving God, we thank you, bless you and praise you that it is as well with us as it is, that in spite these days of darkness and uncertainty we see clear evidence that you have not forsaken us nor forgotten us. You have provided us with many blessings and many avenues to be a blessing to others. We pray as Jesus taught us - Our father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Easter Sunrise Service Pastor Hines

Bethel UMC April 12, 2020 Sunrise Easter Service

Welcome to Sunrise Easter Service

We have heard the story from the gospel of Mark many times of that first Easter morning. Very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, Mary Magdalene and a couple others went to the tomb to care for Jesus’ body, but he was gone.

Today is a brand new day for us, too. We are blessed with a fresh start. We have arrived to this day with a plan to do right by Jesus, but it seems he is nowhere to be found. We have come, as New York’s governor said this week, “Searching for solace in all this grief.” And, Jesus is not where we expected him to be.

There is nothing else left for us to do except what Mary Magdalene and her friends did that morning. They did two things. First, put their preconceived notions and fears aside and stopped long enough to listen. When they entered the tomb they saw a young man dressed in Easter white. He told them not to be afraid. He told them to go tell the disciples that Jesus would meet them in Galilee. They listened.

It is good to stop and listen. These days many of us have a few more minutes to stop and listen. Now more than ever we are likely to hear the voice of an angel, calming our fears, fueling our hopes, directing our steps. It is good to stop and listen to God and to one another.

The second thing Mary and her sister seekers did was to do what God wanted them to do. They told the disciples where they could find the risen savior. That’s what God wants all of us to do, to point the world to a Jesus who is alive, who saves, who heals, who delivers.

And when they ask us how we know he lives, we can say he lives within our hearts. We have been saved from our sins. Have we not?  We have been healed of disease and distress. Haven’t we?  We have been delivered from death and destruction. He lives!

He lives even on this more solemn of Easters. Rev. Carolyn Wynfree Gillette a Presbyterian minister from Philadelphia wrote a touching hymn for this occasion. 

This Easter celebration is not like ones we’ve known.

We pray in isolation, we sing the hymns alone.

No gathered choirs are singing. No banners line the way.

O God of love and promise, where’s joy this Easter day?

Our joy won’t come from worship that’s in a crowded room.

But from the news of women who saw the empty tomb.

In all the grief and suffering may we remember well:

Christ suffered crucifixion and faced the powers of hell.

We thank you that on Easter your church is blessed to be

A scattered, faithful body that’s doing ministry.

Let us pray: Thank you God that we are still the church in spite of it all, that you are working mightily in our lives. We love you. We worship you. We praise you and we thank you that you have not forgotten the least, the last, and the lost. Send us. Use us to accomplish your will. Amen.

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Go forth in peace and let the son rise in your heart this Easter and forever more.

April 5 2020 Palm Sunday "God Is Good All the Time, and All the Time, God is good.

April 5, 2020  Palm Sunday  Psalm 118.1-2, 19-29 *Matthew 21.1-11  “God is Good…All the Time” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

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Blessed Palm Sunday, Bethel. Even this day of challenges is the day the Lord has made and we are finding ways to rejoice in it! The Old Testament reading is from the 118^th Psalm. Verses 1 and 2 remind us to be grateful to our God who is so good to us.  

Psalm 118

1  O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good;

   God’s mercy endures forever.

2  Let Israel now proclaim,

   ‘God’s mercy endures forever.’

Our New Testament lesson from the gospel of Matthew chapter 21 tells the day Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. They were remembering his legacy with the great King David, and they were blessing God because God had blessed them. Listen to what the crowd was saying in verses 8 through 11.

⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” ¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

The title of this message is “God is Good all the Time and all the Time, God is Good.”

One Sunday morning around 7 a.m. it was raining and I was praying that God would bless the people on their way, bless the service, bless the attendance, bless the offering… and suddenly, I sensed the still small voice of God gently interrupting my prayers saying, “Bless me….bless me!”

I quickly realized that all my worrying from one Sunday to the next about whether the Church would be ok wasn’t as important as I thought. For, no matter what happens or does not happen in life, God is good all the time and all the time, God is good.

Job had the correct attitude when he said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I have a mantra that I say to myself: Christians do well to praise God every hour and repent every day. If our heart can find even one of the hundreds of reasons we have to give God thanks every hour of every day, then we are on the right track.  Jesus gave thanks before the loaves and fish were multiplied by the thousands; we can ask ourselves “If we only had the blessings that we thanked God for, where would we be? If the blessings we didn’t appreciate disappeared, would we feel the sting of that wise saying, “We don’t miss the water until the well runs dry.”

To bless God is to speak well of God rather than fill the heavens with our sour thoughts, angry looks, bitter words, ungrateful attitudes, and indifferent prayers. To bless God is to salute God honorably like a good soldier of the Lord. To bless God is to kneel humbly and respectfully in our hearts until our lives follow. Blessing God is what children of God do when the lessons of love finally begin to sink in.

When our feet touch the floor in the morning, it is a good time to give thanks to the Lord, for God is good no matter how long the night has been. When we bring a bag of groceries into the house, it is a good time to give thanks to the Lord, for God is good all the time, even if the shelves were bare or your budget was limited.

If you find it silly or nearly impossible to bless God, this holy week is a good time to talk to God about what you are feeling. God may answer in a still small voice, or through a conversation with a family member or friend, or a dream, or a light bulb moment or insight that comes to your mind. God may have already answered you in the scriptures or in a life’s lesson from your past. Don’t expect God to keep repeating it! If we have made up our minds to ignore God’s will, we need not be surprised when God is silent.

Psalm 92 tells us “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, to sing praises to God’s name.” Why? For God is good all the time…and all the time, God is good.

The Palm Sunday crowd was blessed to know Jesus personally. They watched his holy life, they listened to his powerful words, they reflected on his unforgettable teachings, they received his healing miracles, they accepted his wise judgements. They took his stinging rebukes seriously without rejecting him and becoming defensive which is easy to do.

They began to adore him, to salute him, to humbly bow down to him. Now they were in the street, happy as clams, celebrating, waving palm branches, placing garments on the ground, for they honored him so much they made sure he did not have to deal with the dirt.

Palm Sunday is also our day to remember that Jesus comes into our lives again and again. Regardless of our situation. Palm Sunday is another day to bless God.

There are three reasons we need to bless God now and forever. We need to bless God because blessing God calms us. We need to bless God because blessing God is contagious. We need to bless God because blessing God is Christ like.

We know how to pray and ask God for what we need and what we know others need. But, when we turn away from our own needs and wants long enough to bless the Lord, we go to a deeper spiritual place. When we turn our face toward God instead of just our hands, we are transformed. We grow to know how deeply loved we are, how precious we are, how unique and special we are and how God’s loving-kindness is better than anything life has to offer and that nothing can separate us from that love. It will always be there for us.

When we say “thank you” to God, we are letting go of our fears and interrupting our worries. We are pausing and letting God still us until we know that God is God and we are not. A peace and calm come over us when we express gratitude. Blessing God calms us.

We need to bless God because blessing God is contagious. There are good things that we want everyone to catch! Have you ever caught a yawn from someone sitting across the room from you? Scientists tell us that yawns are contagious. Babies yawn in utero. Even animals yawn for various reasons. Some yawn to show their sharp teeth and keep the enemy away. Some are realigning their jaws after chomping on a large prey. Some animals yawn in packs and herds in order to alert the others, to signal their togetherness and focus on a way forward. It is speculated that some humans have a yawning reflex for the same reason as some animals. We demonstrate an alert that there is connection, unity, and empathy with family, friends, or strangers – in that order.

We have become very conscious of catching diseases and spreading germs. When we sneeze we may release up to a 100,000 contagious germs that can move up to 100 miles an hour. I like to think that when we bless God, we spread sounds and seeds with over 100,000 good vibes and potential into our lives and the lives of those around us. With the tiniest words of adoration and gratitude, we can change our world fast. I don’t know about you but I have never counted to 100,000 but I believe blessing God can impact our lives in 100,000 ways. I have never driven in a car going 100 miles per hour. (Perhaps some of you have…we can talk about that another day.) But, I believe blessing God is powerful enough and fast enough to cause our relationship with God and with one another to grow and deepen in phenomenal ways. That’s a good reason to keep a gratitude journal – even if it stays in your head rather than paper. Blessing God is contagious.

Finally, blessing God is Christ like. Jesus often blessed God the father as almighty and maker of heaven and earth. Jesus was king of kings but he acknowledged that even he had a higher power. We see this when he taught the disciples to pray, and when he prayed in John 17 that God would help those sharing the gospel to be united as one, and as he prayed before he was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, not his will but the will of God to be done.

Blessing God is calming, it is contagious, and it is Christ like. Let the church say, “Amen.” Let us pray: Thank you Lord that you are still our deliverer, our healer and our hope. Amen.

May God’s love become deep enough in our lives to make us contagious

Christians today and always.