Women Are the First Apostles for a Reason: Easter

“Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father.

But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

(John 20:17 NRSV)

It is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, precisely because Jesus told Mary Magdalene to “. . . go . . .” Contrary to what men may say, each of the Gospels bear witness to the fact that women are the first Apostles. By definition, an apostle is one who is sent. Mary is sent by Jesus. Pretty heady stuff . . . and, in the Gospel according to John, not only is she sent, she is sent to proclaim a very specific message: Good News! Death has not won! “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

I love it! The Apostolic ‘burr under the saddle’ of a patriarchal institution, namely the church. Not only is death turned upside down by what God is doing, so is the structure of human relationships and personal value. In the moment when most Jesus needs ‘just the right person’ to bear His Good News out to the world, Jesus selects Mary Magdalene, not Peter, John or James, all of whom were with Him when He was transfigured. No, Jesus selects the invisible one, the marginalized one, the overshadowed one. Jesus selects the least among us to bear the greatest of Truths.

The Life of Jesus comes full circle: Born in the lowliness of a Bethlehem stable, to a woman whose name the world had never known . . . now Jesus is Born into New Life in the lowliness of a Jerusalem tomb, the event of which is first proclaimed by a woman whose name the world had never known. Both women named Mary.

Easter isn't about a day in the Church Calendar, it is about the ongoing redemptive work of God through Jesus Christ to announce Good News in an, often, unhearing world, through the voices of those whose lives have, first, been transformed. As Mary mourned what had happened to her Friend, her Savior, she found her tears dried in the gentle embrace of His Love, her grief assuaged in His Peace, her hopeless replaced by His Grace. Then, as though those gifts were not enough, Jesus sends her to tell others of what she has heard and seen. Such a message can only be believably told by one who has been a first-hand witness. No hearsay will hold up in the court of public or private opinion – and a woman, not just any woman, this woman, Mary, is such a witness with a powerful message to the disciples, to the Jews, to Rome and to the world.

Easter is about the hungry being fed, then feeding others.

     Easter is about the thirsty being given drink, then passing the cup of water to another.

          Easter is about the stranger being welcomed, the turning to welcome the next stranger in.

               Easter is about the naked being clothed, then offering the clothes off their back for another.

          Easter is about the imprisoned being visited, then extending the visits to those who are still imprisoned.

Easter is about the sick receiving of the love and care of another, then offering the same love and care to others.

Easter is for the invisible, the marginalized and the overshadowed, that they may find new Life and become the bearers of Good News into the entire world. Easter is about the overthrow of oppressors and those feeling entitled. Easter is concerned less with law and more with the ‘Aha!’ of God’s love and grace. Easter is for the ghettos of our living, for the war-torn and ravaged of earth’s plains, for the orphaned and widowed, and for those who are judged as sinful and for those who suffer unjust judgments.

Easter is God’s to dispense, not ours to control. Easter is a Message to share, not a sale to attend. Easter is a transforming Spirit, not a claim for human authority. Easter is a humbling Joy and exhilarating Refreshment. Easter is a Restorer of God’s Vision and an establishment of God’s Order. Easter is the naming of a New Day in God’s Kingdom - which transpires Every Day in God’s ongoing History.

Easter is both Rejoicing and Warning: Rejoicing, in that God continues to shape, renew and birth New Life into unexpected places and people; and, Warning, in that God will not have humanity subvert what God is setting in place.

From the earliest of the Gospels, Mark, we hear the first words of Jesus in his public ministry after His Baptism, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (1.15) Easter is coming and those announcing it are the ones you would least expect. Easter isn’t just for men anymore, never was intended that way. Easter is God’s. Get with it, get on board and rejoice – or get out of the way. God will not be silenced. Ask Mary.   

My Purpose in the Olympics

Nancy and I were watching the Winter Olympics the other evening and, as I suspect at least a few others do, I was imagining what it would be like to 'be' one of those athletes in Sochi. The Half-Pipe, Skeleton, Moguls, Alpine Skiing, Biathalon, Cross Country Skiing, Free Style Skiing, Luge, Nordic Combined, and even Snowboard . . . in each event, I could see myself participating, competing, winning, and standing on the podium as the National Anthem of the United States is played. Figure or Free Style Skating, maybe not so much . . . this body was never meant to be in those sort of tights. Curling . . . well, maybe, but only if I can wear the kind of pants the Norwegians wore this year. Hockey? Definitely not . . . I like all my teeth and the thought of people checking me into the boards is too much like monthly Church Council meetings (Just kidding!). But, you get the idea, the little kid in me always wonders, hopes, dreams, imagines . . . and then the old man in me looks at the mirror and just laughs.

It was in such a 'mirror' moment that I recently came to the understanding that (listen carefully now . . .) 'The Olympics happen precisely because of people like me.' You are very welcome! I appreciate all your gratitude and support.

There it is. Were it not for people like me, Sochi, Russia, would just be another forgotten town along the mountains. Were it not for people like me, Matt Lauer and Al Roker would never have the opportunity to try out Winter sports on TV. Were it not for people like me sponsors like Nike, Adidas, Puma, and who knows how many others with particular specialties in Winter sports, would never make the sales they do. Were it not for people like me, the world would be condemned to 'normal' network and sports station programming. (Horrors!) That's it! It is precisely because of people like me that the vast multi-billion dollar industrial and sports complex continues to create and bring in unimaginable amounts of wealth across such an expansive realm of opportunities! Again, in answer to the depth of your gratitude I say, You are very welcome! I appreciate your support and confidence.

"How is it that you are able to nearly single-handedly make this happen?" you ask? Here is my secret . . . (lean in close to your screen now and don't let anyone else hear this as you read it out loud, as so often you do when you read . . .) I can summarize my contribution to this phenomenon in one word: 'Training'. I have been relentlessly training my entire lifetime for this moment, for this event, for this singular opportunity to transform the world and affix redemptive wonder to the lives of others. For, isn't this exactly why the Olympics exist??

If I didn't train so extensively, for such a long period of time, to be exactly the person I am, how would anyone ever have any idea why such amazing athletes exist at all? Looking in the mirror I could see what differentiates the Olympic athletes from me and many like me: youth, vigor, particularized training, drive, physical fitness, sponsors with deep pockets, national pride and . . . oh yes, a certain amount of talent and inward bearing for the sport. Yet, that's just the point! If we were all the same, if we all could participate in the Olympics, there wouldn't be the need for the Olympics! We would be just one vast super-race of athletes . . . and there would be no one to impress, no one to dream of being like you, no one to buy the tickets to watch you play, no one to pay for the shirt (or one like it) on your back, no one to organize the tail-gates, no one to purchase cars painted in their team colors, and no one to be the cheerleaders (gasp!), there wouldn't even be cheerleaders or fans - because we would all be participating in every event!

You see, that is my contribution to the purpose of the Olympics. That is my gift to the world! I, and many like me, are the difference-makers on the field of competition: Because we can't (and some would argue 'shouldn't'), they can. Indeed, they have to - for the sake of the rest of us. They are the cream which rises, the ladder-climbers which ascend, the over-achievers who elevate the bar - constantly reminding and thanking us for the gift we give them. In looking at the rest of us, the Olympic athlete is driven to sublime prayer and gratitude, "Thank you, God, for these poor schluckers who can't do what I do and provide for me the means to become very successful and reasonably rich! And thank you, God, that I am handsome/beautiful and do not have to live through another's accomplishments or have to dream of being just like somebody else! Thank you, God, for my excellence!"

Yes, were it not for me and people like me, prayer life would suffer, God's relationship with God's people might even languish. Heavens! The ordinary and less than ordinary wouldn't be praying to be lifted up, for there would be no ordinary and less than ordinary or even a need to be lifted up, and the extraordinary would never do the Tebow in the end zone or point to the sky or thank God while looking in the camera - because nothing they did would be outstanding. We would all be the same.

There it is! My purpose in the Olympics, finally, defined! And I am a 'top platform', gold medal contributor to the cause! In my very being, I make others look good and, in so doing, create the purpose for the Olympic Flame to burn brightly every four years. Again, you are welcome! It was the least I could do . . . and if anyone knows what the least is which I can do, it's me. It makes me happy to have made such an extravaganza possible for the rest of the world. Enjoy the Olympics - and dream of what it might be for you to ski down a slope backwards, flipping a 720 at the jump and landing upright, sticking your snowboard solidly under you as you swoosh up to the camera, throwing snow into the lens with your joyful laughter filling the audio. It's the gift I gladly give you. You're welcome.

Fireballs in the New Year

"In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and we have come to pay him homage."" (Matthew 2:1-2 NRSV)

In recent days, across much of the United States, fireballs have been sighted crossing the skies. For many it has been something of a concern, for others it has been a novelty, yet for all of us these 'fireballs' (meteors) are an ongoing reminder that we are a part of a cosmic community, a vibrant and fast moving universe. We are susceptible to, and affected by both, energy and gravity, pushing us on to greater things while wearing away our outer nature with the frictional heat of resistance.

The star which the wise men observed at its rising called them toward the Gift which it announced yet, as they were moved by its' energy, they met the heat of resistance in the person of Herod and the politics of government and religion, alike. The wise men were not themselves encumbered with the fear others displayed, but that fear bore down on them in their quest to reach the one, ". . who has been born king of the Jews . . .". They became as 'fireballs' in the land of Israel, in the Roman empire, and many were wondering what foreboding the wise men announced in their pilgrimage. Some were committed to destroying the One they sought - and followed their trail across the skies to the village of Bethlehem, killing all the children under the age of two, according to when the wise men said they first saw the star. Others were not sure what to think of this news the wise men brought, but all the world was affected, all the world was to be transformed . . . not by the wise men, no, they were just the fireballs, the messengers. Rather, the world has been forever transformed by the One who comes, of whom angels sing and over whom stars still brightly shine. The cosmic community, the vibrant and fast moving universe, will never be the same - regardless of how we lash out at it or put our foot down in resistance. The more we object, the more His love shines brightly, and our outer nature is worn down with the frictional heat of Grace and Mercy. Not even Herod could impede God's Vision. Not even Rome could darken His brightness . . . and to this Jesus the nations still turn.

The wise ones among us still move towards His Presence.

Regardless the challenges, regardless the hatred, regardless the fear, the wise ones among us still move towards Jesus and, in moving towards Jesus, are found to be feeding the hungry, giving a cup of water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick and visiting the imprisoned. The transformed among us, themselves, become as fireballs announcing a new reign of justice, witnessing to a cosmic community of equity, testifying to a vibrant and fast moving mercy, all of which is begun first and will continue forever in God. The wise ones are not the Announcement, any more than the star, itself, was the Good News. They are the ones who point to the nearing Kingdom - and how others receive that news will greatly vary, depending on their need, their circumstance, their insecurities, their power or their authority, which speaks volumes of why the shepherds rejoiced in His birth and Herod sought to kill Him. Nonetheless, Jesus is born . . .

Have you seen? Have you heard? Are you moving towards Him? Are you moving away? Are you in fear? Are you transformed? Has His light brought you Good News? I pray in this New Year you receive Him with Joy in your heart and Love in your soul. I pray you become a fireball for Christ. There is no greater call for any of us. A Blessed New Year to all!

Christmas Eve

One of the members of my parish just 'flew' through my office announcing all that they have to do to get ready for their family Christmas gathering tomorrow. Then, just before heading out to complete their shopping, one more phrase drifted into the office as the door was closing, "See you tonight!"

"See you tonight!" was this person's code language for, 'See you at Christmas Eve Services', but it started my mind wandering towards Bethlehem:

What if "See you tonight!" also meant, 'See you in the fields tending sheep outside of Bethlehem?'

What if "See you tonight!" also meant, 'See you in the fields to hear angel choirs?'

What if "See you tonight!" also meant, 'See you in the glow of a New Star?'

What if "See you tonight!" also meant, 'See you at the Stable?'

What if "See you tonight!" also meant, 'See you at the foot of a manger, on bended knee?'

What if "See you tonight!" also meant, 'See you there, with Mary and Joseph and the Baby?'

What if "See you tonight!"also meant, 'See you in the rejoicing after we see Him and go out from that place rejoicing?'

What if "See you tonight!" . . . well, you get the idea.

Who could have seen this coming on that night so long ago? Certainly not the Mary and Joseph. The shepherds were as surprised as anyone. The few folks around who were drawn to the stable in the next days because of the shepherd's story missed it completely. No, no-one could have anticipated what would happen in the dark of this one night, yet happen it did. God chose to come to us, to dwell with us, to embody the journey, to define the hope, to place flesh on the Vision . . . and God chooses to come to you still . . .

And those who are praying, those who are watching, those who are waiting, those who are crying out, those who are found at the margins, those who are 'in the fields' . . . will be the ones to see, to hear, to be witnesses all over again. "See you tonight!" is the language of the hopeful, the faithful, the eagerly anticipating. "See you tonight!" is both Trinitarian Declaration and Benediction, calling the congregation of God's people together and sending them out with Good News.

"See you tonight!" is God's own invitation for transformation.

Are you ready? Is your heart open to what God is doing? Is your soul ready to receive that which earth cannot give? Have you even set time aside to gather in worship of His arrival?

"See you tonight!" . . . I pray I do. "See you tonight!", in the Presence of Love.

A holy and blessed Christmas to all! 

Countdown to Christmas

Countdown to Christmas . . .
The children are upstairs in the Sanctuary practicing their Christmas Pageant one more time for tomorrow's 10:30 a.m. service, churches throughout the region have their advertisements running in all the local papers and news outlets inviting the faithful and the 'once-or-twice a year visitors' to attend their services on Christmas Eve, pastors are polishing that 'masterpiece of a message' which they intend to unveil for those who attend Christmas Eve services, the Candlelight candles and glow sticks are all prepared and ready for distribution, Communion elements have been secured in ample supply for all the folks who will make their way to Bethlehem and continue on to the Jerusalem Table, choirs, bell choirs and special soloists or ensembles are practiced within an inch of their lives to 'Wow!' and impress the gathered congregations, and the ushers and greeters have practiced their congregational welcomes and directions so that everyone who attends knows they are 'special' and Communion doesn't get drug out by folks who don't know where they are going causing the service to go long . . . all to . . . finish that one last thing on the Christmas list: Worship.
It's the final Countdown to Christmas and, personally, I think the shepherds are the lucky ones when it comes to worship: the angels sang an invitation to them, no newspaper ads and no glitzy television ads to confuse them as to where to go, no candlelight services and no special sermons trying to outdo what other congregations are doing, no other 'special' musical selections trying to outdo the angels, no ushers or greeters showing them where to sit and telling them what Communion line to be in (Ah, yes, Communion comes much, much later in the Story, doesn't it!) and no pressure to have that one special gift ready to present when sliding an offering into the plate in the service (enough not to look like a cheapskate, but not so much as to appear gaudy before others). Just Jesus.
Just Jesus, announced by a star and angel choirs. Just Jesus, lovingly held and nurtured by Mary and Joseph. Just Jesus, surrounded by the animals of a stable. Just Jesus - and that alone, He alone, was enough to send them back out into the fields glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen. Just Jesus.
Being something of an 'A-type' pastor who is a self-confessed part of the 'every-little-detail group', I pray for you, Just Jesus, in these days nearing a Stable and a Manger. I pray for you, Just Jesus, in preparing for your family gatherings. I pray for you, Just Jesus, in seeking out that one place to worship with the gathered community. I pray, Just Jesus, for those congregations so immersed in Christmas Eve plans that Christmas Joy is like a foreign land. I pray, Just Jesus, for those pastors who carefully craft their Christmas message - for there truly is no other Message. I pray, Just Jesus, for you . . . that your heart is full of Wonder, that your soul is overflowing with Hope, that your days are guided by His Peace, and that your life is blessed in abundance with His Love. Just Jesus.
May He be enough for us all as we continue the Countdown to Christmas. Just Jesus.
Blessings on the journey.

Wise People Still Search

A wise man entered the town of Bethlehem, Illinois, seeking the Christ Child which he heard had been born near there.
Not certain as to where he might find such a Gift, he stopped at the Gas N Go and inquired if the clerk might have heard or seen such a thing. She thought him weirdly dressed, clearly not 'from here', and a threat - and had the manager toss him out.
Unruffled by the rude clerk the wise man pressed on, choosing to stop next at the local 'Home Cook'n' restaurant, where first he asked the hostess if she had heard or seen anything (and, of course, she hadn't), and then moved on to the table of local retirees who were there enjoying their $1 bottomless cups of coffee and solving the problems of the world. He asked if they, perhaps, had seen something of a bright light the night before or heard heavenly choirs or maybe had witnessed something of farmers coming in from the fields to see this Child. They quietly, quizzically, looked around at each other, taking a few moments to assess if any around the table believed anything of that which this stranger was asking them. The quiet consent of an 'informed disbelief' settled over the table and, being unwilling to discredit this odd man in public, they just went back to discussing the pluses and minuses of the Affordable Health Care Act, turning their backs and their attention away from the temporary distraction.
Rebuffed, but not dismayed, the wise man headed towards the door when, from a side booth, a voice pierced the morning air, "I saw the light of a nearby planet early last evening and when I stopped my tractor to look at it, I heard voices in the night drifting to me over the fields. It was the oddest damned thing. I couldn't help myself, I started the tractor back up, picked up the disc, folded the wings, and drove towards where I heard the voices singing. Oh, it wasn't here in town. I found them down County Road 700 North, about a mile and a half from here. Two homeless people and a newborn baby all huddled up in an old abandoned farm place. The neighbor keeps a few cows and sheep there in the barn, but there's no house there."
Sliding into the seat opposite the storyteller, the wise man waited for her to continue. "They said they had stopped here in town and asked for help at the Gas N Go and got thrown out for vagrancy, then they had come by here looking for a bite to eat and were directed to the dumpster out back and told to get out of town by the Sheriff. Then they just walked as far as they could before the Missus went into labor and delivered a Son.
You know, I would have thought they would have stopped by the church down the street . . . and I told them as much, but they said the lights were out, and when they knocked on the parsonage door, they were told to come back in the morning to apply for help from the ministerial alliance fund. The church quit putting up transients long ago, because too many took advantage of them and they just couldn't justify helping 'out-of-towners' when there were so many in need locally.
We are an odd lot around here, you know, so up on our Christian values and morals and such Scrooges with our lives and wealth. Kinda makes me ashamed of some of the things I've done over the years.
And then the real kicker was when that mother just laid her newborn Baby in my arms as though He was just waiting for me to hold Him. I swear to you, I couldn't look away from His face. He just shone so bright there in the dark. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure whether I was holding Him or He was holding me. All of the crap of my life just seemed to melt away there, looking into His eyes. I almost couldn't stand it.
There were a few others from around the fields who came in, too. Some on tractors, some walking, a few on four-wheelers, but all of us from the countryside. No townies. And we all just stood around in awe until the dad said they really needed to go. Old Maggie ran back across the road to her home and got some sandwiches and put some soup in an old thermos for them, and Orville offered them a lift in his grain truck if they could just wait for a bit for him to go home and get it. They couldn't, but they thanked him and all of us for sharing this special moment, then just walked on down the road as though driven by something none of us could understand."
"You don't know where they are now?" the wise man asked.
"No," the storyteller said, "but, I suspect if you head on North out of town and get away from all of us 'know-it-alls', you'll have a better chance of running across them where maybe they've found a place they're welcome. I wish you good luck in your search."
"What are you going to do now, now that you met them?" asked the wise man. "I'm not sure," said the storyteller, "but I think I am going to go back out and finish disking the field I was in last night. I wasn't sure what to do when they walked away, but felt compelled to come here and wait. Can't tell you why, but when you walked in I knew I had to tell you the story. I think you're the one I was to talk to. Now I can go back to what I was doing, but I don't think things in my life will ever be the same."
Then she got up and walked away leaving the wise man to wonder about what he heard.
"Someday I'll find Him," he thought, "and I pray I am only half as awed as that woman who got to see Him the night when He was born." And on walked the wise man, searching still for the One who transforms with a look.
May you find Him in your heart and may your life be changed forevermore.

A New Beatitude

A new Beatitude for the modern age:
'Blessed are those who dwell among folk with remarkable camera skills, for they shall see the Presence of God anew.'
This morning I am inspired by two among God's children who have such gifts, Father Jerry Schweitzer and Stephanie Liefer, (FB name, Kirk Stephanie Liefer). Seeing the world through their eyes is an exquisite experience of wonder and faith, and to open one's day by glimpsing creation through the lens of their understanding is ...to see the face of God again and again, making Holy the moments into which we journey together. These two people are as diverse in background as one could imagine, yet are as kindred as the Baptismal waters through which they wade every day, for shared in their DNA is that of being God's children who are open to the movement of the Spirit and willing co-conspirators in announcing the nearness of the Kingdom. Oh, there are many among us who are quite capable of capturing that occasional moment with similar skill, but to be consistent about it, to be immersed in the passion and open to the wonder, those are gifts given to a few . . . and the rest of us are blessed recipients of their grace.
Maybe that is why God sent to earth Jesus: to allow humanity to see God face-to-face through the eyes and heart of One open to God's Imminence. Emmanuel, God With Us, opens our eyes to see God in the wonder of a sunrise, in the beauty of an snowy morning, in the majesty of a lame man walking, in the surprise of woman made whole, in the loveliness of a child being given new life, in the marvel of a dead man being released from his grave clothes, in the awe of sins forgiven, even . . . perhaps especially, in the splendor of His own empty tomb. 'Come, come and see God as I know God,' says Jesus, as He touches the leper and embraces the adultery of our living. 'Open your eyes and perceive how close God is,' speaks the Child, as even the hem of His robe heals the nations and causes to cease the flowing blood of long held wounds and despair.
'Blessed are those who dwell among folk with remarkable camera skills, for they shall see the Presence of God anew' . . . and blessed are those who walk in the One Who creates the vistas, Who shapes the wonders, Who opens the eyes of the unseeing, and inspires among us those to share the Vision . . . for to them a Child is born, a Son is given. To them the Kingdom is announced by angel voices. Thanks be to God!
An Advent pondering on the journey to Bethlehem.