Sunday Services: 8:30AM and 10:30AM

Wednesday Service: 9:30AM
July 29 Worship at Hope Church

Hope Church provided us with our first meeting space and weโ€™re going to thank them on July 29. THIS SUNDAY!

Weโ€™ll meet at and worship with Hope Church at 10:00AM that day, with Rev. Jen Adams as the guest preacher and Grace as the coffee hour hosts.

Our 8:15 service will still be at Grace that morning.

Reflections on Guilds

When my husband and I moved our family to Holland and Grace Episcopal Church in 1974, the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) was the coordinating body for all women of the church. It was the best way to get to know each other as well as to learn about the various ministry opportunities for women. At that time women, were limited in their roles; most vestries were comprised of only men and the ordination of women was still a few years from being approved by the national church.

Some women were members of the Altar Guild, also known then as the Rectorโ€™s Guild. One had to be invited to join this service guild by the priest, and no non-Altar Guild member would have ever dared to venture into the sacristy or sanctuary.

The other guilds provided a vital platform for social interaction and communication for the women of the church. Our Grace Church ECW had three such guilds:

  • St Annโ€™s – for young, stay at home moms
  • St. Elizabethโ€™s – for older women and empty nesters
  • St. Maryโ€™s – originally established as a study guild

All of these guilds worked together on fund raising projects to purchase unbudgeted needs of the church, including our current china and silverware. The guilds also coordinated and staffed the huge annual rummage sale and held periodic bake sales as well.

A representative from each guild served on the ECW Board, which met monthly and, among other business, determined how the thousands of dollars from its fundraising initiatives would be spent. Often the priest would drop in on a meeting with his suggestions for spending the monies.

St. Maryโ€™s is the only remaining womenโ€™s guild and continues its heritage as a study guild. In the beginning, members gathered in homes, but membership grew over time. When church renovations added meeting spaces, St. Maryโ€™s meetings eventually moved to the forum room.

The Guild meets on the first Monday of each month. Each calendar year, members submit program ideas, calls are made to potential speakers, and magically we end up with wonderful programs. Our meetings are open to everyone and we encourage guests, whether they are members of Grace or not. Even men are now welcome!

Our meetings begin with a prayer or inspirational reading, and members sign up in pairs to hostess a meeting and bring refreshments.

Some examples of our recent programs include:

  • Singalong led by Steve Jenkins
  • Talk presented by our Holland Mayor
  • P.E.T. program
  • Instructional visit to Herrick Library
  • Tour of Windmill Island
  • Trip to St. Gregoryโ€™s Abbey in Three Rivers
  • Tour of Castle Park
  • Book Study
  • Presentation by Paul Trapp on the history of Grace Church

Each year we also spend one meeting making Christmas gifts for the shut-ins of Grace Church. And we celebrate the holidays and enjoy a special evening of socializing with an Epiphany party/potluck at someoneโ€™s home every January. Each member brings a gift that is delivered to either Women In Transition or Harbor Humane Society.

We welcome anyone to learn, pray, and play with us.

Submitted by: Jill Mendenhallย (with help from Val Ambrose)

With Grace and Power

The Rev. Jennifer Adams –ย July 15, 2018 –ย Proper 10, Year B: Mark 6:14-29

King Herod heard of it, for Jesusโ€™ name had become known. Some were saying, โ€œJohn the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.โ€ย But others said, โ€œIt is Elijah.โ€ And others said, โ€œIt is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.โ€ย But when Herod heard of it, he said, โ€œJohn, whom I beheaded, has been raised.โ€

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philipโ€™s wife, because Herod had married her.ย For John had been telling Herod, โ€œIt is not lawful for you to have your brotherโ€™s wife.โ€ย And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not,ย for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.ย But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.ย When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, โ€œAsk me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.โ€ย And he solemnly swore to her, โ€œWhatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.โ€ย She went out and said to her mother, โ€œWhat should I ask for?โ€ She replied, โ€œThe head of John the baptizer.โ€ย Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, โ€œI want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.โ€The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her.ย Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring Johnโ€™s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison,ย brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother.ย When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:14-29)

In my just over twenty four years of preaching in this place, Iโ€™ve managed to preach on this gospel passage only one other time. And I consider that avoidance to be one of my greatest scheduling victories. This story comes up in this form once every three years, and so Iโ€™ve only faced it about eight times. And Iโ€™ve managed to sneak out of the pulpit six out of those eight.

But, given the lack of a second clergy person at this time, and my making the non-lectionary based decision to take vacation in early August, here I am with John the Baptistโ€™s head on a platter. And even reading it is horrendous. This is without argument a horrible story. Weโ€™d all avoid it if we could. But none of us (except those of you visiting this morning โ€“ thank you for being here, sorry for the text) are on vacation this morning! We have been called to church. And this is our gospel text. So, here we go.

First, since this is a horrible end to a prophetโ€™s life, we need to acknowledge that often stories like John the Baptistโ€™s end this way. Prophetsโ€™ stories rarely have a happy ending, because while prophets always have a hopeful message, itโ€™s never a happy one. Prophets speak hard words. They share hard truths. Thatโ€™s what makes a prophet a prophet. And often they communicate by shouting their message in the wilderness, or in the towns or throughout the streets of the cities.

In fact, we heard Jesus say in last weekโ€™s gospel reading that โ€œprophets are not without honor except in their hometown.โ€ And youโ€™ll remember in that story that even Jesus could โ€œdo no act of powerโ€ in that moment. Prophets it seems are in the most danger when their message hits home. Because even if only in word, prophets are perceived as a threat of one kind or another to those who do have power.

And according to this story, John the Baptist had told Herod that he didnโ€™t think it was a good idea for Herod to take his brotherโ€™s wife as his own. Which is about as close to home as you can get. John had said many other hard and โ€œpropheticโ€ things too โ€“ frankly things that ranked much higher on the โ€œit takes a prophet to say themโ€ scale but thatโ€™s the one shared in this passage. And so, like many prophets before him, and like so many prophets after him, John the Baptist was imprisoned. And then he was killed.

Now what happened in this gospel is terrible and pretty gruesome. We all get that. But how it happened is sort of fascinating. Because how it all happened makes this far more than a story about John the Baptist. Iโ€™m not sure this passage is even primarily about John the Baptist. It reveals to us the hazards of leading a prophetic life, but I actually think that even more than that, itโ€™s a story about Herod and what it reveals about him and about us too.

This story exposes the inner wrestlings that those in power, which is all of us in at least some dimensions of our lives experience on an all too regular basis. When prophets can do no act of power, others still can. But itโ€™s hard. Sometimes itโ€™s very hard. In this morningโ€™s collect, we prayed for God to โ€œmercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, that we may โ€œknow and understandโ€ what things we โ€œought to do,โ€ and that we also may have โ€œgrace and power faithfully to accomplish them.โ€ In this morningโ€™s gospel, Herod was caught right in the middle of that prayer. He knew what he ought to do; he even had the power to do it. What Herod couldnโ€™t quite grasp or be grasped by was the grace he needed to accomplish it.

Herod couldnโ€™t find an easy way out. Because sometimes there arenโ€™t easy ways out even for Kings. And I think that those in power can forget how to trust and listen to the inner wrestle that happens in those moments. We all need grace at times, to help us.

Herod had made a public oath to his daughter to give her anything she wanted (mistake number one โ€“ sorry kids.) Herod figured sheโ€™d ask for money, or as he put it, โ€œhalf of the kingdom,โ€ because what else would the child of a King ask for? Had it played out that way, Herod would have gotten the chance to show what a gracious man he was in front of all of those people. Not a bad plan when you think about it. Until, when the request came in and it wasnโ€™t for money or for half of the kingdom at all. It was for John the Baptistโ€™s head!

And thatโ€™s when it got complicated, because weโ€™d been told just a few verses before that what Herod thought of John. Herod โ€œfeared John,โ€ the gospel said, โ€œknowing that John was a righteous and holy man.โ€ And Herod, โ€œprotected him,โ€ which is interesting, isnโ€™t it? When he heard John speak, โ€œHerod was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.โ€ So, Herod knew that John was saying important things, he just didnโ€™t know what to do with those things. Herod was โ€œperplexedโ€ by John, but he โ€œprotectedโ€ John and he โ€œlistened to him.โ€ Which is sometimes the best we can ask of leaders. In fact, for a leader to say, โ€œIโ€™m perplexed, but Iโ€™m listening,โ€ can be sort of a wonderful thing. Good for leaders to know. Good for all of us to know.

And then, given Herodโ€™s curiosity about John, when the request came for Johnโ€™s head, โ€œHerod was deeply grieved.โ€

And thatโ€™s probably the most important moment in this story. Because at that moment like that, there are options. At a moment like that, there is potential. The message that John the Baptist had spoken had gotten in there. Even Herod knew there was something to it. Something he and others needed to hear. And there was something that he and others needed to do as a result of it.

โ€œHelp us O lord to know and understand the things we ought to do and give us the grace and power faithfully to accomplish them.โ€

The catch for Herod I think was that heโ€™d made the oath to his daughter in public at a banquet in front of โ€œhis courtiers and officers and the leaders of Galilee.โ€ And so, Herod couldnโ€™t quite go with his gut, as they say. He couldnโ€™t quite grasp or be grasped by the grace that would have saved the prophetโ€™s life. The grace that would have made this a different kind of story. And โ€œout of regard for his oath and for the guests,โ€ (meaning due to the pressure of the crowds – read Pontius Pilate later on,) Herod did not refuse the request.

Now luckily our choices are not generally whether to behead a prophet or not, but sometimes our choices are just as hard. And we grieve when weโ€™re faced with them. Itโ€™s why we need the prayer we heard this morning.

The prophet could โ€œdo no act of powerโ€ in that moment. But Herod could have, and there is something for us all to hear in that. The power to do hard but right is always present. And sometimes that power rests with prophets. Sometimes that power rests with Kings. Sometimes power rests with ordinary people. And often it rests among us all. And while it takes grace to accomplish what ought to be done, the good news is that there is enough grace available to do what ought to be done. Grace can as the hymn says, be amazing.

And sometimes this means changing course in front of courtiers, officers, leaders, or whomever it is whose opinions matter to us. I actually grieve for Herod in this story (which given other stories in the gospel one would think to be nearly impossible.) But I do. And I think I grieve for Heord because sometimes I grieve for myself and I grieve for this world. I think we know and understand more often than we give ourselves credit, โ€œthose things we ought to do.โ€ But even when we have the power to do what ought to be done, it can be so very hard to receive the grace we need to accomplish it. The good news is that such grace is available to us all.

And so maybe the opening collect is our greatest gift this morning. We donโ€™t have to avoid texts like this one. We donโ€™t have to schedule our vacations around the lectionary! We donโ€™t have to avoid these hard moments in our lives or in this world. And in sort of a beautiful way, I think this collect sort of captures the message that was John the Baptistโ€™s: Power has been given us all. Power to repent. Power to turn. Power to change. Power to heal. Power to stand up. Power to speak up. Power to listen. โ€œPrepare the way โ€“ in us and through us, O Lord!โ€

John knew that the grace we all need had come into this world. John knew he wasnโ€™t that grace. John knew that he himself couldnโ€™t contain it and that he himself would not be able to offer it in full. Grace had come in Christ and it was offered to everyone, even to people even like Herod. Even to people like us.

Mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, O God, that we may know and understand what things we ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them.

Amen

ย 

Shake It Off

The Rev. Jennifer Adams โ€“ July 8, 2018 โ€“ Proper 9, Year B: Mark 6:1-13

He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.ย On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, โ€œWhere did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!ย Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?โ€ And they took offense at him.ย Then Jesus said to them, โ€œProphets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.โ€ย And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.ย And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching.ย He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.ย He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;ย but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.ย He said to them, โ€œWherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.ย If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.โ€ย So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.ย They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.ย ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  (Mark 6:1-13)

For the past few weeks weโ€™ve been hearing from the gospel of Mark story after story of healing after healing. There was Peterโ€™s Mother-in-Law, the leper, various โ€œpeople with demons or diseases,โ€ and last week there were two biggies: a woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years was healed and the leader of the synagogue, whose name was Jairus, his daughter was not only healed but raised up after having died.

So, based on what weโ€™ve heard up to this point, Jesus had gotten in trouble along the way โ€“ because of whom he healed (often those who had been classified as โ€œuncleanโ€) and when he healed them (because sometimes he healed on the Sabbath). But even though he was being challenged by the Pharisees, Jesus was batting a thousand in terms of his rate of success; Jesus had healed everyone whom he had tried to heal. Heโ€™d even raised that little girl from the dead.

And then we get this story from chapter 6 where Mark tells us that Jesus โ€œcould do no deed of power there.โ€ โ€œExcept,โ€ Mark sneaks in, that โ€œhe laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.โ€ So, this wasnโ€™t a total strike out, but there were absolutely no home runs. In this passage there was no healing that was nearly as significant or unanimous an experience as it had been up to now. The only thing worth noting, for Mark anyway, was the hard truth that sometimes it just doesnโ€™t take. Sometimes the healing, or peace offered canโ€™t be received, doesnโ€™t take hold. Which also means because we have to flip this too, that sometimes we fail to receive the healing or peace or grace being offered us.

This is a hard one but welcome to gospel trying to make it in this world. Healings happen. Resurrection happens. And sometimes crowds experience something with the power to turn an entire community toward good news, profound hope and large scale transformation.

BUT – sometimes itโ€™s just a slog. Or worse, those sharing the good news are deemed, โ€œoffensive.โ€ And no deed of power can be done at that time. (Except for minor ones โ€“ so remember whateverโ€™s going on that itโ€™s always good to look for those.)

Now I struggle with this passage, but I also appreciate it quite deeply, because as hard as it is, it rings so very true. And I know that I live on both sides of this story. Sometimes the good news and grace we offer is refused. And sometimes we are the refusers. Sometimes โ€œdeeds of powerโ€ are just plain hard to come by.

And so what do we do with that?

Well, โ€œthere will be houses you enter,โ€ Jesus says, โ€œplaces you are where you will not be welcome, and they will refuse to hear you.โ€ Period. Apparently, we shouldnโ€™t spend a whole lot of time fighting that reality. There are places in which you will not be welcomed and in which you will not be heard.

But โ€œstay there until you leave,โ€ Jesus told them. Which is sort of an obvious statement but itโ€™s more than that. Jesus was saying, โ€œbe present there too.โ€ Note that he didnโ€™t say, โ€œThen beat them up.โ€ Or โ€œInvite your biggest friends into the house with you and let them have it.โ€ No. Nor did he say, โ€œWhen you arenโ€™t welcome become silent, or hide, or change the good news youโ€™ve been given to share.โ€

All he said was that those kinds of situations will happen, sometimes deeds of power wonโ€™t take place. But, โ€œStay present. Even then.โ€ Which would imply keep listening. Keep talking. Keep sharing meals. โ€œStay there, until you leave,โ€ Jesus told them. And when itโ€™s time, if the good news you have to offer isnโ€™t received, shake the dust off and move on. And go offer those gifts other places. End of passage.

Which means there are challenges to us:

First Challenge: Stay for a while even when you have not been welcomed or you believe that reconciliation will never bloom, or it looks to you like healing will forever be out of reach. Be present. Listen. Speak truth. Share meals. And see what happens. Because sometimes something does. Staying is challenge number one.

Then โ€œshake the dust off and move onโ€ when itโ€™s time. Which is challenge number two- because Iโ€™m a bad dust shaker offer. Maybe a few of you are too. Leaving can be hard. Stepping out of a situation in which healing needs to catch hold can be hard.

But what this gospel is saying is that sometimes healing canโ€™t happen in a place Iโ€™m in, because Iโ€™m not the one whoโ€™s going to bring it. I might even be getting in the way of it happening. Welcome to humility as the gospel tries to make it in this world.

You know those situations where as much as you, or we try to โ€œmake it happenโ€ it just doesnโ€™t? It doesnโ€™t mean healing wonโ€™t come. It just means that such peace still passes our understanding, sometimes it passes our capacities to make it happen, and sometimes we donโ€™t get to see it when healing when it finally does catch.

And then finally is challenge three: the challenge to receive peace and healing and resurrection when itโ€™s offered, whether it comes from a hometown boy or a stranger who has crossed lines to reach out to us or for us. We never know when, or from what direction, or through whom the good news of Christ will come to us and take better hold on this world.

On the Sabbath? Maybe. From a leader of the synagogue? Sure. Through a little girl given the power to stand up? Yup. Today? Tomorrow? Three weeks from now? From someone who has been hemorrhaging for years risks being healed? Or maybe from that person that reaches us the just after we shake the dust off and make ourselves open to something new.

The gospel is trying to make it in this world. And more than that, the darkness cannot ultimately overcome it. But there are days in which deeds of power are hard to come by. Just remember, dust can be shaken off and eventually, healing comes. Resurrection comes. Today or tomorrow or three weeks from now. Through us? Sometimes. Through others? Of course.

So wherever you are in this story, do the work of being present. Listen. Speak the truth in love. Share meals. Shake it off when you need to, and in all things, proclaim Godโ€™s love for all.

Amen.

Inspired by Grace Begins this Sunday!

Inspired by Grace: DRUM CIRCLE!
Sunday, July 15, 11:30-1:00, Grace Church Sanctuary

Everyone is welcome to join Jennifer Wolfe and Beth Trembley for a time of collaborative rhythm-making. Absolutely no drumming experience required! Drum circles help us listen more attentively to others. Playing hand drums engages us physically, mentally and spiritually. While drumming, we wordlessly communicate with one another and have fun creating something new that is bigger than all of us! We will bring drums to share, but feel free to bring any hand drums (preferable) or hand-held percussion instruments you have.

Inspired by Grace

From Mary Matrosic, Vestry Member

Mary Matrosic is the inspiration behind Inspired by Grace, a series of programs for our 150th anniversary that will enable Grace parishioners to share their passions and talents with our community, beginning on July 15.

When I started thinking back on the nearly 20 years Iโ€™ve been part of Grace, I thought about all the people Iโ€™ve met only to discover โ€“ either early on or years later โ€“ that they do something really cool or interesting on the side. The idea for Inspired by Grace came from that.

One of the first people I met here for whom this was true is Carol Rickey, who is an amazingly gifted water colorist. In fact, one of our favorite paintings that hangs in our house is a Carol Rickey watercolor. But you might not know that Carol has this talent until you know her awhile. She has so much to share.

And then I thought about other people โ€ฆ people like Prescott Slee, who is the one person I want to talk to before I host a large dinner. He knows more about the art and science of hospitality than anyone Iโ€™ve ever known.

Jay Bylsma is another example. Iโ€™ve known Jay for many years and heโ€™s always in the kitchen when thereโ€™s a big event at Grace. But I never knew he baked bread until I sat with him at the last annual meeting dinner and learned he baked the fantastic bread we were eating.

People do a lot of interesting things and most people are willing to share โ€“ would love to share โ€“ their knowledge and passions with other people. So whether we have a few people or a few dozen people attend our Inspired by Grace programs, I think itโ€™s a great way to share our gifts with one another.

I am a big believer that creativity and creative inspiration are something we are given as a gift from God. Itโ€™s in us waiting for a chance to be expressed. For some people, itโ€™s through hospitality, for some itโ€™s cooking, and for some itโ€™s being able to sit and listen to others or organize a project and solve problems in creative ways.

All of this is creativity and all of it inspired. And Grace feeds that part of us. Iโ€™m excited that Inspired by Grace is opportunity for us to share those gifts with each other even more than we do today.

I invite everyone to join us for our first Inspired By Grace program, a Drum Circle with Beth Trembley and Jennifer Wolfe on Sunday, July 15 at 11:30.

 

Little Girl, Get Up

The Rev. Jennifer Adams โ€“ July 1, 2018 โ€“ Proper 8, Year B: 2 Corinthians 8:7-14, Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.ย Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feetย and begged him repeatedly, โ€œMy little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.โ€

So, he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.ย Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.ย She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,ย for she said, โ€œIf I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.โ€ย Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.ย Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, โ€œWho touched my clothes?โ€ย And his disciples said to him, โ€œYou see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, โ€˜Who touched me?โ€™โ€ย He looked all around to see who had done it.ย But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.ย He said to her, โ€œDaughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.โ€

While he was still speaking, some people came from the leaderโ€™s house to say, โ€œYour daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?โ€ย But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, โ€œDo not fear, only believe.โ€ย He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.ย When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.ย When he had entered, he said to them, โ€œWhy do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.โ€ย And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the childโ€™s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.ย He took her by the hand and said to her, โ€œTalitha cum,โ€ which means, โ€œLittle girl, get up!โ€ย And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.ย He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:21-43)

In some ways, what we just heard were a couple of very powerful yet simple stories from the gospel of Mark. This is a passage thatโ€™s often split into two so that you hear either the story of the long-hemorrhaging woman who was healed by Jesus. Or you hear the story of the raising of Jairusโ€™ daughter. Both are extremely powerful examples of the healing that Jesus performed. And we need to hear that.

These are miracle stories โ€“ a person who had suffered for years and years and had gotten to the end of her rope in terms of treatment options, she was healed. And a little girl who was pronounced not only gravely ill, but by mid-story had actually died? She was raised with the kind yet powerful words of Christ, โ€œLittle girl, get up.โ€ In these stories we hear the power of Christ to heal against all expectations. The power of Christ to raise from the dead! And so, weโ€™re invited to lean into this, to share stories of healing among us, and to proclaim and give thanks for the power of Christ to heal.

Andโ€ฆ as is often the case with Mark, thereโ€™s also more going on here. Thereโ€™s more healing than we might catch at first glance, and I want us to see that too. And to do that, we need to allow these stories to stay as one. The hemorrhaging woman and Jairus and his daughter are deeply related; they are in some ways even dependent on one another โ€“ and thatโ€™s something we need to hear too.

This whole passage is a story about courageous people reaching out, crossing lines, and taking risks for the sake of the healing which Christ gave to them all. Before there was healing, there was courage. Before there was healing, there was a desire for wholeness. And before there was healing, there was the willingness to risk on behalf of another.

Jairus was a leader of the synagogue. Donโ€™t miss that. Jairusโ€™ position as leader of the synagogue is something mentioned by Mark three times in this passage, and so it matters. It matters because as weโ€™ve been hearing for the last several weeks, the Pharisees (religious leaders who worked very closely with the leaders of the synagogues) were out to trap Jesus by this point in the gospel. Jesus and the Pharisees were very publically and theologically duking it out.

And thatโ€™s because by chapter three (and here we are in chapter five) Jesus had broken with religious law several times; weโ€™ve been hearing these stories for the past several weeks. Jesus did it by healing on the Sabbath, touching the untouchables (lepers, bleeding women,) and by eating with outcasts and sinners. And so Jairus was risking a lot by reaching out to him. Jairus was breaking with his own ranks in significant ways and he did it in a rather exceptional fashion.

Jairus didnโ€™t just email Jesus, or send a note, or even go to Jesus by night. This was not โ€œa private conversation among leaders.โ€ When Jesus had gotten off the boat, Jairus was there in the crowd, surrounded by the crowd, many of whom were members of his own congregation, his own constituents and probably a Pharisee or two. And right out there in the light of day, Jairus โ€œfell at Jesusโ€™ feet,โ€ the gospel says, and Jairus begged him repeatedly to come help his daughter.

And Jairus would very likely have suffered consequences for his actions. But that didnโ€™t seem to matter as much as the healing did. And I think thatโ€™s an important point in this gospel. Here was a leader, who had a whole lot to lose and he very publically risked it all by placing the potential for healing over the priority of religious purity and personal position.

Note: it can be done.

Now odds are good, Jairus took those risks because it was his own daughter who was suffering. Itโ€™s what any parent would do, right? Of course and back to that in a few minutes.

On their way to Jairusโ€™ house another incredibly courageous person entered the scene. This person had no name. But she, reached out too. The woman who had been โ€œhemorrhaging for twelve yearsโ€Marks says, broke through the crowd, came up behind Jesus, and she touched him. Now itโ€™s important to note that this woman was,, by virtue of her hemorrhaging, ritually unclean and therefore had likely been permanently banished to the very margins of the community. She was an untouchable. And so, for her to even be present in a crowd, let alone in voice and touch was a huge risk too. She was on the completely other end from Jairus of just about every societal spectrum you could name โ€“ in terms of power, privilege, probably economic status and certainly acceptance in their community. This woman didnโ€™t even have a name.

But because they were both willing to take risks, healing came to more than each of them. And it took them both to pull this off. And I think thatโ€™s a part of the point here too. In her touch, this woman rendered Jesus unclean. But that didnโ€™t matter to Jesus who celebrated this womanโ€™s faith โ€“ by proclaiming it to the whole crowd! And it didnโ€™t matter to Jairus who by religious law, should have stopped Jesus from entering his home because of the womanโ€™s touch (and so many other things that Jesus had done to this point.) But none of that mattered. Because Jairusโ€™ child was hurting. And so Jairus invited this religious-law-breaking, unclean healer into his home. And Jesus went there. And in these simple words, โ€œLittle girl, get up,โ€ Jairusโ€™ daughter rose. And then as Jesus often did he said, โ€œNow get her something to eat.โ€

And so, what happened here was a miracle larger than two people being healed, although they were. What happened here was that an entire people watched a leader risk his position of power and break ranks to appeal passionately on behalf a child. And they watched a woman break through the crowd essentially risking her life because she believed that healing could happen. And they witnessed Jesus celebrate her courage and her faith.

And so, I want to say that this is what it takes. Healing writ large takes us all, those with power and privilege, those on the margins, and everyone in-between. The crowd (many of them the โ€œin-betweensโ€) could have stopped all of this, or at least tried to, but they didnโ€™t. Probably because on some level, their hearts wanted it too.

It takes all of us to desire a healing that is greater than any of us. It takes people of all kinds to reveal what healing can look like for humankind.

Like this gospel passage, we need to allow our stories to be one.

Yesterday hundreds of thousands of people across the country, and over a thousand here in Holland, came together to say, โ€œThere are children at our border who need healing. Desperately. And together, we can help that happen.โ€ Like Jairus, we proclaim that there is nothing to protect that is worth more than the safety, wholeness, and well-being of a child, let alone thousands of them. Many of these children at the border (and I realize there are exceptions and that the entire immigration process needs reform) but many of these kids came with parents who are the ones breaking through the crowds reaching out to a Body with the potential to heal. They are also Jairus, but with no power or privilege who are very simply seeking new life for their children.

We need to let their stories be our story. Yesterday people crossed well established lines of political party, denominations, and faiths to say that it is so. โ€œWho is my family?โ€ Jesus asked a few chapters back in this gospel. And he responded to his own questions through actions that reached out to those who were hurting: โ€œAll of you are my family,โ€ he said, โ€œAnd all of them are too.โ€ Sons and daughters, children of God, family of God one and all.

And so, we are Jairus. And we are the woman hemorrhaging. And in this story, we hear that healing is possible for us all. We also hear that it will in part be our desire, our faith, our hope that helps healing writ large come into being. May we have the courage of the people in this passage. May we continue together to seek a way in which we as a people can say to the children of this world, โ€œLittle girl, get up. Little boy, get up. Here is your family. Now letโ€™s all get something to eat.โ€

Amen.

In The Midst Of A Storm

The Rev. Jennifer Adams- July 1, 2018

Proper 7B: 1 Samuel 17:1-49, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, โ€œLet us go across to the other side.โ€ย And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.ย A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.ย But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, โ€œTeacher, do you not care that we are perishing?โ€ย He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, โ€œPeace! Be still!โ€ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.ย He said to them, โ€œWhy are you afraid? Have you still no faith?โ€ย And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, โ€œWho then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?โ€ (Mark 4:35-41)

What if all we heard in this gospel story was around the phrase, โ€œPeace, be still.โ€ I wonder if we can do that? โ€œThe wind ceased,โ€ the gospel said. โ€œAnd there was dead calm.โ€ Peace. Still. Calm. What if those were the words we took from this story? I wonder if we can do that? I hope that we want to do that.

Because we know the storm, right? We all do. Weโ€™re familiar whether we want to be or not with the kind of storms that take a hold of our worlds and frighten even the most skilled among us. We know of the โ€œgalesโ€ as one Biblical translation puts it, that scare us in the most familiar of settings when the boats weโ€™ve come to know get, in Markian terms, โ€œswamped.โ€ Weโ€™ve been there. Some of us are there.

Thatโ€™s what happened to these disciples. Remember that several of them were very skilled fishermen who had made their living on the water. They knew the sea well because theyโ€™d grown up on it and shaped their lives around it. The sea had also shaped them. These disciples could navigate their way through just about anything that could happen on the water and they very likely took some appropriate pride in those skills. โ€œWeathering itโ€ was not a new thing for these guys. They werenโ€™t naรฏve to the challenges of crossing over. But in this story, the disciples honestly thought they were perishing. Those were the words they spoke out loud. โ€œWe are perishing,โ€ they said. They were literally, in their own mind and hearts, life-threateningly swamped.

And we know the storm. We all know the storm, right? Thereโ€™s a pattern in this gospel that goes something like this:

Healing. Storm.

Feeding. Crossing over.

Wholeness. Storm.

Healing. Storm.

Continuedโ€ฆ

And itโ€™s true for us too no matter how hard we fight it. As one of my favorite authors explains on any given day in this place and in this world, there are some among us who are feasting; we have things to celebrate. There are some who are crossing over; weโ€™ve just gotten in the boat. There are some here and everywhere who are experiencing a healing; a form of new life has come! And there are others are watching the waves come over the edges; weโ€™re not sure whether or not weโ€™ll even make it to the other side.

But remember that no matter where you are in the gospel story, remember that Jesus was in the boat. He was healing those who needed healing, He was blessing and breaking the bread. And Christ was in the boat.

And in another of the โ€œstorm narrativesโ€ which weโ€™ll hear soon, Jesus walked across the water and got into the boat. Because in that story too, the very same, very skilled and experienced disciples were watching the waters pour over the edges and they were again frightened to their core! And in both stories, Jesus offered peace (which he did on land too.) And Jesus spoke to them of stillness. And a calm that passes all understanding took hold again.

Christ in the healings. Christ in the feasts. Christ in the storms that scare us.

In this gospel the storms are a given. They are a part of the pattern, part of the lives in which and through which the good news was and is told. And in those stories, the peace comes as grace. And then, in this gospel, over time, the peace becomes a given too. Which means that woven into every moment, woven into every fabric of the story that is ours, the peace is a given too.

And I want us to hear that today.

This new favorite author whom Iโ€™ve mentioned here and there, his name is Padraig Oโ€™Touma. Heโ€™s a poet and theologian whose home is Belfast. He teaches and speaks on religion, storytelling, and conflict resolution and is leader of the Corrymeela Community in Ireland, a center whose work is reconciliation and that offers, โ€œA Christian witness to peace in Northern Ireland.โ€ Oโ€™Touma lives in the midst of a very long, generationally long storm. And the struggle is still real. And in the midst of it all, he and so many are seeking peace.

One of Oโ€™Toumaโ€™s books is titled โ€œIn the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World.โ€ In this book he talks about one of these gospel storm narratives. And after exploring some of the many experiences and stories that come from his and othersโ€™ own crossings over, Oโ€™Touma says that all of this is โ€œas if to say, that only in the midst of a storm can we find a truth that will settle us.โ€ Only in the midst of a storm can we find a truth that will settle us.

Which is not to belittle the fear. Oโ€™Touma feels that fear and engages it, every day. Nor is it to ignore the pain and effects of the storm. He listens to those and witnesses those too, every day. Nor does it mean the work of the crossing is over is complete. He and we are mid-journey, always.

Itโ€™s all simply to say that peace is a given too. And in the midst of storms, we are offered peace in ways that surpass our understanding. Maybe because we least expect it there, this is peace that often comes as a surprise.

Peace comes from the stern just when our own frustration peaks. Or it comes walking across the waters towards us against all odds when it seems as if the darkness might have indeed won.

In the second letter to the Corinthians we heard from Paul that peace sometimes comes through our own actions, our own faithfully, stubbornly beautiful intentions. To a people and as a people experiencing persecution Paul wrote, โ€œwe have commended ourselves in every way: through [the great storms of] afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; we offer, patience, kindnessโ€ฆgenuine love,truthful speech,โ€ And he reminded them that within those gifts we offer there โ€œis the power of God.โ€ Sometimes, peace comes through us.

This gospel story and others tell us that peace comes among us even as the waters begin to fill the boat โ€“ whatever that boat happens to be. Whatever the waters happen to be. โ€œAs if to say that only in the midst of a storm can we find a truth that will settle us.โ€

Christ in the healings. Christ in the feasts. Christ in the storms that scare us.

โ€œPeace, be still,โ€ offers the holy and much needed voice. โ€œPeace be still,โ€ invites the presence. As we cross over in so many ways, may we let it, may we help it be so.

Amen.

 

Sesquicentennial Sunday

The Rev. Jennifer Adams โ€“ June 10, 2018 –ย Proper 5, Year B: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1,Mark 3:20-35

Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, โ€œHe has gone out of his mind.โ€ย And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, โ€œHe has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.โ€ย And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, โ€œHow can Satan cast out Satan?ย If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.ย And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.ย And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come.ย But no one can enter a strong manโ€™s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

โ€œTruly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter;ย but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sinโ€โ€”ย for they had said, โ€œHe has an unclean spirit.โ€

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him.ย A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, โ€œYour mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.โ€ย And he replied, โ€œWho are my mother and my brothers?โ€ย And looking at those who sat around him, he said, โ€œHere are my mother and my brothers!ย Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.โ€ (Mark 3:20-35)

Happy 150th Grace Church!

And there is so much to say about that!

So Iโ€™m very glad that we have a full year to say it all. You probably are too.ย  Someone suggested this week that I take a minute for every year of Grace in this morningโ€™s sermon. You can be relieved that Iโ€™m not going to take them up on that idea. After today we have 364 days left to explore the history and future of Grace and so thereโ€™s plenty of time to do that. Weโ€™ll publish a history of our church probably in several forms. Weโ€™ll have presentations and pictures to share from every generation of Grace as we go. Weโ€™ll look back on buildings and people and ministries. And weโ€™ll look forward too. All with deep and very genuine thanks.

Today we just need to get this party started. And so weโ€™ll celebrate Eucharist and then weโ€™ll unveil and dedicate the State of Michiganโ€™s newest historical marker which is under that big tarp in the front yard. After the dedication, weโ€™ll head downstairs for a barbeque feast and after that, come back up here at 1:00 for a recital led by jazz saxophonist, Jordan VanHemert, who happens among other things to be the grand-nephew of Vivian Cook. Viv died last year but has and perhaps will forever have the claim to fame of being the longest ever member of Grace Church. Viv lived her whole 94 years as a member of this parish. Many of the connections weโ€™ll make today and throughout this year have special meaning, something to tell us about being Grace. As you walk through the Commons of Grace today youโ€™ll see the beginning of a digital version of LEGO Grace. This will be built over the course of the summer by a team of Grace kids, led by big kid Graeme Richmond, helping us celebrate the shelter this place has provided for generations.

And so weโ€™re beginning this year-long celebration in fine Grace form. My work here and now in terms of the sermon is to focus in on the gospel with you, a communal act which has happened here at Grace since 1868. For almost eight thousand Sundays, the people of Grace Episcopal Church, Holland have gathered to hear, to reflect on, and to proclaim the good news of Christ.

Which can be a little challenging to do when you get texts like this one from the gospel of Mark. I realized several weeks ago that this was going to be the gospel on our Sesquicentennial Sunday and I became immediately jealous of the priest who preached on Graceโ€™s opening day. Given that those were pre-lectionary times, he probably made a slightly different choice than this passage from Mark chapter 3. Something nicer. Less challenging. Perhaps a little โ€œhappierโ€ in tone.

But the more time I spent with this passage the more I came to believe that it was in some ways the perfect passage for the Grace we are celebrating, and for the Grace we are always discerning how to be.

The first thing I want to say is that this is not a passage about Jesus being mean to his Mom, which is how itโ€™s often heard. And so together letโ€™s move beyond that interpretation and try to listen to what this passage is all about.

The crowds had gathered around Jesus โ€œagainโ€ the gospel says. Chapter one of Mark was filled with healings and teachings and lots of shared meals, but by the end of chapter two, the religious authorities had begun to take notice of all of that. The Pharisees began questioning Jesus because (side and important note โ€“ while Jesus was healing and teaching and feeding lots of people, he was also breaking with religious law.)

Last week we heard that Jesus was being challenged for healing on the Sabbath, touching the unclean, and eating with outcasts and sinners. He had three strikes on him by the end of chapter two. And so, by here in chapter three, the crowd was not only full of people seeking healing, there were also people shouting at Jesus, saying terrible things like, โ€œHe has gone out of his mind!โ€ and even worse, โ€œHeโ€™s full of Beelzebul, the devil – because he casts out demons!โ€

And we hear in this passage, that Jesusโ€™ family went out โ€œto restrain him,โ€ probably very simply because they cared about him. They didnโ€™t want him to get yelled at like that anymore.ย ย  While his family was coming for him, we Jesus said his first words to the crowd in response to their shouts. To โ€œHe has a demon because heโ€™s casting out demons,โ€ Jesus said, โ€œWait a minute! That doesnโ€™t make any sense. Satan wouldnโ€™t be casting out Satan, would he? If that were the case, our work here would be done. Weโ€™d simply let evil defeat itself. End of story.โ€

But apparently, it wasnโ€™t going to work that way, not enough of the time for what Jesus was out to accomplish, anyway. And so, Jesus went on to talk about the need for forgiveness in this whole work of creating a new heaven and a new earth. And then he took some hits for that too. But Jesus remained insistent. He responded to them that forgiveness was the work of the Holy Spirit, and to get in the way of that could be an eternal mistake.

And thatโ€™s when Jesus family called out even louder to him because they knew he was stepping on some very righteous toes, and that ultimately, they would strike out at him even more. And hereโ€™s where the story got so good. While his family was reaching out to him, Jesus did an amazing thing: He reached out to others.

Jesus asked the disciples, โ€œWho is my family?โ€ And then, instead of listing Mary and the others, Jesus said to the crowd, โ€œYou are my family. You are my mother and my brothers and my sisters too. You all are family to me.โ€

Which was sort of a first century mic drop. What does one say to that? It wasnโ€™t a slam on the ones to which he was known to be related. It was an expansion of what family means.

Donโ€™t worry about Mary here. If there is someone who can be celebrated for her wisdom and strength in this gospel, itโ€™s her. Mary knew better than anyone that this child of hers would do amazing and holy things. Remember the angel that came to her first. And there is nothing in this story that says Mary was hurt by Jesus words. She might have been nervous for him, but thatโ€™s a very different thing. Maryโ€™s role wasnโ€™t an easy one in the gospels, but she knew from the very beginning that loving Jesus meant letting him reach out and love beyond them all.

And it still means that today.

Here’sย our connection to Grace Church. Since the very beginning of this parish, Grace has been led by lay people first and eventually clergy (sometimes weโ€™re slower to catch on) Grace has been led by people who, embraced by Christ, insist on an ever-broadening understanding of what it means to be human and holy family. We use the language of โ€œfamilyโ€ often in this place and I think itโ€™s important that we do. Itโ€™s telling us something about ourselves and about how Christ is present among us here.

Grace Church came into being so that those who were on the margins of this Dutch speaking Reformed community could have a place to worship in their own language, English. A place to worship with sacraments and Episcopal liturgy to shape them, guide them, bring them into community with Christ and one another. Starting Grace Church was a gutsy move by a small group of people, many of whom probably had their own families trying to restrain them for safetyโ€™s sake.

But there was something of the Spirit happening then. And there is something of the Spirit happening here still, something breathed and breathes life into Grace as we become and re-become family of God, as we become and re-become church for the world.

One of the charisms of this congregation is that Grace is able to grow through phases like the one described in this gospel passage. Iโ€™d go so far as to say that Grace has allowed this passage to be part of what it means to be Church. This gospel passage speaks to moment in time where part of the Body reaches out, and insists on the brother and sisterhood expanding.

For Grace over the generations this has meant including English speakers and Episcopalians as members of the Body here in Holland. It meant including women who felt called to work outside of the home and so Grace birthed the Infant Care Center right here in this building. It meant embracing the ministries of women in the church through liturgical leadership and ordination – the first woman ordained priest in our Diocese came from Grace Holland. It has meant inviting hungry brothers and sisters here to receive food, refugee brothers and sisters here to live, and among other things it meant welcoming LGBT people into the church. And so, when no other possibility existed in this town, Grace opened these doors to PFLAG, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Grace opened these doors to parents and friends of people who needed parents and friends.

Because Grace Church knows that thatโ€™s all of us. Who are my mothers and brothers and fathers and sisters? All of you and more. How many times have we felt that in this place? I think that is the essence of this this gospel passage.

Imagine being one of those people in the crowd that day who had been labeled unclean and therefore untouchable by anyone else in the human family. Imagine being one of those people who had sought healing day after day after day and had heard from religious authorities that it was neither the time nor the place for that โ€“ โ€œjust wait,โ€ theyโ€™d heard over and over again. Imagine being one of the people in the crowd who were never allowed to share a ritual meal with anyone else. And were for the first time, invited to the table.

Imagine hearing for the first time from anyone, โ€œYou are my sisterโ€ฆ.you, Karen, Val, Lauren, Amber, you are my sister.โ€ โ€œYou, are my brotherโ€ฆ.you, Paul, Clay, Steve, Orion, you are my brother. All of you. We are family.โ€ โ€œNow be whole,โ€ Jesus says. And โ€œLetโ€™s eat!โ€ Thatโ€™s the voice and the kind of presence we are called to be.

Finally, in the Second Letter to Corinthians we heard today that โ€œGrace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.ย So, we do not lose heart.โ€ And today we say one great big โ€œAmen to that.โ€ย  We say thank you to all of those who have risked Grace in years past and we look to be those people today. May our gratitude as Grace Church increase and the glory we offer to God continue for another 150 years at least. May our hearts and minds and souls stay strong as we become and re-become Body of Christ, Grace Church for the world.

Amen.

The Mercy Challenge

The Rev. Jennifer Adams โ€“ June 3, 2018 โ€“ Proper 4, Year B: Mark 2:23-3:6

One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.ย The Pharisees said to him, โ€œLook, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?โ€ And he said to them, โ€œHave you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food?ย He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.โ€ย Then he said to them, โ€œThe sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath;ย so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.โ€

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.ย They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.ย And he said to the man who had the withered hand, โ€œCome forward.โ€ย Then he said to them, โ€œIs it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?โ€ But they were silent.ย He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, โ€œStretch out your hand.โ€ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.ย The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. (Mark 2:23 – 3:6)

Happy second Sunday after Pentecost, everyone! Which wouldnโ€™t be terribly exciting except that this is also the 51st Sunday of Grace Churchโ€™s 149th year. Which makes this the Sunday before we celebrate our Sesquicentennial. The Sunday before we begin celebrating our Sesquicentennial โ€“ and there will be more on that later. But I thought Iโ€™d squeeze it in here too just to make sure you are all very aware of celebrations to come.

That being said, itโ€™s the gospel that I want to spend time with this morning. We just heard from the end of the second chapter of Mark and the beginning of the third. And in this passage we heard that Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees who challenged him about his having healed on the Sabbath.

Now itโ€™s only chapter two, right? In the other gospels, Jesus is still getting born (Luke) or the wise men are arriving (Matthew). In the gospel of John Jesus is getting ready for his first miracle (the wedding at Cana.) Now granted, weโ€™ve noted before that Mark moves quickly, but by the end of this passage the religious leaders were already โ€œconspiring againstโ€ Jesus, the gospel says, to direct quote, โ€œdestroy him.โ€ Which makes whatโ€™s happening here something that Mark was trying to bring to the forefront of this gospel right from its early chapters.

And so, I looked back over the entirety of chapter one and the first part of chapter two and I found that by this very early point in the gospel of Mark, Jesus had already broken with religious law about 75 times (approximately. The story we heard today wasnโ€™t even Jesusโ€™ first healing on the Sabbath. It was just the first one that went public.

The first person Jesus healed, and for whom Jesus broke with religious law was Peterโ€™s Mother-in-Law way back in Chapter 1. Jesus and the disciples had visited her on the Sabbath and she was in bed with a fever. At that time, Jesus took her hand and he touched her (law break 1) and he healed her right then (which made for two strikes against him, because it was still the Sabbath.) Now there were other healings too in this first section of this gospel โ€“ after sundown on the day Peterโ€™s Mother-in-Law was healed, therefore waiting for the Sabbath to break, โ€œthe whole city was gathered at their doorโ€ the gospel says, โ€œand Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases and he also cast out many demons.โ€ Which was all within the law.

But then a few verses after that, Jesus touched a leper and healed him. And that touch in itself rendered Jesus unclean. He then forgave and healed a paralytic man, not on the Sabbath but the forgiveness of sins was labeled โ€œblasphemyโ€ by the scribes who were watching that day. And then just a few verses after that, still chapter one, Jesus was caught eating with sinners and tax collectors. Which made for strikes 5 – 75. Approximately.

And so enter the Pharisees before Mark even got through chapter two. By this point in the gospel, Jesus had broken religious law several times. He was on a very regular basis apparently healing on the Sabbath. Forgiving sins. Touching the unclean. And eating with sinners.

And in this particular passage, the one we heard this morning, we hear of the first conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees asked him, โ€œLook, why are they doing this on the Sabbath?โ€ โ€œThisโ€ referring to plucking grain and feeding those among them who were hungry, but also referring undoubtedly to all that happened thus far. And itโ€™s not a terrible question actually, depending on how you hear it.

And I sort of love Jesusโ€™ initial response: โ€œDavid did it, first!โ€ he said. โ€œHave you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food?ย He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.โ€ Which makes me smile. Itโ€™s like siblings who get caught in the act of something and are quick to point a finger in the other direction to show that someone else did it before they did. This is Jesus saying that even David broke with religious tradition and law to feed his companions.

Itโ€™s not a bad strategy, and itโ€™s one thatโ€™s potentially eye opening, but then Jesus took it a step further and he began his very public ministry of challenging and rearranging the priorities of the faithful: โ€œThe sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath,โ€ he told them. And then (still Sabbath,) he healed the man with the withered hand right in front of their eyes. He invited the man forward, asked the Pharisees a question, and during their silence, healed the man.

Which meant, โ€œGame on!โ€ in a gospel sort of way. โ€œGospel on,โ€ one might say. Markโ€™s Jesus was off and rolling from this point forward. What happened in this passage was huge because it was the beginning of the open controversy that would lead to Jesusโ€™ death. It was Jesus responding to the Phariseeโ€™s questions about what faithfulness looked like. And Jesus responded to those questions with very public healings, meals, and mercies all of which were pouring into this world through him and those who followed.

There is a reminder in here to we who are the faithful now, or some of the really-trying-hard-to-be-faithful, that this faith thing is in some ways a very living thing. We need to know and maintain our own religious laws and traditions. We have them. They guide us. They form us. In fact, it is religious laws and traditions that re-flock us every Sunday. They remind us who we are and can shape us up when we need shaping up.

But every now and then a person, or a moment, or a people, or a need will come our way and they will call us to heal, or feed, or offer mercy, or love in ways and directions we never have before. It, or he, or she, or they will challenge our law or our tradition. And in those moments we like Jesus and David before him just might be called to rearrange or to re-think in order to allow Christโ€™s healing, feeding, and mercy to flow through us. And for us to receive those things too. For this world to receive those things anew.

It always amazes me when I hear negative reactions to mercy being offered. As if mercy to one is a threat to another. Mercy doesnโ€™t work that way. But sometimes I hear that kind of thinking come out of myself too. And I guess Iโ€™m surprised that I can still be surprised by that. But I hear this resistance to mercy all the time. And I hear it from those who identify as โ€œfaithful,โ€ more than I hear it from others.

Now I appreciate when what we share with each other in such moments are questions like we heard in todayโ€™s gospel, โ€œWhy are you doing that?โ€ or โ€œJust how does that fit into the framework we call faith?โ€ Those questions can lead us into mutual growth and understanding. But too often in our world today acts of mercy lead to plottings against in order as the gospel put it โ€œto destroy.โ€

And I see that unfortunately human pattern as core to the message of this gospel or it wouldnโ€™t have taken such a prominent place so early and so often for Mark. The gospel tells us that when there is a hard choice to be made, and there are always hard choices to be made, we need to lean hard in the direction of mercy. Always in the direction of mercy.

In this gospel, Jesus was challenging the faithfulโ€™s inability or reluctance to show mercy. They were using โ€œthe day,โ€ or โ€œthe time,โ€ or โ€œthe cleanliness/purityโ€ of the other as an excuse, essentially a reason to not offer healing touch, or presence, or food, or community, or forgiveness, or even love. But in this passage and throughout this entire gospel, Jesus gave permission to offer those gifts broadly. His message was that mercy must ultimately be that which shapes and guides us. It is possibly the only thing which will ultimately re-flock us and shape us up in ways we need to be reshaped.

And so as we bring 150 years of Grace to a close and we begin another phase of life in this church, perhaps the most important work we can do is to look for where mercy is needed and respond. We need to look to those places in ourselves, our community, this world. And sometimes that work will be easy, no challenges offered; the meals shared, the forgivenesses granted, the healing revealed will all fall into categories or ways in which we and others expect it to. It will be done in ways in which we have seen it happen before. But sometimes, God will be doing something new in and through us.

And offering mercy will take some guts.

But Grace has guts.

Which is not what weโ€™re putting on the Sesquicentennial t-shirts, I promise. But it could be. Episcopalians wouldnโ€™t be here in Holland, Michigan if a feisty bit of faithful courage werenโ€™t in the DNA of this place. We are also those to whom a tremendous amount of mercy has been shown and among whom and through whom a great deal of mercy has been shared. And maybe thanksgiving for that charism will find its way into various of our celebrations.

Today and every day, moving forward always as Grace, may we be healed, forgiven and fed in ways that open us up to share those gifts with our neighbor, to share those gifts with Godโ€™s world. And may we be receptive to the ways in which God is stretching us into new ways of being faithful today, trusting that even when those ways come as challenge to some, the Lord of the Sabbath is working to make all things new.

 

Amen.

Born Again Into Mystery

The Rev. Jennifer Adams โ€“ May 27, 2018 โ€“ Trinity Sunday: John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.ย He came to Jesus by night and said to him, โ€œRabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.โ€ย Jesus answered him, โ€œVery truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.โ€ย Nicodemus said to him, โ€œHow can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the motherโ€™s womb and be born?โ€ย Jesus answered, โ€œVery truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.ย What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.ย Do not be astonished that I said to you, โ€˜You must be born from above.โ€™ย The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.โ€ย Nicodemus said to him, โ€œHow can these things be?โ€Jesus answered him, โ€œAre you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?ย โ€œVery truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.ย If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?ย No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.ย And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,ย that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.ย โ€œFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.ย โ€œIndeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:1-17)ย 

Before I dive into the Trinityโ€ฆ.and thatโ€™s sort of how I imagine the Trinity, as something into which we dive, in whose heart and arms we live. Trinity as Father, Son, Holy Spirit; Mother Child, Sophia; Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier. Before we go there, I want first to say that itโ€™s good to be here. And I want us to catch up a little bit. Iโ€™ve been away for two weeks in South Africa, and in some ways it felt like a very long time.

A brief run through what we did those weeks, because youโ€™ve been asking, and because I want you to know. I was on a tour with the Hope College Chapel Choir. Beth taught a senior seminar that was a part of the trip, David Cunningham taught a class in theology, Jen Wolfe accompanied as she does in remarkable ways and Brad Richmond directed and led the group. And they all let me and Marlies tag along.

On this tour, we visited Johannesburg, Durbin, Port Elizabeth, the western coast, and the outskirts of Cape Town. We were in Anglican churches, a Catholic church, and an African Methodist Episcopal Church in the heart of Soweto which alone preached many sermons and gave us many gifts. We visited two schools, a national park, a wild life refuge, an amazing community outreach and social justice Center. We spent time at the the Apartheid museum and in townships of Johannesburg. We listened to real people talk about the history, the struggle, the dreams, the discrepancies and divisions, and the still profoundly beautiful vision that exists among the peoples of that country.

And in these settings we shared music, and stories, and the amazing beauty of Godโ€™s creation โ€“coast, and sky, mountains, sea, elephants, giraffes, hippos. There were co-existing diversities of many kinds. I will forever have the soundtrack of this tour in my heart. The music of the Chapel Choir and the music and dance of the many congregations and groups with whom these students sang are with me, in me. The trip was very, very good. It was also very hard in important ways.

This trip took us completely away. And it was also revelatory of things we need to see more clearly here. Because thatโ€™s how these kinds of experiences work. Youโ€™ll hear more, donโ€™t worry. Or do worry. You can decide which.

In other news these past couple of weeks, to touch on things that we all felt, there was another mass shooting in our country. Our hearts broke again as we witnessed young people fearing for their lives in a setting in which they should at the very least be physically safe. Through them we again felt the pain of a very broken humanity.

And on a completely other note, our hearts were opened as Prince Harry and Meghan Markel were married in a ceremony that bridged worlds that need bridging, and that offered an image of a diverse and royally-lively people at prayer. Apparently โ€œroyally livelyโ€ can happen! Our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry took to the pulpit in that service and he proclaimed a rousing message of the power of Love, the power of God. It was and is a much needed message. And it was heard and is still being heard around the world.

And here among the people of Grace, in not exactly world-changing but definitely celebration-worthy news, our parking lot was finally completed! This years-long project is finished. There will of course be some fine-tuning with landscaping and lighting, but the final layer was poured and we are good to go! Thank you to everyone who has helped that project happen.

Also, Marketplaatz 2018 is now history. The friers, Dutch costumes, olliebolen buckets have been put into storage for another year. Thank you to leaders and to all of Grace for pulling off that youth ministry fundraiser once again.

Over the past two weeks, the planning continued for Graceโ€™s Sesquicentennial celebration which begins on June 10th. Several of you participated in the local Summit on Race and Inclusion, helping us tend to the gaps and inequalities that exist among us here in this community. Over the past two weeks a few of you graduated, and others are a mere few days away from graduating.

And pastorally, among other things a few of you lost a friend, a student in Zeeland, and Brian Paffโ€™s mother died suddenly just two days ago. And so we continue to keep these families in our prayers as we reach out with our own love and support to this little corner of Godโ€™s world.

Over the past two weeks vergers have been studying, Altar Guild has been setting, Stephen Ministers have been companioning, buildings and grounds people have been buildings and groundings. And in the midst of all of that, summer came. After a Spring of about three days. And so we welcome warm. Which is very soon to be hot.

Over the past two weeks many various phases of life and new life have continued, some ended and others begun.

And hereโ€™s how God has been these past two weeks: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Mother, Child, Sophia. Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier. For more than two weeks, actually. And tomorrow too.

And no matter which two weeks we chose to review, God would have the very same answer to โ€œSo, whatโ€™s been going on with you?โ€ โ€œWell, Iโ€™ve been creating, redeeming, and sanctifying, thank you very much,โ€ replies God. โ€œSo listen to me prophets. Speak out! Listen to me leaders, proclaim! Work with me people. Iโ€™m with you and beyond you too.โ€

Now I canโ€™t explain the Trinity to you given the mystery at its heart. But I will say (as if itโ€™s mine to say,) that the Council of Nicea did a pretty good job in the year 325, considering the challenge they faced. They had to find words that their people could hear, words that would lead to deeper understanding, words that could help unite Christians in some very basic and fundamental proclamation of the holy One. A holy One who was, due to the breadth and depth of almighty beauty, hard to proclaim.

And so the bishops at that Council looked to Scripture and they looked to their own contemporary philosophy and theology, they looked to their traditions and their own experiences, beliefs, and hopes in order to put words on the divine.

And that work that was not without division, there were bitter battles fought of this language. But in all of that, they managed to come up with the Nicene Creed which Christians around the world proclaim to this day. Now I donโ€™t think they perfected this description, this proclamation of God, because such a proclamation, is by itโ€™s very nature, unperfectable. Thereโ€™s too much God for our words. Too much God for any one group of peopleโ€™s experiences to capture.ย ย  This God goes beyond human understanding no matter how much creativity, or brains, or ecclesial authority any one group of humans has been given. And so I donโ€™t think that Council captured God, nor do I believe they gave this world the only faithful description that exists of the divine.

But over the past two weeks I heard this Creed sung and I heard it prayed in several languages. I heard it sung and I heard it prayed by people of many colors, and ages, and backgrounds, all of whom are still dreaming and who as they do that are being embraced by this God. And so Iโ€™m profoundly grateful and respectful that this concept and presence of Trinity is here for us to explore and to be held by.

And it is this Trinitarian proclamation that we celebrate today as we hold the joys and pains of our own lives, the joys and pains of this world in our hearts and minds and souls. Today we proclaim together that in the midst of it all, God is creating, redeeming and sanctifying before us, among us, beyond us. As we experience heart breaks and hearts opening, as we work toward visions as practical as more parking, as redemptive as racial and other forms of reconciliation, and as spirit-filled as 150 years and more of Grace, we offer our thanks and our praise to something, to some holy One greater than ourselves.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mother, Child, Sophia. Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier. In whom with Nicodemus, about whom we just heard from the gospel of John, we are born and reborn over and over again. It is with the Bishops of Nicea, the people of Texas, and Sowetoโ€ฆit is with our at-home-neighbors-right here in Holland, Michigan that we celebrate the power of Godโ€™s mysterious, wide embrace.

Amen

From “The Distance”

The Rev. Jennifer Adams –ย May 6, 2018 – Easter 6, Year B: Acts 10:44-48, John 15:9-17

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.ย The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,ย for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said,ย โ€œCan anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?โ€ย So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days. (Acts 10:44-48)

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.ย If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Fatherโ€™s commandments and abide in his love.ย I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.ย โ€œThis is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.ย No one has greater love than this, to lay down oneโ€™s life for oneโ€™s friends.ย You are my friends if you do what I command you.ย I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.ย You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.ย I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. (John 15:9-17)

This morning weโ€™re heading toward the end of the Easter season which will culminate two Sundays from now on the Day of Pentecost, when we celebrate the coming of the Spirit. And between now and then on the liturgical calendar will be the Ascension when Christians commemorate Jesusโ€™ ascending to be with God. This means that thus far this year, just to bring everyone up to speed, weโ€™ve celebrated Jesusโ€™ birth, his baptism, and his calling of the disciples. Weโ€™ve heard about his ministry, his final days and his death. Weโ€™ve proclaimed Jesusโ€™ rising and heard about his many resurrection appearances.

And so now the church is preparing for Jesus ascent โ€“ he will be โ€œcarried up on a cloudโ€ according to the book of Acts, and then the Holy Spirit will come down upon the disciples and as tradition puts it, the Spirit will serve as advocate and it will โ€œbirth the church.โ€ And this is the Sunday just before all of that begins to take place. So what we hear today are some of the passages that the church uses to describe Jesusโ€™ most important โ€œfinalโ€ words to his disciples. This was Jesus teaching them how to carry on without him present in the same ways in which heโ€™d been thus far.

Itโ€™s sort of like a moment when youโ€™re preparing to leave your kids at school for the first time or whatever those moments happen to be when youโ€™re about to have a little more distance than either of you is used to. And you want to communicate to them the essence of what youโ€™ve been trying to teach them their whole lives, because they need to be reminded of how to carry on in this world. And maybe you need to be reminded too.

And so you tell them that you love them, a more profound love than you even thought yourself capable and you pray in that moment that they have been shaped by that love to the point of being able to receive it and offer it too. Even without you there. And then you say a little something about staying safe, because you both know that this world can be a scary place. And then in some way, you wish them joy, because of all things, itโ€™s what you want for them. More than happiness, and beyond โ€œhaving fun,โ€ you wish them joy.

And all of those things are what Jesus spoke of here as he prepared to leave his disciples. To carry on, they needed and we need above all things to have and to know love. Jesus at this point was hoping and praying that his having fed them, cared for them, taught them, died and risen for themโ€ฆthat all of that had shown the disciples a way of being in this world that would allow them to abide in Godโ€™s love, to live and dwell and grow in it.

And to really get that point across, Jesus spoke to them of being friends. He didnโ€™t speak about being king or as a ruler of any kind. In fact he specifically spoke against it: โ€œI do not call you servants any longer,โ€ he told them, โ€œbecause the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends,โ€ Jesus said.ย ย  Remember that last week he introduced the concept of โ€œabiding inโ€ by using the image of the vine and the branches. This week he takes it one step further and defines the relationships we share with him and one another using the very holy and human language of โ€œfriend.โ€

Which is quite beautiful, really. In friendship there is comfort, there is strength, there is safety, there is very genuine knowledge of one another, and there is healing when needed. Friendship embodies the invitation to abide โ€œinโ€ and โ€œwithโ€.

There is a Celtic term which the spiritual writier and priest, John Oโ€™Donahue, resurfaced several years ago called โ€œanam karaโ€ which means โ€œsoul friend.โ€ Itโ€™s a term thatโ€™s traceable back through monastic traditions all the way to the early desert fathers and mothers of our faith. One described anam kara like this: “This capacity for friendship and ability to read other people’s hearts became the basis of the desert elders’ effectiveness as spiritual guides.โ€

And so very early in our faith tradition, the capacity for friendship was identified as one of the most important qualities of maintaining a healthy and strong spirit, a healthy and strong faith. And it was named by Jesus as the relationship that bound him to his disciples and his disciples to one another. Friendship was the way he taught them how to โ€œcarry onโ€ in this world in love.

Oโ€™Donahue describes friendship this way: โ€œYour beloved and your friends were once strangers. Somehow at a particular time, they came from the distance toward your life.โ€ I love that. They came โ€œfrom the distance toward your life.โ€ โ€œTheir arrival seemed so accidental and contingent. Now your life is unimaginable without themโ€ฆYour noble friend,โ€ he says, โ€œwill not accept pretension but will gently and very firmly confront you with your own blindness. Such friendship is creative and critical; it is willing to negotiate awkward and uneven territories of contradiction and woundednessโ€ฆIn the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. [There are friends.] โ€œThe more love you give away,โ€ he says, โ€œthe more love you will have.โ€

And so our carrying on as disciples was been given quite a beautiful and holy framework as Jesus prepared to ascend. We are now called friends of Christ and one another. And so we have a descriptor thatโ€™s a little more complimentary than โ€œsheep who follow,โ€ a little more demanding of us too. I said last week that Iโ€™m not sure that sheep work very hard at defining how to be community. In order to be friends, however, we have work to do. The language is also slightly more embracing than โ€œbranches on the vineโ€ although it is certainly related to the fruit weโ€™re called to produce in this world. People are hungry for relationships fueled by love. We have been told by Jesus (that message he whispers in our ear before he ascends) that we will survive and thrive in this world through holy and gracious friendship.

Which means that โ€œfriendshipโ€ is among the most important things we โ€œdoโ€ as church.

We need to develop the capacity โ€œto read each otherโ€™s hearts,โ€ which begins with listening, deep and honest listening. And we need to receive strangers who come โ€œat a distance toward our lives.โ€ In the book of Acts notice that the Spirit fell on the people โ€œover thereโ€ and completely โ€œastoundedโ€ Peter and the others. Because they didnโ€™t expect to be friends with โ€œthem.โ€ They didnโ€™t expect to be called into relationship with them. But they were. Thatโ€™s how the Spirit works in all of this, stretching the ways in which we define โ€œus,โ€ calling us to make friends with those we could not imagine was even possible. And holding us together when we try.

In all of these relationships through which we anam kara each other Jesus said, there will be joy. โ€œI have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.โ€

And I actually think that might be all there is to it. We make โ€œcarrying on in this worldโ€ so very difficult. Granted this world is a messy and complicated place, but maybe our role in it, our way in it doesnโ€™t need to be.

Today we hear Jesus who had just a very few moments left with his disciples speak to them not of doctrine, or even right belief. With just a few moments left he spoke to them of one commandment, and it was the one that called them and calls us to love. And he spoke of friendship.

As we hear of the life and death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. As we watch him ascend and prepare for the coming of the Spirit, may our love for one another grow as we learn even more fully how to friend each other, as we learn the workings of our hearts and receive those who come to us โ€œfrom a distanceโ€. โ€œThe more love you give away, the more love you have,โ€ Oโ€™Donahue wrote. May it be so.

Amen.