Ordinary resurrections

It’s the title of a favorite book by Jonathan Kozol, describing the lives of children living in one of the poorest parts of New York City. It could have been a depressing story. But in fact, it’s a hopeful witness to the ways that new life and possibility can emerge from apparently hopeless situations. Kozol spent a lot of time studying not only the community but especially the ministry of St. Ann’s Church in the South Bronx. This church has taken the call to pastor the community seriously. Through its work and witness, it has provided promise for many children for decades. Resurrections continue to happen, Kozol claims.

This morning, we move into the Easter season. Easter is more than just a day, which in no way diminishes the glory of yesterday when we welcomed the happy morning in celebration of the first Easter when Jesus was resurrected. It is a day when we claim history pivoted. But it’s more than history. Our tradition affirms that the first resurrection unleashes power for more resurrections, even ordinary resurrections to happen. So we observe Easter not only with a season of 50 days, but in all seasons. Every time we gather for eucharist on Sunday is a little Easter, maybe an ordinary resurrection.

St. Paul spoke about the ongoing power of resurrection when he wrote a letter to a complicated church (aren’t they all?) in the city of Corinth. He wrote to folks who were often in conflict with each other. He called them to live in a new way, to celebrate the variety of gifts they had, to treat each other with honor and love. He said that this call to a renewed common life had something, no everything to do with the resurrection. He spoke of the fact that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, we are of all people the most to be pitied.

The letter to the Colossians, attributed to St. Paul puts it this way: If you have been raised with Christ, seek those things that are above, where Christ is. In other words, the resurrection changes the way we live now. Easter invites us to think about how resurrections might continue to happen among us.

So use this beginning of the Easter season to look for ordinary resurrections. Where might you see them? They can come in great variety. A new start on a relationship, forgiveness paving the way. A faithful response to an inexplicably tragic loss, a response marked by courage. A brave journey of recovery from the grip of an illness or accident. A new attitude toward a vocation which feels like a dead end, maybe an attitude fueled by gratitude. Churches in the area where I live working together to build a Habitat house, a project which offers the prospect of resurrection for a family. A group of people, even a nation, struggling for justice and peace.

What examples come to your mind?

Resurrection literally means to stand again. We all know something about being knocked down. By God’s grace, through the power that brought Jesus back to life, we believe that dead ends can be turned into thresholds. We can stand again. Even in the ordinariness of our lives we can experience resurrection. It’s enough to make you say “Alleluia.”

-Jay Sidebotham

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime. 

-Martin Luther

Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, “Christ is risen,” but “I shall rise.”

-Phillips Brooks

Now let the heavens be joyful, Let earth her song begin: Let the round world keep triumph, And all that is therein; Invisible and visible, Their notes let all things blend, For Christ the Lord is risen Our joy that hath no end.

-Saint John of Damascus

Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org

If you’d like to join in this donor-based ministry, donate here.

This particular church cartoonist has only a few tricks up his sleeves. One of the standard scenarios: eavesdropping as people greet the preacher at the end of the service. Sometimes the cartoon fits the theme, “What they say and what they mean”. For example, the parishioner says to the pastor: “Interesting sermon”, which really means, “Where did you come up with that screwball interpretation?” (expletives deleted). Or, “Now that was a good sermon.” which means that the rest of them were dogs. I don’t have to make this stuff up. One Sunday, I preached on a challenging text. A visiting seminarian at the door greeted me with this sermon review: “Nice try.” That was only a decade ago. I’ve worked through it. I really have.

All of which is a rambling introduction to the topic of worship. On this Monday morning of Holy Week, I’d like to invite you to think about how you will approach the worship of this week. In recent years, and in the work I’ve been called to do with congregations, I’ve been led to consider the ways we envision our role in worship.

For much of my ordained ministry, wittingly or unwittingly, I’ve often operated on the premise that a worship service is a drama intended for the approval of the person in the pew. I’ve worked to make the music engaging, the liturgy just the right length, providing occasional yet tasteful tugs on the heart (nothing too manipulative), the sermon wise and witty. I can tell how I’ve done by comments at the door, and by other measures like attendance and pledging units. In this vision, a church service is like other gatherings: a concert, lecture, play, movie, each subject to review, each a consumer product intended for satisfaction of the audience, a group which can often be critical, as in, “Nice try.” I’ve worked through that. (I really have.)

But when I heard a quote attributed to Soren Kierkegaard, I was opened to a shift in thinking. To paraphrase, Kierkegaard said that the liturgy is indeed a drama, with the clergy, musicians and other liturgical leaders as prompters, the congregation as actors. God is the audience. It’s not a perfect metaphor, because it makes the Holy Spirit somewhat passive in the process, but it made this helpful shift for me.

It made me think more about the encounter with the divine. It made me think less about that ego-driven desire for approval (a clergy temptation, and often a downfall). It made me realize that whether I’m leading worship or sitting in the pew, we are all in this together as we make our offering to God: offering our thanks, offering ourselves with our need for forgiveness, offering our praises without restraint, offering service with time, talent and treasure.

Remembering, of course, that all of it comes as response to grace.

This Holy Week provides many opportunities to worship the God known to us in Jesus, who stretches loving arms on the cross to draw us into his saving embrace. If and when you find yourself in a church service this week, try Kierkegaard’s quote on for size. See if it makes any shift in your experience, as you consider the amazing grace that we can with intention enter into the divine presence, along with others seeking to do the same. Use the Holy Week prayers below if that’s a help.

And church isn’t the only place that worship can happen. Our offering to God can be made any day and all day long, with our lips and with our lives. For me, it often comes early when I’m able to see over the dunes to the sun cracking the horizon of a deep ocean that never looks the same two days in a row, whose surface suggests hidden depths of movement and vitality that intimate the mystery of the Holy One. All of that often causes me to say out loud “Thank you.” That is an offering of worship.

-Jay Sidebotham

Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered into glory before he was crucified, mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org

If you’d like to join in this donor-based ministry, donate here.

Everybody can be great.

Because anybody can serve.

Early in my ministry, a mentor told me that the preacher should have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. That’s true not only for people who climb pulpit stairs. We are each and all called to figure out the intersection of our faith and the world in which we live.

Sometimes that’s harder to do than others. In this season of distinctively dispiriting (even frightening) political discourse, the news has us thinking about the subject of greatness, a debate waged by candidates in both parties.

Does the Bible have anything to say on the topic. How do we as people of faith think about greatness?

This week, the daily lectionary invites us to read Mark 10, which takes us back a couple millennia to join the disciples on the way to Jerusalem, prior to the first Holy Week. I’m guessing they didn’t realize what was coming. It seems like they imagined they were marching in with a winning political candidate. Since they had been with Jesus from the beginning, they would be rewarded with places of honor, influence, prominence. They would be winners.

As they travel, the disciples discuss which one of them was the greatest, which one of them was the most valuable to Jesus. Maybe they thought Jesus was lucky to have them on the team. Who would get the corner office? Who would be chief of staff? I can imagine them sporting the bumper sticker I received a number of years ago. It read: Jesus loves you but I’m his favorite.

James and John sent their (stage) mother in to talk with Jesus and guarantee a prime place. The other disciples get wind of the power play. They’re not happy about it. Jesus, in turn, gets wind of it. He gave them all a lesson in the character of greatness. He said: Whoever would be great among you must be a servant.

One of the implications of this instruction to disciples was the idea that everyone can be great because everyone can serve. I believe that teaching inspired Martin Luther King when he spoke to a group of students. (A portion of that talk is found below.)

Travel this week alongside those disciples, as you get ready for Holy Week. As the newspaper offers one take on what greatness is all about, read Mark 10 and then consider what the Bible reveals about greatness in the passion narrative. A king enters Jerusalem riding a donkey, a symbol of humility. The teacher gets up from the table and washes the feet of disciples, a menial task. The Lord of creation stretches arms of love on the hard wood of the cross to draw us into saving embrace. It’s all about service. Saving service.

A church I know posted this sign over the door, for people to see as the liturgy concluded. It read: The worship is over. The service begins. If we see ourselves as part of the Jesus movement, we’re called to learn from the one who said that he came not to be served but to serve, indeed to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). We are called to be like him. We are called to orient our lives towards service.

So start this morning. Pause for a prayer, inviting God to show opportunity to be of service. The opportunities abound. In the mean-spirited season in which we apparently live, the grace of service is in high demand. When we put that grace to work, it will be great.

-Jay Sidebotham

Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

 Martin Luther King, Jr.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Mahatma Gandhi

Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org

If you’d like to join in this donor-based ministry, donate here.

There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”)
-Acts 4

He was named Joseph. When the people in his church saw the way he lived, they changed his name. They started to call him Barnabas, which means “Son of encouragement.” There’s not a lot of detail about what prompted the change, but it’s always filled me with admiration for the guy because I don’t know anyone who doesn’t need encouragement.

We read about Joseph/Barnabas, in the New Testament, in the Acts of the Apostles. If biblical casting awards were given, he’d be a supporting actor at best. Maybe a cameo role. His fifteen minutes of fame have to do with the ministry he shared with St. Paul. He introduced Paul to Christian communities suspicious of the recent convert. Together, Paul and Barnabas traveled from town to town, establishing new congregations. We read about their successes. We don’t read much about the failures, but I’m guessing that their holy sales job would call for lots of encouragement. Truth be told, I don’t think Paul was particularly easy to get along with. Paul and Barnabas ultimately parted ways over a disagreement. (Can you imagine such a thing happening in the church?) We don’t hear much more about Barnabas.

Barnabas came to mind because the word “encouragement” has come up in several different contexts lately, a sign to me from the Spirit that I should pay attention. It has at its core the word “courage”. Our work with congregations is focused on spiritual growth understood as a deepening love of God and neighbor. In other words, spiritual growth is a matter of the heart. And the word “courage” is also really about heart. (Note that the French word for heart is coeur.) To encourage, to be encouraged, is a matter of spiritual growth. It is a matter of the heart. While news headlines and poll results can be disheartening, I am encouraged by what I see as I move around the church.

I just came back from 3 days with 75 teenagers, a retreat/event/happening having to do with growth in love of God and neighbor. I guess I was a leader, but I really was a learner from these young people who led the weekend, and showed great courage, showed great heart. They encouraged each other, and they encouraged me. I came away encouraged about the future of our church. It was beautiful. Inspiring. So I’m wondering in my slightly sleep deprived state: How can we all participate in the process of encouragement?

In this season of Lent, marked by a call to self-examination, take this Monday morning to think about encouragement. Give thanks for those who have encouraged you in your journey. Maybe as a Lenten discipline, let those folks know that they have in some way widened your heart and helped you grow.

Think about who you might encourage in the spiritual journey. Maybe there is someone who comes immediately to mind. Maybe not. If the latter is the case, ask God to cause someone to cross your path, someone who could use encouragement. They are all over the place. It may be that our eyes need to be opened to that opportunity.

And as the week begins in this season of repentance, think about a time when have you been discouraged. What caused that to happen? How were you lifted out of that? Did you ever have a discouraging influence on someone? Newsflash: It’s a clergy pitfall. I occasionally run across a prayer in the Psalms that offers this chilling plea: “Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me.” As I consider the number of people I meet who have been wounded by organized religion, I fear for my own participation in hampering the spiritual growth of others. I want to repent of the ways I have missed the opportunity to encourage.

Our service of Holy Eucharist ends each week with a prayer that we will be sent into the world with strength and courage, to love and serve with gladness and singleness of heart. That is a beautiful description of what it means to practice the gift of encouragement. It’s a gift we each have, one that we use sometimes, sometimes not.

How will you put that gift to work today? Let me sharpen the question: How is God calling you to put that gift to work today?

-Jay Sidebotham

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus.

– Romans 15

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy.

-Philippians 2:1

Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

-I Thessalonians 5

Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org

If you’d like to join in this donor-based ministry, donate here.