Hope Community Presbyterian Church

Philippians 3:4b-14

John 12:1-8

I came across this story that seemed apropos of the scripture readings today: Al was trying to say some words of comfort to his friend Bernie. “I hear you buried your wife last week,” he said. “Terribly sorry.”

“Had to,” said Bernie. “Dead, you know.”

It seems to me that that’s funny because it’s not the sort of thing you should say out loud. It’s like Jesus’ statement, “You won’t always have me around.” That’s the basic, terrible, uncomfortable truth, and the disciples balk. Death is too enormous for us to speak of directly; we feel the need to say or do something that will make it go away (or at least make it more manageable). (more…)

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

At a youth group cookout at another church, I turned around from the grill to see Sarah and Lucy sitting together on the church lawn. I saw Ryan (Sarah’s older brother) sitting alone, about ten feet away. So I asked what Ryan would have to do to qualify to sit with Sarah and Lucy. What would make him cool enough to join them? To which Ryan answered, “No, I’m starting the new cool table.” Sarah protested, “He can sit with us,” and she and Lucy came over to sit with Ryan. And there we sat, one big happy family, right? I doubt it. This was a small church group, so the boundaries were very flexible, but it doesn’t work that way in real life (by which I mean middle school).

We define ourselves by the company we keep, by whom we work and socialize with, and most of all, whom we eat with. You know the rules as well as those middle-schoolers did. When you go into a party – say a church dinner, or a reception without assigned seating - you scan the room looking for the correct place to sit. That’s not just because there are unfamiliar people there and we’re shy, and it’s not a question of our being extraverts or introverts. Even assuming that the energy in the room works for you, there is some complicated social math to be done. Who fits your status? What message would sitting with one person or excluding another person send to the other people in your life? One reason I love working with middle schoolers is that middle school never ends. It always matters with whom you will sit, even when we pretend it doesn’t. (more…)

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Isaiah 55:1-9

We eat something on our summer canoe trips that I think only makes sense if you’ve been there: Yard-O-Beef. You can get ordinary summer sausage at the store, but it’s only the same if you’ve cut it into pieces with a Swiss Army knife. Preferably a Swiss Army knife that has previously been used to clean a northern. Something about this, and the combination with some peanut butter and M&Ms, is apparently irresistible. Okay, I should say it’s irresistible in the Boundary Waters or on Crown Land in Canada. What can I say, things just taste better in the wilderness. Or, as they say, hunger is the best cook.

Of course, I’m talking about intentional hunger. I’m not talking about forced starvation or psychological conditions that take away our ability to control how we relate to food. Really, I’m not talking about hunger at all. This is about food, possessions, people, control – any of the things we have plenty of. So if this can’t be about food for you, try and think about another kind of hunger. Being in the wilderness is about deliberately giving up some of those things for a while. (more…)

Whether you’ve had too much winter or not enough, it’s time to think ahead to spring and summer plans. You’ll find the Easter calendar and announcements about spring activities in the newsletter, but I also wanted to call your attention to one event that’s already on my calendar for the summer. Synod School is a continuing-education event sponsored by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, with classes appropriate for people at all levels of the church’s life. I hope you’ll plan to join me in Storm Lake, IA this July 25-30.

Here’s a taste of my experience at Synod School last year. My first class every day was “Creative Worship for Traditional Churches.” Our instructor emphasized that creative, experiential worship isn’t new: our Sacraments and many other rituals involve more than just sitting and listening to someone speak. We focused on working with our gifts and strengths, respecting the range of tastes and spiritual types in the church, and finding the authentic worship of our particular congregation. I hope you’ve been able to see me use some of the lessons from this class in our worship over the past several months. (more…)