Meditation on Genesis 9:8-17

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Many years ago a little girl was critically injured when she accidentally pulled a deep fat fryer down on top of her.  As the child’s father picked her up and rushed to a sink to cool the burning oil a face appeared just over his shoulders.  A golden face that said “hush I promise everything will be alright” and the little girl believed it was so.  Through years of pain, ridicule, and self-doubt, the little girl remembered that promise and learned promises are kept and life can be good.

Promises, we make them every day of our lives, some we keep, some we have no intention of keeping, and some are just too important not to keep.  In this morning’s scripture we learn God, too, makes promises and God goes so far as to place a marker in the sky, a rainbow, to remind God, not humans, but God, that a promise was for keeping.

What is interesting about this beautiful bow placed in the sky is it’s not about a promise that humans keep, but one kept by God with all of creation, humans, animals, everything that lives, grows, walks, swims, and fly’s to never again destroy the world by flood.  It is not a sign that humans changed after the flood, it’s the sign that God changed.

Oh, I know, I’ve heard the arguments of the unchanging God that rules the universe, but here in these words I’m telling you that God adapted to a creation that just wasn’t going to fit into the box God wanted.

The story of the flood is the tale of a broken heart, God’s heart.   God’s creation has not turned out as God expected and the reader of the flood story is invited to look deeply into the heart of God and recognize there is no anger there only grief at how God’s beloved creation has separated itself from its Creator.  It is God who says “I failed” and it is God that is troubled by the evil heart of humankind.  This is a heart to heart look between humankind and God and how what happens between humans and God touches both hearts.

But our story today is not about the flood it’s about after the flood, the waters of chaos have subsided, the animals have returned to the earth. Noah is wondering what to do next, especially with all of those rabbits he now has since he failed separate the two he started with, and then God speaks.

“Noah”

“Yes God”

I’m going to make promise to you, all of your descendents, and all of the Earth for all time”

“A promise God, to us, what could you promise us? Aren’t we supposed to promise you?”

“No this is my promise.  I am going to promise that I will never again destroy the earth with a flood, and to show you that I will keep my promise I will disarm and hang my unstrung bow in the sky.  This bow will appear after every rain storm and when I see it I will remember my promise to you and all creation. This is my everlasting promise that I make between me and all creation and never again will I send the waters of chaos to destroy the Earth.”

God the great all-powerful, all-knowing, divine being, puts a boundary on the God self and makes a promise. At the same time makes this promise God binds God’s self to an imperfect creation in a way that depends on God developing a relationship with creation.  God has changed from an all-powerful God to a protector, a patient, and loving self-giving God. A God who has invested everything God has in a creation that God recognizes will most likely never be the creation of God’s dreams.   This is a God who takes an interest in the lives of the created and prays that someday all creation will be co-creators with God in a universal cosmos.

Yet even knowing creation is not what God expected God doesn’t abandon the creation God loves so much.  Instead God becomes the guide and patient teacher.  Intervening when necessary to pull the beloved creation back the path God hopes will lead it back to the Garden God once planted.

Throughout history God has cajoled, threatened, punished, forgiven and blessed the creation made in God’s likeness.  What happens to the people God cares so much about God knows happens to all creation but God offers forgiveness, blessings, and grace all in the hope that someday God’s greatest creation will finally wake up to the presence of life freely given.

God’s self-giving reached its climax 2000 years ago in the life of a poor carpenter.  In Jesus life, suffering, death, and resurrection is the renewal of the promise that new life is possible when we Re‑member with God. Lent is our journey in that process, a time to remember God’s vulnerability along with our own. A time to remember God wants a relationship with us. And to grow that relationship all we have to do is care for each other and all of creation.  I know that sounds simple to do, but this will the hardest journey you will ever make, for you will have to break open your own hearts and recognize your part in the separation from your Creator. It is a long journey and it will take many Lent’s to accomplish, but it’s a trip worth taking.

The burnt, scarred little girl has been making that journey all her life. Sometimes she gets close to breaking open her heart to God and sometimes she walks away. But she’s not giving up, the stakes are too high.  What keeps that little girl moving is the knowledge she isn’t alone on the trip. She has had many travel companions who come and go in her life-giving her support and comfort on the path. But, most of all she knows that a promise was made many years ago that “everything would be alright” and she believed.

God made a promise to Noah and all of creation for all time, God has kept that promise.  God made a promise to a little girl, and God has kept that promise.  God keeps promises, to Noah, his descendents, all of creation, a little girl, to each of you and to us all.  Forgiveness, Blessings and Grace are the results of those promises.  The path to God is there, and God waits for all of us to follow it.

Ruth A Jewell, ©February 26, 2012

On A Metaphor of Amma Syncletica, a Desert Mother

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The life of faith looks like a mother bird brooding her eggs and waiting expectantly for them to hatch.  For all we know, the mother bird has moments when it seems like nothing is happening.  There are moments when real boredom sets in and the temptation to leave the eggs and do something more interesting arises.  (Mary C. Earle; The Desert Mothers, Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness, Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, NY, 2007, pg 22)

This week with all the snow and my inability to get out and about has reminded me of Amma Syncletica’s story.  Here I am “stuck” in the house and brooding about when this stuff will melt.  Amma Syncletica would tell me this is an opportunity to sit and listen for a word from God and I’m sure she would say quit wasting your opportunities!

Two of the most frequently asked questions about spiritual practices are “how do I quiet my mind and how do I stop fidgeting?  These two questions are as old as meditation itself and all spiritual practices, and the only answer I’ve ever heard for either of them is to “there is no right way to do this except practice, keep doing them until you discover for yourself that which draws you into your deepest being.”  My problem with this answer is it’s so vague, it could mean anything, but I also know that it is true and right.  The only way to become proficient at any Spiritual Practice is to “practice” that’s why it’s called a practice.

In the last 4 days I have sat and quieted my mind and stilled my heart but suddenly I am remembering something I have to do, only I can’t because I can’t get to where I need to be.  Such moments in our lives are sources of frustration and are filled with “have to’s” and need to’s.”  I have been, we have been, given the opportunity to slow down and listen, for that quiet word of the Spirit being whispered to us every day, but too busy to listen for, rather than the lists in our heads.

Yes being still is a problem, especially when you have an active family, or a job that provides our families with the things we use to survive.  If you only take 5 or 10 minutes out of your day to sit and stare out the window at the white wonderland, over a cup of steaming coffee or tea, letting the days troubles take care of themselves for a few moments, you will find you are more centered within and able to cope.  Don’t worry about mental intrusions, acknowledge them and let them go, let the stillness of the winter’s day, enter into your life for just a moment.  It might take a few days, and for some of us a few weeks, to get to that still point, but when you do you may just hear the whisper of the Spirit.

Peace and Blessings to you all

©Ruth Jewell, January 20, 2012

Called by God

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1 Samuel 3:1-11, 15-20 (NRSV)

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room;3the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.4Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’* and he said, ‘Here I am!’5and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down.6The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.8The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’11Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.

 15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.16But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’17Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’

19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.20And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

Sermon Queen Anne Christian Church
January 15, 2012
Ruth Jewell

The experts have many wonderful insights about this particular story of Samuel, how he represents new life in a troubled community and a trustworthy and faithful servant of God.  They say he and Eli model how we, as followers of God, should receive God’s message: to speak it out, never hide the word, and accept that Gods plan is good.

But as I read this scripture over and over again, something else kept tugging at my heart.

Now, I respect the theological wisdom of the scholars, but, I am going to go with what lies on my heart and maybe at the same time you and I will get to know each other just a little better. This small part of the bigger story is about God calling to Samuel and confiding in him, not sending him out, actually God does not tell him to do anything, … God just wanted to talk.

That I think is a significant moment in history, God needed someone God could trust to tell of the plans for Israel.  And little Samuel was in the perfect place, can’t you just picture him: asleep next to the Ark of the Covenant, with his small arm cradling his head, safe in the presence of God.   What a sweet, sweet image.  Yet Samuel will not stay that small innocent child for long and God knows it.  So God calls Samuel and begins to get to know the person who will become God’s priest, and the kingmaker of Israel.

Now I am not, nor will I ever be, in the same league as Samuel and probably you all would say the same thing, but God does wants to get to know us.   That means God wants to know everyone from the littlest ones, to the teenagers, and all the way up to us adults, all of us.  Sometimes God calls do not to give us a task to do, but to tell us God loves us.  And, sometimes God calls us home, to rest our weary spirits in the arms of the Divine Creator.

But this story also reminds me of the times, when like Samuel, I heard God’s voice and didn’t understand, when I ignored the call or when I simply said go away and don’t bother me. Haven’t we all done that at some time or other?

Sometimes it’s because we are busy with our lives, sometimes it’s because we just don’t want to hear, and sometimes it’s because we don’t understand that it’s God calling.

God had to call Samuel three times before Eli was awake enough to understand what was happening and help Samuel respond to God.  And, like Samuel we often need another person to help us interpret what God is trying to do tell us.  I now recognize there have been many people in my life who have spoken words that helped me recognize God’s voice, especially in times when I seemed to have the hardest time hearing anything.  I can’t speak for anyone else; I can’t tell anyone else’s story of their call.

But, I can tell you a very small part of my greater story I know it’s not exactly like Samuels but then I’m not Samuel. Your story when you tell it won’t be like mine or Samuel’s and that’s the beauty of the world of stories every story is different, every story adds a new pixel to the great web page of life.  So if you will allow me I would honestly like to tell just a small part of my story of how God called me.

It all began eight years ago when I had a gut feeling (i.e. God knocking on my heart), I needed to follow a path towards a more spiritual life and to share that experience with others.  I actually followed that call and received training and a certification as a Labyrinth Facilitator. I discovered I loved leading labyrinth worship services, walks and retreats, it provided me with a way of sharing my love for the Divine, God, and Creator in all of Gods manifestations.

But, every time I held one someone would say I needed to go and receive further training, I however, kept saying “nooooo, this is enough, I’m have a good time, and I don’t need anything else, besides I’m too old and not smart enough to go back to school.”

Ah, but then I was about to turn 60 and I decided to hold a special transformative service on the labyrinth instead of a birthday party.  So in the year I spent planning the service I did a lot of thinking, and I thought, and I thought.  I talked to God.  I spent time on our back deck watching the ships travel up and down the sound, I listened to friends, and family and finally said “OK, I will give this graduate school thing a try.” I would pursue a degree in the Masters of Arts in Transformative Spirituality (called MATS), which I thought would be useful in my growing labyrinth ministry.  I wasn’t going to do anything fancy, just expand my own understanding and knowledge base.

God though was still calling and I still didn’t understand.

Five years ago when I began attending Seattle University I was excited to be learning all kinds of things, new ways to read scripture, learning philosophy, and biblical history, but those darn pesky instructors refused to acknowledge I was only in the MATS program.  Every time I talked with one of them they’d ask “you’re in the MDiv program aren’t you,” and when I’d say no “I’m MATS,” they’d say “wrong program.”  I kept telling God I didn’t want to be ordained, I was too old, I wanted to do other things, John and I wanted to do other things, didn’t matter, the questions kept coming.

Finally after 2 years of questions, I spoke with my advisor and she told me to really sit down and be still, to listen with my heart instead of my mind.   Essentially she gave me the advice Eli gave to Samuel “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”   Well the rest is history; John and I, together, are off on this madcap journey that we have no idea where it’s leading us.  And just as Samuel was told by Eli that he needed to tell all and not hide anything, I am learning to do the same.  I am also learning to accept that God’s plans are good even if I don’t know what they are.   So I guess I’m a little like Samuel as I continue to grow up.

It took a whole lot of people holding the phone and saying “God Calling” before I understood that I needed to sit down and listen, not chatter, not ask for help, not even offer prayers, JUST LISTEN to what was being spoken in my heart, and just like Samuel I’ve spent a few sleepless nights wondering what John or Laurie might think.

Now there is one lesson I’ve learned in the last five years and that is …

“God does not have a retirement plan.”

In case you hadn’t noticed Noah was 600 years old when he built the ark, Sara gave birth to Isaac in her 80’s or 90’s and when Abraham was 100, and Elizabeth was past her childbearing years when John was born, I’m just glad God only wants me ordained.

So, God can call anytime and anyone, God might have called Samuel and David as children but obviously God picks anyone who fits the bill. This story of Samuel is only one part of a larger story and my story is only part of my larger story in fact, both stories are part of the same story of God’s relationship with us humans and all of the of today’s stories will continue far into the future, just with new characters and new adventures and you are all part of that story.

You too have stories to tell of your calls by God, many I’m sure are more exciting than mine or Samuels. Some will be to a call to pastoral ministry,  other calls will be to other roles God wants you to play; teacher, salesman, airplane engineer, mother, housewife, lawyer, writer, so many roles, so many opportunities to be a trustworthy servant and partner with God.  God called Samuel as a child, and maybe he does represent new life for a troubled community, I happen to think our young people are nicely filling the role of new life in our community.

But Samuel doesn’t really serve God until he is older and wiser, so, my thought is that God wants us to be more than just children, yes we always will be children to our parents, but God also wants us to grow up and be co-partners, co-creators of a our lives, communities, world, and universe and we can’t do that until we learn to listen when God speaks.

When God called Samuel he didn’t tell him to do anything, except listen, to sit and hear God’s voice. How can we be trustworthy prophets, healers, advocates if we don’t HEAR the voice of God?  Once we hear that voice we are given the choice of working with or turning our backs on God, that’s called free will.

But, in the last nearly 65 years I’ve learned God is very, very, persistent and doesn’t give up on anyone. If you are needed to work with God, God will call back, day after day after day. If the line is busy God will call again, if you don’t answer God will call again, and if you can’t understand the language God speaks God gets you an interpreter.

Where are you being called, is your line busy, are you home to answer the phone.  Are you so busy texting you don’t bother to pick up on God’s message, or do you need an interpreter, well don’t worry, God will figure it out and you may choose one way or other.  However I pray you will respond with life rather than death and so I offer this final prayer to share with you.

Lord, you call to me, “(I invite each of you to please speak your name)!”  May my answer be, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”  Amen

Ruth Jewell, ©January 15, 2012


 

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

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This has been an odd Christmas for me.  Usually by this time I’ve baked cookies and stollen, prepared pie crusts, wrapped dozens of presents and decorated the house.  None of that has occurred, all I really want to do is sit and read and listen for the silence.  Just before Thanksgiving one of my friends was talking about celebrating an “it’s not my birthday Christmas,” where instead of presents for yourself you ask for gifts for a charity.   I’ve given that quite some thought and I like that idea.

I’ve really always disliked receiving presents anyway, they are usually things I don’t need and often don’t want.   And, while I would give great thought to the gifts I gave I often felt the recipients of my gifts had the same feeling.   So this year I’ve done things a bit differently.  Instead of buying gifts for family and friends, I told them I was giving, in their name, a gift to the Chief Seattle Club, a day shelter for homeless urban Native Americans and First Nations Peoples.  I asked that instead of gifts for me that they would either send a gift for the Chief Seattle Club or give a gift in my name to a charity of their choice.  No wrapping, no shopping, no shipping and someone who really needs our gifts would receive them.  In addition since I wasn’t going to cook a big dinner I gave the money I would have spent to the Chief Seattle Club for their Christmas dinner.  I don’t think I’ve enjoyed preparing and giving a gift so much in my whole life.

Yes, I know I haven’t done my part for the economic recovery and as a result someone somewhere may not have my few pennies for their Christmas.  But shouldn’t Christmas be a time of reflection and not consumerism, a time to remember the graces given to us by God throughout the year and offer our gifts of thanks to the Christ Child.  As I remember, it isn’t what you give but how you give that matters.  Tradition tells us that Jesus was born in a stable and laid manger, he was poor and homeless most of his life and giving gifts to those who can’t provide for themselves seems like the proper offering to the Child in the hay.  As I was dropping off my gifts at the Chief Seattle Club I had to turn away homeless men who also wanted my gifts but I am unable to feed and clothe all of the homeless, and I wonder sometimes if God understands there are too many people who can’t care for themselves and that there are way too many people who tug at my heart.  I wish I had more to give.  If I had the billions that some people had I would go from homeless shelter to homeless shelter just handing out gifts, but I don’t, and I don’t know what to do about that.  I do the best I can and hope that is good enough.

So what will I be doing for Christmas?  Well, I will be in church offering a gift of another kind, prayers and service.  As an Intern Pastor I am participating in the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day service at Queen Anne Christian Church, Seattle, WA.  I am grateful to be able to give to those who come to the services prayer, song and love and I am honored to read a Christmas Story I wrote a number of years ago titled “The Innkeeper” on Christmas Day.

May you be filled with the blessings of the Christ Child and may you pass on those blessings to those who are hungry, cold, suffering and/or homeless.  For it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Peace and Love this Christmas Season

©Ruth Jewell, December 19, 2011

Building a Road

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Isaiah 40:3-4

3 A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our G-d.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.’

I have read and heard this scripture read I don’t know how many times and it is only this morning that I took a hard look at how it is punctuated.  This isn’t someone in the wilderness crying out, it really is a voice sending us into the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord, and that changed how I looked at this scripture.

As I read this several times I realized Isaiah isn’t talking about going out into nature but rather to travel inward to the desert of my heart, the valleys of my despair, an over  inflated ego, and all of the lumps and bumps I cross on the road of life.    It takes faith to create a highway where no road has ever been and what could be lonelier than the empty places in my own heart.  Making way for G-d means I must open a door, pull up the weeds that block the entry and let G-d in.  It is something I have to choose to do and to complete with the only expectation that G-d will come, belief and faith is all I have to build that road.

What is amazing is what happens when I do finish the way and G-d comes!  Wow, the valleys of my despair are lifted up into the light and I learn that my own ego is the real stumbling block to G-d.  Letting G-d travel the highway of my heart my ego takes on a reasonable size and the roads I travel become level like a smooth plain.

This isn’t about someone crying in the wilderness, unless the person crying is me.  Rather it’s about what I must do in order to get ready to accept the gifts G-d gives me every day.  Gifts such as a golden sunrise, or sunset that tingles my heart and takes my breath away.   Gifts such as the love I receive from my beloved and friends but often don’t acknowledge.  The gift of time: time to pray, time to sit in silence, time to laugh, time to leap with joy, and yes even time to cry, suffer, and have my heartbroken.  All of these are gifts are given by G-d and all of them provide me with strength, courage, peace, blessings, and comfort, simply because I know the Holy Presence is nearby.  Life will never be easy, but it is bearable when I maintain the highway in the desert of my heart where G-d walks.

©Ruth A. Jewell, December 4, 2011

NEVER FORGET

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1 Corinthians 1:7-9 Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that. (Italics mine) The Message

Wow, I just read this as the scripture for my morning meditation and the last sentence just jumped out at me and took my breath away.  G*d, the one and the only, the great I AM set ME, little ol’ ME, on this path, I am astounded that I never thought of it that way before.

Like most people I have enough of an ego to believe that what I do is all my own thought and that often gets me into a whole lot of trouble.  Yet here Paul is telling the people of Corinth, and me, that G*d started this crazy trip and, even more amazing, that same G*d will never give up on me.  Even when I screw up, or tell G*d “no I think I’ll do it my way,” which usually ends up badly, G*d is still there to pick up the pieces, wipe the dirt off my face and place that all important bandage across my wounded heart.

This is the season of Advent and I must admit it is not my favorite time of the year.  Most of my family times their deaths for this part of the calendar, in fact today, December 2, 2011, is the 42nd anniversary of my father’s passing.  So I have some personal issues for a time of the year when most people are excited and filled with joy.  Yet this passage of Paul’s gives me hope.  I do not think it was a coincidence that I chose to read this passage from The Message instead of the NRSV version and I am grateful for the Presence’s help in directing my hand as it passed over the Bibles on my bookshelf.   I could have chosen a version that would have said something a little different and more ‘traditional’ and then I would have just gone on with my day.  But, this passage is more important than I thought.  I am not alone on this journey, G*d will not forget me, no matter where my path leads me the Holy Presence will be there to support me and give me guidance, isn’t that amazing.

In the past two weeks I have received news that could change the way my ministry will happen and knowing that G*d will be along for the journey makes this scary new section of my path a whole lot easier to anticipate.   I know the Holy Spirit is guiding me and that Christ is there to pick me up when I fall and when I get frightened or simply tired G*d will be there to hold me in the palm of her hand and comfort me.  I also know when it’s time to celebrate G*d, Christ, and Holy Spirit will dance through the night with me and we will sing with great joy.  Paul writes “G*d will not give up on us,” and even though I know I will sometimes forget I know G*d won’t and that is all I need to know.

©Ruth Jewell, December 2, 2011

A Variation on the Lord’s Prayer

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Abiding Spirit, surrounding us in love,
Honored be your name.
Your Kingdom grows in all Creation
Sacred is the work of the earth,
As earths children reach for the universe.
Fill us with the bread of your word,
And forgive the errors of our ways,
Just as we forgive the errors
Of those around us.
Guard the path we walk,
And keep those who would do us harm
far from our travels.
We praise the Kingdom of your Universe
Filled with the power of your love in all our
Yesterdays, todays and tomorrows,
Now and forever more.
Amen

By Ruth Jewell,
©November 4, 2011

I awoke about 2 am this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Running through my mind was this variation of the Lord’s Prayer.  I had to get up and write it down in order to return to sleep.  As I read it now I recognize some of the issues I have with the traditional language and the feeling that I need a closer connection with creation.  The words of the prayer are genderless and non-human specific and that is becoming increasingly important to the way I view God and the universe.

Humans are just one of the many species living in God’s Kingdom and we are dependent on the life-giving graces of all who make up Creation.  The damage we humans have done to creation on planet earth is life threatening to all who live here and we seem to ignore the seriousness of what we have done, and doing. If we have truly been given the special charge to care for this earth we are spectacular failures.  If the children of earth are to survive we must change our ways and begin to value the lives of all who share this beautiful blue world we live on.

I also said the language was genderless and non-human specific and that too is important to me.  My image of God is genderless: neither male nor female, neither human nor non-human.  I don’t have enough information to say what God might look like nor do I need any in order to believe that God exists.  All I have to do is look around me and I see the expression of God in everything and everyone I see, hear, and touch.  I am blessed to be able to hold my grandchild in my arms and see an expression of God in her beautiful face.  I am blessed to be held by my husband and feel an expression of God’s embrace.  I am blessed to be comforted by the animals that live and travel life’s road with me and known that God speaks love and compassion through them.  God isn’t separated from my life, God surrounds me.  Just as Saint Patrick states so well:  God before me, God behind me, God to the left of me, God to the right of me, God below me, God above me, God within me.

I realize I haven’t supplied any answers, or given and suggestions as to how we should or should not behave.  This is simply my belief in a God that abides everywhere, I offer it as a gift of who I am.

By What Authority

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I am sitting here at my desk listening to the rain fall outside and just mulling over the sermon I gave yesterday.  I keep thinking on authority, what it means
for me and how so many people use and misuse that term.   What I’m trying to figure out is how do I claim my own authority?  What is the authority I have to claim and will I use it not for my own selfish reasons but for the good of all.

Tomorrow is my official start to my last year the School of Theology and
Ministry and so I am thinking where I’m going and what I will do.  I will be 65 when I graduate next fall and for me that was an ages when I believed people retire not start a new career!  I have so many questions of the God and (Hello God) sometimes I think God is just sitting up there giggling at me as She tells me ‘to just wait for the surprises I have for you.’  I love a good mystery, one I have to figure out and laugh when I get it wrong or celebrate when I get it right.  But, it’s not quite so comfortable being the center figure of my own mystery.  Well, I guess I will just have to wait and see how this all ends up; actually I will have to wait because God is talking!

Below is the sermon I preached last Sunday and I offer it to you, as I told my community, as an invitation to the conversation.  I look forward to your comments.

BY WHAT AUTHORITY

Sermon for Queen Anne Christian Church
September 25, 2011

This scripture from the Gospel of Matthew is not only rich in meaning but difficult to open up.  The questions Jesus asks the leaders of his people are difficult ones and not to dissimilar from questions we are asked as Christians or the ones we ask ourselves.  I think to understand what the author of Matthew is trying to get at we need to first understand the scriptures historical context.

First of all the audience for the Gospel of Matthew was a Jewish community.  There may have been a few Gentiles and converts to Judaism but essentially it was a community of Jews who would have known well their Jewish history.  In addition this gospel was written following the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, so the author of Matthew is talking to a group of displaced Jews who have fled their homes in terror and are now wondering if what they had believed in has any meaning.

The actual story takes place the day after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem when on that day Jesus had cleansed the temple of the money changers, and healed the blind and the lame before escaping the hands of these very leaders now questioning him.  In addition as Jesus and his disciples had entered the city on this morning he had cursed a fig tree for not producing its fruit.  So we have here several miracles and events that the leaders would have seen as a test of their authority to rule.

One interesting note is how the debate between Jesus and the elders takes place.  Did you notice that Jesus asked a question instead of answering the question given him?  Well this was a common technique of rabbinic debate.  When a rabbi was asked a question the response would often be another question.  So while it might look as if Jesus is side stepping the question it is actually what the Elders and Chief Priests would have expected from a fellow Rabbi. However, Jesus is not an “ordained” rabbi; he has no official status with the religious community.  Jesus is an itinerant preacher and charismatic speaker who had a loyal following, not unlike many self-proclaimed preachers on our own frontiers or even today.  Yet the Chief Priests are treating him as if
he is one of their own.

We also need to understand that the Elders and Chief Priests who confront Jesus are members of the priestly aristocracy and are not “the Jews.” Rather they are compromised leaders who collaborate with the Roman Government and are under the control of the Roman Governor.  So it is in the interests of the Priests and Elders to keep the status quo in place for that is where their power comes from, they had a vested interest in not rocking the boat.  Therefore, whenever anyone outside their own select group showed any ability to inspire the people they would have looked at it as a serious threat to their own safety.

Mind you the Chief Priests and Elders weren’t necessarily bad people.  At least some, if not most, probably felt they had no choice but to collaborate with the Roman Government if they were to protect their people.  The issue here is who were the people they were protecting.

So let’s get into the story.  Jesus is teaching in the temple when the Chief Priests and Elders confront him with the question, “who gave you the authority to do what you do?”  On the surface this seemed like a silly question to me. After all the care of the indigent, widows, children, and strangers are mandated by God in the Hebrew Scriptures.  However, this is a very serious question for these leaders because if Jesus’ authority comes from God then what does that reveal about their own authority, for they have not taken God’s charge all that seriously.

Instead of directly answering their question Jesus asks one of his own, “where did John’s authority come from?”  Now this puts these guys into a real pickle for they know they are trapped.  They have three ways they could answer Jesus’ question: a, agree that John’s authority came from God; b, John’s authority came from human origins; or c, they didn’t know.  Recognizing the consequences of the first two they chose C, they didn’t know.  This was a way to save face without actually acknowledging anything about John.  But Jesus, as we soon see, is not about to let them off the hook.

Jesus’ next act is to tell one of his famous stories, and he ups the ante with this story because the Priests and Elders will be unable to side step the final question.  Jesus’ story of the Two Sons is a simple one, but with deadly consequences for Jesus.

A father asks his first son to go and work in the vineyard and the son says NO, then the kid thinks better of it and goes anyway.  Not knowing that his first son has gone to the vineyard the father asks his second son who says YES, but instead hangs around the house playing video games.  Jesus now asks the Elders and the Chief Priests who has done the will of the father?  This is not a multiple choice question, rather there is only one answer and these leaders know it.  They have no option except to say the first son does the will of the father.  They also recognize that Jesus is identifying them with the second son
who says they will do the will of God but don’t, they protect themselves not the people in their charge.  Jesus identifies the first son with the crooks and prostitutes who originally tell God no, only to repent and live changed lives.
This is not what these learned men want to hear.  They have been compromised by their own egos and a wish to survive at all cost, while the authority of the poor has grown as they begin to do the work of God.

So what is the meaning of the words “by what authority” for me, us, today?  How do I, we, respond to the story of the Two Sons, who do you identify with? How do I, we, respond to Jesus’ question?  Most of all, how do I, we, interpret this story in such a way that does justice to the author of Matthew, but still has meaning for all of us in the 21st century?  These are important questions because I need to be honest and recognize I’m not the audience the author of Matthew was writing to.  However, I think I can draw some insight from the story despite the fact that I live in a world 21 centuries beyond the authors Jewish community.

If I examine this event in the context of the whole Gospel of Matthew I recognize that the author of Matthew, more so than the remaining 3 gospel writers, is trying to call his Jewish community back to the original Mosaic Covenant with God in the context of Jesus’ teachings.  That Mosaic covenant called for caring for the widow, the orphan and stranger, to share from abundance graciously given, not just material wealth, but from spiritual wealth, compassion, mercy and justice.  In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus is calling for a way of living where all have “enough” to live whole and healthy
lives, and that all give out of their grace given abundance to those who, for
whatever reason, are in need.  In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus repeatedly tells his followers that the Kingdom of God is here, all we have to do is live in to it.
It is not a Kingdom that will come in some future date but now, all the reader of Matthew has to do is “see and listen” and they will see the Kingdom before them.  I’m not sure what it meant to our First Century reader to “live out” the teachings of Jesus and I am struggling with what that would look like for me.

I recognize and sympathize with the Elders and Chief Priests as they wrestle with this question because it is just as much an issue for me as it was for them.  After all I live a comfortable life, and while my family was never rich, nor am I rich now, I never went hungry, or without clothes or shelter.  Despite what I might say I have lived a privileged life and I would guess that most of us in this room have lived such privileged lives as well, it’s not bad, it’s just who we are.

But if I am honest with myself I can sometimes identify with the second son.  And, while I don’t believe I’ve ever been intentionally cruel or unjust, I know that at times I too have not been as kind and merciful as I like.  All of us have had our moments of brokenness and despair, times when we’ve turned away from God and said NO, or, I am going to take care of just me and leave it at that, our moments of survival.  That is part of being Human, but it is what we do with our lives after such moments that matters.

In the story of the two sons Jesus wanted the Chief Priests and Elders to identify with one of the characters.   He wanted them to see, listen and repent.  He wanted them to recognize their covenantal duty to all of the Jewish people not just the rich and powerful.  In 5 days these same men would prosecute him and it would cost him his life on this world, this was a last ditch effort to get the leaders to see their role in the abuse heaped upon those who have no power.  It obviously did not work.

But what about me, all of us in this room, what does it mean to live our lives as Jesus taught, to see and hear the Kingdom of God.  How do we look at our 21st
century lives and say ‘I want to act like Jesus?’  Does it mean I have to give up modern conveniences’, or modern technology?  I don’t think so, I think if I accept the challenge Jesus gave to the elders and Priests as doing the will of God, then that means I need to respond to those God cares for the most.  If I live my life as if I have “enough” I will have enough, and If I give out of my grace filled abundance, I will always have grace filled abundance, but so will
everyone else.  Jesus tells me not to worry about what I will eat or wear, that will be taken care of.  My survival is assured simply by giving to those who are in need.

What gifts did the elders and priests have: they had money and goods, but they also had compassion and mercy all of which they horded in order to maintain their life style.  I must admit I do that myself, I might be trying to change but I haven’t quite given up something’s, … such as books.  Now, I don’t believe I have to give up everything.  I, we all, have special possessions that link me, all of us, to the past and lead us into the future; Jesus isn’t calling any of us to give away everything.  Rather, I believe that Jesus is calling all of us to be generous with what we have and to remember that while we are fond of some special possessions they are not to become our idols, our stuff isn’t supposed to own us.

Last year I interned at the Chief Seattle Club, a day shelter for Urban Native Americans, and I learned so much about what is important in life.   Community, family and friends top the list for Native Americans.  Those who frequented the Club were the ones that even those in their own culture often didn’t want to acknowledge: the chemical and substance abuser, the sexual offender, the unskilled, the murderer, the mentally ill, and those who just wanted to be left alone to live as their ancestors did.  Yet in this place I found an abundance of spirit.  I found graciousness in that they welcomed me into their midst and accepted me as one on a journey.  These are the people we all rush past on street, the dirty, the smelly and the strung out and I was honored that they called me friend.

I became close with one gentleman in particular who lived on the street by his own choosing, and carried his entire life on his back, yet he went every day to the home of a handicapped lady to cook her meals and make sure she made it to the doctor’s office.  One day he told me a story of sitting on the grass at Seattle U and watching a soccer game when the wind came and circled around him.  He felt that somehow he was being watched over and that this breath from the Great Spirit was to remind him he wasn’t alone.  Was he perfect, no, but his spirit was moving in the right direction, in him I saw the Kingdom of God, kind, gentle, giving, working for the other.  It makes me wonder if people see the Kingdom of God in me.

Laurie and I talked about what authority means, and I said, I didn’t know what authority I have to preach from this pulpit.  Laurie reminded me that preaching isn’t what I’m to do, but rather to invite you into the conversation.  So I’m inviting you into my conversation of what it means to live out the teachings of Jesus, what does that look like for you, and how are you wrestling with all of the questions Jesus asks?  None of us can figure this out by ourselves.  How you view the Kingdom of God maybe, and probably is, different from mine and that’s Ok.  We all have different visions, we will all live out these teachings in our own way, the idea is that we make the effort.  Don’t be like the Elders and the Chief Priests who cop out and do nothing.  Nor would I want any of you to identify with the second son, rather even if you’ve said no, go anyway into the vineyard. While the company you keep may be a bit smelly and dirty, their hearts shine with the light of God.

Ruth Jewell, ©September 25, 2011

“What are you seeking?”

Posted on by a quiet walk

Genesis 37:15 He [Joseph] came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?”

The Search

I searched along a dusty road
Not knowing what I’d find.
I met a farmer, old and gray
And asked him if he knew.
He raised his head and spoke through age,
“Look to your heart and you will find what it is you’re seeking.”

I searched along a highway.
Tall buildings hiding what I looked for.
I saw a man who taught in schools of ivy
And asked him if he knew.
He turned and looked through eyes dark and deep,
“Look to your mind and you will find what it is you’re seeking.”

I wandered on, puzzled as to meaning.
Heart or mind?  Just what was I seeking!

I searched along a gentle stream
In the middle of a meadow
“Both heart and mind”, a voice called out,
A voice both young and old
I turned to see a man of years
Yet one that was not worn.
“Give from your heart love and hope,
With knowledge and understanding.
For in giving to others you will find
That which you are seeking.”

Ruth Thompson-Jewell, Written about 1980, ©August 15, 2011

I wrote this at time when I was doing a lot soul searching and not quite sure what I’d find.  I never once thought my journey would last quite so long or take me to places I couldn’t have imagined.  Since this poem was written I’ve passed through some dark tunnels only to come out into the sunlight. 

At the time I thought I would never survive and that my journey was taking an awfully long time to complete, so long that I even considered shortening it.  But now as I look back my time in the dark was really quite brief, and while the challenges seemed overwhelming at the moment, the perspective of time and space has given me a new place from which to view my past.  I remembered this poem as I listened to the sermon last Sunday (August 14, 2011) given by Pastor Laurie.  She highlighted this verse from Genesis where an old man asks Joseph what he was seeking and then Laurie asks us what we were seeking. 

In fact we all are seeking for something and each of us believe our journeys are so unique that no one will ever understand them.  I think in reality all our journeys have many similarities and if we were to share them we just might find what we are searching for in the first place, and a whole lot quicker. My journey continues and it is unique for who I am, but as I listen to others who are willing to share their journeys similarities that lead me to answers to questions I’ve asked and new questions that open new doors.  Doors that are leading into rooms and onto paths I never would have foreseen in a million years in 1980!  I have also discovered my journey is not as unique as I thought which is really quite comforting.

It is the last two lines of the poem that I now find the most interesting, isn’t that what Jesus taught?  Giving from the heart, loving and caring for my neighbor, isn’t that the Gospel message Jesus worked so hard and died for.  Over the last couple of years I’ve begun to question just how much I give from my heart, how much more can I give and how do invite others to do the same. These are questions I can’t answer and maybe never will.  There are so many questions, so many doors to open within my heart and in the hearts of others.  Will I, will we, ever be able to open them all?

Ruth Jewell, ©August 15, 2011

MY? JOURNEY

Posted on by a quiet walk

You held me in your arms
You whispered in my ear
“Be not afraid”

You sent me on a journey
my path laid out stone by stone
by You

I walk the path
darkness on one side
light on the other

One path-one journey
many stones-light, dark
moving forward into the unknown

Ruth Jewell, ©August 11, 2011
Submitted to the Abby of the Arts Poetry Party