Month: July 2025

Ask.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Our genesis is in you, O God, our beginnings are in Eden,

our origins are those of every man and woman.

Forgive us the falseness of what we have become, the ugliness and divisions of which we are a part.

Restore us to the truthfulness of our birth in you, the heritage of all that has being.

Renew us this night in the genesis of our soul, the beauty of Eden deep in each created thing.

– JP Newell, Songs of the Eternal:  A Celtic Psalter

Gospel Lesson

Luke 11:1-13

The Lord’s Prayer

11 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father,[a] hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come.[b]
3     Give us each day our daily bread.[c]
4     And forgive us our sins,
        for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
    And do not bring us to the time of trial.”[d]

Perseverance in Prayer

5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for[e] a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit[f] to those who ask him!”

Footnotes:

a.     Luke 11:2 Other ancient authorities read Our Father in heaven

b.     Luke 11:2 A few ancient authorities read Your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.Other ancient authorities add Your will be done, on earth as in heaven

c.     Luke 11:3 Or our bread for tomorrow

d.     Luke 11:4 Or us into temptation. Other ancient authorities add but rescue us from the evil one (or from evil)

e.     Luke 11:11 Other ancient authorities add bread, will give a stone; or if your child asks for

f.      Luke 11:13 Other ancient authorities read the Father give the Holy Spirit from heaven

Most days, I love being a dad.  There’s been a lot of ups and downs, oftentimes I’ve struggled with the concept of how to be a dad.  And that’s certainly changed as both of my kids are in their 20’s now. I was reminded of that this past week as we’ve been preparing to up my son from OSU’s biology island where he’s been doing research on climate change and the environment.  And, being with our daughter as she’s living with us until her departure to Scotland for 5 months.  This summer has been so good in many ways.  

Plus, being a son, I’ve had to unwrap my own relationship with my dad, and my mom.  How those relationships impacted me in good ways, and in ways that I’m still trying to figure out even as they have both passed away.

But, I’m finding out more and more, the biggest thing as a dad is to simply be authentic in who I am and being in deep relationship with my kids.  I don’t beat myself up too much for mistakes I’ve made along the way, but try to always keep the deep love that I have for my kids in front of me. 

Our gospel lesson this morning finds Jesus using the word “father” in what we have commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer”.  It’s a teaching moment for his disciples as one of them asks Jesus to teach them to pray.  They noticed that Jesus had a deep sense of intimacy with God, that Jesus prayed and conversed with God and that it seemed to have a calming and transformational effect on Jesus.  

Jesus is using his relationship to God to redeem the word “Father”.  In Jewish understanding, beyond the patriarchal implications that could be there, father is still a relational term.  It should denote a sense of deep and abiding love and commitment.  As we’ve said before, the word to describe God’s characteristic the most in the Bible is Hesed…which means ever loving, ever faithful, ever compassionate, and ever loyal to us in community with us.  

So, the writer of Luke is saying that God is a father not like other fathers, but a father filled with care and commitment to his children.  And, a father who also was like a mother.  Which, in other parts of scripture, feminine words are used to describe God as well.  

Jesus is also saying that we should respect God’s name.  Honor and respect are important for any relationship.  If we want to grow in our relationship with God and with others, then we need to honor and respect that relationship.  

Jesus goes on to say that praying for the Kingdom to come is important…not just a kingdom in the future, but to for Kingdom or Presence of God to made known to us every day and that we are to pray for God to provide for us sustenance, or to carry us with nourishment every day.  

It’s also important to note that we are to ask for God’s kingdom, no one can give us God’s presence…no one can say magic words and eyes will be opened to see God or ears cleaned out to hear God’s word…that we have to realize that we are surrounded by God’s presence and we should converse with God to be aware of that presence…and that presence will eventually clear our eyes and clean our ears, IF we are willing to let go and be.

Our Presbyterian book of order talks about worship quite a bit.  One of the things that it emphasizes is that worship is not a spectator sport.  We can get into all sorts of conversations about what happens on a Sunday morning or any other time, and those can be important, but the real work is being done by all of us together.  We can go into any worship service, or any setting really, and experience God’s Presence, God’s kin-dom…but it’s up to us to be in prayer for our lives to be settled and to let go.  When we can do that, we can experience more fully the blessings of God’s Presence.

Jesus goes on to say that it’s important for us to know that we are forgiven, that God is not concerned about the past.  That doesn’t mean that we can’t grow from the past, and that we should own our past, but it does mean that God wants us to move forward.  That we are forgiven in God’s eyes.  And, because of that, we should forgive those whom we feel owe us something.  

As a parent, sometimes I want my kids to say they are sorry, I may work really hard to get them to understand that…and, my kids are pretty aware and eventually, most of the time, will come around to that.  But, I’m more focused on them realizing that my love for them, the love that will carry them through this part of their journey and hopefully take them to the next, is not dependent on their actions.  I’ll love them and forgive them no matter what.

Jesus is saying that same thing.  God loves us, and God wants us to practice loving others.  When we do, we’ll find our relationships with ourselves, God, and others will thrive.  

Forgiving debts is also important…I think that word “debts” is huge.  We live in a world that piles up debts, not only monetarily, but to so many things that hold us back…  Dr. Walter Brueggemann says that we are all a part of a pharaoh economy, that we are all enslaved to something.  As people of faith, we are called to walk away from whatever we are enslaved to, just like the Israelites walked out of Egypt.  Freedom isn’t easy, but it does beat being broken by the debt that’s put on us.  But, God doesn’t send us to freedom by ourselves.  The Israelites as a people gathered were freed together, none of this rugged individualism, but a called out people together.  We cannot do this journey towards freedom alone, we have to depend on one another.

We are also to ask God to not test us.  We don’t have anything to prove.  God’s love for us is a transformational relationship.  It isn’t a transaction.  God is not going to love us any less if we pass or fail or a test.  We will always have things or people in our journey in life that will want to test us, but not God.  God wants to love us into growth from the inside out.  As that happens, we can find ourselves able to overcome so many obstacles.  

The second part of our gospel narrative gives us more of an understanding of the practical aspects of prayer.  The verb to ask is very similar to the verb to pray.  It is an action.  I believe that it’s paired with the Lord’s prayer because Jesus wants us to understand that our God wants us to be able to go to God as a loving parent, in relationship.  God wants us to converse with God, to pray for whatever we may need in order to be sustained and to grow.  Jesus gave us a prayer when our words fail us, but, really, God wants us to have agency and to know that we are in constant prayer, to also realize again and again that prayer gives us a sense of relational intimacy and growth.  Even with the story of asking a neighbor for bread after they’ve gone to bed…they may not want to get up, but they will eventually give us bread!

Friends, Jesus is telling us that if you want to be sustained in your relationship with God, that if you want to grow, if you want to be strong in who you are as a child of God, made in God’s image…that you need to persevere, that you need to know that God is a loving father and will not give you a scorpion if you ask for bread!  What kind of a parent is that?!  

But, you have to ask, you have to be aware and to be humble.  Asking for forgiveness, asking for God to sustain you, that you can’t do it on your own, asking for eyes to see God’s Presence means that you have to admit that you haven’t been looking or have some blind spots.  

I know that for me as a dad that my kids are teaching me new things and part of my rebirth in my 50’s are coming from my changing relationship with them.  

May we all ask God, the force that is so intimate and relational…the force that creates, saves, and sustains, to move through us in this moment and in every moment of our lives.  

JP Newell has written this Celtic version of the Lord’s Prayer, it seems like a good way to end this sermon!

Holy One beyond all names

Eternal Wellspring

May love rise again in us today

With food for every table Shelter for every family And reverence for every life.

Forgive us our failings in love And free us from all falseness

That the light of our souls may shine And the strength of our spirits endure

For Earth and all its people

This day, tonight, and forever.

Amen

Sit.

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Luke 10:38-42

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing.[a] Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 10:42 Other ancient authorities read few things are necessary, or only one

What does it mean to “sit with something”?  Examples?

Our gospel passage this morning from the lectionary continues this concept of Jesus going along somewhere, of a journey.  It paints a picture of a stop on that journey, the home of Mary and Martha, after entering a certain village.  

The author is concerned about folks genuinely hearing a message, a word, an understanding of God’s Kingdom, or, as we’ve said, God’s Presence and radical inclusion, which, when we recognize it and live into it, allows us to be present to be aware, and to love the folks that we meet, especially those on the margins.

In the past couple of weeks we’ve talked about the Lawyer asking Jesus about the greatest commandment, and we’ve heard the parable of the Good Samaritan, how everyone is our neighbor and having eyes to see and ears to hear.

We’ve also seen Jesus’ compassion for humanity, for Jesus’ desire to love well and to see folks grow into their true selves, the persons they were created to be in God’s image.  We’ve also seen Jesus’ frustration when folks are prevented by cultural norms, or unjust systems, that prevent them from fully being in community with others or having the chance to reach their God-given potential.  We’ve seen Jesus reach out with compassion, not just with words, but with action.

So, Jesus arrives at Mary and Martha’s house, these are close friends.  Jesus has been involved in their lives, even raising their brother Lazarus from the dead at some point as depicted in the book of John.

While at their house, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet while he shared…while Martha was busy with certain household tasks.  After a while, Martha gets frustrated because she’s doing all of the work and Mary is seemingly just sitting there, so Martha makes this statement to Jesus about Mary leaving her to all of the work.

Well, before we go into what we read on the surface, it would be good to understand some of the underlying messages.  In Jesus’ day, women were expected to do certain tasks, to work on the household maintenance, sitting at the feet of a Rabbi or a teacher and learning about the word of God, was not expected of a woman.  This is another example of Jesus making a statement about equality and inclusion, that women were to be included in everything, including education.  Today, it is hoped, that we take that for granted, but it hasn’t always been so, and it’s important that we not only confront racism, classism, and most ‘ism’s” but, we still have to be vigilant in addressing sexism, toxic masculinity, and patriarchy. 

Jesus is friends with both Mary and Martha, he loves them both.  I’m sure that Martha’s work was very important, needed to get done.  Yet, she also allowed her pride, anxiety, and the many things on her mind to take over, to cloud her vision of her love for her sister.  She also may have wanted to exert some sense of control over her sister, and even Jesus.  Calling him out with a passive aggressive statement about her sister.  

Or, perhaps as other commentators have noted, maybe Martha had figured out a way to get stuff done AND listen to Jesus and be present with him.  

Either way, Jesus has a very loving response, he doesn’t jump on the anxiety train, he doesn’t put Martha down, he doesn’t talk about her behind her back, he simply calls out her anxiety and takes the heat off of Mary.  And, I believe that the way that Jesus says this, its not only direct, but it seems to me to be written by the author in a tone that says it’s ok.  Jesus keeps the bridge open relationally with Martha.

The need for one thing in this story is Presence.  Mary is not only learning about the word of God, she is literally sitting in God’s presence.  That’s something that we all have access to…we may not always recognize it, but it’s something that won’t be taken away from us, ever.  Jesus states that it won’t be taken away from Mary, and the same is true for us.  

This story is especially true for me…I know in my personality enneagram, that I’m a “3”, which is an achiever, I like to move things forward.  So, it’s important for me to unwind, unplug, take in Jesus’ words of encouragement, and practice sabbath rest.  I value my time on Friday mornings to do just that.  I may or may not have my phone, but I almost always take a nap, do some reading, journal, and run.  And, remember a bit of who I am and reflect upon my week.  

My personality, my M.O. if you will, is to move forward, to be a practitioner.  I can often be driven towards some measurement for success and can easily become a workaholic, burning myself out and others.  

There is good in getting things done, I value that, and I value competency and efficiency.  But, i’ve also learned through years of practicing sabbath, of taking time off, going to the Monastery or other retreat centers, stopping and simply sitting for a while, that I can learn and grow and be attentive to God’s flow in my life and in the work God’s doing around me.  

I think it’s also an important ethos for us a church…both in a local context and global context.  Again, it’s important to get things done, to do something.  Yet, we also have to live in the tension as a church of simply being and letting go…that requires a lot of trust and faith that God’s faith in us is sufficient, and that God, the creator, sustainer, redeemer is speaking to us, giving us imagination and moving us in beautiful directions.  

I’ve said this before, one of the things why I believe God led me to Westwood First Presbyterian and Westwood First Presbyterian me was this sense of deep trust and possibility.  I wanted to be in a church that is community engaged, a church willing to take risks on opening its doors to the community, and even walking out those doors into the community around us.  A church willing to sit with God and with others to listen to God’s word, not only in Scripture, Nature, and from our Christian mystics, but listen to our hearts, God’s heart, and to have ears to hear it even if it comes from all sorts of places and voices inside and outside the church.

I love being at Westwood First Presbyterian at this crossroads in church history.  As a church universal, we are learning to listen as Mary listened, we are sitting at the feet of Jesus in people’s homes, in community gathering spots, and we see God’s love flow into us and through us.  This isn’t a new program, this isn’t a scalable new initiative that has false promises of some type of measurable metrics, this is simply listening, being loved, and then loving others and moving towards some sense of action that blesses others, and, in so doing, seeing community happen, loving our neighbors well with new transformational imagination as opposed to something transactional, and seeing ourselves grow internally and externally in ways we’ve really always wanted to grow.

I’ve loved the work of our Westside Abbey…, especially last week’s session on listening…at the Abbey, as we sit with each other, engage in conversation, and as we experiment, and as we continue to invite others in the congregation into this process, we are seeing and hearing God’s gentle nudge.

As we sit, may we hear God’s voice leading us towards God and towards folks that need to be loved and included…which, really, is everyone in our neighborhoods!

Homework:  find a space to sit, and to intentionally listen with both your ears and eyes to what God may be doing in your life, and in the lives of those around you.  Some you may know their stories, others you may wonder.  But, practice active listening to your heart and where your heart connects with others.  

Neighbor.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.”

―Meister Eckhart, Sermons of Meister Eckhart

Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.[a] “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii,[b] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 10:25 Gk him
  2. Luke 10:35 The denarius was the usual day’s wage for a laborer

Sermon Manuscript:

Who is our neighbor? 

In our parable this morning, Jesus is hanging out with his disciples and others.  In the crowd, there is a lawyer who asks Jesus about the greatest commandment.  Jesus’ answer can be summed by “loving God, loving others…nothing else matters.” as my friend Bart Campolo used to say.  Jesus specifically says, loving your neighbors as yourself.

The lawyer, for some reason, feels like his ego is on the line and wants to justify himself, so asks, who is our neighbor?

Jesus replies with a parable, the one of the Good Samaritan.

A man is robbed, everything is taken from him while he’s on a journey…he’s beaten, left for dead.  Yet, he’s still hanging on.  He has one thing left even if everything else is stripped away, his humanity.

Along comes priest, then a Levite.  Both of these folks have high positions in society, important people.  They probably came from great families with good connections to have these kinds of positions.  They also had places to get to, in their defense, others were counting on them.  Plus, they understood that if they helped, they would be unclean, in those days, to touch a bloody person meant days of cleansing and purification.  It would be inconvenient.  Before we pass judgement, how many times have we passed up things, how many times have we not gotten involved with someone because of time or convenience…maybe we’ve passed by an accident, or saw someone arguing in public, or something small or great…I know I’m guilty at times.  

Yet, then comes a Samaritan.  Jesus has just welcomed the 70 or 72 messengers back in the previous story that we talked about last week.  They had gone into Samaria, maybe some were welcomed, some were not…maybe some still had bad feelings towards Samaritans…who knows.  The Samaritan, someone not Jewish, not religious, a merchant also…not part of the ruling religious cast, stops, gets dirty, helps this man.  He was moved with compassion…which is the same phrase that is used elsewhere in Scripture to describe how Jesus felt about folks who were in desperate places.  

In other words, this Samaritan, this foreigner, felt the same way that Jesus felt.  That folks who don’t have a “religious” inkling may be closer to God’s heart than some that call themselves God followers.  

And, this Samaritan follows through, bandages the man, takes him to an Inn, has his needs paid for…and even checks in on him the next day.  

It seems like Jesus is saying that your religion, even your beliefs, mean nothing unless they line up with your practice or praxis.  

When Jesus asks who was the true neighbor back to the lawyer, the lawyer responds that it’s the one who showed mercy, the Samaritan.

I don’t believe that Jesus was interested in winning an argument, as a matter of fact, I think the lawyer wasn’t interested either, it was a genuine conversation…something that seems to be lacking in much of today’s culture.  In that conversation, the lawyer, and those listening had a sense of hearing the deeper nuances of this story…they were curious, and they experience a sort of conversion, change, transformation through listening.

That’s what parables do.  

They don’t give us measurements of success, they aren’t always feel good stories, they are not meant to be morality plays, they don’t even give us clues on how to grow the church bigger…They are organic and are meant be shared authentically and without a desire for winning.  They are like seeds that are then planted in our hearts and grow into deeper meanings for all of us.

As we think about this parable, may we let it grow within us this morning.  As we’ve seen  in the past few weeks, folks are more and more isolated, and filled with hate and prejudices…we as a church, have an obligation to our neighbors, and our neighbors are everyone, especially those on the margins or in need…and we have a greater joy in being good neighbors to all who we meet, inviting them into our lives, our church, and our community.  

How do we become good neighbors?  By letting go of our image, as the Samaritan did, and by having a deeper agency through donated trust.  The message of Jesus is pretty straightforward, don’t be defined by your class, the color of your skin, your immigration status, your political leanings or bias, our even your roles you play in life.  Be defined by your humanity, a humanity that is shared with all people in creation.  That everyone is your neighbor, and if you are living in awareness, deep awareness, you will begin to see the world as your neighbor.  Stop trying to win arguments, listen to your heart and engage in conversation out of your heart where things are more real and not defined by Fox News or MSNBC or whatever.  Compassion and wisdom can then grow out of the seed of awareness of shared humanity.  And, with that, the world can change…starting with you and your neighbor.

Remain.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

In the gift of this new day,
in the gift of the present moment,
in the gift of time and eternity intertwined,
let us be grateful,
let us be attentive,
let us be open to what has never happened before,
in the gift of this new day,
in the gift of the present moment,
in the gift of time and eternity intertwined.

–       JP Newell, “Sounds of the Eternal:  A Celtic Psalter”

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

The Mission of the Seventy

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Last week we discussed being on a journey and the importance of our journey partners.  Our passage in Luke was about Jesus setting his eyes towards Jerusalem and being set on the mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, of living out the peace and presence of God on all of humanity.

This week, we find Jesus sending out 70, or in some manuscripts, 72, messengers to towns and places to proclaim the message that God’s Kingdom, God’s presence is now…that the time for release of prisoners, of welcoming of immigrants, of freedom for those being oppressed or persecuted has come…that community, true community…community marked by honest conversation, checking our egos at the door, being confident in who we are in Christ, our humanity, and what God has created within us, radical inclusion of everyone, of opening up the doors of our lives and our communities to all of those around us in some way while trusting that God’s love will flow in and through us is here!  

Jesus goes on to say that this is a message that is ripe and ready for harvest.  I get that.  When I’m out in this neighborhood I hear folks all of the time saying bits and pieces in their conversations for a yearning to belong to a larger purpose, to a community that will not judge them or hem them in, but will allow them to ask questions, to live in wisdom, compassion, and in friendship.  

Jesus is not saying that he came to make a kingdom marked by unhealthy boundaries and power, but a kingdom, or Presence, marked by authentic friendship that leads to freedom and growth.  Friendship, Kingdom friendship, happens when folks believe in each other, love one another, don’t hold grudges, are willing to ask questions out of love for one another and not out of winning arguments or out of some sort of personal agenda.  In that Kingdom, transformation is a mark of friendship, a mark of relationship, not transactions or “if I do this, you’ll do this”.  

It’s important to note that the gospel author is simply trying to say that this is a message that needs to be spread…and that even 72 folks isn’t enough…the harvest is huge, all of humanity really.  But, have hope, you have all you need…you have yourself and a friend.   And, again, trust.  Trust beyond circumstance.  Donated trust.  Going out like lambs in the midst of wolves, but still trusting something deeper.  And, as we trust, to also trust that others also are looking for that kind of faith…a faith that is present and connects us to all that is good in ourselves, one another, and creation.  

My friends John McKnight, who recently passed, and Peter Block, who’s working with us in Westwood that many of you have met, have given us the concept of asset based community development.  The idea is that you don’t go into a situation asking what the need is, you go in looking for your assets…you gather your assets, then apply them in a community and development and growth will hopefully follow.

And, I’ve seen this concept work in so many ways over the years…and it’s working in different ways in our church and in Westwood.  That’s what we’ve been doing with the “Common Good Alliance” that has been meeting periodically.   Really, it’s how we are operating as a church.  When folks start talking about what we don’t have, that’s maybe a sign of a lack of trust in one’s self…or a lack of imagination to see the assets, the possibilities, and the relationships.  It frustrates me to no end when folks say things like something or someone can never change.  That’s simply not the gospel narrative, is it?

Jesus tells his messengers to model presence, even in the midst of resistors.  He tells them to go to homes and if they are welcomed there, to remain there, to bless the house, to give them peace and to have a deeper agency.  For those who do not welcome God’s message, Jesus says to go into the streets, to shake the dust off their feet in protest…but, notice, he doesn’t tell them to leave.  They remain and still proclaim and live out their message.  What I understand in this passage is that the early Jewish listener to this story would understand that the dust represents rejection or criticism.  Shake it off Jesus is saying, don’t let it stick to you.  And remain being the person that you’ve been called to be.  

Remain is a good word for us today.   I have found that being in one place for a while helps to build up love and trust and beauty in that place…when someone makes a commitment to the growth of an area and remaining…and if that place is welcoming and open to the message, good things usually follow…again, it’s trust and any organization or relationship will grow at the speed of trust.  

It’s also a good reminder to remain in Christ, our true home in Christ is welcoming and allows us to grow to a place of self awareness, others awareness, and God awareness.   That awareness while remaining moves us towards growth.  

God’s flow can’t be stopped, it will continue to flow over those who welcome it, and those who reject it.  Those who welcome it will grow, and those who can’t seem to welcome it, who can’t let go of the demons in their lives that are oppressing them, will continue to live in the hell that they’ve created for themselves, and often for others.  

Friends, Jesus reminds us that there is a thief that comes to steal and destroy, but as we live in the awareness of living in Christ, we experience abundant life…life filled with wonderful assets of relationship, possibility, imagination, purpose, and new life that we see emerge as we remain and become our true, authentic Selves.  We are called to be the body of Christ together…and to experience the abundant life of Christ poured into us.