Jul 08, 2024 |
In Weakness, God is There
| Tym House![Tym House](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/tym-house_631_small.jpg)
In Weakness, God is There
I do believe Paul's point is easily made at the end of our
reading. And that is that God's power is
made stronger in our human weakness.
Therefore, boasting and weakness allows for Christ's power and grace to be made more evident. Or, in our English translation of this, it's perfected. But why? Why is the divine's power perfected in weakness? Maybe because when human weakness is exposed, we get to see our gracious and compassionate God do things our humanity cannot do well on its own.
Maybe because in weakness, one must rely on something else beyond themselves to overcome. Maybe because in weakness, God likes to use those spaces to do things that exceed our expectations. Or maybe because in our boasting about our strength, we lose sight for our need of God and we think we can do things on our own.
Therefore, boasting and weakness allows for Christ's power and grace to be made more evident. Or, in our English translation of this, it's perfected. But why? Why is the divine's power perfected in weakness? Maybe because when human weakness is exposed, we get to see our gracious and compassionate God do things our humanity cannot do well on its own.
Maybe because in weakness, one must rely on something else beyond themselves to overcome. Maybe because in weakness, God likes to use those spaces to do things that exceed our expectations. Or maybe because in our boasting about our strength, we lose sight for our need of God and we think we can do things on our own.
Jun 10, 2024 |
Are We There Yet?
| The Rev. Joanna Leiserson![The Rev. Joanna Leiserson](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/redeemer-cincy-joanna-leiserson-3_220_small.jpg)
Are We There Yet?
I think we are all familiar with “Are we there yet?” In fact, I can’t help thinking that the question, so familiar to family travelers, is an inborn genetic trait that is triggered one hour after the car leaves the driveway. Sometimes children even make a repetitive chant out of it, thus increasing its output a hundredfold before the parents put a stop to the noise. When I was young, my mom and dad piled me and my brother and sister into the car, and we headed out on our first trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, 400 miles from home, or eighty hundred miles if you’re a kid.
After about 20 minutes traveling and every five minutes thereafter, we children asked the question that seems to be imbedded in all children’s DNA, to be turned on when they go on trips: Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Finally, my father said, “When you see Sleeping Beauty Castle, you’ll know.” Finally, it happened. An eternal seven hours later, Sleeping Beauty Castle loomed up next to the freeway, and we knew. There was the Magic Kingdom. The final destination on our journey isn’t the Magic Kingdom; it’s the heavenly Kingdom of God. And our landing spot isn’t Sleeping Beauty Castle. Instead, our new home will be what Paul calls “God’s building” and what Jesus calls “my Father’s house” with many rooms, where Jesus promised there is a place prepared for each of us.
May 29, 2024 |
The Apostles Love Song
| The Rev. Joanna Leiserson![The Rev. Joanna Leiserson](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/redeemer-cincy-joanna-leiserson-3_220_small.jpg)
The Apostles Love Song
I don’t remember when I started seeing the oval decals on cars that say just 26.2, but for a long time, it puzzled me. I assumed it referred to a Bible verse, so I looked up all the “26.2’s” in the Bible to see what message was being proclaimed. There was Exodus: “The length of each curtain shall be 28 cubits, and the width of each curtain 4 cubits; all the curtains shall be of the same size.” 1 Chronicles: “Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth…” And then I came to the one I thought was the right one, from Proverbs 26:2: “Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.” On the back of your car, that’s the message for the guy who swears at you when you cut in front of him in traffic. I finally found out that it’s the number of miles in a marathon and that the sticker is bragging rights you earn when you’ve run a marathon.
But don’t blame me for thinking 26.2 is a Bible verse. I was raised with the number 3:16—John 3:16, that is, which I had to memorize at the church I attended in my youth, along with the books of the Bible and the 23rd Psalm
May 20, 2024 |
On The Fringes
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane![The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/melanie-slane_755_small.jpg)
On The Fringes
Are we, perhaps, a little bit afraid of Pentecost? And what the spirit? A couple of weeks ago,
our neighbors invited us to attend worship with them at their church. Word of
deliverance. I'd been there a couple of
times before, but this was my first outing there with my children. The band was poppin, the speakers were
blaring. The choir was on fire. Little
Arlo instinctively covered his ears when entering the space.
It was loud. Seriously, three organs, I'm not sure, could hit this decibel. We swayed our hips and waved our hands in the air, and we sang as the soloist led us in a gospel tune called You Are Worthy. When the preacher got up to preach, he both sang and spoke rhythmically from one to the other, like it was just the most natural thing he had ever done.
I looked over at my boys to gauge their reception of a preaching style quite different from my own. This man was incredibly passionate. And just watching him made me wish I were a bolder preacher. And then, he started speaking in tongues. I looked at my children, wondering how they might react. Now, because of my work in the interfaith community here in Cincinnati, my kids have been to synagogues and mosques and Buddhist temples and Sikh Gurdwaras, but never before have they heard someone speak in tongues.
I bent down to Arlo and whispered, Are you okay? Yeah, he replied nonchalantly. I don't know why, but then I asked, Do you understand what he's saying? Yep! He affirmed with great clarity, not a hint of hesitation in his voice. Something I myself could not understand seemed so natural to this little child.
It was loud. Seriously, three organs, I'm not sure, could hit this decibel. We swayed our hips and waved our hands in the air, and we sang as the soloist led us in a gospel tune called You Are Worthy. When the preacher got up to preach, he both sang and spoke rhythmically from one to the other, like it was just the most natural thing he had ever done.
I looked over at my boys to gauge their reception of a preaching style quite different from my own. This man was incredibly passionate. And just watching him made me wish I were a bolder preacher. And then, he started speaking in tongues. I looked at my children, wondering how they might react. Now, because of my work in the interfaith community here in Cincinnati, my kids have been to synagogues and mosques and Buddhist temples and Sikh Gurdwaras, but never before have they heard someone speak in tongues.
I bent down to Arlo and whispered, Are you okay? Yeah, he replied nonchalantly. I don't know why, but then I asked, Do you understand what he's saying? Yep! He affirmed with great clarity, not a hint of hesitation in his voice. Something I myself could not understand seemed so natural to this little child.
May 13, 2024 |
Sent Unto the World
| The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade![The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/redeemer-cincy-herschel-wade-4_767_small.jpg)
Sent Unto the World
Think of someone who is suffering from addiction, from depression, from loneliness, self-rejection, rejection by the world. Distress due to finances. Meaningless of life. Think of them as being tossed into the ocean. Do we not hold on to Jesus, believe in our God and Christ so that we can be a lifeboat to others.
By us sitting here, standing here, and being here, a community that believes in the power and love of God and Christ, I believe we're in a position to help others and be helped by others even those struggling in the ocean trying to stay afloat. Because let's face it, there are times when we fall out of the lifeboat and need help getting back in.
Amen? Being a set, being set apart from this world does not mean that we are better than anyone else. But what it means to me is that we have been given a gift to receive and live by and give that gift to someone else in need. So, as Jesus says, as you sent me into the world, so I send them into the world.
May 06, 2024 |
The Bigger Picture
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin![The Rev. Joyce Keeshin](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/joyce-keeshin_250_small.jpg)
The Bigger Picture
I don't know about you all, but I feel like I've had more than the usual number of encounters with geese this spring. Maybe you've had that experience too. Frequently as they're crossing a road... And if I don't see them immediately when I'm behind other cars, I will find that I'm experiencing considerable frustration.
'Why are these people not moving?' I tend to cut my timing short and, 'why is this car stopped?' And then feeling very sheepish to realize that this car has stopped to allow some geese to waddle past. And frustration turns to appreciation at the other driver's respect for these geese and for tending to God's creation, including the waddling ones.
It is the same phenomenon though, that anytime we are so tunnel-focused, we miss the larger picture. It's very easy to miss the larger picture and when something calls us to that larger picture, it is really a gift to change our perception and our engagement with the world.
May 02, 2024 |
The Vine and the Backyard
| The Rev. Joanna Leiserson![The Rev. Joanna Leiserson](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/redeemer-cincy-joanna-leiserson-3_220_small.jpg)
The Vine and the Backyard
A few years ago, when traveling anywhere was out of the question because of you-know-what, many homeowners thought of turning their own yards into destinations worthy of traveling to—and the staycation was born.
My backyard was a blank slate full of weeds. I wanted a place outside that was worth traveling to, a yard that reminded me of places I’d been to and loved—Clear Lake, the working-class resort of my early childhood with its woods and hammock; Olympic National Forest; Glacier National Park; the Japanese Garden in San Francisco and Spokane; and finally, Children’s Fairyland in Oakland and anything Alice in Wonderland.
I’m too scrawny to dig a hole deeper than three inches, so I hired a landscaper to plant the trees I bought. In my usual getting-carried-away habit, I eventually ended up, in a medium sized backyard, with 2 redbud trees, 3 magnolias, 7 dogwoods, and 13 Japanese maples, all different.
After they were planted, I told the trees, “You’re on your own.” I didn’t want to have to actually work in my yard. I’m all for no-maintenance gardening here. The trees had to take care of themselves. It was a transactional relationship between me and my trees. I give them dirt; they give me beauty, shade, and supplemental oxygen. I wasn’t going to fuss over them, water them, hug them—or prune them. I’m not a gardener. I’m a stay-at-home tourist.
My backyard was a blank slate full of weeds. I wanted a place outside that was worth traveling to, a yard that reminded me of places I’d been to and loved—Clear Lake, the working-class resort of my early childhood with its woods and hammock; Olympic National Forest; Glacier National Park; the Japanese Garden in San Francisco and Spokane; and finally, Children’s Fairyland in Oakland and anything Alice in Wonderland.
I’m too scrawny to dig a hole deeper than three inches, so I hired a landscaper to plant the trees I bought. In my usual getting-carried-away habit, I eventually ended up, in a medium sized backyard, with 2 redbud trees, 3 magnolias, 7 dogwoods, and 13 Japanese maples, all different.
After they were planted, I told the trees, “You’re on your own.” I didn’t want to have to actually work in my yard. I’m all for no-maintenance gardening here. The trees had to take care of themselves. It was a transactional relationship between me and my trees. I give them dirt; they give me beauty, shade, and supplemental oxygen. I wasn’t going to fuss over them, water them, hug them—or prune them. I’m not a gardener. I’m a stay-at-home tourist.
May 02, 2024 |
A Spectrum between Selfless and Selfish
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane![The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/melanie-slane_755_small.jpg)
A Spectrum between Selfless and Selfish
While coming down the hill into Hyde Park on Ridge, I noticed a car stopped in the middle of the intersection, and a man standing at the back of his car. Without thinking it through, I pulled off to the side, saying to my sister, hold on, a guy is stuck in the intersection. I'll call you right back. And as I jumped out of my car to see what was going on, I heard her yell through the speakerphone of my car, It's not safe! Don't be a martyr, Melanie! The intersection was filled with honking cars.
One guy flew around us full speed and then only one other man, a guy driving a semi-truck, got out to help me push this other guy's vehicle to the curb so that everyone else could get back to what they were doing before someone's bad luck completely inconvenienced them.
When was it lord that we saw you in need and did not come to your aid? And Jesus answered, just as you did not do it for one of your fellow humans in small things, you did not do it for me. The voice of our shepherd showing up, even in small things.
I got back in the car, and as promised, I called my sister. What happened? I'm glad you're alive. I laughed too. A guy just needed a little push. It wasn't until then that I realized how silly I might have looked pushing a car in my collar, or how annoyed I was that only one other guy got up to help us.
One guy flew around us full speed and then only one other man, a guy driving a semi-truck, got out to help me push this other guy's vehicle to the curb so that everyone else could get back to what they were doing before someone's bad luck completely inconvenienced them.
When was it lord that we saw you in need and did not come to your aid? And Jesus answered, just as you did not do it for one of your fellow humans in small things, you did not do it for me. The voice of our shepherd showing up, even in small things.
I got back in the car, and as promised, I called my sister. What happened? I'm glad you're alive. I laughed too. A guy just needed a little push. It wasn't until then that I realized how silly I might have looked pushing a car in my collar, or how annoyed I was that only one other guy got up to help us.
Apr 04, 2024 |
Recognizing Resurrection
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul![The Rev. Philip DeVaul](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/philip-devaul_215_small.jpg)
Recognizing Resurrection
Our hope rests in God. When God shows up and does the
work of transformation, and resurrection in our lives, our part is to recognize
God. And if you're not sure how to recognize God, look for love. And I mean, every time. Look for the love in
your life. And when you look there, you see God and you recognize that God has
been at work in resurrection all around you all the time.
This is when you begin to believe. When you cut someone off in traffic, because you're thinking about something, you didn't mean to do it, you're a very good person, we all know, but you cut someone off, and then you realize you do it, and then that person drives by you, and instead of giving you the finger, waves at you, and is like, I get it, it's okay. Recognize God's presence, please. That's God.
When you're at the airport, and you see two people that you have no idea who they are, and they clearly haven't seen each other in a while and they grab each other and embrace when they see each other, recognize God's presence.
When you're coming off the highway, and you see that man who's standing on the side asking for money, you know, that guy, maybe you give him a dollar and maybe you don't, but when you see him, you make eye contact with him and you say, hello. And when he looks at you and you look at him and you see each other's eyes, friends, that's God at work.
This is when you begin to believe. When you cut someone off in traffic, because you're thinking about something, you didn't mean to do it, you're a very good person, we all know, but you cut someone off, and then you realize you do it, and then that person drives by you, and instead of giving you the finger, waves at you, and is like, I get it, it's okay. Recognize God's presence, please. That's God.
When you're at the airport, and you see two people that you have no idea who they are, and they clearly haven't seen each other in a while and they grab each other and embrace when they see each other, recognize God's presence.
When you're coming off the highway, and you see that man who's standing on the side asking for money, you know, that guy, maybe you give him a dollar and maybe you don't, but when you see him, you make eye contact with him and you say, hello. And when he looks at you and you look at him and you see each other's eyes, friends, that's God at work.
Apr 04, 2024 |
Trust God
| The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade![The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/redeemer-cincy-herschel-wade-4_767_small.jpg)
Trust God
How many of you have been through hell with God by your
side, through the trials of your life, possibly testing you? How about when you get to the other side and
God is still there? You know in your
heart that you've made it through the hard times and hardships because of that
presence that you can always count on.
The presence that always seems to provide, you know that very well. How many of you know in your hearts, in your bones, in your body that without God you couldn't, you wouldn't survive? For us, our belief and trust in God does not result from merely pondering or meditating on God, but on having a relationship with God.
It's important to know that if your faith and relationship doesn't look like Abraham's, that's okay. But what is important is that you pursue a relationship. And our journeys with God are going to be different. We're going to experience God differently. That doesn't mean your faith is not as strong as someone else's faith.
It just means that they're different. And as long as we're working on our faith and relationship with God, I don't believe that God is going to look at a gauge and say whether or not you have enough faith that you pray enough. God knows each and every one of us, and meets us where we're at.
We experience God, we sense God, and we need God. And we know that we can trust God with our dreams, with our successes, and our failures. During our lives at every stage, God has proven to be faithful and steadfast. Even when we know we haven't always been. We know that we can count on God without full understanding or complete knowledge of what God is doing.
The presence that always seems to provide, you know that very well. How many of you know in your hearts, in your bones, in your body that without God you couldn't, you wouldn't survive? For us, our belief and trust in God does not result from merely pondering or meditating on God, but on having a relationship with God.
It's important to know that if your faith and relationship doesn't look like Abraham's, that's okay. But what is important is that you pursue a relationship. And our journeys with God are going to be different. We're going to experience God differently. That doesn't mean your faith is not as strong as someone else's faith.
It just means that they're different. And as long as we're working on our faith and relationship with God, I don't believe that God is going to look at a gauge and say whether or not you have enough faith that you pray enough. God knows each and every one of us, and meets us where we're at.
We experience God, we sense God, and we need God. And we know that we can trust God with our dreams, with our successes, and our failures. During our lives at every stage, God has proven to be faithful and steadfast. Even when we know we haven't always been. We know that we can count on God without full understanding or complete knowledge of what God is doing.
Mar 30, 2024 |
God's strategy is forgiveness and healing
| The Rev. Joanna Leiserson![The Rev. Joanna Leiserson](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/redeemer-cincy-joanna-leiserson-3_220_small.jpg)
God's strategy is forgiveness and healing
People were getting healed. There were rumors of a savior. We would overthrow our oppressors and be our true selves again under our true ruler. There were some disagreements among us at first, and some confusion, and some people got pretty belligerent, and they started arguing against us. And then, at the end, it's as if they got carried away with their inflammatory extremist ideas, and here we are.
But it wasn't that sudden. There were signs. We just didn't pick up on the signs, because the signs were warning about us, not about them. So we kept going, and then we crossed the line, and we couldn't go back. We always assumed we were the good guys. We are the good guys. So then how did I end up holding these nails and this hammer in my hand?
How did we get to be the executioners instead of the saviors?
Like I said, it seems so sudden, but it wasn't really. There was a road we went down, an imperceptible slide down the road towards that cross. And at some point, we made a turn down the conventional path that tells us to conform to the empire's moral code.
Mar 30, 2024 |
Hospitality without Condescension
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane![The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/melanie-slane_755_small.jpg)
Hospitality without Condescension
Hospitality is also an integral part of our story
tonight. And it's the one that surprised
me. I consider myself a pretty great
host. I love when people come to my home
for dinner. I'm Greek, so there's always enough food to feed a small army. And I've crafted my own signature
cocktail. And I've brought brightly
colored linens home from my travels so I can tell the story of the amazing
people I've met along the way.
Hospitality, though, has another side, the surprise side. It turns out that I'm terrible at being a guest. I actually had a friend once grab me by the wrist and bring me back to the dining room so I would stop washing her dishes.
I rarely allow myself to be the recipient of the service of others because that level of vulnerability might remind me that I might actually need someone to take care of me from time to time.
Jesus shows us this night that if we are going to share hospitality without condescension, then we first have to allow ourselves to be the guest in someone else's home. Jesus begins this act of service, and only by receiving it can we know how to share it with others.
Hospitality, though, has another side, the surprise side. It turns out that I'm terrible at being a guest. I actually had a friend once grab me by the wrist and bring me back to the dining room so I would stop washing her dishes.
I rarely allow myself to be the recipient of the service of others because that level of vulnerability might remind me that I might actually need someone to take care of me from time to time.
Jesus shows us this night that if we are going to share hospitality without condescension, then we first have to allow ourselves to be the guest in someone else's home. Jesus begins this act of service, and only by receiving it can we know how to share it with others.
Mar 28, 2024 |
The Riddle of Jesus and Judas
| The Rev. Gary Lubin![The Rev. Gary Lubin](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/dsc08258-edit-edit_242_small.jpg)
The Riddle of Jesus and Judas
Having his last supper with the disciples a troubled
Jesus announces that one of them is his betrayer. And do you know, if you read that carefully,
every one of them is bewildered.
They have no clue. And their uncertainty suggests that it could be any one of them. A notable example is Peter, who refutes that he would ever deny Jesus, but then does so three times, cock a doodle doo. And speaking of Peter, he's the one that beckons John, the beloved disciple, reclining right next to Jesus to ask for the name of the traitor.
Well, and Jesus answers, kind of vaguely, It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread, he says. Well, Judas may have gotten the first piece of bread, but he didn't get the last piece of bread. They all share the very same communal bread and wine. And then we will do that very shortly together. And I take great comfort in doing that with you because I confess that I too have betrayed Jesus selling him out to suffering and death in this time and place by failing to love as I should.
Here's the question before us in this day and age, isn’t Jesus among us even now as the other? The last, the lost, the least, the lonely, and the left out. Jesus beckons us to love God and to love one another. And you know, fortunately we all have a community to do that, but many others do not. Now paradoxically, I think we can look to Judas for answers.
They have no clue. And their uncertainty suggests that it could be any one of them. A notable example is Peter, who refutes that he would ever deny Jesus, but then does so three times, cock a doodle doo. And speaking of Peter, he's the one that beckons John, the beloved disciple, reclining right next to Jesus to ask for the name of the traitor.
Well, and Jesus answers, kind of vaguely, It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread, he says. Well, Judas may have gotten the first piece of bread, but he didn't get the last piece of bread. They all share the very same communal bread and wine. And then we will do that very shortly together. And I take great comfort in doing that with you because I confess that I too have betrayed Jesus selling him out to suffering and death in this time and place by failing to love as I should.
Here's the question before us in this day and age, isn’t Jesus among us even now as the other? The last, the lost, the least, the lonely, and the left out. Jesus beckons us to love God and to love one another. And you know, fortunately we all have a community to do that, but many others do not. Now paradoxically, I think we can look to Judas for answers.
Mar 28, 2024 |
Intimacy, vulnerability, and steadfast love are interwoven
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin![The Rev. Joyce Keeshin](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/joyce-keeshin_250_small.jpg)
Intimacy, vulnerability, and steadfast love are interwoven
Jesus is describing his own death, a death he understands as necessary for our salvation. So, there's intimacy, vulnerability, and there's deep commitment born of love. We see all three of these in this Gospel reading.
In our own lives are there moments we want to shy away. We want to turn away. We want to turn inward and avoid intimacy, avoid vulnerability, avoid any soul-deep commitment to love. I certainly know I've been in those places of avoidance. It's part of our human condition. And part of our conditioning.
Intimacy may be interpreted as dependence, as vulnerability, or as weakness, as commitment to love may raise up the strongest sense of vulnerability. And yet we know love needs intimacy, of being willing to be present and close to another. Love requires vulnerability. Being willing to be seen, to be transparent in our moments of fear or struggle.
Love needs steadfastness to endure the challenges and complexities of individuals, families, of communities. Intimacy, vulnerability, and steadfast love are interwoven.
In our own lives are there moments we want to shy away. We want to turn away. We want to turn inward and avoid intimacy, avoid vulnerability, avoid any soul-deep commitment to love. I certainly know I've been in those places of avoidance. It's part of our human condition. And part of our conditioning.
Intimacy may be interpreted as dependence, as vulnerability, or as weakness, as commitment to love may raise up the strongest sense of vulnerability. And yet we know love needs intimacy, of being willing to be present and close to another. Love requires vulnerability. Being willing to be seen, to be transparent in our moments of fear or struggle.
Love needs steadfastness to endure the challenges and complexities of individuals, families, of communities. Intimacy, vulnerability, and steadfast love are interwoven.
Mar 28, 2024 |
More Intimacy than One can Handle
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul![The Rev. Philip DeVaul](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/philip-devaul_215_small.jpg)
More Intimacy than One can Handle
Intimacy is connection. Knowing one another. Care and
vulnerability. And what Mary shows to
this man who is not only her teacher, but her friend, and who we were reminded
in this story is the one who literally raised her brother up from the dead.
She drops to her knees and she pours perfume all over his feet and she takes her hair and wipes it off.
And you can imagine how uncomfortable everybody else was in the room. Judas, of course, is the one to say something because of course it's Judas. And John really makes sure to let us know what a dirtbag Judas is as if we didn't already remember, right? We know Judas, hot mess, we get it.
But in this moment, we totally, there's something about Judas is like, oh, she, she shouldn't be doing that.
You know, that money could have gone to the poor. Right? Which is no different than the kid being like, change the channel, they're kissing. It's the same thing. It's a reaction to intimacy. He has to change the subject because the intimacy on display is more than he can handle.
She drops to her knees and she pours perfume all over his feet and she takes her hair and wipes it off.
And you can imagine how uncomfortable everybody else was in the room. Judas, of course, is the one to say something because of course it's Judas. And John really makes sure to let us know what a dirtbag Judas is as if we didn't already remember, right? We know Judas, hot mess, we get it.
But in this moment, we totally, there's something about Judas is like, oh, she, she shouldn't be doing that.
You know, that money could have gone to the poor. Right? Which is no different than the kid being like, change the channel, they're kissing. It's the same thing. It's a reaction to intimacy. He has to change the subject because the intimacy on display is more than he can handle.
Mar 24, 2024 |
Here is the Messiah
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin![The Rev. Joyce Keeshin](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/joyce-keeshin_250_small.jpg)
Here is the Messiah
We know that the pain and the suffering is still to come.
Thinking about the disciples more, are, are they walking along Jesus, flanking him? Might that be something we would have done? Or are some of them acting almost as an advance team, drawing the crowds, letting them know about Jesus, letting them know that here is the person they have been waiting for. Here is the Messiah.
Way back when I was in my 20s I was very involved in political campaigns and I can remember being part of an advanced team and our whole job was to arrive early and to get people excited about the candidate who was to come, to get them excited about meeting them and to give a preview of their message. It was a very exciting time. I wonder what it would be like to be an advanced team for Jesus, to be able to tell people who Jesus was, why it was important that they meet him, know him.
And we might ask, what are the disciples telling people to draw them to Jesus? In Matthew's gospel, they talk of how the city was stirred, the whole city was stirred by Jesus's arrival. And people were asking, who is this? And the crowds were responding, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.
But what are the disciples telling people? How are they getting the people to turn out? How are they getting this incredible celebration? What would we tell people if we were the disciples? What do we tell people when we seek to introduce them to Jesus? When we want them to meet the Jesus we know?
Thinking about the disciples more, are, are they walking along Jesus, flanking him? Might that be something we would have done? Or are some of them acting almost as an advance team, drawing the crowds, letting them know about Jesus, letting them know that here is the person they have been waiting for. Here is the Messiah.
Way back when I was in my 20s I was very involved in political campaigns and I can remember being part of an advanced team and our whole job was to arrive early and to get people excited about the candidate who was to come, to get them excited about meeting them and to give a preview of their message. It was a very exciting time. I wonder what it would be like to be an advanced team for Jesus, to be able to tell people who Jesus was, why it was important that they meet him, know him.
And we might ask, what are the disciples telling people to draw them to Jesus? In Matthew's gospel, they talk of how the city was stirred, the whole city was stirred by Jesus's arrival. And people were asking, who is this? And the crowds were responding, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.
But what are the disciples telling people? How are they getting the people to turn out? How are they getting this incredible celebration? What would we tell people if we were the disciples? What do we tell people when we seek to introduce them to Jesus? When we want them to meet the Jesus we know?
Mar 18, 2024 |
Go where Jesus is
| Guest Speaker![Guest Speaker](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/img-4212_935_small.jpg)
Go where Jesus is
And often this change that we really want is to
desperately go back to when we remember what we remember as simpler or better
or easier times. We want our churches to be like they were. And of course, they
were wonderful. We want them and our
world to slow down and stop changing.
But unfortunately, staying static or spending all of our energy and
words pining for what was or what could be, really isn’t the way of Jesus.
What is it Jesus says after he tells us to lose our life? He says, if any of you wants to serve me, then follow me, then you'll be where I am ready to serve at a moment's notice. Follow me, be where I am. Be ready to go where I am going. It's a challenge for us personally, but also collectively. We have to look for where Jesus is going and ask if we are willing to go there too.
In January, 2020, just two months before COVID, before we knew what was coming our way, I was sitting in a room a lot like this with Bishop Michael Curry, and he was talking to young adults in Washington, DC, and he said something that I had never heard him say before. He said, what people forget is that the institution of the church exists in order to serve the movement of Jesus, not the other way around.
The institution exists to serve the movement of Jesus. The movement of Jesus does not exist to serve the institution. I think that's a lot of what Jesus is talking about today, especially here in the year 2024. And I think we're being asked collectively if we are willing to lose the church we want in order to follow Jesus to go where he is reckless in our love. A love that has an internal impact. Are we willing to lose the church we want in order to be the church he's calling us to be? If we were to go where Jesus is, then we have to ask, so where is Jesus, right?
Guest Preacher: Jerusalem Greer
What is it Jesus says after he tells us to lose our life? He says, if any of you wants to serve me, then follow me, then you'll be where I am ready to serve at a moment's notice. Follow me, be where I am. Be ready to go where I am going. It's a challenge for us personally, but also collectively. We have to look for where Jesus is going and ask if we are willing to go there too.
In January, 2020, just two months before COVID, before we knew what was coming our way, I was sitting in a room a lot like this with Bishop Michael Curry, and he was talking to young adults in Washington, DC, and he said something that I had never heard him say before. He said, what people forget is that the institution of the church exists in order to serve the movement of Jesus, not the other way around.
The institution exists to serve the movement of Jesus. The movement of Jesus does not exist to serve the institution. I think that's a lot of what Jesus is talking about today, especially here in the year 2024. And I think we're being asked collectively if we are willing to lose the church we want in order to follow Jesus to go where he is reckless in our love. A love that has an internal impact. Are we willing to lose the church we want in order to be the church he's calling us to be? If we were to go where Jesus is, then we have to ask, so where is Jesus, right?
Guest Preacher: Jerusalem Greer
Mar 12, 2024 |
Big Feelings
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul![The Rev. Philip DeVaul](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/philip-devaul_215_small.jpg)
Big Feelings
People come at us, and we're not really sure where they're coming from. And sometimes our first instinct is to take whatever energies come up that are thrown our way and throw it right back.
Someone wants to come at you with some kind of anger or argument., you're going to knock them down. This is the way of our world friends. This is the way we think. Whenever you come with me at my way, I'm going to throw right back at you. You know who I'm going to treat, right? The people who treat me right.
And I define how I'm treated as right. And I'm not at all. If you come at me one way, I'm going to come right back at you and give it twice as hard. This is the way of the world, but also argue that this way of dealing with something coming our way that we don't quite understand what that energy is. I want to suggest that this is actually a way that we experience our relationship with God, because friends, we do not quite understand God and what God's doing and how God's doing it.
God is mysterious and confusing and uncertain to us in so many ways. And so when we interact with God, we come into that conversation, into that situation, not really knowing what we're dealing with, right? Is this God that's coming my way? Is this God coming my way with anger and wrath? Is this God coming my way in some sort of furious puff of emotion?
Is this God coming at me, judging me and here to tell me all the things that are wrong with me?
Someone wants to come at you with some kind of anger or argument., you're going to knock them down. This is the way of our world friends. This is the way we think. Whenever you come with me at my way, I'm going to throw right back at you. You know who I'm going to treat, right? The people who treat me right.
And I define how I'm treated as right. And I'm not at all. If you come at me one way, I'm going to come right back at you and give it twice as hard. This is the way of the world, but also argue that this way of dealing with something coming our way that we don't quite understand what that energy is. I want to suggest that this is actually a way that we experience our relationship with God, because friends, we do not quite understand God and what God's doing and how God's doing it.
God is mysterious and confusing and uncertain to us in so many ways. And so when we interact with God, we come into that conversation, into that situation, not really knowing what we're dealing with, right? Is this God that's coming my way? Is this God coming my way with anger and wrath? Is this God coming my way in some sort of furious puff of emotion?
Is this God coming at me, judging me and here to tell me all the things that are wrong with me?
Mar 04, 2024 |
Price Gouging
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul![The Rev. Philip DeVaul](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/philip-devaul_215_small.jpg)
Price Gouging
When Jesus gets angry, it's because someone is getting in the way of someone else experiencing God's love. In the case of the temple, the people that are there, are selling oxen and livestock and things like that which are meant for sacrifice according to the commandments, and that's part of how people atone, and keep their relationship with God.
And the people who are there selling those things and exchanging money, it's clear that they're doing something, most likely price gouging. They're praying on the people's need for confession and absolution and they're profiting from that. And instead of helping people connect with God, they're actually getting in the way of people's connection with God.
And friends, our goal as Christians always is to help people connect with the God who loves them. Our goal is to love and to help others to love and be loved.
And the people who are there selling those things and exchanging money, it's clear that they're doing something, most likely price gouging. They're praying on the people's need for confession and absolution and they're profiting from that. And instead of helping people connect with God, they're actually getting in the way of people's connection with God.
And friends, our goal as Christians always is to help people connect with the God who loves them. Our goal is to love and to help others to love and be loved.
Feb 26, 2024 |
When the Self is at the Center
| The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade![The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade](https://www.redeemer-cincy.org/uploads/images/redeemer-cincy-herschel-wade-4_767_small.jpg)
When the Self is at the Center
He had on multiple occasions, masterfully bested fierce
opposition for the most respected religious authorities. He astounded the crowds with his teachings
and actions. And he demonstrated both
the power and authority expected of a Messiah.
However, such an expectation comes up short. It distorts one's vision and makes one see
with the human eyes on one level, Peter's eyes did not cause him to
miscalculate Jesus's power. Peter was
able to see all of Jesus's wondrous feats.
However, he was not understanding what Jesus was aiming to
accomplish. He and the other disciples
seem to be more preoccupied where Jesus’ messianic power and title are rather
than his life-giving mission.
Of course, the title Messiah is important for establishing an authority bestowed by God. But what good is a title when detached from Jesus’ counter cultural mission to seek and save the lost, the broken and outcast? No. Peter's mind wasn't capable of envisioning all the possibilities accessible to God, especially not a God who came to serve and not be served.
Not when the stakes are so high, when doing what is accomplished by the human eye and mind would not accomplish what God accomplished through Jesus Christ for humanity. So, maybe Peter doesn't deserve any partial credit at all. Maybe placing limits on God because of human desires is something exactly from the devil.
Because there is just too much at stake. To announce Jesus as the Messiah before his true glorification would be inadequate and incomplete. For the Son of Man must undergo suffering, rejection, and death. It is precisely for this reason that his followers, including Peter, would eventually take up their crosses and lose their lives.
Of course, the title Messiah is important for establishing an authority bestowed by God. But what good is a title when detached from Jesus’ counter cultural mission to seek and save the lost, the broken and outcast? No. Peter's mind wasn't capable of envisioning all the possibilities accessible to God, especially not a God who came to serve and not be served.
Not when the stakes are so high, when doing what is accomplished by the human eye and mind would not accomplish what God accomplished through Jesus Christ for humanity. So, maybe Peter doesn't deserve any partial credit at all. Maybe placing limits on God because of human desires is something exactly from the devil.
Because there is just too much at stake. To announce Jesus as the Messiah before his true glorification would be inadequate and incomplete. For the Son of Man must undergo suffering, rejection, and death. It is precisely for this reason that his followers, including Peter, would eventually take up their crosses and lose their lives.