28 May 17 ASCENSION SUNDAY 2017 A I am going to start out with a survey this morning, based on a question you have probably heard asked many times before. “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” You need a chicken to have an egg. But you have to have an egg to get a chicken. So, let’s vote. How many of you vote for the chicken? Please raise your hands. How many of you vote for the egg? Please raise your hands. Not only is our survey not definitive, but probably either answer has its merits. The egg could be first and the chicken last. Or, the chicken could be first and the egg last. That’s kind of like it is with two of our Bible readings. We have the first reading from the book of Acts and the Gospel reading from the Gospel of Luke. Which came first? And which came last? I mentioned in an earlier sermon that the book of Acts was actually the second part of the bigger book of Luke-Acts. Then Luke must have been first, followed by Acts--even if in our readings it was the other way around. Just to throw a little more confusion into the mix, let’s look at the last part, the Acts reading and see what we get. Strangely, when we look at the reading from Acts, it takes us back to the story from the first book of Luke. The author reminds his audience about the reason that God sent his Son to earth, to us, in the first place. Jesus came to be one of us, to live like us, and with us. Actually, Jesus didn’t so much come to be like us. Truth be told, people weren’t first—they weren’t the original, with Jesus copying us. Jesus, who was God Himself, created us in his image. So, even though he came to earth later, he was first, not last. So, maybe you’re thinking that we have finally cleared up the first and last thing once and for all. No—not really. Maybe we can use a bit of apparent confusion to help clear things up. You have probably heard the phrase, “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” I hope that can clear it up for us. Let’s start with “the first shall be last.” The reading from the Gospel of Luke has as its last scene, Jesus ascending up to Heaven. But before Jesus is in the last scene, he takes his disciples back to the first part of the story of God’s people recalling the teachings of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. What I think Jesus is reminding them, and us, is that our FIRST THINGS, our HISTORY, has brought us to our TODAY’S, and will eventually take us to our last things. The first helps usher in the last. Let me say that again. The first helps usher in the last. You may have noticed that the story we are focusing on today, Jesus’ ascension, appears in both of our readings. In the book of Acts, the last appearance of Jesus on earth becomes the first part of the story of the early Christian community. Let’s turn to the last shall be first. I was driving home a couple of days ago and on the side of the road, two young boys were chumming around, carefree on a holiday weekend, getting ready for the summer, with hardly a care in the world. Seeing them took me back to my childhood walking with my best buddy. A blast from the past for me! On that drive, I was coming from visiting a woman in the hospital who had spent our whole visit telling me her mother’s, hers, and her children’s history. The last part of our stories point back to the first part, while also pointing on to the new first parts of the next generations to come. The woman showed me her cell phone and pointed out that it was not very smart. This was not the devise that would take us into the electronic future. But it wasn’t so ancient that it would just remind us of a distant past. It was a phone, she said, that she could use to get hold of and keep up with the people who were present, in her life today. She was helping me to understand more about the first and the last. We can look into the past to see how we got to this place in time. We can consider where we are going to be towards the end of our lives and beyond. But, the purpose of both the first and the last is to help us to live better in the NOW. It is possible to vote for the first, which is another way of choosing to focus more on the past. We may look back and wish those Good Old Days were here again, when life was simpler and everyone agreed on things. When I start going back to my own first times, however, they weren’t all that simple. We were living in a city in Berlin that the allies had cut up like a big pie. We moved to a country that wasn’t all that excited to see new immigrants, and there was the threat of world war. That wasn’t exactly simple—but it does sound familiar. One could vote for the last, and hope that technology or science or government will someday in our future make life more manageable—cures will be found. And if that doesn’t happen, well, we can just pine for the joys and beauty of Heaven. Yes, it is important to know the first things, to know where we came from. It is important to have hopes and dreams of a better future. But here we are in between the first and the last—in the HERE and NOW. Apparently, the vote was a tie! Let’s see if our faith can break the tie. Maybe our Holy Bible, can and maybe should be ready to give us a kind of a BOTH-AND approach. When we wonder if our life counts for something, and we are part of something bigger than ourselves, we can go back and hear the psalmist say, “Clap your hands, all you people. Shout to God with a loud, joyful song. We must fear the Lord, the Most High. He is the great king of the whole earth.” However, the past is not enough because it’s not hard to notice that many are not living joyfully or thinking that God is in control of the earth. Jesus’ law of love is definitely NOT the way we always treat each other. And too often we define ourselves by what we DON’T do, and who we DON’T associate with. We remember the first things, the way we were created; the way we are supposed to live, loving, not hating each other. But, we look into our world and we think we may be in the last times, as we hear of much violence and hatred. As Christians we are taken back to Jesus Christ so that we can also move forward with him. We are to look back and repent—that word again. We are to change the way we think and act today by looking back to the way that Jesus Christ our Savior lived and died. I’d like to direct your attention to a couple of key verses from today’s readings. Acts 1:3-4 says, “After his death, Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about the kingdom of God.” Verse 3 basically says, if you want evidence that Jesus is alive, let him come and live with you, to spend time with you, and talk with you. Kind of sounds like that old church hymn. “He walks with me and talks with me, along life’s narrow way.” That Jesus who lived way back in the pages of the Bible, and who is supposed to take you to Heaven when you die, wants you to let him be present in your life right now, today. Verse 4 says he appeared to them for 40 days. Jesus doesn’t want to walk with us only on Sundays or when we have time or when we are in trouble. The number 40 is significant in the Bible. It was the number of years it took the people that Moses led to finally get right with God. Jesus wants to spend decades, a lifetime with us. 40 days is how long Jesus allowed himself to be tempted in the wilderness with the worst temptations the devil could throw his way. He will be with us 24-7 in the worst and best days of our life. When you and I get too busy living in either the first or the last times, the past or the future, when you and I get caught looking up at the sky, speculating about life, Jesus and the angels he sends come to get our attention. Jesus wants us to be eye-level with him in our daily walk. So, don’t vote for the first or the last. Vote for the ALWAYS. This is Memorial Day Weekend. We remember those who sacrificed their lives in the past, so we can have a better present, and look forward to helping our country and world have a better tomorrow. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. If you choose Jesus to walk with you, NOW, and EVERY DAY, then you will be like those disciples in the Gospel. It reads, “The disciples worshiped Jesus and were overjoyed as they went to where they were called to be. They were regularly in the temple, the church, where they praised God!” Bottom line is: VOTE FOR JESUS! Let’s say our AMEN by singing the Gospel ALLELUIA. Let’s let this side vote to sing the “alleluia’s” and the other side to vote to sing the “praise ye the Lord’s”.

28 May 17 ¬ASCENSION SUNDAY 2017 A H=Human P=Puppet/performer A=Angel H: Happy Ascension Sunday. P: I like what happened on the first Ascension Sunday? H: That’s when Jesus was taken up to Heaven. P: That must be why Jesus’ disciples were looking up at the sky. H: It’s hard to walk or see where you’re going if you’re looking up too much. P: Maybe that’s what happened with the people in our Bible story. H: The disciples looked up in sky because Jesus had gone up to be with his Father. P: (puppet looking up)They were so busy looking up they didn’t see what was RIGHT in front of them. A: (angel appears) H: They didn’t even notice WHO was in front of them. P: IT WAS AN ANGEL! H: Why do you think the angel wanted the disciples to stop looking UP at Jesus? P: Because Jesus came DOWN to the people who need HELP. H: Can any of us see needy people when we look UP in the clouds? P: NOPE! They’re usually DOWN in front of our eyes. H: Where did the angels say that we would see Jesus when he came back? P: They said to look for him in the same way as he left—right in front of their eyes. H: And what do you think Jesus will be doing when he comes back? P: Jesus will probably be DOWN helping people--just like we are supposed to do. A: (angel leaves) H: Did you notice anything important here next to you? P: (look around)I SURE DID! I see people right next to me that I should be helping. H: Kids, what happened on the first Ascension Sunday? Where did Jesus go? Why doesn’t Jesus want us to stand around and stare up at the clouds too much? When Jesus comes back, what does he want to see us doing? Please repeat today’s WORDS TO REMEMBER. The angels said/“Why are you just standing here looking at the sky?” That’s from Acts 1. Where’s that from? Would you please pray with me? Dear Jesus/ thanks for coming to earth/To give us your help/ Help me to not stand around/Help me give a hand to others/Just like you did/ And all of God’s down-to-earth helping children said…AMEN! Notes: Use a puppet that can gesture. You can also use an angel puppet or make a paper plate angel. By Pastor Berni Fricke

14 May 17 SIXTH SUNDAY IN EASTER 2017 A Today’s Gospel is so very familiar to so many. It’s used in so many services when someone has died. We try to comfort each other with these words. We don’t want to call them funerals, so we call them CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE, instead. And we have the comfort of knowing that there will be a place for us to call home. I remember a service that I officiated where the family tried so hard to make it a celebration that they encouraged everyone to wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt, including me! What I remember most about the service besides that bright orange shirt that I wore was the man who just wouldn’t stop sharing about the parties on the boat that seemed to go on forever. I so wanted to pull the plug on the microphone! I am pretty sure that there will be plenty to celebrate when we get to Heaven. But before that happens, what if I were to tell you that I don’t think that this Bible passage is just a celebration of life? What if I were to tell you that it starts out as a CELEBRATION OF DEATH? Oh, we would rather just get right to that great HOUSE PARTY IN HEAVEN, but wait just a minute. Let’s look at what comes first. There’s the part about Jesus going to PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU AND ME. Sounds so sweet and wonderful, doesn’t it? How exactly will that room in God’s Heavenly Hotel be paid for? Yes indeed, this is not the Heavenly Motel 6. This is the 5 Star, eternal life hotel. Just exactly, how much does it cost to stay there—FOREVER? The reservation has been paid—paid by Jesus for you and me—on the cross, at the cost of Jesus’ life! We get to say Hallelujah and praise ye the Lord because Jesus suffered and died FOR us, and BECAUSE of us. When you put it that way, maybe we should be wearing BLACK instead of going Hawaiian! Leave it to Jesus to be a bit of a party pooper when we want to jump right in and throw a party. But maybe, just maybe, starting with a CELEBRATION OF DEATH can be an important part of what will become our CELEBRATION OF LIFE? The butterflies and Easter lilies are a truly beautiful sign of life. But, we shouldn’t forget the death and struggle that came first. The beauty, the life, came at a cost. The cost could not be measured in wealth or possessions. The cost is measured in a life given for us. One way that demonstrates that we may have forgotten this is people’s focus on the wrong part of Jesus’ promise. So many people have a picture of what that HEAVENLY PLACE looks like. They envision something that kind of looks like HEARST CASTLE—OPULENT WEALTH! There must be gold and diamonds and riches beyond our wildest dreams. And that is true. The riches of heaven were beyond the disciples and our wildest dreams. I visited a place like that this weekend. It was OVERWHELMINGLY HUGE WITH COSTLY TREASURES ALL AROUND ME! Where was I, you may ask? I was at the huge and expansive Kaiser Hospital in Roseville, standing at Lindy Smith’s bed next to the people who loved her. Yes, it cost millions, maybe billions of dollars to build and maintain that hospital. But the most costly part of that hospital was the presence of loved ones and Jesus Christ himself. It took the nurse a few moments to remember what was most costly. Lindy had just woken up from her surgery and the nurse was trying to strictly enforce the rule that only two could be next to her bed. When I asked if her pastor could come and pray, she tried to suggest a way to shuffle us in without breaking the rule. But then, she too remembered that they were in the business of celebrating life, and she let us all in briefly. I am happy to say that with the help of the riches of God’s love and grace, as well as the hospital, healing is taking place. Jesus was trying to tell his disciples that coming into his presence is more about the riches of a loving relationship than just a nice hotel. The greatest riches, the greatest place, is standing next to someone who loves you dearly, dearly enough to give his whole life for you! Unfortunately for those disciples and maybe for us at times, they were looking for a five star hotel and a five star God. Pie in the sky may be fine and fancy, but someone who stands by your side in both the good times and the bad is the best treasure we could inherit. In case the disciples forgot that lesson from Jesus, we have today’s 1st reading from the book of Acts. Remember that the Acts of the Apostles actually took place AFTER Jesus left the Earth. The body of Christ, the earthly presence of Christ is now represented by the Christian community. Last week we heard from the book of Acts that the Christian community was sharing and supporting each other. They were trying to be Christ to others. That did not sit well with those in power who thought that they had the inside track to God’s riches. They were trying to protect God and the faith from these renegade Christians, so they criminalized the followers of Jesus, trying to purge them for God’s sake. In our passage we find two key figures, one of whom would be important enough to be the first Christian to be martyred in the Bible. When you think of the most important people in the Christian faith besides Jesus, two names usually come to mind—the apostles Peter and Paul, as in “take from Peter in order to pay Paul.” They would be easily the most prominent disciples. What if I were to tell you that Paul was actually in our reading from Acts. You would expect that he would be a great candidate for martyrdom. Fortunately for us, but not the early Christian community, the Apostle Paul was known in those days as the Christian Killer Saul. It wasn’t until his dramatic conversion and subsequent ministry for Christ’s church that he became so positively prominent. The one chosen and given the honor of being the first Christian martyr was a disciple named Stephen. To be so honored, he most have done some pretty amazing things, amassed some great power and prestige. Actually, he HAD amassed a great and powerful ministry. He had a powerful following. To them he was a MIGHTY KING. Stephen was the KING OF THE KITCHEN! Stephen ran a First Century SOUP KITCHEN. Many who became followers of Christ were cast out of their families. They and many others who were treated like outcasts were in danger of starving. Stephen knew that the greatest riches and home was the one we make for people with our presence and care. He organized the distribution of food and supplies that helped keep those in need alive and supplied. Like Jesus, Stephen was willing to risk his life for those whom he loved and served in the name of Christ. Like Jesus, he forgave those who were to put him to death. He prayed for his enemies. But his love and forgiveness also spread Gospel seeds, a couple of which might have landed on Saul without him realizing it! We celebrate Stephen’s death because in the midst of it, he brought life to those he touched. Take a look at that end of that first reading with me and see what it says. I will read the last lines. Would you please read the next two lines with me? While council members were executing Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, welcome my spirit.” Then he knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” After he had said this, he died. (we say together) WORD OF GOD WORD OF LIFE. THANKS BE TO GOD! Then we go on to sing our halleluia’s and praises. OK—so I have confession to make. We are not so much celebrating death as we are remembering how to truly celebrate life. We celebrate life, not by amassing things to benefit ourselves mainly. We celebrate life when we live to share ourselves with others. You and I as individuals, the families we live in, the communities and the country we live in—we will be truly celebrating life when we see the value in other people the way that Jesus did, when we celebrate the life and love we are entrusted to share. Today we celebrate Mother’s Day. One of the songs we could have sung has the words “Mothering God” in it. We know that the best mothering, the best parenting is done when people put the needs of those in their care before their own needs. Thank you Jesus and Stephen and Janey and Lindy and many others for showing us how to be family for each other—to show us how to celebrate the TREASURES OF HEAVEN here on Earth. And all of God’s treasured children said…AMEN!

14 May 17 FIFTH SUNDAY of EASTER – 2017 A H = Human P=Puppet or performer H: How do you like it here? P: I’m getting tired of where I live. I think I need to move. H: I’ve lived in many different places—some FAR AWAY and some NEARBY. P: That sounds exciting and interesting! H: There was something special about each place that I lived. P: But if you could pick just ONE place to live, where would that be? H: Hmm? I would pick to live close to the people who love me. P: Sure, OK, but WHERE would that PLACE be? H: That PLACE would be WHEREVER the people who LOVE me are living. P: But there are some PLACES that have more ROOM than others. H: That’s true. But I only need ONE KIND OF ROOM. P: This had better be a REALLY BIG ROOM! H: I just need enough room for LOTS OF LOVE! P: Hmm? Maybe that’s what Jesus was talking about. H: Tell me more. P: Jesus said he had a PLACE and ROOM FOR ALL OF US. H: I think we know where that PLACE and ROOM is at. P: The best PLACE of all to live is CLOSE to the LOVE OF GOD! H: Sounds like a HEAVENLY PLACE to me. I want to live there FOREVER! P: So, wherever we live, we can have JESUS’ LOVE IN OUR HEART! H: Kids, raise your hand if you live in a house. What’s more important, to have, a house or the love of your family? Home is where the love is. Who gave you that love to share? Would you please repeat today’s WORDS TO REMEMBER? Jesus said, “I am going to prepare a place for you, so where I am, you will be, also.” That’s from John 14. Where’s that from? Would you please pray with me? Dear Jesus/ thank you for a house to live in/Thank you even more/ for the love you put in our homes/Help us to always live/ close to your love/and all of God’s loved children said…AMEN! Notes: Use a people puppet that can hold things and gesture. By Pastor Berni Fricke

Great golf tournament this past Saturday. The weather was perfect and the catered dinner from Casa Carlos was delicious. The golf course was in great shape. It was nice to have first time golfers at the tournament. I hope all of you enjoyed yourselves. Great job to all involved.

Timeline Photos

FUNDRAISING for Faith Lutheran youth, WSYG and camps! SATURDAY, MAY 13th at Peach Tree Golf course! For more information please contact, Pastor Bernie at 530-845-1592 or the church office, 530-743-1539, faith100d@gmail.com

Timeline Photos

Congratulations to those receiving their first communion tonight.

2 Apr 17 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 2017 A “He’s nothing but skin and bones!” You know that this isn’t usually meant to be a compliment. It means that you are undernourished to the extent that it’s unhealthy for you. Apparently, people have images of starvation on their minds. The people who say things like that are trying to encourage people to get more healthy, but it could be seen as a criticism. Some people, when they are young, just can’t seem to keep the weight on. I used to be that way—but those days are long gone. Let me say one thing about bones: Bones are VERY IMPORTANT, too. I still remember the wacky comedy film from the 1980’s, “The Princess Bride,” where our hero had his bones taken away in a spell. He was just a limp version of a hero, always falling down. It wasn’t until he got his bones back that his strength returned. The bones supported his muscles and allowed them to do what they needed to do. Our Old Testament Lesson is all about bones, too—DRY BONES to be exact. These are definitely not the kinds of bones we should desire to have, but at least they are there. Let’s see what we can learn about bones. God tells the prophet, Ezekiel, to prophesy to those dry bones. What that tells me is that even though the bones are in bad shape, there is still some life left in them. What exactly, has made these bones so dry? When the children of Israel lost their home and were taken into exile, their hope vanished and they felt defeated and destroyed. They felt like the walking dead. But you know what? They weren’t dead. They needed a word of hope, even if it was just a glimmer of hope. The Lord told Ezekiel these words to say to they downcast people, “Tell those dry bones to listen to the word of the Lord. I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put ligaments on you, place muscles on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know I am the Lord.” Basically, God told the people that he was going to do some spiritual CPR to revive their hope. They would have a future—not that it would be easy, but they would not always be feeling loss. The Epistle reading from the letter to the Romans is, I think, one that needs some better translation that is usually found in some English translations. We hear about the fight between our CORRUPT NATURE and our SPIRITUAL NATURE. Many Christians have interpreted this to mean that if we do this spiritual thing the right way, we will be in a place of total control of the spirit—as if we could do no wrong spiritually. Those others, the Christians not IN THE SPIRT would be in a lower spiritual state—in a corrupt place. The word CORRUPT is the key word. Corrupt sounds like it is someone who is conniving, plotting evil against people. While there are people like that, there is another definition that says, “To corrupt is to change or debase by making errors or unintentional alterations.” In a modern image, if a computer program is corrupted, the files will give the wrong information. The corruption in the Ezekiel reading is that THERE IS NO HOPE, or rather, the people feel as if there is no hope. Think about it, when you have been in a very dark place, how much life is left in you? What kind of a future do you imagine? Someone who is in that dark place, whose attitudes have been corrupted by a loss of hope will often imagine that they are the only one who is going through what they are going through—that no one really understands or cares. They isolate themselves and try to tough it out on their own. The sin that St. Paul says leads to death is as much our inability to turn to others and admit our brokenness. The revival of our spirits that gets God’s approval has much to do with believing that Jesus can breathe life and hope back into us. And a big part of this is to believe that God sends people as well as Jesus to revive our Spirit. Let’s look at some of the ways that God uses people to revive our spirits. Today’s message from Ezekiel is a strong one, a confident one. But this is the same Ezekiel who ran and his when asked to say the tough love message to his people. What was this magic word that Ezekiel gave to his people that brought back hope? It was the message that a miracle can happen when just ONE stands up against the hopelessness despite their fear, and declares that this is not the last word. God is a God who comes to restore our dreams and love us even when we don’t feel very loveable. David, the Psalmist reminds us that if God were to count our sins against us, we would have nothing to stand on. We would be truly BONELESS, with no strength or hope. But he reminds us that God is a forgiving and understanding God who gives second chances—lots of them! Listen to these powerful words of hope. “For with the Lord, there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.” God is not willing to give up on us even if sometimes we are! Speaking of giving up on hope, welcome to our Gospel story about Lazarus. In some ways, this is a very troubling story. We know that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are possibly Jesus’ favorite family in the New Testament. He has often spent time in their home. They are possibly closer to Jesus than his own family. That being said--here is Jesus lingering behind, almost as if he was letting Lazarus die in order to make the miracle more spectacular. Just to make things even more bizarre, Thomas says, “Let’s go so that we, too, can die with Jesus.” He thinks that this is a kind of first century Reality Show, and Jesus is going to make a big scene. Actually, Jesus IS going to make a big scene, but not just for effect, to impress people with his magical power. The real magic occurs through the shortest verse in the Bible. But we’ll get to that in a minute. When Jesus said that Lazarus’ situation won’t result in death, he didn’t say that death won’t be part of the story line, just that death won’t be the last word. Jesus knew that wherever he went, he could do ministry--and that the place he had to leave behind, would lose out on his healing power. What Jesus wanted was for the disciples to see that wherever he found himself, he was emotionally present for them. Martha was trying to cover her grief by talking about Heaven. Jesus tried to lead her from theology to faith and heart relationships. He was not just the Savior of the world. He wanted to be Savior for her family and for her and for Lazarus. Mary was one to wear her heart on her sleeve. She said the same words that Martha did, but she was not one to hide her emotions. Jesus took her lead and led with his emotions, too. When JESUS WEPT(which is the shortest verse in the Bible), it was not just for effect. He allowed himself to feel Mary’s emotions, and honestly felt her sense of loss. Think of how amazing this was. Jesus knew that he could and would be raising Lazarus from death to life, yet he still allowed himself to feel the loss and the grief of his friends and their friends. When the final verse says that many of those who witnessed this believed in Jesus, I don’t think it was just the amazing miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. It was also the amazing miracle of allowing himself to be emotionally vulnerable and present for his friends. This was Jesus demonstrating what BEING IN THE SPIRIT is all about. Being UNCORRUPTED does not mean being above all the corruption of our spirits. It means believing that we have enough bones and skin on our bones to have our hope restored. Corruption has more to do with being isolated from the needs of others. True spirituality means crying with those who are crying and giving hope to those who need a breath of fresh air. Apparently, skin and bones is an OK place to start! And all of God’s enspirited children said…AMEN!

2 Apr 17 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 2017 A H=Human P=Puppet/performer H: In our Bible reading God says, “I will breathe my life into you and you will live.” P: I saw someone breathe life into a person who looked very sick. H: I think that you saw someone do what is called CPR. P: What’s CPR? H: When someone stops breathing, a medical helper puts their lips on the hurt person’s lips and gives them their own breath to help them get better. P: I think my mother must know CPR. H: Why do say that? P: Sometimes I feel very sad or sick I just lie around with no life or energy. H: What does your mother do when that happens? P: She puts her lips on my lips, gives me a kiss, and tells me she loves me. H: What happens to you, then? P: Her breath and her love help me feel much better and more alive. H: Where do you think that your mother got her breath and her love to share with you? P: Didn’t our Bible reading say that GOD breathed his life into us? H: Yes it did! Kids, who gives us our breath and our love? Who are some people in our lives who share their breath and love with us?(loved ones/medical workers) Do you have to know CPR to share God’s love with others? Please repeat today’s WORDS TO REMEMBER? God says/ “I will breathe my life into you/ and you will live.” That’s from Ezekiel, chapter 37. Where’s that from? Please pray after me? Dear God/ thanks for breathing you life and love into me/Please help me to share your life and love with others/And all of God’s full-of-life children said…AMEN! Notes: Use a people puppet or performer. By Pastor Berni Fricke

26 Mar 17 FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT A A while back, I watched a movie about a woman who had a heart transplant and started having memories and feelings that she couldn’t account for. When she found out whose heart she had received and some of the other woman’s life story, those memories and feelings made a lot more sense—even though they amazed and confused her, still. Similar plot lines have been cast about people who have had eye transplants, that they could see things and people that were out of their realm of experience. Many would say that this is just wishful thinking or a kind of projection where we create memories that aren’t really ours—that we are just deceiving ourselves into thinking things into existence. Certainly, on the negative side, many people have been diagnosed with psychological issues where things are imagined that don’t really exist, except in the mind of the beholder. That’s the thing, though. What we believe we see and feel does have a way of shaping our reality. Our Old Testament and Gospel lessons today are, in their own way, all about what eyes we have and what those eyes can see—or think they see! In the Old Testament lesson, we start out with King Saul and the prophet, Samuel, who anointed him. We actually have to start out a little earlier. That’s when the Israelites looked around and noticed that most other groups of people had a king. They saw their future as rosy—if only they, too, had such a king. They imagined a strong and powerful man as king, so they got the mighty Saul. By all appearances, Saul was the one they envisioned. Unfortunately, the expression, “Beauty is only skin deep” applied to Saul. Once in power, he got drunk with that same power. He believed that the people were there to serve his needs, not he theirs. Samuel, who tried to see things through the eyes of the people, was now asked to find a new king—while the old king was still in power. This not only made him fear for his life, but it made him question exactly what his eyes were seeing when he agreed to anoint Saul. With trepidation and still unclear eyesight, Samuel did what he was told by God and went to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the heir to the throne. After the required ceremonies, Jesse paraded his sons before Samuel. The first was Eliab who was strong in stature. Samuel said to himself, “Certainly, here in the Lord’s presence is his anointed king.” What’s wrong with this picture? Samuel was about to do his version of insanity. You know—where someone does the same thing over and over again and expects a different result. Samuel was still using his old eyes—the ones that looked at the outward appearance of Saul—the ones that looked through the eyes of the people who wanted power for it’s own sake. Samuel got caught up in the moment and forgot what God had said to him when he said, “I will reveal to you what you should do, and you will anoint for me the one I point out to you.” Samuel needed an eye transplant. He needed to see things through God’s eyes, not his own. The Lord told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or how tall he is, because I have rejected him.” And here’s the kicker, “God does not see as humans see. Humans look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks into the heart.” Samuel caught on and rejected all the sons that were in plain sight. Then he asked for the one who was not in the beauty contest, the one who was taking care of his flock, the one who would be asked to take care of God’s flock, David, who despite being smaller in stature was the one who defeated the giant Goliath. Samuel looked at David with his God-eyes and chose him. Looking at King David’s life, we know that he didn’t always remember to look at things and people through God’s eyes. But he had seen through those eyes enough to know what was just and merciful, and what was just power seeking and self-serving. The Christian singer, Michael W. Smith, sang a simple and beautiful song called, “Open the Eyes of My Heart”. The lyrics go, “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see you.” I’d alter the lyrics slightly and say, “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see like you.” Let’s go to our Gospel story and see how much heart was in their eyes. As the story starts, the disciples see a man born blind and ask whether it was he or his parents’ sin that caused his blindness. I’m pretty sure the blind man would choose NONE OF THE ABOVE! The disciples showed that they held the common misconception that physical challenges were God’s punishment for sin. Moving in a different direction, Jesus says to look for ways to bring healing NOT judgment to people with challenges—to look with the eyes of the heart. After Jesus heals the man, he has him wash in the ceremonial pool to follow the proper Jewish custom. When the man returns able to see, you would think that his neighbors would be happy for him. Instead of joy, the primary emotion is CONFUSION. This man has messed up the social order. He couldn’t be THAT MAN because THAT MAN IS A SINNER. And sinners are OUTCASTS—for life. Jesus would agree. Of course he’s a sinner. But then, so are the ones who are judging him. If being a Sinner makes you have to wear a CAPITAL S, then there would be a lot of less-than-super people on earth. When it becomes clear that this man is who he says he is, it also becomes clear that he could upset the whole social order. I mean if we start giving sinners the same opportunities to change their life as those who feel they are superior to them, then the superior ones would have to start treating them as fully human. Why Jesus might even ask them to respect and love these people. That’s just more change than they are willing or able to endure. They have to figure out how to NULLIFY what Jesus has done. They think they’ve found their loophole when they accuse Jesus of healing on the Sabbath. They label him a Sinner with a capital S and try to get the formerly blind man and his parents to throw Jesus under the bus or cart. They use a form of first century algebra. If healing on the Sabbath is a sin, and Jesus healed on the Sabbath, then Jesus is a Sinner. And, apparently the healing DOESN’T COUNT—SAY WHAT? The problem with that equation is the premise. The law about not working on the Sabbath was to encourage people to focus on God and not just their own livelihoods. Here’s the thing for me. First of all, the religious leaders who are bringing up this problem are like pastors, and I know that I sure am working today—and so were they! More importantly, I’m pretty sure that healing a man is definitely going to get that man, his family, and his friends to focus more on God from then on. These holier-than-thou religious people tried to work this man over by using their foolish misdirection. They hoped to discredit him by getting him to get caught in a lie. But there is no denying to him that he was blind, but now he sees. He knows he is a sinner. But he also knows that he is a forgiven sinner. That makes him healed in both body and soul. He can see with the eyes of Jesus—the eyes of the heart. Jesus message to you and me is in those last few words, when those supposedly pious people ask Jesus if he thinks they are blind. Jesus tells them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be sinners.” Translated, that means, “If you admitted your sin, you could be forgiven.” Jesus finishes by saying, “But now you say, We see, so you continue to be sinners.” Let me finish by saying that I think both sight-blindness and heart-sight are CONTAGEOUS. The big question is, do you want to spend your energy trying to prove you are less blind than THOSE PEOPLE and getting other to agree with your blindness? Or do you want to admit you have blind spots, have Jesus give you his heart-sight so you can see the best in people, and then get others to see from the heart, too? I guess we’ll just have to see! And all of God’s heart-seeing children said…AMEN!

26 Mar 17 FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 2017 A H=Human P=Puppet/ performer H: I see you have new glasses. How are they working for you? P: Not very well, I guess. H: Don’t they help you see things more clearly? P: Maybe not. Someone told me I was blind. H: That’s not very nice. Why would they say that? P: They said a friend of ours has been getting pushed around by someone. H: What did you say? P: I said that he probably just fell down. He is kind of clumsy, you know? H: Have you seen others that FALL DOWN when they are around this guy? P: Come to think about it, there do seem to be a lot of clumsy people around him. H: Did you ask them why they were falling down? P: I didn’t want to ask them such hard questions. H: Are you afraid what they might say? P: Maybe I am. So, do you think I am blind or not? H: Yes, I think you are probably blind. P: Do you think I need new glasses? H: I don’t think you need new glasses. I think you need new eyes. P: How can I get new eyes? H: Jesus said that sometimes we are afraid to see the truth. P: I think Jesus has opened my eyes. I need to let my friend know what I see. H: GREAT IDEA! Kids, why do some people need glasses? Have you ever seen someone be mean to someone else? What should we do when we see something hurtful? Is it easy to tell someone? Jesus wants us to keep our eyes open. Please repeat today’s WORDS TO REMEMBER. Jesus said, “Those who admit they can’t see well/ will be able to see better/ Those who don’t even try to see/ will become blind.” That’s from John 9:41. Where’s that from? Please pray with me, now? Dear Jesus/ we are blind to many things/Help us to see / through your loving eyes/And all of God’s seeing children said…AMEN! Notes: Use a puppet that can cover its eyes. By Pastor Berni Fricke

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