When Do We Stand Firm or Let Go?

In preparation for July 4th I found this information concerning John Adams and the Fourth of July. Because of the work completed on July 2, 1776 by the Second Continental Congress concerning the Declaration of Independence, John Adams thought that July 2 should be the country’s birthday. He was so adamant about it that he refused to participate in Fourth of July celebrations for the rest of his life.

Did Adams ever consider joining the celebration but then his pride got in the way? When do we stand firm or let go? How do we know which cause to defend and which cause to release? Years ago I pondered these questions during a time of prayer. I remembered two events that happened in the life of Jesus--the overturning of the tables in the Temple (Matthew 21:12-13) and when he stood silent before Pilate (Matthew 27:11-14).

I noticed two things. The ruckus Jesus caused in the Temple was to ensure a space for all peoples. The silence before Pilate had to do with what others said about him. For me, I see Jesus as so certain of his purpose and his mission that what others thought about him was not his agenda. Offering freedom to everyone was what Jesus lived and died for. It was why he was resurrected from the dead--so that each of us may find freedom and the space to grow in that freedom.

John Adams? Ironically, he died on July 4, 1826.

Pastor Jo

July 3, 2023

Experiencing An Unexplainable God

Water, ice, steam

A braided rope

A triangle

So many weak attempts to explain the Trinity.

The truth is that we cannot explain God. Oh, we continue to try. For centuries we have tried — and for centuries we have fallen short.

Thanks be to God that God is not an equation to be mastered.

Thanks be to God that God is not a puzzle to be solved.

God is the “I AM” God has been, God is, and God will be.

God created and God creates

God spoke and God speaks

God comforted and God comforts

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit

God the Creator God the Redeemer God the Sustainer.

We still aren’t quite sure how to label God and even though our attempts to explain and label fall short, many would rather fight over explaining and labeling God instead of following and growing in God’s ways.

Creator: How are we allowing God to create within us? How are we allowing God to create through us--paths for peace comfort, paths for healing and new ideas?

Redeemer: How are we allowing God to redeem within us? How are we allowing God to redeem through us so that we can live in freedom and free others from standards and expectations that are not healthy?

Sustainer: How are we allowing God to sustain us? How are we allowing God to use us in sustaining? In supporting? In offering relief?

How will you choose to see God today?

Pastor Jo

June 5, 2023

How Do We Prepare for Pentecost?

Last week I was reminded of a quote from Richard Rohr, “Humans often end up doing evil by thinking we can and must eliminate all evil, instead of holding it, suffering it ourselves, and learning from it, as Jesus does on the cross.”

As I ponder this thought I find myself curious about the 50 days between Resurrection Sunday and Pentecost. Did I, as a pastor, guide us “through” Eastertide in a way that truly prepares us for the outpouring of God’s Spirit in our lives? In our church?

Then, again, how does one fully prepare for such an outpouring?

I wonder if these 50 days went by as quickly for the disciples in the 1st Century as they have for us.

I wonder if they totally missed this time because the grief and splendor of death and resurrection were too much to comprehend and process in such a short period of time.

Can one truly prepare for such a day as Pentecost?

Ironically, Pentecost was a day they knew quite well. They prepared for it every year since the days of Moses. How amazing that the Breath of God would exhale something new and powerful into such a familiar space so that each could understand in a personal and familiar way the power of God’s love.

So maybe, just maybe, we eliminate evil, not by predicting and plotting, but by suffering and learning, and by allowing the Spirit of God to exhale something new and powerful into a day like today.

Pastor Jo

May 22, 2023