"The Purpose of Prayer" a sermon on 1 Samuel 3:1-10 & Luke 22:39-46

1 Samuel 3:1-10
Luke 22:39-46
“The Purpose of Prayer”
Preached April 6, 2025

Whenever I teach Confirmation, we talk about what prayer is…and what prayer isn’t. Prayer is one of the basics, the foundation of our Christian faith, but whether we are young children giving the generic “Pray” answer during the Children’s Moment, teenagers exploring their faith in confirmation, or adults well into their years of faith…all of us could benefit from returning to the “basics” of prayer.

First today, we are going to talk about what prayer - and God - isn’t.

God is not a vending machine. And prayer is not the perfect dollar we enter with the code to get the outcome we want. Put that smooth dollar bill in, enter the code, get the formula for prayer “right” and God grants our wishes.

In that same vein, God is not a genie. Rub the lamp just right and viola! Three wishes granted.

We probably treat God and prayer this way more often than we want to admit. Subconsciously we may think, how do we get our prayer to “work”? How do we get God to grant us what we ask for? This may have to do with the rampant heresy of the prosperity Gospel in our culture. That falsely tells us that if we live the right way, do the right things, pray the right way - then God will reward us with health, wealth, prosperity. And if our prayers were not answered…perhaps we need to point the finger back at ourselves, tweak the way we live, change our prayer formula… But this isn’t how God desires us to interact in prayer. There is not a magic prayer to get the outcome we desire.

There are a lot of formulas for prayer out there. And there are a lot of people who will jump at the chance to tell you the “right” way to pray. If formulas such as “ACTS - Adoration, Confession Thanksgiving, Supplication” or formulas of written out prayers or litanies or anything like that help you pray - awesome. And I always say there is no ONE right way to pray - whatever helps you talk to God, whatever helps you have a MUTUAL relationship with God - that is the right way for you to pray.

For Vending Machines and Genies - those are transactional interactions. Not a loving, mutual relationship. For that’s what God - and prayer is - a means to be in Relationship with the God who is Divine Relationship. God, our three-in-one God who is in perfect relationship with God’s self, desires a loving relationship with us, with you, with me, as individual people - isn’t that amazing? God wants to talk to you. God wants you to talk to God. God wants mutuality, for you to be open before and to God’s self and for God to make God’s self known to you.

Prayer is the vehicle through which we do that. Prayer can be a formula. Prayer can be extemporaneous. Prayer can be breathing. Prayer can be looking at the world through the heart’s eyes. Prayer can be so many things - prayer is intentionally connecting with God.

So with this understanding of prayer, let us turn to two ATTITUDES of prayer that I believe can be very helpful in living lives that are steeped in prayer and pleasing to God. And they come directly from our prayers prayed in our two Scriptures this morning.

The first from 1 Samuel:

“Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’...And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’”

Here I Am, Lord. I am listening.

God wants to talk to us. God wants to call us to serve and love God and one another. In order for God to talk to us…we have to be listening. We have to offer up, “Here I am, Lord!” Often so many of our prayers are oriented toward asking God to grant our prayers. There is a big mindshift change in order to pray, “Here I am, Speak to me, Use me.” How often do we pray to serve? Instead of asking Christ to take care of everyone, how often do we pray for opportunities to feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted, help those in need? I would venture to guess that our “ “may I receive” prayers out number our “may I serve” prayers. Because it’s harder. It’s harder to step up and out in prayer. To not just be benefactors of God’s generosity, but stewards of God’s generosity - helping share it with others, being the answered prayer of God to others. When we say “Here I am, Lord! I have heard your call.” We are saying to God - use me to answer other’s prayers. And if we really think about that…isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it a divine and impactful opportunity? You could be the answer to someone else’s prayer. Let God know in prayer your willingness to be used for this divine and holy purpose. “Here I am, Lord.”

Our second attitude of prayer comes from the lips of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane:

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done.”

Not my will but yours be done.

This prayer is about relinquishing control. Realizing that we are not God. Even Jesus, in a very human moment, bent his will to his heavenly Father’s. Now, I have a confession for you. I often think that my will, and my way, is best. Surely those of us who have prayed for healing for a loved one think that that is OBVIOUSLY the best will. We might say, “not your will but mine” begrudgingly. In a “I guess if you want to do it your way, Lord. But have you considered my will? I think my way is really good. So let’s go with my way.”

I will admit that sometimes, I even think that my way is better than God’s way. I often think my way is more life-giving. Because I have put God and God’s will in a box - a box that it does not belong in. Sometimes I think I even fear God’s will. Because I fear when things don't go my way. I think, “What if God’s will is for me to suffer?” As if my God is not Life and Joy itself. I think, “What if God’s will is harder?” As if God did not say, “My burden is easy and my yoke is light.” I think, if we’re being really honest, we often fear God’s will. Because we are creatures who like to be in control. And we also have images of a wrathful and cruel God - that are just not true. God does not cause suffering. God is with us in suffering. God does not give us trials to test us. God walks with us through the flames. God does not cause the dark night of the soul - but God uses it to make God’s self known to us. When we recognize this, we can be more open, and less afraid of what God asks of us.

Now, what God asks us for may be hard. It may cause us to grow. It may cause us to step outside our comfort zone. It may ask us to sacrifice. It may ask us to give. And we view all those things as “negative” in our world. And when we accept God’s will, when we listen for what God has in store for us, when we say “Not my will God but yours. Here I am, use me!” We are also opening ourselves up to abundant life. Abundant joy. More relationships. More love. More community. Let’s stop diminishing what God has in store for us by living in fear of God’s will - let’s start saying, please God! Please God YOUR will. For your will is an abundant life for me! Life overflowing in Love. Life that goes beyond the life of this world. Life that is more - more than any will of any human in this world, including our own will.

There are two prayers I would like to lift up as examples of praying “Here I am, Lord” and “Not my will but yours.”

One comes from our Wesleyan tradition, The Covenant Prayer, often prayed on New Year’s Day. Today, I am going to skip the antiquated language and offer a modern paraphrase written by a United Methodist colleague that still gets to the heart of the prayer

“I am not my own self-made, self-reliant human being.
In truth, O God, I am Yours.
Make me into what You will.
Make me a neighbor with those whom You will.
Guide me on the easy path for You.
Guide me on the rocky road for You.
Whether I am to step up for You or step aside for You;
Whether I am to be lifted high for You or brought low for You;
Whether I become full or empty, with all things or with nothing;
I give all that I have and all that I am for You.
So be it.
And may I always remember that you, O God, and I belong to each other. Amen.”

In this prayer, we offer up our whole lives, in abundant seasons, in empty seasons, on the easy path, or the rocky path - we offer up our whole selves to God. And it ends with a recognition of the mutual relationship which God desires of us.

Another pray, that gets to the heart of the attitude of prayer I am urging us to cultivate is our Today, Tomorrow, Together Campaign prayer: “God, what do you want to do through me?”

When I first heard this prayer my reaction was something like, “Wow! We better be careful with that prayer! It could be dangerous!”

Again, why was that my gut reaction? Perhaps because I fear what God will ask of me. I fear being asked to widen the circle. I fear being asked to change my mind. I fear being asked to step out in love. I fear relinquishing control of my will to God’s. I want you to hear this not as an indictment of you if you’ve felt or thought similar things but as an opportunity to extend yourself grace - even the preacher is sometimes afraid to relinquish her will to God! And again, why? This reaction, this fear, isn’t in line with my view of an All Loving and All Merciful God. But the fear of God’s will is in line with a world that tells us that Me, Myself, and I come first. In a world that tells us to store up wealth in barns for tomorrow. In a world that tells us to dig in deep and never move from our positions. In a world that tells us that our own comfort is paramount over love of our neighbors…

So yes, praying “Here I am.”
Praying “Not my will be yours.”
Praying “God, what do you want to do through me?”

These are big, bold, dangerous prayers - not dangerous to us - but dangerous to the way of life that is not reflective of God’s vision for us and for the world.

During my theology interview for ordination in the United Methodist church, there was a minister interviewing me who disagreed with a sentence I wrote - a single sentence in 40 plus pages of paperwork - on the Biblical story of the binding of Isaac. I called it a text of terror and because of that he was worried that I didn’t have an understanding og obedience to God. In an hour long interview, we spent the majority of it on what obedience to God is and what it looks like.

And finally, in a moment of frustration I just told him - “I will be obedient to God - and God will never ask me or anyone else to kill a child!”

And that’s the whole point of that Bible story, in my opinion, it conveys that God is NOT a God who demands violence. God is a God who will always make a way for Life and Love and Mercy. That story reminds me that obedience to God is life-giving, not death-wielding.

If we view God as a God who demands more, more, more until we have nothing left. If we view God as a God who punishes us in order to teach. If we view God as a God who demands violence to be satisfied. If we view God as a God we think we have to “trick” - or use the right formula - in order for that God to grant our prayers…then yeah, I can see why we would be afraid to pray these big, bold, audacious prayers. And this is CERTAINLY not the God I believe in. BUT. I think the fear of this God, this God that is not my God, is there. This God is a God that is preached by many but it is not the God who was revealed to us in Jesus of Nazareth. That is a God of Love. Of mutual relationship. Or Grace and Mercy.

If we pray these big, audacious prayers…If we have the attitude of prayer of “Here I am” and “Not my will but yours”...What’s the “worse” that could happen?

The answer? That God will ask us, nudge us, lead us…to better love God and neighbor. And, again, this may be HARD (giving up ideas/beliefs/opinions that hurt others, being more generous (with prayers/presence/gifts/service/witness), helping more… so yes, God may ask something of us that may “hurt” but in the growing pains kind of way, becoming more holy and loving kind of way…

So in conclusion: Let’s be big, bold, and audacious in our prayers. Lets realize that the “fear” of prayer is not a fear that comes from who God is and what God will ask of us - but a fear of the disruption of our lives…but we live lives that need to be disrupted - in order to make room for more Love.

And so let us pray:
Here I am, Lord.
Not my will but yours.
God, what do you want to do through me?

Amen.

Call To Worship inspired by John 14:23-29

Leader: Through our words:
People: Let your Love be known.
L: Through our actions:
P: Let your Love be known.
L: Through how we treat others:
P: Let your Love be known.
L: Through how we obey Your commandments.
P: Let your Love be known.
L: Through our worship today:
P: Let your Love be known.
All: Amen.

Call to Worship based on Revelation 21:1-6 & "All Shall Be Well"

Leader: The home of God will be among mortals.
People: All shall be well.
L: God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and Death will be no more.
P: All shall be well.
L: God declares, “I am making all things new.”
P: And all manner of things shall be well.
L: May we place all our hope in our eternal, re-creating God.
All: Let us worship - Amen!

Call to Worship based on "Take My Life and Let It Be"

Leader: Lord, take my life -
People: And let it be consecrated to thee.
L: Take my moments and my days -
P: Let them flow in ceaseless praise!
L: Take my hands -
P: Let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
L: Take my feet
P: let them be swift and beautiful for thee.
L: Take all of us, Lord -
P: Let us be, ever only, all for Thee.
All: Amen.

Call to Worship on Prayer

Leader: Today we will pray:
People: Here I am, Lord.
Leader: Today we will pray:
People: Not my will, but Yours.
Leader: Today we will pray:
People: God, what do you want to do through me?
Leader: Today we will pray:
People: We will pray to, out of, and for Love.
Leader: Let us pray:
All: God, be with us in this time of worship. Amen.

"Grounded in Gratitude" a sermon on Colossians 2:6-7, 3:15-17 & Luke 12:22-34

Colossians 2:6-7, 3:15-17
Luke 12:22-34
“Grounded in Gratitude”
Preached Sunday, March 23, 2025 at Boardman United Methodist Church

Today we are celebrating Gratitude Sunday.

This is a part of our Today, Tomorrow, Together Capital Campaign as we express gratitude for the faith, church, and community we have received. AND, it is important to our faith to regularly talk about, express, and practice gratitude.

And so in order to talk about gratitude…I am first going to talk about worry and anxiety. You may have wondered at the Gospel lesson, talking about worry, on this day themed for gratitude. It is important that we talk about what keeps us from gratitude - for anxiety and worry are the antithesis of gratitude and thanksgiving. Anxiety is worrying over what could be; fearing what is not yet; fixating on what is not present, what is missing. Gratitude fosters a sense of appreciation of what is; cultivating thanksgiving for what’s here in the present; celebrating what is right in front of us.

(Disclaimer about sometimes anxiety is also in the chemical make-ups of our brain.)

When we’re worried about what the future holds or what today has in store for us, we are not grateful for what we currently have. When we’re worried that the future will not be like the past...we’re not giving gratitude to God for all that God has already done for us...and all that God can and will do for us. Worry and gratitude are opposites.

So now let’s look at some conflicting statistics.

In a 2015 PEW Research survey, it stated that 80 percent of Americans said they felt a deep sense of gratitude every day. A more recent study I found from 2023 conducted by OnePoll has a similar statistic: 83% of Americans experience gratitude daily.

Given this, our anxiety levels should be low. But that’s not the case.

“The 2024 results of the American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health poll show that U.S. adults are feeling increasingly anxious. In 2024, 43% of adults say they feel more anxious than they did the previous year, up from 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022. Adults are particularly anxious about current events (70%) — especially the economy (77%), the 2024 U.S. election (73%), and gun violence (69%).”

This morning’s scripture actually says that worrying cannot add a single hour to your life - and we know it’s actually bad for your health! The stress and strain that anxiety puts on our body and can actually shorten our lifespans.

Actually, let's pause here. As I wrote this sermon and I wrote that last line I noticed a tightness in my chest. My shoulders were scrunched up to my ears. My jaw was clenched. Perhaps sitting in the pews now, you are noticing a similar sensation.

Put your feet on the ground. Let your weight settle into your seat. Take a deep breath in, and out. Do three breaths. Shrug your shoulders, roll your neck, release your jaw. Think of one thing you are grateful for.

Okay. With hopefully more looseness in your body and soul, let’s turn our attention back to gratitude.

Some researchers and people with opinions online say that the percent of Americans experiencing gratitude is too high. After all, it’s self-reported. I am not going to make that claim but I will make this claim:

We may THINK we are grateful. But. We are very bad at expressing gratitude and without the expression of gratitude, we are not actually practicing the ethic of gratitude.

According to that OnePoll survey, only 40% write down what they are grateful for. And only 25% verbally express their gratitude.

Studies have been done, one by the National Library of Medicine, that show that some ways of expressing gratitude are more helpful than others. To sum up: being explicit in your gratitude, writing it out in letter or long form, and somehow expressing it versus just thinking it is more beneficial.

Christian author and theologian Diana Butler Bass wrote a whole book on the subversive power of gratitude, she says this: “Gratitude is, however, more than just an emotion. It is also a disposition that can be chosen and cultivated, an outlook toward life that manifests itself in actions—it is an ethic.”

Research backs up that gratitude is an ethic. That gratitude, when truly felt and put into practice, looks like actions and a way of life. Greater Good magazine says that “Grateful people have been shown to be more helpful, kind, supportive, and altruistic.” One study showed that those who kept gratitude journals were more likely to be empathic and offer more help than those who wrote about struggles or even neutral events. The Templeton Giving Survey found that people who say that they practice gratitude daily, donate more money and volunteer hours a year than those who don’t.

How are we practicing the ethic of gratitude? It starts with explicitly expressing gratitude about specific things.

Here are some examples to get the most out of our gratitude, to truly let gratitude change our hearts, minds, and souls. To let it be the antidote to worry. To let it be the seed to praising God and storing our treasure in heavenly things.

So here are those examples from my life.

It’s one thing to say, “I am grateful for my family.”
It’s another thing to say, “I am grateful for the way Winnie smiles at me in the morning. I am grateful for the way Agnes wants to cuddle with me. I am grateful for my husband who has chosen to make these girls his number one priority for this stage of our lives.”


It’s one thing to say, “I am grateful to live close to my parents.”
It’s another thing to say, “I am grateful that on a random Tuesday I can call up my dad and invite him to the playground and then watch my daughter and him play together.”


It’s one thing to say, “I am grateful for those who taught me the faith.”
It’s another thing to say, “I am grateful to my parents for bringing me to church. I am grateful to George and Bob and Don for showing me what being a faithful pastor looks like. I am grateful to Jen who showed me what it means for a women to be in the pulpit. I am grateful to her and Jeremiah who first told me, “I see gifts for ministry in you.” I am grateful to Bill for the countless camp sermons. I am grateful to Cherie for taking me under her wing and working with me through the growing pains of becoming a pastor. I am grateful….the list could continue.”

It’s one thing to say, “I am grateful for this church.”
It’s another thing to say, “I am grateful for the people, especially the women, who graciously and joyfully sit by my daughter for the beginning of worship. I am grateful for those individuals who delight in watching the wonder and excitement of children coming forward for Communion. I am grateful for those who stop by my office to wrestle with theological opinions. I am grateful for when I go to the nursing home or make a phone call to pray with someone, thinking I will be blessing them - and I leave that interaction feeling absolutely floored by the way they just blessed me, the way they shared with me, the way they prayed for ME. I am grateful for the countless volunteers who serve this church by giving of their prayers, presence, service, gifts, and witness. I am grateful…for you.”


You know, I’d get even more specific on that last one. I would say your names. I would give a reason for each and every one of you. I could give a reason for every week I’ve been here - a reason to be thankful. But we’d be here all day and I don’t want to put any of you on the spot.

What I do want to do is inspire you to really reflect on what you are grateful for. In your life and in the church. And then I want you to get really specific about that thing. And then I want you to express it - to write it, to say it out loud, to share it.

That’s the only way that gratitude moves from a brief, passing feeling, to something that actually changes us - and then, because we are changed, we live out the ethic in all we say and do.

Gratitude is the soil in which we grow as Christians, as disciples, as people of love, of enough, of generosity, of community. Butler-Bass says, “We are safer and happier when we care for each other in community, when we do things for each other.”

We are called to be completely grounded in gratitude so that the Spirit can bear fruit in this life.

By practicing gratitude we are saying that ALL that we have is a gift from God. Nothing is completely ours, nothing is earned.
By practicing gratitude we are saying that God is inherently good, as is this world and our lives, and we marvel at this and praise God for that.
By practicing gratitude we are saying that living out our faith means building a bigger table to invite more in, not a wall to keep others out.
By practicing gratitude we are saying that we are called to show our gratitude through generosity, in all the ways that we can, because through it we recognize that ALL people, everyone we share life with, is a beloved child of God, equally loved, equally worthy…

This morning, I would like to invite you to an opportunity to practice gratitude.

In your bulletins is an insert of colored cardstock. After the sermon, the ushers will pass out pens. Please write in pen. If you’ve gotten ahead of yourself and wrote on it with those little pew pencils, you’re encouraged to go over it in pen. During the special music, fill out the prompts on the card. The responses are anonymous. There is no need to write your name on it. After the service there will be a basket in the Narthex, please return your card and pen there. These will be displayed at least next Sunday through Easter if not a little more. We will encourage you every Sunday to take time to read other’s statements of gratitude and love for this church, our church.

If you are online and wish to participate, post your responses in the comments.

These are the two prompts:

I am grateful for…
What I love most about my church is…

You’ve heard examples of gratitude from our children during the children’s sermon and in this sermon. I would encourage you to be as specific and as precise as you want.

Hold tight to those instructions, let’s wrap up this sermon by hearing once again, the words of encouragement from Colossians today.

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving…And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Amen.

Call to Worship based on "I Love To Tell the Story"

L: We gather today to tell the story.
P: I love to tell the story -
L: of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory and love.
P: I love to tell the story -
L: for it’s done so much for me.
P: I love to tell the story -
L: We are hungering and thirsting to hear!
P: I love to tell the story -
L: of Jesus and his love.
All: Let us tell the story! Amen.

"Under God's Wing" a sermon on Luke 13:31-35

Luke 13:31-35
“Under God’s Wing”
Preached Sunday, March 16, 2025

God loves you unconditionally.

God - God the Father, the Son, The Holy Spirit. The Divine. The Creator of the Universe. The Alpha and the Omega. Jesus Christ, God incarnate, God that is wind and fire and the very air we breathe. GOD

Loves - Loves with an agape love - love that is patient, love that is kind, love that does not boast, that isn’t proud, love that doesn’t insist on its own way, that isn’t irritable or resentful, love that does not rejoice in wrongdoings but rejoices in the truth, love that believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things - LOVES

YOU - Yes, YOU (Name names of people present) - go ahead and say your name aloud for me. YOU.

Unconditionally. Cannot be earned. Cannot be bought. Cannot be worked for. AND there is nothing that can be done - to you or by you - to make that love go away - Romans 8: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, not depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. UNCONDITIONALLY.

God. Loves. You. Unconditionally.

Amen.

…

And I really debated ending my sermon here today! And yet .. I could talk all day about God’s unconditional love - or at least for the 10 or so minutes of a sermon. So I thought I'd go on…So filled with the wonderful knowledge of God’s love, let’s turn our attention to today’s Gospel lesson.

In our short, 5 verse, Gospel reading from Luke today, Jesus uses two animal metaphors. First, Herod as a fox. Secondly, the people of Jerusalem as a brood of chicks and Jesus as the mother hen, gathering them under her wing.

Let’s talk first about Jesus as a mother hen.

Mother hens nestle their chicks in their wings.
They just tuck them under there: safe, secure, loved. Mother hens are fiercely protective of their chicks. They will fight off any sort of animal that they think is a threat - in preparation for this sermon I watched hens fighting off cats and goats and crows and dogs and people and hawks…all while doing their best to protect their chicks. Hens are a symbol of motherhood and a mother’s love. They sit on their eggs, turning them even up to 30 times a day - a few days before the eggs hatch the chicks inside start to peep, talking to their mother, and the mother hen talks back. The chicks go under her wings not just for protection from predators but also the elements and for warmth and comfort…

Truly, a parent’s love. And this is the love that Jesus is expressing for those in Jerusalem - the children of Jerusalem, his children - God’s children…and we are all God’s children. AND I want to point out what he says about them first: He says:

“Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

Jesus knows that he goes to Jerusalem to be killed. Jesus knows that he goes to Jerusalem to suffer and die. He is a prophet who will be killed in Jerusalem, scorned, betrayed, hurt…bleeding and dying at the hands of those in Jerusalem.

And yet! In the very same breath that he says “They will kill me” he also says “I want to gather them as a mother hen gathers her brood under her wings.” Because there is nothing, nothing, that will separate the children of God from their Divine parents’ love. Not even killing him. Jesus loves you unconditionally. Jesus loves them unconditionally.

So now let’s talk about the other animal mentioned in the Scripture today, a fox aka Herod. There are 6 Herods mentioned in the Bible and this Herod is Herod of Antipas. The son of Herod the Great - or well, the not so Great - we know him from the Christmas story where he ordered the mass slaughter of children and infants under 2. Herod of Antipas followed in his father’s footsteps in being the governor of the Palestine area that he ruled under the Roman Empire. He was the one who, by request of his daughter, had John the Baptist, Jesus’s cousin, beheaded. He is the one who, Jesus would appear before his crucifixion although Herod would send him back to Pilate. In calling him a fox it would be seen as an insult - he is the puppet of the Lion, of the emperor, the one with actual power. A fox is one who uses deceit to achieve his goals, not real power. But also - foxes kill hens.

I did look up and watch a video of a fox killing a hen…I wouldn't recommend it.

But again - if Jesus loves his children in Jerusalem with the unconditional love of a mother - does God the Mother Hen love the fox too? If he loves those who will abuse and kill him in Jerusalem, I’d say that Herod is loved too, the fox, gathered under her wing.

Jesus loves you unconditionally. Jesus loves them unconditionally.

Which leads us to the question: Who is outside the love of God? Is anyone?

I am a fan of the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Anyone else here a fan? I believe one of the central themes or questions underlying this musical is: Is Judas beyond the love of God? At the end of the production that was performed at Playhouse Square several years ago, the final scene…. it ends with Jesus and Judas, post-Crucifixion and post-suicide, sitting side by side and looking at each other. No words. This was a directorial choice. And I believe the musical confirms, very subtly, what I believe. That absolutely no one - not Judas, not the children of Jerusalem, not Herod - no one is outside the love of God.

There is no one outside the love of God - even those who commit violence and sin against God and one another.

With that question answered, perhaps our minds are turning to the Herods or even Caesars, the Judases and all those who commit violence and harm their neighbor in today’s world. Too many, O Lord, too many.

As Christians the knowledge that God loves all unconditionally and that God desires to enfold all of us, all of THEM too, under God’s wing, well…it changes things.

Is [insert name of the most vile, violent person you can think of here] loved by God unconditionally?

Is Putin loved by God?

The answer we are forced to come to is - yes. You are loved by God unconditionally. And so is he. And many others who we call our enemies.

Now, I want to be very clear - God’s unconditional love does not mean that we are not to be held accountable to our actions - it does not mean that our sins against God and neighbor are excused - it does not mean that God does not hate evil.

So when it comes to the utter and absolute evil of waging war - God hates it. It is an abomination in God’s eyes.

The last time I preached this text, it was three years ago, right after the start of the Ukrainian War. I said this to my congregation - and I am going to just quote myself from three years ago because while a lot has been changed and politicized about this war, our response as Christians, as people of peace, should not change.

I said:
“The events happening in Ukraine are nothing short of evil. And we can and need to call them that. Civilians are being bombed. Formerly agreed upon humanitarian corridors are being mined. Maternity hospitals and apartment complexes destroyed. Children killed. And the evil atrocities of war have no end in sight.

We need to be praying. We pray for peace. We pray that each and every person carrying out the evil sins of war would realize that they are loved by God unconditionally. And if they are loved by God unconditionally, so are those they kill and harm. God wishes to gather all of God’s children under God’s wing. And when we’re all gathered under the wing of God, all in God’s fierce, protective, all encompassing, unconditional love - there is no room for war, no room for hate, no room for anything but peace and love.x

Three years later, we still need to be praying for peace daily. We still need to working towards peace daily.

Ann Weems who was a Presbyterian minister and poet wrote this poem called “I No Longer Pray for Peace.” I’d like to share it with you this morning:

“On the edge of war, one foot already in,

I no longer pray for peace:
I pray for miracles.

I pray that stone hearts will turn
to tenderheartedness,
and evil intentions will turn
to mercifulness,
and all the soldiers already deployed
will be snatched out of harm's way,
and the whole world will be
astounded onto its knees.

I pray that all the "God talk"
will take bones,
and stand up and shed
its cloak of faithlessness,
and walk again in its powerful truth.

I pray that the whole world might
sit down together and share
its bread and its wine.

Some say there is no hope,
but then I've always applauded the holy fools
who never seem to give up on
the scandalousness of our faith:
that we are loved by God......
that we can truly love one another.

I no longer pray for peace:
I pray for miracles.”

So this morning, may we pray for miracles. That every single person on this earth would know that YOU, THEY, ALL, are loved unconditionally by God. May the miracle of peace follow.

Amen.

Call to Worship, based on Colossians 2:6-7, 3:15-17 (Thanksgiving/Gratitude)

Leader: We gather today in worship in a spirit of Gratitude.
People: Thank you, Jesus!
L: For those who taught us the faith:
P: Thank you, Jesus!
L: For the body of Christ and all those gathered in this space:
P: Thank you, Jesus!
L: In times of joy and celebration we say:
P: Thank you, Jesus!
L: In times of hardship and struggle we say:
P: Thank you, Jesus!
L: In all circumstances, and in all we say and do, we give thanks to Jesus.
P: Thank you, Jesus!
All: Thank you! Amen.

"Even in the Desert" a sermon on Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13
“Even in the Desert”
Preached Sunday, March 9, 2025

Today is the first Sunday in this season that we call Lent. Lent is a season marked by self-reflection, fasting, and penitence as we move toward Christ’s death and subsequent resurrection. It is 40 days, not counting Sundays, symbolic of Jesus’s 40 days of being tempted in the desert.

Biblically, Jesus was just baptized - his first public appearance, if you will, as the coming Messiah.

It's good and right that we baptized a beautiful child of God this morning - on the first season of Lent. That's what Jesus did, after all, right before going into the desert. Baptism is a celebration that we are all beloved children of God. Baptism is a promise - child to parent, congregation to child, child or the baptized to God - that we will love one another and live our lives as God would have us live them - those promises made in the vows this morning. And God promises to us - you will be my child. And so it is appropriate that Baptism also gives us the opportunity to examine our lives - specifically to ask: am I living out my baptismal promises? Promises to repent, to reject evil, to serve and confess Christ, to nurture one another in Christian love?

These are good questions to ask ourselves at any time. Lent specifically, offers intentional opportunists for such reflection over our lives, as Christ reflected in the desert.

So Jesus is baptized and then he goes into the desert before the rest of his public ministry. In our observance of Lent, we talk about this season as a time for us to be in the wilderness of the desert alongside Jesus. Metaphorically, we follow Jesus out into the desert. - so I want to ask you today: what do you first think of when you think of the desert?

Perhaps words like….dry, hot, sandy, brutal, lifeless.

Many of us probably think of something like this.* This is an image of the Sahara Desert which is the largest desert in the world and the biggest source of sand and dust in the world. When thinking of images like this, combined with the Biblical stories of Jesus being tempted in the desert, and the Israelities wandering the deserts it is easy to think of deserts as harsh, unforgiving places…which, well, they can be.

The Gobi Desert*, pictured here, has temperatures that range from -40 degrees fahrenheit to 122 degrees fahrenheit. Yes, snow in a desert. The snow there never actually melts, it will snow and then instantly vaporizes when the temperatures start to warm.

And that’s not even the hottest desert. The hottest place on earth is Death Valley*, pictured here, a northern part of the Mojave desert in California. It has reached record temperatures of 134 degrees fahrenheit.

Looking at these pictures we might be thinking…do we really want to follow Jesus into the desert? Do we really need to do this whole season called Lent? So we really need to examine our lives and promises? Haven’t we given up enough? Haven’t we already given up enough? I long for a fuller, richer, more alive life. I long for the Spring and blooms of Easter, the joy of resurrection - not the somber and reflective mood of Lent, not fasting, not the cross. I long for the lush vegetation and life of the rainforest, not the barren, lifeless landscape of the desert.

Except - except…deserts make up one-third of our planet and not a single one of them is lifeless. Even in the hottest place on earth, like Death Valley, a small amount of rain can awaken seeds that have been there for decades, creating beautiful desert blooms.* Yes, THAT picture is a picture of the desert. That picture is a picture of the hottest place in the world - literally with the word death in its name. But there is so much life.

In fact, deserts are not lifeless places. The desert may make it harder to survive but animals do indeed adapt and even thrive.

The desert is full of resilience. Snakes have armored skin to protect against sand storms. Insects go beneath the ground. These Red Kangaroos* in Australia take shelter under trees in the hottest part of the day. They then lick their body to allow their saliva to evaporate off of them and cool their blood. They dig in the sun-baked earth to get to cooler soil.

These Fennec Foxes* in Africa, like many wildlife in the desert, are nocturnal, coming out at the coolest parts of a day.

And even though it is not a living creature*, rock formations like these in Egypt’s White Desert tell a story of resilience against the storms of life that would try and topple us over.

So yes, the desert is a place of resilience. The desert is also a place of beauty and of color.

Take a look at these lizards*, called Flat Lizards, in South Africa where there is the highest density of lizards in the world. They are bright and vibrant.

And then there is the saguaro cactus* and its beautiful flowers, found in the desert of Arizona. The largest cactus in the world that can grow up to 40 feet tall, live 100 to 200 years, and soak up and store 200 gallons of water at a time. Its flowers* bloom at night for four weeks out of the year so bats can visit it for pollination as they traverse across the Sonoran desert. A journey that the whole ecosystem depends upon.

So yes, the desert is resilient. And the desert is beautiful. And one more thing about deserts and then I’ll get back to Jesus, I swear! But the desert can also surprise you!

*Take for example the Atacama desert in Chile which is the driest desert in the world. On average, it only has one significant rainfall once a century. So how in the world can life survive and thrive here? The desert’s coast runs parallel to a cold sea that creates a dense, thick fog, that rolls over the desert. You can see the fog in the image. Within minutes the landscape and vegetation are drenched in mist, giving life to all, like this bird* pictured here.

At this point I’m sure you’re all thinking: Okay, Pastor Allison, the bird and everything is cool and all…but remind me again what this has to do with Jesus and Lent?

Okay. Hear me out on this. We must rethink how we view and think of the desert, not just as an ecosystem but in the spiritual desert of the season of Lent.

What if we viewed Lent, not as a season where the glass is half empty….or even entirely empty, but a season where the glass is overflowing with God's abundant and generous grace for us.

What if we viewed Lent, not as a time of restriction or restraint of ourselves and our lives, but an opportunity to more fully be who God calls us to be, who God created us to be - our true beloved selves.

What if we viewed Lent as a time to contract the scarcity mindset of our world - if capitalism, oppression, and hierarchy that always tell us there is not enough. What if we viewed Lent as a time to lavish love, kindness, generosity on others proclaiming that there is always enough to go around.

What if we viewed Lent, not as another thing to do, but as a time to step away from the world’s demands of us that diminish us - to step away from the rest race and seeking of power and the desire for more, more,.more….and instead claimed Lent as a time for us to fully live into our baptismal vows: we are enough. We are beloved.

God, in our baptisms, has already claimed as as God's own. We don't need to earn that this Lent. But we may need to accept that gift and live and love more deeply in to it.

So again - what does this have to do with Jesus in the desert?

When Jesus is tempted in the desert he is offered things that would give in to the scarcity mindset and the mindsets of this world, the mindsets of domination and power. I will not turn this bread into stone - for there is enough bread for everyone - something Jesus shows in his miracle of feeding the 5,000. And no, I will not vie for the power and kingdoms of this world - for my Kingdom is not of this world and does not rely on the subjugation and violence of this world’s kingdoms. And no, I will not put the Lord my God to the test, for there is no need to test God, God’s grace is abundant, spilling over, given not earned - always there.

In the desert, Jesus shows us another way. Perhaps, symbolically, these temptations didn’t necessarily need to take place in a desert, in a dry and sandy ecosystem. But the desert has long been known as a place of journey…and a place, despite the harsh environment and sun and extreme temperatures - a place where God could be found.

If I’m in a lush environment, I might not notice the life all around me. But in the desert - the resilient, beautiful, surprising desert - there, life captivates us. It’s hard to miss. Our eyes are drawn to it, our souls are called to it. The kangaroos are all the more an example for their resilience. The desert blossom is all the more beautiful for being rare. The mist covering the land is all the more wanted, all the more life inspiring. God’s presence is all the more known for the lack of distractions around us.

So as we enter our Lenten journey, and follow Jesus into the desert, let us resist the temptations of this world - temptations of scarcity, and power, and doubting God’s love. Because in the desert - God is with us. In the desert, we are resilient - we can not only survive, but thrive, for God is with us. We can not only grow in the desert, but blossom like flowers. And in the desert, we can be surprised by God’s abundant, overflowing, life-giving presence.

This is the Lent I am calling us towards today. A Lent in the desert, yes. But not a Lent devoid of life and beauty, no - a Lent where we appreciate those things all the more for being in the desert.

May God bless us on this Lenten journey.

Amen.

"Show Me The Sparkles" a sermon on Luke 9:28-43a

Luke 9:28-43a
“Show Me The Sparkles”
Preached Sunday, March 2, 2025

We are really into crafts in my house right now. Paint, egg cartons, stickers, glue sticks, googly eyes, construction paper, stickers, those scissors that when you cut with them make the edge of the paper all fancy, pipe cleaners, toilet paper rolls, stamps and ink pads…All of these items are probably currently on or somewhere near my dining room table. Who needs room to eat anyway? I have recently stocked up on craft kits and hid them in a cupboard to be our “emergency” craft supplies. You know, as one does…don’t we all have emergency craft supplies for when the going gets rough? Or is that only those of us who regularly care for young children…?

But you may have noticed that there is ONE craft supply that I did NOT mention. It is one that I will not, under any circumstances, allow into my home. Any guesses on what it is? Feel free to shout it out. Yes. I heard you say it: Glitter.

Only give a young child glitter if you hold a grudge against their parents. Because the thing about glitter is it gets EVERYWHERE.

Now, despite my household ban on glitter, a prayer that I have been finding myself praying over and over recently is “God, show me the sparkles…”

And in order to talk about what I mean about that, let’s turn to our story of The Transfiguration from today:

“Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory…”

We know that Jesus is God enfleshed. Divinity in a human body. And when people looked upon Jesus they saw…just a man. An ordinary man, in human flesh, looking just like the rest of us. In Jesus being transformed, transfigured, in this mountaintop experience, the eyes of the disciples no longer saw Jesus as just another human. In that moment, God pulled back the layers of reality to see the sparkles, the dazzling Divine in the presence of Jesus. Like a giant thing of glitter was dumped all over Jesus…

Now, there is precedent for this mountaintop experience - of a glittering, blinding, dazzling revelation from encountering Divinity. From the book of Exodus, Chapter 34:

“Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him.”

This passage is when Moses is coming down from the mountain after receiving the Torah and because he was talking to God, because he encountered God - HE is glowing. It’s like…residual radiation. That’s how DAZZLING the glory of God is, that even encountering the Divine makes YOU glow. And Moses, he didn’t even get the full glory of God that causes this residual glowing radiation of glory.

In Exodus, Chapter 33 we get this:
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord,’ and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one shall see me and live.” And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

So to be clear…Moses didn’t even see the FACE of God. Moses saw, well, the term for polite company is…backside. And even the backside of The Most High, is SO glorious, SO Divine, SO beautiful…that Moses gets this residual DAZZLING glory that people can’t even look at his face, the face of Moses, without being blinded.

The way I see it is like this: encountering the Divine is an experience of pure beauty. Encountering the Divine is something that our human eyes can barely handle. Encountering the Divine rubs off on us, changes us, makes us sparkle too.

Moses said to God, Moses prayed, “Please show me your glory.” My version of this prayer recently for me has been, “God, show me the sparkles.” This prayer actually came to me separate from the readings of this text in Exodus and the story of the Transfiguration. It came to me because of a desire to see God at work in this world. I was inspired to start praying this prayer when I saw the absolute awe at which my child sees the world. Young children can see beauty everywhere. They find the glitter that sparkles in the tiny pebbles we step on. They see the way there is a rainbow in the puddle that to us is just an oil spill. They see unicorns in the clouds as our eyes are fixed downward.

I want to see the world as a child does - full of awe, and full of wonder, and full of beauty. And as a person of faith, I believe the ultimate source of awe, the ultimate source of wonder, and the ultimate source of beauty - is in God. I believe God is at work in our world. I believe God is present in every moment. I believe that God is only ever as far away as our next breath. God is everywhere… So why does my outlook on life so often lack dazzling sparkles? Why do my human eyes, and my human heart, so often fail to see the beautiful glory of God?

Because most of the time, even though God is all around us, we aren’t looking. And it’s hard to find what you aren’t searching for. It’s hard to receive what you don’t ask for.

Now, sometimes, God’s beauty breaks through and knocks us flat on our…backsides. A moment of such breath-taking beauty that we can’t ignore it. Like it does for the disciples at the Transfiguration. A true “mountain-top” moment - maybe that first time you held your child or your grandchild. A sunset that was simply spectacular. An action of love or generosity that was so heartfelt and genuine that it couldn’t be denied.

And yet…and yet…God is in the everyday. God is in the valley as much as God is in the mountaintop. God is in the darkness as much as God is in the sunrise. God is in the everyday, normal moments, as much as God is in those life-changing experiences. And we have to train our normal human eyes to see it. We have to look for the sparkles. We have to pray for the sparkles.

Often in our world, it can be hard to see God at work. Not because God isn't here and not because God isn't at work….but because our eyes struggle to see past this reality and our hearts get closed off along with them. So how do we open our eyes and hearts? We pray to see God. This is a prayer that is almost always answered. When we pray for awareness of God, we get awareness of God. When we pray to see God's glory, we see God's glory. When we ask to be shown the sparkles, reality is peeled back…and we see the sparkles.

Maybe we see the sparkles in the children in our midst and their joy and openness. Maybe we see the sparkles in our neighbor as we look upon them with the eyes of God, seeing them as fully beloved. Maybe we hear the sparkles in a deep belly laugh that brings levity during a hard time. Maybe we are the ones who bring the awareness of the sparkles as we spread God’s generous love in this world.

I have found myself praying “show me the sparkles.” I pray it while sitting at red lights. I pray it while sitting in meetings. I pray it when I wake up. And admittedly, I pray it when I am beginning to get frustrated and my patience wears thin…show me the sparkles. Show me how you are active in this world, Lord. Show me that your Holy Spirit is moving through me and around. Show me that your fingerprints are over everything. Show me you. Help me see you. Make me more aware that you are God and that your beauty is everywhere.

Today as we come forward for Communion, we know we will encounter God in this meal. While there are lots of places where we may be made aware of the sparkling presence of God…God promises to show up, to reveal God’s self to us, in the sacrament of Holy Communion. As you come forward today pray, “Show me the sparkles.” Or perhaps “Show me your glory” or even “Just be here with me God and let me know it.” In this encounter between us and our Risen Lord in the bread and the cup, may it help us sparkle a little bit more too. Or reflect God’s glory…or as God has shown up for us, may it encourage us to be God to others, by showing up for them. As we partake in the body and blood of Christ, may we be for the world, the body of Christ, redeemed and reconciling.

While the last thing I need in my house is glitter…we all need more God sparkles in our world. A greater awareness of God’s divine beauty in this world. A greater awareness of everything Good. A greater awareness of the Love of God in action. And through experiencing that, through our eyes being opened to the dazzling Divinity, may we, through our actions and words, reflect that dazzling Love and Beauty of God to all we meet, making our world sparkle just a little bit more.

Amen.

“The Most Controversial Christian Teaching: Love Your Enemy” a sermon on Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:27-38
“The Most Controversial Christian Teaching: Love Your Enemy”
Preached Sunday, February 23, 2025

Before I get to the most controversial Christian teaching there is… I am going to talk to you about being a camp counselor.

For several years, I was a camp counselor at Camp Asbury, one of our United Methodist East Ohio Summer camps. One of the tricks they taught us in staff training for working with kids was the “yes and” technique. Now, the “yes and” is to be employed when a kid is complaining or arguing about something. You start with the yes - that’s the affirmation of whatever they are feeling:

Yes, I know you don’t want to brush your teeth
Yes, I understand at home your bed time isn’t for another hour…
Yes, I get that you’re mad that we’re going on another hike…

Now normally here we’d say BUT,

But, the moment you say BUT - everything you just said before is negated and the kid - or person - adult brains actually work this way too - is pushed back into defense mode! Time to fight and plead my case more! So, instead of BUT - you say AND:

And, here at camp we brush our teeth in the morning.
AND, our group’s bedtime is now.
AND, we do activities together.

AND, believe it or not, I’ve seen this work countless times. And I even still use this when dealing with difficult situations with people. It works on adults just as much as kids. So add the “yes and” technique to your conflict management toolboxes.

Which brings us to the “and statement” in today’s Gospel lesson:

““If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.” I’d interject here: AND love your enemies, do good and lend, expecting nothing in return.

As Christians we are called to love. We love our family, our friends, those who love us AND we are to love our enemies.

We are like those who Jesus talks about. We are the sinners who love those who love us. We are the campers complaining to the camp counselor, “But God, I love THESE people, MY people, I don’t want to love THEM. I don’t want to love my enemy.”

To which Jesus replies, “I know you love those who love you. AND, Christian love, my Love, is bigger than that. You are called to love your enemy.”

A high-ranking US politician recently got it all wrong in an interview. He said, "There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.” This is a very common understanding in our world and country of a hierarchy of love. But it simply isn’t what Jesus teaches.

Later in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is put to the test by a lawyer.

“An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ 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.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’”

Here we once again are reminded that even sinners love those who love them. Why would he want to vindicate himself? He was looking for the loophole. He was looking for those it was okay to not love.

And it’s here that Jesus tells his well-known story of The Good Samaritan. He gives the example of the enemy, the other, the one that people would be expected to hate. Jewish New Testament Scholar, AJ Levine wants to help us in modern days to understand how controversial, how earth-shattering, this story was. She said that a modern equivalent might be Jesus telling the story of “The good Hamas member” who helped the beat up Jew by the side of the road.

In essence, Jesus is saying: there is no one who is not our neighbor. Even our enemy is our neighbor.

The National Catholic Reporter says it like this:

“Jesus' point was not about prioritizing family first and neighbors second. It was about demolishing the categories that keep us from seeing each other as worthy of love in the first place. Love of family and love of neighbor are not in competition; they are part of the same holy calling.”

Jesus here is making AND statements. Jesus isn’t just saying to do good to those who love us back or those who do good back to us, sure, we should do good to them AND we are called to do good for those who hate us. As Christians we are called to bless others - AND not just those who bless us back, but those who curse us. As Christians we are called to pray - AND not just pray for those who are praying for us but even those who would abuse us.

And - no ifs, ands, or buts about it - these are HARD teachings and, getting more and more controversial.

Love your enemies.

I used to think that in the 21st Century, the concept of enemies was an outdated one. I used to think that we, as individuals, thought that, for most of us, we don’t really have enemies. That even those who we disagree with, we aren’t really ENEMIES. But I do fear that this is changing. There are people in places of high power who benefit but us turning against each other. More and more, we are beginning to paint each other as the “other.” As “the enemy.”

This both is and isn’t true. It really is an AND statement. Bear with me.

Whenever someone is telling us that someone else is our enemy, it is often to create an environment of fear, an environment of exclusion, an excuse to justify not treating “the enemy” with human dignity, let alone love.

We need to be very critical of any time we are ever told who to fear and who to hate.

AND, on the other hand, as Christians, we should have enemies. The definition of enemy is “a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.” Consider Matthew 25 in which Jesus tells us that those who give the thirsty something to drink, the hungry something to eat, the naked something to wear, those who visit the sick and imprisoned - they do so to him. And those who did not meet those needs, they do not know him. And sadly, we do know that there are people in our world who not only don’t care for the immediate needs of their neighbors, Jesus embodied in the last and least in this world, there are people who also make it harder to get food, harder to get clean water, harder to access healthcare, and even make profits off of imprisonment…That is antithetical to teaching of Jesus and the Gospel of Love. That makes them our enemies.

…so yeah, we have enemies.

Now, just a minute ago: I told you to be critical of anyone who ever tries to define the enemy. And please, be critical of me. Think critically about what the Gospel of Love is, the Gospel of Jesus, and who is living antithetical to it. And what I specifically said was “We need to be very critical of any time we are ever told who to fear and who to hate.” I am saying, yes, we have enemies. I am NOT saying that we are to fear or hate them.

We have enemies…AND, the Christian response to having enemies? Love them.

Love does not mean excusing behavior or values that are harmful. It doesn’t mean a lack of accountability - it doesn’t even mean liking them, it means loving them. It means letting God’s love shine through you. Through doing good to them, blessing them, praying for them. I especially want to lift this up for the verse “pray for those who abuse you” as it’s been used against women, children, and other vulnerable people in abusive relationships. By no means should this verse be used to convince people to stay in abusive relationships, to convince someone to not seek safety from abuse, or to shame needed boundaries for those who have left abusive situations… Remember that God desires wholeness and wellness for each and everyone of us. You can pray for and love those who would harm you - with healthy boundaries in place to protect your wellbeing and safety.

And, we can admit that these teachings are counter-cultural and even controversial. These are the teachings of Jesus: to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, to pray for our abusers - these are HARD teachings! They’re hard because they go against the whole way that the world works. Most of our world operates SOLELY on loving those who love us, doing good to those who do good to us, blessing those who bless us, praying for those who pray for us. We give and we expect it back. Our world is a tit for tat world. And we swim in this water and we can so easily just go with the flow of the rest of the world without even realizing it.

So we come to the questions:

Who are we willing to love? Are we willing to follow the most controversial Christian teaching and love our enemies? Are we willing to go against the grain of this world and choose love - choosing offering blessings and prayers - where the world would offer hate and curses?
Are we willing to radically choose love? To love those who love us AND to love our enemies?

You might ask - Pastor Allison, how do I concretely do this? How do I love my enemies in a world that is so set up to hate the enemy, fear the enemy, chose violence against the enemy? Start with prayer.

Desert Father Abba Zeno said, “if a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then, before he prays for anything else, even his own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hand towards God, he must pray with all his heart for his enemies.” How do you pray for your enemy? Start with a simple prayer: May they know God’s love.

In praying that our enemies experience God’s love, we are wishing fullness of life for them. For when we know God’s love, God’s perfect love drives out all hate. There are stories of KKK members leaving behind their white robes, nazis tearing up the swastika - changes of hearts - most of those changes came through relationships with people who prayed for them and showed them love.

Also in praying for our enemies, it may or may not change our enemies, but it does change us. It helps ease our anger and resentment toward fellow human beings, putting their souls, and ours, in to the hands of our merciful and loving God.

And here’s the disclaimer: Our love will fail. There will be times we curse others, under our breath or out loud. There will be times we pray for vengeance rather than for revelations of love. There will be times where we draw hierarchies of love - building up walls between those we view as worthy of love and those we view as not worthy. There will be times we fall to the world’s rhetoric of fear and hate. And! Hear the Good News. The Good News is: even when our love fails, God’s love never does, God’s love remains steadfast. God will ALWAYS love us AND God will always love our enemies. And through the love of God, may we all find room to love - yes, to love God and to love those who love us AND to love our enemies.

God of love, help us love.

Amen.

"I've been meaning to ask...where do we go from here?" a sermon on Ruth 1:1-22

Ruth 1:1-22
“I’ve been meaning to ask…where do we go from here?”
Preached Sunday, February 9, 2025

“I’ve been meaning to ask…where do we go from here?”

This is our final week of our four week sermon series, “I’ve been meaning to ask..”

A Sanctified Art, the creative team behind the series says this about the theme:

“In creating this series, we started by asking ourselves questions: ‘How can we listen to one another? How do we find connection[...]? How do we create space for compassionate dialogue and for seeking the holy in one another?’

While the challenges of becoming beloved community to one another are endless, these questions are simple. We quickly recognized that all courageous conversations begin with simple questions and the curiosity to truly listen. …The main objective of this series [is]: to cultivate courageous conversations—and to keep having them…these questions aren’t surface level; they invite us to share our pain and seek ways to care for one another.”

And so I have chosen to preach these questions over the last couple of weeks. And I do think we’ve encouraged each other to be courageous community to one another. Over the last couple weeks I have overheard or engaged in conversations with many of you about who you are, about what you’re going through, about how you’re supporting each other and showing up for one another… I am only getting a small glimpse into this. I pray and hope you are finding other, unknown to me ways, but known to God, as to how you are showing up and being community to one another…

And so today we are rounding out our sermon series with “Where do we go from here?” While this is the end of this sermon series, I pray it is only the beginning of the ways we show up for one another and move forward as beloved community together…

Which brings us to our Scripture from Ruth today. The story of Naomi and Ruth actually brings together all the questions we’ve asked ourselves and one another so far:

“Where are you from?”
Naomi was from Bethlehem in Judah but lived many years as a foreigner in a foreign land, as an immigrant. There was a famine in the land of Judah and Elimelech thought that moving to Moab would have a better life for his family. And then, when their fate turns in Moab, they seek to return to Judah. And yet, Naomi has been irrevocably changed by place and the experiences she had as an outsider in another land. And now it is time for Ruth, the Moabite, to be the foreigner. There is no doubt that Naomi and Ruth and this whole story is shaped by place.

“Where does it hurt?”
Naomi has experienced the death of her husband and two sons. Ruth has experienced the loss of her husband as well. Naomi has said goodbye to her home twice - only to return to a place that was once home but she has been changed beyond recognition by loss and grief. She says, no longer call me Naomi but call me Mara which means bitter. Ruth has now also said goodbye to her home, has lost her husband young, and is leaving behind everything she’s ever known. Where does it hurt? In the story of Naomi and Ruth a better question may be - where doesn’t it hurt? They have known acute loss. Acute grief. So much death and loss. And the particular pain of saying goodbye to one's home and one’s country in hope of a better life elsewhere.

“What do you need?”
As widows without husbands or sons, both Naomi and Ruth are on the outskirts of an extremely patriarchal society. Later in their story, we find them gleaning the fields. The Law in Leviticus 23:22 says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.” This protection was to ensure that no one went hungry. That there was always food available for the picking for the last and the least - that included Naomi and Ruth. There were also other needs - Ruth and Naomi needed each other. Friendship. Companionship. They needed a path forward as well.

Which brings us today: “Where do we go from here…?”

And it’s kind of a trick question - and I don’t mean it to be - but the answer to where do we go from here is not a place, it is not a destination, it is a state of being and that is - together as a community.

We see the first part of this today where Ruth pledges herself to Naomi. Where do we go from here? Wherever we go, we go together. Ruth says,

“Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die,
and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”

The Scripture says that Naomi says no more to dissuade her. And through the rest of the book, Naomi calls Ruth “my daughter.”

Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds for them, they will be together.

They also need a wider community. They need the community to leave the harvest in the fields for them. They need a wider community to care for the last, lost, and least. Where do they go from here? They only go forward with the support of a wider community that cares for their needs.

Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds for them, they will be in community.

Ruth is only able to glean as much as she does because a man, Boaz, took notice of her and he instructs others to not reproach her and to keep her safe. There are risks for a young, widowed, foreign woman. Thankfully, the community and honorable people respond with protection. They only go forward by looking out and protecting those who need help.

Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds, they look out for one another.

Which brings me to us here today, the people of Boardman UMC, where do we go from here? We go forward together. We go forward in community. We go forward looking out for each other and the last, the lost and the least.

When we ask ourselves and one another, “where do WE go from here” - the emphasis is on the “we.” It is a recognition that we are called to continue to be community to one another, as we get to know each other better, as we share pain, and care for one another. It is not a journey that ends today - it is just a continuation of being community, it is a challenge to better be community to one another and all we meet - letting the love of Christ guide us all to better love one another.

Rev. Aisha Brooks-Johnson says this about the book of Ruth and Ruth’s pledge to Naomi to go forward together:

“We have experienced a lot of death, grief, and loss in the midst of a global pandemic, racial brokenness, economic disparity, and political division. Can you imagine a world in which we took spiritual oaths like the one we find in the book of Ruth? What if we resisted the temptation to fight or flee in the face of grief, pain, and oppression? What if we took these vows with members of our human family? Imagine a member of the human family before you and speak these words aloud to them: By the mercy of God and because of God’s grace, we are bound to one another. Your pain is not your own but is now my pain. The plight of your people is held in my hands and my heart as if they were my own. Where you journey and work, I too, will journey and work alongside you, with God’s help. Where your bones are buried, may I too, find a resting place and declare every earthly resting place sacred in the eyes of God.”

There is no doubt that we are living in divisive times. There is no doubt that we are living in times where the question of “Where are you from” is a loaded one and the answer often influences how much dignity a person receives. There is no doubt that we are living in a time where there is so much pain and the question of “Where does it hurt?” is a risky one to ask because it will push us to empathize with one another and stand in solidarity with those in pain. There is no doubt we are living in a time of great need. When asking each other, “what do you need?” may require commitment and sacrifice from ourselves and our own desires to put the needs of others first.

So how do we as Christians who are seeking to live out the love of Christ in community - how do we counteract the divisiveness, pain, and needs of the world? We ask each other the hard, courageous questions, we open our ears and hearts, we listen, we learn - we change our hearts and minds to conform to the heart and mind of Christ, and we go into the future together - leaving no one behind.

And we do that by being community to one another and to all of our fellow human beings.

We learn each other’s stories. We empathize with pain. We show up for one another. We envision a future - for our church, our country, our world - that sees all human beings as beloved, reflecting the Imago Dei, the divine image of God, in each and every one of us.

When discerning where to go - together - there are a lot more courageous conversations to be had and what to ask. As a church community, bounded together by love, we may ask ourselves and one another:

What energizes or excites you?
What is something you deeply long for?

We might ask: What’s something in your life, in the Church, or in the world that desperately needs to change? How do you want to be part of that change?

And, allow me to make it real concrete for us here at Boardman UMC for a moment, show you part of the roadmap for what lies ahead of us.

Our leadership has approved moving forward with a Capital Campaign for renovations and repairs for building and ministry. We are titling this campaign: “Today, Tomorrow, Together” - and I and key leaders will be sharing and you all will be hearing a lot more about this campaign and endeavour in the near-ish future… but the whole question of that campaign is really “where do we go from here?” And the answer is: Together. We are making changes and improvements for a better today and for a better tomorrow - and we will do so together.

And again, there is no denying how much pain, confusion, fear, anxiety is out there in our world - and perhaps also, in our own lives. And our own congregation. Here, among us today. And so, for all of us who want our world to look more like the Kingdom of Christ - we all have a lot of work to do. Together, how can we make the world a more loving place? We start with the questions.

I’ve been sharing poems from The Rev. Sarah Are throughout this sermon series, I have one more that I’d like to end with:

“Flashlight”

I wish I could draw you a map
of the next steps—
the next conversation,
the next brave truth,
the next fumble,
the next apology.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know
what’s coming?
Wouldn’t it be nice to
prepare our hearts?
But I don’t know where to go from here.
I am a child with a flashlight—
deeply hopeful and a little nervous,
all at the very same time.
What I do know is I don’t want to go
anywhere without you.
So I’m hoping that you will
take my hand.
See this truth.
Trust my voice.
Look for the good.
And day by day,
we can go from here,
because we were never meant
to go alone.
And maybe we’ll get lost;
but then again,
maybe we’ll be found.
So if you’re willing,
if you’ll just say yes,
I will let you hold the flashlight.
We can find our way,
step by step,
light in hand,
abolishing shadows
together.
Who needs a map
when you have
the light, anyway?”

I’ve been meaning to ask…where do we go from here? We go together and with Christ. Amen.

Call to Worship for Transfiguration Sunday

Leader: On the cusp of Lent, this season of Epiphany is ending.
People: Like the magi, we are convicted that following Jesus changes us.
L: Through the baptism of Jesus, we celebrate that we are children of God.
P: On the mountain top, we get another epiphany.
L: Today on the mountain top, we see the face of God.
P: In worship today may we be changed, beloved, in awe.
L: Let us worship our divine Lord.
All: Amen.

Call to Worship based on Luke 6:27-38 & The Greatest Commandments

Leader: Who are we to love?
People: We are to love God with all heart, soul, and mind.
L: Who are we to love?
P: We are to love ourselves as God loves us.
L: Who are we to love?
P: We are to love our neighbor as ourselves.
L: Who are we to love?
P: We are to love our enemy.
L: Is there anyone we aren’t called to love?
P: No - the God of Love calls us to be God’s love in this world.
All: May we follow the God of Love. Amen.

“I’ve been meaning to ask…what do you need?” a sermon on Job 2:11-13 & 2 Timothy 4:9-18

Job 2:11-13
2 Timothy 4:9-18
“I’ve been meaning to ask…what do you need?” preached Sunday, February 2, 2025

“I’ve been meaning to ask…what do you need?”

We are continuing our sermon series on “I’ve been meaning to ask…” A Sanctified Art, the creative team behind the series says this about the theme:

“In creating this series, we started by asking ourselves questions: ‘How can we listen to one another? How do we find connection[...]? How do we create space for compassionate dialogue and for seeking the holy in one another?’

While the challenges of becoming beloved community to one another are endless, these questions are simple. We quickly recognized that all courageous conversations begin with simple questions and the curiosity to truly listen. …The main objective of this series [is]: to cultivate courageous conversations—and to keep having them…these questions aren’t surface level; they invite us to share our pain and seek ways to care for one another.”

And so I have chosen to preach these questions over, hopefully igniting curiosity, conversation, and community amongst those here at Boardman United Methodist Church, and beyond. And I want to revisit last week’s question before we move forward today.

Last week we asked of ourselves and one another, “Where does it hurt?” We talked about how it is extremely risky and courageous to ask this of one another. Because everyone has pain. We are called to see the pain of others and then act in solidarity with them. Sometimes that act is just bearing witness to the pain and being a friend. Which, often, but not always, is the answer to “what do you need?” I need to be seen. I need to be known. I need to be loved. I need a friend.

Which brings me to the term “Ministry of Presence.” I would go on to hear the phrase talked about in seminary and pastoral care classes…but I first heard the phrase and saw it lived out through my husband. The following is shared with his permission.

Zach’s dad was sick for a long time. Muscular Dystrophy. For him, there was no cure and no treatment. And before long, he lost the ability to answer the question: what do you need? He could not move his body and he could not speak. He lived his final years in a nursing home before he passed away in 2014 at the age of 55. When I met Zach, working together at Camp Asbury, every Saturday he would go visit his dad. Before I knew Zach well, I just wondered where he disappeared to every weekend. Once we started dating, I often went with him. The first summer we were married, we went together every Saturday to see his dad. And when Zach would go, and sit at his father’s bedside, and hold his hand, and make one-sided conversation…his dad would just look at him…and smile. Zach was giving him what he needed - the ministry of presence. That is, the gift of just knowing that you are not alone. You are not forgotten. There are people who love you dearly. What do you need? Just me and you sitting here together. What do you need? Zach and his dad both needed those Saturdays together. A dad who needed to know his children loved him. A son who still needed his father in his life.

What do you need? Sometimes the answer is as hard and as easy - as the ministry of presence. Of sitting with someone in whatever they are going through.

That’s what Job’s friends do in our first Scripture reading this morning. The story of Job is an allegory that explores our understanding of human suffering and our relationship with the Divine in the midst of it. In it, Job loses everything and everyone and Job’s friends respond to him. Now, Job’s friends do go on to put their foots in their mouths - but in the Scriptures we read today, they got it right. Job went through extreme trauma and extreme loss, perhaps most heartbreakingly, the death of his children. And so Job’s friends immediately respond to his distress.

“Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home…They met together to go and console and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.”

Rending one's clothing and covering oneself in dust were physical acts of solidarity of the grief of the one mourning. It was a powerful ritual that physically showed someone, “your grief is now my grief. You are not alone.” I wonder if we have modern day equivalents - bringing someone a casserole, sending them little daily texts just to say “I’m thinking of you,” or simply showing up, like Job’s friends, but without the theatrics.

In another church I served, we had a church leader’s husband unexpectedly die at a young age. The church member and widow was not alone for the next week. Friends filled her home, they sat together, they cried together - they took care of everything - the kids, the meals, the cleaning. They even slept next to her in bed, holding her when she would wake up crying at night.

“What do you need?” Everything. I can’t do anything but cry right now. Please, hold me.

In the Jewish tradition, they call what Job’s friends did and what those church members did, they call it “sitting shiva.” Shiva comes from the Hebrew word for seven - a period of 7 days, of solidarity with the mourning. Mourners sit low to the ground and don’t do the daily tasks. The community surrounds them to care for them during this time. They weep, read Scripture, mourn, say goodbye - together. “What do you need?” I need a community to surround me.

When we ask “What do you need?” We need to be ready to respond to the answer of the one in need. Sometimes those needs may be solidarity, support, a friend. Other times there may also be physical needs.

In our reading from 2 Timothy today, Paul does need the gift of presence - he wants Timothy with him and soon. In this passage he gives himself and others the gift of forgiveness - meeting a need for his soul…but he also isn’t shy in sharing his physical needs: cloaks, books, parchment.

Paul was never one to shy away from sharing his needs: intangible yes - but also the tangible. He did lots of fundraising for his ministries and when you’re a fundraiser, you learn not to be too shy in the ask. And because he has a good friend in Timothy, he has someone to help him with those tangible needs.

We all have those intangible needs: the need to be seen, known, and loved. The tangible needs are present as well - in varying degrees depending on the individual. Meeting the immediate, tangible, physical needs of our neighbors is extremely Christlike.

Jesus preached in Matthew 25 that when you give the thirsty something to drink, the hungry something to eat, when you welcome the stranger in, when you give the naked clothes, and when you visit the sick and imprisoned - you do so to Jesus himself. Jesus’s whole ministry involved meeting people’s tangible needs. He gave the hungry something to eat, he made the blind to see, he stopped the bleeding, and healed the sick. He cast out demons and put his body in front of those who were at risk of being harmed.

Sometimes when we ask someone what they need - and they say a tangible thing - we need to be prepared to meet that need, if it is within our realm of possibility, without judgement. For example, in seminary I often volunteered with an advocacy group for people experiencing homelessness. They said the number one thing people on the street needed was money - to allow people to have the agency to use it for their needs - to buy clothing for an interview, a motel room for a night inside, food that they liked. Of course, many people - myself included - struggle with this request. We think, “what if they use the money for drugs or alcohol?” And there are some who do. At the end of the day, how the gift is used is between them and God - the giver has done their part by meeting the need. They advocacy agency shared if you just couldn’t give money, then warm winter clothing and food were other strong needs. Another example - when a new mom has a baby, everyone wants to hold the baby. But maybe what she really needs is for someone to do the dishes or cook dinner so she can soak in the snuggles. I did tell people they could come hold the baby…but 3am would really be the best time. Following my emergency surgery, both grandmas came and did this for one night each. It was so amazing.

Whether someone needs the gift of presence, of friendship and companionship, of sitting shiva - or they need financial aid, a good meal, help cleaning the house…or whatever it is - it is courageous to ask them what they need. Think of those in your life who may be in need right now - are you willing and able to ask them what they need? Ask them how you can help? And are you prepared to meet that need? To be clear - sometimes we cannot meet the need. The ask is too great. Or the person has a history of taking advantage of offers for help. It is important to both receive the answer without judgement but also with discernment for what is within your realm of possibility. Sometimes what someone needs, just isn’t possible. Many times a spouse of a dying loved one tells me they need a miracle. Tells me they need healing. I can’t make that happen. I can pray to God that God’s will be done. I can pray to God to hear our prayers. And I can say, Lord, if you will it, give us a miracle. And yet, at the end of the day - I can’t bring the healing. I can’t bring the miracle. But I can hold your hand in the unknown.

The Rev. Sarah Are says it like this in her poem “Unlearning Hands:

“I used to always ask,
“How can I help?” but
maybe I can’t help.
Maybe these hands are too small.
Maybe the boat will sink anyway.
Maybe your heart has been broken
and grief has moved in, making itself
at home in your life.
Maybe what you need from me
is not a solution
or a plan
or a fix-it strategy,
but something else,
something more.
…
What do you need?
My hands might be small,
but they can still hold yours.”

One last thing on asking the courageous question of “What do you need?” Sometimes it is good to ask the open ended question. And sometimes, it’s also good to offer up what we can give. Sometimes, when asked “What do you need?” the person may feel embarrassed to share what they need. Or they don’t want to inconvenience you. So they’ll say nothing. Or if we say, “let me know if you need anything” - the person in need may not be in the state of mind to even think of what to ask for.

Kate Bowler in her book, “Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved” offers a list of things not to say when someone is going through trauma and then a list of things to say…the book and the whole list is worth checking out but here’s the first thing she says about what TO say:
"’I'd love to bring you a meal this week. Can I email you about it?’"
And her response:
“Oh, thank goodness. I am starving, but mostly I can never figure out something to tell people that I need, even if I need it. But really, bring me anything. Chocolate. A potted plant. A set of weird erasers. I remember the first gift I got that wasn't about cancer, and I was so happy I cried. Send me funny emails filled with YouTube clips to watch during chemotherapy. Do something that suits your talents. But most important, bring me presents!”

Along with those presents, Bowler recommends friendship, just letting someone know they are being cheered on and prayed for, and the gift of companionable silence.

I’ve been meaning to ask…how can I help? The answer very well may be as simple and as hard as the gift of the ministry of presence, or it may be within our possibility to help a neighbor with a tangible need. May we be courageous in asking this question, opening up opportunities for us to be Christ to one another. Or, summed up in the famous quote attributed to John Wesley:

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
Amen.

“I’ve been meaning to ask…Where does it hurt?” a sermon based on 1 Samuel 1:1-18 & Mark 5:21-43

1 Samuel 1:1-18
Mark 5:21-43

“I’ve been meaning to ask…Where does it hurt?”
Preached Sunday, January 26, 2025

I’ve been meaning to ask…where does it hurt?

The groundwork we need to lay for today’s sermon starts with laying bare our stark reality and that is this:
We live in a hurting world.
Each of us here has known pain.
Each and every person we encounter is hurting in some way.

Perhaps our pain stems from illness or chronic pain. Diseases known and unknown. Seen and unseen. Those with cures and treatments of those without.
Perhaps our pain comes from the realities of aging and coming to terms with the loss - of ability and friends that comes along with that.
Perhaps our pain comes from loss and the accompanying grief. Loss of loved ones through death or broken relationships. For some in our country, like those in North Carolina after flooding or in California after wildfires, it may be the loss of one’s home and belongings. It may be a loss of what the world used to be.
Perhaps our pain comes from fear - fear of being the target of hate or violence.
Perhaps our pain comes from trauma or abuse - past or ongoing.
Perhaps our pain comes from addiction that wrecks havoc on our lives, destroying ourselves and our relationships from the inside out.
Perhaps our pain comes from being part of an oppressed or marginalized group…
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…there are many reasons why we are hurting. But all of us has known hurt. It is part of simply being human.

But too often we are made to feel ashamed of our pain. For us in this room today, we all live in America where the myth of the independent strong man is rampant. That myth, that false idol, that harmful ideology, is the belief that we don’t need anyone else. That every man is an island. That we are unaffected by the pain and hardships of others and we have no one to look after but ourselves. We are no one’s keeper but our own. And so we internalize that if our pain becomes known, if we show our pain, we are weak. That we are dependent. In a world that values strength and independence above all else. Although God did not create us for strength or independence. God created us as vulnerable human beings who deeply need one another.

You may notice that I said the universal “man” instead of the non-gender specific “people” - which I normally very intentionally do not do. Especially as a woman in a male dominated field. But I did it purposefully. Both of today’s Scriptures are about women and women, more than men, are often given permission to share their pain more than their male counterparts - although men 100 percent also have pain. And because of the toxic masculinity that is rampant in our world, with phrases like “boys don’t cry” - men especially are made to feel ashamed for their pain and vulnerable emotions. And this deeply hurts men - making them carry shame and creating unhealthy relationships and patterns of expression.

And so we are, even subconsciously, often without knowing we do it, men and women, regardless of gender, we bury our pain deep down. Hiding it from others and sometimes even ourselves and we fool ourselves thinking we hide it from God.

A further detriment of hiding our own pain is, when we see our own pain and hurt as shameful, we see the pain of others in this way too. We keep ourselves from seeing the pain and hurt of others through the eyes of God…From seeing and loving our neighbors as God asks us to.

And so asking “Where does it hurt?” sparks courageous conversation. That is the goal of our sermon series, “I’ve been meaning to ask…”

A Sanctified Art, the creative team behind this sermon series, said this about the concept of “I’ve been meaning to ask…”:

“In creating this series, we started by asking ourselves questions: ‘How can we listen to one another? How do we find connection[...]? How do we create space for compassionate dialogue and for seeking the holy in one another?’

While the challenges of becoming beloved community to one another are endless, these questions are simple. We quickly recognized that all courageous conversations begin with simple questions and the curiosity to truly listen. …The main objective of this series [is]: to cultivate courageous conversations—and to keep having them…these questions aren’t surface level; they invite us to share our pain and seek ways to care for one another.”

And so I have chosen to preach these questions over the next couple of weeks, hopefully igniting curiosity, conversation, and community amongst those here at Boardman United Methodist Church, and beyond.

Asking of ourselves and one another - “Where does it hurt?” sparks courageous conversation. Asking “where does it hurt?” removes or lessens the shame from our pain by bringing it out of the shadows or stigma and into the light where it can be fully seen. Asking “Where does it hurt?” disrupts the myth, the false idol, of the independent strong man, which allows us to better be in beloved community with one another. Asking “where does it hurt?” allows us to be truly seen and accepted by one another. Asking “where does it hurt?” allows us to be God to one another.

Which brings us to the first of our Scripture lessons from today. Let us turn to Hannah and her pain. Hannah deeply needed to be seen in her pain, to be seen, known, and loved. A content warning for infertility and accompanying pain, although you’ve heard the Scripture already. Hannah’s pain stems from her infertility and her deep desire for a child. While many women are working to break the stigma around sharing pain regarding infertility and child loss, it is still a pain, a hurt, with a deep stigma and shame attached to it. Where it doesn’t need to be. If this is a pain you have struggled with, seen or unseen, known or unknown, know you are not alone. You are loved and held by God in that pain. And Hannah, in her pain, demands to be seen. She needs her pain to be seen. In the verses that follow where we ended our reading today, Hannah does conceive a child. However, I purposefully did not include that Scripture in today’s reading. Because, the pain of many who struggle with infertility does not end with a child. And what brings her a step towards wholeness and healing by the end of these verses is not conceiving a child - it is being seen in her pain.

The Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity says this about Hannah, “In Hannah, I see a woman who has been mocked, shamed, diminished, and ignored. However, she refuses to be silenced. In the presence of her pain, she grits her teeth, pours her heart out before God, and insists that we see her.”

I’ll refer to the Scripture here, 1 Samuel 1:11: “She made this vow: ‘O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant and remember me…’” She is asking God, first and foremost, to look upon her. For God to see her misery. For God to know and remember the hurt that Hannah has.

Not only does she pray directly to God to be seen, she pleads with Eli to see her as she is - hurting and calling out to God. 1 Samuel 1:15-16: “But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.;”

And blessedly, Eli sees her in that moment, truly sees her. And through his eyes, is seen by God. 1 Samuel 1:17-18, “Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.’ And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.’” Hannah is seen by Eli, and through Eli, she knows she is seen by God as well.

When we see hurt - we don’t need to fix it or cure it - but we do need to see it. We aren’t asking today, “How can I help?” (Although we will ask that next week.) We are not asking, “How can I fix it?” We are asking “Where does it hurt?” So that in asking we can see the full humanity of the hurting person or persons in front of us. So we can see them a little more in the wholeness that God sees them in. So that in seeing them, we can let them know that they are not alone. That we too hurt and can be in solidarity with one another. And that God, who knew pain in Jesus - deep pain - betrayal, torture, abandonment, rejection, death - that God is in solidarity with us. In our pain.

Verse 18 ends with this: “Then the woman went her way and ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.” What alleviated her pain was not the knowledge of conception. What alleviated her pain, what lifted her countenance, was her pain being acknowledged by Eli and by God.

The Rev. Sarah Are puts it like this in her poem, “When It Hurts”:

“Tell me—
where does it hurt?
I’m not offering to fix the pain,
I’m not that powerful.
However, I am offering to see it.
Show me your scars,
and I’ll show you that
you’re not alone.”

Seeing pain does come with risks - it can disrupt our day to day. Our blissful ignorance. Our heads in the sand. It means the status quo cannot continue and we need to be moved to solidarity, to allyship, to live out our love. Part of the stigma around seeing other people’s pain that we deal with in our culture is that those who are attuned to the hardship and pain of others are called bleeding hearts. But I would rather have a bleeding heart, loving what God loves, having my heart break over what breaks God’s heart, than to have a heart of stone. Over and over in Scripture, we see story after story that tells us that not hardening our hearts is a radical act of Christian love that we are called to. Like the Good Samaritan, we are not to pass by pain when we see it. And like the Pharaoh, God wants our hearts of stone to be broken. For when our hearts are broken open, we make room to love as God loves. Even if our hearts bleed from the pain of this world, it is the blood of Christ that brings healing. And we are called to be the body and blood of Christ in this world. Our bleeding hearts may bring healing to this world. To bleed openly in solidarity with the pain of others is to let those in pain know that there is a God who loves them beyond measure, pain and all.

When we see the pain of Hannah in Scripture, the next step is to use the lens of Scripture to see the pain in our world: Rev. Garrity continues her commentary, saying this about Hannah, “When I look at [Hannah], I remember when I have been Peninnah. Whose pain have I mocked? I remember when I have been Elkanah. Whose pain have I questioned? I remember when I have been Eli. Whose pain have I dismissed? And then I remember when I have been Hannah, and I look for who is screaming in my own midst. Where does it hurt? When I ask this question, I’ll remember to also say: ‘I see you.;”

Seeing pain disrupts our lives. Jesus calls us to these disruptions and we see examples of this disruption in our reading from Mark this morning. Jesus was traveling, doing his thing, when Jarius disrupts his day to day and says, “Come and heal my daughter!” He is on his way to heal the girl when the hemorrhaging woman touches him, disrupting his mission to Jairus’s house - he stops to truly see the pain, the hurt - and the faith - of the chronically ill woman. And when he shows up at the house, he disrupts the grieving that is happening - and disrupts death itself.

Rev. Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum says this about these disruptions in Mark: “These relational and embodied healings humanize those whose hurting has been pushed aside, calling our attention to the broken systems that can perpetuate and dehumanize pain. Jesus’ healing disrupts the injustice of a woman who has been rejected and labeled impure for her condition. With the girl, Jesus disrupts death itself. How might we allow Jesus to disrupt us—enabling us to acknowledge others’ pain so that we may seek life together? We must put ourselves in the uncomfortable places where human beings live, breathe, and hurt—because those are the places where we will also find Jesus.”

When we engage in courageous conversation and ask one another “Where does it hurt?” We are being God to those in pain. We are bringing awareness to God’s constant presence with us - especially in our pain. One of the major theological doubts or questions, Christian and non-Christians alike have is…”in our hurting world, where is God in all this?” The answer is simple and profound: God meets us in our pain. God cries with us. God’s heart breaks when we inflict pain on one another. God rends divine garments, dons sackcloth, and mourns when we treat each other as less than human. Less than beloved children made in the image of God. God’s heart is broken open when we act with anything less than mercy, justice, and love. As it’s simply put in Micah: “what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” Or as Jesus summarizes all the law and prophets in the greatest commandments: Love God. Love Neighbor.

Where is God in the world’s pain? God is in solidarity with the world’s pain, both crying with us and wiping away our tears. God sees us. All of us. God sees our pain. All of our pain. God holds us, loves us. And asks us to be God to one another: to let mercy, justice, and love reign. We can ease the hurt in this world. We can’t fix it all - although that is God’s eventual plan: to create a new heaven and a new earth where there is no more pain, no more death, and all weeping shall cease. No, we cannot erase all the pain and hurt in this world, but if we choose to be courageous, if we choose to step out in faith, if we choose to see each other with the eyes of God, we can ease it. It is as simple and hard as this: see the pain in this world and choose solidarity and love in the midst of that pain.

I’ve been meaning to ask…where does it hurt? May we all be so bold and courageous as to ask this question and meet the hurt with the love of God.

Amen.