Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

Ezekiel 36:24-32 Titus 3:3-7 Justify:  to give an acceptable reason for an action. Justify:  to position lines of text so that the edges form a straight edge. Justify:  to be made righteous by God's transforming  grace. Painted Lady Butterfly Caterpillar In the animated movie, "A Bug's Life," we're introduced to Heimlich, a candy corn-devouring Caterpillar whose metamorphosis is way over due.  He dreams of the day when he will become butterfly he is meant to be. "Someday, " he says, "I will be a beautiful butterfly and then everything will be better." Someday, I will be a beautiful butterfly, and then everything will be better.  Someday ... Like Heimlich, all human beings (including this pastor) have had those longings for that someday when everything will be better: Someday, I will be an adult and move out of my parent's house, and be able to make my own decisions, and then everything will be better. Someday, I...

  Ezekiel 34:11-16 Titus 2:11-14 Butterflies are symbols of new life and transformation.  Like them, people grow and change, not only physically but emotionally and spiritually.  What role does God's grace play in this process and when does it begin? A caterpillar is one of nature's eating machines.  When they hatch, the first thing they eat is their egg case, and then its off in search of more food.  And they eat and eat and eat.  It's what caterpillars do, It's encoded in their butterfly DNA. Some scientists believe that our search for spiritual meaning can be found somewhere in our DNA that forms a part of the brain that makes us look for God.  That would explain why there are so many religions in the world.  As we respond to some neurological process, we come up with ways to make this idea of God accessible to us. I have mixed feelings on this.  Part of me says it makes sense, since human beings were created to be in...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 John 12:24 Luke 13:6-9 Once thing we know about life is that change is certain.  It's eve3n in the pattern of God's creation:  caterpillars become butterflies and pollywogs become frogs.  Even the church and its ministries need to change and transform to continue to pass the gospel from one generation to the next.  In this time of changing metaphors and models of doing church, what are the metaphors from Scripture that we can use for discernment? Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  a time to be born, and a time to die; One of the hardest things churches have to do is the respectful burial of the activities and ministries that have become traditions in a local faith community.  In a season of change, it is important to ask the hard questions.  Does this activity or ministry fulfill a relevant need in the church or in the community?  Is it being blessed wit...

Romans 6:20-23 Ephesians 2:1-10 Sunday, April 12, is Holy Humor Sunday.  Holy Humor or Bright Sunday is an old tradition that helps us to remember that Christ's life, death and resurrection is too wonderful a gift just to celebrate for one day on Easter.  Our theme for Easter season is is "Butterflies are Free" as we explore just how amazing God's grace is and how it is at work in our lives. One of my favorite butterflies is the Painted Lady.  It looks similar to the Monarch butterfly, and like the Monarch, it migrates each year. Why do I like them above all other species of butterflies?   It's because they like me.  If there's a Painted Lady in my vicinity, it will find me.  I've had them land on me, sometimes two or three at a time.  I've even been able to hold them in my hands.  One year, as they were swarming in preparation for their southern migratory flight, they covered the back side of the parsonage I was living in.  I had ...

Romans 6:3-11 What's your favorite holiday?  What do you think is the most important holiday?  For me, it's Easter, because without Easter, Christmas has no meaning.  The most important thing about Easter is not the jelly beans and chocolate Easter Bunnies nor ham dinners with the family.  It's the empty tomb and what that means to us and to the world. I have a new goal in life.  I want to be the kind of Christian that when my feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, "Oh, crap!  She's awake." The only way I know to is to be alive for God in Christ. You see, that's the importance of the empty tomb for us as Christians.  As Christians, we are baptized into Christ's death.  As we are plunged beneath the cleansing flood of God's grace and love, the old self -- our sins and guilt are washed away -- and we are free to become the people God created us to be. We are also baptized into Christ's resurrection.  Because God rai...

I have given you an example: Just as I have done, you also must do.                  John 13:15 (CEB) “Kneels at the feet of his friends, silently washes their feet, Master who acts as a slave to them.”               “Jesu, Jesu” by Tom Covin, 1969, #432, United Methodist Hymnal When Jesus took on human form, He did not demand to live in a palace, seated on a throne, dressed in purple silken robes and surrounded by servants catering to His every whim. His hands were not soft and smooth.  They were calloused and rough from years of carpentry work.  He didn't spend his time elbowing with with nobles, diplomats and the great minds of the time.  He hung out with fishermen, tax collectors, lepers, the mentally ill, the sick and the poor as well as men and women of questionable reputations. He chose not to exploit his divinity but r...