Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

I Corinthians 1:18-31 "Wise men say, 'only fools rush in,' but I can't help  falling in love with you..."* Interesting that this year the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, fell on February 14, Valentine's Day, a holiday celebrating love, and ends with Easter on April Fools Day, a time for practical jokes, humor and all kinds of foolishness.  But then, the world does consider the wisdom of the cross foolishness.  So let us rejoice and be fools for Christ! "Hey, Lane," called my one of my co-workers, "Tom is on line one for you."  Sure it was my husband, Tom, I picked up the phone and said, "Hi, sweetie!  How's my hunka-hunka burning love doing today?"  Silence followed, and then a male voice I didn't  recognize said, "Um, ah, this is Tom from Sir Speedy Printing." We've all done something stupid, embarrassed ourselves, and maybe even something that seemed foolish for the sake of someone we cared abo...

"Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me." "Kneels at the feet of his friends, silently washes their feet, Master who acts as a slave to them."*  And after doing so, Jesus said to his disciples, "I have set you an example ..." (John 13:15) The example that Jesus has set for all of us is how to love.  Jesus himself has said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord God with all of our passion, prayer, intelligence and energy, and just as important, love others as well as we love ourselves.  (see Mark 12:28-31, MSG ) Yet, you and I know that our capacity for self-love can be limited.  It can be scarred, wounded and twisted.  It can become self-protective, putting up walls against other people and even God.  Considering what's going on the world today, I don't think my self-love is going to make much of a difference.  T...

John 12:1-19 Joshua 2 Service, as well as repentance, sacrifice, humility, faith and commitment, is important in the life of the follower of Christ.   Last week we talked about commitment in the terms of availability of God.   This week, with the help of Rahab from the book of Joshua and Mary of Bethany, Martha’s sister and their stories of service along with singer, Meat Loaf, we’re going to explore another dimension of commitment. In 1993, the rock and roll star, still known as Meat Loaf, had a hit song, I’d Do Anything for Love.   Anyone else besides me remember it? There’s only one line from the song that has stuck with me for 25 years, and that’s “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that.” People are still wondering what Meat Loaf won’t do, but that mystery isn’t what makes it so memorable for me.   No, it’s what it says about us as human beings, that we often make our commitments to those we love conditional. I’ve done t...

Ruth 1:15-21 Luke 9:57-62 "O God, you have been and always will be available for us when we have needed You.  But God, are we always available for Your call on our lives and Your invitation to spend time with you?  God, who through Your Son Christ Jesus, has made all of eternity available to us, forgive us for our lack of commitment to You.  Amen." During Lent, our church is looking at the season's themes of repentance, sacrifice, humility, commitment, faith and service.  Of all of them, this week's theme of commitment from the standpoint of availability, really convicts me. Like everyone else, I'm a very busy person, not just with the 24/7 responsibilities of my call as a minister and, like many of you, I have a home to maintain and a family.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm not complaining. I love this call God has given me; I'm just saying it so easy to make my life all about the busyness instead of my commitment to Christ and making myself avail...

Isaiah 40:31-a Psalm 91 There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky. And you ask "What if I fall?" Oh but my darling What if you fly?               -- Erin Hanson  We're all afraid of something.  Me?  Been there, been afraid of that, and even got a t-shirt.  We're not alone in our fears.  Sometimes, those fears will Dave Ramsey says people are afraid to sit down and do a budget for fear of discovering how deeply in debt they are, even though that's the tool that will help us find some peace about their finances. We're afraid of going to the doctor because we're worried of hearing bad news, even though the best news is that it was found early enough to be easily treated. Like Moses, we find all sorts of excuses to not go for that new job, because we're afraid we're not up to it, afraid we'll fail, even though it would open the doors to all sorts of opportunities. Like Pe...

What makes Christmas Christmas for us? Singing carols? Christmas trees? Decorations? Lights? Presents? Special foods and treats? Hallmark Specials? Shopping? Credit card debt? Parties with family and friends? If we didn’t have any of those things, would it still be Christmas? I think so, because Christmas is something that transcends all our traditions. Christmas is about God’s favor. Some people think that if God favors us, we’re going to get all everything we think we deserve. God is like Santa Claus, and if we’re been good little boys and girls, we’ll get everything on our list. Other people think that if God favors us, we’re God’s favorites. We belong to an exclusive group, a chosen few who truly deserve God’s love. God’s favor is an expression of God’s unconditional, inclusive love for all of us, no matter what part of the world we live in or what our first language is, the belief system we’r...

Matthew 1:18-25 Any of the people from the story of the first Christmas, the wise mean, the shepherds and Mary could wonder, like Joseph, “Why me?” Why were gentiles, the wise men, given the privilege to be the first people to acknowledge Jesus as King? Why were the poor shepherds chosen to be the first invited to see the newborn Messiah? Why was Mary given the honor to give birth to God’s only Son?  Did Joseph ever ask, “Why me?”  Why not?  I think he was the right person to be Jesus’ stepfather. Maybe he’s the kind of person the world needs today. Have you ever set up a nativity scene? Hmm. Is this one a shepherd or is this Joseph. If we’re lucky, the shepherd is holding a lamb. Hint: Joseph is usually the one holding the lantern. Isn’t that how we think of him – just the guy in the background holding a lantern. He does get to lead the donkey. That’s an important job, isn’t it? God didn’t choose Joseph to be a bit player in the story of Chr...