2020.07.19 | Finding God in Strange Places
“I wonder, have you ever been surprised by where God has shown up in your life?
To answer this question, let’s first consider where it is that we expect God to show up. I imagine that most people expect God to show up in Church. Right?
I think this is why the Shelter-In-Place order is so difficult for many Christians to accept. In this tipsy-topsy world, people of faith would like nothing more than to be in worship—in a familiar place, singing familiar songs, saying familiar prayers with familiar people—so that we might reground ourselves in the knowledge that God is in charge, and that everything is going to be OK.
But then, lo and behold, the County Health Officer and the Governor start pulling back the reins on phasing out Phase 1. . .”
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2020.07.12 | A Listening Heart
In the last 20 years, as LGBTQ issues, particularly gay marriage, have come to the forefront of our national and local conscience, I delight in those conversations where I have seen people’s perspectives and political views change not because they were labelled as haters or homophobic, but because they realized what LGBTQ people wanted was simply basic human rights and dignities such as work of their choosing, love, marriage, and family — rights and dignities that straight people are afforded automatically.
So, while Solomon, with all his faults and flaws so like our own, asked for a listening heart so he might govern God’s people, I tip my hat today to anyone, regardless of their past views and behaviors, whose listening heart has changed their mind, their faith, their voice, or their vote. To you, and to your willingness to bring wisdom and a loving heart to all your decisions and actions, we owe a great debt of gratitude.
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2020.07.05 | A Good Place for Confession
In addition to confessing that racism is America’s original sin, it’s also necessary for us to acknowledge that the Christian Church has a lot of racism to confess, and that congregations like ours (that come out of a Liberal Protestant tradition) aren’t too enthralled with confession. . .
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2020.06.28 | Loaves & Fishes
A modern-day equivalent of the “Feeding of the Five Thousand” has unfolded in the Eden Area over the course of the past two months under the banner “UIY Cena Caliente,” or in English, “UIY Hot Meals.”
The program was born out of suffering.
Two counselors from Tennyson High School (Diana, who is employed by the Hayward Unified School District, and the other, Elizabeth, who is employed by La Familia) reached to me and asked me to sponsor one of the World House students, so that they could during the pandemic.
You see, the counselors were getting calls from their students asking them where they could get something to eat, because they couldn’t go to their low-wage jobs to earn a few dollars an hour to buy their own groceries and make their own food.
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2020.06.21 | A Father's Love
Today’s scripture reading is a story, a story that Jesus tells to answer a simple but challenging question posed by those who are beginning to oppose him and his ministry among tax collectors and others they heartily disapprove of: Why does he eat with sinners?
One way of understanding the story Jesus tells us is to compare and contrast it with other stories that address the same theme. I did a little poking around in the folktale collections online and found a Ukrainian folktale that provides a useful comparison to the story that Jesus told.
I’ll tell you a shorthand version of the Ukrainian story, which is called “The Ungrateful Children and the Old Father Who Went to School Again.” If you want to read the full story, check out the link I put in the bulletin to a book called Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk Tales on the World of Tales website.
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2020.06.14 | DIVINE HUMOR
My favorite Chinese proverb goes like this: “If you want to hear God laugh, make a plan.”
I’m a big fan of planning, and I have the resume to prove it. I discovered the merits of planning at a young age, when planning proved to be helpful in keeping me on track as I was striving to overcome some personal hardships and better myself and my family's situation.
In high school, college, and especially in graduate school, I received formal instruction in planning, and experienced first-hand that sound planning was critical to success.
In the early days of my career, I was fortunate to staff planning committees in two different congregations and work with experts in the field of organizational design.
I have applied these habits and skills in the practice of ministry over the years, and have helped every organization that I’ve served to develop and implement strategic plans. In some cases, I have been an architect of more than one strategic plan.
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2020.06.07 | Imago Dei
I hope. I pray. That we have finally reached a “tipping point” in the United States of America in which a critical mass of people acknowledge that racism is alive and well, and deeply embedded in our culture--and they, that we, have got to do our part to name it and eradicate it.
Yes. I hope, and I pray that we have reached a “tipping point” in which enough White people are committed to consistently and persistently doing our own work of self-reflection, confession, and contrition, so that these heinous crimes, the militarization of law enforcement, the perpetuation of the school to prison pipeline, the profiteering of private prison systems, and the cycle of oppression that is grounded in White supremacy is undone.
Yes. I hope and I pray that enough White people--and people from every other racial and ethnic group in this country--will no longer tolerate a white supremacist in the White House.
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2020.05.31 | Fanning the Flames
The story of Pentecost is just a little too “woo-woo” for most Progressive Protestants to take seriously—at least at first blush. Think about it: a voice from heaven, tongues of fire, and foreigners saying and hearing things that may never have been said or heard before, and everyone comprehending—well, everyone, that is, except for educated, modern people like us. Right?
Most of us are left wondering what is the answer to Luke’s question: "What does this mean?"
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2020.05.24 | Paradise is Not Lost
On the news, this pandemic has been referred to as apocalyptic. I think this term is actually fitting- not in a zombie apocalypses kind of way but in the original meaning of the term. In the Greek, an apocalypsis, is an uncovering of something hidden. That’s what’s going on all around us.
This virus is laying bare the inequities in our communities. Making overt what was once covert. . .
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2020.05.17 | Being a Good Neighbor
Even as we shelter in place we have an opportunity to reach out to those we wouldn’t normally connect to: the homeless person, the man who collects recyclables, the tough-looking teenager walking the street at odd hours, the women wearing hijab, the orthodox Jew. From a safe distance, by a note or a letter, we can inquire about their well-being, offer our support, tell them about our food bank, or simply smile and wave hello.
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2020.05.10 | Spiritual Adulting
Today, we celebrate the Festival of the Christian Home in the United Church of Christ, and we celebrate Mother’s Day in our churches and in our homes, all across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan, the Philippines and South Africa.
This is an occasion when people pause to reflect on the importance of nurture and those who nurture us in our families of origins and our childhood homes and current homes. Increasingly, as an occasion to recognize, honor, and express appreciation to those in our families of origin (or our families of choice) as “Other Mothers” and “Community Mothers.
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2020.05.03 | Define Church
What is worship? Is it that ritual that we participate in on Sunday mornings in the main Sanctuary? Is it a Google Watch Party that we tune into at 10 a.m. on Sundays?
Does shared space and time matter anymore, given that Sunday worship is posted on the Church webpage, and you can hit play at 10 a.m. or 10 p.m. or any other time or day of the week?
Today, the COVID crisis challenges us to reflect deeply on what it means to be the Church as a people--a people scattered.
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2020.04.26 | Stay with Us
What the risen Christ has shown us this Easter season is two-fold: 1) while we are in dire need of a better wealth distribution, all people and corporations are capable of so much more benevolence than we have ever imagined and 2) we may, with the help of technology, be capable of working and living and caring for the most vulnerable in ways that are more protective of our natural environment, steward our limited resources, and result in a more equitable situation for all of God’s creation.
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2020.04.19 | Room for Doubt
Many of us were led to believe that doubt is incompatible with the Christian life, but I disagree. In fact, I believe that doubt—even apathy—can be a beneficial--perhaps even essential part--of a mature faith.
I believe that character whom we have come to know as Doubting Thomas has been largely misunderstood, and inappropriately maligned by many preachers who have presented him as a flawed apostle.
While it’s easy to understand how eyes and hearts gravitate toward this negative view of Thomas, several leading New Testament scholars argue that John had a larger purpose in mind when he put these words on Jesus’ lips: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
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2020.04.10 | Good Friday Stations of the Cross
What might our encounters with the experiences of Jesus‘ wrongful conviction and path toward his eventual crucifixion have to offer us in these days of pandemic? Watch this ecumenical service of meditation, reflection, and confession based on events in the life of Jesus leading up to his crucifixion.
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2020.04.09 | Maundy Thursday: Love One Another
This Holy Week, as we explore what Jesus’ death means to us, we face one of the most challenging facets of being progressive Christians. We practice a service-oriented faith, but we often shy away from talking about why we put service at the heart of our practice. We often jump to serving others because we’re good people who want to help. Sometimes our emotional connection back to Jesus is tenuous. You might find it interesting that every Gospel offers its own perspective on service and discipleship. In the Gospel of John, discipleship is a loving relationship with Jesus first, then from that love, action springs forth that demonstrates love for one another.
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2020.04.05 | Palm Sunday: Parade Ready
Mentoring is not easy work, but none of us is called to do it alone. God always intended mentoring to be a group project. Jesus always sent his disciples out two by two. As a religious community, Eden Church has been in this area for over 155 years helping families raise children, and helping our community mentor youth. During normal operations we offer ministries. . . The COVID-19 Crisis isn’t going to stop what we’ve always been doing. It’s just challenging us to find new ways to do it.
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2020.03.29 | Is There Life After Death?
All of a sudden, we not only had a public health crisis on our hands, we had an economic crisis, too. And, truth be told, most people--not just church goers--encountered a spiritual crisis. People who had never before given much thought to their own limitations, their eventual demise, and the afterlife were all of a sudden wondering, “What if I get this virus? What if it kills me? Where will I go, when I die?”
If you find yourself in this camp, or if you’ve ever given thought to these questions, then today’s message is especially for you.
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2020.03.22 | When Life Is Scary
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;
for you are with me. . .
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