Our Host

Scripture Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16  CEB   

1. Living in the Most High’s shelter,
    camping in the Almighty’s shade,

2  I say to the Lord, “You are my refuge, my stronghold!
    You are my God—the one I trust!”

3 God will save you from the hunter’s trap
    and from deadly sickness.

4 God will protect you with his pinions;
    you’ll find refuge under his wings.
    His faithfulness is a protective shield.

5 Don’t be afraid of terrors at night,
    arrows that fly in daylight,

6  or sickness that prowls in the dark,
    destruction that ravages at noontime.

14 God says,“Because you are devoted to me,
    I’ll rescue you.
    I’ll protect you because you know my name.

15 Whenever you cry out to me, I’ll answer.
    I’ll be with you in troubling times.
    I’ll save you and glorify you.

16  I’ll fill you full with old age.
    I’ll show you my salvation.”

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All this month we have been talking about hospitality.  We have talked about who to welcome and how to do that.  About how to serve our guests, and how sometimes we need to let others serve us.  We have even talked quite a bit about how to make our space more hospitable.  But there is one piece of hospitality that we haven’t really talked that much about . . . the host.

In the last 2 weeks I have been in both roles - the host and the person being hosted.  As co-hosts/facilitators for the Clergy Women’s Mini-retreat at Mission Springs, Monica Cross and I provided a program of activities which included time to rest, snacks and drinks, and made lunch arrangements everyone found acceptable. We did our best to make sure all the needs of our guests were considered in advance so we could make the event a blessing for them.   I then spent several days at St Anthony Retreat in Three Rivers on a private retreat.  I felt like an honored and beloved guest the whole time I was there.  When I walked in one staff member called out, “Welcome Home, Maria.”  Another greeted me with a hug.  I was given the most prized room - a corner room with two windows and the best view.  By the next morning all the staff knew my name, and used it when they greeted me.  The chef asked about my meal preferences.  Everyone, including staff, got the same meal, mind you, but he wanted to make sure the meals would include foods I enjoy.  Now, I do understand that the Retreat center is a business and it is in their best interests to treat visitors well, but still - the whole time I was there I felt like someone special.  My hosts understood very well what hospitality means - we even talked about the theological and cultural/historical understandings of hospitality at dinner one night. (This is what happens when you have 2 priests, a minister, and a  nun eating dinner together.)

When you are hosting a big party or an event, a wedding or anniversary party or a 50th class reunion, there are a lot of details to deal with.  If you select a large venue they often have an event planner to work with you to make sure everything is considered and that things go according to plan.  You provide the list of people who are to be invited and then step back to let the event planner do their job.  They will confer with you as needed, but for the most part they simply do what ever needs to be done.  They find a caterer to do the food and table set up and a florist to make the space beautiful.  They make sure each guest receives the gifts and tokens of appreciation the host has provided.  They take care of all the details. Speaking as someone who has been a part of large weddings with and without event planners, I love event planners!  I didn’t even have to worry about lining up the bridesmaids, not to mention the tiny flower girls and ring bearers.  All I had to concern myself with was getting there, and praying the couple would show up.   Naturally, the host is disappointed if some who are invited don’t show up, or if someone rejects the gifts they are offered, but those who do come are welcomed with joy and gladness.

God is our gracious host.   We are the event planners.  We are God’s hands and feet in the world.  We handle the details, making sure the gifts that God offers are  presented in the best, most inviting way to all who might come.  Our very lives are the invitations into God’s loving embrace. We work hard to provide the best of spiritual foods, the warmest of welcomes, and the most authentic worship experience designed, not to entertain, but to encourage people to come closer to God, so that they might know God as we do, and trust God as we do.  

And we do trust God, with all our hearts.  With the psalmist, we “say to the Lord, “You are my refuge, my stronghold!  You are my God—the one I trust!”  We rest in God’s shadow, like baby birds protected under God’s outstretched wings.  We are secure in the knowledge that we are God’s beloved children, that God’s mercy and grace flow out upon us because of God’s steadfast love for us - because Lord knows we don’t deserve it.  God knows we are imperfect, that we will make mistakes, that we won’t always get it right - that we won’t always even obey the Commandments we have been given!  You know, that pesky Love your neighbor thing.   But we serve a God of grace. We know that we are forgiven.  We know that we need not be afraid, for God is with us always, in every situation.

“There is a difference, Desmond Tutu once observed, between a religion of virtue and a religion of grace.    A religion of virtue says, “If you are really good—a true standout—then God will love you.”  A religion of virtue is mostly about our doing. It is about our efforts to get on God’s good side or to demonstrate to others that we are on God’s side. This can lead to a very busy, exhausting, life.

A religion of grace is different. Such a faith says, “You are loved. I have taken your side and will never leave it. Trust this and live boldly.”

(Tony Robinson, Still Speaking Daily Devotional, September 27, 2019)

We know that there are those for whom the practice of Christianity has become a religion of virtue.  Rules abound, on what to do, what words to use, what music to listen to, who to love . . . and who to hate.   Christianity as we practice it is a religion of grace.  We reject only those whom Jesus rejected, and as far as I can tell, he rejected no one.  We honor God by welcoming all persons in this place, just as God has welcomed us.   We may not do that perfectly - we don’t do anything perfectly  - but we do the best we can with what we’ve got, and we seek ways to do more and better - individually and as a congregation.

And God says, “Because you are devoted to me,  I’ll rescue you.
    I’ll protect you because you know my name.

 Whenever you cry out to me, I’ll answer. I’ll be with you in troubling times.
    I’ll save you and glorify you. I’ll show you my salvation.”

As our gracious host, God reaches out to each of us, welcoming us as if there are no other guests, as if we are the most honored guest of all.  Naturally, God is disappointed when some decline the invitation or reject the gifts of love and mercy that God offers.  And yet, God never stops extending the invitation. God never gives up.  And neither do we.  For we are commanded to carry the Good News to every person on the earth, to prepare the world for the greatest event of all - that time when every nation welcomes the peace of Christ, when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

When we go from this place, let us always remember that we are God’s hands and feet - that we are living invitations into God’s embrace to everyone whom we encounter.  May God pour upon us the power, wisdom, and courage to do as we are commanded to do, so that all peoples will know our loving, forgiving, merciful God - God of grace and glory.

The Special Guests

Scripture.   Luke 15:1-10. CEB  

All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? And when he finds it, he is thrilled and places it on his shoulders. When he arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives. “Or what woman, if she owns ten silver coins and loses one of them, won’t light a lamp and sweep the house, searching her home carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, joy breaks out in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life.”

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 I wonder sometimes about the photos I find online.  This one, for example.  It’s a great illustration for the parable of the lost sheep.  But how on earth did the person taking this photo get that shot?  Where did they stand?  And how did they find this sheep in a particularly precarious situation?  I thought for a minute that maybe it was a mountain goat, which could just leap up and away, but when I enlarged the picture I realized it is definitely a sheep.  So how on earth do you rescue a sheep in this situation?  I wonder if it’s *gasp* photoshopped?  Although, having had sheep, I know they are not the smartest creatures on God’s green earth.  Even a blade of grass can startle them if it moves.   So they can end up in places like this.  

There are those who would chastise the shepherd for leaving the ninety-nine and going after the one.  Spock, for example, who is famous for having said, “Logic dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few . . . or the one.”   But the shepherd knows his flock, and that they are safe as long as they stay together.  They have a leader who will keep them more or less together.  And a dog, who will guard them from danger while the shepherd is away.  But the one that has wandered off is vulnerable because she is alone.  She has no one watching over her.  Anything might happen and there would be no one to turn to.  She could end up on a rock in a crevasse with no way to safety.  Of course the shepherd will go looking for her.  

This story is not really about sheep, of course, nor is the other really about a coin.  They are about the lost.  The missing.  Sinners, maybe.  Disaffected, maybe.  Feeling alone, rejected, unwanted, probably.  

United Methodist bishop Karen Oliveto tells a story about Todd, a 15 year old runaway who worshipped at a church she used to serve.  Todd was regular in his attendance until one Sunday he wasn’t there.  After a couple of weeks members of the church got worried and started looking for him.  Some knew what it was like on the streets, and had reason to worry.  One Sunday Todd showed up and Pastor Karen greeted him with a hug.  “I missed you,” she said.  “You missed me?  No one ever noticed when I was gone, ever.”  (Melissa Earley, Christian Century, Living by the Word, August 21, 2019). 

In these two parables, the shepherd and the woman don’t stop looking.  They don’t figure the sheep is probably dead, or write the coin off as a loss.  They keep looking until the lost has been found.  When we are lost, we want to know someone is looking for us.  Some “experts” on church growth say that we should not worry about people who have wandered off, but focus instead on new people. And maybe that’s true.  But when we’re the one who isn’t there, we want someone to notice.  We want to know someone is looking for us.

Blogger Michelle Morris wrote that she had wondered aloud in her blog one week whether anyone would notice if she wasn’t at worship at her church.  She didn’t say whether she heard from anyone in her congregation, but she did say she received one invitation to another congregation, from someone who knew she wasn’t close enough to attend, and knew she was an ordained minister in a different denomination, and knew that it was really unlikely she would accept the invitation - who nevertheless invited her because she is excited about her congregation, and believes that there is a place there for her friend, and that if she didn’t show up, she would be missed. And then Michelle said,  “If we were excited about Jesus, and excited about our church, then we would talk about it!  Not in a “You better come to church or you are going to hell” way, but in a “You can’t believe how incredible church was this Sunday!” or “I heard the best story that reminded me of how Jesus is changing my life too!” way. “   (https://grownupbible.org).  And I wonder, on this Back To Church Sunday, how many people were invited because the person extending the invitation was excited about this church?   Or because I kept bugging everyone to invite someone?    

Jesus told these parables because, “All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. 2 The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”   He wanted it to be very clear that he wasn’t focused on the righteous, on the people who were already doing what God desired from them, but for the sinners, the outsiders, the rejected, the ones who didn’t really belong.  In Chapter 5 Luke reported that, “30 The Pharisees and their legal experts grumbled against his disciples. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”  31 Jesus answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 32 I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”  And here, Jesus tells them twice, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives.”  

Jesus is very clear that our mission and ministry is to open our arms, doors and hearts not only to people like ourselves, but also and especially to those who may not feel like they fit anywhere.  To those who feel they have disappointed their church, their family, even God, because they are not just like everyone else.  To those who know they need to change their lives and aren’t sure just how to do that.   I had a conversation with a lady in the Dollar Tree yesterday who told me her kids say she is a lot nicer since she started going to church, that church has changed her.  I said, “Good. That’s what it’s supposed to do.”   

In the last week there have been two rather high profile suicides, Pastor Jarrid Wilson who was an outspoken mental health advocate and Gregory Eells, the head of counseling and psychological services at the University of Pennsylvania.  Depression made them feel like that sheep - alone, with no way out of their predicament.   Depression is like that.  It lies.  Even to mental health professionals.   Even to ministers.  We don’t like to talk about it.  We don’t like to talk about any of those things that cause people to feel isolated and unacceptable.  It’s almost like we think mental illness is contagious.  Or that poverty is.  Or addiction.  Or any of the many other things that keep folks feeling unloved, unwanted, and unwelcome.   It’s almost like we think that these things will cease to exist if we just don’t talk about it or if we pray hard enough.  

Jesus welcomed all of the people that the Temple rejected.  He taught all of the people who could not go and hear God’s word in the Temple, because they were considered unclean or otherwise unworthy.  He ate with the people that the Law said he must not associate with.  He welcomed the least, the last and the lost.  

And that is what we are supposed to do.  

So let us reach out to the people no one else welcomes.  

Let us go and find the ones standing on that rock, those lost sheep with no earthly idea how to get out of there, and help them find a way.  

Let us welcome them into this house, as special guests

for this is the house where all means ALL, 

where all are acceptable and accepted in God’s family, 

where all have value, like the silver coin the woman had lost.  

Let us accept each other, no matter how different we may be, just as God has accepted us.

The Servers

Scripture.  Luke 14:25-33 Common English Bible  

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. Turning to them, he said, 26 “Whoever comes to me and doesn’t hate father and mother, spouse and children, and brothers and sisters—yes, even one’s own life—cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever doesn’t carry their own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when you have laid the foundation but couldn’t finish the tower, all who see it will begin to belittle you. 30 They will say, ‘Here’s the person who began construction and couldn’t complete it!’ 31 Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand soldiers could go up against the twenty thousand coming against him? 32 And if he didn’t think he could win, he would send a representative to discuss terms of peace while his enemy was still a long way off. 33 In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all of your possessions can be my disciple.

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I have to laugh every time this passage comes around in the lectionary, the list of scriptures to choose from for preaching, which happens once every three years.  Because the first time I preached this was also my first time preaching outside of the classroom,  in front of a congregation - not counting the time I preached in my home church on Lay Sunday, when I even put myself to sleep.  The congregation consisted of the independent and assisted living folks at Robin Run Retirement Community, a community of retired seminary professors, missionaries, pastors and their wives, plus a very few retired female pastors.   I was so excited to be told that as Student Chaplain I was to preach once a month!   It was possibly even more exciting to discover that my first Sunday preaching in a retirement community was Grandparents Day!   As I started to prepare I looked up the passage and found, “Hate your father and your mother.”   On Grandparents Day.  In a retirement community.  For my first sermon as their Student Chaplain.  God, really?  *sigh*   It turned out ok.  They understood.  

Jesus said, “None of you who are unwilling to give up all your possessions can be my disciple.” 

It’s important to note that there is a difference between wanting to do something and being willing to do something.  It’s kind of one thing to do things you do not want to do at work.  If you have ever watched Downton Abbey you will recognize the women in the picture as house servants.   They were up before dawn, cleaning the house before the family rose and stayed up until their duties were done, which in the case of the ladies’ maid could be very late indeed if the family was out a party.   I am quite sure they did not want to do all the things they had to do, but they were willing to do these things in order to keep their job.  Their job was to serve the family at Downton Abbey.

Our job is to serve Christ.  Because willingness is not the same as wanting-ness, very often serving Christ is a matter of doing a thing even though we do not want to.  When I came to the realization that I had been called to the ordained ministry, that I would have to move across country to start my education, and that I would possibly never be back home again, I really didn’t want to.  “God”, I said, “I don’t want to give up everything — family, friends, home, job, income, stuff, even my dog.”  But I did, grumbling all the while, because I was willing to follow God’s call, even though I really did not want to be a minister, probably until my 2nd year in seminary!   I had learned that as a follower of Christ, my job was to serve.

In seminary we studied the lives of Christian martyrs Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Archbishop Oscar Romero.  All three were killed while fighting against the powers of oppression in the name of Christ.  Bonhoeffer, a leader of the Christian Churches in Germany who openly opposed the Nazi regime, was executed at Flossenburg Concentration Camp in 1945 - two weeks before it was liberated by the Americans.  Romero, who has now been sainted by the Roman Catholic Church, spoke out against the government’s treatment of the poor in El Salvador and was shot by a sniper while celebrating Mass in 1980.  King, American civil rights leader, was  shot to death in 1968 while in Memphis for a sanitation workers strike.  There are stories about each man telling how they really did not want to accept the call to lead, but that each nevertheless became willing to do whatever was needed to oppose the oppression the people of their country endured, no matter the threats that faced them personally.  They knew without any doubt what could happen to them. Bonhoeffer even wrote a book titled The Cost of Discipleship in 1937 which laid out just how costly following Christ could be.  But like the person building the tower and the king going to war, they counted the cost, figured it out ahead of time, and decided to go forward.   As followers of Christ, their job was to serve in whatever way they were called.

For Bonhoeffer, Romero, and King, the cost of discipleship was death.  Luckily, we do not have to go to such lengths.   Our burden, our cross to bear, is much lighter.   There are those who speak of various things as being their cross to bear.  Things like chronic illness, caring for a loved one, a rebellious child, an addicted family member, all these are sometimes described as a cross to bear.  While it is true that the struggles, trials, difficulties, and heartaches of this life can indeed be difficult to bear, none of these things are the “cross” Jesus commanded His followers to carry.  Rather, it is our obedience to Jesus and to the commandments he laid out for us that are our burden, our cross.  Our job, as followers of Christ, is to love our neighbor, to serve without recompense, and with as little complaint as possible.  After all, even Jesus complained a little.

Serving others.  That doesn’t sound so burdensome.  It certainly isn’t nearly as difficult as what Bonhoeffer, Romero and King faced.  Doesn’t sound like much of a cross.  And yet, we have to look back at the beginning of this passage to see that perhaps it is more of a burden than it first seems.  “Whoever comes to me and doesn’t hate father and mother, spouse and children, and brothers and sisters—yes, even one’s own life—cannot be my disciple.”   Wait.  Hate my family?  What happened to the “Honor your father and your mother” commandment?  Actually, serving Christ in such a way as to put his will first, before family and job and personal desires, is honoring your parents, for surely loving parents would want you to do good for others first, to follow Christ first.  Sometimes serving others will conflict with things you would prefer to do.  I know that happens to me with some regularity.  I’m pretty sure it happens to you, too.  I have heard you tell the stories about how you stopped on the way to somewhere to help someone in need, or how you bought lunch and then gave it to the hungry person you passed on the road.  

And how often does your phone ring, or a text message come through, asking for your help with something that is well within your abilities and you say to yourself, “Oh Man, I do not want to do this.  i have stuff to do.  I need to be someplace.  I want to take a nap.”  But you do it anyway.  You help the person who needs help, because it is the right thing to do.  Because you are a follower of Christ and as a follower of Christ, your job is to serve.

And sometimes your burden, your cross, is to ask for help.  Sometimes you need to let others serve you.  That’s hard, I know.  We all want to be able to help everyone else and also do everything for ourselves that needs to be done.  But even though we can do it all ourselves, we don’t have to. Sometimes we need to let others care for us as well.  Sometimes, we need to allow others to serve.   Just as Jesus washed his disciples feet, but also allowed the woman with the alabaster jar to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair, so we too must sometimes allow others to care for us.   Sometimes we need to share the burden of service, so that others may know the blessing of serving, too.

When we go from this place, let us pick up the burden of servanthood and make the world a better place.   Because that is our cross.  Not an illness. Not an out of control family member.  Not a disability.  Our burden, like that of Christ, is to change hearts and minds through our actions, as he did.  He taught, he healed, he gave up his life, in order that the world might be changed, healed, saved.  And so we also must give up our lives in his service, in order that the world might be changed.  So that it may become as the kingdom of heaven, God’s beloved community, through Christ our Lord.  

The Invitation

Scripture.   Luke 14: 1, 7-14 

14 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to share a meal in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely. 

7 When Jesus noticed how the guests sought out the best seats at the table, he told them a parable. 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding celebration, don’t take your seat in the place of honor. Someone more highly regarded than you could have been invited by your host. 9 The host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give your seat to this other person.’ Embarrassed, you will take your seat in the least important place. 10 Instead, when you receive an invitation, go and sit in the least important place. When your host approaches you, he will say, ‘Friend, move up here to a better seat.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up.”

12 Then Jesus said to the person who had invited him, “When you host a lunch or dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers and sisters, your relatives, or rich neighbors. If you do, they will invite you in return and that will be your reward. 13 Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, crippled, lame, and blind. 14 And you will be blessed because they can’t repay you. Instead, you will be repaid when the just are resurrected.”

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Weddings were a little different in Jesus’ time. I mean, we would never think we were supposed to be at the head table, unless we were in the bridal party.  But then, men and women ate separately at the wedding feast.  Instead of the bridal party sitting at the head table, it was reserved for honored guests, the men with the highest status in that community.  In modern terms it would be like going to a banquet for your work, sitting at the table closest to where the speakers would be, and being asked to move because only the people on the program and special guests like the mayor or something are supposed to sit there.  Embarrassing.  Better, Jesus said, to be humble.  Sit at the farthest table and then you will be invited to take a more favored spot.  I kind of like the farthest table, actually.  Then if the speakers are boring no one notices if I sneak out.

That parable is more about humility than about being a good guest.   If you think you are all that, you will be brought down.  Better not to seek recognition than to demand more than you are due.  I don’t care that much about my status as pastor, usually.  Most of the time I’m happy to be known just as Maria, foregoing the title entirely. There are exceptions - like when I go to events intended for pastors and it is assumed I am the church secretary because I am female. Then I get fussy about being accorded my proper title and recognition.  But usually, not so much.  

Further, Jesus says, don’t invite people who will repay your hospitality by inviting you to a meal at their home.  Instead, invite the people who cannot repay you - the poor, the homeless, the sickly.  Then, Jesus said, you will receive your reward at the end, when the just are resurrected.  This is also kind of about humility.  No bragging about what important people actually accepted your invitation to an event you are hosting - because people do, you know.  You might say to someone, “Are you coming to my thing?  Because this celebrity or otherwise important person is going to be there!”  You, as host, get all kinds of status points for enticing that important person to your event.  Also, you will get invited to other cool events in return.  But if you invite only those who have no status, and who cannot possibly invite you to anything, who cannot in any way repay your hospitality, your soul benefits instead of your social standing.  This is true hospitality. 

According to an article in The Christian Post, the Disciples of Christ is on track to lose half of its membership in 10 years. The writer, using statistics from the office of the Disciples General Minister and President, said that “worship attendance fell 11 percent, going from about 139,000 in 2017 to about 124,000 in 2018, and baptisms declined by 13 percent, from approximately 4,300 in 2017 to approximately 3,700 in 2018. . . He added a disclaimer that the denomination switched to an online reporting format and as a result, a smaller number of congregations submitted a report.” “The reported numbers represent a steep decline from 2000, when, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives, the Disciples had approximately 820,000 members." (Michael Gryboski, The Christian Post, August 25, 2019)  

You had best believe that this article ignited quite the firestorm on social media!   A whole raft of people piped up to say “My church is growing!”  and “But wait!  We started all those new churches!  That whole 2020 Vision thing.  What about that?”  Others said, “Yeah, and so is everybody else.  This is not news. It’s really not as bad as it is being presented.”   But, yes it is as bad as it sounds.  The overall statistics for average church attendance for Catholic, Mainline, and Evangelical denominations nationwide show something like 17.7% of the population actually shows up for church, although some 40% of people say they attend regularly.  (This is the difference between actual numbers provided by church bodies in the United States and what people tell pollsters on the telephone.  Because people talking to pollsters on the telephone want to sound better than they are - it’s called the halo effect and it really messes with the accuracy of statistics.)   For example, I was on a call as Police Chaplain the other week, and I was told by the family that they had been unable to reach their pastor so they asked the officers to call a chaplain.  When I spoke with their pastor a few days later, he had never heard of them. This happens a lot.  At Bringing Neighbors Together events we ask attendees whether they attend church and if so, which one.  More often than not, the pastor of the church they claim to be part of never heard of them.  And trust me, the churches in Selma are not so big that the pastors don’t have a pretty good idea of who is showing up at their church on Sunday or Wednesday or Saturday or whatever.  So we need to keep in mind that even if someone tells us they belong to this church or that one, that might not mean that they actually show up or feel really a part of that congregation. 

Oftentimes congregations will say, “We must grow!  We want young families with children who can contribute financially to our budget and who will be involved with all the ministries of the church, especially boards and teams.”  There are two problems with this.  One, young families with children usually are struggling to make ends meet and can’t give that much to the church and they have no spare time beyond the demands of work and family.  And two, this is exactly the opposite of what Jesus is telling his host at that dinner.  Don’t invite people who can return the favor, or repay your hospitality in some way.  Instead, invite those who can’t.  So, yes, we need young families with children, and no money, and no time.  And high school students who come without their parents.  And young adults  - students and people who are just starting their careers.  And homeless people.  And people on fixed incomes.  And anyone else who needs a church home.  An actual family to be part of.  

Our mission as Christians  is not to add to the bottom line of our budget.  Our mission as Christians is to bring people to Christ, to help the lost find their way, to help the helpless.  Our mission as Christians is to help those who did not have a home to find one - literally, yes.  But especially spiritually.  Our mission is to seek out those who for whatever reason have felt that they did not belong in their church or any church and show them that they are indeed welcome in this place.  

I knew a nice young man who worked hard at his minimum wage job but had no place to live because he could not afford rent.  He had very few belongings and all his clothes were work clothes.  I invited him frequently to come worship with us, and he always answered, “I would, Pastor.  But I can’t come to church dressed like this.”  And no matter how hard I tried to convince him that his clothes did not matter, his mind was made up.  He would not feel right coming into the house of God in dirty work clothes.   You see, he thought of church as being like that head table Jesus was talking about, where all the most important people sat, and where people like him were not welcome.    He had no clue that church could be a family.  He was not alone.  Lots of people think of church as country club, as a place where their outward appearance and social status mattered. 

Several weeks ago we had an event where we asked questions like, “What do you like best about First Christian Church.”  Overwhelmingly, the answers to that question included words like Welcome, Acceptance, Inclusion, Family, Love, and It feels like Home. 

Next week is Back to Church Week.  And while I understand that the primary focus of this day is to invite people who claim First Christian Church but don’t show up with any regularity, I urge you to invite anyone you think needs a home.  A church home.  A family who will welcome and accept and include them.  Even if they say they “belong” to another church but mostly stay home on Sunday mornings.  Because in this place, at this Table, in these seats, hospitality as Jesus defines it is the general rule.  In this place, there is enough room, there is enough bread, there is enough love, for everyone. 

No Sunday Business

Scripture Luke 13:10-17 Common English Bible (CEB)

10 Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 A woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and couldn’t stand up straight. 12 When he saw her, Jesus called her to him and said, “Woman, you are set free from your sickness.” 13 He placed his hands on her and she straightened up at once and praised God.

14 The synagogue leader, incensed that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded, “There are six days during which work is permitted. Come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath day.”

15 The Lord replied, “Hypocrites! Don’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from its stall and lead it out to get a drink? 16 Then isn’t it necessary that this woman, a daughter of Abraham, bound by Satan for eighteen long years, be set free from her bondage on the Sabbath day?” 17 When he said these things, all his opponents were put to shame, but all those in the crowd rejoiced at all the extraordinary things he was doing.

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In the late 70s I moved to the Atlantic coast in South Florida, where I lived for the next 20 years.  Most days I would travel on US Highway #1 between work and home, or where ever else I needed t go.  It was, after all, the main street in a lot of towns from Maine to Miami.  Just south of town I would pass a house that had a huge wooden sign In their front yard that said “No Sunday Business.”   Now it wasn’t uncommon at the time to see that sentiment on bumper stickers, but this was a humongous sign right out on Federal Highway!  And they kept it nice, so it always looked freshly painted.  They were concerned about the commandment that says, “Keep the Sabbath holy.”    They really didn’t understand that technically “Sabbath” is the Seventh Day (Saturday), whereas Sunday is the Lord’s Day, which is what they really meant.  Anyway . . . As everyone knows, they fought a losing battle as more and more businesses began opening on Sundays.   

Now, I know some of you don’t remember this, but there was a time when most businesses did close on Sunday.  It wasn’t like today when pretty much all retail stores, malls and restaurants are open on Sundays, customer service reps staff their phones 24/7, and even the delivery services will bring the package you ordered on line to your door on Sunday afternoon.  I grew up in Pennsylvania which had lots of strange and antiquated laws known as the Blue Laws that dated back almost to when the area was first founded as a Quaker colony.  No Sunday business was one of those laws, with a very few exceptions.  In most of our cities and states the original bodies of law were based in the religious beliefs and practices of whoever held the majority in that place.  Sometimes when we are nostalgically looking back to the Good Old Days when churches were full every Sunday we forget that in many places there wasn’t much of anything else to do on Sundays except go to church.  Now Sunday services have to compete with sports, shopping, and work.  

But in Israel, religious law was all of the law.  Israel was governed by the Laws of Moses, so when Jesus healed that woman he wasn’t just breaking a custom.  He was very publicly breaking a law right in front of the synagogue!  And he called his accusers hypocrites because they were happy to break this law in private, feeding and watering their livestock where no one could see, but in public they would call out any infractions.   It’s like speeding on the freeway.  You only do it when there is no CHP vehicle in sight.  If you get caught, you’re in trouble.  If you don’t, well  . . . there are those who say “It’s only illegal if you get caught.”  This, by the way, is not true.  

Even today, the laws governing Sabbath are still observed by many Jews.  Not only are they observed, but as the world changes and new technologies are invented, they are continually updated by a body of rabbis who specialize in the Law.  So the definition of “work” gets more and more detailed.  Sometimes I will be in conversation with my friend Izzy, an Orthodox Jew living in Jerusalem, and he will suddenly say, “Gotta go.  Sabbath is about to begin.”  Use of a cell phone or computer is work, so our conversation must end before Sabbath begins.  

Jesus regularly challenged blind adherence to laws.   In the 6th Chapter of Luke’s Gospel he records other instances of Jesus breaking Sabbath law.  When he and his disciples were walking through a field of grain, and some of them were hungry and plucked some grains to eat, the Pharisees called him on it.  When he healed the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, the Pharisees called him on it.   But “Jesus said to the legal experts and Pharisees, “Here’s a question for you: Is it legal on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”  (Luke 6:9)    

No Sunday business makes sense, up to a point.   Keeping the Sabbath holy is one thing.  Refusing to allow a physician to heal is something else again. So is preventing someone from getting life saving medicines.  So is making hungry people stay hungry.   Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren’t created for the Sabbath.  This is why the Human One is Lord even over the Sabbath.”  (Mark 2:27-28)  

Rules are good.  I like rules.  Rules are intended to make life better for everyone, so that we can all get along.  Sometimes they are inconvenient.  I must remind myself, sometimes, that the rule against jaywalking is not intended to punish me by making me walk all the way to the corner when the place I am going is directly across the street.   It’s intended to keep me from getting run over!   Most of the 613 Laws that make up Torah were intended to help the people of Israel get along together as a community.  They were designed to let people know exactly what sort of behavior was expected from everyone at any time.  Mostly the were good laws for those people at that time.  Sometimes they got in the way of allowing a person to do good in an unusual situation.  Like healing on the Sabbath.   Mind you, saving someone’s life was permitted under the Law.  The healings Luke tells us Jesus performed were not lifesaving, and technically could have waited until the next day.  But Jesus said, “Why?  Why make this woman remain in pain and suffering one more day when I can take that all away from her now.”  And the Pharisees responded, “Rules is rules.”  

Rules are generally good.  I like rules.  Most of us are pretty good at following the rules.  But sometimes rules need to be broken.  When we are so focused on obeying a rule that it keeps us from doing good for another person or group of people, there is something wrong.  We saw that in the story of the Good Samaritan, when two people passed without helping because they were so focused on obeying a rule that they would rather let someone die at the side of the road than break that rule.  

Sometimes there are bad rules, or rules that are so petty and detailed that they really don’t improve anyone’s life.  Keep the Sabbath holy is a good rule, an important rule. We all need a day when we can rest from the busy-ness of our lives.  We all need time to when we can focus on God.  But when the rules about how to do that become so restrictive that we are more worried about obeying Sabbath rules than honoring the Sabbath, then the rule is a problem.  When the rules keep us from expressing joy and love, the rule is a problem.  A friend in Florida was very anti-church and when I asked why, she told me a story about her parents.  They had been life long members of a particular congregation, leaders in that congregation, known for their devotion to God, and their dedication to living a Christian life as it was define in that church.  But one year, on their wedding anniversary, as they danced together in their living room, a church member happened to be going by and saw them.  They quickly reported what they had seen to the church leaders. The next Sunday her parents were excommunicated from their congregation, because dancing was against the rules.   

Jesus in no way suggested that we should not honor the Sabbath. He never even said that the rules governing Sabbath observance were bad.  What he said was they needed to be seen though a different lens. If the rules help you honor God, that’s good.  That’s what they are intended for.  If the rule keeps one from doing good in a particular situation, it needs to be disregarded in that situation.  If following the rule means someone might die, the rule needs to be disregarded in order to save a life. Doing good is always holy work, it is always a blessing in God’s eyes, even if doing good means breaking a rule.   In this way the intent of Sabbath is observed, for the intent of Sabbath is that we take time to be holy.  That means praying to God, and listening for God, and being a blessing to others.   For whatever good we do in God’s name is a blessing, and holy.  

A Spiritual Almamac

Scripture Luke 12:49-56 (CEB)  

49 “I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism I must experience. How I am distressed until it’s completed!  51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division. 52 From now on, a household of five will be divided—three against two and two against three.53 Father will square off against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud forming in the west, you immediately say, ‘It’s going to rain.’ And indeed it does. 55 And when a south wind blows, you say, ‘A heat wave is coming.’ And it does. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret conditions on earth and in the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret the present time?

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Derek Penwell is the senior pastor of Douglass Boulevard Christian Church in Louisville, KY, the author of several books published by Chalice Press (the Disciples of Christ publishing house), a regular contributor to a number of publications, a blogger, a colleague, and someone I consider a friend.  He is very political, and we don’t agree on everything but we get along very well, anyway.

Yesterday I was reading the comments on his most recent blog post, and I was appalled at the vitriol and hatred that some people spewed.  Fans and detractors alike were throwing Bible verses around like fragmentation grenades, attacking one another, sometimes with the very same passages!  Not Derek.  He would not engage with any of them.  He just said, “Thank you for reading”, and left it there.  Some of the comments were so threatening that friends were concerned he might be in physical danger.   It was clear to me that the Peace of Christ is not with us.   Rather, it seems that we are in a time once again when father and son square off against each other, and mother and daughter, in the name of Jesus.  It’s sort of cliche that mother-in-law and daughter-in-law might not get along, and I suspect the potential for trouble in that relationship goes back to the first time a son brought a wife home to his mother’s cave . . . but the point Jesus was making was that the household would be divided because of him and his teachings.  And his household, of course, is the world.     

Disagreements about sincerely held beliefs are part of being human.  Even in Jesus’ time there was not one monolithic Judaism that agreed on every aspect of theology and practice.  The Sadducees and Pharisees disagreed on many things — the Sadducees did not believe there would physical resurrection at the end of days, whereas the Pharisees were quite certain there would be.  There were at the time two prominent rabbinic schools of thought which were divided on whether obedience to the letter of the law or the spirit of the law was most important.  We all know which of those schools Jesus belonged to because he was constantly fussing with some of the Pharisees and scribes over their legalism.  After the resurrection, Jesus’ disciples would alienate some of their co-religionists by proclaiming Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, and they would be persecuted by the likes of Saul for their blasphemy.  Even among the Jesus followers, although the 2nd chapter of Acts has them all sharing everything and praying and worshipping together, I don’t think it was even a few months before they were embroiled in conflicts with the potential to kill the movement before it really got off the ground.  Greek Christians and Jewish Christians argued because some of the widows were not getting equal assistance.  Ananais and Sapphira dropped dead because they were greedy.  There were arguments over such details and technicalities as whether circumcision was necessary to be baptized.  Some of Paul’s churches were tempted to follow other preachers.  Eventually, the Roman Church broke away from the Greek Church, heretics were burned, the Inquisition happened, and Henry VII, Martin Luther and others broke away from the Roman Church.  Catholics and Protestants killed each other over details of our shared Christianity about which we disagree.  We are a contentious lot, we humans.  

How many of you are familiar with the Farmer’s Almanac?  It is a great book.  In continuous publication since 1818, the Farmers' Almanac mixes a blend of long-range weather predictions, humor, fun facts, and advice on gardening, cooking, fishing, conservation, and other topics.  It tells Farmers when to plant, when to expect the first frost, whether we could anticipate strong storms in the summer or blizzards in the winter.  My first husband, an avid hunter and fisherman, would not plan a trip anywhere without consulting it.  And that included our honeymoon, because  he wanted to know ahead of time whether there would be enough rain in the Poconos to make the Bushkill Creek a viable trout fishing spot or whether he should try elsewhere.  The Farmer’s Almanac would tell him, and it was nearly always accurate.  It was better than a weather app.  

Jesus said to his followers, look,  you can tell whether it’s going to storm, or if there is a dry spell coming.  You are sufficiently connected to the natural world that you can tell these things.  Why is it, then that you cannot see the inevitability of the conflict that I bring? Because I am telling you to do exactly the opposite of what society tells you to do.  I am telling you to cast aside concerns about your day to day lives and trust that God will take care of you.  I am teaching you to go out and spread the word that the Shema, the commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your being and all your strength, is the greatest commandment of all, greater than all of the others combined.  I have been teaching you that even the laws governing the Sabbath are not as important as the commandment to love your neighbor.  I am teaching you what loving your neighbor really means and who your neighbor is.  I am calling the Temple leadership to account for their collaboration with the Romans, and for their love of money and power.  And I am calling all people to account for their willingness to go along with whatever the rich and powerful say instead of standing up for righteousness and justice.  What I am doing and saying is pretty much guaranteed to cause conflict between the ones with ears to hear and those who are willfully deaf, and it will not be pretty and peaceful and nice.  Why can’t you see this coming? 

Jesus was not the first to bring this message.  The prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, all of them - called out the leaders - the kings and the priesthood - and the people for worshipping God with their lips but not with their actions.  They were the Spiritual Almanac of their times.  Jeremiah called for the leadership of Israel to act right.  “Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. . . . if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah” (Jeremiah 22:3-6)   Further, he spoke against false prophets,  “25 I have heard the prophets prophesying lies in my name.  . . .  26 How long will deceitful prophecies dominate the minds of the prophets? Those prophets are treacherous. 27 They scheme to make my people forget me by their dreams that people tell each other, just as their ancestors forgot me because of Baal. “ (Jeremiah 23:25-27) 

One of the commenters on Derek’s writings said repeatedly that Jesus’ commandments were only spoken to individuals, and that governments were not held to them.  That we, as individuals, certainly need to take care of those who need to be cared for, but that governments were exempt.   And yet, Jesus and all the prophets before him most certainly spoke to the leadership of their times.  They called upon those in power to care for their people as God’s laws require of them.  No one was exempt from God’s word as spoken by the prophets.  We must remember too, that the government is made up of individuals, each of whom must make all decisions in accordance with their conscience and with their understanding of God’s will, which might not be in accord with our own understandings.  We must also remember that even the Temple leadership of Jesus’ time were not being evil on purpose.  They truly believed they were doing what was best for their people, for if they did not do as the Romans required, if they were unable to control their people, their entire nation would be destroyed.  And in fact, that did happen thirty-some years later.  The Temple was torn down and the Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth.  

We are called upon to pray for those in leadership, as it says in 1st Timothy 2: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”  So let us pray for the Peace of Christ to enter the hearts of all those who have positions of leadership. Let us pray that those we choose to lead us will open their hearts and eyes and ears to see the worth of all persons in their care.  Let us pray for the divisions we see in our households, and in our Church, and in our nation to be healed through that very same Lord.  Let us pray for people to stop using the Bible as a weapon and start using it as a means to bring reconciliation to the world, as a Spiritual Almanac,  guiding us in the way that our God has laid out for us, so that the Kingdom of God may come to fruition on earth as it is in heaven.   In the name of Jesus the Christ.  

Home Security

 Scripture Luke 12:32-40  The Message (MSG) 

29-32 “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

33-34 “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bank robbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

35-38 “Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!

39-40 “You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn’t have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. So don’t you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don’t expect him, the Son of Man will show up.”

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When I was deciding which Bible version to use for today’s scripture reading, I was struck by the first line in the Message version, “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving.”  I realized that these first two lines are not usually included when this passage is preached, but it seems that Eugene Peterson thought that this bit belonged with the “You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out.” section.    Although the Message is not my favorite version to use, because it is a paraphrase and not as nearly accurate a translation as some, sometimes we need to hear something we have heard a million times in a new way.

I learned that in a 12 Step meeting years ago.  I always had a rough time on Tuesdays.  Every Tuesday was overly busy and stressful and all kinds of stuff went wrong - dinner burned, things like that, so that by the time I got to my women’s meeting in the evening, I was a mess.  People would say to me, “Did you pray this morning?  Because you know what they say.  If I don’t hit my knees in the morning the whole day goes wrong.”  Well, yes I did.  And frankly, hearing that same old line over and over just irritated me more.  Then one night I heard someone say, “When I get off schedule with God, my whole day goes wrong,” and it was like a light bulb went off in my head.  I was off schedule with God!  Yes, I always prayed in the morning, but I was used to praying my gratitude list at dinner time, and Tuesdays were so busy I didn’t have a sit down dinner.  I just fixed whatever in a hurry on my way to the meeting . . . so I didn’t do my gratitude list on Tuesdays.  I was off schedule with God, and I needed to hear it just that way so that I would understand what was going wrong.  After that I started doing my gratitude list in the morning, and I still do.  

I always find the whole section about servants waiting for their master, and his serving them because they were loyal just a little strange, because that just doesn’t make sense in the real world.  Even on Downton Abbey, where the servants did wait up until Lord and Lady Grantham got home, that was their job, and they weren’t served by the master in gratitude for them doing their job.  If they had not been up waiting, they might have lost that job.   So Jesus was talking about something not of this world, something unusual - a situation in which the master would serve those who typically served him - like when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper.  Just like Matthew’s story of the bridesmaids with their lamps, if they were ready at whatever hour he arrived, there would be a reward.  

But even at the time, most of his followers didn’t have servants. Some of them might have been servants.  So Jesus gave another example to make his point.  He said, “You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn’t have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. So don’t you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don’t expect him, the Son of Man will show up.”   And surely, that was easy to understand.   Because of course, we don’t know when the burglar is coming, and we can’t stay home all the time just in case.  So we have locks on our doors, and security systems, and barking dogs, and moats filled with alligators . . .  alright, maybe not moats.  But we do those other things and we join neighborhood watch organizations to help keep our homes and families safe.  

That works for houses, and church buildings, and businesses.  But what do we do to keep our souls secure?  What about that home’s security? For no one knows when the Messiah will return.   No one knows when the end times will come.  None of us knows the day we will meet our Lord.   Oh there are actuarial tables and life expectancy charts for men and women.  Some have been given a diagnosis which comes with a projected end date.  But even so, no one knows the day or the hour.  Even when the end is expected, as when someone has been ill for a long time, the machines have been turned off, they are in hospice care, and the family is gathered, somehow the end, when it comes, is still a surprise.   And we can no more spend every minute of every day wondering if the next minute will be the last than we can sit by the door of our house all night waiting for the burglar to come - no one can live like that.  

How do we keep ourselves ready?  Many of us have a routine of daily scripture reading, prayer and meditation.  We may read a daily meditation or two or three.  Some of the Young Adults have the same Bible app on their phones and are working through several reading plans together.  It is good to have a routine, as long as it does not become so routine as to be meaningless.  Or as long as you don’t over do.  I know - how can you possibly overdo a good thing like prayer and spiritual practices?  When I was in seminary one professor had us design a Daily Rule for ourselves, to include prayer, spiritual practice, and scripture reading, and we were to follow that Rule for a month.  Because I believe that if a thing is worth doing it is worth over-doing, mine got a little complicated.  I prayed a rosary and chanted psalms and prayed intercessory prayers and used several forms of meditation and read scripture and several daily meditation books, and I did these things several times a day, at specific times every day for a prescribed amount of time every day.  I had a color coded chart that I checked off to make sure I didn’t miss anything.  And by the end of the month I was very well aware that all of this over-doing was not bringing me closer to God.  It was just making me crazy trying to get everything done and all of that was keeping me from doing things I should be doing.  Like helping others.  If someone asked me to help with something at lunchtime, I couldn’t  because I had to do my 15 minutes of after lunch prayer and meditation in the chapel.  Let me think - which of those two things might be more pleasing to God?  Hmm . . .  To paraphrase Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with doing, so you can respond to God’s giving.”  I re-learned the value of having a daily routine for prayer and study - of staying on schedule with God - but I also learned that over-doing even God-stuff is not a good thing.  I was reminded that meditation is about listening for God’s voice with an open mind and heart, not a hoop to jump through.

How do we stay prepared?  How do we keep our home, our soul, secure in preparation for the coming of the Lord?  We ask ourselves in every situation, “What would Jesus do?”  And we remember that sometimes what he did included righteous wrath and whips.  We worship God with all our being - not just sitting and letting the service wash over us, but lifting our voices in song and prayer, serving the Lord’s Supper to our neighbor instead of just passing the trays.  We give generously, sharing what we have with those who have less.   We pray and meditate and follow whatever practices work for us, but we also drop everything to help when we are needed and able.  Remember that the priest and the Levite allowed their religious duties to keep them from helping the man on the road, leaving the Samaritan to do the neighborly thing, the God centered thing.  We open our hearts and our souls to God’s voice and God’s direction, listening for his will for us.   We spend time in silence, shutting out all the many things that distract us from God’s peace.  We spend time in God’s presence, allowing our hearts to be filled with God’s hope, allowing God’s blessing to fill us to overflowing.   And then, no matter when our Lord comes, we will be awake and prepared, and blessed.