Riff on a Rufous

Riff on a Rufous - Completed 18 January 2012 - Birthday Gift for a Friend

This was made as a gift for a friend's special birthday (never mind how many years). She lives part of the year in the mountains of Colorado and whenever I visit we spend time sitting on the deck watching the rufous humming birds squabble over who has entrance to the feeder first. The rufous hummingbirds also "bird dive" the other varieties of hummingbirds that try to visit the feeder. As I sat watching one year I was struck by the competition for food these tiny birds seem to have. They act as though there will not be enough food to go around. It reminded me of something I read long before the first day I watched the hummingbirds. The article said we have the means to end world hunger but not the will.

I believe instead of the will, it is our inability to imagine. The human scope rarely extends enough to imagine a world where no one goes hungry. I think that's why Jesus did most of what he did one-on-one most of the time. The interpretation in the Gospels of why Jesus fed 4000 and/or 5000 people has been interpreted and reinterpreted. Scholars have come up with all kinds of reasons, making riffs, if you like, of what the Gospels have to say about those episodes. One again, I believe that also is a failure of our ability to imagine. Most of us are simply incapable of wrapping our brains around the idea of no one being hungry in that setting. In particular, the explanations about the miracle Jesus performed consisted of getting people to understand they needed to share what they had and that made enough food to go around. Whose failure to imagine the power of Jesus is that?

I'm indebted to the Rev Dr Rob Voyle (www.appreciativeway.com) for saying the following, although I am certainly not quoting exactly what he said. The gist was this: Most of us can't imagine every child in the world going to bed with a full tummy. But if you scale it down to something we can imagine, then we can do something about it. For instance, ask people, Can you imagine all the children in your city going to bed with a full tummy? No? Well how about all the children in the western half of your city? No? How about in the area around the park there? No? Well then, how about all the children who live on the block next to where your church is? Yes? Okay then, let's get to work.

So just imagine what that would be like. Can you see or smell the food or hear the happy sounds of children eating a great meal? Or maybe you can taste the meal itself? In whatever way you imagine, imagine what that would be like. And then work backward from there to make it happen.

It might seem a long way from a rufous hummingbird to world hunger, but in Jesus' eyes I think it might be a very short distance. One thing of beauty: the hummingbird, connects to another thing of beauty: children able to grow, learn, and create because their tummies are full. One child at a time. One block at a time. One person at a time imagining it happening. One person at a time doing something about it.

The Rev. Nicolette Papanek

 Design and Text ©2015

Sermon Mark 3:20-35 Proper 5, Year B 7 June 2015

       Occasionally I find myself wondering what on earth the Gospel writers think of what we make of what they’ve written. I can imagine those who first wrote the story of Jesus – those first witnesses – wringing their hands or slapping their brows in amazement of what human beings make, or not, of their witness. Today’s Gospel from Mark is one of those times.
        What I think any of us do is one of two things. We’re shocked and amazed at what Jesus has to say about his family and who his family is, or we focus on one verse that speaks about an unforgivable sin. What we forget is how these stories speak to one another and relate to what we do and believe.
         In typical fashion for the Gospel of Mark, the author starts one story, interrupts it with what seems an aside, and then continues what he began. As a literary device, this “mash-up” of one quick seemingly unrelated story bracketed by the beginning and ending of another can be confusing. And, perhaps that’s is its purpose here: to confuse us enough to make us think about how Jesus might speak to us.
        The first part of the story deals with Jesus’ family planning to restrain him because they think he’s nuts. If you read the text carefully, it sounds like Jesus’ family is more concerned about their reputations, about people thinking Jesus might be crazy, than they are about Jesus being so besieged by a crowd that he and the disciples haven’t time to eat. They could have tried to bring him something to eat. But no, they were more concerned about what people thought and Jesus since he was related to them.
       What does that say about family relationships? Are we so concerned about how members of our family look to others that we forget how we might be able to help them? At this point in the story the Gospel writer clearly has Jesus’ family pictured as outsiders, not followers of Jesus, merely worried about their reputations by being associated with this crazy guy.
       The next thing that happens is the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, the center of scholarship, religion, and learning, decide Jesus has Beelzebul, the chief of the devils, within him, and therefore must be able to cast out demons because he is one himself. Jesus has a ready answer. The end of the answer is the first thing many people focus on in this reading. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”  Now what follows immediately after Jesus says this is: “for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’” 
  Now theologians and scholars, priests and pastors, and people like you and me have spent centuries worrying about what exactly constitutes “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” Do I have an answer for you? No. Sorry. I do not.
       Here’s what I do know, however. Jesus is entangled in this battle of wits about whether or not he is doing the work of a demon or the work of God. And immediately after he is accused of doing the work of a demon, he comes out with this statement about blasphemy. I’m suggesting to you there is a connection. And that it is not simply one act, but an attitude of mind, and an attitude of heart, that makes blasphemy, or denying the presence of God becomes a way of life for some people.
Could you hold onto those two thoughts for a moment? First, that there is a connection between what Jesus says about family and what he says about denying the presence of God. Second, that there is an attitude of mind and heart that a person develops that denies the presence of God even when it is obvious.
       Because where Jesus ends up in this whole section from the Gospel is this. The end of this section has Jesus being told his mother and brothers and sisters are outside, asking for him. Here’s his answer: “’Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’” 
       I leave you to think about this today. Denying the presence of God, or claiming something other than God is responsible, is an attitude of mind and heart that builds up over time. When we do this, we need to remember what Jesus says about family. In Jesus’ family those who are members do the will of God to become his brother and sister and mother. Those who deny the presence and will of God are indefensible; they cast themselves away from Jesus by their attitude of mind and heart. Now which is it for you? Which is it for me?

The Rev. Nicolette Papanek
 ©2015 

Pentecost Sermon Acts 2:1-21 Year B, 24 May 2015

  

         Barbecue grills and the Holy Spirit. And yes, wait for it, there’s a connection, I promise you. Because, look out, people of God! Here comes the Holy Spirit. A fresh wind is going to blow through this place. Now how are you going to respond to that fresh wind?

         Are you ready for what’s going to happen when the Holy Spirit starts moving within you and asking you to speak another language? Are you ready for what’s going to happen when the Holy Spirit shakes you up and pours you out to do something different than maybe you’ve done before?

         That’s what happened so many years ago on the first Pentecost. People suddenly felt and thought differently. Their lives were so transformed they were able to communicate in new and fresh ways what they experienced following Jesus. They were transformed by the Holy Spirit into a powerful force that spread throughout the known world of their time. And what made them powerful was the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit. It was the breath and wind and fire of the Holy Spirit and their ability to be open to that fresh wind. They opened themselves to the action of the Holy Spirit and said “yes!” And wherever they saw coals burning they breathed on them and provided that extra wind that made the coals flame up into more transformations.

         So let’s talk about being open to that this morning. I know it’s Memorial Day weekend and lots of you will be at picnics and barbecues and family and friend events of one sort or another. And speaking of barbecues, I think that’s what we tend to do with the Holy Spirit, we try to confine the Holy Spirit and make it manageable and something we can control. We want to put the Holy Spirit in a barbecue grill where we can control the wind speed and the temperature.

         You know those dome-shaped barbecue grills? Lots of people have them these days, at least most of the grills I see have a lid you can lower to cook things all the way through. But you know, unless it’s a gas powered grill, if you put the lid on too long, the fire will eventually go out. It works the same way with our candles here. When we snuff them out, the lack of air over the flame makes the flame die out. There’s nothing to sustain it.

         So what are you going to do about that fresh wind that’s coming here?  His name is Father Ben and you have about nine weeks to think about it. How are you going to welcome him?

         Are you going to slap the lid down on him? The two biggest lids we have in the church are, well, anybody want to guess? (Silence) How about these? “We’ve never done it that way before.” “We’ve always done it this way.” Those are the quickest ways to put the lid on a newly arrived priest's ministry. If every time they see a new way to do something, or a better, more innovative way, or a proven way something works well, or a way to tweak something a bit to make it even better, they hear one of those two sentences, well, you know what happens. You know because if you’re more than six years old, you’ve probably had that happen to you.

         So let’s think instead about something you wanted to do that someone supported with enthusiasm. Here’s a little brain exercise for you on Pentecost morning. Think about something you wanted to do and for which you got support. When you mentioned it, someone said something to you like, “Hey, that sounds great. Let’s do it!” (Long Pause) Okay, got something? Now how did that make you feel? Think about that for a moment. (Long Pause) Okay, got it? I know some of you did because I see some smiles that weren’t there before.

         Here’s your challenge for the next nine weeks to get ready to welcome Father Ben. Open up your barbecue lid and let some fresh wind in. Keep it up and open for Father Ben. Get ready, folks. Come Holy Spirit, Come. AMEN.

The Rev. Nicolette Papanek

 ©2015