Life Is A Powerful Force: I Miss My Dog

Life is a powerful thing. Life wants to keep going. And regardless of what we witness in movies on and TV, killing someone, or something, is hard to do. Life wants to fight back and hold on. Just think of all the weeds that keep coming back. This week we had to put one of our dogs down, and his life just kept holding on. The vet actually had to give a second shot, and she said that sometimes they just don’t want to let go. And perhaps we should have seen that all along in Toby.

We got him six years ago from the shelter in Albuquerque. We had been looking at the possibility of getting a second dog, and I was on their website and saw that they had a Shetland Sheepdog available. We had a Sheltie when I was an infant, although she died before I was old enough to remember her, but grew up hearing about what a great dog she was and how good Sheltie’s were with kids and families, and so I called Linda and we went to see him.

Long story short, they didn’t know much about him and all the strange things he was doing while we were there we explained away as him being stressed of having his life turned upside down and not knowing what was going on in ending up at the shelter. They also said that purebreds didn’t come in very often and if we didn’t take him then, he would be gone by the morning, and so we got ourselves a new dog.

But, when we got him home, we discovered through his behavior that he had been either severely abused or completely ignored in his last home. When he went outside he would run to a small, tight corner where two fences came together and hide. When he came into the house, he would run into the bathroom behind the toilet and hide. That was his existence.

With the help of some medicine to start, and then a dog trainer, and a lot of work, especially by my wife, we got him to become somewhat sociable and acclimated to his surroundings and his family. But, while there were glimpses of a normal dog inside of him, they were fleeting. You could also see that he was trying desperately to try and overcome his past. As he improved when we would come near to him, he might still try and flee, but then would stop and start running in circles trying to overcome his anxiety. Or he would see us and run towards us, and then start circling before coming too close. We actually called him circle dog for a while because that was our interactions.

By the end of his life, we could actually walk him on a leash, he would sit on the couch and come seek an ear rubbing if we were lying in bed, and he played with the children. On his best days, he would even let me walk up to him and let me scratch his ears, but he never really did well with men, which makes me think it was an abuse issue.

In looking back now, I can see his powerful claim of life working its way through. He could have just given up, curled up in a ball refusing to eat or drink and just been done. But he didn’t. He fought, maybe not as effectively as we may have wanted, but from where he was on his first day to where he was on his last day was the difference between night and day. Others, who spent time around him, may have still seen how “off” he might be, but he had made enormous progress. And before we went to the vet on Monday I was able to groom him, a little, and scratch his ears and tell him not only thank you, but also that I was sorry for what he had been through and that we were never able to get him fully over it all, which was not his fault.

On Monday evening I told Linda that what was hitting me hardest is that I missed the idea of Toby. Not in the When Harry Met Sally way of “Maybe I just miss the idea of Helen. No, I miss the whole Helen.” But that I wanted something specific from him, and he and I could not make that happen. I wanted him to be more than he could be, and in that isn’t he like all of us, living in our brokenness? And yet the power of life shone through him to the end. I miss the idea of Toby, but I also just miss my dog.

Connecting In a Divided World

Here is my message from Sunday. The text was Romans 13:8-14 and Matthew 18:15-17:

On May 22, 1856, in what is considered one of the low points in the history of the US Congress, Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery representative from South Carolina, entered the senate chambers and attacked Massachustes senator Charles Sumner with a cane beating him within inches of his life for an anti-slavery speech that Sumner had delivered two days before. The violence was seen as the beginning of the “breakdown of reasonable discourse”, contributing even more to the polarization of the country around the issue of slavery, and a precursor to the increasing violence that would lead to the civil war. And yet many historians say that the civil war became inevitable several years before that when the churches began to split, including the Methodists and later the Baptists, which is the reason we have a southern Baptist church over slavery. That when churches could not stay together, people believe, there was little chance for the country itself.

And so most of you here are probably aware of the issues now swirling around the Methodist church and the potential, or maybe likely, schism, which has been postponed at least until next year. And if you’ve been paying attention to the southern Baptist gathering this week, you also know that there was considerable debate there about actions that could lead to many or most African-Amercian congregations, and many others as well, leaving that denomination. This has led to some speculation about what churches splintering again means for us as a country. And then what the last election showed us is that 100% of the country believes that 50% of americans have lost their minds. And so it probably isn’t surprising that one of the things that several people have asked me to talk about, or just asked for advice itself, is how, in these troubled and divided times, we are supposed to deal with, let alone get along with, people who are on the opposite side of some issue, especially if they, or maybe even us, resort to anger and name calling and other derogatory behavior to make their point.

State of the Church

Here is my message from Sunday. The passages were Joshua 24:13-15 :

It has been my tradition, to take one Sunday a year, typically in June, or right around then, to give a state of the church message. To talk about where we have been, what some of our accomplishments have been in the past year, perhaps where we were not as successful as we had hoped, and what opportunities and challenges we’re, things to focus on and occasionally some challenges to the congregation of things we could, or maybe should, be doing. I do it around this time of year because it represents for me, the completion of an appointment year and an anniversary of my time here. Now we didn’t do this last year, because as I said in my preview video sent out in our Friday worship email, I really had no idea what the next week, or month, might bring, let alone trying to forecast what the next year would bring. In some ways that’s still true, although we are coming closer to normality. Additionally, while we had made some good goals for 2020, most of them got put on hold because of the onset of Covid. And that has also sort of put me, and many other clergy in an unusual situation, in that I am now completing the end of my second year being here with you, I don’t really have two years of experience with you all. I have 8 or so months or sitting with you, and visiting with you and working with you, of doing hospital visits and funerals, and the other things that happen in the normal life of a church. And then many more months of doing things very differently than most of us have ever done before. There are some disadvantages in that reality, but there are probably some good opportunities for us to do things differently as we move forward.

And that’s probably a good place to start, because while some people can’t wait to get back to normal, or the way things used to be, we shouldn’t be so quick to just go back to doing what we have done before. This is a great time to evaluate everything and make sure it’s what we want or need to keep doing. So for example, going to online worship is not just a temporary thing. Online worship represents a huge opportunity for us to reach new people in new ways, and many people will feel much safer seeing what our worship is like from the comfort of their own homes than coming here for the first time. And so we are going to keep streaming worship. But that will require us to think differently about worship and what it means to have people here and also people online, some of whom don’t even live in Los Alamos. How do we build community there? How do we deepen relationship and faithfulness in both places? And it’s not even that we can think that our primary purpose is here and that what we do online is just for convenience for some people, because that’s not the way the world works anymore.

For Thine Is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever. Amen.

Here is my message from Sunday. The text was Acts 2:1-21 and Matthew 6:5-13:

Today is Pentecost Sunday which represents the beginning and end of many things. The first is that it represents the end of the season of Easter and the celebration of the resurrection and the beginning of what is known as ordinary time. ordinary in this sense not meaning common, but from the word ordinal, or number, and so next Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost, and so on all the way until we reach Christ the King Sunday and the beginning of Advent in November. It also represents that end of Jesus’ in person ministry on Earth and the beginning of the mission and teaching of the disciples through the formation of the church. It is the end of one way of the disciples experiencing God, through the person of Christ, and a new way of experiencing and knowing God through the gift of the Spirit, because Jesus said that when he ascended to the Father that he would not leave us alone, but would send the Spirit, the advocate to be with us. And so the gift of the Spirit represents a new beginning, and when we receive the Spirit what did Jesus say we would also receive? Power. And that will become even more important in a moment. And as we celebrate our graduates today we recognize that graduation is the end of one phase of life, whether high school or college, and the beginning of something entirely new. Something different. And so these beginnings and ends are also seen as we complete our series on the Lord’s Prayer, not only because we end the series, but because the last part of the prayer leads us from prayer into the world.

As I’ve been saying the Lord’s prayer is typically seen as having six petitions, after the opening of our Father, or literally the Father of us. There are three petitions about God, for God’s name to be hallowed, for God’s Kingdom to come and for God’s will to be done. And then there are three petitions about us, for our daily bread, for forgiveness and for God to lead us and deliver us. And then we close with what is known as the doxology, “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” or sometimes “forever and ever. Amen.” And I’m hoping that you all noticed that this part of the prayer was not included in the prayer as we have heard it from Matthew’s version every week for the past six weeks. Nor is it included in Luke’s version of the prayer found in chapter 11. And why it’s not in the gospels but is found as we say it as Protestants begins to be encapsulated in why it’s called the doxology.

For us know, when we hear the term doxology, many of us think immediately of the song that gets sung after the offering, and it sort of has the same purpose. A doxology is a hymn or phrase added to the end of a psalm, canticle or hymn in praise of God. This has roots in Jewish practice, and so would have been very familiar to Jesus and the disciples. And for most of us, hearing the Lord’s Prayer without the doxology just seems rather strange, and it’s a rather abrupt end. This has led some scholars to speculate that it probably didn’t originally end this way, that because doxologies were used in Jewish prayer that the Lord’s Prayer probably included something similar, even if it wasn’t these exact words, but that his ending wasn’t known to either Matthew or Luke, or more likely to the source from which they got their material. And yet, for those of you who were raised Roman Catholic, it doesn’t sound strange at all because you were used to praying it without the doxology being there.

And so then the question becomes, if Matthew and Mark didn’t know these words, or potentially didn’t know them, then where did they come from and where they originally a part of the prayer? And the answer is we simply don’t know. The majority of the early church fathers who wrote commentaries on the Lord’s Prayer, do not have anything about this ending, nor is it contained in the Vulgate, which is the Latin translation of the Bible. But, we do know that the doxology was known and can be dated to the early church because of a book that is known as the Didache, or sometimes also called the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. As the second title indicates, it is a collection of teachings about the early church and it is broken into three parts. One is on ethics, the second is on the rituals of the church including baptism and the Eucharist, and the third is on the organization of the church. There is much debate about the dating of the document, with some speculating that at least parts of it date to as early as the council of Jerusalem in 49-50, which would make it one of the earliest documents we have. Others date it towards the end of the 2nd century, with a general consensus of most scholars now dating it the 1st century, but probably towards the end, or at least that being when it was compiled. But, the point is, the Didache also contains a version of the Lord’s Prayer, which it instructs people to pray three times a day, although the times for the prayer are not given. And the Didache says that we are to pray thus: “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, as in Heaven so also upon earth; give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debt as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into trial, but deliver us from the Evil One, for thine is the power and the glory forever."

This passage is important then for several reasons. One is because even though the doxology is not found in our earliest and best manuscripts of Matthew and Luke, it is found here, and so we know that it probably dates to the earliest days of the church. Second, because this version is a little different than Matthew and Luke’s versions, which are different from each other, we also know that this prayer was circulating amongst many different Christian communities, adding credence to its probable origin with Christ himself. Which leads into the third point which is that we know that this prayer is not just important to us today, or it didn’t gain in importance over time, that it was important to the earliest church because the Didache instructs praying it three times a day. It doesn’t explain why Mark and John don’t include the prayer, at least not in the form we have it and pray it, but it clearly shows that the Lord’s Prayer was widely known and important to the church. And the doxology was also know. In the Orthodox Church, the doxology is offered just before communion. In the Protestant tradition, Luther included the doxology in his translation of the New Testament into German, and so he was obviously aware of it, as did William Tyndale in his English translation, which I have referred to several times on translation issues of why we pray it the way we do in English.

But let’s get to the rub of what this means for the prayer and for us, and to do that we return to what we also discussed last week in the petition about temptation and the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. In either the second or third temptation, depending on which gospel we are reading, Jesus is taken up to the highest point in Jerusalem, and in Luke’s version says, “And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” And so, what the devil says here are all the kingdoms that could be yours, and we should ask what it means that here the devil says that they are his, and with them comes glory and authority, which I think we could also see as power. 

And so we should be seeing again a direct connection here between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world that we talked about when we petitioned for God’s Kingdom to come, and also remembering that I said that one of the reasons I think Reign of God is a better term is because we instantly think about geographical boundaries when we think Kingdom. That’s what the devil is offering. But the reign of God is not just about geography, it’s also about hearts and minds and lives. That we are going to be a part of the reign of God. We are participating in it through everything that we do; in seeking to do God’s will and seeking to bring glory to God’s name. And so what the doxology to this prayer reminds us of is that it’s not about us, or the Kingdoms of this world, it’s about God. Because it’s about God’s Kingdom and God’s power and God’s authority, and to know that those are different than the world.

And that should become clear because of what comes immediately before this right? Because what have we just prayed for? Bread, and forgiveness and leadership and delivery from temptations and evil. And again as we touched on, the kingdoms of the world, and in particular for the first hearers of this prayer the Kingdom of Rome. And Rome wants you to think they will do all of these things for you, but who do they bring that about? The same way that all kingdoms of the world bring it about through violence and repression. But God’s reign is different, and we are saying that whereas Rome may promise these things, they don’t and won’t always deliver and some days you may be on their good side, and some days you may not, and more importantly their promises are not forever. But God’s promises are forever. And so we read in 1 Chronicles, which may be where the doxology originated, or is at least inspired by, which has David proclaiming, “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, for ever and ever. Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.”  (1 Chron 29:10b-11) That is this has been a prayer of celebration for a 1000 years, and it continues not just in the prayer but we even hear a similar claim in Revelation.

And what God is also willing and able to do is to share and call us to participate in that Kingdom, because what do we receive when the Spirit comes upon us? Power. The power of the Spirit comes upon us to do God’s work in the world, to bring God’s kingdom to the world, to do God’s will in the world, to bring glory to God’s name, by feeding the hungry and giving forgiveness and seeking to live always in God’s righteousness. And so what God’s Kingdom and power and authority remind us is that it’s not about us, and I know that’s really hard for many people to hear and so let me say it again. It’s not about you, it’s not about me, it’s not about us, it’s about God and seeing the world the way that God sees it and not just calling for the Kingdom of God to come, but seeking to bring it about, and we see that in the story of Pentecost.

Because Jesus has already told the disciples that when the Spirit comes upon them they will receive what? Power. And so tongues as of fire come upon them, and this is not destructive fire, this is the fire of life and the disciples are driven from the room in which they have been locked up in and go out into the world to preach the good news, to, quoting from the prophet Joel, dream dreams and see visions and prophesy about God. These are not their dreams and not their visions and not their words, these are the words of God that they are proclaiming, inspired by the Spirit and guided by the Spirit and empowered by the Spirit. And that word for power here is dynamis, from which we get words like dynamic and dynamite. This is to live into boldness of God. it’s like having the boldness of a child who has not eaten their dinner but just ten minutes later comes up and asks if they can have dessert or a snack. That’s bold. And so this is an engaged and active and explosive thing that we are called to, to participate in. And so Jesus says, when you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, here’s what you are going to do. The power of the Spirit we have is not for us. It’s for furthering the work of the Kingdom. So when you receive this power, Jesus says, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

So let’s break that down just a little bit. They are to be witnesses to the Kingdom and power and authority of God, to proclaim the good news, first in Jerusalem, and where are the disciples when told this? In Jerusalem, so witness where you are at the moment. Then be witnesses in Judea, which is the territory in which Jerusalem is located, so go out to the surrounding areas, and then comes a harder one. Be witnesses in Samaria. Samaria is to the north of Judea and south of Galilee, in the in-between, which might be good in itself, witness in the in-between places. Except Samaritans and Jews hate each other. And so Jesus is saying go to those people that you don’t like, who don’t look like you, or think like you or act like you. God and be witnesses amongst those people. Sure they might be Red Sox fans and therefore have made bad choices in their lives, but offer them the good news. Offer them bread and offer them forgiveness and offer them love and offer them the Kingdom. In fact, offer them the power of the Spirit so that they too can be witnesses and work beside each other. And then, finally as if to make it even clearer, Jesus then says and be my witnesses to the ends of the earth. Witness to everyone, because that’s what the Spirit will give you the power to do.

Many years ago, someone gave me a poem, and I don’t know who wrote it, not for lack of trying to find out, but it says:

You cannot pray the Lord's Prayer and even once say "I."
You cannot pray the Lord's Prayer and even once say "My."
Nor can you pray the Lord's Prayer and not pray for one another,
And when you ask for daily bread, you must include your brother.
For others are included ... in each and every plea,
From the beginning to the end of it, it does not once say "Me." 

The Lord’s prayer is not about me or you, it’s about us as creatures made in the image of God seeking to turn our lives, all that we are and all that we have, over to God. to humble ourselves before God, in order to do not what we want, but what God wants, even taking the cup from which Jesus drinks and the baptism into which Jesus was baptized. It’s about that call to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It’s not our power, it’s not for our glory and it’s definitely not our Kingdom, because all those things are God. and to make that very clear, not only do we say those words, but then we close with Amen, which means something like this is the truth or may it be so. These are not just words that we day because we are taught to say them, or because it’s just what we’ve always done. These are the words of life. These are the words of discipleship.

Who is called to hallow God’s name? We are. Who is called to bring God’s Kingdom here and now? We are. Who is called to do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven? We are. Who is to bring everyone this day their daily bread? We are. Who is to seek forgiveness and give forgiveness? We are. Who is called to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves, our baptismal vows? We are. But we don’t do it alone, because we have the power of the Holy Spirit guiding us and leading us, supporting us and pushing us, lifting us up and calling us to go forth even to the ends of the earth to not just spread the good news but to be the good news. We have heard that passage from Isaiah several times that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him. And the Spirit of the Lord is upon us, for we too have been anointed, and when we accept that Spirit, when we claim that Spirit, when we live in that Spirit, we receive what? Power. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, and we have been empowered us to be God’s words and hands and feet in Jerusalem, where we are in all, Judea and Samaria, to friends and foes alike, and to the ends of the earth, so that one day every tongue will confess and ever knee shall bow down at the call of our Lord and savior Jesus’ Christ’s name so that God’s Kingdom will indeed come and God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I pray that it will be so my brothers and sisters. Amen.

Masks in Worship

The One Board has been in conversation about our policy for masks during worship. There was a general consensus, although not anywhere close to unanimous, to continue with requiring masks for this Sunday. They will be discussing it again at the meeting on Tuesday and coming up with a new policy and process moving forward. Because I am on vacation starting next week, I have asked that nothing be done to implement any policy changes until I am back in worship on June 13th so that our guest preachers are not dealing with those changes while they are here.

I do know that there are lots of opinions and feelings surrounding this issue, and many people have told me what they think about it. But, let us please keep in mind that we are a community and that means many voices and ideas need to be involved and heard and listened to and respected.

The Ask Amy column in the Washington Post recently had an answer around Covid precautions that I thought was helpful. She said: “Whenever you find yourself getting frustrated with people or the pandemic or the way people deal with the pandemic, try sorting it all out by the following guidelines:

·        Precautions are about the virus.

·        Feelings are about feelings.

·        Precautions are public.

·        Feelings are private.

Let's not conflate, confuse or commingle these in any way.”

Personally, I have three children who are unvaccinated, two of whom have received their first shot, and one who is not eligible yet. And so I will continue to wear a mask not only to protect others, including those with underlying medical conditions, but also to protect them, and they are all a part of our community. Will our other families with young children feel safe coming to worship if we don’t require masks? I don’t know. But I do think we need to take their concerns into consideration along with many others both for and against this potential policy change.

 At some point we will no longer require masks in worship. That may be on the 13^th, and it may be later. One Board will make that decision, and when that happens, it will be for those who are fully vaccinated. But, I am not going to be a cop when it comes to policing who is or is not vaccinated. And so here is the guidance I will give everyone: The Ten Commandments tell us not to bear false witness, Jesus says “let your yes be yes and your no be no,” or to put it more bluntly, as Paul says in his letter to the Colossians, “Do not lie to one another.” We live in community and when we do not treat each other with love and act and live in that love, when we deceive people, then our community will falter and break.

And just for clarification, any policy impacting masks in worship will not change the requirement of masks in the building during regular business hours because the Ark is still under a mandatory mask policy.

Along similar lines, the other question still being asked is around singing. Again, the guidance I have received is that we need to have at least 80% of the population vaccinated in order to resume. That time is approaching, and it may be here by June 13th as well. But, for others to feel safe, when we do resume singing we are going to ask that if you are singing to wear a mask.

I really wish there were easy answers for all of these concerns, but, unfortunately, they are not. As I have said many times, we are trying to do the best we can with the information we have to ease restriction as we can, while also trying to keep everyone safe. So please keep that in mind whether you agree or disagree with the decisions we make.

And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil

Here is my message from Sunday. The texts were James 1:12-16  and Matthew 6:5-13:

After I came out with my call to the ministry, I began to be asked to do ministerial things, like filling in for the pastor when they were on vacation, which was fine and I enjoyed doing it. But, after one such Sunday, as I got in my car and started driving home I had this nagging feeling like I had forgotten something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I mean I had delivered the message and we had taken the offering, so I had covered the biggest thing. I was pretty sure we had sung all the songs, and I have skipped over a song before, but the whole week I just couldn’t get rid of that feeling that something had been missed. And then the next Sunday the minister was back and in his message, which I couldn’t tell you at all what it was about, but he said something about the Lord’s Prayer, and he then said “which we pray every single week in worship,” and then it hit me, that’s what I had forgotten. When I did the prayer the week before I forgot to lead the Lord’s Prayer. 

But you know what? No one said a thing to me about it. No one asked, “Did you forget something?” or even just be blunt and say, “Hey, you forgot the Lord’s Prayer.” Perhaps they didn’t notice, although that seems unlikely, because as I said when we started this series, the Lord’s Prayer is a constant in worship. And not just for us, but for all Christians. You could go to any Christian church anywhere in the world, no matter what language they might be speaking, no matter what their worship service or style may be, they are going to be saying the Lord’s Prayer, because it’s part of who we are and what we do. And yet of all those Christians praying this prayer, probably the part that is most confusing or concerning, or perhaps both, is the petition that we look at today which is, “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…” or from “the evil one,” which we’ll talk about the difference in a little while.

Forgive Us Our Debts As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors

Here is my message from Sunday. The text was Colossians 3:12-17  and Matthew 6:5-15:

The Lord’s Prayer, which we have been looking at for the past four weeks, consists of a series of petitions. The first of those petitions are really about God, although about things we might be doing, like hallowing God’s name, which means making it holy, and then it turns to personal petitions, things we are asking God to do for us. And as a reminder that is the plural us, not the individual us. And so last week we began with the first of those personal petitions asking God to give us, and everyone, this day our daily bread. This image is from a freeze from the Roman Senate House which was originally constructed by Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. It was updated over time, and this carving represents the emperor Trajan who ruled from 98 to 117 CE. We actually know some really interesting things about the early Christian church because of a series correspondence that Trajan has with Pliny, who was the imperial governor of what is now modern day turkey. Although it’s hard to see now due to age and destruction, Trajan is sitting on his throne, with some of his advisors behind him, and standing in front of him is a woman who was originally holding a child, although the child has been broken off, and Trajan is extending out his hand and giving the woman and her child bread. This is to show his magnificence as through his generosity, and through the generosity of the kingdom of Rome, Trajan is making sure that this family does not starve to death.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Here is my message from Sunday. The scripture passages were Isaiah 55:1-12 and Matthew 6:5-13:

Bread is not as much of a staple in our diets as it used to be, especially if you, like me, have a doctor who is constantly telling you to cut out the cards, or perhaps you’ve even eliminated bread altogether from your diet, either because of allergies or for dieting reasons. And so for us, asking for our daily bread, which is the petition we move onto today in our look at the Lord’s Prayer, might seem just a little out of touch, not part of our daily reality. Although when you go to a restaurant and they bring good bread to the table, and I’m not talking about the artisanal stuff or those that are so hard on the outside that a turtle could use it as a shell. I’m talking soft, warm bread, melting with butter, and if it has pasta accompanying it, which my doctor also says I should be avoiding, that can be like heaven. And since I see some of you shaking your heads and salivating like Pavlov has just rung his famous bell, I know that you know what I’m talking about. But, that’s more often the exception to the rule these days.

It’s not like we don’t consider bread important, after all when we are talking about amazing inventions, we don’t compare it to the invention of fire or the wheel or even the printing press. Instead what do we say? It’s the greatest thing since? Sliced bread. Apparently sliced bread is the high point of human existence. But, unlike today, bread was a staple in the ancient world. It would have been found in every meal, and it wasn’t just a side, it would have been the main course. It would have been accompanied by fruits and vegetables, and occasionally, but rarely, especially for the poor, meat would have been present. In fact, because of its ubiquity the word bread could be used for food in general, not just bread. But, bread was also more than just about bread, because it also represented hospitality. When strangers or friends appear, bread is brought out as part of the table. We even still say the same thing, as we talk about breaking bread together. Which means sharing a meal, and there’s something special that happens over a meal. When we share a meal together, or with someone else, there’s a bond that comes into place that few other things can do, and I think that’s a portion of what Jesus is talking about here. And yet, of course there is so much more to it as well, because there is a direct practicality to it.

In Person Gatherings

Last night the One Board met and made the decision to allow church groups to begin hosting in-person meetings at the church at their discretion. That applies to Sunday school classes, fellowship groups, committees and teams and the scouts. You are still required to wear masks, and if you are meeting during the day we will still take your temperature and ask the four questions because of state requirements for the preschool.

We are going to leave it up to each individual group to make the decision that is right for them. I know one committee has already said they are going to stay online for a while longer, some of which is for convenience. But, I know that other classes have had people outside of Los Alamos participating, so would you go to a hybrid-model: some in-person some online? That’s for discussion in the group. We did expand and upgrade our wireless in the church and so connecting here should not be a problem. If you need some technical assistance please contact the church, and preferably several days in advance so we can get everything set-up and tested.

Additionally, some of you probably saw that the state has changed their guidelines for in-person worship to allow for 100% capacity in the sanctuary. Our sanctuary capacity is 376, and so we are not coming anywhere close to that. Last week we had 34 in attendance and that was one of the highest we have had for a while. Many people have told me that they are not returning to the sanctuary until they are vaccinated or until the vaccination rate is higher than it is at the moment (We are currently at 31%). I hope that our in-person attendance continues to increase with a plan of returning to two services as we get close to a critical mass for both times, but I leave it to where people feel comfortable and safe.

But, even with the new guidelines, for the moment, we are going to continue to leave the sanctuary as we have had it, which is with the left-hand side, as you look towards the altar, open and the right-hand side with social distancing markers in place. You can then choose to sit where you feel most comfortable.

I know that singing also continues to be a question, especially now that the schools are allowing for singing, with certain guidelines. One of those is to have a minimum of 9 feet distance between singers. The Hymn Society still recommends 12-14 feet. And those are all with masks on.  I am still hesitant to allow singing because it has been shown to be a super-spreader and we are inside for longer periods of time without great ventilation.

And just so you have some reference, if you wanted to sing in the congregation, you would need a minimum of three pews between you and the next closest person in front as each pew is 3 feet apart. Unless you come to the front row, in which case its 9 feet to the altar rail, and I always strongly encourage people to sit in the front row! If you would like to sing we also have opportunities for special music or even to lead hymns occasionally, just speak with Valerie.

As I said when we began plans to return to in-person worship last summer, I want to be as welcoming as we can and be as safe as we can. The last thing I want on my conscience is to have made a decision that leads to someone getting sick or even worse. Linda has gone back to work this week part-time after missing the last five months because of her Covid symptoms, with which she is still struggling. I don’t want that to happen to anyone else.

Our counts this month are continuing to be lower than last month, which were lower than the month before. I know we are getting close to some sense of “normal”, whatever that might look like, but we also don’t want to rush things and have another set-back.

And for those who are not yet ready to return, I hope you have been enjoying the upgrades to our streaming service. Each week we are discovering new things, and getting better, and I hope you have noticed the difference, and I would like to thank our expanding AV team who are doing such a great job!

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, On Earth As It Is In Heaven

Here is my message from Sunday. The text was Isaiah 61:1-12 and Matthew 6:5-13:

Like many colleges and universities, especially on the East coast, Boston University, where I went to seminary, was originally founded in order to train clergy. They were known as the School of the Prophets, and at some point, the passage we heard from Isaiah this morning, or at least the first 2 verses, became the unofficial scripture passage of the school. And so in one of the stained glass windows, which is in the stairway between the first floor of the theology building and the library on the second floor, it says “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news.” But, at some point, someone edited the window by taping up a piece of paper that added the words, “to the poor.” The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because I have been anointed to preach good news to the poor.

That is the proclamation that Isaiah makes, and then it is also the proclamation that Jesus makes, because when he gives his first sermon in Luke, which happens immediately after the temptation story, when Jesus is offered all the kingdoms of the world if he will worship Satan, which he refuses, this is the passage that Jesus reads when he picks up the scroll from Isaiah. And I should also note this is the only time that Jesus quotes directly from scripture with it in front of him, it is the only time he gives what we would consider a regular sermon, and he doesn’t do it again because he learns his lesson as the people rise up against him because he says “today this passage has been fulfilled in your hearing” and so they attempt to kill him, but he escapes. I don’t think it is just coincidental that this is the message that Jesus reads, and we should pay special attention to what it means, because it is also in Luke that Jesus says just a few verses later, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God… for I was sent for this purpose.”