Clear vision…. It’s a wonderful gift! Being visually challenged, I understand the importance of being able to focus clearly on something. You see, when I first wake up, I usually don’t put my glasses on right away. I CAN see well enough to make my way down the stairs….to let the dogs out… and even to put on the coffee.

But one day early, in the morning, I was walking across the living room and saw something brown skitter in front and off to the side of me. I couldn’t see the object clearly, but it looked enough like a spider. I froze in place and screamed.

Afraid I would lose track of that monster on the floor, I couldn’t move. Meanwhile the dogs were whining to go out and were probably wondering about all the noise. When I noticed that the gigantic tarantula didn’t move, I took a wide sweep around it and put the dogs on their leashes. Grabbing my glasses from the counter and one of Bill’s shoes, I gingerly stepped back into the living room.

I wasn’t sure if I was overjoyed or disappointed……it hadn’t moved.

Bravely, with Bill’s shoe in the air, I got close enough to mark my target….and realized…. The huge scary spider was nothing more than a dust bunny that had rolled in front of me like tumbleweed. Not being able to see clearly, my imagination got the best of me.

When the disciples first heard Jesus preach the Good News of God’s kingdom, they saw something in him that made them want to leave everything and to follow him. In a short time, they were convinced that Jesus was the one that God promised to Israel…… convinced that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah who would become king and free them from Roman rule.
Everywhere they went they witnessed Jesus performing miracles - freeing a man possessed by demons, cleansing lepers and healing the sick who flocked to him.

One day when Jesus healed a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath, the religious leaders accused him of being a madman and worse yet, consorting with Satan. Worried about his safety, Jesus’ mother and brothers tried to talk to him….to dissuade him from continuing his public ministry. Nevertheless, through all of this, the disciples maintained the clear vision of Jesus as the Messiah.

Not surprisingly, when Jesus announced that he wanted to go to the other side of the sea, they readied the boats for the journey and set sail. They didn’t see the signs of an oncoming storm.
Because Galilee is a very shallow body of water, the winds often create a monster of the water making even the largest boat vulnerable to destruction. These storms are always unexpected.
The type of boat that Jesus and the disciples used was probably NOT one of the largest boats on Galilee and would have been quite small. A friend who toured Israel boarded such a boat and said that even though the sea was as smooth as glass, as soon as the passengers stepped onto the deck, it began to rock violently.

Knowing this gives us a little perspective about the kind of storm that would have frightened seasoned fishermen. Desperately working to bail out the onslaught of water, the disciples soon realized that they were in imminent danger of sinking. Focused on the storm, the task at hand, and the seriousness of the situation, they suddenly realized that they were missing one set of hands on deck.

Where in the world was Jesus??? Angrily, the disciples awakened him from sleep. Jesus…what are you doing????? We followed you out here… NOW look at what you’ve gotten us into! Can’t you see what’s going on? We are doing everything we can LITERALLY do to keep our heads above water and you’re sleeping!!! Don’t you CARE that we are dying????

They were on the brink of death and they felt alone and they were very afraid.

Awakened by the disciples, Jesus remained calm. With a few words, he took control of the wind and the waves, calming the sea with a show of his power over creation. AND, he revealed the truth about the source of their fear. They had become distracted by the stormy seas and could no longer remember all that Jesus had done and taught. They had lost their focus……..in fact… they had become blind to Jesus who was in their midst and had the power to save them.
Discipleship ISN’T easy! Storms ARE inevitable. While some are products of our imagination, like the giant hairy spider that I saw in the living room - others are real, like the one in our Gospel lesson today.

Christian life is counter cultural. As children of God, we have heard and seen evidence of God’s abundant love for us. We give because God first gave to us and we sow God’s grace because God had mercy on us. Sometimes, the simple act of offering God’s grace and forgiveness CAN become controversial in a community of faith. Controversy often leads to conflict… anxiety…and fear that is formidable enough to threaten a community’s very existence.

A little over a year ago, several of us gathered at the Terkelsen’s for dinner and a meeting of the Church Health Team. Guided by the principals of the Natural Church Development program, we were working on the task of helping to build a healthy congregation by focusing on passionate spirituality. At the time, we had just faced a difficult conflict in the life of our community. The overall picture of health wasn’t very good. The task ahead of us seemed monumental.
As we ate, we talked about the storm that we had faced and the effects that were still rippling through our community. We were afraid to introduce too much change into an already shaky situation. Our BIGGEST fear was that our work would only make things worse. All of us were somewhat pessimistic and anxious that night.

We began to pore over the extensive material that was given to us until one of us found something that helped to calm the waves of fear. It was right there…. in the middle of one of the manuals. A sentence practically popped off the page at us and stopped us in our tracks. It said that to be healthy, a church must expect that Jesus IS present in the midst of the community and that miracles ARE a part of his presence.

Instantly, we knew that if we personally didn’t believe that Jesus WAS present and COULD work miracles, then we might as well give up. We realized that we had spent so much time focusing on the anxiety and the circumstances…. that we had lost our focus on Jesus’ presence in our midst. If we could work to help refocus ourselves and the eyes of our community back to Jesus, we WOULD begin to see miracles. It was a like a weight lifted from our shoulders. Jesus WAS in our midst and we no longer had to bear the burden alone.

The current economic situation in this country is affecting all of us, including the church. Two weeks ago, during our celebration of ministry, the stewardship team began the program with a slide that illustrated our giving in the last year. For me, the ups and downs of the points on that graph seemed to be creating a series of waves symbolizing the appearance of yet another storm. The graph is a snapshot of the reality of our current financial status. But our stewardship team didn’t dwell on it. Instead, it began to focus on Jesus and the work that we continue to accomplish in his name and WILL continue to accomplish when we remain focused on Jesus’ presence in our midst.

Through this storm and many others, I have witnessed God’s love working through you. In the last year, many have been blessed with a sense of new hope and commitment to God’s work in the world. It is evident here through the process of healing and wholeness.
JESUS is in our midst when you meet together in prayer, when you organize tag sales so that a family might obtain affordable and safe shelter, when you invite our children to be full participants in worship, and when you gather to learn about the wonders of God’s grace and love.

To our new members, Sara, Kristin, Laurie, John… and Phillip and Janice and their children Kate, Philip, and Emily…. We welcome you today into this body of believers. You are also a sign of Jesus’ presence in our community.
We are not perfect…..but we have been gathered into this community of faith and united by God’s gracious love for us.
As you declare your faith today, you join with us as we seek to live out OUR faith by offering ourselves to God and being open to following Jesus into the world. The storms ARE inevitable….but Jesus is in our midst with a word of good news that frees us from fear.

A devotion I read recently said it best, and I would like to share those wise words with you today. “God’s Good News is not illusory; it does not deny the fact that we live in perilous times, and it does not attempt to shift our focus to an other-worldly utopia.

It IS the Good News that despite all of the troubles, trials and traumas we face, love endures. The Love of God is steadfast, and it ENDURES forever!

It IS the Good News that all of our suffering is redemptive… which is to say that God uses our pains to produce greater stamina, greater integrity and greater maturity in us.
In God's processes of redemption, bad is exchanged for good.

It IS the Good News that despite all that has transpired to tear us apart, God has gathered us together. And it is our togetherness that gives us strength to face the challenges ahead.” (see note)

This is the promise that God has given to us and that we now share with you - as together, we seek to focus on Jesus who is ALWAYS in our midst. AMEN

note: This quote is taken from one of the UCC's Still Speaking devotional writers. You can sign up for these daily devotions here:

http://i.ucc.org/FeedYourSpirit/Subscribe/tabid/101/Default.aspx

Jesus Calls You Friend

An inspirational writer described friendship like this, "There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential."

All people crave friendship, but true friendship isn't always easy to find. Friendship is a gift, a relationship where people can share their greatest sorrow and their greatest joy. Beyond that, true friends help us to be successful people!

Believing that my friends would be supportive of the work that I do, and hoping to get a little inspiration for this sermon, I sent out emails to several people and asked them the following question, "What is it like to be considered as Jesus' friend?"

I got responses from a few brave souls who were bold enough to share their thoughts despite the possibility that I might relate them to you today. Some talked about their relationship with Jesus in the context of their ability to talk to him about anything and their faith that Jesus would never cast them aside. Their responses are a beautiful reflection about all the qualities that make Jesus the perfect candidate for a lifelong friendship.

However, that wasn't the question that I originally asked.

Read Jesus' words one more time….. "Instead, I have called YOU friends."

Now read my original question again, "What is it like to be considered as Jesus' friend?"

Did you recognize the difference that time???? Jesus is telling us that WE are HIS friends!!!!

When I shared this thought with a co-worker, she stared at me with a look of horror on her face. "Wait a minute", she said. "Jesus said that we are HIS friends???? Boy is THAT intimidating. How can we EVER live up to that?"

Sociologists describe friendship as a gradual reciprocal process that includes self-disclosure, glued together by intimacy. Friendship begins when one person takes the risk of disclosing personal information that tests whether the other will reciprocate.

In today's text, the word Philos, translated as friend, is the Greek word for loved one. It describes the basis for our relationship with Jesus.

However, being loved by Jesus is not without its consequences. Jesus makes it clear that being his friend, or loved one, carries with it certain expectations. His friends, those he first loved, WILL bear good fruit. These good fruits are a natural expression of the process of reciprocity and self-disclosure that Jesus sets into motion by first calling us his friend…

This relationship…… this friendship…. it is ALL in his hands.

Today's reading from John's Gospel is the finale for last week's Gospel lesson. As a whole, both of these readings are a part of what is known as the Farewell Discourse where Jesus compares himself to a vine that feeds and nourishes its branches.

This discourse is what we might describe today as a "pep talk." Its central message is based on Jesus' relationship with God. Out of that relationship, God's love flows through him and nourishes his disciples to produce good fruit. So too, Jesus, abiding in God's love, nourishes his disciples.

This constant flow of God's abundant love empowers all of Jesus' friends to bear good fruit….fruit that will last.

Jesus has chosen us as his friends, grafted us onto the vine where we receive God's abundant love that produces healthy branches. Just as the branches of a vine naturally bear good fruit of its kind, those who are a part of Jesus' vine naturally bear the good fruit of God's love to the community of faith and beyond.

We do not need to worry about our own inadequacies because Jesus is the driving force of our relationship. HE is the one who initiates the relationship. HE is the one who gave up his life for us as a sign of God's love and HE is the glue of intimacy that binds us together in a relationship that is life-giving and joyful.

God's abundant love is evident in the good fruits that flow through people like Rick Cesar. A parishioner of Cross Lutheran Church and a registered nurse who worked at a nearby local hospital, Rick began noticing that many of the patients coming into the E.R. weren't seeking emergency medicine. They were seeking primary medical care. Many of them were unemployed or underemployed, living below the poverty level with no health insurance or government assistance.

Seeing that these people in his community had nowhere else to turn, Rick had the idea to begin seeing patients in the church's basement where he provided basic primary care. Then, through another parishioner, he met a resident intern who was also passionate about medicine and helping people in need. The two teamed up to officially open a clinic that has since grown into a roster of volunteer physicians including primary care doctors, a psychologist, neurologist, physical therapist, pharmacist, and podiatrist.

This elaborate network of volunteers and resources has made it possible to turn a $1 donation into $10 of medical care -- an invaluable benefit to a community that's often barely scraping by.

A story such as this one is only one example of how God's love is poured out for the world through the good fruit of God's people.

Good fruit begins with an understanding that God cares for all of creation and that all are worthy of being cared for. Good fruit blossoms when we recognize that each of us possess unique talents and passions. Good fruit lasts when we place those gifts in God's hands all the while being open to the possibility for using those gifts for the sake of others.

Like Rick, each of us has gifts that have the capability of carrying God's abundant love into the world. What are the gifts and passions that God has given to you? Have you shared them with your fellow workers in Christ? If not, perhaps now is a good time to do just that. After all, God HAS promised to give us what we ask for when we bear the good fruit that flows out of God's abundant love.

Today, we have come face to face with the one who acknowledges who we are and what we can be. HE is the one who ignites and sustains the circuits of our highest potential.

This is what Jesus does for you and for the world when he calls us his friends.

The Transfiguration - Mark 9:2-9

How many of you have heard of the radio commentator Paul Harvey?

Well, every week when I was young, I listened to his radio broadcast, “The Rest of the Story”. In his characteristic voice with relevant pauses, Paul Harvey would describe the life of an ordinary person. Sometimes it would be about someone who came from the so-called wrong side of the tracks. After a well-planned commercial break, the person’s name was revealed and it was always someone very well known. Inevitably, I would be in awe of the rags to riches stories that I heard. For me, they brought hope that when I grew up, there was a chance that my life could become legendary too.

About half of my hopes did come true. I have grown up, or at least gotten older…as evidenced by the fact that I can even talk about Paul Harvey! But my life is anything but legendary and it is unlikely that it ever will be.

Mark’s Gospel is a bit like a Paul Harvey radio commentary read backwards. Beginning with the first verse, Mark introduced us to the central character this way:

“The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Instead of beginning with the obscurities of Jesus’ life, Mark begins with a name and an image of someone really special...Jesus…the Son of God… the Messiah… the anointed one who would free Israel from the domination of its oppressors.

Originally read to the community of believers as a whole, the book of Mark flows rapidly from one event to the next with each event connected to the story before and after it. Up until the transfiguration story, Jesus had performed many miracles including healing the sick, casting out demons, exerting control over the stormy seas, feeding thousands, walking on water and raising a child from the dead. The whole time, Jesus tried to convince people not to tell anyone about the miracles. His requests were by and far unheeded and the news of his deeds spread like wildfire.

In today’s text, we find Peter, James and John…alone on a mountaintop with Jesus. Suddenly they are joined by two of the most revered figures in the history of Israel… it’s like a gathering of God’s A-team! Moses, who first led the people out of Egypt into the Promised Land; Elijah, who rode a chariot into heaven so that he could once again return to announce the coming of Messiah; and Jesus, whose face is glowing, like a neon sign announcing his divinity.

In awe, Peter immediately suggested that they build three tents as a tribute to this wondrous event – a hall of fame, so to speak for God’s prophets. He barely got a chance to get the words out of his mouth when a cloud appeared and none other than the voice of God said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

I bet the inner three couldn’t wait to hear what Jesus was going to say! I suspect that if I were one of them, I would have been caught up in the implications of what I just witnessed…. It seems that finally, Moses, Elijah and God officially announced the coming of the promised Messiah. What an honor it would be to spread the news!

But I would have been wrong! Instead, Jesus told the disciples not to tell ANYONE what they had seen. Why would God’s son Jesus, the Messiah, insist that his disciples not tell anyone? Why would Jesus want to be so obscure? Why would Jesus continue to insist that he was going to die?

What follows the transfiguration story seems to suggest that for Jesus, life on earth isn’t at all about the mountain top experience. Instead, this mountaintop experience is a declaration of God’s love for him that affirmed Jesus’ journey into the valley of his own pain and suffering.

Perhaps the true miracle in the transfiguration is not the revelation of Jesus’ divinity, but the fact that Jesus willingly walked away from the mountaintop… no longer glowing and in sparkling white garments, but instead clothed in the mundane form of humanity.

God, in human form, made a choice to fully experience the valley, joining us as we walk through our own valleys. He did this knowing that our misunderstanding of his purpose would ultimately be responsible for his suffering and death on the cross. At the end of his human life, a crown of thorns and a sign hung over his broken body mocking him as the king of the Jews is all that remains.

Last week in our adult discussion group, we had the opportunity to watch a Nooma video titled Kickball. After the video, we discussed the question, “Do you think that God is ALWAYS good?” In the discussion that followed, Dan made a statement that describes why we often doubt God’s goodness and therefore God’s love. Dan said, “God is always good…………. as long as we are the ones who can determine what good looks like.”

Too often, our lives are filled with disappointment and difficulties and during those times we don’t feel very loved by God.

I wonder… Does our own eagerness to be the judge of God’s goodness and love stem from our misunderstanding of Jesus’ role as the Messiah? Can we trust that God is AWAYS good because God loves us???

Today’s story of Jesus’ transfiguration is a sure sign that we CAN. It is a reminder of a love so strong that Jesus was willing to experience a difficult and painful walk in life’s valleys for the sake of the ones he loved.

This week, we will observe Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Together, we will remember that we were fashioned out of dust by the loving hands of God. In the end, our bodies will become dust again. Nevertheless, God cares about what comes between our first and last breath. Because he cares, God’s perfect love for Jesus is revealed to us, offering strength in the deepest valleys of our lives.

May your Lenten journey, inspired by today’s glimpse of God’s love, allow you to be an active part of… in Paul Harvey’s words………………….. The rest of the story!