Luke 5:1-11

February 7, 2010

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

The end of the day, that's what it was for Simon, James and John and the other fishermen who spent their nights working and their days sleeping. That was my schedule before seminary, when I was a nurse; except for the sleeping during the day part. When I went back to work full time after my second child was born, I chose to work the 11pm-7am shift so that I would be gone while my 3½ year old daughter and my infant son were sleeping and at home to care for them during their waking hours. I would catch a nap when my daughter was at pre-school and my son took his nap and then head to bed when their father came home to take over the child care responsibilities. It wasn't so bad at first, but when my son gave up his morning nap and their afternoon nap times never seemed to be in sink, I found myself completely exhausted most of the time. More often than I care to remember I would leave the hospital at the end of my shift and find myself driving into my driveway -some 10 miles away- with no conscious memory of having driven home.

It had been a long, frustrating, fruitless night. Their nets were empty, but they still had to be cleaned. There were no fish to sell, but their families still needed to be fed. It's not hard for most of us to imagine how Simon and the others were feeling and what they might have been thinking when all of a sudden their quiet beach became an amphitheater for the crowds that came seeking help and healing from the carpenter from Nazareth. It's not difficult for us to guess what Simon might have wanted to say to Jesus when he stepped into the boat and asked him to put out from shore and sat down, the way the rabbis did when they were preparing to give a midrash on the scriptures. But this was the man who had healed his mother-in-law, so he owed him something, didn't he?   With any luck, it wouldn't be too long and he could get home and get some rest before nightfall. Yes, he'd do this good deed and then he'd be even. In no way was Simon prepared for what was about to happen.

As the story unfolds Luke doesn't give us any idea what it was that Jesus said to the crowds that day, but maybe, just maybe it had something to do with God's power to take their bone weary lives and turn them around. Maybe just maybe it had something to do with the way God receives whatever we are willing to offer and uses it to bless us and the world. Maybe, just maybe it had something to do with the overflowing abundance of life in God. Maybe, just maybe it was the promise that in God's love - a love we're called to share with everyone - there is more than enough; more than enough forgiveness, more than enough healing, more than enough grace for each and every one of us. But whatever it was, it moved this seasoned fisherman to trust a land-loving carpenter and head into the wrong place in the lake at the wrong time of day only to discover that it was indeed God's time and God's place which is always the right time and the right place for miracles to happen.

Whatever he thought or hoped for, even though he was exhausted, Simon followed the command he was given and when he let down the nets they were filled to overflowing; so much in fact that his boat and the second one that came to his aid both almost sank. What would you do in the face of such a miracle? Would you try to find a rational explanation or would you simply join Simon and fall on your knees suddenly aware of your own failures and faults in the face of such power and love? I love the way Eugene Peterson translates Simon's words: "I'm a sinner and can't handle this holiness. Leave me to myself."

But that's not why Jesus got in Simon's boat is it? Jesus has no intention of leaving Simon to himself, because he sees in Simon, what Simon can not yet see in himself. And he says, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."[Luke 5:11] With that simple yet profound re-orientation of life, Simon left his nets and followed Jesus. Caught by God's grace, his life would never be the same!

When we experience the overwhelming, abundant love of God, like Peter we can do nothing else but fall on our knees and proclaim that we are not worthy of such love and grace. But that's just the point; God meets us where we are and loves us in the fullness of all we can be. God showers us with blessings beyond anything we can ever hope for or imagine, so that we will once and for all be caught by grace; caught and stopped in our tracks, turned around and transformed into the fullness of all God knows we can become.

As Simon stepped out of his boat he stepped into the fullness of who God dreamed he would become. But it was not disconnected from who he had been. The very gifts and skills that he employed in the fruitless effort to secure his own future are the gifts and skills that God wanted to employee in the fruitful endeavor to create a grace-filled future.

Now I've really never liked the image of fishing for people, but perhaps the truth is that fishing was simply the metaphor Jesus used for Simon, because that's what Simon understood, that's what he loved, that's what he did. And so Jesus was simply inviting him to take what he knew and use it in a way that brought more love, more grace, more compassion, more healing and more life into the lives of those people he met.

What do you love to do? What brings you joy? How might God want to work through you?

Rev. Terry Fullam, Rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Darien, Connecticut, tells the story of a parishioner who approached him one Sunday after he'd given a sermon on God-given gifts.

"I just don't have any gifts," she declared.

"What do you like to do? What are you really good at?" Fullam asked her.

"Well, I like to cook and entertain -- and my husband says I'm good at it," she replied.

"Well think about how God may want you to use your cooking and entertaining," he advised.

Think she did and to make a long story short, this woman founded a feeding ministry which has fed thousands of homeless people.

In the midst of our tiredness and exhaustion; in the midst of our concerns about finances -our own and this congregation's; in the midst of our frustrations and failures; in the midst of a world that tells us there is never enough, I believe Jesus is here standing by our boat, asking us to set out into deep water, asking us to put down our nets, open our hearts, do all we do with love, trusting that as we give what we have and share who we are we too will be caught by God's abundant grace and we will never be the same. Amen.

Luke 4:14-21

January 31, 2010

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

I love a good mystery. I love the process of unraveling the clues and discovering "who-done-it". Perhaps that's one of the reasons that I enjoy watching CSI and CSI-New York. I am fascinated by the process of discovering "trace evidence" and the search for fingerprints and DNA. It boggles my mind to think that with 6.8 billion people in the world there are no two fingerprints or DNA profiles that are exactly the same. It amazes me that everywhere I go and everything I touch I leave little bits of me behind, trace evidence that I have been there!

So I was instantly captivated at the workshop Tom and I attended earlier this month when our presenter, Rev. Dr. Rob Voyle, began talking about "spiritual fingerprints". In a book Rob co-authored with his wife Kim the concept is described this way:

We most closely manifest our purpose when we are at our best, being and doing those things that flow from the core of our being and which result in deep satisfaction or joy. Manifesting our true purpose will be life-giving not only for ourselves but for those around us.

As I thought about this it occurred to me that perhaps each of us is created to leave little bits of Divine Love and Blessing, like Divine Fingerprints, wherever we go and whatever we touch. Perhaps manifesting our purpose has something to do with leaving trace evidence that God is at work in our lives and our world.

Fresh from his baptismal experience of hearing God proclaim, 'You are my Son, the Beloved;^* with you I am well pleased.'^* [Luke 3:22b] and his forty day sojourn into the wilderness where he struggled with what in the world those words might mean, Jesus returned to Galilee and on the Sabbath went to his home synagogue in Nazareth. Now it is not clear whether Jesus specifically chose the passage from Isaiah or whether in his reading of the scripture for the day he found another clue to his purpose, the Divine Fingerprint he was meant to leave on the world. But whatever the case after he finished reading he sat down and said to the people "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." [Luke 4:21]

"[God] has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. [God] has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, [and] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [Luke 4:18b-19] Through these words Jesus began to understand and proclaim his spiritual fingerprint. He was so open to the spirit, so willing to live into the fullness of his purpose that people did experience God when they experienced his love and healing, his forgiveness and grace, his compassion and challenge. Their eyes were opened to see in a new way and they were set free to live with new hope. Through him others began to understand that they, too, had a divine purpose; they, too, had spiritual fingerprints; they, too, were called to leave trace evidence of God's Love wherever they went and whatever they touched.

Now if you watch enough episodes of CSI or other such programs you know that it is possible to reduce the trace evidence you leave behind by wearing gloves. We can, of course, do the same with our spiritual fingerprints. When we fail to open our hearts to receive God's unconditional love; when we live as if our lives don't matter; when we believe we have nothing of value to give; when we hold back our gifts in fear; when we try to be what someone else thinks we should be; when we fail to live from the beauty and truth of who we are; when we are consumed with greed and live as if the rest of the world does not matter; in these and many other ways we hide our fingerprints and fail to be God's blessing in the world.

I love the reading from Marianne Williamson that the youth used last week as our Invitation to Worship. I especially love the line that says "We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others." What if we took seriously the idea that we were created to leave smudges of Divine Love wherever we go and whatever we touch, just by being who we are and doing what only we can do in the way only we can do it?

Kerry is a man of deep faith and profound love for people. His smile is infectious and his joy is contagious. He seems to have the ability to look at people and see their very best. In fact he often sees in them what they cannot see in themselves and he calls forth their gifts and nurtures and encourages them as they seek to live into the fullness of their gifts. I have often described him to people as being the most Christ-like person I ever met. Without Kerry's fingerprint on my life, I, more than likely, would not be standing here today.

To be in Valerie's presence is to know peace, deep peace. Her gentle spirit and quiet love surround every situation with grace. Time and time again in our Bible study group as we talked about some issue in our lives or our world, Valerie would call us to pray -not just for the victim, but for the victimizer, not just for the abused but for the abuser, not just for our friends but for our enemies. Her compassion helped me open my heart to God's extravagant love and universal compassion. Without Valerie's fingerprint on my life, I would not be who I am today.

Stop for a moment and think, "Who are the people who come to your mind as those who have left Divine Fingerprints on your heart?"  ..... Say a silent prayer of gratitude that they move through life with open hearts and ungloved hands leaving divine smudges wherever they go and whatever they do.

Stop for a moment and think, "When have you felt the joy of knowing that your words, your actions, your very presence left trace evidence of God?" .... Say a silent prayer of gratitude for the opportunities you have had to share your life.

In the midst of our workshop Dr. Voyle poised this question: "What would happen to the church if it stopped being everything it should and supported people in doing what they love, that is living out their spiritual fingerprint? What if the church helped people say 'Yes to God, Yes to their neighbors and Yes to themselves'?" As I thought about this, I began to wonder how we, as a community of faith, a handprint of the body of Christ, could more and more encourage and empower one another to take off our gloves and let our own lights shine so that we make manifest the glory of God, leaving Divine Smudges and trace evidence everywhere we go and whatever we do.

We can't do everything, in fact we aren't meant to. But what might this community of faith and our world be like if each and every one of us began to awaken to our own unique purpose, our own spiritual fingerprint and then dared to use our gifts and offer our lives into the fullness of that purpose?

"We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone." May you have the courage, the wisdom and the grace to accept this truth and take off your gloves so that wherever you go and whatever you do others will discover that Divine Fingerprints have touched their lives and their hearts! Amen.

Invitation to Worship

One: Please join me in our responsive invitation to worship. Please note that there are some parts for just the women, some for the men and some for all of us together. There's a season for everything under the sun,

All:   a time to do and a time to be done,

One: a time to laugh,

All:   a time to cry,

One: a time to live

All:  and a time to die.

MEN: A time for dying and a time for rebirth.

WOMEN:    A time for spirit and a time for earth.

MEN: A time for laughter, a time for tears.

WOMEN:    A time for courage and a time for fear.

MEN: A time to cling and a time to release.

WOMEN:    A time for war and a time for peace.

MEN: A time to talk and a time to be still.

WOMEN:    A time to care and a time to kill.

MEN: A time to keep. A time to lose.

WOMEN:    A time to be told. A time to choose.

MEN: A time to tear down. A time to rebuild.

WOMEN:    A time to be empty. A time to be filled.

MEN: A time to welcome and to send away.

WOMEN:    A time to complain and a time to pray.

MEN: A time to share and a time to save.

WOMEN:    A time to break rules. A time to behave.

MEN: A time to free and a time to bind.

WOMEN:    A time to search and a time to find.

MEN: A time to plant and a time to uproot.

WOMEN:    A time to be barren. A time to bear fruit.

MEN: A time of plenty.

WOMEN:    A time of need.

MEN: A time to follow.

WOMEN:    A time to lead.

MEN: A time to give.

WOMEN:    A time to take.

MEN: A time to bend.

WOMEN:    A time to break.

MEN: A time to hurt.

WOMEN:    A time to heal.

MEN: A time for secrets.

WOMEN:    A time to reveal.

MEN: A time to let go.

WOMEN:    A time to hold.

MEN: A time to be young.

WOMEN:    A time to grow old.

MEN: A time rip open.

WOMEN:    A time to mend.

MEN: A time to begin.

WOMEN:    A time to end.

One: There's a season for everything under the sun,

All:   a time to do and a time to be done,

One: a time to laugh,

All:   a time to cry,

One: a time to live

All:  and a time to die.

R 1: The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers;

R 2: wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

R 1: We spend more, but have less;

R 2: we buy more, but enjoy it less.

R 1: We have bigger houses and smaller families;

R 2: more conveniences, but less time.

R 1: We have more degrees, but less sense;

R 2: more knowledge, but less judgment;

R 1: more experts, but more problems;

R 2: more medicine, but less wellness.

R 1: We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

R 2: We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

R 1: We've learned how to make a living, but not a life;

R 2: we've added years to life, not life to years.

R 1: We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

R 2: We've conquered outer space, but inner space remains a mystery.

R 1: We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul;

R 2: we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

R 1: We have higher incomes, but lower morals;

R 2: we've grown long on quantity, but short on quality.

R 1: These are the times of tall people, with short character;

R 2: steep profits, and shallow relationships.

R 1: These are the times of striving for world peace, but domestic warfare;

R 2: more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

R 1: These are days of two incomes, but more divorce;

              of fancier houses, but broken homes.

R 2: It is a time when technology can send this message around the world in an instant,

Both:     and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit delete...

Malachi 3:1-4

2^nd Sunday in Advent - Peace

December 6, 2009

Rev Nancy Pfaltzgraf

Are you ready for Christmas? Do you have your house decorated? Your cookies baked? Your shopping done? Your cards sent? Depending on when your family celebrates Christmas you only have 18 or 19 days left, you know. So are you ready for Christmas? Are you ready to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child? Are you ready to receive once again the good news of the angels, run with anticipation like the shepherds and journey with the openness of the magi? Are you ready for Christmas? Or is there some cleaning up and polishing that still needs to be done in your home and your heart? Are you ready for Christmas? Are you ready for the coming of the One who will baptize your soul with fire?

In the Dances of Universal Peace there is a song that begins with these words:

Sweep out the chambers of your heart

Make it ready, make it ready

To be the dwelling of the Beloved    

Malachi ... warns his hearers of the coming judgment: "But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap" (3:2). Like one who burns away the dross in order to refine silver, God will burn away all the evil within us. Like one who uses harsh soap to clean a garment, God will bleach out the stains that sin leaves in us. Refining silver and cleaning clothes are positive activities, but from the perspective of the silver and the clothing, the process holds the prospect of much pain. We would do well to feel some fear.  

Wait a minute! We're getting ready to celebrate the birth of a baby, aren't we? Where are the angels and the shepherds? Where is the visitation to Mary and the dream of Joseph? Those are the stories we want to hear. That's the good news that makes us smile. We want to sing "Away in a Manger" not "Change My Heart, O God". We want the "joyful hope of the Bethlehem manger not the anxious anticipation of the One who will set right all the world's wrongs by presiding in glory and in justice over a sinful humankind." Who wants to think about sin and judgment at a time like this?

But maybe that's the point. Maybe until we understand that the baby whose birth the angels proclaim is the One who comes to turn us and the world "right-side-up," we cannot truly kneel at the manger and sing "Peace on the earth good will to all, from heaven's all gracious King."

Now those of you who know me, know that sin and judgment are not topics I often talk about, because I grew up in a church that talked about nothing but sin, how awful we all were and how we all deserved to rot in hell. I grew up believing that I was less valuable than a worm and that if I didn't behave appropriately God might decide to zap me right off the face of the earth.

It was not until I was an adult, in a different congregation, that I heard the word of grace: "I am created in the image of God, precious and valuable in God's sight, loved just as I am, forgiven and set free in the love of Christ." It was a powerful word, a transforming word, a word that allowed me to begin to truly love God and this being God created. But then I didn't know what to do with the concepts of sin and judgment and how to hold them in relationship to grace.

After years of struggling with this tension I finally came to understand that sin is not all those things we do wrong. Sin is not primarily failing to follow the Ten Commandments, although the commandments point to the kinds of behavior that reveal how life lived with God might look. So do those sayings of Jesus known as the Beatitudes and so do the words that capture what Jesus called the greatest commandment "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength and also love your neighbor in the same ways and with the same depth as you love yourself." Sin, first and foremost, is separation or alienation from God. It is putting your small limited self in God's place. It is believing that you don't need God and living as if God doesn't exist or care what happens to you or the world. And all those things we usually name as sin -lying, cheating, stealing, killing, adultery and the like- along with those things we fail to name as sin -like greed, hate, fear, abuse of our bodies, abuse of the earth, narrow-mindedness, neglect of the poor, the orphan, the widow and the outcast, and all the isms you can think of- all those things are the result of being separate and cut off from God who is both within and among us. It's a vicious cycle really, because the more we allow these little sins to take hold in our lives, the more alienated from God and God's dream for our lives we become and the more alienated we become, the more we engage in these little sins.

Gradually I came to understand that what I experienced in my church growing up was condemnation and condemnation is, I believe, one of the sins that arises when we put our selves and our limited understanding in God's place. But the God we meet in Jesus does not condemn. What God offers is judgment and judgment, believe it or not, is just another face of grace. Judgment is the mirror God holds so that I can look honestly at myself and see the ways I fall short of God's dream for my life. Judgment is seeing that I need to wash my face or my soul. Judgment is recognizing that my world is upside down, my values are out of whack, my behaviors and habits keep me from the fullness of life God wants for me and my world. And grace, grace is the assurance that God doesn't just hold the mirror, but rather picks up the wash cloth and turns on the furnace, rolls up her sleeves, puts on his fireproof apron and begins the work of transforming my heart and my life.

In a sermon on Malachi 3 one preacher puts it this way:

Why does God promise to judge us? Is it out of some deranged desire to see us dangle over the flames? No, quite the contrary. ... God seeks to purge our souls of every gunk and dross so that we might have life, and life abundant.

There's a story about a group of women who were studying Malachi 3. They puzzled over what it meant that God refined us like silver. So, one woman offered to research the process of silver refining and report back to the group.

The woman went to a silversmith and asked to watch him work. She watched as he held a piece of silver over a flame. He explained to her that it was important that the silver be held in the hottest part of the flame to ensure that all the impurities were burned away. The woman asked the silversmith if he had to sit in front of the fire the whole time. The smith replied that not only did he have to sit in front of the fire, he couldn't take his eyes off the silver for a moment, for if the silver was left too long in the flames, it would be ruined.

The woman then asked, "How do you know when the silver is refined?"

"Oh, that's easy," the silversmith replied, "when I see my image in it."

Amen
 

Matthew 6:24-34

November 15, 2009

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

"What's the first emotion you feel when you think about money?" That's the question Susan McCarthy poses in an article titled The Truth About Money. Take a moment and think about it: "What's the first emotion you feel when you think about money?"

"For a lot of people," McCarthy continues, "it's anxiety. Money scares people because we have given it so much power in our lives. We fear making mistakes, losing our money, running out of it, being taken advantage of. We want money to solve our problems, and sometimes believe that to not have it makes us a failure. Money is a very good thing to have, of course. But it's not the key to a happy life."

Author and creator of the program Financial Peace University, Dave Ramsey echoes McCarthy's observations when he quotes statistics that assert "55% of the people in this country are always worried about money!"

So what do we do with the wisdom of Jesus that says: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"

Is Jesus really telling us not to worry about the basic necessities of life? There are, after all, people who don't have them. Is it really possible to find peace in the midst of financial storms and economic chaos? What is Jesus saying here and how do we apply it to our lives? Perhaps it has something to do with focus; where we put our attention; what we count as the main thing, the most important thing, the first thing. Perhaps it also has something to do with trusting God enough to allow God to open our eyes, our ears, our minds and our hearts and then daring to follow God's simple wisdom and quiet guidance.

I remember a time several years ago when my friend Yolanda was having a very difficult time financially. I didn't realize just how bad things were until she told me this story:

I was literally down to my last $5. I had managed to pay all the monthly bills, but it was still several weeks until my next paycheck. I had a little food in the pantry, but not enough to make it for two weeks, not even if I spent the $5 on more food. Well, I happened to be at a meeting where someone was selling raffle tickets to support a shelter for battered women. I looked in my billfold to confirm what I already knew, took a deep breath and thought, "this $5 is not going to make any difference to me and it might help a woman get free and stay free." So I bought a ticket. Now the funny thing is that I had no idea what the raffle prize was. It didn't matter, I never win raffles anyway. I just buy a ticket if I believe in the cause the raffle supports. Not only did I believe in this cause, I felt a very deep nudge to buy a ticket.

Well, anyway, a few days after I bought the ticket, I received a phone call from the women who sold me the ticket. "You won," she said. "You won the grand prize in the raffle. You won $200 in grocery gift cards."

I could hardly believe my ears -$200 in grocery gift cards- that will feed me for more than two months. It will most definitely help take the pressure off. It amazes me how God always seems to provide exactly what I need. Sometimes I'd like there to be a little more than exactly what I need. But I'm just so grateful that help always seems to come, if I just trust God and follow those nudges.

Not long ago I was talking with someone whose husband has been unemployed for many months. She was talking about how their experience has deepened their faith and readjusted their priorities. "It's amazing," she said, "how God always seems to provide exactly what we need. Sometimes it's just a matter of opening our eyes to what's been here all along. We have an apple tree in our yard. Until this past year we never thought much about it. Oh, we might eat one of the apples every now and then, but most of the time, the apples just fell off the tree and rotted on the ground. Not any more. I've learned what a true blessing that Apple Tree is. Do you know how many different dishes you can make with apples? We don't waste a single apple now. We know each and every one is a gift from God. It is amazing, we feel like God is walking with us through it all. So we pray and try to stay open, thanking God for the abundance we do have instead of worrying about what we don't have. My husband's better at it than I am. But I'm learning to trust God. I just try to stay focused on what God wants me to do in each and every moment and leave the worrying to God."

That's it isn't it: "stay focused on what God wants us to do in each moment and leave the worrying to God," or as The Message translation says it:

"What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to 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 your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

³⁴"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

When serving God and living in openness to God's love become the focus of our lives; when that's what occupies our attention, we find the peace Christ came and comes to bring. When we live with gratitude for what we do have, we see the many ways in which our lives are blessed, we are set free to become instruments of God's blessing for the world and we discover the joy Christ came and comes to bring. When we put our whole lives in God's care, allow God to open our hearts, our hands and our minds and seek God's guidance in what we do and how we spend our time and our money, and trust that all things work together for good in God's own time and God's own way, we will discover the abundant life Christ came and comes to bring. May it be so! Amen.

2 Timothy 1:1-9a

November 1, 2009

All Saints Day

Rev Nancy Pfaltzgraf

It's getting to be that time of the year when I can light a fire in our fireplace. This is the first fireplace I've ever had and I love to snuggle up on a cold night with a blazing fire. But one of the things I have learned about a fire is that it needs tending. As time passes and the wood is consumed the blazing fire becomes smoldering embers and if you don't add more wood and stir up the flames it will eventually burn itself out.

What Timothy had evidently experienced in his mother and grandmother was a living faith -not just belief, but rather belief that grew into trust and flowed into concrete deeds of love and compassion, healing and grace. In response to God's love, they grew in love by trusting that God would support and guide, strengthen and empower them to do what needed to be done to bring light into the darkness and hope to the despairing. "For this reason," Paul writes "I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline." [2 Timothy 1:6-7]

Today is All Saints Day, so I want to say a word or two about saints. When we hear that word most of us think of those within the Catholic tradition who have been canonized as saints; there are some 10,000 of them. Many have their own special feast day; a day to remember the ways in which they lived their faith so that their life might serve as a witness to rekindle the flame of faith in us. Originally All Saints Day was to remember all the saints known and unknown. In the Protestant Tradition, where it is believed that we are all called to be saints -that is we are all called to live in such a way that our lives become a witness to God's Love alive in the world- All Saints Day became a time to remember and honor those people who died in the past year. But, if we let it, All Saints Day can become a time to remember all those people, living and dead, whose lives have testified to God's love.

As we do so, I'd like to share with you a story from one of the saints of this congregation that continues to inspire me, every time I remember it.  It began just after the decision was made to accept the generous donation of this property and begin to raise money to build a new church building. As one of the members of the Fund Raising Committee, Bill Peel came home from a committee meeting and told Dorothy the amount of money he had pledged for their family to contribute over the next three years. "How in the world will we ever come up with that much money, Bill?" Dorothy asked, shocked by the number he had reported. As they talked, they remembered that there was an old chicken house on one of their farms. So they decided to step out in faith, buy some used equipment and some pullets (that's baby chicks for those of you as uninformed as I was) to raise and sell. It was quiet a project and the whole family got involved, taking turns checking on the chicks to make sure they were OK, feeding them, and doing all the other chores needed to raise healthy chickens that would bring a good price. Remembering those days, Dorothy said "On Christmas Sunday that year, we all went to church with our check from selling the chickens. We were so excited that we had made the amount we needed for the first year's pledge. We let the kids put the check in the offering. We kept it up for three years," she went on. "We all learned some amazing lessons, especially our children. But we did it. We raised the amount of money that Bill had pledged. As I think about it," she said, "I know the money helped build the church building, but it did far more for our family than it ever did for the church. It was a true blessing."

As we talked Dorothy went on to tell me stories of other saints in this congregation; Grandpa Brisbin, Cliff Stewart and John Noble who made the cross that hangs in the center of the chancel; Dorothy Cryder who used her gift of floral arranging to beautify the sanctuary for weddings and special services; the many women who served Chicken Pie Suppers for the community and held bazaars to raise much needed funds for ministry and mission; Bob Dewar who taught Sunday School for many years and gave a teddy bear to each new child who came to church. So many saints, so many stories of faith put into action; stories of willing answers to God's call to be love alive in this world; stories of people who made it possible for us to hear God's call today. I wish we had time to hear them all, but I hope that you will remember the saints are in your life. Give thanks for them. Follow in their footsteps and rekindle your flame and tend your fire, so that your life will be an answer to God's call and a witness to God's love. Amen

Esther 4:9-17(TNIV)

October 25, 2009

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

I love Esther's story; a powerful witness of courage and wisdom as she dares to answer God's call to use her gifts of beauty, cunning, patience and wisdom to serve God and save her people. It is set in the city of Susa then capital city of the Persian Empire. The story begins when Queen Vashti is dethroned and banished from the city because she dared to stand up to the king and refused to be put on display as a trophy wife. Through a long process Esther is prepared as a candidate for to replace Vashti as Queen. Because of her great beauty and wise heart Esther is chosen and joins the King's harem as Queen.

Now as it happens there are some in the realm who both fear and despise the Jews who are living in their midst and manipulate the king to issue an edict that all Jews living in the land are to be killed. Now as it happened Queen Esther is a Jew, although her heritage has been kept a secret from everyone in the royal courts. So in the portion of Esther's story we heard today, her Uncle Mordeci calls her to do something to save her people. When Esther is hesitant because of the very real threat that taking any action would entail, her uncle responds, ""Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish." If you fail to act God will find another way, but you will have missed the opportunity to live your purpose. "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Mordeci's words strike a cord in Esther's heart. Through them she hears God's call and she turns to God for wisdom, strength and courage. Then supported in prayer by her community of faith and open to God's guidance she acts in spite of her fear.

There is so much in Esther's story; so many points where we could connect it to our lives and journey's that we could spend several weeks exploring it and still not unpack all its wisdom and guidance for our lives. But today, I want to focus on God's incredible timing -the simple fact that Esther just happened to have the right stuff for the work that needed to be done and she just happened to be in the right place to do it.

The little congregation I served in Wisconsin had been through some rough times. We lost several members and with barely 25 people in worship each Sunday we wondered if we were going to die. In the midst of our angst, several people arrived with just the right stuff to call us back to life.

The first was Gladys, who came with her beautiful smile, her infectious laugh, her positive attitude, her deep faith and her life renewing hugs. As she moved among us she literally hugged us back to life!

"Who knows but that she came for such a time as this?"

Valerie and Jerry moved into the area on a short term work assignment. Valerie had the gift of prayer. She not only prayed for all of us and our congregation daily, but her very presence called all of us to deeper prayer. In her presence we sensed God's love and we were blessed. Jerry was a quiet strong man of equally deep faith, who simply did what needed to be done, with no fanfare. When the screen door that had been broken for years was suddenly working, we knew Jerry did it. When burned out light bulbs were replaced. Jerry did it. He even took the garbage home because we couldn't afford to pay for trash pick-up. Active participants in our Bible study, their faith and wisdom were infectious. During the 5 years they were with us we grew in faith and love.

"Who knows but that they came for such a time as this?"

Nadine and Randy moved back to Wisconsin from New York where Nadine had been a professional opera singer. In addition to their gifts of music which brought amazing blessings to our community, they brought gifts of enthusiasm, energy and a vision for the future. Although our congregation had seen some growth, we were still very small and still worshipping in a small multi-purpose room that served as sanctuary, meeting room, fellowship hall and home to a pre-school. I will never forget the day that Nadine asked, "Why don't we have a building fund? Do we always plan to be this small?" Then without waiting for an answer, she pulled out $25 and said, "Here's the first $25 toward a new building." Seven or eight years later our worship attendance had grown to more than 100 and we dedicated our first real sanctuary.

"Who knows but that she came for such a time as this?"

My friend Yolanda heard God's call to go to Bible College and enrolled at the very conservative Wisconsin Lutheran College to complete her undergraduate degree. Although she was eventually kicked out of that school because she would not keep silent about her radical, liberal views, while she was there she met Donna, a young mother who had Leukemia. As their friendship developed, Donna began to come with Yolanda to our weekly Bible Study. With the love and support of the congregation Donna eventually gained the strength and the courage to leave a physically abusive relationship. As she continued to grow in her faith, her Leukemia went into long term remission and by the time I left that congregation, she was considered cured.

"Who knows but that Yolanda went to that school for such a time as this?"

Who knows, but if we answer God's call and follow God's guidance we just might find ourselves in the right place at the right time with the right gifts to save a life, renew a church, embody the power of God's love or bring hope to a weary soul. God is calling, will you answer? Amen.

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (MSG)

October 11, 2009

Consecrating Stewards - week #1

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

As I was reading this very familiar story of Samuel's call to be a prophet -one who listens to God and then speaks for God- I thought of one of my favorite stories. It goes like this:

There was a preacher whose house was quickly surrounded by flood water so deep that there was no way he could walk or drive to safety. So he began to pray. Before long a rescue team in a row boat came along and called to him to get in the boat. "No," he said. "I'm not worried, God will save me."

The rain continued and the preacher, forced to climb out onto the roof to avoid drowning, continued to pray. Before long a rescue team in helicopter came along and called to him. "No," the preacher said. "I'm not worried, God will save me."

The rains continued and the preacher drowned!

Standing before God, he cried out angrily, "I trusted you to save me. But you let me drown!"

To which the Creator of the Universe replied simply, "I sent you a row boat, a motor boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?"

Like this preacher, Samuel did not recognize God's call. Our text says his failure was because, "This was at a time when the revelation of God was rarely heard or seen;" [1 Samuel 3:1] and it was "before Samuel knew God for himself." [1 Samuel 3:7] Samuel knew about God. After all he was literally raised in the temple. In thanksgiving for his birth, his mother, Hannah, dedicated his life to God and took him to live with the priest Eli as soon as he was weaned -around the age of 3 or 4. Yes, Samuel most certainly knew about God. He had joined his teacher Eli in saying prayers to God. He spent his days serving God. But Samuel didn't know God! Perhaps Samuel didn't even know that he was supposed to know God. Perhaps all the people around him assumed that God no longer spoke. They believed in God. They knew the stories of God's interactions with their ancestors. But they had no personal experience with God.

How like Samuel I was! My family never missed church unless one of us was sick. My parents were deeply involved in the life of the church and I followed in their footsteps. I believed in God, but it was not until I became part of a small group where we talked about what the scriptures had to say to our lives and struggled with issues of how to live our faith that I had any idea that I was supposed to know God.

It happened one night when the study we were using talked about having a personal relationship with Christ. I had never heard of such a thing. But we were each sent out to find a private place to pray a prayer of surrender saying, "Christ, I want you to be Lord of my life." Sitting alone in the dimly lit sanctuary, I struggled. What would it mean to have God direct my life? How would I know if the Spirit actually offered me guidance? Could I really trust where Christ would lead me? Finally, I managed to say "God I want to want you to take charge of my life; I want to want to follow where you lead; I want to want to hear you speaking. But right now that's the best I can do." I didn't hear God speak, not even in a whisper. But in that moment, I knew in the depths of my being that my life would never be the same.

Three times God called Samuel's name. Three times Samuel responded, even though he had no idea who it was that was disturbing his sleep. Then finally it dawned on Eli what was going on. And he sent Samuel back to bed with these words "If the voice calls again, say, 'Speak, God. I'm your servant, ready to listen.'"

How important it is for us to have people in our lives who help us hear and recognize the voice of God. Sometimes I have heard God speak clearly, but even then I need to check what I have heard with a trusted spiritual companion. Yet, most often God speaks in ways that are much more subtle. I remember the night at one of our small group sessions when I had an Eli who helped me recognize God's call. It was about two years after that night in the sanctuary. For several months during every check in, I had talked about how restless I was in my job, shared my explorations of different job possibilities and expressed my frustration that nothing seemed right. This night I said again what I had so often said, "The only time I feel at peace and like I'm doing what God wants me to do is when I'm working at church. If I were qualified I'd quite my job as a nurse and just work at church. But I'm not qualified."

That night my Eli said, "Nancy, did you ever think that perhaps your restlessness is God trying to get your attention to tell you that you are supposed to go back to school and get qualified to work in the church?" I laughed and said, "That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard." It took me more than six months after that night to finally say, "Speak God, I am your servant ready to listen." And the rest is, as they say, history.

Do you have an Eli, a person that helps you hear God calling? For make no mistake about it, God is calling; calling to offer comfort; calling to give guidance; calling you to wake up and tune in to God's dream for your life. In big ways and small, God is calling you to listen. Perhaps God is calling you to listen by adopting a discipline of reading a daily devotional like the Upper Room or Alive Now, available each month in our sanctuary or through on-line devotionals such as those from http://i.ucc.org/. Perhaps God is calling you to listen by participating in a small group that studies the Bible and seeks together to apply its wisdom to your daily life. Perhaps God is calling you to listen through prayer and mediation done alone or with a small group. Perhaps God is calling you to discover your spiritual gifts and tune in to those things that stir your heart and discover there the purpose of your life.

But make no mistake about it, God is calling. God is calling each and every one of us to listen and then to act on what we hear.

May we each learn to say with Samuel, "Speak God; I am your servant ready to listen." Amen.

James 3:1-12, 17-18 & 4: 11-12 (The Message)

September 27, 2009

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

Here we are -week two of our exploration of the little book near the end of the Christian scriptures called the Letter or the Epistle of James. Last week we listened as James pointed us toward the truth that we must "walk the talk"; that is that we must be people of integrity whose actions make visible the faith that we proclaim. "For faith," James asserts, "without works is dead." In many and various ways each of us makes an effort to put our faith into action, so last week was, perhaps, a time when we smiled and said, (silently of course) "you got that right preacher." But this week, well this week may be a little more uncomfortable, at least it is for me. As one who teaches (and who among us does not) I stand in humility before the words of James, with the deep and profound prayer that my words will be born of God's wisdom. Please pray with me: "God, I trust that as I open my heart, mind and spirit to you, you will help me see as you see and fill my heart and my words with your wisdom. I thank you that you will also move among us, helping each of us receive the wisdom we need for our lives from the words I speak. Amen"

But words will never hurt me

How many times I heard those words when I was growing up! I heard them from my mother, as she tried to settle me down after someone had said something mean. I heard them from other kids who were being bullied. I heard them in my head and even coming out of my own mouth. If I pretended that words did not hurt, perhaps they wouldn't. How many of you have heard or maybe even used those words? ...

But they aren't true, are they? Words do hurt and we know it. I remember a time when I was serving the Disciples of Christ congregation in Wisconsin. It was during the first year or so of what turned out to be a 15 year ministry. I was fairly insecure about my abilities as a pastor in the midst of some people who were trying to make me resign and go quietly away because I wouldn't play the game of church their way. These were power people in the congregation and the community. One was a physician and the other the head of the Philosophy Department at one of the Milwaukee area colleges. One morning I was meeting with the Philosophy chair over breakfast. I had asked to talk with him to hear his concerns and see if there was anything that I could learn from his criticism. That's when he said them, the words that still haunt me, "Nancy," he said, "you have many gifts and skills, but being a pastor isn't one of them"! To this day, despite trying to unpack them with both a therapist and my spiritual director, in moments when I begin to doubt my own ability to handle a situation, his words float unbidden from the depths of my being and I hear myself thinking "maybe he was right!"

Yes, words do hurt, they wound us deeply. But words also have the power to bless, don't they? In that same congregation, a number of years later, I remember a Sunday when I began the sermon time by telling the congregation that what I would be sharing were just some of my musings about the scripture; because I couldn't quiet get them to become what I thought of as a sermon. Following the sermon a woman named Woody came up to me and said, "First of all Nancy, I think that was a wonderful sermon, just what many of us needed to hear. But mostly I want to tell you that you never really need to worry about your preaching because your whole life is a sermon. Everything you do proclaims the good news of God's love. We can see it in your actions and hear it in your words." Woody's words are perhaps the deepest and most powerful affirmation I have ever received and they blessed me in that moment and continue to bless me every time they rise from the depths of my awareness.

Yes, words can hurt or heal, tear down or build up, belittle or bless. Words said carelessly -that is without care- "... can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it ..." But words that flow from God's wisdom, begin ^" ...with a holy life and [are] characterized by getting along with others. [they are] gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings..."

In a reflection on this part of James, Stephen McCutchan said this: "In the final analysis, we are to gauge what we say by the criteria of whether it will result in the blessing of God or the cursing of a member." This caught me up short -bless God or curse a member- not -bless or curse a member! But, that is what James says isn't it? "With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!  ^10-12My friends, this can't go on." [James 3:9-10] So what it seems that James is trying to say is that we need to talk the walk, in other words, what we say to and about one another ought to bring the same kind of blessing that flows from our lips when we sing our praises to God.

As I meditated on this concept of speech that blesses God, I remembered some other words that have had a deep impact on my life. They were spoken Steve Kunz as he preached the sermon at my ordination on January 25, 1982. Perhaps he was quoting someone else or perhaps these were words God gave him, I don't know. But what he said was this "Honesty without love is brutality. But love without honesty is sentimentality. And neither is helpful or healthy" Let me say that again: "Honesty without love is brutality. But love without honesty is sentimentality. And neither is helpful or healthy"

Now I have been to many, many workshops on communication. I have learned the necessity of owning my own feelings, rather than blaming someone else. I have discovered techniques such as "I statements" that help me speak those feelings in ways that can be heard rather than in ways that cause pain, hurt or anger. But, the truth is that I must love, respect and care about the person to whom I am speaking enough to choose to use those techniques. I must stop and ask God for the wisdom to choose my words with care and the courage to speak my truth honestly and with love, even though that truth may be difficult for someone else to hear. I must also ask God to allow me to see the other person as God sees them, with compassion and understanding. Then I must be willing to listen to their truth -hopefully they will speak it with love. But even if they don't, I must be willing to allow God to work through my listening and our encounter, so that through it we become more the people who God dreams we can be.

Now some of us may need to hear the challenge to speak our truth with love, because we have no difficulty being honest about what we think and feel, but the way we say it is sometimes hurtful and wounding. Some of us may need to hear the challenge to speak our truth honestly because we are more likely to hold our feelings inside because we "don't want to hurt the other person." But when we are not honest, those feelings build up and come out in passive aggressive ways or as a huge explosion when we have "had it"!

Now, one last thing that I think James would say if he was writing to us today. Remember it's not only your words in face to face conversations that have power, but your words that fly across cyberspace in e-mails, "im-ing" texting, Facebook, My Space or Twitter. Just like it is much easier to drop a bomb or send a missile than it is to harm someone in a face to face encounter, it is ever so much easier to hurt and wound with our words when we are removed by time and space from the one who will receive them. So, if you would not say it directly to a person, do not say it to them or about them in any other form of communication.

So my friends let us pray for the wisdom which James promises that God wants to give us, remembering that "Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor." [James 3:17-18]

With God's grace, may it be so among us. Amen.

James 1:19-21 & 2:1-8, 14-20 (MSG)

September 20, 2009

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

Some years ago there was a drought that threatened to destroy the crops and thus the livelihood of most of the residents in the village of Crete. "There isn't anything that will save us," the village priest said, "except a special litany for rain. Go home, spend this week fasting and then come next Sunday and I will do the litany."

The congregation listened to their priest, spent the week fasting and returned the next Sunday eager for the litany to begin. But as soon as the priest looked out at the people, he said, "Go home, I will not do the litany. You have no faith!"

"But Father" they protested, "we have faith."

"Faith" he cried! "then, where are your umbrellas?"

I Corinthians 3:5-9

Celebration of the 175^th Anniversary of

Plainfield Congregational United Church of Christ

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

What an exciting day -a day to look back and celebrate; a day to look ahead and dream! What an exciting day: a time to come back together again, some of us have been away a long time; some of us, a few months, and some of us here holding things together through what at least on the calendar was called summer- a time in the Midwest known as the growing season.

So it is that as we gather again, we want to focus for a time on growth and growing; celebrating and giving thanks for those who have planted, weeded, watered and nurtured the garden of this congregation and our lives.

For me the seed planters were my parents. As the story goes, my first trip outside the house after I came home from the hospital was to church to be baptized. But when I think about it, if my grandmother and grandfather Pfaltzgraf had not given themselves as charter members of our little Lutheran congregation that church would not have been there to baptize me. So they too had a hand in planting the seeds in my life. I suppose I could push back even further to those people who planted the seeds of faith in my grandparents and their parents. But however far back I push, I am grateful for those planters -all of them! Because they gave of their gifts and shared their love I have had a lifetime to grow my faith and the fruit of the spirit that spring from it.

So pause with me for a moment to give thanks... take a deep breath in and out and say a silent prayer of gratitude for the seed planters in your life...

Now we all know that once a seed is planted, it needs tending, if it is to grow into a healthy plant, bearing its fruit or sharing its beauty with the world. Water, the right amount of sunlight or shade, the proper balance of nutrients, and weed free space to grow -all vital and important aspects for the growth of healthy plants and fruitful gardens.

Each of us has had and will continue to have those who have tended the garden of our faith; Sunday School or Kid's Quest teachers, youth group leaders, pastors, co-workers, friends, people of all ages who have affirmed us, listened to our dreams, supported our faltering steps, shared their stories and listened lovingly to ours. Sometimes we needed them to stand with us in dark nights of the soul and hold for us the rainbow promise that God's new day will surely come. Sometimes we needed them to help us weed out all the things in our lives that would choke us, stunt our growth and spoil our fruit.

Who are the people who have tended your growth? When I try to answer that question a parade of people dance across my mind -each person coming at just the right time with just the right stuff. They are far too numerous to name, but each one has been a special gift from God. Who are some of the garden tending people in your life? Let them dance in your heart and shine in your minds eye. Take a few deep breaths and say a silent prayer of gratitude for each person as they dance through your memory....

The ones who plant and the ones who tend and nurture, weed and cultivate all have a common purpose. They are God's servants, God's agents -whether they know it or not- working together in God's good time to grow each of us into the fullness of God's dream for our lives.

Today we are celebrating 175 years of our history as a community of God's people, a church, a garden where many people have joined God -using their unique gifts and talents- to plant and water and tend and create a garden where so many, many, many people have come to know God's love and grow in faith. In a little while we will share together in a Litany of Thanksgiving where we will speak some of those names. But for every name we speak there are hundreds more that we could mention, each and every one playing a vital part in the life of this congregation; each and every one a servant of God, laboring in God's garden, God's vineyard so that the light of God's compassionate grace and healing love might be seen and experienced through the life of the community of faith called Plainfield Congregational United Church of Christ.

Now, if we look carefully at our history -both our personal history and the history of this congregation- we will see that not every moment looks like a growing time. There have been times of pain as well as times of joy; times of drought and times of flooding; times where we seem to lie fallow and times when the growth is almost more than we know how to handle. As I was thinking about this I remembered something that happened this summer when Tom and I were in California. We took a private winery tour which allowed us about 2 hours to sit with one of the vintners and ask questions about winemaking as we sampled some of the most exquisite wine I have ever tasted. The vintner kept talking about stressing the vines. Finally I asked, "What does it mean to stress the vines and why do you do it."

"Well," he said, "you stress the vines by an irregular watering schedule that keeps the vines thirsty. You do it because if the vines have plenty of water they grow big and beautiful leaves, but very little fruit. If the vines have a little less water than they need, all the energy of the plant goes toward producing the fruit, since that's what the vine is made to do. Since the fruit is what we want for winemaking, we stress the vine so that there will be more and better fruit."

Perhaps the same is true of this congregation and our lives. I know it is true for me that the greatest growth in my life has come from those difficult moments. So as we celebrate and give thanks, I encourage us to celebrate and give thanks for all the seasons of this congregation and our lives and for all the people who have been a part of them both; for it is true that in God's good time, all things work together to bring a rich abundant harvest.

We are also gathered today to kick off another season in our congregation's life. All of our educational programs are back in full gear. We are looking forward to the cycle of programs that give shape to our lives and our faith. I have so many exciting things to share with you from my sabbatical experience, so many ideas and thoughts about where I think God may be calling us to go; ways we may be asked to plant new seeds in new lives and create new fields for God to use in growing a harvest of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control -the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and in the community of faith known as Plainfield Congregational United Church of Christ.

Acts 2:41-47

June 7, 2009

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

With one another

Sister and brother

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

With one another

Sister and brother

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

I grew up in church -literally! The first place my parents took me, after I came home from the hospital was to church to be baptized. And, from that day on, unless someone was sick, I was in church every Sunday morning. Since my parents were very active in many ministries of the church, including being youth group leaders, I was there many other times as well.

Church was a good place, a safe place, a place where I heard about God's love, but also a place of rules where I felt like I never quite measured up to what I was supposed to be doing.

Fast forward through the death of my father, my graduation from high school and college, my marriage, a brief period where I experimented with sleeping in on Sunday mornings and the birth of my children. I was now once again very active in church, not the Lutheran Church of my childhood, but a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation -a place where I began to experience God in a whole new way. I taught Sunday School, led youth group, served as a deacon and was even elected chair of the Church Council; you name it and I had probably done it.

During this time I attended a number of different events outside of our congregation where different women gave their testimony which always included something about the sorry state of their lives, how knowing Christ had saved them and the transformation that followed in the wake. Although their particular stories were different as I listened to each one there was something they all seemed to share: JOY! After several of these events I said to my closest friend, "Sometimes I wish I hadn't been raised in the church, maybe then I'd have some of the joy that so obviously fills their hearts!"

About that same time a woman in our congregation -who like me had been raised in the church- came home from a Workshop talking about her powerful experience of transformation and exuding the same joy I had seen in the others. I wanted what she had, so when she called together a group to study and pray together I quickly said "yes". For several weeks each time we met we simply talked, shared some scripture and prayed together, asking God to guide us. Then our pastor -who was part of the group-, suggested that we use a book called the Edge of Adventure. Through it we were invited into a relationship with Christ, which was -believe it or not- a whole new concept for me. Oh I believed in God and I prayed -or at least I said prayers; I knew about the Bible and could tell you many stories it contained; but a relationship with Christ- well, that was something I had never heard of before. I remember as clearly as if it was yesterday the night when we were invited to go someplace in the church to meditate and if we were ready to pray this prayer: "Lord, I want you to be Lord of my life -my whole life."  It was a prayer of surrender that I couldn't quite make. The most I could do was to say, "Lord, I want to want you to be Lord of my life! Help me!" It was enough.

Our small group stayed together for the next several years. We explored prayer as both talking and listening and we covenanted to pray with and for one another, not just when we gathered, but daily, if possible. We studied scripture not just as an ancient document but as real and living words through which the Spirit could guide our very real lives. We shared together our celebrations and our sorrows, our successes and our failures in deep, honest and open ways. We ministered to one another in real and tangible ways, listening, caring, praying, serving, comforting loving and helping -becoming with and for one another the body of Christ. In valleys of despair and on mountaintops of delight, in the good times and the challenging times, Christ was present, the Spirit moved within and among us and joy filled our hearts and our lives!

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

With one another

Sister and brother

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

On Pentecost the mighty winds and dancing flames empowered the disciples and moved over 3,000 people to surrender their lives to Christ. Together they were invited to step into an undreamed of future. But it was only as they prayed together, ate together, worked together, cared together, worshipped together, and studied together that they experienced the power that allowed them to step into that future and the joy that God intends for all of us. Through the community their spirits were fed. Through the community they learned to recognize the movement of the Spirit leading them step by step and day by day. Such is the purpose of the community we call the church. But it doesn't happen simply by coming to church once in awhile or even once a week. Just as we must take in nourishment each day if our bodies are to be healthy, we need daily times and places where our Spirit can sink into the ever flowing stream of God's love and be fed.

What about you? Do you know the joy that Christ came and comes to bring? Have you found the ecstasy that flows from a life fed and led by the Spirit?

For the next few minutes, I invite you to pray. If you already know Christ in a deep and personal way, if you have already surrendered your life to God and know the joy of living in deep communion with the Spirit, offer a prayer of thanksgiving. If, for you, faith is still a set of intellectual beliefs and you have yet to open your heart and give your whole life to Christ, I invite you to ask the Spirit to come and feed you and lead you; Ask Christ to take charge of your life or simply ask for the desire to want that kind of relationship. Wherever you are, whatever step you can take today, I invite you to take it right here, right now..... [pause for prayer]

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

With one another

Sister and brother

Let loose the Spirit!

Let loose the joy!

Amen

Who would have thought that in a year that saw the release of the movie version of The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers, Star Wars Episode 2, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that the top-grossing movie in America, bringing in over $400 million, would be Spider-Man? Yet when one of the world's most popular comic book heroes made his leap to the big screen that's exactly what happened. As you probably know, Spider-Man is an ordinary high school senior named Peter Parker, who spent his time studying, working on the school newspaper and trying to impress the girl next door. But during a field trip to the arachnid study center at Columbia University Peter is bitten by a genetically engineered super-spider. He awakens the next morning to discover that his own DNA has been altered and he suddenly has super-human strength and the ability to climb walls like a spider; he even has the ability to spin webs and use them as a means to swing from place to place with incredible speed. Peter's life will never be the same!

The occasion was the Feast of Pentecost, celebrated some 50 days after Passover. It was a celebration of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses as well as the concluding festival of the grain harvest and devout Jews from every nation journeyed to Jerusalem, bringing offerings in thanksgiving for the abundant blessings they had received. But, on this particular Pentecost, there were some Jews in Jerusalem who, rather than heading to the temple, sat in fear behind locked doors. Peter, James, John, Mary, Salomé, and the others had gone to Jerusalem, just as Jesus had instructed them. But despite all they had seen, all they had experienced, all they had been promised, they were afraid. It had, after all, only been a few short weeks since the religious and political establishment in this very city had crucified Jesus.

Suddenly in the midst of these frightened men and women a mighty wind blew and tongues of fire danced. Then Spirit-filled and Spirit-sent they stepped beyond the walls their fear had erected and walked boldly into a future that only God could see. Filled with the Spirit's power they proclaimed the power God's love in ways that each person could see and understand and know. It was indeed a miracle. It is also a vision, a radical vision of God's beloved community where all people -all people- are welcomed, loved, accepted, and affirmed as they are and then step by step, choice by choice are empowered to live their way into the fullness of  God's dream for their life.

As Spider-Man's story unfolds, Peter Parker must decide what he will do with his newly acquired powers. At first, he decides to use these powers to make money and impress the girl of his dreams. He appears in a wrestling match and, armed with his new spider strength, wins the match in record time. But the crooked wrestling match promoter refuses to award Peter the prize money. Moments later, that promoter is robbed and Peter has the opportunity to catch the thief, but because he wants revenge Peter refuses to stop him. Tragically, the thief kills Peter's Uncle Ben during a carjacking as he flees the scene of the crime.

Spider-Man eventually apprehends the burglar but Peter is plagued with guilt for not acting when he could have. Then he remembers something Uncle Ben once told him: "With great power, comes great responsibility." Peter takes this to heart and decides to use his extraordinary powers to fight crime and protect the city.

Whether or not we are aware of it, claim it or acknowledge it, it is true that deep within each person there is a spark of Divine Light ready to ignite our lives with the passion and power of Divine Love and Grace. We are created in the image of God, created and called to be Divine Love and Grace, Compassion and Mercy, Hope and Joy alive in our time and our place. Like Peter Parker and those first disciples, we have been given great power, but with great power comes great responsibility!

As I was thinking about Pentecost, I wondered what might have happened if, despite the mighty wind and the dancing tongues of fire, those first disciples had stayed behind closed doors and kept what they experienced to themselves.

Once upon a Pentecost, not so long ago, three congregations experienced the empowering wind and the transforming fire.

At one time in their history each of these congregations had been a vital and lively place where people felt the Spirit as they walked through they doors. But somehow, each community had lost that spirit, their numbers had begun to shrink and they wondered how much longer they could go on.

But on this particular Pentecost, as each pastor began to preach a hurricane-force wind burst through the windows and swirled around the sanctuary. And in the midst of the wind appeared tongues like fire that reached down from the ceiling towards the head of every person in the room.

"What can be happening?" the people cried out with alarm.

"Don't be afraid," each Pastor said, with a voice filled with awe. "It's Pentecost, and the Spirit's fire is falling again!"

Indeed it was the Holy Spirit moving among them, reminding them of the day Christ's church was born and as the fiery tongues reached each person, they knew they existed to embody Christ's love both to their community and to the world. They knew the Spirit could empower them to show that love. They knew the Spirit could show them the direction they needed to go and the work they needed to do. Exciting visions of a vital ministry stretched before their eyes as they saw the way the Spirit could work through them to bring the light and love of Christ to everyone they met.

But in First Church, in the midst of their excitement, they drew back. "I just don't know if everyone will want to do this kind of work," one worshiper observed.

"Yes," another agreed. "It's a nice idea, but I'm not really sure we can fit it into our schedules."

One by one they agreed that the path ahead was impossible to tread. So they filed out of the sanctuary, shook Pastor Johnson's hand, and said, "Nice sermon, pastor."

Five years later the congregation closed its doors for the very last time.

Meanwhile in Second Church they too began to reconsider what they had experienced; "This is a really good idea," one member observed.

"Yes," another agreed. "Why don't we make sure the Pastor Meyer does this work? We can even hire some more staff to work with her."

All agreed that they'd direct the pastor to get busy with the work that needed to be done. "Wonderful service" they said to Pastor Meyer as they left. "We can hardly wait to tell you all the things we think God wants you to do."

As the years went by, the clarity and vision they'd briefly observed became more and more obscured by the day-to-day tasks of keeping their organization functioning. More and more worshipers faded away and after a final worship service, they closed their doors, said good-bye and went on their separate ways.

In Third Church, however, the people accepted the Spirit's call to be about Christ's work. Spirit-filled and Spirit-sent those who were able began to reach out to those all were in need. Those who were older and could no longer labor began the vital task of prayer for their shared ministry. In words and in deeds each one began to share with all they met in the language of love; a language all could know and understand.

New life abounded among them. Fiery worship filled with the Spirit's power became their norm and kept them focused on their call. Not one of them knew how long their congregation would exist; indeed, not one of them even cared -- for they were about God's work, living each day in the burning flame of the Spirit's breath.

Today is Pentecost. Will it be a day of transformation or will it be just another nice worship celebration? The answer is up to you! Amen.

Acts 1:1-11

May 24, 2009

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

My husband Tom and I have become more or less regular viewers of several TV shows that have ongoing story lines. This year several of them began with a narrator's voice saying, "Previously on Grey's Anatomy or Ghost Whisperer..." These words were then followed with brief but significant snippets of previous episodes to get viewers ready for what was about to take place. The same is true for those oftentimes tense multi-part shows that leave you hanging in the last scene with those dreaded words "to be continued..."

The story of Jesus: to be continued in the lives of the disciples. The story of Jesus: to be continued in the witness of the community of faith. The story of Jesus: to be continued.... It is a story in which the disciples of Jesus will all come to see and understand that the true joy and fulfillment of their life's purpose will be found as they live in openness to God's Spirit, using the gifts they have been given to bring life and hope, healing and forgiveness to those people they meet along the way. Like Jesus they will proclaim the power of God's love. Like Jesus they will heal broken bodies and mend broken lives. Like Jesus they will bring life out death, hope out of despair and a future where none seemed possible.

But for now, they have to wait! They have to wait until the time is right; wait until their hearts are ready; wait until they have been fed; wait... There is a Zen Proverb that asserts: When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. It is as if the risen Christ is saying to the disciples, when you are ready and the time is right, the Teacher, the Advocate, the Spirit, the power of God's Love, the life-energy, will come, will emerge, will enfold and fill you so that you will be able to continue the story and bear witness to the world.

It is said that after Jesus returned to heaven he and the archangel Gabriel were having a conversation. Gabriel said to him, "You did so much and suffered so much to demonstrate God's love. Do the people know and understand your message?"

Jesus replied, "Well there are few men and women who do."

"But your task was to tell the world. How are you going to do that?" Gabriel replied.

"Peter and John, Mary and Martha, Thomas and James and the others they will spread the word to more people, who will in turn demonstrate it to still others and soon the whole world will know."

"But Jesus, you know how unreliable people can be. Surely you've made other plans."

"No, I haven't made other plans" Jesus answered a smile on his face, "I'm counting on them."

Without the testimony of those first disciples the story of Jesus would have been just a footnote in the history of the Hebrew people. Without a bold and daring faith that moved them to follow Christ no matter where the road might lead, we, in all probability, would not be sitting here today. It is really a rather remarkable story -these bumbling, confused, questioning, frightened, uncertain, squabbling followers who never quite seemed to understand what Jesus was all about become bold proclaimers of God's love in their passionate words, their compassionate actions and their love empowered lives. What a testimony to the power of God's love to heal and transform, to renew and empower very common, very ordinary lives.

But the story did not end with these disciples. It is a story that is and must be continued in each new generation. It has been said that there are no second generation Christians. We cannot simply hear the stories of faith as they were lived out in other people's lives. Even if we believe that they are true, simple belief is not enough. It is the beginning, but it is not enough. Like those first disciples, each generation must wait... wait until the time is right; wait until their hearts are ready; wait until they have been fed; wait...

This past week I spent a twenty-four hour retreat at Tower Hill Camp with twelve of my UCC clergy colleagues. Over the past few months the topic of conversation at many cluster meetings centered on how burned out many of us were feeling tired, exhausted, burned-out. So it was decided that we would plan a brief retreat, a time to rest and relax, play and connect. The main content of this retreat was to be a time when each person would share the story of his/her call to ministry.

I didn't arrive at this retreat with very high expectations of the time we would spend together. Most of the colleagues in our cluster that I knew best and felt most comfortable with were not attending. But as we played together and ate together the Spirit was moving among us, and my heart began to open. Then as we began sharing our stories, something moved within me and I listened in awe as I heard testimony after testimony of the power of God's love to touch the lives of ordinary men and women and empower them to do more than they ever dreamed or imagined they could do. A few among us had fairly straight paths from a nurturing loving church and family environment to the answering of a call to give their lives to Christ and the Church. But by far, the majority of the stories spoke of struggle and questions, doubts and confusion, pain and brokenness, loss and recovery, healing and hope. There were stories filled with the pain of broken relationships and death; stories of road blocks and barriers that seemed to block the way; stories of drug abuse and reckless living; stories of the struggle with a sense of inadequacy and fear. But through every story the power of God's love was revealed. In every story there was at least one person who stood as a beacon of hope and renewal, witnessing in word and deed to the power of God's love alive and well in the world and gently leading the speaker to finally surrender his or her life to Christ. It was a powerful time of waiting; a time in which the Spirit was moving; a time in which renewal was happening; a time in which we were being prepared once again to witness to the good news of God's love in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, in Joliet and Plainfield, in Beecher and Grant Park, in Manhattan and Monee, in Dyer and Papineau, in Mokena and Frankfort, in Sauk Village and Dwight, and even to the ends of the world."

The story of Jesus: to be continued in the lives of the disciples of every generation. The story of Jesus: to be continued in your life and mine! The story of Jesus: to be continued.... Wait and see!