April 2016 – Pocket Sized Pastor*

Children’s Sermon: Know Us – John 13:31-35

From DSKidsermons – Know Us By Our Love. Bring costumes!

Hello! I’m so glad you’re all here today!

So I wanted to talk today about something Jesus says in our reading from the gospels, those books that talk about Jesus’ life. But first, I’m going to put on something – and I want you to tell me who I am. Put on costume one. Put on costume two. Put on costume three. So how did you know who I was? The mask. The costume. What you looked like. You knew I was < > and < > and < > because of what I wore. You saw me – saw what I looked like – and you knew who, and what, I was.

Now Jesus, in our story about him today, gives his disciples – his friends – and his students – an important word. He wants people to look at them and know that they follow Jesus because of the love they show. Jesus says, when people look at us, and they see all the loving things we do – then they’ll know that we follow Jesus. Now what are some ways we can love? Accept answers. And by doing these kinds of things, when people look at us, they can know that we love and follow Jesus. And that’s because it’s hard to tell who is a Christian. Christians come in all shapes and sizes, they come in all ages, races, and speak every language. And someone who doesn’t know you – who just sees you from across the room – won’t know you’re a Christian. But if they see how you love each other, how you take care of your family, your friends, how you share what you have with those in need, how kind you are, and how you share with others even when it’s hard too – that’s how people will know that we’re a Christian – and also see that the love we share is just a tiny amount compared for the love Jesus has for the world, for everyone, and even for the person that doesn’t know Jesus yet.

Thank you for coming up here and I’ll see you next week!

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on Fifth Sunday of Easter, 4/24/2016.

Sea No More: The Muppet Movie and the God-of-all-tenses

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Revelation 21:1-6

My sermon from 5th Sunday of Easter (April 24, 2016) on Revelation 21:1-6. Listen to the recording at the bottom of the page or read my manuscript below.

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“A frog and a bear seeing America” that’s the lead in a song from one of my favorite movies – The Muppet Movie. If you haven’t seen it, Kermit the Frog takes a road trip from the swamp he grew up into the bright lights of Hollywood. Along the way, he’s pursued by the evil Doc Hopper, a restaurateur with a chain for frog leg restaurants, who is hoping that Kermit will become his spokesfrog. Near the beginning of the film, Kermit runs into Fozzie Bear, a failed stand up comedian, and possibly the only bear in America who’s earned their driver’s license through a correspondence course. The two partner up, with Fozzie driving, Kermit in the passenger seat, and plenty of room in the back of their 1951 Studebaker to carry all the other muppets that they’ll meet. And so, they head off, starting their journey by singing their song: “Movin’ Right Along.”

Now, it’s a great song. Kermit’s playing his banjo, they can’t read a map, and it sounds like there’s a full orchestra just off screen, who happen to be following along. The two claim to know where they’re going – but the song shows otherwise. They somehow end up in Canada, pass by Rhode Island, notice the sun is rising in the west, and run into a snowstorm while suspiciously driving along some roads through what looks like Southern California. Kermit and Fozzie are “footloose and fancy-free” and in a song that lasts less than 3 minutes, they’re also literally all over the map. When we pay attention to the lyrics and what we see on the screen, none of it makes any logical sense. They can’t go to Rhode Island and Western Canada in just one verse. But what we see makes sense emotionally. We get a foretaste of this new and whacky journey that we get to go on with these two muppets who are ready for the big time – and wondering if the big time is ready for them. And that sense – that feeling – is a part of what our reading in Revelation is trying to do today. We hear a vision of heaven, a vision of the future, a vision of what happens when God comes to earth – but this vision, when we look at the verb tenses in this passage, doesn’t create a logical story. Instead we get an image of how we, right now, are caught up in God’s future and God’s future is already just movin’ right along.

Now, if you didn’t know, I received my undergraduate degree in engineering. When I was in high school, I dreamed about building things, writing computer programming code, and solving complex questions with thousands of variables. I didn’t plan on a career where I would be writing a few thousand woirds each week. If I had, I might have taken a few more English classes than I did. So, when I write, for example, articles for our newsletter, and even manuscripts for my sermons – verb tenses still throw me. Even when I’m careful, making sure each verb tense correctly shows when something happened or existed in the present, the future, or the past, I still slip up. I still need an editor to point out where I’ve gone wrong.

So it’s surprising to see, in our scripture reading from Revelation today, these verb tenses that are all over the place. The passage starts with our author, John of Patmos, reporting to us after seeing a vision of God’s future. So this vision happened in the past. But this vision is of God’s future. So that’s..the future. And this text, written as a letter to 7 churches – 7 churches who would read this outloud during their worship services – well – that’s the present. So, in a sense, we’re caught in mixed of tenses. Past-present-and future are all mixed up here. John saw a new heaven, a new earth, and a new holy city descending from heaven and landing smack-dab on the face of the earth. But then a voice declares – that God’s home is – right now – among mortals. This same voice then moves into the future – a future where God will dwell with people, live with them, and where God will wipe away every tear. And then, suddenly, we’re back in the past, with John telling us who he saw on the throne of the universe. And then this one on the throne, who is God, tells John – tells us – that God is making all things new, right now, and that God will, in the future, give water from the spring of life as a gift to all. This is a lot of tenses. This is a lot to see and hear at once. This also gets a little confusing – like reading a map upside down or expecting a sunset and seeing a sunrise instead.

But a God of all tenses – a God where the past-the present-and the future are all wrapped into one – that’s John’s God. That’s the image that John is painting for us. A God of all-tenses isn’t a God who is far-off, like some distant star, who cares little about the details of our daily lives. A God of all-tenses isn’t a God who is hidden, waiting for a series of pre-determined events to just…happen…in an almost myth like way before God, finally, shows up. A God of all-tenses isn’t only a God of the past, a God for yesterday’s people but who has nothing to say today. A God-of-all-tenses is a God who cares about our past, who loves us in our present, and who leads us into God’s future. This is a God who is active. This is a God who, even when we can’t see it, is breaking into our reality. A God of all tenses isn’t going to rapture people up to heaven but is, instead, going to step off the throne and come-on-down. A theology that claims that God is waiting to take the right kind of people up to heaven ignores this God of all tenses because a God-of-all-tenses cares about us in all of our tenses- our past, present, and our future – too.
Now, we all have our pasts. We all have our own roadtrip that we call life. We have our stories, experiences, and those times when we’ve forgotten God or when God is just not on our radar. We’ve all built our own walls, forcing our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, and even strangers to pay for them in a multitude of ways. We’ve made choices. We’ve done wonderful things. We’ve even loved others too. But we’ve hurt others – and others have hurt us. Our past is ours – and that matters to a God-of-all-tenses. A God of all tenses doesn’t ignore our past – but instead, our God doesn’t let us stay there. God sees our junk – sees the junk we’ve experienced, created, or that junk that’s just been thrown at us. God sees all of it – and doesn’t let it be our final world, our future tense. Because God is in the business of dwelling with us today and living in the world right now. God is busy breaking in – like a new city, coming down from heaven, and making all things new. That newness includes us. That newness includes those we’ve hurt. And that newness includes those who’ve hurt us too.

When Kermit and Fozzie sing this song – they’re near the start of their adventure. They still have people to see, muppets to run into, and they’re heading to an epic showdown with Doc Hopper, a gang of hired goons, and the biggest Animal we’ve ever seen. Their story is just beginning. And our story, whether we’re 2 or 92, is just beginning too. The God that dwells with us, the Jesus that grabs us in our baptism and doesn’t let go, that’s our Fozzie, that’s our Kermit, in the Studebaker that is our lives. And whatever comes at us – whatever ordeal we face – none of that can undo that we are loved by a God who is in all our tenses – in our past, in our present, and in our future. At the end of “Movin’ Right Along,” Fozzie and Kermit wonder if the big time – if Hollywood and all its fame and fortune are ready for them. John of Patmos, in these last chapters of Revelation, shares that our future, our past, and our present are wrapped in God’s future; a future where the tears we shed are wiped away by the One who created us, redeemed us, and lives with us, right now, even in our broken lives and in our broken world. Our roadtrip is God’s and God’s roadtrip is our roadtrip too. So when we head out, facing our days, facing our world, and facing our lives – we can go footloose and fancy free, knowing that no matter what comes along, the God of our past, the God of our present, and the God of our future is with us – so that we can keep movin’ right along.

Amen.

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A Reflection on Elijah

The First Reading is 1 Kings 17:1-16.

The kingdom that David founded is now split in two. After Solomon’s death, the Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom split. In book of Kings (1st and 2nd Kings) shares the history of both kingdoms. Both Kingdoms will ebb and flow in the world of politics. They will occasionally fight against each other, unite against common enemies, and sometimes sit on the sidelines while the other kingdom is at war. Located in between the large empires that develop in what is now Iraq and Egypt, the kingdoms are always at war. And it’s in the middle of this reality that Elijah appears.

Elijah appears suddenly. We don’t know he’s coming until he shows up. We know nothing about his childhood and we’re still not sure exactly what town he came from. Instead, he heads to the Northern Kingdom and visits King Ahab. He stands before the king and says, because of the Northern Kingdom’s idolatry, no rain will fall. He’s pronouncement made, Elijah runs for safety while a drought and famine strike the land. He then receives a word from God to leave his hiding spot and cross into enemy territory. He heads to Sidon (in modern day Lebanon) and meets a widow at the entrance to the town. Her food supply is short but Elijah demands that she share. She does and her oil and grain refuse to run out. God not only provides for Elijah. God also provides for this foreigner and her child.

Elijah and his student Elisha are the center of the story of the book of Kings (1 and 2 Kings) Elijah is a larger than life figure who becomes the herald to the Messiah (see John the Baptist). His prophetic voice and story will focus on who the God of Israel is. This God, for Elijah, is a God who provides. In the prophetic battles between Elijah and the prophets of other gods, the God of Israel always provides while the others do not. Elijah’s mission, in some ways, is to turn people away from themselves and towards the one who provides life. His mission is still our mission as we struggle to turn ourselves towards the source of our life. May Elijah’s voice continue to speak to us, turning us to Jesus, our center and our life.

Each week, I write a reflection on one of our scripture readings for the week. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship Bulletin for 5th Sunday of Easter on 4/24/2016.

In the News: Pascack Valley Regional High School District reintroduces transgender policy

This is a copy of a news article I appeared in on April 4, 2016. G (18 months old) and I are in the photo and appeared on the cover of The Record. Article by Andrew Wyrich. Photo by Amy Newman.

The Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education voted Monday afternoon to reintroduce a policy that school officials say will protect the rights of transgender students, a proposal that had stoked strong emotions from people on both sides of the issue in recent weeks.

The policy would allow students to use restrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity or to have increased privacy in some cases, among other provisions. While at least a dozen North Jersey districts have adopted similar policies over the past year with little public attention, the Pascack Valley proposal has come under scrutiny in recent weeks amid a larger national debate over accommodations for transgender people.

The Pascack Valley board had been prepared to take a final vote on the policy Feb. 22 but tabled it when some parents opposed it. Last week, when school officials held an informational meeting for parents, a conservative Christian group said in an email to the district that it might take legal action if the policy is adopted.

On Monday, the board introduced the policy again in a 7-1 vote with one abstention at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale. Afterward, a 2003 graduate of Pascack Valley High School, Hannah Simpson, held a forum attended by a small group of people to discuss her own experiences as a transgender person.

The board meeting, which began at 4 p.m., was attended by more than 50 people, including a large contingent of students who favored the policy. The district comprises two high schools, Pascack Valley and Pascack Hills, and serves students from Hillsdale, Montvale, River Vale and Woodcliff Lake. The board is expected to take a final vote on the proposal at next week’s meeting, scheduled for Monday night.

Two parents spoke against the policy in the public portion of the meeting. One woman said she was speaking for students who are afraid to come out against it. Another parent, Sam Girts, of Montvale, said that “this policy seems to disregard biology.”

Marc A. Stutzel, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Woodcliff Lake, voiced his support for the proposal. “God sees the dignity inside each person,” he said adding that the proposed policy “sees that dignity that all students have.”

A Pascack Hills student, Jonathan Levin of Woodcliff Lake, said the policy “achieves the goals of our innovative district. I can tell you as a student it would be foolish to vote against it. … We cannot afford to live in the past.”

Several transgender students also spoke, with one saying the policy would be “incredibly helpful and incredibly meaningful” and “validated” the transition of students who are transgender.

Jeffrey Steinfeld, the school board president, said the policy was “one of the most important” discussed in his 13 years as a board member. Aaron Potenza, director of programs at Garden State Equality, and Joshua Cohen, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, both spoke in favor of the proposal.

Joseph Blundo, the only school board member to vote against introducing the policy, said he considered himself a liberal and a civil rights activist but was opposed to the policy’s provisions regarding bathrooms and locker rooms. “This is just about my belief that a 13- or 14-year-old should not be put in that position,” he said.

Board member Alfred Murphy, who abstained from voting, said he had “lost a lot of sleep” over the policy and was unsure how to vote because he did not “want to impose the law on the rest of the community” and did not want to oppose state law, which includes protections for people who are transgender.

Before the vote, Murphy said he was concerned about the privacy of students who might feel uncomfortable in a locker room or bathroom next to a transgender student. Superintendent P. Erik Gundersen responded that the school already has a policy in place where students who are uncomfortable in situations for any reason can be given alternative options.

“It’s a procedure we follow to this day, with or without a transgender policy in place,” Gundersen said.

Transgender policies similar to the one considered by Pascack Valley have been adopted this year by East Rutherford, North Arlington, Tenafly and Westwood. Bogota, Carlstadt, Clifton, Harrington Park, Mahwah, Pequannock, Upper Saddle River and Woodland Park previously adopted policies.

The Pascack Valley proposal appeared to be moving forward quietly until the Feb. 22 board meeting. Then, last week, the Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal aid group that defended Kim Davis when she refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses in Kentucky last year, sent a letter to school board members threatening legal action if they voted to adopt the policy.

Some parents have expressed concerns about privacy issues for students who are not transgender and about a provision of the policy that would prohibit the schools from notifying them about a student’s gender identity without the student’s permission.

Simpson told the school board Monday that adopting the policy would be “empowering and protecting students” who may not have the support of their families.

“There have been students who stood on this very stage … who did not have that family support and are suffering the consequences of that, unfortunately,” Simpson said.

She later held a forum at the Hillsdale Ambulance Corps building where a small group listened to her discuss her struggles as a young person. When someone suggested that as society evolves, it won’t be an issue in 15 or 20 years, she responded, “That’s beautiful for the people 15 or 20 years from now.” She added that it’s important to put a policy in place to protect transgender children who are now in school, a protection she said she had not had.