What I have, I give you

What Peter has, is what Richard Rohr in this morning's devotion would call "Purity of Heart." This purity of heart didn't come when Jesus called Peter, then Simon, and his brother Andrew, to leave their nets and follow him. Peter often made the wrong call, but he was an act first and think later type of guy. He got out of the boat and after a few steps, he started to sink, for which some commentators said this was Jesus' gentle teasing by calling him the 'rock'. Peter rebuked Jesus when Jesus told the disciples that he would die. Jesus called him Satan and said his mind was on earthly things and not on God's kingdom. Peter denied Jesus three times, fearing for his life. Peter lived his faith, his heart, and his fears out on his sleeve. Those around him didn't have to wonder what he was thinking and feeling, for he was an open book. In the Gospel of John, Jesus pulls Peter aside and asks him three times if Peter loves him. Peter responds yes, of course, without a doubt. Jesus replies Peter should care for and love his sheep, the children of God.

What Peter has, is a community that practices and prays together following the Way, the path of Christ. Peter has taken early leadership in this community which began with just a few dozen for many fell away when Jesus was crucified. It is now building as the proclamation that Jesus is risen and the Spirit is upon them.

What Peter has, is a relationship with God, with Jesus, and with the Spirit. All the pieces are now in place. All things are working together so that this early church, this body of Christ, can witness, can love, and go out into the world to share the gospel and story of God's amazing love.

In today's story, we start with Peter and John looking intently at this beggar. This beggar, who is infirm, but not totally destitute for he also has a community that carries him to the gate so that he might receive alms. This beggar, who must have a good attitude, for the people do not tire of carrying him, every day, so that he might receive enough alms to feed himself and maybe help out his family. This beggar, who has been lame from birth, is looking for his daily bread but really needs something more. Peter, and John, look upon this man, maybe nudged by the Spirit, maybe filled with compassion, maybe seeing something that others don't, they look upon this man and Peter realizes he has something to give.

Peter calls upon this man to look at him and John. "We don't have money, but we have something to give!" Peter calls upon the Spirit to strengthen his ankles and feet and in that instance, it is done. Jumping up! Jumping up the man begins to walk and then leaping and praising God. People begin to notice and also praise the living God. In the verses that follow, Peter calls out to the crowd and shares the Christ story.

The Gospel, the story of Christ and the early church, the story of God who has been with us from the beginning, creating us in God's own image, is a story of love, healing, and liberation. It is not just a story focused on the healing of individuals, however, it does include them. It is not just a story that is focused on going to heaven, though we are promised that we will always be with God, in this life and the next. The Gospel story is one of intertwining of the sacred and the ordinary, the spiritual and the material, the heavenly kingdom into everyday life.

We have no guaranteed formula to promise that all who are prayed for will be healed. Maybe this is why Peter and John stared at the man for a while, to ask the Spirit what they should do. We can make no promise that all healing will involve a cure that will move us to leap about and praise God. Though this church has had its highs and lows, its glory and its shame, this is a new journey we are embarking on, trusting that God, Jesus, and the Spirit will be with us and guide us. May we work to enter into a purity of heart that connects us to all, that loves all, and is with all. Amen.

Great is your Faith

Who knows about the passenger ship St. Louis during WWII? It was a ship filled with mostly German citizens, who were Jews trying to flee the Nazi regime that was supposed to go to Havana, Cuba. When it arrived in Cuba, the government changed its mind and the ship went up the East Coast of the United States, looking to dock and save the 937 passengers from what was going on during the Holocaust. Cables were even sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt but went unanswered because of the "American First" propaganda was strong in our nation. During our trip to Washington, DC and the Holocaust Museum, as we were talking about it the night before, I mistakingly told the youth that Anne Frank and her family were on that ship sitting in the New York harbor just out of reach of safety before they were turned back to Europe. The Frank family did apply for refugee status here in America, but were denied, again, because people and leaders didn't think or act that their lives mattere

Going up the Mountain

Who heard of St. Anselm? He was a Bishop in the 11th century who put the final nail in the coffin of the theology that says that Jesus died to pay a debt to Satan so we can be released and go to heaven. Yes, for the first thousand years, most Christians thought Jesus died to pay a ransom to Satan to free us. St. Anselm thought if God was truly God and no one could stand against HIM, then nothing was owed to Satan. Then how this goes is that the debt wasn't owed to Satan but to God. St. Anselm lived in a world dominated by the church and kings, nobles, and a time when honor wasn't about doing the right thing, but who had the power. And because we weren't God, we didn't have the power, so we were slaves, servants, chattel to God whose very existence was an affront to God, until Jesus paid for our very lives and souls and then, then we had a chance to get into heaven. This fermented and grew until it became the individual quest for salvation that was removed from our worl

Rainbows and Hearts

In the story of Noah, we hear and see the first time the word, "covenant" used in the Bible. In the prophecy of Jeremiah, he tells of the last covenant that will be given to us humans. The first covenant is given not just to Noah and humanity, but to every living thing and the world itself. The last one will be written on our hearts. In the story of the great flood, it is Noah who sacrifices and worships God that causes God to regret the action of flooding the world and so God makes the sign of the rainbow to remind Godself never to destroy the world again. Of course, the rainbow is a bow of an archer a weapon that is now turned upside down which can't be used to harm or destroy. Whether or not we believe in a flood that covered the whole world or just a portion, the story gives us assurance that God isn't in the world-ending business anymore. God literally hung up their weapon as a sign of peace to all life and a reminder not to do it again. On Friday night, we had

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