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SERMONS:
Pastor Peg posts her two most recent sermons on this page. If you are interested in reading more of her sermons you can go to pastorpeg.wordpress.com. Our Lenten sermon series is: For This I Rejoice, centering around the Letter of the Philippians. Enjoy.
The Joyful Entry
April 13, 2025 Palm Sunday
Philippians 2:5-11 Luke 19:28-40
Years ago, I read an interesting article, written by a teacher, on how she felt when she first started her teaching career. She was in her second year of teaching and feeling very discouraged. Being a teacher wasn't clicking for her, and she was really doubting her choice of career. Then one day she ran into a friend who had been in her college training-program, and she confessed to her that it just wasn't working out for her. The friend was surprised because in college she had been very positive and enthusiastic, and she believed that she would make a good teacher. After listening to her for a while, the friend said to her: You know, you're only going to get as much out of your job as you put into it.
Well, the young teacher went home and thought about that. She had already resolved to quit at the end of her second year, and she thought: Well, what have I got to lose? I might as well go out with a bang. So, she started to really think how she could make her lessons interesting and fun, and to teach it in the way that she would enjoy teaching. She started to create class projects, she brought in guest speakers that had to do with the subjects they were learning, and she pulled together some field trips that everybody enjoyed. And at the end of the year, when it was time to turn in her resignation, she realized that she was just enjoying herself too darn much to want to quit. She was working hard, but she was having a lot of fun doing it.
That's the thing about life – you’ve got to participate in it to get anything out of it.
In today’s passage, Paul says that Jesus, before he even came to live with us, was a being who had the power of God. Think for a minute about what God is. God is all knowing; God is all powerful; God can do anything. Jesus was all that before he incarnated. And yet Paul says that he gave all that up to be born into a human body, with all the aches and pains and limitations of what we can and cannot do. He lived, the helplessness that comes when we find ourselves weak and unable to go up against things in life that are just so overwhelming. Jesus was willing to go through being human to the point of dying. He didn't shirk from it; he accepted the whole package. All the good stuff and the bad stuff, he lived it. Even to the point of death on the cross, which was in the 1st century the absolute most painful and most shameful death that you could have.
I want you to think of the bookends of Christ's life. He wasn't even born in a house; he was born in the lowest meanest place imaginable: A stable. And he dies the worst possible death that you can imagine. If Jesus, as Paul points out, had all these wonderful powers before he gave them up to live as a human, and we know that he had amazing powers when he lived – What did he do that for? What was the point of all that radical participation in life?
Well, Jesus didn't do that for Jesus. He did it for us. To show us that God gets us. And because God really gets us, because Jesus lived it, God knows how we feel. God knows that we try our best, often with limited knowledge, to do the right thing and that we sometimes fail. And God forgives us for our failures: That's the point that Jesus hammered home when he was alive. Finally, he showed us that no matter how bad things get, no matter how awful the death and destruction, that there is a resurrection beyond that moment. Sometimes you can't see it; sometimes we don't believe it's there; but incredibly it is there and will happen.
He really gave up everything to give that to us. But there are two-part parts to giving. The other side is receiving.
The dominant image of Jesus in the gospels is that of a teacher giving wisdom or a healer giving health and vitality, so we tend to think of Jesus as a giver not a receiver. And yet, there are some really tender moments in the gospels where Jesus acts as the receiver. There are the moments when he accepts the gift of the woman who bathes his feet with her tears and oil, and when he accepts the oil for his head from Mary. A few times he even accepts rebukes and compliments from people. He always accepts thanks when people thank him for their healing. And one of the biggest thankyou’s that Jesus accepts in the Bible is when he rides into Jerusalem, and everyone is cheering and putting palms down on the road in front of him. He is accepting the love of people who believe in him.
I am sure that the disciples thought that this was a huge culmination of their hard work over the last three years. See what we did! We were out in the wilderness going from town to town, preaching and healing, and now all those people that we reached are here in Jerusalem for the Passover, and they're cheering Jesus. And they're also cheering us. We are no longer a ragtag band of holy men. We have legitimacy. We have arrived.
Life is like that. We do have moments of greatness that are great! You're doing well and everything has fallen into place, and we do need to celebrate them with joy. But life also changes and suddenly something happens and things fall apart. It could be a natural disaster, it could be an economic downturn, it could be an illness. Something in the world shifts or you didn't reckon with a force that you didn't think was important. None of us can see everything all the time and we get caught out when our lives change. That's what happened to the disciples during Holy Week. They went from the super-high entry into Jerusalem to the super-low of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion.
And they wondered for themselves: What the heck did I do for the last three years? I gave up everything to follow this guy and this is where it led?
The teacher in my article expected great things when she was learning how to teach. Then she got into the real world, and she had to reconcile the fact that it wasn't just going to all come to her and fall into place immediately. It wasn't all going to happen in a flash. Satisfaction had to be worked on. The joy had to be found in the participation of the work. She gave joy and then she received joy.
The disciples also had to sacrifice all those expectations that they might have had of Jesus becoming a new Messiah king that they thought Jesus was going to be. But then, once the resurrection happened, they received the joy of knowing that they were building God's Kingdom. But it had to be worked on. They found their joy in the participation of building God's Kingdom. And it is amazing how joyous the disciples became after the resurrection, when they knew with certainty that they were working for the eternal and glorious God. They were all in, and like Paul, they received immense joy as they did their work in the spirit of love that Jesus had given them.
Sometimes it’s discouraging because you feel like you're just plodding through life. Sometimes you don't want to put in the effort because you don't seem to get getting anything out of it. I put in all that effort and nobody cares, and I’m not going anywhere with this; nobody's paying attention and there's no motivation for me to go on. That happens to all of us. The rote routine of the everyday drag can really get us down. That's what happened to that young teacher. She did the job, she followed the curriculum, but there was nothing of her in the work that she was dutifully doing. But then she dug into herself. She said: How can I make this great and how can I find joy in the process? And she found it. Sometimes we have to say to the routine: How can we rethink this to make it fun and enjoyable and bring joy to others in the process?
And all effort takes some sacrifice, because you do have to give up something else to get it done and to find joy. Maybe we have to give up an I can’t do it attitude. Maybe we have to give up watching a TV show to help our neighbor. I knew someone who gave up his afternoon vending machine snack and then set aside the money and donated it to mission projects that his church did. But if Jesus gave up everything to live like we do, I guess I can give up a little of my time and effort to make the world a better place.
And it's not always going to be perfect, and sometimes you do have to walk away from a really bad situation. But to give of your best to create something good it's never truly wasted in this world. And part of our faith is that even if we might not see what the result of our efforts lead to, we know that it is in God's hands, and there will be a resurrection of something glorious.
So as we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, lets thank him for everything he gave up for us, so that we could learn a better way of living. And let’s go forth today with a joyous intention to be His people in the wo
Joyful Asceticism
April 6, 2025 5th Sunday of Lent Communion
Romans 12:1-2 Philippians 3:12-21
Americans don’t have a huge awareness of religious asceticism. And I think it's because it's not part of our origin story; it’s not built into our DNA as a culture. When the settlers first came over from England, and then from Europe, in the 16 and 1700s, they didn't have time to create contemplative communities like the monasteries of Europe.
Europe monasteries were a result of groups of people who wanted to remove themselves from the world in order to live an intensely religious life. This actually started out in areas around the Holy Land. People wanted to dedicate themselves totally to God and Christ so some of them would go out into the wilderness and they would find a cave to live in. They would pray constantly and live simply in the hopes that they would improve their spiritual well-being by totally connecting with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Some people went to extremes. They would build pillars and live up on top of them, on a 6 by 6 platform, and would never come down. Even in bad weather. How do you live like that? Well, because these people were meditating and praying all the time, they were considered to be holy and knowledgeable. People would come out to their pillar and give them food and water in exchange for asking them questions and receiving their wisdom.
Some people formed groups who would live together in very sparse conditions. Eventually these communities became religious orders like the Benedictines. Some communities were priests, or monks, or nuns, who took religious vows. Some communities were made up of laity of both single and married people, even some with children, who wish to live simply and support each other while they prayed and meditated.
Christianity in Europe, and in other countries, developed over many centuries an integrated support system of people living normal lives with jobs and families, while also supporting communities that were focused on their religious devotions.
And then the New World was discovered. This happened during a time when there was a lot of religious upheaval. We had the Protestant Reformation which caused a lot of conflict but also a blossoming of different ways to be a Christian. Unfortunately, one of the features of this upheaval in thinking and being was that if a ruler in a province or state declared themselves to be of a certain religion, everyone who was not of that religion was branded a heretic and was told to leave. In other words, if the local Duke declared that he was a Catholic, all the Protestants would have to pack up and go elsewhere. And if the local Earl was a Protestant, all the Catholics would have to pack up and go elsewhere. So, our thirteen original colonies became a place where people of a persecuted religion could find safety and build a life where they could worship as they choose to.
But they didn't have time for set apart religious communities because everybody had to work in order to survive. We had to carve out our existence with rather simple tools. At first, it was a hand to mouth existence that required a lot of work. Yes, people were serious about keeping the sabbath. They were serious about living rightly with God. But, people found the strength and the support of their religion within their communities with neighbors helping neighbors. To spend your time creating a place where people devoted themselves to prayer and contemplation, like you would find in a monastery, didn't really catch on. There were a few communities that did create something like a monastic existence, such as the Shakers, but there weren’t that many, and they didn't last. We never seemed to get this idea of aesthetic living.
Even when I was in seminary, and we were studying asceticism, it was always kind of presented as something that was in the past and not something that we do now.
But what is asceticism? Is it giving up your life and living in a cave? Is it forming a religious community with rules and an ordered living that we all have to follow? Is it cutting back so severely on your lifestyle that you only read the Bible; only listen to Christian music; and only eat certain foods because those are the foods that Jesus ate? And more importantly, why do any of those things? Are any of them going to get us closer to God? (Maybe they will, maybe they won’t; everybody’s different.)
But actually, the root word of asceticism is askein, which means to practice, to exercise, and to work. So, all Paul is really asking us to do is to find exercises that help us to get closer to God and deepen our spirituality; to practice the exercises regularly; and to integrate them into our lives – into our daily work. That’s what asceticism is. And if you find it’s easier to practice your spiritual exercises in a cave – go for it.
The problem with aestheticism, when we think about it historically, is it doesn't seem to be a joyful thing to do. Personally, I would not like to live on a 6 by 6 foot platform, on top of a pillar. That does not sound joyful to me. I suspect that most of us might be fascinated with the idea of living in a monastery, but it doesn't sound that joyful to me either. However, there are two things about aestheticism that struck me when I was doing some research about this topic, which I think are very valid and helpful as means to get us closer to God.
The first is the idea of living simply. We are a culture that likes things. Do you know that one of the biggest real estate booms in America is not affordable housing, but storage containers? Often when somebody builds a storage complex, the units are sold out before they're even completed. Maybe we have a bit too much stuff. And here's the thing about stuff: You don't own things; things own you. When you buy something you take on the responsibility of maintaining it, and that takes up our time. Now, this is not an argument for all of to us sell or give away our possessions and to go and live in caves. But perhaps too much of our time is taken up caring for things that we don't necessarily need.
When I moved to Japan, I sold 90% of my stuff. I didn’t know when and where I was coming back to, and I thought that putting stuff in storage was a waste of money. I went down to basic necessities for traveling and it was one of the most freeing experiences that I've ever had. Simplifying your life by cleaning out the clutter of stuff you don't use can be immensely freeing.
The second part of asceticism is that you create a structure to your life so that you can regularly practice some form of spiritual discipline. Monastic orders had definite times that you ate your meals, did your chores, and woke up and went to sleep. This all revolved around the idea of giving people time to pray, to study, and to contemplate. Giving ourselves a structured time in our day to practice whatever religious exercise gives us joy and connects us to the divine is an aesthetic practice.
Whatever spiritual discipline you decide to do should be something that appeals to you. Going to church is a community a spiritual discipline that helps to lift us up into the divine, so that we can get some strength to get through the rest of the week. But I'm talking about something that you can do every day. Some people like to do nature walks; some people like to journal; some people like to read the Bible; some people spend a certain amount of time in prayer. Some people combine one or two of these things: 10 minutes Bible reading, 20 minutes journaling. The practice should reflect something that is joyful for you.
I really believe that my father’s spiritual practice was coming home every day, taking off his suit and tie and putting on an old pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and going out into the backyard where he gardened with God. It was his prayer time; it was his contemplation time; and a time for him to commune with God's creation. And the happiness that my father got from his garden illustrates that your practice can be joyful and should be joyful. Gardening was not a drudgery to him. It was an action of beauty and joy.
So, I urge you to find a way to simplify your life, just a little. Get rid of some of the clutter and some of the distractions. And find a daily exercise, or combination of exercises, that will give you joy while you're getting closer to God. Fix your attention on God and you’ll be changed from the inside out. Like Paul we are all running along a road to God. Let's run to the finish line with joy in our hearts because, after all, that’s the best way to get there.