Let me tell you a story (based in the tradition of desert spirituality) about John and Sandy…. We all have Johns and Sandys among us. One day John said to Sandy, “We’ve never had an argument. Let’s have an argument like other people have.”

Sandy asked, “But how can we start an argument?”

John answered, “It’s very simple. I take a brick and say, ‘It’s mine,’ and then you say, ‘No, it’s mine,’ and then we have an argument.”

So they sat down and John took a brick and said, “This brick is mine.”

Sandy looked gently at him and said, “Well, if it’s yours, take it.”

And so, they could not have an argument.

As long as we keep bricks in our hands and speak about mine and thine, our little power games gradually will escalate into big power games and our big power games will lead to hatred, violence and war. When we look at life from below, our fears and insecurities lead us to grab bricks wherever we can.

But when we dare to let go of our bricks, empty our hands, and raise them up to the One who is our true refuge and our true stronghold, our poverty opens us to receive power from above, power that heals, power that will be a true blessing for ourselves and for our world.

Source: Power, Powerlessness and Power

Then one said to the other: ”Let us pick a quarrel with each other like other men do.”

“I do not know how quarrels arise,” answered his companion.

So the other said to him: ”Look, I will put a brick down here between us and I will say ‘This is mine.’ Then you can say ‘No it is not, it is mine.’ Then we will be able to have a quarrel.”

So they placed the brick between them and the first one said: ”This is mine.”

His companion answered him: ”This is not so, for it is mine.”

To this, the first one said: ”If it is so and the brick is yours, then take it and go your way.”

And so they were not able to have a quarrel.

Exodus 15:1-18… Imagine your worst nightmare. Pharaoh’s thugs are stalking you. If they catch you, then you are dead, because they will butcher you. You are out of breath. You are tired of running. They are getting closer and closer. The sea opens up before you. The thugs follow you through the opening. But then… a miracle! The waters flood over top the terrorists. “Death” is drowned. God has saved you from being murdered. Imagine this– you sing, you dance. Join with Moses, Miriam and Aaron in singing this song!

Colossians 3:12-17= There is a refrain here. Clothe yourselves in love. Get dressed with forgiveness. For heavens’ sake, clothe yourselves, people! And whatever you do– do it for the name and sake of Christ and his love

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24= I shall not die, but live!

Who do you know who is clothed with Christ’s love and forgiveness? Give thanks for this person right now.

Pharaoh’s army was hunting down the people. God rescued the people from the “Pharaoh’s death squad” (Exodus)

There are things in our lives that are deadly to ourselves and others. We are to put these “death squads” to death. (Colossians)

“I shall not die, but live” The “death squads” will not have the last word; the God revealed in the resurrection of Jesus will have the last word. (Psalms)

Let us pray. O Lord, we beg you to put to death in us anything that is harmful to ourselves and others. Amen.

A. You left your sermon notes at home and forgot what you were going to say

B. You left your clothes at home and you are buck naked in front of the congregation

C. Your host family’s only son dies while you are staying with them.

D. You preach too long, the candles are too hot, and the teenager beside the window plunges out the window, falling three floors down to his death.

E. During a worship service, a member of the congregation prays, “I am in total darkness like someone long dead, I have given up all hope, and I feel numb all over.”

If you answered “C,” then you are correct according to today’s assigned reading from 1 Kings 17:17-24. A woman’s son has died. But the Lord, through the prophet Elijah, raises the woman’s son back to life.

If you answered “D,” that’s the Apostle Paul in Acts 20:7-12. But once again, the Lord through the Apostle put the kid back together again, alive and well. Paul apparently didn’t learn anything. He went back upstairs and kept on preaching until midnight, celebrating Holy Communion in the early morning hours.

If you answered “E,” that’s the prayer from today’s Psalm 143.

“Moral of the story?” We kill ‘em,the Lord raises them ???

All right, now it’s your turn to do better. What is God saying in the pattern of these readings today? What do you think?

Dry Bones

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones

Now hear the Word of the Lord!

De toe bone connected to the foot bone.
De foot bone connected to the ankle bone.
De ankle bone connected to the shin bone,
De shin bone connected to the knee bone,
De knee bone connected to the thigh bone,
De thigh bone connected to the hip bone,
De hip bone connected to the back bone,
De neck bone connected to the head bone,
Now hear de Word of de Lord.
Dem bones, dem bones, are gunna walk around;
Dem bones, dem bones, are gunna walk around;
Dem bones, dem bones, are gunna walk around;

If the bones are dry, then the life they were once part of is looooooooooog gone! To bring them back to life would take a Miracle to the Tenth Power!

Questions:

What Mega Resurrection Miracle are you praying for right now?

What is so dead it’s ready to turn into a fossil?

Who is ready to believe that fossils– what’s died a l0000000ong time ago– can be brought back to life?

Who is foolish enough to live as if Resurrection is real?

Who will sing the Dem Bones song with me?

For whom will we sing this song?

Where have you see the Face of God?

What is making God smile?
What is breaking God’s heart?

Who has hurt you recently?
How can I process the pain so that I do not pass it on?

Who have I been failing to love recently?
Why I am failing?
Don’t see them?
Don’t care about them?
Feel overwhelmed by their situation?
Don’t feel they deserve my attention?

Where do you see hardened hearts?
a hardened heart is a Pharaoh heart
today, Pharaoh hearts focus on greed and blame people for their need

Who is an “enemy” you oppose?
How will you love this “enemy” as commanded by Christ?

What have you been learning from the scriptures?

What are you noticing in your prayer life?

Who are you feeling called to serve?

What is something you need to learn right now?

What opportunities are you looking forward to, ways to demonstrate God’s love to others? How will you prepare?

Who have you been eating with? Jesus ate with outcasts and outrageous sinners. Any wild people you can get to know better?

When we develop budgets, how much should we take Matthew 25:31-46 into account?

Readings

Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2:8-3:3= Eat the Book!

Revelation 10:1-11= Eat the Book!

Psalm 130= when God arrives, love arrives… when love arrives, generous redemption arrives… when redemption arrives, we are set free from sin!

Quote

Let us be sincere in our dealings with each other and have courage to accept each other as we are~~ Mother Teresa

Question

In John 9, there was only one person who really “saw” who Jesus was– and it was a blind man! I wonder, “Who is it easy for us to see as beloved of God? Who is difficult for us to see as treasured of God?

Prayer

Wash my eyes, Lord. Open them. Help me to see others as you see them. Amen.

For example, I hear stories of elderly people, going to medical appointments, and they are seen but  not seen. Yes, the tests were done, the diagnosis was performed, the medications were prescribed. But the elderly person was not listened to. Their questions were not answered. Their concerns were not heard.

What I see in others, I see in myself. So often I don’t see what people are really going through, and I fail to offer the compassion I should. I am blind! Lord, have mercy. Amen.

Readings

Isaiah 60:17-22= see especially verse 19 where the Lord is becoming our Everlasting Light

Matthew 9:27-34= here, Jesus heals two blind men. Often we are blind together. Not just individuals, but families, communities, churches, and nations can be collectively blind.

Psalm 146= see especially verse 8 where the Lord opens the eyes of the blind

Quote

We cannot condemn, judge, or speak words that might hurt… by what right, then, can we condemn anyone?~~ Mother Teresa

Question- In John 9, the Pharisees were blind to the miracle or the sign of God among them, the giving of sight to a blind man, accomplished through Jesus. Remember, in this story, the Pharisees were more concerned with “seeing” that no law were broken, such as “no work on the Sabbath,” than “seeing” God’s working in the world. In the same story, the blind man’s parents were concerned for their own reputation more than they were concerned for the well-being of their own son. When do we have a “rules and reputation” focus that prevents us from seeing God’s work happening all around us?

Prayer

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.~~John Newton

Well there are many souls in the world who don’t have soles to wear. Their feet are exposed. Yucky things infect them, and souls get sick. Souls step on things, and their feet become damaged.

So I’m going to go shoeless for part of the day. Maybe this will open my eyes, or the eyes of other people, to the need to cover the feet of a billion neighbors. The truth is, we are often “blind,” not seeing these neighbors.

Readings

Isaiah 42:14-21=  Pay particular attention to verse 16 where the Lord promises to lead the blind and turn their darkness into light.

Colossians 1:9-14= Note verse 13 where we are rescued away from the kingdom of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of God’s Son

Psalm 146= Don’t miss verse 8 where God opens up the eyes of the blind

Quote

Let us not make a mistake– that hunger is only for a piece of bread. The hunger today is so much great: for love– to be wanted, to be loved, to be cared for, to be somebody.~~ Mother Teresa

Prayer

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies have driven me closer into your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth. Enemies have loosed me from earth and demolished all my aspirations for this world.~~St Nikolai of Ochrid

Question

In John 9, the disciples argued over what caused the blind man’s disability– his sin or his parents. Why did they fail to see a hurting human being? How do we seek to assign blame for the suffering of others today, even as we miss seeing them as treasured children of God?