You can read these Scriptures here: NIV // NRSV // CEV // The Message

Liturgical Color: GREEN

As a medical chaplain I interacted with men, women and children during the most difficult and trying times of their lives. During that time I learned that the emotions faced in a cancer ward of an “adult” hospital are very different from the emotions faced in a cancer ward of a children’s hospital. I met many patients (in the case of the children’s hospital, the parents and grandparents of patients), whose world was shattered in a million different pieces and everything that they thought and believed to be right, true and beautiful was challenged to the core. In such stressful times we tend to question our relationship with God and what it means to be a Christian, or a Jew, or a Muslim, or an agnostic. I also learned that periods of acute grief are not a time to deconstruct anyone’s beliefs, or to argue about the fine points of theology; it is a time to let God be God, it is a time to be a conduit of God’s grace and mercy, to suggest coping mechanisms and to provide encouragement. As a chaplain I was there to help my sisters and brothers recognize the presence of God in their pain, sorrow, grief AND LIFE with all of its complexity, joys, and unexpected twists and turns.

Paul reminds us that even though our behaviors and words may be innocent and harmless, they make an impact. Paul reminds us that the Spirit of God is blessing us so we may be a blessing to others. Paul reminds us that our actions affect everybody and everything around us and radiate across the universe.

NIV2010, 1 Cor 8:⁷ … Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, [in their mind] it [that food] is defiled. ⁸ But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

⁹ Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰ For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols [and possibly worship the idols]? ¹¹ So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. ¹² When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat [that] meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

Illustration: The easiest application of that principle in my life is that although I enjoy a glass of wine once in a while, most of the time I choose to abstain from alcohol because I never know whether someone around me is a recovering alcoholic.

Application: Paul teaches us that faith is not a matter of absolutes or unbending principles; faith is about the impact on our neighbors in front of us. When our interactions harm or alienate our neighbors, then our principles are actually harmful to the communities in which we live. As we live our lives in 2012, most of our communities have somehow grown too inflexible and obstinate in preserving “OUR WAY” and we do not allow those outside to come inside; we refuse to hear them or to recognize their faith and their spirituality. And then we complain that our churches are nearly empty.

Today’s readings are about our responsibility for the way our actions shape our communities, our lives and the lives of those around us.

This brings us to today’s Gospel reading. It is a story of Jesus healing a man possessed by an evil spirit. It is difficult for us to relate to this story because we do not know anyone possessed by an evil spirit. OR SO WE THINK….

Has anyone here been so angry with something or someone that we said or did something that we regretted later? Has anyone here ever been so jealous or envious that we used our resources and energies to hinder the lives of other persons? Do you know anyone possessed by addictions (drugs, alcohol, gambling, workaholism, affluenza, greed)?

All of these are examples of being driven by something that is clearly NOT the Spirit of God blessing us to be a blessing to others. At the time we even know that the “spirits” possessing us are not of God. Has anyone ever heard something like, “I know I should come to church but my child has to go to a little league game… I have to go shopping… I have to do laundry…” That is our way of saying, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? We know who you are – the Holy One of God! Leave us alone…” (Mark 1:24). Has anyone here said something like that? We have said it so many times that we are to the point that many schools have security and metal detectors, and our country seems to be spiraling from bad to worse: prayer in public places is considered offensive while using expletives on the public square is protected by the freedom of speech.

At one time or another all of us are possessed by an “unclean spirit.” Isn’t it just like Jesus to meet us where we are – be it pain, sorrow, grief, and self-satisfaction preoccupied with our own feeling, emotions, self-deprication and self-importance, hiding behind an “unclean spirit” – to offer us God’s Grace and a way to be free from everything that robs us of all God’s hopes and intentions for us.

Jesus offers God’s grace, mercy and renewal to all of us. God gave us each other and organized us into a church to help each other and to reach out to our neighbors so that we may glorify God. God is at work in many ways to free us from the unclean spirits that still possess us.

Will you allow God into your heart? How will you change your lives and behaviors?

{Open the altar}

“I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace.”

~~ Helen Keller

A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Chester Cemetery in Chestertown.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607.

“Those we love can never be more that a thought apart. For as long as there is a memory, they’ll live on in our hearts.”

~~ Author Unknown

We will miss you, Louis. Our hearts are going out to your family and friends.

The memorial service will be held at Christ United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 1 p.m.

Baku

Very well done!!!!

You can read these Scriptures here:    NIV  //   NRSV  //  CEV  // The Message

Liturgical Color: GREEN

You can read these Scriptures here: NIV // NRSV // CEV // The Message

“The time is at hand! The kingdom of God is upon us! Believe the good news and change your lives accordingly!” (Paraphrase of Mark 1:15).

Today we heard a “Cliff Notes” summary of the story of Jonah (Jonah 3:1-5, 10), Mark’s recollection of Jesus calling his first Disciples (Mark 1:14-20), and Paul’s affirmation that “this world in its present form is passing away” and something new is being built on its ruins (1 Cor 7:31).

At first glance today’s readings are about God calling prophets and disciples. This is at first glance; we know that there is always more in the Scriptures than meets the eye at first glance.

Albert Einstein said once that “imagination is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

Today’s readings are about events and encounters that ignited the Disciples’ imagination and inspired them to take off from everything that they knew and loved for something unknown and entirely different.

I want you to take a second to think about what would make you drop everything you are comfortable with and pursue an entirely new life? Would it be ethnic or racial persecution or a famine? Would it be a proposal to share the rest of your life with that special someone? Would it be a great job offer? Would it be an opportunity to make a positive impact in a totally different part of the world? What would make it attractive to you to leave everything you know and love and pursue something entirely different and unknown?

{Jose’s story

Jose is a pastor, recently married; he and his wife have three children together. In his past life Jose was a bandit. As a soldier of fortune, he roamed the countryside with a gang, burned villages and caused bodily harm to people who mounted any resistance. All this was done to instill fear into the people their band was set to rob. Then one day Jose recognized God’s presence in his life, and his life changed. As God worked in Jose’s soul, he confessed and repented of his sins by moving into a different part of the country and learning to earn a living by a means other than banditry. During that period of Jose’s life he was homeless for a period of time, and he worked backbreaking jobs in order to save some money which would enable him to start a new life and learn new skills.

As a result of his growing intimacy and relationship with God during this period of his life, Jose sensed a call to ministry. He started an independent house church in his shack; that church later joined an association of small Pentecostal churches forming a new denomination. At the time that we met, Jose would “disappear” every two to three months and travel to the areas where he used to be a bandit. He told me that he faced the persons that he wronged, whose loved ones he hurt or killed, and that he begged their forgiveness trying to make restitution. When I asked Jose whether he was afraid of being killed, he replied: “Yes, but I have to do it.”

}

God calls us to action in our time and place. Our present is shaped by the myriad of previous decisions and a multitude of external factors. As Christians we are called to listen and respond to God’s presence in the ordinary moments of our own lives. All of our stories are part of a much larger narrative that embraces scientific discoveries and spiritual revelations. We are called to be partners with God and each other in the way we are shaping the faith of the future generations, as well as the health and the future of our planet (Epperly, 8-9).

Every day there are people who “abandon their nets” because God inspires them to step out on faith to something entirely different. God does it because the world isn’t “just fine, thank you very much.” God does it because there is injustice, suffering, abuse and because God is in the process of continual renewal of his Creation. Every day there are people who drop everything in response to God’s call.

Today I want to ask every one of you: what is God calling you to do with your life? We tend to domesticate, simplify and reduce this question and our answers as if God called his disciples to volunteer a single night at the winter shelter. The realities of our world press us with questions far too important to trivialize God’s call on our lives. (Carey)

The kingdom of God is at hand! The world is a canvas limited by your imagination (Henry David Thoreau)… What will you do with your nets?

Works Cited

Carey, Greg. “Mark 1:14-20: A Call Worthy of Their Lives .” 18 January 2012. Huffington Post. 18 January 2012 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-carey/mark-1-14-20-worthy-of-their-lives_b_1211563.html>.

Epperly, Bruce G. Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audatious Living. Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 2008.

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

~~ Albert Einstein

“This world is but a canvas to our imagination.”

~~ Henry David Thoreau

The # 1 song on the day that my wife was was born was “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by Platters

This information is available from http://numberoneinhistory.com/

Mahatma Gandhi