Last Minute Deals for Labor Day Weekend

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Looking for last minute deals for Labor Day Weekend?  Save money on your end of the summer vacation getaway. Your next getaway is our top-priority !  Check out the Hilton Naples Hotel website for great getaway deals and specials.


Photo credit: Clyde Butcher Website

Looking for things to do in Naples Florida for Labor Day Weekend?  Of course we have the beautiful beaches in Naples, watersports for all enthusiasts, golf courses galore,kayak in Everglades National Park,


My top pick is one of the most unique opportunities and events for adventurists, nature lovers and photography enthusiasts is Clyde Butcher's Annual Labor Day Muck-About.

There are still a few rooms left at the Hilton Naples Hotel to book your last minute deals for Labor Day Weekend

SERMON 7/15/12 Pentecost 7B

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2 Samuel 6:1-5,12b-19;  Psalm 24;
Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark6:14-29

                When we find ourselves in ahopeless place, a culpable place, a hurt or wounded place, it is the Good News ofGod in Christ that shines light into our darkness.  As we enter the story in the Gospel today, wefind Jesus on the scene, changing things up and bringing Good News to thosepossessed of broken spirits and those who were sick, blind, and lame, but HerodAntipas was distraught and a little frightened at what was going on in hislittle "neck of the woods."   
                HerodAntipas was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, and he bore the title oftetrarch ("ruler of a quarter").  Antipas inherited these territories from hisfather Herod the Great and ruled them as a client state of the RomanEmpire.  He was responsible for buildingprojects at Sepphoris and Betharamphtha, and more important for theconstruction of his capital Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Named in honor of his patron, the emperorTiberius, the city later became a center of rabbinic learning.[1]  Antipas was no unknown, weak, or puppet ruleras is depicted sometimes on film and screen, he was a central figure in the lifeof this region.  Despite his power andinfluence, Herod had a great secret.  Infact, with his actions at the recent banquet of death, at which John theBaptist was executed, he has added deeds that are even more shameful to his repertoire. 
                Whywas Herod afraid of Jesus?  Deep problemswith his personal relationships seemed to be a pattern for him.  Early in his reign, he married the daughterof King Aretas IV of Nabatea.  However,on a visit to Rome he stayed with his half-brother Herod Philip I and therefell in love with Philip's wife, Herodias, (granddaughter of Herod the Greatand Mariamne I and his niece), and the two agreed to marry each other, afterHerod Antipas had divorced his wife. This would be Herod’s downfall and eventually lead to a war with Aretas,a defeat, and eventual exile as King.  Herod,needless to say, had some issues. 
                 John the Baptizer did not hesitate to pointout Herod’s folly of marrying not only his niece (against Jewish law), but fordivorcing his wife and marrying his brother’s wife (also in conflict withJewish law).  I believe that Herod wasdeeply troubled with his own actions, because he liked to hear John speak.  Maybe John’s call to repentance gave Herodsome hope that there was light that could shine in his own relationaldarkness.  Nevertheless, Herod’s wifebecame a voice that eventually influenced him to silence the accuser, and ofcourse, she had another plan.  We knowthe story where there was a seductive dance, a character challenge, and finallyan execution.  Herod succumbed to thepressure because he faced the disdain of his friends and the threat to his popularity,had he not carried through with his premature promises.  John died because of Herod’s choices. 
                 Herod, like most of us, was wrestling with hisown demons.  He was torn between hisadulterous relationship and the offer to pursue repentance and amendment oflife, and because of this tension, he was led to choices that broughtdestruction on others.  Herod rejectedthe call to change, to become new, to experience grace and forgiveness.  He silenced the voice of Kingdom living,despite how much he considered himself a fan of John.  Then, he heard that Jesus was casting outdemons, healing people, and doing deeds of power, and Herod feared, John hadbeen raised from the dead.  The messageof God that is calling us to change, despite our resistance, cannot besquelched. 
                Beinga fan of Jesus may be considered a good thing, but our salvation is not aboutadmiring Jesus, but about how the Gospel makes us more like Jesus, not that wefeel good?  C.S. Lewis once said, “I didn’tgo to religion to make me ‘happy,’ I always knew a bottle of Port would dothat.  If you want religion to make youfeel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.’  Herod was a fan of John and later of Jesus butwhen John’s message became a little too uncomfortable for him; he silenced thevoice.  “Herod feared John, knowing thathe was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him.  When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed;and yet he liked to listen to him.”  Herodliked sitting on the sideline, watching John do his work, hearing him preachingrepentance, and calling others to change, but he kept his distance.  The message was a little too close to his personalbrokenness.
                Youcan silence the messenger, but the message always remains.  In today’s reading, John is dead but nowJesus was on the scene and Herod was afraid. Herod faced Jesus later on in the story when Pontius Pilate sent himover for trial.  Herod wanted to be a fanof Jesus too, not because of his call to enter the Kingdom of God, his call totransformation and grace, but because he wanted to be perplexed and entertained. “Show us miracle Jesus, dance for me”was his response to the message, not “change me, enter into my darkness andshow light, excise my wounds, and heal me.” The message of the one who “prepared the way,” and the ministry of “Immanuel,God with us” sounded good and it was entertaining, but the cost of letting itsink in was too great, it required a death but not of the messenger.  It required Herod to die to his old ways.  In order for us to experience the new lifethe Gospel brings, we need to die to who we have been.  As difficult as this may sound, discipleshipleads to death.
                TheGood News, the Gospel is a balm to the injured, the bandage of hope to thebrokenhearted, the salve of hope and new life.  As followers of Jesus, we must face that we havebeen wounded in some deep, profound way. For most of us, there is a hurt that we put away and have kept in a boxfor a long time.  Maybe that wound wasone inflicted upon us.  May it is a wound,we inflicted on another.  Maybe webrought a hurt upon ourselves because of our own choices.  Whatever the case may be, each of us carry theburden of injury, and it is painful.   
                Herodhad wounded others, and he in turn had been wounded by his choices.  He needed healing.  For whatever reason, sometimes we reject the soothingbalms the Gospel offers us, which could bring healing and restoration.  The pain of bringing that all up again thoughmay be too great and so, our wounds remain. Herod listened to John, but from a distance.  Herod liked John’s teaching, but he neverallowed the message to get close enough to excise his wounds.  Sometimes we wait too long, the wound festers,the damage goes deeper, and the healing may require extensive surgery.  Herod waited, and in so doing, he woundedJohn, he silenced him, he killed the healer.  It is then, that facing the possible pain ofcleaning out of the wound, cutting out the infection, and enduring  the subsequent healing process, may be toomuch for us, because it is a long and arduous process.  The reality is, we have to endure pain, and wemay have to endure death so that we might experience resurrection.   
                Thereis no Easter day without Good Friday. There is no resurrection without death. There is no new life, until we die to the old life.  The Good News that God’s love brings about newlife, is a healing balm and it restores us to healthy relationships with Godand each other.  The Good News requiresus to let the Great Healer work on the deep wounds of our souls, so thathealing will come.  The Good Newsrequires us to die to ourselves, so that we can experience new life.  It happens now once, but day after day, weekafter week, year after year.  TheBenedictines have a saying, ““We fall and get back up, we fall, and get backup, and we fall and get back up.”  We arecalled to die every day, so that we can experience a glimpse of resurrectionevery day. 
                 The tragedy of the story of the beheading ofJohn is obvious.  There is another humantragedy in this story and that is Herod’s tragedy.  A man finds himself face-to-face with thepossibility of grace, forgiveness, healing and new life, and he chooses deathinstead.  For us, following Jesus mayrequire us to let go of something we would rather not, to bring up an old woundthat is still painful, to face a dark part of our lives that remainshidden.  If we can offer that up to God,we can experience life afresh.  God givesus the strength and courage to die to our brokenness, so that God’s grace canraise us to joy, peace, and reconciliation the Good News of God in Christproclaims.

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Antipas

SERMON 7/22/12 Pentecost 8B Proper 11

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2 Samuel 7:1-14a; Psalm 89:20-37; Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark6:30-34, 53-56                ByWednesday each week, I usually have a rough idea of how the sermon for theupcoming Sunday will unfold.  So, bymid-day on Wednesday, Teresa will receive from me a picture for the bulletincover.  I have to tell you, I had to setthat sermon aside after I heard the news of the horrific tragedy in Aurora,Colorado.  Like many of us, I woke upFriday morning to a nice cup of coffee and I turned on the news and sat in myeasy chair. The Special Report bannerwas flashing on the screen and I had a sick feeling in my stomach, similar tothe one I experienced when I learned of the tragedies of September 11^th,eleven years ago.   The broadcaster announced with great concernin her voice, “ At 12:30 a.m. in the morning, on Friday July 20, 2012, at a normalannual event( a summer movie release) one of largest mass shootings in UShistory took place.” She continued to report that there were “ 71 victims, 12killed, and 59 injured in a movie theatre in Aurora, CO.”  The alleged assailant was “24 year old JamesHolmes a PhD student at the University of Colorado.”  The rest of the newscast included somedetails of the tragedy, some information about the shooter, and then came what forme, was the most emotional part of the newscast:  the pictures of people in tears holding eachother, and the desperate pleas and cries from friends and family who wereasking this question, “Why?”

                As Iwatched the interviews of the victims and family, I heard how raw and ripe the emotionsof anger, helplessness, sadness, grief, and confusion abounded.  “Why,” seems to be the question we all wantto ask.  There are not many words ofcomfort in times like these although we try.  Sandy Phillips the mother of Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring journalist whowas killed, said, “"I'll never have her to hug again, or get a textmessage again or get a funny Facebook picture." "That's the hard partright now ... knowing those are things I'm never going to experienceagain."[1]  Many of us saw the video of Tom Sullivan, whoseplea for news of his son was so heartbreaking. His son, Alex was celebrating his 27^th birthday the night ofthe movie, and we find such irony in his son’s last text message, “'Oh man one hour till themovie and its going to be the best BIRTHDAY ever.'[2]  There are so many stories that will be told overthe next few weeks; stories of loss, anger, pain, broken hearts, andblame. 
                We also wrestle with trying tounderstand how a bright, intelligent honors PhD student, could do such ahideous act?  We wrestle with our ownfeelings toward him, feelings of anger, disgust, and possibly even a secretdesire for vengeance.   Then, we imagine what hisparents are feeling as they learn of what their son did to so many people.  “Why,” is our question as we reflect on thisevent.  We may be asking other questionsas well, “Why would God let this happen?” Maybe we ask, “What good could come of such a tragedy?”  Some religious folks may even say, “God has aplan in all this and there has to be a reason.” Really?  We are wrestling with amystery here, and we should be cautious about trying to seek answers where theremay be no clear answers to find.  Do wereally believe that the God of the cross, would somehow want this to happen? 
                Jesus’ministry is surely a ministry of liberation, of the resurrection but we mustknow that creation is, by definition, limited. Jesus, in his ministry, consistently sought to free people from life’s diminishingforces (illness, mental and spiritual afflictions, demonic spirits, even death). Jesus never says “just suck it up,”although he does say “do not sin anymore.” The heart of our “Why” question seems to rest in the nature of creationitself and the nature of human freedom, and not why God would make this happen. 
                “Creationis not the Creator,  and doesn’t share inthe Creator’s perfection.  Our universeand we as creatures, are still in process. We are by God’s salvation work, moving into greater perfection in God’screation.  However, Paul asserts inRomans 8, that there is a tendency in all of creation to fall back into decay.  There is an interplay within the createdorder of itself, a moving towards perfection, and at the same time falling backagain.  God allows this freedom to playitself out, but God doesn’t stand by, as impersonal, because God of the Bibleis the one who saves us and saves us in history, in the workings out in time ofour movement towards life, even in our falling back into decay.  This work of creation, this struggle ofmoving toward the perfection of God, and the falling back into decay may not beapparent in any individual life because some it may be, that in some unknownmystery, it is God’s very long-range perspective at work.”[3] 
                Tragedy,pain, anger, loss, human evil all seem present in tragic events brought aboutby human decay, evil, and sin, and yet we ask, “Why, God?”  Maybe a glimpse into this awful mysteryemerges if we can accept that “Moral evil is the tragic implication ofcreaturely freedom.” “Creation is the creation of finite freedom; it is thecreation of life with its greatness and danger . . . The creation of finitefreedom is the risk which the divine creativity accepts.”[4] God took a risk with human choice sothat love would be a matter of freedom and not coercion.   It isnot a cut and dried answer, it does not fulfill the desires of our modern predispositionsbecause we are still left with “Why.” That my friends, may be all we have. We don’t know the answer, and honestly it is okay to be in a situationof darkness and mystery.  Maybe mystery sometimesis good, because that’s where in our suffering we are forced to reach out forGod’s presence.  We reach out to senseGod’s touch and if we are honest, we need tell God what is on our hearts, weneed seek answers that come only from beyond ourselves.  
                Ifind great comfort in our President’s wise words the other day, when he remindedus of the uncertainty of our lives.  ThePresident said, “Life is fragile, our time is limited. "We're going tostand by our neighbors in Colorado during this extraordinarily difficult time.Such violence, such evil is senseless; it's beyond reason." He continued, "Whatmatters at the end of the day is not the small things; it is not the trivialthings ... Ultimately it is how we choose to treat one another and how we loveone another."[5]  As Christians, our response should be to standby our sisters and brothers, because how we love one another is what isimportant. 
                Weall have had experiences of suffering in which, we know we have in some way,experienced grace.  Maybe in the mysteryof the “Why,” we can be present for each other as Christ is present with us inthe tragic.  When we have experienced God’slove, it is so important to let God’s love be incarnated in us.  The more we ourselves have experienced salvation,the more confidence we have to carry it into situations like these.  When we consider the cross, we know in thesuffering of creation that God is with us. The shadow of the cross extends forward and backwards  in history and in a a paradoxical way, we areunited with Christ precisely when he cries out “My God, my God why have youforsaken me?”  God identifies with our “Why”questions, God knows our pain, and God cries out too.  Many of us may stand in the midst of thistragedy and cry these same words.   The reality is the God who is the ultimategiver of freedom, has not abandoned us. In our human freedom to choose love, life, and peace, or to fall backinto the decay of death, tragedy, and evil, Immanuel stands with arms wideopen, and says, “I am with you.”  We maynot know the reasons, we may not know the why, but we can know that God is withus in the riskiness of freedom and love.   
                Sowhat can we Christians do in the midst of the lives lost, the families broken,the death, the pain, the anger, and the desire for answers?  We need to do what we do best, pray.  We need to be present in prayer, as God ispresent with us.  Our hearts can joinwith the hearts of those in pain who cry, “My God, My God, why have youforsaken us?”   We can allow the grace ofGod in us to be incarnated in our presence with them.  Do we load up and go to Colorado?  No, but maybe we make it known that we lovethem, we pray for them, and we join them in their grief and pain. 
                Inthe Gospel reading today, people were bringing the sick before Jesus knowingthat if they would but reach out and touch him, they would find healing.  Maybe that is the only answer we have today,in the midst of the Colorado tragedy. Maybe what we must do is in prayer, bring the victims, the survivors,and our own broken hearts before the Master, and trust that in some way and insome mysterious time to come, he will bring healing, peace, and rest. 

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[1] http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/20/justice/colorado-shooting-victim-ghawi/index.html[2] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2176810/Dark-Knight-Rises-Colorado-Shooting-Last-tweet-Alex-Sullivan-died-going-premiere-birthday.html#ixzz21Gfgi51a[3] Excerptsfrom Notes taken in lectures from Pastoral Theology class 2007, The Rev. Dr.Julia Gatta, Professor.[4]IBID[5]IBID

SERMON 8/5/12 Pentecost 10B

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2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a; Psalm 51:1-13; Ephesians 4:1-16;John 6:24-35

                Foodis one of the basics of life and it is our earliest experience of interdependence.  Have you ever noticed the miracle of the bondbetween mother and baby at feeding time. It is one of the most intimate of human interactions.  There in the mother’s arms resting is the helplesschild dependent on her mother, who gives of herself for the needs of the baby.  The mother was serving as both nourisher and asnourishment.  This bond of parent andchild grounded in basic needs, is the beginning of a bond that will surely growand mature through the years.  Our lives beginand continue in an ongoing wrestling with in an insatiable need for sustenance,and the obvious reality of our utter dependence on others for that sustenance. 
                 Today, we tend to forget that we are notindependent islands, we must rely on others. It takes many hands, many people to plant, grow, harvest, prepare,package, deliver, and sell all that we eat. The USDA reports that we eat about a ton (1,966 lbs) of food perindividual, per year.  What would it belike if each of us really had to plant, cultivate, and harvest our own sustenanceeach year?  Consider that the next timeyou drive down 776 on your way home, as you witness the plethora of fast foodoptions, seafood bistros, and Publix/Sweetbay’s/and Winn Dixie’s.  It is hard for us to imagine that obtainingour daily bread involves more, much more than merely making a five minute stopby the local Wal Mart bakery department.
                Thefolks who got into the boat and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus were lookingand hoping for their daily bread.  Whocould blame them.  Filling their empty stomachsin those days, did not include a quick order at the McD’s drive-thru, a little stopat the local grocer, or a night out at the local seafood house.  Working for their food was a natural part of everydaylife and this new rabbi was giving out free lunch.  Naturally, these new followers wanted to stickclose to Jesus.   The unfortunate part of this story, is that theyfollowed Jesus not because, the recent miracle was a sign for them to strengthentheir faith in who Jesus was and the life he offered.  They had already seen that sign in themiracle of Jesus feeding the 5000 and yet, they followed him because of theirown personal needs, their empty tummies, and the food Jesus was giving out freeof charge. 
                Wehave to be a little cautious as we read this story because, it is easy for us tocondemn these folks for their supposed self-serving discipleship.  We might say, “c’mon you need to follow Jesusbecause he is the Son of God, the Messiah, the promised one; you need to have ahigher and loftier reason for following him.”  Caution, there is more to this story. I believe their need for physical sustenance and the need for spiritualfeeding went hand-in-hand.  Jesus knewabout their basic needs for food, air, and water.  Jesus knew those hunger pangs pretty well andthus, he had compassion on the crowd and so he fed the multitude.
                I amnot convinced that Jesus was chastising these folks.  I think he was saying, yes I will feed yourbody and at the same time, I will feed your soul, are you ready to feast?  I think the challenge to these unlikelyfollowers and we the followers of Jesus today, is we need to get spiritually hungry again.  When was the last time you were hungry; Imean really, hungry?  Following Christ goesbeyond satisfying our own personal physical needs.  Being fed by the bread that never perishes involvesour deep connection to Christ in his accepting, reconciling, and restoring grace.  It is only in Christ that our deepest hungercan, and will be fulfilled.   
                If weare honest with ourselves and each other, we all come here each week withhunger pangs.  Whether, we come to this placeseeking the presence of God, seeking to be filled through a sense of feeling good,or just seeking, coming to the table uncertain why we come at all, we all comehungry.   We all come expectant, and yet, we may have inthe past, come to the table and left disheartened without witnessing the miraculoussigns of God’s grace all around us.  Maybewe have come seeking a miraculous sign of grace in an uplifting song, aninspirational message, or something else. Maybe the bread we seek, the sustenance of grace that we are offered, canonly be found in the miracles of the shared lives of these folks who aresitting beside us.  Look around, we are gatheredtogether as a community of the Spirit.  Weare gathered together all seeking to be fed. We are gathered together as beggars, who are showing other beggars whereto find bread.    We all come hungry and I believe we can all cometo the table expecting a miracle and we can be assured, the miracles of God’s sustenanceabounds, beyond our imagination.
                Miraclesstill happen and billions are being fed every day.  The miracle of Jesus feeding body and soulhappens in some of the most unexpected places and in the most unexpected ways.  A friend told me about such a feeding miraclethe other day.  She was having lunch witha colleague in a local restaurant and as they finished their meal, her luncheoncompanion called the server over and said, “Jill, please bring me the salescheck for two tables back.  Don’t tellthem who paid it and don’t tell them it was paid until I’ve left.”  My friend was amazed by such a show ofgenerosity and hospitality, which her friend offered complete strangers.  The server looked at my friend and said, “Oh,he does this at least two or three times a week.”  In this miracle, there was no multiplicationof loaves or fishes going on here, but there was an abundance of grace presentthat day.  There was also more than afree lunch being shared at that table that day. The luncheon companion of my dear friend was demonstrating how feedingthe body and giving unselfishly for the benefit of another, demonstrates howOur Lord feeds us spiritually. 
                Miraclesstill happen and billions are being fed every day.   Lastweek our food pantry here at St. D’s was running low on a few particularitems.  Knowing that we were fallingshort and that some of the people we served would have to go without, a groupof our pantry ministers gathered and prayed for God’s nurturing and nourishinggrace. The next day, something amazing happened.  A miracle, I believe.  An abundance of food arrived andunbelievably, there was just enough food, and we received exactly what wasneeded to re-stock our shelves.  Do youknow what one of the most interesting things about this miracle that I found?  The ministers prayed for nourishment, but notfor themselves.   The ministers were interceding for others andnot themselves. They prayed for folks that they did not even know.  There was more than a free lunch being sharedat that pantry that day.  Our pantryministers were demonstrating how feeding the body, praying with intercession,and giving unselfishly for the benefit of another, demonstrates how Our Lordfeeds us spiritually. 
                The tableof grace, reconciliation, mercy, and abundance; isn’t that the table Jesus setsbefore us?   Jesus is the food thatsatisfies our hunger and sustains our souls, not because our bellies are full, notbecause we are made to feel good, not because of the physical fulfillment ofthe day, which we surely receive.  Jesusis the food that satisfies us, because we are fed by the one broken for us.  In that meal, we are changed.   Jesus is nourisher and nourishment and weall are brought together as one in that meal. The bread of life is not about filling our stomachs alone, it is about beingfilled so that we might feed others.
     Jesus askedthe rock on which he built his church, “Simon do you love me?”  The church’s rock replied, “Yes Lord, youknow I love you.”  Jesus told the foundationof the church, “Then Feed my Sheep.”  Jesus’admonishment of Peter, the rock, the foundation upon which he built the churchwas this, “feed my sheep.”  We are thechurch.  We are beggars who protest,“Lord, feed us!”  Our cry needs toinclude, “feed us, so that we might feed All your sheep.”  We need to take up our part in the miracle ofthe “bread of life.”      
                Wecan begin to understand discipleship when we recognize that we are mere beggars,called to show ALL other beggars, where to find bread.”  It is through our common life together, dependenton each other , together dependent on God, that we will truly understand themiracle of God’s grace.   Remember, if we leave here hungry this day, itwill not be because the right type of song was played, the best sermon waspreached, the best program was offered, nor the right people did or did notshow up.  If we leave here hungry today,it will be because we failed to see the signs of the miracle of grace in thefaces, the face of Christ, found in our sisters and brothers ,seated here amongus, and the face of Christ we encounter in everyone we find out there on thestreets. 

SERMON 8/12/12 Pentecost 11B

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2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Psalm 130; Ephesians4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51
 
Deep within the noble mirror my novel soulresides,Whatever secret the mirror reveals shows thechange I hold inside.Upon reflecting an autumn tree, newlyconverted to golden hue,Beckoning me to obey nature’s course, so mysoul can be renewed.1    Author Unknown                “Amirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves muchof its original quality.”2  When we gazeat the reflection in one of those pieces of glass, we usually see our “true”self.  When we wake up in the morning withwrinkled PJ’s and messed up hair, without makeup, razor, and with un-brushedteeth guess what, that image is the “real deal.”  Mirrors also reveal our “masked self” withits designer clothes, fashionable hair doo’s, appropriate social etiquette, andproper church-like behavior.  When wegaze out our reflections, the reality is that underneath all that glistens fromthe glass, is the same person with messed up hair, without makeup, razor, andwith un-brushed teeth.                  We arewho we are and the outside shines through, that side of us others see, which,shows both the “real deal” self, and it, shows the “masked self.”  How we live, how we interact, how we witnessto our faith, speak volumes about our spiritual life; our true self.  In today’s epistle, the Apostle Paul wasmetaphorically holding up a mirror before the Church in Ephesus, as he askedthem what it was they saw in the reflection! Paul cautions this early Christian community, that they should be awareof how they interact with each other, and what life within the community lookslike to the world around them. Evidently, based on the examples Paul uses, there was some “bad blood”between some of the folks in that little community.  Paul mentions in his letter that there wasanger, evil talk, stealing, and all sorts of conflict in Ephesus, and it seemsthere were some disagreements and rumblings going on.          Throughhis exhortation, Paul reminded those folks that being a Christian community, totruly follow Christ, they had to stand up and proclaim, we will be “withoutbitterness, anger, shouting, cursing, and any kind of malice.  Instead, we need to embrace goodness,warm-heartedness, and forgiveness, with Christ as (our) example.”  Like those first century Christians, churchestoday are not immune to some of those problematic relational issues, and weprobably ought to be on the lookout for these things in ourselves and in thecongregations to which we belong.

                Thechurch is supposed to live as a reconciliation community.  Our mission is to bring others to “unity withGod and each other in Christ.”  We arenot only a respite place, an island of love where its members can escape from aworld where division, malice, and unrest abounds.  We are a mission society that is sent out toshow the world what reconciliation in Christ is really like.  A “community of reconciliation is to be, andwill be, a neighborhood where the old is put off and the new put on.”  2  Ourpurpose is to be a place for personal transformation, communal transformation,so we can transform God’s world.  Thechurch is like a laboratory, a gymnasium, a practice field where we can cometogether in Christ, and live out together, love, mercy, and grace that willflow from beyond the walls of the building. We are members of one another and as such, how we are perceived, the reflectionwe cast in the world, the image of our everyday lives, should show the worldreconciling love. 

                Jesussaid, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."  Jesus met folks where they were.  Jesus brought healing to all with whom hecame in contact.  Jesus never worriedabout what made him feel good, what he wanted, what filled his needs.  Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick,restored the outcast, and eventually, he gave himself up fully to the world todo with him, as we wished.  Jesus lovedbeyond himself.  Jesus did not judge thefailures of those who wanted to follow him, but for whatever reason could notmake that leap rather, he invited them and grieved when they turned and walkedaway.  Jesus invited everyone to journeywith him regardless of his or her background, failure, social place, ortheological perspective.  Jesus loved inways that we sometimes cannot.  

                Thisimage of Our Lord, is the image we are called to reflect.  We are not merely to put this image on forspecial gatherings, for Sunday mornings, but this image should be one wereflect all the time.  Even when thingsare tough, when we are having that bad day, even when it doesn’t seem like wecan cope, if we stand in the mirror and look long enough, we can see the faceof Christ in ours.  See, even when wemight fail to live up to the perfection of Christ, we truly have in us thespark of the divine presence.  We aremarked as Christ’s own and sealed by the Holy Spirit by our baptism.  That spark of that image never goesaway.  So whether we are in our PJ’s withfrumped up hair, no makeup, five o’clock shadow, and un-brushed teeth, or weare standing tall in the latest fashion, the finest designer haircut, or themost appropriate social skills, we have in us a glimpse of the image of God’sdivine Spirit in us.  

         Theother day, I happened to look at the website of an Episcopal parish in anotherpart of Florida.  I read a recent sermonpreached by the priest and I found it very interesting.  In her homily she asked parishioners towrestle prayerfully with this question, “if St. Swithin’s was not here nextweek, would the community of Swithinville miss us?”  Then she added, “Why would we bemissed?”  We need to wrestle with thatquestion, as we wrestle to be imitators of God.           Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus chargedthem to be "imitators of God." He encouraged the little community and the individuals in it, to mimicGod.  As we hear the scripture read thismorning, we need to recognize that we are also the recipients of Paul’sletter.  We too are called to imitateGod, maybe even to impersonate God both as a community and as the individualswho make up that community.  We cometogether as a faith community not merely gathering for our benefit, yes, ourbenefit makes us better witnesses, but we gather as a community so we can showthe world what a  reconciling communityis really like.  We do that not by tryingto put on airs with great hair, makeup, saying the right things, acting theright way.  We do that by being people oflove who can accept our neighbors’ failures, our neighbors’ imperfections, andour neighbors’ struggles to live into the reconciling grace of God.                   In 1988, a song written by Glen Ballard andSiedah Garrett and performed by Michael Jackson, topped Billboard’s Hot 100 for two weeks,and was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards.  (The Video) This songwas very popular when I was in my last year of college and the words are,  “I'm Starting With The Man In TheMirror,  I'm Asking Him To Change HisWays, And No Message Could Have  Been AnyClearer,  If You Wanna Make TheWorld  A Better Place,  Take A Look At Yourself, And  Then Make A Change.”  I remember how much this song influenced somany people in the late 80’s, at a time when a cultural shift was beginning tooccur.  Many of us were beginning tonotice the needs of the world beyond our borders, and this song helped us put wordsto a deep concern for our neighbors that was emerging in our spirits.  I believe this song stands as a challenge,not only to a generation nearly 25 years ago, but it challenges the churchtoday.  “If You Wanna Make The World  A Better Place,  Take A Look At Yourself, And  Then Make A Change.”

                Ifwe are going to truly fulfill our mission “to bring all people to unity withGod and each other in Christ,” then the mission needs to begin with each of us. Thus, we will begin to live as the redeemed and our lives will be thereal thing, not "knock-offs" of the humans we would be withoutGod.  I believe we are well on our wayand in Christ, the church has begun to resemble the creature humanity was meantto be—a humanity created in God's image.


1http://www.everypoet.net/poetry/blogs/weed_of_the_garden/deep_within_the_mirror_my_soul_resides  2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror
3 Olson, Ronald. "Thinking And Practicing Reconciliation" : The Ephesian TextsFor Pentecost 8-14." Word & World 17.3 (1997): 322-328. ATLASerials,Religion Collection. Web. 7 Aug. 2012.