I have not written much recently… It has been a very long two weeks… on top of our swinging summer door (which I love, because it means alot of kids at our house), and the general frenzy in getting ready for Kate to go back to college (she is renting her first apartment), juggling clients due to various vacation schedules, and writing, I also preached for the first two Sundays in August. Quite honestly, it was a blast to preach… we have an amazing worship director, whose creativity and excellence made the whole process a learning experience for me. I am astounded at all the details that she handles in order to orchestrate the morning services every Sunday… the graphics, the music, the timing, the volunteers who make the whole worship experience rich and meaningful…she has a huge job and she does it so well.
The first Sunday, I preached a sermon entitled: Thin Places, based on John 5:4-42, the story of the Samaritan woman and Jesus at Jacob’s well. Thin Places is a Celtic term for the places that the veil between heaven and eath is lifted and we have encounters with the Divine. Jacob's well was such a place.
I approached the text focusing on all of the things that Jesus does in relationship with her, and thus exemplifying God's desire for relationship with us.
He pursues, initiates, engages and more! One of the fun parts of preparing was searching the web and various art archives for portrayals of Jesus and the woman at the well in different ethnicities.
I found some beautiful artwork of Jesus and the woman at the well from Africa, China, Japan, Malaysia and India. Hopefully, this variety of cultural and ethic art visually communicated that Jesus is not white man’s god, made in our image… Additionally, I got to write the daily devotional that our church puts out each week, which corresponds to the sermon. It has been a while since I have spent time writing simple commentary and questions to ponder, so that we might go deeper into the passage, the message and their application to our lives. (listen to the sermon).
This week was a totally different type of service. It was a far more difficult service to prepare for and it deserves a post of its own. We did an awareness service on the situation in Sudan, southern Sudan and Darfur, Sudan. After the peace vigil that planned in mid July, our pastor asked if I would re-work it for a Sunday service. I agreed with a bit of trepidation, wondering how people would receive such a difficult message at the Sunday morning service. (Most people come to Sunday worship with the hope of being encouraged and uplifted, assuming that they will leave “feeling better,” and this service was going to challenge, confront, convict in its inspiration and encouragement).
We shared about the genocide in Darfur, and the history and fallout of the 21 year civil war in Southern Sudan. We had a variety of visual portrayals of the reality of the horrors and atrocities experienced by the Sudanese people. We set up prayer stations around the room that offered propel a place to respond to the message of the morning the highlight of the service as the participation of Angelo Mangar Maker, one of the lost boys of Sudan, who shared his story of tragedy and triumph, putting face on the horrors of Sudan, and the miracle of faith.
This week, I have been spent with the emotion of planning and carrying out this service… my heart has been so burdened, for the people of Sudan, and for the hearts and minds of those who would hear these stories for the first time. I am thrilled to be part of a body of Christ that believes in being not only aware, but active in the world and is committed to the call to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.
I will post more in the days to come… I need a really long nap and a bit of silence to gain the space to write about this powerful experience and the privilege it was to participate in bringing the story of Sudanese to the people of the our church community.
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