Sermon: An Unknown God

Pastor Alison Williams – Bethel Lutheran Church – May 24/25, 2014 - 6^th Sunday after Easter

FIRST READING Acts 17:22–31

²²Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. ²³For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, ²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. ²⁶From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, ²⁷so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said,

Do you ever get bored?

I'm still working on that whole, close-down-the-laptop-and-put-down-the-phone thing.
In the meantime, I cruise Pinterest and Life hacks. Monday is my day off!!

Hilarious things I've discovered on the inter-webs:

The Space Jam website has not been updated since 1996.  http://www2.warnerbros.com/spacejam/movie/jam.htm
You're welcome.

There is a website that makes tiny stuffed dogs JUST LIKE YOUR DOG. No joke. http://www.shelterpups.com/shelter.php

Staring at the Wall

A gorgeous tree in bloom here in Madison. Finally!

I see a Spiritual Director (who is amazing) once a month to talk about life, faith, being a pastor, being a child of God… all those good things. Over the past year I've made collages, written letters to God, begun praying for a future husband, created a mantra which I put on a ring I wear 24/7, and done lots of great work.

That's been my "homework" in a way. I saw her Monday. But my life has been kind of crazy lately with good things, random things, family things, work things, new relationship things, homeless issues and news media. As I listed one thing after another, including my new interest in suicide prevention, she and I were at a loss as to what my homework might be for this month. Stream of conscious journaling? But on which piece. I joked that I just felt like staring at a wall for a while. And we decided that's my homework for this month. Stare at a wall.

I love this homework. And it is still really hard. I'm really good at reaching for my cell phone to play 2048 or check email, at putting on a movie, finding new things on Pinterest, or organizing. Work has seemed so overwhelming of late that my mind kind of shuts down instead of selecting one task of the myriad of ones I need to do. So of course, I started organizing my shelves in my office. Not a great response, brain.

So today, I'm going to intentionally stare at the wall. Perhaps with a kitty cuddled up beside me and a cup of tea for my sore throat/head cold. No electronics. No noise except what happens in my neighborhood and whatever the cats crash in the house. (I might cheat and open the window and stare at that wall, but it still counts, right?)

QPR: like CPR for Suicide

In between worship services today we had a training on QPR - the CPR of suicide prevention. The idea is that as we talk about suicide as a culture and recognize those tell tale warning signs, the very high suicide rate will decrease. I even corrected a few of my own misunderstandings and myths during the workshop.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer. You can get trained in an hour. The idea is that EVERYONE needs to get training on this, much like we as a culture have responded to breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, and heart disease.

Suicide has to stop being taboo. We all have to be bold and brave and ask that question that feels crazy, "Are you thinking about killing yourself?" She assured us that no one has ever been pissed for being asked this.

So there's that.

Also, if you are thinking about killing yourself, please call 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-SUICIDE. I'm here, too.

Rama and Jesus (and Ravana)

If you have ever seen the 1995 version of "A Little Princess," directed by Alfonso Cuaron, you'll know a little about Rama. He's the man in blue, married to Sita, who defeats the evil Ravana.

This story is not unique to this version of A Little Princess. The story of Rama is the Ramayana, told in Hinduism. Rama is the seventh avatar of Vishnu. I studied him in college for my senior thesis, as he compares to Jesus, the Christian version of an avatar of God. An avatar is an incarnation.

I love Rama. I'm sure it springs from my love of A Little Princess (which if you've not seen, you need to come over and watch immediately, and cry), but there is a lot to love about Rama. And Christians so easily dismiss anything about other faith traditions that we often miss rich gems like the one I'm sharing at XYZ chapel today.

For the Mothers and Those Who Wish They Were

[If you are unfamiliar with Joan Walsh Anglund, go here: http://www.joanwalshanglund.com]

Happy Mother's Day, all! I'm pretty stoked that I get to see my Mama today. And my Grandma. We are celebrating Grandma's 90th birthday!!

Depression in the Sunshine

I like to blame dark gray skies for my depression on the days when the sky is cloudy and gray.

Days like today? No excuse. The sun is out. It is gorgeous. It is warm.

It makes it more difficult to describe to people what depression is. But think of it like tree branches that creep up into a bright blue sky. Against a back drop of blue sky, they appear all the more dark and black. And they extend up towards the sky, reaching as high as they can, interrupting the expanse of blue.

On a Spectrum

I purchased a gorgeous rainbow scarf Saturday at the synod assembly from a man who was selling things from Jerusalem. I love it. In part because I really love being in solidarity with people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Wearing a scarf is just one way to show my support. :)

If you are clever, you'll realize that when I say people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, that's all people. Including you. What's most important is that it includes the people that others consider, well, less than human in some way. I've certainly seen that in how people look on those who are transgender. Heck, I've seen a dad look askance when his son comes home from daycare with painted toe nails before telling him that's something for girls. We've all seen it - from the very innocent gender bias (I love this dad and kid I speak of) to the horribly brutal acts waged on the misunderstood across cultures.

Perhaps it is a millennial generation thing, but what's the big deal? Do you honestly think God would have made someone, then turned around and said, "Just kidding about that one, folks. Can you fix IT?" Doubtful. Actually, impossible.

Our identity and sexual orientation are part of who we all are. It is not a choice. For instance, I don't remember making a choice to be heterosexual. I just remember liking this boy named K.C. in kindergarten and chasing boys around the playground and putting on fancy dress up box weddings with my male cousin. Was there a choice in that? Nope.

Sermonating

Since it's an easy thing to post and many of you weren't there to hear this in person, my sermon from the end of March. Year A - Lent 4 - March 29/30, 2014 - John 9:1-41

CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITY

Jesus likes to heal people. Jesus likes healing a lot. Oftentimes when I say prayers while I am in the hospital with one of you, I pray to the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. I believe in a God who cares for our souls AND for these bodies of ours. If God knows every hair on our head (or lack thereof with some of you??), then surely God knows every thing about our bodies. Aches and pains and joys. We could say God knows us, warts and all.

So we have a healing story today. Jesus, wandering around, doing his thing, comes across a man who is blind. People ask Jesus how this man became blind, assuming it was his sin or his parents sins that caused then. The response is interesting and has caused some theological turmoil. Jesus says, “He was born blind, not because of someone's sins, but so God's works might be revealed in him.” What is tricky about this is that one could assume that all our ailments, every tragedy and death, is God's plan.

Experimental Zone - Watch for Falling Objects

This is an experiment, if you will. I spent all four years of seminary (and that awkward transition time before and right after seminary) blogging. I miss it.

On the one hand, I can't read all there is out there as it is. Why would I want to contribute more text to a world that is weary of text? Of reading. We are getting more and more visual as a culture and I'm definitely a part of that. I see a page of text and I better have a really, really good reason to read all of it. Otherwise, I'll read the first paragraph or skim.

On the other hand, people seem to need to hear my voice. I lament that it is unique, not only amongst my generation, but amongst Christians in general. I'm not trying to claim that I have a corner on this market. In truth, there are many who have said whatever I will say in a more eloquent way or a more succinct way. I have friends who write some killer blogs that I will likely link you to. And I will point you to amazing books if you want to know more. My voice is not a solo voice.

But I'm acting as a bridge. A blog as a bridge from the highly intellectual, theological, progressive world to a world that pulses with doubt and questions and craves conversation over conversion. People have told me I'm an approachable pastor. That's got to be a gift from God because I'm certainly not sure how I "do" that. At times, it is taxing to stop and listen to someone's story, though I'm usually glad I did.

If you are appalled by what I say, let me know why it bothers you - do not correct me. I believe we all have our own perspectives and this blog is mine. You cannot debunk my lens for seeing the world without debunking your own in the same breath. That being said, the biggest growths I've done in my life so far are when people questioned my perspective and offered an alternative angle. If you are in it for the conversation, comment away. If you want to convert, try preaching to my cats. (They're easily lured by Greenies, tuna flavor, and a warm lap.)

But I hope you'll see this blog as a starting point for conversation within your own world. A launching point for exploration into your faith.

Here we go. Thanks for joining in on the ride.