Out of the Blue

I did - though it was a strange one.

You know I've been dithering about churches for a long time. I like the church on the corner and the people are nice -- but, it's never been a place that I know I'd feel a sense of belonging to, as in "I am a member of this community." Then there's the cool pope, the pull of the Catholic Church, and the issues I have with the church.

Here comes the strangeness. I was walking this morning - thinking about things and this homeless woman with bright red hair passed me. She held up a large gold cross that hung around her neck, leaned into me and said, "You're a Catholic! You need to go to church. You need the blessings of the sacraments." She kept talking as she walked away, the wind and the traffic sounds whipping away her words. I said, "God bless you!" and continued on my way. Why would the woman peg me as a Catholic - how did she know I was Catholic when I didn't even know that? Was this some sort of sign, or was the woman just a crazy homeless woman? Did she say that to everyone or was there something special about me. And why had I never seen her before? I walk the beach regularly and I know most of the homeless community here by sight.

So I walk away and I pray, "Okay, God, if you want me to go to mass tomorrow, then I need another sign. Not something I go looking for, something clear and unexpected and out of the blue."

Lorella emails me and asks me how to pray. She's tentatively reconnecting with her Catholic faith and the email was full of that as well. I wondered if this was a second nudge from God, but it wasn't all that unexpected. God has been courting Lorella for a while now. As we are both Catholics who have issues with the Church, it's natural we should talk about that. So, I decided that was not a sign and I would be going to the church on the corner, exploring Protestantism.

Then, Dana and I go to Presto Pasta and I'm eating my Greek salad, bemoaning the fact that pasta is so dang fattening and always leaves me bloated and uncomfortable and Dana pipes up, "If I was to belong to any religion, I would be a Catholic." Then she continues her dance conversation as if she hadn't said that at all.

"You'd be Catholic? Really?"

"I don't know why I said that. It just came right out of the blue." I narrowed my eyes and figured God, if God used such language in tweets, would be LMFAO right about now. Dana continued, "I guess I just identify with Catholicism."

I told Dana the story of the homeless woman and the significance of "right out of the blue" and that I guessed I'd be going to mass tomorrow. "Yeah, go to mass. If I wasn't going to my dad's, I would go with you." Then she paused, looked thoughtful, and said, "You know, stuff like this really makes me believe in God."

Me too, kid, me too.

I Believe in God

Today's sermon cuts to the quick. Belief is my stumbling block and my relationship with faith is, well, complicated. 

The sermon is built on the Apostles Creed - the mere Christianity Lewis wrote about. 

Pattie (guest speaker and retired pastor, said she was raised with a "supposed to believe mentality" whereas we have a relationship with Jesus. That said, these basic beliefs bind us together as a people. 

Eastern Orthodox Christianity teaches that we will never stop learning about God. 

God created everything that exists. Thinking on creation is a great meditation. 

Psalm 136 tells us twenty-six times that God's love endures forever. 

God loves because that's who God is. God's loves is based on nothing. We cannot do anything to earn or destroy that love. 

God loves because God is Love. LORD means, "I AM WHO I AM."

God is our God - our personal God - God comes to be with us. God wants a personal relationship with us. 

God wants a dance of Love - both of us loving and loving fully - for there is Joy, there is Divinity. 

If we love God we will love what God has made (which God loves). This is the same teaching as Bhakti Yoga as a path to enlightenment. 

God is Love and when we allow ourselves to love, God lives in us, and God's love is made perfect in us (1 John 4:12). This also echoes a Lewis reading this past week about our individuality being made perfect in God. God's love is made perfect in us and we are made perfect in God!

God is not just watching us from a distance. God came to us and lives with us and in us. God came near and God is near ... right here, right now. 

God is here. God is near. And God is Love. 

Thought for the Week: What is my life saying to the people around me about Who I believe God is?

Worship -- What an Experience!

Today's sermon is based on John 4:19-24. The story is about the woman at the well. 

Question for the Week: What part of my life do I want to put back on the altar so that I can worship God with my life all week?

This sermon is about what it means to experience church. 

We don't just worship in church. It's not tied to a specific place, time, or people.  Its natural to worship -- it's in our DNA. Worship is to give honor, attention, significance, and value to something. Everyone worships but not everyone worships God.

We worship celebrities. We worship things. We worship routines and schedules. We worship work. We give meaningless things far too much meaning in our lives. 

The woman at the well had one question, "Where do I worship?" We asked that question today. I asked that question this morning. The question underneath this question is, "Where do I go to find God?"

We find God within - in spirit and in truth - God is in us - we are the Temple. 

We take God into the church when God is within us. We worship God everywhere. We don't meet God in church - we take God to church. 

Notes from the Sermon

Today's sermon it titled, The Three Chairs of Easter and the scripture is Matthew 6:33:

Seek first God's kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. 

Cool that worry is the focus of the reading when it is worry that drives me here. 

Each of the three chairs represents a decision about Easter. 

First Chair - Represents someone completely sold out to Jesus. 

Commitment 

Personal relationship with God

God is #1 ALL the time

Easter is about the resurrection. 

Bible - I don't get it all the time but I believe and obey. 

Makes decisions based on convictions and what lines up with scripture. 

8% live here. 

Second Chair - A Christian who hangs back. 

Inconsistent

Parental relationship - cultural Christianity. 

At the end of the day - self first. 

Most stressful - it's a constant "What do I do?" "Who comes first?" Both first and third chairs made a decision. This fits in with research about happiness and religion - agnostics have it the worst. 

Easter is a celebration - among a lot of other celebrations. 

I have lots of Bibles and I obey the Bible 85-90% of the time and that's pretty good. 

Bases decisions on counsel from Christian friends. 

77% in this chair. 

Third Chair - A good person who is unsure about Jesus. 

Compromise

Self only - not sure God is real. Doesn't want to be told what to do. 

Easter - Maybe I'll go to church - it will be a good thing and make my family happy. 

I have a Bible somewhere. 

Bases decisions on popular opinion (PC).

15% in this chair.