Embrace Each Day

Luke 13:31-35

One of the, if not the bloodiest battle in World War II was the landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Tens of thousands lost their lives as they landed on the beach in an attempt to open a line of attack in The German forces. Soldiers were gunned down as the doors of their amphibious landers opened. Bodies dropped by the dozens into shore-waters already stained with blood.

Just as much as these soldiers, most of who were young men, were willing to give their lives to fulfill their duties, they were also scared, frightened to the point where they found it impossible to move.

Brig. Gen. Norman Cota was most likely the oldest soldier to set foot on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He was highly decorated, remembered for his leadership, his courage, his ability to visualize a battle and his preparation of his men. He is best remembered, though, as the D-Day hero who personally led traumatized soldiers through a gap off of bloody Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.

Before landing on Omaha Beach, Cota had warned his men of the terrible confusion they’d encounter that day, and he was right. Troops landed in the wrong places and the German defenses were stronger than anticipated. The Allies couldn’t get a foothold on the beach under intense enemy fire and around obstacles and mines.

About one hour after the invasion started, Norman Cota rode a landing craft into a crossfire of bullets, artillery and mortar. As the story is told, he strode upright across the beach toward a group of soldiers pinned down by enemy fire next to a sand dune. It was then that he may have uttered his most famous words: “Gentlemen, we are being killed on the beaches. Let us go inland and be killed.”

As he walked the shores of the beach, he came across a unit of men representing the 5th Ranger Battalion. He asked their commander, “What outfit is this?” When told, he replied, “Well, damn it then, Rangers, lead the way!

"Rangers lead the way!" is now that elite unit's official motto.

The Germans had put up wire fences to obstruct the Allies' path off the beach. A soldier placed a Bangalore torpedo – a tube filled with high explosives – under one fence and blew it away. The first soldier through the breach was killed by sniper fire. The men following him froze. Cota saw what was happening and raced into the breach. He led the surviving soldiers through the gap in the fence and up a steep bluff to overtake a German gun embankment.

None of this is to say Brig. Gen. Norman Cota was without fear. I’m sure he feared for his life. What Gen. Cota did was be an example of what is needed to begin saving the lives of those he was put in charge of.

Brig. Gen. Norman Cota put duty and what he understood as his calling before himself.

A lesson we also learn from Jesus Christ in today’s story from Luke.

Lent offers us the opportunities to take a look at the stories of Jesus’ journey towards the cross and reflect where we are on our own journey. Lent also offers the opportunities to take an honest look at our relationships and see if there is anywhere among them we need to focus on in order to find reconciliation. What are introduced to in today’s scripture is a view into Jesus’ heart and mind as he does the same.

Jesus is on his journey towards Jerusalem, a place he absolutely knows will bring him death. As he gets closer, walking through the small villages which surround the great city, he is approached by a small group of Pharisees. This would be a surprise to the first readers and listeners of Luke’s Gospel as there seems to always be a wall of dissension between the priests and Jesus. Perhaps this is Luke’s way of introducing the idea that not all people are followers of a single mind and that these particular Pharisees have discovered a better way to live their lives.

Maybe the life of Jesus now matters to these Pharisees.

To get back to our story, Jesus tells the Pharisees to go and tell that “fox” to mind his own business. My guess is that being called a sneaky, elusive four-legged animal was just as bad a name they had for others when Luke was written. Like being a “brood of vipers.”

He tells those Pharisees to report what they see; that Jesus is “throwing out demons and healing people.” Not only is he doing these things, but he will be doing them today and tomorrow. Jesus doesn’t plan to stop doing what he sees as his duty. Jesus doesn’t plan to stop doing what he sees as his calling and purpose for being a presence in the lives of those around him.

Then, Jesus gets prophetic. “On the third day I will complete my work.”

Luke gives us two insights in this passage. First, the idea that because of the life-work of Jesus, people’s minds and hearts can be changed. Second, the idea that at some point Jesus’ work on this earth will be completed. In fact, it’s on the 3rd day, the day we now associate with Jesus’ resurrection, that his work will be completed.

As previously mentioned, Lent is a time to reflect on the journey of Jesus to the cross, and just where our same journey might be laid. This week we are being asked to answer one question: When will we be able to say that our work will be completed.

You might be asking yourself, “Just what is my work?”

There is an answer given to us in the Gospels, writings of Paul, and other epistles of the New Testament. Over and over we are told our job is to make better the Reign of God.

Matthew 6:33 says, “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Acts 28:30-31 says of Paul, “He lived there for two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” Luke 17:20-21 tells this short story: Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’ The prayer we recite or sing every week has us asking that when the kingdom of God comes, God’s will should be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

Just what, then is the kingdom of God?

Author and theologian Frederick Buechner tells us “If we only had eyes to see and ears to hear and wits to understand, we would know that the Kingdom of God in the sense of holiness, goodness, and beauty is as close as breathing and is crying out to be born both within ourselves and within the world; we would know that the Kingdom of God is what we, all of us, hunger for above all other things, even when we don’t know its name or realize that it’s what we’re starving to death for. The Kingdom of God is where our best dreams come from and our truest prayers are answered. We glimpse it at those moments when we find ourselves being better than we are and wiser than we know. We catch sight of it when at some moment of crisis, a strength seems to come to us that is greater than our own strength. The Kingdom of God is where we belong. It is home, and whether we realize it or not, I think we are, all of us, homesick for it.”

The kingdom of God is as close as breathing and is crying out to be born within ourselves and within the world. The kingdom of God is home, and we are all homesick. The kingdom of God is all of us and each of us. The kingdom of God is the fulfillment of making this world a better place for us and for those around us.

How we do this is up to each of us, and is according to the gifts we have been given by God to accomplish God’s goal. How do we find and develop these gifts? That’s what Lent, and the time beyond Lent, is for.

Some of us will recognize we like to cook and decide to make and serve meals for places like Next Step Shelter or River of Life. Some of us will find we have a lot of time on our hands and might look for places to volunteer to help, such as with places like Easter Seals or Ewa Elementary School. Maybe some of us like to make phone calls and visit others and can find time to be with church members who have a difficult time coming to church. Maybe you just like to do labor and can show up at the church to mow lawns or move pews or polish wood.

The gifts we possess vary as much as we are different people. The one thing we should try to understand in this time of reflection is how to best discover and use the gifts we have to make the kingdom of God a better place, so that when we or those around us finally breathe in the presence of God, the kingdom we all live in, is what God had intended for us since the day of creation.

Will it be easy? No. Will we find what we are seeking in the next few weeks? Probably not. But, that doesn’t mean we stop trying. It might be a lifetime before some or most of us get to that place where we belong. Remember, though, that we never travel alone. God is always in our presence, Jesus is always by our side, we have friends and family who are as close as we let them be, and just as important, you have you.

At midnight every September 11, Elsie Clark hangs a banner on the fence alongside the front yard – memorial of her house to the 39-year-old son who perished at the World Trade Center. The banner reads: “In Loving Memory Benjamin Keefe Clark 9/11/01”

Her son was not a firefighter or a police officer. Benjamin Clark was a chef.

A morning that began with him preparing meals for the people at the Fiduciary Trust Company suddenly led to him becoming as brave as any first-responder. A Fiduciary official would later credit Clark with saving hundreds of lives as he made sure that everyone in his department along with everybody else in the company’s 96th floor offices in the South Tower was safely exiting the building.

He then paused on the 78th floor to assist a woman in a wheelchair, which led him to helping others out of the building, Benjamin Clark never made it out of the building that day. His mother reflects, “He could have gotten out, everybody else did.”

His mother credits some of his courage to him having been a Marine for eight years.  “My son was a Marine, so you know he wasn’t going to leave anybody behind,” she says, “He was always there to help.”

Upon seeing others suddenly in the most mortal danger, his everyday decency had become uncommon courage. A chef known for his fabulous meatloaf and for remembering everybody’s name and favorite meals had proven as courageous as if he was a veteran of the New York Fire Department.

“There were a lot of heroes that day,” Elsie Clark reminds us, “and many seemingly ordinary civilians who would demonstrate astonishing bravery at other times and places such as the Aurora movie theater shootings and the Sandy Hook school massacre and the Oklahoma tornado and just about any other place where horror suddenly struck.”

Again and again, people threw themselves upon others in an effort to shield them. We have seen it so often that it seems to be at the core of what it means to be a true American. What we rightly admire in people who serve in our military, firefighters, police officers, and others who race into harm’s way also rest in each one of us and lay in wait for that moment when we, too, will be the one who are willing to give our life to save the lives of others. Who knows, maybe the reflex to hold a door for the next person coming out of a store or offer an elderly person a seat on the bus can, in other circumstances, propel you to react in such a way as to put other’s lives before your own.

The journey to the cross is not an easy one. Yet, it’s a journey we all take. God gives us gifts according to our abilities and it’s up to us to develop those gifts to help others on their daily journey to the cross. Each day we move a step or two closer, and each day comes with its own revelations into just where we are on our individual journeys.

God is always with us. Amen.

On One Condition

Luke 4:1-13

Hello to all of those who share your love on this Valentine’s Day, which by my count is all of you. I’ve never been one to think that Valentine’s Day belongs to only those in or seeking a committed relationship, rather the day belongs to everyone who wanted to say or do something special for someone they care about. Cards, candy, flowers, and trinkets all in some way can be shared between any individuals who wish to do so. Don’t you think?

Of course, in my years working with teenagers and young families, I can say there have been many Valentine’s Days that have come and gone with at least one heart being broken. I remember one such time; a day when a young woman was devastated because she felt betrayed by the one she loved.

It was after school and I was sitting alone in the classroom, correcting papers or reading student’s papers. The building was quiet, which I guess should be expected on Valentine’s Day in a high school. Of course not everyone was with a Valentine, but for the most part all of the couples had left campus.

The silence was broken by the sound of heavy feet in heels, and from the sound, I had guessed those feet were moving fast. Before I knew it, one of the female students had rushed into the classroom; her face red, her eyes angry. She didn’t notice me at first as she walked by, swearing obscenities as she did. Through her words, the ones that were not riddled with vulgarity, I could make out she maybe she was mad at her boyfriend for not doing something or getting her something for Valentine’s Day. I was so far from the truth.

I could imagine her anger. Earlier in the day she was decorating a homemade card with hearts and kisses, she was writing “I Love You” on red and white balloons, she was even showing everyone the pink cookies with red and white sprinkles she had baked for him. I’m sure that if she went through all that trouble she was expecting at least something small in exchange.

I called out to her to see if she was okay, which startled her. She called back, “Oh, Mr. Randy. I didn’t know you were here." She walked over, sat down, and began to tell me what happened. Now, the story I’m about to tell you may bother some of you, it sure bothered me that day and for a while afterwards. But, we have to trust that in the end everything turned out as it should have.

She told me how her and her boyfriend decided to meet afterschool at his house to exchange Valentine’s Day gifts and how she was looking forward to it all day long. Their plan was to not see each other all day so when they exchanged gifts it would be a surprise. I told her I saw the card and balloons and her cookies and asked her if that was what she was going to give him. She said that was only a part of it and that she had bought him a hat he had really wanted for a few weeks.

Just as planned, they met at his house after school. His parents were not home so they were alone. He put on some music and they danced.  As she told the story, her voice began to quiver as she held back a big cry. After they danced and talked for a while, telling each other how much they loved one another, the time had come to share gifts.

She rushed out to her car to get his gifts, and when she went back into the house he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She called out for him and he called back, his voice coming from his bedroom. She walked in, her cookies and flowers and ribbon-wrapped box in hand. The room was dark, and when her eyes adjusted she had seen that he was sitting on the bed in only his underwear.

I remember when she first starting going out with this guy. She had made it clear that she had never been nor did she want to be in a sexual relationship, and he said he was alright with that. So, when she saw him sitting there, in the dark and all but naked, she didn’t know what to think.

She gave him the balloons and the card, then handed him the box and told him to open it. He did, and smiled and kissed her to say thank you. He held on to her hands and told her what his gift was: he wanted to offer himself completely to her as a sign of commitment he would be with her forever.

I’ll never forget that look of deep pain in her eyes, that look of betrayal from the one she thought loved her as she was and without any conditions. All she could muster to say next was she turned around and ran out of that house. She began to cry that cry I know all too well – the cry that says my heart is torn into pieces and there’s nothing that can fix it.

After a few moments she settled down and continued in a voice that was both angry and sad. She said to me, “You know what he actually said to me to try and make me get into bed with him?” I shook my head. “He said that if I really loved him I would let him give me his gift. He actually said if I loved him I would let him.”

This time she broke down and stayed broken for a good 15 or 20 minutes.

Time moved forward for her. She had good friends who protected her and kept her company; friends who really did love her unconditionally. Through their strength she found herself again, and before too long she was able to laugh and enjoy life the way she had always done before. After a while I told her how proud I was of her to be able to move on and she told me that it wasn’t easy, but she remembered how I always talk about unconditional love, and that helped her get through some of her days.

Conditional love – the belief that if someone is to be loved they must act or say things in a particular way. It’s the understanding that if someone’s love is to be returned, they must first do something for you.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. More than being tempted, however, is that when Jesus was at his weakest – hungry and exhausted – the devil tries to lure him into a relationship based on conditions.

If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. If you will worship me I will give you all the kingdoms of the world. If you are the Son of God throw yourself down and make God prove God loves you. If you do the things I am asking you, you will know who really loves you, because love has conditions.

If you deny who you really are as a person, if you follow the exact same kind of thinking I do, if you close your eyes to society’s problems, if you only associate with people like us, if you change to become the person I want you to be, if you can give to me more than I can give to you, then I will love you because love has conditions.

My friends, love has no conditions. Especially where Jesus Christ is concerned.

We are currently in the beginnings of our yearly Lenten journey. Lent is that time we take a look at where our relationships are. Today’s question, therefore, is: Are we putting conditions on those relationships we seek to reconcile?

Are we saying to those in our lives – siblings, parents, colleagues, strangers – that we want to love them, but first we need to know if they think and act like us? Are we saying to ourselves we want to love who we are, but first there are some things we need to change? Are we saying to God that we want to love God, but first we need to find the time, or the right way, or know what we’ll get in return?

Love has no conditions.

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in- law, and four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table, but the elderly grandfather’ s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he tried to grip the glass of milk it spilled onto the tablecloth.

The old man’s son and daughter-in- law started to become irritated with the mess. “We must do something about dad,” said his son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. It was here the old man ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner together as one. Since the old man had broken a dish or two as well, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather’ s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. Their four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father and his wife noticed their son playing with small wooden sticks on the floor. The dad asked the child, “What are you making?” The boy paused and simply responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words left the parents speechless as tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’ s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Love has no conditions.

God is with us always.  Amen

On The Other Side

Luke 9:28-43a

One of my favorite commercials is the one with two neighbors, one cleaning his lawn mower and the other looking over a short hedge at that neighbor’s lawn. He says something like, “I wish my lawn looked as good as that.” To which the reply is, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the.” And as he realizes what he’s saying he stops and says, “Oops, sorry.”

His neighbor simply bows his head and walks away, perhaps in the realization that things just might be better on the other side. Really, though, haven’t most of us thought the same thing at least once in our lives. We take a look at our situations and see others who are doing better than us and wonder if we’ve made the right choices, with our next thoughts sometimes being, “I’m going to be more like others so I can have as good a life as them.”

The truth is, and I speak from experience here, the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. What I learned is that the grass is as green as you make it on your side of the fence.

I’m not sure if I’ve shared that I used to sell cars. My first job in the automotive business was that of a used car salesman and I’m not sure if I should admit this, but I did pretty good. I remember that first month in car sales. I was closing 2 or 3 deals a week, out-performing all but one other sales person. I worked smart, learning everything I possibly could about the business. I learned exactly what it takes to make “the deal” and vowed to be the best salesperson at our little used car lot the following month.

The following month came and I literally sold absolutely no cars for 4 weeks straight. Nothing. Nada. ‘Ole.

I should mention here that in the automotive sales business we were paid by commission. 100% commission. No car sales meant no paycheck. It also meant the threat of losing my job because the company still had to pay my medical benefits and payroll taxes. I was a liability to the company and even worse I was a liability to my livelihood.

Let me back up a little. Before beginning a career in the automotive business I was in the restaurant business. I began working at the age of 16 as a dishwasher/bus boy/janitor and worked my way through the ranks until I found myself in management around the age of 23 or 24.  I stayed in the restaurant business for close to 14 years, and one day I simply said, “There has to be something better than this.”

A restaurant manager will work at least 60 hours a week, with no less than 6 days dedicated to the job. I found myself with no time for anything, or anyone, else. In retrospect, the problems of my first marriage had a lot to do with my never being home. It wasn’t the only factor, but it played a large roll.

One day I was looking through the newspaper, not really looking for another job, and saw an ad for an automotive salesperson. “Good money”, it said. “Lots of free time”, it said. “No experience necessary”, it said. That ad wasn’t the deciding factor for me to get into the car business, but after a period in my life where my life choices were making life a lot more difficult than it needed to be, automotive sales seemed a lot better than staying in the one business I knew better than anything.

I hopped the fence, looking for greener pastures.

Moving forward, to my 4 weeks without a sale. I was called into the sales manager’s office where he told me what I was expecting to hear; I had to start performing or I would lose my job. I told him I understood and went outside to the car lot, found a nice quiet place between a couple of cars, and contemplated my next move.

A voice called out, “hey.” It was that salesperson who I had vowed to be better than, and he came and sat next to me. “Get fired yet?” he asked me. “No, not yet, but soon.” I replied.

He then told me something I took with me through the rest of my automotive career, and through the rest of my journey in life. He said, “I’ve seen it happen to the best of us, heck, it even happened to me. We recognize our talent, we know we’re good at what we do, and we bask in that knowledge for too long. We think that because we were the best at what we do we can’t possibly ever lose. Then we lose and we have to figure out what to do next.”

He continued, “My advice to you is this: quit before they fire you because you don’t have what it takes to use your knowledge and talents to better the lives of those around you. You, my friend, want to rest in your greatness and simply be the best.”

He walked away, and I was mad at him for suggesting I quit because I didn’t have what it took. Then I thought about all of his words, and you know, he was right. When I first started selling cars I wanted to help people. I wanted to help them find a reliable car that fit into their budget. I had no other motive. It wasn’t until I started to be a “winner” that it became more about me and less about them.

I picked myself up from my place of solitude, or should I say solo-tude, and sat by my new friend’s side and told him I wasn’t going to quit. He looked at me and smiled and said, “Good, and just in time, go help that couple who just walked on the lot.”

I did just that. I put no thought about what I was going to make in this deal and only thought about what I could do to best assist this couple in finding a car. I made the sale that night, but more than that I realized that the grass really is only as green as you make it.

It wasn’t easy hearing the truth that I was stuck in my own glory. Most people really don’t like to hear that they only care about one thing, especially when that one thing comes at the expense of doing good for others. Today’s story is a reminder of just that, of getting stuck in the wonder of God’s light that we forget to share that light with others.

The story of the Transfiguration is one of my favorite stories in the bible. I really get caught up in the imagery of it all. Clothes flashing as white as lightning, a descending cloud with the voice of God coming from it, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and even the sleepy disciples really bring to life how Jesus was filled with the light of God and became spiritually changed on that mountaintop.

During the years I’ve also noted how Peter was all but admonished for making an incoherent request to make a dwelling place for the three men, reminding us that nothing can hold the power of God’s light. What I’ve not seen as much as I’ve seen it this time around is what happens when the disciples and Jesus get down from the mountain; when they get to the other side.

I believe that Peter’s intentions were good, that he saw an opportunity for them to dwell in the greenest grass possible, but neither Jesus nor God nor the other two men would have anything to do with those plans. Instead, Jesus takes them all down the mountain and, in response to a request from the crowd, removes an evil spirit from someone’s son.

Jesus shows us all that we cannot do God’s work by staying on the mountaintop to bask in God’s light, instead we must go among the people to find ways to share that light with those who most need it – the angry, the downtrodden, the sick, the abused, the lonely.

This coming Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. Lent is when we take the opportunity to honestly look at our relationships. How are we in our relationship with each other? Do we do our best to bring others into the light of Christ? How about our relationship with ourselves? Can we take an honest look at the person we really are and say we’re ok with whoever that person might be?

What about our relationship with Jesus Christ? Are we doing everything we can to continue to grow into his message of unconditional love and acceptance? Are we doing everything we can to follow his commandment to love God with everything we are, to love our neighbor, and to love ourselves?

We have a lot to think about going into Lent, but mostly we should be thinking about how we can best accept, grow, and share the light, the life-force of God, into our lives and out to the lives of those around us.

According to the Christian calendar, today is the last Sunday in the Epiphany, the time when God’s light is revealed to us. I find it fitting that the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, of his change into a more spiritual presence, comes just before Lent. The story helps us to see God’s light come to completeness in Jesus while at the same time look beyond that, to the other side of this moment, and into what we are being asked to do.

No two of our journeys will be the same. Maybe some of us need to work on our relationship with our self, while others might need to work on our relationships with others. Either way, we all need to see how we can make better our relationship with, and through, Jesus Christ.

Often during Lent I am asked, “What will you be giving up?” This year, instead of thinking of it in those terms, I’m going to think, “What do I want to improve?” I may fine tune my diet or start walking to improve my health. I may make more phone calls to friends and family and church members to improve relationships with others. I might even take on the task of reading the Book of Acts once again to improve my knowledge of the struggles of the early church.

Whatever I decide to do I do know one thing: I won’t be doing any of those things for myself. I’ll be sure to plant some good grass, water it often, make sure it gets a lot of light, and when I have a nice, soft turf I’ll invite everyone to come and share it with me.

God is with us always.  Amen.