Baking Casseroles, Playing Pianos and Preaching Sermons

My friend Nikki is a thoughtful, dedicated, compassionate minister.

I once heard Baylor football coach Grant Teaff tell an injured player to pipe down.  "I've had more pain in my eye," Teaff said.  To paraphrase, Nikki has more pastoral sensibilities in her little finger than some pastors do in their whole beings.  And she's a woman.

A couple of years ago, she and I were preparing for a funeral at the church we served.  The funeral director referred to her as "that little lady."  I pointed out that she was a member of our pastoral staff.  He said it again.  I interrupted to say she was my colleague, has a dual degree in divinity and social work, and is an ordained minister.  He hardly paused and kept talking.  (He also gave me the wrong check and rambled on about how the Book of Isaiah can cure cancer.)

After the funeral, I called his boss to complain.  Oddly, the boss took me to lunch to apologize. Not Nikki.

Today, my friend Nikki took part in a funeral with personnel from that same funeral home.  She introduced herself to a funeral director as one of the ministers participating in the  service.  Later, that funeral director asked her if she was the pianist.  As Nikki pointed out, not that ministers can't be pianists or vice versa, but if she was the pianist she would have said she was the pianist.  

Granted, funeral directors deal with many different religious traditions and many different people.  And, granted, historically more men than women have been ministers.  And, granted some religious traditions still do not allow women to be clergy.

But really?  The same funeral home? Twice?  To the same minister?  So, here's the deal, Anonymous Funeral Home That Shall Not Be Named, I'm putting you on notice.  The third time, and we're calling you out on this.  By name.  Publicly.

And let's get this straight.  Women can be ministers and pianists and scientists and plumbers and astronauts and undertakers.  Yes, some women clergy members are terrible clergy members; so are some men.  Yes, there are differences in men and women.  If I need to carry a grand piano, I'm probably going to ask the burliest men I can.  If the world needs babies carried in the womb, well, women are better at that.   And when people need to be "carried through the valley of the shadow of grief," men can bake the casseroles and play the piano and drive the hearse and preach the sermons.  So can women.

Jesus was a girl...with two mommies...and a Muslim daddy

At the church I previously served as pastor, the kids signed up in advance for the parts they wanted to play in the annual Christmas pageant.  One year, two little girls signed up to play Mary.  And nobody signed up to play Joseph.  Ours wasn't a Tony-winning show, so what the heck.  We went sans Joe that year, and two little girls -- one about 8, one about 5 -- stood together tending baby Jesus.  The double-casting was entirely innocent, but church was open and affirming to gays and lesbians, so, behind the scenes, we jokingly referred to that year's pageant as, "Jesus Had Two Mommies."

At the church I now serve, a "real" family plays the Holy Family roles, if the calendar works out.  (By calendar working out, I mean, did anyone have a baby in he past few months?  And will they be in town for Christmas Eve?)  This year, a charming little four-week old girl will play the role of baby Jesus.  And her mother and father will dress in costume as Mary and Joseph.  The best part is, the dad is Muslim.  He's not exactly "practicing" or especially "religious."  But by birth and tradition, he is Muslim.

So, Jesus is a girl.  S/he had two mommies.  And his daddy (or is that step-daddy?) is Muslim.

My grandmother had a huge yard filled with flowers, fruit trees and statues.  And every year in December she set her manger scene in the middle of it.  It was the plastic kind where you stuck up a light bulb up their robes. But my grandmother wasn't content with that.  She hauled over the rest of her statuary -- a terra cotta swan that was really a flower pot, a concrete boy with a fishing pole who normally lived at the fish pond, a ceramic frog.  By Christmas Eve, a bizarre cadre of critters surrounded Jesus.  None of them matched in style, size, or material.

Sweet little Jesus girl with two mommies and a Muslim daddy.  An odd-sized boy with a fishing poll, swans, frogs, sweaty shepherds, befuddled scientists from the east, maybe a braying donkey, a pregnant teen-aged girl, a decree-sending emperor who had no idea he was part of the tale.

Christmas is a universal story. Fear, faith, longing, home, misfits, new life.  Those are universal ideas.

"God bless us everyone," as Tiny Tim said.  And, "Peace on earth, goodwill to all."

Wayne LaPierre and Jesus

Wayne LaPierre, head lobbyist for the NRA, held a press conference in Washington today.  He said, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

Jesus of Nazareth, is said to have been a carpenter like his daddy.  One day he sat down in a field of weeds near a lake and said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, ‘Do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.’ You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’”

One of those guys makes an annual salary of $970,000, by the way.  The other one was killed on a cross near the town dump and tossed in a borrowed grave.

Two different visions for life.

The Shortest Sermon You May Ever Hear

Timothy B. Tutt

Pastor, United Christian Church

Austin, Texas

Sunday, August 12, 2012  

10:00 AM Worship

11th Sunday of Epiphany

 (Lectionary Year B)

“The Shortest Sermon You May Ever Hear”

Matthew 22:34-40

34   When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ 37 He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’     .

[Note:  This was my final sermon to preach as senior pastor of the United Christian Church in Austin, Texas.]

Love God and live like it.   It’s that simple and that difficult.

Love God and live like it.  That’s all you have to do.

After 11 years, 572 Sundays, 132 council meetings, 132 newsletters, dozens of funerals, weddings and baptisms, and approximately 2000 dishes that I have sampled at Wednesday Night Potluck Suppers, that is what I hope you will remember:  Love God and live like that.

Everything else is just extra, and there are lots of ways to say it, but at its core, that is the call of the Gospel:  Love God and live like it.

No matter who you are or where you go, Love God and live like it.

If you are young or old or gay or straight, if you are rich or poor, or a Republican or a Democrat, if you live to be a 190 and sit in these pews every Sunday for the rest of your life, or if you never darken the door of a church again, that is what I hope you will remember: Love God and live like it.

Love God and live like it.

Benediction

Friends, as you go forth from this place, hear the Good News: 

God loves you.

Do not be afraid. 

Be kind to everyone you meet.

And remember: God loves you. 

You are loved.  You are loved.  You are loved. 

Amen, amen and amen.

Jesus and Louie Gohmert

The "Batman" movie shootings in Aurora, Colorado, are a painful tragedy.

East Texas Congressman  Louie Gohmert said on a radio show today, "You know what really gets me, as a Christian, is to see the ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs, and then some senseless crazy act of terror like this takes place."  He was talking about this shooting.  

Gohmert also said the tragedy could have been lessened if someone else in the movie theater had been carrying a gun and shot the gunman.  He said, "It does make me wonder, with all those people in the theater, was there nobody that was carrying a gun that could have stopped this guy more quickly?" 

Jesus of Nazareth said, "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him to other."

Not easy words.

I wonder who is the most Christian, Jesus or Louis Gohmert?

What is our Work?

There's truck-loads of dithering and hand-wringing among mainline churches these days (and years):  What is the church about?  Who is the church for?  What is the church's mission?  


A friend of mine sent me an email on another topic.  In the midst of his writing he described the church thusly:


“A Hebrew Bible passion for justice
a Gospel commitment to abundant grace
and a contemporary church always open to welcome and serve all God's children...
is still our work.”


Seemed worth sharing.

Boy Scouts, Evolution, Love and other Controversies

Yesterday, the Boy Scouts leadership affirmed their ban against "open or avowed homosexuals."  That silly, unnecessary, hurtful, exclusive romp reminded me of a sermon I preached a couple of years ago.

The sermon touched on Valentine's Day, evolution, Scouting, mental illness...and love.  

   

Timothy B. Tutt

Pastor, United Christian Church

Austin, Texas

Sunday, February 14, 2010  

9:30 AM Worship

Transfiguration Sunday

 (Lectionary Year C)

“Everybody’s Son and Daughter – Jesus, Mental Illness, and Us”

Luke 9: 28-43

²⁸Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³⁰Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. ³¹They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. ³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. ³⁵Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” ³⁶When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

³⁷On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. ³⁸Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. ³⁹Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” ⁴¹Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴²While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

⁴³And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

Today, three things collide...or perhaps I should say (hopefully), three things hold hands on the church calendar. 

First, it’s Valentine’s Day, of course. 

Second, it’s Evolution Sunday.   A group of Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans and others have suggested that today is a good day for churches to think about how science, particularly evolution, intersects with our faith.

Third, here in our little corner of the Realm, we are observing Scouts Sunday.

            So, Valentine’s Day, Evolution Sunday, and Scouts Sunday.

            Now, the first one, Valentine’s Day is not so controversial.   Everybody purports to like love, and most folks like chocolate, so we’re okay with Valentine’s Day.  (As for me, I’m allergic to chocolate so I would just as soon people give each other big boxes of mashed potatoes or chicken enchiladas, but I doubt that is going to catch on.)    Still, we’re okay with Valentine’s Day.

The second thing, Evolution Sunday is more controversial.   Maybe it’s not so controversial here in this church.   We’ve got a fair number of scientists and teachers, so I suspect most of us either embrace the idea entirely, or really don’t give it much thought at all.  But still, the larger world around us seems to be all a-twitter about “humans descending from monkeys.”  The Texas State Board of Education is a good -- or rather, bad -- example of that.  Ever so often the State Board of Education gathers here in River City and people have a good fight about evolution versus creationism, mainly in textbooks.   Seems like there are a lot of people who enjoy calling Charles Darwin names even though he’s been dead 128 years.    So, there’s the controversy of evolution.

Then, there’s Scout Sunday.   For some people, Scout Sunday conjures up a Norman Rockwell painting of freshly-scrubbed lads and lasses in their uniforms, pledging their duty to God.   But for other people, the Scouts (both Boy and Girl) are groups that symbolize intolerance in some ways through by policies that bar certain folks from participation.  GLBT people persons, persons of certain religious persuasions, or lack thereof, have been excluded. 

            In fact, one of our church’s denominational partners, the United Church of Christ, has called into question these policies.  Yet, we have a dozen or more kids in our church who like tying knots, making crafts, learning to cook in a Dutch oven, and sleeping out in tents.   So, Scout Sunday presents a contrast – inclusion versus exclusion.

            (Let me say, by the way, that here’s what we’re doing with Scout Sunday.   We are combining Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.   I think that honors gender equality.   Through this Scout Sunday, we are also acknowledging the Scout pledge to “do your duty to God” is one way that young people have the opportunity to think about their faith beyond the walls of the church.  That’s a shocking idea, huh?   That God doesn’t live only at church.   So, to our Scouts, thank you for finding ways to think about God beyond Sunday.  And we’re also used this Scout Sunday as a time to invite others to come and see how our community seeks to live out our faith.  Learning from others, learning from other faith traditions, is important.)

            So, we’ve got these three contradictions bumping into each other.   Valentine’s Day.  Evolution Sunday.   Scouts Sunday.   As we think about these things, there are a plethora of questions that come to mind:  How do Christians embrace evolution and express their faith?   How can a family take part in two organizations that may have contradictory ideas, like Scouts and the UCC?   What if you’re a liberal on these issues and your next door neighbor is a conservative on these issues – how do we get along?  How does one church express a certain angle on theology while another church expresses a different angle?

That brings us back to Valentine’s Day.   Love.  I know, I know, it sounds so cheesy:  Love.   I’m not talking about buying flowers, or going out to eat or signing your name to a hallmark card.  I’m talking about, “Love one another.”  The words of Jesus, the words of the Apostle Paul, the cornerstone of the Good News that the church has to share.   Love.  The hard work of loving God and loving others.

            Our scripture passage for today is about love.   Jesus, Peter, James, John have this remarkable experience up on a mountaintop, then they come down to town and there’s a pained father crying out for help for his sick little boy.   The child is crying and convulsing and slobbering and hurting.   And the dad begs Jesus, Please help my little boy.  He’s my only child.  What was wrong with this little boy?  I don’t know.  Maybe he suffered from epilepsy, or some terrible digestive sickness.  Maybe he had the precursor to one of our mental illnesses, some extreme version of Tourette’s Syndrome or some terribly manic bipolar disorder.   

You will see that the title of my sermon includes mental illness.  At our 10:45 service I’m going to delve into that aspect a bit more.  I really don’t know what was wrong with the boy.  But I think I know what healed him.  Love.   The love of a man who took the time to stop, to listen, to touch and to care.

That is the same love that houses homeless people.    That is the same love that Cathy described in talking about the Interfaith Hospitality Network.   That is the same love that spurs you to give to the CROP Walk.

That is the same love that our society needs to address the controversies we face.  Evolution versus creationism, inclusive groups and exclusive groups, liberals and conservatives, Fox News and MSNBC.   How do we live with each other?

            I have strongly held views on these issues.    But I am not interested in digging up Darwin and “baptizing” him in the blessed waters of post-modern scientific thought (particularly since he was already baptized once as a good Anglican).  And I’m also not interested in digging up Darwin and crucifying him on a cross of gospel tracts.   I’m also not interested in preaching a sermon that sounds like closing arguments in a case for or against the Scouts.  

I hope that what this sermon does is cause us to think about living the contradictions and spur us onto loving the contrarians.

Love one another.  Conservatives and liberals, creationists and evolutionists, Scouts and not, the mentally ill, the physically well, the Olympically healthy, homeless people and those with three home.  Love them by stopping, listening, touching, caring as Jesus did. 

To me the most vital issue in our society today is learning to disagree with civility, with respect, with dignity.  Certainly we must speak up with urgency and with passion and with justice when wrong is perpetrated.  We must cry out as the daddy did in this text. 

But we simply must learn better ways to disagree.

I think that “more excellent way" (as the Apostle Paul wrote)  is love.

I hope, I pray that as citizens, we will find ways to end this debate over evolution.   I hope, I pray that we will embrace scientific views and faith perspectives that help us explain and care for our planet.   I hope, I pray that all groups of people – Scouts, churches, garden clubs, nations – will transcend the lines that divide us and truly embrace, welcome, and include all God’s critters.

But I’m afraid I’m a fatalist.   I’m afraid that once we’ve settled the evolution-versus-creation debate, I’m afraid that once we’ve fully welcomed GLBT people into, I’m afraid that once we’ve moved beyond the Christian versus Islamic wars that tear us apart, we will just move on to some other “fight” that we can’t even imagine today.

            Sadly, that seems to be how we humans are.  

            We may settle the current issues.   But unless we learn to love, we will just move on to other issues.  Unless we learn to heal, we will continue to fight.

But if we learn to love, to agree with kindness and to disagree with even more kindness, if we learn to respect, to care and to include, then we can live the more excellent way that beckons:  “Love one another.”