"A Conquering Love;" Sermon for May 1st, 2016 by Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins, FODM

In looking out my windows seeing the beautiful blossoms on the trees. ...made me think about God and the grace that surrounds us all.  It also had me wondering. ... What exactly did Jesus mean when he tells His disciples, He had “conquered the world?”  Imagine for a moment, where the disciples were, spiritually that is, in hearing that. .. ? I bet it was both encouraging as well as near terrifying to hear for every day people that they truly were… Fishermen, carpenters, tax collectors and so on. Our sense of victory, we must realize, is much different than what God’s sense of victory is.  For as we know Christ Jesus would become Christus Victor by defeating sin, death and the power of evil at that Cross and through His resurrection.

For the disciples it would be the challenge to faithfully endure.  Beyond the persecutions and myriads of stumbling blocks they would face, one could definitely see how it could be a lonely road.  In this day and age, that lonely road is far more daunting especially when you may feel as if you are sojourning in a world spiraling towards being without God.  The deep dark secret of your heart should only be opened to God to know. Sharing love as a gift to your neighbor alongside all kinds of rejection that you may face when you are living into what the Gospel is calling you to do and be, is the pain of seeking the Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.

We need not harbor boundaries when it comes to loving God, responding to Him.   All too often however, our fears drown out the pursuit of the cross, the one we must bear as disciples of Jesus.   This is where we need to open ourselves up to trusting in the Lord for a greater goal beyond anything we could ever strive for.  Being called by God and being controlled by the world doesn't claim the mission of the gospel.... it only builds towards its destruction!  We all have been commissioned by Christ and are built up by His love and Grace for the daily battle.  Victory is an inner peace that the Lord renews your opened heart to truly feel. In some senses you could say that God has the last Word, and the world, does not.

God is having the last Word, He more or less is "still speaking," trying to reach out to us.  This can be seen in the beauty of nature, things created establishing this very life!  The Lord needs our hopefulness, our endurance and our commitment.

This Friday, I was blessed to share in the joy of being a supportive colleague to a woman’s ordination. Ordination in its most positive light is a wonderful affirmation of commitment that you share with your loved ones and friends and eventually the world.

In remembering mine, the pain of six years of struggling and church world politics dissolved into revealing a humbling victory of the Lord affirming His call to my heart to serve! HE CALLED ME, not human. I was blessed to have my pastor and dear friends there to participate and witness with me, the culmination of my conversion experience’s goal.  It is a revealing in many ways of what we strive for.  It becomes an example of being a bold witness and putting aside those fears in order to take up the cross of leadership. We vow to be and become servant leaders. The means of Grace with the laying on of hands is not just the moment of consecration but a revealing of living into love. It is truly a sign of brotherly, sisterly love to those seeking a vow of service to God and neighbor!

What was particularly lovely to witness with hers is that she served for a number of years as a devoted Lutheran Deaconess.  Just for her ordination, she found a tailor to transform her Deaconess stole into a pastoral stole.  For her, this was a sign of further transformation in her service to others and for her witnesses, I can say it was an even greater joy!  I was so glad to be there for her and hopeful of the future we jointly share in service!

The second lesson this morning is once again from John of Patmos. An exile and a visionary commissioned by God to poetically paint an amazing picture of heaven, here and now.  The New Jerusalem is here, a holy city where the church is no more because God is revealed in the here and now and truly amongst us!

We are assured by faith that we indeed are children of grace and promise.  The sacrifice is great, but our hearts will be united by that wonderful peace, that wonderful joy that only trusting in the Lord can give us. I don't know about you, but what have you been wanting to ask God to receive?  How many here remember that really silly Jim Carey film, Bruce Almighty? ...In one scene in particular, he deals with the frustration of answering so many prayers by first having an email account to God established and finally giving up because of the overwhelming volume…he decides to grant them all. He fulfills all of their prayers! Well as you can imagine the following scenes. ...everyone wins the lottery, everyone gets to do anything they want and so on. ... Consumer American satire at its absolute best!

Have you ever thought, though, to ask for something that was beyond you?  When you don't get it, could it possibly be that God is perhaps trying to teach you or challenge you to grow, to be shaped in what He needs you to be?  These are good questions that build towards the lifetime journey. Love can be a two way street in the world but through Christ it is wholly one and unites us all most beautifully.  Once we realize those moments of a uniting love and beautiful peace which encapsulate seeing, envisioning that New kingdom in the here and now that beautiful city, the kingdom of God… we can see our humbling glory in the victory of Christ’s plans for us!

No matter where we are or what we do as the priesthood of all believers the gospel calls us to be a jewel within the setting of God's kingdom.  He calls us to blossom like those flowers out my living room glass patio door window. He calls us to lift up those heavy burdens and lift them with a great love and grateful tears.

The other day I was definitely faced with a challenge. .. I sat in to care for a young man suffering from advanced Parkinson's disease.  I have never been exposed to someone suffering like this before.  Not only was he not able to really speak much at all but he was completely reliant on someone to help him walk.  It was here that I failed him for I couldn't carry him and he even fell or should I say we fell together nearly missing the edge of his bathtub! It was in that very moment God revealed to me the true humility of service. The pastoral role is so much more than being a compassionate ear or as some think, a fount of knowledge. ... I needed to physically express compassion towards this man and I was not adequate, I was not up to the task. 

Yes, it's true that I'll probably never see this man again since it was an emergency substitute situation. ... but in order for me to truly be what God needs me to be, I must stretch and challenge myself beyond myself. ...there and only then will the beauty of God's love and grace reveal the Kingdom, the beautiful city of God!  And yes, I am singing that Godspell tune in my head!

My newly ordained colleague has a brand new journey ahead of her, I can only hope that she continues to be encouraged.  We all need to encourage one another wherever we are on that discipleship road. In whatever we are doing to serve Christ and His mission for this one solitary life on this floating rock in space! We will have an eternal peace with the Lord but why not DO big now from a heart transformed by that Holy Spirit Wisdom! Our united love builds that foundation of peace and the spiritual fruits of beauty—the kingdom of God. Righteousness is built and claimed by a pure heart that doesn’t fall prey to the ego—the world of the self.

It would be Francis of Assisi to remind us that our common home is like a sister or a brother with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. Amen

Let us Pray,

Gracious Lord Jesus,

Grant us this beautiful courage

To endure our long and sometimes lonely journey

May our hearts be shaped by You, a God always speaking

Teaching us a New Creature humility and a New Way of being

In the world but definitely not of it and aspiring evermore

For that Kingdom in the here and now

United may our lives preach, teach and lead to this final victory!

To Your Glory we are children

From Your Grace, we know Peace.

AMEN

May 1st, 2016; Sixth Sunday of Easter; Year C; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon By Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, FODM

Psalm 67; Acts 16:9-15; Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27;  John 16:23-33

The link below is to the sermon's delivery at a special vespers service on Thursday April 28th, 2016 at the Grace Hub Lutheran Orthodox's house church service, 7pm
https://youtu.be/rB8EKDblPdE 

"Declaring Joy;" Sermon for Sunday April 24th, 2016 by Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins, FODM

A question arose this week in thinking about all of our texts today… about forgiveness, but is this our source of pain?  The author of ‘Living in the Kingdom,’ Alvin Rogness, seems to capture what the Living Word is declaring to us to hear, the author states: “To be forgiven is not easy even for you. You will already have changed radically when you recognize your need for forgiveness. To be deeply sorry is one of the hardest things to do.  To be in the position of having to receive mercy from someone else, as an undeserving beggar, goes against every instinct of pride we have.”  The author continues to pinpoint the route for our release from pain:  “To throw ourselves upon the mercy of God is to enter the door to a whole new world—a world where you love and forgive, as you are loved and forgiven…”

Wow, I don’t know about you but that last line sounds like an echo of the culmination of the Gospel being the Kingdom of God realized through the fantastic vision poetically declared in John of Patmos’ snippet from the Book of Revelation: “And He will wipe away every tear from every eye.” What a beautiful thought! Something we have a very hard time wrapping our minds around… am I right?  The same can be said for the Word Joy.  Outside of it being a word incredibly robbed or held hostage by our needs and desires….  It is meaning here something truly divine, truly ABOUT Grace!

What’s been unique about my faith journey is not really unique at all because we all go through our formation with a Lord and savior that truly shows no impartiality.  A God who indeed came down to us, preached to us, struggled to teach His disciples the TRUTH of the Kingdom of God is to be revealed in our surrender!  Surrendering the ego, surrendering the dogma, intellectualism, labels, anger, hatred and contempt for others who are not “aligning” to what we “feel” is right.  As the saying goes, “pride goeth before a fall…”

Do we have to fall so hard, though? Do we have to have those tears go unanswered to the point of confusion and bewilderment? Welcome to the beginning of the birth pangs for the Disciple of Christ Jesus who is supposed to be embodying or at least beginning to practice—mercy, love, kindness, forgiveness and compassion!

I always have found God’s sense of timing especially when He’s trying to teach me to HEAR & LIVE His declarations, uncanny or almost surreal.  For just the other day, I not only had something awful and unforgivable to happen to me but within the Franciscan Order I was given an assignment ironically to address something I find near impossible to forgive… That is the act, TO forgive!  Outside of increasing my intake of Aleve for “the pain….”  I need to address this!

Where do I begin?  Where do any of us begin? Stinkin’ thinkin’ does nothing for the Gospel yet alone for anyone around you!  It’s hard though, for we all too wantonly seek to judge and condemn… We enjoy making the gap in the door smaller as we become smaller…  Which speaking of that… another incident on social media always amazes me on how far people will go to hurt one another.  For a young pastor receives a horrible letter from most likely or disturbingly from perhaps another pastor or congregant to her husband that he should get away from her and seek an annulment. 

If this is indeed from another pastor who sent this as an overly indulgent evil act of malice just because they are from one camp of thought versus the other…  They certainly cannot fathom what the Gospel is calling us ALL to do at all!  This leaves me to wonder…What then are they sharing on a given Sunday morning? What does it all mean if we can’t practice what we preach?!  We are more than aiding the Evil One’s plans for divisiveness and division of the Body!

We can try with no success frankly to avoid the Holy Spirit… but we only hurt and rob ourselves from the beauty of perhaps realizing the TRUTH in the declaration that God will bring us peace and KNOW how to live in that Kingdom, a Kingdom of Grace! The root Word for Grace is charis which is also the same root Word for joy.  It’s 2,000 something years later people…. Are we still sitting metaphorically around Jesus as those dumbfounded disciples from today’s gospel?!

The disciples then are a lot like us now since we need the answers and solutions NOW… We can’t wait God, everything has taken too long…  We need that elixir, we need those easy answers because we feel we’ve gone through a lot!  As my oldest friend a long time back drew the best cartoon for it… he drew a picture of the Easter bunny stomping and throwing a fit saying: “I want, what I want, when I want it!”  Wow, if that isn’t the battle cry of the “Me” generation, I don’t know what could be better!

The “Me” generation is like oil and water to the Gospel.  The Gospel calls us to not only eat that humble pie but live and declare selflessness!  Yes, you heard that one right—this is the radical heart and structure of that New Creature within you!  And Satan and his helpers are more than happy to lance it from your heart to help make you a complete success at being a heartless, indifferent being to live purely for the world and utterly deny the Gospel! C’mon! The Gospel’s TRUTH is like eating those awful Brussel sprouts that neither bacon nor good wine can wash away….

Instead of accepting the way things are and growing from them, we are all too easy prey to lamenting and grieving what we can’t get NOW…  The Old Nature is a beast sated by constantly battling for its’ own agendas.  The Old Nature is the ego, is the struggling sinner, is that aspect of who you are that you have a near impossible time to willingly KILL but when you battle with a peace in your heart you don’t really understand yet… you are being led by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s face it, the Old Nature LOVES those buttons being pushed… just like Edith, Lot’s wife, we find ourselves turning back going against God’s declarations to us and becoming like an immovable pillar of salt. Jesus said as well in another Gospel that salt sewn upon the ground cannot reap…  All these small things the Living Word tries to teach us in order to be ever moving forward… But more often we are dead-set against them and justify ourselves over and above God.

Those tears will not dissolve the chains you have bound your heart to… Neither will Aleve, hypnosis for positive thinking or a good glass of wine. Contentment is a lonely journey if you never allow your heart to grow, reap that New Nature within you to take your place within that New heaven and New earth—the one built by, for, and through Grace.

Peter’s conversion took a while, in some senses you could say that it was in stages…  From Jesus giving him a hard time as well as reminding him in the previous Sunday’s reading from the Book of Acts of his three denials, and the new task at hand to now realizing the inclusiveness and impartiality of the Gospel through the “Kosher sheet” vision, dream he has teaching him the real importance of ministry is to reach out to everyone…

Our laws are not God’s laws and this is true as well for the Gospel.  For our gospels—our agendas, “cherry-picked” perspectives on the TRUTH are certainly NOT what the reality of the Gospel of Christ Jesus truly is! It’s not an “Us” vs. “Them” Kingdom, It’s not a political kingdom, it is not a worldly sense of entitlement/ justice kingdom….  It is truly NOT ABOUT us… it’s about God!  Loving God and neighbor is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented declarations God has ever given us.  It is tragic… BUT we must remember that we have the capacity to not turn back, but move forward. 

We have the capacity to be and become wonderfully free and responsible servants to the Gospel of Jesus!  Fully Accountable, Fully altruistic (selfless), fully covered with that beautiful peace Christ Jesus gives us when we bear those spiritual fruit. This is that moment when you will feel your heart’s tears are being wiped away… When we bear that Holy Spirit prompted New Creature through love, kindness, compassion, mercy and most importantly forgiveness.  We must seek it and we must give it!  Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God! And what is truly given unto us is something definitely not cheap, but ever so wonderful and costly Grace! Live it to Give it!

AMEN

Let us Pray,

Gracious Lord Jesus,

You know how much Your children stray and are suffering

The Suffering more often the chains we have fashioned

Help our hearts to be shaped by the TRUTH

In order that we may declare that Joy

We will come to know, when we let go…

May Your love and light shine deeply upon those dark recesses of the soul…

BRING us into Your Truth!

To Thine be the Glory and Alleluia—

AMEN

April 24th 2016; Fifth Sunday of Easter; Year C; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon By: Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, FODM

Psalm 148; Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-7; John 16:12-22

Below is a link to this sermon's delivery at the Grace Hub house church service at 8am
https://youtu.be/osK1clr2P-w

"Disciple's DNA;" Sermon for April 17th, 2016 by Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins, FODM

The modern Thomas Moore, a former Roman Catholic Monk makes an interesting statement that will help us to chew on the journey St. Paul presents to us today in the Book of Acts, he says: “ What does it mean to be awake?...  responding honestly and courageously to opportunity… avoiding temptation?  It is following the lead of the deep soul (The Holy Spirit) as we make a life…”  He continues in a sense to begin to paint that picture of the disciple’s struggle in saying: “We all fall asleep and allow life to rush by without reflection and consideration.  When we are shocked into awareness by a tragedy or failure, this is the time not simply to make resolutions for the future, but to choose to live an awakened life.”

Wow, what an amazing thought!  To live an awakened life… it’s not just by starting with an extra large cup of coffee in the morning to start the blood flowing!  It is to begin to understand this as Christ Jesus—the answer and contentment—the heart shaped by the New Nature lives into by everything we do and say for His purposes and mission in the world!

We have this one solitary life on this little rock floating amongst billions in a universe we can’t truly fathom… We have this life to LIVE into the here and now with that faith that can move mountains… once we are aware of it.  The life of the disciple and the genuine fruit born from conversion is seen a farewell pastoral address that St. Paul shares with us today in the Book of Acts reading.  In many ways, he is living into what Jesus was hoping for us to realize in the Gospel, Jesus says: “²⁷My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.”

As we know from this past week’s view of Paul, he did most definitely HEAR God’s call, was converted and became a church-planting, Gospel preaching dynamo! The radical transformation of his whole life moved from merely “being” who he was and living most beautifully into the whole purpose of God.  Verse 27 from Acts rang the loudest for me to contemplate.  You could say that this is where the Living Word truly and truthfully reveals God’s work in your own life.

Here’s the actual verse and what it means from the original Greek, Paul says: “²⁷for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.”  Basically Paul is saying that he didn’t back down on the challenges laid before him—he still had to preach and teach and LIVE into God’s commission and calling to his life.  The whole purpose of God literally means, a “resolved plan,” the immutable aspect of God's plan – which purposefully arranges all physical circumstances, guaranteeing every scene of life works to His eternal purpose. This level of God's plan demonstrates that He is indeed the Lord of history, always in charge! It always also includes the Lord's purpose in and through us…

Can we put on Paul’s shoes today? Where we are in the here and now of our lives?  It’s a tall order to wrap our minds around since perhaps we don’t have enough faith in ourselves to aspire to move those mountains often times!  I’m guilt of this, who here as well feels this way?  The Gospel calls us into another sense of “being” to fulfill a much greater purpose. The highlight of my conversion to where I am now was hearing God’s voice literally telling me that He has greater plans for me in a New sense of Purpose!  It’s more than easy to feel purposelessness or uselessness where you are and the challenges that are currently blocking your path. BUT Christ calls us not to be in bondage to the world, but be a willing sacrifice for the sake of others to Share the Good News!

What can this willing sacrifice look like? Could it be cleaning “poop” off an elderly man’s bathroom floor and grumbling to yourself that this doesn’t pay enough to be doing this….?  Could it be being an actively publishing blogger sharing the Good News and NOT CARING if it’s not going to please everyone who reads it or watches the videos?  That’s because maybe there’s something more important you just can’t sacrifice….  You can’t sacrifice nor ever should sacrifice what God is needing you to reveal!  Maybe this is where we’ve really failed as the “church” since we’re all too afraid to share where God is leading us!

I was thinking about this the other day, in observing as a spectator more or less, some very ugly politically charged debates online by a group of “disgruntled Lutherans…” That’s kind of a funny right there, as I’ve been saying for years in jest: “Can’t we all just get along?” Let me tell you there was NOTHING Biblical or Christ-like in the behavior of some of these debaters.  At one point someone to lighten the mood on the page posted a picture of their cat.  So everyone who was more than exhausted by all the ugly talk, joined in and posted pictures and small talk about their pets… 

There was one person however, who was quite livid that the conversation stopped and made their opinion known… Instead of egging or caving into the ugly behavior with an Old Natured response, I posted that I loved them and wished them peace that evening.  The whole tone dramatically changed in their following response.  Granted it was a small gesture but that’s the point!

Everything we DO, BE and SAY that is grounded in Christ Jesus that amazing light, Shepherd to our lives, does produce that fruit when we naturally realize His guiding Hand and Work in our very individual lives!  As Thomas Moore said, we are individuals yes, but as disciples of Jesus we are called to something and shepherded to something that perhaps may seem beyond us but not out of reach—the Kingdom of God!

People may mock and belittle your faith, whether you at times are compelled to pray aloud NOT CARING about the consequences built by the world but CARING for the Kingdom of God and all its righteousness. There is a very dear colleague of mine whom I must say I really admire his tenacity.  On his resume, which we were sharing resumes for opinions and advice, he actually has listed that he drove something like 12,000 miles in attempts to visit nearly every local Lutheran church in his denomination to talk about discipleship and church planting over the past few years. WOW!  I think if I tried that with my car, as nice as it still is, it may just push it over the edge…

He is a man who’s already worn many hats in serving God and neighbor through the various ministries he’s engaged in. And I appreciate how he continues to encourage me even when I feel the Glass ceilings at various points upon the path are too difficult and discouraging to break.  I am carrying my cross and those tears shed upon it do indeed remind me of my Baptismal moment at that conversion some 12 years ago.  Jesus the Good Shepherd, didn’t just say this to those disciples seeking an answer… He said this to us all: “²⁹What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰The Father and I are one.”

We have to be careful in not allowing the world to diminish the role of God in our very lives.  It is happening though, when we show our division through politics, “intellectual-show-boating,” malice, contempt and distain for those who are bound to speaking the truth. The Prophet Isaiah in our past Lenten texts talks about the integrity and stamina of the disciple, when he says: “I gave my cheek to those who would pull out the beard…”

For where St. Paul is coming from in this farewell address, is both to encourage and challenge the disciples to take on the role God’s purposes have defined through Christ. It may seem like a long and lonely road where the cost is too deep and the prayers are not enough of a balm to encourage your moving forward…. But it doesn’t end here.  There’s too much at stake as well as there are many gifts YOU have to share and shepherd others with!

It was Francis of Assisi who said: “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” He also said: “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” Basically he is mirroring some aspects of Paul’s address in saying not to shrink, or back down from the challenge of living into discipleship.  The DNA of the disciple goes back to that very first commandment: “Love God and Neighbor in all ways that you can…”  The New Nature given to us by Christ Jesus through Grace is to be LIVED into by faith realized!  Realized inwardly and outward as a life shaped by, through and for Grace.

Paul was a mercenary Pharisee sent basically to kill all followers of the ‘Way’—disciples of Jesus, his conversion changed his entire life to be and become the greatest evangelist, church planter, theologian the church of Christ has ever known.  He didn’t do it by politics or showmanship but by the blood, sweat and tears of a faith that did move mountains!  I can’t imagine how many times that man must have gotten discouraged… From the wayward Corinthians to the Galatians whom it almost seems as if he’s yelling in some his letters to them to straighten up and fly right… to his last leg of his called ministry to preach, teach and plant in Greece and eventually Rome.

There is no formula to the Christian life except to be LIVED intentionally, prayerfully with Christ Jesus at the center.  It is never to be a worldly chaplaincy to Christ; it is to be and become a dedicated and amazing life led pastorally by and through Christ Jesus, the Lord!

AMEN

Let us pray—

Gracious Lord Jesus

There are so many things, we still need to be encouraged and strengthened in

The devil and his demons may say they know our very core weakness

But we need to say to their face brazenly that we answer and follow You, Alone

At all costs, in everything we do and say

No matter how great the challenges and the pain

We have the capacity and that New Nature DNA

Let us Live it for Your Kingdom come and Your righteousness!

AMEN

April 17th 2016; Fourth Sunday of Easter; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon By: Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, FODM

Psalm 23; Acts 20:17-35; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30

~Below is a link to this sermon's delivery at the Grace Hub Lutheran Orthodox Church's house service at 8am:
https://youtu.be/vB56rcT4IKc