If you are reading this, then presumably you are lucky enough to still have power during what has been termed a 'snowpocalypse' by The Watershed Post. In the hopes that we will all have dug ourselves out by Saturday, here is a listing of family friendly events:
Step into Seuss: Sat Feb 27th at 10am, enjoy Seuss stories at The Green Toad in Oneonta (www.greentoadbookstore.com), then go to Southside Mall from 2-6pm (http://www.shopsouthsidemall.com/) for more Dr. Seuss. Rumor has it that there is a 7 foot tall Horton the Elephant stomping about town.
Also Saturday: "Heat Up the Night" at the Farmer's Muesum in Cooperstown from 6-9pm (http://www.farmersmuseum.org)
Looking ahead:
Tues Mar 2: St. Mary's School, Rt. 7, Oneonta will be hosting a life size Dr. Seuss event open to the community from 5 to 8pm. Come with your family to celebrate the silly and sensational stories of Dr. Seuss. Children are invited to step into their favorite Seuss story, literally by stepping into one of eleven selected Seuss stories. That evening, St. Mary's is also hosting a ham dinner from 4:30pm to 7pm. (http://www.stmarysoneonta.org/school/index.php)
Also, Sugaring Off Saturdays begin March 7th at the Farmer's Museum!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sermon (February 21, 2010)
“Land and Shelter” Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Luke 4:1-13 2/21/10
The scriptural theme today is most clearly “temptation.” Deuteronomy, as always, is clear that once the people get out of the desert and into the promised land, they'll lose sight of God. The giving of tithes and the first produce of the land, along with the liturgical repetition that means, “I once was a foreigner in a foreign land, it is only by God's grace that I now can grow food on land God entrusts to me” is an attempt to resist temptation. Even in Hebrew Bible times, people were tempted to believe they'd gotten to a good place by their own doing, and could forget to thank God for God's help. Even back then, 4 thousand years ago, there was a temptation to forget God.
There are three named temptations in the Gospel lesson this morning. First, to transform stones into bread; second to have power over the whole world; third to test God.
After a long fast, there is reasonable fear. Mortality itself is faced. Additionally, there is hunger and pain and delusion. The temptation Jesus faced was to use his power to respond to the fear. That should sound more familiar than the temptation to make stones into bread! To use power to respond to fear. Now that's a common temptation in human life. We are so afraid of fear that we'll do just about anything to make it go away. Including, I'm convinced, keeping our lives busy and our ears full of gibberish to avoid having time to think (or pray.) When face to face with fear, we most often use our power to throw things at it, and or ignore it with all our might.
Jesus, instead, stayed face to face with the Tempter and the Temptation. Throughout this passage, take note, the temptations come from Scripture itself! Its always good to remember that the large themes of the Bible take precedence over any individual passage. There are many stories of God speaking to people through words/phrases/verses/stories from the Bible, and they have been great blessings. BUT, its easy to get pulled aside by a passage that seems to tell us what we want to hear. In the United Methodist tradition we learn to read scripture with our church tradition, all of our reason and logic, and the experiences we've had in life informing it. We try NOT to be pulled aside by one bit of Scripture. Like Jesus does, we can find responses in the Scripture itself to temptation. He responds to the Tempter from the same text that the Tempter tempts him.
So, he stays face to face with temptation, and says NO while looking at the temptation. He refuses us to use his power to reduce his body's fear of death. He maintains that life and death are not the most important thing. He asserts that God is more than bread, and God is what he needs, and God will provide – or not – and he'll stick with what he is given.
Temptation one: fear and responding to it with our own power, eliminated. Jesus faces down fear with God-trust.
Temptation two, to take over all the kingdoms of earth, is the temptation of power. For Jesus it is in the most extreme case. He is offered power over the whole world. Our power temptations tend to be a bit smaller in comparison. Sort of like, “I am tempted to have the power over the blue crayon” in comparison. But they're the same temptation. Do we take power that will harm people? Do we take what will harm ourselves? Do we take what isn't ours? Do we want to!?!?!?!
Or, can we respond as our life-example does, and say in the face of any temptation to be in power over others “All Power is God's. It is not mine to take.” Phew. Good for him on that one!
The final temptation, in a distorted way, is idolatry. Brueggmann has said that idolatry is an attempt to control God. He points out that when little idols are made, a person can move them around! Any form of trying to contain God into something smaller than God is (i.e. anything) or to be more controllable than God is (i.e. any control at all) is an extension of the idea of making a little idol to worship. That makes a WHOLE LOT of sense to me. In the third temptation, the Tempter suggests that Jesus fling himself off the tower because God will take care of him. That is, to fling himself off the tower with the expectation of what God's response will be. To jump, and thus MAKE GOD catch him. That is, to control God's action in the world!!!! To jump would be to try to control God. Controlling God, that's a form of idolatry. Jesus' answer is deceptively simple. He simply says its wrong to test God. But the underlying truth is that its wrong to try to control God. (We can ASK, but that's about it.)
Others have faced these temptations as well. In concentration camps during the Holocaust, people were being slowly killed off by starvation as well as everything else. There was not enough bread to survive. Yet, there were people in the camps who took their own bread and shared it with the more sick or more hungry. They choose not to focus on the fear of their own death, to focus on the goodness of every bite EVEN WHEN STARVING, but choose live on God and share their bread.
In occupied France at the same time, a group of French Protestants in a border village, chose to refuse the power offered to them. They were told to comply, to name the Jews among them, and to report any they met. In their faith conviction, they refused what protection they could have received by complying. Instead they worked quietly and quickly and saved THOUSANDS of Jewish children and adults. They paid prices too, the death of the child of their leader and others, and imprisonment for many. They were all threatened with death and destruction. They could have yielded, and taken the “kingdom” of peace. They refused, saying that only God had power over them, and only God would the yield to. They saved others at risk of themselves because they believed it was God's will, and they needed to follow God's power.
Like Jesus at the pinnacle of the temple refusing to test God, there are many who have chosen NOT to test God. Specifically I think of St. Francis, and Mother Teresa, and Sam Dixon (the UMCOR leader who died in Haiti). There is a temptation, in response to the pain of the world, and especially to extreme poverty, to TEST GOD by saying, “God will provide.” Yet people have chosen, over and over again, not to test God, but to offer themselves as Gods hands and feet and hearts in the world. They care for the uncared for and love the unloved and feed the unfed because they're not testing God to do it for them. They act for God, instead of asking God to act for them.
There are real temptations in life. We face them throughout our days. Many fit well into these categories: fear that motivates us to self-protect; power that tempts us towards self-importance; and idolatry that makes us try to control God. We are much like the people who have entered the land -we need the reminders that we are not alive or well by our own power. We need God to be our shelter. We seek God to counter our fear. We need God to be in control. We need to offer ourselves to God rather than ask God to act for us.
May we, as we face our Tempters, be brave enough to stand face to face and trust in God to guide us through.
The scriptural theme today is most clearly “temptation.” Deuteronomy, as always, is clear that once the people get out of the desert and into the promised land, they'll lose sight of God. The giving of tithes and the first produce of the land, along with the liturgical repetition that means, “I once was a foreigner in a foreign land, it is only by God's grace that I now can grow food on land God entrusts to me” is an attempt to resist temptation. Even in Hebrew Bible times, people were tempted to believe they'd gotten to a good place by their own doing, and could forget to thank God for God's help. Even back then, 4 thousand years ago, there was a temptation to forget God.
There are three named temptations in the Gospel lesson this morning. First, to transform stones into bread; second to have power over the whole world; third to test God.
After a long fast, there is reasonable fear. Mortality itself is faced. Additionally, there is hunger and pain and delusion. The temptation Jesus faced was to use his power to respond to the fear. That should sound more familiar than the temptation to make stones into bread! To use power to respond to fear. Now that's a common temptation in human life. We are so afraid of fear that we'll do just about anything to make it go away. Including, I'm convinced, keeping our lives busy and our ears full of gibberish to avoid having time to think (or pray.) When face to face with fear, we most often use our power to throw things at it, and or ignore it with all our might.
Jesus, instead, stayed face to face with the Tempter and the Temptation. Throughout this passage, take note, the temptations come from Scripture itself! Its always good to remember that the large themes of the Bible take precedence over any individual passage. There are many stories of God speaking to people through words/phrases/verses/stories from the Bible, and they have been great blessings. BUT, its easy to get pulled aside by a passage that seems to tell us what we want to hear. In the United Methodist tradition we learn to read scripture with our church tradition, all of our reason and logic, and the experiences we've had in life informing it. We try NOT to be pulled aside by one bit of Scripture. Like Jesus does, we can find responses in the Scripture itself to temptation. He responds to the Tempter from the same text that the Tempter tempts him.
So, he stays face to face with temptation, and says NO while looking at the temptation. He refuses us to use his power to reduce his body's fear of death. He maintains that life and death are not the most important thing. He asserts that God is more than bread, and God is what he needs, and God will provide – or not – and he'll stick with what he is given.
Temptation one: fear and responding to it with our own power, eliminated. Jesus faces down fear with God-trust.
Temptation two, to take over all the kingdoms of earth, is the temptation of power. For Jesus it is in the most extreme case. He is offered power over the whole world. Our power temptations tend to be a bit smaller in comparison. Sort of like, “I am tempted to have the power over the blue crayon” in comparison. But they're the same temptation. Do we take power that will harm people? Do we take what will harm ourselves? Do we take what isn't ours? Do we want to!?!?!?!
Or, can we respond as our life-example does, and say in the face of any temptation to be in power over others “All Power is God's. It is not mine to take.” Phew. Good for him on that one!
The final temptation, in a distorted way, is idolatry. Brueggmann has said that idolatry is an attempt to control God. He points out that when little idols are made, a person can move them around! Any form of trying to contain God into something smaller than God is (i.e. anything) or to be more controllable than God is (i.e. any control at all) is an extension of the idea of making a little idol to worship. That makes a WHOLE LOT of sense to me. In the third temptation, the Tempter suggests that Jesus fling himself off the tower because God will take care of him. That is, to fling himself off the tower with the expectation of what God's response will be. To jump, and thus MAKE GOD catch him. That is, to control God's action in the world!!!! To jump would be to try to control God. Controlling God, that's a form of idolatry. Jesus' answer is deceptively simple. He simply says its wrong to test God. But the underlying truth is that its wrong to try to control God. (We can ASK, but that's about it.)
Others have faced these temptations as well. In concentration camps during the Holocaust, people were being slowly killed off by starvation as well as everything else. There was not enough bread to survive. Yet, there were people in the camps who took their own bread and shared it with the more sick or more hungry. They choose not to focus on the fear of their own death, to focus on the goodness of every bite EVEN WHEN STARVING, but choose live on God and share their bread.
In occupied France at the same time, a group of French Protestants in a border village, chose to refuse the power offered to them. They were told to comply, to name the Jews among them, and to report any they met. In their faith conviction, they refused what protection they could have received by complying. Instead they worked quietly and quickly and saved THOUSANDS of Jewish children and adults. They paid prices too, the death of the child of their leader and others, and imprisonment for many. They were all threatened with death and destruction. They could have yielded, and taken the “kingdom” of peace. They refused, saying that only God had power over them, and only God would the yield to. They saved others at risk of themselves because they believed it was God's will, and they needed to follow God's power.
Like Jesus at the pinnacle of the temple refusing to test God, there are many who have chosen NOT to test God. Specifically I think of St. Francis, and Mother Teresa, and Sam Dixon (the UMCOR leader who died in Haiti). There is a temptation, in response to the pain of the world, and especially to extreme poverty, to TEST GOD by saying, “God will provide.” Yet people have chosen, over and over again, not to test God, but to offer themselves as Gods hands and feet and hearts in the world. They care for the uncared for and love the unloved and feed the unfed because they're not testing God to do it for them. They act for God, instead of asking God to act for them.
There are real temptations in life. We face them throughout our days. Many fit well into these categories: fear that motivates us to self-protect; power that tempts us towards self-importance; and idolatry that makes us try to control God. We are much like the people who have entered the land -we need the reminders that we are not alive or well by our own power. We need God to be our shelter. We seek God to counter our fear. We need God to be in control. We need to offer ourselves to God rather than ask God to act for us.
May we, as we face our Tempters, be brave enough to stand face to face and trust in God to guide us through.
Announcements, February 21, 2010
Our youth group is going to New Hampshire from July 4-10, and you are invited to be in mission with us. Talk to Sara for more information!
Adult studies (in Lent): Death and Resurrection! Starting Feb. 23rd. Tuesdays in Lent: A Lent Communion Worship Service. 6 to 6:30 PM. Come to one or both!
On March 21st we'll have Turkey and Biscuit for lunch, a talent show, and a chinese auction! Its time to get talents ready and auction items considered!
Lay Speaking School - April 10th & 17th @ Greene UMC - Basic course is being taught by Pastor Sara Baron. See Pastor Sara or any of our lay speakers for info (Barb S, Barb V, Steve M, Patty H). Registration deadline is March 10th.
We are still looking for Pancake Breakfast workers and coordinators!
Does anyone have a button making machine we could use?
April 24th – Habitat Day. Mark your calendars!!
We need a coordinator for Local Church. Can you do it?
The Lenten Devotional Booklets are here! Feel free to grab one to share! (Or read here)
There is no one signed up for fellowship time for the next two weeks!
Do you want to work on our new community meal? Talk to Mike Virgil or Sara.
Adult studies (in Lent): Death and Resurrection! Starting Feb. 23rd. Tuesdays in Lent: A Lent Communion Worship Service. 6 to 6:30 PM. Come to one or both!
On March 21st we'll have Turkey and Biscuit for lunch, a talent show, and a chinese auction! Its time to get talents ready and auction items considered!
Lay Speaking School - April 10th & 17th @ Greene UMC - Basic course is being taught by Pastor Sara Baron. See Pastor Sara or any of our lay speakers for info (Barb S, Barb V, Steve M, Patty H). Registration deadline is March 10th.
We are still looking for Pancake Breakfast workers and coordinators!
Does anyone have a button making machine we could use?
April 24th – Habitat Day. Mark your calendars!!
We need a coordinator for Local Church. Can you do it?
The Lenten Devotional Booklets are here! Feel free to grab one to share! (Or read here)
There is no one signed up for fellowship time for the next two weeks!
Do you want to work on our new community meal? Talk to Mike Virgil or Sara.
February 23rd
February 23rd
Jonah 3:1-10
Steve McWilliams
Jonah ran away from God, but was given a second chance. His second chance was not one he would have chosen; a message of doom to the most powerful city in the world. The message was not one that was prepared, but one that God would tell him what to say. His audience was not one that one would have chosen, the people of Nineveh who also needed a second chance for they had been condemned by God for their ways.
As I read the text, I though about how many second chances that I have had; times when I did not have a second chance or times when I had a second chance in some way but did not take advantage of it. Probably most people do think back on their lives and have wishes of situations where they would have made a different choice, but our lives and our lives with God are not about yesterday. Our lives are about today and what we do today may have an affect on tomorrow. One day at a time and we live in the present. Yesterday may help us or hurt us, but we cannot live in it.
Jonah’s past must have influenced his decision to follow God, for he did not try to run form God a second time. When the king of Nineveh heard of this, he had the people and other parts of creation to not drink, feed, and to be covered with sackcloth for repentance. It is not always our hearing God’s word that pleases him, but our response to it. Like Jonah and the people of Nineveh, repentance has to be one of sincerity from the heart, and not superficial words of the mouth.
God is always there to show compassion to anyone willing to seek him. The purpose of God’s judgment is correction, not revenge. One of the most meaningful words to me is grace, for even on second chances I may not get it right. Thanks be to God.
Jonah 3:1-10
Steve McWilliams
Jonah ran away from God, but was given a second chance. His second chance was not one he would have chosen; a message of doom to the most powerful city in the world. The message was not one that was prepared, but one that God would tell him what to say. His audience was not one that one would have chosen, the people of Nineveh who also needed a second chance for they had been condemned by God for their ways.
As I read the text, I though about how many second chances that I have had; times when I did not have a second chance or times when I had a second chance in some way but did not take advantage of it. Probably most people do think back on their lives and have wishes of situations where they would have made a different choice, but our lives and our lives with God are not about yesterday. Our lives are about today and what we do today may have an affect on tomorrow. One day at a time and we live in the present. Yesterday may help us or hurt us, but we cannot live in it.
Jonah’s past must have influenced his decision to follow God, for he did not try to run form God a second time. When the king of Nineveh heard of this, he had the people and other parts of creation to not drink, feed, and to be covered with sackcloth for repentance. It is not always our hearing God’s word that pleases him, but our response to it. Like Jonah and the people of Nineveh, repentance has to be one of sincerity from the heart, and not superficial words of the mouth.
God is always there to show compassion to anyone willing to seek him. The purpose of God’s judgment is correction, not revenge. One of the most meaningful words to me is grace, for even on second chances I may not get it right. Thanks be to God.
February 22nd
February 22nd
Isaiah 55:10-11
Anne Posey
As a Methodist by choice and a Catholic from birth, I was raised to give things up for Lent rather than to offer something up, so here goes. This passage seems to reassure us that God’s words have potential energy. God’s words once shared become kinetic energy that fuels the body and soul to drives us to accomplish a goal. That accomplished goal then fills the tank for the next task. This passage seems to offer a never-ending cycle of kinetic energy for life through Jesus. God’s word is recycled over and over again to feed us. How green!
Isaiah 55:10-11
Anne Posey
As a Methodist by choice and a Catholic from birth, I was raised to give things up for Lent rather than to offer something up, so here goes. This passage seems to reassure us that God’s words have potential energy. God’s words once shared become kinetic energy that fuels the body and soul to drives us to accomplish a goal. That accomplished goal then fills the tank for the next task. This passage seems to offer a never-ending cycle of kinetic energy for life through Jesus. God’s word is recycled over and over again to feed us. How green!
February 20th
February 20th
Matthew 4:1-11
Linda Hillis
This is the very familiar story of Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. The wilderness is a place of struggle, temptation and testing. Just as Israel came out of Egypt and for forty years was tested in the wilderness, so now Jesus experiences his own exodus, passing through the waters of baptism, and into the desert to be tested for forty days, as Israel was for forty years. The first temptation could not have been better timed. Jesus had been fasting for forty days. He was entitled to eat. Even Israel in the Old Testament was miraculously fed by manna. Why not the Son of God? “Turn these stones into loaves of bread. Use your power to satisfy your physical needs. You are entitled to food after a forty-day fast.” Jesus was hungry and of course needed something to eat. Why not turn the stones to bread? The temptation was that Jesus use his miraculous powers to provide for himself. Jesus chose a pattern of life where he would always use his God-given powers for others, never for himself. He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind and raised the dead. His powers were always for others, not himself. That tells us something profound about the Christian life. Do I seek my own advantage? Do I want things for myself that others cannot have? Am I more concerned about the well being of others, or just myself? The second temptation was the devil’s attempt to get Jesus to doubt God by asking Jesus to put God to the test. Sometimes we are angry at God because we have attempted to test God and we are disappointed. If my loved one is healed of cancer, then I’ll know God loves me. If my boy comes back safely from an overseas mission, then I’ll know God is on my side. If I get the job that I’ve been praying for, then I’ll know that God cares for me. But what if my loved one dies of cancer? What if my boy is killed overseas? What if I don’t get the job? Will I still love and serve God regardless of the outcome, as Jesus does? In the final temptation Jesus is tempted to win the world by worshipping the devil. Jesus flatly refuses. The price that Jesus would pay for his unwavering obedience to God was incredibly high. It would ultimately cost him his life. We are continuously tempted today by the ways of society. How do we respond? Are we prepared to follow the ways of Christ, even unto death?
Matthew 4:1-11
Linda Hillis
This is the very familiar story of Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. The wilderness is a place of struggle, temptation and testing. Just as Israel came out of Egypt and for forty years was tested in the wilderness, so now Jesus experiences his own exodus, passing through the waters of baptism, and into the desert to be tested for forty days, as Israel was for forty years. The first temptation could not have been better timed. Jesus had been fasting for forty days. He was entitled to eat. Even Israel in the Old Testament was miraculously fed by manna. Why not the Son of God? “Turn these stones into loaves of bread. Use your power to satisfy your physical needs. You are entitled to food after a forty-day fast.” Jesus was hungry and of course needed something to eat. Why not turn the stones to bread? The temptation was that Jesus use his miraculous powers to provide for himself. Jesus chose a pattern of life where he would always use his God-given powers for others, never for himself. He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind and raised the dead. His powers were always for others, not himself. That tells us something profound about the Christian life. Do I seek my own advantage? Do I want things for myself that others cannot have? Am I more concerned about the well being of others, or just myself? The second temptation was the devil’s attempt to get Jesus to doubt God by asking Jesus to put God to the test. Sometimes we are angry at God because we have attempted to test God and we are disappointed. If my loved one is healed of cancer, then I’ll know God loves me. If my boy comes back safely from an overseas mission, then I’ll know God is on my side. If I get the job that I’ve been praying for, then I’ll know that God cares for me. But what if my loved one dies of cancer? What if my boy is killed overseas? What if I don’t get the job? Will I still love and serve God regardless of the outcome, as Jesus does? In the final temptation Jesus is tempted to win the world by worshipping the devil. Jesus flatly refuses. The price that Jesus would pay for his unwavering obedience to God was incredibly high. It would ultimately cost him his life. We are continuously tempted today by the ways of society. How do we respond? Are we prepared to follow the ways of Christ, even unto death?
February 19th
February 19th
Luke 5:27-32
Barbara Virgil
Jesus Calls Levi
Levi, a tax collector, is at work in the tax booth when Jesus approaches him and says “follow me.” Levi immediately leaves everything and follows Jesus. Later, Levi hosts a great banquet for Jesus, where many tax collectors and other “sinners” are present. The Pharisees and their scribes question the disciples about why they eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners, and Jesus is the one to answer…“those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
From the beginning, (after Adam and Eve’s original sin in the Garden of Eden), God understood how prone we humans would be to poor decision-making, making false judgments and assuming things we shouldn’t assume, so he provides a way for us to repent. He provides a second chance. He says, “follow me.”
It is not up to us to judge who is acceptable in God’s eyes, or who has need of his leading and healing. It is only necessary for us, as individuals, to recognize His call and to follow Him.
Luke 5:27-32
Barbara Virgil
Jesus Calls Levi
Levi, a tax collector, is at work in the tax booth when Jesus approaches him and says “follow me.” Levi immediately leaves everything and follows Jesus. Later, Levi hosts a great banquet for Jesus, where many tax collectors and other “sinners” are present. The Pharisees and their scribes question the disciples about why they eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners, and Jesus is the one to answer…“those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
From the beginning, (after Adam and Eve’s original sin in the Garden of Eden), God understood how prone we humans would be to poor decision-making, making false judgments and assuming things we shouldn’t assume, so he provides a way for us to repent. He provides a second chance. He says, “follow me.”
It is not up to us to judge who is acceptable in God’s eyes, or who has need of his leading and healing. It is only necessary for us, as individuals, to recognize His call and to follow Him.
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