Sermon for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost

So I am a nerd and video taped myself preaching since I never really preach what I write. Let me know what you think.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Accustomed as we are to hearing the words, "This is my body" in the consecration of the sacrament and "The body of Christ" as we receive the host, do we still draw back in surprise at hearing our Lord say "flesh"? Accustomed as we are to hearing the words "The blood of Christ" when we take the chalice, do we still find a murmur rising in our minds as we hear this text: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you"?

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Pardon me but does this not sound at all a tad STRANGE?” Jesus tells us we must eat his flesh? Now I am no expert on Hebraic laws but aren’t there a few laws that prohibit eating human flesh? No wonder in the next verse that the Jewish authorities question what Jesus is saying. The NRSV, our edition, is a bit tame saying “they disputed among themselves” but in actuality the Greek word shows a great conflict. They are probably stunned that a man of Jesus’ educational background that surely he would know that his statement goes against Hebraic Law. So they question him and they ask, “How can this man, How can you Jesus, a man born of a human mother, brought up in Hebraic Law, give us his flesh to eat, HUMAN FLESH?” I can understand their question because everything they have come to know as true has just been questioned.

How can one eat Human Flesh? It is a question that I and many theologians and Christians have asked themselves for centuries. In hundreds of cultures the idea of cannibalism is seen as taboo and even banned in many cultures. But yet Jesus tells us “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”

So we have still have this problem of breaking Hebraic law of eating human flesh. How do we get around this? The answer is simple. With God all things are possible. God often takes what is sinful and evil and turns it into something good. For example the execution on the cross; the image of eating flesh and drinking blood; and even us as sinful and evil human beings who have been turned into saintly children of God and a means for spreading the gospel message to the world. With God all things are possible and in God all things are made clean and God.

Okay so we have Jesus’ command and we know that we must do this but how? How are we to eat of Jesus’ flesh and blood if Jesus is not here physically with us? That is where our Eucharistic, our Communion theology, comes into play. The meal that we share is a very mysterious meal. I have always enjoyed the line that my dad begins the worship service with; “As we prepare to celebrate God’s Mysteries this day…” We celebrate God’s mysteries when: we confess our sins and then hear God’s forgiveness for our sins, when we hear God’s word and respond to God’s word with the sermon and when we celebrate communion and have Jesus come to us in the form of bread of wine.

We do not know how, when, or why Jesus comes to us in communion we just have our faith and we cling to that faith that he does come to us in this meal. The Eucharist is life-giving because it is Jesus who gives it, and it is life-giving because it is Jesus himself who is given. Jesus took something that was at one time seen as evil and unclean and turned into something beautiful, amazing and mysterious. We must trust this mysterious wisdom of God.

There is a good story of man questioning God’s wisdom. A man asked God, "What does a billion dollars mean to you who are all powerful?"

"Hardly a penny." God said.

Then the man asked God , "And what are a thousand centuries to you?" God answered "Hardly a second!!"

Thinking he had God backed into a corner, the man then said, "Then if that's the case, O, Lord give me a penny!!"

"Sure," God replied. "In just a minute."

Wisdom isn't outsmarting God, wisdom is living in and with God. Wisdom is being in Christ and surrounded by Christ. Wisdom is eating and drinking from the feast which God has prepared for us.

When we receive communion, it is Jesus himself that abides in us and we in him. We receive life because we receive Jesus. Jesus grants us eternal life but we must receive and feast on his Body and Blood. So now let us feast on the Crucified and Risen the Lord, the one who grants us eternal life, the one that died for sins. Amen.

Week 9--The continued reflection of, "Why Bad things happen to Good People?"

I suggest viewing the video first and then reading the blog.

Two very dear friends of mine inspired this entry. Julie’s comment on one of my recent postings kept me reflecting this concept of Theodicy (why do bad things happen to good people?). So this week I continued my reflection, as I always do, surrounding this question. On Friday I believe God spoke to me through the mouth of Diane. She described a case she had earlier that day of man who was trying to break up a fight, was accidentally shot and died leaving behind a wife and one year old child. Unfortunately this is all too common of a thing for chaplains and medical staff who work in a Trauma center to deal with. But eventually these cases do begin to wear and cause individuals, myself included, to ask this age old question once again.

Julie made a very good point when she mentioned the title of the book, “When bad things happen to good people.” The emphasis is on the word when in this title. Bad things do happen and there is not much we can do to stop it. The clip from M*A*S*H* paints all to clear a picture of this. Tommy Gillis, an old friend of Hawkeye's, is writing a book about the war, and pays him a visit. Later, Tommy is brought into the camp, seriously wounded, and Hawkeye can't save him. Hawkeye breaks down and cries causing Henry to leave the operating room as well. Henry says a very famous line at that moment: “Look, all I know is what they taught me at command school. There are certain rules about a war and rule number one is young men die. And rule number two is doctors can't change rule number one.” I don’t claim to be a doctor nor am I claiming that we are in the midst a war at our hospital but we do see violence every single day. People die every single day because of drugs, race, and petty violence. We are not living in the midst of a war like the Korean War but rather in the midst of stupidity. It is because of this stupidity, this childlike behavior that causes adults to believe the only way to solve a problem is to fight, kills innocent people everyday and causes individuals to ask this same old question. It enforces the two rules that Henry Blake states to continue and causes many to lose hope in humanity.

This past week I also had a case where a young man, only 22 years old, was brought in the Trauma bay after sustaining a major blow to the head from a skateboarding accident. I sat in the room and listened as the neurosurgeon told the patient’s mother and sister that there is not much to do; the surgery that needed to be preformed would be radical and mostly likely not work. I watched as his mother and sister cried and begged God to heal the young man. Two days later the patient died and now his family was left with the question, “where are you God?” and “Why didn’t you heal my son, my brother?”

“Look, all I know is what they taught me at command school. There are certain rules about a war and rule number one is young men die. And rule number two is doctors can't change rule number one.” There is nothing we can do to change the actions that occur. Good people do die but there are still many good people left in this world to make a difference, the take a stance, and make a difference. It is never fair for a parent to bury their child. There is no logic in that but there is logic in the cross. There is a God who loves and who promises us comfort and forgiveness free of charge. Thank God for grace and thank God for the ability to wake up every morning and breath.

Journal Entry for Week 8

I have just realized that I have gone most of the summer without really reflecting on my hospitalization some three years ago. I have been telling myself that it is because of my internship here at Reading Hospital but I have to wonder about that reasoning. I have said on many different occasions that one cannot dwell in the past; it will only cause that person to second guess their decisions and ultimately question their current life situation. But I have never looked with regret on my hospital experience. At times I have asked God, “Why me?” but I have never thought that it was some kind of punishment: I survived something that would have killed many people; I have a strong relationship between my family and friends; and I have a strong relationship with God. I don’t necessarily think that my faith has changed all that much—there was a point when I question my belief in the existence in God—but I have built a relationship with God where I am no longer see God high above me but rather with me.

What happened to me three years ago did change me and it pains me to think that I no longer heavily reflect on this experience. I am a new person, a new man, and it is all because I spent 26 days in the intensive care unit at the University of Maryland. While my hope is not to forget there is a hope that I am able to live with the idea that I have stared death in the face, was able walk away, and now only look back when I am in need of support or guidance.

Journal Entry for Week 7

Why do bad things happen to good people? I mean seriously, why is this the case? Why do I, and others alike, feel that bad people should only have bad things happen to them? It has been a question brought up numerous times in group and numerous times for myself. I feel like the good are always punished and the bad walk away unharmed. Is this right to feel this way? Who am I to judge? So many questions to ask but a whole lifetime to seek out the answers...

Sermon from the 7th Sunday after Pentecost

My sermon from on Sunday. Let me know what you think...

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Emma Lazarus was a famous American Poet. One particular poem brought her great fame. I can almost guarantee that everyone in this room has heard this particular poem. It has been cited in movies, books, tv shows, and on one particular monument:
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed,
sunset hates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch,
whose flame Is the imprisoned lighting,
and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon hand glows world-wide welcome;
her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she with silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
This particular monument and poem has come to mean a great deal to many Americans. Some see it as a symbol of Freedom; Lady Liberty standing tall holding the flame of Justice and lighting America’s way as our country strives to grant freedom to all. For others, and maybe for some in this room, the statue of Liberty was the first thing they saw as their boat traveled from eastern hemisphere. Some came in search of starting over; for a chance to give their children the opportunity they did not have. For those that fled Europe to escape the Nazi regime they saw the Statue of Liberty as a second chance at life just as Christians see the Cross as our second chance at life.

Our world has come very far from the days of World War I and II; since the days of Ellis Island where immigrants were treated as second-rate people. The need for conquering land and individuals has been taken over by the need to take care of one another and the planet that we live on. Human and civil rights have become more important to us but this does not mean suffering is no longer with us. There are people who are still oppressed: Racism still goes on in our country, the oppression of women is still all to well apparent but we have made many great strides to end these oppression. But oppression is not the only kind of suffering left in this world. Sickness, loss of personal independence, and pain on a number of different level are all apart of suffering. These moments of suffering and pain can all cause us to ask the question, “Where is God?” or “Why is this happening to me?” Sometimes we question it about ourselves and other times we question it for someone else.

I can remember one particular patient and his family I had a few weeks ago where I asked these two questions “Where is God?” or “Why is this happening to him?” It was my first on call shift and it was a very busy night filled with Traumas, emergencies in the ED, and end of life decisions. This particular patient came into the emergency room while I was tending to a Trauma. The Trauma surgeon pointed him out to me as they wheeled him past the Trauma room. The paramedics were doing CPR on him. With every passing minute the man’s condition got worst and worst and I had to make the dreaded phone call at one in the morning; “Sir you need to come to the emergency room right away, your loved one is very sick.” I was afraid that this man would die alone because his brother lived very far away. None of us were really sure if this man had any real significant family other than his brother. We knew he was divorced and only listed his brother as an emergency contact. A few hours pass and the receptionist finally paged me and told me that the patient’s brother had arrived. It is about 2 in the morning at this point. I go and find a doctor who can give this man more that just the basic information that I had. The cardiologist came in and told the brother that the patient has had a massive heart attack; the only reason he is still alive is because of the dozen of drugs forcing his heart to beat. They were not sure if he would survive the night let alone be able to recover from the lack of oxygen to the brain. When I left the brother upstairs I prayed in the elevator telling God that it is not fair that this man should die alone and that his brother have nobody else to morn with. I asked the question, “Where are you God? This man needs you right now.” A little bit later I was called back to the room. The patient took a turn for the worst and the nurse said the brother just needed someone to sit with. We both sat quietly in the room as the nurses did their job. I prayed my prayer once again to myself. We watched as his lungs were no longer working and the ventilator had to literally force the air into his body. It was very violent to watch this. I was about to lose hope but then out of nowhere the nurse comes in and asks me to go downstairs and meet the man’s sister and his husband. And when I returned later that afternoon I say 10 more family members in the waiting room.

The patient still died but his family was there to hold his hand. They were there to tell him that they loved him. They were there to comfort each other. The same suffering, pain and loss that we see every day whether it be on the news or in the hospital rooms is the same suffering, pain and loss that was around Jesus some 2000 years ago. Not only was the pain of an illness horrible but there was also the social outcast that the person felt as well. But Jesus does something different as we hear in our Gospel lesson today:
“When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.”
Jesus went and found the sick—the outcasts. Jesus touched the unclean and by undoing this he became unclean. But that didn’t matter and Jesus shows us that today for we are all outcast because of our sin. But Jesus come and touches us—freeing us from our bondage; our captivity to sin. What Jesus taught was that the sick, the unclean, the outcast of our society (whoever that may be) do matter. We are all created in the image of God and therefore we are all entitled the same. No illness, no disease, nothing will separate us from that love. God meets us half way and when we can’t walk, God meets us all the way. God comes into our towns and cities; into our homes and workplaces and touches us and promises to stay with us. So now the next time we hear Emma Lazarus’ famous poem, let it remind us that God is also saying those words to us;
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Week 6 Journal Entry for CPE--Fair Warning: It's a bit of a rant again

As I finish up week six enter and enter into week seven of CPE, I have been pondering the meaning of forgiveness and salvation. I know how we merit (or shall I say receive) salvation and I understand forgiveness as professed through the Confessions of the Lutheran Church but what I do not understand is why others do understand this. I have had on numerous occasions patients and family members say, “One must earn salvation” or “one must earn God’s forgiveness” but in reality scripture says the opposite. Now one could argue the Epistle writer, James’s, idea that “Faith without works is dead”. However, I would argue that our faith causes us to do good works and these works are not a prerequisite for our Salvation. We are simply justified by God’s grace through our Faith and by nothing else. But yet so many people, whether they are; Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist, Non-denominational, you name it, believe one must do good things in order to earn God’s love. It annoys me and upsets me that our society teaches that we have to do work in order to receive something in return. If we work hard and receive nothing in return we are either not working hard enough or we are lazy and do not deserve help. What the hell? Where is the love in that? Where is the humanity in that? Are we all not human? Have we lost the ability to see one another’s pain and exhaustion? Why can we not take care each other and expect nothing in return? The early church did it and, according to Acts, everyone was happy. Today this philosophy is seen as taboo. President Obama received the most flack on his campaign because he wanted America to develop more social concerns; he want to create programs where the needs of humanity were met before the needs of profit and production—the opposite of capitalism.

Sorry for the rant but it needed to be said. I just want to know why it is so hard for us to accept God’s forgiveness and salvation. It is clear in the scriptures how this is done but yet we refuse to go back to the scriptures to find it. We all have the power to forgive and we need not do anything to receive our salvation. The real question is how do I get this message across the patients I see everyday? To quote a famous commercial, “The world may never know.”

Another "What the Hell?" moment

So it's 12:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. My stupid on-call shift is throwing off my sleep pattern. Anyways, I was just watching that Hannity guy on Fox News (why I don't know...it just pisses me off). I am utterly, utterly disgusted with him right now. He was talking about Health Care and how he feels Health Care should not be taken over by the Federal government because whenever the government takes over an industry, that industry suffers; the government always makes a situation worst. Now I am not quoting him but rather summarizing. I do welcome other translations but please do defend your translation. Now I tend to disagree with Hannity on his view of a National Health Insurance for two reasons: I have a pre-existing condition and trying to find affordable health insurance is near impossible; I have worked in hospitals for a number of years now and how the insurance industry has hurt hospitals, patients, doctors, ect. Health Insurance companies are raking in millions of dollars in profit while millions of Americans cannot even afford basic health care coverage. Even the basic health coverage can throw an individual into bankruptcy if something were to happen to them. Is this right Mr. Hannity? Do the needs of others not matter? I'm sorry Mr. Hannity but not all of us have a wonderful job where we get paid to talk about our own personal political beliefs. We do not make the large salary or have the excellent health coverage that you have from Fox News. Rather, the majority of Americans are suffering at the hands of greedy health insurance companies who pry on the fears of Americans and charge outlandish premiums and cover the smallest amount possible. Doctors, very good doctors, are being forced out of business because insurance companies refuse to pay for anything. Is this right Mr. Hannity? Is it right that a skilled surgeon, a surgeon who one day may very well be your last hope for a saving a loved one, be forced to find a new profession because he/she cannot make a livable wage? Is this right? Your twisted view of America may have at one time may have worked but it is not going to work any longer. We need to take care of one another and worry less about ourselves. Individuality is important but the love for one’s neighbor is equally if not more important. I will conclude this entry with a thought for everyone to think about. 150 years ago, the Federal Government interfered with the private sector and made slavery illegal. The government did this to ensure the protection of ALL individuals. Are you, Mr. Hannity, saying that the Federal Government should not have interfered with the private sector and not have ended slavery?

“Love one another as I have loved you…”