How to be a friendly stranger - Matthew 9 - Proper 6A

How to be friendly stranger

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection based upon Matthew 9:35-10:8, Romans 5:1-8, Psalm 100

Opening Prayer

As many of you know, I enjoy gardening. I have turned our side yard into a place hugs you with a warm welcome. My garden is a place where I can be peaceful and be with nature in all of God’s wonder. It is a place where conversations can happen (necessary or fun), a place where spirits rise and laughter meets cheers.

To work in the garden helps to center me as well.  Yes there is plenty of opportunities for weeding as well as pulling volunteer trees. So if you feel anxious and need something to do, I am sure I can help you find something.

What does gardens have to do with today’s lesson from Matthew?

In order to raise spirits and laughter, one must first be hospitable. One must first be willing to welcome. One must first be willing to share space and time.

“The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.” Thus, to do ministry, to do church, we are summoned by Jesus to go and proclaim good news and here is the procedure you should follow.

Take only yourself, your wits, your love , your peace and bring that to welcoming homes. If someone does not welcome you, shake off the dust and move on. 

What we preach in Jesus’s name is controversial and will be greeted with “mixed emotions” as some would say. What about love, faith in God, and peace are controversial though? 

Some don’t want to believe in the power of love and peace.

Yet when we go from place to place, task to task, garden to garden or house to house, God goes before us, and if you let your faith guide you, you will be as Paul writes “justified by faith.” Through our faith, no matter what comes before us or what suffering we may face, God will be with us.

That isn’t to say we should be silent when injustice, or have experience of inhospitable people - unwelcoming folks. We know that we come with grace, peace, and love through our faith, and therefore, we offer only those gifts and nothing more - and we take nothing from people that isn’t offered freely. 

Through our steadfast devotion to love, grace, peace and faith, we will be the example, we will be the welcome heart, we will be that smile and welcome to someone who needs it, who desperately yearns for it - (especially that one on the corner with a sign asking for help and your blessing.)

That starts with “welcome”!

For when we welcome, the conversation can begin. When we welcome, the learning begins. When we welcome, peace between people has a chance to take root, - and God’s garden expands and flourishes. 

When we are the one that decides to listen instead of blabbing some rhetoric we heard on the media, when we are willing to hear what others say, then we can grow and learn about how God shines in the other people.  

That, Beloved, is love at work. That is how we mold swords into plowshares. That is how we put away the guns and offer a hand instead.

It is simple, but it is not easy. For we as people react to people and people can be not so nice as we would like.

Yet, the challenge here isn’t to meet hate with more hate or violence, but to meet with grace and peace. To dust off the remnants of tired misfortunes and grievances and then move on - because creation moves on in the same way, whether God agrees with our attitudes or not. 

God offers the blessing and love and gives a path forward - not backwards. God wants us to be the example of the welcome and the love that God wants in the world.

If enough of us do this, many of our world’s problems are resolved. Much of what bothers our own selves is put to rest. When you trust in your faith in the one who comes before us, then you too can experience that peace and love of God in your own hearts. When you do, you can’t help but to extend that welcome and love to others and what a thing to share - love, grace,  peace and faith. 

There, Beloved, is a happy place and a garden that needs only your presence and welcome. There is all that you ever need. 

That Beloved is…

Thanks Be to God.

Story of Creation - Genesis 1 - Trinity A

Story of Creation

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based upon Genesis 1-2:5, Matthew 28:16-20, 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13, Psalm 8

Opening Prayer 

Creation is a story about beginnings. Yet people want to claim that creation story ended so many years ago instead of thinking how creation is still happening.  God may have concluded the initial work with a day of blessing, but God’s work did not end there.

Besides, who was around to get the narrative of this story? I haven’t met anyone alive today that was alive when the story unfolded - except maybe the One. 

Suddenly, things came into being.  Suddenly, there is life where none existed. Suddenly, things change and things are revealed. Suddenly, we are wakened to something sacred.

Yes to be wakened - to be woke - is a sacred experience; not some twisted political game certain folks are vaunting these days.  For the Buddha woke, Moses woke, David woke, Joseph woke, and Jesus woke. 

“People living in darkness have seen a great light.” 

As a matter of fact you and I wake everyday (or so we hope) as part of this unfolding and revealing creation that God has given to us. Yes, it is time today to see that great light in this beautiful spring morning.

Thus, creation is a continuous gift to us, and the question is begged not if we are woke but when we wake, what do we do with that gift. How do we thank God for this gift of life and creation, the new day?

As I said creation continues well beyond a solitary cosmic,-long week. Then things transitioned and changed. Suddenly, there is change, more change, and this change keeps happening. Yet, some want everything to be as it was some time ago. 

That is not God’s plan for us because God wants for us to move forward and to see a new day and new time - this day - this hour - this breath. God keeps moving us forward in the universe because God wants us to discover what is ahead of us (while learning from what has transpired.) Tis a reason why we have scriptures that recorded and remind us how God and humanity have come together and what God has done for us. 

Yet like all stories, we want it like Burger King burgers. We want it our way rather than the way God gives it. We want to put the story to different music than the natural air God breathes. We want the stories to align to our senses, but why is that necessary?

God has blessed us with creation, and made us each in the image of the divine, all genders share this image. People want to distort this image, this gift from God as only belonging to them and no one else. Still, we are all created in this image. How can we be so conceited as to think it is only for me? 

Then God follows this gift with something more because God sent forth this gift with a task. We are to be stewards of this creation, and we ought to be reminded of the awesome majesty that God has given to us each day, each hour and each breath.

Thus, the stewardship requires of us to do something, and you ask, what?

Great question because I submit to you that Jesus gives answers.  If you have been listening and reading, then that stewardship involves living out God’s realm of the cosmos and heavens here on this Earth through sharing, loving, healing, listening and living. 

Paul’s last words to Corinth tells us to put things in order, live in peace, and let the love of God and peace be with us. We are to greet each other with holy kisses not swords or guns. Jesus proclaims to the followers that we are to make “disciples of nations” and baptize them in the spirit just like we were.

Then, in that community of Spirit, we live together with the holy peace that has been given.  Then we realize that true gift, given to us, is not possible to hoard it for ourselves. We want to share that realization and that wakening: being woke. So are you woke yet? Do you feel that peace, that creation, flowing through you. 

Feel the connection to God this day because we, you and I, are made from our Creator and blessed this day and hour. We are given that holy quest and mission to be with each other as children of God.

Yes creation is still happening in you and in me.God is happening in you and in me. So this day let us make use of our blessing and be with each other in peace and greet each other with holy kisses.  

Let the grace of God and our communion be holy with the Spirit among us.

That Beloved is…

Thanks Be to God.

Baptized into the Spirit - 1 Corinthians 12 - Pentecost A

Baptized into the Spirit

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based upon 1 Corinthians 12:3-13, John 20: 19-23, Acts 2:1-21

Opening prayer

Jesus came and stood among them saying, “Peace be with you.”

So often in our world we are told something completely opposite of peace. So often we are told to hate and despise, especially those that are not like us. Too often people listen.

When I was a young boy, I would tell my mother how much I wanted a particular toy or outfit. I would rationalize it with something like, “My friend James has one.” My mother would reply with something like “if James was going to jump off a bridge would you join him?” 

Mother had a way .

When we read Paul’s words in Corinthians, we are reminded that we are bound together not by status, toys, or clothes, but by faith and the Spirit. We were all baptized into the one body. 

Think about what that means for you and your baptism. When we are baptized I am baptized with you and you are baptized with me. A little close for comfort? Why think that?

Let me remind you that We read this chapter for confirmation to illustrate a few points. Now think about what that means for your confirmation of your baptism. Do you still confirm?

Those who were in class can tell you that we cannot read the first part of this chapter without going deeper into the rest of it. Paul uses the image of the body to help a community that is torn by many divisions, different ideas and ways to do things. Sounds kind of like us today? 

“The eye cannot tell the hand, I don’t need you… There are many parts, but one body.” What Paul means by this is not that we have to do the same thing and have the same specialities. In our uniquenesses, we have a connection to something much greater than the individual self. 

More importantly, Paul says that we need each other because if one suffers, all suffer and if one rejoices, all rejoice together. 

How, you ask? I submit to you: baptism.

We are all brought together in church and community by this Spirit, the Spirit of God. 

In the age of division, we are reminded, by the Spirit of our baptism, that we are connected and that we need each other. Thus, it is up to us to seek justice and safety for all because all people of the body, the baptism, deserve just as much as you and me. All will rejoice when we find the honor of God placed with us (and not just for folks with status.)

That, Beloved, is the power of Spirit. The ability to bring different people from different ways of life together and into community, into church, to recognize how much we need each other. We are called to include and to welcome. We are called by the Spirit to be with each other in each other’s hour of need. 

Division, then, is a human construct that serves no sacred purpose. We like sports teams and rivalries in the arena, but even there, when the game is done, we are friends and family together. We hold each other in victory and in defeat.

How different it would be for commanders of war if they would have to actually consider hugging people on the other side? Doubt we ever have war again. (Lord, we could only hope! )

Yet, even those who seek to take away from others like what Putin is doing, will find that evil action can unify a response from divided communities like Ukraine and NATO. Still, war is extreme because war rejects reason and reject considerations. 

For us today, we have to look around our community and realize that the person on the corner is also a child of God, a part of the body of this baptism. The mother, who weeps for her child’s murder at the violent end of some shooting rampage, is afforded our empathy and our work to prevent the next mother from having to weep. The Native American, who claims rights to water, is just as deserving of the claim as the greedy people and governments trying to steal from them again. The single parent just trying to make ends meet for the children is deserving of help and our willingness to help them, regardless of race, orientation or otherwise.

In the Spirit, we can be love. We can say “gay” because love, empathy, and compassion are more enduring and more God-like than hate and violence.

Why? We are part of the one body, the Spirit that connects us and compels us this way.

That is the breath of life and community God has set before us. That is Heaven on Earth poured out for all of us through the Spirit. We are connected, and we need each other more than we could ever know. 

When we finally realize that, the commanders can go home. The mothers can feel safe for their kids. The homeless find food and shelter. Water is shared because we value each other. Parents can raise their children to be God’s children too.

That Beloved is the miracle of the Spirit waiting for us and for our own selves - to realize that our hearts and minds may think differently, but you are valued. You mean so much to your Creator, and you belong in the Spirit. You breathe today and tomorrow because God wants the most for you. God wants you to know how much you are loved.

My friends, I won’t be bridge jumping because I don’t like heights or deep water but more so, that sacred love touches and brings us together. That Spirit saves us, me and you.

God blesses you this day with the Spirit that connects and binds you to each other. Feel the calming fire of the Spirit with you.

Happy Pentecost Beloved!

Peace be with you!

Beloved that is…

Thanks Be to God.

What Do You Believe - John 14 - Easter 6A

What do you believe

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection based upon John 14:15-21, Acts 17:22-31, Psalm 66

Opening Prayer

Question - ( maybe more.)  First, What do you believe ?

What is sacred to you? You who sit in the pews, who listen to the words, who read texts, who volunteer and hold a hand to your heart, what is sacred to you?

What do these words and scripture mean to you ? 

This impacts many parts of our lives because it is the core to why we celebrate or punish or shame.

Jesus is leaving the disciples, reflects on his ministry, and offers this advice. (I may go away but the advocate, the spirit, will be here to help you with all your questions and needs.)

People have questioned if I was saying or doing the correct things. The answer is the question I posed. 

When I speak and preach, I tell you that I preach from the truth of the Bible and what Jesus says.  The question for you and what you witness is “what do you believe in all of this?”

I can tell you this and you can read it for yourselves, but the most honest question ever, (not just believing) what does this truly do for you? Why do you care?

Why come to church to hear this voice? What compels you to listen to the words? 

Are you searching for answers, relief or new ideas - not that ancient scriptures offer much “new”. There is difference in this message, in what Jesus says, in what Tony says, that moves. 

A guy like me can offer the sun the moon and the stars. I can offer keys to kingdoms and realms. I can draw paths and destinations. I can offer you things I do to lose weight, care for skin, and what my favorite shows are. Ultimately, the question roots in what you believe. Corollary to that is why and follows with what do you do with that?

In this age of flowing streams of information, this is something we ought to consider over and over because in that stream is a lot of disinformation, plenty of untruth, advertising, “clickbait”, disguise of intentions, and just plain bad. What holds you to truth and life has to be more than just “clickbait” but how we treat the world, each other and how we treat ourselves.

When people, and especially politicians, tell you something is rigged or fake, people will believe that as well whether it is true or not. There is something about “rigged” systems and dishonest institutions in that they reflect some of our lingering worries and, sometimes, fringe thoughts about how the world works. In our public discourse these days, suddenly, the back of mind becomes the forefront of public conversation because someone says the emperor has no clothes, or is old and senile. 

For folks of “vintage” age, we might think about that a little more because what does that say about us and what we think? Are we too old to have good thinking and ideas?  When did the bus stop and leave us by the road? 

When did it begin? People want to criticize the youth similarly as not smart or know enough, but they have ideas and they have experiences. They have their own experiences and beliefs as well. 

Why does age even determine whether a person’s ideas and mindset is relevant or believable? 

Really, that is a lot of judgment being tossed around (not “truth”). Instead, it is disguise for sinister intentions. For people who want to hide what they do or want todo, they pass off concerns about issues that have no bearing upon you or I - while at the same time, inflicting danger and vices onto the world. By the time folks notice it, whole communities are destroyed and shattered, lives are torn apart, and real, unnecessary pain is inflicted. 

We have awful images and lessons in history of this. If America doesn’t change, we will repeat these lessons - incidentally, ones that people are trying to take out of history books. (That is one reason I like reading the Bible because it offers lessons of good and bad without polish.)

Again, what do you believe and why? When people tell you X or Y, do you just blindly take it as truth or do you hold to a standard - perhaps a real standard like Jesus? Unlike people in this world, Jesus does not lie to you - does not hold you to false claims or “fake news.”  

Jesus gives you a path to truth and life and way. Jesus does not sell you what you don’t need or market some false claim.  Jesus gives you truth and a way to live. You don’t need to see Jesus, but you can feel in your bones the truth.

The way of the world and the entire cosmos is difficult and sometimes treacherous, but I submit to you, that with Jesus by your side, you have a chance to wade through the murky and the unknown. You have a chance to find a bit solace and healing in that murky -because why - Jesus. That is so much better than tearing other people down or destroying communities. 

Look for the Spirit and you will find everything that you need - with the truth there with you. With Jesus’s spirit, your Advocate, you can feel the difference and know there is truth and there is peace.

Thus, when folks make loud claims and wild distortions, be not afraid to speak up or simply walk away.  False claims don’t need audiences. False prophets don’t need more money. False snake-oil-salespeople don’t need any more business. Question them and hold them accountable - question me as well. I submit they need God’s truth to set them free. 

Beloved, listen to the truth in your heart. Listen and believe because Jesus’s words are truth and life. Believe in your heart, in your bones, because these words do matter. You matter! No other can make this truth and no one can do it better.

That Beloved is…

Thanks be to God

The Way - John 14 - Easter 5A

The Way

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based upon John 14: 1-14, Psalm 31, Acts 7: 55-60, 1 Peter 2:2-10

Opening Prayer

We land this Easter morning in John in the farewell discord.

I really enjoy the mystic and poetic way that John is given to us. “I am in the One and the One is in me.” But Thomas asks an important question, one that I am sure others have as well. “How can we know the way?”

John 14 is well known, and we see folks hanging verses from it around homes and on bumpers. 

“I am the way, the truth and the life…” 

What does this really mean though?

In John, Jesus uses this reflective “I am” no less than 7 times (like last week). This hails back to Exodus when Moses meets God, and Moses asks God, “who are you?” The response is, “I am.”

We will get back to more about this, but what does this mean ? Maybe the question is better what does it mean to you? Why is it important to consider that?

Lets look at this “way” that Jesus refers.

In my study of many different traditions, I witness strong parallels with Asian concepts of “the way,” especially Taoist ideas but also others like Buddhists.

Of the Tao, the way (the tao) is something that is true but cannot be described and does not have shape. Yet, the way is “gateway to all understanding.”

Buddhists call it the “Eightfold path” that arises out of the noble truths having “right” view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. This path leads to a state of Enlightenment.

Similarly, Jesus calls to us a path to truth and life. Jesus sets forth a way to that truth by letting mystery be mystery and be free from desire where speech, intention, views, efforts, and mindfulness of ourselves, our community, our church and of God. Jesus is pathway to truth of God and the truth of Jesus.  

So yes there is a path for us. There is a way. That involves our faith, how we live, how we treat each other, how we care for ourselves in what we do and say.

We hear the lessons every week, and read them to learn aspects of that living. The question is whether we take that with us beyond the pews into our daily lives and into the community.  

Too often people put these famous verses on walls, but forget to heed the lessons in our own lives of which Jesus teaches us.

We don’t leave the lessons in the books, in the pews or bumper stickers, but we live out the lessons as followers and disciples of the Risen Christ. When you do, you will feel mystic properties of this lesson. You may feel the cosmic breath of God with you and in you, guiding you.

So take the lessons from the teaches of many traditions that lead us to true life, to God.

Further, we can read this as “[God] is the way, the truth and the life.” It starts with me, and the words: “I am.”

That is important to understand. Words and faith are meaningless if we don’t live and breath the lessons we are given here. 

Yes it starts with me - with you - yes you. 

Right your mind, right your action, lean into your faith, and live as one with God. Live in the possible of God with your neighbors in community. 

Be the catalyst for change that we need, and let it start with you, with me as a smile, a bit of hope, a speck of faith as a mustard seed. Then, I submit to you, I, in my meager corner of the universe, I can find purpose in that speck, that seed, and I can grow into something so much more. 

From there, let it grow and grow.

Let go of desire, let go of hate, let go of troubles, let go of pain. Even when all hope is gone from those around us, like Stephen in Acts. Once you do this, no matter how horrible life can be, you will find something in that truth for you - you can find peace that you surely need.

Beloved, you have all that you need right here in this very moment. Lean into the breath of God, and let the mystery carry you away from desire. Let the mystery be one with you. Feel the truth revealed to your heart.

Let God be your refuge, your fortress and “grow into your salvation.”

Beloved, this is not complicated, but very tangible and ready for you to welcome into your own hearts and minds. When you do, when you let that spirit be your way, then everything is truly possible and there is no need for want. 

That Beloved is Heaven on Earth.

That Beloved is 

Thanks Be to God