Spiderman Is Welcome Here

"No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey you are welcome here."

Anyone who belongs to a UCC church has probably heard those words. I have lost track of how many times I have said them, how many times I have written them. It was those words that drew me to the UCC two and half years ago. But what do these words mean? Why do so many UCC churches use these words.

This week I realized something about those words; they don't just apply to adults. And I have no idea why it took me two and half years in the UCC to realize this. Today in church one of the youth was dressed in what I am going to guess was his halloween costume from last year. Not only was he dressed as Spiderman, he had a magic wand. He sat behind me during the service with a few of the other kids, who are all very good at making joyful noises to the Lord. The best part is that this kid with the spiderman costume and magic wand is part of the youth bell choir. So when it was time for them to lead music for one of the songs today he went running up to the front of the church in his spiderman costume, holding his wand up in the air.

No one said anything. No one tried to tell him that Spiderman wasn't acceptable for church. No one told him that magic did not belong in church. He was free to be himself. "No matter who you are or where you are..."

Reclaiming Pentecost

Growing up in the AG I developed a hatred of Pentecost. The word itself made me cringe. Over the past four years I have been trying to reclaim scripture and church. Yesterday I decided to reclaim Pentecost. Part of reclaiming means that I carry a lot of baggage to the pew with me each week. Some of the baggage is because the church leaders told me repeatedly growing up that being gay was sin and that god would punish the gays.

I wasn’t really sure how to reclaim the church’s birthday. Just thinking about going to church on Pentecost gave me nightmares. The first logical step in reclaiming Pentecost was finding a church. That was easy. Google is my best friend as I learn my way around and settle into my new city. Then I looked at the list of ONA churches; sadly the UCC that is closest to my apartment wasn’t on the list. I almost didn’t go to church. But I decided to go. I figured that if it were horrible I would never go again. There are other UCC churches in the area.

For the first time in I think forever I enjoyed Pentecost. Worship was amazing. What struck me is that they youth were actively involved in the service. They played drums and answered questions in the sermon, it was like something I had never seen in a UCC before and it made me glad. The sermon was amazing. It was full of heart and soul and the joy that is Pentecost.

What I realized sitting in the pew with all of my baggage is this; being the light of the world means following the spirit wherever she leads.

Oh and incidentally yesterday was the St. Peter’s first official Sunday as an ONA congregation. When the spirit moves the spirit moves and I am getting better at following.

The good news is that the spirit is moving and God is still speaking in Lancaster, PA.

Go in peace. Live peace. Be peace. 

Drones and The Kingdom of God

Two days ago I came across this article on Twitter U.S. Navy Makes Aviation History With Carrier Drone Launch[1] and said a silent prayer for peace. The ancient writers had a lot to say about violence. The prophets wrote about instruments of war being turned into instruments of peace,

                        He shall judge between many peoples,

                                                                         and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;

                        they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

                                                                        and their spears into pruning hooks;

                        nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

                                                                        neither shall they learn war any more;

                   but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their                                                         own fig trees,

                                                                        and no one shall make them afraid;

                                                                        for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. (Micah 4:3-4)

Jesus was a victim of state driven terror.

Now, I tend to panic when I hear people use the Bible, especially the O.T to describe the United States. But I think that there is a lesson to be found in the texts, and it is this; The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob does not approve of the use of violence against her creation. Now before you are all start pulling out your Bibles and showing me passages of about angry god, just sit down, remain calm and keep reading. In the ancient world angry gods were common. In the ancient world god was angry because the people did not know what we know about the weather. Now, back to the point.

Creating empire goes against creating the Kingdom of God on earth. In what has come to be called the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for the will be called the children of God.” In Revelation, John wrote, “See, I am making all things new.”

In their book Jesus Wants to Save Christians Rob Bell and Don Golden discussed empire and how it goes against creating Kingdom. They talked about Solomon

                       Jerusalem is the new Egypt. There’s a new Pharaoh in town, and his name is Solomon, the son of David. Not only is he accumulating horses and chariots, which were the tanks and fighter planes [and drones] if his day, but the Scriptures add that Solomon and his leaders “imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported that to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans. Two words: import and export. Solomon is buying horses and chariots, but he’s also selling them. Solomon has become and arms dealer. He’s now making money from violence. He’s discovered that war is profitable (Bell and Golden 41) .

They then go on talk about how God always hears the cry of the oppressed. Now the significant thing about this cry is; “The system works for those with the power and to change the system. They can’t hear the cry.

Now I’m pretty sure that the cry that the ancient people were making is the same cry that people are making today. We live in a world where many people live in fear everyday. We live in a world where the blood of innocents is spilled everyday. We live in a world where empires have created hells on earth.

                        The U.S spends more on defense than on all other discretionary parts                                 of the federal budget combined. Human history as never seen a military machine like the American armed forces…If you are a citizen of and empire that has the most powerful army in the history of                                                humanity and is currently on the way to spending a trillion dollars on a war passages in the Bible about those who accumulate chariots and horse from Egypt are passages about you and your people (Bell and                                  Golden 128).

Now before one of you calls me a Fundamentalist let me make this very clear;

1.     I am not a Fundamentalist

2.     The ancient texts about empire are not important because somehow the book of Revelation is going to be played out in real time one day. The United States is not Babylon. Obama is not the anti-Christ.

3.     The passages from the ancient texts are important because they show us how not to build the Kingdom of God on earth. They show us what happens when we create hells on earth. They show us what happens when we forget that we are to love one another. They show us what happens when we forget that life is sacred.

If there is any grace in the world when it comes to the use of drones it is simply the hope that one day good will over come evil.

And now for a communal prayer for peace and healing:

            How long O Lord? We, your people, are broken hearted. We, your people, are tired and in need of rest. We, your people, are crying out, “comfort, comfort o    my people.” We are in the search for peace. We are in need of peace. We are in need of the Kingdom in our midst. How long O Lord? Comfort, comfort  your people Lord. Hear our prayers Lord.

            Amen.

Go in peace. Live peace. Be peace. 

*pardon the formatting. i'm entirely sure what happened and i have no idea how to fix it*

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[1] http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/14/us-usa-navy-drone-idUSBRE94D00M20130514?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews