[Mcgregorpage] McGregorPage 517, Pentecost 11, August 20, 2006

[rmcgregoralbq at aol.com]

Pentecost 10, August 13, 2006

II Samuel 18:59, 15, 31-33
Psalm 130
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
John 6:35, 41-51

What Comes Up From The Dirt

"O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of 
you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"  Saying that, was David’s face like 
that of Carroll O’Connor whose son died because of drug use?  When 
asked by an interviewer, “Will this end your crusade?” he replied, 
“Only my death will end it.”  -- Would that I had died instead of you 
--  I’ve heard parents say, “You don’t get over the death of a child.”  
“...my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the 
morning, more than those who watch for the morning.”  (Psalm 130:6) 
Perhaps this is the meaning of O’Connor’s words, “Only my death will 
end it.”

Absalom caught his hair in an oak.   “...and the forest claimed more 
victims that day than the sword.” (2 Samuel 18:8b) Forest?  In 
Palestine?  An Israeli tour guide told us that the land used to be 
covered with trees until the Arabs ruined it with overgrazing.  That 
made sense at the time seeing stretch-Mercedes coming toward us with 
luggage tied to the roof as if it were a camel.  “Arabs would do 
something like that,” I thought.  But, on later reflection, I asked 
myself what ethnic group had any substantial environmental sensitivity 
before this century, certainly not Anglo-Americans.  Israeli tour 
guides are government employees and propagandists.  If you lead a tour 
of the Holy Land, try to get a few hours audience with an articulate 
Arab if you want another view.

Falsehood, anger, thievery, evil talk, bitterness, wrath, wrangling, 
slander, malice and grieving the Holy Spirit of God in general were all 
to be found in the Church at Ephesus at the time of Paul’s writing.  
Otherwise, why would he remonstrate against them?  This is the same 
church Paul addresses as “saints” at the beginning of the letter.  The 
sinfulness of the saints is a confusing idea.  It turned out that the 
man who embezzled a small fortune from the city was a member of the 
church I had served.  In the church newsletter was a note from him 
thanking the congregation for their support.  I couldn’t decide whether 
to celebrate the saints for their compassion or despise that saint for 
his thievery and the embarrassment he was to us all.  Paul implores the 
saints to act like saints, but he never backs down from their title and 
inheritance.

"Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? 
How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  (John 6:42)   Is 
this not the church at Ephesus, the scoundrels we know?  Is this not 
the church of Jesus Christ with its checkered history?  Is this not the 
church based on the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and other 
fabulous stories?  It is with questions like these that the world 
excuses itself from believing, but these questions ignore what has 
“come down from heaven” and contemplate only what has come up from the 
dirt.  The truth is that the church is never seen right unless it is 
seen as both what comes down from heaven and up from the dirt, nor is 
any human being ever seen correctly unless seen as both what comes up 
 from the dirt and down from heaven.  “Then the LORD God formed man from 
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
life; and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)

I have observed that the church in its celebration of Holy Communion 
has a hard time holding together what comes up from the dirt and what 
comes down from heaven.  It is either too spooky to think you belong up 
there or too folksy to believe God belongs down here.

May these thoughts strengthen you.

An Open Letter to Fellow Pastors
>From Roland McGregor, United Methodist Pastor
 (an e-mail service)

[See Web Page address below for a Children’s Message coordinated with 
these lections.]

http://www.webspawner.com/users/ChildPage/

Multiple Sermon Starter Essays are available at
http://www.webspawner.com/users/McGregorPage/

The MCGREGORPAGE is available free to your email inbox
To subscribe, write the word SUBSCRIBE in the Subject line and send it 
to mcgregorpage-request at intenex.net.

To unsubscribe, write the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject line and send 
it to mcgregorpage-request at intenex.net.

You may contact the author at RMcGregorAlbq at AOL.COM.


      --Copyright 2006, Roland McGregor, all rights reserved—
You have permission to share this material with any individual provided 
that you include the source with e-mail address.


________________________________________________________________________
Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email 
and IM. All on demand. Always Free.