Tag: judgment and grace

Good Friday Reflections, Mark 14:66-72

by Steve Harsh, posted in Lenten devotion, prayer, Sermon

There are several things I don’t like about going to the gym to work out – the effort it takes to get there, the slim and trim young men who make me look bad, and the swimmers in the pool who do laps twice as fast and twice as many as I can. But the number one objection I have to the gym are the mirrors everywhere. They keep showing me this old man looking back at me!!  I think he’s stalking me!

Lent and Good Friday do the same thing if we are brave enough to look in the mirror. 40 days ago many of us got a smudge of ashes on our foreheads and heard those ultimate words of reality “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” And now the Good Friday narrative holds poor old bumbling, human Peter up to us as a mirror of ourselves. Peter is the ultimate fallible human being. He is the poster child for St. Paul’s confession in Romans 7:15 where he says, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

Denise Gorden shared this picture with the Coffee Talk group a few weeks ago.  This is artist James Tissot’s depiction of what Jesus’ view from the cross on that dark Friday might have looked like.  Last Sunday Rev. Wayne Nicholson reminded us that we often read the Bible to find ourselves in there.  Well this picture is a great example of that.  Who’s there around the cross?  According to John’s Gospel the most faithful and brave ones are up close and personal – three Marys: Jesus’ mother Mary, Mary of Clopas (Mary’s sister-in-law), Mary Magdalene, and John, described as “the beloved disciple.”

Others are there who had cheered Jesus entry into Jerusalem just 5 days earlier – some who have turned against him, maybe out of fear of the Romans, and cried out for Jesus to be crucified instead of the criminal Barabbas.  Others who are rubber-neckers who just want to see what’s going on, and some who are ambivalent and curious who just want to see if Jesus is the real deal and might be rescued by a host of heavenly angels. 

But it’s also important to notice who’s not there – Peter, and most of the other disciples, unless they’re hiding in the back where the Romans or the religious leaders won’t see them.

Do you see yourself there?  What would have brought you to Calvary on that dark Friday?  As the choir just asked us, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”            

But regardless who is there at the cross, there’s one thing we know for sure about everyone, they are all fallible human beings.  St. Paul says it plainly in Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All means all; no exceptions.  We are all guilty as charged of being fallible human beings, and Peter and the other disciples are the mirrors that remind us, like it or not, that we are among the fallible. We don’t like that role – we want to be heroines or heroes, not examples of fallibility or weakness!

That idea struck me a couple of weeks ago at a meeting of our men’s group called “Men Under Construction,” another way of saying we’re all fallible and God isn’t finished with us yet.  Pastor Roger Gorden, who leads that group, described it this way.  He said, “Peter gets in the way of Jesus.”  Peter gets in the way of Jesus!  Isn’t that what we do when Jesus asks more of us than we can or want to live up to? When Jesus says, “Take up your cross and follow me” or “If you love your family more than me you aren’t worthy of me,” those aren’t great recruiting slogans.

At one point earlier in the Gospel story Peter literally gets in Jesus’ way. When Jesus tries to explain to the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and be crucified, Peter says, “No way, Lord. We can’t let you do that!” And Jesus has to reprimand Peter and tell him, “Get behind me Satan.” That sounds awful, but it’s not if we remember that Jesus doesn’t need or want fair weather friends, he wants brave followers, and in order to follow someone you have to get – that’s right, behind them.

It’s hard to follow someone if we think we know a short cut or easier way to go, and especially hard when carrying a cross.

“Are Ye Able, said the Master, to be crucified with me?  Yea, the sturdy dreamers answer, to the death we follow Thee.”  All of the Gospels contain the dialogue between Jesus and Peter at the Last Supper where Jesus predicts Peter will deny him, and Peter responds emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all the disciples said the same.” But when push comes to shove 90% of them aren’t there for Jesus, and Peter says, “No way – not me, I never met the guy.” Not once, but 3 times!

But here’s the deal.  We’re not here to judge or blame Peter and the other disciples for what they did or didn’t do 2000 years ago.  That’s ancient history.  Remember the disciples are in the Gospel narratives as reflections of you and me.  They are there to invite us to ask the really hard questions.  How do we, you and I, deny we even know Jesus today?  When we look in the mirror on the wall what do we see that we try to hide from other people and even from God.  Good luck with that one, by the way!  What sins of omission and commission gnaw at our consciences when we can’t sleep at night?  As Jesus reminds us, we can’t focus on the speck in Peter’s eye when we’ve still got a big old two-by-four in our own.

I identify with Peter because I hate conflict.  I will take a five-mile detour to avoid an argument or awkward situation.  That’s why Jonah is one of my favorite biblical characters.  I can relate.  When God tells Jonah to go preach behind enemy lines in Nineveh Jonah hops the first boat going in the exact opposite direction.  That would be like one of us getting called to go witness to the people in Tehran today!  I’d probably say, “Sorry, God, you’ve got a wrong number.”

OK, let’s consider some more practical, everyday choices we might have to make.  One person standing up for someone who is being bullied may stop the cruelty, and even if it doesn’t both the victim and the protector feel the priceless solidarity of friendship. One or two men refusing to laugh at a sexiest or racist joke, or a woman saying no to an unethical business practice can empower others to do the same.

Doing what is right but unpopular is one of the hardest things to do because it puts at risk our own comfort and safety. But what each one of us chooses to do or not do does make a difference.

The familiar quote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing” sums up much of what I’m trying to say. As we all know it takes courage to do the right thing when it is so much easier to go along with the crowd. My favorite quote to describe that is from the play about the famous Scopes monkey trial, “Inherit the Wind”: Defense attorney Henry  Drummond says to Bert Cates who is on trial for teaching evolution: “It’s the loneliest feeling in the world to find yourself standing up when everybody else is sitting down.”  [repeat]

And to make matters worse, it’s not just individual actions that matter.  The mirror here is facing you as a congregation because our collective sins are even more important than individual ones.  What’s done in the name of the church, or our government, or any other group we belong to-we bear responsibility for that group’s actions and are called to stand up for what’s right and just and true.  

But – we need to shift gears here.  Lent and Holy Week are times for soul searching, facing the reality of who we see in the mirror.  But the crucifixion and betrayal and denial are not the end of the story and we dare not forget that or we will be overcome with our own guilt and denial. It’s Friday – but Easter’s coming.

Peter denies Jesus 3 times!!! That would be very hard for any of us to forgive!  It’s bad enough if a friend, a best friend, like Peter was, betrays us once, but 3 times?  How could anyone forgive that!  But Jesus isn’t just anyone.  When this same disciple, Peter, asks Jesus earlier in Matthew’s Gospel how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him, as many as 7?  Jesus says no, 70 times 7.  

And of course Jesus practices what he preaches.  He not only forgives those who nailed him to the cross; he also forgives poor old Peter.  I don’t want to steal the thunder of any Easter sermons, but you already know this; so I don’t think it’s a spoiler alert. Remember it is Peter who is the one Jesus designates as the Rock upon which he will build his church! Peter, the denier, the stumbling block – Peter who is the stand in for us in the Good Friday story, the reflection of our own faithlessness.  Yes, that Peter is ultimately the redeemed and forgiven one – just like you and me

Do you remember the line from Snow White – “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”  The wicked queen keeps asking the mirror the same question because she never likes the answer she gets. The mirror keeps telling her the fairest is Snow White.  Likewise we often don’t like what we see when we honestly examine our lives in a spiritual mirror. 

Mirrors don’t lie.  So Peter’s multiple failures on Good Friday can be an important time of growth on our faith journey if we are brave enough to really see ourselves reflected in Peter.  And here’s the good news –we can look in the mirror and see only our faults and shortcomings, our fallibility, our mortality – OR we can look deeper and also see the very one Jesus is counting on to build the kingdom. 

Why does God choose the likes of us to build the kingdom? Because fallible human beings are all Jesus has to work with.  So tonight and tomorrow we mourn our own guilt and responsibility for denying Jesus, but on Sunday we will rise with him to begin anew the absolutely critical work of following Jesus to the cross.   We can do that because when we get behind and follow a risen Savior our faith is stronger than our fear. 

Please pray with me:

Dear Creator and Sustainer of all that is good, just, and true, we are living in very sad times. The foolishness of war is robbing your neediest children of food and health care here at home and raining terror and destruction on the Middle East. You have called us to love our neighbors and our enemies. You have taught us that a few courageous people can make a difference. Give us courage to stand up when no one else can or will. Renew a right spirit within us. Show us how we can most faithfully be among those who refuse to deny you. Keep us near the cross and the one who died there for the Peter in all of us. Amen

Northwest United Methodist Church, April 3, 2026

Compassionless Leadership: Destruction of 500 Tons of Food

by Steve Harsh, posted in Faith and Values, Christian Discipleship, Faith and Politics

I am one who is certainly grateful that Jesus and the New Testament teach us that our God is merciful and gracious. I John 4:8 plainly states that “God is Love.” I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And Jesus taught and practiced forgiveness right up till the very end. He taught his disciples to forgive not seven times but seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:22). And Jesus practiced what he preached. In the throes of a most painful and gruesome execution he forgave one of the thieves crucified with him ( Luke 23:43), and even asks God to forgive the very men who nailed him to that cross (Luke 23:34).

But you know who he didn’t forgive? A bunch of goats! Now, before you call the SPCA on Jesus go read Matthew 25:31-46, and if it makes you feel uncomfortable, read it again slowly. And if it doesn’t make you uncomfortable read it two more times with an open mind and heart. This parable is, of course, not about four-legged goats and sheep, but about humans and how we treat those who by the world’s standards are “the least.” The goats in this parable are those who lack basic human compassion and concern for their fellow human beings.

Here’s what Jesus has to say about those people: “Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46)

What made me think about that parable this week is a story in the news that has gotten much less attention than it deserves. Buried under all the coverage generated by the Jeffery Epstein saga, which is important, is a horrific report that makes me furious. Because of the deep cuts in USAID, which provided humanitarian relief to starving people in some of the world’s poorest countries, 500 tons of food already bought and paid for by American taxpayers to feed thousands of the “least” of our brothers and sisters will be destroyed. Yes, 1,000,000 pounds of food being destroyed while millions of children and adults starve to death.

That is simply criminal, immoral, and inexcusable! As I said at the beginning of this post, I am grateful for a merciful God. Because of that I do not believe in hell as a place of eternal punishment, but I am starting to rethink that. Forgive me for playing God, but I think there has to be a special form of punishment somewhere for those who cruelly withhold food from starving people.

In the parable of the sheep and goats the goats are accused of a passive failing to care for the marginalized people, but the MAGA cuts to USAID and the destruction of 1,000,000 pounds of food are an intentional act of cruel and inhumane treatment, and the Scriptures tell us that is the same as starving Christ himself. And to those Jesus says, “You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

I’m not sure what this all means; so let me end with this frequent biblical admonition: “If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Mark 4:23 and several other verses). 

Lent: Fourth Sunday Prayer

by Steve Harsh, posted in Gratitude, Lenten devotion, prayer

O God of eternal love, we are here again needing your amazing grace.  We’re half way through our Lenten journey, and to be honest some of us have lost our way.  The distractions of life keep pulling us off track.  There are taxes to do, gardens to prepare, and our houses, offices, and even our lives need a good spring cleaning. 

Spring break isn’t long enough, and quite frankly we often come back from vacations more tired than when we left. Those school assignments or work deadlines are still lurking on our lap tops and in the back of our minds.  Instead of focusing on what you would have us do for others we get turned in on our own fears and doubts about the future—concerns about our own health or the well-being of our loved ones. 

Gracious Holy One, we know you have told us over and over again to put our trust in you and not in things that thieves or natural disasters can take from us.  But we still have to buy expensive food and watch our retirement accounts shrivel up.  Those fears are real, God.  And they make it hard to trust in the future. 

So we’re here seeking hope and assurance.  We need forgiveness for the times we have strayed from the narrow path that leads to salvation and for the times when we self-righteously look down our noses at others who are just as lost as we are.  Speak to us again your words of grace that tell us and show us that we can never wander so far that you can’t find us, for you are with us and your spirit is right within our hearts.

Remind us once more, O Holy One, that you are not the judgmental, angry God many of us grew up learning about, but you are the Good Shepherd, the mother hen, the eagle parents nurturing their young. You love us unconditionally forever.  There’s no fine print, no preexisting conditions in the new covenant we have with you that was signed and sealed in Jesus’ own blood on Calvary’s cross.

So with grateful hearts we the people of your kindom reaffirm our trust and offer again the prayer Christ taught us to pray …

Jimmy Carter, Servant Leader Par Excellence

by Steve Harsh, posted in Christian Discipleship, Faith and Politics, spiritual discipline

I came of age politically in the bloody year of 1968, a year of political assassinations and a violent Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Hubert Humphrey, badly weakened by those events and the increasingly unpopular Viet Nam War, lost that year’s Presidential election to Richard Nixon, who won a landslide re-election over George McGovern four years later. I was 0-2 in presidential election votes.

Nixon was forced to resign in disgrace by the Watergate scandal just two years later in 1974, setting the stage for a little-known Georgia governor/peanut farmer to launch an unlikely presidential campaign in 1975. Elected by a razor slim margin in 1976, that 39th U.S. President was Jimmy Carter who died recently at the age of 100.

I have great admiration for this President who was one of the most honest and compassionate to ever serve as our Commander in Chief. His record of human rights promotion and tireless work for peace and justice while in office and for forty years afterward is an example of faith-based servant leadership that few have achieved; but all of us should emulate if we want our badly broken world to survive the current political, economic, and ecological crises facing us.

Much more eloquent tributes than mine have poured in from all over the world since President Carter’s death, but I have a personal memory in addition to all of his remarkable accomplishments. Jimmy Carter was the first presidential candidate I ever voted for who actually won the election. In fact in my first six presidential election cycles Jimmy Carter was my only winner.

In retrospect Carter was too honest and kind to survive in the dog-eat-dog world of Washington politics. So he will not go down in history as a very successful President in spite of remarkable legislative accomplishments, significant civil rights and women’s rights actions, and the Camp David peace accords between Egypt and Israel.

I had forgotten that the two things that doomed Carter’s re-election in 1980, the Arab oil embargo and the hostage take over of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, were done in retaliation for Carter’s peacemaking efforts and his compassionate welcome of the former Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment.

There was also some underhanded dealing by Carter’s Republican challenger, Ronald Reagan, who struck a deal with Iran to hold the hostages until after the election. As I said before, Carter was too honest and kind for political infighting.

As I have listened and read about President Carter in the last week I have been humbled by his faith-based commitment to a life of service in spite of illness and advancing age. He created a new vision of what it means to continue to serve humanity after “retirement” from public service.

He and Rosalyn did more for humanity after the age of 90 than most of us ever accomplish in a lifetime. At the age of 78 I personally have trouble making it through one day at a time, and yet as a cancer surviving octogenarian Jimmy and Rosalyn circled the globe building houses, curing diseases, and promoting democracy.

And in his spare time Carter taught Sunday School for decades and wrote 30 books! How he managed that much writing given his schedule is way beyond me. I self-published one small book 13 years ago and haven’t had the discipline or energy to attempt another one since.

As a pastor I also have great admiration for Carter’s prophetic witness about human rights for women and LGBTQA+ people. He humbly credits his mother Lillian for his inclusive attitude toward all people, and they were both way ahead of their time. Carter was such a man of principle that he left his life-long membership in the Southern Baptist Convention over his denomination’s discrimination against women pastors and leaders.

If anyone has ever deserved to hear the words, “Well done, you good and faithful servant,” it is James Earl Carter, Jr., humble peanut farmer, 39th President, and exemplary servant leader. As I begin 2025 one of my goals is to in some small way live a life worthy of Jimmy Carter’s example.

Prayer for Finding Grace Through Humility

by Steve Harsh, posted in prayer

O Gracious and mighty God, we your faithful children are here again to worship and praise you.  It is so good to sing your praises, even if some of us are off key.  We are so grateful that we are here again to keep the Sabbath holy, unlike those sinners who slept in or are out on the golf course! 

What’s that, Lord?  Oh, no, I didn’t mean to judge anyone else.  I know you don’t want us to do that.  But you did tell us not to hide our lamp under a bushel, remember?  You said we are the light of the world.  That seems like something we should be pretty proud of.  Yes, I remember the story Jesus told about the bragging Pharisee who was glad he was not like the tax collector sitting next to him.

Yes, we know that verse from Micah that says we should walk humbly with you, but that’s hard to do.  Our society doesn’t reward the introvert or the wall flower.  We want leaders in business and government who are courageous and daring.  But in your kingdom we get a much different message that your followers are to be humble servants!  Jesus even taught that the meek shall inherit the earth! 

We don’t see much evidence of that happening anytime soon!  But all around us, Holy One, we see life experiences that teach us humility if we take the time to notice.  When we see a breathtaking sunset or gaze into the vastness of the universe we realize how small we are in a cosmic perspective.  When we’re sick and dependent on others to care for us, we are humbled.  Or when we are greeted by the unconditional love of a beloved pet, or when we hold a newborn infant in our arms and feel the miracle of a new life right there in our hands – there are no words to express the awe and wonder we experience.

And, oh, when we honestly reflect up our own lives – all the times we have failed to live up to our own expectations, let alone yours, we are brought to our knees in total humility.  And from there, with truly humble hearts we are ready to give thanks for your amazing grace and for the gift of your beloved son, Jesus, who lived the life of a humble servant and calls us to do the same.  In his name we offer our hearts and prayers as we join our voices in the prayer he taught us to pray…

Northwest United Methodist Church, Columbus, Ohio, September 22, 2024

Faith: Alive or Dead?

by Steve Harsh, posted in Christian Discipleship, Faith Development, Lectionary Texts

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” James 2:14-17

The epistle lesson for this coming Sunday is the familiar “Faith without works is dead” passage from James 2. How often when I pass by a person begging for money on the street do I feel guilty and worry that my faith is dead or dying? Thanks, James. There must be more value to these verses than humbling me if I am dwelling in a glass house of self-righteousness.

But maybe that’s all these verses need to do. Causing you or me to stop and look in the mirror is really quite an important thing for a spiritual encounter to do. To pause from our busy lives for a bit of self-examination is much more helpful than the far more common way this passage is used, namely to put others down by pointing out the hypocrisy of their holier-than-thou rhetoric and lack of empathy or meaningful service to meet the real needs of their neighbors.

One of the bishops I served under had a memorable way of keeping us clergy humble. He was fond of saying that things always worked out well when he was appointing clergy to serve in the churches under his supervision. He said the numbers always came out even because there “are always as many perfect churches as there are perfect pastors.”

James employs a similar tactic earlier in chapter 2. In verses 8-10 we find these words: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.”

Does that mean God doesn’t grade on the curve? That nothing but a perfect score is good enough to live up to God’s standards? No, who could ever stand before such a God? Such a God would never send a Messiah to save us from ourselves. Such a Messiah would never welcome lepers, tax collectors, and all manner of societal outcasts into God’s beloved community.

James is simply warning us that our faith journey is a marathon, not a sprint. James is alerting us to the danger of thinking we’ve got it all figured out or that our work is ever done. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a long way to go to love my enemies or to turn the other cheek. This side of heaven there will always be more neighbors to love, more poor who are with us always. God’s love is eternal and so are the tasks of discipleship for those who have decided to follow Jesus.

Baring All Before God

by Steve Harsh, posted in Faith Development, Lenten devotion

Kate Bowler’s Lenten meditation for today triggered a memory for me from nearly 70 years ago.  In her book, “Have a Beautiful Terrible Day,” Kate’s meditation for Monday of Lent Week Four is titled “letting yourself be known.”  She paints a wonderful contrast between fearing a God who judges our faults and one who knows all about us and loves us as we are.

She closes with this reflection prompt:  “We can have a very Elf on the Shelf view of God at times.  THERE IS GOD WATCHING YOU. Shudder.  What image of God seeing you and caring about you could you find comforting?”

A long-forgotten memory immediately popped into my head as soon as I read those words.  When I was young my maternal grandparents lived on a farm that had no indoor plumbing.  When I visited them I thought nothing of using their two-holer outhouse.  It was just the way they lived.  

I especially enjoyed visiting there because the 7th of my grandparents’ children, Gary, aka Butch, was only 4 years older than I. He was more like a cousin than an uncle to me and just enough older that I admired his greater knowledge of worldly things. Farm kids have a much earlier and healthier grasp of how life and death work than we city slickers did.

So here’s my memory.  One day uncle Butch and I were using the outhouse.  I’m guessing I was 9 or 10 and he was 13 or 14 at the time.  We were at that curious age where sex was often a topic of conversation.  I don’t remember any details of our conversation, much of which I later learned was misinformed.  But I have a vivid memory that for some reason we decided to take off all our clothes and run around the back yard naked.

Had we done that at my house I think my parents would have had a heart attack.  But my dear grandmother who had raised five boys and two girls simply watched us from the kitchen window and laughed.  

Isn’t that a great image of a God from whom nothing is hidden, who sees us in all our human frailty and fallibility and laughs

Eucharistic Blackmail

by Steve Harsh, posted in Christian Discipleship, Faith and Politics, hope

“Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table.”  (Luke 22:19-21)

I heard something from a friend this week that has left me adrift in a sea of incredulity.  Given the bitter divisions in our nation and my denomination I should not have been shocked, but I was.  This friend is a former member of a United Methodist church I used to serve.  She is one of the casualties of the great United Methodist schism of 2022-23.  She told me that a relative who still attends the now Global Methodist Church reported the following from their worship service last Sunday:  prior to communion the pastor told the congregation that anyone planning to vote for Issue One in the upcoming Ohio general election should probably not take communion.

Issue One is a constitutional amendment that will protect reproductive rights and access to abortion.  This is a very controversial and emotionally charged issue, and while I respect the opinion of those who oppose Issue One I do not think access to the Sacrament of Holy Communion should be used to persuade or intimidate anyone to vote in any particular way. 

I don’t know what the position of the Global Methodist denomination is on who may or may not receive this sacrament, but in the United Methodist Church we practice an open table.  As a pastor I would never presume to judge who is worthy or unworthy to come to the Lord’s table because it is the Lord’s table, not mine or my church’s.  The exemplar for that inclusive table is the Upper Room itself on the night before Jesus is crucified.  The Gospels make it very clear that all 12 disciples are there to celebrate the Passover with Jesus.  You can count them all in Da Vinci’s painting.

But seriously, check the Gospel accounts in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22. 

According to all of these retellings of what transpired in the Upper Room Jesus not only knew that Judas would betray him and Peter would deny him 3 times, but also that all the other disciples would run and hide in his hour of greatest need. “Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'(Matthew 26:31). Does that disqualify any of the 12 from sitting at the table with Jesus? No, they all are there to receive this sacrament of remembrance.

Jesus is very clear about whose job it is and isn’t to judge others – and it isn’t mine or any clergy person’s.  “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, (Matthew 7:1)   Or check the parable of the weeds in the wheat in Matthew 13 where Jesus says, “Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” Or my favorite, the billboard that says, “Just love them all.  I’ll sort them out later.” –  God. 

When Jesus says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28) all means all; and this sinner is darn glad we are all invited to the table.  When we all get on one side of the table for a remake of Da Vinci’s picture there will be Donald Trump next to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Hamas Palestinians next to Netanyahu, Putin next to Zelenskyy, and in the middle Jesus asking, “What took you so long to get here?”

And in the background John Lennon is singing:

“You may say I’m a dreamer,

But I’m not the only one.

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one.”

Hallows Eve Prayer

by Steve Harsh, posted in hope, prayer, Uncategorized

O divine Creator, in our topsy-turvy world it is so important to spend time with you as the one true North Star that is our unwavering guide through all the joys and sorrows of this mortal life.  Your eternal and constant presence is so vitally important to us In a world where Prime Ministers rise and fall faster than the stock market; where prices keep rising, where election ads bombard our airwaves and inboxes, and political violence reigns from San Francisco to Ukraine.  The change of seasons is bittersweet as we relinquish the warmth of summer for the beauty of fall, but we draw comfort from the assurance than the seasons come and go on your dependable schedule no matter what craziness we humans inflict on your creation.  

We count on the steadfastness of your grace even as we are ashamed of how far we humans drift from your plan for us and your creation.  In this season of ghosts and goblins we are often so embarrassed that we want to hide from you in costumes that disguise us from our own sin and selfishness.  It is so easy to get swallowed up by our own privilege and comfort where the false idols of materialism and the prosperity gospel wait to ambush us on every billboard and in every commercial.  We know better, Lord.  We know we can’t serve you and money at the same time. But like St. Paul we often do the very things we know we should not do and vice versa.  

We admire the heroines and heroes of the faith who bravely stand up for your truth at great risk to themselves.  They trust that you have power over death itself, but so often our faith is weak in the face of the sacrifices it will take for us to truly follow you.  And so we come to worship putting on a smile even when we are dying inside.  We pretend we are fine when we feel lost and broken-hearted.  Or we are afraid to share our joys and successes because we know others are grieving and lonely.  

Open our ears this Sabbath day, O Holy One, to hear again the wonderful news of your amazing grace.  Pull away our masks and costumes and liberate us from the fear and doubt that keeps us hiding out light under a bushel.  Remind us again that Jesus didn’t just invite a select few to his table.  With open arms Jesus says, “Come to me ALL who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”  He broke bread with sinners and tax collectors because he knew they are your beloved children also.  

And so are we, not because we are better than anyone else, but simply because we are a part of your heavenly family.  We all matter just as all the parts of our anatomy matter to our bodies.  We are not made to be self-sufficient or alone, but to be members of the church, the body of Christ.  We give thanks for this community of believers called to put our faith into action and to transform our broken world into your beloved community.  Thank you, O God, for sending Jesus into the world to show us that we need not hide from you no matter what but can humbly come to you anytime and anywhere just as we are.  In that assurance we boldly offer our prayers and our lives to you in the name of Jesus our liberator, saying as one the prayer he taught us to say…

Pastoral Prayer, Sunday, October 30, Northwest UMC, Columbus, OH