Blog: Random Thoughts on Sunday's Sermon

Below are some random thoughts on this coming Sunday's message. I hope they create a little time in your day to reflect on the journey of faith and life. If they spur any thoughts, quotes, or experiences, please share them. God moves among us as we share with each other. Grace & Peace, Pastor Michael

It Didn’t Begin with Romance

Today is Valentine’s Day, and woe to the person who forgets to express his or her love! If you are one of those who have forgotten, consider this your pastoral reminder to pick up flowers, buy candy, or plan a romantic dinner for that special someone in your life. It is not too late to save the day!

Valentine’s Day was not always like this. It began as a day to commemorate the martyrdom of those saints named Valentine. In doing so, it gave people the opportunity to contemplate faith and the limits of love. By remembering those who gave their lives for their love of God, one is drawn into the mysterious, beautiful, and confusing ways that love directs our lives.

It reminds me of the words of Jesus when he said that “to lay down one’s life” is the ultimate expression of one’s love for another (John 15:13). I think this is true. I would easily lay down my life for my wife, son, or daughter. But for others, probably not. Raising this question is a quick litmus test for those whom we have a special love. The writings of Chaucer picked up this aspect of Valentine’s Day, and overtime romantic love became the day’s focus. Though the nature of the day has changed, it continues to provide the opportunity to consider whom we love and how we love. Do not let the day slip by without considering how love fills and directs our lives.

Posted by Rev Michael Bos, Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Upside of Compromise

I think Ludwig Erhard captured our attitude toward compromise very well when he said, “A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.” In other words, we do not like to make compromises. We want to believe that we live life on our terms--not someone else’s!

In many ways this impulse serves us well. It keeps us focused on our passions, our internal sense of purpose, and a drive to achieve our goals. However, as well as this may work in careers and athletics, it is a lousy approach to relationships. There is no way to have successful relationships without compromise. It is part of what it means to love one another. When Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another” (John 13:34), it implies that at times we must be willing to compromise our wants to help others get what they want. If we lack this, then we are not really in relationships as much as we are in a competition to see who gets their way.

As people who seek to follow the way of Jesus, we strive to love all people. And this means we are willing to compromise to help one another.

Posted by Rev Michael Bos, Friday, January 27, 2012

Go Ahead. Be Unrealistic!

As children we have rich fantasy worlds. We have imaginary friends and special powers. We are princesses and über-athletes. As we mature, we let go of these unrealistic notions, and we prepare ourselves to face the real world.

What a shame! I am not advocating that we live in fantasy worlds, but we must not loose our ability to dream. How many things have we not pursued because we did not think it was “realistic”? How many times have we settled for less because it was not “realistic” to expect more? No one wants to appear the fool for being unrealistic.

Jesus encourages us to be completely and utterly unrealistic. He was the one who told his disciples that they will do greater works than he had done (John 14:12). Ok, we are talking about Jesus here. He did some pretty amazing things. How on earth could they expect to do anything greater? Yet this is exactly what Jesus told them to believe and pursue.

One of the modern-day disciples of Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr., had the audacity to be unrealistic. He had a dream that a person no longer would be judged by the color this his or her skin. He had a dream that all people would be treated equally. We remember him because he was unrelenting in pursing an unrealistic dream.

Thank God he did not listen to the many who counseled him to be more realistic. They told him to wait, adjust his goals, be more patient, and understand how long it would take to effect change. But he would not let go of the dream.

As we celebrate MLK day, may it stir within us the ability to dream again.

Posted by Rev Michael Bos, Sunday, January 15, 2012

What do I see in you?

I don’t know if you have thought about it, but how we see people determines how we treat people. People we deem of great value, we treat well. People we deem unpleasant, we avoid. And people we deem insignificant, we often oppress. It all hinges on how we see others.

One of the great truths of our faith is that all people, without exception, bear the image of God. While this may sound like a doctrinal statement, it is more of a functional truth. This means it doesn’t really matter if we say we believe this. What matters is if we see and affirm the divine in everyone we encounter.

Consider the people we run into daily. What comes to mind when we see that annoying colleague? The homeless man on the corner? The eccentric family member? An Arab in traditional headdress? Or an immigrant working on the street? Probably not “child of God” or “God’s image-bearer”! I’m not advocating a super piety that makes these the first words or thoughts we have. The truth is that sometimes our first impressions call up other words, like “jerk,” “lazy,” or “freak.” But when we stop looking for the divine in others, the door is then open for prejudice. And we easily develop justification for ignoring or neglecting others.

Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that “every human life is a reflection of divinity.” And he also reminded us what happens when we forget this: “every act of injustice mars and defaces the image of God in man.”

What I see in you and what you see in me matters. Look for God!

Posted by Rev Michael Bos, Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The God of All People

There is a human tendency to categorize people, which is particularly evident among us religious types. Just consider the variety of labels we have for fellow Christians: liberal and conservative, holy roller and God’s frozen chosen, pomo (postmodern) and traditionalist, zealous evangelist and nominal Christian, Protestant and Catholic—the categories are endless. I’m fine with this with one exception: when we create a category of people for whom God will never be known. Too often we, as Christians, will say that because of someone’s lifestyle, or because of someone’s religion, or because of someone’s past, there is no chance that God is present in their lives. The story of Epiphany reminds us that this is a category that does not exist with God.

As we think about the categories we have created, remember this: the story of the three wise men, which features prominently at Epiphany, represents a great reversal. Previously, they were associated with magicians, diviners, and sorcerers from other religions who could not grasp the mysteries of God. Now, in the story of Jesus’ birth, they were among the first to recognize the movement of God in our midst. It says in the Gospel of John, “Jesus is the light of the world.” This light is not confined to geography or ethnicity. It is a light for all people. Epiphany is our celebration of a God whose presence permeates all of our categories!

Posted by Rev Michael Bos, Friday, January 6, 2012

Appearing This Week Is…

For most of us, the Christmas season ended December 26. But for those who follow the church calendar, we are now in the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” This is the period between Christmas and Epiphany, which is celebrated on January 6.

We don’t talk much about Epiphany anymore, yet it is represents something filled with deep spiritual meaning. Epiphany means “to appear” or “to show oneself.” It is the word we use to describe the manifestation of God through Jesus Christ. In early Christian tradition, it was one of the major celebrations in the Church, even predating the celebration of Christmas. Epiphany recounts how the manifestation of God was recognized by many, beginning with the sages who traveled a great distance to see the child named Jesus. These wise men were not Jewish, nor schooled in the religion or culture of Israel. Yet they were captivated by a great light in the sky that guided them to the place where Jesus was born.

God has continued to captivate our attention in manifold ways. That is why at West End we celebrate Epiphany in grand fashion because it rekindles our awareness of the life-giving presence of God in the world. Come and join us this Sunday as we celebrate the One who continues to appear in our lives.

Posted by Rev Michael Bos, Wednesday, January 4, 2012

What to Give?

As much as giving Christmas gifts can be a hassle, I love surprising someone with an unexpected gift. This year Tena and I said we weren’t getting anything for each other, but I found a gift that I knew I had to get for her. Therefore I breached our agreement, bought the gift, and have carefully hidden it under the tree. She deserves it because over the years she has done this many times for me. By blogging about it now, it only adds to the dramatic tension and tests whether all of you can keep a secret. And if by chance she reads this, it only increases her anticipation for Christmas morning!

Then there are those difficult folks for whom we must buy a present. We dread thinking about it, shopping for it, and pretending to be excited when we give it. In this spirit, I came across something Oren Arnold wrote to help us in choosing a gift:

Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

It reminds us that finding the right gift does not always require a shopping trip. There is always something of ourselves that we can give that the other person truly needs.

It is hard to believe this is my last blog of the year. I’ll resume again after the holidays. Until then, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and God’s richest blessings in the New Year.

Posted by Rev Michael Bos, Thursday, December 22, 2011

What’s New with You?

One of the prominent biblical texts during Christmas is the annunciation of Jesus’ birth to Mary (Luke 1:26-38). Many of us have heard this so often that we forget it was received as startling, borderline ludicrous news. Mary was not pregnant. She was not married. She was just a poor and lowly teenager trying to make it through another day. This little event in Luke represents an utter blindside by God!

I imagine that the first person to ask her “What’s new with you?” received an earful.

From Mary’s perspective, the annunciation was much more than news about a change in her family situation. It marked the beginning of her journey of faith. From that day forward, she began to see the world in an entirely new way.

Contrast this with our response to the question, “What’s new with you?” Inevitably, the response is always the same, “Not much. How about with you?” It seems we never have much new to share. Maybe this is because we tend to view life as it has always been, forgetting to see life as it can be.

I think the priest and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin summed it up well when he said, “The whole of life lies in the verb seeing.” Advent is a time when we expect something new to break into the world, yet we may miss it if we do not see in new ways. So let’s stop asking “What’s new with you?” We already know the answer. Instead let’s ask, “What things are you seeing in a new way?”

Posted by Kevin Reid, Sunday, December 18, 2011

Not What I Expected

We create stereotypes about what we expect in people. Doctors should be intelligent, accountants accurate, teachers caring, and so the list goes on. I guess we do this as a way to make us feel we “know” people before we meet them. I wonder how many of us have stereotypes of Jesus but yet know little about him. All during Jesus’ ministry people tried to fit him and his teachings into existing stereotypes, but none seem to fit. This led to frustration for some because he just wasn’t what they expected. It goes to show that often stereotypes hide more from us than they reveal.

This reminds me of the story of the founding of Stanford University. A California couple visited the president of Harvard, and they explained that their son had recently died and his dream was to attend Harvard. They told the president that they would like to build a memorial to their son at the university. The president was quite dismissive of the couple; after all, California wasn’t regarded as much of a state at that time, the same went for its residents. On their way out of the university they asked him how much it would cost to reduplicate Harvard in another part of the United States. The President threw out a large number, and the husband said to his wife, “I suppose we can do that.” And they left. One year later, plans were announced for Leland Stanford Junior University in California, honoring the memory of their son. The president’s stereotypes prevented him from truly knowing and appreciating who he was with.

This Christmas, don’t let stereotypes obscure the message of Jesus. Though something or someone may not be what we expect, it may be exactly what we need. Let this Advent be a time to shed our stereotypes about Jesus, the Christ, so we open ourselves to new dimensions of faith.

Posted by westend_admin, Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Pride Check

I was raised to be proud of who I am and to take pride in what I do. I’m sure I’m not alone in this. This represents a healthy pride that breeds security and confidence. However, I’m also sure I’m not alone in seeing pride become excessive and turn into hubris and arrogance. And yes, I mean even within ourselves! There is a very interesting exchange between Jesus and his disciples about this. In Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus warns the disciples not to be like those who seek attention and places of privilege. It’s more than a matter of improper etiquette or looking bad in the eyes of others. He presents it as a condition that has spiritual consequences. The fifth century saint, Augustine, expressed the consequences this way: “Pride is a perverted imitation of God. For pride hates a fellowship of equality under God, and seeks to impose its own dominion on fellowmen, in the place of God’s rule.” I’ve never thought of pride as that which “hates a fellowship of equality under God,” but this represents the essence of Jesus’ teaching. He told the disciples, “you are not to be called rabbi…, nor are you to be called instructors” (Matthew 23:8,10). In other words, don’t take titles that may lead one to excess pride. Instead, they should see themselves as fellow “students” standing equally before God. This is advice we all need to heed because it creates a condition of equality that allows relationships to thrive. It should also remind us that if we find ourselves pontificating more than listening and learning, it may be time for a pride check!

Posted by westend_admin, Wednesday, October 26, 2011