Comfort Food

7 Easter, May 24, 2020

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

The Collect for the Day:

Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us.

We look to you, the God of all grace (Creator, Savior, and Spirit), for comfort and strength.

I’m sure that you, like me, have been looking for multiple ways to comfort yourselves these days. Comfort food is my main “go to” response in times of stress. I get nervous and then I eat. When returning from a difficult hospital visit, I would often stop at McDonald’s on my way home. I would get my “usual” - a cheeseburger and a diet Pepsi. “You want fries with that?” she would ask, and I would answer in the affirmative. During these recent times, I’ve changed some of my habits. I’m not making hospital visits anymore but I’m still looking for comfort food. Now, it’s Wendy’s spicy chicken nuggets and Cape Cod potato chips that bring comfort.

Discipline yourself, I say to myself, as I eat my fish and chips, girding my loins for action. My fish isn’t quite like the ones that Jesus grilled for his disciples, but close enough. I hear that the mediterranean diet is good for you, so I dip my carrots into hummus, eschewing my Cape Cod potato chips. Resist those donuts and ice cream, I caution myself, thinking that I really shouldn’t be complaining about my intake or my choices. My “brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering” and so much more! Be grateful and humble yourself!

I miss going to the gym, and my hair has grown long like a Nazarite. If it gave Samson some strength, why not me? Like the disciples, right before He ascended into heaven, and some of us now, I ask Jesus, “Is this the time when God will restore us? When we can reopen?” Will this long green season, the season after the Pentecost, be the time when God will restore not only Israel but all the people of God? Will we see the tower of Babel being rebuilt? And will we hear each other speaking in one global language of love?

As my body reserves grow with my food indulgences, I look for new ways to strengthen my spirit and comfort my soul.  After Jesus ascended, the disciples returned to the upper room in Jerusalem to pray. So why not me? It appears that they had expanded their ranks from the 11 men, who had once huddled in fear after the crucifixion, to several women and family members as well. Apparently, they found prayer and being in community sources of comfort and strength. Perhaps, they were also preparing themselves for their mission and ministries ahead. So why not us?

I noticed, however, that not all of them returned, that is if you don’t think Batholomew was also Nathaniel. Did the disciple Nathaniel go back to his day job, now that the dangerous times were over? Was he on the road to another region, bearing witness to what he had experienced, seen, and known? Or was he still huddled up in his own room, strengthening his spirit through prayer, reflecting upon what had happened, and imagining a new way of life? Was he waiting for that green light too?

Unfortunately, at first, the followers of Jesus had to maintain their secret identities, always afraid that an “unmasking” would follow. Maybe that’s why Nathaniel changed his name to Batholomew? They knew that former members of their community were whistle-blowers, telling the authorities that the disciples of Jesus were engaged in illegal activities. Like cannibalism; they ate bodies and drank blood. Or insurgency; they were worshipping Jesus rather than hailing Caesar. So, at first, they huddled fearfully. Then, after they met the risen Christ, they began to huddle faithfully. Fish signs pointed to the Way of Love.

“Yeah, we know about the wages of sin, sickness, and death,” I say to Peter today. “I know you faced stoning, inprisonment, and crucifixion. Today it’s bullets, lynching, and the electric chair.”  We know about that devil too, not Caesar but COVID-19, prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. “Holy Father, protect us,” we pray, as Jesus once prayed for his disciples. Trusting that He is now sitting at the right hand of His Father in heaven, we think, “We’ve got his ear! We know He’s got the Power!”

Remain steadfast in your faith, the Spirit whispers into my ear. Cast your anxiety on God, with those nets that are filled with worry and heartache. The great Holy Comforter is packing her bags now, and She’s arriving from heaven soon. She is bringing you comfort and strength. And news flash! Jesus has joined forces with His Father; it’s a “two-for-one” kind of gift; they deliver straight to your room. No need to get out of your PJ’s and put on your Sunday best!

“Send us your vaccines to protect us,” I ask my Creator. “Put your loving arms, once extended upon the cross, around us for comfort,” I tell my Savior. And “send forth your Spirit to renew the face of your earth,” I beg them both.

Acts of the Apostles: 1:6-14

When the apostles had come together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

A Perspective on Love

A Perspective on Love

6 Easter, May 17, 2020

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

In our family room, on our coffee table, there is a pottery bowl created long ago by our son Brian. In it, I’ve placed some polished stones given to me by a Native American friend many years ago. In these recent days, my granddaughter, Elia, loves to run her fingers through the stones, as if she’s playing with water. She also likes to spread the stones out on the table and then put them back into the bowl. On each polished stone, there are two words, one on either side. On one stone there are the words “perspective” and “love.” The word love has little “plus” signs all around it.

+Love+ Right! Love is a plus sign, a benefit to all who receive it and to all who share it. It also has its costs. Love is fluid, like water that runs through our fingers, like God’s Word that comes from heaven and returns back again, like stock market volatility, like COVID 19. Love demands perspectives on life and death, a cost/benefit analysis, and the ways we live and move and have our beings.

A priest who was trying to communicate the division in his church over sexuality explained it this way. When our perspectives vary it may seem as if we are talking past each other. We feel as if the “other” has a deaf ear, a stone-cold heart, and an inability to let go of preconceived notions. We talk from the perspective of science and biology. We engage in conversations about free-wills and different choices. We drop the God word, as if human relationships were all about, indeed only about, sex. Then we pull out our mental health bibles, or our hospital guidelines, and point to what is considered sick. Hopefully, eventually, we talk about love as a configuration of relationships. Maybe we even remember Jesus, that Jesus gave us God’s Love. It was a cost to him; a benefit for us.

The pandemic conversation echoes these memories for me. Dr. Fauci claims that he speaks from the perspective of a scientist, a physician, and a public health official. Meanwhile, the President and local business owners are worried about the economy, and remind us how death comes in many ways. People suffering from inequalities, long-established in our systems, decry the higher risk of infection, poverty, and injustice. It’s an old perspective coming into sharper focus for us today. As systems and buildings and ways of “living and moving and having our beings” crumble all around us, like ancient ruins in Greece, our faith rises with hope. We all clap our hands for +love+.

Some people claim to know God; while others search desperately for God. St. Paul gave the Athenians a new perspective. Your “unknown” God is not far away, untouchable, or unknowable, or found in material things. God’s +Love+ has little “plus signs” all around it. Even as it tears down the walls of division, hatred, prejudice, fear, and death it will build us up in new ways of living, and loving, and moving our beings. In fact, +Love+ is in the air. Receive it, and then give it away. It may cost you something but the benefits are heavenly.

Acts 17: 22-28

“Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’

Show me the Way

5 Easter, May 10, 2020

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

“How can we know the Way?” said Thomas to Jesus. “Show me the Way to the Father and I will believe,” said Philip. Show me the Way.

Show me the Way that dismantles the inequalities in our systems that cause poverty, death, and despair in neighborhoods of color. Show me the Way to end hatred that causes people to pick up guns in Georgia and stones that assault women. Show me the way out of this pandemic, a net that has been secretly set by the enemy and has paralyzed our nation and our world. Show me the Way out of these things that oppress our spirits.

In God’s house, there are many colors, and such evils never exist. Be that strong tower of goodness, I ask God. Show us the Way that will unite us as your beloved people and uphold us by your higher power. Show us the Way to your place where there is room enough for everyone, and spaciousness to breathe. Give us sure footholds on that climbing wall to heaven, on the path of righteousness on this earth, that will lead us to the place of eternal rest and peace.

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” prayed Stephen before they stoned him. “Into your hands, I offer my spirit,” said Jesus as he hung upon the cross. “Forgive and give,” they both said in their final and finest hours.

Show us that Love is the Way. Show me that Way, today.

Acts 7:55-60

1 Peter 2:2-10

John 14:1-14

Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

Gate or Shepherd?

4 Easter, May 3, 2020

Gate or Shepherd?

Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

“I am the Gate,” he said, “and God is the Gate-keeper. Come into this sheepfold through me, and I will save you. When the morning dawns, go out through me and follow me. Listen to me!  I’m calling your name. Yes, you!” 

“Wait,” I replied. “What? I thought you were the Shepherd! So which is it? Are you an inert piece of rotting wood, a gate? Or are you a living, breathing person, a shepherd?”

“Both, and more,” Jesus answered. He said that he had replaced that piece of wood, which was the cross, and a symbol of unjust execution and cruelty, made by humankind to inflict suffering and sorrow. He told me that, like a lamb, he had been led to the slaughter, how he had laid down on that gate, and willingly gave up his life for you and me. He reminded me how God was the gatekeeper, who opened it, so that Jesus could show us the way out, first through suffering and death, and then into eternal life.

It was a matter of sacrificial giving instead of self-serving action. The religious and political leaders claimed that it was better for one man to die than for them. So they chose him. Power is seductive.They didn’t like his truth-telling; and it was too much pressure on them. Throw him under the bus, and up on the cross, the crowds yelled. His death might serve as a warning to others. It’s called herd immunity. Privileges do have their health care benefits.

“There is death and despair and disease all around me,” I cry to him. “Even inside this sheepfold. And we are crowded together, with no masks, no gloves, and no hope. We have endured this suffering unjustly. We need a Good Shepherd. Please get us out of this sheepfold! We want to wander freely! We want our lives back, just the way they were before!” “Or maybe not?” quietly asked the Gatekeeper.

I remember how darkness descended upon all of creation on that Good Friday. How disciples arrived at the tomb on Easter morning and found it empty. There were rumors that thieves stole the Body; it was a good talking point for the empty tomb. Some accused the disciples of a great hoax. “It never happened,” they said. But the Gatekeeper, the Author of all Creation, intervened and raised Jesus up. And then the Risen Lord appeared to many people. “See me. Touch me. Believe me,” he said. God knew that we needed a living, breathing human being to replace the parts of us that are dead, inert, and rotting.

I look around my sheepfold, as if for the first time, and see that Jesus is there. God has a way of creating new life especially in those dark places, like the womb and the tomb. Jesus is so much more than a gate and a shepherd, I remember; he is one of my companions along the Way, functioning in various capacities. He is the bread of life, and living water. He is there in all of creation, in the body and blood of care-givers, in my family and friends. Maybe even my enemies. “Come into this sheepfold through me; and do not fear” he says,“for by my wounds you have been healed. And, don’t worry! Lay down your heads and go to sleep. I am the guardian of your souls.”

“Weeping may spend your nights,” he consoles me. “But joy will surely come in the morning, when the Son will rise, and the Gate will open, and my Spirit will lead you. “When the morning dawns,” he says, “go out through me, and I will lead you to still waters and green pastures. Did I not come that you might have life and have it abundantly?”

1 Peter 2:19-25

It is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

“He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; *

I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *

and leads me beside still waters.

3 He revives my soul *

and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil; *

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

 5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *

you have anointed my head with oil,

and my cup is running over.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

John 10:1-10

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”