Thomas Wolfe famously wrote the novels Look Homeward Angel and You Can’t Go Home Again. To which I would ask, “OK, which is it? Look longingly for home or realize you can’t ever go home?!”

Home is defined ultimately in the heart. Many are homeless but make a family with others who are experiencing the same plight. Some move around constantly but have a location that they clearly would say, “bury me there for that’s where I feel most at home.”

Homecoming is one way to express that sense of being grounded in a location or place but realizing that for many it is not a place that one can stay for long.
The Bible is the greatest depiction of life in community and life as a journey which often separates one from community under difficult circumstances. From the family lineage described in Genesis to the nurturing of Timothy by his mother and grandmother to the itinerant ministry of Jesus who went from house to house and had nights with “no place to lay his head,” we see an endless story of God at work with people in a multitude of relationships.

Yet, it is easy to describe Jesus as committed to the family! A much broader sense of God’s family than we often understand.
This will give us the ultimate joy, tho, when all is said and done as well as realizing that often a brother or sister in Christ is often closer than blood kin.
So, at our church homecoming we come with many notions of home and family, but where all should feel a welcome and “rejoice and are glad in it!”
Happy Kedron Homecoming!

Pastor Barry

9/11 is now 15 years behind us. It was a world crime as much as one for the USA. It is hard to imagine anyone not being impacted by this act of terror. It is hard to imagine ever forgetting it and putting it behind us completely. Who would want to NOT remember and honor both the dead, the wounded, the grieving, and the heroes from that day?! It is a part of who we are as much as December 7, 1941 and November 22, 1963 are in our history.

Our scriptures today bear upon this national occasion in several ways.
(1) God is always before us and is always addressing us as both sinful and as beloved.
(2) God wants no one left out. No one lost. Just as first responders look for each and every one who is in trouble, so does Jesus look for everyone to be found, everyone to be safe. Even one sheep out of 100 is worth finding even though 99 others are secure.
(3) When in doubt and questioning the pain and suffering in the world it is of great encouragement to think upon that which is “eternal, immortal, invisible, wise, deserving of honor and glory forever,” that is…..GOD. I Timothy 1:17.

In such experiences as 9/11 and in hearing the scriptures we are both realists in a fallen world, but also are people who believe that faith, hope, and love will have the Last Word.

Peace be unto you as we Remember and as we leave no one behind in our care and concerns.

Pastor Barry

Preachers, on any given Sunday, may well earn their wages! Some scriptures just may have no “happy” ending as we are left with more questions than answers. There is a rough “kernel” in the Luke text and Jeremiah is…well… a prophet and as usual points out failings! Philemon, tho, is a breathe of fresh air but I don’t know (yet) why the Lectionary Committee included it with these others!? Perhaps because it is a book with one chapter!

So, we are facing parables in Luke 14:25-33 that challenge us to the point of making our commitments to family and possessions a “relative thing.” If they cause us to not be committed to Christ……let them go? Give ALL away?! Choose?

Luke does not say family and possessions ALWAYS lead us to being forced to choose Christ over them but…. Again we feel the pressure, the “pebble in the shoe” that hurts to think about the possible cost of discipleship.

Perhaps missionaries and martyrs and saints are the ones who best show us the way in such matters.

This Sunday’s sermon may well be a display of a “hall of fame” of those who did see themselves called to count the cost. St Francis? Wesley? Mother Teresa?

I am glad it is a Communion Sunday as well. Perhaps the sermon will be a bit shorter!

So, please read these texts so you will be praying for the one who preaches. And about choosing…if it comes to that!!

May the God of Peace and Grace go with us all+

Pastor Barry

When you check out at Kroger, Publix, pharmacies and the like, you always have a last minute opportunity to purchase a weekly magazine. Or at least read the headlines. These usually are about a celebrity or public figure. And they are either being praised or humiliated! The magazines are appropriately named e.g. PEOPLE or ENTERTAINMENT!

Our scriptures for Sunday include lots of thoughts about people in both high and low places in society as well as “entertaining.” At least the idea of entertaining as “hospitality.”

Many hospitals now have employees in charge of “hospitality.” They are to render services of assistance, respect, convenience, and comfort in addition to medical and nursing skills! One should not have to be miserable in finding parking, seating, and directions while feeling sickly as well! Hospitality. Seems fitting doesn’t it in a place called “hospital.”

Jesus instructs those “better off” e.g. the Pharisees, about both hospitality and humility. The two Hs in our scriptures! Celebrity status and social pride have their limits!! Just read your magazines at Kroger!

And also be aware that at your house and table or….church ….someday….you might just happen to “entertain angels unaware!”

Peace and Grace to you brothers and sisters….and to your neighbors+

Pastor Barry

After reading the passages from Luke and Hebrews, I can’t help but think about how I spent Sundays as a child and teenager in the Fifties and Sixties. There were not a lot of restrictions but quite a few expectations! And I did notice that we rarely went to movies on Sunday, but, for some “reason” TV was not an issue! Was it the wholesome Bonanza or Disney shows?

I wish I had heard my grandparents say more about their Sundays when they were my age. I suspect the early Twentieth century “Sabbath” was not far from the Blue Laws era! The “blue laws” were the peculiar American restrictions on work and activities in American Sunday life especially in 19th century New England. And punishments did apply!

When Jesus heals on the Sabbath 5 times in the Gospel of Luke, he seems to be up against the “blue laws” of his first century Jewish world. He finally asks, “For whom was the Sabbath made?” We do well also to ask a similar question, “What shall we do with our Sundays? What IS Sabbath?!”

Hebrews 11:29-12:2 will be helpful in answering these questions, so read on! Anyone for flag football, cards, or golf this Sunday afternoon!? And hopefully no injuries from playing these!! Might not be allowed to see the doctor depending on whose side you are on in Luke 12:49-56!

Worship this Sunday! Be there or…….?

Pastor Barry

Richard Dawson. Everyone remember him? The host of the 80s TV show Family Feud. Almost always more “fun” than “feud!” Light hearted entertainment pitting amused and amusing families against one another for prizes.

Luke 12:49-56 with its “divisions of family” over the ministry of Jesus seems a far cry from a 20th century television game show. I doubt many of us could read these scriptures about the necessity of judgment and turn so easily to pass the time watching TV!

But, so much else on current TV IS about division, judgment, conflict, and family and national heartache. The bible is better than TV as both a mirror for seeing ourselves as we are and a “grooming kit” for getting us to look better!! Thus, we should not despair when we read these “rough ” passages of scripture. Rather, we can find ways to be hopeful that “family feuds and worldly conflicts” do not have the last word! Ultimately the Prince of Peace will prevail. As we might paraphrase the line from Family Feud, “Survey says….”: rather, “Jesus says….!”

Bring the “family” to church Sunday!

Leave the feuds at the door!

Peace and Grace,

Pastor Barry

I don’t know how anyone stays focused! We have so many sounds, images, thoughts, memories, and desires flooding us constantly. Except when we sleep! Well…even then….here comes that strange wacky dream!

It’s a wonder (or miracle) that God gets our attention. Sunday worship is one thing; the other six days are something else!

In spite of our “attention deficit” to things of “The Kingdom of God” our Teacher Jesus has so many ways to bring us back to focus. He gives us powerful stories and images that can compete with sports, politics, celebrities, and social media.

In Luke 12….”lilies of the field…that neither spin nor toil!” “Ravens that neither sow nor reap….but they are fed!” Images of old lamps that need oil to keep burning. Who uses oil lamps anymore?! Everything runs on batteries…..or solar! (See…you had to think for a second didn’t you!?). God’s way of saying things important to us CAN stay with us and impact our way of living 24/7 in a world of competing images and messages. And “do not worry,” Luke 12:22…. “Seek the Kingdom….God will give you the Kingdom….” V. 32.

See, Don’t you feel a bit better already? See, you don’t have to get all your “information” from the newspapers and television and your neighbors opinions!

Now, go figure out a way to share that with someone who doesn’t have a church yet or doesn’t read the Bible as often….as you do! Fire up the lamps in your life whether oil fed or….battery powered! You have a Far Country to keep watch for (Hebrews 11:16)!

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God~~

Nobody said it would be easy! But guess who already did the heavy lifting for you!!? You just need to prepare….and share! Shine your light!

Pastor Barry

In the famous movie CASABLANCA, Claude Rains plays the local police chief in Casablanca and has a line that goes, “Round up the usual suspects.” This has to do with local crimes AND with the death of a Nazi officer!

I use the term “usual suspects” for us Christians when it comes to earthly temptations and stumbling blocks to faithful discipleship. These are the “criminals” that we carry with us inside ourselves. Both Jesus and Paul speak to these in our scriptures for July 31.

Greed. Piling up so called riches. Paul even calls this a “form of idol worship.” (!). Paul adds a few more e.g. “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language…lying to each other.” Sounds like election year talk doesn’t it! But, I don’t want to get distracted here!

You can read these scriptures for yourself and not need a sermon, but allow me to try and see what the Spirit says to each and all this Sunday.

And I feel as though Jesus’ Parable about the Rich Fool may be just enough to make the point! Or you could watch Casablanca and get a good illustration as well. The movie speaks to evil and self-interest and finally to “doing the right thing.” Paul says doing the “right thing” is not so much battling the temptations head on with our resolve but more how close we live to Christ! How much we long to have Christ dwell within us. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” Colossians 3:3.

Something to ponder, something to receive as God’s constant work in our lives. Colossians 3:10.

Thanks be to God!

Pastor Barry

It is good to hear different voices sharing our common story together in God. Or rather God in Christ!

Eric is our preacher for this 10th Sunday after Pentecost. Eric’s personal story was shared with us months ago as he now finds himself on a journey of exploration for extending his ministry, another part of his life story.

As you may remember, Eric is by training both a commercial truck driver and a teacher with a PhD! He is our UMC neighbor as well over at Fellowship. And as God leads he will continue to pursue opportunities to offer more pastoral leadership in our UMC congregations.

Every person’s life is worth a novel! All have their beginnings and endings, comedies and tragedies, victories and defeats. In the fullness of Christ all our lives WILL come together. Christ is the “head of the church and we are the Body.”

Let’s always strive to tell our personal stories in the light of the Big Story of God. And in the telling AND listening we see and hear what gifts we are to each other! Be that gift this week.

Welcome Eric as he proclaims the Word and through the week ahead the Living Word goes with us!

Peace and Grace,

Bro Barry

Nothing ruins a good meal more than a family fight. One minute, all is well, everything tastes great, an Uncle is going on about his years in WW II, or his farm, then…..out of the blue someone gets aggravated, says something, and someone storms off or it gets REAL quiet around the table! Been there…..who hasn’t?!

And here in Luke 10:38-42 we get the point, but we don’t get the whole family drama played out. We don’t know how Mary reacts nor how the hard working irritated hostess Martha reacts. Jesus is teaching and at that moment, in that house, on that day, that was the “one thing needful.” To Mary. And to Martha….we don’t know if she left several things unbaked and sat down beside her sister and listened to Jesus too. We don’t know if the next time when visitors appeared Mary helped out in the kitchen!

Sometimes there is just one thing needful. It may take years of Christian practice and prayer to realize that moment, that need, that one thing on a given day.

The Amos passage shouts at us and asks us to tremble and surely repent. The Colossians text asks us to ponder the majesty and mystery of God in Christ. Can we do both those things at the same time?! Is “one needful” at the right time, the right experience while much better to “wait to address the other?”

Which of these three scriptures speaks to YOU more….right now? Are you Mary or Martha or trying to be both? Do you need a swift wakeup call from a Prophet? Are you in need of joyously getting lost in the wonders of God’s revelation in Christ?

Well, that’s the good thing about discipleship in that it has many, many moments in a lifetime when we each hear from Jesus: “one thing is needful. Pay attention. It will not be taken from you.”

What needs OUR undivided attention as disciples of Jesus ? Good question. Pray for the answer in YOUR life, pray for the answer in OUR life together as church.

Hope to see you in worship this Sunday! There might be “one thing needful” present in that hour for you!

Pastor Barry