Rev. Jim Merritt to teach "Bad Girls of the Bible"

Monday, 20 April 2009 21:14


OdysseyChurch Teaching Pastor Rev. Jim Merritt will teach from Bad Girls of the Bible: Exploring Biblical Women of Questionable Virtue, on Sunday, April 26, at 6PM. The book, written by Rev. Barbara Essex offers an enlightened view of many of the famous women of the Hebrew Bible. Rev. Merritt says, "I love teaching this book because it frees already oppressed women from the often non-biblical stereotypes placed on them. The study is also quite fun." The book is available at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=barbara+essex.

Rev. Merritt holds the Master of Divinity degree from Episcopal Divinity School. He is the 2008 recipient of the Alison B. Cheek Feminist Liberation Theology Prize. He is the Marriage Equality Coordinator for Metropolitan Community Churches' Global Justice Team. He is a committed community activist who works tirelessly for equality and justice for all people.

The evening will include music, and an open service of communion.

Come visit us at OdysseyChurch, where the journey IS better...together.

I’ve heard a lot these past two days about Miss California Carrie Prejean. I agree with most people that you can’t fault Miss California for being honest but I her answer was still poor and these are the reasons why:

1. Know Your Audience
I really like Coke but I work for Pepsi. I’m in a team building event at work and my boss calls me up and says “Everyone here wants to know, What is your favorite soft drink in the world?” I yell out, “I don’t want to offend anyone, but I love Coke.” Everyone at work admires my honesty and integrity as I am fired.
Not to be stereotypical but you work in the fashion/advertisement business. What a way to alienate prospective employers. In contrast, this is what Obama said “I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman but I detest the bashing and vilifying of gays and lesbians. Most gays and lesbians are seeking basic recognition of their rights so they’re not discriminated against in employment or renting a house, so they can see their partner in a hospital. These are rights for everybody, not just some people.” Miss California could have just cut and paste.

2. Know Your Event
Christian values? This is the Miss USA pageant not Church. You promote an unobtainable body image that leads to anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders in young girls. You set women’s rights back a hundred years by turning yourself into an object and you promote christian values while your puppies struggle to stay in your dress. Put on a polygamist cult dress when you preach about being raised right.

3. Be Humble
Even if you would have won if you would have gotten a less polarizing question, don’t come out and say you were the winner. The great Michael Jordan said “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.”

And finally, a bible quote for Miss California: Psalm 149.4: For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.

New York Governor David Paterson Announces Support for Marriage Equality in the Empire State

New York Governor David Paterson announced his support for Marriage Equality in the Empire State today. Paterson introduced legislation and, while he thinks it has no promise of passing, he wants to see the legislature fight it out. This move reflects the governor’s desire to press the issue with lawmakers in Albany as in other states to move ahead with efforts to grant more civil rights to homosexuals.

“We have a duty to make sure that equality exists for everyone,” the Governor said. “We have all known the wrath of discrimination.” “We keep marching forward for justice. The more we erase discrimination, the more we find out who we are and what we are as Americans.”

“Now is the time,” said Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches, “for fair minded people of faith to step forward and support Governor Paterson’s commitment to equality for all people. We salute the governor for today’s action and we commit ourselves to supporting the passage of this legislation.”

Rev. Jim Merritt, Marriage Equality Coordinator for the denomination’s Global Justice Team said, “Now is the time for the people of New York to begin contacting their legislators by telephone, mail and email, supporting equality and justice not just for LGBTQ’s but for all people.”

We celebrate 40 years and counting...of advocacy, history, and human rights with Metropolitan Community Churches!

Reflectons on Good Friday 2009


I awakened this morning with an awareness that it was Good Friday. This is interesting to me because it usually takes a few (or several) minutes for me to ease into my day and figure out what I need to do during it. This day was not like that. With my young cat Dante on top of me as if I were his favorite nesting place, I began to wonder what I would say about this day. I wondered what it meant to me this year. I wondered what I might write here and on facebook and on www.thecommunityactivist.com and what I might send out to my friends and family.

What I settled on first was that Good Friday carries with is a strong message of love. I want to state clearly that the message I hear from scripture and as I continue to walk with God is not about how bad all of humankind and I are/were. The Bible and my experience of the Divine remind me over and over again that we are VERY good; created by God, in God's image and deeply loved by God. And therein lies the key; Good Friday is not about how bad we are. It is, rather about how good God is, about love that is all inclusive, without limitation, without boundary. Perfect love.

Good Friday also carries with it an important message for victims of oppression; Jesus knows what it feels like to be oppressed even to the point of death. Jesus knows about what goes on in our lives. I know some of us continue to live under the scourge of oppression on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and economic status (just to name a few) every day of our lives.

What is good for us on Good Friday is the fact that we know the rest of the story. Jesus dies today under the extreme oppression of political leaders who feared loss of power and influence. Jesus suffers the full impact of oppression. And I remember many years ago hearing Tony Campolo preach his famous message, "It's Friday, (and) Sunday's Coming."

My sisters and brothers, today it is Friday and we all feel the sickness in our stomachs and in our spirits about what Jesus endured. AND, Sunday is coming. Some of us are living in a Friday kind of world AND Sunday is coming. Some us live under oppression AND Sunday's coming. Some of us suffer discrimination AND Sunday's coming. Some of us live as victims AND Sunday's coming. Jesus died today AND Sunday's coming. And maybe you feel like you're dying today, too. AND your Sunday is coming, too, in the name of Jesus, our God who says that you ARE not just good, but that you are VERY GOOD.

Brothers, Sisters, I share with you the impact of this powerful Friday in light of the fact that I know for you and for me, Sunday IS coming.

Good Friday blessings on you and yours.

Rev. Jim Merritt Teaching Pastor OdysseyChurch
www.odysseychurch.org

IOWA SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN GAY MARRIAGE BAN CALLING IT “UNCONSTITUTIONAL”



Heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to the people of Iowa on this significant day when the cause of Equality and Justice for all has taken a step forward in the State of Iowa. The Associated Press reports states, “In a unanimous ruling issued Friday, the court upheld a 2007 Polk County District Court judge's ruling that the law was unconstitutional.” For the full story, follow this link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30027685/from/ET/

“Today we won a battle and now we celebrate our victory. Tomorrow we will rise again and continue our struggle until justice and equality prevail for all of us,” says Metropolitan Community Church Moderator The Reverend Elder Nancy Wilson, “Momentum, time and the arc of history and hope are in our favor.”

Yesterday I asked us to take a moment to pray for Iowa. This morning I ask you to take another moment and this time, to be very thankful.

Palm Sunday and Holy Week blessings to you all.



Rev. Jim Merritt

www.thecommunityactivist.com

"Always Keeping it Real"



OdysseyChurch - Jacksonville, Florida

Teaching/Associate Pastor

"The journey is better...together!"



Marriage Equality Coordinator for MCC's Global Justice Team



Candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree - Episcopal Divinity School

This sermon was preached at OdysseyChurch in Jacksonville, on Sunday March 29, 2009.

God Replicated in You
Rev. Jim Merritt
OdysseyChurch
March 29, 2009

John 12: 20 – 26
20-21Some Greeks to Philip with a request: “We want to see Jesus.”22Philip and Andrew went to Jesus with their request. 23“They want to see me? Jesus responded. “This is the time when the Son of Humanity is going to really be seen, to be seen, to be magnified! 24Here’s how it works: a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies. Otherwise it will always be one grain of wheat there are! 25So clinging to life will only bring it to an end. But if you simply let it go—without struggling or clinging—it goes on and on and on, right into eternity! 26If you want to walk this path with me, you’re going to have to do what I do. Then—like the grain of wheat—I will be replicated in the life of all of you. God’s glory will fill you all!”


Introduction:
When I was a little boy, attending the Baptist church and going to Sunday School, there were many parts of the Bible that I did not understand. Some of it, when read on the surface just does not add up. Our lectionary Gospel for today is one of those passages. How is it that we gain our lives by loosing them? Just why is it that a seed, perhaps a seed of grain, can only really experience life by first dying and then coming to life in a wonderful plant? And as a young child, and I must confess still, wonder even if we come to understand the idea of dying, how we would do it every day; over and over and over again. But, before we get to all of that, let’s take in just a little background.

I. What’s all the fuss about?
What led these Greeks to come to the disciples and ask to see Jesus? Let’s go back just a little way. It is helpful if we look at their request in the larger context of what Jesus did to Lazarus in John 11, and in light of Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet and finally in light of the Jeremiah prophesy around Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. People are seeking Jesus out because they are curious, they had heard about what Jesus did to Lazarus.
Remember the story of Lazarus? Lazarus and his sisters are among the closest of Jesus’ friends we see described in the Gospels. Lazarus was dying and his sisters sent for Jesus, knowing he could intervene. Jesus took his time getting to their home, and in the interim, Lazarus dies. When Jesus approaches the family home, the sisters let him have it? Imagine it, “How could you wait so long? How could you not come immediately when we called? How could you? You claim to be our friend but perhaps we misunderstood? How could you? Jesus displays a sense of calm, goes to the tomb where Lazarus is buried and tells the people to open it up. They protest that Lazarus will stink. A dose of reality from the Bible; dead bodies stink. Jesus in insisted that they open the tomb anyway and the Bible tells us that Jesus wept at the sight of his dead friend. Notice that point. Jesus wept. Jesus loved Lazarus, one person, so much that he wept at his death. Well you know the rest of the story, Jesus calls Lazarus forth and he comes walking out ALIVE.
And you remember, don’t you the story of Mary anointing Jesus with the expensive oils and perfumes? Judas protested loudly, falsely suggesting that much money could be raised from the appropriate sale of those oils. Food could be provided for the poor and clothing for those who had no clothes. Martha protested that Mary was leaving all the work to her and Jesus very gently affirmed that Mary had chosen the better path.
Jesus’ response to the curiosity of the Greeks not only prefigures his own death on the cross, but it also ‘lifts up’ an important spiritual principle in the life of all believers: in order to gain true life in God one must die — daily. Lazarus died in order to live, and Mary poured out the best oils around on Jesus in an act of early preparation for burial. She anointed Jesus ahead of his death and by doing so became a part of the plan for Jesus to rise again. Are you beginning to see a pattern with me here? Sometimes we really do have to die in order to live. Sometimes we have to give the best of what we have to help others live. And sometimes we have to give up less-positive parts of our own personalities in order for others to witness Jesus replicated in us.
II. Dying that others might live
So in what ways might we consider dying in order to live AND in what ways might we consider dying so that others might live. Think about these possibilities with me.
Pride: Now I am not suggesting that it is inappropriate for us to be proud of ourselves or of the good work that we do. I remember many years ago when I was getting ready for my last Sunday as the Associate Pastor for Music and Youth of a church. We had gone to great lengths to prepare really good worship, prepare the choir and to have a celebration of our time together. I was feeling really good about it, as was almost everybody who planned to participate. The mother of one of my friends sternly warned, “Remember, Pride goeth before a fall.” Talk about throwing a wet blanket on somebody, that lady took the wind out of my sails and in some ways robbed us of the joy of celebration.” It’s good for us to do the best we can, to work hard, to offer a good experience and to be proud of it. I’m proud of you, I’m proud of us, I’m proud of Pastor Grant, I’m proud of a lot of things. And the difference is when we get so caught up in our pride that we have to make others look “less than” in order to make ourselves look better. The Bible shows us many examples of Jews wanting Gentiles to look “less than,” of Gentiles wanting Jews to look “less than,” of Greece wanting Rome to look “less than,” and visa versa. We see it in our world today, straight people want to make gays look “less than,” Gays want straights to look, “less than,” Democrats want Republicans to look “less than,” and visa versa. And what I’m suggesting my sisters and brothers, is that we give up on that kind of pride. Let us focus on being the best that WE can be. Let us focus on building up our sisters and brothers from other communities and let’s celebrate their successes along with them. Let’s focus on all of us doing well together, in solidarity together, in celebration together and let us DIE to the kind of pride that causes others to look “Less than.” Let us be more than in all our ways, More than in Jesus’ name!
Hatred: When people lives in systems designed to oppress them, it is sometimes easy to understand how we can learn to hate each other. So many of us have been victims of discrimination in so many ways; discrimination on the basis of race, discrimination on the basis of education, discrimination on the basis of economics, discrimination based on gender, and of course, discrimination based on sexual orientation. We’ve been victims of spiritual violence, emotional violence and physical violence and many of us have experienced so many of this that it might be completely expected and understandable for us to hate. AND, my dear ones, perhaps it is time for us to DIE to hate. Maybe God is calling us today to hope for the best for those who oppress us. God may be calling us today to pray for our victimizers. God may even be calling us to go to those who have victimized us and simply offer them forgiveness. Isn’t that a radical thought? Imagine saying something like, “I know you remember that night a long time ago when you mistreated me, and I’m not coming to condemn you or give you a hard time, I’m just coming to say, ‘I forgive you.’” Wow, can you imagine the impact of an experience like that. We really can do it. We can DIE to hate, we can commit to Love, and we can forgive even those people who will never ask for it. And we know the value of forgiveness is really not for the one who receives it, but for the one who gives it. For us to release all that negativity, to let it go, to let God take it far away and to release us to positive living can in itself bring about the experience of dying in order to live. It can help us along the path toward allowing Jesus to be replicated in us.
III. The Results
And my brothers and sisters do you see what can happen when we begin to live this way? We release all kinds of negativity from our own lives; from our bodies, minds and spirits. We can feel better about our friends, families, neighbors and even our enemies. We can begin to experience God’s grace even deeper ways in our own lives. Notice with me the last part of the Gospel again;
“If you want to walk this path with me, you’re going to have to do what I do. Then—like the grain of wheat—I will be replicated in the life of all of you. God’s glory will fill you all!”
Will we allow Jesus to be replicated in us tonight? Will we release the negativity that sometimes threatens to burn our spiritual houses down? Will we live lives that allow Jesus, the light of the world, to shine through us? Will God be replicated in us?
Prayer: God we thank you for these Gospel challenges that lead to live more like you. Set us free from all that binds us and hold us back. Help us to live the way Jesus showed us. Make us your instruments in our world. And we pray that you, God, Replicate Yourself in us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

For this week, I want to highlight one phrase from the Gospel reading for this coming Sunday. Here it is;

"I will be replicated in the life of all of you. God’s glory will fill you all!”

Last night I was helping one of my seminary friends think about her sermon for Sunday. I said, "Read me the gospel again, there's a phrase in there that jumps out at me." She did and that phrase grabbed me again. "I will be replicated in you!" That, my friends is a powerful promise. My sermon for Sunday will be called, "God Replicated in You." So let's think briefly about that subject now.

What might it mean for us to have God Replicated in Us. Here are some of my initial thoughts'

1. I would love others (all others) the way God loves me.

2. I would show preference for the weakest of these.

3. I would strongly challenge systems that oppress people; any people.

4. I would keep my promises.

5. I would "simply let go," and do my best to do what Jesus does?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Come be with us Sunday night at 6 AND drop me an email at revjim@odysseychurch.org . God bless you.

Rev. Jim Merritt, Teaching Pastor
OdysseyChurch

Heartfelt congratulations to all our friends in Gainesville, Florida for yesterday's defeat of Amendment 1.

Blessings on you ALL

Rev. Jim Merritt

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090325/ARTICLES/903259994/1002?Title=Voters-say-no-to-Amend-1

“Little is Much When God is in It”
Rev. Jim Merritt
St. John’s Chapel at Episcopal Divinity School
March 23, 2009

John 6:1-15
Feeding the Five Thousand
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

Regina Schwartz, author of The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism, shares this story that I love;
It is about a mother, father, and six year-old girl who went out to eat one night. They were about to bite into their steak sandwiches when the little girl protested, "Wait! We haven't prayed yet." Somewhat flustered, her mother led them in the common table prayer, "Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest...." Several minutes later, a rather disheveled looking stranger approached their table. He had seen them pray and came over to ask for something to eat. To her parents he obviously appeared to be a homeless person; to the little girl, he was a frightening stranger. The little girl's dad got up and took the man over to the counter to buy him something to eat. Her fright showed on her face, so her mother began to explain how some people don't have enough to eat. She also went on to explain that, as Christians, we believe Jesus to be with us in a special way when we reach out to the least of our brothers and sisters, that Jesus comes to us through hungry people. The little girl's father returned to their table, his good deed done, to a surprising look of wonder on his daughters face. "Wow," she said, "Jesus answered your dinner prayer tonight, Mommy. He came to be our guest."

That is a wonderful story and when I began considering our gospel for tonight, I went on Facebook and posted something like this on my status, “Looking for interesting perspectives on the feeding of the multitude.” You can imagine that I got some very interesting responses. Those responses led me to this title “Little is Much When God is in It.”

It is a wonderful characteristic of Jesus that Jesus anticipates our need. Jesus knows about our need before we call out in prayer. And in this case, Jesus anticipates that the crowd following him needs to eat. Even when we are faced with a friendly crowd coming our way it can be overwhelming, so perhaps Jesus, like a good Southerner was trying to build some sense of community. Perhaps Jesus knew that by offering food to the crowd he could get them to sit down and settle down to some extent. So after explaining to Jesus just how irrational he was and that his plan was impossible and that it would never work because there was no Whole Foods on the corner and if there had been one they could never afford to feed all these people, the disciples went looking and lo and behold they found a boy with just a little bit of bread and fish. And that’s where I want us to focus during our times together.

This was no ordinary little boy. This was probably a poor boy, perhaps even a slave boy. His fish was not the kind of refined and tasty fish we might get at Legal Seafood, it was not even like a filet of fish from McDonalds. It was more likely something like two fish pickled and made into a spread that was put, not on fresh warm crusty bread like we enjoy, but maybe on the cheapest most basic functional bread that could be found. This meal was not glamorous. And when the disciples asked the boy if he would give his food to Jesus, he immediately and without hesitation said, “YES!” And remember that title with me, this was a LITTLE fish and a LITTLE bread from a LITTLE boy and my sisters and brothers, LITTLE became much when God got in it.

• Have you ever felt small?
• Have you ever felt powerless?
• Have you ever had to depend on the goodwill of others who had power over you?

There’s more about this LITTLE boy that we need to see. The child in the Bible often signals the little ones, the victims, the poor, the oppressed, those for whom minimization is a way of life. And we have seen throughout the Bible that God has some preference for Little ones, for those whose was in the world is not so easy and once again, Jesus has chosen a LITTLE child to show us the kind of faith that leads un into the kin-dom of God; into the kin-dom of God where there is abundance of food, abundance of Joy, and abundance of Life.

• When you felt small and powerless on whose goodwill did you have to depend?
• Is the generosity of a powerless little boy powerful enough to motivate us to share our goodwill with powerless people during what is left of this season of Lent?

On the Sunday before Lent, I asked our congregation at OdysseyChurch in Jacksonville to try something on for this season of Lent. We talked about how difficult “giving up” can be, and how often we fail at that. We had a live example last night when we were having cookies and tea after church a young man exclaimed to me with a mouth full of cookie, “Oh no, Rev. Jim, I didn’t realize Pepperidge Farm Cookies had sugar in them and I’m giving up sugar for Lent” I borrowed words from Thich Nhat Hanh and said, “Just start over.”

Still, I asked them to continue trying to give something up for Lent if that practice was meaningful to them. Then I asked them to add this to their Lenten practice, I said, “Let us make a commitment together for this season to truly live our lives…for the benefit of others.” What does that mean? For it means sharing what we have with others, and do you know now on every Sunday for 3 weeks someone has presented himself or herself to me in a situation of severe need, and we’ve said YES. We are a new church, we’re not yet in the phone book, we’re not in the newspaper, we’re not on radio or tv YET, and when we asked God to help us live our lives for the benefit of others, God heard us and is sending people our way.

Some of my Facebook friends and I have had quite a conversation over what happened with the many baskets of leftover food. The gospels don’t really tell us, and still we know in our hearts we can rest assured that whatever food was left went to benefit those who needed it most. I wonder that about us tonight, brothers and sisters? What are we doing with the over abundance in our own lives? What are we doing with what’s left? I’m not even considering asking us to give up the abundance, I’m just wondering what we might do with all that is left over. I’ve been asking myself all week, What are you, Jim, doing with what’s left? And in that light I am boldly asking us, what are we doing with what’s left. And even more important than that, I really wonder, what can Jesus do with our loaves and fishes? How can Jesus make a blessing for others out of our “What’s left.” And I want to suggest that in some ways it’s even harder here where we talk about it all the time.
• To which powerless people will we really bring good will?
• To which victim of marginalization, oppression, discrimination and exclusion will we show love and acceptance?
• For which “Little” person’s offering will we give thanks and praise as we share in the bountiful feast of God’s blessing?

When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

Little is much when God is in it. May it be so in our lives this night and in all our nights. God bless you. AMEN.

John 3:14-17
14“Remember how Moses lifted up the snake in the desert? He gave the people a physical sign so they could believe something spiritual. It’s the same with the Son of Humanity: ‘lifted up’ 15so that everyone who trusts in him may really live…for all eternity.”
16“Because of God’s overwhelming love for all the world the Son—the Begotten One—was given, so that everyone who believes in him may really live—now and forever—and never cease to exist. 17God didn’t send the Son to tell the world how bad it was; that wouldn’t be a ‘love message’. No, the Son came to rescue the world from that kind of thinking, to put the world on the right track.”

When I started working with the readings for this week I was strongly tempted to avoid the gospel. This reading contains the first bible verse I ever learned. Let’s see if I can write it just the way I learned it many years ago, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Wow, I think I got it.

What does it mean to believe or to believe in? It is important for us to recognize the difference between “believing” and in “believing in.” In his book, Confessing Our Faith: An Interpretation of the Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ, Roger Shinn explains, “To say ‘I believe in you,’ is far more than to say, ‘I believe you exist.’ It is a testimony of trust and confidence. To say, ‘We believe in you, O God,’ is far more than to say, ‘We believe you are there.’” (1)

Finally, for today, two important points; first verse 17. Many of us have been taught that Jesus had to come to Earth because humankind was so bad, that there was no way for us to survive, that we were doomed prior to his arrival. While some element of our behavior as people might be included, here is the really good news. Look at the beginning of verse 16, “Because of God’s overwhelming love for all the world…” OR, “God so loved the world….” Let’s pay attention to that. God loved/God loves. God loved/loves all. And, there are no exceptions to “all.”

As we continue to live our lives for the good of others during this Lent and beyond, let us remember God’s overwhelming love for us ALL. That’s good news for today and every day.

- Rev. Jim Merritt

1Roger L. Shinn. Confessing Our Faith: An Interpretation of the Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1990.

John 2: 13 - 16

13It was almost time for Passover, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14He found the temple courts crowded with people engaged in commerce, selling animals and birds for sacrifices and exchanging Roman coins for Jewish coins. 15He was appalled by it all, so he grabbed some rope and—using it like a whip—began to drive the cattle and their sellers out of the courtyards. The moneychangers knocked over their tables—coins flying everywhere—as they fled to avoid the stampede. 16At the same time he was yelling at the top of his voice: “Get those birds out of here! How dare you turn this place—the house of my Heavenly Parent—into a marketplace!”

I received a link to someone else's blog yesterday. In that entry, the writer suggested that Jesus committed an act of terrorism in the scene we see described in this week's Gospel. I disagree.

How much time do we spend striving for perfection? Especially during Lent we want to do a perfect job of giving up whatever it is we offer as our seasonal sacrifice. Or, if you've adopted my suggestion for this year, you might be trying to do a perfect job of living your life for the benefit of others. If that's the case, I'm very happy that you're giving it a try.

Take a deep breath and stick with me for the next question I have for us to conisder......

Is it necessary for Jesus to have been absolutely perfect in order for him to be the child of God? Do you remember like I do that we've been taught that Jesus was fully Divine AND fully human. For me to believe Jesus was fully human, I have to also embrace the fact that he probably made some choices that were less than perfect. What I see in this reading is Jesus throwing a huge temper tantrum. He's upset, he's mad, he's disappointed, his feelings are hurt, and the combination of all that overwhelms him and he lets it fly. This is very good news.

If Jesus behaved, on occasion, in less than perfect ways and continued to function as the beloved child of God, then I can continue to live in the light of God's love even when I make a mistake. When I say something I shouldn't say, I am still a beloved child of God. When I act in less than perfect ways, I am still a beloved child of God. When I throw a huge temper tantrum, I am still a beloved child of God.

I'm seeking perfection AND I will make mistakes along the way. AND God will continue to love me. That, my sisters and brothers, is very good news.

Real Life for a Real You
Rev. Jim Merritt
March 8, 2009
OdysseyChurch Jacksonville

Introduction:
If you go to my website at www.thecommunityactivist.com, or if you get and email from my Revjim@thecommunityactivist.com, you might have seen that the tag line of that part of my ministry is “always keeping it real.” We’ve heard other slogans like, “Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby,” and “It’s the real thing.” We seem to like things that are real. We seem to like people who can be described as real. And we love our God because God has made the nature the Divine one Real to us. Let’s listen to a portion of Margery Williams’ beloved children’s book, The Velveteen Rabbit, as an example of what happens when we become real.

I. Becoming Real
"For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him. The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real. The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms. The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn't know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date and should never be mentioned in modern circles. Even Timothy, the jointed wooden lion, who was made by the disabled soldiers, and should have had broader views, put on airs and pretended he was connected with Government. Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse.
The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.
"The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."

II. Jesus' Real
Our Gospel reading for today gives us an inside view of what Jesus looks for in people who are real. Real people are called to give up control, to live by the Divine calling God has placed on their…OUR lives. Real people are called, to borrow a phrase from 12 step literature, to live life on life’s terms. To accept the things we cannot change, to change the things we can and to have the wisdom to know the difference. This is part of being real.

I love the way Jesus tells the disciples to live into their own destiny. What would it mean for us to live into our own destiny, together? I have some ideas and I wonder what you might think of them? I wonder what it would be like to us to become THE church in Jacksonville, perhaps in all of MCC where it is true that everybody is welcome. I wonder what it would be like for us to really get involved in the lives of others; homeless, hungry, seemingly helpless people and in real and measurable ways, show them the love of Jesus.

I wonder what it would be like if OdysseyChurch really got concerned about what’s going on in the lives of queer people in this country and in places like Nigeria. Did you know that on Wednesday, March 11, legislators in Nigeria will again address a matter of life and death for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in that nation. On that date, the Same Gender Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2008, introduced by the Nigerian National Assembly on January 15, 2009, will be debated and voted on. We know all too well how real that threat can be from the recent experiences of Rev. Jide Macaulay and his congregation of House of Rainbow MCC, who were driven from a Sunday worship service by an angry crowd of people who believed LGBT lives are expendable. One woman from the MCC congregation was severely beaten by a mob of eleven. Rev. Jide has received numerous death threats. And can you imagine the possibilities that might come in our lives and in the lives of queer Christian people in Nigeria if OdysseyChurch, this group of Christian sisters and brothers here really responded to Rev. Elder Nancy Wilsons plea that we pray fervently for the people of Nigeria this week? Hear me, my sisters and brothers, we could change the future of Nigeria, we could change the world, IN JESUS NAME.

That’s what it means to be the Real You with a Real Life. I hope you agree with me when I say I want to live my life making the world a better place for ALL God’s creation. I want to be real the way Jesus is real. I want to be real the way the Velveteen Rabbit became real. I want to make the world a better place for Children in Jesus name. I want to make the world a better place for Nigerians in Jesus name. I want to make the world a better place for Jamaicans in Jesus name. I want to make Florida a better place in Jesus name. I want to make Jacksonville a better place in Jesus name. I want to be real in Jesus name. I want to have a real life in Jesus name. Can I get a witness tonight? Will you be real in Jesus name? Will you live your life for the good of others in Jesus name? Will you give up control and live into the calling YOU have received from the Divine One, in Jesus name?

Conclusion:
And my sisters and brothers, This is what it means to be Real. This is what it means to live Real Lives. And this is what it means to be free. Jesus says he has come in order that we might have LIFE and life more abundant. We know that he or she whom the child of God sets free is free indeed. We know that light that shines in darkness in ways that the darkness cannot comprehend, hide, or diminish it. Will we be Real? Will we live Real Lives? Will we keep a steady eye, so that when the time comes we can look at the faces of angels; so that we can look at the very face of God as we hear God’s words, “Well done, my good and faithful ones; You are REAL. AMEN.

Prayer:
O God, make us real. O God give us courage to live real lives. O God, we pray today
that you surround your LGBT children in Nigeria in the light and love and life of Jesus the Christ. Protect each and everyone from all violence, hatred and discrimination,
and the loss of things necessary for a full and flourishing life. Give to each and every one safe space. Protect our MCC representative at the National Assembly legislative hearing.
And open the hearts of the Nigerian National Assembly Members to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with you and all your children. And God, we pray not only for Nigeria, but for California and Florida and North Carolina and for our sisters and brothers both here in our community and all around the world. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Reflection for the First Week of Lent
Rev. Jim Merritt
March 2, 2009

Mark 1:9-15
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

In my first Lenten reflection for this year, I wrote and spoke about ways that we could make positive use of the season in our own lives and in our world. We talked about helping those in need, befriending a stranger, and checking out some community organizations that do good as an addition to our practice of cleaning out our own spiritual houses during Lent. I enjoy that practice very much.

Forty is a number we hear frequently in scripture. Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days. The flood lasted 40 days. These are just two examples. I want to suggest to us that perhaps forty days’ practice of doing good while cleaning out our spiritual habit is perhaps long enough to form a new habit. I’ve often heard that if I really want to assimilate a new practice into my daily routine, I need to repeat it every day for a month. Well, sisters and brothers, most of us spend a fair amount of our resources on insurance. Why not buy a little “spiritual life insurance” during this Lent by practicing for 40 days rather than just a month?

I really enjoy the picture of Jesus following through on the will of God. Jesus does not claim the exception of family or son-ship. He follows what he believes is God’s will (or God’s plan for his life). And the beautiful dove descends as the heavens open while we hear God say, you are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

Finally for this week, I want to offer you a re-framing of the word “Kingdom.” I first encountered this concept while studying with Professor Christopher Duraisingh at Episcopal Divinity School. I want to suggest that we consider the “Kin-dom” of God as an alternative interpretation of “kingdom.” In the kin-dom of God we are not focused on power, on building a political empire of rulers and subjects. We are, rather, focused on building a family. This family cares about the needs of each of its members. This family practices what we have come to know as extravagant hospitality. This family shares in sorrows and joys. This family cries together and it celebrates together.

As we learn to live together in this kin-dom of God, we see the dove descending and we hear the voice of the Divine saying to us, “You are my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Hear the voice of God saying it to you, “You are my beloved, in whom I am well pleased,” and let us continue on this 40 day journey…together.

Prayer: God we hear your voice of calling and we hear you as you say to us, “I am well pleased.” Guide us in this season so that we can go about doing good during this cleansing of our spiritual homes. In the name of Jesus we pray. AMEN.

A Reflection for the Beginning of Lent
“Traveling Together; Different Journeys, Secret Destinations”
Rev. Jim Merritt, Teaching Pastor
OdysseyChurch, Jacksonville, FL
February 22, 2009

It is hard for us to believe that Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent are already upon us. I was in the Disney Store one day this week and they still had leftover Christmas items on sale. We’ve had New Years Day and Valentines Day and I’ve had my birthday and this week we celebrated my mother’s birthday and it is true that the season of Lent begins this week. I’m reminded of my time in New Orleans where at midnight on Fat Tuesday, the police pass through the streets repeating this phrase, “Mardi Gras is over, Lent has begun.”
They’re serious about the beginning of Lent in New Orleans and I want us to think carefully about it for just a few minutes together tonight.
Some people dread Lent and look at it only as a time during which they’re supposed to “give something up.” People give up desserts, alcohol, cigarettes, soft drinks, cursing and all sorts of habits. We all know the chances of successfully giving up old habits like this even for a little over 40 days plus Sundays is slim.
I suggest a different approach for our practice of Lent this year. I want to suggest as our gospel does, that in addition to cleaning our spiritual house, we practice doing good. Let’s find a person or a family in need and do something to meet that need the best we can. When we see a hungry person on the street asking for food or money, let’s feed them and not worry about whether they really deserve it or not, whether they could get a job or not, or whether they’re running a scam or not.

Let’s dress as we normally dress and act as we normally act and go about doing good, a little more good than we usually do. AND, let’s add one more aspect to our Lenten practice; let’s refrain from talking loudly about what we’re going. Let’s not put an ad in the bulletin, let’s not write to the denomination about it, let’s not write any letters to the editor about it. Let’s just do it for our own spiritual development, for the enhancement of our relationship with neighbors we don’t even know, and for the positive impact these acts of kindness will have on our world. Let’s do it as a part of the cleaning of our own spiritual houses. Let’s do this and by so doing invite those we will meet to join us in the journey.
There’s no telling where a journey such as this will take us. it just might take us to an important place of relationship with another person that we might otherwise have never encountered. It might take us to a place where we add a new practice to our routine. It just might take us to a new place in our relationships with the Divine; a place where we become part of the good that God is doing in our world. Doing good in our world might just take us to the otherwise secret place of a more intense relationship with all those around us and with God.
Isn’t that exciting; a Lenten practice that brings good to our world? A Lenten practice that takes us to places that would otherwise remain secret to us – a Lenten practice that causes us to lay up real treasures in places where moths cannot eat them, where rust cannot corrode them and thieves cannot steal them. Let us lay up this


treasure in heaven and let our hearts be there also. And let’s use this method to help us cleans our own spiritual houses.
My sisters and brothers, may this season bring you intensity in your relationships with each other, with our world and with our God. And when it is finished may we pray together, “God, we release the energy of this practice for the benefit of all your creation.” So be it. AMEN.

“Sin in the Camp” OR
“The Sin of Sodom”
Rev. Jim Merritt
For “Preaching and Teaching Texts of Terror”
Episcopal Divinity School
February 23, 2009

Genesis 19: 1 – 24



On an exciting spring morning, a family from Canada began the long drive to Walt Disney World, just outside Orlando, Florida; a mom, a dad, and two children; the North American dream vacation. Before the first hour had passed first one child and then the other began to insist, “Dad, I’ve got to go to the bathroom.” “Hold it,” said Dad, “For just a little while longer.” They stopped at a fuel station, used the bathroom, bought more drinks and hit the road again. They stopped for lunch and dinner and more potty breaks and somewhere deep into the night they stopped at a motel and slept a few hours. When they crossed the Florida state line and saw the beautiful blue sign complete with an orange with blossoms still attached readying, “Welcome to Florida, the Sunshine State,” they thought they had made it to Mecca; sunshine, warmth, sweet oranges and Mickey Mouse…what more could a young family expect?” They stopped for lunch in Jacksonville, and then saw those wonderful factory outlets in St. Augustine and had to buy some warm weather clothes. The drove on down to Daytona and were tempted by the beaches, but decided to keep moving. Just after I-95 intersects with I-4 for the final trek to Orlando and Mickey Mouse they stopped at a rest area one last time. It was dark and somewhat foreboding, but not to worry; they’d done this at least a dozen times by now and after all, this was Florida, the state that welcomes tourists, families and children longing for a glimpse of Mickey. They went inside, did their business and loaded back into the car. And at just that moment a truck pulled in behind them and blocked their way. Four angry people; three men and one woman, all white, surrounded the car and began beating on it. The largest man broke the front passenger side window, unlocked the door, pulled Mom out and began yanking off her clothes. The woman pointed a gun at Dad and told him to give her everything, “or else.” The other two men began pulling the children out of the car and tearing off their clothes, too. Mom screamed, begging for the lives of her children, and as if she had committed some mortal sin, she was forced to watch what happened to her children. Couldn’t she have gone first? The angry mob, having taken everything the family had, left them lying around their car as they sped into the darkness of the night.
That is a very difficult story for us to hear early on this morning; and I tell it because it is a true story and because it is so profoundly similar to what happened in the story told in Genesis 19. And for just a few minutes I want us to think together about Sin in the Camp; the sin of Sodom.
I want to share with you some very useful resources on which I am relying in this sermon. First, The Queer Bible Commentary edited by Guest, Goss, West and Bohache, then Mark Jordan’s book, The Invention of Sodomy and Jill Bergkamp’s poem in Christian Century called, “Lot’s Wife.” I also want to give credit to so many of my colleagues in Metropolitan Community Churches and with whom I’ve discussed this passage more times than I could possibly count or credit.
The Sin of the mob – Inhospitality
I’m a southerner and I always expect hospitality. My friend Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches, teaches clergy working with her to practice, “Extravagant Hospitality.” I know from years of study, teaching and preaching that hospitality was a valued practice in the Hebrew Bible, in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah and in the life of the Lot family. So, angels presented themselves to Lot. They were visiting for just one night and at that time it was not possible to go on the internet, choose one’s favorite hotel and make a reservation for the non-smoking, king size room using one’s frequent guest number. They needed, and according to the standards of the day, were entitled to, the hospitality of the community. Lot, as a decent and upstanding member of the community provided that. He opened up his home, provided them with beds in which to sleep, and a lovely meal provided by Mrs. Lot and the girls. And just when they thought all was well an angry mob appeared banging at the door demand that the angels be turned over to them. This was not the welcome wagon, my sisters and brothers. This was a mob, perhaps motivated by fear of their own destruction, demanding that they be allowed to rape the strangers inside. Rape is not a sexual act. It is violence and aggression acted out and this story points that out clearly. This angry mob wanted literally to penetrate these foreign men, to emasculate them, to womanize them, to take away whatever power they were perceived to have, to take from them, remember this phrase…all that they had and leave them lying around the courtyard. These men were spoiled rotten, fat, haughty, proud and accustomed to getting whatever they wanted including at the gross expense of others. They were guilty of aggression, they were guilty of inhospitality, they were guilty of failing to show care and concern for the stranger as they knew they were called to do. That is the sin of Sodom’s mob. These are the sins of Sodomy.

The Sin of Lot – His own “Family Values”
Let us put ourselves in Lot’s position. We have guests in our homes. We’ve cleaned the house, changed all the linens, and our partners have prepared a delicious meal of which each one is savoring every bite. Suddenly there’s a loud sound and a group of people bursts through the door and wants to victimize our guests. We defend them, we protect them in every way possible, we call the police, we set off the panic button, perhaps we reach for weapons, we do everything to protect our family, our guests and our honor. And think of those beautiful children present at table and let us ask this question in our minds, “Could you offer your children to the angry mob?” I want to scream at Lot, “How could you do that,” I want to get in his face and yell, “What are you thinking?” I want to find someway to get his attention and make him get over himself and take care of his family. I understand that raping Lot’s guests was seen as the same as raping Lot. I understand that brutalizing Lot’s guests was the same as brutalizing Lot. I understand that penetrating Lot’s male guests was the same as penetrating Lot. And while I understand all of that I want so scream at the top of my lungs, “Lot, Brother Lot, these are your children, take care of them. I cannot imagine the horror of the daughters of Lot hearing their father offer them to be raped by an angry mob. I cannot imagine the horror of a mother made powerless by a patriarchal culture listening to the father of her children offer those beloved girls to that angry mob. And yet I know, that’s exactly what happened. Lot bought the lies of patriarchy that men are better, that women are property, that aggression is okay as long as it protects one’s masculinity. And that my sisters and brother is the sin of Lot; sin of betrayal of family, the sin of misogyny, the sin of power at the expense of ones beloved.
The sin of Mrs. Lot (Edith)
In my own tradition Mrs. Lot never receives a name. This sort of treatment of women makes me very sad, so I’m going to adopt one of the names our Jewish sisters and brothers give her. I’m going to call her Edith. And I want to confess to you that I tread very carefully here knowing that I live in a male body, raised in a system of privilege the effects of which I am still learning to understand. And I stand here as one committed to equality and justice for all people, including biblical justice.
We’ve been hard on Edith. We’ve used her as an example of what happens when a person disobeys God. We’ve used her as an example of what happens to people who keep looking back and fail to move on. And of course, like the writers of the Hebrew Bible we’ve relished in Edith’s gender; that she is female, that she is weaker, that she is somehow less than. And I want you to hear me clearly that I do not embrace that interpretation as either scripture or gospel in my own experience of God.
I hope I would be like Edith, don’t you? I hope I would be able to understand and deeply feel the impact of what had happened to my family, my friends and my neighbors. I honestly wonder if I could continue to follow Lot anywhere after the behavior Edith had witnessed from him. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to know that beloved members of my family were caught up in the furious destruction of Sodom. I just can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be Edith in that moment. And I want to confess to you that I think I would have looked back, too. Listen to the words of Jill Bergkamp’s poem;

Lot’s Wife
She took a look back,
what did it matter?
Her city ablaze
righteous anger engulfing it.

Would you look back if you knew
the Holy Just One
chose your city to demolish-
your children, your friends,

even people you hated?
Wouldn’t their voices cry out
to haunt if you didn’t?

But this is not a story
of redemption,
no gopher wood ark, no rainbow.
This is a story of flood,

without water, of ruin,
not forgiveness.
This wife turned her head
to look back and became

the very thing tears are made of;
crystal, salt, regret

And there’s just one more important lesson we can learn from Edith, from Mrs. Lot. I’m sure that every time Edith hears someone in our churches use this passage of scripture to victimize yet another marginalized oppressed victim of spiritual violence she wants to scream, “NO, Stop that!” And I hear her clearly as she says to us, these are the sins of Sodom; aggression, inhospitality, failing to show concern for the stranger, misogyny, betrayal of family values, betrayal of one’s beloved, unbridled power at the expense of the other. Let us hear the voice of Edith, let us hear the voice of God.
AMEN.