Peace Memorial Church

Luke 17:11-20
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

No matter how often and how long I have studied the Bible, what continues to amaze me is how timeless the message of God’s word really is!! In the past couple of months, the office staff has been poring through stacks of paperwork and files in order to better organize the church office. Most recently, they have been cleaning out the vault. What they have come across has been interesting to say the least!

The most recent find was a box of consistory and trustees minutes from the 1930s to 1960s. In looking through this box, I discovered something very telling about all of us. Among the minutes were also countless letters written by members of the congregation, but only one was a letter of gratitude while the rest were letters expressing frustration, disappointment and even anger about situations or decisions that were made that the author of the letter did not agree. As I flipped through the letters, I recounted and yes, again I discovered only one was a letter of thanks.

Immediately I thought about the story that is told in the 17th chapter of Luke. Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one said thanks! Which begs the question that Jesus himself asks: Where are the other nine? Weren’t they grateful for what Jesus had done for them? The easy answer to get them off the hook would be that they just didn’t take the time to stop and say thanks.

But here is something I struggle with…why is it that most of us WILL take the time to pick up the phone, write a letter or seek someone out to talk to when it comes to something that we are upset about…but when things go well, when blessings are received, when someone goes out of their way to bring hope and healing, we cannot take the time to simply say thank you.

The story of the ten lepers challenges us each to think about whether we are more like the nine that went away without expressing their gratitude or the one who said thanks? During this Thanksgiving season, I pray that all of us will take the time to return and give thanks. Maybe it is thanks to a friend who has been there when you needed them most. Maybe it is thanks to a family member whose constant presence in your life is a source of strength. Maybe it is thanks to a coworker who makes the working day more enjoyable. Maybe it is a teacher, coach who has encouraged your gifts and talents. Maybe it is thanks to someone you hardly know but has done something to touch your life.

Take the time to express your gratitude and I promise that person will never forget that you were one of the few who took the time to say thanks.

Pastor Shana

For me one of the most powerful aspects of the healing story that we read of in Mark 5:21-34 is the reality that the woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years recognized that Jesus could be the one that would finally be able to heal her. Certainly she had been to countless healers and physicians over those twelve years, but finally when she reached out to Jesus she discovered one who knew her better than anyone else.

If we are honest with ourselves, there is only so much that we allow others to see. Many times it is a defense mechanism because we are afraid of what others might do with the whole truth, because we know too well what people can do with only a portion of the truth.

The fact is most in the crowd that day only knew a portion of the truth about the woman’s life–that she had a bleeding condition. For many, that was all they needed to know and all they wanted to know. They had classified and defined her by her condition. Which I imagine in itself caused her a great deal of pain—knowing that others really didn’t want to know her.

In Anna Quidlen’s novel Blue and Black, the main character is a woman who escapes an abusive marriage through an organization that worked much like the underground railroad of slavery days. As she begins a new life, she has to come to terms with the pain and isolation she had endured living a life with a secret that had defined her.

I hid my wounds because I was ashamed, ashamed of Bobby and ashamed of myself for staying with him, but now I know I was also afraid of being reduced, of becoming in the midst of all who knew me that poor woman whose husband beats her. Or used to. I have begun to think of myself as someone who used to get beat up by her husband. I am a recovering battered woman. I hate that term, all those classifications that seem to reduce our wounds to the same statues as eye or hair color, that make us a type, a color line in a magazine.

Her fear was the fear that many people have.

What if others knew the whole truth?

What if we were reduced in the minds of others as…

the one in the bad marriage

the one with cancer

the one with financial problems

the one with the kid who is out of control

the one whose worries plague their days and nights

and the list could go on and on.

I wonder if the woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years stood trembling before Jesus and was momentarily afraid that once again she would be reduced to her condition, her illness.

I would imagine the joyous thing she discovered on that day was not only did Jesus already know the whole truth, he knew her better than anyone else. Jesus saw much more than a woman with an illness standing before him. He saw the beauty, the hope, the dreams and possibilities of her life and that is what set her free.

“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

May we too have the courage to reach out to Jesus when we need him.

May we take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus already knows the whole truth about us.

And may we live in the joy that Jesus knows us better than anyone us—as a beloved child of God.

Reach out to him today and hear Jesus’ saying to you—

My Daughter…My Son…

your faith can bring wholeness and healing in your life.

Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.

Blessings,

Pastor Shana

This morning I received a call that a member of my first church had passed away. She was 91 years old and truly the matriarch of that church. Over the many years of faithfully serving her church she taught Sunday School, sang in the choir and held just about every position in the church at one time or another. But what I remember best about her were the seeds of encouragement she humbly planted in so many lives.

MaryLou was the type of person who knew what need to be said at just the right time. In my pastoral record (a book most pastors keep as a written account of the baptism, wedding, confirmation and funeral services they have conducted) I have several hand written cards from her. When she thought that I did something well she took the time to tell me so. When it seemed like I needed a few words of encouragement she took the time to send me an uplifting card. I was not surprised to discover that many of the homebound members I visited also received letters and cards from her.

Over the years, I have to confess that there have been times when I have reread her precious words of gratitude and encouragement. As she has passed on from this life to life eternal, I wonder if she ever knew how many lives she touched simply because she was willing to take the time to reach out to others. Her small acts of kindness made a huge difference in people’s lives, including mine. Her words were like the mustard seed that Jesus spoke of…small seeds of faith that grew into something far larger than one could have imagine at first.

Maybe you have had a MaryLou in your life as well. Someone who was willing to take the time to share their love, their kindness, their encouragement with you and it has made all the difference in the world. I encourage you to remember that person, remember the impact they have made on your life and pass on the gift to others. Spread the seeds of faith, because you never know what can happen—like the mustard seed your acts of faithfulness, grace and mercy make grow into something far larger than you can ever imagine.

Blessings,

Pastor Shana

A man on the search for the meaning of life first became by reading anything he could get her hands on–history, philosophy, psychology, religion. While he gained much from his study, he never read anything that gave him a sufficient answer to his question. So he sought out theologians, pastors, scholars and teachers and asked them about the meaning of life. But although he enjoyed their conversation and lively debates, he quickly realized that none of them agreed completely on the same thing and still he had no answer.

Finally he put all his belongings in storage and set off in search of the meaning of life. He traveled the world, but everywhere he went, people told him they did not know the meaning of life, but they had heard of a wise man who did, only they were not sure where he lived. Finally deep in the Himalayas, someone told him how to reach the wise man’s house–a tiny little hut perched on the side of a mountain just below the tree line.

He climbed and climbed to reach his front door. When he finally got there, with knuckles so cold they hardly worked, he knocked.

“Yes?” said the kind-looking old man who opened it. He thought he would die of happiness.

“I have come halfway around the world to ask you one question,” he said, gasping for breath. “What is the meaning of life?”

“Please come in and have some tea,” the old man said.

“No,” he said. “I mean, no thank you. I didn’t come all this way for tea. I came for an answer. Won’t you tell me, please, what is the meaning of life?”

“We shall have tea,” the old man said, so he gave up and came inside. While the old man was brewing the tea the traveler caught his breath and began telling him about all the books he had read, all the people he had met, all the places he had been. The old man listened (which was just as well, since his visitor did not leave any room for him to reply), and as he talked he placed a fragile tea cup in her hand. Then he began to pour the tea.

He was so busy talking that he did not notice when the tea cup was full, so the old man just kept pouring until the tea ran over the sides of the cup and spilled to the floor in a steaming waterfall.

“What are you doing?!” he yelled when the tea burned his hand. “It’s full, can’t you see that? Stop! There’s no more room!”

“Just so,” the old man said to him. “You come here wanting something from me, but what am I to do? There is no more room in your cup. Come back when it is empty and then we will talk.”

Sometimes we are like the traveler, our cup runneth over and we don’t even know it until someone points it out to us. Nicodemus came to Jesus asking the same questions. What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose? And Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand the purpose of life is not to be able to have all the answers to the mysterious of life wrapped up in nice, neat bows, but to be able to truly enjoy the gift of life that God has given to us.

In the Westminster catechism one of the first questions that is asked is: What is the chief end (purpose) of humanity?

The answer is: The chief end (purpose) of humanity is to glorify God and to enjoy God forever.

Sometimes we are so busy life living that we forget God’s desire for us is that we enjoy the journey. When we live our lives in a way that glorifies God and when we fully invite the presence of God into our lives, we will discover that through our learnings, through our encounters with other, through our travels…our cups runneth over with goodness and mercy!!

May your cup runneth over and may goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life.

Blessings, Pastor Shana

“We need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet… I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things… all of it, all of the time, every day. You’re saying ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness’.”—Susan Sarandon in Shall We Dance.

This is one of my favorite quotes from a movie that is quite honestly a pretty forgettable movie otherwise. The true is that we all need a witness to our lives. The definition of witness is “one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard or experienced.”

As Jesus was preparing to pass on the baton of his work and ministry to the disciples after his resurrection, he knew that he would need witnesses. Those who would be willing to share the good news of what they had seen, heard and experienced through knowing and believing in Jesus Christ. “You are witnesses of these things. And see, that I am sending upon you what my Father promised.” What God had promised was that the spirit of God and the power of Christ would remain in their lives even though Jesus would no longer be with them physically.

Of every generation that was to come–that would take up the baton of faith and continue on, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” You and I might not have the opportunity to know Jesus in flesh and bones as the first disciples did, but we still have the opportunity to bear witness to his life.

Bear witnessing to the presence of Christ in our lives means being open to seeing and experiencing all the ways the love and grace of Jesus continues to guide and sustain us. Being open to seeing and experiencing Christ in our lives is often about position and placement of oneself—it is a habit of attention So many times we chalk up God working in our lives as merely good luck, coincidence or happenstance. But I invite you to be a witness to God’s presence in our world and in your life. Take notice of the good things and the mundane things… all of it, all of the time, every day. Do not let the power of Christ pass by you, but instead be a witness. The work, teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ has been left for us to pass on. And blessed will be those who believe and bear witness to it.

In Christ’ love,

Pastor Shana

It’s about love, love, love, It’s about love, love, love,
Cause God loves us we love each other,
Father, Mother, sister, brother,
Everyone sing and shout, cause
That’s what it’s all about love

In preparing for my message for this week based on 1 John 4, this song came to my mind. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it for years. I think I was about eight year old when I learned it at Vacation Bible School and that summer I could get it out of my head.

Sometimes it is downright shocking how simple the message of Christ truly is—if you want to follow God’s will for your live—then you need to live a life of love. We teach it to our little ones in Sunday School and let me tell you often it is the littlest among us get it better than most adults. It seems the older we get, the more we complicate, confuse and contradict the core foundation of our faith. Love…come on…it can’t really be that simple, right?

The Pharisees were pretty sure it wasn’t that simple! From their perspective, there were laws and rules to follow. There was a formula, a checklist, a delicate balance to maintain. And quite frankly Jesus was messing up that balance by filling people’s heads with the notion that it was all about love. So one day, a Pharisee hoping to call Jesus out on this inquired of him, “Good teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

A trick question…what good teacher would be able to choose just one of the laws. But Jesus replied, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”

Jesus knew that every God-given law and commandment hinges on the choice to love. Choosing to think about the others when it would be easier only to think about ourselves Choosing to listen when it would be easier to ignore choosing forgive and when it would be easier to lick our wounds and hold on to anger. Choosing to stay when it would be easier to walk away. Choosing to turn the other cheek when it would be easier to hurl insults and bitterness.

The choice God wants us to make every time, every moment and in every relationship is love because…that’s what it’s all about,

Blessings,
Pastor Shana

Thank you for your interest in Peace Memorial Church. As you explore the web pages of this site you will see the people, ministry, and events that shape the faith family of Peace. We thank God for the work of the Holy Spirit in this diverse and vibrant community.