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What makes church, church?
I mean we all have our thing, right?
It’s not church, if we don’t kneel to take communion.
It’s not church, if the candles aren’t lit in the proper order.
It’s not church, if they don’t play my favorite song.
It’s not church, if there’s no liturgy.
It’s not church, if there’s too much liturgy.
The point is… each one of us has a certain feeling about what makes church, church.
What makes an ordinary Sunday, extraordinary.
As you might expect, I have a slightly different answer for this question than many people would.
I’m moved to preach to you this morning: A Place for Embrace
Have you ever been in a hurry?
I mean in the type of hurry where your blood pressure is up, you can feel it making you a little uncomfortable and a little nauseous?
You were supposed to leave your house to get to an important meeting, but you ended up getting delayed for one reason or another.
Now, you’re finally getting in your car and you realize, you needed to leave 15 minutes ago, if you were going to get there exactly on time,
But of course you really need to plan to be somewhere at least 20 minutes early, if you’re going to have a minute to breathe and prepare yourself.
So you’re actually 35 minutes behind and when you get to this important meeting, not only are you not going to have time to calm down or breathe,
You’re going to have to try to sneak into the meeting room quietly, but you know that no matter how quiet you are, everyone is going to know, you’re coming in late.
Have you ever been that kind of late? Panic late?
Okay, let’s ratchet it down a notch.
Have you ever been just slightly later than you wanted to be?
It’s just kind of annoying, and whatever it was that held you up just has you a little grumpy; a little agitated. but you’re still going to get where you’re going on time?
I wanted to be there 20 minutes early, but it’s going to be closer to 10.
That’s okay, I can still find where I’m going and get there on time.
You know the gospel of Mark is so big on children.
My cousin was in this kind of situation one time and her daughter, who is my god daughter was about 3 years old.
She’s 12 now, and she’s always been one of those kids who is pretty emotionally intelligent.
She can feel what people are going through.
So at 3 years old, her mom is in one of these slightly agitating situations trying to get her and her little brother in the car, so they can be on time.
And little Claudia, feeling this slight distress just starts sing-songing;
“agitate, agitate… agitate, agitate.”
Have you ever been that kind of late?
The thing is, when you’re late, you get in a hurry, am I right?
Maybe it’s a slight rush, or maybe it’s straight up desperation time and you’re going around people, honking when people sit for too long at a green light.
Maybe you speed up when you see a yellow light and you “just made it..”
I think Cincinnati must be the city with the most meetings in the history of cities.
It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, someone is always in a hurry.
I one time stopped at a red light, and if I had gone through, I would have been the third person to run the light.
The person behind me was in such a hurry, they swerved around me to run the red light.
I thought to myself, wow, that person must be in one of those panic hurries.
If you’re like me, and this whole discussion hits a little close to home, you need a second to breathe and stop imagining all of the situations that made you panic.
But we didn’t come to church today to be anxious.
The world can make us anxious enough.
Okay, let’s take a breath.
We’re all here together, we made it either in-person or online.
God is here and we are God’s people.
The truth is, when we get in that kind of mode, we get a little tunnel vision, am I right?
It’s about moving forward, not getting distracted, one foot in front of the other.
What I find in myself is that when I am in that kind of mode, I tend not to be aware of other things going on around me.
Every distraction becomes like one of those folks who tries to get you to sign up for a credit card outside of the football game, or the cell phone salesmen at Costco, pop-up ads that keep you from getting to the web page you’re trying to find.
You try to look as politely as possible, while signalling that you’re not interested and you’re not looking to get into a conversation.
Don’t slow me down, I’m on a mission!
We have so many distractions coming at us on a daily basis, and we’re just trying to get to where we’re going; hurry or not.
We get so tired of being distracted, that even if something important is happening, we might just walk on by or keep on driving.
We don’t like to slow down, or stop when we’re on the move.
The disciples are in this kind of situation and have been for the past several weeks in our lectionary readings.
They don’t have any clue what’s coming, but they’re with Jesus,
They know he has important things to do, they can feel that something big is coming.
They’re arguing over who’s the greatest, who’s going to sit where when he gains his kingdom.
As we noticed last week, anyone who could help him financially or politically, they’re let in to see him straight away.
But the children, the beggars, the blind man Bartimaeus, they can’t get through.
There’s no expedience in letting the meek and lowly in to see Jesus.
They’re distractions that are keeping everyone from getting to Jerusalem.
But not to Jesus.
While the disciples are trying to keep one foot in front of the other, maybe realizing that being in Jericho was one of the major battles during the leadership of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible, when the Hebrew people had finally come into the promised land.
They can’t wait at any red light, they don’t want a sample of the newest type of quiche at the grocery store.
They’re trying to get to their destination and their destiny.
And this makes what Jesus does even more striking. Did you notice?
Jesus, who of all the people on the Way, should be the most distracted, the most focused on the steps ahead,
The man who has foreseen his own trials and tribulations, his own death, and has told his people what to expect…
He is the one who should be in a hurry.
But, it says that when Jesus heard Bartimaeus crying, “Son of David, have mercy on me,” he stood still.
Jesus stood still! (pause)
When was the last time that you stood still, or let your mind be still?
I told you at the beginning of this sermon that I was moved to preach to you about a Place for Embrace.
Have you ever gotten a hug from someone as you were walking?
Have you ever tried to receive comfort or rest from someone, but you couldn’t stop moving?
To be embraced by someone means to be wrapped up in their arms.
It’s hard to receive that, if you’re still moving.
Psalm 46:10 begins by saying, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
In the Gospel lesson that we have for today, Jesus is showing us that no matter how high the expectations of what is to come.
No matter how important,
There is always time to be still, and in fact, it is when we are still that healing can happen.
This is what Job found out as well. After running from friend to friend and trying to find out why his life had gone so wrong, trying to justify himself with his own wisdom
Job finally stops flailing, overthinking. He finally stops his restless motion.
He allows God to be God and he allows himself to be healed.
Once Job stops, God is able to embrace him and restore him.
Once Jesus stands still to heal Bartimaeus, it’s not just the blind beggar who has his eyes opened.
Immediately after this story in Mark’s gospel, Jesus will enter Jerusalem with palm branches waving and cries of “Hosanna in the highest”
But before getting there Jesus stops in stillness and tries one last time to open our eyes to His Truth.
What I want to say to you today, St. Andrew’s, is that we all need a Place for Embrace;
We all need a stopping point, where we can find rest.
One of the things that I find myself continually grateful for in this place is how warmly everyone is embraced.
Members, visitors, family who come from near and far to their church home away from home.
What people find here is a Place for Embrace; a place where they can rest for a little while and be still in the presence of God.
Where we all can find that God is waiting for us in that stillness to heal us and to help us see the world with new eyes.
You all make this that kind of place.
A place where children can come and learn to read,
A place where our neighbors can be fed and feed their families,
A place where a young man across the street at the UDF can come and get respite from the world,
A place where people know that they can get a hug during the peace, if they want one, or a handshake and a smile, if they need that instead.
A place of welcome, A place of family, A place to reset the condition your condition is in.
In a world that demands so much from us, isn’t a God Blessed thing to know that you have a Place for Embrace?
Where you can know Jesus and be known by Him,
Where you can know friends and be known by them.
This is the treasure of life, this is the kingdom of God, this is where children and beggars, sinners and saints, religious authorities and rich young men
Can walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us,
Not having to prove ourselves worthy, but simply standing still for a moment so that we can receive the goodness of God, so that we can taste and see that the Lord is good, so that we can be wrapped up in the loving and everlasting arms of our Savior.
For me, having a place for embrace is one of the most important things that makes church, church.
Thank you St. Andrew’s for being that kind of place.
Thank you Jesus for the eyes to see it.
Thank you God for grace to feel it.
Amen.
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