November 20, 2022
Bless the Lord, my Soul
Rev. Patricia Wagner

Bless the Lord, my Soul
Thanksgiving 2013
                                                              
“We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing” 
 
I remember one particular Thanksgiving
         because of the blessing.
 
Rose was just 4 months old,
         I’d brought her home Vietnam
                           only a few weeks earlier. 
         So all the family – her aunts, uncles, great aunts,
                  great uncles, cousins and second cousins,
                           gathered at her grandparents’ house
         to meet her
                  and have Thanksgiving dinner together. 
                           Something we hadn't done for years.
 
One of her greatuncles, my mother’s brother
         made a comment about her beautiful Asian eyes,
                  if I’d planned to get them fixed,
We took our places around an extended table,
         and bowed our heads as he,
                  retired pastor, with a remarkable career
                           or service and charity prayed.
                                   
Dear Lord, he began,
         We thank you that you have gathered us here,
                  all of us related by blood.
                                   
the air went out of the room
   
my mind raced: 
 
…“all our us related by blood?”
Aat least half of those at the table,
         as well as this darling baby,
               aren’t related by blood,
                  they’d all married in.                  
                          
And, anyway, Thanksgiving is all about
         sharing food with those
                  who don’t share your bloodline.
 
What kind of God are we praying to? 
 
I barely heard the rest of the prayer
         the list of thank yous
                  the request to bless the food and us.
 
After the Amen.   
         a cousin to my right immediately turned to me and said,                      quietly,
                           "I will never forgive him."
 
And my mother, took a breath said in a voice we all could hear
                  Well, Harold, it’s too bad you aren't thankful
                           for your own wife! 
 
Beneath that prayer was an understanding
        
that our family was united by our bloodline,
         rather than love that. 
. 
that God’s blessing comes through our sameness
                  rather than our differences  
 
We gather together…..
 
 
This past week, I witnessed a couple signing papter
     to dissolve their marriage
          irreconcilable differences
                  and then yesterday attended
                                    the special session of the West Ohio                                      conference of the United Methodist Church
                                    where we did the same.
20 pastors
         and 80 churches had completed all the requirements
         to leave the denomination, with their church buildings, 
         and join a new denomination,
                  where they will know the blessing of sameness
                           of mind as to discipline and doctrine.
                 
                   
After all years of dialogue around tables
         of rancor in voting,
                  it was a quiet ending,
 
There are, clearly, irreconcilable differences
                  about our unity and sameness
                                    or in our differences.
 
The mood was sober,
         just as it was as the couple signed the papers,
                  as it was around that family dinner table,
 
How shall we live with one another,
         when so much separates us?
                  in our families, in our nation
                           and even in the church of Jesus, the Christ. 
 
        
Early in his writings,
         we find Paul quite dogmatic
                  about who is in and out,
but then, he was confined in prison in Rome,
         probably between the years 60 and 62,
               and something changed,
                  he was liberated inside,
 
He wrote to the church in Colossae,
         to hold them firmly together in their understanding
                  that Jesus is the Christ,  and other core truths, 
                           but to allow each other the freedom of
                                    differences of ways of living.                       
 
He advises them
                   
12As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
         clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
                   humility, meekness, and patience.
 
13Bear with one another and,
          if anyone has a complaint against another,
                  forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you,
                           so you also must forgive.
 
14Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
         which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
                   15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
                           to which indeed you were called in the one body.
                                    And be thankful.
                                                                        Colossians 3: 12-21
 
 
 
And perhaps that’s the recipe for how to survive thanksgiving,
         and life in a divided nation and church,
Bear with one another.
         clothe yourselves in love,
                  let peace of Christ rule your hearts,
                                 and then comes that last word,
                                    and the other great challenge
                                             and gift of this holiday: 
                                                        Be thankful, he says,
 
Now, I can find a nearly endless number of things
          to be thankful for,
                but I wonder all the time how other’s can. 
 
Those folks living on our frozen streets,
         the war victims in Ukraine, and Poland,  
                  facing bitter cold,
                        all those fleeing violence and rising tides,
                           and famine
and all those living in the winter that is grief,
                 
It is quite a call, that Paul has,
         to above all, be thankful,
 
But it is clear, that if we embody all these things
         if we bear one another in our differences,
                  forgive one another our humanness,
                           and find a way to be thankful in all things,
then perhaps we ourselves become the blessing.
 
Our psalm today, 103
         Bless the Lord, O my soul .
                  All that is within me bless God’s holy name.
 
This is not a superficial prayer,
            not something to recite or endure before we eat,
                  it is the prayer of our life. 
                          
This blessing isn't something we say,
         it is something we are, says Paul.
           
It is the prayer of our innermost being. 
         that part of us that understands more we seem to.
.                 that part that will live on with God, forever. 
 
The call is to our soul to bless the Lord.  
         even when our outermost being
                  is in too much pain
                          or too hurt,
                              or struggling with others,
 
to realize in our innermost being  that the one who give us life
         is always leading us toward it,
                  inviting us to be clothed in compassion, kindness
                           humility, patience, and above all love,
         and so letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. 
                  which allows us be thankful in all things. 
                           we  become the blessing to God
                                    and all creation, 
         we say with our lives: Bless the Lord, my soul
 
When we worry about our future, or those we love,
but know God has brought us this far,
Bless the Lord my soul
 
When we are uncertain about the future of the church
yet trust that God is in this with all of us,
Bless the Lord, my soul. 
 
When we see the divisions in the country
and recognize that we may also be a part of that,
 Bless the Lord, my soul.
 
When we aren’t sure how to love those
who are different from us,  but long to,
Bless the Lord my soul
 
 
May we be a blessing to the Creator.
         may we live with courage
                  may we create goodness. 
                                 may we love the unloved
                                    May we be given enough light to
                                             find a way through dark times. 
 
Bless the Lord, my soul, and may I be a blessing.
         to you,
                  in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen.
 

November 13, 2022
What Gift Can We Bring?
Rev. Patricia Wagner
 
What gift can we bring, what present, what token?
What words can convey it the joy of this day?
When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing,
what song can we now offer in honor and praise?
 
Give thanks for the past, for those who had vision,
who planted and watered so dreams could come true.
Give thanks for the Now, for study, for worship,
for mission that bids us turn prayer into deed.
 
Give thanks for Tomorrow, full of surprises,
for knowing whatever Tomorrow may bring,
the Word is our promise always, forever,
we rest in God's keeping and live in God's love.
 
This gift we now bring, this present, this token,
these words can convey it the joy of this day!
When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing,
this song we now offer in honor and praise.
 
 
My father’s hands baptized me,
         dripped water over my head
                  and said the words,
The holy spirit work with in you that having been born of water and        spirit, you may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
 
                  similar words were said over you.
 
And you have chosen to live out your baptism here,
Bill and Bobbie and Jim and Mary Kay and Christine and Ben
         and Sarah and Ellen, and little Amelia,
                  are here, most especially,
 because this is a community
         that says in word and deed that
         regardless of our God given sexual orientation and gender identity
                  or any of the different ways in which God has formed us
                           or how we vote, or what our families look like
                                    or anything else that distinguishes us
                                             one from another. 
        
         each person is God’s exquisite creation,
                  born of the Spirit
                          and an essential part of the body of Christ
                            
You are part of this body,
         We are part of this body,
                held together in the spirit,
 
Bound only by the bonds you make,
         and the commitment you choose.
 
We are here,  
         to wrestle with the experiences our life is bringing us,
         to comprehend them in the fullness of ancient truth,
 
We are here to explore the mystery of life itself,
         to delve into the meaning of our scriptures,
                  to know who Jesus is,
                           What Christ is to us,
                  to ask any question that comes to mind, 
                           and listen to the call upon our own beings
        
We are here because we seek to get to the
         the core of our own selves
                  the mystery that is our own given life, 
                          
and to move beyond ourselves
         to live out Jesus’ teaching in the world
                  in kinship with all creation.
         to bear one another’s burdens
                  to ease one’ another’s suffering
                           to stand with the oppressed, and
         to work together to care for the poor, as Jesus taught us.
 
We come because we long to be persons
         of love and mercy, grace and compassion
                  just and merciful.
 
We come because we long to be like Jesus
         and to live in the light that is the Christ.
 
And so we bring our gifts to this place
         We bring our minds and hearts to study together
                  to grow in faith and Christian community.
 
We bring our resources
         the fruit of our labors,
                  for we know all things come from God.
 
We bring our prayers
         our hopes, our love for one another
                  offering these, too, to God, as signs of discipleship. 
 
We are here because we are braver together
         we can face the challenges of our own lives
                  with others by our sides.
        
We can open our hearts to the souls God is leading here,
         and to the possibilities that are unfolding.
                           in a time of uncertainty,. 
                                    Yes, to the future that God is bringing us. 
 
 
 
So, as we end this Chrsitian year
and we receive the love that is flowing
 
But it flows from us because it flowed to us. 
 
From the waters of creation
and those of our birth
and our baptism,
 
We receive the love that has no end
 
We remember that we belong to God
that God is leading us to become who we will
and into the beyond.
 
a – I - m

November 6, 2022
Rev. Patricia Wagner
All Saints Sunday - Enough

​         I woke up with a song in my head this week,
                  It’s the line of a pop song whose chorus goes;
                         it will never be enough, never be enough
                           never, enough, never, never, never
 
I know why it was on my mind,
         Someone had very explicitly made a comment
                  about whether I’d earned my keep,
                           and believe me its something every pastor
                                    worth their stole, wonders about,
         We know that we and all our staff and this whole enterprise
                  keeps going by your giving. 
                             
I am so aware of my shortcomings
                  in my work, my family, for myself,
I am sure you are too,  
         And no matter what we do,
                  how hard we work over our lifetimes,
                           we wonder as came the words of our anthem
                                         was I faithful?
                                               with the life I’ve been given, Is it enough?
 
That anthem is drawn from Matthew 25, verses 31-39
          that offers a vision of the last day,
                  when people will appear before the king,
                      and faithfulness will be judged
                           not by what we have believed
                                           but how we cared for those in perilous need
                                                 for in them, says, the King, I live. 
 
         I was hungry and you fed me, or fed me not
                  I was thirsty and you gave me to drink, or did not,
                           I was without a home and you gave me shelter,
                                             or did not.
                                     Naked, and you clothed me, or clothed me not.
 
It is a moving, and haunting vision
         Christ is in humankind
                  and caring for them is caring for
                                  the divine heart of the universe
 
it has inspired the church for thousands of years,
       it inspired this congregation
         for all its 102 years,
  all that you and those who came before
              have been able to do here
                   because we have pooled our resources
                        and offered ourselves, and this place,
                           and have supplied food, clothing, and shelter,
                                   monies to those enduring war and flood and wind
                                    and crises of health.
                                                       
And we carry on that mission – in addition to all the education,
         and recovery groups and children
                  that have been cared for this week
         on Wednesday, 10 Ukrainian American women  
                           used our kitchen to make hundreds of perogies                                                 to feed those in line for food at CRC. 
             and yesterday Ugandan Christians met here to organize
                   their new, more inclusive congregation.      
And there’s more,
         This past winter, we ran a warming center and
                  provided meals for the unhoused and those in line for food.
         And in the new year we hope we can put our remodeled kitchen                      to use and provide a weekly meal for anyone who needs
                         the warmth of food and friendship
 
It’s inspiring! 
This passage has inspired me for as long as I remember
      it propelled me into working with the very poor and oppressed,
            here and abroad, meaningful, soul lifting work.
                  and became the banner for my ordination ceremony
 
And yet, I’m haunted by the ways I have fallen short,
         particularly the poor I could not help
            Irene, who died from breast cancer without me next to her,
              Quan, who I couldn’t save from a brutal abusive mom,
                  Wesley, who succumbed to his addiction
                      Our friend on the patio here who lost his toes to frostbite
                                for my father for whom I did not get morphine in time
                                    before he died in agony.
 
These and so many others for whom I have not been enough.
         it seems, and you may feel this, too,  it is never, never enough. 
 
I heard a veteran combat nurse who served in Vietnam
         looked back on her time
                  The only ones I remember
                           are those that died. 
                                    The ones she couldn’t save. 
 
Then she went to the Vietnam Wall in Washington,
         for a reunion of the unit she served with,
                  and someone came up to her,
                           spoke her name, it was a soldier she’d treated. 
                                    who said:  I came today to see you
She was seen,
         because she had been there,
                  willing to look into the face of suffering
                           to do what she could.
 
it’s a word of grace,
            and if there is grace in that soldier, in us
                  surely that reflects the grace of God.  
       
       When we doubt we are enough. 
                When we ponder what will happen at our death
                         when our life flashes before our eyes
                               and it is all somehow summed up
                                      will we be found wanting,
                                              scolded or enfolded into glory?
                           Will our obvious shortcomings affect
                                          God’s love for us?
 
To that, Paul says to the struggling church in Rome and to us:
 
No. 
         Nothing can separate you from the love of God.
                   nothing in life, nothing in death
         The Lord of heaven and earth sees us
                   comprehends us
 
The God in whom we live and move and have our being.
         who has nudged us
                  into every act of compassion
                                    every effort made with friend
                                             or family or stranger,
                                                      with the earth, and sky and sea
                                                               with all creatures here below. 
Divine Love that has given us eyes to see that
         the Christ who is present in every person
            of every station, every status, every condition.
                 lives, also, in us
 
And will bring our hearts to even greater compassion
         even more fulsome seeing in the days we have
                  and when our days are done. 
 
It is a good word. It is one to share:
                                   
This week, a miracle happened.
         After searching for 30 years,
                  The son of one of our unhoused friends
                              found her.
He did many things for her,
         but there was a limit to what she let him do,
                  and he had to leave, for now,
                            to go home to wife and children
He longed to do more, worried he hadn’t done all that she needed.
                  and it was my turn our turn to say, it is enough.
 
And I imagine the King of kings saying the same
         Remember, behind every good work
                  every loving action, received or not
                           successful or not, I am.
        
Together, faithful servant, we are enough.