Haven't posted a sermon in a while, but I really do write one just about every week. Keep in mind, they come out of my mouth significantly different than what you see here, because there is give and take with the congregation, and I sometimes stray from my notes.


Jeremiah 2:13

13for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.


luke 14:1, 7-8

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. . .

7When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." 12He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."


Did you ever notice that you can't feel an elevator moving?

Sure, you can feel when it starts up, and when it slows down, but when speed is constant, you don't notice it.

Which is just one way of pointing out that we are all relativists. At least about some things.

It's hard to judge "fast" and "slow" without a point of reference. But we can always tell "faster" and "slower."

Here's a tricky question: How much money does a person have to have to be considered rich?

So much depends on circumstance, on who is around you, or where you have been.

Now some things aren't relative, right? The speed limit is 65, regardless of who you are, what you think, or what you drive.

But even then, other variables come into play. When I drove a Buick LeSabre, I got speeding tickets all of the time. Why? Because I would speed accidentally. Everything was so smooth. Since that car, I've always purchased little cars.

Have you ever gone 65 in a Geo metro? It feels a lot faster than 65 in a Buick! Same speed, different feeling.

This week was move-in week for so many college students. When I was a freshman, moving into a dorm was the greatest thing I could imagine! How many of you would be excited to move into a dorm now?

This goes to show us that we are feeling people. We like to think that we are rational, but we aren't. We always compare. I want my lawn greener, my car newer, my phone smarter, and my computer faster! We don't know what we have until we compare.

That's what's happening in today's Gospel lesson. Jesus saw the pharisees scrambling for the best seats--establishing their hierarchy. If this story took place on the first day of summer camp, the pharisees would be comparing their flashlights. For some reason, every kid, on the first day of camp, wants to have the biggest and best and fanciest flashlight, and they've all got to compare.

Every kid at camp needs a great flashlight, And every church needs a tall tower and an organ with lots of pipes. Or a bigger projection screen, or prettier stained glass. Or a preacher that can really preach, or a really long list of members, but guess what?

Jesus says, in this story, says "don't reach for status." Not in what seat you have, not what stuff you have, and not even in what your church can do.

Take low status.

And in doing so, you will find joy.

Why? It's the elevator effect. We can feel the change of speed, not the speed itself.

And when we start out humble, God who loves us and wants the best for us will bless us. When we choose to lower ourselves, we can feel God lifting us up.

I'm going to ask a silly question today.

How much does God love you?

Can you quantify that?

On a scale of 1-10, does God love you at about 8.5?

This is what Jesus said: "Greater love has no one than this; that he lay down his life for his friends."

In Jesus, we see that God loves you, and me, and us, enough to die for us.

And he always has.

And always will.

The writer of Hebrew says it this way, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Do you see the problem?

It's the elevator effect.

We are loved eternally, and infinitely. But because we are loved eternally, we can stop noticing how we are loved infinitely.

And when we stop noticing, we don't stop searching for that love. So we try to find meaning in other things. This is what God was talking about inJeremiah when he said "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water."

We trade the fountain for a cracked cistern. A spring for a tub. We take the ever-flowing loving kindness of God, meaning and purpose and worth, and we put that aside to focus on getting somebody that we don't even like to like us. or we focus on doing well in our career. Or making sure people notice us. Or making sure we feel good.

No matter what we use to make ourselves feel worthwhile, be it sex, drugs, money, power, popularity or comfort, ITS NOT NECESSARY. God has already deemed you worthwhile.

Which frees us to take the "lower seat," which I believe means, "you can put that other thing that you think makes you worthwhile aside."

And in stripping away all the lesser stuff, we discover the greater stuff.

That's why this table is so simple. We've got bread, we've got juice. When we gather around it, our new family is with us, and God is with us.

And we have all need.

Friends, this is, at the same time, a simple meal and a great banquet. We humble ourselves as we approach, because we are not worthy to eat at the King's table, but he is inviting us to a higher place.

1. Sleeping in.

2. Seeing anti-labor folks take a day off to celebrate labor.

3. Football season is approaching!

4. Getting projects done (this is a new one for me, but I think I will like it)

5. 4 day weeks are SO much faster than 5 day ones.

6. Cooking out.

7. Beer, be it on Sunday Night or Monday afternoon.

8. The annual outdoor brunch that (e:Janelle) and I host.

9. estrip birthday parties (our first--sorry that we had to leave early!)

10. I'm only going to come up with 9 today--I don't have to do ANY work!

1. Hybrid cars.

2. Electric cars (even better!)

3. Bikes (even more better!)

4. Fluorescent light bulbs (gotta get some of them)

5. Mass transit (when its done right)

6. Picking up litter (learned this one from my arch-conservative Dad)

7. Carpooling (it's more fun, too!)

8. Shopping at thrift stores (another candidate for a 10 things list of it's own)

9. Geo-geothermic heating/cooling systems (So cool!)

10. The windmills on lake Erie: may they be fruitful and multiply.

For Tinypliny...

1. The large amount of fresh water (much of it in our backyard!)

2. Mountains.

3. Changing seasons.

4. Trees.

5. Beaches.

6. Streams, Rivers, Waterfalls, and other water in motion.

7. Bison (they were my favorite animal BEFORE I moved to Buffalo.)

8. It's resources are enough for everybody here.

9. There's so much about it that we still don't know.

10. It's distance from the sun. Just right!

Hmmm. This is going to be tough.

1. The higher gas prices that have resulted have encouraged people to drive less and consider alternative energy.

2. The war rhetoric of "support the troops" as the same administration de-funds VA hospitals has made acceptable to offer patriotic dissent.

3. People have been brought together to oppose this war. We are still a deeply divided nation in many ways, but there is a 7 in 10 chance any American is against the war. Who would have ever thought that Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader could agree on so much!

4. The war has led people to see that the concept of "faith and values" extends WAY beyond abortion and gay marriage. Peace and Justice voters are voting their religious values, too.

5. Withdrawal is likely to begin in 2008.

6. This should get more people to vote and bring us closer to becoming a Democracy again.

7. It has become easier to win political arguments with my conservative parents.

8. I don't think we'll try "pre-emptive" war for a long time after this one.

9. No draft, yet.

10. All of my friends who served (some WAY beyond what they should have) have come home safely.


That was tough. Next: 10 things I like about the planet (should be easier)

1. The way she looks.

2. The things she cooks.

3. How smart she is.

4. How she likes video games and Simpsons.

5 . Her commitment to her faith, and how she lives it out.

6. She is courageous and assertive.

7. She hasn't stopped growing and learning.

8. She cares for me.

9. She can and does drive a truck with a manual transmission.

10. She makes really beautiful music.

I heard on NPR today that somebody burned the burning man. That's what he's there for, right? Yes, but here's the problem. A performance artist decided to set the man ablaze about four days early.

He has since been arrested, and the hippies out west have vowed to rebuild the man in time for the scheduled burn.

This cracks me up. I didn't think one could do ANYTHING to get arrested at the burning man. And it seems so goofy for this crowd to focus so heavily on a schedule, and doing things the right way, and re-building something to be burned because the original something to be burned, burned.

10 More things tonight.

1. An amazingly large cast of characters.

2. Characters of surprising depth, considering how many there are.

3. Nobody's perfect, but nobody is beyond redemption, either. (Lisa and Mr. Burns both come close, respectively, but not quite)

4. A perfect balance of reality/fantasy (i.e. basic rules of earth are followed, but it doesn't seem to matter how many side jobs Homer takes).

5. It bites the hand that feeds it occasionally (FOX).

6. They are one of the few tv families that regularly prays/attends church.

7. The jokes are packed densely, and often layered.

8. They consistently reference the classics, and are still funny even when 90% of the audience misses the reference.

9. The leap to film worked.

10. The humor stands the test of time.



Coming soon: 10 things I like about my wife, and then some more challenging posts (maybe 10 things I like about the Iraq War?). If you have any requests, let me know!

1. Eating. Buffalo knows how to eat. Wings, Pirogies, Fish fries, pizza--it's all good.

2. Cheap houses. We couldn't live in a house like ours in a neighborhood like the Elmwood Strip in Pittsburgh. And Pittsburgh is cheap. Buffalo is uber-cheap.

3. Summer fun. There was so much to do, and much of it is cheap/free.

4. Personality. I like rust-belt friendliness.

5. Entrepreneurship. People start their own businesses/movements/whatever here. They get stuff done.

6. Nearby stuff. Lakes, skiing, falls, hiking, etc. It's all good.

7. Online media. Holla back estrip!

8. Walka-bikability. You can get around here without a car.

9. Elmwood Ave. Another candidate for a 10 things within 10 things list. Much to like about this part of town.

10. It's trivia. We birthed a super-freak and killed a president. We invented a bar food and were the first wired for electricity. And what other city hates the St. Lawrence Seaway like we do?

A new series. I will list 10 things I like about different stuff. Today its the Steelers, then comes Buffalo. Then some more personal ones than who knows what. Here it goes (in no order, I'm just going to list until I get 10.)


1. No Cheerleaders. It's not that we don't like girls, its just that they get in the way of what we come to games for: football.

2. History. We can always compare our team with the teams of the 70's, that won 4 superbowls.

3. Toughness. Sure, most players are tough, but the past three coaches have also been guys that the devil himself wouldn't mess with.

4. Coaches. Speaking of Coaches--the Steelers stick with thiers. That's an unusual, and good thing.

5. The Rooney's. The owners of the team aren't perfect, but they love their city, and their neighborhood, and would never leave. They also believe in justice (see, "the Rooney Rule.")

6. The fans. Almost every man, woman, and child in Pittsburgh can tell you why the Steelers play the 3-4, and how that requires different types of linemen/linebackers.

7. The 3-4. Truly a supierior defence.

8. The players. Polamalu, Casey Hampton, Big Ben, Fast Willie, and Hines Ward. I could come up with 10 things I like about each of these guys. #1 on Polamalu's list? He drives a Kia.

9. The uniform. We only put the logo on one side. Why? Because when they tried them the first time, they didn't have enough.

10. The colors. Black and Gold just looks good.

Tomorrow I will get local again and share what I like abou this town!