Giving Up Anger -- A Message for Ash Wednesday 2025

 

I am Amelie Castillo….I have been the pastor at Trinity Christian UCC in Skippack since 2018….almost 7 years. It is a pleasure to be with you tonight and to bring a message to our gathering. Each year, we have the opportunity to join each other for these Lenten services – it is a joy to reconnect with old friends and meet new friends as we journey together through the Lenten season. 

This evening, for our scripture reading, we turn to the Gospel of Luke. The events of this reading come in the same chapter of Luke as Jesus’ transfiguration …. The disciples had seen miracle after miracle, and watched how Jesus responded to criticism and rejection, yet still struggled to understand who Jesus was and who they were called to be as followers of Christ.

Listen now to the word of God as we turn to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, verses fifty-one through sixty-two:

Luke 9:51-62

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 

And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 

but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 

 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 

 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 

Then he and his disciples went to another village.

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Amen.

Let us pray….

Jesus turns toward Jerusalem – Giving Up Anger

When it comes to our faith, we often allow things to distract us from following Jesus. Perhaps we are too busy .... Perhaps we are overwhelmed by work, and errands, and running the kids to their activities ... .Perhaps we are too angry – we may have things we want to resolve or need to resolve before we fully commit to following Jesus. 

Our scripture reading this evening showcases a few examples of people who let things stand in their way and prevent them from following Jesus. 

First we read that Jesus sent some disciples to a Samaritan village to get things ready for Jesus’ arrival. We know the Samaritans and Jews of the first century were at odds with each other. It is no surprise, then, that the Samaritan villagers were unwelcoming to Jesus’ Jewish disciples. James and John wanted to call fire down from heaven to smite their Samaritan enemies – a pretty radical reaction to rejection – let’s kill our enemies. But, Jesus didn’t come to earth with the fire of rejection but with the power of healing.  He didn’t leave a scorched-earth policy in his wake, and Jesus and his disciples just walked on to another village and left the rejecting-Samaritans alone.

The second portion of the reading is about people who were interested in following Jesus, but were wishy-washy in their commitment. They wanted to delay following Jesus for a more convenient time – After a burial, after a goodbye – they sort-of wanted to follow Jesus, but not yet….

Both stories are about people who had the opportunity to meet and follow Jesus, but who missed their chance. The Samaritan villagers allowed their prejudice against Jewish people to stand in their way. The people who wanted to delay following let other commitments stand in their way. 

Over the next 40 days, we will be in the Season of Lent. This season is set apart by the Christian faith as a season of penitence, prayer, fasting, and letting go of distractions. One of the traditions of this season is “giving up” something to help us become acutely aware of being in a different spiritual head-space over these 40 days. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness praying and fasting – we often choose to give up things that we regularly indulge in so that we “feel” their loss – my mom always gives up chocolate – i have given up coffee and sugar and Netflix – things that i turn to for comfort or distraction during the rest of the year – things that I notice when they aren’t available to distract me. 

When the pastors of the Skippack Pike Area Ministerium met to plan out our Lenten services, they wanted to focus on “giving it up for Lent.” But, instead of giving up minor things, they wanted to focus on changing our attitudes, perspectives and intentions during the Lenten season. Over the next few weeks, our pastors will share messages on these topics.

This evening, we heard scriptures about people who let things stand in their way of following Jesus. In light of the mInisterium’s theme, I chose to speak about our need to Give up Anger for Lent – some of us allow our anger to stand in the way of our commitment to our faith in Jesus. Some of us may be holding onto grudges against other people. We may be holding on to grudges against God. We may be angry about current events and the state of politics in our country and are so focused on our anger it is all we can think about.

Whatever distracts us from our faith is an obstacle we need to overcome. So, instead of allowing grudges or anger to fester, we need to stop ourselves, calm down, and pray to God and ask God to help us let go of our anger….let go of our resentment….let go of our grudges.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to help us forgive….Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors….forgive us our tresspasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us….We ask God to forgive us, and we ask God to help us forgive each other. 

When anger is the focus of our lives, it stands in the way of our relationship with God. We are called to love the Lord with our hearts, souls, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves……it is difficult to simultaneously love and hold on to anger. It is difficult to focus on God and love each other if we are consumed by rage. So, for the sake of our relationship with God, and our relationship with other people, we must work to let go of our anger….give up our anger. And focus on positive ways to deepen our faith in God and serve God in the world. 

As we read our way through the New Testament, we read several stories of people who missed out on getting to know Jesus and follow him because they were distracted by other things….they were distracted by their prejudice against other people; they were distracted by their family obligations; they were distracted by their need to follow the rules of their faith perfectly; they were distracted by their need to hold on to power, or hold on to fear, or hold on to routine. 

Some of them, and some of us, allow our anger to take hold of our lives and keep us from focusing on Jesus. Let this be a reminder to us, that whatever distracts us from God and Jesus needs to be given up. So, if we struggle with anger, let us give it for Lent this year….give it up and let it go.

God wants us to be focused on God…so let us give up and let go of whatever obstacles stand in the way of our faith. Amen.

Transfiguration -- A Message for March 2, 2025

 Today is a transition Sunday….it is the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany. On this day, in preparation for Lent, we always focus on one of the most mystical events of Jesus’ life – The Transfiguration. 

Listen to how the story is recorded in Luke, chapter 9, verses 28 through 45:

Scripture: Luke 9:28-45

About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 

As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 

Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 

They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 

Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 

As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 

A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 

When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 

A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 

A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 

I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 

And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. AMen.

Let us pray…..

Message Transfiguration

Every once in a while, in the winter, overnight we have a big snowfall.  When we peer outside our windows in the morning, the sun shines on the snow and everything looks dazzling. When we were kids, as we gazed at the snow, this would be the moment we would feel inspired to throw on our warmest coats and scarves and knit hats and snow boots and rush outside to play. The whiteness of the snow was gleaming and exciting and beaconed us to come outside and have fun.

The disciples who were with Jesus on top of the mountain were dazzled by the sight they witnessed on the day of Transfiguration. But, it wasn’t snow or scenery that amazed them…Jesus himself was transformed, transfigured, before their very eyes. Over the course of their lives together, they lived and worked alongside Jesus. They watched him eat. They watched him preach. They watched him heal others. They watched him sleep.

But, as they watched him on the mountain that day, they saw him transform before their eyes – this man who they knew as a man, was suddenly more than a man – he was radiating light, and was radiating the Holy Spirit of God. And, for a few moments, they could see that he was more than a mere mortal, more than a man.

After months of ministry together, the Transfiguration event was decisive….if they had any doubt about Jesus, at the Transfiguration, the disciples saw who Jesus really was = he was the Messiah…to bolster his identity, Moses, the embodiment of all Hebrew Law, and Elijah, the embodiment of all Jewish Prophecy, were present and having a talk with Jesus about his departure~Jesus’ journey to the Cross.

The Disciples, Simon Peter, James and John, felt a bit shocked and befuddled as they witnessed this mysterious event. They weren’t sure how to respond. Peter threw out the wild suggestion of making a few little houses for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah to dwell in – perhaps he thought other people would trek up the mountain and worship them there and bring them offerings.

Maybe Peter was just babbling without thinking through what he was saying…. 🙂

Whatever it was, Jesus didn’t have time to dawdle. The men climbed down the mountain and kept the story of the mystical events to themselves.

The next day, it was business as usual…Jesus cast a demon out of a young man who had seizures and convulsions. Jesus had work to do before his departure – he had sermons to preach, and teachings to communicate, and people to heal, and demons to cast out. Jesus also spent many hours communicating with his disciples and worked to prepare them to take on the mantle of leadership after Jesus transitioned from this life to the next. 

We come to worship on Sunday mornings to experience the mystical, to have a brush with the holy. In a few minutes, we will symbolically gather around the communion table – together we will taste the bread of new life and drink the cup of compassion. We sing hymns together to praise God. We lift up our joys and concerns and join our voices in prayer together. In this space, we join with each other to worship our God and to receive and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. We come here to have our spirits replenished, to feel refreshed and soothed by the love of God.

But, we don’t stay here all week. We can’t stay here all the time. We have work to do. We come together on Sunday morning to have our batteries re-charged and then we depart to go out into the world. We have work to do……..employment work, and caregiving, and housework, and faith work. Our work on behalf of God is not only crammed into a few hours on Sunday morning, but instead, we must incorporate our Chrisitan faith and our Christian worldview into all the other work we do ... .I am a Christian employee at my job. I am a Christian caring for my family. I am a Christian vacuuming my living room. I am a Christian when I talk to people at the Y, or greet the cashier at the grocery store, or meet other people on the sidewalk when we are walking our dogs, or when I drive my car in traffic. In everything we do, every action we take, every work we say, we must work to remember we are Jesus’ representatives on earth. We are called to share God’s love with other people. We are called to do all we can to lighten the burden for hurting people, for suffering people, for people in need.

As much as we want to sit and bask in the holy, to hold still and relax and let the Holy Spirit pour into us, it is our work as people of faith to get to work….we are called to live the command of the prophet Micha – to do the work the Lord requires of us: to act with justice, to love mercifully, and to walk humbly with our God.

So, let’s experience the holy here in this place, and then let us get to work living our faith out in the world. Amen.

Forgiven at Jesus' Feet -- A Message for February 23, 2025

 

In the season of Epiphany, we have looked at several stories of Jesus’ early days in ministry. People were curious about Jesus – the word spread quickly about him. He was a miracle worker, a great teacher, and a compelling speaker. This morning, we turn to one of the stories of Jesus and his love. 

Please turn with me to Luke chapter 7 verses 36-50:

Scripture Luke 7:36-50

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 

A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 

As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 

You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray….

Message Forgiven at Jesus’ Feet

Back in the day, do you remember what it was like to walk through the cosmetics and perfume section of a department store? There were staff people lying in wait, perfume bottles at the ready, prepared to strike at any moment – spraying you with their wares.  If you were lucky, you could exit the department only smelling of one type of perfume or cologne – if you were too nice to the staff of the department store, you smelled like a flower shop as you departed the store.

In our reading this morning, we read the story of a woman, a woman who had committed some grievous sin or two, who was so appreciative of Jesus and his love that she poured expensive perfume on his feet and wiped it off with her hair. The smell of the perfume would have permeated the air of the room…..everyone in the house probably smelled it ... . . everyone in the surrounding houses possibly smelled it. She made a big, grand gesture to show her love and appreciation of Jesus…and in return, he told her her faith had saved her and she could depart in peace.

The woman who washed Jesus’ feet with perfume approached him at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. Simon didn’t get it at first – instead of appreciating the generosity and appreciation the woman had for Jesus, Simon recoiled and thought Jesus wasn’t a true prophet…Simon assumed that if Jesus was an all-knowing prophet, he would know the woman was a sinner and therefore shouldn’t be touching his feet. Simon got caught up in judging the woman for her past ... .and in the midst of his judgement, he almost missed an opportunity to listen to Jesus and experience the presence of the Holy Spirit.

We are sometimes guilty of being like Simon – we get caught up in our negative thoughts…in our judgemental thoughts…and fail to appreciate the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst. 

Jesus taught about judgment…In Matthew 7, Jesus is quoted as saying: ““Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” 

Often, we dislike traits that other people have that remind us of traits we either have or fear we have. So, when Simon judged the sinful woman, he may have had a sinful past that he was hiding – or perhaps he had sinful thoughts he was trying to ignore. The woman may have done things that others knew about, and therefore judged her for. But, we must remember that in the 1st century, if people had disabilities, others blamed those disabilities on sins that either the person or their parents had committed. So, the “sinful” woman may have had eczema or a birth defect and her neighbors could have blamed her sins for her disability. We will never know why she was considered sinful.

Judging doesn’t do us any favors. We are all guilty of making mistakes and doing things wrong. We are all sinners in need of a savior. And, Jesus Christ is that savior. Nothing we do is so horrible that it can separate us from the love of God. St. Paul’s words to the Romans still speak to us. He wrote: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing we do is so horrible that it stops God from loving us or forgiving us.

So, let us be cautious about our judgment of others. We are all imperfect people trying to live better and better lives. Let us work to love each other, forgive each other, and remember that God loves us and forgives us all, no matter what mistakes we have made in the past. 

Amen. 

More than a Prophet -- A Message for February 16, 2025

 

We have been moving through the season of Epiphany for the last 6 weeks. Over these weeks, we have learned more about who Jesus is and what kind of Messiah he is, just as his first followers quickly learned about who Jesus was and what kind of messiah he was. We have focused on passages that include the occasion when Jesus surprised his hometown crowd when he revealed himself as the Messiah, called unexpected people to be his disciples, communicated to the pious Pharisees that it was most important to live God’s love commandments than it was to perfectly follow the rules, and that Jesus came to heal broken people, no matter what their backgrounds were.

Despite all of the teachings and miracles Jesus said and did, there were people who were still unsure of who Jesus was – they weren’t sure he was the Messiah sent by God or if he was a prophet. Questions about Jesus’ identity came from surprising places. Listen to how Jesus answered when people asked him who he was as we read from the Gospel of Luke, chapters 18 through 35:

Scripture Luke 7:18-35

John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 

he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 

So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 

Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 

If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 

But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  

This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not cry.’

 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 

But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer….

Message More than a Prophet

The Jewish people waited a long time for Jesus. Year after year, century after century, they waited for God to come to earth to set things right. Whenever tragic things happened to the people, they anticipated the Messiah would appear – droughts, battles, military conquests, exile – every time their people and nations experienced a major crisis, they thought the Messiah would come to earth, straighten everything out and restore the people and their nations to harmony.

Over the years, faithful Jewish people  listened to prophets' predictions and preachings about the Messiah – and by the time the first century rolled around and the people lived under Roman occupation, many people thought the messiah would be like a priest and a military commander and an emperor all rolled into one. 

In the third decade of the first century, John the Baptist preached that the Messiah was going to arrive soon….very soon…in the next few days or weeks. Everyone needed to get their “houses in order” so that they could respond to the Messiah demands on their lives.

When Jesus went to John and asked to be baptised, John felt that his prophecies, and the prophecies of many earlier prophets, were fulfilled. The Christ, the Messiah, was here. 

But, when Jesus started his work, he didn’t do all of the things John the Baptist and many others supposed the Messiah would do – Jesus didn’t raise up an Army. Jesus didn’t go to the Temple and move into the quarters of the Head Priest and take over. Jesus didn’t hop into a boat and cross the Mediterranean Sea and depose Caesar Tiberius in Rome.

Instead, very early in his ministry days, Jesus went to Nazareth and said who he was and what his plans were. He announced: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

John probably heard about Jesus’ words …and Jesus’ miraculous healings… and Jesus raising the dead. But, John may have thought those were preliminary activities, and that Jesus was still going to morph into a soldier-priest-emperor.

So, John sent a few of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the messiah, or if he was just another prophet…were they still waiting for the soldier-priest-emperor messiah or was Jesus it? 

Jesus spoke to John’s disciples and pointed out how he had been spending his time….Jesus told them: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Jesus was doing the work God promised the messiah would do….Jesus performed miracles only the messiah can do. But Jesus wasn’t also acting as a warrior, priest and emperor. Their idea about what the messiah would be like was different from the reality of who Jesus was.

Even though we live many centuries after Jesus walked the earth, people still are unsure about who Jesus was and how God calls us to behave. If you had 10 Christians in a room and asked them to describe what it means to be a faithful Christian, we would probably get 14 responses.  If you asked them to describe Jesus, the 10 Christians would come up with 10 very different descriptions.

Jesus came to earth as a middle-Eastern Jewish man in the 1st century. He had brown skin. He was probably shorter than all of the men in this room. He was poor. He wasn’t regal or beautiful or muscle bound – he didn’t look like Superman or the Incredible Hulk. Nothing about how Jesus looked communicated that he was the Messiah of God.

Jesus’ words and actions were what is important. He had power and authority, and yet he spent his time and his energy serving others. Jesus focused on helping people with the most need. He relieved suffering by healed people who were possessed by spirits, suffering from illnesses and injuries, and even restoring the dead to life. Jesus led by example – he came to earth to encourage and teach us to treat each other with love and compassion. 

As followers of Jesus, we are called to live God’s mandate to love God and each other as much as we love ourselves. We may not all have the power to heal illnesses or injuries with a word or a gesture. But, we can bring God’s love, forgiveness and reconciliation to each other and to the people in our lives and communities. We can work together to bring justice to oppressive and damaging systems in our world. 

Jesus may have not been the Messiah people expected to come, but he was the messiah we all needed. He radiated love and compassion, and we are called to do the same….to work to alleviate suffering and work to change the world into a more faithful reflection of the Kingdom of God. 

May we do so with love guiding our hearts and actions today and all days. Amen.