This month we are doing a series of services on the story in Luke Chapter 4 where Jesus gives what is his first sermon. It’s Luke 4: 14-21 for those trying to follow along at home. In this scripture, at the start of Jesus’ ministry, he gives his first sermon. He goes to the synagogue and is asked to read the scripture. He reads the words of the prophet Isaiah about being anointed to bring good news to the poor, release to captives, sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed. Jesus then tells the assembled , that he is there to fulfill just that. Now, if you read further, I can tell you the sermon went over like a lead balloon. Thankfully, no matter how bad her sermons are (and they’ve never been in the 12+ years I’ve been hearing them) they don’t lead to people wanting to throw her off a cliff. Jesus came to bring good news to a world of pain and brokenness. Jesus came to bring healing to us all. This week in worship, Joe shared a song, “Any Moment” that he wrote in response to the death of a friend from a drug overdose. Jason (our drummer for those who can’t join us on Sundays) and Joe lost a friend recently to an overdose. They could have just lived in that loss, the pain, the fear. But God moved Joe and Jason to perform a song about not living in that brokenness. Jesus came to bring us all out of those kind of places.

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Untitled from jkbsmith on Vimeo.

When I started blogging Cheri’s sermons, I never in a million years thought I would have to do one on slavery. I mean, I know the United States has some real issues on Slavery in our past. Millions of men & women were ripped from their homes, beaten, brutalized and shipped to the United States to do work, breed, etc, but that was One Hundred and Fifty or so years ago. Sure, as a Democrat, I have to atone for the fact that the KKK was once a recognized part of my party. As a Methodist, I have to atone for the fact that part of our church supported slavery, and even later, tried to segregate African Americans into a second class form of membership (If you’ve seen the AME church, you’ve seen the African American community’s response to form their own denomination rather than accept this). Both of these moves resulting in a split in the denomination. Fortunately, at the Village, we also have the United Church of Christ’s history, which includes being part of the abolitionist movement (if you’ve watched the movie “Amistad”, you’ve seen our denominational foremothers and forefathers in action trying to free the people who managed to take over the slave ship Amistad).

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Today at the Village we read part of the Song of Songs, aka the Song of Solomon. Ever read it? It’s in the Old Testament. If not, grab your Bible and read it, you’re in for a surprise. Right there, smack dab in your Bible, is a whole book of love poems. Not love for God or God’s love for us. It’s poetry from one human lover to another, and back again. Be prepared to blush, if you get the imagery, it gets pretty intense. And, there it is, right there in your Bible. One writer describes it as “The book that doesn’t know how to behave”. Ok, for those who haven’t read it before, you can pick yourself off the floor from fainting, and move on.

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Their names were Cathy and Carly (at least that’s what I’ll call them today). It was the first gay or lesbian commitment service I had ever attended. I watched as they made their vows. They were so in love. So serious. So sure. Every bit as committed as Kurt and I were the day we got married. No different. As I had the privilege of witnessing Cathy and Carly make their life-long commitment to one another, it was obvious to me, their love was a gift from God, no question. Two followers of Jesus; they were standing in a chapel, in the presence of God and God’s people, making their promises and asking for God’s blessing. It was a holy moment. At the Village Church, we believe that whether you are trans or bi, straight, lesbian or gay, you can follow Jesus. Here’s what matters. Do you love God, and love your neighbor, as you love yourself? That’s what is important. Love. But there are a whole lotta people in the world, good Christian people who disagree with us. I’ve been at this more than 20 years. I can stand firm in my truth. But some of you, have never met a preacher before who said it’s ok to be gay and Christian. And so together, we’re going to learn how to have the conversation with other folks.

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