Unicorns, Fairies, and Mermaids
Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church
A warm welcome to each worshiper today. We celebrate you and offer you our friendship and love. We are a congregation of people who seek to grow spiritually, to become more like Christ in His compassion and acceptance of everyone while growing more aware of what it really means to be Christians today.
As a Reconciling Congregation, EPUMC affirms the sacred worth of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities and welcomes them into full participation in the fellowship, membership, ministries, and leadership of the congregation.
943 Palmer Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12309 / 518-374-4306 epumc943@gmail.com / www.easternparkway.org
Order of Worship
June 2, 2024
Second Sunday after Pentecost
10:00 a.m.
*You are invited to rise in body or spirit.
Prelude
Greeting and Announcements
Mission Statement: We are a faith community striving to be, to nurture, and to send forth disciples of Jesus Christ.
Call to Worship:
We are witnesses,
to the love God has poured into us.
We are witnesses of God’s love,
sharing it with each person we meet.
We are witnesses to everyone we encounter,
little children like us,
sisters and brothers in God’s family.
*Hymn Come, Christians, Join to Sing #158
Prayer of Confession:
O Lord,
we have not lived our lives
as kingdom people.
We place our crowns
on hopelessness, fear,
and selfishness.
We are ruled by our schedules
and our need for control.
We make kings of the things we acquire
and queens of our immediate desires.
We forget that your kingdom
draws near to us on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Forgive us, we pray.
Come, Lord,
and open in us
the gates of your kingdom. Amen.
Assurance:
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ
blesses us and calls us “kingdom people.”
In the name of the reigning Christ,
we are forgiven. Amen.
Scripture Reading Luke 24: 44-53
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah[a] is[b] to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses[c] of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.[d] 52 And they worshiped him and[e] returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and they were continually in the temple[f] blessing God.[g]
Sermon Unicorns, Fairies, and Mermaids
So, friends, first of all, due to a last minute schedule swap with Mother Grace, this is my penultimate sermon that I’ll deliver from this pulpit. We’ll be together in worship one more time next week.
This is the last Stump the Preacher topic I plan to tackle this year, and I saved the very best for last, because this request came from my daughter, Lillian. She put a ton of thought into it and decided that she really, really needs to hear a sermon about unicorns, fairies, and mermaids.
Now, the trick with Stump the Preacher, and another of the reasons why I love it so much, is hearing a request like that one and thinking, Huh, that doesn’t exactly sound Biblical, but then teasing out of the heart of the request a thread we can pull on to reveal a whole other side of our faith that we seldom explore. And we don’t even need Stump the Preacher to go on that adventure, because children will take us there every time. Today, you all will grow in faith because of Lily.
So, when Lily and I chatted about what’s meaningful to her about unicorns, fairies, and mermaids, she said, “I know a lot of people don’t believe in unicorns, mermaids, and fairies, but I do. And I’m still gonna believe in them even when I’m older. And even though some boring old people might think it’s silly, I will still believe.”
Try not to take that personally, elders among us. But when she said that, I knew exactly where the heart lies there: “I will still believe, even though.”
Because unicorns, mermaids, fairies, and other mythical creatures that would be depicted on a Lisa Frank trapper keeper from 1989 might not be your thing, and they don’t need to be. But what all that represents to Lily is something we all need in this life: playfulness, whimsy, levity, and a soft place to land when the boring old people in your life are getting you down. Lily will clutch onto that spirit with both hands and resist the impulse so many of us have to let it go, and forget about such blessings as we get older.
That sentiment–”clutch onto these blessings with both hands and don’t forget about them”--is the final message Jesus gives his disciples, according to Luke, before he ascends, and leaves them in the physical form. It’s important for us to remember that Luke could have ended his Gospel in another way if he wanted to, but he chose the ending he did for a reason: Jesus’ promise that the disciples are empowered with everything they need to go on and do ministry, a final blessing, and then the disciples, filled with joy and deciding to spend all their time in praise and blessing of the Divine. Luke captured what it is to truly sit in the presence of Christ, how Jesus makes us feel, and then what we should be doing in those in between spaces.
The disciples don’t know it, but they’re sitting in this gap between the first book (Luke) and the sequel (Acts). Put differently, Luke Skywalker has blown up the Death Star, but it remains to be seen how Darth Vader will respond. The surviving eleven disciples have said goodbye to their best friend, the one they spent every waking and sleeping minute with for the last year. None of them have homes, jobs, or families because they shed all those attachments to make themselves completely available to Jesus. And now he’s in heaven. So…now what?
What are we supposed to do when we’re in a time of transition? What should we do when God has 100% gotten our attention, but now there’s going to be some waiting before we know more? What are we supposed to do when we just graduated from school, or we’re between jobs, or we’re packing up and getting ready to move into a new house…or we know one pastor is leaving, and we’re waiting for the next one to arrive? Dr. Renita Weems, a womanist theologian, has a fabulous quote for this place we’re all in that I’ve shared from this pulpit before, but it bears repeating: “Faith is living between the last time you heard from God, and the next time you hear from God. And it could be years between the last time, and the next time. But you’ve gotta preach like you just heard from God last night.” You’re not all going to preach in this room, but all of us carry the Good News in our words.
One of the most important things you can do in that in between space is take stock of those blessings, the ones Jesus gave to you and told you to hold on to tightly and not forget about. The unicorn-like gifts that the Divine bestowed upon only you. Beautiful, mysterious, and so rare that we wonder if such a thing even exists.
If you don’t know what your unicorn-like gifts are, then the best place to start is right at this morning’s text. Jesus told the disciples he was equipping them with scripture, and the knowledge and wisdom that comes from scripture. He told the disciples they were prepared to understand and interpret. They had heard prophecy, Law, poetry, and music from their ancestors. Put differently, they were equipped with the stories of people just like them who lived a life of faith and passed it on.
Jesus goes on, and tells the disciples that because they have the stories of their ancestors, they have wisdom about the hardest parts of this life that most of us struggle with. In that in between place, they can draw on that wisdom, because there will be many hard days. They understand suffering and death, especially because of what they just experienced with Jesus. They understand how to repent of their mistakes, and forgive. No matter what happens, they’ll be ok.
And knowing that, they’re filled with joy, and they take that joy to the Temple to celebrate and share. Their best friend just went to heaven, but they feel light, and happy, and free. They feel like they’re bouncing on pink fluffy clouds while a unicorn flies across a rainbow, and a fairy makes some pixie dust with her wand, and for some reason there’s, like, a mermaid in the sky? I don’t know, just go with it. In the scriptural wisdom Jesus gives us, we’re so unburdened–of resentment, of prejudice, or oppression, of harm, of death–that we’re free to be downright euphoric. Imagine how much more it elevates us when we bring our other gifts to the table–music, evangelism, vision, speaking, leadership.
But inevitably, some boring (old) person comes along and tries to spoil the joy. They start nagging you about tax codes and budgets and ministry shares and capital improvements and grouches who don’t like that one hymn, and if that doesn’t bring you down they have a whole lot of conference paperwork to throw at you next.
And it’s bigger than just the day to day concerns of the Church. The disciples faced the increasing power of the Roman Empire, and several of them died as martyrs. They faced homelessness and poverty, disease and hunger, and bullies named Saul who haven’t been knocked off their literal high horse yet. In this life, we wrestle with gun violence, and white supremacy, and warfare, and messy, dirty politics, and patriarchy, and homophobia, and the greed of the rich. And in our personal lives our own struggles with school, work, family, home, and health may suck nearly all we have out of us.
Remember in those moments, when you’re ready to unclench your hands and let go, because it’s too much, that Jesus told us all to repeat the same words Lily teaches us: “I will still believe, even though.” Because the strength of belief gives you the buoyancy you need to stay upright, keep breathing, and put one foot in front of another until the Divine gives you new information. Until then, you have everything you need to get by.
So I still believe.
I still believe in the God of unicorns, fairies, and mermaids. The God who lifts me from the chasm of adulting and reminds me that She’s known me since I was tiny, and the Divine hand never let go even when I got bigger.
I still believe in the joy of the Divine. I still believe in the Sacred power of play and creativity, even though people who don’t get it will try to tell me I’m wrong. Let them.
I still believe in the goodness of humanity, even though I’ve been hurt by people I loved.
I still believe that the Church can be a salve for the wounds of the world, even though I’ve seen the Church cause as many wounds as it’s healed.
I still believe in the calling God put on my life, even though the journey has been arduous and cruel.
And I still believe this congregation will do great things, even though the future is a mystery.
Amen.
*Hymn Be Thou My Vision #451
Offering
Offertory
*Doxology #94
*Prayer of dedication
The Lord’s Supper
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, the light of your love shines on, illuminating the places where you are present. As the bewildered disciples pondered the stories of your appearance, you penetrated the darkness of their fear and doubt with your word of peace. You showed them the appalling marks of evil pierced on your hands and feet. You opened their minds to understand why you had to die to defeat such evil and death. Increase our understanding, we pray, and open our minds and hearts to receive you...
Lord, hear our prayer...
Bring to us O God, the sense of your living presence as we go into this new week. Renew in us the faith you want us to have, the faith that is not afraid to reach out in your name and to share the treasure you have given us, that treasure which is greater than silver and gold....
Lord - you know our hearts, you know our needs, and you know the hearts of those around us and their needs. We lift ourselves and them before you at this time...
Lord, hear our prayer...
Lord, we specially hold before you today…
(intercessions are shared)
Lord hear our prayer.....
Finally, O Lord, we ask that you would bless us at [local congregation] with vision for the future and reverence for the past. Guide us each day as we minister to one another and to world for which you gave yourself. Help us each day to bear witness to your name and to do that which you would have
us do. We ask it through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen
— written by Rev. Richard J. Fairchild, and posted on his Kir-shalom website. Opening paragraph written by Moira Laidlaw, on Liturgies Online.
Our Father, Mother, Creator God, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.
*Hymn Here I Am, Lord #593
Benediction
Postlude
Staff
Natalie Bowerman Pastor
Betsy Lehmann Music Director
Joe White Custodian
Cassandra Brown Nursery Attendant
Comments
Post a Comment