Reflecting God's Light

One of my favorite Easter stories is the encounter with the Risen Christ at Emmaus. We made sure to go to Emmaus when I went to the Holy Land. Well, two Emmauses, anyway. There are at least two others we didn’t get a chance to visit. Four towns claiming to be the spot: Amwas, Abu Ghosh, Mozah and el-Qubeibeh—not one with any better historical claim than another. And it’s just as well. We were never meant to venerate a literal Emmaus.

To paraphrase John Dominic Crossan, Emmaus probably never happened. Emmaus always happens. It’s an encounter for all times, in all places. It’s a strange and mystical story showing what it means to have our eyes opened to the presence of Christ in the simplest of things: in a walk with a friend, in the midst of mourning, in the sharing of table, in the breaking of bread together.
Thomas Merton writes,

A true encounter with Christ liberates something in us, a power we did not know we had, a hope, a capacity for life, resilience, an ability to bounce back when we thought we were completely defeated, a capacity to grow and change, a power of creative transformation.

The message of Easter is simple: new life is ours. Transformation is possible. And the Divine breaks in and reminds us of that in the simplest of things we so often take for granted: spring at the end of winter, light after the time of darkness, healing and recovery after destruction, singing after sorrow, forgiveness and mercy after alienation, and new beginnings after failure and defeat. God gives us Easter after Good Friday, and along our Emmaus road the Risen Christ is revealed to us.

Pastor Jeff

In early January I invited Rev. Cynthia Langston Kirk to help us create a beautiful worship space in the fellowship hall for our new service called The Table. An ordained United Methodist minister, Cynthia is a creative who offers spiritual formation, liturgical arts retreats and worship resources through piecingstories.com. She also toured our sanctuary, and was thrilled about the prospect of creating new paraments for Lent and Easter. (“Paraments” is a churchy term that includes banners, tablecloth and stoles.) We have lovely paraments fashioned by Patti Lewis 25 years ago, and some are holding up better than others. Within six weeks Cynthia designed and created Lenten paraments for Dayspring’s sanctuary, which we consecrated on the first day of Lent, Feb. 22.

Cynthia wrote the following poem (which we sang to the tune of “Sanctuary” at the dedication) to ground the paraments in words of grace and help guide her in the design:

Holy Myst’ry, guiding our inward journey
Deep and healing, fed by Grace.
Then may we shine outward compassion
Blessing others with Christ’s love.

Faithful Icon, window to divine mercy
Teach us kindness, courage fueled.
Justice people dismantling walls
List’ning, serving, living peace.

Cynthia’s poetry and art remind us that Lent is a time of self-reflection, a journey inward, that leads us to outward compassion and love. I pray your personal Lenten journey, as well as our collective one, grounds us in the Source of Life as we become more nourishing for the world, “List’ning, serving, living peace.”
Blessings, Pastor Jeff

Iona is a tiny island off the Northwest coast of Scotland. I’ve had the privilege of making a pilgrimage to Iona twice over the years. There has been a continuous Christian presence on the island the since the year 563, when Saint Columba came from Ireland to initiate a process of evangelization throughout Scotland and England. The modern Iona community began in 1938, helping to foster a renaissance of Celtic Christianity.

Celtic Christianity is creation affirming – honoring the interconnectedness of all life. It emphasizes hospitality: welcoming the Spirit and the other – whoever that might be. Marks of Celtic Christianity include contemplation and mission – recognizing the need to go both inward and outward. Hence the modern Iona community’s commitment to worship renewal and social justice, much like John Wesley’s emphasis on personal and social holiness.

I invite you to join with me on Wednesday nights during Lent to experience Celtic worship, followed by a shared light supper. When I was on Iona, each day I benefited from morning and evening prayer services in the rebuilt 12-century Benedictine cathedral. Our Lenten Wednesday evening services will draw on the rich liturgical and musical traditions of that cradle of Celtic Christianity.

Blessings, Pastor Jeff

Philips Brooks, who gave us “O Little Town of Bethlehem” for Christmas, has given us another gift for the New Year. Discovering in his own experience that life was too short to nurse grievances, harbor grudges, remain resentful, he made this confession to his congregation:

You who are letting miserable misunderstandings run on from year to year, meaning to clear them up some day;

you who are keeping wretched quarrels alive because you cannot quite make up your mind that now is the day to sacrifice your pride and forgive;

you who are passing someone. . . not speaking . . . out of some spite, and yet knowing that it would fill you with shame and remorse if you heard that the other died this morning;

you who are letting your friend’s heart ache for a word of appreciation or sympathy which you mean to give someday;

if you only could know and see and feel, all of a sudden, that time is short, how it would break the spell! How you would go instantly and do the thing which you might never have another chance to do.

Here’s to a New Year and a New Slate. An opportunity to start afresh, mend bridges and heal rifts. “Behold,” says the Spirit of Life, “I am making all things new!”

Blessings,
Pastor Jeff

Go tell it on the mountain . . .that Jesus Christ is born!                      

African-American Spiritual

‘Tis the season of gifts and giving! More than that, Christmas is a time to get in touch with what it means to give. When we give, something happens to us, as well as to the recipient!

Many of the gifts we give at Christmas are wrapped and placed under the tree. But there are so many others . . . the gift of friendship to someone who is lonely, the gift of compassion to someone who is hurting, the gift of forgiveness for someone who has hurt us, the gift of patience for those who are anxious. These gifts are everlasting. Long after the toys have been cast aside, the sweaters worn out, the perfume used up, these gifts will remain. They are eternal. Continue reading “Tis the Season!

What Is Progressive Christianity? from Dayspring UMC on Vimeo.

I must confess that I was a little nervous about teaching a class on Islam early in my tenure at Dayspring. There is so much fear, prejudice and even hostility aimed at Muslims in our world today, based on the actions of a limited few and fomented by the media. But what an amazing and positive experience it has been!

Over 100 people began the exploration together, all but filling our fellowship hall. Many of us shared dinner beforehand. We were then privileged to witness our Muslim guests observe evening prayers at sunset. As I introduced Imam Ahmed Shqeirat of the Islamic Community Center of Tempe, I looked out upon 12 tables of eight persons, each with one or two Muslims along with members of Dayspring.

Continue reading The Jesus Fatwah: Love Your (Muslim) Neighbor As Yourself

I shared with the United Methodist Men’s group recently about the values of companionship and compassion. The previous day a colleague and I had taken a long morning hike in the desert, catching up and sharing how our lives were going. Our relationship spans a couple decades. Michael, who is four years my senior, jokingly asked, “Will you still go hiking with me, Jeff, when I’m 70?” But of course! How important it is to have companions to share our journeys with.

We were joined for lunch by a friend of mine named Gerardo. (Did you know that the word ‘companion’ is derived from the Latin meaning to share bread with?) As we broke bread together, I encouraged Gerardo to tell Michael his story.

Gerardo is an undocumented Mexican National who has lived and worked – and paid taxes – in the U.S. for over twenty years. I met him years ago when he joined a church I was serving in Phoenix. “I was a police officer in Mexico, but I couldn’t take the corruption,” Gerardo explained. He also happens to be gay, and he had hoped the U.S. might be more accepting than Mexico. His application for citizenship has been thwarted time and again. As you know, the waiting list is exceedingly long for folks from Mexico and Central America. But he remains hopeful for himself and the six million other undocumented immigrants in our land, and has become an activist. As he says, “I’m out of the closet and out of the shadows.”

As I shared with the men’s group, Jesus invites us to extend our circle of compassion beyond our families and loved ones and close associates to include the outsider. Ironically – and this was not lost on my colleague – Gerardo is a brother in Christ. Of course, the Gospel knows no borders. We were deeply moved by Gerardo’s plight. I invite you to join your prayers with mine as our country finds a way forward with comprehensive immigration reform. I also invite you to consider whom Christ is calling you to be a companion to on your journey!

Blessings,

Pastor Jeff

Nearly fifteen years ago my close friend and colleague in ministry Rev. David Felten and I conceived of “Living the Questions,” a video & internet-based introduction to progressive Christianity. As we interviewed and taped leading religion voices the project began to unfold, and Via de Cristo UMC and Asbury UMC (my previous appointments) served as “incubators” as we developed and “beta-tested” a curriculum that has now been used in over 5,000 churches in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Australia. Our aim has always been to help resource local church communities – beginning with the ones we’re serving – to discover together what it means to be faithful followers of Jesus in our day. A couple of years ago, HarperOne published our book of the same name, with the subtitle “The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity.”

On Thursday mornings beginning September 4 (10am-noon) and Monday evenings beginning September 8 (6:30-8:30pm) we’ll start the first “flight” of Living the Questions 2.0 in the Adult Room at Dayspring (see box at left). It’s called “An Invitation to Journey.” Let this serve as an invitation to see your life as a journey of faith where the questions can be as rich and meaningful as any answers — indeed, perhaps more so. I hope you’ll join me!

Pastor Jeff

I want to thank the people of Dayspring for your love and support around the death of my father, John E. Murphy, Jr. I am deeply grateful for your understanding and prayers, your cards and condolences. I especially want to thank Rev. Chuck Winkler for filling in for me on my second Sunday, and Rev. Michael Kelley and our church secretary, Jill Moyer, for going the extra mile for me in my dad’s final days. You all allowed me to be present to my father and family during that precious time, and I am profoundly grateful.

Now begins the process of mourning.

“Blessed are those who mourn,” begins the Second Beatitude, “for they shall be comforted.” No one is a stranger to grief. Grief is the pain we experience because of some loss. Whether the loss is experienced because of death, divorce or distance – or the loss of a dream – loss produces pain. Mourning is what we do with our grief.

I find comfort and strength in these words from a prayer by DeWane Zimmerman:

If so much that is precious
can be so quickly lost,
Let me cherish my present relationships
even more.

The love I can no longer give –
to this one who has died –
help me, O God, to give
to those who are alive.

Make my compassion deeper,
my sympathy wider,
and let me not be blind
to all that is good and lovely now.

This congregation knows all too well the sting of loss. With you, I still mourn the tragic death of Dr. Jane Tews. And I know, of course, that each one of you has experienced profound personal loss. I am privileged to be on this journey with you. Thank you for sharing in my own grief. I hope to be present for you in your times of need as well.

Blessings,
Pastor Jeff