I am a firm believer in prayer, in fact, I wrote a book about prayer and about adopting a personal prayer life, so prayer is a big thing in my book. For most of us, prayer gets reduced to a few moments once a week, or maybe each day, where we tick off a laundry list of things that we would like God to do, heal this one, get a job for this one, let the Red Sox win the World Series, etc. we have this long list of things but do we ever listen for a response?  Prayer, like a conversation, is a two-way street and there is a list of things that God wants us to do as well.

Today, we hear the story of two people healed of their disease; one is cured because her father asked Jesus to heal her and the other was cured because she showed persistence in getting to Jesus and just touching the hem of his garment. Although there was some work involved, the father had to ask, and the woman had to fight her way through the crowd, they were healed because of their faith. But, before we go any further, it could have also gone the other way. Like all miracle stories, Jesus uses these incidents not only to help someone but to bring glory to God. So let’s unpack this a little.

In my “From the Pastor Column” in the weekly email, I shared a little about my previous work as a hospice chaplain. If any of you have any experience with the hospice process, you know what a blessing it is not only for the person dying but also for the family. I always felt it was an honor to be with someone when they took their final breath. It did not always work out that I was there for that special moment, but the times I was there it was indeed a blessing and an honor.

The whole premise of the hospice experience is to make the patient, and the family, comfortable with the natural process of dying. Understandably so, we try everything to prevent a loved one from dying, but at some point, the decision has to be made to let them go and so hospice makes that process as peaceful as possible. I have prayed with many hospice patients, and the ones who could talk, always wanted me to pray, not for them, but for those they were leaving behind. They felt whatever was going to happen to them was going to happen and they wanted their families to find peace.

We often think of answered prayer for healing in the physical sense but what about spiritual and emotional healing?

Often we expect some form of physical healing but what of the spiritual healing. Perhaps God had answered their prayers and healed them or their loved one of the fear of dying. Maybe they were relieved of their fear of the unknown. Perhaps God paved the way for their loved one to reconcile with someone who had done them wrong or they were provided an opportunity for forgiveness that they had long been withholding.  You see, healing is not always physical and spiritual healing is just as important as the physical.

I have witnessed many miracles in ministry; brothers reconciled after 20 or more years estranged.  A father and a son who spoke to each other after many years of silence between them. Found money when all hope seemed to be lost. Having just enough food to feed all of those who needed something to eat. Miracles happen all around us every day all we have to do is look for them.

But what about our part in all of this?

I mentioned at the start that God has a list of things for us to do as well and all we need to do is listen. God wants to have a conversation with us. I know that sometimes we might be a little afraid that God is going to ask us to do something we either do not want to do or are not able to do. Well, God will not call those he does not equip, and if we say yes to that call, God will take care of the rest. Spend time with God each day. If it has been a while since you two have spoken, start slow and work up. Read Scripture and sit with it for a few moments. It is not the amount of time we spend together it is the quality of time we spend. Just one word of caution, if you are one who likes to close their eyes when they pray, don’t do it while driving.

As a church community, we are entering a process that is probably the most serious process that a congregation has to face, calling a new pastor. This search will require much prayer, so start now and develop a habit of prayer. Prayer for those that will be chosen to form a search committee, pray and see if you might be one of the ones called for that task. Pray for me as I push and prod those called and chosen. And pray for the person whom God has already chosen to come here.

As with all things we need to remember that we need to let God be in control, we need to do the work, but we need to take our guidance from God. Remember the words of Jesus in the garden towards the end of his life; “not my will but your will.”

One of the challenges of being the new pastor is determining where the congregation is in their spiritual life as well as where they are regarding contemporary social issues.  I do not know you or where you are, and you don’t know me or where I am, but I did give you a glimpse of my theology and spirituality in my first sermon. During the first few weeks and months of a new ministry, the new pastor tries different things to help them figure it all out and see how far they might be able to go with specific topics.

If memory serves, I told you in my first sermon, that I believe it is the role of the preacher to move the audience from where they are to where the preacher thinks God is calling them to be. Over a period, a relationship and an understanding develop between the preacher and the congregation. With all that said I believe one of the issues we face as people today is that we do not recognize the image of God in the other.

All through history, it has been the practice of one group of people to dehumanize another group of people to justify their treatment of them. If we stay strictly with Scripture, which is not a history book but it will work for our purpose today, we see the ancient Israelites being conquered on a variety of occasions ending with the Roman occupation during the time of Jesus. The Romans and the other conquerors made the Israelites less human, and that justified their treatment.

In our history, the history of the United States, this has happened on several occasions. The Native American population was treated as less than human; the African Slave trade was able to continue as long as it did because the white man felt the black man was less than human. So ingrained was this thought that it was enshrined in the Constitution of the United States. The role of women was considered less by men until the 20th century, so we have a history of this as humanity.

I am not taking issue with how people of the past felt about other people or situations. The times were different, and the thought process was different. What I take issue with is when people still think like it is the 18th and 19th century towards other people and value them less as human beings.

For many of us in the room, segregation is not a distant memory. For many of us we can remember white’s only bathrooms and school for black children and white children, so in essence, this is a contemporary issue. The ability of one group of people to feel that another group of people is less than human makes it easy to treat them differently.

My point is this, as a Christian I have no other choice than to look at another human being as having been created in the image and likeness of God. They have within them the Imago Dei, the Image of God the Divine Spark of you will, and that makes that person holy and as we heard in the Scripture this morning, how we treat them is how we treat God!

Also, as a Christian, It is not part of the plan for me to determine who is and who is not worthy of my help. At one point in time in our lives we have all been “the least of these,” and maybe, just maybe someone was that one thing we needed to get us through the day. Perhaps it was a kind word, maybe it was a smile, and maybe it was a cup of coffee on a cold day or a warm meal when we have not had one. We might be the one kind person that is the difference between a person deciding to take their own life or not.

I am not sure where I heard this, but the saying goes, “you may be the only Bible someone ever reads.” You, and me, whether we like it or not, as the spokespeople for all of Christianity and our words and our actions might be the deciding factor in the trajectory in someone’s life.

I want to share a little story. One of the good parts of coming to a new place is you have not heard any of my stories.  Anyway, I am a mason, and I am proud to be one. The motto of the Masons is we make good men better. We take the rough stone and smooth out the harsh edges. My particular lodge meets one Thursday night a month. We typically have dinner before the meal served to us by the young men of DeMolay. If you do not know what DeMolay is that is the Masons for young men under 18 years of age.

One Thursday night I was going through the line, and one of the young men thanked me for wearing the pin that I had on the lapel of my jacket. It was the UCC coma in the rainbow design. He thanked me for the public stance I was taking on equality, and he shared a quick story with me about how he had been treated by his schoolmates and some of the young men in DeMolay. He thanked me for the giving his the assurance that it would be okay. The funny thing is I did not even realize I was wearing the pin on my lapel but that one thing, that one silly little pin, gave the young man hope. He knew I was a person that would not judge him and that I would accept him for who he was where he was, that is my job as a Christian. I do not have to agree with him on anything, but I do have to accept him as a fellow human being, created in the image of God.

Now, before I start to sound all self-righteous here, none of us are perfect, we all have times in our lives when we have fallen short in this area of seeing Christ in the other. I will admit it is difficult sometimes to see that but, that does not give us an excuse. We have to strive to see Christ in others and not make excuses to make us feel better when we don’t want to help.

When we see the homeless person on the street and we say “they are lazy,” when we say “they need to get a job,” when we say, “they will only use the money for drugs or booze,” we are making a judgement, and we are dehumanizing them to make us feel better about not helping them. We have all done it, I have crossed the street to avoid it, and I think we would all be dishonest if we feel that we have not.

We have an obligation as Christians and as human beings to help those less fortunate then we are, and that help does not always have to be money. Sometimes, as I mentioned before, that help can be as merely seeing them as fellow human beings and accept them. Listening to their story and understanding them. Having empathy for their position and doing all we can to try and make their lives better. Thinking of the other as less than a human might make us feel better, but it does nothing to change the situation for the other.

We cannot solve all of the problems of the world, but we might be able to help address the issues that are the whole world for one person. When the fire department arrives at a house on fire they are not interested in how it started, the see the problem right in front of them, the fire, and they put the fire out. Once the fire is out, and everyone is safe, then they turn towards the cause of the problem. We need to take care of the immediate issues of the “least of these” and see to their basic needs, food, clothing, shelter, medical, safety, and then, and only then, can we begin to ask the broader question of how did they get there.

The point of all of this is that no matter where people are from, no matter the color of their skin, no matter their religion, no matter their sexual orientation, no matter their legal status each human being has been created in the image and likeness of God and as people who claim to follow Jesus we have no other option then to look at them as human beings and take compassion on them. Again, we do not have to agree with them, as you don’t have to agree with me, but we do have to treat the other with the dignity that they deserve as a fellow human being, and I will remind you of the words from today’s Scripture reading;

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes, and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'”

To truly understand this passage we need to back up one verse where we read in part, “And he went up on the mountain….” (v. 13). Before starting anything, Jesus went away to pray. The mountain, which is used here to denote a place away from the rest of the crowd, was often a place that Jesus retreated to for prayer, silence, and refreshment.

And it was on this mountain that “he called to him those he wanted. And they came to him” (v. 13). He called the multitude, and from that multitude, he chose the twelve that he would train to take his message to the far reaches of the world.

They came from all different walks of life. For the most part, they were uneducated tradespeople, not the religious leaders or the uber-pious of the area. He did not call together a council of elders to discuss the plans and then develop a strategy for putting it forth. Nope, he called them together, and he taught them, by his example, what they were going to do when he had left them.

Matthew was a tax-collector and, therefore, an outcast; he was a renegade and a traitor to his fellow countrymen. Simon was called the Zealot, and the Zealots were a band of fiery, violent nationalists who were pledged even to murder and assassination to clear the country of the foreign domination. The one who was lost to patriotism and the fanatical patriot came together in that group. I can only imagine the conversations that those two must have had. Christianity began by insisting that the most diverse people should live and work together, putting aside their difference for the sake of the mission.

I find it interesting how the writer of this Gospel gives the list of the 12 but, at the end of the list, there is Judas, “who also betrayed him” (v. 19). Jesus chose Judas, and I believe, knowing full well that he would betray him. Jesus wanted the ones he chose specifically for the mission, and Judas’ purpose was to betray him. It is also telling that at the Last Supper, Judas was present and Judas participated in that meal so, as you see, everyone is welcome even those who will betray him.

But the significance of this passage is in the fact that what we now know as Christianity began with a group. This is in stark contrast to what the Pharisees had been teaching. The whole essence of the way of life of the Pharisee was separation from others, and the very name Pharisee means the separated one. Jesus stands this on its head and showed that the very essence of Christianity was that it brought people together and bound us to one another.

So what was the attraction?  Why did these men follow Jesus?

They felt a sort of magnetic energy and attraction from Jesus. There was something about this itinerant preacher that made them want to take him as their master. We read in other parts of Scripture where he just said to them, “follow me” and they did. Andrew, the first to hear the message of Jesus, calls his brother Simon, later Peter to “come and see.”

They also had courage, and make no mistake about it their mission would require an immense amount of courage. Here was Jesus flipping over tables in the Temple and calling out the religious leaders calling them a “brood of vipers.” He was on a collision course with the orthodox leaders, he was branded as a sinner and labeled as a heretic, and despite all of that, they followed and continued to support him. Did they have their misgivings, sure, did they have their doubts, yes and we see it time and time again. But they were willing to risk it all for the sake of the mission. They all had their faults, as we do, but one thing was for sure, they loved Jesus, and they were not afraid to tell the world that they loved him, and that is the very essence of being a Christian.

Jesus called them for two reasons. He called them to be with him. They were to be his steady rock and his companions. We read that the multitude would follow him, but these twelve were his inner circle, his closest friends they were to identify their lives with him. Jesus called them to send them out. Jesus knew that for his message to “go into the whole world,” he would need ambassadors to bring that message.

He taught them in word, but more importantly, he taught them by example. He did not just gather them all together and teach them; he showed them how to love others, he showed them how to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and welcome the stranger. He gave them a message of love, and he taught them how to share that message with others, in other words, he made disciples of them. But he also gave them power, a power to do amazing things. But power is not the right word here what he gave them was a boldness, a boldness that they would need to stand the world on its head and transform it.

So where does that leave us?  Jesus has called each of us. He has called each of us here today into a community of love and support. Jesus has called us to show us a way, a new way, a way of love and service to others. Jesus has invited us, as he invited Judas, to sit and break bread with him and others of different backgrounds, races, creeds and gender identities. Jesus calls us to love all and to be taught to love all. But he has also called us to send us out. For a message to be useful it needs a sender, it also requires a receiver, but it first needs a sender. We are called to be senders of that message every day. We send that message by the way we act towards others, how we speak about them and to them. And we send the message by how we put his example into action.

Jesus called the twelve to be people of action and to change the world. He is now calling on us to do the same.

It is so great to finally be here with all of you. It has taken some time to get here but here we are at the start of what I pray will be a fruitful time for tis church and for all of you. My wife Nicky and I are very happy to be here. And we look forward to getting to know all of you. I understand there are name tags available at the entrance to the church and I would like to ask each of you to please wear yours and if you don’t have one, let us know and we will get you one. It will assist me, and others, to get to get to know you and your names.

Last Sunday, I completed my term as interim at Bethany Congregational Church in my hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. Towards the end of the service we conducted what is called the “service of release” where the congregation released me from the covenant I had with them to be their pastor. It is always sad when a relationship comes to an end but at the same time the service requires us to look forward. They sent me off with prayers for the new covenant that I now have with all of you, the covenant to be your pastor, your teacher, and your guide as we embark on this journey together.

Pastoral relationships can be very interesting. We do not really know each other and we might have some expectations. Perhaps these come from the past experiences we have had. There might be some expectations of my roll and I might have some expectations about your roll. The best way to figure it all out is through communication.

One of the lessons I learned early on in ministry was to try and fix something long before it gets out of hand. If you have a question about me or ministry or the process that we are about to begin, just ask. It is better to get an answer straight from the source rather than third, fourth, or even fifth hand. The only way this relationship, this sacred covenant is going to work is if we are open and honest about our expectations of each other. I have no doubt that at some point I am going to make some of you angry, well let’s talk about it. Let’s not let thing fester under the surface. We need to have a relationship where we can share anything with each other but at the same time when it is finished we move on. I am not one to hold on to things, once it is done it is done.

So a little about me.

I was not brought up in the United Church of Christ I was raised Roman Catholic and was ordained in the Romanian Orthodox Church where I served for 12 years as pastor of a small congregation in Central Massachusetts. I am a veteran of 15 years in the United States Army and National Guard. I have a heart for mission especially disaster support. I serve as fire chaplain in the City of Quincy as well as one of deputy chief chaplains for the Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains. I am part of the Disaster Resource Team for the Massachusetts Conference and serve as the Disaster Spiritual Care Lead for the American Red Cross. I have ministered in New Orleans, Blacksburg Virginia, Newtown, Connecticut, and most recently my own hometown after the last round of winter storms. I have sat with parents who have lost children in school shootings. I have sat with wives who lost husbands in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have brought what comfort I could to families who watched as the violence of winter storms and hurricanes took everything the owned out to sea. And through it all, all of these experiences have shaped me as a person but they have also shaped my theology and my spirituality.

My theology is quite simple, and you will hear me preach about this in almost every sermon, love God and love your neighbor. I share this theology with Jesus who commanded us to do this.

I love God and therefore I attempt to follow his will for my life and I attempt to follow the example, as I understand it, that Jesus left for us. I am a Red Letter Christian, I focus on the red words of Scripture, the words that we believe were actually spoken by Jesus and not someone’s interpretation of what that means. My theology requires me to love everyone and as a consequence of that love I am compelled to help them any way I possibly can. This love is unconditional because Jesus loves us unconditionally. Don’t believe me; just flip open your bible to the Gospel of John, the third chapter and the 16^th verse;

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV)

It is not our job to determine who is and who is not worthy of our love we are, just as God has, to love our neighbor and that includes our black neighbor, our white neighbor, our lgbtq neighbor, our Muslim neighbor, our liberal neighbor, our conservative neighbor, and the list goes on…

I believe that the bible is a guide in our lives but I also believe that God is still speaking and his revelation is constant and our challenge is to figure out, as those who have come before us, how we continue to make this 2,000 year old faith relevant in this fast changing world. It cannot be business as usual.

One of the greatest minds of the contemporary church was Phyllis Tickile. Phyllis wrote a lot about the emerging church and how to keep the faith fresh and new in each generation. Historically Phyllis has mapped out the history of the Christian Church from the time of Christ to the present day and has come to notice that every 500 years there is a reformation of the faith. It started with Jesus who was the greatest reformer, but every 500 years since then the church has undergone a reform of some kind. One of the problems is we do not know when the 500 years start and when they end so we may be in one right now.

Our job is to read the times and trends and to stay a head of the curve. We have to be relevant in the lives of the people we hope to reach with the message of the love of Jesus Christ and we have to speak the language that they speak and we have to be willing, when the time comes, to call out the hypocrisy that exists in the world of the Christian today.

In a recent survey of those who no longer attend a church on a regular basis said that one of the main reasons they do not attend is they are not really sure what the church believes any more. They know for certain what they are against but they have no idea what they are for! Churches, and Christians, are viewed as hypocrital and judgmental and they are also viewed as caring more about themselves and the continuation of the institution then they are the mission and ministry of that institution. We have to change that.

Just so there is no confusion, I am a progressive theologian and a liberal when it comes to social justice, which, despite what some in the national eye will tell you, is not the work of the devil. I have a certain core belief which I have already shared, love God love everyone. I believe in everyone’s right to their opinion and I support our rights to share those opinions, but when it comes to how Christians act, how Christians behave I believe that words are easy, it is easy to say you are a Christian, but show me you are a Christian because if you don’t I’m going to call you on it.

Again, just so there is no confusion, I am very active in the world of social media, Facebook and Twitter as I believe that is the, not so new anymore, world of communication. I have very strong opinions and fight for what I believe in with every fiber of my being. I believe as Christians we are to be the voice of those on the margins, the “least of these” if you will that Jesus often spoke about and ministered to. I believe we have an obligation as not only Christians but as human beings to care for those less fortunate then us and I believe it to my very core. I believe if you call yourself a Christian that it has to mean something and you have to live by a certain set of principles and if you don’t I will call you out on it. This world we live in needs to hear the message of love and inclusion and needs to hear it without conditions and that is what I try to do, but, in the end, and I am not always good at this part, we have to do it all in love. Speak the truth to power but we have to speak the truth in love because the truth is love. If the person you follow causes you to hate another for whatever reason, that simply is not Christian, a Christian cannot hate, period.

So where do we go from here?  One of the charges given to me is to help guide you through the process of calling your next settled minister. As you all know, as the interim I cannot be that person. I am here to guide you and prepare you for the one that will come after me. We do this by asking some very simple question with extremely complicated answers.

Who are we?
Who is our neighbor?
Who is God calling us to become?

These are the three big questions that we will work on over the next months as we prepare the search. I only ask one thing of all of us, since we will all be involved in this process, we have to be open to and remain open to the power of the Holy Spirit in this process. I believe God has already called your next minister, our task is to pray for that person and then seek them out, but we can only do it if we are in constant prayer and we let God be in charge of the process. I will guide you and offer you my experience, you will provide your input and suggestions, but God is the one who is in control.

Beloved of God Here I am, I am yours, and you are mine. Let us always remember that we have to love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our souls and we have to love each other as we love ourselves, perhaps better than we love ourselves.