May 9, 2016

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:20-26

I often see this saying: “G-d loves you A Latte” – it is a pun, or a play on words including the drink that is so popular in coffee shops all across the world. It may seem like a trite and meaningless way to share the love of G-d, but whenever or however we share the love of Christ is not trivial.

“What’s not to love about a delicious espresso drink…?” This comes right off the website for a popular coffee shop – one where you may find the Cranky Reverend sitting once in a while. Some of you may not know what a Café Latte drink is….which of course makes this reverend scratch his head – but of course not everyone likes coffee drinks. A Latte is an espresso drink with steamed milk, topped with foam. Espresso, of course, is coffee brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans. So, what we have learned is that a Café Latte is a drink that combines strong coffee with steamed milk to create a rich coffee beverage. It is one of the Cranky Reverend’s favorite drinks.

Of course, is it right to combine coffee with Christ – with the love of G-d made manifest with the world through G-d incarnate? Of course it is, because nothing about the love of G-d is trivial, and however we can share that love with the world is something we need to use. A church I used to attend formed a ministry called “Coffee for Six” – a pastor friend of mine used the love of coffee to encourage people to gather one evening a week to sit and talk over coffee. And though that was years ago, I walked into that coffee shop, and sure enough they were still meeting – talking about Jesus and drinking coffee.

Coffee and Jesus – they both do a body good.

Pastor Dave

May 8, 2016

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:20 -23

“Jesus’ prayer reminds us that our unity, our “oneness” is to be a sign to the world of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. Oneness and unity is about love. And if you have been a part of a family, a member of a church, or a community, you know that within that love there can be disagreements and squabbling. We are human. But the mystery of the incarnation is that God desired unity with us so much God became one of us. And in that moment we were drawn into the oneness of God, the Creator/Father/Mother, the Son, and the Spirit. It is with God’s help that we can live into that oneness. The disciples were in the time between the Ascension and the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost. We are in the time between the first and second coming of Jesus Christ. May we rejoice in the assurance that Christ is with us, continuing to pray for our oneness, our unity.” (Lucy Lind Hogan, “Commentary on John 17”, Working Preacher website)

This is one of the greatest mysteries in which we live today – knowing that Christ has ascended into heaven, and yet continues to be with us until the day we either meet Christ in heaven, or Christ returns to this world. The disciples were in a terrible way after the ascension until the day of Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit came to them, they became different people. They were changed through the power of the Holy Spirit. No longer were they hiding away in fear – instead they were preaching boldly, disobeying the religious authorities, and sustained by the spirit and each other in their endeavors to spread the message of Jesus Christ.

With the resurrection of Jesus and then the giving of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ disciples finally got the message – or at least part of it. And empowered with the Holy Spirit, they begin to build the early church, and to bring so many people to faith. They may not know as much as they will eventually know, but they’re on the right track, mostly. Yes, they’re still focused on their old thoughts of the Messiah, and the restoration of Israel – but soon they will know that G-d had something much bigger in mind.

In this time in which we are living, G-d has something much bigger in mind for you and for me as well. If we stay open to the Spirit, we will find that oneness that Jesus is praying for. And in the oneness of Jesus and Father, there is so much we can do for the kingdom of G-d.

Pastor Dave