Thoughts and Prayers With Haiti

Yesterday morning, UPC was filled with gratitude to have John and Suzi Parker among us. John and Suzi are longtime members of UPC, and in September, they traveled to Leogane, Haiti to assist others as they work to renovate a local hospital and get it running once again.

John and Suzi were working at a nearby Guesthouse, where groups were staying to help work on the hospital. Their apartment, the Guesthouse, and the hospital are all located in Leogane, which was only ten miles away from the epicenter of the earthquake. Their apartment collapsed, and John was trapped for four hours. Thankfully, people were able to get him out, and he had no injuries. The Guesthouse also had damage, but the Hospital remains standing.

John and Suzi addressed the Faith and Life Class on Sunday morning, telling their stories and sharing the difficulties of others. They plan to return to Haiti in a few weeks to continue their work. They have deep hopes of helping the region through the long-term use of the hospital.

UPC is currently raising money for disaster relief in Haiti. So far we have collected over $27,000. We are currently holding the money until John and Suzi can help us know the best place to send it. On Sunday morning, they mentioned that a foundation is being set up for the hospital. Once that is completed, we will send our disaster relief money there.

John and Suzi mentioned that they are particularly grateful for our prayers. We are profoundly grateful for their safety and their work. We do know that many did not fare well in the earthquake. We hope to partner with these people in prayer and support.

If you would like to contribute financially to work on the hospital in Leogane, please write a check to University Presbyterian Church and mark it for Disaster Relief. We will send that money to the most appropriate source, so that it helps the hospital work.


Additionally, Austin Agape organized and participated in a Taize Prayer Service for the congregation on Sunday night, focusing on concern for Haiti. We read four stories from survivors and watched a slide show of pictures.

We want to keep praying, and we aim to be a part of the prayers we make. Our hearts are with Haiti.

Sunday's Sermon: Unownable

Genesis 28:10-17

Luke 4:14-30

As we hear this passage tonight and think through this story, it might be fair to say that Jesus is a P.R. Disaster. Seriously, doesn’t it seem that way? Yes, definitely a public relations nightmare. Here he is in his hometown, the place where he spent his young years, observing and questioning, learning and playing, working and growing into adulthood. It might be the perfect opportunity for Jesus to. . . you know, get his people behind him, right? - the perfect opportunity for him to use this beginning point in his ministry to get a boost of support at the right time. But what do we find? A genuine P.R. Disaster.

Let’s use our imagination to get into this story. Can you picture the scene? People from the small town of Nazareth are gathering together on a Sabbath, a Saturday morning. I imagine it was a pretty run-of-the-mill, routine day. When the people roll out of their beds on that morning, they probably aren’t expecting anything too out of the ordinary. The Sabbath is a special, holy day – no doubt. But they’ve experienced many Sabbaths before, and who knows? Maybe some of them are a bit on auto pilot.

But when they gather in the synagogue, they do have something to notice. Present among them is Jesus, - their Jesus – Joseph and Mary’s boy! They’ve heard all about what he did recently in the nearby town of Capernaum, and this is just the beginning! Who knows what will come of this young man – this boy who grew up here – yes! – one of our own! Certainly he will do great things for us! Certainly he will put Nazareth on the map!

And with pride in their chests and smiles on their faces, they’re thrilled when Jesus volunteers to read the scripture and deliver a message. They watch him ask for the Isaiah scroll, and he finds a particular passage. A beautiful choice, Jesus, a familiar hymn – one that sounds good to our ears! They listen intently, except perhaps to subtly (or not so subtly) lean over and whisper to one another: “Our boy up there, the carpenter’s son – he made my kitchen table!” “Yes,” someone else replies. “Isn’t he wonderful?”

They watch Jesus finish the passage and sit, the stance of a teacher. “That’s our very own Rabbi!” they think. “What will he have to say today?”

Today. Perhaps that word is a bit ironic: “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Okay. . .that’s different. What does that mean? Today these things are coming about? Today you are anointed to be the one who brings these things about? – Good news to the poor, sight to the blind, release to the captives, freedom for the oppressed, and the year of God’s favor? Yeah, that’s different. “What else do you have to say, Jesus?”

What else do you have to say? I suppose his first line was the beginning of the end, that is, the end of their awe-struck sense of pride. What follows next is a P.R. Disaster.

Jesus must have sensed their pride, their sense of ownership. He says, “Surely you will say to me, do the things here that you did in Capernaum. Do them here: in-your-home-town. Well, no prophet is truly welcome in his home town. I mean, think about it: The prophet Elijah was living in the Israel with no rain at all, with a famine more widespread than we can imagine. And where did God send him to receive help? There were many widows all over the land of Israel, but God sent Elijah to a widow at Zaraphath in Sidon. And think about this: When the prophet Elisha lived in the land of Israel, there were more lepers than we can count, but who was cleansed? Naaman. Naaman, the-Syrian.”

Yes, a genuine P.R. Disaster. If that person from Nazareth had that kitchen table in this synagogue, he would have overturned it right then and there. The synagogue was filled with a sense of rage. The air was thick with indignation. And the people acted on it too. They seized Jesus by his arms, escorted him outside the town – “We’ll show you what happens outside the town!” - and they try to hurl him off a cliff. A cliff!

Yes, a genuine P.R. Disaster.

Perhaps it’s hard for us for us to get at what Jesus was trying to do and say in Nazareth. But we can certainly take a challenging message away from this text – what seems to us like a P.R. Disaster. Here it is: Jesus is unownable. He’s unownable. He cannot and will not submit to being our possession. And that is good news! It allows Jesus to be Jesus toward us instead of forcing Jesus to be Jesus for us. It’s true that he came to serve us, but he did not come to be owned by us. He did not come to serve our agendas. Instead, he came as a human being – yes, truly, one of our own! – that we might become like him, truly human – humans who live humanity in service others, particularly the poor, the blind, the captives, the oppressed – all who are suffer. He’s unownable. Thanks be to God.

I read a story this week that seemed to provide an uncanny intersection of imagination with our passage today. It’s a brilliant short story called “The Visitor” written by Ray Bradbury in his book, The Illustrated Man. The story begins with a situation that sounds very bleak. Saul Williams has a disease – a terrible, terminal disease. Its slang term is “Blood Rust,” a disease that causes a great deal of bleeding in the lungs. And because this disease is so terrible and so contagious, Saul has been quarantined with others just like him, not on earth, but in a colony far away on Mars. Saul is sick with Blood Rust, but he’s not as bad off as the other men who live on the planet with him. That is, not yet. And he laments that these others are too weak, sick, and tired to have meaningful, intellectual discussions. He’s profoundly lonely. So he spends his days trying to imagine New York, his beloved city that he left behind in order to die a quarantined man. Oh, the sights, the sounds, the smells of New York! He longs for them, and he knows he’ll never experience them again.

But all that changes on the day that Leonard Mark lands on Mars in a rocket. Saul sees the rocket land. At last, someone new! Someone newly sick! Someone who can talk to me and spend time with me! Saul is excited, but he will discover someone beyond his imagining. After becoming acquainted, Saul says, “So, how’s New York?” hoping to hear greetings from his long-lost city. “It’s like this,” Leonard Mark replies. And immediately, Saul can see a vision of the city. It’s so real. He can hear real sounds, see real images, and smell the city air! He’s awestruck.

He asks Leonard Mark how he can do this. How long has he had this ability? Leonard Mark says that he’s had telepathic powers like this his whole life. He then produces another experience for Saul – one that delights Saul to the core! His powers put Saul swimming in a creek near Saul’s childhood home. Saul is moved and filled with gratitude. Here is his long, lost salvation – a person who can care for him and talk with him, a person who can give him the earth!

And immediately, another possibility dawns upon him. “C’mon, we’ve got to get out of here!” Saul realizes that he’s seen a miraculous thing. He’s in a miraculous presence. He wants nothing to separate him from it – especially the other, sick, Blood-Rust infected men. Saul looks over his shoulder and realizes it’s almost too late. The other men saw New York too, and now they’re hobbling over to meet Leonard Mark. “C’mon,” Saul yells, “We have to go, now!” But Leonard Mark makes it clear that he can meet everyone, that he can share his unique gift with the whole colony. He’s clear to say that he’s no one’s possession. But Saul will have none of it, and he immediately becomes very paranoid and possessive.

And so do the others. Once they discover that this gift is coming from Leonard Mark, they all want him for themselves. Here is their salvation, and they will have it at any cost! Eventually Saul steals Leonard Mark off to a solitary cave, and he ties him in place. But the others arrive too. They will have what is rightly theirs! Weapons are drawn. People are killed in the arguments. And lastly, before the men have a chance return to their senses, someone else has died. They’ve shot and killed Leonard Mark, their salvation. If they couldn’t have him, no one would.

And perhaps we could say, if the people from Nazareth couldn’t have Jesus entirely to themselves for their own purposes, no one would. Off the cliff he goes! But thank God, Jesus is unownable. He refuses to be reduced to a possession. He refuses to be owned. He refuses to be controlled or exploited. He will not follow others’ orders in slavery. He will be free – the True Human – who teaches us to follow him, to follow him in service with and for others. Jesus is unownable. He goes ahead of us, and we follow him.

It makes me wonder, if Jesus came in our midst tonight and sat among us in an obvious way, what would we want from him? Would we assume that he was here to serve our agendas? Would we fashion Jesus into a stereotype of a conservative Christian? Or would we assume that Jesus was a card carrying liberal? Would we allow ourselves to be challenged by him? Or would we simply box him in so that he can represent who we want him to represent? And yet, it is our conviction that he is among us now. His Spirit and his presence are here! Do we try to box him in now? We all need to ask ourselves that question again and again.

Jesus called the people from Nazareth into radical inclusion. They weren’t ultimately gathered together to be a social club, and neither are we. We love each other, and we have an amazing sense of community here. Those are the gifts of God, for us, the people of God. But tonight we remember that the people of God also exist outside this room, and it’s our call – our vocation – to include others beyond our comfort zone, to include them in our very lives, that we may serve them, that we may preach the gospel of good news to them, and that we would hear them, that we would listen to them, that we would allow people who are considered outcasts in this world to teach us, to preach the gospel to us. We are called to go to the Widows of Zaraphath and the Naamans from Syria. We are called to sit at their feet. We’re called to share good news with them – to live in the Name of Jesus, the True Human, who unites us together for purposes bigger than our imagining, purposes greatly exceeding our personal or collective agendas. If we do this – not sometime – but as Jesus says, “Today! Now!” perhaps we’ll be like Jacob. We’ll say with astonishment, “Surely, the Lord was in this place – and I didn’t know it!” Jesus moves beyond us in so many ways. He’s unownable. And yet he is ours. We don’t take from him. He gives himself. And he gives us new ways of following him.

And now, as God’s Spirit creates a sermon tonight among us and within us, tonight, where do you sense God calling you? Calling us? Let’s just take a minute of silence to think about what’s been on our mind and in our hearts tonight. How is God calling you tonight? How do you sense God calling us tonight?

-Renee Roederer, Campus Minister, and the Austin Agape Community

Marching To the Capitol

Last week, we were fortunate to participate in a march to the Texas Capitol Building to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The atmosphere was celebratory but one of challenge as well. How can we help create the dream that Dr. King articulated so beautifully? How can we act in ways that promote respect and justice - in our city, in our world?

Merrit enjoyed capturing some pictures!

The rally at the Capitol included musicians, politicians, and many powerful speakers.

We are grateful to celebrate Dr. King's legacy and to participate in his visions for our nation and our world. Here is a beautiful quote from Dr. King: "I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way God's universe is made; this is the way it is structured."

At Austin Agape, we aim to realize more clearly that our personhood is tied together with the identity of others. We remember once again that we are called to work for peace and justice in our world, in our neighborhoods, and on our very campus.

We are grateful for Dr. King's leadership!

Updates on Leogane, Haiti

As many of you know, John and Suzi Parker, missionaries from UPC, have been serving in Leogane since the summer. We are grateful for their safety, and we pray that they can provide assistance to those who live in Leogane and the surrounding regions. Leogane was only ten miles outside of the epicenter of the initial earthquake last week. We hold them in our prayers. As you'll read below, the guesthouse that they were operating was destroyed in the earthquake, but the hospital still stands.

The article that follows is copied from http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2010/10055.htm. Please read the updates.

PC(USA)-backed hospital in Haiti still standing

Hopital Sainte Croix in Leogane damaged but not destroyed

by Jerry L. Van Marter
Presbyterian News Service
and Pat Cole
Communications Associate

LOUISVILLE — Hôpital Sainte Croix (Holy Cross Hospital) in Leogane, Haiti, an (Episcopal) Diocesan ministry that for decades has been a major focus of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission in Haiti, received serious damage in the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Earlier reports indicated that the hospital had collapsed, but more recent information indicates that the building is still standing. However, a guesthouse and an apartment owned by the hospital were destroyed. Hospital officials believe that all hospital staff survived the earthquake.

Less than a mile away, a nursing school owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti — the PC(USA)’s partner church in the island nation — is hosting thousands of survivors who are living in tents on the campus. The faculty and students are providing medical care, but they are lacking medicine.

Sky News, an international news broadcaster based in London, filed a video report about the situation in Leogane, which included an interview with Hilda Alcindor, the nursing school dean.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance reports that food and fuel supplies are limited and there is urgent need to bring in these most essential resources at this time. PDA’s Carlos Cardenas is on the ground in Haiti with the immediate response team of the Geneva-based ecumenical ACT Alliance, which includes the PC(USA). ACT has helped establish 15 sites for distribution of relief items. Food and clean water are a top priority.

It is estimated that 200,000 families, nearly one million people, are without homes and living out in the open air. Temporary shelter is a focus for this next week, PDA Coordinator Randy Ackley said. PDA and its partners are seeking to bring in 20,000 tents to Port-au-Prince in the next week. There are between 3,000 and 4,000 tents currently on site in Haiti.

The greatest need continues to be money. PDA has committee at least $500,000 to the short- and long-term response to the Haiti tragedy. More than $200,000 has already been sent from donations received since the quake and from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering receipts.

Contributions can be made in at least four ways:

• Through local church channels
• Online at the PDA Web site
• By phone at (800) 872-3283, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST) weekdays
• By mail to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.

Another way to help, PDA suggests, is by assembling “Gift of the Heart” kits for shipment and distribution to Haiti. Congregations and individuals can assembly hygiene kits and baby kits. Instructions are on the PDA Web site.

Methodists lose top disaster relief official and volunteer coordinator

The Rev. Sam Dixon

The Rev. Sam Dixon, 60, head of United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), the humanitarian relief agency of The United Methodist Church, died before he could be rescued from the rubble of a hotel destroyed by the earthquake. Dixon was part of a group of mission and relief specialists trapped by the collapse of the Hotel Montana in Port au Prince.

The Rev. Clinton Rabb, 60, a leader in UMC's extensive mission volunteer program, died on Jan. 17 in a Florida hospital of injuries sustained when he, Dixon and the others was trapped for 55 hours in the ruins of Hotel Montana. Dixon was reportedly alive in the hotel ruins on the morning of January 15, but died before he could be rescued.

The Rev. Clinton Rabb

Dixon, Rabb and the Rev. James Gulley, a former missionary and now consultant to UMCOR, were at the hotel for meetings with representatives of other organizations, making plans to improve medical services in Haiti.

“Sam Dixon was a tireless servant of the church of Jesus Christ on behalf of all of us,” said Bishop Joel N. Martinez, interim general secretary of the UMC’s General Board of Global Ministries.”His death is an incalculable loss to Global Ministries, UMCOR and our worldwide ministry of relief to God's most vulnerable children.”

Of Rabb, Martinez said: “Clint Rabb was a tough and fearless advocate for the least and most vulnerable of God’s children. He traveled the world encouraging volunteer ministry in his service on behalf of Christ and the church. He gave his life for others and we celebrate his faithful witness.”

Sunday's Sermon: Not Yours But Yours

Not Yours But Yours

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Well I think I’ve seen it all now. Yep. I’ve seen it all. I have now discovered that if you type the word “overachievers” into a Google search line, the second prompt to emerge from below is Overachievers Anonymous. That’s right – Overachievers Anonymous. The same prompt emerges as number two on Yahoo search engines. Overachievers Anonymous. Interesting, right?

Of course, a group with a name like Overachievers Anonymous must be patterned upon the many incredible, life-altering 12-step programs that have helped more people than can be counted: Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous – the list is a long one. But Overachievers Anonymous? Really? Second prompt? Really? Interesting, right?

You know what else is interesting? Though Overachievers Anonymous is the second prompt on Google and Yahoo, I couldn’t find a national group called Overachievers Anonymous. I tried searching many times with different words! Now granted, there may be one out there in existence somewhere. One article that emerged from my search stated that an author named Carol Orsborne is the founder of Overachievers Anonymous, but I realized quickly that the she founded such a group to be a bit humorous. There are no meetings, no classes, and no fundraisers. There’s no real national group or national 12-step program for Overachievers.

But you know, maybe there should be! There are probably a lot of overachievers in the world who need help these days. And clearly, there are enough people out there to search for Overachievers Anonymous – enough to make it the number two search prompt when you type the word “Overachievers” into a search engine. Maybe there’s a market for this. Maybe Carol Orsborne should have gotten serious!

Because isn’t that an issue these days – overachieving? After all, the majority of us in this room were born into the Millennial Generation, the generation of people born from 1980 to the present day. And if there’s ever been an overscheduled, overachieving generation, I think it would have to be this one. I just wonder. . . how many of us – and how many children today – are shuffled back and forth from this activity to that activity, from this opportunity to achieve to that opportunity to show our stuff? If there’s ever been a generation that was taught to go, go, go – push, push, push – fill up the calendars – and achieve, achieve, achieve, I think it’s the Millennial Generation. We’re all adults now, so we’re not quite shuffled off to piano lessons, soccer, dance, and basketball, but we probably do know very well what it means to face the pressures to achieve. It wasn’t long ago that many of you applied for college or graduate school. And some of you have applied for jobs. I’m sure you felt the pressures of being that well-rounded individual – the one who could achieve and do just about anything. Maybe sometimes you felt up to the challenge. And maybe at other times, you felt like you’d never be good enough - you’d never make the cut.

I wonder how all of this has affected our understanding of our abilities? And how does it determine what we think about our sense of worth? Do we determine our worth by grades or by what we can put on a resume? Do we feel confident – displaying our talents for everyone to see us and praise us? Or in the process, do we sometimes feel unconfident? I mean, even if we’re pressured to be overachievers, aren’t there always over-over-achievers? Can we measure up to those people? And if we’re afraid we can’t, do sweep our abilities under a rug because we don’t think they would be valued or important? And an important question emerges: If we think our abilities are about us - how good we are or how not-good-enough we are - do we recognize our gifts as well. . .gifts?

That is a good question, isn’t it? Do we recognize our gifts as the gifts they are? If we’re a generation of overachievers – if we’ve been taught that value comes in and through achievement, what we can do and how well we can do it – doesn’t that make our abilities about us? I mean, when we’re on top of our game – when our grades are stellar and our resumes polished – we might begin to see our abilities and talents as possessions, things that we own. We might begin to see them as tools for our own self-promotion. Or instead of using them outwardly, we might simply use them inwardly. We might begin to lean on them for ourselves to build an understanding of self-worth that’s based what we can do rather than who we are.

That might work for us for a while, until we fail. And we’ll all apt to fail at some time or another. When I was in college, on the verge of graduating in a matter of weeks, I failed at something – miserably failed at something - and it affected me for a good while. I went to music school at the University of Louisville. I was raised to be an overachiever. I had an impeccable transcript as far as grades were concerned. I was a leader among my classmates. Sounds pretty good, right? But when I went to sing in my last jury ever (By the way, A jury is a performance final for musicians. In my case it was singing in front of a bunch of vocal teachers) I had felt confident that day as I was rehearsing my music. But then I got a phone call ten minutes before I had to perform. It was someone calling from my restaurant job. “Do you know you’re supposed to be at work right now?” I panicked. Though I never, ever worked during the day (who knows how I got on the schedule?) I freaked out. It wasn’t my fault, but I’m an overachiever right? I have to be perfect, and I wasn’t at work!

So in my state of being freaked out, apparently I was just barely under the pitch for my whole jury. Ouch, right? I didn’t even know it! But I found out that I had failed my jury a few days later. Literally, completely failed it! Thankfully, instead of giving me an F on my transcript, they decided to give me an S for satisfactory. They didn’t want to ruin that impeccable grade average. But that experience really affected me!

Do you know how it affected me? I then convinced myself that I was a terrible singer. For a good while, I was terrified to sing solo in any situation. So you know what I did? I swept that gift under the rug for longer than a year. In the overachieving pressures that affected me, I probably did look at my gift for singing as a possession. I wouldn’t have thought about it that way at the time, but I used my ability to promote myself. And then, in moment I failed, I threw the gift away . . . as if it were mine to through away.

It wasn’t. It isn’t. That gift – and all of our gifts – are simply that, gifts! David Roth, my surrogate father, used to say something to me from time to time that always stuck with me (He was actually quoting the Apostle Paul). He would ask: What do you have that you have not received?

Wow. Good question. What do you have that you have not first received? This life – these abilities, these talents, these moments, they are all sheer gift to us. We don’t own them. We’re fortunate that they flow through us. But they don’t stop with us as if they were our possessions. They flow through us – through us and beyond us, because that’s the point. Your gifts don’t belong to you. But they do belong to you, or if you don’t mind me being a bit colloquial, they belong to ya’ll.

So what does this have to do with the Corinthians? A lot actually. The Corinthians weren’t Millennials, but they were caught up on overachieving, though perhaps in a different way. If you read Paul’s entire letter to the Corinthians, you can see that there was a lot of division, infighting, and one-up-ing within this 1st century community. Some of the Corinthians had come to see themselves as experts on spiritual matters, especially some who seemed to be spiritual overachievers. In several places in the letter, we read that certain members of the community were speaking in tongues, and this ability seemed to be so highly regarded, that the speaking-in-tongues-people seemed to move up in the hierarchy of respect and power. Now if a 1st century Corinthian walked in this door and started speaking in tongues, it would probably give us the willies, you know, freak us out a little bit. But in the Corinthian community, it was a sign of deep spirituality. They weren’t speaking human languages at all (not like the apostles and Christian leaders did on the day of Pentecost). It seems that they were speaking a language to God that was purely spiritual in some way. Paul called it “the tongues of angels.”

Paul had some things to say about this situation. First of all, he starts out this portion of the letter with a bit of irony. He says, “Now concerning spiritual things, I don’t want you to be ignorant. . .” These people who were speaking in tongues probably saw themselves as the Corinthian overachievers who knew all about spiritual matters. He goes on to tell them that all Christians are blessed with gifts that are needed – not just these super-visible overachievers. In fact, it’s a gift to even be able to say, “Jesus is Lord.” All Christians are gifted even in a simple confession that is really anything but simple. We can’t even take credit for what we believe. The Spirit is behind that too. We’re gifted more than we know.

And so Paul seems to be saying to the Corinthians, “These gifts aren’t possessions. They aren’t yours.” He writes, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” They come from God. They aren’t yours. But by the grace of God, they are yours. They belong to you collectively. Paul writes, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Hmm. . . common good. Stop worrying about being overachievers. Your community and your world need your gifts. Stop being overachievers. You need the gifts of your community and your world.

So in his letter, Paul tells these people who are gifted with the ability to speak in tongues that they shouldn’t speak this way in worship unless there is a person who is gifted to interpret what they’re saying. This gift is for the common good. What do you have that you have not received? And what do you have that should not be shared to build up everyone?

So let’s get back to us: What do you have that you have not received? And what do you have that must be shared to build up everyone? How can you use your gifts this semester in ministry at Austin Agape – for us, and for the world? How can you receive the gifts of others this semester – for us, and for the world?

Good questions. Let’s do something a bit ‘hands on’ tonight. We could probably sit around here tonight, and each one of us could say, “Hi. I’m So-in-So, and I strive to be an overachiever.” And in our meeting of Overachievers Anonymous, we’d probably respond, “Hi, So-in-So.” But instead of getting in that rut, let’s make a sermon together. Up here, we have a long sheet of paper. There are markers too. I’m going to invite all of us to come up here and write down the gifts you see in this community. You can write down your own gifts. You can write down the gifts you see in others. What does this community have that it has not first received? We has received a myriad of gifts. What does this community have that must be shared to build up everyone? Again, a myriad of gifts. How is the Spirit here? Let’s take about three minutes to write them down. . .

-Renee Roederer, Campus Minister, and the Austin Agape Community

Woo, Woo! Texas!!!!

The University of Texas (Woo!) plays the University of Alabama tonight in the BCS Championship 2010. Our students, as you might imagine, are full of excitement as their team prepares to play in Pasadena in a few hours.

Go Longhorns!



Actually, two of our students were fortunate to travel to Pasadena for the game!



Drew Gerdes was fortunate to win the LOTTERY to go!











And Jared just simply couldn't miss it!







Have fun in Pasadena!

The Cold Approaches!

Terry Cole, missionary for Street Youth Ministry, has contacted us because the street-dependent youth and young adults he works with are going to need items to keep warm as Austin enters a cold weather alert. Here is what he has to say:

Record cold weather is on its way to Austin! Street Youth Ministry (SYM) is activating our cold weather protocol Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights in Austin. The temperature is expected to drop rapidly Wednesday, and it will be bitterly cold Thursday and Friday. We need your help.

-- Those of you in Austin, please see below for items needed. Click this link to let me know what you'll be doing and to learn where to drop-off items.

-- No matter where you are, please pray for these days to pass easily-Austin doesn't do cold weather often or easily. Each year we lose some street-dependent folks to cold weather like this in Austin.

-- If you prefer to make a donation to support this effort, you can donate on-line and you can specify cold weather in the comment.

What is needed?

• Warm clothing (adult sized, but pretty much anything works).
• Hats and gloves will be in high demand.
• Blankets and sleepings bags. Wet is expected (sleet/rain).
• Sandwiches and snacks (rich in calories to keep their body temperature up)
• Hot chocolate packages, teas, and hot beverage paper cups (you feel the warmth better through them). We'll keep piping hot water in an igloo to serve it with.
• (We already have bottles of water. People need as much hydration in the extreme cold as the heat.)
• (We already have a lot of Bibles to pass out. Reading helps pass the time.)
• Bus passes (24 hours passes allow you to get on busses and ride all night)

Some extra helpers are needed, also:

• One person each day to move donations each afternoon from Covenant Presbyterian Church to my house.
• One or two person to go with me each night. Meet at my house to load up and so we can do training.

Click this link to let me know what you'll be doing and to learn where to drop-off items. We don't have a lot of storage, so anything left after this event will be donated to Lifeworks. We maintain a great relationship!

What will SYM do?

SYM will go down at dusk each night to the UT drag area. We will pass out whatever is available. Using our client web (MySpace), we are warning people to get ready and find a place to be inside for the next 3 or 4 days. On Wednesday night, we will tell everyone it's going to get worse and that they need to spend all day Thursday working on a night-time solution. We will inform anyone under 24 to go to Lifeworks. We will inform anyone over 24 that they can go to the ARCH to be bussed to a church overnight. We will make available whatever we have to support the young street-dependent people in the UT area.

Isn't there a shelter they can go to?

What will happen to the young street-dependent people? First, as many as possible will be encouraged Wednesday to call a friend and sleep on a floor or couch, if at all possible. Those under 24 have the option to spend the night at Lifeworks cold weather shelter. Those over 24, have only two remaining choices: brave it outdoors or go to the ARCH to be processed and bussed to an unknown cold weather shelter all over the city (usually in a church). We encourage them to go to the ARCH but there are so many unknowns that the young people often choose to brave it outdoors.

Please Pray for their safety.

Sermon: Lost In Translation

John 1:1-18

We've probably all heard the phrase "lost in translation." Taken literally, "lost in translation" is a phrase referring to cultural references that lose their significance during translation from one language to another. That's one reason Presbyterian seminarians are required to study the scriptures in their original languages. But the phrase also applies more broadly whenever something essential is left out, overlooked or misunderstood. In recent years, that phrase has appeared as the title of a novel, a memoir, a poem and a movie. Well, this phrase - lost in translation - comes to mind with regard to our scripture reading this morning. The prologue of John's Gospel is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Yet time and again an essential feature of the prologue tends to be overlooked, lost in translation.

It's not that we overlook John's poetic style. It's clear to us that, while Matthew and Luke begin their gospels with straightforward storytelling, John's beginning is more poetry than prose. He uses highly charged metaphors and symbols to convey the cosmic significance of Jesus' birth. We don't have to be literary geniuses to appreciate how John's prologue soars with lofty, poetic language.

And we get the fact that John's prologue introduces many of the themes that he will develop in the rest of the Gospel. The prologue gives us an outline of what will follow. Words that are so prominent in the prologue - words such as "light and darkness," "life," "glory" and "truth" will recur later. Also, Jesus' earthly ministry - his rejection, suffering, and death - are anticipated in these initial verses by the testimony of John the Baptist and the advance notice that the world will reject its own true light. So the fact that the prologue gives us a rough outline for John's ensuring Gospel is not lost on us.

Neither are we totally oblivious to the way John introduces his Gospel with themes from the Bible and Greek philosophy. His very first words - "In the beginning" - echo the creation story in Genesis. John dips into the Wisdom writings in scripture by speaking of the Word as the personification of God's Wisdom. In addition, when John speaks of "the Word," - or 'logos,' in Greek - he's tapping into a concept that was widely employed in Greek philosophy. This is why the early church father, John Chrysostom, declared that John's prologue explores terrain that "the disciples of Plato and Pythagoras also inquired into." We may not fully understand all the biblical and philosophical imagery John employs in his prologue, but we accept how he waves together some key biblical themes with concepts that were popular in the philosophies of that day.

Furthermore, it's no mystery to us that Jesus is the focus of John's prologue. John leaves no doubt that the world's true light has come into the world, and he lets us know who that light is. John makes the stupendous claim that everything God intended for creation, everything that human beings should be has come to life in the person of Jesus Christ. According to John, the knowledge of God is beyond the realm of human perception. Only one who comes from God, who knows the heart of God can make God known. And Jesus, John declares, is that one. Everyone who reads the prologue is struck by the unique and eternal significance given to Jesus. He reveals to us the glory of God, the purpose of God, and especially the love of God. Even a cursory reading will make clear that John is proclaiming Jesus Christ as the world's true light that enlightens everyone.

What then is often missed when we read John's prologue? What tends to get lost in translation? In a word - we do. We tend to lose our place in the story of God's incarnation in Jesus Christ. At Christmas we enjoy hearing about the parts played by the shepherds, Mary and Joseph, the Magi and so on. We joyfully proclaim the birth of Christ and the hope that has come into the world through him. Yet in our telling of the Christmas story, very often the role assigned to us gets lost in translation. Listen again to what John says. "To all who receive him, who believe in his name, he gives power to become children of God." Isn't that the piece of the Christmas story we so often overlook? We don't take into account John's assertion that Jesus is not alone in this word-made-flesh business. No, Jesus came to summon disciples, who will join with him in making real God's healing and saving purpose.

To be honest, the crisis within Christianity today is that all too often the love, compassion, hospitality, and peace that were incarnate in Jesus aren't seen in his followers. God's intention for humankind, so clearly seen in Jesus, is often lost as it is conveyed - translated - through the lives of those who claim to be his followers.

So before the Christmas season slips into the past, let's recover our role. As children of God, we are empowered to put flesh on the words we speak. Only when we act on them do our words become flesh. It's one thing to talk about hospitality, but hospitality is just a word until a congregation makes it real by speaking to strangers in a way that makes them feel welcomed and at home. Service is an abstract concept until it puts on skin and shows up in a hospital room, a prison cell or a neighbor's doorstep. Justice is nothing more than a lofty ideal until it becomes flesh in those who speak out for, and work on behalf of, the oppressed.

The theologian, educator and civil rights leader Howard Thurman makes this point in what he calls the work of Christmas. He writes: "When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christ begins - to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among others, to make music in the heart."

So friends, to summarize: When we read John's prologue, we appreciate the beauty of his poetic style. We admire the way he uses the prologue as an introduction to his entire gospel. We understand his effort to use language and concepts familiar to his Hellenistic audience. And we are edified by his portrayal of Jesus as the world's true light. But before we close the book on Christmas, let's not allow our part in the story to get lost in translation. The Word became flesh so that we might become children of God through whom the love and justice of God is made known.

May the grace and truth of God become flesh in each one of us today and throughout this New Year.

-San Williams, Senior Pastor at UPC