Kerri Parker's sermon from March 13th 2011http://www.archive.org/download/McfarlandUnitedChurchOfChristSermonMarch062011/20110306_sermon.mp3 

McFarland United Church of Christ Sermons

Sermon from March 13th 2011

Pastor Kerri Parker's sermon at the McFarland United Church of Christ on April 24th 2011 (Easter)“In Their Own Words: Mary Magdalene”Rev. Kerri Parker, McFarland UCCEaster Sunday (April 24, 2011)John 20:1-18“Why are you weeping?” they asked me.As if the simple fact that I was a woman standing alone by a grave in that lonely hour before thesunrise, weren’t enough.I could have given them any number of answers.It wasn’t just those horrible last hours that had me weeping. That was just the beginning ofwhat had me aching inside.My dearest friend, teacher and guide, was gone.Our community, this family that we built, was scattered and grieving. One of our own hadbetrayed us – had betrayed him.Once, we had hope. Once, we were a community. A people. A movement. Our lives hadmeaning, and purpose.And now we were no people. We were alone. I was alone.Why was I weeping? There were millions of answers to that question.But the biggest one was this: someone had taken Jesus’ body. His body was missing. I realizehow absurd that sounds, but it’s true: when I arrived, the stone was gone, the tomb was open.The tomb was as empty as my hopes and dreams were, that morning. His body was missing. Itwas an extra layer of grief, on top of what was already so difficult to bear.And then again, “Why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”Why mock a grieving woman?“Who are you looking for?” Just the one person who could take away this pain, who couldmake the world right again. The one person who called us out of our daily routines, the onewho gave our lives meaning.--“Who are you looking for?” It was one of his favorite questions. Right up there with “What areyou looking for?” or “Why are you looking for me?”He said that to his parents, in the temple, when he was just a young thing, and they werefrantic with worry at having lost him. “Why are you looking for me, didn’t you know I’d behere, in my Father’s house?” And you’d want to clutch him to you, hold on for dear life, andsay, “don’t you ever wander away like that again! I thought we had lost you forever!”He said it to John’s disciples, when they started tagging along behind him. “What are youlooking for?” They didn’t quite know how to answer. How can you put words to thisindefinable longing? This sense that things aren’t quite right, that there’s something missing.Once you were certain you were on the right path, and then, not. So you stutter and stammerand finally spit out a question, instead of an answer. “Where are you staying?” As if it weresuddenly of the utmost importance to know, so he doesn’t sneak away from you in the middleof the night, before you have a chance to know him.We were all afraid of losing him, from the very beginning. We were all afraid of losing him,because he helped us see the hole in our hearts that God was just waiting to enter. He had atendency toward risk-taking. He was so sure of himself. So he’d walk up and ask the disarmingquestion. “What are you seeking?” And suddenly, you’d be spilling your heart out to him.“I’m seeking healing,” they would say. Or “fellowship,” or “truth,” or “forgiveness.”He saw the beauty in us that we were afraid to see. He looked right through our rough edgesand imperfections and saw us as beloved children of God. He treated people with honor,embraced them as companions – even people like you, and like me! You didn’t need anyspecial qualification to walk with him, just a willingness to open your heart.“What are you looking for?” That’s what I was looking for. That’s who I was looking for. TheOne who paid attention to the important things. The one who encouraged us to live with everyfiber of our being. The One who poured himself out for us, who told us to love one another,who showed us that there was something more to live for.I ached to have him back, and yet it was impossible. Dead is dead. So I was weeping in theGarden, that morning, because not only had we lost him, but we had lost him. He was dead,and his body had gone missing, and there was nothing certain in the world anymore.--Tears running down my face, I asked the gardener, “Where have you laid him?” It mattered,deeply. I wanted to care for him, in the way that he had cared for us. I didn’t know who thisgardener was, but at that moment, I was reaching out for something, anything.And that moment was when the world righted itself again. “Mary,” he said. It was Jesus! Hespoke my name. He spoke my name and it echoed in my soul. It splashed into my thirsty spirit,carrying with it joy, and confidence, and certainty. He was alive!--“Why are you crying?” “Where have you laid him?” “What do you seek?”In a world full of questions, there is so much we do not know. There is so much that lies out ofour control. We are tempted to isolate ourselves, build up barricades around what we have,live in fear of what we have to lose, pretend perfection.But Jesus is alive. And that opens up all sorts of possibilities.Maybe – more than maybe – the dead places inside you don’t have to stay dead.Maybe - more than maybe - it’s okay to let yourself be vulnerable. Maybe it’s okay to say youdon’t have it all under control. Maybe – more than maybe – it’s okay to let go of whateveryou’re carrying. To ask for help, healing, forgiveness. It is not your burden to bear alone.Maybe - more than maybe - it’s okay to dream. To imagine a world in which this is not all thereis. To throw an armful of God’s promises up in the air and watch them flutter down like ashower of blessings on your shoulders and your head and your nose and around your feet. It isa joy to be shared, to be scooped up and poured out, over and over again.Maybe – definitely more than maybe – goodness is stronger than evil. Love is stronger thanhate. Light is stronger than darkness. And life is stronger than death.I know the one you are looking for. I know his name. I know he lives.Jesus is alive. I have seen the Lord. Alleluia! Praise God.Amen.http://www.archive.org/download/McfarlandUccSermonApril24th2011/MUCC_Sermon_20110424.mp3 

McFarland UCC Sermon April 24th 2011 (Easter)

Pastor Kerri Parker's March 21st sermon at the McFarland United Church of Christhttp://www.archive.org/download/McfarlandUnitedChurchOfChristSermonFromMarch21st2011/MUCC_sermon_20110321.mp3 

McFarland United Church of Christ Sermon From March 21st 2011

http://archive.org/download/MuccSermonApril29th2012/MUCC_Sermon_20120429.mp3 

MUCC Sermon April 29th 2012

http://www.archive.org/download/MuccSermon20120108/MUCC_Sermon_20120108.mp3 

MUCC Sermon 20120108

Kerri Parker's sermon from March 6th 2011http://www.archive.org/download/McfarlandUnitedChurchOfChristSermonMarch062011/20110306_sermon.mp3 

MUCC Sermon March 6th 2011

Acts 2: 1-12As most of you know, I have been enrolled in Lay Academy for the past 3 years. For those that do not knowwhat Lay Academy is; the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ hosts a Lay Academyprogram, offering courses of study to pastors and lay people who seek to: deepen their faith, strengthenChrist's church, and grow in spiritual maturity.We meet five weekends per year at the Wisconsin Conference Center in DeForest and are usually led byinstructors from various Seminaries or specialists in that subject's particular field. It is a fantastic program andI highly recommend it.I have learned much from my Lay Academy experience. It has been quite a journey so far. From the firstclass on Theology where I was so afraid these classes would be way over my head to my most recent class onEvangelism. My faith has been tested, stretched and has grown more than I could have ever imagined.During our class on the Old Testament we were introduced to the term “exegesis. This Greek word, means acritical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. We were taught that through exegesiswe were to look at the historical background and ask questions to discover the meaning, surrounding the textand how we can use this today. Well, lets give this a shot.So what is the historical background to today's text? Pentecost is historically and symbolically related to theJewish harvest festival of Shavuot , which commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments to the people,fifty days after the Exodus. Among Christians, Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit uponthe Apostles and other followers of Jesus. For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes described as the "Birthdayof the Church".Let's keep that in mind, the “Birthday of the Church”.So what happened to this “Jesus Movement” after the death and departure of it's founder? What were thedisciples going to do? How would they go on without their leader? All along they had displayed fear andhad questioned what they should do next. They must have felt totally lost and afraid, but as they had beeninstructed by Christ, they prayed and waited.Acts, chapter 2 opens up and it says “they were all together in one place”. This was for the celebration ofthe 50th day after the Passover when the Jewish pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate God's graciousprovisions of harvested food, land and Torah.Who was there? Verse 13 of Acts 1 says, “Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All thesewere constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women including Mary the mother ofJesus as well as his brothers.”What exactly were they really doing? Waiting and probably wondering. What were they waiting for? In Luke24: 49 Jesus says, “so stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” In Acts chapter 1verse 8 Jesus also tells the disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you andyou will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.After hearing Jesus say these words in many different ways, they must have been convinced because theywaited.Waiting. Now, how many of you like to wait? Like a child, waits for their birthday to arrive, or worseyet...Christmas to arrive? Waiting for a loved one to come home, that you haven't seen for a very long time.For the traffic light to turn green so you can go. For a baby to arrive. We all spend a good share of our liveswaiting. Sometimes we do it patiently. Sometimes, not so much. How do you think the disciples were atwaiting? Were they patient? Did they wonder what this power was that they were promised they wouldreceive? How would the Holy Spirit come to them? What do you think this would this feel like? Or looklike? But alas, all they could do was wait.Our texts describes the Holy Spirit as “the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where theywere sitting and that tongues of fire appeared among them and rested on each of them. They were filled withthe Holy Spirit.Now, how would you expect the Holy Spirit to arrive? Tiptoe quietly in? Nah, I suspect that there were a fewof those disciples that would have needed to be convinced. Probably Thomas for one.What a fearsome sight this must have been. A wild violent wind whipping through the room and red flamesdancing over their heads. Not a sight you see every day.Then to make things even more interesting, they began speaking in other languages. Why was this? Wellthe Holy Spirit had now given the disciples the tools to share the good news of God, through witnessing (orevangelism). This was for ALL people, even from other nations. What an inspiring sight this must havebeen. It WAS the Birthday of the Church. Because of their witnessing, these Jews of other nations, becamebelievers and now followers too.Now that you think about it, it seems that time has not changed this practice over the years on how we too cangrow the church.This text for today reports a miracle that is often overlooked because it is not as flashy as most. No one ishealed. No one is raised from the dead. No one has a demon driven out. No one's water is turned to wine. Noones sees a storm stopped by Christ's command. What we do see is that every person gathered in Jerusalemheard the Word of God in their own language. How was this done? Thru the Holy Spirit giving the disciplesand even us, the gift of Evangelism.This miraculous story reminds us that to hear God's Word we have only to open our ears, for God speaks God'sWord to all people, in all places for all times though the power of the Holy Spirit.How do we speak to the guests that come into our church? How do we speak to the people outside thesedoors? Do we speak their language? When the Holy Spirit is present, we speak the language needed, for themto understand. Just like the disciples who now were speaking the same language to the devout Jews of othernations. It's the sharing and receiving of the Good News that is Evangelism and that in turn will grow thechurch.Oh, and there's that word that has so many connotations. Did you hear it?...Evangelism. What thoughts cometo your mind? TV evangelism? Someone pushy? Tent Revivals? Knocking on doors? In your face?How about this; A messenger that brings the Good News of God, an Angel, Testimony, Acceptance,Relationships, Love.Have you ever experienced a Pentecost or Evangelism moment? I'm sure most of you have and didn't realizeit. It was maybe a time when you shared something about your faith with someone or maybe someone sharedsomething about their faith with you? It is indescribable what can happen. You may not see tongues of firebut you certainly will feel something. And that's the Holy Spirit.Let me give you an example. Some of you were present the Sunday when Ryan Krattiger shared his journey offaith through his travels to Juarez and his experience with the ACT Ride. We were all pulled into that momentas he spoke. We were sharing in his experience. At that moment, the church was alive with the Holy Spirit.We all felt it, in fact most of us were actually brought to tears. The love, relationship, the message.For myself, I can say that I have recently been so fortunate to be on the receiving end of some inspiringmoments in this church during our Fellowship time. I've witnessed some beautiful faith stories that havebeen shared with me. I wish I could sit down with each one of you and hear your faith journey, for being onthe receiving end, is truly feeling the Holy Spirit at work. I have found, after these experiences, that I leavechurch feeling like I'm walking on a cloud all day. Now, that is what church is all about and I feel like I wantto share it with everyone. It is such an infectious emotional feeling.Our Fellowship time is a time for sacred moments such as these. It's an opportunity to share with others. Tofeel the Holy Spirit at work. Experience it and then to take it out beyond our doors and share it with others.You may have noticed, a little slip of paper in each of your bulletins. On your slip of paper is one of 8statements that can be used to start a conversation with someone. I'd like to encourage you to try talking tosomeone during Fellowship time today talking about what your slip of paper says, and then listen to what storyyou hear back. Wait until you see what happens. I think you will be surprised. Evangelism is so easy and therewards are huge. Give it a try.Christ may have died on the cross and rose again on Easter morning, but without Pentecost, our Easter storywould have eventually become a forgotten memory. When Christ had left he promised to send the Holy Spiritin his place; to guide, teach, comfort and remind us of who we are and who's we are. Share that good newstoday with someone and see what happens. Happy Birthday! Amen.http://www.archive.org/download/MuccSermonJune12th2011/MUCC_Sermon_20110612.mp3 

Jean Duchrow's Sermon on June 12th 2011

http://archive.org/download/MuccSermonMarch11th2012/MUCC_Sermon_20120311.mp3 

MUCC Sermon March 11, 2012

http://archive.org/download/MuccSermonMay21st2012/MUCC_Sermon_20120513.mp3 

MUCC Sermon May 13th 2012

“Shake it up”Rev. Kerri Parker, McFarland UCC______Reformation Sunday (October 30, 2011)Matthew 23:1-13I did a Google search on hypocrisy. Some truly ugly images came up, a decent number aboutpoliticians, but a lot of them about Christians.And Jesus said, “therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do,for they do not practice what they teach.”Ouch.With images like that, is it any wonder that only 17% of people in the U.S. attend church?Really. Seventeen percent. While we’re here in worship, and our friends over at theLutheran church, and Christ the King parish, and the folks up the road at Crossroads Church areworshiping, 83% of the population is doing something else. Away at the cabin, attending roadgames for their kids’ sports, sleeping in, watching a movie on Netflix, having brunch with thefamily, working,…the list of opportunities for your Sunday morning are endless. Even amongour own faith community, our Sunday morning attendance is about half of our membership.We’d like to say we were in church more often than we actually end up in church. This is not aguilt trip. It’s a statement of fact.When I look at these things together – the photos, and the news stories, and the statistics –and then read Jesus’ words, I cringe. Is it any wonder people find better things to do with theirtime? When they don’t see faith making a difference in a person’s life. When they see obviousexamples of hypocrisy in the media. When people who say they are believers act in ways thatare contrary to the teachings of Jesus.Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlikeyour Christ.” Are you really making a God-space in your life if no one can see it makes anydifference?In today’s scripture, Jesus pointed out the behavior of the “religious” folks of his time – thestumbling blocks that made people cynical about religious faith. It was all about having super-wide fringes on a prayer shawl or getting seated at the head table during banquet. In ourtime, we might see these folks slapping Jesus fish magnets on their car, and carrying aroundbig Bibles (the bigger the Bible, the more Christian you are, of course). Claiming churchmembership, and rarely attending. Avoiding the homeless men at the top of State Street onthe way to a protest. Making a nice clean $25 online donation to a friend’s charity walk, andthen blowing $60 on a videogame.In other words, you’d see people like us. The early twenty-first century suburban Christianfor whom – most of the time - Christianity is a condiment, not the main course. One speakerI know puts it this way: Christians have become more comfortable wearing bibs than aprons.Christ’s church has become a place where individuals can come to consume – church dinners,pastoral care, programs, entertainment. We wear bibs; we are more used to waiting to beserved, than serving.Christ offered another vision: a community where people come to be transformed, wherethey learn to live as if God’s heavenly realm were already here, to spread the seeds of theKingdom of God. Christ’s vision was of lives transformed. Communities transformed. Theworld transformed.We follow a savior who shook things up. Who stood against the status quo. There was nothingof status quo in his ministry. Nothing about survival in his ministry. Not so much about goingin, but an awful lot about going out.One of our youth shared with me recently, “I’m not sure I have time for Jesus.” Preach, child.You are saying what we are all thinking. All of us here, and quite possibly, that 83% of peoplewho are doing something else this morning.If Jesus is just a condiment, a little added flavor into my day, he’s not worth my time. If I canfollow Jesus and not change anything else about my life, why follow in the first place? I haveplenty of other things I can do with a Sunday morning.I can give to charity on my own. I can volunteer with any number of organizations, from theHumane Society to the Red Cross to the AIDS Network, without it being one bit about faith.I can shake hands with my opponent on the tennis court and congratulate them on a goodmatch, be a good sport without Jesus entering into the equation. I can sing my heart out in thefall musical to wild applause, and God doesn’t have to be in the house.Hey, you can see all sorts of people claiming that they’re Christian, and it doesn’t make adifference in their life. They can lie, cheat, steal your boyfriend, then participate in the fooddrive; gossip, text message through the movie, leave the doggie doo on the path at the dogpark, and still show up for communion.So why bother?Why give to good causes through the church?Why get up and come here on Sunday morning?Why make time for Jesus?Because despite all the ways we prove ourselves unworthy, God loves us. God forgives us. Godimagines that the world can be different, and invites us to participate. God is on a mission,dragging the future into the present, and God wants us to be part of it.God made us – as imperfect as we are - to shake the world up. We follow Jesus Christ, a shake-it-up savior. We are descendants of the Protestant Reformers, who took on a church that hadgrown stagnant and inward-focused, out-of-touch with the real spiritual needs of those outsideits doors. We are not called to be Christians, following the model of the official religiouspeople, accepting the way things are as the way things will always be. We are called to beChrist-followers, dragging heaven into the world moment by messy moment.Why make time for Jesus?Because people need to hear the God-story over and over and over again. And you can bethe one to offer it. People hear so many terrible messages about themselves: lazy, selfish,technology-obsessed, overeaters, bullies, messed-up, damaged goods, undesirable…. Whenwhat they really need to experience is the simple idea: You are loved. You deserve respect.And I’m not just going to say something about it, I’m going to do something about it. I’m goingto give you the respect you deserve as a child of God.The world needs to see what Christ-followers really look like. Not for your own sense of pride,not for the best seat in the house, not so people can look at you and say, “what a super-religious-person she is.” Practice what Jesus taught. Because somebody needs to stand upand say, “things can be different” and start doing something to make it happen. Jesus said, “letyour light shine.” Put on your apron. Let God shine through you so the people who are facingtheir dark night see something different and reach for it.Make time for Jesus, because God is shaking it up, and that is where you’ll find heaven breakingin. Amen.http://ia700703.us.archive.org/18/items/MuccSermonOct30th2011/MUCC_Sermon_20111030.mp3 

MUCC Sermon Oct 30th, 2011

PresenceRev. Kerri Parker, McFarland UCCTransfiguration B (Feb 19, 2012)Mark 9:2-10It’s been a rough week in the McFarland area. The news has been neither uplifting norinspiring. First, there was the news about a 15-year-old young woman who was abused andstarved for years, found walking down the street just north of here.And then there was the news about one of McFarland’s high school seniors, who took his ownlife.People move to small towns in “nice” Wisconsin to get away from things like this, as if goingsomewhere else would make it all better. We want to turn our faces away from it. We want topretend it doesn’t happen – or at least, not here. It’s something you read in the newspapers,or online, something that happens far away, or at least, a while back.And then a week like this bursts into our consciousness, dragging up memories, dragging upfears, confirming our worst nightmares: we can’t get away from it. It’s enough to make youwant to curl into a ball and retreat from the world. “I can’t,” we say – I can’t take one moreof these stories. I can’t take one more of these terrible things happening. Not one more youthdying out of season. Not one more child being beaten or molested. Not one more persondiagnosed with cancer. No more. Enough.We haven’t invented anything new, in our emotional exhaustion. It’s an ancient struggle.“How long, O Lord?” said the folk who wrote the Psalms. How long must this pain go on? Howlong until you answer the prayers? How long until you turn the world right-side up again?How long until the killing and dying and the beating stop?I like to think that’s the same question that sent Peter and James and John up the mountainwith Jesus. Finally, they must have thought, the secret knowledge we’ve been waiting for.Finally, the answer to the questions we’ve been flinging to the sky for all of our lives. So theywent up the mountain with their teacher. Surely, there’s some magical formula, something hecan say to help us make sense of all this. Make some sense of all these crowds with their painand their suffering, and their raw aching need.Because that’s why you follow Jesus, right? Because you’re convinced that there’s somethingspecial about this guy, because it matters, because there’s something of life-and-death in hiseyes? At first you follow him around because somebody told you it was a good idea. Andthen because you like his company. And then he starts demanding more of you – you startnoticing things. Like the gal at the next desk who has red and puffy eyes, as if she’s been crying;like an increasingly negative series of Facebook posts from someone on your friend list; like theparent struggling to manage their squirmy child; like the folks in the grocery store who startpulling items off of the counter and setting them aside as the total on the cash register creepshigher and higher.You notice these things, and they begin to occupy your attention, and your concern. You don’tknow what to do with them. It’s a lot to hold, and there’s only so much a human heart cancarry. Not one more, Lord, you think. Not one more.And then Jesus asks you to climb the mountain with him. More faith, you think. What I needis more faith. Then it’ll all make sense. So you go up the mountain, looking for this specialreligious experience that will somehow, miraculously, answer all of your unasked questions:“Where were you, God?” “Why, God?“ “How could you do this, God?”Maybe the top of the mountain is a place where you can let go and let God.And instead, you arrive, and hear a voice out of nowhere, “This is my son: listen to him!”Seriously?Someone dies by suicide every 14 minutes. Five children die every day as a result of childabuse. This hour while we’re here in worship, sixteen abuse-related injuries will be inflictedupon children somewhere. A child died here, in this town, this week, by his own hand.Another nearly starved to death.And all you’ve got, God, is “This is my son: listen to him”? As if climbing a mountain andseeing the shining light of an inaccessible God is somehow going to make it all better?The Bible tells us, “they looked around, and they saw no one with them anymore.”No God. No prophets descending from on high. No bright-and-shiny-fixer-upper. Just Jesus.Flesh-and-blood Jesus who eats with them and walks alongside them, who does the tough workof meeting the crowds and healing, and feeding, and forgiving, and proclaiming.The shiny doesn’t come back down the mountain. Just three very confused disciples and theirteacher, who just happens to be the son of the Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth.“Listen to him” isn’t all that God’s got. There’s more than the glory-on-a-hill God we pull out onspecial occasions. There’s more than the “live a good life” self-help guru that we reduce Jesusto. There’s a cross. There’s suffering, and pain, and death – and if you don’t think that’s goodnews, you could be excused. It doesn’t sound like it, but it is.Because God who created heaven-and-earth also showed up in this week’s news: in a cardriving down Sigglekow Road, as a driver who stopped because something didn’t seem right; ina room full of people yesterday at the funeral home to bear witness to the fact that the deathof a young man mattered; and a school full of adults who said “you matter,” over and overagain this week to young people who desperately needed to hear it. And God was there in thatbasement, and God was there in that house, and God was there with every bitter tear that hasbeen shed, and there with every question, “My God, my God, where are you?”We’re not the only ones saying, “Not one more.”Not one more, says God. I will set my face toward the pain, says God, and I will not look away.And I will go there myself, says God, and I will enter into it. And I will allow myself to bevulnerable, and I will love my children, and I will suffer for them, and alongside them.At first you follow Jesus because somebody said it would be a good idea. Then because heseems to offer solid moral and ethical advice. And one day you realize, there’s more than that.You follow because you realize that the Jesus story is your two-thousand-year-old evidence thatGod shows up.Sisters and brothers, Jesus Christ has called us to follow. We are not called to harden ourhearts, but to enter into the pain of the world. We are sent to bear witness to the pain, andthe truth that God is present, even amid the pain and the terror and ugliness that is the work ofhuman hands.Because while there are still Pharaohs, God will need Moses. And while there are still Ninevahs,God will need Jonahs. While there are still palaces, God will need Esthers. While the world isstill in pain, God of Mercy still needs healers and truth-tellers and Christ-followers.This is God’s son. Hear what he is saying.Amen.http://www.archive.org/download/MuccSermon20120219/MUCC_Sermon_20120219.mp3 

MUCC Sermon February 19th 2012

“Whose Image? God’s Image!”_Rev. Kerri Parker, McFarland UCC18th Sunday after Pentecost (October 16, 2011)Matthew 22:15-22The first presidential campaign I had any substantial interest in was the 1992 Clinton campaign.James Carville, a political strategist, was hired to keep everyone “on message.” He posted asign in campaign headquarters to remind everyone of that message: (1) Change vs more of thesame (2) The economy, stupid (3) Don’t forget health care. Point number two morphed into apopular catchphrase: “It’s the economy, stupid.” It was a phrase that caught our imagination,and a message that may well have won the election.Twenty years later, there’s a lot that has changed, and a lot that has stayed the same.Commentators on CNBC might be saying, “It’s the Dow Jones Industrial Average, stupid.” Somecongresspersons say, “It’s the deficit, stupid.” Those who are long-term unemployed maysay, “It’s the jobs, stupid.” The youth and young adults with five-figure student loan balancesand no employment prospects, who are protesting nationwide alongside aging hippies andWorld War Two veterans and union members, trying to raise awareness of how the financialtitans have stacked the deck against ninety-nine percent of our country’s population, aresaying, “It’s Wall Street, stupid!”What do these all have in common? Money. We hang an awful lot of angst on the economy,on money, on making a living, on making do. Last week, we discussed how sometimes, ouraccount balances can become idols. In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus faces a challenge fromthe Pharisees and supporters of King Herod. What does it appear to revolve around? Money.Money – the topic that is publicly off-limits, but always on our minds. “They” say it’s not goodmanners to talk about money, it’s gauche, it’s not discussed in polite society. Or maybe youwere raised to not let people know how little you had. Maybe your employer says employeesare not supposed to discuss pay. Maybe you postpone opening your mail – willfully ignoring itsexistence because you can’t face one more bill (which may or may not be overdue). Money –financial resources - is the topic that comes up in the Bible thousands of times.And it’s also not the point of this passage.The money is a convenient vehicle to hang our anxiety on, to divert our attention from deepermatters.It happens when Jesus plants himself firmly in the seat of civil and religious power and daresthem to ignore him. The way Matthew tells it, this coin incident takes place during Holy Week.Sitting in the temple courtyard, Jesus is teaching. The Pharisees send their close followers, andsome of King Herod’s groupies, to ask Jesus a trick question. Starting with some praise, theymove on to the question of whether it is acceptable, under Jewish law, for Jews to pay taxes tothe emperor.This is not a question of tax relief from the IRS. This was about a fundamental values conflictbetween the life of faith and the political realm. This is a no-win question. Jesus answers, “yes,it’s acceptable to pay taxes” – and he’s unmasked as an incompetent rabbi, incompetentteacher, not worth following. Because Roman coins proclaimed, on one side, the divinity ofCaesar. Caesar is God, according to Roman values. In using those coins, in carrying themaround with you, you might as well be uttering blasphemy, if you’re a deeply observant Jew.“Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” “I am the Lord your God, who broughtyou up out of Egypt, you shall have no other gods before me.” Big problem.On the other hand, Jesus could say, based on fundamental precepts of Jewish law, “no,absolutely not, this is blasphemy, a good Jew shouldn’t bow down to an Emperor, in anyway, even by using his money.” At which point, somebody would tattle back to the Romanauthorities, and then he’d be in deep trouble – because refusal to pay taxes identifies him withJewish zealots and rebels, violent sects who are subverting the empire, and you know thatthings never end well for ragtag mobs who challenge Rome.It’s not about the money. It’s about the power.I’m not instigating a revolt against the IRS or the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Nor am Icalling you to go out and participate in “Occupy Wall Street” or “Occupy Madison” – althoughif you did, I’d bless you on your way. I think you might find Jesus there among the unwashedmasses holding the sidewalk, making room for hope in the midst of despair.Really, this about power – do you bow to the might of Rome, or do you forcefully resist? Doyou keep paying your taxes into the system like a good subjugated population ought to – or doyou align yourself with the fringe elements who are aiming for revolution?Jesus, as always, opted for Door #3. He answered the real question, not the false either-orsituation he was presented with. Fundamentally, the question that Jesus answered that daywas an ancient one. Earlier than the Roman conquest of the Holy Land, earlier than the nationof Israel arriving in the Holy Land, earlier than Moses receiving the law on the mountaintop -before nations, before cities, before taxation and before tributes. It goes all the way back tofirst things.From the book of Genesis: “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be likeus.”Ah.Whose image? God’s image.It’s not about what you pay, what you spend, what you carry around in your pocket.It’s about whose imprint you bear.Do you have clothes or accessories with a corporate logo today? What does that mean? Whydo the logos get bigger and bigger as a design element? They want us to know who made theseitems – because if we like it, we might want to imitate it, and we might want to know where toget it.Jesus gets it. He knows what they’re up to, the power games they’re playing. And so heanswers the question behind the question. Is Caesar’s imprint on the coin? Then it belongsto Caesar. And it can be issued by Caesar and repaid to Caesar and circulated by Caesar, andwithdrawn by Caesar.But whose imprint are you wearing? Who has placed their mark on you? Is it God’s Holy Spirit,by the waters of baptism? Was it Jesus Christ, God-with-us, changing your life? Was it theGreat Creator of all that is, who knew you even before you were born?God who created you, and saves you, and sustains you. God, whose imprint is in every fiber ofyour being, in your DNA, in those intangible elements that also make you, you. Your laughter,your tears, your passions, your gifts. Whose imprint to you bear, every day and night of yourlife? God’s.“Let us make humankind in our image, to be like us.” When someone is walking around in theworld looking for someone, something to imitate, they have so many options. Imagine if theysaw the imprint of God in the way you live your life – and they chose to imitate that. Imagineif they saw the imprint of God in the choices you make, and started asking questions. “Why doyou do that?” “It’s a Jesus thing.”Who gave the gift? God. To whom do we owe the gift? God. Who will call the gift back home,at the end of its days? God.Offer up to God, that which bears the imprint of God.Whose image? God’s image.Amen.http://www.archive.org/download/McfarlandUccSermonOct16th2011_34/MUCC_Sermon_20111016.mp3 

MUCC Sermon October 16th

http://www.archive.org/download/MuccSermonMay29th2011/MUCC_Sermon_20110529.mp3 

MUCC Sermon May 29th 2011

http://www.archive.org/download/MuccSermonNovember6th2011/MUCC_Sermon_20111106.mp3 

Sermon from November 6th, 2011

http://archive.org/download/MuccSermonApril15th2012/MUCC_Sermon_20120415.mp3 

MUCC Sermon April 15th 2012

Pastor Kerri Parker's sermons at the McFarland United Church of Christ in McFarland WI

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McFarland United Church of Christ Sermons

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