Category: Sermons

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23     Luke 12:13-21

18^thSunday after Pentecost    

 

They say that you can’t take it with you, but that doesn’t mean that people haven’t tried.  Civil War Confederate Major William Wise was buried with his horse, his favorite hunting dog, and a sword.  He was convinced he was going where he could track down and kill Satan.  Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley took his red guitar, a Bible, and marijuana with him to his grave.  More recently, people are being buried with their cell phone.  During the visitation, friends all call the person.  I wonder if, when the call goes to voice mail, the caller hears the message, “I’ll be right back.”  Some people get so attached to their stuff, it’s hard for them to let go.

This is why self-storage facilities are so popular.  The first modern units appeared in Texas in the 1960’s. Today there are more than double the number of self-storage facilities than there are McDonalds and Starbucks combined. [1]Almost 9% of American households rent a storage unit, and 67% of them live in single homes.  We like to hold onto our “stuff.”

Jesus’ parable in our readings this morning relates the story of a productive farmer.  The farmer has so many crops that he doesn’t know what to do with them.  Then he had the brilliant idea to tear down his barns and build bigger ones.  He was compelled to hold onto his “stuff.”  When would it be enough? This farmer was not planning on sharing his abundance of crops with those who did not have enough to eat.  He didn’t try to sell it and give the money to the poor.  The bigger and better buildings he built would not provide shelter for the homeless.

But having stored up that much food was not simply greed. Having enough for himself for a gazillian years must have given him some sense of security and allayed some of his fears.  I know because I have stacks of an essential paper product in my garage.

Generosity is a gift of the Spirit, and you all are well blessed with that gift! You are extremely generous people!  Our endowment and scholarship funds are growing, and our budget for benevolence is large.  Thank you!  Our financial giving is important!  But these words Jesus speaks are ours, too; Take Care! Be on your guard againstall kinds of greed. Jesus speaks to all kinds of things that we hoard, — forgiveness, love, guilt, power, food, shoes, paper products.  Jesus speaks to the things we store up and cannot let go of, like grudges, prejudice and hate.

What is it that you hold on to?  What do you have trouble letting go of?  Why? Is there an underlying fear involved? The man who approached Jesus told him, which is different than asking him, to settle a dispute. “Tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”  Was the man the younger or the older brother?  Did he want more than his share?  If those kinds of details were important, they would have been shared.  When we talk about money, it is always about more than just money.  If you have ever been part of an estate distribution, it triggers emotions and memories that are rooted in relationships.

The details of this man’s request that are shared reveal that he saw Jesus as a judge, not a savior. He was not interested in a relationship with Jesus based on love and serving.  His interest in Jesus had nothing to do with relationship, or forgiveness or salvation.  He viewed Jesus as the one who would give him what he wanted, even if it was not what he needed.

This son placed his trust in things, not in God.  Jesus responded with a parable that echoed the son’s lack of recognition, let alone gratitude, for all that God had given him.  This man and the farmer in the parable both saw life in terms of what they deserve, and they earn.  The farmer in Jesus’ story envisions the time when he will have piled up enough.  “I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat drink and be merry.’”

A similar phase appears in the book of Ecclesiastes [8:15].  Although they both intended to drink champagne and eat hors d’ouevres, their reasons were different.   The writer of Ecclesiastes, the “Teacher,” assessed the things we have in life as vanity, or better expressed, emptiness or meaninglessness.  He, too, had worked hard and had much. In his search for meaning, he found that working got wearisome, and the search for wisdom brought sorrow.  Pleasure ended up as hollow and unsatisfying. Unlike the son and the farmer, the Teacher recognized that we are not promised tomorrow, and the things for which he worked may end up as someone’s inheritance.

While our reading from Ecclesiastes leaves the writing and us in a state of despair, the verses immediately following, which are not part of our reading, shift perspective. “There is nothing better for mortals,” the Teacher writes, “than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil.  This also, I saw, is a gift from the hand of God, for apart from him, who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” It is God who gives our work, our lives, our pleasure, meaning. Enjoy today what God has given to us, and give thanks.  It is enough.

If you haven’t fallen asleep yet, remember back to the beginning of our sermon  when we recalled Jesus saying, Take Care! Be on your guard againstall kinds of greed.  We don’t need to hoard all the things that we do, — forgiveness, love, guilt, power, food, shoes, or paper products. Whatever that hole is that we are trying to fill can only be filled by our God, who loves us beyond all measure.  We are enough.

~Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin

[1]https://www.simplyss.com/storage-options/self-storage-statistics/web accessed August 1, 2019.

Good morning,

My wife and I have been members of St. Stephen for a little over a year and we have grown spiritually here and love this church more than any we have attended.

I’m pretty old…I’m even older than Pastor Ballentine…but in all of those years and despite attending a number of churches, I don’t think that I have seen so many positive ministries undertaken within a church on behalf of others in the church or in the surrounding community.

Let me give you some examples of ministries at St. Stephen…

Some of the ministries have been large cooperative efforts with other churches and groups in Williamsburg aimed at helping those who are less fortunate.  Our participation with Community of Faith Missions to help shelter and prepare meals for the homeless in Williamsburg is a wonderful ministry that has a huge impact.  Seeing the appreciation those individuals have for a great well-rounded hot meal and a good safe place to sleep after a tough day is a huge reward!

Some of our members work with the FISH program to make sure others in the community have food, clothing and other necessities that they may not otherwise be able to buy for themselves.

Other ministries are very visible and greatly enhance the spirituality of our worship. The Music Ministry within our church is nothing short of amazing.  Thanks not only to Karen but also to the incredible talents of the other musicians in our midst, we are lifted up on a weekly basis.

There are also ministries that we don’t always realize are there…until they are not there, like George Vonderheide keeping the air conditioning going on these hot days, or Chris and Randy Punchard with their Gardening and Lawn Mowing crews that have the outside looking beautiful and manicured each Sunday. And don’t forget the behind the scenes work of those arranging acolyte schedules, usher schedules, lectors, alter guild, communion bread baking, and all the other details that keep our services running so well week after week.  And Reed Nestor keeping us informed with the Quill in our mailboxes each month.

One very successful ministry in our church that has us well known throughout Williamsburg is the Preschool, which continues to provide an excellent early learning experience.   That experience doesn’t just happen….It is carefully nurtured and overseen by the administrator, by the teaching staff, by an advisory board and by the pastors. And I am always delighted to see how well the church turns out to eat at the fundraisers for the school…  Well, maybe a good turnout for food isn’t that surprising…

The College Ministry, coordinated by Pastor Ballentine, has been hugely successful as demonstrated by the beautiful service conducted by our William and Mary Students just before graduation a few weeks ago.  The weekly meals provided to the college students by the good cooks in our congregation also add a great deal to that ministry.

The Health Ministry has the important task of reaching out to those medically challenged in our congregation.  They also help those of us fortunate enough to be in good health, stay that way.

The Social Ministry helps to make our church a home, often supplying wonderful food in times of celebration or in times of bereavement.

There are a number of other ministries I have noted in our church that have made me incredibly proud to be here…

Like the crew led by Harlan Schone that typically builds ramps for shut-ins, but when a house burned down and a man and his ailing wife were left stranded, they “ramped up” their game and built a house instead of a ramp…

Or the members of the church buying new gym shoes for whole classes of school kids that would otherwise have to go without…

Or the large number of volunteers that without fanfare, go and check on shut-ins, often taking communion for those who have not been able to get to church for a while…

Or the goodly number of congregation members who are caretakers for family members in failing health or with various stages of dementia.

The outpouring of love by the congregation in adopting an immigrant family, who otherwise would not have a Christmas last December, and the generosity and thoughtfulness in the gifts they selected for each family member…

I know of one artist in our church who had a recent art show and made a donation to the church for each painting sold…

And how much have we benefitted when experts in our congregation enlighten us with programs such as Nancy Egloff’s presentation on “Tenacity” at Jamestown, or the timely legal insights on immigration law from Sharon Powell.

Needless to say, the caring and the ministries within St. Stephen are endless.

Well, now let me get down to what I particularly want to highlight in our congregation today…

This year, our congregation has reached a great milestone. We at St. Stephen have now been a Stephen Ministry congregation for twenty-five years.

Let’s think about that for a few minutes…

That means that for the last twenty five years, lay members of this congregation, like Kathy, Pete and Alison who were commissioned today, have committed to and completed extensive training in order to help men or women who may be down and struggling.

Those receiving care from a Stephen Minister may have lost a loved one, gone through a divorce, felt lonely or depressed, gone through a major or debilitating illness, lost a job, or may have had some other major challenging life experience.   They may be the caretaker of someone with dementia or failing health.

In such situations, Stephen Ministers in our congregation have met with their care receivers regularly, usually weekly, for months, sometimes even for years, to carry on a supportive, caring, spiritual relationship.  They have helped others through challenges that many of us will have to face at one time or another as we go forward through life.

These woman-to-woman or man-to-man ministries have been caring and thoughtful, free of charge but alwayspriceless.

These ministries are veryconfidential. Even in supervision groups, identifying information or details are not revealed; only non-identifying information that allows each individual to receive the best ministry possible is discussed. Therefore, each care receiver can feel confident in sharing their innermost concerns with their Stephen Minister, knowing that those concerns will remain confidential.

The Pastors and the Stephen Leaders coordinate the Stephen Ministers within the Congregation, and keep the Stephen Ministry going strong.   At St Stephen, Pastor Ballentine, Pastor Griffin and Stephen Leader Jane Wills deserve tremendous credit.  They, with God’s help, have done great work and have helped many individuals by working with and through the Stephen Ministers.

In addition, the many Stephen Ministers who have served our congregation over the years truly have been sent by God.  The Stephen Ministers have great trust placed in them by their care receivers, their pastors, their Stephen Leaders and our congregation.  They truly are given the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Christ and to help many of us in the most difficult times of our lives.  Stephen Ministers are not there to replace psychiatric care or professional counseling but are often a welcome addition to add spiritual support and long-term care through extended challenges.

The care extended by the Stephen Ministers is Christ-centered.  As Jesus prayed according to the Gospel of John, “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.”  He has taught believers in him to go forward with Christ-centered caring relationships in his name.

Congratulations and thanks to all Stephen Ministers of the Congregation for your contributions to this twenty-five year milestone.

Now for the challenge going forward…

We have a job for every adult in the congregation!

Don’t worry!  Not everyone needs to become a Stephen Minister…

However, we do need a few more good men and women to consider becoming Stephen Ministers.

Yes, there is a fairly major time commitment for training, meeting with your care receiver, and for supervision

But the rewards are great…..Most Stephen Ministers would tell you it is one of the most rewarding things they have ever done.

We aren’t necessarily looking for big talkers…..We are looking for good listeners, who can internalize and take to heart what their care receiver is experiencing and provide strength and spiritual support to help with his or her challenges.  But most importantly, we need someone who can reliably be there for him or her in a time of need.

Another task available….

We always need people in the congregation who can sense when things are not right for their friends:  Who can tell when their friends are under stress or duress.   Those friends may be individuals who would greatly benefit from having a Stephen Minister.  If you know of anyone who could be helped by a pastoral visit or possibly having a Stephen Minister, call Pastor Griffin.

And finally, another important task…

If someone suggests to you that you consider getting a Stephen Minister yourself, give it some careful thought.  They probably have looked at you lovingly and have seen you suffering or have seen you alone, possibly dejected.  We men are particularly slow at admitting that we could use a little help.  Be open to your friend’s suggestion.

One last important note about the Stephen Ministry…Of upmost importance to the continued success of the Stephen Ministry is confidentiality.  If you have concerns about a friend and are seeking help, please do so by direct conversation or by phone but not by e-mail or social media.

Again, I congratulate our congregation on this great anniversary and on its many wonderful, large and small, collective and individual, but all caring and heartfelt ministries.

God is with us all.

AMEN

Bill Dichtel

June 2, 2019

 

John 5:1-9    

6^th Sunday of Easter

“Do you want to be made well?” Jesus asked.  I am captivated by this question every time that I read it.  “Do you want to be made well?” These were Jesus’ first words to the sick man lying in the vicinity of the pool.  He had been ill longer than most people were alive.  He was slow to move, and when Jesus spotted him, he was lying down.  Could he even get up?

We with bodies that are fully functional can only imagine the impact of his disability.  Control of bodily functions may be compromised. Personal hygiene is difficult, which leads to other issues such as social isolation. There is no family present in our story, and our unnamed man lamented that he had no friends.   He was highly dependent on others for help.  Holding a job was impossible, so he was also dependent upon the generosity of strangers. The unnamed man was an invalid. In his society, he was viewed as in-valid.

How different are we in our society?  It was not until 1990 that the American with Disabilities Act came into existence.[1]  It’s a civil rights law to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities. While new building codes ensure compliance, older buildings are not always accessible. A person with inadequate vision and slowness of step told me about trying to get outside during a fire drill.  Obtaining adequate medical care presents other challenges, especially if employment pays minimum wage or is non-existent. For those with disabilities, everyday life can be a battle.

The in-valid man found lying down had given up hope that someone would help him to the pool when the water was stirred up.  The pool was known as a place of healing that was supposed to come from Asclepius, the Greek god of healing. The man waited there, and waited, hoping that this god would save him.  Yet he remained as broken as he was the day before, and the years before, and the decades. Soon he was no longer Frank, or Joe or Bob.  He was that nameless and helpless man lying by the pool.  His sickness became his identity.

Then one day, a Sabbath day, Jesus showed up at the pool, where the blind, lame and paralyzed,–the unnamed in-valids were hanging out.  “Do you want to be healed?” he asked.  “Of course, I do!” the man shouted.  “I’ve been waiting most of my life for this moment!”  I am just kidding!  What the sick man really said to this stranger is, “I have no one to put me into the pool, and when I start to make my own way, people jump in front of me.” We don’t know if these were excuses, or complaints, but it was this man’s reality.  He thought he needed the stirred-up water to heal him.  That’s where he placed his faith.

Sensing this man’s resignation to his situation, Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be made well?”   The obvious answer should be yes. Healing would bring change. Relationships, responsibilities, expectations—all would impacted. What is it in your life that you would like to be healed?  What are the changes that would come along with that? Who else would that affect?  In a family system, when one person becomes more emotionally healthy, it is difficult for the rest of the family to adjust. “Do you want to be made well?” That is Jesus’ question to all of us.  The sick man never said yes.  Jesus healed him anyway.  “’Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.” God’s kingdom broke in.  It was a miracle.  It was resurrection.

Out of all the ill people in the porticos, why did Jesus choose this person?  Isn’t that among the top 10 questions we desperately want Jesus to answer? Our gospel writer John never explains.  In fact, Matthew, Mark and Luke don’t tell us why or how people are healed, either.  In this case, it was not the man’s faith.  It can’t be that he prayed the right words, or prayed long enough. He did not pray. He did not ask Jesus to help him. Jesus did not take this man into the pool, but instead cured him on his terms.  If you read the rest of the story, after the unnamed person was healed, he never expressed his gratitude.  In fact, when the religious authorities admonished him for carrying his mat on the sabbath, he blamed the man who told him take it up.  He did not even know Jesus’ name.

What we learn is that it’s not the quality or quantity of our faith that makes miracles happen. If only there was a formula, or some magic words, or maybe lucky socks.  If only we could use Magic Eraser to wipe out our illness, or how about even erasing our mistakes.  Then we would be in control.  We would be the ones who made things happen.  Maybe it’s a miracle when we realize that God is God and we are not.

There was nothing that the man lying by pool did to deserve his healing.  Jesus doesn’t bring us to wholeness because we deserve it.  We don’t get what we deserve, thank God.  Jesus doesn’t heal us because of what we do, or who we are. Jesus brings healing because of who he is.  God’s grace reaches all the way down into our dark places.

Not all healing comes in the form legs that run and ears that hear.  God’s ultimate healing is death. When our tears flow because our hands can no longer hold our loved ones, God’s grace is most abundant.  The one we love is still in God’s hands.

Jesus comes that we may have life, and have it abundantly.  Although he shows up in the church, he also walks to the pool where those who are blind, and lame, lonely and hopeless sit and wait for someone to help them.  He comes without our asking offering forgiveness and unconditional love. Sometimes, we even  recognize God’s miracles.

~ Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin

[1]https://adata.org/learn-about-ada. Accessed May 22, 2019.

John 20:19-31    

Second Sunday of Easter

 

Easter was glorious, wasn’t it?  Our worship space filled with flowers, music that stirred our souls, and lots of smiling people. The atmosphere was joyous!  How very easy to forget that only two days earlier Jesus hung on a cross until he died. We had little thought to Jesus’ pierced flesh.  We have no problem putting that in the past and disconnecting it from Jesus’ victory over death.

When it was evening on that day.  That day was the first day of the week, the same day that Mary stood weeping outside the empty tomb, and the same day she saw the resurrected Jesus.  On that day, his disciples retreated, shutting the doors of the house and locking the world out.  Now Jesus stood in front of them, and his first words were, Peace be with you.  The Risen Christ’s first words were his gift of grace.  See my hands and my sides, he invited them.  Thomas wasn’t with them at the time, but a week later, Jesus came to the house again.  Put your finger here, he said.  Put your hand inmy side.  They weren’t scars.  They were wounds, and deep enough to put your hand in.  The places where the nails and the spear pierced Jesus’ flesh were so fresh, they might bleed if you touched them.

How many of us are walking around with fresh wounds?  Who among us does not bear scars?  When you experience something awful, is it literally gut-wrenching?  Our bodies react in various ways,–headaches, upset stomachs, and our heart pounding so hard we can hear it in our ears.  If the upset is constant, we may try to shut it off with drugs or alcohol.  People who study trauma have found that it can lodge itself into our bodies.

Bessel van der Kolk, a leading innovator in the treatment of traumatic stress, tells a story from the 1970’s when he began working with the Veterans Administration.  The first patient he saw was a Vietnam veteran who suffered with terrible nightmares.  He prescribed medication, which the veteran never took.   Van de Kolk’s patient explained, “’I did not take your medicines because I realized I need to have my nightmares because I need to be a living memorial to my friends who died in Vietnam.”

Trauma victims hold in “their hearts and minds and bodies and brains” things that no longer exist.  Their experience never fades; the memory of it remains as if it were happening currently.  Trauma lands in the parts of the brain that help people see clearly.[1]  There responses and decisions become impaired.  Perhaps that is what made the man in California filled with hate, so much that he killed one and wounded three other Jewish people gathered at their synagogue.

To a lesser degree, all of us at one time or another become impaired.  We experience parts of our brain shutting down when our emotions are high. Van der Kolk provides this example:  You get really upset with your partner or your kid, suddenly you take leave of your senses and you say horrible things to that person.  And afterwards, you say, ‘Oh, I didn’t mean to say that.’”[2]

The things that happen to us, chronic illness, addiction, abuse, violence, anything that leaves scars, become part of who we are.  Our woundedness goes with us wherever we go. Jesus entered the locked room, carrying his wounds with him.  Even in his resurrection, Jesus shares our humanity. When the Word became flesh, God affirmed the goodness of our bodies.  When that flesh became broken, God honored our experiences.  Jesus’ raw wounds did not define him, but rather testified to his real presence.  The same is true for us.  We are more than the things that happen to us.

Thomas returned to the house. We know him as Doubting Thomas, even though he did not ask for anything the other disciples had not already experienced.  His need to verify was not unique to him.  After all, the women who saw the empty tomb were thought to be telling an idle tale at first.  But now Thomas was in the middle of believing people, his friends, who had already seen Jesus. In front of them all, Thomas declared his doubt.  We should all be brave enough to voice our doubts! He had so many questions for Jesus floating around in his head.  Why would someone as sinless as you suffer?   Are you staying? What does this all mean? What questions are you asking?

In the house with Thomas were his grief, his fear and his uncertainty.  Wounded Jesus showed up and said, “Peace be with you.”  Suddenly, Thomas didn’t need to touch him, or to ask any questions.  He needed nothing else but Jesus to be right there next to him.  When Thomas’ doubt met Jesus still bearing wounds, something happened.  He saw the world differently.  He began to live into a new identity and new stories. Thomas began to live resurrection life.

I think trauma really does confront you with the best and the worst,Bessel van der Kolk says. You see the horrendous things that people do to each other, but you also see resiliency, the power of love, the power of caring, the power of commitment, the power of commitment to oneself, the knowledge that there are things that are larger than our individual survival. And in some ways, I don’t think you can appreciate the glory of life unless you also know the dark side of life.[3]

Each of us has known that dark side of life.  Together, we are the wounded body of Christ.  We are witnesses who have survived our brokenness. We are living testimony that through Christ, we have life of abundance.  The risen Christ is with us this day, in our sharing of the peace, in our prayers and in our praise, and in the hearing of the word.  Christ comes to us in the breaking of the bread, and the drinking of the wine, the body and blood of Christ.  In all these ways, Christ comes to be with us.

Church historian Jaroslav Pelikan said, “If the Resurrection of Jesus actually happened, then nothing else really matters.  If the Resurrection of Jesus did not actually happen, then nothing else really matters.”[4]  Our belief in the resurrection is more than a confession of faith.  It is a declaration of a relationship.  He is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

~Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin

[1]https://onbeing.org/programs/bessel-van-der-kolk-how-trauma-lodges-in-the-body-mar2017/.   Accessed April 23, 2019.

[2]Ibid.

[3]Ibid.

[4]Bruner, Frederick Dale.  The Gospel of John. Grand Rapids:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012, 1163.

 

John 13:1-17, 31b-35    

Maundy Thursday

In Northern Ireland, there were three decades of deathly struggles between Catholics and Protestants.  The Troubles, as the conflict was called, was both religious and political.  Although the Good Friday Agreementin 1998 was to end the conflict, low-levels of violence and open wounds still exist. A community leader, Pádraig Ó Tuama, ministers to heal broken relationships between Irish Catholics and Protestants. Using an Irish idiom to talk about trust, he says, “You are the place where I stand on the day when my feet are sore.” He says, “It’s so physical, that beautiful understanding.  You can find that with each other, even when you think different things.”[1] To me, this says that when the foundation of my being hurts, and I cannot go another step, it’s good to be together, and to rest in our relationship. “You are the place where I stand on the day when my feet are sore.”

We come from a history of religious and political “troubles.” Jesus sparked an atmosphere that grew more tense the longer he was around.  He threatened the established political hierarchy, social system, and economic structures.   When the time drew near for Passover, people wondered if Jesus would show up at the Passover festival.  “Keep an eye out so that we can arrest him,” the religious leaders plotted.  Most recently, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Now the religious leaders wanted to kill both Jesus and Lazarus. Some people believed he was the Messiah, the one who came from God to save them from their oppression. Some didn’t.  The struggle was a both political and religious.

It wasn’t only Jesus’ enemies speaking of his death. Jesus himself began talking about it, too. To say that Jesus’ healing and proclamation of love and God’s forgiveness brought misunderstanding is an understatement.  Anger, even hatred, rumors and collusion permeated the air.  Tension, and suspicion were at every turn.  Where were truth and trust?  Where do you stand when your feet are sore?

For over a century, people attended the churches in the St. Landry parish in southern Louisiana.  Generations of families had made these predominantly black churches their spiritual home. About three weeks ago, over the course of ten days, three of the churches in this parish were destroyed by fires that were intentionally set. The 21 year-old man who destroyed the buildings was charged with hate crimes and arson. Parishioners have said that although their churches were destroyed, their spirit was not.  Statistics show that most hate crimes in our country are committed by white people who are motivated by race, religion and sexual orientation.[2]Where do you stand when your feet are sore?

Our “troubles” are also fueled by issues surrounding immigration, The organization Human Rights Firstcompleted a study of “the mental, physical, and legal impacts of massive overuse of immigration detention in California.” The report documents sexual assault complaints, verbal and physical abuse, lack of legal representation, lack of mental and physical healthcare, and poor detainment conditions.”  Many people are held for years despite the fact that they“qualify for release under U.S. law, regulations, and other relevant criteria.”[3]  In addition to this, thousands more children were separated from their families than previously thought.  It could take up to two more years for them to be identified and reunited.[4]  Where do you stand when your feet are sore?

Jesus and his disciples gathered privately for what would be their final meal together.  Sitting around the table were Judas, who will soon betray him, and Peter, who will come to deny Jesus not just once, but 3 times. James and John, the ones who will be unable to keep watch or pray with Jesus in his dark hour were there, as well. They were sitting among others who will abandon Jesus at the cross.  Though Jesus knows these things, the word we hear Jesus speak repeatedly in John’s gospel islove. He says this word 31 times in his Farewell Discourse.[5]

As Jesus shares his last meal before his death, we are drawn back to the waters of baptism.  During supper, after the meal had started, Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around his waist.  He poured water into a bowl. and washed their feet, and then dried them with the towel, Judas, and Peter, and James and John, and the other disciples– no one was excluded from this radical act of love.

Peter was horrified.  He couldn’t accept Jesus serving him, and refused to have his feet washed. Martin Luther posited that it is often our “righteousness” rather than our sin that gets in the way of our relationship with the Lord.[6]  Jesus explained that his relationship with Peter depended on servanthood. Peter, putting himself in charge– again, and not understanding– again, told Jesus to give him a bath.  “Oh, Peter!”  Jesus said, shaking his head. “You really don’t get it, do you? Trust me.”

Just like everything else Jesus did, he turned the custom of washing feet upside down.  When guests came to a home, they had walked along dusty dirt roads.  With sandaled feet, they walked the same dirt path that animals walked, and they stepped in what animals leave behind after digesting a hearty meal. When guests arrived, the dinner host had servants wash their dirty, tired feet before the meal. By washing the disciples’ feet, he demonstrated radical love that overcomes status and power.  It upsets the imbalance of privilege.  Jesus’ simple act of hospitality put relationships on the basis of equality and mutual respect.  “Do this,” Jesus told them.  Where do you stand when your feet are sore?

“I will give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”  Jesus’ words are not just for the disciples around the table.  They are for us, too. What makes this mandate to love one another newis its source, Jesus. Love them, Jesus says. Love the one who betrayed you.  Love the denier, the self-centered and inattentive. Even love those who refuse to stand with you through the things that kill you.  Love the black one, the brown one, the purple one, the Jewish one, the Muslim one, the atheist, the straight one, the gay one.  Love them enough to wash their feet.

Where do you stand when your feet are sore?  Stand with the One who will wash them.  And then stay for dinner.

~Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin

 

[1]On Being with Krista Tippett, https://onbeing.org/programs/padraig-o-tuama-belonging-creates-and-undoes-us/.  Accessed April 12, 2019.  Pádraig Ó Tuama is the community leader of Corrymeela, Northern Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization.

[2]https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/hate-crime-statistics.  Accessed April 17, 2019.

[3]https://www.gcir.org/resources/prisons-and-punishment-immigration-detention-california. Accessed April 17, 2019.

[4]https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/us/family-separation-trump-administration.html.  Accessed April 17, 2019.

[5]John 13:31-17:26.

[6]Bruner, Frederick.   The Gospel of John: A Commentary. Grand Rapids:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012.  767.

Isaiah 55:1-9    1 Corinthians 10:1-13    Luke 13:1-9    

3^rdSunday in Lent

Frank had been accepted into a doctoral program at Harvard. He and his family were active members in the church my family attended. Frank’s dad had formed a large and prominent company, and I imagined that Frank would be quite an asset there after graduation.  He hung around with friends over the summer.  In the fall, two of his friends would begin their graduate classes at Yale. When the news came that Frank and these two friends had all died in a car accident, the community was in disbelief. Frank was intelligent, young, handsome, and had a bright future in front of him.  How could this have happened?

A drunk driver had entered the interstate going in the wrong direction and hit their car head on.  Was there a reason this happened, other than someone irresponsibly chose to drive after consuming more than enough alcohol to impair his judgement?

After the funeral service, Frank’s parents stood in the church gathering space as people moved in a line to offer their words. Frank’s dad was numb, and his face expressionless as people shook his hand.  Frank’s mom tried hard to graciously smile.  As I waited to greet them, I thought that there were no words, really, that could offer comfort.  As I took her hand.  I asked, “Did you get to say good-bye?”   She told me that she had spent a couple of hours in conversation with Frank before the service that morning.

I remember some of the things that I heard others say to her.  “God must have needed another angel,” and “This was part of God’s plan.” “Everything happens for a reason.”  “God never gives us more than we can handle.” I looked to see if they found solace in these thoughts.  Some people do.  The people who spoke these things were answering the question of “why.” We humans try to find a reason for everything. There must be a linear connection, a cause and effect, for what happens in our world.  After Frank’s mother told me about her final time with her son, she said, “I asked God what it was he had done, or that we have done, to deserve this.”

Since Jesus was born, Christians have struggled to find answers to why God allows suffering and evil in our world.  “Theodicy” is the word for this.  We continue to try to make sense of that which makes no sense to us. We have yet to find satisfactory answers, and so we keep asking.

A few people who were among the crowds listening to Jesus expressed their concern that Pilate had slaughtered a group of Galileans and mixed their blood with the blood of their sacrifices.  In the background was the news that 18 people were crushed to death by the collapse of the tower of Siloam. Their concern was really about themselves, and Jesus knew it.  “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?”  In other words, was God punishing them?  Will God punish us like that, too?  We like to think that people get exactly what they deserve in this life, good or bad. Do children deserve to be abused by someone they should trust, or to become refugees?  Do adults get dementia because God is angry with their whole family?  Every day we hear of bad things happening to good people.

How does Jesus respond?  A flat and simple “No.”  He does not explain any further.  He gives no answer as to why.What he does say, however, is “But unless you repent, you are going to lose some blood, too.”[1]  With these words, Jesus takes their fear to motivate them to turn back to God.  Instead of leading people to their death, he was trying to lead them to life!  That’s God’s desire for us!

Our second reading contains the source of another platitude.  Paul writes to the Corinthians, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the test he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (vs.13).  In other words, turn to God when you are tested, and God will help you. Put this in context and you will find that Paul is speaking of temptation, not of adversity.  Some have transformed this into, “God will not give you more than you can handle.”[2]   Tell that to the family of a suicide victim.

If you think through the things we say to those who are already suffering, and those who are grieving, you will realize that many of them are terrible!  They are dismissive.  They shut the door as if everything is settled. They communicate the message, “Just get over it because this is God’s will.  It must be okay.”  Our cliché sayings keep us from living in the uncomfortable mystery and grief.  They keep us from entering the holy space of suffering with someone.  They disconnect us from humanity, and deny our own brokenness.

If we could just understand why, then we wouldn’t have to live with the uncertainty of mystery.  We would not have to be afraid.  We could prevent tragedies from happening.  We would be in control.  Maybe “why?” is not the right question.

In our Gospel reading Jesus continues, telling us a parable about a fig tree in the vineyard, a fig tree with no figs on it. “Cut it down!” the vineyard owner said.  ‘It’s wasting soil!”  We, who are so results oriented, probably agree with the owner.  If your metrics at your place of work are off for the month, you are out of there.  If something breaks, we throw it in the trash.  The gardener, however, wants to provide the tree with all it needs to thrive, and live into possibilities.  “Give it one more year. I will dig around it.  I will put natural fertilizer on it. I will give it what it needs.”  This is our God, the one who will not give up on those who stray, who sweeps the house all night looking for a lost coin, and leaves the 99 sheep to find the one has wandered away.  Our God is the father who stands on the porch waiting, looking for us to return, and runs in his robe to greet us when we come home. Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.

Instead of giving any answers to our questions of why, Jesus gives us both a promise and an invitation. “Come to me. Return to me. Bring your tears and your anger. I will sit right there with you.  I will care for you.  I will love you in your living and your dying.”  This Lenten season, you are invited to return to God.

~Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin

 

[1]One can interpret Jesus’ statement as meaning that we will cause our own downfall through our own bad choices because we do not follow Jesus.

[2]For further study of familiar platitudes, read Adam Hamilton’s book, Half Truths:  God Helps Those Who Help Themselves and Other Things the Bible Doesn’t Say.  Abingdon Press, 2016.

Luke 4:1-13

First Sunday in Lent   

What tempts you?  Scripture is full of stories of temptation.  Of course, it began with Adam, Eve, a talking serpent, and a fruit tree. Moving on, Cain murdered Abel.  Then there’s King David who gave in to his lust for Bathsheba. Joseph’s brothers sold him to strangers when they could not control their jealousy.  Although we don’t know exactly what was in his heart, Judas betrayed Jesus for silver.

What have you been tempted to do?  Did you actually do it?  Remember the last time you drove down the interstate and that guy pulled within an inch in front of you and didn’t even have on a turn signal?  We are tempted to put things off, to worry, to eat way too much at the pot luck meals, to spend too much money, and the list goes on.  Is there a person who tempts you?  Perhaps you become competitive with a particular person, or given to gossip, or maybe you are tempted to judge someone. Is there someone who draws you into behavior of which you are not proud?

Lent, which began this past Wednesday, invites us to look at these things that separate us from God. Those who came to church had ashes imposed on their foreheads, as the pastor invited them, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These are the words God spoke to Adam after the infamous apple incident. “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return” [Genesis 3:19].

This dusty cross that marks us reminds us of our sin, our fragility and our death that will surely come.  The first cross that is traced on our foreheads was imposed during our baptism.  In that marking, God claimed us as God’s own child.  We were adopted as God’s beloved, with God’s promise that God will never let go of us.  That sooty cross does not negate our baptismal cross.  It is placed on top of it, and the promises of baptism remain foundational to who we are. Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. + While we are God’s beloved, we will also die.

At Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan, “the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved.’ [Luke 21b-22]. Despite God claiming Jesus as God’s precious child, it is God who brings Jesus to temptation.  Listen again:  “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”

Jesus was told by God that he was God’s child and God loved him.  He was full of the Holy Spirit.  Yet God sent him to the wilderness.  This sounds like our story, too.  In the wilderness, you are uncertain if you will make your way through because it is a harsh land, and because the path is not clear.  You have been there.  You have been there waiting for the results of medical tests, and through the exhaustion for being a caregiver.  Wilderness surrounds us in the struggle with depression or drug addiction. It is a place where we hunger for wholeness, and question our worth.

Jesus had nothing to eat for 40 days when the devil tempted him.  “Ifyou are the Son of God,” the devil said, which is pretty funny because out of all those who encountered Jesus, the devil was most aware of Jesus’ identity.  “If you are, turn those stones into loaves of bread.”  God’s son should not be hungry!  Debie Thomas sees it this way:

In the devil’s economy, unmet desire is an unnecessary aberration, not an integral part of what it means to be human. In inviting Jesus to magically sate his hunger, the devil invites Jesus to deny the reality of the incarnation. To ‘cheat’ his way to satisfaction, instead of waiting, paying attention to his hunger, and leaning into God for its lasting fulfillment. Along the way, the devil encourages Jesus to disrespect and manipulate creation for his own satisfaction.  To turn what is not meant to be eaten—a stone—into an object he can exploit.  As if the stone has no intrinsic value, beauty, or goodness, apart from Jesus’ ability to possess and consume it.[1]

For what do you hunger? Sit with ashes in this season of Lent. Sit with our hunger, and learn from it. The challenge is not to let the devil talk us into satisfying ourselves instead of waiting and listening for God to nourish us.  The devil will try to convince us that God must not love us if we are walking in the wilderness and hungry.  The truth is that God leads us to discover that because we are God’s beloved, we can not only survive, but grow in faith and strength.

After tempting him with hunger, the devil offered Jesus power over the world if he would worship him. This authority was not the devil’s to give. Our ego wants the whole world to love us, but following the devil only leads to broken relationships and false ego.  The devil’s lies tell us that our worth comes through perishable attributes rather than being God’s child.  Listening to the devil encourages us to act out of our pain rather than love, and to forego compassion.

Lastly, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem.  His suggested that Jesus throwhimself from the top of the temple, thereby testing God’s love for him. If God loves us, God will keep us safe.  This may be the devil’s most enticing and harmful lie.  We get cancer, lose jobs, and suffer losses that threaten to break us. We question our identity and forget who we are in the word and water of our baptism.  We forget that the cross of baptism forms us first as God’s beloved.

I want to share with you a poem that I came across a poem entitled, Beloved Is Where We Begin, authored by Jan Richardson.[2]

If you would enter

Into the wilderness,

Do not begin

Without a blessing.

 

Do not leave without hearing

Who you are:

Beloved,

Named by the One

Who has traveled this path

Before you.

 

Do not go without letting it echo

In your ears,

And if you find

It is hard

To let it into your heart,

Do not despair.

That is what

This journey is for.

 

I cannot promise

This blessing will free you

From danger,

From fear,

From hunger

Or thirst,

From the scorching

Of sun

Or the fall

Of the night.

 

But I can tell you

That on this path

There will be help.

 

I can tell you

That on this way

There will be rest.

 

I can tell you

That you will know

The strange graces

That come to our aid

Only on a road

Such as this,

That fly to meet us

Bearing comfort

And strength,

That come alongside us

For no other cause

Than to lean themselves

Toward our ear

And with their

Curious insistence

Whisper our name:

 

Beloved.

Beloved.

Beloved.

 

In the name of Christ, giver of all grace, Amen.

~Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin

[1]Thomas, Debie.  “Human and Hungry.”  Journey With Jesus. Web accessed 3 March, 2019.

[2]http://paintedprayerbook.com/2016/02/11/lent-1-beloved-is-where-we-begin/

Genesis 45:3-11, 15     Luke 6:27-38

7^thSunday after Epiphany

 

Sometimes, it just feels so good to be angry!  Do you know what I mean?  We continue to find terrible things our enemy did that prove our position. Believing that we are justified in our anger, we puff-up with righteous indignation.  We take pride at being wronged by someone when we are so obviously innocent. It makes us feel that we are better than the other guy.  Then we come to church and Jesus tells us, “Love your enemies.  Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who abuse you.”  As if this were not difficult enough, Jesus continues, “If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.”

Before we go further, hear this clearly; Jesus is not condoning any form of abuse.  Abuse is never justifiable. Jesus is not saying that we should tolerate violence, or that we should submit to someone who denies our personhood. God’s desire is for us to flourish and be full of joy. Being silent about your pain can kill you Perpetrators are to be held accountable for their actions. Forgiveness does not mean that you excuse or forget the wrong that has been done. Forgiveness means that you are not shackled to your pain.  Can our wounds turn into scars, and can we really be free from our woundedness, without forgiveness?  With God’s help, forgiveness helps us to find a path forward and a way to live in hope as God beloved.

“If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.”  How do we make sense of that? To know that any human could hurt another human angers us. That’s appropriate.  Anger is a sign that something is not the way it should be. It may be that “the something” wrong is with us. Anger can be instrumental in protecting ourselves and others. Anger can be used productively.  Anger can be the impetus that propels us to change discriminatory systems and to expose injustice.  The key is not to let anger take control of us so that we lose perspective.  Anger needs to be managed before it consumes us, and before we use it to hurt others.

What we read today is a continuation of last week’s Gospel. Last week, we heard that Jesus and his disciples had come down from the mountain. Standing on the plain, people gathered around to hear him speak. Others came to be healed.  When Jesus began to teach them, he said that the poor and the hungry were blessed.  After speaking of blessings and woes, Jesus continues, prefacing his imperatives, “But I say to you that listen.”  These are God’s people who are looking for, and are part of, all at the same time, the in-breaking of God’s kingdom.   “You that listen,” Jesus addresses those standing with him. “You who listen,” Jesus addresses us, we who gather around his word.  We who listen have come because we are in need of healing.  We who listen hunger for a better way to live in a world full of injustice and untruths, full of destructive anger and unforgiving.

To we who come to this holy house while separating ourselves from others whodo not think as we do, or love in the way we do, , Jesus says, “Don’t judge, don’t condemn, forgive, and give.”  These are words to us, we have been wronged, and to we who have wronged someone else.  We have done both.  Just as we are both saint and sinner, we are also victim and victimizer.

Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann keenly observes, “If you find some part of your life where your daily round has grown thin and controlling and resentful, then these texts are for you.  Life with God is much, much larger, shattering our little categories of control, permitting us to say that God’s purposes led us well beyond ourselves to give and to forgive, to create life we would not have imagined…. The terms of life, however, are other than our own.  They are the terms of the generous, merciful, giving, forgiving God.”[1]

The story of Joseph and his brothers provides a perfect illustration.  Did you know Joseph’s brothers sold him to strangers?  My sister did that to me.  It was when she starting marking down the price that it really got to me. Today we focus on the part of the story in which Joseph forgives his brothers and saves them from starvation. Read the whole story.  Joseph set his brothers up.  He made his siblings shake in their saddles, deceived them, and made it look as if their brother Benjamin was a thief.  There are no innocent people in this story.

It seems that what Jesus is telling us to do is impossible for us.  In Lutheran language, it is law.  To love our enemies and do good to those who hate us can only prove that we are sinful. We are broken people who cannot always do what is right, and who can never save ourselves.  Realizing this, we are driven into God’s open arms of grace and mercy.

Lutheran pastor and professor David Lose suggests that Jesus’ words are not law, but rather are a promise, a promise which invites us “into a whole other world. A world that is not about measuring and counting and weighing and competing and judging and paying back and hating and all the rest. But instead is about love. Love for those who have loved you. Love for those who haven’t. Love even for those who have hated you. That love gets expressed in all kinds of creative ways, but often come through by caring – extending care and compassion and help and comfort to those in need – and forgiveness – not paying back but instead releasing one’s claim on another and opening up a future where a relationship of…love is still possible.”[2]

“Hate cannot drive out hate,” Dr. King said, “only love can do that.”  Violence draws retaliation, angry words are met with more hostile ones, and misdeeds matched with misdeeds creates a vicious cycle and a world full of fear.  It seems endless. When we forgive, when we seek the good of the other, the cycle is disrupted, and justice can happen.  We don’t seem to be very good at loving our enemies and forgiving those who have wronged us.  The one we have the most trouble forgiving is ourselves.

Jesus was.  Jesus was so good at bringing God’s forgiveness and loving his enemies that they killed him.  Even from the cross, he loved them. Our human anger, our clinging to established systems of injustice and even our violence against the one who came to save us could not win.   God’s love for us defeated death itself.

For we who have been victims, suffering and diminished, Jesus says, “Here is my body, broken and given for you.  Take and eat,–you will be made whole.”  For we who have victimized others, Jesus says, “Here is my body, broken and given for you even while you were still sinners. In it there is forgiveness powerful enough to break the chains that bind you.”    In Christ, in his suffering, death and resurrection, in his forgiveness and love, is our hope.  May it be so.

~Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin

[1]Brueggemann, Walter.  The Threat of Life.  Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1996.  15-16.

[2]Lose, David.  In the Meantime.  Epiphany 7C. http://www.davidlose.net/2019/02/epiphany-7-c-command-or-promise/

Luke 5:1-11

Lectionary 5    ~  Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

 

To be or to do things in our world, you must be qualified.  You must meet certain qualifications to graduate from high school and to enter college.  Doctors and Certified Public accountants have requirements to practice.  Athletes and horses need to qualify for competitions. Discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, Pluto became the ninth planet in our solar system.  But in 1992, some people began to question Pluto’s status. In 2006, Pluto was demoted.  Pluto failed; it no longer qualified as a planet.[1]

Of course, there are formal and informal qualifications.  Informal qualifications are expectations, more or less.  An informal qualification for a carpenter is to be skilled at using a saw and a hammer.  One would expect a dog walker to like dogs.

In Simon Peter’s time and place, you qualified to be a fishermen by obtaining a license, which could only be gotten by joining a syndicate.  The waters and the fishing industry were under the control of the Roman Empire.  The informal qualifications to be a fisherman were to catch fish.  Simon Peter must have been able to catch enough fish that after the government took their hefty share, he still had enough to support himself. But that night, he had been out from the setting of the sun to its rising, and caught nothing.  One day, which happened to be this day, Jesus was on the shore of the lake.  Throngs of people had followed him.  There were so many there crowding in on him, he had no choice but to jump into a boat before he got trampled.  Peter’s boat, which was empty because he had not caught any fish.  Peter had given up, and, with the crowds looking on, he cleaned his bare, floppy nets.  The whole community witnessed his failure.

From Simon Peter’s boat, Jesus spoke to the crowds.  When he said all he was going to say, he turned his attention to Simon Peter.  “Go on out to the deep water, and put your nets out.”  “But, Jesus, I fished all night long, and I did not catch anything, not even an old boot.  I don’t even think I am qualified to be a fisherman,” Peter said, confessing his failure. “I am physically and emotionally exhausted.”  With deep resignation, Peter sighed, “Yet if you say so.”

Have you ever disappointed someone, possibly, most likely, yourself?  Have you ever tried so hard, giving it everything you have, and fell flat on your face?  Maybe like me, you have gotten to the point where you said, “I’m done.  I’m just done.”  Maybe your failure was a job, or a ministry.  Maybe it was a relationship.  I once spent 6 hours playing 9 holes of golf.  Perhaps you would answer all of the above, and, no doubt you have failed more than once.

At the point that the fishermen said, “I’m done,” Jesus showed up.  They brought their boats to shore, and were cleaning their nets before they put them away.  The details of this story are revealing.  Did you notice that before Jesus teaches the people, he gets into Peter’s boat? Then, before he instructs Simon Peter to fish once more, Jesus teaches the crowds. Which means that before Peter tries again, he hears Jesus say to all the people gathered, and to him, “God loves you.”  He hears Jesus say, “You may have given up on yourself, but God will never abandon you.”

When he was finished teaching, Jesus told Peter and the others to let down the nets. They just wanted to go home to bed, but it was Jesus who wanted them to do it. (Have you ever tried saying no to Jesus?) Last night’s failure was in their minds as the ropes left their hands.  But this time was different.  Jesus was there, right there in the boat with them, out in the deep water.  They pulled up so many fish that their nets stretched almost to the breaking point.  The first boat was filled, and then a second boat.  The weight of their catch began to sink the vessels.  This was not just one day’s worth, or even two.  This was unbounded abundance.  It was God’s grace, like two fish and five loaves feeding thousands upon thousands.

Peter, looking at everything and everyone, dropped to the floor.  “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful person! You have done for me what I could not do for myself, but I am not good enough for you to love me this much.  I don’t deserve your blessings.”  Peter’s words sound like someone who feels like a failure.  “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful person!”

Jesus’ next words to Peter were, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” In other words, “Don’t be afraid, Peter!  You are exactly who you should be.  I will help you.  And if you fail, God won’t.  God’s abundant grace will overflow.  I trust you enough to share my mission with you.  I trust in you, believe in you, love you.  Do the same for me.

Like Peter, God says to us, “Do what you do.  Your workplace, your community, your life–that’s where I will show up. My promise to you is to use what knowledge, skills, and gifts that you have, to bless them and multiply them with blessings that know no bounds.”  Following Jesus means trusting that God always loves us, whether we fail or not, and whether we can fish, or play golf, or not.  God never gives up on us.  God entrusts God’s mission to us, with the promise to be with us, to love through us, to save through us, and to bless others through us.

Let us pray.  O Lord God who has called us, your servants, to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, and through perils unknown, give us faith to go out with good courage, knowing that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

~ Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin

[1]https://www.space.com/41769-pluto-planet-definition-debate-rages-on.html.  The definition agreed upon at that IAU meeting requires that an object meet three conditions to qualify as a planet: It must orbit the sun, it must be massive enough that its gravity pulls it more or less into a spherical shape, and it must clear the neighborhood around its orbit.