Sermons

First Christian Church

“A Deluge of Wallabies”

Acts 2:1-21

At the heart of the narrative about the Holy Spirit coming down upon the apostles is the wonderment of the people listening to them. In all there were 120 other disciples who were present but in addition to these were thousands of devout Jews from many countries. All these people were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.

The narrative describes fascination to the point of bewilderment of these others who couldn't understand how they were hearing the apostles in their own language. There are sixteen countries represented with an unspecified number of people belonging to their own respective country.

On Tuesday evening following the graveside service for Celia we entertained her son Mark, his wife Donna, and daughter Brittany over dinner at our house. The meal was not elaborate consisting of hot dogs, baked beans and potato salad plus dessert, and it's always interesting to be with people you don't know very well in such a setting.

We had a good time, and as usual Karen did most of the organization and preparation, but it was something Mark said before he was even in the house that struck me. After trying to convey something to his wife and failing he turned to me and said something to the effect of: “There are few things more difficult than human conversation.” And I immediately knew what he was talking about being someone who communicates for a living.

Perhaps that's why the comment was directed toward me, I don't know, but after they left, I had to ponder his statement and subsequently it caused me to recognize its relevance to our text. There are about ten verses right at the core devoted to the communication of “the mighty works of God.”

To emphasize how communication can affect the course of our lives I can contribute my early exit from my first pastorate in Bakersfield to the manner I chose to communicate with the congregation. I was fresh out of seminary and all fired up about my new role as a leader (associate pastor) in a pretty good sized congregation by Disciples of Christ standards. Around two hundred people came to church on any given Sunday.

I remember the pulpit was so tall I had to stand on a wooden box to be seen, but I made up for my stature with the power of my preaching. I identified as a progressive Christian and with little alteration considering the conservative nature of the congregation preached what was on my mind and heart.

I think they tried to give me the benefit of the doubt, but when I theologically challenged the pastor's wife in Sunday School that proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back! They had a very nice going away party for me around Christmastime.

The following comes from a commentary written by Rebecca Dean:

In attempting to describe the events of the first Christian Pentecost to the people of Pukatja (Poo-cut-ja), Central Australia, missionary Ron Trudinger (True-ding-er) once mistakenly referred to the Holy Spirit coming through a “deluge of wallabies” rather than through the tongues of fire of the Acts account. This makes for an amusing anecdote, of course, yet it also captures some of the key issues that emerge from the biblical passage itself: the bridges and barriers formed by human languages, and the wider sense-making challenge posed by Luke's extraordinary account of the outpouring of the Spirit. As modern interpreters of the text, we can find ourselves asking, along with the crowd of witnesses, “What does this mean?”

Peter tries to explain to everyone what is happening by quoting the prophet Joel saying the Spirit will be poured out in the last days. The “last days” is a reference to the time between Jesus' first coming to earth and his second coming or return to earth. In these last days prior to Jesus's return their will be a pouring out of the Spirit causing sons and daughters to become prophets, young men to see visions, and old men to have dreams.

There will also be cataclysmic events occurring in the heavens with the sun going dark and the moon turning blood red. All of this is reminiscent of descriptions of events recorded in the Book of Revelation; but in truth the sun does go dark during a total solar eclipse and the moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse, hence the name “Blood Moon.” And people have always prophesied and have had visions and dreamed dreams.

What I'm getting at is something that Thich Nhat Hanh (Tic-Not-Hon) suggested in a recent meditation on my daily devotional calendar. He suggested that we write the words “Are you sure” on a large piece of paper and post it somewhere you'll frequently see it. It's an interesting suggestion and if followed causes one to bring into question anything and everything you might feel assured of. In other words, it veers one in the direction of humility.

With this in mind how do we know that Jesus hasn't already returned. With that thought I want to share with you what amounts to the closing thoughts in Marcus Borg's first best-selling book, “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time.” In it he begins with the phrase “believing in Jesus:”

He explains that during his childhood that phrase meant believing things about Jesus. It meant that you believed in what you read in the Bible and what was conveyed to you in church. He says it was easy to do this as a child but as he grew older it became increasingly difficult to except all that he'd learned and previously took for granted.

But now as an adult he sees that believing in Jesus means something quite different. You only need to consider the root meaning of the word “believe.” Taken from either the Greek or Latin the word “believe” actually means: “to give one's heart to.” The “heart” in this case (as well as its frequent meaning in the Bible) represents the self at its deepest level.

Therefore, “believing” doesn't mean some kind of intellectual assent to something like I “believe” Jesus was resurrected after the third day or I “believe” Jesus changed water to wine. What “believe” means is to give your heart or to give of yourself at it's deepest level.

We're to give our hearts to the post-Easter Jesus or the Jesus that still exists after his death. Not the man who once walked on the earth teaching and healing, but to the Lord who is also the Spirit. The same Spirit that Paul encountered on the road to Damascus. The Spirit that changed him at a soul level from the chief persecutor of the early church to its greatest propagator.

Marcus further explains that what happened to Paul, and what God wants to have happen for each of us, is to make the movement from secondhand religion to firsthand religion. That means from believing in things that we've heard about Jesus to being in an intimate relationship with the Spirit of Christ. This is what changes Jesus from being a figure of the past into a figure of the present. He ends the book with this line: “Meeting that Jesus – the living Jesus who comes to us even now – will be like meeting Jesus again for the first time.”

In this regard, we can say that Jesus has already returned or even that Jesus is always in the process of returning because he comes forth within each of us who invite him to do so. The Apostle Paul beautifully summarizes this in the letter to the Corinthians when he says: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 3:18)

Rev. Mitch Becker

May24, 2026

Port Angeles

Pentecost Day

First Christian Church

“Caring for Creation”

Psalm 93

Christ the King Sunday isn't until Advent but let's take a sneak preview and consider this text which expands on the meaning of Christ as king. Beginning with considering it as a whole where we see God as Creator and caretaker of the creation.

With little effort we can also place Jesus in it by taking note of the first stanza that declares, “The Lord is king!” Then all we need to do is recall the words of Jesus when he reveals that, “My kingdom is not of this world....” (John 18:36) When Pilate asks Jesus if he is king of the Jews, he was actually thinking too small. In this way the psalm places Jesus into a greater context that Pilate and the other powers in the world simply can't see.

The second stanza is humbling because it demonstrates that God's concerns far exceed human affairs. The images are arresting as “....the floods lift up their roaring.” We only need to reflect upon the recent flooding in Washington State to confirm the terror and troubles flooding can bring. Such events were also frightening to the ancients because the troubled waters were the very definition of chaos.

When the world goes insane either from the creation unleashed or due to human intervention it can be comforting to be reminded that God is ultimately in control. The worldly power wielded by the likes of Pilate seems small and inconsequential in relation to a God that can control the raging waters.

At this point we need to be careful and not assign natural disasters to God's doing. The natural world has its own set of rules and boundaries whether it be a change in the weather or the earthquake of the century. What complicates matters, as far as humans are concerned, is we keep multiplying and we no longer follow the herds. By remaining stationary we become vulnerable to the chaotic side of creation.

It is not often that we think of God as the maintainer of the creation but here and in other psalms that's what is being implied. God even maintains the course of the moon and sun: “Thou hast made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows it's time for setting.” (Psalm 104:19) Because we are so often focused on human endeavors God's command of the earth and heavens often escapes our conscious awareness.

As God's hands and feet in the world we faithful have a responsibility to assist God in the sustaining of the creation. What the ancients didn't know is that eventually humankind would wield the power to inflict harm upon the creation which is the opposite of what we've been called to do.

This is where our role as followers of Jesus gets a bit complicated when he declares to Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world. Our self-centered tendencies often restrict us from fully participating in God's caring for creation. We're so immersed in our ego pursuits that even though the natural world is alive and blazing in color all around us it's as if we have blinders on. The blinders narrow our vision where we think we're seeing everything but in truth, we're seeing only a small part of what is.

One metaphor suggests looking at the world through the ego is like looking through a knothole in a fence. The knothole allows only very restricted vision of what's on the other side, yet most people believe they're seeing everything that is visible. In reality their vision is severely limited and biased. We typically see only what we want to see or whatever confirms our particular worldview.

Jesus is trying to change all this through a profound transformation described by the Apostle Paul and here presented in contemporary language: Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings out the best in you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:2; The Message Bible)

This passage from Paul can be understood as shifting your attention away from self to God, but there is a deeper dimension to it because seeing God in the outside world means correspondingly seeing God in your inner world. Another way of saying it is it results in making contact with your True self. The more you make contact with the True self the more it is allowed to come forth replacing the ego with its mental illusions and social conditioning.

One problem that often puts the brakes on the transformation is that this process feels like dying. It feels that way because people think they're a collection of thoughts about themselves. These thoughts are a compilation of the egos mental illusions and social conditioning. They have to be eliminated before what's real can come forward to take their place.

That's why the central image of our faith is a man dying upon a cross. To be resurrected, or reborn in this case, you have to die first and what I'm describing is how this happens in a psychological/spiritual way. 

Jesus describes this in the Gospel of Luke when he says: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Note the word “daily” which describes something you're doing repeatedly, and the “cross” is obviously an image for death. Hence, we're being called to die to the ego and it's mental illusions and social conditioning everyday of our lives until we're gifted by grace with the mind of Christ. And after that the challenges can become even more daunting because love will cause you to do things you'd never even consider from the standpoint of the ego.

When we've been freed from the ego's constraints, we can more aptly see God in the world around us. This is what is meant by Eugene Peterson's interpretation of the sixth Beatitude which says: “You're blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.” (Matthew 5:8; The Message Bible)

After the divine transformation clears our vision, we can more fully participate with God in the caretaking of our world. We're free from the ego and its constant pulling and pushing to meet various wants and desires. This is what virtually all the enduring religions of the world describe as “waking up.” The Buddha, for example, simply means “the awakened one.” People that are awake are not typically distracted by selfish desires and can be present to whatever needs to be taken care of.

This constitutes God's plan for the salvation of humanity, but I also want to acknowledge that God can use people whether they're spiritually awake or not. One such example comes from Global Ministries reporting on women's workshops in Kenya:

Discussion covered various topics related to regenerative farming to restore soils, biodiversity, and ecosystem functions, and to care for Mother Earth, the environment, and everything in it, including human beings. Participants discussed faith in action through smart agriculture and innovation, sowing seeds of collaboration, women's leadership in food and climate solutions, the place of sustainable architecture, and African heritage foods.

Though our country has entered a period of soul-stilling denial much of the rest of the world is moving forward in participation with God in the care of the creation.

Rev. Mitch Becker

May 17, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Hide and Seek”

Acts 17:22-31

On our trip to Greece, during COVID no less, we stood on the Areopagus (Air-ree-op-puh-gus) which is a rock outcropping just below the Acropolis. It was not well kept as there was trash strewn about never-the-less it was fascinating to stand in the very place Paul spoke to the people of Athens. Historically, it was actually used as a court of law specifically in the case of homicides, but on this occasion, Paul finds it useful in addressing a crowd of Athenians.

The reference he makes to “an unknown God” is a way of connecting with them theologically as there were many altars with such inscriptions. For the Greeks this “unknown God” was the creator of heaven and earth. Further, he makes the claim that humanity was created so that we could search for this God.

One of the most mystical phrases in the Bible and often quoted by my professor Marcus Borg is: “In him we live and move and have our being.” This is taken from a Greek poem in which its original intent was to glorify Zeus the father of Greek mythology. A close parallel to this mystical text is found in the psalms: “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from they presence? If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:7-10)

The crux of the text is found in the following statement: “We ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone.” In other words, how can we imagine God to be any of these things if we live and move and have our being in God? This amounts to a direct confrontation made against any form of idol worship.

In the entirety of this argument there is only one point, which comes at the very end, made in reference to Jesus Christ when he affirms Jesus as “the judge” who was raised from the dead.

Considering the text as a whole we can say that God dwells in the entire created order and is as near to us as our breath. We were created to seek God and to repent if we're not doing so. Specifically, we're called to completely turn away from any type of idol worship. This includes addictions, any form of materialism, or pursuits of power. The final vision is of Jesus who brings justice and was confirmed by God through resurrection.

As I was driving down our driveway on my way to work a bald eagle flew directly above me circling and apparently looking for food. The sight brought to mind that it was the National Day of Prayer. Karen suggested just a few minutes before that I some how recognize this important day and use it to inspire our national leaders to be more compassionate. Further, to pray that they would act to reinstate wages for government workers.

Pay for government workers is, of course, only one effect the general lack of compassion and indifference is having in regard to the plight of others. But prayer is a good start because it has an influence in heaven petitioning God to act. But just as important is the effect it has on us when we engage in prayer. When we connect with our True self within we are changed.

We are directed by a deeper spiritual experience to act in ways that God acts. It also feeds the transformation that is always in process for the person of faith who practices prayer on a regular basis. We are always being changed into Christ's likeness, and nothing contributes more to this holy transformation then prayer.

Maybe the Apostle Paul understood the importance of prayer more than anyone, other than Christ, in all of scripture. In one letter he simply tells the faithful to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) In our passage the primary emphasis is really two-fold beginning with the importance of seeking God, and this is soon followed with admonishing to avoid any false seeking though idolatrous behavior. The following story illustrates what it means to seek God:

There is a popular game that children like to play called hide and seek. Bryan and his sister, Susie used to play it until they were bored to death with it. They played it so often because they lived on the Oregon coast where there were ample pine trees, salal bushes, salmon berry and huckleberry, beach grass and even skunk cabbage. There were a lot of places to hide!

It's been a while since most of us have played the game, so a quick review is in order. You begin by determining who is going to be “It.” The person that's “It” stays stationary and the other person leaves looking for a good hiding place. Then the person that's “It” begins to count to one hundred, though often times they cheat skipping numbers to reach one hundred prematurely.

After reaching one hundred “It” comes looking for the person(s) hiding and when they're found one of two things can happen depending upon how you play the game.

Sometimes the person that is first found automatically becomes “It.” But some play the game where after the person is found you have to run and beat them back to “base,” and if you do beat them they become “It.” Bryan and Susie used to play the latter version because that final run to base made the game more exciting!

But there was a problem that would sometimes arise and that had to do with Bryan being very good at hiding. He knew how to wiggle into the skunk cabbage or lie flat in the beach grass totally concealing his presence. On occasion, Susie just couldn't find him though she would search with great diligence and perseverance.

At such times Bryan would at first become haughty about it all, so proud he was good at hiding, but after a while he'd begin to worry that he might never be found, and that's no fun. When this would happen, and after several minutes of hoping against hope to be found, he'd make a noise in the skunk cabbage or expose his head a bit in the beach grass, so he'd be seen by Susie.

She'd catch a glimpse of him and the race would be on. The lesson Bryan would learn, time and again, is that though it's fun to hide from someone at a deeper level you want to be found. Bryan had to learn this lesson many times before it really began to sink in.

Our Bible passage today tells us that God doesn't want to play hide & seek with us – God just wants us to seek him out because, like all of us, God wants to be found! This is what it sounds like in contemporary language:

Starting from scratch he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. (Acts 17:26-27; The Message Bible)

Rev. Mitch Becker

May 10, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Slow and Surely”

1 Peter 2:2-10

Eastertide ends on Pentecost Sunday, May 24, which puts us a little beyond mid Easter season. By this time the magnificence of the resurrection of Christ has dissipated because we've been immersed in our lives of meeting daily requirements. This makes our text for today especially important since its an attempt to resurrect resurrection.

This portion of Peter's first letter is chock-full of metaphors of which some of them convey the magnificence of the resurrected life. This includes metaphors having to do with iconic structures or places, precious stones or newborn babies! The tone for these inspirational metaphors was actually set in the previous chapter with the following words:

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him! This Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead we've been given a brand new life and have everything to live for....” (1 Peter 1:3; The Message Bible)

Maybe the metaphor of a newborn baby best captures what it means to “have been given a brand new life” with all the promise and possibilities that entails. But this new life also requires us to follow certain pathways that lead to the unfolding of it. Some things depend on us if we're to do what is necessary to ensure the “living waters” continue to flow up and out of us! This often means to turn away from fears and anxiety to trust in the presence of God both within us and on the outside.

It brings to mind something I used to face playing on the North Shore Golf Course in Tacoma. We lived in an apartment just off the sixteenth hole and watching people play through often inspired me to get out and play the course.

On the fifteenth hole there was a large body of water you had to hit over from the tee. I often found it a bit intimidating. What made it difficult was starting from the tee. This meant you had no momentum since you weren't hitting from midway of the fairway.

I would overcompensate trying to hit the ball too hard and invariably end up in the water. When really, all I had to do was hit the ball solid and it would travel the distance every time. My overcompensating was a result of being anxious about not clearing the distance. But when I would be quiet and calm myself through prayer and taking slow, deep breaths prior to hitting all would be well.

And so it is in these brand-new resurrected lives we've been given. Whenever we become fearful or anxious when trying to accomplish tasks or repair relationships or achieve some ego desire we invariably overcompensate. This often complicates matters or we simply fail all together. But if instead we turn and lean into our resurrected lives trusting in God's power we're much more likely to hit the ball squarely, so to speak.

One way to talk about what I'm doing at the fifteenth hole is I'm intentionally slowing down so God can do his thing through me. The philosopher Bayo Akomolafe (Bay-o A-com-moe-la-fay) expands on this by suggesting slowing down when we're confronted by a crisis:

To “slow down'”...seems like the wrong think to do when there's fire on the mountain. But here's the point: in “hurrying up” all the time, we often lose sight of the abundance of resources that might help us meet today's most challenging crises. We rush through the same patterns we are used to. Of course, there isn't a single way to respond to a crisis; there is no universally correct way. However the call to slow down works to bring us face to face with the invisible, the hidden, the unremarked, the yet-to-be-resolved....It is about staying in the places that are haunted.

Facing a body of water to hit a golf ball across isn't a crisis situation nor is it a “haunted place” but there are such places in our lives that we want to rush through rather than slow down and wait for God. That takes practice until eventually we learn that slowing down is the best path to follow. It's really what it means to be loving as Barbara Holmes explains in the following excerpt:

In order to love, you have to slow down. There is no such thing as “drive-by loving.” You have to give attention to the object, to the person, of your love. There has to be reciprocity and mutuality. It is giving ourselves over, letting go so something else can do the loving through us, because we're not capable of it.

Admitting we're not capable of loving is an expression of humility because humility is knowing our rightful place in the world. Humility is to be aware of our limitations and to accept them. It is to not pretend or a more positive way to say it is to be our True self. Sometimes it takes a crisis to get us to let go to the point we can drop down into our True self and the following story illustrates the process.

Some time ago Karen and I took a vacation on a Carnival Cruise to Ensenada. The cruise itself turned out to be one big party with a festive atmosphere and ample drinking of alcoholic beverages. It wasn't really our type of cruise but we made the best of it. There are still a lot of enjoyable experiences on any cruise including good food, great massages and entertaining shows.

My crisis came in the middle of the first night trying to sleep in a claustrophobic inside cabin. I awoke feeling uncomfortable and needing some air but we were entirely enclosed in a very small cabin. I had no idea what to do other than I needed some breathing room and as my anxiety increased so did the frequency of my breath accompanied with shallow breathing.

This is how you arrive at a full-fledged panic attack because as your breathing becomes increasingly rapid and shallow you change the oxygen/carbon dioxide ratio in your blood. This actually results in a mild sensation of suffocation which feeds the panic leaving you caught in a downward vortex.

The best way to stop the downward spiral is to slow down and take deep breaths while centering in God at the same time. And that's exactly what I did by reciting the psalms and taking slow, deep breaths. Because I've practiced quiet, centering prayer for so long I soon dropped down into that sacred, spacious place within myself and all of a sudden had more room than I ever needed.

In a heartbeat I went from panic attack to the peace of God and it wasn't long before I was fast asleep again. An added benefit was the religious experience stayed with me for the remainder of the cruise helping me to enjoy most everything else that happened. I let go of the panic so something else could love me, and the letting go was involuntarily. It happened by the grace of God.

The tendency at the onset of a panic attack is to take flight! You want to get through it as quickly as possible, but if you stay in the “haunted place” trusting in God the possibility of a genuine escape can emerge. I stayed in the haunted place by reciting the psalms and consciously slowing my breathing until God provided the escape.

The scriptures encourage us to stay in the haunted place until God arrives specifically in this passage from the Letter of James:

Consider it sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-5; The Message Bible)

Rev. Mitch Becker

May 3, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Guarding Gates”

John 10:1-10

The Gospel of John is sometimes called The Maverick Gospel. The word “maverick” actually comes from the raising and herding of cattle because a maverick cow was one that was unbranded. It was different from the others – off on its own. The Gospel of John is also different and off on its own in relation to the other gospels.

One way this characteristic stands out is that the kingdom of God is mentioned only once in this gospel (John 3:3-5). Whereas, in the Gospel of Luke it's mentioned thirty-two times! The kingdom of God is a central theme in all the gospels other than John.

Something else that stands out is a focus on right seeing and right interpretation. Jesus warns against following those who have come before him which he identifies as strangers, thieves and robbers. This amounts to a negative characterization of false teachers, corrupt religious leaders, and anyone claiming to be Messiah or offering a path of salvation other than his.

These characterizations can be seen as rather harsh as Jesus is drawing a distinct line of demarcation between him and any would-be substitute. To understand this, we need to look at the historical situation of the early church. At the writing of this gospel the early church had been around for a while. It's been two or three decades since the writing of Luke and Matthew whereas John was written around 90 AD.

Also, it's important to remember that the converts to the early church were predominately Jewish. When reading the Gospel of John, the last gospel written, it can be helpful to imagine a Jewish synagogue situated right across the street from John's church. As they near the end of the first century John may be experiencing a desire for some of the converts to want to return to the synagogue.

This line of demarcation drawn to distinguish between Judaism and the new fledgling religion of Christianity emerges repeatedly throughout the gospel. For example, the phrase “the Jews” appears around seventy times in this gospel and its not difficult to sense a negative connotation associated with that particular phrase.

You're probably not aware of it but today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, hence our text. Yet, it really isn't about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. If you look at it closely the more important word used to describe Jesus is the “gate.” It's easy to think of a gate as restricting the movements of the sheep, which it does, but it also provides protection from the strangers, thieves and robbers mentioned earlier.

Finally, the “gate” also has a more expansive connotation revealed in the closing words of the text: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

If you want to know what Jesus taught his disciples all you have to read is chapters three through five in the Gospel of Matthew called the Sermon on the Mount. If that's all you ever studied in the Bible that would lend enough guidance to lead a Christian life. It begins with the Beatitudes which are all about humility, mercy and peacemaking and right at the heart of the Sermon is this teaching:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

This often gets misinterpreted seeing it as earning your way into heaven but that's not really what it's about. A proper interpretation becomes possible when you consider the context of the teaching. The context is the Lilies of the Field parable instructing us to not worry about getting material needs met, because a focus on the kingdom of God will result in getting whatever you need to survive. It's really a description of the abundant life that Jesus acknowledges at the end of our text for today.

The gate is meant to keep out the thieves and robbers but here the Lord is giving us an even better way to keep them out. That is by leading a life led by Spirit so that there is nothing for them to steal in the first place. This is the pathway that leads to the abundant life and its enormously difficult for us to follow in these modern times. Because the culture in a seemingly infinite number of ways is constantly encouraging us to be materialistic. What else would a capitalistic culture do?

The problems begin, however, not with our culture but far in the past at the beginning of the fourth century. At that time the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire. This resulted in a lot less persecution, but it also aligned the church with worldly economics and authoritarian politics. Carmen Butcher and Brian McLaren can tell us more:

What do you do with Christianity when it becomes enmeshed with authoritarian power and corrupted by violence.... It's not hard to imagine a world that seems to be falling apart with political division and corruption, economic instability, and different ethnic groups clashing for power and resenting one another. It's not hard to imagine a world where religious leaders make deals with political leaders and visa versa, for mutual benefit. It's not just our world; it was the world Benedict of Nursia (Nurse-see-ah) lived in.

Benedict saw what the Christian religion was becoming, and he recalled Jesus' life of simplicity, love, and nonviolence. And something deep within him called him to do something new. Benedict believed that it was possible to live by the path of Jesus, rather than by the standards and norms of the crazy system that was operating around him.

Next Brian imagines what Benedict was thinking:

I'm going to leave the city and my privilege. I'm going to go out and establish an alternative community, a little island of sanity in a world that seems to be going nuts. I'm going to try to create a place where we seek to live by the law of love in the kingdom, kin-dom, or sacred ecosystem, of God. We will care for the sick and the dying. We will welcome the stranger and create an order of life that has dignity. We will preserve learning, writing down ancient wisdom. Every day, all day, we will enter into deep listening with God and with one another to keep Jesus' wisdom alive.

What you just heard wasn't, of course, Saint Benedict it is the imagination of Brian McLaren, but it probably hits pretty close to the mark. The only monastic experience I've ever had was with the Benedictine monastery at Mount Angel, Oregon. I've visited it many times, especially during Advent, walked the stations of the cross more than once, and even stayed on retreat overnight one time.

During that stay the monks invited me to sup with them which amounted to a bowl of soup while one monk read from a book. Other than that, the supper happened in sheer silence. After supper they invited me to sing the psalms with them during worship which I did. Obviously, there was an evangelical edge to what they were doing seeing me as a possible candidate for monk hood.

The contemplative side of me does find the monastic life appealing and I suspect they sensed that in me. One of the highlights of the visit was when we were in the hallway that led to the sanctuary preparing to enter for worship. It was raining outside and the monks came in one by one with their black cowls on. I remember one of them throwing back the hood of the cowl with great enthusiasm excited about singing the psalms during worship.

I felt the freedom he was experiencing as a monk devoted to silence and the gospel. He was enjoying his stay on this “little island of sanity” outside of the world that seems to have gone nuts. Jesus as the gate is trying to protect his flock from the insanity of an ego centered world and each of us has to decide, on a daily basis, if this protection is desirable or not.

Rev. Mitch Becker

April 26, 2026

Port Angeles 

First Christian Church

“Risky Conversations”

Luke 24:13-35

This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible which I love to preach. I like it because it's all about relationships that begins with a conversation between two disciples and Jesus and ends with an intimate setting in the breaking of bread together. It also happens while they're in motion on their way to a specific destination making it a traveling story.

This involved story can be interpreted in many ways but lets begin by focusing on risky conversations. The conversation with the Lord begins innocently enough with Jesus asking what they're talking about but it soon delves into political and religious matters. The disciples acknowledge Jesus was a prophet who had accomplished great things. In this indirect manner they're suggesting that the crucifixion was an affront to both God and the people.

In the first century such talk could get you crucified and just a couple years ago in our culture such conversations could result in stirring up trouble and hard feelings. Now-a-days confronting the powers-that-be, not entirely unlike the first century, can result in persecution, arrest and incarceration of some sort! These disciples are venturing into dangerous waters as does anyone these days that speaks out against injustice. This risky conversation continues with what amounts to a condemnation of the religious and political leadership with the words: “...delivered him up to be condemned to death....”

Much of the time when this text is explored the risky nature of the conversation is overlooked. But in these troubling times it's important to take note of what's happening and allow it to lend us guidance and courage to speak out against injustices being committed against God's children. Especially if those being persecuted are the marginalized in society.

This brings us to an interesting aspect of this story that doesn't come to light unless you delve into the Greek. Cleopas asks Jesus: “Are you the only stranger to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days.” But “stranger” doesn't quite capture the Greek. In the Greek the word for stranger is “paroikeis” (pah-roy-KAYSS) and embedded in that word is “paroikos” (par-oy-kos) meaning migrant or resident foreigner.

Cleopas is identifying Jesus as an outsider or a migrant from somewhere else. This helps him to understand why Jesus doesn't know what happened in Jerusalem. From here we can imagine where this story would have taken us if the disciples had refused to keep company with this outsider.

What we might expect Jesus to do after the disciples describe recent events in Jerusalem is to somehow acknowledge the challenge, they presented and the trauma that resulted. After all, being condemned to death and then crucified only to be raised up again would involve some powerful feelings including physical agony, psychological shame and a sense of being totally abandoned. Jesus acknowledges this abandonment when he says from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”

That would be the psychological downside of it, but then he was raised up again! Being brought back to life must have been an experience of overwhelming joy gaining victory over both sin and death. This was all demonstrated in the manner he greeted the disciples not with anger or resentment in the way they abandoned him but with compassion expressed in his first words: “Peace be with you.”

Yet, in his response to Cleopas and the other disciple he mentions nothing of this but instead re-frames the whole story within the larger ancient story of Israel. He says: “'Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

This could be considered denial in not wanting to relive the trauma and in so doing neglecting the joy of being released from death. But perhaps what Jesus is doing exceeds normal human capacities and he's thinking of what's best for these two disciples walking the road with him. Because in re-framing the story within the larger story of ancient Israel he's helping them to find their place in the big picture.

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I bring up the topic of denial because it's such a common human experience. I've been wrestling with some degree of denial over the loss of John. Problems include loss of sleep along with bouts of anger and depression. None of this has been severe but it is noticeable at times. John was my friend and his passing also puts me in touch with my own mortality.

It provokes wounding buried deep within my psyche related to my experience with the reality of death after I was diagnosed with cancer sixteen years ago. The cancer was entirely removed but it left a psychological scar. John's passing is bringing the pain up into my conscious awareness which I resist it because it hurts. We all do this because it's a natural instinct to avoid pain. But the process needs to be encouraged because the wounds can't heal completely until they're consciously acknowledged.

I do this through journal work, prayer, talking to my therapist, talking with Karen, sermon writing and in preparation for John's Celebration of Life. The Celebration of Life itself is a way of providing the processing of grief for the entire community. Celebration of Life services are meant to honor the deceased but they're also designed to help friends and family move on by fully acknowledging the loved ones passing.

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As the text informs us they're about seven miles from Emmaus when the journey begins and finally we're informed that they're getting close to their destination. As they near Jesus acts as if he's going to keep walking, so the disciples plead with him to stay since it's getting dark. He decides to do so and sits down at the table with them.

Now the Emmaus table differs considerably from the descriptions in the gospels of gatherings at the Lord's Table. There is no cup and Jesus says nothing in regard to the words of institution. Instead, he simply blesses and breaks the bread which is much like what Jewish families do at the beginning of a meal with bread that commemorates the receiving of manna in the wilderness. This amounts to a moment of intimacy because Jesus is not standing apart from the others. In ancient Mediterranean fashion they're reclining at the table which would create a physical closeness uncomfortable in modern times.

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This wonderful story that we've been blessed with serves to remind us that our relationship with the resurrected Christ involves long walks. Some of us, like Jerrie, have been walking the road with Jesus for many decades, while for others the walk is just beginning. But the Road to Emmaus is always there to encourage and lend guidance when we run into difficulties or just need a quick review of what it looks like to walk beside Jesus.

It can empower us to enter into the risky conversations to challenge injustices. Especially injustices begin committed against the marginalized or those who are viewed as insignificance relative to mainstream society. The marginalized are those who Jesus spent most of his ministry with including the despised Samaritans, the physically impaired and mentally ill, the poor and even the hated tax collectors.

The Road to Emmaus shows us we can re-frame trauma but not at the expense of denying the processing of pain to achieve health and wholeness. Finally, in our walk with Christ we can expect quiet, intimate dinners. Times of rest and renewal within a holy spaciousness as he sometimes invited his disciples to do as he told them: “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest for a while.” (Mark 6:31a)

Rev. Mitch Becker

April 19, 2026

Port Angeles 

First Christian Church

“All or Nothing”

Acts 10:34-43

This is not a typical text for Resurrection Sunday but that's okay because it contains the entire gospel. Peter tells us that Jesus was anointed and chosen by God. He receives the Holy Spirit which empowers him to go about the countryside doing good and healing and bringing freedom to the oppressed. He is put to death dying on a tree but God raises him on the third day and he appears to a chosen few. The icing on the cake is that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins!

Something else that's special about this depiction of the gospel story is in the context of the Book of Acts the evolution of the church is revealed. The church begins as a movement replete with miracles and visions and is really an adventure for the disciples because they have no idea what's around the next corner.

In the opening words of the text Peter says: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God.” Peter's comments come directly from a vision he was given. The vision amounted to a sheet that came down from heaven, and it was filled with all types of “animals and reptiles and birds of the air” and the Lord tells him to kill and eat them. (Acts 10:9-16)

Peter interprets this vision not as instruction to change dietary laws but that Gentiles, who eat all these things, should not be considered unclean but clean. That's what Peter means by “God shows no partiality.” Peter may harbor his own prejudices – God does not. Our God is a loving, accepting God who welcomes all people in the same way Jesus did in his ministry even embracing the despised Samaritans.

We being the followers of Jesus need to always keep at the forefront of our minds this loving, accepting nature of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit do our best to emulate it. Whenever our actions reject the foreigner or the stranger or whenever we put our people over any other people we're acting outside of our God who accepts everyone who fears God and does what's right.

In this most holy of days of the church year, the Resurrection of our Lord, let us be reminded that this act of salvation was for everyone. Let us keep in mind the ministry of Jesus who brought to the broken and oppressed the very presence of a loving God. He is not only our Lord; he is the Lord of all.

We have two cats named Symphony and Sebastian. Symphony was raised in a litter with several brothers and sisters in a warm home. She has always had adult human beings caring for her, feeding her, and showing her affection. Sebastian, on the other hand, had a rough start abandoned out on the Dungeness Spit. He's a rescue that harbors trust issues which Symphony has never known.

Where Symphony is happy to curl up beside you and express varying degrees of contentment Sebastian is content to go to the chicken shed at dinner time and remain there until morning. In the chicken shed he feels safe and secure and best of all he doesn't have to wrestle with his trust issues. The way he looks at the world is a result of having to fend for himself among the various dangers he encountered leaving him shy on trust. His guard is always up even with us.

Animals are not as complicated as we are which makes them a good study. Though they don't posses our capacity for complex language, nor our cognitive abilities nor our level of self-awareness they do experience a range of emotions and display social behaviors. Behaviors like an ability to cooperate and sometimes show empathy. Though Sebastian is being loved and accepted by Karen and I because his guard is always up attempting to embrace him can be a challenge.

With this in mind we can consider our behavior with God. Though Peter makes it clear that God shows no partiality we too have been wounded by others. The wounds may smart and we keep our guard up so as not to be hurt again. The problem originates not with our God who embraces us with a love that transcends human understanding – the problem originates from our side because our defensiveness prevents God's Spirit from reaching us.

A defensive posture often has to do with issues around forgiveness When we fail to forgive those who have wounded us the resulting pain gets trapped and can turn into a chronic bitterness and anger that can lead to mental and physical health problems. This brings us to the icing on the cake in our text today. Remember, it ended like this: “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

We're enabled to drop our guard and allow God's Spirit to heal and bring forgiveness by trusting in Jesus. Jesus is the Way but he's also the means. In being forgiven we're enabled to forgive but self-forgiveness must come first. That requires a willingness to be vulnerable. To let go of control and allow Jesus to get into the driver's seat, so to speak.

In contemporary language it sounds like this:

Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem. Submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him by the hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master, That can never be!” But Jesus didn't swerve, “Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.”

Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of a deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?” (Matthew 16:21-26; The Message Bible)

In this past Holy Week, many of us witnessed Jesus' final days on earth. It began on Palm Sunday when he enters Jerusalem not to get everyone excited but to begin to bring his ministry to a close. On Maundy Thursday we gathered at the Lord's Table with the disciples to keep Jesus company in his hour of great need. On Good Friday our prayers brought our souls in alignment with the suffering he had to endure. Today, Resurrection Sunday, we celebrate the new life that comes from the willingness to suffer with him.

One way to talk about this new life is to acknowledge the True self within us that results from the inner transformation we allow to take place. This can only happen when we drop our guard and trust in The Way Jesus has given us and by embracing the suffering that happens God can crucify our ego one day at a time. As the ego dies the True self comes forward. The Apostle describes it like this:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18b)

Jesus did all of this not only for his followers but to show The Way to new life for all of humanity. Resurrection Sunday happened for the sake of all of God's children because God loves everyone. May the Holy Spirit open our hearts and minds to the healing love of God. Amen.

Rev. Mitch Becker

April 5, 2026

Port Angeles

Easter Sunday