Online Worship (January 17) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

January 17

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:20 am]

Holy Hump Day (January 13) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

An Angel Tree Christmas 

Thank You Letter 

Online Worship (Jan. 10/Baptism of the Lord Sunday) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

(Jan. 10/Baptism of the Lord Sunday)

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:20 am]

Sermon (January 10/Baptism of the Lord Sunday) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     Baptism of the Lord Sunday might as well also be called Holy Spirit Sunday because of the close relationship between the Sacrament of Baptism and the Spirit. In our Gospel lesson, we have the story of Jesus being baptized.

     People often ask why Jesus needed to be baptized since we usually associate baptism with the forgiveness of sins and Jesus as God’s Son was sinless. But in addition to cleansing from sins, baptism is also closely associated with the outpouring of God’s Spirit.

     Notice that when Jesus was coming out of the water, we are told that the Spirit descended upon him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

     Baptism is closely associated with the Holy Spirit. 

     And this is also why on this Sunday of the year, our Old Testament reading is from the creation story where we hear that it was the wind from God that swept over the waters leading to the creation of the world.

     In the Hebrew language, which the Old Testament was written, the word for “wind” is the same word for “breath” and “spirit.” Wind, breath, spirit. It’s all the same word.

     I find it very interesting that the word, “breath” is interchangeable with the word, “spirit.” 

     Jack Leviton is a bible scholar who has recently written a book about this. The title of his book is “The Holy Spirit Before Christianity.” And in his book, he makes the important point that we often only think of the Holy Spirit in terms of the New Testament and specifically with Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples marking the beginning of the church.

     But he makes the point that when we read the Old Testament more carefully, we can see that the Holy Spirit is also prominent in the Old Testament. And this is why our Genesis creation story reading is paired with the baptism of Jesus story because they both speak of God’s Spirit. Spirit, wind, breath. They all are connected.

     And this has led Jack Levison to this very, very important quote that I would like us to think about on this Baptism of the Lord Sunday. He says, “If there is a message for the American church in a study of the spirit in the Old Testament, it’s for us to learn to breathe again.” “It’s for us to learn to breathe again.”

     That might not sound very spiritual at first, but since the word, “spirit” is closely connected with “breath,” breathing is probably one of the most spiritual things we can do.

     And when I heard him make this point about learning to breathe, I immediately recalled a conversation that I had with a pastor friend of mine who has suffered with anxiety. When we were together a while back, he told me that one of the things his therapist has taught him to do was to use his breathing to help him cope with his anxiety.

    There’s a way to breathe that can be helpful and there’s a way not to breathe. Breathing from the abdomen, experts tell us, has many advantages. It helps to diminish the sense of anxiety we may be feeling in any given moment.

     When we learn to breathe, it helps to increase our oxygen supply, it increases our feelings of connection between our mind and body, and it enables us to have better concentration and focus.

     This past Wednesday when I was watching the news where people broke into the Capitol to protest the presidential election based on a conspiracy theory, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. I was angry. I was embarrassed. I felt so helpless. And that’s when I thought about this sermon and how God invites us especially in moments like this to breathe and to receive God’s Spirit anew.

     I say all of this because I really think learning to breathe is a spiritual thing. 

     So, let’s just take a moment and be conscious of the breath we are taking in this very moment. As you breathe, think about that breath as God’s life-giving spirit filling your lungs and providing you with oxygen, connecting your mind and body, and helping you to be focused and centered. God’s Holy Spirit is as close to you as that breath you are taking.

     As we think about the breath we are taking, let’s try this abdominal breathing exercise that you might find helpful to do periodically during the course of your day. Go ahead and take a deep breath through your nose while silently counting to five. When you get to five, hold your breath for a second or two.

     Let’s try this together. Slowly breathe in using your nose, counting slowly to five…

     Now hold hold on to that breath for about two seconds…

     And exhale slowly.

     Let’s do that one more time…

     This is a breathing exercise that we can do each day. If you’re like me, we probably don’t do this nearly often enough. But what is more basic than being conscious of our breathing and learning to breathe?

     And whenever you do this breathing exercise, not only does it have health benefits and can calm us when we are feeling anxious, it also reminds us that God’s Holy Spirit is in that very breath we are taking. The Holy Spirit is as close to us as the wind and our breath.

     Another important point that Jack Levison makes about the Spirit in his writings is that the Spirit not only enables us to breathe, it also is what prompts us to be a people of justice and mercy.

     Throughout the scriptures we read how the Spirit leads and guides us to challenge the status quo where there is injustice. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism refers to this as the “promptings of the Holy Spirit.”

     When have you felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak out or take a action against racism, inequality, sexism or anything that seeks to dehumanize people? 

     I find it very interesting that this past summer’s Blacks Lives Matter protests were rekindled because an African American man was choked to death while crying out, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”

     That breath that he wasn’t able to take was also the Spirit that gives all of us life no matter what our color of skin might be. Spirit, breath, wind. It’s all the same. Those words all refer to God’s life-giving power at work in the world. Perhaps if we would keep in mind that every single human being is breathing in God’s spirit in any given moment, it might help us to see that we are one human family.

     George Floyd’s final breath led to an unleashing, an unleashing across our country of God’s Spirit calling out racism and injustice and demanding that changes be made in how we treat each other. God prompts us through the Spirit to stand up and speak out for what is right.

     Learning to breathe also means learning to use our breath and and our voices to promote justice and mercy.

     When Jesus was baptized by John, the Spirit descended upon him. And I also think about one of the first things that Jesus did following his baptism. He went into the synagogue and he read from the prophet Isaiah where it says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, (there’s that word again, ‘Spirit’) …”  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

     The Spirit, God’s wind is what prompts us to share God’s mercy and love with all people especially in those places where there is inequality and suffering.

     When we learn to breathe, we not only receive God’s life-giving Spirit for ourselves, we also can’t help but to offer that same life-giving Spirit to others.

     A little over two years ago, I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to preach three sermons close together here at Athens First in support of the LGBTQ community. It was around that time that we were approaching our denomination’s special General Conference meeting which was focusing on that very issue. 

     I shared with you during those sermons how my biblical perspective had changed over the past several years and led me to this more inclusive understanding. When I had planned out my sermon schedule which I like to do months in advance, I had no plans on addressing this issue, but as that General Conference was fast approaching, I decided to change my sermon plans. I only did that because I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so.

     I have been thinking about those sermons from two years ago because later this year toward the end of August, our denomination will be holding another General Conference that could potentially lead to a split in the United Methodist Church over this issue. My prayer is that our church will continue to be a prophetic voice of full inclusion where candidates for the ordained ministry are not disqualified based on their sexual orientation and where gay couples are not turned away from being married by a United Methodist pastor.

     The same Holy Spirit that led me to preach those sermons two years ago is the same holy breath and wind that is leading me to continue in lifting up this very important issue. The Spirit is always prompting us to stand up for justice and equality. I just pray that I would become even more open and responsive to the Spirit’s promptings.

     On this Baptism of the Lord Sunday, let’s continue to learn to breathe in God’s Spirit of peace and justice. Practice those breathing exercises and remember that God is with you in every breath you take. Every single breath.

     In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Learning to Breathe

Sermon Discussion Questions

Genesis 1:1-5 & Mark 1:4-11

January 10, 2021

Baptism of the Lord Sunday reminds us that the Sacrament of Holy Baptism is closely associated with the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is why the story of Jesus’ baptism includes a dove which represents the Spirit. Throughout the scriptures, the word for “Spirit,” is closely associated with the words, “breath,” and “wind.” This is why our Old Testament appointed scripture reading is from Genesis, chapter one which describes how God’s wind/breath/spirit swept over the waters of creation. 

When you think of the Holy Spirit, what comes to mind? What does the Holy Spirit mean to you in your faith journey?

John Levison, an Old Testament scholar who has written a book about the Holy Spirit claims that since the word that is used for “Spirit” is the same word that is associated with the words, “breath” and “wind,” this can remind us of the importance of our own breathing in coping with anxiety. Learning to breathe is as simple as breathing in slowly from our abdomen (through our nose) counting slowly to five, hold that breath for a second, and then slowly exhaling. When we are more conscious of our breathing, it can help us to be more aware of God’s life-giving presence through the Spirit which is as close to us as the breath we are taking.

Take a few moments to practice these breathing exercise. Breath in slowly from your abdomen (through your nose) for five seconds, hold that breath for a second, and then exhale slowly. Repeat this simple breathing exercise a few times.

How can this breathing exercise and being more conscious of the breath we take help us to remember our baptism and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

John Wesley often spoke of “the promptings of the Holy Spirit” in our everyday lives. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit prompts us to be a voice for justice and equality.

When have you felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak up for justice and equality in our community and world? This week, specifically pray to be open to these promptings of the Spirit for the transformation of our community and world. Here is our Sunday worship prayer to offer this week during our daily prayer time:

Creator God, your breathed and creation was born. You spoke and our world came came to life. The beauty of the earth, the bounty of creation, the rising and setting of the sun all speak of your goodness and grace. Breathe upon us anew with your life-giving Spirit. Remind us of our baptism in which you have claimed us as your own. Forgive us for whenever we do not breathe in your Spirit and receive the fullness of life you have in mind for us. Amen.

Holy Hump Day (Jan. 6/Epiphany) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

Happy Epiphany Day!

Sermon (January 3/Epiphany Sunday) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     Today, we celebrate Epiphany Sunday and the story of the Wise Men who came from the east to offer gifts to the Christ Child. 

     Wise Men, Magi, We Three Kings – These are all titles that are commonly used in referring to this group of people who traveled from Persia in search of the newborn King.

      I’d like to add another title for these visitors from the East. For today, let’s think of them as “seekers.” I love that title. They were seeking to offer their gifts and honor the one who was born, king of the Jews.

      This year’s New Year’s celebration didn’t just feel like a welcoming of 2021. It also felt like a good riddance to 2020. 2020 wasn’t kind to us. The new year couldn’t come soon enough. I sensed a sigh of relief as we hung new calendars on our walls. Welcome, 2021!

     For many of us, this higher than usual expectation for a better year also includes a renewed hope. With this in mind, think with me for a moment what this renewed hope could mean for our faith.

     Like those magi who traveled many miles to seek the newborn king, what if we too would see ourselves as seekers of a deeper faith? This is a year in which we can take our faith to a whole new level. 

     Being seekers like the magi means that like them, we have a curiosity to know who this newborn king is and what this means for our own faith perspective. And like saying goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021, being seekers may also mean letting go of the past and embracing the future that God has in mind for us. Yes, this new year seems like the perfect time to travel with the magi and seek a deeper relationship with God.

     I love the name given to this day on the church calendar. Epiphany. We sometimes use this word in everyday language when we say, “I just had an epiphany,” and we will proceed to share some new insight or something we discovered or learned.

     To have an epiphany means being open to the new direction that God may be leading us. It’s difficult to have an epiphany when we are satisfied with the status-quo and when our minds and our hearts are not open.

     Back in the fall, I received a college magazine update, and in her letter to the college community, the president of the college wrote these insightful words, “The three Rs of education should be more than reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic. It needs to include seeking and finding truth – research and reflection – before reacting.”

     I understood her words to mean that we shouldn’t be satisfied with the status-quo and to always have a healthy curiosity that will lead to growth and new understandings. Education and spiritual growth are never meant to be stagnant. When we stop learning and growing in our faith, we cease from being the seekers that God is calling us to be.

[Kirsten Powers, Journalist]

     Kirsten Powers is a journalist and political analyst. She’s been on Fox News, CNN, and USA Today. I recently heard an interview she gave about her faith journey which is really interesting. Her story is the story of a spiritual seeker.

     Kirsten shares how she grew up in a home that wasn’t particularly religious. Her mother was Catholic but had fallen away from the church. Her father was Episcopalian and didn’t attend regularly.

     When she was in college, she saw herself as an atheist or agnostic. She just didn’t know if she really believed in God. When she was in her 30s, her boyfriend at the time was attending a well known evangelical church in New York City, and she started attending worship services with him. 

     She said how that church got her to start thinking about her faith more seriously and she became a believer during that time. But as she continued in that church, she realized that she didn’t agree with a lot of what the people of that church believed about the Bible, about politics, and about social issues.

     Here she was, not a very conservative person, worshiping in an evangelical church that didn’t reflect her values and theological views. But, she says that she’s thankful for that church because that’s where she encountered Christ in a very real way. For the long-term, the church was just too narrow and one dimensional for her theologically because she was more progressive than they were on issues such as gay marriage.So she started attending a different church, an Anglican Church, but that church also felt too restrictive in their beliefs. 

     And so, she continued her spiritual search in finding where God was leading her in her faith. In her role as a journalist, she met Father Jonathon Morris and they became friends. She started asking him questions about the Catholic faith and he introduced her to a more inclusive understanding of the Christian faith, something that Kirsten had been seeking. For her, the evangelical church was too one dimensional, but in the Catholic faith, there was more room for both conservatives and liberals.

     She decided to join the Catholic Church just a few years ago and since then, she has continued in her spiritual quest. When she went to Rome on assignment to do a story with other reporters, she participated in a spiritual pilgrimage that was happening while they were there. She said how that pilgrimage in visiting the holy sites in Rome had a big impact on our faith. It helped her to appreciate the mystery of the faith and that there didn’t need to be an answer for every spiritual question. Just live in the mystery. And this has led her to practice the spiritual discipline of meditation and prayer. 

     Another spiritual mentor encouraged her to read the book, “Falling Upward,” by Richard Rohr who has written several other books on Christian spirituality in which he talks about how our failings can be the foundation for our ongoing spiritual growth. Kirsten shares how this long journey of seeking has been worthwhile and gives her a sense of peace and wholeness. 

     She is now writing a book on the topic of grace. 

     After I listened to her interview, I was reminded of how like Kirsten, we are all called to be spiritual seekers and that spiritual journey is ongoing and leads us to new understandings, experiences, and connections. Kirsten’s story reminds me so much of what the Wise Men were doing when they made their long journey to seek the new born king by following a star all the way to Bethlehem.

     Kirsten’s story also reminds me of the kind of church that I want us always to be, a church that gives room for people to be who God has called them to be, a church that is humble enough to see that we don’t have all the answers, but a church where we can point each other to the One who is the newborn king, the one who wants to live at the very center of all of our questions, doubts, and deepest longings.

     One of my favorite things to hear as a pastor is when someone who has been a long-time church members says, “I learned something new about my faith,” or “that bible study helped me to see that there are other ways of interpreting scripture,” or “I like being part of a church where we see our faith in different ways.”

     We are all seekers here. We are all following the star and it’s a long journey. But the good news that I want to leave you with today is, that journey will always lead us to Christ. That journey will always lead us to a deeper appreciation of divine mystery. That journey will always lead us to a richer understanding of God’s grace at work in our lives.

     And as we begin this new year and let’s all thank God for this new year! As we begin this new year together, how appropriate that we begin our journey with the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The one who was born as our king is also the one who suffered, died, and who rose again for our sake.

     May God bless you with many spiritual epiphanies this year. And like the Wise Men, may they always lead you to overwhelming joy. 

Seekers

Sermon Discussion Questions

Isaiah 60:1-6 & Matthew 2:1-12

January 3, 2021

Epiphany is the day on the church calendar that we focus on the Magi who traveled from Persia to bring gifts to the Christ Child, the newborn king of Israel. Many different names are used for these travelers including Magi, Wise Men, Kings, etc. Whatever name we use for them, they were also seekers who were willing to travel a long distance to meet and present gifts to this newborn king.

In what ways do you see yourself as a spiritual seeker? What would you consider to be some common traits of someone who is seeking a closer relationship with God?

In today’s language we sometimes use the word, “epiphany” to describe a new insight, discovery or idea.

Share an epiphany of something new that you have learned or discovered.

Pastor Robert shared the spiritual seeking of Kirsten Powers, a nationally known journalist and political analyst. She grew up in a nominally religious home. She always saw herself as an agnostic or atheist. A friend invited her to an evangelical church in New York City where she became a Christian. Following her conversion, she began to realize that this church’s conservative views in interpreting the Bible did not line up with how she viewed the Bible and faith. This led her on another spiritual search and she ended up joining a Catholic Church. She continues to be a seeker in her understanding of the Bible and faith.

What does your spiritual journey look like? How has being a spiritual seeker helped you to keep growing, to keep asking questions, and to keep being open to new perspectives? 

As we begin this new year, offer this prayer to help us be more open to the epiphanies that are yet to come along our spiritual journeys. 

God of light, heal us with your steadfast love. Forgive us for when we close our minds and and refuse to allow your brightness to shine through us. Restore us in your mercy when we put our own comfort before the needs of others, and when we are unwilling to speak out against oppression and violence. Renew us in the power of your Spirit when we refuse to follow the star you have placed before us. Lead us again to bow at the manger, offer our best gifts, and honor you as our true King. Amen.

Online Worship (Jan. 3/Epiphany Sunday) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

(Jan. 3/Epiphany Sunday)

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:20 am]