Thanksgiving for Two Brians

I attended two worship services today and preached (sort of) a thirty minute sermon at Platte Woods' committee/task group orientation. North Star early; Trinity mid morning, and PW at 4:00. It was a good day. The bishop preached at Trinity today, a congregation known for its open and affirming ministry with gay and lesbian persons. The choir's men section is probably the best of any UMC in the city (or county). And of course, as always, the "through or around" sermon on the five practices of healthy vital congregations was well received and the congregation was grateful for our bishop's presence.

The sermon that Brian Roots preached at North Star today was more than wonderful. He has preached a four week series on stewardship of the world---today what it means to be good stewards with people globally. If I could google every sermon preached today in the whole world, I feel confident that this would be the only sermon that would pop up as using the following three phrases 1) Brian McLaren ...(Yippee! Brian R will be preaching on The Secret Message of Jesus for several weeks he announced); 2) Cross-dressing ( Rev. Roots reminded us that we need to be neighborly especially to those who make us most uncomfortable); and 3) Fair trade coffee. Instead of doing some general sermon on "we are all brothers and sisters and we need to work for justice," Brian, using the Good Samaritan parable, preached a sterling specific sermon about coffee, coffee pickers, and justice in our coffee drinking. He started by saying that every day for the past 23 years he has prayed for the people who picked the coffee beans for his coffee. He told how much he loved his coffee in the morning (something I really resonate with); how he had tried to give up this addiction many years ago and then he couldn't really find a good reason to (with much self deprecating humor); about his awakening to the lives of Central American men, women and children who harvest the beans; about how joyful harvest season is because that is the only time the pickers/farmers have money; about when the crops fail for small farmers they often become nomads with their families, some ending up in the US as "illegals," which Brian reminded us that that was not really right...they are "undocumented," not illegal. He asked us to think about the neighborliness of our country's immigration policy. He asked us to consider buying fair trade coffee, which yields the small coffee field owner $1.20 a pound in equal exchange, and helps to stabilize their lives. And he said that he knew that making these small gestures didn't seem very much in light of the larger economic issues, but he reminded us of the star fish thrower, picking up star fish after star fish and tossing them in to the ocean...no, he couldn't save all of them, but he was making a difference for those he could reach.

And I think Brian McLaren would have loved the sermon too. One of the turnings of many in the emergent conversation who are not United Methodists (we have always claimed social justice or "social holiness" as an essential, though not always lived that out) is toward having a stronger voice in global justice issues. I am so grateful to both Brians for who they are and what they bring. And how I was reminded again today, that my neighbor is not only the urban kids who live upstairs and occasionally make lots of loud noise with stereos and girlfriends, but those whom I do not know and often do not even think about, whose lives call me to wake up some around these issues and at least take small steps to educate myself, my family and my churches.