Boundary-breaking Hospitality, with Rev. Dr. Steven Koski.

Boundary-breaking Hospitality, with Rev. Dr. Steven Koski. Series: Holy Troublemakers A Spacious Christianity, First Presbyterian Church of Bend, Oregon. Scripture: Luke 15.1-2; 4-7.

Feeling unsure about faith, church, or where you belong? This Sunday, we’re exploring a powerful message of radical love and acceptance. Whether you’re searching, doubting, or just curious, there’s a place for you. Join us online or in-person – no judgment, just grace.

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At First Presbyterian, you will meet people at many different places theologically and spiritually. And we love it that way. We want to be a place where our diversity brings us together and where conversation takes us all deeper in our understanding of God.

We call this kind of faith “Spacious Christianity.” We don’t ask anyone to sign creeds or statements of belief. The life of faith is about a way of being in the world and a faith that shows itself in love.

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Keywords:

Rachel Held Evans, holy troublemakers, evolving faith, LGBTQ+ inclusion, church vision, spiritual refugees, grace table, repentance, unconditional love, marginalization, civil rights, theological diversity, open doors, long tables, radical love., presbyterian, church, online worship, bend, oregon

Featuring:

Rev. Dr. Steven Koski, Rev. Sharon Edwards, Becca Ellis, Brave of Heart, Guests

Transcript

Whitney Higdon: 0:00

You. Welcome to worship At First Presbyterian we, at First Presbyterian, practice a spacious Christianity, which means no matter where you are in your faith journey, you belong and there is space for you at the table, there is space for your doubts and questions. We believe doubts and questions are a gift that invite us into deeper conversations and a more authentic faith. We believe diversity is a strength. Every story is sacred and everybody matters. We do our best to live the spacious and radical love of Jesus so that all might have a chance to flourish in this world. We are so glad to connect with you in this way. We would also love to worship with you in person if you're ever in the neighborhood on Sunday mornings at 830, or 10am and never hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about us or how we might support You. I hope you enjoy this worship service. Welcome.

Unknown: 6:03

we continue to explore holy troublemakers, and this week is Rachel Held Evans at her memorial service. Her friend the Reverend, Nadia Boltz Weber, gave this blessing. It reflects Rachel's life. And perhaps our own. Blessed are the agnostics. Blessed are those who doubt. Blessed are those who have nothing to offer. Blessed are the preschoolers who cut in line at communion. Blessed are the poor in spirit, you are of heaven and Jesus blesses you. Blessed are those who no one notices, the middle schoolers at the lunch tables, the laundry folks at the hospital, the sex workers and the Street Sweepers, the closeted the teens who have to figure out ways to hide new cuts. Blessed are the meek. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you. Blessed are they who have loved enough to know what loss feels like? Blessed are the mothers of the miscarried? Blessed are they who can't fall apart because they have to keep it together for everyone else Blessed are those who still aren't over it yet. Blessed are those who mourn you. Are of heaven, and Jesus blesses you. I imagine Jesus standing here blessing us, because that is our God's nature. This is the Jesus who cried at his friend's tomb, turned the other cheek, and who forgave those who hung him on the cross. He was God's Beatitude, blessing God's blessing to the weak in a world that admires only the strong, Jesus invites us into a bigger story, bigger than ourselves and our imaginations, yet we all get to tell that story with scandalous particularity of this moment and this place. We are storytelling creatures, because God has fashioned us in the image of the storytelling God. May we never neglect that gift, may we never lose our love for telling that story. Amen,

Steven: 9:09

we're continuing our worship series on holy troublemakers, people of faith willing to get into good trouble, holy trouble for the sake of love and justice. This week's holy troublemaker is Rachel Held Evans, a Christian writer, Best Selling Author. Rachel grew up in the Bible Belton, in a conservative and Evangelical Church, and she began to question many of the things she was taught about God, the Bible, Jesus and the Church, her writing became kind of like a safe haven for those who were hurt by the church but who didn't want to let go of the story of Jesus. Rachel started a virtual community called evolving faith for spirit. To a refugees longing for a place to call home. Rachel said, an evolving faith isn't abandoning God, it's moving closer to the heart of God. She wrote, whether you're a believer who doubts or a doubter who believes, or someplace in between, there is a place for you at God's table of grace in May of 2019 Rachel died unexpectedly after a short illness. She was only 37 years old, with a husband, two young children. People from all over the world wrote tributes, saying they found a way to return to a relationship with God because of her writing and her work. So I want to highlight Rachel today, during pride month, because of her vision of the church. Rachel said, what makes the gospel so offensive to some isn't who it keeps out, but who it lets in. Rachel said, I used to be so, so certain with my theology in neat little boxes, my Bible underlined in all the right places, my heart guarded by by all the truths I've been taught to believe. But somewhere in the journey of my evolving faith, between the doctrine and and the dissonance, I started to notice how exhausted my LGBTQ plus friends were how many had been hurt rejected by churches just like mine? How many walked away from the church not because they didn't love Jesus, but because they didn't think Jesus could possibly love them back, because that's what they were told. Rachel said, I longed for a church that didn't see itself as the gatekeeper of God's grace. I longed for a church with open doors, long tables, willing to serve as host, a table setter, making sure there's a place for everyone and enough grace to go around. Let's be honest, churches haven't always gotten this right for far too long. LGBTQ, plus, folks, I've heard one of two things, you're welcome here, but you need to change, or, well, God loves everyone. Who am I to judge? But let's not talk about that part of you that's not welcome, that's not grace, that's not love, that's not Jesus. And if we as followers of Jesus are serious, serious about living the same radical and spacious love that he lived, well, then we've got some spiritual work to do. The Gospel of Luke chapter 15 begins this way. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus, and the type of Jesus, the Word sinner didn't mean what we think it means it didn't mean specific behavior, specific immoral behavior. The word sinner in the time of Jesus actually referred to people who were considered unclean, unacceptable, not welcome in the temple. So Luke 15, says the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered this man, Jesus welcomes sinners. He welcomes the unclean, the unacceptable, and he eats with them. The religious leaders were offended by who Jesus welcomed to his table. Instead of getting into a debate, Jesus did what Jesus always did. He told a story. Jesus told him this parable, suppose one of you, suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them, doesn't he leave the 99 in the in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it. And when the lost sheep is found, he joyfully puts the sheep on his shoulders and returns home. He. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, celebrate with me. Rejoice with me. What was lost is now found. I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who feel they don't need to repent. The word repent kind of scares some people. The word repent actually is not, not some scary word you see in a billboard. The word repent is actually a really beautiful word, and it literally means to turn, or actually, better, it means to return. So is it possible Jesus is saying here that there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one person previously excluded on the outside, who returns, who finds their way back to God and community, then over 99 self righteous persons who don't even realize they're lost. Did you notice the celebration in the story, the joy? Did you notice the celebration that takes place in the heart of God? When the one who is on the outside returns, they throw a party for God. It's not only important for you feel welcome, for you to feel included. That's actually not far enough for God. God desires that your very presence is celebrated. Rachel said the church shouldn't be the last place people feel safe to be fully themselves. Church should be the place where the fullness of who you are is received with celebration not suspicion, where your pronouns are respected, where your partner is welcomed, where your identity is seen as sacred, not sinful. Being inclusive, she said, Isn't isn't about being trendy or progressive. Being inclusive is about being faithful to the love of Jesus. Several years ago, when I was a pastor at a church in Adelaide, Australia, a young man named Michael began attending the church. Michael left Adelaide years ago to live in Los Angeles, and Michael had AIDS, and he was actually returning home to die. He was really, really thin and always cold, so he would have a blanket around his shoulders. He would sit alone near the near the back of the church. I learned he'd been told his whole life that he was an abomination to God, and that God rejected him as his family rejected him, as he felt rejected by the Church, but as he neared the end of his life, he was desperate to know that he would be welcomed into God's heart when he died. Now I tried to tell him that he was already welcomed in God's heart, loved just as he was. You know, the congregation welcomed Michael, but honestly, their fear kept them at a safe distance. They didn't really get close to Michael, my son Jacob, who was two years old at the time, Jacob, this two year old knew intuitively what Michael needed every Sunday. Amazingly, Jacob would find his way to Michael, and he would crawl into his lap and let Michael hold him for the entire service. The unconditional love and acceptance of a two year old helped Michael heal and be found in God's unconditional love before he died. You know, as I look back as the pastor of the church, we welcomed Michael, but we didn't celebrate him. We didn't tell him that his presence in our church was not a. Liability, but a gift. We didn't acknowledge that our story wasn't complete without his story. You know, we were the 99 we wouldn't be complete without him. I regret that. Here's what Rachel Held Evans wrote not long before she died. If you're gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer, I hope you already know you don't need my affirmation to live whole and joyful lives, just as God made you. You are beloved children of God, and there is nothing I or any other Christian writer or church leader can say to alter that. I hope you know deep in your bones that there is no height or depth, no angel or demon, no denomination or church or pastor or parent who can separate you from the love of God and Jesus Christ. My heart grieves over the way this truth has been obscured and denied by the church, often in destructive and deadly ways. Forgive me for all of the ways I have been complicit in your marginalization, including my silence. It is not the church or any church leader that makes love valid. It is love and only love that makes the church valid. Friends. I know we won't all land in the same theological place. Some are still wrestling. Some are still asking questions. That's okay. That's human. What's not okay is using our uncertainty as an excuse for silence when the civil rights and very existence of our LGBTQ plus siblings are under siege every day, we're allowed to be unsure, but not unloving. We may not understand, but what we don't often realize is we're actually not asked to understand before we love. We are called to love, and it is love, only love, that will deepen our understanding. The church becomes the church, not when we agree on everything, but when we welcome everyone to the table, and we choose to stay at the table and learn to love one another. Rachel Held Evans was a holy troublemaker whose vision of the church included everyone she wrote. The Gospel doesn't need a coalition devoted to keeping the wrong people out. It needs a family of sinners saved by grace, committed to tearing down the walls, throwing open the doors and shouting, welcome, there's bread and wine. Come and eat with us and talk friends. May we continue to build a church to be a church that looks like Jesus, one with open doors, long long tables, a surprising guest list and enough grace for absolutely everyone. May it be so. Announcer friends go in the peace and the unconditional love of Jesus that welcomes and celebrates the presence of each and every one, including you. And May the love that you bring to this world bring peace to others and help them to know that they, too, are loved and celebrated. Amen.

Whitney Higdon: 28:30

Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope you enjoyed this worship service. If you would like to make a donation helping make these podcasts possible or support the many ways. First, Presbyterian seeks to serve our community. You can make a financial gift online@bendfp.org every week, we hear from someone thanking us for the gift of these broadcasts, and what a difference they make. Your support makes that possible. Our church is committed to reach beyond our walls, bringing hope where there is despair, and love where it is needed the most. Your generous support helps us to be generous in love. Go to our website, bend fp.org, and click on the link. Give online. Your support is really appreciated and makes a difference in people's lives. Thanks again. I hope to See you next week. You