West Avenue Church

Every Wednesday at about 11:00 the church fills with people from all over the community. They are older than many, younger than some. They laugh, tell stories, play games, eat, drink coffee, learn things, go on trips. They do it all. They are the Busy Buddies. Now, often people slipand call them Busy BODIES, and in some ways they are right. They know each others’ business becasue they keep track of one another. That is part of how they care for one another.

The group is open to seniors. It meets on Wednesdays at 11:00. Stop by, you will be glad you did.

Welcome to our updated website. As the days go by, we will add pictures and stories and semons. Stay tuned for  more changes.

Here is a recent sermon preached at West Avenue Church.

Finding our Way
John 10:1-10

As the birds begin chirping and the grass gets greener, I think we all feel the relief of having spring on its way. A few weeks ago as I was walking somewhere – maybe to church I heard the unmistakable sound of geese and looked up to see a crowd of them flying north for the summer. I am fascinated by them. I could watch them for hours – except I would have a sore neck from looking up so long. Actually, it is not just the geese but all birds as they move from place to place. So there is a great movie about geese, sort of, called “Fly Away Home.” In it, a girl, who is probably 12 or 13, discovered a nest of goose eggs that has been abandoned by their mother. The adult geese all fled their nests in a marsh area because of bulldozers coming in to dig up the land for development. So the girl, Anna, brings the eggs inside and creates a warm place so they can hatch. They do and suddenly Anna has become the mother to a brood of about a dozen goslings. Soon the father discovers her secret. And they find out from the local wildlife officer that there is some law about domestic geese. The law requires that the birds be made unable to fly. But what the family wants to do to help them fly so they can remain wild and live the life they were meant to live. Without the adult geese to guide them, though, the new chicks have no one to teach them the migratory routes. So they decide to use ultra-light planes to guide the geese to their winter home Virginia. The dad is sure Anna is too young to fly, the but geese won’t follow anyone else. So she ends up leading them to their winter home.

The geese won’t follow anyone else. This, apparently, is because when a baby goose pecks its way out of the shell, it feels a connection with the first thing it sees. Anna had been there at their breaking out, and the baby geese thought she was their mother. They have an instinct to follow mom no matter what. And she nurtures them. Plays with the, calls to them. And they listen to her voice – and really no other.

Somewhat like the shepherd and the sheep. They know my voice and follow me. Somewhat like the life Jesus calls us to. Jesus calls us to listen and to follow. To know his voice, to listen to his voice and to follow him. It is as if Jesus is imprinted in our being as the one who guides us, teaches us, feeds us, keeps us safe.

But for us it is harder than it is for the bird or the sheep. We can hear other voices. We have free will. Our survival does not depend on learning the migratory route. Our survival does not depend on staying together with our family and friends. Our survival does not depend of listening only to Jesus. Or does it?

I was reading an e-mail I got the other day and it mentioned a group I had not heard of called Red Letter Christians. Later that afternoon I was at a books store looking for one thing and finding something else – a book called “Red Letter Christians.” It was by an author that I sometimes find interesting so I picked it up to have a look. It is an effort by this guy and others who consider themselves evangelical to reclaim for themselves and those who read the book, what they mean by the word. What they think Christian faith is about, and to refute the notion that authentic Christian life is really like anything one might see on TV.

The author’s contention is that living a Christian life is best done by paying attention to what Jesus said. The words that were often in red in bibles of the past. They probably mean paying attention and doing things that were in accord with what Jesus said and what he did. They want to live a life through the narrow gate. And they want to bring people with them through that gate. So they are speaking against the notion that following Jesus will make one rich. They are speaking against the notion that a person can be a follower of Christ and in favor of the death penalty. Or in favor of fiscal policies that reward the wealth by concentrating wealth among fewer and fewer people. Or complicit in being part of the wealthiest nation in the world in which 40% of the people do not have health insurance. Where families are one illness away from bankruptcy.

These are men (I didn’t see any women listed) who have embraced the notion that we can be people of faith who work for justice. This is a book that lists issues we need to think about and ask candidate running for public office about. They have turned their backs on the notion that following the gospel is easy, that it is a path to success and prosperity. They have turned their backs on the notion that there is one right answer for every situation. They have come to realize that people of faith must speak up and speak out for justice. They are listening to the voice that leads to the narrow gate. The voice of the shepherd.

We can hear that voice, too. But we have to listen. Our world has become so noisy. We are so easily distracted. Jon always teases me about being like a magpie whenever we go to stores like Starbucks, or Target, or Kohls. Because I am their target market. They produce things that I do not need, and yet must pick up and look at and consider buying. I might resist the temptation 9 times out of ten. But every time I give in, the producers win. They know they have me and that I am likely to buy something I do not need, again.

We can hear and follow the voice of Jesus. It is a matter of our survival. Our survival as a community, as a people. We cannot continue in this culture of everyone is on their own. It does notwork that way. Even bird who are territorial and fight each other while nesting, join together during migration seasons. We cannot go it alone. We need the one who calls us and teaches us the way to be among us. We re a people called to listen, to follow and to learn. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.