ONE APP...ENDLESS AWESOME

I have two sons. The oldest is autistic. His name is Johnny. He is this 3 year old child in the body of a 25 year old man. He is one of the most loving, innocent, joyful human being you will ever meet. Johnny does not have capacity for abstract thinking. He has a very limited vocabulary. His favorite word is awesome. When he was very young, every time he did something like putting on a sox, or button his shirt, his mother would say: “Johnny that is awesome.” So he knows awesome stands for something good.

Awesome is Johnny's greeting and goodbye word. Awesome is the word that settles his world.

So we bought him several T-shirts with the word awesome on them. “The definition of awesome: you are looking at it” “So awesome, it hurts”, “Anybody can be cool, but awesome takes practice”, “I brought the awesome, what did you bring?”

His favorite fast food place is Chick-fil-A. Every Saturday we take him there. It is part of his routine. Few months ago, we were eating our french fries and I noticed a phrase on the side of the paper container: ONE APP...ENDLESS AWESOME

This is what a senior manager for digital experience for Chick-fil-A said about this app:

“We know time is valuable, and we’re excited to offer this new convenience that will empower guests to order what they want, when they want it and exactly how they want it, all from their mobile device,”

So the whole purpose of this app is to make your visit to the chick file, an awesome experience.

And do you know how many apps are out there promising to do exactly that in various aspects of your life?

As of June 2016 Android users can choose between 2.2 million apps. Apple's App Store has about 2 million apps.

So we have access to millions of apps to make our life easier in ordering food, communication, education, transportation, banking, etc. You name the need. And there is an app for that. Let's say you are watching a movie in a theater and but you want to go to the bathroom so badly. But you are afraid to miss part of the movie. There is an app to help you choose the best time to go without missing the story. It is called Run and Pee.

But is there an app for life itself? Is there an app for for an awesome life?

I believe there is, because why would God create us and put us on this planet unless it is to have an awesome life? Why would our birth be for anything less than that? Why would a loving God want us to suffer and struggle?

Think of a human parent. I will share my experience. When we were pregnant, I was hoping and dreaming and praying for an amazing life for our children. Never for a moment, I said: “I am going to bring this child into this world, so that he can suffer and struggle. I can't wait to watch him writhe in pain, I can't wait to see him fall off the cliff and break his leg...I can't wait to see him depressed and kill himself.”

If o sane parent would ever want such disastrous fate for his children, then why do you think God, the source of all goodness would want us his children to live half baked lives? Why would God want us to marinate in our misery while dragging our feet thru the valley of tears and end up with a miserable existence?

God doesn't; like the owners of Chic file, God has created an app for us to have endless awesome. But where is it? How do you download that? Is it free or you have to pay for it?

Yes it is free and it is available to all of us. But you cannot download it from the App store.

The One App that can give you endless awesome is not among the 4.2 million apps that humans have created. It is not out there in the Icloud. You don't have to download it because You came into this world, pre-installed with that App.

Everybody has one. But there are 3 problems associated with this app. Denial, disregard, and ignorance. It is not the fault of the creator of the App. It is our fault. Some people deny that it exists in them; others know they have it, but don't pay any attention to it and most people don't know how to activate it.

Lets face it. You can have the best app on your phone. But if you don't switch on the phone and activate the app it is of no use.

Do you know what is the App that is already installed in you? The answer is in Genesis 27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

The divine image within you is that amazing App that can provide you with endless awesome. God has installed it. But we have to activate it.

Humans are smart in so many ways. But when it comes to activating the divine app, they are ignorant immature, lazy, careless, clueless, bored, tired, and too busy. People have all the excuses not to activate this app and plenty of time for everything else...then they wonder they don't have an awesome life?

Nicodemus in today's gospel is such a guy. He was a pharisee who belonged to the ruling council. He was a religious man. Yet he felt he was missing something in his life. He was not having an awesome life. If he had, he would not have come to see Jesus...he was looking for something more...and he knew Jesus had the key to that.

And Jesus says to him; No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. It is important to notice that Jesus does not say, no one can enter the KG...we have this notion that KG is a place some where up there, where we can enter after we die. We rarely think of of KG as something that we can experience right now, on this earth, during this life. Jesus said; The KG is within you; but we forget that don't take it seriously.

Now Nicodemus takes those words literally and wonders how he could enter his mother's womb and be born again.

Actually the correct phrase is not “born again,” but “born from ABOVE” which means born of God...which we already are. We are all born of God. We are imprinted with the image of God at birth.

So born again means, remembering who you were at the time of your birth...a beautiful, innocent child, unaffected by the worries and cares of the world, untarnished by the shenanigans of the ego, uncontaminated by the temptations of of flesh, unattached to material possessions, untouched by the darkness of anger, envy, jealousy, pride, and greed, but with an unvarnished sense of security and an unlimited supply of love, peace and joy. That is what born again means.

So what happened? We grew up and we lost all our innocence.

Jesus wants us to go back to that sate of being...and it is possible even tho we are all grown up and in our 40s 50s or 60s. “It doesn't matter how old you are chronologically, what matters is how old you are Christologically.”

How alive is the Christ within you? How active is the Holy Spirit within you? How shining is the light within you? How tangible is the image of god within you? How vibrant is the breath of God within you? How visible is the peace within you? Those are the questions I want you to ponder today.

Let us see, you wake up in the morning and you pick up your phone to check your messages or go on face book or whats app. You press on that button, but guess what...the screen is not lighting up..phone is dead... What do you do? You don't throw the phone away...you don't blame the manufacturer. You may be little irritated, but like a responsible person you immediately go for the charger and plug it in...and viola in a few minutes, the screen comes alive...and you can use it again.

This is exactly how the divine app also works. It is inside you. But you have to activate it. For most people the battery is never charged...they are living their lives with an App inside that can provide endless awesome, but the battery has been dead for years or it was never charged.

How do we regularly charge and activate this divine image? Meditation is the best way to do it.

Another thing you have to do is inspirational reading. If you read only the National Inquirer, The People Magazine, Danielle Steele novels and social media postings, your divine image is not going to be charged and activated.

Another way to charge this divine image is weekly communal worship.

We are doing it and that is why we are here every week.

Let us pray that the whole humanity acknowledge the divine app, activate is on a daily basis and experience endless awesome every day....which is the fullness of life that Jesus promised.

DISCIPLESHIP IN DIFFICULT TIMES

Orlando, Florida — the “happiest place on earth” became the bloodiest and unhappiest place in America, last Sunday morning. All it took was a man with deep hatred in his heart and an assault weapon that gunned down 49 people.

The atrocity sends shock waves through the nation. The populace becomes angry and afraid. Some take to the social media to express their anger and frustration about these horrific events happening repeatedly. Others run to gun stores to store up ammunition to “protect” themselves.

The event evokes feelings within us — feelings of sorrow, sadness, anger, pain, revenge, hate, helplessness, hopelessness, and ultimately, fear, a lot of fear. Fear for our safety, fear for the safety of our loved ones; Fear for the future our country.

You can feel the anxiety of the people and the angst of a nation expressed through thousands of social media postings and blogs. You can read them in editorials; you can hear them in political speeches. In a week or two, the rantings and ravings will stop. Memories of the horrors of Orlando will recede into the back of our minds and we will get busy with life — until the next incident happens.

It is not a prediction, but stating a reality. Unless the leaders of our nation think seriously about combating domestic terrorism, lower the tone and temperature of our political discourse, and enact common sense gun laws, it will be only matter of time before another mass shooting occurs.

In this context, what is a Christian supposed to do? How are we disciples of Christ supposed to think? Should we join the crowd and hate Muslims? Then what happens to our discipleship which calls us to love our enemies? How does Jesus’ command to “turn the other cheek” make sense in this situation?

Is God on our side when we fight the enemy? Are our national interests and divine interests the same? If they are different, how do we conduct ourselves as citizens and disciples at the same time? Jesus says: “Let not your hearts be troubled; trust in me and trust in my Father.” Can we trust Jesus to protect us or should we go out and buy some guns? Jesus says: “Be not afraid.” But the truth is that we are afraid. How do we live as fearless followers of Jesus among fearful citizens? These are difficult questions for a disciple.

Let us turn to the first disciple, Peter, for some guidance in this matter. Peter was not a courageous man; in fact he was a fearful man. That is why he denied Jesus three times, in front of a maid. Peter was also a narrow minded Jew. He was not open to the Gentiles, and he did not want to associate with them. He thought he was specially chosen by God and the Gentiles were outside the love of God.

Then Peter went through a transformation of consciousness. An awakening happened in his life that changed his whole perspective about Gentiles and the so called outsiders. Today, we call them immigrants, Muslims, Mexicans or any one who is outside our tribe. Peter’s awakening is described in chapters 10 and 11 of the Acts of the Apostles. I strongly encourage you to read it.

Let me summarize the experience that opened Peter’s eyes. Peter was staying in the house of a man named Simon, the tanner, in a town called Joppa.

At noon, Peter went to the roof of the house which was a terrace, to pray and he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open and a sheet being lowered in front of him, by its four corners. Inside it, were all the four legged creatures of the earth, and reptiles and birds of the sky. A voice said to him: “Get up Peter, kill and eat!”

Peter replied: “Surely not, Lord. I have never eaten anything unclean or impure.” The prospect of eating unclean food was against his religion. It was a horrifying thought for Peter. But then, he hears the voice a second time: “Do not call anything unclean, what God has purified.” This happened three times and then the sheet was taken back to heaven.

While Peter was still thinking about the meaning of this vision, he hears a knock on the door. He finds two men standing there. They had come to invite him to the house of Cornelius. Now, you have to remember that Cornelius was a gentile and Jews and gentiles are not supposed to mix and mingle. Peter was a bit confused, but went with them anyway.

When he arrived, Peter said to Cornelius: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or to visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. That is why I have come in response to your invitation without raising any objections.”

And then Peter said these words to the people gathered in the house: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism. But accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”

God shows no partiality. God does not love one nation more than another. God does not love one group of people over another; God does not favor one religion over another religion. God is not a partisan. He wants all his children to be united, beyond borders, beyond nationalism beyond religions.

If you want to be a Godly people, you need to think and act like God. You cannot claim to be a Godly person and be prejudiced and discriminating towards any group of people, be they from other countries or other religions or have different pigmentation or sexual orientation.

That is what Peter, the first disciple realized; that is what, we as today’s disciples need to realize. It is a difficult lesson to learn. We will learn that lesson only if we transform our lives through Christ-consciousness. Remember, the tag line of our church is “ Transforming lives through Christ-consciousness.” Our narrow, selfish human consciousness will not change our attitudes. It will not allay our anxieties or remove our fears.

All us have different identities. I can think of 8 deterrent identities for myself: I am a husband, a parent, an Indian citizen, an American citizen, a hospice chaplain, a minister, a Christian, and a disciple. (Now you may wonder isn’t “Christian” and “disciple” the same? Not always. You can be a good Christian and a bad disciple at the same time. I won’t go into that now, because that is a whole new sermon)

So, I am this one individual with 8 different identities. Each one of them involve differing loyalties and allegiances. Some more than others. For example, there is very little conflict between my identity as a parent and as a husband. Similarly, my identity as a hospice chaplain and minster are very compatible.

But during crisis situations like the events of 9/11, or terrorist attack in Orlando, or a heated election season like we are having now, we may feel conflicted about our national identity and our religious identity. Your loyalties may be questioned. Your allegiances may be challenged. Your faith may be tested.

What is your primary identity? Are you an American first and a Disciple second?

Let me answer that question by using the story of Abraham, who is the called the “Father of Faith.” It is a long story that spans a total of 9 chapters in the book of Genesis (12–21). Please read it: It is a fascinating story of fear and courage, despair and hope, struggle and surrender, the possible and the impossible, of losing and finding, and ultimate transformation of his identity. Let me summarize it.

First of all, Abraham was not his original name. He had a different name (anyone knows?) His name was Abram which means (exalted father). “The Lord called Abram and said to him: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Gen.12:1)

God has already asked him to give up 3 of his identities: His national identity, his cultural identity and his family identity. Leave your country, leave your people, leave your household!

Abram was 75 years old. He takes his wife Sara, his nephew Lot and leaves his land called Haran and is headed for Canan. It was a long journey full of dangers and risks. He had to deal with famine. He had to face enemies. There were quarrels between Abram and Lot and they had to go separate ways. But God kept on reassuring him: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (15:1)

After 24 years of grueling journey, when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him again and said: “As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, from now on, your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” (17:4–6)

You have to remember he was 99 years old. Fatherhood at that age is impossible by human standards. Yet we know that he became the father of Issac and through him the father of the chosen people. Remember he also had to deal with God’s command to sacrifice his only son. So, on the one hand is the promise of a great nation through his progeny, but on the other hand he had to sacrifice that progeny. It made absolutely no sense. Yet, Abraham complied with God..and we know what happens when we comply with God against our human calculations. It is hard to do, but it pays off all the time.

Abraham became the “Father of Faith” through his single minded faithfulness to God. Fear and faith are related. Your fearfulness is directly proportionate to your faithfulness. The more faith you have, the less fearful you are and, vice-avers. To remain faithful to God, Abraham had to leave behind several identities behind: his national, cultural, and family identities, and finally he had to even give up his name. He relinquished his identity as Abram to become Abraham.

How many identities do you have? If you had to give up all your identities and choose just one, what would that be?

Would you choose “Disciple” as your primary identity? It is a difficult question to answer, but we must honestly answer that, especially in trying times like these.

If you dare to assume “Disciple” as your primary identity, then you may have to rethink your view on people of other religions like Islam, and other countries like Mexico. Do I support banning Muslims from entering this country and building a wall to keep the Mexicans out? You may have to re-examine your views on guns. “What is more important to me — the 10 commandments or the second amendment? The Bible or the Constitution?” These are not easy questions.

But who said discipleship is easy? Listen to Jesus telling his followers. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”(Luke 9:23–25)

Jesus is asking you to deny your identity, your own very self, the self that you may be jealously safe-guarding. He is asking us to shed our personal ignorance and national arrogance. He is asking us to leave behind our national loyalties and worldly allegiances and make discipleship our priority.

Do you know what is the pay-off for doing that? It is huge. It is something we should all want.

Let us see what was the pay-off for Abraham for giving up so much, including his name. God said: “I will make you a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great; you will be a blessing..I will bless those who bless you..and all people on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen12:2–3)

God stretched his name from Abram to Abraham. He expanded his name from Abram which meant, “exalted father” to Abraham which meant “father of nations.”

If you really want to be a Godly people, and true disciples, you have to be willing to undergo some “stretching and expanding” — stretching your mind to include all people in your circle of concern and expanding your heart to embrace them with love.

All “stretching” causes pain at first, but is rewarding at the end.

If you really want to be blessed by God and be a blessing to others, choose “Disciple” as your default identity. Make sure that your thinking, feeling and acting are sifted through the spiritual sieve of “Christ-consciousness.”

Any other way of living will be compromising your Christianity, diluting your discipleship and faking your faith.

• Christianity
• Religion

PARKLAND TRAGEDY; WE LIVE IN A GOOD FRIDAY WORLD BUT WE ARE AN EASTER PEOPLE

Two weeks ago, terror visited our neighborhood. Horror Jolted our hearts. Pain filled our minds and sadness soaked our souls.

Many are asking the Why question. Why such horrible things happen in the world? What makes a person so angry and evil that he could take an Uber ride to a school and gun down innocent kids?

To get flavor of how this event has affected some people, I like to share with you a face book posting from a teacher at Stoneman Douglas. I know her personally because she was Johnny's teacher at Taravella. She wrote this at 4.30 in the morning because she couldn't sleep.

Random thoughts on the state of our staff…teachers' days are not normal, we are floating around, We have too many funerals to attend, we can't make a plan, we're late for everything because there's so many extra people in Parkland and the roads are all blocked, we shake uncontrollably, We can't be alone, free food is everywhere but we can't eat, we have pounding headaches, we are wearing hats and sunglasses, we can't take the sirens and cop cars buzzing around town, we can't sleep more than a couple hours, we wonder why we can't cry, we can't send our kids to school because there are so many lock downs still going on, we pet dogs, we gather, we blame ourselves and wonder what we could have done differently, we pull over and puke on the side of the road, we can't enjoy the sunshine or the beach we don't want these helicopters above us.

We go to counseling every day, we are hyper vigilant, we drive slow, we don't comb our hair, we can't wear our contacts, we are high-fiving survival, we stink, we look like zombies, we jump straight out of our chairs when a door slams, We are sharing our Xanax, we have no idea when we will go back to work, we carry Kleenex everywhere, and walk around with heavy hearts, not knowing what to do and what to expect next.

That just gives you a glimpse into the anger, sadness, questions, frustrations, senselessness, hopelessness, and helplessness of the whole situation.

How do we RESPOND to these events and experiences as DISCIPLES? That is the central question as we gather in church. Notice two words in that question… respond and disciples. I use those words intentionally. Lets look at the word respond.

Most people are not responding to what happens to them or around them. They are reacting. What is the difference between reacting and responding? You may not have thought about it. Understanding that difference could make a big difference in our lives.


A reaction is usually immediate and on the spot without much thinking or reflection about the meaning of the event or consequences of the reaction. We have expressions like nuclear reaction., allergy reaction, chemical reaction, emotional reaction which have an immediate, automatic, instinctive and sometimes destructive quality to it. If you study face book postings and twitter feeds, you will see that most people are reacting to what they see and hear and experience. Knee jerk reactions that are often, unrelated to reality, untested by facts, hyperbolic, superficial, emotionally charged and often, mean, cruel, unnecessary, and untrue. So when we are merely reacting to events around us, we are just following Newton's 3rd law of physics…for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Unfortunately, Christian life is not based on Newton's law of physics.

Responding on the other hand, means, reacting thoughtfully, mindfully and maturely. Responding requires, taking a deep breath, digging beyond the surface, looking beyond what you see, thinking before speaking and pausing before you click that send button on an email or post. Responding involves being alert, paying attention, prayer, reflection and meditation. Responding is focused, not on what happens to you, but who it happens to.

The second part of the question is: how do we respond as disciples? Because we have the option to respond in so many ways. We can respond as a Republican or a Democrat, a conservative or a liberal. We can respond as an NRA member, we can respond as an American, as an Indian, as an immigrant, as a gay person, as a man or a woman. We can also respond as a disciple. In fact we should respond to all the events and experiences around us as disciples of Jesus. When you do that, you will see that everything that happens to you or around you - be it school shootings, car accidents, cancer diagnosis, job loss, divorce or death - doesn't matter what it is, takes on a new meaning and significance.

I like to share with you, how my faith which, definitely gets challenged by tragic events, is restored. How, after experiencing anger, denial, bargaining, depression and sadness and horror, my sanity is restored. My discipleship kicks in.

As a disciple I know that destruction and restoration are two sides of the same coin. Death and resurrection are two aspects of the Christ-mystery.

Let me explain. What happened in Parkland on Valentines day , was a horrific event. Shattered lives, broken hearts, deferred dreams. No question about the horror of that day. There is no denying the reality of that event. It happened in real time, to real people.

But plenty of other things also happened immediately after that. I think of the heroism and self sacrificing mentality of coach Aaron Weis, geography teacher Scott Beigel and coach Chris Hixon who literally sacrificed their lives to save the lives of children. I look at the courage and tenacity of the police officers. I am inspired by the passion and determination of students like David Hogg, Emma Gonsalez, and Cameron Kasky who are willing to fight for a worthy cause like gun control. Seeing the love and compassion overflowing thru the veins of thousands of people who stood in line for hours to donate blood, brings tears to my eyes. I am humbled by the generosity of thousands people who donated to Go fund me, raising 2 million dollars in two days. There is so much good that is mixed with so much bad.

That is the mystery of life; that is the meaning of the Chinese symbol of yin and yang. Two aspects of the same reality, inter-related yet distinct, one flowing into the other, creating a rhythm of complimentary wholeness. We have to learn to live in the midst of the mystery of life, and also at the edge of it, resisting the temptation to find all the answers and control all events.

>Life is messy. Our messy lives and crazy world can never be contained in a nice bottle of acceptable answers to difficult questions and, easy solutions to complex problems. That is where inner processing is needed. That is why our discipleship matters.

If you want to live on the face of this earth, there is no escaping the reality of polarity. All of us want happiness; but we won't know what happiness is without experiencing sadness. We won't know what light is without encountering darkness; we won't know what a mountain is, without looking at the valley; we won't know what peace means in the absence of war; we cannot experience life without accepting death. Good and bad, darkness and light, death and life, despair and hope come in pairs.

That is how life is designed by the Creator. We cannot avoid it, or circumvent it; We cannot go around it; we have to go through it so that we can accept it and deal with it. The good news is that, day always follows night, light always follows darkness, hope always transcends despair, and life ultimately wins over death.

Apostle Paul understood this dual aspects of life so well, and that is why he wrote to the Corinthians:

We are hard pressed on every side, but we are not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed; we always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. We who are alive are given over to death for Jesus' sake so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body; so then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

In another place, in the same letter to the Corinthians, Paul guarantees them that the bad and the good, the wounding and the healing will merge together in their lives, through the sufferings and the comfort that comes from Jesus. 2Cor 1: 5 says, "for just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also thru Christ, our comfort overflows."
Notice that Paul uses two contradictory words, in the same sentence. "suffering" and "comfort." He places them side by side, showing us the undeniable bond between the two.

As humans, we don't want them together; we want them separated; we only want comfort; We like to avoid suffering. But it doesn't work that way. As disciples, we should learn to put them together and find meaning and mystery inside that.

In the aftermath of the enormous suffering caused by the school shooting, comfort may not be easy to find. But it is there. It is inbuilt into our souls by the Creator. We need to go within to find it. To feel it, we need to attach our lives to the other side of the cross of Jesus.

We are disciples of a man in whom tragedy and triumph were blended together: Crucifixion and resurrection. The tragic part did not destroy Jesus, but elevated him to a new level of being as the Risen Lord.

That is our model. To be steadfast and peaceful in the midst of the tragic and the painful experiences of life, whether they happen to us or around us. To find that place within us that is unaffected by the turmoil of the world.

That will happen when we place Jesus in the center of our lives, Jesus who suffered but was also glorified; Jesus who died, but rose again. Let us pray for the grace to understand and accept this irony and mystery of life.

Let us always remember that we live in a Good Friday world, but we are an Easter people.