April 1, 2018 – Easter Sunday – “A Life for Fools” from John Knox Kirk – The Kirk of KC on Vimeo.

An Easter sermon preached at The Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on April 1, 2018.

Scripture readings (which you may wish to read prior):
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
and John 20:1-18

To put your mind at ease, there are no practical jokes woven through this sermon.

There are no special Easter eggs today–
those are hidden surprises
That video game designers or movie directors
sneak into their final masterpieces.

When I was a kid, I could take my controller on my Nintendo video game system
Up up down down left right left right B A Start
And it would start me on level 20, instead of at the beginning.
Or I’d get five extra lives. Something like that.

Or on the Legend of Zelda, that’s a videogame popular when I was 13 or so
you’d look for a secret passage that led to a lavish treasure chest.

These were the Easter Eggs I liked to hunt, hidden surprises
Special advantages
Something only you would know.

These aren’t just for video games.

A few weeks ago, our family traveled to Los Angeles for the first time.
It was Spring Break
We were off to see where they made some
great TV shows and blockbuster movies.
I took a picture at the same desk where President Josiah Bartlet sat
on The West Wing,
now resting properly at the Warner Brothers Studio Prop Room.

We saw how they made Harry Potter fly on his broom
We held a real Oscar.

But the first thing I did when we got there
Was I took our daughters to a gastronomical icon in that part of the country
We went to In-N-Out Burger.

I wonder if any of you have been there.

There’s not a lot special about that place, at first glance.
Your average hamburger, fries, milkshake establishment.
But it’s the secret menu that draws people in, by the THOUSANDS.

If you go there, and you don’t know about the secret menu
The offerings seem tame.

One patty or two. Cheese or no. take your pick.
What size fries can we get you?.
Pretty simple.

But if you know the secret menu….
Well, that’s the special code that unlocks everything:
–You can get your fries “Animal Style”
And they’ll smother them with grilled onions and extra special sauce.
–You can order the 4×4 burger,
And they’ll stack four patties and four cheese slices in there,
With or without onions, take your pick.
–There’s a secret grilled cheese sandwich, not on the regular menu
If all that saturated fat seems to be a bit too much for you.
–Or maybe you’re cutting carbs:
Order your burger “Protein Style”
and they will wrap it in lettuce instead of the bun.

These surprises are meant to keep you on your toes
To make something feel a little special, if you’re in the know.

I’ve always found it amusing that they call these things Easter Eggs
Those little surprises. They’re particularly apt for a sermon on a day like today.

The last time that Easter Sunday fell on April Fools Day was sixty-two years ago
way back in 1956.
And I wonder if there was a temptation back then
to have a guy in a bunny suit
Jump out at just the right time during the anthem.

Don’t worry.
Landon promised me he won’t do any of that.
Not this Sunday, anyway. [Read more…]

A Good Friday meditation preached at The Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on March 30, 2018.

Scripture reading (which you may wish to read prior):
John 19:13-30

We sometimes go through seasons
where it feels like everyone we know is suffering.
–That project at work is keeping a spouse up at night.
–A sister’s chemotherapy is making you lose your appetite as well.
–You hear of the death of someone at the middle school
And you hold you kid close,
all too aware of our inability to shield our loved ones from danger.

These moments weigh us down.

If its ok to share with you my own weight,
what broke me this week was news of the death of the Reverend Buddy Monahan.

Buddy served with me on the board of the Presbyterian Mission Agency
He was the interim pastor of a church in Odessa, Texas
Chair of the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns
of the denomination we call home, the Presbyterian Church USA
and a proud, full-blooded member of the Choctaw Nation
one of the first peoples of this land.

For a decade or so, Buddy was the chaplain of the Menaul School in Albuquerque
An important institution for the education and advancement of native peoples.
And he had almost a constant broad smile that could blind you.

News of his car crash came across social media on Tuesday,
Just a few hours after I had booked travel
for my final meeting of the board in April.
At 52, he left behind a congregation during holy week
A wife and three kids
Friends and colleagues who respected him beyond measure.

He is the second board member to die this year.

The other, Susan Osoinach, was a ruling elder, also from Texas
Who had been fighting cancer for a year. She died a month ago.
She taught French at a local high school
She read ordination exams for people who wanted to become ministers
And she chaired the power and privilege ministerial team for the board.

Susan was always sending me these quiet facebook messages like
“Thank you so much for wearing your robe and stole
at the executive order signing.
Thank you for standing up as a “man of the cloth.”
Thank you for taking a public stance as a Christian. Thank you.”

///
I’ve been thinking about friends and colleagues and fragility,
That’s what has weighed me down this week. [Read more…]