Brewing Theology With Teer Hardy

The invitation to grace was part of what made Mister Rogers and the Neighborhood of Make-believe tick. Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister. His calling was to care for children, me and you, in a world that often neglects the intelligence of children in exchange for easy distractions and questions unanswered. Mister Rogers once said, “Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.”This is grace at its most basic definition, extending love and acceptance to someone exactly as they are, exactly where they are. This is precisely what Jesus did in going to Galilee instead of Jerusalem. Jesus went to a place where the law, the thing that was supposed to guide the liturgy of the community was not always followed. He went to this place and said “Here comes the kingdom of heaven, not because of your ability to follow the liturgy of the community perfectly but because, as you are and where you are, G-d has come down from on high to heal and share the good news that while we may be filled with sin, G-d still loves you. G-d has not abandoned us, leaving us to figure it out on our own. The new liturgy for this community, for the world, we will write it together, guided by G-d’s love.The pattern of our community may not always mirror G-d’s plan but G-d, in Christ can work with us, guiding us to a new pattern of holiness. This is at the heart of Jesus’ invitation to Change your hearts and lives!” Repent, turn towards G-d because the G-d’s Kingdom is at hand.Jesus extended an invitation to the disciples he called by the Sea of Galilee and it is the same invitation he extends to use when we answer his call to follow him and we emerge from the waters of baptism. This invitation is to change the narrative of the community by changing the pattern, changing the liturgy that guides us. The patterns created by our lives together do not change because of anything we do but because we have been changed by Christ’s invitation to grace and cannot imagine doing anything but changing. A liturgy of grace, the work of God’s love we participate in does not remove us from the weekday and weekend liturgy of the neighborhood. Our work continues. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Assuming our unrighteousness upon himself, Jesus will take our unrighteousness with him to the cross - by the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection, Christ has done for us that which we were and continues to be unable to do for ourselves. We have been made righteous.We are right before God.Our justification began in the Jordan River and was realized on the cross when Jesus died for the empire colluders, thieves, and religious hypocrites. John’s baptism of repentance was about soliciting a pardon for us from God. Jesus baptism and our baptism into his death and resurrection is about the work completed by God. The waters of baptism are not a solicitation, no, we are celebrating that in Christ we have received the pardon we could have only hoped for and have claimed the name beloved child of God.The water we sprinkle or plunge into may look sentimental. After all, on most Sundays, our baptismal font is well-places so family photos catch the sun shining from the east side of the building. But this water is outrageous - the grace extended to us and to others is offensive. Attached to these waters, so much that it cannot be strained or filtered, is that because you have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection you are forgiven.You are clean.You are righteous.Your sins, all of them, including that one you cannot forgive yourself for committing, has been washed away.It is done.Once and for all.For everything, full stop.No asterisk.No, if/then prerequisites.Because you have been baptized into Christ you are no longer your sin.You are no longer what sin and death call you.In these waters, God has clothed you with the righteousness of Christ and given you a full pardon. Not because of the one doing the sprinkling or pouring but because Christ took your, took my unrighteousness upon himself, was nailed to the cross, walked out of the empty tomb, leaving our sin and unrighteousness behind. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The birth of Christ was and continues to be Good News for all people. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

God’s dreams seem beyond us because they are.This is the work of God that we get to be a small (very small) part of. The beginning of the dream Isaiah saw was revealed to Joseph. The scandal of the incarnation is that in Christ, God is prepared the rearrange the ordering of creation - beginning not with power and political might but rather through a child born in a manger, and eventually on the cross and in an empty tomb. While scientists can debate the purpose and function of dreams in our lives, God’s dreams have a specific purpose. In Joseph’s dream, we relinquished control and on the cross and in the empty tomb God’s plan for the redemption and salvation of all people was revealed. All of creation will be made new.As the shadows of Advent begin to give way to the Light revealed at Christmas, we recall the beginning of the Kingdom of God in a child and in doing so we await the full realization of a dream bigger than we can imagine but not so big that any of us will be left out.We can dream on because behold, a Savior has come and will come again. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

On Christmas, we will recall how Jesus entered into the darkness of this world, the darkness created by sin, as the great Light. Yet, we allow the bright lights of Christmas to overtake the darkness of Advent begins with. Standing in the Light of the Christ child in the manger is more comfortable than waiting in the shadow of what is to come because in waiting we relinquish control of the agenda. In our waiting during Advent we are acknowledging the limitedness with which we can predict and control G-d’s acts of grace. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Our circumstances may give us pause, distracting us from the larger story we are a part of, but the Psalmist is reminding us that our response to G-d’s mighty acts is a posture of worship - praise and thanksgiving - aka a posture of gratitude. Gratitude because today, regardless of the affairs in your life, the moment your feet hit the ground and you took a deep breath of a new day it was the divine breath of life that fills your lungs. While chaos may be swirling around us and the melodies we find ourselves singing sound anything but grateful, the sound of praise and gratitude, worship, is our default because G-d is in the business of creating order out of the chaos of this world. We are grateful for what G-d has done because what G-d has done and what G-d continues to do is bigger than anything we can imagine or do on our own. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The Thessalonians, one of the earliest Christian communities, like many Christians today, earnestly expected Jesus’ return within the lifespan of the first generation of Christians. Their hope for the new age to come was giving way, challenged by the realities of life. The grind of everyday life had shifted the Thessalonians' posture of anticipation and gratitude to impatience. Community members were dying from old age and persecution. Hardship seemed to have fallen on those who believed Jesus had and would continue to free them from the bondage of this world. Rejoicing, prayer, and gratitude shifted to doubt, laziness, and a lack of focus on the cross.Jesus promised a blessing upon the poor and weak, and those who mourn, but the harshness of the rough road of life had overshadowed the promised hope to come. As the shadow grew larger, the mundane of this life took priority over the promised hope to come. Redemption, fulfillment, and blessing were forgotten as the community traded gratitude for impatience. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15Luke 16:19-31Everything necessary for salvation - the saving of us and all of humanity - is found in this book. On face value, the stories are complicated, grotesque, beautiful, and full of hope. We do not have to twist the words in this book to fit the agenda of the Church or our politics. Jesus’ teachings, while confusing at times, clearly outline what the garden in Revelation will look like and how we get there - the Great Commission given to the Church by Christ, is clear. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Words like Grace make little sense outside of communities unified in the Lordship of Christ.Our need for the unmerited love of G-d is the thread that holds us together and we cannot be a community of faith without Christ and His Grace as the center.We can excel at doing good things for people in need but without the Grace of G-d, we are people trying to be good, knowing (or unknowing) that the good we do cannot repay the Sin humanity has committed against God.Much to our chagrin, this gift of a unified Grace-filled community may seem like the last thing we could want or need and yet, this unmerited gift is a forecast of the Kingdom Christ inaugurated through his own ministry.The Good News is this - amid division and disagreement we are still the recipients of G-d’s Grace. There is no theological disagreement or division of the Church on socio-economic status, race, political affiliation, or sexual orientation that change the blessing we have received by the Grace of God. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The journey we find ourselves on is about us having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (a frightening thought) but at the same time, we are part of a community formed by the Potter for the task of being the Potter’s hands and feet in the midst of what the Potter has created.Jesus was the ultimate vessel created by the Potter. Taking the form of the first human created out of clay by the Potter, Jesus, from the manger in Bethlehem all the way to the cross was shaped and moved by the Potter. Jesus did this by remaining open to the will of G-d. In worship, in community, through spiritual disciplines, and in his generosity, Jesus remains the unbroken vessel that we now follow. The Good News is that while we individually may be broken vessels and at times our community may fall short of what the Potter has formed us to be, the Potter is not done with us. The Psalmist writes that G-d is distant and still intimately close with every aspect of our lives. We were created and we exist today to marvel in the Potter’s brilliance. When we turn towards G-d we are no longer passive lumps being formed but rather we, a community, are a vessel open to the possibility that the Kingdom of G-d may take shape through G-d’s work in us. The journey we find ourselves on places us in the hands of the Master Potter, and in the process we relinquish our own will and turn towards the One who will mold and shape us despite our own desire to mold and shape ourselves. The mercy of the Master Potter is ours. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

We are assured that things will be put right in the presence of Christ, regardless of how people like me interpret the Law. Regardless of what religious professional debate endlessly, regardless of what a finalized doctrinal statement says, Jesus, G-d, will have the final say over our application of G-d’s Word.The indignation of the synagogue leader revealed that he found his justification by following the rules. There is nothing wrong with being a rule follower (this coming from a self-confessed chronic follower of rules). But in Jesus, G-d revealed that we do not have to seek out our justification through the rules. We do not have to seek our righteousness by doing the correct action on a particular day while on a different day not performing the action we had previously done.We, all of us, find our justification, our “enoughness” in the eyes of G-d not through our own actions, and not in our own ability to not work on the Sabbath and keep it holy. We find our Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Whatever may come the way of the church, we know that the faithfulness we exhibit is grounded in the faithfulness of Christ. Without relying on the faithfulness of Christ, to the point of death, the church then and today has little to stand on.Simply put… because G-d is faithful, we are assured that we may live more faithful lives. We do not have to live in fear of weariness or hardship.We do not have to live in fear of what if’s.We do not have to live as though we are doing this on our own.Each of the people listed by the author of this letter, referencing stories from the Hebrew Bible were not exactly the perfect people or events we think G-d would use.Moses, before leading Israel to freedom through the Red Sea, killed a man.The battle of Jericho gave a new home to Israel but another group of people was displaced.Rahab may not have been a prostitute.David, the great king of Israel, had a man sent to the front lines and killed so that David could then take the man’s wife as his own.Throughout the Psalms, many of which are attributed to David, we read of weariness and difficulty in keeping one’s faith.But through the saints imperfections and our own, through the weariness experienced by the saints and the weariness we experience, the endurance of Jesus in the journey we all find ourselves in is sufficient when our endurance wavers.Christ is the perfecter of our faith. Not our individual-personal faith but rather the faith we cling to as a community, the faith of saints of today and saints who have gone before us. Christ’s faithfulness perfected the faith we claim and remains sufficient for us today when our faith wanes. Not only are we the beneficiaries of the witness of the saints but we are the beneficiaries of G-d’s faithfulness through the saints and throughout Jesus Christ. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The DIY faith Paul is writing to correct calls us away from quick-fix solutions, and towards grace and mercy, telling us the work of Christ was and continues to be insufficient. Paul was calling the ancient church away from revolutionized human teachings - three-quick and easy steps and back to a life of extravagance.Extravagant grace.Extravagant compassion.Extravagant mercy.Simply put… the foundation of our faith is not something we do or accomplish. The foundation of our faith is someone, someone who accomplished that which we could never do for ourselves.Christianity is not DIY.Christianity is discipleship, meaning in following Christ we acknowledge and hold onto Christ’s reconciling work that we, us and them, are unable to accomplish for ourselves. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

In Christ, we discover that the poverty we enter into at death - you cannot take it with you - and the sad comprehension of the cruel reversal turns into Good News. Just as Jesus fully revealed God’s good purposes for creation in his earthy life, so too is it for us who have clothed ourselves in Christ at the time of our death. There is nothing left to do, no barns to take down or to build up, and instead, through the grace of Jesus Christ, we are invited to lean into God’s good purposes revealed to us by Christ. Now we await the day when the fullness of God’s new creation, made possible through the faithfulness of Christ, is finally revealed Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

July 28, 2019Luke 11:1-13Simply put… Bon Jovi is right, we are a community living on a prayer. A prayer mind you, that lacks $15 seminary words and is not longwinded. The prayer Jesus taught to his disciples is sufficient witness to G-d, made truthful by worshipers, through the One who taught is to be prayed. Jesus offers us, through this prayer and all prayer to G-d, sufficient grace and compassion to ensure our needs, our daily bread is made available. The response we receive from G-d to the need we present may not match the desires we have. The daily bread or the healing we request from G-d may not mirror what we desire and this is where the difficult work of seeking G-d’s will through prayerful dialogue with our Creator begins. This is when we begin to lean into the Lord, bending even further towards G-d so that we can catch a glimpse, we pray, of what G-d’s will is for our lives and for the new creation inaugurated by Christ’s death and resurrection.As we pray and make the words of Christ not only our prayer but a post by which we build our faith - knowing we were created by a G-d who desires to provide for our needs - know that when you do not feel like speaking the words or that you do not have the faith to do so at the moment, not only is this community praying the words for you, but the church universal is as well. In a world full of division among the church, Christ is still the head of the church, and through prayer, we are still connected to Christ and one another. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Scripture tells us Jesus is the capital “W” word of God, the fullness of God’s image that is otherwise invisible to creation. Jesus is the full revelation of God when we otherwise rely on those who caught a glimpse of the infinite wonder of God. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Go and care for the person in the ditch.Go and care for the person, the group of people you despise.Go and care for the person wearing the MAGA hat.Go and care for the person wearing the Black Lives Matter shirtGo and care for the person who has wronged you.Help every single person that comes across your path without first wondering if they are “just going to buy booze” with the fist-full of money you are going to give them.Go and care for every single person who you believe has gotten what they deserved without reservation and instead with extravagance. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

To make Paul’s words through this entire letter plain - Simply put… it is foolish to think we can fool G-d with self-righteous works of the Law to achieve salvation. Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection are sufficient for all people.It is foolish to think circumcision - works of the Law - is a sufficient alternative to the Gospel. When we buy into the idea that there is something necessary for salvation apart from the grace and mercy of G-d in Christ we are like the ancient church in Galatia foolishly (Paul’s words, not mine) turning toward a different gospel (1:6). It is foolish to fail to see the universal scope of G-d’s grace that brought the ones outside the original covenant into the presence of Christ’s grace and mercy. Paul’s Galatian opponents believed Gentile converts needed to first be grafted into the original covenant established by G-d with Israel. Paul wrote that we, all us, everyone full stop, are children of G-d through faith. Clothing ourselves in Christ removes the title “Jew or Greek.” Paul continues, “there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” (3:28-29, NRSV)Jesus ministered to those outside the original covenant established by G-d with Israel by going to the “other side.” Jesus went to the very people, extending grace and mercy, Paul’s opponents say first need to adhere to the Law.We are fooling ourselves if we think we can fool G-d. The focus of the Law more often than not is us, acts we can do to save ourselves, when the reality is, as Paul tells us, that it is the indwelling of G-d’s Spirit that produces saving works in our lives. We are foolish Paul writes to put our focus in the wrong place. Our attention on the cross is to be focused on Christ’s faithfulness because every time we place our attention on our own works our faithfulness will fall short.The Law in place of the Gospel is an attempt to hide the scandal of the cross - Jesus came to save all. In belonging to Christ, all are “heirs according to the promise” (3:29). Not some. Not this group or that group. All, everyone, are heirs, including you.Avoiding the scandal of the cross enables us to “feel religious” apart from Christ. Avoiding the scandal of the cross enables us to say things like “I find G-d in nature” or in whatever hobby you may have when the reality is that for Christians, those of us who have died to ourselves in the waters of Baptism, we find G-d in Christ. Law abiding righteousness misses the real-life, self-sacrificing love of G-d and misses the power of G-d’s Spirit in Christians and among Christian communities.Christ has freed us from the Law. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

It was Jesus that freed the man removed and restrained by his community, not the disciples.It was Jesus that freed the man by removing the restraints place on him by his community, not some do-gooder neighbor that finally felt guilty about the man’s situation. So thanks be to G-d that we are not Jesus because how often do we ignore the bondage of those removed and restrained from the community. How often to we fail to act when we see a person laying by the side of the road and choose to pass by on the other side rather than bandaging that person’s wounds?Jesus, extended freedom and mercy to the unnamed man and Jesus extends freedom and mercy, through his bride, the Church Universal, whenever we respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit and go where we are sent by the Most High Son. When we respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit and go, engaging in acts of justice and mercy, we are instruments of Christ’s grace and mercy. We are instruments being used by Christ but we are not Jesus. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

We will pray that as you come to know the love of G-d in Christ that you will welcome the Holy Spirit’s movement for yourself. Know Milana, that the Holy Spirit is not oppressive, forcing itself upon you, but rather the Holy Spirit, just like Christ, is life-giving. The late Phyllis Tickle wrote that we today are living in the age of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is moving us within the Church and those outside the church, in a moment of Holy Revitalization so that Christ’s Lordship may be known throughout creation. The confirmands and Milana are joining us, the body of Christ, in proclaiming Jesus to be Lord and everything to be… Milana, you are becoming part of the Body that seeks to end suffering and oppression around the world not by our own hands but rather by the movement of the Holy Spirit and the work of Christ. This means the Holy Spirit may not act like an anesthesiologist numbing you or us to the suffering of the world. To the contrary, the Spirit of G-d may just place the suffering of the world front and center in your life, front and center in our lives. Milana, just like the confirmands upstairs, the weather that is about to be placed on your head - an outward sign of an inward and invisible grace - seals you as a beloved child of G-d and in that same moment marks you. Our faithfulness to the leading of the Spirit results in our adoption as heirs to the Kingdom of G-d, right there alongside Christ himself. The Holy Spirit is coming for you! It may not seem like it but you Milana, and all of us, have been set free from the bondage and slavery to sin and death. Through this sealing and marking, you are now part of a community of freedom and as you emerge out of the baptismal waters, dying to yourself, you will receive new life, being adopted in the New Creation established by Christ’s death and resurrection.The Good News Milana, and everyone who has nodded off by this point, is that we are not in this alone. We are a community of believers, doubters, and skeptics. But Milana, we are committed, just as your parents are, to doing this with you and with one another as part of Christ’s Universal Church. As the Holy Spirit works within you, and as the Holy Spirit works within us - sustaining us in times of suffering, sealing our adoption, and empowering us in the life changing ministry Christ has called us to, and will call you to. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The world will know Christ's love by not the unity we advertise, but by the unity we find in Christ's love for one another. Our unity - beyond Mount Olivet the United Methodist Church but also including them - shows to the world Christ's love through the way we love one another.The Good News is through Christ's faithfulnesses to us, Christ's prayer for us does not change because of our lack of unity or faith. Our lack of unity - our willingness to cutoff and push aside part of the body - does not reduce what happened in Bethlehem, in the Jordan, on Calvary's Hill, in the empty tomb, or in Christ's ascension. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

"The Holy Spirit’s proper work never goes anywhere without Christ, and the Spirit does nothing apart from resurrecting Christ in dead sinners. The Spirit does not moonlight in any other job but to drive everything in all creation to Christ."We are a community of disciples and no one is expect to grow, learn, or minister alone. Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit will, is, working in and through us. The Holy Spirit is working for you, in you, revealing Jesus in our midst and continuing to reveal the teachings of Jesus. As we figure all of this out, the churchy-phase for that is "discerning G-d's will," we do not have to feel naked, afraid, or alone. The point of all this is not merely survival but instead we are invited to thrive because the Holy Spirit has been sent, is present among us. The Holy Spirit is revealing Christ's presence and teachings to us. And that friends, the assurance and sending of G-d's Advocate, is grace in its fullest. Grace upon Grace. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The problem, like the religious leaders, we cannot come to faith through knowledge and empirical truths. Every time we approach faith in this manner we come up short because the answer given by Jesus does not fit in our empirical truth box. Our faith in the messiahship of Christ, what we believe to be true about who Jesus is and what Jesus is doing today, is only possible through G-d’s faithfulness. Jesus told the religious leaders, “the works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me.” (John 10:25) Everything Jesus did connected him intimately to the One who sent him. They, Jesus and G-d his Father, our Creator, are one.The faithfulness of the One who sent Jesus is just as assured as the faithfulness of the One who overcame the power of death. The faithfulness of Christ reveals the faithfulness of G-d. Listen to him. We are not separated from G-d because of our sin. We find eternal life not because of our attempts at faithful living or to prove the Messiahship of Christ. We have been saved because Jesus was faithful and continues to be faithful, even when we approach him with questions to which we think we already know the answers. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The calling extended to Peter, “Follow me,” is the same calling extended to each of us when we emerge from our baptismal waters. This calling - “Follow Me” - is an invitation to meet Christ at his table, but “Follow me” is also an invitation to experience the fullness of the freedom extended to us by the power of Jesus’ Easter victory - the final victory over our captivity to sin and death. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Thanks to preachers and fresco artists, Thomas has carried a bad reputation for 2000 years.Because of people like me using the doubter to convince you not doubt but to have faith, Thomas is known for something not entirely accurate to who he was or what he was doing in his moment of infamy. “Doubting Thomas” was simply asking for something he had been accustomed to receiving. Because the crucifixion itself was a sign - “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,” (John 17:1) - a sign confirming Jesus’ resurrection was/is not an unreasonable request from someone who had been receiving confirmation of what was being taught for the past three years.The signs performed by Jesus - wine in Cana (my favorite), healings, feedings, walking on water - were confirmation of what Thomas along with the other disciples had been taught by Christ. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

When the Kingdom of G-d and earthly realms collide, it is not always immediately apparent, but the Kingdom of G-d is always victorious. We have seen these collisions throughout Christ’s ministry but now on Palm Sunday as the shadow of the cross begins to appear on the horizon we may not be so sure of what is to come.The prophets foretold what would happen - “despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.”Jesus told his disciples exactly what was going to happen - “He began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”“Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”The crowd's proclamation, an echo of the angel’s announcing Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, points to the promised peace of G-d through Christ. The coming collision between the Kingdom of G-d in Christ and the religious and political powers of Jerusalem will become a point of contact between heaven and earth. The shadow of the cross blinds us to the peace of heaven spilling over into creation. The domination through ruthlessness - Pax Roma - is no match for the justice and mercy - Pax Christi - of the Kingdom of G-d. So enjoy the celebration of Palm Sunday because if you think this is something, remember, even though the darkness of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday is ahead of us after the collision Easter is coming Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Because we live on this side of the empty tomb we have the ability to see the new thing the Lord did in Christ Jesus and yet still, we still stand with our arms folded, hardened to the possibility that this new thing really changed the world. We find it hard to believe the new thing the Lord has done is still changing the world.Jesus told his disciple in orders to experience the newness of what the Lord is doing we are to assume the posture of a child. Meekness in the sense that we are open to joyful possibility and not despair caused by the current state of society or the church. Jesus invites to open ourselves to experience the fullness of new creation. We find it hard to experience the new thing promised to us by G-d through the prophet and realized in Jesus Christ because the institutions charged with cultivating and nurturing our childlike openness have at some level fundamentally failed. Doctrine and polity have taken the place of promise and experience, the surprise of the new thing the Lord has promised to all of creation.Whether we opened ourselves up to what the Lord has promised or we wait decades to do so, the invitation to all is still the same. Jesus told his disciples to taste and see. The invitation is extended to everyone. And once you taste and once you have seen the new thing the Lord is doing the childlike wonder and joy reenters your life. You, we are radically changed. When we taste and we see, we embrace G-d’s new thing like a child, seeing the fullness of what G-d makes possible. Viewing the world with possibility changes the way we see the calling G-d has given each of us. Childlike wonder opens us to seeing the bread and the cup as an invitation into full participation int he new thing G-d did through Jesus Christ and continues to do today. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Reconciliation with one another - which enables us to gather around Christ’s table - cannot happen without forgiveness. After all, if we have been reconciled to G-d by Jesus and G-d is no longer “counting people’s sins against them” then we are a community called to the same work. We are a community seeking reconciliation but without forgiveness, we cannot be reconciled to one another. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Luke 13:1-9For Jesus - his life, death, and resurrection - the Kingdom of G-d is always at the forefront. The Kingdom of G-d is priority number one for Christ. When we accept Christ’s invitation to repent w are intentionally turning towards his kingdom. In this turn, we begin to see, experience, and become a part of the healing, liberation, and compassion extended to all of creation by G-d through Jesus Christ. The Good News is that in five weeks, through the emptiness of his grave, we see the healing, liberation, and compassion of G-d in its fullest. In the empty tomb we find the extravagant grace of the Gardener - G-d Almighty - as the healing grace of Christ is extended to us regardless of our ability, and willingness, to repent with all our heart. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Philippians 3:17-4:1, Genesis 15Pauls’ words speak life to Mount Olivet. We are reminded that in all we do, everything, we are to imitate Christ’s love. No exceptions. This work is not easy, and like the Philippians, we will miss the bar established by Christ. We will fall short. In our shortcomings, G-d’s grace - the love unmerited love of G-d - is still ours. That never changes.So whether we are engaged in acts of justice and mercy - not just speaking and marching but engaging in meaningful change in the lives of those who are experiencing persecution, exclusion, or violence, or mudding through doctrinal and theological impasses, Christ not only remains with us, but also continues to extend an invitation to Mount Olivet, and to each of us. There was no skill to be learned before this invitation was extended. No degree or piece of church legislation can change our calling. We are imitators of Christ. Whatever the perceived distance between us and G-d is gone. The truth is through Christ’s faithfulness the promises of G-d, G-d’s covenant established with Abram is not out of our reach. Christ dwells in each of us and because Christ is in each of us, Christ is present here at Mount Olivet, in Arlington, and throughout the world. Like Abram, we have been reassured of G-d’s promise - even when we miss the mark, we are invited into the waters at our baptism and a seat at Christ’s table is always waiting for us. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The Law worked to offer the assurance of G-d’s presence in a period of waiting on G-d to make good on a promise. But as the story continues to unfold we see the generosity of G-d, and the promises of G-d fulfilled as Israel established itself in the promised land and later returned home after the exile.Israel’s response to G-d’s generosity was to give thanks, yet as the early church began to find its way, Israel’s response to the generosity and the ordering of a community began to be used to separate and exclude people from the body of Christ. The early church and we today forget that when G-d makes extravagant promises they are kept. We may have to wait but as resurrection community, we are able to enter periods of wander and wonder knowing G-d’s promises are always kept.It’s not easy. Wander and wonder do make good bedfellows as we are finite creatures and have the tendency to keep our eyes on earthly promises - winter will always give way to spring, even when it seems as though the cold darkness wants to hold on for one last snow. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

We have missed the mark, and so on Ash Wednesday, the marks on our foreheads are a reminder to us to ask for forgiveness and try again. The Good News tonight is that on the cross and in the victorious empty grave we will find on Easter morning we are made righteous before G-d. Lent is not about giving something up so that we can be uncomfortable like Christ spent 40 uncomfortable days in the wilderness. During the season of Lent we remember that which we could not and cannot do for ourselves, Christ has done for us. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

While little of what happened in a once indoor NFL stadium resembled a group of people following Jesus, today, a few days removed from General Conference, Jesus is still the transfigured Messiah, guiding his disciples down the mountain, heading towards the cross. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Jesus sought these three men out. Before he was teaching on the banks of the Sea of Galilee they were a group of business partners who had a bad night at work. Before Jesus stepped into Simon’s boat, Simon was just a guy trying to clean his fishing gear and go home. But that’s the way discipleship works. Before you or I decided to be a follower of Jesus, Jesus revealed the awesome abundance of G-d. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Worship establishes in us a new posture to not only approach G-d with but also a new posture for how we approach all of creation. Like the magi, we approach the manger not knowing all of the answers. We approach the manger not having all of the junk in our lives we continue to carry with us not quite figured out. We approach the light of the manger still struggling to over come the curse of sin that we fall back into no matter how many times we think we have overcome it. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The reality of what happened in Emmanuel trading the clothing of royalty for bands of cloth and laying in the manger is found in those who had forgotten or ignored the promise made by G-d. The good news changes the reality for all people, and invites all of creation to enter into the grace of G-d regardless of what the powerful say. Regardless of what the darkness of sin says. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

December 23, 2018 - Advent 4CMicah 5:2-5Luke 1:39-55 Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

The entire prophetic tradition culminates in John the Baptist’s words, and we convince ourselves that what we’ve done is just too much. John knew the time had come. He knew the Messiah was here and that it was time to change. Things were already changing. The coming of Christ is good news. It is awesome news, yet due to the “darkside of ourselves” we see the darkside of creation and think there is no changing this. Things are too far gone for G-d to work through a baby or a grown man. We see war after war and think things are too far gone for repentance. We see an environmental disaster on the horizon and think it is just too much, nothing can be done. We see poverty, racism, classism, extremism, homophobia, nationalism, and violence and think that creation is too far gone. It seems creation as a whole cannot even praise G-d let alone prepare the way of the Messiah. We see these things, we think it is too much, we become crippled by fear, and then the preparations that were underway cease. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

It is easy in Advent to become so focused on the babe in the manger that we forget Christ’s promise of return and vindication. The shininess of the tinsel and glow of the lights make it easy for us to lose focus. It is easy in our attempts to control the peace, hope, joy, and love of the season through packages from Amazon and Target we forget G-d is in control, holding all things in a vision that is boarder and more intricate that we can either think or enact on our own. Advent is a time when we remember the Kingdom of God is coming, it is not just a season for the gathering of a family celebrating and making memories together. Through the manger and in the return of Christ we see the fulfillment of a promise “made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” A promise that has already been fulfilled and not fully realized. A promise that will be celebrated by all of creation. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

November 25, 2018 - Mount Olivet United Methodist ChurchLuke 18:33-37, Christ the King SundayWhen we are baptized, named and claimed as beloved by our Creator, we proclaim Christ as our Savior and promise to serve Him as Lord. That was a bold profession to make 2000 years ago and it continues to be so today. It is a declaration that Christ is Lord and everything else is secondary. Our allegiance lies with Christ, because of the promises made at our baptism which means the truth for our lives looks different from those who do not make the same proclamation. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

November 4, 2018 - Mount Olivet United Methodist ChurchMark 12:28-34, All Saints SundayThe saints of the past and us today have flaws. They, we, fell short of what Christ describes as the greatest of the things we are supposed to do. But in Christ loving us as himself, the saints and each of us are made righteous. What once was thought to separate us from the love of G-d is no more and Christ invites us to join him and the saints around His table. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ through our Baptism into His life, death, and resurrection, and not our own self-righteousness, we are declared holy. The greatest commandments, loving “the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” and loving your neighbor is a little less daunting knowing that before we ever attempt to fulfill it, Christ first loved us. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

In the darkness we experience today, a world-wide refugee crisis, a criminal justice system in desperate need of reform, wars that seem to have been accept as the status quo without end in sight, bigotry and hatred that has percolated out of the holes it had been hiding in, and a children who still have not been reunited with parents, in these situations it easy to allow the darkness to adjust our vision so that we miss what John told us from the very beginning, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” In the darkness each of us experience the grace of our Lord and Savior is present. The Light will not give way to darkness. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

October 28, 2018 - Mount Olivet United Methodist ChurchJob 42Much of what we do as followers of Christ is based upon mystery. From the basics of how exactly did Jesus turn water into wine or how the feeding of the 5000 actually happen to the sacraments - Baptism and Communion - there is much that we claim to know but what we think we know pales in comparison to the mystery that still remains. There are aspects of creation that I will never understand - violence, illness, and hate. I’m sure many of you have similar questions. Throughout the Holy texts, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in our own encounters with the divine we find that G-d is faithful. The covenant established by G-d remains with us. This covenant sustains us and there is nothing we can do to change that. G-d does not turn a back on us today just as G-d did not abandon Job. One day, all things will be revealed by our Creator to each of us. In the meantime, we live in the confidence that G-d, our Creator, will remain faithful even when we do not fully understand. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

October 14, 2018 - Mount Olivet United Methodist ChurchMark 10:35-45What Jesus said to the disciples shapes our lives as followers of Jesus, individually, and as a community. Discipleship means following Jesus with childlike reliance and living a cross-bearing life that resists the power and prestige we grasp for when our own security is in question.Jesus lived this cross-bearing life to the point of death so that we can do likewise, faithfully, evening though, like James and John we continue to allow fear to consume and drive our decisions, worrying about the security ourselves and our families, our status, and our station. Christ’s ransom for us frees each of us from slavery to fear-based decision making and invites us to serve one another. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

October 7, 2018 - World Communion SundayMount Olivet United Methodist ChurchMark 10:2-16By quoting Genesis instead of echoing Deuteronomy Jesus told the Pharisees that the Kingdom of G-d, G-d’s disruptive reign, will empower those previously without power. Social structures designed to keep people groups in their place will be disrupted. This point is driven home further when Jesus double-down, using children, a segment of the population viewed as property, to illustrate what kind of dependency, reliance on G-d, will be necessary to be apart of the Kingdom building world Jesus has begun in his own ministry. Jesus told the disciples and the scriptures remind us today that in the Kingdom of G-d there is a greater equality and hospitality for those who are most oppressed. Not seeing or understanding this is a trap we all fall into, because while Jesus is talking about equality, inclusion, and humility, the Pharisees, we, continue to think that the Kingdom of G-d is about us. Childlike dependance on G-d relieves us from debating the finer points of the law & instead invites us to step into the grace of G-d made known to us by Christ who extends the same invitation despite how many times someone else sets a trap for us or how many times we set the trap. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

September 30, 2018Mount Olivet United Methodist ChurchLuke 19:1-10Extravagant generosity is about us participating in the extravagant kingdom-building work G-d is engaged in. G-d’s act of “loving, saving, and healing” in our community and around the world. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Mount Olivet UMC - September 23, 2018Genesis 411 Corinthians 16:1-4The culture of now tells us that we earned this and thus we deserve it, but when we read stories like Joseph we see that the plenty we enjoy is a gift from God, a generous gift placed in our lives by our Creator. Stewardship means caring for something that ultimately is not ours, which is why talking about stewardship of creation is so easy while talking about stewardship of money is so difficult.Stewardship means caring for something that ultimately is not ours, which is why talking about stewardship of creation is so easy while talking about stewardship of money is so difficult. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Mount Olivet United Methodist Church - September 16, 2018Proverbs 3:13-16Luke 16:1-13How we earn money is a clear and accurate indicator of our priorities. We might speak out in favor of honest work that others should be doing but do we follow the same prescription in our own businesses? We can earn by following the footsteps of someone else but at some point we have to begin living into the calling G-d has place on our lives because what you are called to will look different than what your mentor has been called to. We can preach about Sabbath and ethical practices but if we are not observing them ourselves our true commitments become more apparent. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe

Ephesisans 4:25-5:2So then, the new life offered to us by G-d in Christ is an invitation to claim the renaming and claiming done by G-d in our baptism. This is not a new list of things we must do to be renamed “beloved child of G-d” and claimed. It is not a list of things we must to do experience G-d’s grace. Instead, in speaking truthfully, resisting evil speech, and resisting anger we are able to don that which G-d has offered to each of us through Christ, a way of life that is different from the “but that’s the way we’ve always done. Get full access to Brewing Theology with Teer Hardy at teerhardy.substack.com/subscribe