Sermons

First Christian Church

Matthew 21:1-11

“Chills and Thrills!

Do you remember Junior High School? That was one of the most difficult periods of transition in my entire life. At the early stages of elementary school you could still be referred to as a “baby” and even in the latter stages we were considered dependent upon the adults caring for us. We had one classroom and one specific adult looking after us. My sixth grade teacher's name was Mr. Daubenfeld's a name we had much fun with. We sometimes referred to him as “bob-bob-a-lob-en-fells” because it was fun to say (but not to his face).

Junior High School was an entirely different world. Now you had multiple classes to attend and several different teachers. Each class taught different subjects which you had to keep separate in your notebook and you were exposed to all sorts of different people and I won't even get into the growing interest in the opposite gender. Some of these new people were not adjusting well and expressed their anxiety by being mean.

The worst of them we called “greasers” and I remember one greaser who kicked Eric Hobart in the groin with his Beatle boots which were boots that had a sharp point at the toe. We didn't see Eric again for a few days after that episode. Something else that occurred on a pretty frequent basis were fights that took place out by the bike racks. These were exciting events that drew large crowds who would circle around the two kids to lend verbal support for their favored opponent.

But what I remember best is the way the excitement would immediately end at the conclusion of the fight and everyone would turn around in silence and walk away. It was such a profound transition and I think what was happening is everyone felt bad about egging the fight on because often someone was left bleeding and in pain. The golden rule had been roundly ignored and I think most everyone felt guilty about it. I know I did.

You see, that's the thing about excitement. It doesn't last very long and sometimes it happens for all the wrong reasons. That's not the case this morning as we participate, two-thousand years removed in Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But getting everyone all riled up is not God's intent for Palm Sunday. There is a far-reaching, more important purpose to it all because this is the beginning of the end.

Everyone's all pumped up about the Messiah coming to town because potential freedom is revealing itself in the flesh. But like the fight at the bike racks the excitement will soon pass and the dark days of fret and gloom are right around the next corner.

Jesus knows this because he's been telling his people all about it, but the crowds are oblivious to God's plan. In their ignorance and bliss they cheer the Messiah on just tickled to death that freedom is finally at their doorstep. And there's something else that's kind of odd about this text. Maybe you noticed it. Jesus says:

Go to the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. And a bit further on: ...Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass. And yet again: they brought the ass and a colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon.

Another name for an ass is a donkey, and a colt is a young male donkey. Now picture Jesus riding on a donkey and the foal of a donkey which would be a much smaller, younger donkey at the same time! What an awkward image and probably not even possible. Yet the gospel writer is being very intentional about describing this no less than three times in succession. So, what's going on here?

This particular gospel writer, Matthew, is always concerned about demonstrating that Jesus is the direct fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures. In other words, he wants to make sure that this Messiah is a direct consequence of the prophecies found in the Old Testament. He is so focused on achieving this that he's willing to create even nonsensical images to display it.

What Matthew is using to establish scriptural authority is a passage from Genesis that was a key passage that foretold of the Messiah's coming and it sounded like this:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his ass's colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.... (Genesis 49:10-11)

That's a description of the Messiah of which “the obedience of the peoples” will be awarded and note he has both a donkey and a younger male donkey with him. Matthew's audience would know that Jesus riding on both of the animals was a representation of this particular passage out of Genesis. It would be a direct link to the ancient Hebrew scriptures and that's what mattered most.

As people of faith, we accept that this is the Messiah riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday not only because the scriptures confirm it but because we feel it in our hearts. We confirm it because of what we know of the scriptures and also because we know intuitively that this is God coming to free us from the bondage of sin, and there's an enormous price God will pay to achieve our freedom.

In the book the men are studying for Lent “Why Did Jesus Have To Die” by Adam Hamilton he talks about this heavy price in terms of his own family. He describes how deeply he loves his children and grandchildren and how he would do anything for them even give up his own life if necessary. He then asks us to imagine what it was like for God the Father to give up his own son for our salvation.

That represents a love that transcends any understanding of love we might have. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem the dark days ahead must be heavily on his mind because he's fully aware of the Father's intent for him and therefore what he must do. In the Garden of Gethsemane the full realization of what his sacrifice means enters his consciousness. Jesus is fearful and deeply distressed and considers turning back but by the grace of God he manages to recommit himself to the task ahead.

We are invited on this Palm Sunday to not only celebrate his entrance into the Holy City and the beginning of the completion of his ministry but to also follow him....Beginning in the Upper Room...and into the garden...and the chamber of the Sanhedrin....and the confrontation with Pilate...and to bear a cross to Golgotha that he will be nailed to. On each step of this journey, we will hesitate and with increasing reluctance move forward to the ultimate end.

This is the journey of the faithful and is what Jesus is referencing when he says: “For the gate is narrow and the way hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14) The narrowness and hardship presented by a life of faith is clearly depicted in each of these scenarios beginning with the Upper Room (Maundy Thursday) and ending at the cross. It all becomes possible when you trust in God's grace and open your heart and mind to the transformation Jesus wants to instill within us.

I began this sermon with the importance of scripture and the following words from Father Rohr reaffirm what I tried to describe and further he speaks of the indispensable need for transformation if we're to follow in Jesus' example:

Just as the Bible takes us through many stages of consciousness and salvation history, it takes us individually a long time to move beyond our need to be dualistic, judgmental, accusatory, fearful, blaming, egocentric, and earning-oriented. The text in travail mirrors and charts our own human travail and illustrates all these stages from within the Bible. It offers both the mature and immature responses to almost everything – and we have to learn how to recognize the difference.

Rev. Mitch Becker

March 29, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Anchors Away”

Ezekiel 37:1-14

To begin with we must establish the theological setting for this well-known story found in Ezekiel. The Babylonians have stripped Judah of their theological anchors which includes their land since this story comes to Ezekiel who is also in exile in Babylon. They no longer have a temple where they can worship the Lord, and the Davidic monarchy ended during the exile.

If these losses were not enough even their traditional theologies based upon covenants made with David and Moses are failing. These are a people deeply immersed in a theological crisis which requires them to re-imagine and rework their relationship with God. Ezekiel is making his contribution to this important theological restructuring with this story about dry bones.

With relative ease we can draw analogies between our church and the valley of dry bones. Because were a congregation made up of primarily older people we experience losses through illness and death more frequently than a younger congregation. A recent case in point is the loss of John Musser who was a trustee of the church responsible, along with David, for the HVAC systems, hot water heaters, and the building overall.

In the five and a half years I've been here John responded to every single call for help I issued. He was also the key facilitator for the Narcotics Anonymous groups that now meet every single evening during the week and sometimes during the day. John amounts to a major loss for the church as well as the loss of a friend. John was the only person who has visited with me in my office on a regular basis for the duration of my ministry here. This has left me with feelings of loss and depression though not in a chronic sense because the feelings come and go.

In the text the prophet says that the Lord places him in the midst of a valley of dry bones where God walks with him through the valley. God asks him if he thinks the bones can live again and the prophet is maybe a bit incredulous and says, “Well, you know.” Then God addresses the bones themselves and connects bone to bone and puts flesh on them, but they're missing something kind of crucial which is the breath of life.

Then something curious happens because though God is the source of the breath of life as he is in the Creation story in Genesis (Genesis 2:7); it is the prophet who must first speak to them about the breath of life:

“He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man, God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe Life!'”

Yet even this isn't enough to restore hope, but this is a God of infinite resources and God instructs Ezekiel to tell them that he'll bring them out of exile and return them to their homeland. They're also assured that they'll receive God's Spirit and here the Hebrew word used “ruach” (rew-aach) can be interpreted as either wind, breath or Spirit.

This week there was an article on the front page of the newspaper about a new business venture in our area. It's called Citizen Air and what they're trying to establish is what they refer to as, “Tailored Private Aviation Solutions.” For example, a four-seated small plane will fly you to a destination of your choice (as far as Corvallis, OR in some cases) from the airfield here in Port Angeles.

Since we've lived here I've seen other attempts at making personalized flights to the “mainland” available the most recent being Dash Air Shuttle and before we arrived there was Kenmore Air Express. Citizens Air is yet another attempt and they'll offer something different. They're proposing $50 per month memberships. You'll tell them when you want to fly and they'll text you when there's an open seat. It takes about 20 minutes to reach Boeing Field (maybe a bit longer in David's little plane) and from there you could grab an Uber or take a bus into Seattle.

The reason I'm talking about Citizen Air is because it's kind of fun to explore but it also tells us something about where we live. We live where people go to vacation...to get away from things. It's sort of like being in exile. We're separated from the “mainland” by water and distance. This becomes especially noticeable if you have to be life flighted to Seattle or undergo some type of specialized treatment or surgery.

You may have already had that experience, and my hunch would be after wanting the doctors to do a good job probably your deepest, most sincere desire, was to return home. Because that's what people in exile hope and dream about. Now put yourself in the shoes of the ancient Judeans in exile in Babylon. Not only were they separated from their homeland but they were also separated from their God. That defines “wilderness” in the most profound of ways.

Yet exile can also be a rich spiritual experience one example being my three years at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA.. Seminary amounted to making a personal choice about going into exile. Berkeley is separated by more than 500 miles from Albany, OR and having never lived more than 20 miles from home seminary felt like a risky adventure.

But there is no other period in my life as spiritually rewarding as seminary. The classes were interesting, and I had numerous friends all with Callings from God, and the Bay Area was really fun to explore. My longing to return home soon was eclipsed by the enjoyment of discovery, friendship and an ever-deepening spiritual experience. Exile comes with its own rewards, but you have to stay in close relationship to God.

For me that has always meant a consistent practice of quiet, centering prayer. For the Judeans it meant a complete reimagining and reworking of their own theology of which our text is a prime example. For you it means finding your own way to stay in touch because exile is on its way for all of us. It's not a once in a lifetime event but something that visits and revisits throughout our lives. It behooves us to be prepared. Because we don't know how or when the anchors will be stripped away again.

What we do know, as exemplified in our text today, is that God will reestablish the theological anchors at some point for those who are faithful. We can facilitate the process through devoted prayer, study and ceaseless acts of compassion but it's always ultimately determined by God's grace.

We're not in control. We are Called to surrender or to put it into a Lenten context: “Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. 'Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how.'” (Matthew 16:24; The Message Bible) And Father Rohr now expounds on Jesus' words:

I believe that we rather totally missed Jesus' major point when we made a religion out of him instead of realizing he was giving us a message of simple humanity, vulnerability, and nonviolence that was necessary for the reform of all religions – and for the survival of humanity....Jesus is a person and, at the same time, a process. Jesus is the Son of God, but at the same time he is “the Way.” Jesus is the goal, but he's also the means, and the means is always the way of the cross....

The way of the cross looks like failure. In fact, we could say Christianity is about how to win by losing, how to let go creatively, how the only real ascent is descent. We need to be more concerned with following Jesus, which he told us to do numerous times, and less with worshiping Jesus – which he never once told us to do.

Rev. Mitch Becker

March 22, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Gratitude As Defiance”

Ephesians 5:8-14

This is a inspirational text calling these new Christians to wake up from their spiritual slumber and allow the light of Christ to shine through them! The two-sided nature of the text is best discerned with the two core verses. The first commends them to find out what pleases the Lord, and the verse that immediately follows warns them to avoid the “works of darkness.”

This seems a good text for the fourth Sunday in Lent because Lent is about moving into the darkness in order to eventually emerge into the light of Christ. We, of course, resist this movement into darkness but the text even goes beyond this to boldly instruct the faithful to expose the darkness!

That means to actively work to uncover whatever proves as a source of darkness. Later on in the chapter the only specific source mentioned is drunkenness, so one way to expose the darkness would be to do whatever counters it. The examples given for exposing are as follows: trying to understand God's will, relating to others within Christian community with melody and music, and giving thanks for everything!

Discerning God's will can be done in a variety of ways but perhaps the most common way is with prayer. The lectionary gives me three choices every week to determine which text to preach. There's a selection from the Old Testament, the Gospels and from one of the Epistles. This week I chose an Epistle and that was achieved by remaining quiet in prayer for merely a few minutes.

It then occurred to me that it was the Lenten season and the Ephesians text was about light and darkness. God's will was allowed to breakthrough into my consciousness by simply being quiet for a few minutes. It's not a complicated process but in a culture that promotes hurrying up to meet one deadline after another quiet prayer is a counter-culture activity. It's really prophetic in nature.

In terms of making melody and music with each other we do that every Sunday thanks to the Margaret's faithfulness at the piano and our enjoyment in doing so. I remember during COVID we could only sing a single verse of each hymn which diminished the energy of the worship service; and we can be thankful to God we don't have to do that anymore. 

Speaking of thankfulness to the Lord in my estimation this is the most important aspect of revealing darkness with knowing God's will a close second. There is no way a sincerely thankful heart can harbor spiritual darkness. Thankfulness illuminates our inner being filling it with light!

Sometime ago Karen and I got the privilege of being able to hear author and theologian Diana Butler Bass at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, Washington. Though she didn't talk about gratitude at the lecture she does in the following meditation as she describes how she coped with a particularly difficult situation:

I did the only thing I could think of doing – simply saying, “thanks” as I went through the day. I woke up with a brief prayer: “Thank you that I am alive.” I got coffee and breakfast: “Thank you for this food, this day.” I looked out the window: “Thank you for the sunshine.” I went into my office: “Thank you for words, for work.”...

Even when it comes to thankfulness, sometimes you have to take what you can get. I took nothing for granted....Over the weeks, with my hapless prayers, I discovered something quite unexpected: gratitude, like interest, compounds. This simple form of giving thanks made me pay attention and start looking for particular reasons to be grateful. There would always be grounds for ingratitude. Always. Seeking out the small things for which I could give thanks, however, changed my field of spiritual and emotional vision. I learned not to focus on what was lacking....

Gratitude is not a form of passive acceptance or complicity. Rather, it is the capacity to stare doubt, loss, chaos, and despair right in the eye and say, “I am still here.”

In practicing an attitude of gratitude she's developing a worldview of abundance as opposed to a worldview of scarcity. That's why she says, “I learned not to focus on what was lacking...”

Karen has been in correspondence with a prisoner for years now. This began back in Lancaster, CA where she would visit him at times but after we moved their relationship has been confined to letters. In his letters there is always one particular topic that he's focused on and that is getting out of jail. He is in prison on a life sentence for murder.

His central concern in all of his letters is always about gaining his freedom from the California penal system and that's perfectly understandable. But what if Marcus shifted his focus from the pursuit of freedom to an attitude of gratitude for all God has gifted him with.

What if he learned to thank God each morning for existence itself. Could he be thankful for the coffee he drinks in the cafeteria in the morning, or the clean laundry that comes back from the laundry department, or of Karen's ever faithful correspondence, or the hour of television in the common area, or of the Starling whistling and clicking in the exercise area, or an act of kindness shown by a fellow inmate.

Thankfulness doesn't take away our problems and we can still be a real pain. We may feel angry and that can quickly morph into resentment. But as Ms. Bass says gratitude is a kind of defiance. It doesn't give into negative emotions but rather “tunnels under them” defining our lives with new character and a determination to not acquiesce to despair.

Even if Marcus began to faithfully and persistently practice gratitude he would still be locked up in prison. But now even prison might become a place of abundance and the stage would be set for him to discover a new kind of freedom that comes from within.

This is what The Message Bible is getting at with the interpretation of the third beatitude when it says: “You're blessed when you're content with just who you are – no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.” (Matthew 5:5; The Message Bible)

No one knows if the parole board will ever grant Marcus his freedom but there is a spiritual freedom available to him that comes from within. This is not only true for Marcus but for all people, everywhere: For the people in Iran being bombarded by the most powerful nation of earth, for the homeless man with the sign asking for a handout, for the patient at OMC, for you and for me.

Rev. Mitch Becker

March 15, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Desert Springs”

Exodus 17:1-7

Sometimes we complain. Complaining about things indicates that we're making a miscalculation about the world that surrounds us. Oddly enough, sometimes we feel the world should be meeting our needs. Because the world is not designed to do that, we may end up complaining in a attempt to alter the nature of the world or to make it more subservient to our needs and wants.

It sounds ridiculous and childish yet complaining is a common practice among adult human beings. We all do it and its usually because the world is not conforming to our wants and needs. But sometimes complaining has its place and that's when the world we find ourselves in becomes so distant from meeting our needs that it's actually life threatening. This is the scenario the Israelite's find themselves in as they march through the wilderness.

I've told you before about the woman on You Tube who rides her motorcycle through foreign countries. When she's in the Middle East the terrain around her can only be described as Desolate with a capital “D.” Karen and I lived in the Mojave Desert which is one of the most desolate deserts in the United States, but the terrain she is riding through makes the Mojave look like Olympic National Park!

The hills are rutted and rugged with no vegetation what-so-ever. It is nothing but rocks and sand and this was the type of terrain the Israelite's were marching through day after day after day, and they're doing this without any source for water.

Now the human body can go without water for about 100 hours under normal conditions which means with moderate temperatures and moderate activity. The Israelite's are marching through a barren wasteland with temperatures varying from anywhere from 3 to 115 degrees depending upon the season of the year. If it was in the summer, they probably marched at night.

Anyway, you sum it up their complaining is understandable. They need God to do something, and Moses is their direct link to the divine. So, they complain, probably vehemently, that something be done. God responds telling Moses to “go ahead of the people” meaning go among them making yourself vulnerable to their fears and anger. In other words, expose yourself and presumably this is to build trust with these desperate people.

Moses does as he's instructed and takes a group of elders and goes, with his trusty staff, to the rock at Mount Horeb (Hore-rub). After Moses is told to strike the rock God assures him he'll be there. My hunch is that's what Moses needs to hear. The people need the water that comes from the rock but Moses needs God.

Let's approach this text by examining the relationship between scarcity and abundance beginning with a meditation from Father Rohr:

Most people are afraid they don't have enough. Of course, if we're dependent upon a finite source – one limited amount of money, one limited intellect, one limited life – it's easy to look at life in terms of scarcity, convincing ourselves that there isn't enough. There isn't enough goodness. There isn't enough of God.

The worldview of abundance depends upon us recognizing that we are in touch with an infinite Source. If we've never made contact with our infinite Source, we will be stingy, even selfish. We will guard and hoard the portion we have. This affects much of our politics and policies in this country. We're always afraid someone else is taking what we have earned, as if we had earned it entirely by ourselves. Most of it has been given to us, by our work, but also by grace and freedom, and the choices of many other people, almost despite ourselves.

Jesus represents the worldview of abundance in every one of his multiplication miracles and stories. There's always the making of much out of little and there are always baskets left over. That's the only possible message. There's plenty! If we learn to be creative, if we learn to be imaginative, if we learn to be a little less selfish there's always another way to look at it and another way to make sure all our fed.

Maybe a worldview of abundance is something we'll only fully experience when we learn how to draw upon an Infinite Source. If the Source is infinite, we are infinite. If the Source is finite, of course we are finite too.

Let me say at this point that there is a such thing as scarcity. We live on the Northern Olympic Peninsula with a scarcity of sunshine for much of the year. Every Sunday morning we experience a scarcity of church membership. The Israelite's are suffering from a scarcity of water in a barren desert environment. Scarcity is real, but the notion of scarcity can get inflated and blown out of proportion to where it becomes the primary way of looking at the world.

At heart, that's a spiritual problem because God provides unlimited resources as depicted in our text and as experienced when we open our hearts and minds to that Infinite Source Father Rohr is describing.

It's true what he says about the Gospel. It is inundated with stories of abundance from the multiplication of the loaves and fishes to a party where the fatted calf is prepared and served to the family and friends of the Prodigal Son. Finally, Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b) By “they” he means everyone who is willing to listen to him.

The Gospel, as well is our text today, is depicting a world of abundance when you're in relationship with the Infinite Source that is always available to us. The problem is we harbor these worldviews of scarcity that have their source in a capitalistic culture and have been conveyed to us by people of influence in the formative years of our life.

For me, it was my grandmother who practiced and promoted a worldview of scarcity often within the context of money and it's overly emphasized value. My grandmother was almost too good to be true. Her home in Tillamook that we visited on holidays was a refuge from the the uncertainty and constant struggle of growing up in an alcoholic home. It's no wonder my grandmother had such a tremendous influence upon me.

I can't say that my introduction to the Christian Faith is when I first began to challenge my worldview of scarcity, because I'm sure it began before that. Certainly, exposure to books like Walden and A Sand County Almanac were immensely influential. Walden, for example, promotes the notion that true wealth comes not from material possessions but from spiritual and intellectual fulfillment. Jesus says the same thing most notably in the parable of the Lilies of the Field (Matthew 6:25-34).

In that parable Jesus describes a generous Father in heaven ready and waiting to meet our material needs; and ends it by saying if we'll make the kingdom of God the most important thing in our lives then all of our material needs will be met! But you have to put the kingdom of God first and that is no easy task when we've been shaped and formed by a culture of scarcity.

To develop a worldview of abundance requires establishing and maintaining a relationship with the infinite Source of the universe, namely God. This is done primarily through prayer, study and a dogged determination to stay open to God's grace.

Rev. Mitch Becker

March 8, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Looking Right”

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

This isn't the easiest text to decipher but by taking it one step at a time it soon becomes clear what Paul is trying to say. To briefly sum the text up one can say he's helping these fledgling Christians to reject the law and embrace God's grace. Since Lent is a lot about learning to reject old patterns and ways of thinking to accept new ones Paul's word today is a good fit.

Lets begin with an illustration that comes from a commentary written by Lucy Lind Hogan. She invites us to consider what its like for an American to walk across the street in Britain. When we were little our mother's told us to always hold hands and look both ways when crossing the street. In America you're instructed to look to the left first because cars drive on the right side of the road. Therefore, if any cars are coming your way they're going to be closest to the curb approaching from the left.

But in Britain cars drive on the left side of the road, so you need to look to your right first before stepping off the curb. Some cities have attempted to resolve the problem by stenciling onto the pavement at intersections the words; “Look Right.”

Considering our text Paul is trying to change the way these new Christians thought about their father Abraham keeping in mind they were mostly Jewish. A common notion that circulated among the Jewish population was that Abraham was honored and praised because of the things he did and for his adherence to the law. Paul wants them to let that go and embrace the notion that Abraham was special because of his faith.

Remember, Paul was obsessed with the law and was killing Christians because he saw these early followers as violating the Torah. But that all changes in an instant on the road to Damascus where the Lord appears to him, speaks to him, and blinds him for three days. This mystical encounter with the Christ changed him forever. After that he was able to let go of his obsession with the law and embrace God's justifying grace.

From this experience Paul develops his famous metaphor for salvation which is “justification by grace through faith” (Romans 3:24). Because of this profound mystical experience which results in an inner spiritual transformation he now views the world through eyes that have been awakened. In this regard, he views Abraham in the same manner – someone who has been made right with God through faith.

As he was transformed on the road, so he sees Abraham transformed in a like manner by personal encounters with God. One such example is God's appearance to Abraham in Ur (urrr) where he tells him to leave everything that matters to him and go “to the land that I show you.” To sum up, we are justified not by our works but by our faith which enables us to receive God's grace. So, “right looking,” in this sense, is seeing Abraham justified with God not through works but through faith.

On the morning this sermon was written Karen and I were talking about the frequent incidents being reported in the newspaper of people crossing the line resulting in head-on collisions. In the two head-on accidents reported in that very week both involved alcohol or drugs. It's no surprise to anyone that political unrest translates to social instability. Some people are stressed-out to the max with anxiety, fear and anger. At such times some people seek escape through mind-altering drugs and a depressant like alcohol.

There are also other forms of addiction that function as escape mechanisms such as gambling, internet obsession, excessive food consumption, and over-shopping just to name a few. Right looking involves avoiding deceptive ego desires by staying in right relationship with God. When we're in right relationship any desire to be separate from God is unwelcome. Eventually, we lose any inclination to sin because wrong-doing results in separation from the source of divine love that sustains us.

Recently I posted a picture on Facebook of Karen and I with Groucho, our little Havaenese. The picture was of him situated between us on the couch. He was up on the cushion resting his head right in between the two of us. He wanted to be close to his parents because that's typically the place he most wants to be.

When I bring Oreo, our Springer-Spaniel/Dachshund to work she loves to lie out in the sunshine when its coming through the windows of the fellowship hall. But not for too long because I'm in the office working and the place she most often wants to be is somewhere in close proximity to me.

We can learn much from our animals by observing their behavior. They know where safety and security lie. They know who loves them and is taking care of them. Because the ego is a powerful influence we're easily misled and can find ourselves far from our ultimate source of safety and security which is God.

I've already mentioned several ways people end up in exile wandering in a wilderness of anxiety, fear and anger. The solution is to return from exile. To find our way back to the love of God that sustains us. To ignore the ego which persuades us to look left because that's what we do under normal circumstances, yet in the wilderness we have to look to the right. That takes practice or another way of saying it is it takes spiritual discipline.

When being in close relationship with God is the place we most want to be then spiritual discipline is relatively easy. Not unlike Groucho or Oreo we just do whatever is necessary to be close to God again. That can entail a meditative sit or a walk in the woods or listening to a Beethoven Sonata. It requires whatever works for you, but we have to do it and turn away from the egos temptation to find our own way of return.

That's what addiction is really all about. It's a misguided way of trying to return home from exile by our own means. It's trying to flee the wilderness without God's help which is a recipe for disaster. The disaster may not happen tomorrow or the next day or the next week, but it will come, sooner or later all the factors will intersect, and you'll find yourself in the place you least want to be. That might be in the doctor's office or worse the emergency room or worse in a casket.

These are the people we're reading about in the newspaper. People who have made the wrong choices. People who kept looking left when they should have been looking right. We've all been there because right looking is not inherent to human nature. It is something you learn by trial and error. Hopefully the errors are not too costly, but even a catastrophe, if you survive it, can instruct if you're staying the course with God. When that's the case the psalmist resonates in our hearts when he says:

You're blessed when you stay the course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You're blessed when you follow his direction, doing your best to find him. That's right – you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.

You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I'm going to do what you tell me to do; don't ever walk off and leave me. (Psalm 119:1-8; The Message Bible)

God will never leave us, but we leave God. This season of Lent is especially designed to help us learn how to stay the course with our Savior. Traditionally this is done with prayer, fasting and alms giving. But there is also study and ritual and worship services that emphasize the season, but it only works when we look right even though we're often tempted to look left.

Rev. Mitch Becker

March 1, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

Matthew 4:1-11

“A God-Shaped Hole”

This morning, we begin the journey to the cross by examining what we might call a “scriptural echo” found in the lectionary. There are some interesting parallels we can draw with the Old Testament scripture which is the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve.

Like Jesus in the wilderness Adam and Eve are also being manipulated. The serpent is attempting to sow seeds of mistrust in the garden of Eden. He does this by suggesting God hasn't told them the whole story. The serpent doesn't lie to them because they really don't die when they eat the fruit from the garden; and they actually do become a bit more like God in their newfound awareness of their nakedness. It is the advent of human self-awareness.

The serpent is suggesting God can't be trusted because God told them they'd die if they ate the fruit, but they don't die. With the seed of mistrust now planted the temptation is laid out before them. Adam and Eve are invited by the serpent to satisfy a deep need and want all human beings share which is to become self-sufficient. Another way to say it is to establish their identity on their own.

Identity is also the focus of the Tempter in Jesus' temptations. The challenge is repeated twice and sounds like this: “If you are the Son of God.” In other words, “How do you know you're God's son?” So, the Tempter presents a way to know for sure – turn this stone into bread and your identity is secured.

But Jesus knows that even if he performs the miracle he'll still be left empty because our true identity can only be established in relationship with God. Jesus chooses to remain dependent upon the Father because he knows his identity will not be found through self-actualization but rather by remembering who he belongs to.

The person of Spirit is always aware of a latent sense of insufficiency. We are not complete in and of ourselves. One way of thinking about this is to imagine a hole within us that longs to be filled. Adam and Eve are aware of this hole and see it shaped like fruit. They eat it but the emptiness remains. To accelerate into modern times, we might imagine the hole to be shaped like a car, or a better house, or perhaps the perfect spouse.

But regardless of how hard we work to call these things are own after they're acquired the emptiness remains. Pascal (Pass-sgal) called it a “God-shaped hole” and Saint Augustine said human beings will remain restless until we rest in God.

Let's explore Pascal's notion of a God-shaped hole a bit further in his own words:

What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print or trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since the infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immediate object; in other words, by God himself.

The “true happiness” he refers to brings to mind Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden prior to the serpent or it could be a reference to early childhood when all the world was held in amazement, and we felt safe and secure in our mother's arms. But as humanity matures and as we grow up to become adults the experience of amazement and security becomes fleeting. Only when we venture deeper into the spiritual realm do we return, though often momentarily, to that experience of amazement and ultimate security.

The God-shaped hole can be filled when we get our priorities right to learn how to open our minds and souls to God's grace. It is by grace that the hole is filled. It is never achieved by our own efforts. That's one important message of our text today that we simply cannot do the filling ourselves though there is a deep desire within us to do so. That was mentioned earlier in Adam and Eve seeing the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as capable of filling the God-shaped hole.

The message is repeated in the Tempter's temptations when he invites Jesus to turn stone into bread. The tempter is saying Jesus doesn't need the Father to accomplish miracles because he can do it on his own. The Tempter is goading him: “Go ahead, do it, find out who you really are.” And here is Jesus' response in contemporary language: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth.”

In terms of a steady stream from God's mouth arguably the most important words in the New Testament make-up the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5-7). And right at the core of Jesus' sermon are the following words:

Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or – worse – stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. (Matthew 6:19-20; The Message Bible)

When being in prayer or in study of the Bible or in Christian fellowship or in helping another from your heart becomes the place you most want to be you can rest assured, you're on the right track. The following story illustrates the spiritual importance of compassion. 

She had been scheduled to preach at a small church in the Midwest, but an early snowstorm had set in, and she was essentially trapped in a hotel room. The chairperson of the church called her and said, “Sorry, about the weather. It's a real surprise this early in the season. There's a little cafe in the strip mall around the corner from your hotel and you can get something to eat there.”

The pastor said she'd manage and would talk to him later. She ventured out into the icy wind and slipped and slid all the way to the little cafe. Inside were a host of locals and she took a seat in a corner booth. After a while a man with a scraggly beard and grease stained apron approached her and asked what she wanted. The pastor told him she wanted soup, and the guy said, “That's good because it's all we got.” When the soup came she put the spoon in to taste it and she wasn't completely surprised that it tasted pretty awful. If fact, it was so bad she was reluctant to eat anymore of it.

That's when the door opened and in walked a woman who looked to be far older than she probably was wearing a worn out winter coat. She sat down at the counter. The grease stained apron walked over to her and asked what she wanted to order. She told him just a glass of water, and he said, in no uncertain terms, that she had to order food. That's when she decided to reveal the true purpose for her presence which was to get out of the icy wind for a bit and she made the mistake of telling the guy the truth.

He said, “You can't just sit around and take up space. You have to order something or leave,” and he said this with considerable volume so everyone in the little cafe heard it. The woman had no choice but to turn around and head for the door but when she did half of the people in the place did the same thing. They were leaving with her to demonstrate their disgust in the guys attitude!

The pastor joined in the exodus and was half way to the door when the grease stained apron said, “Alright, I can take a hint. She doesn't have to leave.” And everyone returned to their seats including the woman with the worn out winter coat. Suddenly, the pastor sensed the presence of the living God in that little cafe and you know what, though she can't explain it, that horrible soup all of sudden tasted pretty good.

When we show compassion from our heart God is sure to show up.

Rev. Mitch Becker

February 22, 2026

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Defining Moments”

Exodus 24:12-18

Tyler Mayfield begins his commentary on our text by describing a trip to the holy land he took with a group of seminarians. He said on the first two days of the trip they toured the Israeli coast checking out various sites previously occupied by Roman soldiers. He said the students seemed to be “tolerating” the sightseeing, but he also sensed concern about not seeing anything associated with Jesus.

They began to drive eastward which eventually took them to a high mountain and the bus climbed to the top of it. Near the top of Mount Arbel (Are-bull) they stopped to walk the remaining way to the very top of the mountain. When they reached the top they literally “froze” taking in the view. There before them was the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum (Kay-per-knee-umm), and the Mount of Beatitudes. He said, “Before us all were the very places Jesus taught and healed.” This was clearly a “defining moment” for them. What they'd been preparing for months in advance suddenly became a living reality!

But as inspiring as the moment was, they still had to eventually come down off the mountain. The defining moment soon became part of the overall experience of the trip. And so it is with all mountaintop experiences – eventually we have to come down and continue on our way.

Moses is no stranger to mountaintop experiences. In our text he receives a Call to climb Mount Sinai and receive the tablets of the law. While climbing the mountain Moses is surrounded by a great cloud. The Israelite's at the bottom describe the cloud as a “devouring fire!” On the seventh day God calls Moses out of the cloud but then he returns and walks around in it for a total of forty days.

This must have been a difficult time for him. Finally, the Lord gives him the Ten Commandments which had to have been a defining moment in his life. But the people are still in the wilderness, and he must go to them to lead them out.

As important as Mount Sinai is it is still only one stop on a long journey to the Promised Land. This is a description of what characterizes all of our spiritual journeys. We all have our mountaintop experiences which can be inspiring and deeply meaningful, but we must continue on into the valleys and plains of life and perhaps other mountains as the following psalm describes:

And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain! God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at last turn – Zion! God in full view! (Psalm 84:5-7; The Message Bible)

Sometime prior to graduation the president of my seminary asked me if I would like to accompany one of the donors on a six-week trip through Western and Eastern Europe. I told him that sounded fantastic and soon I was meeting with Monty at his home in San Francisco. The initial meeting went well and the week after graduation we were on our way.

The first hint of trouble occurred on the plane when Monty saw me reading a Newsweek magazine and told me as a seminary graduate I could do better. That struck me as a bit odd and I don't remember if I stopped reading it. I had also brought along a copy of Paul Tillich's “The Courage To Be” which Monty later told me was more fitting for a seminary graduate.

It was not long before a relational coldness set in between us where conversation was at a minimum and I often felt frustrated and sometimes angry with him. I understood my presence there was to be a helpmate but that was not Monty's understanding. Unfortunately, we made poor companions and so the adventure soon became a trial of endurance.

One defining moment occurred in a cathedral while we were still in West Germany. As we walked together across the floor Monty failed to see the fast approaching steps and literally tried to walk on air. I broke his fall by grabbing his left arm and pulled him to safety. That defining moment worried me because we had many more cathedrals to go and Monty was becoming increasingly uncooperative.

In Switzerland while walking alone he missed another flight of steps and fell and broke his glasses as well as cut his head. After that I called the president of the seminary back in Berkeley and that helped a bit but throughout the trip I considered going home early. However, I could never bring myself to abandon Monty because though he felt he didn't need me the problems he was having told a different story.

When we recall our spiritual journeys, we may have a tendency to favor the defining moments and maybe the high points of the experience. But often the truth is these defining moments, and high points happen as the struggle ensues and each obstacle that we encounter is confronted and resolved with prayer, strategy and sometimes dogged perseverance.

Moses' first defining moment on Mount Sinai probably comes on the seventh day when God calls him out of the cloud. The second certain defining moment comes at the culmination of the forty days and nights on the mountain when he receives the Ten Commandments. The whole experience could be considered a spiritual journey but think of the hardship he must have endured spending forty days and nights in the middle of nowhere lost in a dense cloud.

Ironically, my six-week trip with Monty also amounts to around forty days and nights, and like Moses it was fraught with hardship and anxiety. Though I wasn't in the middle of nowhere, nor in dense fog, I struggled with a cold (back then they only lasted a couple weeks), diarrhea from bad food in Romania, and, of course, constant relational difficulties with a 93-year-old man who really didn't want me there.

It's been thirty-five years since the trip, and the defining moments are crystal clear to me. The first one occurs on the cathedral steps, and in the second country we visited, Switzerland, I shook hands with my cousin who could have been mistaken for my father as he walked toward me just outside the village of Bilten. The third one happened in a small restaurant in Warsaw, Poland where I recognized one of the few people in Europe I could identify.

Sitting at a table a few feet from us was Lech Walesa (Lech Wuh-leh-suh) the leader of the solidarity movement in Poland that led the Polish people to their freedom from communist rule. I walked over and introduced myself and shook hands with him and he gave me an autographed copy of his picture. The fourth defining moment was the tour through the museum at Auschwitz which took place soon after that meeting.

After meeting Lech Walesa I felt that encounter was the reason for the entire trip. It justified the struggle and hardships I'd endured all those weeks and this is often what makes up a defining moment. It somehow puts everything into focus and I had not one defining moment but four. Moses had at least two and perhaps more in those forty days on Mount Sinai.

A defining moment doesn't necessarily have to happen during struggle and hardship. It can happen at anytime. It can happen on a flight to Thailand or simply while walking the Olympic Discovery Trail. To identify it all you have to look for is a phrase that sounds something like: “Oh, this is why I'm here” or “This is what I came for.”

Rev. Mitch Becker

February 15, 2026

Port Angeles