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PC(USA) Sanctions Against Israel Are the Wrong Way to the Right Answer

I will be away from June 12-18 to attend the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly in Detroit. I will be there not as a delegate, but as an advocate, hoping to dissuade commissioners from voting in favor of divesting from, boycotting, or sanctioning Israel and businesses supporting it. Those who promote boycott, divestment, and sanctions (called “the BDS movement”) are good-hearted people outraged by the plight of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Unfortunately, sanctions on Israel are not a solution to the problem and reflect a misunderstanding of the situation on the ground. Furthermore, for our church to promote such sanctions will only further alienate our Jewish friends in the United States while doing little or nothing to advance us to a positive role in promoting peace in the Middle East. To take such a position undermines the very nature of Presbyterian peacemaking: we are a reconciling community, not one that chooses sides.Read More »PC(USA) Sanctions Against Israel Are the Wrong Way to the Right Answer

St. Stephen the Visionary

St. Stephen

Acts 7: 51-60

 

“It is not the punishment, but the cause, that makes the martyr.” St. Augustine

 As many of you can tell us, the transition of old Broadway Presbyterian Church to its new location on a hill near TCU was a tough transition indeed. Rev. Hardie retired, preaching from Broadway’s pulpit; and the Rev. R.W. Jablonowski, former lawyer and former Marine chaplain led Broadway as it abandoned its old digs and started building here, on this site, in 1950. While the congregation waited for the new building to be erected, they met in the old Paschal High School auditorium, which is now MacLean Middle School. One of the more controversial topics that were debated during the transition was, what do we name this new church? Many were still fond of Broadway Presbyterian, but of course people pointed out, we aren’t located on Broadway Street anymore!Read More »St. Stephen the Visionary

Stranger

by Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch

St. Luke 24:13-35

“You have to be a stranger yourself. There has to be an intentional marginality, an intentional experience that becomes part of our spiritual discipline.  One can’t claim the role of host all the time; … it is a gift also to be willing to be guests and to share in people’s lives.”–Christine D. Pohl, Professor of Social Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary

 It’s been almost ten years since I preached my first sermon here at St. Stephen. It’s been almost ten years since I arrived here a stranger, and you welcomed me.

Read More »Stranger

Room in the Inn (RITI) – A Meaningful Connection to the Homeless by Mike Tyson

ROOM IN THE INN (RITI) — A Meaningful Connection to the Homeless

by Mike Tyson

One of my more rewarding volunteer activities this year was spending the morning of April 3rd at the Homeless Connect at First Presbyterian Church.  This is an annual event where the homeless in Fort Worth can receive on-the-spot services ranging from health care to assistance with food, housing and jobs.

It was my good fortune to work as an appointment taker at the haircutting station, where up to 20 hair stylists volunteered their time to transform completely the image of more than 100 homeless clients.    Many hair stylists took “selfies” with their clients who not only sported a new look, but a huge smile!

One of the best things about participating in this event was seeing many of our friends who have been guests at RITI this past year.   After an exchange of greetings, they always asked, “How is everyone at St. Stephen?” generally followed by, “I miss seeing you each week and look forward to returning to St. Stephen this summer.”

Which brings me to the subject of sharing the RITI volunteer experience with you:

I became involved in RITI last summer, shortly after joining SSPC.  RITI has been significant to me—not only because it has provided a meaningful connection to the issue of homelessness by giving it faces, names and life stories that could be any of ours—but also because it has built friendships with SSPC members with common concerns.  This is an important mission of St. Stephen, and I encourage you to do yourself a favor by getting involved.

In case you’re not familiar—RITI is our outreach project to homeless in our community.  During the hottest and coldest months of the year, our guests are provided a comfortable place to sleep in a friendly environment, as well as a good dinner and breakfast the following morning.  The summer session of Room in the Inn will begin Tuesday, July 1 and will continue each Tuesday evening/ Wednesday morning through August 26/ 27.

Read More »Room in the Inn (RITI) – A Meaningful Connection to the Homeless by Mike Tyson

Easter: Jesus Rose

 

by Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch

John 20: 19-31

 

“Jesus’s resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven.  That, after all, is what the Lord’s Prayer is about.”—N. T. Wright (b. 1948), Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church

 

Today we celebrate Easter. Easter is the most important Christian holy day, because this is the day that we remember that Jesus rose from the dead. He was dead, but God raised Him from the dead.  This past week We have been reflecting on Jesus’ suffering and death. Often our focus is his life and teachings. none of that is in itself particularly unique. Other wise people have taught. Other miracle workers have healed. Other martyrs have suffered and died. Perhaps He should have been remembered, if He was remembered at all, as one among many great teachers of history.

But He rose from the dead. That changes everything.Read More »Easter: Jesus Rose

“I Thirst”

The Last Words of Jesus: “I Thirst”

John 19:16-20

Last week, one of our scriptures was a story from the Exodus. The Hebrews, having escaped slavery in Egypt, were now wandering in the desert, feeling lost and confused and suspicious of their leader Moses. They were thirsty. They demanded that Moses gives them water. Moses cries out in frustration to God, and God tells him to strike his staff on a stone. When he does, water pours out. The people have enough to drink. But Moses calls the place massah and meribah, because the people questioned, “Is God among us, or not?”Read More »“I Thirst”

The Last Words of Jesus: “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”

On the cross, Jesus stands in for us all. At some level, most of us have been taught this.  For instance, you may have been taught that when Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” it is because He has been quite literally abandoned by God, because Jesus has taken on the sin of all humanity, and scripture assures us “God cannot look upon sin.”Read More »The Last Words of Jesus: “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”

“This day, you will be with me in Paradise”

The Seven Last Words of Jesus:

“This day, you will be with me in Paradise”

by Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch

March 16, 2014

Genesis 12: 1-4

Luke 23: 32-43

 

“The criminal begs Jesus for remembrance in the unknown future that awaits them all.  The crucified jesus, the one soon to die on the gibbet of infamy, replies to this criminal, ‘Believe me, today you shall be with me in Paradise.’ As Ambrose put it centuries later, ‘More abundant is the favor shown than the request made.’”—Joseph Fitzmyer, Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to Luke X-XXIV

 

It’s the most compelling and memorable of the Taize songs we sing: “Jesus, remember me/ when you come into your kingdom.” It’s compelling because, quite simply, it’s what you and I want. The thief on the cross is speaking for us. He represents all of us. But at the same time, he’s not like us at all. Luke, writing to a Roman audience, puts these words in the mouth of the lowest of the low. At bare minimum, the thief is a lawbreaker of the worst sort, and Rome was a law-and-order state. The average Roman would assume, as we generally do, that someone who’s broken the law doesn’t deserve much leniency.

Read More »“This day, you will be with me in Paradise”