Rev. Zach

It is so hard to be thankful on a daily basis - especially during the season of Lent.  This is not the season for thankfulness.  It is the season for feeling undeserving, or so it seems at times.  Either way, it is a time to consider the blessings of God that we have received.  Some time ago I remember my sister challenging me to list all the things that I am thankful for.  I couldn't do it.  There was too much.  It is always easier to focus on the things we regret or that we wish were not so. That has been a tough one in the Sasser house today.  We had a great morning celebrating Earth Day at the Lafayette Middle School.  My daughter climbed a 30' inflatable rock wall, made a candle out of bee's wax, and got to touch a preserved shark.  What will she report?  "We didn't get to go canoeing!" As for me, I had some great time with my family today.  I had an opportunity to sit and visit with church elders who are passionate ab...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana April 10, 2011 – Lent 5 (A) Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 The valley of the dry bones is a favorite story of mine.  I can't tell you how or when I first heard the story, but I have always thought of it as an incredible image – these bones becoming people.  Modern special effects in film and media have really made it interesting, perhaps even grotesque, to imagine.  Unfortunately, those same special effects have combined with an over active imagination to produce a vision of a village of undead people, or as some would call them – Zombies! Although I'll take the blame for telling you that I have these thoughts, I don't think it is because I am simply sick and twisted.  Zombies have been around for centuries, and they are found in the literature of almost every culture.  Western civilization, particularly in the last ten years or so, has produced an entire genre of film and literature related to the id...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana April 2, 2001 – Lent (A4) 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 "So, how's your ministry going?"  That's what my sister's friend, April, asked me when she found out that I had begun a career in ministry.  I was only 19 at the time and working part time with the youth of the church I grew up in.  April is a Baptist, and I took her question to be rather, well – Baptisty.  By that I mean to say that my cultural bias is that Baptists are more individualized in their expression of Spirituality. I don't remember what I said but I remember thinking, "My ministry?  No. I don't have a ministry.  This is Christ's ministry that I am a part of.  The church has a ministry.  I could never be so bold as to claim that ministry was mine."  The funny thing is, that question has been - and remains - a central question to my understanding of who I am as an ordained minister.  Even more so, ...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana March 27, 2011 – Lent: 3A Exodus 17:1-7 Romans 5:1-11 John 4:5-42 How many of you played the game, Four Square, as a child?  Four Square has been around for a long time and is a favorite on many campgrounds and schoolyards.  The basic idea is a box divided into four squares.  The fourth square is for the King or Queen of the game, and this is the person who starts the game by serving a playground ball into someone else's square.  In some circles, the King or Queen can even make new rules at the beginning of a round of play.  As the ball comes to you, you have to hit it – flat handed – into someone else's square without letting it bounce more than once in your own.  If you mess up, you go to square one while other players advance. There is a new kind of Four Square that the kids are playing today from their phones.  It involves a social networking tool where people can let others know where they are, mak...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana March 20, 2011 – Lent (A2) Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 121 (Cantor – Bruce Turner) Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17 I wonder how many of you have ever been in a house of mirrors? It can be a lot of fun wandering through halls – even running into walls you did not know were there. The curved fun house mirrors can be fun, too. I enjoy exaggerating the shape of my body, though I must confess that sometimes the flaws I deny become too real in those mirrors. In the reality show "What Not To Wear" contestants are ambushed by friends to confront their unflattering and outdated clothing choices. One of the first steps in the journey of transformation for the contestants is to step into a booth with mirrors all around them to get a 360˚ view of themselves. No flaws are hidden from the 360˚ mirror. That is what we have in the scriptures today, a mirror of our lives that offers no retreat from our past, present, or future. It is overl...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana March 13, 2011 – Lent 1A Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 When I was a boy I remember being fascinated by the way my big brother could shuffle a deck of cards by making a bridge and letting it fall. I could not wait until I was old enough – until my hands were big enough, strong enough – to shuffle cards like that. That memory makes it even more fun to watch my own children in their fascination when we play a game, and I shuffle cards. When I think about the way the stories we have heard today are often interpreted it reminds me of a neatly shuffled deck of cards. Not just a shuffled deck of cards, but a stacked deck of cards - a stacked deck of cards that God has neatly ordered and placed before us. I am not a gambler. My brain just doesn't work the way others do when it comes to gambling. I get the impression that there are systems and strategies that go along with a fair amount of boldness and initiati...

First Presbyterian of Lafayette, Louisiana March 6, 2011: Transfiguration – Year A Exodus 24:12-18 2 Peter 1:16-21 Matthew 17:1-9 What an exciting time we are having in the life of this community! What pageantry! What fun! What excess and wastefulness! In fact, I dare say that seven years of good parenting and teaching my kids to say "please" and "thank you" have been undone by watching their parents scream, "Throw me somethin', Mister!" while we step on toys and strings of beads to claim them for our children who climb from our backs to put their spoils in over stuffed bags. One thing we do well here, though, is build up a sense of expectation. We've been waiting for Mardi Gras all year. The barricades were set out a week ago, and now time seems to be moving slower as the parades come and go and we savor each moment. Even in the midst of a parade there is anticipation for the beginning and celebration as they come. There is a sense...