Sermon 08.22.10
“The Jesus of No Excuses”
Did you ever notice that whenever Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, something usually goes wrong? He never seems to just read and discuss the Hebrew Scriptures like he is supposed to do. He doesn’t always unroll the scroll, recite the verses and then turn to discuss them with the other religious leaders. Nine out of ten times, an incident occurs, the Pharisees are ready to hurl him over a cliff, he’s threatened with punishments and you have to wonder why he keeps doing this. What is it that he doesn’t understand?
It happens again in today’s Gospel. The text begins innocently enough – “Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.” Seven verses later, he’s wiping up the floor with the hypocrites to the cheers of the crowd.
What happened? He was probably between verses 12 and 13 of the fourth chapter of Leviticus when he spied the woman whose back was bent, the infirmed one, as the King James Version says. He sees an opportunity for a healing. And it just happens to be the Sabbath. I’ll bet you could see the funnel cloud all the way from Jerusalem.
The image of the crippled woman in Luke’s text for today is certainly an object of great pity. Try to imagine what it must have been like for her existence: unable to straighten upright, always bent over. Day after day she sees nothing but her feet, the dirty, dusty streets of the town, and other peoples’ sandals. She could not talk to another person, eye to eye, never saw a sunset, never seen the stars, had been infirmed, as the old King James versions says, for 18 years. This is six years longer than the woman who was healed of her hemorrhages. Had she given up hope? She didn’t ask Jesus to heal her, she was just passing by the synagogue.
But it was the wrong day, unfortunately. Healings can only take place during the week. “Come back another time,” says the leader of the synagogue. He completely misses the miracle because he is so focused on following the rules. A woman is not longer inflicted with a pain that had her doubled-over in misery for almost 10,000 days, and the leader is concerned with the propriety of Jesus’ actions.
What I love most about Jesus is that he never, ever makes excuses. The church of no excuses is where Jesus fits in. He could have said to the leader, “But she was sick….or but she was in the neighborhood so it seemed convenient…or but she couldn’t come back another day…but I won’t be available later in the week…or I’m really backed up with miracles in Galilee…or maybe I’m never coming back to this synagogue instead. Jesus doesn’t make excuses for his healing.
But we are the people with excuses. Especially when it is a matter of coming to church. We have lots of excuses. A church in Wichita, Kansas, once advertised a “no excuses” Sunday service.
To encourage both the faithful and the unfaithful to attend church this year, every Sunday will be a no-excuse Sunday and the following will be provided:
Cots will be placed in the vestibule for those who say. “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.”
Murine will be provided for those with tired eyes, from watching TV too late on Saturday night.
There will be steel helmets for those who say, “The roof would cave in if I ever went to church.”
Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who think it’s too hot.
We will have hearing aids for those who say, “The minister speaks too softly,” and cotton for those who say, “The pastor is too loud.”
Score cards will be available to those who want to list the hypocrites present.
Some relative will be present, for those who like visiting on Sunday.
There will be TV dinners for those who say they can’t go to church and cook dinner also.
One section of the church will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature.
Finally, the church will be decorated with Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who have seen it without them.
Now Jesus doesn’t play this game. Instead, he takes the Pharisees head on and gives them a dose of their own medicine. He points out the fact that they all work on the Sabbath, in one way or another. Just lays right into them and blows away their excuses. He says that untying your donkey to give it water is working on the Sabbath. And by the way, wouldn’t the Sabbath be the best day of the week for a healing?
There is a mix of messages in today’s passage. One aspect focuses on Christ as healer, as miracle worker, no matter what day of the week it is. Whenever there is an opportunity to bring restoration and wholeness, he will be there, even if he’s working on something else. God invented multi-tasking. And Jesus is not especially concerned with the calendar.
The second message is that sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. Rather than appreciate the renewal of the woman’s health, the leaders of the synagogue are so worried about the letter of the law and that miracles qualify as working on the Sabbath. We certainly do that from time to time, getting stuck on one things, such as a bad sermon, and forgetting that the rest of the service went really well. And we actually loved the hymns, now that you think about it.
The third message is that Jesus takes no prisoners or excuses. He calls it as he sees it. He is not afraid to lift up the sin of hypocrisy and start taking names, even among the religious leaders in the synagogue. His followers are in agreement on that and start rejoicing. He makes trouble, but manages to clean up his mess in such a way that it turns out for the better.
The good news for us today, also comes in three parts. First, Jesus truly has the power to free us, to unbind us of all ailments, be they mental, spiritual, emotional and physical. He heals at unexpected times and is not limited to social conventions. Miracles still occur, even after 18 years.
The second part of the Gospel take-away for this morning is that we have to work on our limited vision of what the reign of God will be like. We all have preconceived notions of societal norms and Jesus, unfortunately, mostly works outside of the box. As Paul says in Romans, we are not to be conformed to the world, but to transform it.
And the third advice that we are given is not to back down and make excuses for our faith. If we call ourselves children of God, we cannot permit hypocritical actions. Jesus is not interested in hearing our excuses for not being faithful followers. And he isn’t afraid of calling our bluff if it comes to that.
May we celebrate the healing of the crippled woman, who raised her body as an expression of praise to Christ our Lord. Let us rejoice, like the crowd, in the miracles that we see all around us, if we are paying attention. And finally, we pray that we can be more tolerate, more loving, and more understanding than the religious leaders that Jesus addressed. Our excuses will go unheard, but God’s word will return to us to set us free. Amen.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
"The Stressed-Out Savior"
Sermon 08.15.10
“The Stressed-Out Savior”
It’s difficult to put Jesus and the word “stress” together in the same sentence. The Jesus that we know is serene (as in the head of Christ by painter Sulliman), is the great physician due to his many miraculous healings, is the lovable Savior that the children flocked to, is the powerful Lord who walked on the water and commanded the waves. Stress just isn’t part of his vocabulary.
We all know that Jesus has had frustrating moments with the disciples, and had less than friendly relationships with the religious leaders of the day. But I don’t picture him at his wit’s end, pulling out clumps of hair, banging his head against the wall, or smashing a nice earthen ware jug in a fit of rage. It’s an image that we can’t fathom, and yet it is precisely that type of situation as described in today’s text from Luke. And the translation of it, the Greek verb synecho appears only once in the New Testament as a translation for the word stress.
Jesus is not only angry; he’s nasty angry with incredibly harsh warnings. His words are hard to chew and ever harder to swallow. Jesus is upset that his mission has not been thoroughly accomplished through the baptism of fire, and now he’s up against a deadline. He speaks of relatives turning against other relatives, and you get the feeling that it’s going to be much, much more than the Hatfields and the MCoys. All of the in-laws will be there to add fuel to the family chaos. Not a pretty picture at all.
Jesus even adds a final insult to his spurious speech – you all can predict the future weather, but you’re not even remotely aware of what’s going on all around you right now. Period. End of Sentence. Jesus turns on his heel and disappears for the rest of the day. An ugly barrage of words, at best.
But Jesus was just speaking the truth about stress. The old is never new; it’s just repackaged for us today. We are on a planetary timetable as volatile as the first century AD. In Jesus’ time, there was political rest in other countries, violence in many cities, and even Christians arguing with other Christians (imagine that) when Paul writes to the Corinthians, correcting them in 1 Corinthians 1:12 Some of you are saying, "I am a follower of Paul." Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Peter, " or "I follow only Christ." Can Christ be divided into pieces? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul?
The painful answer for us is that these conflicts have been and will continue to be sources of stress in our lives today.
We all experience stress – it is a normal functioning of our human reasoning. Distress is what happens when your gut says “no” and your mouth says “yes.” It’s like the poster that my clergy girlfriend has in her office: One day I shall lose my buds of calm and blossom fully into hysteria.”
The level may vary by each individual: how to stretch one’s dollars on a fixed income, concerns over aging parents, worries about a grandchild leaving for college or medical issues for members of our families. Stress doesn’t have to mean a national crisis – it can be a deeply moving constellation of personal concerns. Because we live in a broken world, we experience the strain and pain of distress each and every day.
Will Willimon, a famous Methodist preacher, taught at Duke Divinity school for many years. As he helped to prepare his young students for the ministry they often sought his advice on matters other than classroom instruction. Many times, they reported that when they told they spouse or significant other that they thought they were called to ordained ministry, that person didn’t want to be married or attached to clergy. In fact, 35% of clergy marriages end in divorce compared with the 25% average of non-clergy couples. Jesus warns everyone in this passage that he comes to wreck relationships, rather than building them up.
For Jesus, there is the tension of bringing people on board for the kingdom when time is running out. He acknowledges the sacrifices that will be made, when families are thrown into chaos, and that even with that, all of his work here on earth may be futile. Here is Jesus, the original example of clergy burnout.
The Stressed-Out Saviour also wants to emphasize that he is not about peace and security this time around. In his time and place, there is an emergency which demands that lives be dramatically changed. We do not hear words that comfort or console us. Rather, it is a time of conflict, crisis and rejection. Our hearts are certainly not soothed by his words. So for us, we can only turn to logic from the apostle Paul who says in Romans 5:3-5. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us-- they help us learn to endure and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. The good news is that the Prince of Peace will still make an appearance, but not just yet.
But remember also that Jesus never said it would be easy. He just said it would be worth it. The Bible does not record Jesus ever uttering that life would be a piece of cake. Christ never stood with the Sadducees and Pharisees and the disciples in a circle around the fire singing “Kumbaya”. He did not declare to the apostles that they would be as happy as pigs in a mud pen, or that following him would lead to fame and glory. Jesus never even promised a happy ending for all of his friends.
There is no easy way to wrap up this passage with a pretty bow made from ribbons of faith. We simply cannot find with any certainty the peace and security that we need from the words that we read. James C. Dobson actually puts this all together when he says, “There are very few certainties that touch us all in this mortal experience, but one of the absolutes is that we will experience hardship and stress at some point”. All we know is that stress will be with us. And so will Jesus. Amen.
“The Stressed-Out Savior”
It’s difficult to put Jesus and the word “stress” together in the same sentence. The Jesus that we know is serene (as in the head of Christ by painter Sulliman), is the great physician due to his many miraculous healings, is the lovable Savior that the children flocked to, is the powerful Lord who walked on the water and commanded the waves. Stress just isn’t part of his vocabulary.
We all know that Jesus has had frustrating moments with the disciples, and had less than friendly relationships with the religious leaders of the day. But I don’t picture him at his wit’s end, pulling out clumps of hair, banging his head against the wall, or smashing a nice earthen ware jug in a fit of rage. It’s an image that we can’t fathom, and yet it is precisely that type of situation as described in today’s text from Luke. And the translation of it, the Greek verb synecho appears only once in the New Testament as a translation for the word stress.
Jesus is not only angry; he’s nasty angry with incredibly harsh warnings. His words are hard to chew and ever harder to swallow. Jesus is upset that his mission has not been thoroughly accomplished through the baptism of fire, and now he’s up against a deadline. He speaks of relatives turning against other relatives, and you get the feeling that it’s going to be much, much more than the Hatfields and the MCoys. All of the in-laws will be there to add fuel to the family chaos. Not a pretty picture at all.
Jesus even adds a final insult to his spurious speech – you all can predict the future weather, but you’re not even remotely aware of what’s going on all around you right now. Period. End of Sentence. Jesus turns on his heel and disappears for the rest of the day. An ugly barrage of words, at best.
But Jesus was just speaking the truth about stress. The old is never new; it’s just repackaged for us today. We are on a planetary timetable as volatile as the first century AD. In Jesus’ time, there was political rest in other countries, violence in many cities, and even Christians arguing with other Christians (imagine that) when Paul writes to the Corinthians, correcting them in 1 Corinthians 1:12 Some of you are saying, "I am a follower of Paul." Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Peter, " or "I follow only Christ." Can Christ be divided into pieces? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul?
The painful answer for us is that these conflicts have been and will continue to be sources of stress in our lives today.
We all experience stress – it is a normal functioning of our human reasoning. Distress is what happens when your gut says “no” and your mouth says “yes.” It’s like the poster that my clergy girlfriend has in her office: One day I shall lose my buds of calm and blossom fully into hysteria.”
The level may vary by each individual: how to stretch one’s dollars on a fixed income, concerns over aging parents, worries about a grandchild leaving for college or medical issues for members of our families. Stress doesn’t have to mean a national crisis – it can be a deeply moving constellation of personal concerns. Because we live in a broken world, we experience the strain and pain of distress each and every day.
Will Willimon, a famous Methodist preacher, taught at Duke Divinity school for many years. As he helped to prepare his young students for the ministry they often sought his advice on matters other than classroom instruction. Many times, they reported that when they told they spouse or significant other that they thought they were called to ordained ministry, that person didn’t want to be married or attached to clergy. In fact, 35% of clergy marriages end in divorce compared with the 25% average of non-clergy couples. Jesus warns everyone in this passage that he comes to wreck relationships, rather than building them up.
For Jesus, there is the tension of bringing people on board for the kingdom when time is running out. He acknowledges the sacrifices that will be made, when families are thrown into chaos, and that even with that, all of his work here on earth may be futile. Here is Jesus, the original example of clergy burnout.
The Stressed-Out Saviour also wants to emphasize that he is not about peace and security this time around. In his time and place, there is an emergency which demands that lives be dramatically changed. We do not hear words that comfort or console us. Rather, it is a time of conflict, crisis and rejection. Our hearts are certainly not soothed by his words. So for us, we can only turn to logic from the apostle Paul who says in Romans 5:3-5. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us-- they help us learn to endure and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. The good news is that the Prince of Peace will still make an appearance, but not just yet.
But remember also that Jesus never said it would be easy. He just said it would be worth it. The Bible does not record Jesus ever uttering that life would be a piece of cake. Christ never stood with the Sadducees and Pharisees and the disciples in a circle around the fire singing “Kumbaya”. He did not declare to the apostles that they would be as happy as pigs in a mud pen, or that following him would lead to fame and glory. Jesus never even promised a happy ending for all of his friends.
There is no easy way to wrap up this passage with a pretty bow made from ribbons of faith. We simply cannot find with any certainty the peace and security that we need from the words that we read. James C. Dobson actually puts this all together when he says, “There are very few certainties that touch us all in this mortal experience, but one of the absolutes is that we will experience hardship and stress at some point”. All we know is that stress will be with us. And so will Jesus. Amen.
Monday, August 9, 2010
"Check Your Purses Here"
Sermon 08.08.10
“Check Your Purses Here”
Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Some of you are already turning me out. She’s going to talk about money again, so I may as well think about what I need to thaw out for dinner or how many more games could the Orioles possibly lose. Sadly, I tell you the truth, last week’s sermon and this week’s are not part of my stewardship campaign. I’ll inflict that on you a little later in the year.
But I am going to talk about giving, and to start with, here’s a story:
The apostles Paul writes: “But do not ignore this fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is worth a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.”
An economist who read this passage was quite amazed and talked to God about it. “Lord,” he said, “is it true that a thousand years for us is like a minute to you.”
The Lord said yes.
The economist said, “Then a million dollars to us must be like a penny to you.
The Lord said yes.
The economist said, “Will you give me one of those pennies?”
The Lord said, “All right. Wait here a minute.”
Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out. That’s a tough proposition that Luke throws out to us this Sunday. It’s easier for a woman to understand – we have purses to match our shoes, purses that go with elegant clothes, and purses that are so big we can put a complete change of clothes in them. I myself carry so much stuff in my purse that I could probably do brain surgery in the middle of the Sahara desert, if necessary. And I wanted to give you all an idea of how many purses I have, so you don’t think I’m not including myself in the sermon.
Men, fortunately, or unfortunately, don’t usually carry more than a wallet, which is worn out because you keep opening it to give more money to your children, and your grandchildren, and maybe even your great-grandchildren. Eventually, though, the leather wears and cracks and you have to buy a new one, maybe every twenty years or so…
Make purses that do not wear out. Purses made of silk, satin, leather all wear out eventually, or are ruined. I often think that if I had a $400 Gucci purse, there would surely be a pen that would leak all over the bottom or a melted Snickers bar.
Jesus is not really talking about pocketbooks or wallets. The purse is an attitude for giving, for being people who are unselfish in mind, body and spirit. He says that those who are generous, those who give alms, will not have to put up with having their purses being stolen. The attitude for giving is openhanded, because the true treasure is in heaven.
Charitable giving is where your heart lies.
No event was a more spectacular example of this was 9/11. New York was swapped by people donating supplies, folks hauling in items that were sorely needed for the dead and dying. The Red Cross actually had to turn people away who had come to donate blood because their own resources couldn’t handle the crowd. This event, which was the US’s most horrific, was also its best moment when you consider the outpouring that took place. This is the alms-giving that Jesus wants us to strive for; the bountiful sacrifice for the greatest good. No moth can destroy this kind of purse that we hold so dear.
We are at our worst when we hold tightly to our earthly purses, bought at such a great price. They will surely weigh us down from making it to the kingdom that Jesus promises to his little flock. But we keep on stockpiling those purses anyway. America is said to be made of those who have, those who have not, and those who have not paid for what they have. Eventually the purses turn into larger satchels that we wear around our necks like milestones and we suffocate under the pressure.
Jesus says that where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. Your treasure can’t be full of gold and silver; it can’t be the place where you stash your fortune of jewels. Your heart will never be made of money.
And he tells us in verse 32: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He knows that most of us fear of losing our purses and wallets. We get nervous and clutch them even tighter in crowded places. Jesus understands our anxiety, and assures us that kingdom will be given in exchange for a purse. Sounds like a pretty good bargain to me.
At the heart of worship is the collection, so here’s my small stewardship pitch. Here is where we have an opportunity to walk the talk. You can sleep through the sermon, or mouth the prayers while you scan the back of the bulletin. But when the basket comes through, you need to do something. Money may be the thing that you put in, but it all has to do with attitude. An attitude that giving is part of the Christian way of life. Treasures are not to be hoarded like possessions. Don’t be dragging those purses behind you.
Billy Graham was once speaking in the San Jose area, and on the closing day of the revival, he told this story. It seems that there was a strong man that traveled with the circus. One of his most impressive stunts was to take an orange and squeeze every last drop of juice from it. Then the strong man would offer $1,000 to anyone in the crowd who could squeeze as one additional drop. He went from town to town making this offer, but no one was ever able to win the contest and collect the money.
Then one day the circus came into a small town in California and the strong man put on his act again, but this time, his opponent was a wizened old ninety-eight pound weakling. This small man took all the orange scoops up together in his hand and squeezed out 6 more drops of juice. The strong man was amazed and take back by this incredible feat. He asked the man with the juice on his hands to explain how it was possible for him to do this. The man just shrugged it off, saying, “I’m the treasurer down at the local Baptist church and we do this all the time.”
This man’s capability was no doubt because he knew that the church is the first place of charity and selfless giving. He understood that his actions, though profoundly effective on the strong man, and the crowd watching, were a weekly pattern of the emptying out of purses that will not last in heaven.
When you leave today, take a hard look at your purse or wallet and see if it speaks to your heart, your treasure, which is being stored up in heaven. Are you giving alms, and developing an attitude of giving out of thanksgiving, instead of obligation? I think that there will be someone standing outside the pearly gates with a sign that says, “Check your purses here before entering.” It will be a lot easier if your bag is not crammed with earthly treasures.
Let me quote verses 33-34 one more time, for emphasis and from Eugene Peterson take in the Message, which uses a very different metaphor. But I think it rings true whether you have a purse or a wallet: It says, “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that won’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can count on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will want to be, and end up being.”
The place where your treasure is, is the place you will want to be, and end up being. This week, let us look to trimming back, tossing out the stuff in the purses that we don’t need, the stuff that I spoke of last week. Invest in a purse that won’t wear out and goes with everything you wear when you live generously. May we follow Jesus’ words to the best of our ability. Amen.
“Check Your Purses Here”
Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Some of you are already turning me out. She’s going to talk about money again, so I may as well think about what I need to thaw out for dinner or how many more games could the Orioles possibly lose. Sadly, I tell you the truth, last week’s sermon and this week’s are not part of my stewardship campaign. I’ll inflict that on you a little later in the year.
But I am going to talk about giving, and to start with, here’s a story:
The apostles Paul writes: “But do not ignore this fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is worth a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.”
An economist who read this passage was quite amazed and talked to God about it. “Lord,” he said, “is it true that a thousand years for us is like a minute to you.”
The Lord said yes.
The economist said, “Then a million dollars to us must be like a penny to you.
The Lord said yes.
The economist said, “Will you give me one of those pennies?”
The Lord said, “All right. Wait here a minute.”
Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out. That’s a tough proposition that Luke throws out to us this Sunday. It’s easier for a woman to understand – we have purses to match our shoes, purses that go with elegant clothes, and purses that are so big we can put a complete change of clothes in them. I myself carry so much stuff in my purse that I could probably do brain surgery in the middle of the Sahara desert, if necessary. And I wanted to give you all an idea of how many purses I have, so you don’t think I’m not including myself in the sermon.
Men, fortunately, or unfortunately, don’t usually carry more than a wallet, which is worn out because you keep opening it to give more money to your children, and your grandchildren, and maybe even your great-grandchildren. Eventually, though, the leather wears and cracks and you have to buy a new one, maybe every twenty years or so…
Make purses that do not wear out. Purses made of silk, satin, leather all wear out eventually, or are ruined. I often think that if I had a $400 Gucci purse, there would surely be a pen that would leak all over the bottom or a melted Snickers bar.
Jesus is not really talking about pocketbooks or wallets. The purse is an attitude for giving, for being people who are unselfish in mind, body and spirit. He says that those who are generous, those who give alms, will not have to put up with having their purses being stolen. The attitude for giving is openhanded, because the true treasure is in heaven.
Charitable giving is where your heart lies.
No event was a more spectacular example of this was 9/11. New York was swapped by people donating supplies, folks hauling in items that were sorely needed for the dead and dying. The Red Cross actually had to turn people away who had come to donate blood because their own resources couldn’t handle the crowd. This event, which was the US’s most horrific, was also its best moment when you consider the outpouring that took place. This is the alms-giving that Jesus wants us to strive for; the bountiful sacrifice for the greatest good. No moth can destroy this kind of purse that we hold so dear.
We are at our worst when we hold tightly to our earthly purses, bought at such a great price. They will surely weigh us down from making it to the kingdom that Jesus promises to his little flock. But we keep on stockpiling those purses anyway. America is said to be made of those who have, those who have not, and those who have not paid for what they have. Eventually the purses turn into larger satchels that we wear around our necks like milestones and we suffocate under the pressure.
Jesus says that where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. Your treasure can’t be full of gold and silver; it can’t be the place where you stash your fortune of jewels. Your heart will never be made of money.
And he tells us in verse 32: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He knows that most of us fear of losing our purses and wallets. We get nervous and clutch them even tighter in crowded places. Jesus understands our anxiety, and assures us that kingdom will be given in exchange for a purse. Sounds like a pretty good bargain to me.
At the heart of worship is the collection, so here’s my small stewardship pitch. Here is where we have an opportunity to walk the talk. You can sleep through the sermon, or mouth the prayers while you scan the back of the bulletin. But when the basket comes through, you need to do something. Money may be the thing that you put in, but it all has to do with attitude. An attitude that giving is part of the Christian way of life. Treasures are not to be hoarded like possessions. Don’t be dragging those purses behind you.
Billy Graham was once speaking in the San Jose area, and on the closing day of the revival, he told this story. It seems that there was a strong man that traveled with the circus. One of his most impressive stunts was to take an orange and squeeze every last drop of juice from it. Then the strong man would offer $1,000 to anyone in the crowd who could squeeze as one additional drop. He went from town to town making this offer, but no one was ever able to win the contest and collect the money.
Then one day the circus came into a small town in California and the strong man put on his act again, but this time, his opponent was a wizened old ninety-eight pound weakling. This small man took all the orange scoops up together in his hand and squeezed out 6 more drops of juice. The strong man was amazed and take back by this incredible feat. He asked the man with the juice on his hands to explain how it was possible for him to do this. The man just shrugged it off, saying, “I’m the treasurer down at the local Baptist church and we do this all the time.”
This man’s capability was no doubt because he knew that the church is the first place of charity and selfless giving. He understood that his actions, though profoundly effective on the strong man, and the crowd watching, were a weekly pattern of the emptying out of purses that will not last in heaven.
When you leave today, take a hard look at your purse or wallet and see if it speaks to your heart, your treasure, which is being stored up in heaven. Are you giving alms, and developing an attitude of giving out of thanksgiving, instead of obligation? I think that there will be someone standing outside the pearly gates with a sign that says, “Check your purses here before entering.” It will be a lot easier if your bag is not crammed with earthly treasures.
Let me quote verses 33-34 one more time, for emphasis and from Eugene Peterson take in the Message, which uses a very different metaphor. But I think it rings true whether you have a purse or a wallet: It says, “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that won’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can count on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will want to be, and end up being.”
The place where your treasure is, is the place you will want to be, and end up being. This week, let us look to trimming back, tossing out the stuff in the purses that we don’t need, the stuff that I spoke of last week. Invest in a purse that won’t wear out and goes with everything you wear when you live generously. May we follow Jesus’ words to the best of our ability. Amen.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ther Persistance of Prayer
Sermon 07.25.10
The Persistence of Prayer
Three ministers were talking about prayer in general and the appropriate and effective positions for prayer. As they were talking, a telephone repairman was working on the phone system in the background of the church office.
One minister, a Methodist, shared that he felt the key was in the hands. He always held his hands together and pointed them upward as a form of symbolic worship.
The second minister, an Episcopalian, suggested that real prayer was properly conducted on your knees as a form of grateful humility before God.
The third minister, a Baptist, suggested that the other members of the clergy were both wrong; the only position worth its salt was to pray stretched out flat on your face, prostate before the Holy One.
By this time, the phone man , couldn’t stay out of the conversation any longer. He interjected, “I found the most powerful prayer I ever made was while I was dangling upside down by my heels from a power pole, suspended forty feet above the ground.”
The subject of the sermon this morning is prayer, if you haven’t already guessed it, and there is no one means, or place, that is the most effective for this act of worship. I’ve prayed with children who have lost their pet gerbils, in the middle of the grocery store when I can’t find fried onion rings, and even one particular time on a roller coaster in Orlando.
Jesus begins the text by praying. This is not uncommon in Luke’s gospel; in fact there are a little less than 60 mentions of prayers or praying in this gospel. Jesus often models the behaviors that he wanted the disciples to follow, and in this case they finally have the nerve to ask him in verse 1, “Lord, teach us to pray.” I’ll bet you that some of us are still asking that same question some 2000 years later.
The response that Jesus gives them is the Lord’s prayer. In Luke, it is short, almost terse and straight to the point. He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."
Notice that Luke does not include “thy will be done” and deliver us from evil, nor the ending doxology. Maybe that occurred in lesson #2. The disciples could only absorb so much or any given day and what he taught them was the basics. He says, “Recognize the holiness of the Lord and pray for the realm of the kingdom on earth. Provide us with spiritual nourishment, forgive and be forgiven, and keep us from wicked and evil ways.” It couldn’t get much simpler than that. Maybe God has given us a complete package, saying that the “thees” and “thous” aren’t the most important part of prayer.
More importantly, Jesus emphasizes that you must be persistent in prayer. We can pray as long as we want because God is persistent with us. We don’t lose heart in our attempts to pray and to serve, because God doesn’t give up on us. God brandishes us with a love that is eternal, not transitory. Even if we have been praying for a situation for a long time and seen no results, that doesn’t mean that God is ignoring you. Keep praying. It isn’t over until God says it’s over.
The passage from Colossians also explores the faithfulness of God, beginning with the first two verses: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.”
Paul exhorts the Colossians to stand firm in their prayer life, having their basis in Jesus Christ. Jesus embodied the persistent love of God. Jesus exemplified and identified the God who would not let us go, the God who kept coming back for us. Our faithful life of prayer to God in Christ Jesus responses to this lasting relationship.
The Lucan gospel message also brings this to light when Jesus says to ask, seek and knock – to be unrelenting in our prayer life. We must bring our petitions to God, listen for God’s response and keep on ringing the spiritual door bell over and over again. It is Paul’s voice from Romans that we also recall in 1st Thessalonians 5:17. Pray without ceasing. Now that’s what I call persistent!
A man named William Carey found his determination in the Word of God. When asked about his accomplishments in translation of the Bible during his missionary stay in India, he said, “I am not a genius, just a plodder.” But what constant devotion to his work. In 40 years of labor, he translated all or portions of the Bible into the 34 of the languages and dialects on India.
Jesus uses the example of a man who keeps pestering his neighbor with requests until the neighbor finally relents. So too it is with God. constantly, we bring our prayers of concern and petition, our prayers of gratitude, our prayers for reconciliation of relations and our prayers of praise. In case you have never heard this, the acronym for the types of prayer is ACTS – adoration, contrition, thanksgiving and supplication.
Ask, seek and knock and the door will be opened unto you. We are assured by Paul that God answers prayers by opening the door to us through direct communication. It has been said, in the words of modern technology, that prayer is the ultimate wireless connection, or that Jesus has unlimited incoming calls. People who are persistent in prayer keep on calling until someone answers the phone (or e-mail), whatever the case may be. We should be constant in our relationship through disciplined prayer.
Whether at home during private devotions, or when we have our time of sharing on Sunday morning, God hears our constant calls, our determined voices, our continual needs.
As you leave the sanctuary today, remember the promise of Jesus that the door will be opened by him if we seek, ask and knock. Pray faithfully, pray without ceasing, and pray with persistence. May Jesus Christ, who taught us the perfect prayer, make it so also for us. Amen
The Persistence of Prayer
Three ministers were talking about prayer in general and the appropriate and effective positions for prayer. As they were talking, a telephone repairman was working on the phone system in the background of the church office.
One minister, a Methodist, shared that he felt the key was in the hands. He always held his hands together and pointed them upward as a form of symbolic worship.
The second minister, an Episcopalian, suggested that real prayer was properly conducted on your knees as a form of grateful humility before God.
The third minister, a Baptist, suggested that the other members of the clergy were both wrong; the only position worth its salt was to pray stretched out flat on your face, prostate before the Holy One.
By this time, the phone man , couldn’t stay out of the conversation any longer. He interjected, “I found the most powerful prayer I ever made was while I was dangling upside down by my heels from a power pole, suspended forty feet above the ground.”
The subject of the sermon this morning is prayer, if you haven’t already guessed it, and there is no one means, or place, that is the most effective for this act of worship. I’ve prayed with children who have lost their pet gerbils, in the middle of the grocery store when I can’t find fried onion rings, and even one particular time on a roller coaster in Orlando.
Jesus begins the text by praying. This is not uncommon in Luke’s gospel; in fact there are a little less than 60 mentions of prayers or praying in this gospel. Jesus often models the behaviors that he wanted the disciples to follow, and in this case they finally have the nerve to ask him in verse 1, “Lord, teach us to pray.” I’ll bet you that some of us are still asking that same question some 2000 years later.
The response that Jesus gives them is the Lord’s prayer. In Luke, it is short, almost terse and straight to the point. He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."
Notice that Luke does not include “thy will be done” and deliver us from evil, nor the ending doxology. Maybe that occurred in lesson #2. The disciples could only absorb so much or any given day and what he taught them was the basics. He says, “Recognize the holiness of the Lord and pray for the realm of the kingdom on earth. Provide us with spiritual nourishment, forgive and be forgiven, and keep us from wicked and evil ways.” It couldn’t get much simpler than that. Maybe God has given us a complete package, saying that the “thees” and “thous” aren’t the most important part of prayer.
More importantly, Jesus emphasizes that you must be persistent in prayer. We can pray as long as we want because God is persistent with us. We don’t lose heart in our attempts to pray and to serve, because God doesn’t give up on us. God brandishes us with a love that is eternal, not transitory. Even if we have been praying for a situation for a long time and seen no results, that doesn’t mean that God is ignoring you. Keep praying. It isn’t over until God says it’s over.
The passage from Colossians also explores the faithfulness of God, beginning with the first two verses: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.”
Paul exhorts the Colossians to stand firm in their prayer life, having their basis in Jesus Christ. Jesus embodied the persistent love of God. Jesus exemplified and identified the God who would not let us go, the God who kept coming back for us. Our faithful life of prayer to God in Christ Jesus responses to this lasting relationship.
The Lucan gospel message also brings this to light when Jesus says to ask, seek and knock – to be unrelenting in our prayer life. We must bring our petitions to God, listen for God’s response and keep on ringing the spiritual door bell over and over again. It is Paul’s voice from Romans that we also recall in 1st Thessalonians 5:17. Pray without ceasing. Now that’s what I call persistent!
A man named William Carey found his determination in the Word of God. When asked about his accomplishments in translation of the Bible during his missionary stay in India, he said, “I am not a genius, just a plodder.” But what constant devotion to his work. In 40 years of labor, he translated all or portions of the Bible into the 34 of the languages and dialects on India.
Jesus uses the example of a man who keeps pestering his neighbor with requests until the neighbor finally relents. So too it is with God. constantly, we bring our prayers of concern and petition, our prayers of gratitude, our prayers for reconciliation of relations and our prayers of praise. In case you have never heard this, the acronym for the types of prayer is ACTS – adoration, contrition, thanksgiving and supplication.
Ask, seek and knock and the door will be opened unto you. We are assured by Paul that God answers prayers by opening the door to us through direct communication. It has been said, in the words of modern technology, that prayer is the ultimate wireless connection, or that Jesus has unlimited incoming calls. People who are persistent in prayer keep on calling until someone answers the phone (or e-mail), whatever the case may be. We should be constant in our relationship through disciplined prayer.
Whether at home during private devotions, or when we have our time of sharing on Sunday morning, God hears our constant calls, our determined voices, our continual needs.
As you leave the sanctuary today, remember the promise of Jesus that the door will be opened by him if we seek, ask and knock. Pray faithfully, pray without ceasing, and pray with persistence. May Jesus Christ, who taught us the perfect prayer, make it so also for us. Amen
Being a Messy Mary
Whenever this text comes up in the lectionary readings, it almost begs for a few more verses. There should be a big old catfight between the sisters, food left burning in the oven and Jesus storming out the door dragging each woman by her hair.
It’s story that provokes all of the Martha’s in the world, all of the neat, organized and orderly people who have their spices alphabetically placed in the cabinet.
It’s a story that placates all of the Mary’s in the world, the ones who would rather be with the host of the party instead of in the kitchen preparing for it.
It’s the story of workers and shirkers, where no one seems to be truly satisfied.
The duty of a first-century Jewish woman is to help with household chores, and Mary knows this. By sitting at the feet of Jesus, she is acting like a man ... taking the place of an apostle! In this parable, Jesus allows Mary, a woman, to claim the same role that his disciples claim for themselves. She’s violating a crystal-clear social boundary, bringing shame upon her house, and neglecting her own family member! It makes me want to say, “Mary, Mary, what are you thinking?”
In the meantime, Martha is tugging at Jesus’ sleeve and his ear. The house is a mess, there’s a dinner to be cooked, and she needs assistance from her sibling. Martha’s protest is justifiable, but the gospel writer casts it in a negative light by characterizing Martha as distracted by her work.
We know how the story ends, with Martha asking Jesus to put Mary in her place. “Tell her to help me,” says Martha, assuming that Jesus will want their house to be in order. But Jesus answers her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40-42).
The surprising final score is Mary 1, Martha 0.
Martha and Mary, forever bound together in a message about propriety. The Felix and Oscar - the Odd Couple in the Bible.
Now, as enlightened 21st-century socially correct Christians, we might want to give Mary a thumbs-up for her come-from-behind victory, but the fact of the matter is that we tend to honor Martha in our day-to-day lives. We have a deep desire to be neat and tidy and organized, and we feel badly that our desks are overflowing with papers, our closets crammed full of clothes, and our garages and basements packed with tools, toys, sports equipment and boxes of who-knows-what.
According to The New York Times (December 21, 2006), sales of home-organizing products keep going up and up, from $5.9 billion in 2005 to a projected $7.6 billion in 2009. That’s a lot of accordion files and label-makers and plastic tubs. The industry that makes closet organizing systems pulls in $3 billion a year, according to Closets magazine.
However, The New York Times reports that a new movement is afoot, one that calls you to embrace your disorder and “say yes to mess.” Recent studies are revealing that
• messy desks are the marks of people with creative minds and higher salaries;
• messy closet owners are probably better parents than their tidier counterparts;
• really neat people are often humorless and inflexible, and not as great as they look.
No wonder we get confused when we read this parable. We must pay attention to Jesus when he honors Mary for listening instead of laboring. And we need to accept the fact that a perfectly organized life is not all that it’s cracked up to be.
The power of Mary is that she has her priorities straight. Neatnik Martha fusses around in the kitchen, “distracted by her many tasks” (v. 40), while Messy Mary leaves her stuff in a pile and plops down at the feet of Jesus. She’s showing that she loves the Lord her God with all her heart, all her soul, all her strength, and all her mind (v. 27) — she’s demonstrating her love of God by focusing intensely on his word as it is coming to her through Jesus.
Martha, on the other hand, is distracted by her work, and unable to hear the word of God. Biblical scholar Alan Culpepper reminds us that Jesus told a story, just two chapters earlier in the gospel of Luke, about what happens when a seed — representing the word of God — falls among thorns. In that case, the fruit of the seed cannot mature, because the thorny people are preoccupied with “the cares and riches and pleasures of life” (8:14).
In Eugene H. Peterson’s The Message, Jesus says: “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it — it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”
Perhaps Peterson’s words “main course” for “better part” (NRSV) can help this well-worn story be heard in fresh ways. Members of the congregation never likes hearing this text preached because they always comes away with the sense that it’s never possible to get things right. If, like Martha, we work hard, we will be labeled “overfunctioning.” If, like Mary, we sit and listens too long, nothing gets done. I would like to have heard a final remark from Martha after Jesus tells her that Mary’s choice is more important: “So says you, but I know better. Listen, if I sat around on my salvation the way she does, who’d keep this house together?
As for Mary, she “has chosen the better part,” says Jesus, “which will not be taken away from her” (10:42). Mary knows that a person “does not live by bread alone” (4:4). Like the disciples, she leaves everything to follow Jesus (5:11). Like the good soil in the parable of the seed, she hears the word, holds it fast in an honest and good heart, and bears fruit with patient endurance (8:15).
Earlier in Luke, Jesus spoke of the sower and the seed as the word of God falling on the earth. In one case it fell among thorns, …those who do not receive it because they are preoccupied by the cares and riches and pleasures of life. Martha’s distraction places her in this category, even though she is fulfilling the role assigned to her by society, she allows secondary matters to distract her from hearing the word of God.
Jesus’ response to Martha is the climax of the scene. The repetition of her name, “Martha, Martha” conveys a mild rebuke or lament. Like demons, her own cares about fulfilling her duties have thrown her life into disorder. Like thorns, they have prevented her from attending to Jesus’ teachings.
Her life of order has been thrown into disorder. We have done the same things, time and again, to keep ourselves in the kitchen, chained to the refrigerator.
We tell ourselves that we can’t possibly do bible study because we don’t know enough about the bible to even turn to the right book. We tell ourselves that we can’t pray, because we’re afraid we won’t use the correct words. We tell ourselves that we can’t volunteer at church because we don’t understand what the committee does.
We fret and fuss and fume and keep everything under control, rather than lose ourselves to a life of unorganized faithfulness. What Jesus really said to Martha was “Don’t sweat the small stuff…and it’s ALL small stuff compared to the word of the Lord.”
Like the thorns that tormented Martha, let us not be held fast to the kitchen, but leave the dishes in the sink and settle into prayer. Let the vacuum be still and listen for the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Leave the leftovers out for a while and immerse yourself in prayer. Put the mop down and pick up a Bible.
The kitchen will always be there as a temptation for us. If you can’t stand the heat, then get out and cool down. Feast on the main course, forget your distractions and all things shall be well. Amen.
It’s story that provokes all of the Martha’s in the world, all of the neat, organized and orderly people who have their spices alphabetically placed in the cabinet.
It’s a story that placates all of the Mary’s in the world, the ones who would rather be with the host of the party instead of in the kitchen preparing for it.
It’s the story of workers and shirkers, where no one seems to be truly satisfied.
The duty of a first-century Jewish woman is to help with household chores, and Mary knows this. By sitting at the feet of Jesus, she is acting like a man ... taking the place of an apostle! In this parable, Jesus allows Mary, a woman, to claim the same role that his disciples claim for themselves. She’s violating a crystal-clear social boundary, bringing shame upon her house, and neglecting her own family member! It makes me want to say, “Mary, Mary, what are you thinking?”
In the meantime, Martha is tugging at Jesus’ sleeve and his ear. The house is a mess, there’s a dinner to be cooked, and she needs assistance from her sibling. Martha’s protest is justifiable, but the gospel writer casts it in a negative light by characterizing Martha as distracted by her work.
We know how the story ends, with Martha asking Jesus to put Mary in her place. “Tell her to help me,” says Martha, assuming that Jesus will want their house to be in order. But Jesus answers her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40-42).
The surprising final score is Mary 1, Martha 0.
Martha and Mary, forever bound together in a message about propriety. The Felix and Oscar - the Odd Couple in the Bible.
Now, as enlightened 21st-century socially correct Christians, we might want to give Mary a thumbs-up for her come-from-behind victory, but the fact of the matter is that we tend to honor Martha in our day-to-day lives. We have a deep desire to be neat and tidy and organized, and we feel badly that our desks are overflowing with papers, our closets crammed full of clothes, and our garages and basements packed with tools, toys, sports equipment and boxes of who-knows-what.
According to The New York Times (December 21, 2006), sales of home-organizing products keep going up and up, from $5.9 billion in 2005 to a projected $7.6 billion in 2009. That’s a lot of accordion files and label-makers and plastic tubs. The industry that makes closet organizing systems pulls in $3 billion a year, according to Closets magazine.
However, The New York Times reports that a new movement is afoot, one that calls you to embrace your disorder and “say yes to mess.” Recent studies are revealing that
• messy desks are the marks of people with creative minds and higher salaries;
• messy closet owners are probably better parents than their tidier counterparts;
• really neat people are often humorless and inflexible, and not as great as they look.
No wonder we get confused when we read this parable. We must pay attention to Jesus when he honors Mary for listening instead of laboring. And we need to accept the fact that a perfectly organized life is not all that it’s cracked up to be.
The power of Mary is that she has her priorities straight. Neatnik Martha fusses around in the kitchen, “distracted by her many tasks” (v. 40), while Messy Mary leaves her stuff in a pile and plops down at the feet of Jesus. She’s showing that she loves the Lord her God with all her heart, all her soul, all her strength, and all her mind (v. 27) — she’s demonstrating her love of God by focusing intensely on his word as it is coming to her through Jesus.
Martha, on the other hand, is distracted by her work, and unable to hear the word of God. Biblical scholar Alan Culpepper reminds us that Jesus told a story, just two chapters earlier in the gospel of Luke, about what happens when a seed — representing the word of God — falls among thorns. In that case, the fruit of the seed cannot mature, because the thorny people are preoccupied with “the cares and riches and pleasures of life” (8:14).
In Eugene H. Peterson’s The Message, Jesus says: “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it — it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”
Perhaps Peterson’s words “main course” for “better part” (NRSV) can help this well-worn story be heard in fresh ways. Members of the congregation never likes hearing this text preached because they always comes away with the sense that it’s never possible to get things right. If, like Martha, we work hard, we will be labeled “overfunctioning.” If, like Mary, we sit and listens too long, nothing gets done. I would like to have heard a final remark from Martha after Jesus tells her that Mary’s choice is more important: “So says you, but I know better. Listen, if I sat around on my salvation the way she does, who’d keep this house together?
As for Mary, she “has chosen the better part,” says Jesus, “which will not be taken away from her” (10:42). Mary knows that a person “does not live by bread alone” (4:4). Like the disciples, she leaves everything to follow Jesus (5:11). Like the good soil in the parable of the seed, she hears the word, holds it fast in an honest and good heart, and bears fruit with patient endurance (8:15).
Earlier in Luke, Jesus spoke of the sower and the seed as the word of God falling on the earth. In one case it fell among thorns, …those who do not receive it because they are preoccupied by the cares and riches and pleasures of life. Martha’s distraction places her in this category, even though she is fulfilling the role assigned to her by society, she allows secondary matters to distract her from hearing the word of God.
Jesus’ response to Martha is the climax of the scene. The repetition of her name, “Martha, Martha” conveys a mild rebuke or lament. Like demons, her own cares about fulfilling her duties have thrown her life into disorder. Like thorns, they have prevented her from attending to Jesus’ teachings.
Her life of order has been thrown into disorder. We have done the same things, time and again, to keep ourselves in the kitchen, chained to the refrigerator.
We tell ourselves that we can’t possibly do bible study because we don’t know enough about the bible to even turn to the right book. We tell ourselves that we can’t pray, because we’re afraid we won’t use the correct words. We tell ourselves that we can’t volunteer at church because we don’t understand what the committee does.
We fret and fuss and fume and keep everything under control, rather than lose ourselves to a life of unorganized faithfulness. What Jesus really said to Martha was “Don’t sweat the small stuff…and it’s ALL small stuff compared to the word of the Lord.”
Like the thorns that tormented Martha, let us not be held fast to the kitchen, but leave the dishes in the sink and settle into prayer. Let the vacuum be still and listen for the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Leave the leftovers out for a while and immerse yourself in prayer. Put the mop down and pick up a Bible.
The kitchen will always be there as a temptation for us. If you can’t stand the heat, then get out and cool down. Feast on the main course, forget your distractions and all things shall be well. Amen.
Parables from the Back Side
Sermon 07.11.10
Parables from the Back Side
The words “Good Samaritan” have come into common usage, even among unchurched folks. We understand the phrase to mean a person who is good hearted and goes out of his or her way to help others.
Usually, when a sermon is preached on this subject, the focus is on the Good Samaritan himself, or possibly the priest and Levite who pass the man who is dying before their very eyes. And there’s very little that I could bring to the table on such a familiar subject.
But one way of looking at this parable is from the back side, as J. Ellsworth Kalas has done. He is a Methodist minister who has made a habit looking at the time-tested Bible stories, but adding his own little twist.
So let us look at this well-know text from the back side of the parable. A young upstart lawyer asks Jesus about the commandments, and receives Christ’s answer about love of God and neighbor. He agrees with the correctness of Jesus’ replay but he’s looking for a way out.
Perhaps, like many of us, he wanted the law to be cut down to manageable size, and he knew that the key to doing so would be the limiting of the definition of “neighbor”. We can love some people without too much effort, so it would be convenient if the commandment were to apply only to such persons.
Jesus then tells the memorable story of two folks who pass by the man, only to rescued a Samaritan.
But what about the victim, the man who was robbed, beaten and left to die? What story is there in a man who came to within an inch of loosing his life, only to be saved by a Samaritan?
We need to remember that we’re talking about someone who had NEVER associated with a Samaritan, not even in passing encounters. Perhaps he had not even spoken to one. Furthermore, he hoped that it would always remain that way.
But now, in his deepest moment of need, it is a Samaritan who cleans his wounds, who dresses them with a balm, who murmurs reassurances to him on the way to an innkeeper, and who makes final arrangements for his continued care. A Samaritan. A hated Samaritan has show mercy and compassion,
How do you think the victim felt about this? That’s easy, you say – he was just glad to be alive. Not necessarily. There are times when I have done pastoral counseling when I have suggested that the person being counseled see help from a particular source, have maybe suggested that the person needs to discuss his or her problem with an employee or family member, only to have that person say to me, “I’d rather die, before I go to so-and-so.”
So how do you think that this Jewish victim felt when he realized that he was getting all of this help from a hated Samaritan? I wonder if he whispered to God, “Thanks for the help, Yahweh, but why couldn’t you have sent someone else, so I wouldn’t feel so bad about my rescuer?”
Kala tells the story of running out of gas in one of the most despicable parts of the city he was living in. When car finally coasted in on fumes, he found himself in front of the storefront of a strip club. Two men were standing outside, the bouncers. Kalas explained the problem and asked where the nearest gas station was. Instead of giving directions, one of the men suggested that he siphon some gas out of his car into Kalas’ vehicle, which they did. Kalas tried to pay them, but they refused, saying they were heading out for a late breakfast and just happened to be there, and that it was no big deal. Kalas even volunteered to buy the men their breakfast, but they refused and moved forward to a restaurant around the corner.
After getting his care back on the road, Kalas reflected on what had happened – he had been rescued by bouncers from a strip club who cheerfully helped him and then went on their way. The self-righteous man of the cloth, the minister, had been assisted by seedy characters who exhibited a sense of duty and obligation, despite the circumstances.
Kalas searched for a way to explain his delay to his wife. He said that it would have been much easier to tell her that he’d been aided by someone from the Rotary Club, or a person who was a board member of the United Way, or even an ordinary blue-collar worker of any reputable profession. But it was hard to tell the truth: he was home because of folks with shady characters in a scandalous environment, He had been helped by people he would normally never associate with, talk to or meet. He had been helped by truly Good Samaritans.
The Good Samaritan is so often bad news to our preferences and prejudices. And surely as I’m standing here, I can tell you that someday, you will be helped by a person that you do not expect to come to your aide. God will allow that person to come into your life in a strange but helpful way.
You and I will travel the route of the man who was left beaten and robbed along the roads of our own lives because of the way that our salvation has come to us. The road from our Jericho to Jerusalem is just as perilous, the journey that we make from life to death. From time to time, thieves will appear and attack us. Thieves such as despair, unrelenting loneliness, unreasoning fear, lust, anger, crushing defeat. We face our enemies on a daily basis sometimes, leaving us broken and bleeding by the roadside.
Travelers may come to our aid, but their help is only temporary. They offer momentary solace, but no tried and true solution to our problems. Then a final stranger arrives, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are sometimes angry to see him arrive. We are embarrassed by this Good Samaritan. We try to pay our way out of the situation, to keep our dignity intact. But Jesus answers, “No one can give purchase what I offer, and it is freely given.”
The Eternal Samaritan gives to us only when our need is desperate, only when we confess that we are helpless and require salvation, and when we recognize love in action.
The Good Samaritan binds our wounds, tends to our care, and places us on a donkey called grace. Let us be carried with ease and confidence to God’s safe lodging with gentle kindness.
Parables from the Back Side
The words “Good Samaritan” have come into common usage, even among unchurched folks. We understand the phrase to mean a person who is good hearted and goes out of his or her way to help others.
Usually, when a sermon is preached on this subject, the focus is on the Good Samaritan himself, or possibly the priest and Levite who pass the man who is dying before their very eyes. And there’s very little that I could bring to the table on such a familiar subject.
But one way of looking at this parable is from the back side, as J. Ellsworth Kalas has done. He is a Methodist minister who has made a habit looking at the time-tested Bible stories, but adding his own little twist.
So let us look at this well-know text from the back side of the parable. A young upstart lawyer asks Jesus about the commandments, and receives Christ’s answer about love of God and neighbor. He agrees with the correctness of Jesus’ replay but he’s looking for a way out.
Perhaps, like many of us, he wanted the law to be cut down to manageable size, and he knew that the key to doing so would be the limiting of the definition of “neighbor”. We can love some people without too much effort, so it would be convenient if the commandment were to apply only to such persons.
Jesus then tells the memorable story of two folks who pass by the man, only to rescued a Samaritan.
But what about the victim, the man who was robbed, beaten and left to die? What story is there in a man who came to within an inch of loosing his life, only to be saved by a Samaritan?
We need to remember that we’re talking about someone who had NEVER associated with a Samaritan, not even in passing encounters. Perhaps he had not even spoken to one. Furthermore, he hoped that it would always remain that way.
But now, in his deepest moment of need, it is a Samaritan who cleans his wounds, who dresses them with a balm, who murmurs reassurances to him on the way to an innkeeper, and who makes final arrangements for his continued care. A Samaritan. A hated Samaritan has show mercy and compassion,
How do you think the victim felt about this? That’s easy, you say – he was just glad to be alive. Not necessarily. There are times when I have done pastoral counseling when I have suggested that the person being counseled see help from a particular source, have maybe suggested that the person needs to discuss his or her problem with an employee or family member, only to have that person say to me, “I’d rather die, before I go to so-and-so.”
So how do you think that this Jewish victim felt when he realized that he was getting all of this help from a hated Samaritan? I wonder if he whispered to God, “Thanks for the help, Yahweh, but why couldn’t you have sent someone else, so I wouldn’t feel so bad about my rescuer?”
Kala tells the story of running out of gas in one of the most despicable parts of the city he was living in. When car finally coasted in on fumes, he found himself in front of the storefront of a strip club. Two men were standing outside, the bouncers. Kalas explained the problem and asked where the nearest gas station was. Instead of giving directions, one of the men suggested that he siphon some gas out of his car into Kalas’ vehicle, which they did. Kalas tried to pay them, but they refused, saying they were heading out for a late breakfast and just happened to be there, and that it was no big deal. Kalas even volunteered to buy the men their breakfast, but they refused and moved forward to a restaurant around the corner.
After getting his care back on the road, Kalas reflected on what had happened – he had been rescued by bouncers from a strip club who cheerfully helped him and then went on their way. The self-righteous man of the cloth, the minister, had been assisted by seedy characters who exhibited a sense of duty and obligation, despite the circumstances.
Kalas searched for a way to explain his delay to his wife. He said that it would have been much easier to tell her that he’d been aided by someone from the Rotary Club, or a person who was a board member of the United Way, or even an ordinary blue-collar worker of any reputable profession. But it was hard to tell the truth: he was home because of folks with shady characters in a scandalous environment, He had been helped by people he would normally never associate with, talk to or meet. He had been helped by truly Good Samaritans.
The Good Samaritan is so often bad news to our preferences and prejudices. And surely as I’m standing here, I can tell you that someday, you will be helped by a person that you do not expect to come to your aide. God will allow that person to come into your life in a strange but helpful way.
You and I will travel the route of the man who was left beaten and robbed along the roads of our own lives because of the way that our salvation has come to us. The road from our Jericho to Jerusalem is just as perilous, the journey that we make from life to death. From time to time, thieves will appear and attack us. Thieves such as despair, unrelenting loneliness, unreasoning fear, lust, anger, crushing defeat. We face our enemies on a daily basis sometimes, leaving us broken and bleeding by the roadside.
Travelers may come to our aid, but their help is only temporary. They offer momentary solace, but no tried and true solution to our problems. Then a final stranger arrives, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are sometimes angry to see him arrive. We are embarrassed by this Good Samaritan. We try to pay our way out of the situation, to keep our dignity intact. But Jesus answers, “No one can give purchase what I offer, and it is freely given.”
The Eternal Samaritan gives to us only when our need is desperate, only when we confess that we are helpless and require salvation, and when we recognize love in action.
The Good Samaritan binds our wounds, tends to our care, and places us on a donkey called grace. Let us be carried with ease and confidence to God’s safe lodging with gentle kindness.
Freedom of Worship
January 15th, 1791 was a big date for religion, for it is on this day that the first amendment to the United States constitution was ratified. Now I know that 4th of July is the holiday that we are celebration, and that our basis for this celebration is the remembrance of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But we truly do not achieve a sense of the history of religious tolerance and freedom until fifteen years later. Here is the actual text of the first amendment to the United States constitution.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion.[1] Freedom of religion is considered by many people and nations to be a fundamental human right.[2] Thomas Jefferson said (1807) "among the inestimable of our blessings, also, is that ...of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable to His will; ..."[3] In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths.
Now here is your history lesson:
The modern legal concept of religious freedom as the union of freedom of belief and freedom of worship with the absence of any state-sponsored religion, originated in the United States of America[citation needed].
Most of the early colonies, which were in part founded as a result of religious persecution, were generallly not tolerant of dissident forms of worship with Maryland being the only exception. For example, Roger Williams found it necessary to found a new colony in Rhode Island to escape persecution in the theocratically dominated colony of Massachusetts.
Freedom of religion was first applied as a principle of government in the founding of the colony of Maryland, founded by the Catholic Lord Baltimore, in 1634.[18] Fifteen years later (1649) the Maryland Toleration Act, drafted by Lord Baltimore, provided: "No person or persons...shall from henceforth be any ways troubled, molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof." Doesn’t this make you proud to be part of this great state?
Thomas Jefferson, proclaimed:
"[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."
And now, with this little bit of background, here is your sermon. It would appear that we have 3 distinct venues of freedom of religion that most of us take for granted: the freedom to worship in any place, the freedom to worship with any body of believers, and the freedom to express our beliefs without fear of being persecuted.
The first freedom allows us to meet in the open, in any type of church, and I use this word very loosely. It can be a cathedral, like St John the Divine in New York city, or a modust suburban 1940’s church with an education wing, like St. Mark’s, a preaching barn like the many large fundamentalist contemporary congregations use, a simple storefront location or even a network of house churches, like the UCC has started in Delaware.
The church that my husband and I helped to start in North Caroline first met in a business office then in a roller rink, and finally in a warehouse. There are as many venues as we need and we do not need to travel to these places incognito. The churches can advertise in the yellow pages, put up billboards and erect signs in the front yard. Nothing needs to be done in secret.
Years ago, the earliest of Christ’s followers met in secret. Some of you may be familiar with the Christian symbol of the fish or icthyus. When two people would meet, one would draw a half circle in the dirt on the street. If the other person completed the circle, then both knew it was safe and both knew they were Christians.
The second religious freedom is to worship however we choose. We can be Baptists, Methodist, Episcopalians, Grrek Orthodox or the United Church of Christ. We can choose our beliefs and our creeds, and if we don’t like the church we attend, we can turn around and go to another. Worldwide there are – now hold onto your seats, there are an astonishing 38,000 denominations. Surely with such an extensive variety, there’s a denomination for everyone.
One of my old pastors told this wonderful story about a church that was in the process of building a new sanctuary. It was a dream come true after a period of an intense capital campaign to raise funds. But two weeks before the new building was to be dedicated and opened for the first service, half the congregation left and went down to the church around the corner. Why? They wanted to sod for the lawn around the new church building and disagreed vehemently with those who wanted to lay down grass seeds.
Sometimes it’s not a matter of doctrine or creeds or even the personality of the pastor. Here, in the US, we can choose our congregations base on any religious criteria that we think is important, even the color of the carpet..
The third religious freedom we enjoy is the right to publically express our faith. We can place statues of Saint Francis in our gardens, put “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper stickers on the back of our cars, hang crosses around our necks or wear a tee-shirt that declare the passage from John 3:16. There’s probably someone out there who has the face of Christ tattooed on his or her arm. Go to any Christian store today and you will find accessories galore, from the pens that were given out to the men on Father’s Day to religious candy called Testamints.
This is not true for other countries. When my seminary class traveled to Turkey and Lebanon in 2006, we were told by the professors that no religious jewelry or clothing were to be worn, since the country is 98% Muslim, with the state religion being Islam.
Lastly, albeit sadly, we have the ultimate. According to ex-president Bill Clinton:“We have the most religious freedom of any country in the world, including the freedom not to believe.” Even that is important, because it means that we cannot force our religious on anyone. And now we have come full circle to the reasons that America was founded as a land of freedom from religious persecution.
We have come a long way since 1776, and are blessed beyond belief by the religious freedoms that we enjoy.
May we always remember what has been truly given to us.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion.[1] Freedom of religion is considered by many people and nations to be a fundamental human right.[2] Thomas Jefferson said (1807) "among the inestimable of our blessings, also, is that ...of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable to His will; ..."[3] In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths.
Now here is your history lesson:
The modern legal concept of religious freedom as the union of freedom of belief and freedom of worship with the absence of any state-sponsored religion, originated in the United States of America[citation needed].
Most of the early colonies, which were in part founded as a result of religious persecution, were generallly not tolerant of dissident forms of worship with Maryland being the only exception. For example, Roger Williams found it necessary to found a new colony in Rhode Island to escape persecution in the theocratically dominated colony of Massachusetts.
Freedom of religion was first applied as a principle of government in the founding of the colony of Maryland, founded by the Catholic Lord Baltimore, in 1634.[18] Fifteen years later (1649) the Maryland Toleration Act, drafted by Lord Baltimore, provided: "No person or persons...shall from henceforth be any ways troubled, molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof." Doesn’t this make you proud to be part of this great state?
Thomas Jefferson, proclaimed:
"[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."
And now, with this little bit of background, here is your sermon. It would appear that we have 3 distinct venues of freedom of religion that most of us take for granted: the freedom to worship in any place, the freedom to worship with any body of believers, and the freedom to express our beliefs without fear of being persecuted.
The first freedom allows us to meet in the open, in any type of church, and I use this word very loosely. It can be a cathedral, like St John the Divine in New York city, or a modust suburban 1940’s church with an education wing, like St. Mark’s, a preaching barn like the many large fundamentalist contemporary congregations use, a simple storefront location or even a network of house churches, like the UCC has started in Delaware.
The church that my husband and I helped to start in North Caroline first met in a business office then in a roller rink, and finally in a warehouse. There are as many venues as we need and we do not need to travel to these places incognito. The churches can advertise in the yellow pages, put up billboards and erect signs in the front yard. Nothing needs to be done in secret.
Years ago, the earliest of Christ’s followers met in secret. Some of you may be familiar with the Christian symbol of the fish or icthyus. When two people would meet, one would draw a half circle in the dirt on the street. If the other person completed the circle, then both knew it was safe and both knew they were Christians.
The second religious freedom is to worship however we choose. We can be Baptists, Methodist, Episcopalians, Grrek Orthodox or the United Church of Christ. We can choose our beliefs and our creeds, and if we don’t like the church we attend, we can turn around and go to another. Worldwide there are – now hold onto your seats, there are an astonishing 38,000 denominations. Surely with such an extensive variety, there’s a denomination for everyone.
One of my old pastors told this wonderful story about a church that was in the process of building a new sanctuary. It was a dream come true after a period of an intense capital campaign to raise funds. But two weeks before the new building was to be dedicated and opened for the first service, half the congregation left and went down to the church around the corner. Why? They wanted to sod for the lawn around the new church building and disagreed vehemently with those who wanted to lay down grass seeds.
Sometimes it’s not a matter of doctrine or creeds or even the personality of the pastor. Here, in the US, we can choose our congregations base on any religious criteria that we think is important, even the color of the carpet..
The third religious freedom we enjoy is the right to publically express our faith. We can place statues of Saint Francis in our gardens, put “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper stickers on the back of our cars, hang crosses around our necks or wear a tee-shirt that declare the passage from John 3:16. There’s probably someone out there who has the face of Christ tattooed on his or her arm. Go to any Christian store today and you will find accessories galore, from the pens that were given out to the men on Father’s Day to religious candy called Testamints.
This is not true for other countries. When my seminary class traveled to Turkey and Lebanon in 2006, we were told by the professors that no religious jewelry or clothing were to be worn, since the country is 98% Muslim, with the state religion being Islam.
Lastly, albeit sadly, we have the ultimate. According to ex-president Bill Clinton:“We have the most religious freedom of any country in the world, including the freedom not to believe.” Even that is important, because it means that we cannot force our religious on anyone. And now we have come full circle to the reasons that America was founded as a land of freedom from religious persecution.
We have come a long way since 1776, and are blessed beyond belief by the religious freedoms that we enjoy.
May we always remember what has been truly given to us.
"Fast Foods Versus Slow Fruits
Sermon 06.27.10
Fast Foods Versus Slow Fruits
In 1937, brothers Dick and Mac McDonald open a hamburger stand called the Airdrome in Monrovia, California. By using the Speedee Service System, an assembly line method for food preparation, the brothers could prepare a hamburger that in 1948, sold for 15 cents. By 1958 the number of hamburgers served reached the 100th million mark, and the rest is history after Ray Kroc acquired the business in 1961. By 1976, the chain of McDonalds recorded that it had sold 20 billion burgers. In 1997, the franchise offered refunds to anyone who was not served within 55 seconds. Right now, McDonalds sells 8500 hundred hamburgers per minutes. The rest of the story is the revolution of the fast food industry in America.
Hamburgers may be an American icon, but in 2001, in Italy, a Catholic priest in Tuscany is suggesting that the road to hell is paved with hamburger. Adding grease to the fire, he argues that hamburgers, French fries and Coke are "the fruit of a Protestant culture."
"Fast food reflects the individualistic relation between man and God introduced by Luther," the Rev. Massimo Salani said in a full-page interview published last fall in the Catholic daily newspaper Avvenire. In addition, he insisted that fast food lacks "the community aspect of sharing."
With Italians deeply divided over the arrival of McDonald's and other fast-food chains in a country that takes its three-hour lunches almost as seriously as soccer, other newspapers leapt on the story with obvious glee. "Theologian Excommunicates the Hamburger," proclaimed a headline in the Rome daily Il Messaggerro.
Perhaps the priest is right: We have a preference for bad food because, as we've so often observed, bad food seems to taste better than good food. Better to wolf down a super-sized quarter-pounder with fries and Coke and enjoy it, than pick at a tofu salad and hate it, we say. Of course, if you're a tofu lover, you've got the best of both worlds: good food, and good food you love.
The issue of fast food versus slow fruit is part of our human behavior and essence, which is divided into two parts: that of the flesh (sarx) and that of the Spirit (pneuma). Paul gives explicit instructions on what each realm is. Because Paul is wordy at times, with sentences that are a paragraph long, I wanted to read to you this text as translated by Eugene Peterson in the message.
READ FROM TRANSLATION
The apostle Paul couldn't have expressed the dilemma better. He warns us that certain behaviors may cause the flesh to feel good, but they're ultimately destructive. Paul's bad-food, fast-food menu includes fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness and carousing (5:19-21). And all of it comes with fries.
Paul offers an alternative lifestyle option: the fruit of the Spirit. Rather than a vice that one manufactures, the fruit of the Spirit are virtues that are generated from within. Spirit virtues can fill us, satisfy us and strengthen us - and best of all, no spiritual dietitian or gastronomic theologian will say that such fruit is bad for you. Paul insists that there "is no law against such things" (v. 23).
What Paul does declare is that “faith working through love” is what truly matters. It is the fruit of the Christian freedom that he speaks of in the passage.
The fruit of the Spirit is slow food, not fast food; good food, not bad food. It's never going to be a hamburger - if, by a hamburger, we mean an entree that is cooked, wrapped and rushed to a ravenous customer in a matter of minutes.
No, it's a lifestyle that takes time to cultivate and develop. We'll need to cultivate and nurture spiritual gifts such as generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These fruits won't sprout up quickly, and they won't be ripe and ready overnight. In fact, converting to a fruit-full lifestyle means that you've taken over what Carlo Petrini of the Slow Food Movement originating in Italy calls "the rhythms of your life."
Selecting the slow food, fruit option, allows us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to gain control over how fast we go - to set a pace that enables us to cultivate and nurture virtues such as generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We do not have to be victims of our schedules, no matter how harried and driven we feel. We are in control of deciding how fast we have to go. Remember what Paul said to the Galatians: "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (v. 1).
The art of Christian living - choosing a "slow-faith" rather than a "fast-faith" approach to living - also requires community. Christianity is based on a shared Communion meal and life together in the body of Christ - not on fast-faith pit stops and individualistic approaches to the Christian life. It is within the community that Paul challenges us to become "slaves to one another" through love, resisting the temptation to use our Christian freedom "as an opportunity for self-indulgence" (v. 13).
It's like the Italian theologian said: Fast food lacks "the community aspect of sharing." Fast faith is as deficient as fast food - an approach to Christianity that is rushed and individualistic.
God is calling us to make a lifestyle change, eliminating one hamburger at a time or one vice at a time. But have as much fruit as you want. Amen.
Fast Foods Versus Slow Fruits
In 1937, brothers Dick and Mac McDonald open a hamburger stand called the Airdrome in Monrovia, California. By using the Speedee Service System, an assembly line method for food preparation, the brothers could prepare a hamburger that in 1948, sold for 15 cents. By 1958 the number of hamburgers served reached the 100th million mark, and the rest is history after Ray Kroc acquired the business in 1961. By 1976, the chain of McDonalds recorded that it had sold 20 billion burgers. In 1997, the franchise offered refunds to anyone who was not served within 55 seconds. Right now, McDonalds sells 8500 hundred hamburgers per minutes. The rest of the story is the revolution of the fast food industry in America.
Hamburgers may be an American icon, but in 2001, in Italy, a Catholic priest in Tuscany is suggesting that the road to hell is paved with hamburger. Adding grease to the fire, he argues that hamburgers, French fries and Coke are "the fruit of a Protestant culture."
"Fast food reflects the individualistic relation between man and God introduced by Luther," the Rev. Massimo Salani said in a full-page interview published last fall in the Catholic daily newspaper Avvenire. In addition, he insisted that fast food lacks "the community aspect of sharing."
With Italians deeply divided over the arrival of McDonald's and other fast-food chains in a country that takes its three-hour lunches almost as seriously as soccer, other newspapers leapt on the story with obvious glee. "Theologian Excommunicates the Hamburger," proclaimed a headline in the Rome daily Il Messaggerro.
Perhaps the priest is right: We have a preference for bad food because, as we've so often observed, bad food seems to taste better than good food. Better to wolf down a super-sized quarter-pounder with fries and Coke and enjoy it, than pick at a tofu salad and hate it, we say. Of course, if you're a tofu lover, you've got the best of both worlds: good food, and good food you love.
The issue of fast food versus slow fruit is part of our human behavior and essence, which is divided into two parts: that of the flesh (sarx) and that of the Spirit (pneuma). Paul gives explicit instructions on what each realm is. Because Paul is wordy at times, with sentences that are a paragraph long, I wanted to read to you this text as translated by Eugene Peterson in the message.
READ FROM TRANSLATION
The apostle Paul couldn't have expressed the dilemma better. He warns us that certain behaviors may cause the flesh to feel good, but they're ultimately destructive. Paul's bad-food, fast-food menu includes fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness and carousing (5:19-21). And all of it comes with fries.
Paul offers an alternative lifestyle option: the fruit of the Spirit. Rather than a vice that one manufactures, the fruit of the Spirit are virtues that are generated from within. Spirit virtues can fill us, satisfy us and strengthen us - and best of all, no spiritual dietitian or gastronomic theologian will say that such fruit is bad for you. Paul insists that there "is no law against such things" (v. 23).
What Paul does declare is that “faith working through love” is what truly matters. It is the fruit of the Christian freedom that he speaks of in the passage.
The fruit of the Spirit is slow food, not fast food; good food, not bad food. It's never going to be a hamburger - if, by a hamburger, we mean an entree that is cooked, wrapped and rushed to a ravenous customer in a matter of minutes.
No, it's a lifestyle that takes time to cultivate and develop. We'll need to cultivate and nurture spiritual gifts such as generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These fruits won't sprout up quickly, and they won't be ripe and ready overnight. In fact, converting to a fruit-full lifestyle means that you've taken over what Carlo Petrini of the Slow Food Movement originating in Italy calls "the rhythms of your life."
Selecting the slow food, fruit option, allows us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to gain control over how fast we go - to set a pace that enables us to cultivate and nurture virtues such as generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We do not have to be victims of our schedules, no matter how harried and driven we feel. We are in control of deciding how fast we have to go. Remember what Paul said to the Galatians: "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (v. 1).
The art of Christian living - choosing a "slow-faith" rather than a "fast-faith" approach to living - also requires community. Christianity is based on a shared Communion meal and life together in the body of Christ - not on fast-faith pit stops and individualistic approaches to the Christian life. It is within the community that Paul challenges us to become "slaves to one another" through love, resisting the temptation to use our Christian freedom "as an opportunity for self-indulgence" (v. 13).
It's like the Italian theologian said: Fast food lacks "the community aspect of sharing." Fast faith is as deficient as fast food - an approach to Christianity that is rushed and individualistic.
God is calling us to make a lifestyle change, eliminating one hamburger at a time or one vice at a time. But have as much fruit as you want. Amen.
"Declare How Much God has Done for You
Sermon 06.20.10
“Declare How Much God Has Done for You”
Complaining about our lives is surely something of a national pastime because we spend, on the average, about 45 minutes each day in this activity. We are a nation of whiners, given to sulking and pouting whenever we do not receive what we want. We are people who like to moan about every little event and become irritable and crabby when something doesn’t occur to complete our happiness. We get bad tempered and difficult to deal with if life hand us lemons. Our teens tell us, Life sucks.
And yet the biblical direction from today’s passage has everything but that message. Jesus is dealing with a truly pathetic situation. There is a naked possessed man, who life was overrun by so many demons that he had to be shackled and bound in chains and kept under guard lest a demon mutiny take place. Even the man himself is so tormented from Jesus trying to exorcise the demons that he begs Jesus to be left along. Jesus, however, in his pity and compassion, compels the spirits into swine. They too are then possessed and rush into a lake and are drowned. The swineherders are upset and annoyed, and notify the officials. When they return to the scene of the crime, the crowd sees the demon-possessed man clothed and in his right mind, according to verse 35 of the passage. The townfolks are seized with great fear and send Jesus packing. His newly changed companion wants to travel with him. But Jesus says, “Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.”
“Declare how much God has done for you.” It is unusual for Jesus to say this, for in many of the miracle stories he instructs the crowd or the person to not say anything. Here, he not only authorizes a testimony, but encourages it.
Testimonies used to be fairly common in church services, and are still very much part of the worship experiences in those churches of the African American heritage. Followers will stand up and take about the way Jesus is working in their lives, be it a healing of a sick grandchild, to the provision of getting enough money to pay for the rent, to the joy of a neice’s birthday.
How has God blessed your life today? It’s a question that I try to ask when we share our joys and concerns each week. In what way, I want to know, how have you seen and witnessed the goodness of the Lord within the past 7 days? Most of the time, there are few responses – a birthday, a graduation, perhaps a wedding anniversary. But evidently, God is only working on special occasions, or so it would seem that we think this way.
Testimony and proclamation are one of the best self- advertisements for our churches. When was the last time you told someone about what God had done for you? I think that we all believe it and yet when it comes to actually witnessing to others, let’s just say that we totally miss the mark.
Hear Jesus’s words again: Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you. So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a tad reluctant to ride through the streets of Baltimore city or county with a bullhorn mounted on my vehicle proclaiming how much Jesus has done for me. And I’m a pastor. Why are we so uncomfortable about declaring that we have received the grace of God so freely given through his gift to us in Christ Jesus?
Personal testimony, as in the case of the demon-possessed man, is a powerful force. No doubt his story made the rounds in several cities and perhaps others sought out Jesus for healing and wholeness in their lives. We may not achieve immediate results (translated into more people in the pews), but making a witness to God’s enduring mark on our lives is just what defines us as Christians. Otherwise, we might as well be members of the Rotary Club. And even they have publicity. In fact, as you enter many towns there are plaques attesting to the presence of the Rotary, the Lions club, and the Masons. But very little advertising is done in the way of churches. If you don’t believe me, try going to the neighborhood chamber of commerce. Chances are good that they will have information on senior centers, running clubs and folks who like to gather for pinochle nights. But there will be little, if any, flyers or brochures about where you can go to be with others who are passionate about the God that they serve. I confess that I do not know much about the Mormons or the 7th Day Adventists. But I can say that they put their mouth where their faith is. Everytime that I throw out a copy of the Watchtower, I feel a twinge of embarrassment because I wish my faith was that pronounced and important that I would want to spread it to others.
That is precisely why you and I have to speak up, to declare what God has done in our lives. We need to take the message to the streets that God is still speaking and we as a church are still listening. We need to declare that God is a force in our lives, a mighty power who prevails over our demons. We need to heed the words of the passage that was read today and spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But we are not ready to yet do this. First, we need to be comfortable with sharing with one another what God has done in our lives. Each week, try to think of something to share, and remember that God is working even though you may not be able to see it.
In the next few minutes, after the sermon, as we are singing “Spirit of the Living God”, try to recall an incident from this week that displayed God’s love and care to you. Try to find in your heart as way to recognize these moments and to share them with others in the church. If we can’t talk about God’s power, majesty and power in the church, there’s little hope for getting it past the back pew and out the front door.
As a way of testifying to God’s good and perfect plan for us, let me end by quoting one of the black preachers, who declares like the demon-free man in the gospel story:
Grace woke you up this morning, grace started you on your way, and grace enabled you to survive until this very moment. (Bishop Charles E. Bake, Sr. of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ)
This morning, in our prayer time, I invite you to not just share your concerns, but to declare how much the love of God has done for you. May it be so. Amen.
“Declare How Much God Has Done for You”
Complaining about our lives is surely something of a national pastime because we spend, on the average, about 45 minutes each day in this activity. We are a nation of whiners, given to sulking and pouting whenever we do not receive what we want. We are people who like to moan about every little event and become irritable and crabby when something doesn’t occur to complete our happiness. We get bad tempered and difficult to deal with if life hand us lemons. Our teens tell us, Life sucks.
And yet the biblical direction from today’s passage has everything but that message. Jesus is dealing with a truly pathetic situation. There is a naked possessed man, who life was overrun by so many demons that he had to be shackled and bound in chains and kept under guard lest a demon mutiny take place. Even the man himself is so tormented from Jesus trying to exorcise the demons that he begs Jesus to be left along. Jesus, however, in his pity and compassion, compels the spirits into swine. They too are then possessed and rush into a lake and are drowned. The swineherders are upset and annoyed, and notify the officials. When they return to the scene of the crime, the crowd sees the demon-possessed man clothed and in his right mind, according to verse 35 of the passage. The townfolks are seized with great fear and send Jesus packing. His newly changed companion wants to travel with him. But Jesus says, “Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.”
“Declare how much God has done for you.” It is unusual for Jesus to say this, for in many of the miracle stories he instructs the crowd or the person to not say anything. Here, he not only authorizes a testimony, but encourages it.
Testimonies used to be fairly common in church services, and are still very much part of the worship experiences in those churches of the African American heritage. Followers will stand up and take about the way Jesus is working in their lives, be it a healing of a sick grandchild, to the provision of getting enough money to pay for the rent, to the joy of a neice’s birthday.
How has God blessed your life today? It’s a question that I try to ask when we share our joys and concerns each week. In what way, I want to know, how have you seen and witnessed the goodness of the Lord within the past 7 days? Most of the time, there are few responses – a birthday, a graduation, perhaps a wedding anniversary. But evidently, God is only working on special occasions, or so it would seem that we think this way.
Testimony and proclamation are one of the best self- advertisements for our churches. When was the last time you told someone about what God had done for you? I think that we all believe it and yet when it comes to actually witnessing to others, let’s just say that we totally miss the mark.
Hear Jesus’s words again: Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you. So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a tad reluctant to ride through the streets of Baltimore city or county with a bullhorn mounted on my vehicle proclaiming how much Jesus has done for me. And I’m a pastor. Why are we so uncomfortable about declaring that we have received the grace of God so freely given through his gift to us in Christ Jesus?
Personal testimony, as in the case of the demon-possessed man, is a powerful force. No doubt his story made the rounds in several cities and perhaps others sought out Jesus for healing and wholeness in their lives. We may not achieve immediate results (translated into more people in the pews), but making a witness to God’s enduring mark on our lives is just what defines us as Christians. Otherwise, we might as well be members of the Rotary Club. And even they have publicity. In fact, as you enter many towns there are plaques attesting to the presence of the Rotary, the Lions club, and the Masons. But very little advertising is done in the way of churches. If you don’t believe me, try going to the neighborhood chamber of commerce. Chances are good that they will have information on senior centers, running clubs and folks who like to gather for pinochle nights. But there will be little, if any, flyers or brochures about where you can go to be with others who are passionate about the God that they serve. I confess that I do not know much about the Mormons or the 7th Day Adventists. But I can say that they put their mouth where their faith is. Everytime that I throw out a copy of the Watchtower, I feel a twinge of embarrassment because I wish my faith was that pronounced and important that I would want to spread it to others.
That is precisely why you and I have to speak up, to declare what God has done in our lives. We need to take the message to the streets that God is still speaking and we as a church are still listening. We need to declare that God is a force in our lives, a mighty power who prevails over our demons. We need to heed the words of the passage that was read today and spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But we are not ready to yet do this. First, we need to be comfortable with sharing with one another what God has done in our lives. Each week, try to think of something to share, and remember that God is working even though you may not be able to see it.
In the next few minutes, after the sermon, as we are singing “Spirit of the Living God”, try to recall an incident from this week that displayed God’s love and care to you. Try to find in your heart as way to recognize these moments and to share them with others in the church. If we can’t talk about God’s power, majesty and power in the church, there’s little hope for getting it past the back pew and out the front door.
As a way of testifying to God’s good and perfect plan for us, let me end by quoting one of the black preachers, who declares like the demon-free man in the gospel story:
Grace woke you up this morning, grace started you on your way, and grace enabled you to survive until this very moment. (Bishop Charles E. Bake, Sr. of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ)
This morning, in our prayer time, I invite you to not just share your concerns, but to declare how much the love of God has done for you. May it be so. Amen.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
"A Tender Heart"
Sermon: “A Tender Heart” 06.06.10
A little girl was sent on an errand by her mother. She took much too long in coming back. Her mother, therefore, demanded an explanation when she finally did return. The little girl explained that on her way, she had met a little friend who was crying because she had broken her doll. “Oh”, said the Mother, “then you stopped to help her fix her doll?” “Oh no,” replied the little girl. “I stopped to help her cry.”
Tenderness and mercy are the themes of the readings from 1st Kings today and the gospel of Luke, The texts are very close in content: a widow, a son, a recovery and praise given to a great prophet.
Luke’s depiction of the miraculous resuscitation of the boy at Nain is very low-key. Jesus comes upon a funeral procession and his followers become intermingled with the mourners. There are no questions asked. We know nothing about the boys’ age or how he died, so we can assume that Jesus and the disciples overhear this information as the bier, or funeral pallet is passing through the crowd.
Notice that it is Christ who initiated the dialogue and the action. No one calls out to him from the other side of the road. The lame, the blind, and the possessed are not being dragged forward to reach him. There are no masses to feed after a long sermon.
And he is not asked by anyone to step into this situation by anyone there. The Bew Revised Standard version of the bible that we use herein church says that Jesus had compassion for the widow. I prefer the New International Version’s translation: He heart went out to her. His heart went out to her.
Based on this feeling of utter tenderness, Jesus acts in rapid succession. He approaches the bier, speaks words of kindness to the widow, commands the boy to rise, and returns him to his mother.
By the standards in the gospels, this is hardly a “Big” miracle; there are no loaves multiplied to feed the thousands, no swine flying over a cliff and into the sea, no high drama such as the paralytic man being brought through the roof of the house in Bethsaida to reach the pool of healing water. Jesus has made an unscheduled stop on his ministry tour to show simple care and concern. With only three years of ministry, he is keenly aware of time constraints. And yet, he shows up when hope is lost. All other agendas will have to wait.
In Luke’s gospel, the word compassion appears only 3 times. The Greek is very hard to say: splagknizomai. It is used when Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan when Jesus asks the crowd who they thought the good Samaritan was and they replied, “The one who showed compassion. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, it is used to describe the father’s state of mind when he sees his son coming down the road. The text tells us that he was filled with love and compassion.
Much of the imagery that we have for Jesus does not depict him wearing his heart on his sleeve. We see him as the risen victorious King of Kings, and the suffering Savior on the cross. We see him as a potent Lord calming the turbulent seas, and the one who has a gift for teaching in the synagogue. We see him as someone who is critical and angry with the scribes and Pharisees, and often impatient at his disciples” ignorance.
Jesus- the tender-hearted is barely on the radar. Even when he invited the little children onto his lap, the gospels say nothing about his tenderness. It is only here, in Luke’s passage, that we get a glimpse of true empathy for the widow’s plight. And we find a new quality in our Lord, who understands our pain and loss.
What a powerful example we have in today’s gospel. Jesus is willing to cry with us. He is willing to come to our aid, even when we don’t ask for it. He may not be able to fix your broken lives all the time, but there are perhaps some miracle each day that occur from his tenderness that we are not aware of.
Again, in the passage, there is no discussion of what the widow may have said to Jesus after he had brought her dear son back to life. I’m sure that “Thank you” was part of her response. The text tells us that those who were gathered around thought that he was a great prophet. But I also think that she was grateful that he had a tender-heart, and the willingness to do a good deed that could never be rewarded.
In our world, marked with cynicism and sarcasm and distrust, it would be refreshing to find more people to practice the random acts of kindness that the bumper sticks promote. Jesus was, and continues to be, a walking billboard for care and concern.
There is an old hymn that I would like to close with, by reciting the verses and I invite you to picture this kind of Jesus in your mind.
Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me. See at the portals Christ waiting and watching, waiting for you and for me. Come home, Come Home. All who are weary come home. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling O sinner come home.
The holy one of the most high stopped, looked and listened as the funeral procession went by. It tugged at the strings of his heart, and performed a kind deed for the widow and restored her son to life.
Jesus has compassion for us and calls us to life as well. Softly and tenderly he is calling, calling for you and for me.
A little girl was sent on an errand by her mother. She took much too long in coming back. Her mother, therefore, demanded an explanation when she finally did return. The little girl explained that on her way, she had met a little friend who was crying because she had broken her doll. “Oh”, said the Mother, “then you stopped to help her fix her doll?” “Oh no,” replied the little girl. “I stopped to help her cry.”
Tenderness and mercy are the themes of the readings from 1st Kings today and the gospel of Luke, The texts are very close in content: a widow, a son, a recovery and praise given to a great prophet.
Luke’s depiction of the miraculous resuscitation of the boy at Nain is very low-key. Jesus comes upon a funeral procession and his followers become intermingled with the mourners. There are no questions asked. We know nothing about the boys’ age or how he died, so we can assume that Jesus and the disciples overhear this information as the bier, or funeral pallet is passing through the crowd.
Notice that it is Christ who initiated the dialogue and the action. No one calls out to him from the other side of the road. The lame, the blind, and the possessed are not being dragged forward to reach him. There are no masses to feed after a long sermon.
And he is not asked by anyone to step into this situation by anyone there. The Bew Revised Standard version of the bible that we use herein church says that Jesus had compassion for the widow. I prefer the New International Version’s translation: He heart went out to her. His heart went out to her.
Based on this feeling of utter tenderness, Jesus acts in rapid succession. He approaches the bier, speaks words of kindness to the widow, commands the boy to rise, and returns him to his mother.
By the standards in the gospels, this is hardly a “Big” miracle; there are no loaves multiplied to feed the thousands, no swine flying over a cliff and into the sea, no high drama such as the paralytic man being brought through the roof of the house in Bethsaida to reach the pool of healing water. Jesus has made an unscheduled stop on his ministry tour to show simple care and concern. With only three years of ministry, he is keenly aware of time constraints. And yet, he shows up when hope is lost. All other agendas will have to wait.
In Luke’s gospel, the word compassion appears only 3 times. The Greek is very hard to say: splagknizomai. It is used when Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan when Jesus asks the crowd who they thought the good Samaritan was and they replied, “The one who showed compassion. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, it is used to describe the father’s state of mind when he sees his son coming down the road. The text tells us that he was filled with love and compassion.
Much of the imagery that we have for Jesus does not depict him wearing his heart on his sleeve. We see him as the risen victorious King of Kings, and the suffering Savior on the cross. We see him as a potent Lord calming the turbulent seas, and the one who has a gift for teaching in the synagogue. We see him as someone who is critical and angry with the scribes and Pharisees, and often impatient at his disciples” ignorance.
Jesus- the tender-hearted is barely on the radar. Even when he invited the little children onto his lap, the gospels say nothing about his tenderness. It is only here, in Luke’s passage, that we get a glimpse of true empathy for the widow’s plight. And we find a new quality in our Lord, who understands our pain and loss.
What a powerful example we have in today’s gospel. Jesus is willing to cry with us. He is willing to come to our aid, even when we don’t ask for it. He may not be able to fix your broken lives all the time, but there are perhaps some miracle each day that occur from his tenderness that we are not aware of.
Again, in the passage, there is no discussion of what the widow may have said to Jesus after he had brought her dear son back to life. I’m sure that “Thank you” was part of her response. The text tells us that those who were gathered around thought that he was a great prophet. But I also think that she was grateful that he had a tender-heart, and the willingness to do a good deed that could never be rewarded.
In our world, marked with cynicism and sarcasm and distrust, it would be refreshing to find more people to practice the random acts of kindness that the bumper sticks promote. Jesus was, and continues to be, a walking billboard for care and concern.
There is an old hymn that I would like to close with, by reciting the verses and I invite you to picture this kind of Jesus in your mind.
Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me. See at the portals Christ waiting and watching, waiting for you and for me. Come home, Come Home. All who are weary come home. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling O sinner come home.
The holy one of the most high stopped, looked and listened as the funeral procession went by. It tugged at the strings of his heart, and performed a kind deed for the widow and restored her son to life.
Jesus has compassion for us and calls us to life as well. Softly and tenderly he is calling, calling for you and for me.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
"Speaking in Other Languages"
Sermon 05.23.10
“Speaking in Other Languages”
In this world today, there are approximately 6,500 living languages being spoken. That’s a mind-boggling figure and surprisingly, English is not at the top of the list. I want to take a minute to give you the run-down of the top 10 language and the number of people who speak them:
1. Mandarin 885 million speakers
2. Spanish 332 million speakers
3. English 322 million speakers
4. Bengali 189 million speakers
5. Hindi 182 million speakers
6. Portuguese 170 million speakers
6. Russian 170 million speakers
8. Japanese 125 million speakers
9. German 98 million speakers
10. Wu 77 million speakers
Curiously, French did not make the cut, which is why I took French classes in school for 5 years.
Speaking is the primary vehicle for communication, and after hearing these statistics, it should come as no surprise that we so often do not understand one another. And in addition to the tremendous quantity of languages themselves, we also have a set of language that cannot be labeled, such as the language of love and the language of power, the language of babies, and the language of politics.
In today’s reading from Acts, the traditional text for Pentecost Sunday, we have the situation of speaking many languages. Hear again the words of the passage describing this phenomenon: NRS Acts 2:3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” The audience was incredibly diverse – Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappodocia Pontus and Asia, Phyrgia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene. And the reason that I was asked to read all of the lectionary this morning was a test on how well I could pronounce all these odd and unfamiliar names.
In my home church in Lancaster PA, as an enhanced portion of the worship service, the entire selection from Acts was read simultaneously at this point by 8 different members of the congregation, speaking 8 different languages. The result was sometimes overwhelming as words competed with each other, but it also provided a rich example of what occurred in the upper room when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles.
But I would argue that only one language was actually being spoken, and it defies a name, because it is the language of the Holy Spirit, which surpasses and transcends geographical areas and nationalities. The language of the Holy Spirit is not a dialect that can be set out and parsed. Rather than an act of speaking, it is a different way of communicating. While the Holy Spirit momentarily gave the Apostles the gift of tongues, a more perfect gift would be embodied in the ways that the Apostles acted, for they were destined to speak through the fruits of the Spirit.
The New Living Translation of the Bible gives us these words from Paul’s letter to the Galations: NLT Galatians 5:22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The Holy Spirit does not fill us with a way to talk, but a way to act.
Most of us will not be speakers of many languages, and certainly not fluent in the ones that I mentioned earlier in my sermon. We can keep English as our first and only tongue, but adopt the language of the Spirit as our second. We must embody the traits, the gifts of our faith and then speak them to one another through these holy ways of conducting ourselves. The languages of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control are infinitely more important than being able to translate Sanskrit or print the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.
Let us as the body of Christ be filled with the Holy Spirit as the Apostles were on Pentecost. May we translate for others what we believe and how we behave. The good news is that we have an excellent dictionary at our fingertips through the Word of God. Speak loudly, speak clearly, and speak like tongues filled with holy flames. Amen.
“Speaking in Other Languages”
In this world today, there are approximately 6,500 living languages being spoken. That’s a mind-boggling figure and surprisingly, English is not at the top of the list. I want to take a minute to give you the run-down of the top 10 language and the number of people who speak them:
1. Mandarin 885 million speakers
2. Spanish 332 million speakers
3. English 322 million speakers
4. Bengali 189 million speakers
5. Hindi 182 million speakers
6. Portuguese 170 million speakers
6. Russian 170 million speakers
8. Japanese 125 million speakers
9. German 98 million speakers
10. Wu 77 million speakers
Curiously, French did not make the cut, which is why I took French classes in school for 5 years.
Speaking is the primary vehicle for communication, and after hearing these statistics, it should come as no surprise that we so often do not understand one another. And in addition to the tremendous quantity of languages themselves, we also have a set of language that cannot be labeled, such as the language of love and the language of power, the language of babies, and the language of politics.
In today’s reading from Acts, the traditional text for Pentecost Sunday, we have the situation of speaking many languages. Hear again the words of the passage describing this phenomenon: NRS Acts 2:3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” The audience was incredibly diverse – Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappodocia Pontus and Asia, Phyrgia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene. And the reason that I was asked to read all of the lectionary this morning was a test on how well I could pronounce all these odd and unfamiliar names.
In my home church in Lancaster PA, as an enhanced portion of the worship service, the entire selection from Acts was read simultaneously at this point by 8 different members of the congregation, speaking 8 different languages. The result was sometimes overwhelming as words competed with each other, but it also provided a rich example of what occurred in the upper room when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles.
But I would argue that only one language was actually being spoken, and it defies a name, because it is the language of the Holy Spirit, which surpasses and transcends geographical areas and nationalities. The language of the Holy Spirit is not a dialect that can be set out and parsed. Rather than an act of speaking, it is a different way of communicating. While the Holy Spirit momentarily gave the Apostles the gift of tongues, a more perfect gift would be embodied in the ways that the Apostles acted, for they were destined to speak through the fruits of the Spirit.
The New Living Translation of the Bible gives us these words from Paul’s letter to the Galations: NLT Galatians 5:22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The Holy Spirit does not fill us with a way to talk, but a way to act.
Most of us will not be speakers of many languages, and certainly not fluent in the ones that I mentioned earlier in my sermon. We can keep English as our first and only tongue, but adopt the language of the Spirit as our second. We must embody the traits, the gifts of our faith and then speak them to one another through these holy ways of conducting ourselves. The languages of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control are infinitely more important than being able to translate Sanskrit or print the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.
Let us as the body of Christ be filled with the Holy Spirit as the Apostles were on Pentecost. May we translate for others what we believe and how we behave. The good news is that we have an excellent dictionary at our fingertips through the Word of God. Speak loudly, speak clearly, and speak like tongues filled with holy flames. Amen.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
"God is in the Chaos"
Sermon 05.16.10
“God is in the Chaos”
The entire passage from the Acts of the Apostles is filled with the plot of a mini-series: there are riots, a demon possessed woman, people being thrown into prison, an earthquake, some singing, a mass altar call, a suicide attempt and a happy ending for everyone involved. It’s a bedlam at some points, confusion at others, and a wild and wooly Paul adventure, with Christ in the midst of the chaos. About the only thing missing is a character with amnesia.
Act one begins with Paul and Silas heading to the synagogue to pray, but they have to pass through the marketplace. Bad move on their part. They meet a slave girl, who by the power of a demon, has been given the gift of fortune telling. Her masters make a tidy profit from her abilities. She has taken a liking to Paul and understands his role as ambassador for Jesus Christ and keeps shouting her mantra. For some unexplained reason, Paul becomes exasperated (according to the New Living Translation) with this nonsense and exorcises the demon from her. This credits a cash flow problem for the woman’s owners, since she can no longer tell the future, and they haul Paul and Silas into the center of the marketplace. They begin to blame them for teaching the crowds ideas that were contrary to Roman customs. A mob scene follows and the situation quickly deteriorates into chaos.
Paul and Silas are thrown into prison, where they immediately begin to praise God and sing hymns, with no rational concern for their predicament. The other folks in the prison comprise their audience. Suddenly, around midnight, there is pandemonium as an earthquake shakes the prison and all of the chains fall off the prisoners and locked doors are thrown open.
The jailor is so upset by what appears to be a grand escape that he is ready to kill himself, rather than face dishonor at the hands of the Roman guards. But in a surprise last-minute gesture, Paul and Silas assure him that all the prisoners are still around. The guard is saved, along with his entire household and all the prisoners. It’s a mass conversion following a long, difficult evening. From start to finish it’s a wild ride, mainly because everything with Paul is large screen Panavision, and the final ending is wonderful, because everyone believed in God. They were probably all holding hands and singing Kumbaya before it was all over.
Most of us do not have that much adventure in a lifetime, much less on a weekly drive to go to church. But we still find ourselves in morning messes, with afternoons of bedlam, and evenings that are filled with disarray. We experience all of the chaos that this encounter describes, but in modern day interpretations, and we need to remember that God is still there in the midst of our disorder.
God is the top priority in the story of Paul and Silas in prison. Rather than wallow in pity, they pray. Rather than bemoaning their circumstances, they sing hymns. Rather than condemning their jailor, they praise God. Because God is ultimately the one in control, the one who provides the earthquake, the one who brings about a change of heart for all of the prisoners and the jailer. Underneath and behind all of the chaos, God has been working through it. This same mentality is what we need to focus on when our lives become enmeshed in turmoil. If God brings you to it, God will see you through it.
It is easy to blame God when life hands you lemons, when there’s commotion in the workplace, when there’s the threat of anarchy in a family with teenagers. Seeing God’s hand at work is our hardest challenge when moving through difficult times. Paul and Silas trusted God, understood God’s presence in trouble and continued to have faith in the midst of the chaos.
Our lives are no different from Paul’s. We are still struggling to get to the church door each and every week. We have co-workers who badmouth us, family members who remind us over and over again about our mistakes. We live in prisons of our own making, thinking that everyone else has a better life. We find that there are little earthquakes from time to time, and sometimes one big crisis that flattens us in our walk towards holiness. And we still find ourselves being asked “How to be saved” by those around us.
Remember that there was great rejoicing at the end of Paul’s story. Remember that chaos reigned until the songs of the Lord were sung. Remember that there was madness until Paul said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” God can be counted on to arrive just when it appears that all hope is lost. But we need to speak out God’s name when we are in trouble.
I rarely end a sermon with a joke, but this seemed like a golden opportunity for me to emphasize that we must call out to the right God, to the one who can bring a surprise ending to the melodramas of our daily living.
It seems that after church one Sunday, a father noticed his five-year old son writing something on the Sunday School paper that he had brought home with him. “Dad”, the boy said. “How do you spell God?”
The father was very pleased that his son was still thinking about the lesson that he had received from his teacher. The father spelled out G_O_D, and the young boy wrote that on his paper. Then he looked up at his father and asked, “Then how do you spell Zilla?’
Remember to summon the right person. Call upon the God of power to be with you during the pandemonium, when you, like Paul, are struggling with situations beyond your control. Call upon the God of order, who separated the light from the dark, when it feels like you can’t tread water any longer. Call upon the God who calms the waves when you feel your boat beginning to capsize. Call upon the God of compassion and direction, who brings us through the darkness and gives us back the meaning in our lives. Call upon God, and remember that God will always call you back, with a voice that can be heard, even above the chaos . Call upon God. Amen.
“God is in the Chaos”
The entire passage from the Acts of the Apostles is filled with the plot of a mini-series: there are riots, a demon possessed woman, people being thrown into prison, an earthquake, some singing, a mass altar call, a suicide attempt and a happy ending for everyone involved. It’s a bedlam at some points, confusion at others, and a wild and wooly Paul adventure, with Christ in the midst of the chaos. About the only thing missing is a character with amnesia.
Act one begins with Paul and Silas heading to the synagogue to pray, but they have to pass through the marketplace. Bad move on their part. They meet a slave girl, who by the power of a demon, has been given the gift of fortune telling. Her masters make a tidy profit from her abilities. She has taken a liking to Paul and understands his role as ambassador for Jesus Christ and keeps shouting her mantra. For some unexplained reason, Paul becomes exasperated (according to the New Living Translation) with this nonsense and exorcises the demon from her. This credits a cash flow problem for the woman’s owners, since she can no longer tell the future, and they haul Paul and Silas into the center of the marketplace. They begin to blame them for teaching the crowds ideas that were contrary to Roman customs. A mob scene follows and the situation quickly deteriorates into chaos.
Paul and Silas are thrown into prison, where they immediately begin to praise God and sing hymns, with no rational concern for their predicament. The other folks in the prison comprise their audience. Suddenly, around midnight, there is pandemonium as an earthquake shakes the prison and all of the chains fall off the prisoners and locked doors are thrown open.
The jailor is so upset by what appears to be a grand escape that he is ready to kill himself, rather than face dishonor at the hands of the Roman guards. But in a surprise last-minute gesture, Paul and Silas assure him that all the prisoners are still around. The guard is saved, along with his entire household and all the prisoners. It’s a mass conversion following a long, difficult evening. From start to finish it’s a wild ride, mainly because everything with Paul is large screen Panavision, and the final ending is wonderful, because everyone believed in God. They were probably all holding hands and singing Kumbaya before it was all over.
Most of us do not have that much adventure in a lifetime, much less on a weekly drive to go to church. But we still find ourselves in morning messes, with afternoons of bedlam, and evenings that are filled with disarray. We experience all of the chaos that this encounter describes, but in modern day interpretations, and we need to remember that God is still there in the midst of our disorder.
God is the top priority in the story of Paul and Silas in prison. Rather than wallow in pity, they pray. Rather than bemoaning their circumstances, they sing hymns. Rather than condemning their jailor, they praise God. Because God is ultimately the one in control, the one who provides the earthquake, the one who brings about a change of heart for all of the prisoners and the jailer. Underneath and behind all of the chaos, God has been working through it. This same mentality is what we need to focus on when our lives become enmeshed in turmoil. If God brings you to it, God will see you through it.
It is easy to blame God when life hands you lemons, when there’s commotion in the workplace, when there’s the threat of anarchy in a family with teenagers. Seeing God’s hand at work is our hardest challenge when moving through difficult times. Paul and Silas trusted God, understood God’s presence in trouble and continued to have faith in the midst of the chaos.
Our lives are no different from Paul’s. We are still struggling to get to the church door each and every week. We have co-workers who badmouth us, family members who remind us over and over again about our mistakes. We live in prisons of our own making, thinking that everyone else has a better life. We find that there are little earthquakes from time to time, and sometimes one big crisis that flattens us in our walk towards holiness. And we still find ourselves being asked “How to be saved” by those around us.
Remember that there was great rejoicing at the end of Paul’s story. Remember that chaos reigned until the songs of the Lord were sung. Remember that there was madness until Paul said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” God can be counted on to arrive just when it appears that all hope is lost. But we need to speak out God’s name when we are in trouble.
I rarely end a sermon with a joke, but this seemed like a golden opportunity for me to emphasize that we must call out to the right God, to the one who can bring a surprise ending to the melodramas of our daily living.
It seems that after church one Sunday, a father noticed his five-year old son writing something on the Sunday School paper that he had brought home with him. “Dad”, the boy said. “How do you spell God?”
The father was very pleased that his son was still thinking about the lesson that he had received from his teacher. The father spelled out G_O_D, and the young boy wrote that on his paper. Then he looked up at his father and asked, “Then how do you spell Zilla?’
Remember to summon the right person. Call upon the God of power to be with you during the pandemonium, when you, like Paul, are struggling with situations beyond your control. Call upon the God of order, who separated the light from the dark, when it feels like you can’t tread water any longer. Call upon the God who calms the waves when you feel your boat beginning to capsize. Call upon the God of compassion and direction, who brings us through the darkness and gives us back the meaning in our lives. Call upon God, and remember that God will always call you back, with a voice that can be heard, even above the chaos . Call upon God. Amen.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
"The Best is Yet to Come"
Sermon 05.02.10
“The Best is Yet to Come”
A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her pastor and asked him to come to her house to discuss some of her final wishes.
She told him which hymns she wanted sung at her funeral, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. She also asked that her favorite bible be placed in the casket.
As the pastor prepared to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something else. “There’s one more thing,” she said excitedly.
“What’s that?” asked the pastor.
“This is important,” the woman said. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”
The pastor stood looking at the woman, not quite knowing what to say.
The woman explained. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck suppers, when the dished of the main course were being cleared away, someone would inevitably lean over and say, “Keep your fork.” “It was my favorite part of the meal because I knew that something even better was coming – a velvety rich chocolate cake or a deep-dish peach pie.”
“So when people see me in the casket with a fork in my hand, and they ask, ‘What’s with the fork?’, I want you to tell them: Keep the fork – the best is yet to come.”
Having recently conducted two memorial services in which this passage from Revelation was read, I decided to preach on it this morning, rather than the gospel passage, because I feel that it offers more than just comfort to the bereaved. Indeed, it is a glorious story of life, and how the Creator of life itself is now present, and coming to earth to be with mortals.
For most of the folks that are familiar with this passage, it has come to them as a vision of what heaven must be like; after death our souls ascending to a perfect place where there is no sadness, no unhappiness, streets that are paved with gold and angels standing around like a spiritual welcoming committee.
But this really isn’t what the passage says. It tells us that the new Jerusalem, the holy city of God will come down, like a bride adorned for her husband. The city is coming down – we’re not moving up. Verse 3 reassures us that we don’t need to go anywhere, but to stay put. The author John records it in this way. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.”
God is not some ephemeral figure hanging around in the clouds, but comes into our midst, creating newness, and giving to the thirsty the water of life. This affirmation of the Almighty coming to us, his peoples, is a significant part of the good news of the text. And the words that we are given are trustworthy and true – we have God’s promise on that.
We all have our own imagination about what heaven will be like. God assures us in this passage that mourning and crying and pain will be no more. Some of us picture heaven as a great garden of Paradise before the fall, while still others imagine pearly gates and the faces of loved ones. Life will be complete and fulfilling and joyful, with harp strumming cherubs. I myself think that when I get to heaven, I’ll be perfectly transformed into a size 8, and pepperoni pizzas will have zero calories.
Another important point of the passage is that God identifies as the Alpha and Omega – the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and the end. But God isn’t just there at the beginning and the end of our lives; God is there for all of the in-betweens that we have. God is A through Z, not A and Z.
God is there when we are overwhelmed by the demands of working and raising a family; God is there when we celebrate milestone birthdays and anniversaries; God is there when our children disappoint us, and when our parents can no longer care for themselves. God is in the midst of all of our beginnings and endings. God is not sitting in heaven and watching a play, but moving around with us through all of life’s inner workings. Even though we realize that we do not truly have heaven here on earth, it’s comforting to know that when it is time for all of the old world order to cease, God will come down to mortals and live among them.
And, indeed, there is no city or town anywhere in the world called Heaven. I think that humankind is rather bright in this respect of not even attempting to duplicate what is only too wonderful to dream about or doubt about. How could you put a name on something that is the best thing to come?
John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, offers his view of heaven: “When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders there: The first wonder will be to see many there that I did not expect to see; the second wonder will be to miss the many people whom I did expect to see; the third and greatest of all will be to find myself there.”
John’s passage in Revelation is not about death, but about abundant life that is promised to us. Our God has seen fit to dwell among us, mere humans that we are. Our God has seen fit to make all things new. And our God has assured us that the first things have passed away. How wonderful to be told that we will no longer be deceitful, self-centered, unethical spoiled brats, but will dwell be able to be with God in glory. We just need to have our forks ready for dessert.
Let us remember that God is coming to us, and this promise is trustworthy and true. Let us praise God for the gift of eternity. Let us honor God whose home is among us. And let all God’s people say: The best is yet to come. Amen.
“The Best is Yet to Come”
A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her pastor and asked him to come to her house to discuss some of her final wishes.
She told him which hymns she wanted sung at her funeral, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. She also asked that her favorite bible be placed in the casket.
As the pastor prepared to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something else. “There’s one more thing,” she said excitedly.
“What’s that?” asked the pastor.
“This is important,” the woman said. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”
The pastor stood looking at the woman, not quite knowing what to say.
The woman explained. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck suppers, when the dished of the main course were being cleared away, someone would inevitably lean over and say, “Keep your fork.” “It was my favorite part of the meal because I knew that something even better was coming – a velvety rich chocolate cake or a deep-dish peach pie.”
“So when people see me in the casket with a fork in my hand, and they ask, ‘What’s with the fork?’, I want you to tell them: Keep the fork – the best is yet to come.”
Having recently conducted two memorial services in which this passage from Revelation was read, I decided to preach on it this morning, rather than the gospel passage, because I feel that it offers more than just comfort to the bereaved. Indeed, it is a glorious story of life, and how the Creator of life itself is now present, and coming to earth to be with mortals.
For most of the folks that are familiar with this passage, it has come to them as a vision of what heaven must be like; after death our souls ascending to a perfect place where there is no sadness, no unhappiness, streets that are paved with gold and angels standing around like a spiritual welcoming committee.
But this really isn’t what the passage says. It tells us that the new Jerusalem, the holy city of God will come down, like a bride adorned for her husband. The city is coming down – we’re not moving up. Verse 3 reassures us that we don’t need to go anywhere, but to stay put. The author John records it in this way. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.”
God is not some ephemeral figure hanging around in the clouds, but comes into our midst, creating newness, and giving to the thirsty the water of life. This affirmation of the Almighty coming to us, his peoples, is a significant part of the good news of the text. And the words that we are given are trustworthy and true – we have God’s promise on that.
We all have our own imagination about what heaven will be like. God assures us in this passage that mourning and crying and pain will be no more. Some of us picture heaven as a great garden of Paradise before the fall, while still others imagine pearly gates and the faces of loved ones. Life will be complete and fulfilling and joyful, with harp strumming cherubs. I myself think that when I get to heaven, I’ll be perfectly transformed into a size 8, and pepperoni pizzas will have zero calories.
Another important point of the passage is that God identifies as the Alpha and Omega – the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and the end. But God isn’t just there at the beginning and the end of our lives; God is there for all of the in-betweens that we have. God is A through Z, not A and Z.
God is there when we are overwhelmed by the demands of working and raising a family; God is there when we celebrate milestone birthdays and anniversaries; God is there when our children disappoint us, and when our parents can no longer care for themselves. God is in the midst of all of our beginnings and endings. God is not sitting in heaven and watching a play, but moving around with us through all of life’s inner workings. Even though we realize that we do not truly have heaven here on earth, it’s comforting to know that when it is time for all of the old world order to cease, God will come down to mortals and live among them.
And, indeed, there is no city or town anywhere in the world called Heaven. I think that humankind is rather bright in this respect of not even attempting to duplicate what is only too wonderful to dream about or doubt about. How could you put a name on something that is the best thing to come?
John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, offers his view of heaven: “When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders there: The first wonder will be to see many there that I did not expect to see; the second wonder will be to miss the many people whom I did expect to see; the third and greatest of all will be to find myself there.”
John’s passage in Revelation is not about death, but about abundant life that is promised to us. Our God has seen fit to dwell among us, mere humans that we are. Our God has seen fit to make all things new. And our God has assured us that the first things have passed away. How wonderful to be told that we will no longer be deceitful, self-centered, unethical spoiled brats, but will dwell be able to be with God in glory. We just need to have our forks ready for dessert.
Let us remember that God is coming to us, and this promise is trustworthy and true. Let us praise God for the gift of eternity. Let us honor God whose home is among us. And let all God’s people say: The best is yet to come. Amen.
"The Conjunction of Life"
Sermon 04.04.10
“The Conjunction of Life”
Preachers will step into pulpits on Easter Sunday in churches all around the world and try to say a new word about the ever ancient, sacred experience of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. They will talk about God's "yes" to Jesus and God's "no" to the powers that killed Jesus but failed in the end. It is clear that we can put very few spins on the story that is the foundation of our faith, but we can still find an element of surprise in the constant and consistent retelling of the single incident on which our entire hopes are pinned. And so we begin.
The account that we read from John is the passage that features Mary Magdalene. In the early morning hours she reaches the tomb and finds that the stone has been rolled away. She returns to where the disciples have been hiding in the upper room to relay the news. Peter, John and Mary make their way back down to the burial place, whereupon they enter the tomb and discover the empty linen clothes. The passage tells us that the men believed, and they return home. We do not know what they believed, to be honest, since the text indicates in verse 9 that they did not understand the scripture saying that Jesus must rise for the dead. They could have reported that the tomb was empty, that the burial wrappings were lying there, and that Jesus was nowhere to be found.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. “BUT” - this small word, this grammatical conjunction, is the key to life itself. The word but means “except for the fact”, and “not withstanding” and it is often used to express a contract between two actions. This is the essence of what John wants the reader to understand in his gospel story. Peter and the beloved disciple returned home, but Mary stayed. The contrast is between action and waiting.
Mary’s hesitation may strike us as non-productive, less proactive, and possibly timid as she stands crying beside the empty tomb. The other apostles have bustled away, leaving her behind. Her immediate response should have been to follow them, but she stayed. She experienced the emotions of the moment. She lingered with her sorrow. The others fled, but she remained.
Her reward was a vision of the risen Savior. Even though she initially perceived him as the gardener. Once again, the gospel author uses the word “but” to indicate a decision. After speaking to the angels and asking them where the body has been taken, the text tells us that “she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Another, but, another moment of hesitation, another moment of indecision. There is a time of wavering, a pause for the reality to sink in, an instant of faltering before comprehension of a miracle.
At the sound of her spoken name, Mary recognizes Jesus and becomes the first witness to the resurrected Savior. Because she stopped and stayed, even when her best instincts told her that it was useless to remain at an empty tomb. She could have chosen to return with Peter and Paul, she could have left to find the rest of Jesus’ female followers. But she remained.
In our lives, we encounter the word but in multiple situations. Many of them are negative: But if only we have arrived at the hospital on time. But when you get your act together, you are welcome to come back home. But now you are a nothing because no one loved you. These are the conjunctions of uncertainty, of fear, of failure, of dreams deferred or changed. These are the conjunctions of regret, of hopelessness and disappointment. These are the conjunctions of bitterness, envy and emotional pain. We convince ourselves over and over again that our lives would be different, but they are not because of a lack of resouces, an overwhelming sense of despair and a void that the material things of this world cannot fill. But if we had such and such, we tell one another, our lives would be complete and happy and carefree.
Mary’s story is different. But she stayed, and found what her soul was longing for. But she stayed and beheld the King of Kings. But she stayed and discovered the truth of Jesus’ promise that he would arise from the dead. The conjunction of life permeates her part of the gospel story. The doubt of the empty tomb loses its meaning as Jesus is manifested in glory. Because she but stayed.
This Easter season, let us embrace the conjunctions that define us as people of God, redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. But for the grace of God, go you and I. We have been given a Savior who loved us enough to die for us, but while we were yet sinners. But, God so loved the world that he sent his only Begotten Son that we would have hope. But, Jesus says, I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly. But I shall raise up this temple on the third day. But today you shall be with me in paradise.
Let us reaffirm that this small word has the ability to transform and empower, to change and reorder, to free us from our fears and anxieties about what is to come. Our Savior has not died, but has overcome the grave; not perished on a cross, but rose in glorious splendor; not gone from our midst, but present here in our lives this day.
May this conjunction remind you that there is always an alternative, always the prospect of a different ending, always another way to transcend the harsh realities of those things which hold us back. Jesus has come to us in the highest form as the conjunction of life and we celebrate this gift of the resurrection and give thanks for his promise of eternal possibilities for us, his children, on this Easter morn. Amen.
“The Conjunction of Life”
Preachers will step into pulpits on Easter Sunday in churches all around the world and try to say a new word about the ever ancient, sacred experience of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. They will talk about God's "yes" to Jesus and God's "no" to the powers that killed Jesus but failed in the end. It is clear that we can put very few spins on the story that is the foundation of our faith, but we can still find an element of surprise in the constant and consistent retelling of the single incident on which our entire hopes are pinned. And so we begin.
The account that we read from John is the passage that features Mary Magdalene. In the early morning hours she reaches the tomb and finds that the stone has been rolled away. She returns to where the disciples have been hiding in the upper room to relay the news. Peter, John and Mary make their way back down to the burial place, whereupon they enter the tomb and discover the empty linen clothes. The passage tells us that the men believed, and they return home. We do not know what they believed, to be honest, since the text indicates in verse 9 that they did not understand the scripture saying that Jesus must rise for the dead. They could have reported that the tomb was empty, that the burial wrappings were lying there, and that Jesus was nowhere to be found.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. “BUT” - this small word, this grammatical conjunction, is the key to life itself. The word but means “except for the fact”, and “not withstanding” and it is often used to express a contract between two actions. This is the essence of what John wants the reader to understand in his gospel story. Peter and the beloved disciple returned home, but Mary stayed. The contrast is between action and waiting.
Mary’s hesitation may strike us as non-productive, less proactive, and possibly timid as she stands crying beside the empty tomb. The other apostles have bustled away, leaving her behind. Her immediate response should have been to follow them, but she stayed. She experienced the emotions of the moment. She lingered with her sorrow. The others fled, but she remained.
Her reward was a vision of the risen Savior. Even though she initially perceived him as the gardener. Once again, the gospel author uses the word “but” to indicate a decision. After speaking to the angels and asking them where the body has been taken, the text tells us that “she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Another, but, another moment of hesitation, another moment of indecision. There is a time of wavering, a pause for the reality to sink in, an instant of faltering before comprehension of a miracle.
At the sound of her spoken name, Mary recognizes Jesus and becomes the first witness to the resurrected Savior. Because she stopped and stayed, even when her best instincts told her that it was useless to remain at an empty tomb. She could have chosen to return with Peter and Paul, she could have left to find the rest of Jesus’ female followers. But she remained.
In our lives, we encounter the word but in multiple situations. Many of them are negative: But if only we have arrived at the hospital on time. But when you get your act together, you are welcome to come back home. But now you are a nothing because no one loved you. These are the conjunctions of uncertainty, of fear, of failure, of dreams deferred or changed. These are the conjunctions of regret, of hopelessness and disappointment. These are the conjunctions of bitterness, envy and emotional pain. We convince ourselves over and over again that our lives would be different, but they are not because of a lack of resouces, an overwhelming sense of despair and a void that the material things of this world cannot fill. But if we had such and such, we tell one another, our lives would be complete and happy and carefree.
Mary’s story is different. But she stayed, and found what her soul was longing for. But she stayed and beheld the King of Kings. But she stayed and discovered the truth of Jesus’ promise that he would arise from the dead. The conjunction of life permeates her part of the gospel story. The doubt of the empty tomb loses its meaning as Jesus is manifested in glory. Because she but stayed.
This Easter season, let us embrace the conjunctions that define us as people of God, redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. But for the grace of God, go you and I. We have been given a Savior who loved us enough to die for us, but while we were yet sinners. But, God so loved the world that he sent his only Begotten Son that we would have hope. But, Jesus says, I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly. But I shall raise up this temple on the third day. But today you shall be with me in paradise.
Let us reaffirm that this small word has the ability to transform and empower, to change and reorder, to free us from our fears and anxieties about what is to come. Our Savior has not died, but has overcome the grave; not perished on a cross, but rose in glorious splendor; not gone from our midst, but present here in our lives this day.
May this conjunction remind you that there is always an alternative, always the prospect of a different ending, always another way to transcend the harsh realities of those things which hold us back. Jesus has come to us in the highest form as the conjunction of life and we celebrate this gift of the resurrection and give thanks for his promise of eternal possibilities for us, his children, on this Easter morn. Amen.
"I Love You Anyway"
Sermon 03.14.10 “I Love You Anyway”
The parable of the prodigal son, found only in the gospel of Luke, is so rich a passage that it is almost difficult to find one element in it to preach about in a twelve minute sermon. Much of our fascination with this parable lies in its ability to resonate with everyone, with a story line that reads like a soap opera. There are multiple life experiences to be examined: adolescent rebellion, family estrangement, the appeal of greener grass, the consequences of foolish living, the dynamics of brotherly love, the joy of reunion and the power of forgiveness. It’s got all the Oprah stuff. But we would be here all afternoon if I decided to work through the entire passage in depth to make up for all those snow sermons that you missed. But my guess is that doing so would create a mutiny in the pews or we’d have to order in lunch, so I have chosen to base my sermon on how our lives are affected by the life, death and the unconditional grace of parental love. Please pray with me now.
Gracious God, give us the courage to face up to our failings. Give us the strength to know when we are breaking your heart through our sins. Give us the audacity to approach your throne of grace. Help us to remember the depth of your love. And may the truth of your word be found in the hearing and proclamation of the good news of the gospel message.
If we were retelling this story in modern language, we would say that a man had two sons, one who was a loser, a louse, a rat and the other who was a responsible, decent hard-working young man. The younger son is rude, takes money from his father when it isn’t his right and spends it in the next town on drugs, liquor, lottery tickets and fast women. The older son remains at home, respects his dad and helps with the household chores. He’s not the trouble-maker. He probably goes to church, too.
The younger son runs out of money, and realizes that he’s hit rock bottom. He decides to come home, and beg for a place to stay, even if he has to crash on his father’s front porch. He knows that he’s disgraced himself and is ready to make amends and suck it up.
The father celebrates the son’s return rather than beat him up. There’s a big party, with lots of food, and even new clothes. The festivities are so outrageous that Big Bob’s Beef Smokehouse is hired to cater it. The elder brother gets wind of the celebration, isn’t thrilled with the situation and has it out with the father about the fairness of it all, and says you didn’t give me the time of day, much less a backyard BBQ. The father tells the brother that he loves both children. It doesn’t have a neat ending, with lots of man-hugs and a big thumbs up from Dr. Phil. Life is still complicated. But the father in essence says to the two children, “I love you anyway.”
Now there is one verse in this text that really spoke to the parent’s heart in me and I hope that you will see its significance in the passage. When the younger son asks for his inheritance in verse 12, the response is that the father “divided his property between them.” This is the translation that we have in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. But surprisingly, the word that is translated as “property” is actually the word bios in the Greek, from which we get our word biology. Bios means life. He divided his life between them. And part of his life went out the door when his son traveled to a distant country. While the son was lost in a world of dissolute living, a part of the father also died.
Many of the losses in our lives are traumatic. When a loved one dies, people often say that something of themselves has also gone into the grave, and that life isn’t worth living without a partner. Less dramatic losses – the loss of health, the loss of a job, the loss of a friendship are small deaths along the way. I’m sure that each and every one of you has been touched by a loss that has sapped your inner strength, tested your faith, and taken a piece of life from you.
The younger son also dies, figuratively speaking. After the inheritance is gone, he is reduced to working in a swine pen, a task that was forbidden by his Jewish religion, and which added to his estrangement. He was lost to his family and his faith until he came to himself. What a beautiful phrase – came to himself. The younger son had to face himself in a pig sty of his own making before he could begin to live again.
We do not know much about the elder son’s situation while the younger son was away. Perhaps he also felt the loss, but in a different way. He might have had to take over the younger son’s chores or had to console his father. Maybe he was missing the camaraderie of having a sibling around.
Unfortunately, he becomes the party-pooper in the story, the one who seemingly spoils the ending. Instead of being the perfect child, he becomes the whiner who stubbornly refuses to celebrate the return of his brother. It is the joy in him that dies, as well as the sense of belonging to the family. He is now the lost child, looking on at a party that he chooses not to attend. Surely, he broke his father’s heart just as much as the younger son. He wasn’t chastised or punished for not coming in. His father said, “I love you anyway”, even if you don’t want to participate in the homecoming ceremony.
Some of us identify with the younger son. We’ve done things we are ashamed of and had to face our sins and failures. We’ve been down and out, have tasted misery, lost hope and tried to return home. We have run out of time and money and finally have come to ourselves, even at the last minute. And sometimes we lose ourselves and end up in the mud of the pig pen time and again.
Some of us identity with the elder son. We’ve lived a good life, made a decent living, raised up a God-fearing family, done community work and been proud of our accomplishments. We’ve pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, darn it, and made our own way, a way that we are proud of. We’re indignantly virtuous about what’s right and wrong, and as satisfied as a pig in the mud with our manner of life
Most likely, many of us fall somewhere in between the boys. We are made mistakes along the way, but most of the time we have come to ourselves in order to make it right. And it is God who is the model parent for us. No matter what we do, we are still God’s children and God is ready to take us back to life through grace, sheer grace.
When the father in the story sees the younger son in the distance, he runs out to meet him, without even hearing the boy’s confession or remorse. It is enough to see him on the road home. It is enough to know that he is in the right direction. The model of unconditional parental love requires no condemnation and no restitution. It is the grace of the father that restores him to life.
To the elder son, the father also offer grace – “all that I have is yours. My love for you has not changed even if you are upset at your brother’s homecoming. I love you even as you are spiteful and mean-spirited. I love you even as you refuse to share in the joy of the homecoming. You’ve not addressed me as father and you don’t even acknowledge your brother, but you are still in the family. Parental love means that you are still my son, in all your stubbornness and nasty attitude.”
“I love you anyway. I love you anyway” – what a powerful statement to God’s forgiveness and mercy!
The father’s love, God’s love remains the same for us. God is the waiting father, the model of parental love. God is the father that watches out the door for the return of his younger boy, and the father who leaves the party in search of the older son. God has never stopped being a parent to us, even when God’s heart is broken by our sins. “I love you no matter what you’ve done”, God says. “I love you anyway”.
For each son, and for all of us, God offers life through grace alone and with grace comes the gift of life. We never cease being the beloved children of God, despite all of the actions that we do to distance ourselves from the Almighty. We can get lost a gazillion times and still come home. We can stay home and sulk and refuse to join in the celebration. We are not punished but welcomed back, at any time and in any place. Even when we are dead in sin, the gift of life is still waiting for us. The father gives us all that he has including his own life, his bios, in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
“I love you anyway.” As we continue on our Lenten journey, consider the significance of these words, and remember that the unconditional love of our father will not let us go, despite what we have already done and no matter what we plan to do. As we make our way to the cross, let us come to ourselves and recognize the grace that is available to us as children of God. May we receive the gift of life, rather than loss, as we return home. May we remember that grace gives us more than we could ever imagine and much more than we deserve. Amen.
The parable of the prodigal son, found only in the gospel of Luke, is so rich a passage that it is almost difficult to find one element in it to preach about in a twelve minute sermon. Much of our fascination with this parable lies in its ability to resonate with everyone, with a story line that reads like a soap opera. There are multiple life experiences to be examined: adolescent rebellion, family estrangement, the appeal of greener grass, the consequences of foolish living, the dynamics of brotherly love, the joy of reunion and the power of forgiveness. It’s got all the Oprah stuff. But we would be here all afternoon if I decided to work through the entire passage in depth to make up for all those snow sermons that you missed. But my guess is that doing so would create a mutiny in the pews or we’d have to order in lunch, so I have chosen to base my sermon on how our lives are affected by the life, death and the unconditional grace of parental love. Please pray with me now.
Gracious God, give us the courage to face up to our failings. Give us the strength to know when we are breaking your heart through our sins. Give us the audacity to approach your throne of grace. Help us to remember the depth of your love. And may the truth of your word be found in the hearing and proclamation of the good news of the gospel message.
If we were retelling this story in modern language, we would say that a man had two sons, one who was a loser, a louse, a rat and the other who was a responsible, decent hard-working young man. The younger son is rude, takes money from his father when it isn’t his right and spends it in the next town on drugs, liquor, lottery tickets and fast women. The older son remains at home, respects his dad and helps with the household chores. He’s not the trouble-maker. He probably goes to church, too.
The younger son runs out of money, and realizes that he’s hit rock bottom. He decides to come home, and beg for a place to stay, even if he has to crash on his father’s front porch. He knows that he’s disgraced himself and is ready to make amends and suck it up.
The father celebrates the son’s return rather than beat him up. There’s a big party, with lots of food, and even new clothes. The festivities are so outrageous that Big Bob’s Beef Smokehouse is hired to cater it. The elder brother gets wind of the celebration, isn’t thrilled with the situation and has it out with the father about the fairness of it all, and says you didn’t give me the time of day, much less a backyard BBQ. The father tells the brother that he loves both children. It doesn’t have a neat ending, with lots of man-hugs and a big thumbs up from Dr. Phil. Life is still complicated. But the father in essence says to the two children, “I love you anyway.”
Now there is one verse in this text that really spoke to the parent’s heart in me and I hope that you will see its significance in the passage. When the younger son asks for his inheritance in verse 12, the response is that the father “divided his property between them.” This is the translation that we have in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. But surprisingly, the word that is translated as “property” is actually the word bios in the Greek, from which we get our word biology. Bios means life. He divided his life between them. And part of his life went out the door when his son traveled to a distant country. While the son was lost in a world of dissolute living, a part of the father also died.
Many of the losses in our lives are traumatic. When a loved one dies, people often say that something of themselves has also gone into the grave, and that life isn’t worth living without a partner. Less dramatic losses – the loss of health, the loss of a job, the loss of a friendship are small deaths along the way. I’m sure that each and every one of you has been touched by a loss that has sapped your inner strength, tested your faith, and taken a piece of life from you.
The younger son also dies, figuratively speaking. After the inheritance is gone, he is reduced to working in a swine pen, a task that was forbidden by his Jewish religion, and which added to his estrangement. He was lost to his family and his faith until he came to himself. What a beautiful phrase – came to himself. The younger son had to face himself in a pig sty of his own making before he could begin to live again.
We do not know much about the elder son’s situation while the younger son was away. Perhaps he also felt the loss, but in a different way. He might have had to take over the younger son’s chores or had to console his father. Maybe he was missing the camaraderie of having a sibling around.
Unfortunately, he becomes the party-pooper in the story, the one who seemingly spoils the ending. Instead of being the perfect child, he becomes the whiner who stubbornly refuses to celebrate the return of his brother. It is the joy in him that dies, as well as the sense of belonging to the family. He is now the lost child, looking on at a party that he chooses not to attend. Surely, he broke his father’s heart just as much as the younger son. He wasn’t chastised or punished for not coming in. His father said, “I love you anyway”, even if you don’t want to participate in the homecoming ceremony.
Some of us identify with the younger son. We’ve done things we are ashamed of and had to face our sins and failures. We’ve been down and out, have tasted misery, lost hope and tried to return home. We have run out of time and money and finally have come to ourselves, even at the last minute. And sometimes we lose ourselves and end up in the mud of the pig pen time and again.
Some of us identity with the elder son. We’ve lived a good life, made a decent living, raised up a God-fearing family, done community work and been proud of our accomplishments. We’ve pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, darn it, and made our own way, a way that we are proud of. We’re indignantly virtuous about what’s right and wrong, and as satisfied as a pig in the mud with our manner of life
Most likely, many of us fall somewhere in between the boys. We are made mistakes along the way, but most of the time we have come to ourselves in order to make it right. And it is God who is the model parent for us. No matter what we do, we are still God’s children and God is ready to take us back to life through grace, sheer grace.
When the father in the story sees the younger son in the distance, he runs out to meet him, without even hearing the boy’s confession or remorse. It is enough to see him on the road home. It is enough to know that he is in the right direction. The model of unconditional parental love requires no condemnation and no restitution. It is the grace of the father that restores him to life.
To the elder son, the father also offer grace – “all that I have is yours. My love for you has not changed even if you are upset at your brother’s homecoming. I love you even as you are spiteful and mean-spirited. I love you even as you refuse to share in the joy of the homecoming. You’ve not addressed me as father and you don’t even acknowledge your brother, but you are still in the family. Parental love means that you are still my son, in all your stubbornness and nasty attitude.”
“I love you anyway. I love you anyway” – what a powerful statement to God’s forgiveness and mercy!
The father’s love, God’s love remains the same for us. God is the waiting father, the model of parental love. God is the father that watches out the door for the return of his younger boy, and the father who leaves the party in search of the older son. God has never stopped being a parent to us, even when God’s heart is broken by our sins. “I love you no matter what you’ve done”, God says. “I love you anyway”.
For each son, and for all of us, God offers life through grace alone and with grace comes the gift of life. We never cease being the beloved children of God, despite all of the actions that we do to distance ourselves from the Almighty. We can get lost a gazillion times and still come home. We can stay home and sulk and refuse to join in the celebration. We are not punished but welcomed back, at any time and in any place. Even when we are dead in sin, the gift of life is still waiting for us. The father gives us all that he has including his own life, his bios, in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
“I love you anyway.” As we continue on our Lenten journey, consider the significance of these words, and remember that the unconditional love of our father will not let us go, despite what we have already done and no matter what we plan to do. As we make our way to the cross, let us come to ourselves and recognize the grace that is available to us as children of God. May we receive the gift of life, rather than loss, as we return home. May we remember that grace gives us more than we could ever imagine and much more than we deserve. Amen.
"Isaiah's 7-Step Plan"
Sermon 03.07.10
“Isaiah’s 7-Step Plan”
It is not often that we preach from the Old Testament Scriptures, but this morning we turn to Isaiah because it is a text that has a strong Lenten tone, with reminders to repent and return to God during this holy season. So please pray with me now: Holy One, help us to listen to the clear voices of the prophets. Help us to listen to seek the mind of Christ in our hearing. And may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to Jesus, our strength and our redeemer.
There are many 12-step meeting resources for people with different problems, but none for Christians. There are Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Over-Eaters Anonymous, and many more. But no one has developed a program where people can come in and say, “Hi, my name is Joanne, and I’m a slacker Christian. I’ve really screwed up when it comes to my faith, and I came to the realization that I need help.” At least, that doesn’t happen publicly in the Protestant tradition. Even the Catholics who invented the confessional kept it private. I’m willing to bet that there isn’t anyone in this sanctuary who is dying to stand up and tell the entire congregation about their sins and how they have failed in their faith journey from time to time.
And so we have the Prophet Isaiah offering us seven steps to getting right with God, and I’d say that that was a bargain – just about half of the steps that the other 12-steps groups require. So let’s all sign up together.
What is striking about the Isaiah’s program is that it is based on imperative verbs. Think back to your English classes in elementary school. Think way back to that lesson on verbs. I won’t ask you to think about the lesson on diagramming sentences, because that’s even too painful a memory for me. Imperative verbs are commands. The best example that I can give you is to talk about training a dog. You command the dog to Sit or to Stay or to Roll Over. An imperative verb instructs you to do something. Isaiah has 7 of these verbs that are the foundation of his plan.
In the first verse, he says Come. Come to the waters, the living waters that God provides. You must Come. Everyone who is spiritually thirsty is invited to the party. God sets the table, but we need to pull up the chair. We need to take action by showing up. Those of you in the sanctuary here this morning have got this step down pat already. You have taken the action this morning to get out of bed, and make your way to church.
The second command is to buy. Isaiah is not talking about consumerism here. He doesn’t tell us to buy a big screen tv, or tickets to the Orioles games or plane fare to Tahiti. He says buy into the program. Make a commitment. Get engaged with your church. Showing up for worship is wonderful, but your heart needs to be there as well. Don’t be making up your grocery list while I’m preaching. Save that task for the offertory collection. Just kidding. Isaiah wants us to buy into having a relationship with Christ that demands more than just a surface level faith. Buy into the grace that is so freely given by our Lord and Savior.
Third, he says eat. This does not mean pigging out on Lois’ fabulous cinnamon cake during the fellowship time after the service. When he uses the word eat, it is in the sense of partaking, experiencing, savoring. The psalmist says taste and see that the Lord is good. Eat and experience fellowship with other Christians. Eat and count the daily blessings that you have received. Eat and learn about the abundant life that Christ offers. We have a holy banquet set before us and it’s time to pick up the fork and dig in with gusto. As chef Emeril would say, “Kick it up a notch!”
Verse 2 gives us the third step of Isaiah’s program. Listen. Listen. It’s starting to get a little challenging here folks. Listen. How many times have we allowed the voices of others to sway us from hearing God’s truth? It’s difficult to tune out the competing voices in our society that want to be heard: the voices of power and greed, voices of selfishness and self-satisfaction, voices of coveting everything that our neighbor has and we don’t. We need to be discriminating in what we listen to, and tune out all of the noise of what our society offers us as the best, the greatest, the most materialistic. We need to listen to the small, still voice of the Holy Spirit, not the holy complex of television sports entertainment, the home shopping network, and the reality shows that exploit our human condition. Listen to the voice of God that comes without commercial interruption.
Once you have started to listen, Isaiah says, you then need to hear me, in verse 3. Stop putting your fingers in your ears and going lalalalalala. Dig out the spiritual earwax, if that’s the problem. Attune your listening so that you actually hear and comprehend the words that are being spoken. Now the tough, tough work is beginning in this recovery plan. Many of us call out to God in pain and anguish, listen for an answer, but fail to hear it, even when it’s as big and loud as a Mack truck. Hear me, God says. Pay attention to what I say. Learn to muffle the other sounds so that my voice comes in loud and clear.
Step five of the program is found in verse six. The prophet tells us to “seek the Lord while he may be found. Seek and make the presence of God a priority in your life. Pursue a single-minded walk with God. Search diligently for times when you can chat, call out, rant against, discuss, mull over, and converse with your heavenly Father. Have the morning coffee hour with Jesus. Every day, each one of us has competing priorities – we all have the same 24 hours in which to accomplish our daily tasks. If we can make the time to get our hair cut, to get our nails done, to walk the dog, to pick up our dry cleaning, to shop for groceries and to mow the lawn (when it is not covered with 12 feet of snow), then we have the ability to set time to seek God. It’s a question of priorities.
There are two more steps that Isaiah lays out for us, both of which are particularly apt for our Lenten discipline. In the seventh verse, he uses the imperative verb Forsake. Forsake – get rid of, throw away, let go. Maybe it’s time for us to abandon whatever doesn’t work in our relationship with God. Decide what is holding you back, what is challenging your faith, and, as the 12-step programs say, “let go and let God. Forsake – leave behind. Unpack whatever you are carrying on your backs, lay your weary burdens down and forsake all the other gods in your life.
Lastly, we hear the verb Return. Once you have let go of the bad, then you need to grab the good. Come home to the loving arms of the father, as did the prodigal son. Turn to what is right, what is positive, what is faithful. Repent and turn to God for mercy and forgiveness. Returning can be hard if you’ve been away for awhile. The return could be a rough uphill climb, but the view at the top is great.
So here’s the wrap-up for our spiritual recovery; here is Isaiah’s 7-step process to a right relationship with the Holy One: Come up to the table, buy into a commitment with Christ, eat and taste the goodness of the Lord, listen to God with your mind and heart, hear the voice that is calling you home, see the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life, forsake whatever calls you to the dark side, and return to the arms of your master. It’s time now to get with the program.
“Isaiah’s 7-Step Plan”
It is not often that we preach from the Old Testament Scriptures, but this morning we turn to Isaiah because it is a text that has a strong Lenten tone, with reminders to repent and return to God during this holy season. So please pray with me now: Holy One, help us to listen to the clear voices of the prophets. Help us to listen to seek the mind of Christ in our hearing. And may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to Jesus, our strength and our redeemer.
There are many 12-step meeting resources for people with different problems, but none for Christians. There are Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Over-Eaters Anonymous, and many more. But no one has developed a program where people can come in and say, “Hi, my name is Joanne, and I’m a slacker Christian. I’ve really screwed up when it comes to my faith, and I came to the realization that I need help.” At least, that doesn’t happen publicly in the Protestant tradition. Even the Catholics who invented the confessional kept it private. I’m willing to bet that there isn’t anyone in this sanctuary who is dying to stand up and tell the entire congregation about their sins and how they have failed in their faith journey from time to time.
And so we have the Prophet Isaiah offering us seven steps to getting right with God, and I’d say that that was a bargain – just about half of the steps that the other 12-steps groups require. So let’s all sign up together.
What is striking about the Isaiah’s program is that it is based on imperative verbs. Think back to your English classes in elementary school. Think way back to that lesson on verbs. I won’t ask you to think about the lesson on diagramming sentences, because that’s even too painful a memory for me. Imperative verbs are commands. The best example that I can give you is to talk about training a dog. You command the dog to Sit or to Stay or to Roll Over. An imperative verb instructs you to do something. Isaiah has 7 of these verbs that are the foundation of his plan.
In the first verse, he says Come. Come to the waters, the living waters that God provides. You must Come. Everyone who is spiritually thirsty is invited to the party. God sets the table, but we need to pull up the chair. We need to take action by showing up. Those of you in the sanctuary here this morning have got this step down pat already. You have taken the action this morning to get out of bed, and make your way to church.
The second command is to buy. Isaiah is not talking about consumerism here. He doesn’t tell us to buy a big screen tv, or tickets to the Orioles games or plane fare to Tahiti. He says buy into the program. Make a commitment. Get engaged with your church. Showing up for worship is wonderful, but your heart needs to be there as well. Don’t be making up your grocery list while I’m preaching. Save that task for the offertory collection. Just kidding. Isaiah wants us to buy into having a relationship with Christ that demands more than just a surface level faith. Buy into the grace that is so freely given by our Lord and Savior.
Third, he says eat. This does not mean pigging out on Lois’ fabulous cinnamon cake during the fellowship time after the service. When he uses the word eat, it is in the sense of partaking, experiencing, savoring. The psalmist says taste and see that the Lord is good. Eat and experience fellowship with other Christians. Eat and count the daily blessings that you have received. Eat and learn about the abundant life that Christ offers. We have a holy banquet set before us and it’s time to pick up the fork and dig in with gusto. As chef Emeril would say, “Kick it up a notch!”
Verse 2 gives us the third step of Isaiah’s program. Listen. Listen. It’s starting to get a little challenging here folks. Listen. How many times have we allowed the voices of others to sway us from hearing God’s truth? It’s difficult to tune out the competing voices in our society that want to be heard: the voices of power and greed, voices of selfishness and self-satisfaction, voices of coveting everything that our neighbor has and we don’t. We need to be discriminating in what we listen to, and tune out all of the noise of what our society offers us as the best, the greatest, the most materialistic. We need to listen to the small, still voice of the Holy Spirit, not the holy complex of television sports entertainment, the home shopping network, and the reality shows that exploit our human condition. Listen to the voice of God that comes without commercial interruption.
Once you have started to listen, Isaiah says, you then need to hear me, in verse 3. Stop putting your fingers in your ears and going lalalalalala. Dig out the spiritual earwax, if that’s the problem. Attune your listening so that you actually hear and comprehend the words that are being spoken. Now the tough, tough work is beginning in this recovery plan. Many of us call out to God in pain and anguish, listen for an answer, but fail to hear it, even when it’s as big and loud as a Mack truck. Hear me, God says. Pay attention to what I say. Learn to muffle the other sounds so that my voice comes in loud and clear.
Step five of the program is found in verse six. The prophet tells us to “seek the Lord while he may be found. Seek and make the presence of God a priority in your life. Pursue a single-minded walk with God. Search diligently for times when you can chat, call out, rant against, discuss, mull over, and converse with your heavenly Father. Have the morning coffee hour with Jesus. Every day, each one of us has competing priorities – we all have the same 24 hours in which to accomplish our daily tasks. If we can make the time to get our hair cut, to get our nails done, to walk the dog, to pick up our dry cleaning, to shop for groceries and to mow the lawn (when it is not covered with 12 feet of snow), then we have the ability to set time to seek God. It’s a question of priorities.
There are two more steps that Isaiah lays out for us, both of which are particularly apt for our Lenten discipline. In the seventh verse, he uses the imperative verb Forsake. Forsake – get rid of, throw away, let go. Maybe it’s time for us to abandon whatever doesn’t work in our relationship with God. Decide what is holding you back, what is challenging your faith, and, as the 12-step programs say, “let go and let God. Forsake – leave behind. Unpack whatever you are carrying on your backs, lay your weary burdens down and forsake all the other gods in your life.
Lastly, we hear the verb Return. Once you have let go of the bad, then you need to grab the good. Come home to the loving arms of the father, as did the prodigal son. Turn to what is right, what is positive, what is faithful. Repent and turn to God for mercy and forgiveness. Returning can be hard if you’ve been away for awhile. The return could be a rough uphill climb, but the view at the top is great.
So here’s the wrap-up for our spiritual recovery; here is Isaiah’s 7-step process to a right relationship with the Holy One: Come up to the table, buy into a commitment with Christ, eat and taste the goodness of the Lord, listen to God with your mind and heart, hear the voice that is calling you home, see the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life, forsake whatever calls you to the dark side, and return to the arms of your master. It’s time now to get with the program.
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