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SERMONS Jan 5, 2002 to July 13, 2003
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Jan 5, 2002 | Jan. 12, 2003 | Jan 19, 2003 | Jan. 26, 2003 | Feb 2, 2003 | Feb 9, 2003 | Feb. 16, 2003 | Feb. 23, 2003 | March 2, 2003 | March 9, 2003 | March 16, 2003 | March 23, 2003 | March 30, 2003 | April 6, 2003 | April 13, 2003 | Easter April 20, 2003 | 2nd Sunday of Easter April 27, 2003 | 3rd Sunday of Easter May 4, 2003 | 4th Sunday of Easter May 11, 2003 | 5th Sunday of Easter May 18, 2003 | 6th Sunday of Easter May 25, 2003 | June 1, 2003 | June 8, 2003 | June 15, 2003 | June 22, 2003 | June 29, 2003 | July 6, 2003 | July 13, 2003
Text:
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Psalm 24
*Ephesians 1:3-14
Title:
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
A Sunday School superintendent had two new boys in Sunday School.
In order to register them she had to ask their ages and birthdays. The
bolder of the two said, “We’re both seven.
My birthday is
In a nutshell, I think this is an important part of the message that we
heard from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Paul’s writing can often be confusing.
His sentences are long and convoluted.
Indeed, the entire passage we just heard – all 12 verses – is only
one sentence in the Greek. On the
other hand, Paul’s writing is often poetic and this passage is a doxology –
a hymn of praise to God. It recites
what God has done and what God is planning to do.
In most of Paul’s letters to the early churches he deals with the
divisions and the arguments that they are having.
This letter is more general than most of Paul’s other letters and it
was probably intended to circulate from one church to another.
It seems to be intended to bring together much of Paul’s thought and by
doing so, to bring together the churches with guidance on how to live their
lives. He
sees all the churches as one, delighting in songs of grace and statements
of unity.
I imagine that Paul would be appalled that Christians gather in so many
different churches and that we have a history of seeming to disagree far more
than we agree. John Wesley, the man
credited with being the founder of Methodism, followed a time-tested approach
when it came to beliefs: “In
essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.”
He recognized that faithful Christians would not always agree about
things like the forms of worship, structures of church government, modes of
Baptism, or theological explorations. He
believed that such differences should not break the bond of fellowship that ties
Christians together in Jesus Christ. Wesley’s
familiar dictum was, “As to all opinions that do not strike at the root of
Christianity, we think and let think.”[2]
This passage from Ephesians is one that proclaims the root of
Christianity. It affirms that Christ
is the true reality; bringing together all things and that from God every family
on the earth draws its life and name. It
proclaims that the church is – or should be – the living glimpse of a world
of peace and reconciliation between peoples.
It should be a place where differences of culture and practice are not
turned into enmity and hatred.
I read a story of a man who died during a war far away from home.
His two friends desperately wanted to give him a decent burial. “They
found a cemetery in a nearby village. It
happened to be a Roman Catholic cemetery and the dead man had been a Protestant.
When the two friends found the priest in charge of the burial grounds,
they requested permission to bury their friend, but the priest refused because
the man had not been a Catholic. When
the priest saw their disappointment, he explained that they could bury their
friend outside the fence. This was
done. Later, they returned to visit
the grave but couldn’t find it. Their
search led them back to the priest and, of course, they asked him what had
happened to the grave. The priest
told them that during the night he was unable to sleep because he had made them
bury their friend outside the fence. So
he got up and moved the fence to include the dead soldier.”[3]
This is a story of a priest who “got it”, who although he initially
clung to the rules of the church, later realized that unity in Christ was more
important than any rules that caused separation. The
Ephesians passage is not about us. It
has meaning for us, but it is not primarily about us – it is about God.
It is about what God has done for us without any strings attached; what
God has done for us simply out of love.
God chose you. God chose me.
God chose each one of us. When
we receive a person into membership through profession of faith or reaffirmation
of faith, or when we baptize a child, there are questions that we ask.
One of them, which you have heard this morning is: “Do you confess
Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to
serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to
people of all ages, nations, and races?”
We assume that the church is open to all people, but that has not always
been the case – and, indeed, sometimes it is still not always true.
The author of the letter to the Ephesians knew that the churches were
struggling with exactly this issue.
During his
public life, Jesus broke all of the rules of conventional society.
He associated with Gentiles, even including them in the healings he did.
He spoke with women and praised their faith.
He invited a tax collector to be one of his disciples and he ate with tax
collectors, prostitutes and other sinners. To
all these, Jesus proclaimed the message of God’s love.
After his death his followers struggled with what it meant to be a
follower of Jesus. Did a person have
to become a Jew first? Which rules
were necessary for a new believer to follow?
Were new believers as welcome as people who had believed for a long time?
How could they settle disagreements as they arose?
Paul knew that God had chosen him. He
had been such a faithful Jew that he had even been involved in persecuting those
followers of Jesus because he believed that they were polluting the way of God.
After his incredible experience on the road to
Paul had
seen the power of Christ’s love overcome impossible divisions among people.
He had seen Samaritans and Jews praying together.
He had seen Gentiles and Jews breaking bread together.
He had seen men and women working and worshiping together.
Paul used everything he had to bring men and women to God.
Ultimately he gave his life for this vision, this commitment to God’s
plan for humanity.
We have seen the
In the modern church we often value individuality.
We emphasize a personal relationship with Christ.
That is certainly one of the great promises and gifts of God.
However, it is not the whole story as this passage from Ephesians points
out. The emphasis is not upon
individual saved souls, but upon a new humanity, a new harmony of people.
It is about community and being the people of God together.
One of the other questions asked at membership or baptism asks: “Do you
accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and
oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?”
I think we are often inclined to think that we don’t encounter evil,
injustice and oppression. However,
we might ask, what do we call it when our senior citizens have to decide between
buying the medications they need and paying their rent?
What do we call it when large numbers of children are living below the
poverty level? What do we call it
when the level of affordable housing is abysmally low?
If these are not examples of evil, injustice or oppression then I’m not
sure what is.
If we can afford to buy medications and pay our rent, if our children are
living above the poverty level and we can afford the places we live, why do we
need to be concerned about those for whom this is not the reality?
We need to be concerned because they are our brothers and sisters.
They are children of God adopted just as we have been into God’s
family. They may not all share the
name Christian. They may be called
Muslims, or Buddhists, or Jews, or agnostics or atheists or brights or
humanitarians.
It is not up to us to set boundaries and build walls.
It is up to us as Christians to continue Christ’s work of breaking down
the barriers that divide one person from another.
Because of the incredible gift we have received from God we are to have a
new attitude. Eugene Peterson’s, The
Message puts it this way. “It’s
in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of
your salvation), found yourselves home free – signed, sealed, and delivered by
the Holy Spirit. This gift from God
should activate a new way of living for those of us who know about God’s plan.
As proclaimed in the letter to the
Ephesians, “Then when the time is right, God will do all that he has planned,
and Christ will bring together everything in heaven and on earth.”
[1]
Hewett, James S. Editor, Illustrations Unlimited, Tyndale, Wheaton,
IL, 1988 p.240 #5
[2]
Book of Discipline of The United
[3] Hewett, p.249 #3
============================
North Kingstown
UMC
Text:
2 Corinthains 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
Title:
Sufficient Grace
The story is told of a man who fulfilled the dream of his lifetime.
He bought a Rolls Royce.
As he was driving home, it hit him. He’d
failed to learn the car’s horsepower. He
went back and asked the salesman, who said, “I’ve never been asked.
I’ll investigate.” Failing
to find the answer, the salesman wrote to
That was the answer given to the apostle Paul when he prayed asking God
to remove what he describes as a “thorn in the flesh.”
Paul doesn’t elaborate about what this was, but it appears to be
something that Paul thought was interfering with his work, something that made
life more difficult for him, something he thought he would be better off
without. He tells how he appealed to
God to have this “thorn” leave him, but that the response was not what he
anticipated. God’s response was,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul learned the lesson. He
did not need to be strong in himself. He
did not need to have the best qualifications.
He did not need to do God’s work through any great power of his own.
Rather, God working through him would give him the power, the strength
that was necessary. God would
provide grace that was sufficient for Paul to be able to do what God wanted him
to do. When Paul felt least able to
do God’s work that was when God’s strength and power were most evident.
The power we read about in the Bible is very different than
the power that we see so much in the world. God’s power is not about brute
force. It is not about numbers.
God’s power is not about intimidation, coercion or threats.
It is not a power bestowed upon us by another person or group of people
by virtue of an election, or takeover. God’s
power is not about wealth, or status. God’s
power – and the power which is made perfect in weakness – is a power of
love, a gift of grace. It empowers
others rather than stripping them of their power.
When Jesus sent his disciples out, he sent them out totally dependent
upon the power of God for their needs. They
were to take nothing for their journey – no bread, no money, not even an extra
tunic for warmth. They were to go
into a village and stay in the place that was offered to them.
In Jesus’ time hospitality was a religious virtue and expectation.
The disciples could have expected that people along the way would provide
them with food and shelter.
The people of the villages where the disciples would go had the power to
decide whether or not to receive the disciples; whether to welcome them or
reject them; whether to listen to them or ignore them.
The disciples would either stay in a town or not depending upon the
response of the town people.
We are the disciples who have been sent out into the surrounding
villages. We are the ones who are
dependent upon the hospitality of others to receive our message.
We may not be dependent upon them for food or shelter or transportation;
but we are still dependent upon their hospitality to receive the message.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not something to be forced upon another
person. Whether at home, work,
school, or out in the community, we are not to force God’s message upon others
– but we are to share it in whatever way is appropriate at the time, in
whatever way a person is ready to receive the good news about Jesus Christ.
I have always liked a story Beverly Hamilton a Christian writer told of
her experience:
With a smile, I sighed, “Long day, wasn’t it?”
“How does God speak to you?”
“Through Scripture and prayers,” I answered after a brief hesitation.
“He … He … sometimes ….” My mind went blank.
Before I had a chance to say another word,
It never failed. Every time
I’d been trying to lead
One morning several days later,
“I accepted the Lord last night,” she said as she reached over and
grabbed my hand. She explained how
one of her new friends at church had prayed with her. Smiling, she continued,
“Thanks for not preaching to me when I asked questions.
Everyone else tried to tell me too much at one time, and I became
confused. You simply answered my
questions, and told me what I needed to know at the time.”
I smiled to myself when
What
There is often a moment when people are open to God’s message – a
time when we might not expect it, a time when they are particularly seeking.
God knows that time and if we are open to God’s leading we just might
be the person who is able to share the Gospel at that time.
Jesus knew that not everyone would receive the disciples.
He had first hand experience with this.
He had been rejected by the people in his home town – the people who
had watched him grow up, the people who knew his mother and his sisters and
brothers. Mark tells us that “he
could do not deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick
people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.”
The people of
He told his disciples that if any village would not welcome them and
refused to listen to them, then they should shake off the dust on their feet as
they left the village. This can be
understood in many ways. In some
places it is understood as placing a curse upon them or giving them up as
worthless. I think a better
understanding is that the disciples were not to carry the feeling of failure
with them. They were to start over
in a different place, not thinking about those who had not been ready to hear
their testimony, but moving on to those who were ready.
I think about those times in our lives and the lives of others, when the
message has fallen upon what seem to be deaf ears.
At another time, in different circumstances, we might have remembered
what was said a long time ago. A
seed might have been planted that only much later will begin to grow and bear
fruit. We experience this within the
church repeatedly. We may look at
our list of children or youth and be frustrated at the numbers who do not
participate in Sunday School,
We come to the Lord’s Table
to be fed by God, to receive the bread we need for the journey, we come to be
nourished by God’s grace and love. We
come to receive the power that God gives – the power that is sufficient for
our need.
Remember the man who bought the Rolls Royce and thought it so important
to know what the horsepower was? Do
you remember the answer: sufficient. I
can see it now. A great church on
[1]
Mosser, David N. editor, The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2003, Abingdon
Press,
[2]
Hamilton, Beverly “Tongue-Tied” in Still Moments compiled by Mary
Beckwith, Regal Books, Ventura,
CA 1989, pp.39-40.
======================
North Kingstown
UMC
Text:
Mark
Title:
Seeking Healing
Today’s Gospel can be either a preacher’s dream or a preacher’s
nightmare. There are so many
wonderfully rich verses and ideas here that there are a number of possibilities
for sermons. I think about Jesus’
response to Jairus when the messengers came to tell him that his daughter had
died and he should no longer bother Jesus. “Do
not fear, only believe.” What a
wonderful model for us to take into the difficult times of life. How
much time we spend worrying about what could go wrong!
How much energy is consumed by being afraid of something that has not
happened!
Another
gem in this passage is Jesus’ question “Who touched me?” after he felt
power go out from him. We
rarely think of what it cost Jesus to be so readily available to everyone –
or, indeed, what it costs us when we try to be always available, always ready to
respond.
A
sermon title frequently used is “The miracle on the way to a miracle”.
I’ve preached that sermon before. One
of the truths in it is that Jesus doesn’t run roughshod over those who may
interrupt his schedule or his plans. He
has the time, takes the time for those in need even when it changes his plans.
It echoes a theme that “the journey is our home,” that how we get
there is as important as where we are headed in our faith journey.
This
passage can be a nightmare to deal with because people are not always healed;
some are forced to manage their illnesses, and some die.
On the surface, these stories seem to promote the notion that the amount
of faith we have determines whether or not we are healed.
We all know people of great faith who were not healed in the way we would
have wanted, and others who seemingly had little or no faith and yet have
experienced great healings.
When I
encounter this passage I can picture a young woman named Tina Luce singing a
song she wrote about the woman who touched Jesus’ garment.
The song proclaims, “If I’ll but touch the hem of His garment.
It’s through faith in Jesus that I finally know, that I can touch just
the hem of His garment, and every part of me, every part of me will be made
whole.”[1][1]
What makes this so profound is that Tina who has written the song, has
the voice of an angel, and plays the piano with a skill that fills me with awe
and she is also blind. One might
expect that as a person of great faith, she might be bitter that she has not
been healed of her blindness, but Tina has been able to focus on the greater
message of God’s love and healing. In
another song that she wrote she sings about “Eyes of faith.”
The words are very personal.
I may not
see the beauty of a sunrise.
I may not
see the clouds in the sky.
I may not
see the majesty of mountains.
I may not
see the ocean far and wide.
But I know
that there’s a God who has saved me.
And I know
that He’s forgiven all my sin.
I know
that there’s a God who always hears me.
And I know
that He will heal me from within.
With eyes
of faith I see Jesus.
And I can
touch the wounds that made me whole.
With eyes
of faith, I see the face of Jesus.
And joy
runs like a river in my soul.
Tina
recognizes that there is much more to healing than only the physical healing
which we see demonstrated in the miracles in today’s Gospel.
That’s one of the places where we find healing stories like this
difficult – when we focus only on the physical healing that takes place and we
miss the possibilities of other kinds of healing which are also from God and are
also miraculous in their own way.
There are
many places where we could focus our thoughts in this story, but the one that
really jumped out at me this time was the question of how prayer requests are
handled. This is something that can
cause strong disagreements in congregations.
Some individuals feel comfortable sharing their needs and concerns in a
worship setting. They find that
doing so helps them to feel less alone in their struggle.
Other people need to keep their concerns more private.
They may share their needs with only a few people, or only with the
pastor, or sometimes they choose not to share their needs with anyone.
These people may be comfortable with prayers for others but not with
prayers for themselves or they may prefer that all of the prayers offered aloud
in any public worship setting be more generic intercessions for the sick or the
bereaved. They find general prayers
to be more comforting and meaningful.
In
today’s gospel, we discover that both ways are acceptable ways to bring out
needs before God. Jairus was very
bold in summoning Jesus to provide care and healing for his daughter.
In front of the whole crowd, Jairus approached Jesus and fell at his
feet. Jairus was a man with some
authority. He knew how to give
orders and expected them to carried out. He
is accustomed to people begging him for things, not the other way around.
But here, he reaches out in desperation to Jesus, believing that Jesus
can make his daughter well. Surely
everyone in the crowd was aware of the details of his families need.
There was a lot riding on Jesus’ response and his actions.
Jairus expected his daughter to be healed and by his bold approach to
Jesus, he let everyone else know that he expected his daughter to be healed.
The woman
who was seeking healing for herself had a very different approach.
She was going for the most unobtrusive healing possible.
She knew what she needed and she quietly approached Jesus in order to
touch his coat. Most in the crowd
would not have noticed her, or her condition.
It was
important that they not notice her. It
was important that they not be aware of her condition.
According to Jewish law, a woman who was bleeding was considered unclean.
Any person with whom she came into physical contact was also made
ritually impure until evening. Any
clothing or bedding that she touched would be unclean.
That’s a hard concept for us to understand because we don’t have
anything that is a close parallel. However,
we can understand her desperation. She
has been isolated from other people because of this twelve year illness.
She has probably not felt the hug of a spouse or a child during this
time. She had become bankrupt trying
to find a cure for her disease.
She comes
quietly, as unobtrusively as possible. She
seeks healing but nobody needs to know about it.
She doesn’t want to draw attention to herself, doesn’t want anyone to
know her need. There are many
reasons why some of us keep our needs to ourselves.
Perhaps we are very private people and our practice is not to share our
personal concerns with others. Perhaps
we think our needs are less important than someone else’s or we are concerned
that others might think them less urgent. Sometimes
we are ashamed of our situation. Perhaps
we think we deserve the condition in which we find ourselves and don’t want
others to know. Perhaps we have not
experienced the support of a family or community that cares about what is
important to us and don’t know how comforting this can be.
There are many reasons why people keep their prayer concerns to
themselves.
The
important piece to remember is that both Jairus and the woman were seen and
heard and healed. It is interesting
to me that the woman who tried so hard to keep her need a secret ended up having
to acknowledge in front of the crowd that she was the one who had touched Jesus.
I believe that she received more than the physical healing that she so
desperately needed. In the crushing
crowd that gathered around Jesus, he felt her touch.
I find it comforting, that in the midst of a crowd pushing against him,
jostling him, even with Jairus urging him on to get to his house quickly to heal
his daughter, Jesus was aware of the woman who reached out to him.
God knows each time we reach out. God
knows when we skin our knee or our heart. Jesus
responded by reaching out to the unknown woman – and he reaches out to each of
us.
Whether we
boldly declare our prayers in Sunday worship, or whether we hold those prayers
in the sanctity and safety of our hearts, we are heard, and in reaching out, we
touch holiness.
Jairus who
had been so public in expressing his need and seeking Jesus’ help experienced
something slightly different. Can
you imagine his frustration and disappointment and sorrow when the people came
from his house to tell him that his daughter had died?
I can imagine him getting angry – angry at the woman who interrupted
Jesus on his way, angry at Jesus for taking the time to stop and question who
had touched him and for taking the time to talk with the woman.
Angry, perhaps, that Jesus would praise her faith, when she had so
quietly sneaked up to try to be healed, while he had put his reputation and his
dignity on the line by falling at Jesus’ feet and begging for his daughter to
be healed.
Fortunately
for Jairus, whatever he was feeling, whatever his reactions might have been, he
didn’t have long to deal with them. Jesus
overheard what had just been told to Jairus and he responded, “Do not fear,
only believe.” In the midst
of a parent’s worst nightmare, Jesus offered comfort, hope, and a challenge.
“Don’t accept at face value what you see and hear.
There is another reality, one far greater; one which you do not yet see.
Do not fear, only believe.”
When they
arrived at Jairus’ home the mourners had already gathered.
There was a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
Jesus denied the reality they were experiencing.
He offered a different reality – one where the child would live.
The truth in Jesus’ words, “Do not fear, only believe,” became the
reality.
Certainly
there are many questions raised in these two stories.
Questions that we are not able to answer right now.
Questions that we may not be able to answer at all.
However, there are some great truths here – some wonderful realities
and one of them is that God hears our prayers in whatever way we express them.
Prayers offered publicly or prayers held in the sanctity and safety of
our hearts are heard by God. Neither
way indicates more or less faith than the other – they are simply different
ways of reaching out and touching holiness and seeking healing and wholeness.
Faith allows us to see the difficult events of life through a different
lens, one of hope even in the midst of despair.
================================
June 22, 2003 -- Sermon unavailable
================================
June 15, 2003 -- Sermon unavailable
=============================
North Kingstown United Methodist Church
Text: *Acts 2:1-21
Romans 8:22-27
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Title: "We Are the Church"
United Methodists are organized into Annual conferences presided over by Bishops. The design is that there are an equal number of Clergy and Lay Persons present. This week, Isabel Hayes our Lay Member, Marilyn Moffett one of the members chosen to help equalize the numbers, and I will be attending The New England Annual Conference session in Massachusetts. It begins with the clergy meeting on Thursday and concludes sometime on Monday - after all the business is hopefully accomplished, new clergy ordained, and appointments for the coming year announced.
William Willimon, a Methodist preacher and prolific writer, says that in understanding this we should use the word "organized" very loosely. He describes some of what takes place at the annual conferences which he has attended.
First, he points out, that annual conferences prove the truth of Will Rogers' dictum: "Methodist preachers are like manure: spread them around and they do a lot of good; pile them together in one place and they get to stinking." Annual conference is not for the faint hearted; yet we come young and old, able and disabled. We walk from the dormitory to the meeting hall to the dining room and various other places on campus. Meals are arranged cafeteria style in crowded dining rooms or box lunches are served outside.
On the conference floor the debate rages over many subjects from budgets, to the centrality of Christ, to the church's stand on homosexuality, to policies and plans to keep churches safe places for children, and back to insurance. As Willimon points out, "the debates are lively, often with more heat than light. After monopolizing the microphone for a full five minutes, one delegate asked, `Bishop, what was the question?' It was not uncommon for the Bishop to have to ask if a particular speech was for or against a motion. And Willimon tells us that "after one meandering tirade by a fellow minister, I overheard one lay delegate whisper to another, `That's my preacher, and if you think that speech was hard to follow, you ought to hear his sermons."
Sometimes the debate makes a lot of sense, but at other times it seems impossible to get a clue about what is going on. But then there come those wonderful times when the Holy Spirit moves and catches us by surprise. A retiring minister speaks a word of wisdom that touches the heart. A hymn sung between reports reminds us why we are really here, who we are, and whose we are. In the corridors (where some think most of the real business happens) a warm and caring exchange takes place between two persons. Pastors and Lay persons complain about the slowness and frustration of the appointment process and which church is getting a pastor that it doesn't deserve, and which pastor is getting an appointment that he or she hasn't really earned, and we wonder whether or not the Holy Spirit was even invited into the appointment process that day. It's a crazy mixed up place that somehow is still the church - at its best and at its worst.
Today is Pentecost, the day that is often called the birthday of the church. The church of Jesus Christ began with a group of frightened people in a second floor room in Jerusalem. They were paralyzed with fear that the Roman authorities would come and arrest them and kill them as had happened to Jesus. But Jesus had come back from the dead and had told them to wait here until the Holy Spirit came upon them and they would receive power.
They waited. In the fifty days between Jesus' resurrection and the day of Pentecost not one sermon was preached. No one was healed. But then! "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, (other languages) as the Spirit enabled them." (Acts 2:2-4)
The new church immediately faced it's first challenge. Some of the people in the streets thought that they were drunk. But others recognized that a miracle was taking place because although they came from many different countries within the Roman Empire, yet, each of them heard what was being said in his or her own native language. Pentecost is a miracle of proclamation and of hearing.
Then Peter stood up to speak. At one time, Peter had tried to convince Jesus not to go to Jerusalem and Jesus had responded by saying to him, "Get behind me, Satan." On the night Jesus was arrested, Peter had vowed never to leave him but before the night was over he denied three times that he even knew who Jesus was. Peter was the man upon whom Jesus said he would build his church. Peter had been hiding in a second floor room with the other disciples, but now, empowered by the Holy Spirit, he stood in the streets of Jerusalem and spoke to a large crowd .
He reminded them of the words of the prophet Joel that sons and daughters would prophesy, young men would see visions, and old men would dream dreams and that the Spirit would be poured out on all people who call on the name of the Lord. Luke tells us that about 3,000 people, heard, believed and were baptized in that one day.
The church has continued with a sometimes less than glowing history throughout the centuries. Debates have raged about doctrine, actions, and even how to tell whether or not someone really has received the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came in the wind, and the fire and the entrance was dramatic. But God doesn't always come in such dramatic ways. Sometimes God comes in the gentle touch on a fevered brow, or the beauty of a sunset, or the music and words of a beloved hymn. But when God comes, there is a power released that can change our lives.
A true "story of the power of God's Word comes from the streets of New York. A street-corner preacher gave an old man a small pocket New Testament. The old man was tickled to get the book. He was happy because the thin pages were just the right size for rolling his homemade cigarettes! He smoked his way through Matthew, Mark, Luke and half of John. When he reached the tenth chapter of John he ran out of tobacco. To pass the time, he began to read. As he read about Christ, the Good Shepherd, he became filled first with shame and then gratitude. He surrendered to Christ. The old man "smoked" his way right into the kingdom of God."
We encounter God in many different ways and we are called in numerous ways to be about God's work, to help other people come to know the Lord. Sometimes we may never know the results of our words or our actions. Other times we may stand in awe as we see what God can do when we allow ourselves to be open to the movement of the Spirit.
The church, 2,000 year later, is still the church whether on a local or a conference level. We still discuss finances, missions, the concerns of each other and we still need the Holy Spirit to guide us and to direct us. Most importantly we are still to be about the business of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are still, with Peter to be proclaiming the reality that young people see visions of what the church can and should be, and older people still dream dreams about how we can be the church. We are still to proclaim the good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed and recovery of sight for the physically or spiritually blind. We are the church - each and every one of us.
We celebrate our birthday, the birthday of the church, by remembering our beginnings, by opening our hearts and our minds once again to the Holy Spirit and by willing to be amazed and awed by what our great God can do.
As we go about our work as the church and our lives as individual Christians may we hear this advice from Max Lucado about remembering who we are, and whose we are. "When times get hard, remember Jesus. When people don't listen, remember Jesus. When tears come, remember Jesus. When disappointment is your bed partner, remember Jesus. When fear pitches his tent in your front yard. When death looms, when anger singes, when shame weighs heavily. Remember Jesus."
If you have a hard time remembering, take a trip back to the Upper Room and wait with the Disciples for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the wind and fire. Or better yet stay involved with life, continue to serve God and find the love of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the smile of an older person, in the face of a child, in the wound of the sick, in the loneliness of your brother or sister or maybe, even, in the discussion at Administrative Council.
========================================
North
Kingstown UMC
Text:
*Acts 1:1-11
Title:
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
(Play
radio spot)
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors. That phrase is a trademark registered to the United Methodist Church. You may have seen or heard it in some of the television and radio spots that have been airing around the country in the last year or so. The phrase and the advertising campaign are designed to attract people to the United Methodist Church as a place where they can experience God's love in a welcoming and safe place. We'd like to believe that all churches are welcoming to everyone, but tragically we know all too well the reality that this is not always true.
As the
words in this particular radio spot indicate United Methodists do not always
agree about everything. John
Wesley, the person
considered the father of Methodism, followed a time-tested approach to belief:
In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.
In other words, there are some things that are so essential
to our identity as Christians that we must agree about them.
"United
Methodists profess the historic Christian faith in God, incarnate in Jesus
Christ for our salvation and ever at work in human history in the Holy
Spirit."1 - in essentials unity. There are other things
that honest faith-filled Christians understand in different ways.
After careful study of Scripture, examination of church tradition, the best possible use of our abilities to reason, and an understanding of our experiences, there are parts of the Christian faith or practice about which we will still disagree. This includes things such as whether or not to baptize infants or only those able to profess their faith for themselves, how we receive communion, and the style of worship, to name only a few. John Wesley's familiar dictum was "As to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think." The spirit of charity takes into consideration the limits of human understanding. Wesley observed that "To be ignorant of many things and to be mistaken in some, is the necessary condition of humanity." The crucial matter in religion is steadfast love for God and neighbor, empowered by the redeeming and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.2.
It is this framework that comes together in the goal of "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors." As I studied the scriptures for this morning, I saw that theme outlined and reinforced. Generally the first translation of the Bible that I consult in my studies is The New Revised Standard Version. Paul's letter to the Christians in Ephesus is translated in this way, "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power." (1:17-19)
Now,
I'll be the first to admit that Paul used very long, often convoluted sentences,
which become even more so, when translated into English.
When I typed that sentence, my computer also sent me the
message that the sentence was too long to be effective and might be hard to
follow. It suggested, rewording it
and splitting it into two sentences. So let's do that. Did
you hear the wonderful phrase there "with the eyes of your heart
enlightened"? That
sounds to me like "open hearts" - hearts that
grasp the immensity of the glorious way of life that God has for us. Hearts that
embrace the utter extravagance of God's work in us, in all those who trust God,
in all those who are open or seek to be open to God's incredible boundless love
and mercy.
It is
all too true that we sometimes do not recognize God's activity in our lives or
in the lives of others. We cannot see Jesus as the disciples did.
We cannot be in his physical presence, and for this reason
some people think that God is no longer active in the lives of humans.
Some of you may remember a theological debate back in the
early 1960's. The stark cover of
Time magazine - emblazoned with
the words "God is Dead" manifested it most clearly.
I believe it was
the first cover of Time to have only words on it - no pictures.
The
disciples knew that Jesus may have gone away physically, but he was still with
them. This sense of God's presence
gave them a great
feeling of confidence and boldness. They
didn't really know what
the future held, but they were convinced that they still had a relationship with
the one who held the future.
I love
the little story of a boy flying his kite.
He has let all of his string out and the kite is flying so high it can't
be seen. A man walks by and looks up in the air trying to spot the
kite. He can't see it and he asks the boy, "How do you know
the kite is up there?" The
boy smiles and
says, "I can feel it tugging on my string."
We can still feel Jesus tugging on the strings of our lives.
We may not be able to see him
but we are still linked to him. With
the eyes of our hearts enlightened,
with open hearts, we can know that Christ's presence with us and yearn for
others to know that presence also.
Jesus' followers did not always understand what Jesus taught them. His death and resurrection especially required them to think outside of the box - to look at reality with new possibilities. Luke's gospel tells us that Jesus "opened their minds to understand the scriptures." He taught them what the prophets had said and how his death and resurrection could be understood. We can all read the words that are on the page. We have a choice of several different translations that may help make the words easier to understand. Some people prefer the King James Bible for its poetry and tradition. Others prefer the New Revised Standard or another more modern reading for its ability to draw upon more recent discoveries of ancient manuscripts and other scholarship. Still others prefer a paraphrase version like The Message that speaks in colloquialisms in an effort to be more easily understood.
Learning
about the
history and the customs of Biblical times often helps the Scripture become more
meaningful. It is some of this scholarship and study that have brought
faith-filled Christians to have different discernment of how to understand
certain passages of Scripture. For
example, an obvious one
in this congregation is to look at the passage that says, "women should
remain silent in the churches." (I Cor. 15:34) Almost every week
in this congregation, it is a woman who offers the teaching and interpretation
of the Scripture. In other churches
a woman pastor would
be forbidden. Discussion of this
difference can become passionate
and operates from differences in basic assumptions about the source and
authority of Scripture.
Jesus
opened the minds of his disciples to understand the scripture as he taught them.
They were in turn sent out to teach others.
Today, we too, can be gifted with open minds so that we can follow
Jesus' teachings as we are continually led by the Holy Spirit to grow in
interpretation and understanding.
Jesus'
first followers were Jews who knew better than to associate with Gentiles.
But when Paul writes to the believers in Ephesus
and elsewhere, he writes not only to people who were Jews but also to Gentiles -
to people originally excluded. Open minds had been
required by the earliest believers to even begin to understand that God's grace
was for everyone - not just for the Jews.
We are to be people with open hearts, and open minds, but that is not enough unless our doors are also open. After opening their minds to understand, Jesus helps them to understand that "repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." He tells them that they are witnesses to these things. Throughout his time with his followers, Jesus gave them three essential commands. First, "follow me" when he called them to a life of discipleship. Then as they learned more, and as he prepared to leave them he summarized all that in his greatest commandment to "Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor and love each other, too."
Finally,
his last commandment to them, and us, was, "Be my witnesses."
"Be my witnesses" not only here in Jerusalem.
Not only in your homes,
but also in places where it is less comfortable. Be my witnesses
"in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Be my
witnesses in Providence, and Boston, and Washington. Be my
witnesses in London, in Moscow, in Baghdad.
Be my witnesses in the
city, the country, slums, hospitals, prisons, offices, stores and schools.
Be my witnesses everywhere and in every way. To
me, that means living our lives every minute of every day in ways that show
God's love in the way we treat other people, in the way we listen and speak, in
our use of possessions, in all of our relationships.
It means far more than talking to people about God; it means
letting Christ show through in our lives. It
means welcoming the
stranger, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, comforting
the afflicted and sometimes afflicting the comfortable.
Being
Christ's witnesses to the ends of the earth means having open doors that go with
our open hearts and open minds. In all this, we
have the promise of God's great works being done in and through us.
We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
=========================
North Kingstown UMC
May 25, 2003- 6th Sunday of Easter
Text: I John 5:1-6
*John 15:9-17
Title: "A Deeper Kind of Friend"
Thirteen years ago, I went to a meeting where I had previously only met a couple of people. Afterwards, one of the women suggested that we go out for a cup of coffee. Three hours later we were still talking. We were sharing stories about growing up and families and a host of other topics. It felt like having a reunion with an old friend after several years and catching up on everything that had been happening. Thus began a very precious friendship.
During the thirteen years we have supported each other as our children went through adolescence and became young adults. We have been together during family crises, and many celebrations. We have prayed together and faced serious health problems. We have laughed together, cried together, and yes, we’ve even gotten angry with each other. All the little and great things that make a relationship a friendship and keep a friend for life.
Friendship must surely be one of God’s greatest gifts to us. It is what God wants for us. In today’s Gospel reading, we see that God not only wants friendships for us, but also with us. "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father." (15:15)
Jesus is saying that his disciples know him. They know whom he eats with. They know the people with whom he has had disagreements. They know what makes him angry and that his mercy is shown in the most unusual places. They have heard his parables. They have seen the healing miracles. He taught them how to pray and they assisted when he served thousands of people with nothing more than a picnic lunch.
That’s how it is with friends. They share what is most important with one another. Jesus shared many things with his disciples. He taught them about and showed them in action his close relationship with God, whom he called "Father." Jesus understood and knew his Father intimately and taught his disciples everything that he had learned from God.
Earlier we also see that Jesus knew the hearts of his disciples. He knew when two of them were arguing about which of them would have the place of honor in his kingdom. He knew that one of his closest friends would betray him. He knew that another would deny knowing him and that the rest of them would abandon him. Yet, he still called them his friends.
He called them friends and he commanded them to love one another. Normally we would not expect one friend to command another to do something – that would be crossing the boundaries of what is acceptable and expected in friendship. However, Jesus is the one who has chosen to change the relationship from master and servant, to friend. As Lord he wants them to understand that they have not chosen him, he has chosen them. He has changed the relationship to friendship because he has shared so much about God, and because he has also appointed them to share in the important work that he has done. In fact, he has already told them that he is leaving this work to them – in their charge.
In various other parables and from our own experience, we know that a servant, or an employee may or may not follow through on something if the master, or the employer, is not present and shows no sign of returning in the near future. We know that unless there is a strong personal commitment to what needs to be done, it will not be done once the immediate reward of payment is removed. Even the promise of payment cannot inspire the passion and commitment needed for the work of Christ.
Think for a moment of the work that Mother Theresa did for so long among the poor and ill in Calcutta. There is not enough money to entice most of us to do that kind of work; yet she did it – not seeking monetary rewards, or recognition. She did it out of love for Christ. She did this work as a friend of Christ carrying on his work of showing love to her brothers and sisters in the most extreme need.
"The leader calls his followers together. The situation looks grim; their hour is upon them. But the leader proclaims that all who follow him will be counted as his brothers; their status will forever change." This sounds like a paraphrase from today’s Gospel, but it is actually a description of the famous "St. Crispin’s Day" speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V. Henry and the remains of his army are seemingly trapped by the French. The inevitable defeat will come the next day. But Henry refuses to surrender, choosing instead to inspire his army. Both Shakespeare’s Henry and John’s Jesus claim that the experience that will be faced by their followers will change their relationship.
We know the reality of that in our own lives. We have been forever changed by the events of 9-11. I have been changed by my experience of responding as a chaplain to the Station Nightclub Fire. This week when I met with others who responded, there was a connection between us that had not existed before and would not exist outside of that experience. Those who have served in the military and particularly in combat situations have been bound together in a way that is not readily understood by those of us who have not experienced that kind of camaraderie and inter-dependence. My step-son is currently in Baghdad. His comment to me recently was, "No one can understand unless they are there." When a soldier, police officer or firefighter dies, the impact is felt far beyond the immediate community.
Jesus’ followers would be forever changed because of their relationship with him and what they would experience together. They would become friends of each other and of Jesus in a way that goes far beyond the meaning we generally attribute to the word "friend."
In much of our culture, friendships are evaluated in terms of their content – friends at work, different friends at church, in the neighborhood, on the sport field, or at our children’s school. In a society where many people move frequently, friendships are often thought of as a temporary arrangement. We don’t expect friendships to make real demands on us, and avoid those that do because we already have enough demands in our lives. We ignore the reality that strong, long-lasting, life-giving friendships are ones that require vulnerability, hard work and willingness for mutual sharing.
These are some of the qualities that Jesus showed in his life and ministry. These are the qualities that Jesus expected from those whom he called "friend" – even though he knew that some of them would not live up to these.
Literally, Jesus calls the disciples his "lovers" attaching the claim of friendship to the overarching theme of love. He uses both the words "phileo" and "agapao" to talk about love and about his followers. I realize that in our culture the word "lover" also has its own connotations and we must be careful not to allow that to obscure the meaning of the text. Nevertheless, there is a passion here. This is not the friendship that sits beside each other rooting for the children’s soccer game. This is not the friendship that says, "Hi, how are you," and keeps moving. This is a friendship that requires deep love for Christ and for each other.
Jesus deeply loves his followers. God deeply loves Jesus. The disciples are to follow the commands of their "lover", of Jesus, so that they may stay in God’s love and love each other. This command to "love one another" is not a return to rules and regulations. It is a statement of reality. Jesus is simply informing us of one of the natural laws of the universe: If you wish to remain in a love relationship with God and Jesus, you must obey this commandment – love other people. If you refuse to do that, you have decided to remove yourself from the relationship of love with God.
It is not easy to love each other. It is not easy to love those whom we may not even like, but the reality remains that loving God involves loving others. Kathleen Norris in her book Dakota – A Spiritual Geography, describes life in the plains and small towns of the Dakotas. At one point she compares and contrasts it with the experience of a Benedictine monastery that she reminds the reader is cohesive; "it is not a schismatic society that survives by expelling those who don’t fit into a mold."
Part of the way that this is accomplished is by the daily reading and interpretation of the Rule of Saint Benedict, which provides definition of certain agreed upon values that make for community. By the way, she says that the small-town minister who is expected to fill that role by reminding people to love one another, is usually less effective.
"Benedict was well aware that, as he put it, `thorns of contention are likely to spring up’ in communal living and he recommends as a remedy reciting the Lord’s Prayer at both morning and evening office each day. `Thus warned by the pledge they make to one another in the very words of this prayer: Forgive us as we forgive" he writes, the monks may `cleanse themselves of this kind of vice.’"
She writes that this seems to work. One monk told her "When someone in the community is driving me up the wall, we are still in church together four times a day. And that begins to make a difference. It takes the edge off."
I think this is one model of the kind of friendship Jesus is speaking about when he tells his followers – then and now – that we did not choose him, but he chose us to be his friends. That he has appointed us to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. That he has given us these commands so that we may love one another. Not a sloppy, "I’m okay, you’re okay" kind of love. Not a sloppy "whatever you do is okay" kind of love. But an intentional love that truly cares for the well-being of the other, that takes seriously the reality that we are partners on a journey that has eternal consequences.
We cannot separate this passion of love from the other passion that is facing Jesus and his followers: the passion of Jesus’ suffering. "Here is where friendship starts to make demands. Real love and real suffering are forever intertwined. … When suffering is truly shared, love will be there."
"As part of an assignment for a doctoral thesis, a college student spent a year with a group of Navajo Indians on a reservation in the Southwest. As he did his research he lived with one family, sleeping in their hut, eating their food, working with them, and generally living the life of a twentieth-century Indian. The old grandmother of the family spoke no English at all, yet a very close friendship formed between the two. They spent a great deal of time sharing a friendship that was meaningful to each, yet unexplainable to anyone else. In spite of the language difference, they shared a common language of love and understood each other. Over the months he learned a few phrases of Navajo, and she picked up a little of the English language.
"When it was time for him to return to the campus and write his thesis, the tribe held a going-away celebration. It was marked by sadness since the young man had become close to the whole village and would miss him. As he prepared to get up into the pickup truck and leave, the old grandmother came to tell him good-by. With tears streaming from her eyes, she placed her hands, one either side of his face, looked directly into his eyes and said, `I like me best when I’m with you.’
"Isn’t that the way we feel in the presence of Jesus? He brings out the best in us. We learn to see ourselves as worthy and valuable when we are in His presence. The hurts, the cares, the disappointments of our lives are behind us when we look in His eyes and realize the depth of His love. Our self-esteem no longer depends on what we have done or failed to do; it depends only on the value that He places on us. To be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (to be his friend) is to generate in other people the Indian grandmother’s simple statement: `I like me best when I’m with you.’"
Prayer:
Great Lord and friend of all, we confess that the love you have shared with us we have only half-heartedly shared with others. Because we are quick to offer criticism, we are awkward in offering praise. Because we are eager to share our opinions, we are slow to discern your potential. Because of the demands we place on ourselves, we have forgotten your command to love one another. Bless us with your generous Spirit so that we may love one another as you have loved us, through life and death to newness of life. Through Christ we pray. Amen.
=======================================
North Kingstown United Methodist Church
May 18, 2003 - Fifth Sunday of
Easter
Text: Acts 8:26-40
I John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8
Title: "Evangelism: Kindness in Action"
Some years ago as I waited with some friends for a bus in Providence, there was
a man standing on the sidewalk preaching about the end of the world, and the
need to accept Christ or else go to hell. As
his shouting became more intense, I became embarrassed and was beginning to feel
that I needed to justify my faith to my friends.
I remember thinking, that if I had not been a Christian, he would quite
likely have succeeded in convincing me never to become one.
I know that there are some people who have come to know Christ through this
method of evangelism, but it's not my style and it is a method that, to me,
seems heavy-handed and leaves me feeling repulsed.
I believe that there are people who do not go to church because they
think - incorrectly - that this method is what church is about.
Evangelism is an essential obligation of our faith.
We are to tell others about what God has done.
But personally, I don't think that the fire and brimstone method of
preaching is the best way to do this. I
think that the Bible teaches us that our actions characterized by love and
kindness are the best form of evangelism.
"There's a wonderful legend about Saint Francis, the kindly thirteenth
century monk, who one day informed his brethren that he planned to go into the
nearby village on a preaching mission. He
invited a novice to go along. On their way, they passed an injured man and
Francis promptly stopped, saw to the poor fellow's needs, and arranged medical
care for him. They went on and soon
passed a homeless man who was near starvation.
Again, Francis stopped his journey and ministered to the hungry, homeless
man. So
it went, through the day, people in need, Francis lovingly caring for them as
best he could until the sun was low in the sky.
He told his novice friend it was time for them to return now, to the
monastery for evening prayers. But
the young man said, `Father, you said we were coming to town to preach to the
people.' Francis
smiled. Then he said, `My friend, that's what we've been doing all day.'
That's evangelism at its most faithful.
Ministry to people in their need. Not
worrying about numerical growth, or adding to one's own conversion record, or
winning acclaim within the denomination. Evangelism
is sharing the love of God in concrete form among God's people."1
Evangelism is bearing witness to our
experiences of God's presence and action. In
our Scripture readings today, that telling ranges from Jesus talking with the
close-knit band of his disciples, to the experiences of the new Christian
community, to an experience of sharing all the way to the ends of the earth. Our
Gospel lesson uses an image which would have been familiar to Jesus' listeners -
that of a vine and its branches. If you cut or break a branch off the vine it
will shrivel up and die. It will
not bear fruit. Jesus said that he
was the vine, and that God is the one who grows and cares for the vine.
We are the branches that are supposed to bear fruit.
In order to bear fruit we must remain attached to the vine, to our source
of life.
You may have heard about the float that came
to a grinding halt in the middle of the Tournament of Roses parade some years
ago. It was sponsored by the
Standard Oil Company, later known as Chevron.
It was a beautiful float and those who designed and built it had done a
wonderful job. However, they had
neglected to avail themselves of their companies vast resources of oil, and the
float simply ran out of gas.
As branches of Christ it is imperative that we stay connected to the vine, to our source of strength. If we do so, then we can also bear fruit and can share the story of Christ with others. We can respond to God's call to us to live faithfully as disciples of Christ. I have heard it said that God loved the world so much that God did not send a committee. Often it seems that it is easier to do things on our own rather than to listen to the thoughts and concerns of others. The church, like all other organizations, has its share of frustrations and disagreements. Whether big or small, it is almost impossible to keep everyone happy. The early church discovered this quickly as they struggled to live together and to bear fruit together. In the reading from I John, we hear the admonition to love one another because love is from God.
Similar to the Gospel about the vine and the branches, we hear again about abiding in God and God abiding in us. The focus is on how we are to love one another as a reflection God's love for us - and at the same time, how our love for God will be seen in our love for Our brothers and sisters. This love should be shown in concrete ways - it should be shown in our actions, much as Saint Francis did on that preaching trip into the village – that never quite ended up the way others expected. There is a temptation among some to think that the only way we need to witness to our faith is through acts of charity and kindness. That may make us good social workers, but social work is not the same thing as Christianity. Francis has been attributed with the saying that we preach all the time and sometimes we even use words. His life proclaimed what he believed. It is true that the way we live our life powerfully demonstrates the things that are really important to us.
However, as important as actions are, sometimes we do need words. Philip discovered that in today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Philip was a man who showed love and kindness in the way he shared the good news about Christ. When an angel of the Lord told him to go south, to take the desert road, he did. On this deserted road he met, of all people an Ethiopian official. He was an important man, a foreigner, from an exotic and far off country. His dark skin, in Philip's culture would have made him an object of wonder and admiration. The Spirit spoke to Philip and told him to go to the chariot and stay near it. He heard the man reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah and asked if he understood what he was reading. This was one case where words were needed, but only because the Ethiopian official was receptive and seeking understanding. Philip demonstrated his caring and willingness to share His faith but instead of overwhelming the official, he waited first until he understood the questions being asked. In many respects this conversation and the baptism that followed were the beginning of the fulfillment of Jesus' words to his disciples that they would witness to him in Jerusalem, in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Ethiopia was quite literally the end of the known world. The official was the end of the earth culturally and in terms of power. The man asked, "What is to prevent me from being baptized?" and Philip led by the Spirit, obliged him. This story is foundational in the growth of the early church. It is a radical message of inclusion, rather than simply a story of one man's conversion. It is a story of breaking barriers and reaching out to another in love and kindness.
We don't know exactly what happened to the
official afterwards, although Eusebius, an early church historian, believes that
the Ethiopian returned home and became an evangelist.
We do know that Christianity was well established in Ethiopia, Egypt and
North Africa even before the beginning of Islam in The seventh century.
Almost half the Ethiopians today are Christian, and Ethiopia has been
described as a land of churches. I
wonder what Philip would have thought if he had ever known how far-reaching were
the effects of his obedience to the Spirit and his willingness to share the
faith with a man who sincerely
wanted to learn more.
Philip continued to tell the good news in all the towns through which he passed until he came to Caesarea - a coastal town some 50 miles away. The next time we meet Philip is 20 years later in Caesarea. Philip the man who was filled with the Holy Spirit, is identified at that time as the Evangelist. I've heard evangelism explained as one beggar telling another beggar where to find a crust of bread. That, for me, is a profound and important concept. It means that we do not have all the answers. We are not better than anyone else. We are, as Jesus said, branches attached to the vine, bearing fruit because of our attachment. We are people who have found a source of nourishment and are not only willing but, because of God's great love for us, we are eager to share it with others. Jesus taught his disciples that one of the most important ways of witnessing to others is through our actions. He taught them that providing food for those who are hungry, clothes for those who are naked, visits to those who are sick, or in another way meeting the needs of others, is the same as doing this for Christ.
In 1917, the Bolshevik Communists took over
Russia. Contrary to popular belief
they did not close the churches but they did put limits on what they could do.
They were not allowed to feed the hungry, or to find homes for the
homeless. They could not make
medical help available to those who were sick. They were not allowed to provide
education for the children. They
did not close the churches, but they might as well have done so.
As a result of the restrictions placed upon them, 70 years later many of
the churches had closed down and were just empty buildings because they could
not do what God called the Church to do.
Evangelism is kindness in action.
It is reaching out to others in acts of love and compassion.
It is doing so because of God's great love for us and God's great love
for those to whom we reach out. Evangelism
is bearing fruit because of our connection to the vine.
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North Kingstown UMC
Text: *Psalm 23
Acts 4:5-12
I John 3:16-24
*John 10:1-18
Title: The Good Shepherd Does Not `Outsource’
The story is told of a well known orator who was asked to give a presentation of the 23rd Psalm. His presentation was flawless. His inflections were perfect. When he finished the audience clapped. From the back of the room an elderly gentleman made his way to the stage. He walked silently to the center of the stage and began slowly and prayerfully to recite the same words, the words of the 23rd Psalm. When he had finished there was not a dry eye in the audience. People began to talk among themselves asking, "What happened?" The orator spoke up and said, "I know a Psalm about a shepherd. This man knows the shepherd of the Psalm."
This is something that has the potential and the hope to be said about every one of us. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, desires a personal relationship with each of us. In John’s gospel we hear the words that Jesus, the good shepherd, knows his own and they, we, know him. We can know him – not just know facts or stories about him. He knows us also – not just our name – although considering the great number of us, that is, in itself remarkable. But, it goes far beyond that. Jesus knows us – each of us – intimately. He knows what we like and dislike. He knows our joys and our sorrows, our hopes and dreams, our needs and our wants. Jesus knows everything about us and loves each one of us as if we were the only person in the world.
Most importantly, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, loves us enough that he gave even his life for us. In fact, he makes a point of telling us just that. He is the shepherd – not the hired hand who flees at the sight of danger. Jesus is the shepherd who stays put, who doesn’t desert us even at the expense of his own life. He has a vested interest in our lives – in how we live them, and how we live together with each other.
It is becoming a popular practice in some industries to "Out-source" part of their work. In some ways it is similar to sub-contracting. The claim is that it allows companies to get work done more efficiently and at a lower cost. During a transition to "OutSourcing" there may be agreements to keep a certain number of percentage of current employees on the payroll of the company taking over the work. I conducted a simple search on the Internet under "OutSourcing" and came up with over 1.2 million sites. Even our church is currently preparing to "OutSource" some of the work related to IRS payroll regulations. However, someone observed at our Monday night Bible Study, the Good Shepherd does not "out-source." Jesus affirms that the responsibility of being the good shepherd is his, not that of a hireling – or an "OurSourcing" company.
We, who are the beneficiaries of the care of the Good Shepherd, are also called to help in assisting others. We are called to follow the example of the Good Shepherd and to help care for one another. In this particular section of John’s Gospel Jesus makes a big deal out of the dangers inherent in being a good shepherd. He talks about the total commitment required.
His words about sheep and shepherds may be difficult for us to understand because most of us are not familiar with sheep or with the process of caring for them. We tend to think about nice calm scenes in peaceful green pastures and quiet still waters. We discover that these scenes don’t match with much of our lives that seem full of turmoil, commitments, busy schedules, and challenges.
We hear Jesus talk about the danger of wolves that come to attack the sheep, and we realize that this is dangerous work. Enemies are part of life. In the reading from Acts, the disciples were witnessing under threat of their lives. The reading from First John warns that we who follow Jesus should be prepared to lay down our lives. This is not about a 9-5 job with a neat paycheck at the end of the pay period. This is about facing the wolves, knowing that the Good Shepherd faces them with us.
Wolves are predators and their instinct is to attack the weakest, frailest member of the flock. Although the four-footed wolf is not a danger for us, there are still predators who try to attack the weakest, frailest of our community. There are those who try to lure our children into trying drugs. There are corporations marketing new products that cause damage to our bodies. There are wolves who make money, unconcerned about the effect their actions have on the environment or on the lives of others.
When Jesus talks about the great difference between the good shepherd and a hireling, he is reminding us that we must not leave the most vulnerable in ou