North Kingstown UMC

Date:    August 7, 2005

 

Text:     Hebrew Scripture:          Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

            Psalm:  10:1-6, 16-22, 45b

            Epistle: Romans 10:5-15

            Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

 

Title:     “Lord, if it is you”

 

            On the morning of July 26, 2005, the world got a small glimpse of what it must have been like for Jesus’ disciples as Peter walked out of the boat on the water to meet Jesus.  They must have held their breath in suspense as Peter climbed out of the boat, exactly like we held our breath as the space shuttle Discovery took off from launch pad 39B of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

            The past few years have been difficult for NASA.  It has been two and a half years since the tragic loss of the Columbia space shuttle and her crew.  The launch of the Discovery shuttle had been bumped back several times due to safety concerns.  When Discovery finally launched, many people stopped to pray and many literally stopped breathing for a moment or two.  Even the commentators on the radio and television fell silent for a number of seconds.  We are all still here on planet Earth, but we were watching a brave crew of seven people step off of the boat, so to speak, despite many worries for their safety.  We will continue to hold our breath until their safe landing tomorrow.[i]

            Is walking on the water, as Matthew reports that Jesus and Peter did, impossible or improbable?  It was not very long ago that people believed that walking in space or even going into outer space was impossible.  Our minds have been conditioned by predictability and probability and when we hear the story in today’s gospel it is easy to try to dismiss it, or to get caught up in trying to explain it.  Either option misses what is most important about the story.  The real question of the story is not how Jesus and Peter walked on the water, or even if they did. Walking on waves misses the point.  The miracle really doesn’t have a great deal to do with a Jesus who comes to the disciples by impossible means.  It has much more to do with a Jesus who comes in impossible times.

            I’ve preached on this passage before, and generally I have focused on how Christ comes to us in the most difficult times of our lives and helps us.  I’ve talked about how when Peter took his eyes off Jesus he became afraid and started to sink and Jesus reached out even then and saved him.  This is a powerful passage to illustrate how Jesus comes to us and saves us in the most difficult times of our lives.  If you find yourself in the midst of a personal storm, see Jesus coming to you in the most impossible time and in some incredible way, calming the storm, holding your hand, and keeping you safe. 

            I love the image of the Bible as the “living word of God” because to me that means that even the most familiar passage can suddenly grab your attention in a way your hadn’t seen before.  That’s what happened to me when I started studying this passage this time around.  Suddenly, I realized that the reason that the disciples were in the boat in the first place was because Jesus had told them to get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the lake, while he went off to pray. 

            In addition to the very personal way we can understand this story, I have discovered that this is also a story for the church.  It is the obedient church that experiences the storm.  It is the obedient Christians who find themselves in troubled seas. 

            Out on the sea, in the midst of the howling wind and the roaring waves, the disciples see Jesus coming to them and at first they think it is a ghost.  Jesus speaks but some doubt remains.  Then wonderfully impetuous Peter says, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 

            Isn’t that a rather strange request?  Lord, if it is you, command me to risk my life, to tempt death, to walk to you on the swirling threatening sea.  And yet, that is the way that we may know that it is Jesus calling to us.  Jesus calls us to leave the safety of the boat, to step into the sea, to test the waters, to do the unpredictable and improbable. 

            The disciples had seen so much of Jesus’ power – just before today’s reading, we have the incredible story of the feeding of more than 5,000 people with a very small quantity of food.  They had seen so much, learned so much, but here they were some of them professional fishermen struggling with the oars in the midst of the storm, unable to make headway against the wind.   

            This is so much like us.  We have learned so much, invented so much, and yet we seem to be without power to do the things that really matter.  We have learned how to send people into space, to walk in space, even to make repairs and yet, we can’t figure out how to feed the millions of hungry people in the world.   We have developed weapons of war, but are severely lacking in implements of peace.  We can hear the songs the whales sing on the ocean floor, but cannot hear the cries of the soul next door.  Then in the distance, we see Jesus walking to us on the water, calling us to step out of our boat and right into the roaring waves. 

            This past week our building was filled with the sounds and activities of Vacation Bible School and I can tell you that it was a wonderfully meaningful time for those involved.  Much work went into the planning and operation of it.  Yet, in the midst of all of this, I wondered about the people who do not hear the message.  I’m not referring to people in our church who either chose not to attend or were unable to attend.  I’m referring to the people who are not in our church and do not hear the message.  In a conversation with our District Superintendent a few weeks ago, Rev. Shaw, in passing, asked if we had considered taking our VBS into the neighborhood.  I found myself thinking about that.  Suppose instead of holding VBS here, we went to Navy Drive. Would there be more or less of us willing to participate?  Would we be willing to step out of the boat and walk on the water into a new adventure? 

            Throughout my life, I’ve never really been a person to get into the midst of political or social situations although I’m discovering that happening more and more in recent years.  I’m recognizing that it is Jesus coming on the water and asking me to get out of the boat and walk in places that are not predictable for me.  Some of you are better at that than I am.  Some of you may be much more comfortable staying on shore and not getting into the boat in the first place.  Each of us is at a different place in our faith journey and hearing God’s call to us in different ways. 

            However, as a church, we are also responsible for seeking God’s call, for discerning what it is that God is calling us to be and do. 

            “Even churches can know what it is to walk on the water. Wes Seliger is an unconventional Episcopal clergyman who loves motorcycles. He tells about being in a motorcycle shop one day, drooling over a huge Honda 750 and wishing that he could buy it. A salesman came over and began to talk about his product. He talked about speed, acceleration, excitement, the attention-getting growl of the pipes, racing, risk. He talked about how the good-looking girls would be attracted to anyone riding on such a cycle.

            “Then he discovered that Wes was a minister. …Immediately the salesman changed his language and even the tone of his voice. He spoke quietly and talked about good mileage and visibility. It was indeed a "practical" vehicle.

            “Wes observed: "Lawnmower salespersons are not surprised to find clergypersons looking at their merchandise; motorcycle salespersons are. Why? Does this tell us something about clergypersons and about the church? Lawnmowers are slow, safe, sane, practical, and middle-class. Motorcycles are fast, dangerous, wild, thrilling." Then Wes asks a question: "Is being a Christian more like mowing a lawn or like riding a motorcycle? Is the Christian life safe and sound or dangerous and exciting?" He concludes, "The common image of the church is pure lawnmower--slow, deliberate, plodding. Our task is to take the church out on the open road, give it the gas, and see what the old baby will do!"[ii]

     Is our church a lawn mower church or a motorcycle church? Maybe it's time we took more risks for God.  My ponderings about VBS at Navy Drive are just one of many possibilities – the real question is are we willing to listen, and are we willing not only to be in the boat while it is rocking on the sea, but to get out of the boat and walk with Jesus in the midst of the storm that being a disciple may create.  Many of us know the experience of having Jesus come to us in the midst of our personal storms and calming the seas or helping us walk on the roaring waves and through the howling wind.  As a church are we willing to be faithful enough to have that same experience with Christ?  One thing I do know, the only way to live on the boat or to walk on the water is to keep our eyes on Jesus.

 

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July 31, 2005

Seeing the Face of God

By Paula Martasian, lay speaker

 

Prayer to Sermon…

Lord, give us grace to hold to you

when all is weariness and fear and sin abounds within, without,

when love itself is tested by the doubt…

That love is false, or dead within the soul,

When every act brings new confusion, new distress, new opportunities,

new misunderstandings, and every thought new accusation.

Lord, give us grace that we may know that in the darkness pressing round

It is the mist of sin that hides your face,

That you are there and you do know we love you still

And our dependence and endurance in your will

Is still our gift of love.  Fr. Gilbert Shaw (1886-1967)

 

Jacob 

 The Scriptures today tell of Jacob’s new direction, new confusion and doubt and new directions…

 

Doubt and uncertainty about the safety and outcome of his travels, but following God’s plan anyway…

 

Jacob’s getting the blessing of his father for the first born rights left Esau angry at their parting, Jacob had to flee for his safety and then he struggled with more deceit in the taking of his wife and ended up in servitude for 14 years, 7 years for the wife that he was tricked into taking and 7 more for the wife he loved and had sought.  Jacob had spent many years in hard work, struggling with his daily life.  He finally builds his flocks of animals and has a large group of family and servants and sets off to travel to his brother’s land.  Jacob does not know what greeting he will receive, will his brother still be angry, will a bloody battle ensue.  Jacob is filled with fear and doubt and makes a plan to mend the broken relationship with his brother Esau and to keep his family safe.

Jacob’s story is one of a lifetime of struggle with himself, his human condition, and doing God’s work.  He knows God’s goals and tries to achieve them, but goes about it the wrong way, is hindered by the way in which he conducts himself.  Jacob prays to God to find the way to fulfill God’s plan. 

This is a dramatic scene described as Jacob wrestles the entire night, we have the sense of urgency in Jacob not to give up, to have his answer, to know God. 

Struggle à holds on, and in doing so, sees the face of God and is blessed.  As part of this blessing, Jacob is given a new name, Israel which in Hebrew means a man who wrestles with God.  This blessing comes after he is struck on the hip and from then on will walk with a limp and a walking stick.  Jacob’s limp is a constant reminder that he does not walk alone, he does not have to doubt God’s presence in his life.  Jacob names this place Peniel that means face of God in Hebrew. 

 

At what times in our lives have we struggled, maybe questioned the direction of God’s plan, maybe even questioned if God was with us?

Dream à River Struggle…

            About 20 years ago I had a dream that I would now call my Jacob dream…

            I was standing in the middle of a very wide river, the banks were very far apart, 

the water rushed by pushing against my balance.  I was in a struggle, wrestling with someone, holding desperately onto them and holding them under the water, my heart was beating fast as I struggled to hold onto my balance and onto this person, who was this, why were we in such a death grip with each other,  my heart pounding even faster with anticipation, I pulled with all my might to drag this person from under the water to their feet and looked into their face…I gasped, for who did I find myself looking eye to eye with, but  myself!  Startled, I woke up, yes, heart pounding. 

            I was in a women’s dream group at this time in my life and so I took this dream to them for help in understanding it…upon telling it they said it was a very positive dream, I asked for their help, because I could not see it…

 

Tell life’s circumstances;  all coursework completed for Masters and Ph.D., all research completed for my Masters, but had not defended my Masters, held back by old doubts and uncertainty

Newly married, planning on children in the second year of marriage

In a struggle with the old ways --> getting in the way of my new life

Had to wrestle with the new direction God had for me

Had to accept God’s many blessings

Once I did, went in a new direction, next 18 months à defended Masters, gave birth to Andy, completed my Ph.D.

Jacob had to wrestle with the new direction, not be held back by his doubts

No, I have not met myself in my dreams in the middle of the night of late, however, I think it safe to say that our struggle with our human ways in trying to answer God’s call and in trying to accept the abundant blessings God calls us to is a theme that runs throughout our lifetime

God gives us many blessings and we are able to accept when we replace doubt with faith in God’s plan for us

 

Congregation Response

 

Who among us have wrestled with God’s plan?

Who among us have had doubts, times of uncertainty?

Who among us have received God’s blessings?

God calls us by another name, you are Israel

We all are Israel

Let us be rid of our doubt and respond to His call as Israel and receive His blessings

David à Psalm of praise and asking to see the face of God as protector…

 

Just as Jacob had prayed to have God’s protection to fulfill God’s plan, we now have David, so many generations later praising and praying to God to protect him as he fulfills God’s plan.  David is certain that God is his protector and invites God to search him for truth and honesty and asks boldly for God to guide and protect him because David knows in his heart that he has been following God’s plan.

 

In this psalm as in many that David wrote in praise, thanksgiving and in asking for God, David is actively searching for God and God’s protection.

 

David prays with certainty

            But I will see you, because I have done no wrong

            And when I awake your presence will fill me with joy.

 

            You know my heart, I never lie, I am not cruel and I have followed you.

            Show your wonderful love, protect me.

            I am innocent and I will see your face.

If we actively search for God and ask for His protection like David we will find Him.

We especially need to do this at times in our life when we struggle with big or little issues, concerns, doubts.  We need to stay connected and look to the face of God for the answer.

Romans à Paul feels the pain and suffering of the people, caused by their doubt, their uncertainty about Jesus as God.  Paul knows the face of God with certainty, much as David has certainty and trusts God to protect him in times of uncertainty.  Paul longs for all to know God in this way.  Paul would sacrifice his soul for the people to know as he knows that Jesus is God’s son.  But it cannot be, people have to go through their own journey of disbelief to arrive at a belief in Jesus on their own, by their own free will.  We cannot choose for them.   We cannot make them give up the ways that do not work in knowing Jesus, in knowing God.  We cannot make the journey for them, but we can show them the path and invite them as Paul does, over and over again.  And if they choose then we can offer our companionship for the journey so they know that they do not go it alone.  Although we can not give ourselves, our soul in the way in which Paul prayed out of sorrow for the people of Israel, we can dedicate our life to showing people the face of God, to pointing them in the direction of God and then pray that they will emerge from their struggles and see the face of God and receive His blessings, much as Jacob did.

Paul states that he is a follower of Christ and the Holy Spirit is a witness to my conscience.  He knows that Israel is chosen by God, Israel are God’s chosen people.

Congregation Response

Stand if you are God’s chosen people

Stand if you are Israel

All who are able please stand and listen to the prayer of St. Augustine

St. Augustine gives us this prayer on Protection

Blessed are all Thy Saints, O God and King, who have traveled over the tempestuous sea of this mortal life, and have made the harbour peace and felicity.  Watch over us who are still in our dangerous voyage; and remember such as lie exposed to the rough storms of trouble and temptations.  Frail is our vessel, and the ocean is wide; but as in thy mercy thou hast set our course, so steer the vessel of our life toward the everlasting shore of peace, and bring us at length to the quiet haven of our heart’s desire, where thou, O our God, are blessed, and livest and reignest for ever and ever.

 Israel, please be seated

How then does Jesus instruct us on ways to show people the face of God?    The Gospels are full of lessons and prayers of Jesus for us and today’s Gospel is a very significant lesson.  This is the only miracle that appears in all four Gospels, something so important, that the story is retold in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Gospel à  Imagine Jesus just hearing about John the Baptist’s horrifying death.  Jesus was sad and told his disciples to go in the boat across a lake to get to a quiet place and to climb up on a mountain to have some quiet time of grief.

But in his going, the people saw and heard and followed by the droves.  The account says there were 5,000 men, so if the women and children were counted there could have been easily 3 times that many.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he did not say, let’s get back in the boat and go someplace else.  He did not say, let’s go farther up the mountain.  He did not tell the disciples to tell the crowds to go away.

Instead, Jesus looked and saw their suffering and he responded with compassion, kindness, understanding and he acted to heal their suffering.

The people that day saw the face of God in Jesus and it was kind and loving, understanding and full of compassion.  Jesus was suffering the loss of John the Baptist, out of this grief he had compassion for the crowds.  Out of our suffering, out of our doubt can come great understanding, compassion for others and guidance if we look to the face of God.

But, wait, that’s not all, there’s more!

Now it is at the end of the day, the crowds are still milling around, someone has got to tell Jesus that the people have got to go home, there is not enough money to feed such a crowd. 

Now Jesus is kind and gentle with his disciples in teaching them about the face of God.  He never turns His people away and always feeds them.  He gently inquires, what do you have?  In showing the disciples and the people that they have enough, more than enough to keep themselves feed, Jesus sends for the 5 loaves and 2 fish, blesses them and then the feeding begins. 

What was Jesus thinking at this time in the day…had his thoughts returned to his beloved John the Baptist and what a fitting way to bring so many to God, by healing their bodies and their minds of their suffering.   People gathered in circles of 50 and 100 and sat on the grass and the fellowship continued; a perfect way to celebrate the face of God working among the people.  It was time to break bread together and be fed spiritually by this community gathering.   Jesus fed and served the people.  How strong the face of God must have been at that point in the day. 

And afterwards they collected the leftovers, so as to not be wasteful…over 12 baskets of bread was collected.  No one had gone hungry, all had their fill, doubt was replaced by the certainty and the fulfilling satisfaction of knowing the face of God.  God blesses us with abundance, let us have faith in His blessings.

When have you seen the face of God?

Seeing God and Hearing His Presence in the sky…

            About a year ago ~ Driving home from a Staff Parish Relations Meeting…I was questioning my blessings and what would happen if I lost the most important people in my life.  How would I deal with that grief?  Would I become too depressed to do God’s work, too drunk to be of service?  I could not imagine responding like Jesus did when he was grieving the loss of John the Baptist. How would I deal with it?  At that point I looked to the sky… cloud formation – face of God with moon light coming through his eyes, audible gasp from me…as I was working out the logic in my head of the coincidence of the clouds and that they would soon pass, I also felt the answer to my questions in my heart and was able to translate it in my mind…I felt the strong presence of God and felt an overwhelming reassurance that He was telling me He was always present, all I had to do is to look for Him and I would find Him

Knew that the answer was not to look for God in the clouds but in you, my brothers and sisters in Christ… Knew I could call on Pastor Beverly or anyone in this church in a time of spiritual crisis, in a time of hardship, grief or doubt and that you would pray with me and for me because in some way, you have all seen, either in a vague manner or in a vivid manner the face of God.

Looking to the face of God is always the answer… Jacob, David, Paul and Jesus all knew this to be the answer and they actively searched, found and responded to the face of God.  You must actively search at all times in your life and especially during times of doubt and uncertainty and you will see the face of God.  The more often you search, the more frequently you will see, feel His presence and His plan for you.  And in accepting God’s abundant blessings we can be the one who leads others to that experience, through fellowship, prayer, worship, bible study, service, a smile and a greeting is all it takes.  

Let us pray…

 

 

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North Kingstown UMC

Date:   July 24, 2005

 

Text:     Psalm:  105:1-11, 45b

            Epistle: Romans 8:26-39

            Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

 

Title:     Nothing Can Separate Us

 

            “An elderly gentleman passed his granddaughter’s room one night and overheard her repeating the alphabet in an oddly reverent way.  He asked her, `What on earth are you up to?’  She explained, `I’m saying my prayers, but I can’t think of exactly the right words tonight, so I’m just saying all the letters.  God will put them together for me, because he knows what I’m thinking.’”[i]

            That little girl knew an important truth.  We don’t need to have fancy words in order to pray to God.  In fact we don’t really need to have any words.  At those times when we can’t think of the right words, or those times when we are feeling overwhelmed and don’t even know how to pray, the Apostle Paul tells us that the Holy Spirits helps us in our weakness.  The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with signs to deep for words.

            Have you had that kind of days?  Times when there just are no words, when you want more than anything to pray, but don’t even know where to begin.  I imagine many in London and Egypt are feeling that way now.  Many of us felt that way on 9-11.  There are other times, too.  When your employer tells you that your services are no longer needed, when your spouse tells you that the love you once shared is gone, when the doctor looks at you with compassion and says, “I’m sorry”, you feel as if you’ve been run over by a freight train and you don’t know how to respond.  Prayer may be the first thing on your mind or the last, but the likelihood is that the words are hard to come by.  In that never never land, the Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 

            Do you know what it really means to intercede?   It means to come between, to place oneself between two persons and/or things.  This means that God not only stands with us, but even more importantly, God stands between us and that which might otherwise overwhelm us. There’s an important imagery here.  Have you ever watched a young child approach someone or something that is frightening?  Often times a parent will assure the child it’s going to be okay, “I’ll be right here with you.  I’ll hold your hand.”  But watch, more often than not, the child will not walk or stand next to the parent, but slightly behind, keeping the parent between the person or object that is frightening or unknown.  God is not standing next to us in these cases but slightly in front of us, between us and whatever it is that could overwhelm us.

            That doesn’t mean that we don’t have to face those things; it means that we do not need to be overwhelmed, overcome or defeated by them.  Paul writes that, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.”  This doesn’t mean that everything that happens to us is good – we know better than that.  It doesn’t mean that God causes every act in the universe.  We can be sure that God’s hand is not in terrorist attacks or even in the diagnosis of an illness.  However, we can be sure that no matter what happens, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, that God stands between us and whatever it is that might otherwise overwhelm, and that God can bring about some good things through all that is happening.

            We know that “World War II brought unparalleled suffering and death to humankind.  Experts estimate some fifty-five million people died, among them roughly six million Jews in concentration camps.  Families and nations were shattered. …  During the war, however, medical researchers intensified their efforts to fight disease and infection and as a result made great breakthroughs.  Up until 1941, for example, doctors could not reverse the course of infection…   But the war caused England and American to search for a way to mass-produce penicillin, the original wonder drug.  … In 1941 English researchers brought samples of penicillin to America, and a team of scientists began research into mass production in an agricultural lab in Peoria, Illinois.  Within four months they found ways to increase the production of penicillin tenfold.  The process was licensed to pharmaceutical companies, and production began in earnest. … Millions of people died in World War II, but out of the war came the drugs that have saved millions of lives and will go on saving lives.”[ii] 

            If we are open to the possibilities of God, there are good things that can be brought out of even the worst things that can happen.  Paul says that this is because there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

            Life in Christ doesn’t isolate us from the suffering in the world or in our lives, but God enters all of the dreadful situations that come to us; in the midst of them, we may rely on the promise of what it means to live in Christ – nothing, absolutely nothing has the power to separate us from God. 

            Paul was writing to people who needed to hear these words.  It was not easy to be a Christian in the Roman Empire and the people to whom he was writing certainly felt threatened.  Paul had been trying to explain to them what it meant to live as a body of believers in the life of the Spirit.  Here he is summarizing all that he has said so far.  He is offering a vision of hope that will help the believers to face the uncertain future together. 

            He might have been writing to us today.  Our world today is fragmented in terms of human relationships.  There are an incredible number of people who feel isolated even though they live in a sea of humanity.  They feel lonely and alone in the middle of a crowd.  People today hunger for genuine meaning and purpose in life and look in so many different places trying to find something that gives life meaning; that makes them feel fulfilled.

            During 1993 when the alternative rock group Pearl Jam enjoyed huge success with its second album, lead vocalist Eddie Vedder made the cover of Time magazine.  You would assume that all of this success would have made Eddie Vedder feel great about himself.  The Chicago Tribune, however, quoted him as saying, “I’m being honest when I say that sometimes when I see a picture of the band or a picture of my face taking up a whole page of a magazine, I hate that guy.”[iii]  We know too many stories of movie stars, athletes and other famous people who find that popularity and success are not enough;  who end up ruining their lives with the use of drugs of one kind or another. 

            Paul’s vision for a Christian life meets people at their basic needs of belonging, meaning, purpose, and assures them – and us – that an integral part of God’s great design is the nurture and strengthening of our collective and individual faith. 

            In the reading from Matthew, we find several short parables in which Jesus describes what the kingdom of heaven is like.  One of them in particular jumps out at me in relation to what we’ve been hearing from Paul.  “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had an bought it.”  This expresses the joy of discovering something great – for us it is the good news of Christ.  But what strikes me about this particular parable is the pearl itself. 

            Think about a pearl.  This valuable gem begins with an injury.  A grain of sand becomes imbedded inside the shell of an oyster and injures it.  The grain of sand causes such irritation that the oyster secretes a fluid nacre – or mother of pearl – in order to ease the friction.  Layer upon layer of nacre builds up upon the sand until, from the wound grows a pearl – something of great value.

            I think that’s significant because injuries or wounds of all different kinds are a fact of life.  Yet, in creation we see something as simple as a grain of sand that irritates an oyster transformed into something as valuable as a pearl.  What an incredibly wonderful illustration of the way that all things can work together for good for those who love God. It is a simple example of intercession, getting between the oyster and that which is irritating.  If God will do that for an oyster, how much more than we expect that God will do that for us.

            “What then are we to say about these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?” The overwhelming answer from Paul is that nothing exists that can separate us from the love of God.  Paul gives a litany of things that people feared in his day, among them many apparent “powers” including angels and astrology.  “At the time of Paul’s writing, the Jewish belief system was well developed regarding angels.  Jews believed that everything in the world had an angel: wind, snow, thunder, the seasons, even a blade of grass.  Jews believed that angels were even hostile toward humanity. 

            “There was also a strong belief in astrology in biblical times.  Humans were thought to be under the domination of stars.  When a star was at its highest, it exerted the most influence.  Heights or depths referred to the position of the stars and their supposed influence on human beings.

            “Despite the existence of all the terrifying things that can happen, none of them can separate us from the love of God.”[iv]         

            “In the early days of our country a weary traveler came to the banks of the Mississippi River for the first time.  There was no bridge.  It was early winter, and the surface of the mighty stream was covered with ice.  Could he dare cross over?  Would the uncertain ice be able to bear his weight?

            “Night was falling, and it was urgent that he reach the other side.  Finally, after much hesitation and with many fears, he began to creep cautiously across the surface of the ice on his hands and knees.  He thought that he might distribute his weight as much as possible and keep the ice from breaking beneath him.

            “About halfway over he heard the sound of singing behind him.  Out of the dusk there came a man, driving a horse-drawn load of coal cross the ice and singing merrily as he went his way.

            “Here he was – on his hands and knees, trembling lest the ice be not strong enough to bear him up!  And there, as if whisked away by the winter’s wind, went the man, his sleigh, and his load of coal, upheld by the same ice on which he was creeping!

            “Like this weary traveler, some of us have learned only to creep upon the promises of God.  Cautiously, timidly, tremblingly we venture forth upon God’s promises, as though the lightness of our step might make God’s promises more secure.  As though we could contribute even in the slightest to the strength of God’s assurances!”[v]

            We do not need to crawl through life on our hands and knees.  We can enter into life boldly, singing and in complete confidence because we have the assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Nothing:  Not hardship, distress, hunger, thirst, loss of job, death of a loved one, moving, bankruptcy, divorce, terrorism, war, hurricanes, government authorities.  Nothing in all of creation; nothing that humankind can do; nothing is strong enough to destroy God’s love for us and the promise that the Spirit will help us in our weakness and intercede for us. 

 

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North Kingstown UMC

Date:    July 17, 2005

 

Text:     Hebrew Scripture:          Genesis 28:10-19a

            Epistle: Romans 8:12-25

            Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30

 

Title:     Weed Control

 

            Last week after worship, there was some good natured joking going on about my sermon on gardening, God’s field of dreams and different kinds of soil and seeds.  Those involved in the joking know that when it comes to gardening, I plead zero skill and almost as little knowledge.  However, be that as it may, it is time for chapter 2 of the gardening series from the pulpit.  This week our focus is on weed control using the Jesus method. 

            In the parable from Matthew’s gospel this morning, Jesus tells about a farmer who sowed his seed, but when the plants started to come up there were weeds among the wheat.  The servants ask a question that to me makes no sense, “Didn’t you sow good seeds?  Where did the weeds come from?”  Jesus replies that an enemy planted them.   In my gardening experience it is not necessary for an enemy or an agrarian terrorist to plant weeds among the good seeds – it just happens.  The Food Pantry garden in the parsonage yard has plenty of weeds among the good plants that are also trying to grow – but then again, this is a parable so not all of the rules of gardening need to apply. 

            However they get there, we all have weeds – not only in our yards but in our lives as well.  There are the thorny prickly people who are not part of our plan, people who we are not eager to welcome, but who are nevertheless part of our lives – and usually, our church.  There are those who suck up the sunlight and the water – the resources – that we think are better deserved by others.  Some are just irritating, like poison ivy, but some are deadly.  What are we to do about them? 

             A modern farmer would probably approach the weed problem with herbicides, or mulch     to get rid of the weeds or prevent them from growing in the first place.  When the servants ask if they should go and pull up the weeds, Jesus tells them to do nothing.   This radical approach to weed control is at the heart of Jesus’ teachings from the very beginning.  In the Sermon on the Mount, we find him telling people to turn the other cheek, to give also their coat when their shirt is demanded, to carry the packs of the occupation troops two miles not just the one required.  Jesus teaches not to take revenge on someone who wrongs us.  It’s a radical approach and yet it has always been true that “more gospel grows on a turned cheek than on a clenched fist.”[i] 

            In this parable we can begin to understand more about why Jesus teaches such a radical approach.  The servants are told that they might pull up some of the wheat with the weeds.  There are two reasons for this. 

The first is that they are not skilled enough to tell the difference between the weed that is growing and the wheat.  Some of you gardeners may laugh at that.  When I first moved here, the gardens at the parsonage were beautiful, but I had no idea how to care for them.  I quickly learned that Jesus’ approach about not pulling up the weeds made sense for me.  You see, I would see something growing that I thought was really ugly and, of course, had to be a weed.  I would make a mental note to myself to be sure and pull it up at a later time.  Before I got to it, however, I would discover that suddenly there were beautiful flowers or colors on it.  I quickly learned that what I thought was a weed was another beautiful plant that bloomed at a different time in a different way. 

For those of you who have more skill than I do at this, however, the warning still applies, because in this case, for those who really know their weeds the weed here is “Lolium temulentum”.  For the rest of us, it is something that  looks like wheat, is related to wheat, hides out in wheat, but in the end it is poisonous if ingested.  It can cause blindness and even death if too many of its small black seeds turn up in the bread dough.  It can only be identified with certainty when the ear of the wheat appears. 

If the servants who worked in the field could not be trusted to tell the difference between the wheat and the weed, why do we think that we are so much better at identifying those whom we think are the weeds in the world?  History is full of experiences of one group of people thinking that they have a right to destroy the ones they identify as the weeds among them.  Hitler did that with the Jews.  We’ve seen it in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, the Middle East.  We’ve seen it done for no reason other than that we humans want a neat garden, we want only certain kinds of plants or people.  Yet the boss says no.  Don’t pull up the weeds.  God wants a diverse garden and we do not have the skill to identify the wheat from the weeds.

We think that we are the wheat, and we are so eager to label as weeds those who disagree with us.  One of the greatest controversies within the church is the subject of homosexuality.  We debate this back and forth with little tolerance for those who do not share our views and on both sides we claim to have God on our side as we argue about biblical interpretation and Jesus’ teaching.  Following 9-11, there was a rush to label as unpatriotic anyone who questioned the responses proposed by our president.  We are quick to label others as weeds and find it difficult to live together without trying to uproot each other.  In the parable the servants are told not to pull out the weeds because they cannot tell the difference between the wheat and the weeds and some of the wheat might be pulled out at the same time. Sometimes we can do more harm when we think we are doing good, than when we do nothing at all.

Even if the servants could tell the difference between the weeds and the wheat, another problem with pulling out the weeds is that the roots are intertwined and the wheat would be pulled up at the same time.   It’s become popular to observe that it takes a village to raise a child, but we often act as if that is not true.  In practice we are often much more concerned about whether we have what we want - than we are about whether others who are also God’s children have what they truly need.  When a child anywhere goes hungry, all of our lives are diminished.  When inferior education or no education is the norm in an area, all of us ultimately suffer even if we do not realize it at the time.  Our lives are intertwined in ways that we do not even begin to understand.

The master in the parable said that at harvest time the wheat and the weeds would be separated.  The weeds would be pulled up first and tied in bundles and burned. Matthew’s gospel which is quite concerned about the end of the world and ultimate judgment explains this burning as a time when the weeds will be burned and there will be gnashing of teeth and all evil will be destroyed.  But in first-century Palestine there was another way of understanding this as well. They didn’t have electric or gas stoves – lumber and coal were hard to come by.  The best bet for heating and cooking fuel was dried weeds or manure.  By letting the wheat and the weeds grow together, the farmer would have almost everything needed for making bread; the wheat for the flour and the weeds for the fuel for the fire.  What they needed now was patience. The weeds turned out to be useful in the end.

God is patient and we need to be also.  We should not be quick to judge too soon.  God’s ways are not always our ways.  Oh, that we could learn to make our ways more like God’s ways.  In the Bible Jesus is portrayed repeatedly reaching out to all sorts of people, tax collectors, lepers, and foreigners, all those who were considered the least in society.  Faithful living on our part calls for us to reach out to those beyond our comfort zone and be ready for God to work in mysterious ways to change weeds into useful growth. 

It may be hard for us to see how the weeds may be useful; but sometimes they are useful in helping to wake us up to remind us of who we are.  Following 9-11 we are amazed at the out-pouring of compassionate response that came from so many places.   People stood in line for hours to donate blood.  Following the tsunamis donations flooded in from around the world.  Our church alone collected over $3,000 in a very short time in response to the incredible need. 

The events of 9-11, and the tsunami reminded us of who we are – people of God who should be responding to the needs of others as God would have us respond – not just out of our surplus but also from our hearts. 

It is too easy for us in the messy garden of life to get focused on our own survival and to see those who would share the resources as weeds, as enemies. When that happens we stop being wheat and become like the weeds.  We start acting like weeds full of prickles, thorns, and poisons.  We become good guys who turn into bad guys trying to get rid of the ones who we think are the bad guys. It’s not easy being wheat when there are so many weeds competing for the resources.  How much better we would all be –and how much more faithful we would be – if our focus were not on overcoming the weeds, but on being the best wheat that we can be.  Our job is to be wheat – even in a messy field.  Our job is to bear witness to the one who planted us.      

Remember my garden and my lack of ability to identify weeds from other plants that were different from the few I could identify.  If I had pulled up what I thought were the weeds, I would have missed out on a glorious adventure of discovering new blooms every few days, new colors, new shapes, new wonderful experiences of enjoying God’s creation – and the hard work of those who had planned such a wonderful garden. 

Sad to say, over the years the garden has suffered much and deteriorated a great deal because I had neither the skills nor the interest in maintaining the gardens.  Thanks to some members of this church who spent some time in the garden this spring, I’m back to enjoying the surprises that come from God’s creation.  Gardens do not maintain themselves. 

The parable about weed control is not a call to passivity.  It is a call to radical and risky activity – radical and risky living and discipleship.  It demands that we be about the job of being wheat, bearing fruit and seeking reconciliation among all of the plants.  Our job is to bear witness to the One who planted us even when the field seems messy and the temptation is to compete with the weeds on their terms. Weed control as Jesus taught it demands an active response on our part spending our energy “nurturing the gospel seed, cultivating the gospel crop, and believing in the gospel harvest.”[ii]   

 

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North Kingstown UMC

Date:      July 10, 2005

 

Text:      Psalm:   119:105-112

               Epistle:  Romans 8:1-11

               Gospel:  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

 

Title:      Field of Dreams

 

               Some of you may recognize the sermon title as being that of a movie in the late 80’s staring Kevin Costner, “Field of Dreams”.  If you’ve never seen it and want to watch a feel good movie, I recommend renting this one.  The story involves an Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella who hears a voice in his cornfield with the message, “If you build it, he will come.”  Ray becomes convinced that he is supposed to plow under his cash crop – the cornfield – and build a baseball field in its place.  The rather non-specific voice directs him in this quest.  The baseball field he builds is anything but ordinary.  It is a place where dreams can come true.  His action is irrational and extravagant and the outcome is beyond his wildest dreams.

               This movie could be seen as a parable that relates to the parable Jesus tells in today’s gospel reading.  Jesus told a lot of parables – stories – to help people understand and the parable we heard today, the story of the sower or farmer is the first in a series of many that tells about the Kingdom of God and about how we fit into that kingdom.  Jesus told this parable sitting in a boat talking to the crowds of people gathered on the land.  There were so many people and they were all pushing to get closer to hear him that he quite literally had to get into a boat and teach from there. With such an interested audience, one would think that Jesus could be assured that they would hang on his every word and follow him faithfully. But that was not the case.  What he says to them is important and he punctuates it at the end with his words, “Let anyone with ears listen.” 

               As with most of Jesus’ stories the question that we are encouraged to ask is “where am I in this story?”  Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest and prolific writer, says that when she heard this parable, she usually worried about what kind of ground she was on with God. She said that she worried about how many birds were in her field, how many rocks, how many thorns.  She worried about how to clean them up and how she could turn herself into a “well-tilled, well-weeded, well-fertilized field for the sowing of God’s word.”  She heard it as a challenge to be different, as a call to improve her life.[i]  

               Instead, this may be understood more as a parable about the sower – about God, who extravagantly sows the seeds on all kinds of soil – even the least likely to produce. Seed is sown on hard soil where the birds come and eat them up.  The explanation given in the second half of the gospel reading says that this is like someone hearing the word of the kingdom and not understanding it, then the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart.

               The sower goes out to sow in the real world – a world in which terrorist bombs have gone off in London subways and buses, a world that echoes with cries of the wounded, mourning for the dead, and renewed anxiety among those who have to travel anywhere.  For some people there are frightening flashbacks to 9/11.  We have to think about what it means for the seeds to be sown, for the Word to be spoken, in a world in which such things happen.  In this parable we see evil as that which opposes the work of God and tries to destroy it, plucking up the seed before it can grow.  God is love – and evil is hate.  God creates, and evil can only destroy.[ii] 

               In Edinburgh the leaders of the major industrialized nations of the world were gathered; crowds of people were also gathered to protest their actions and demand new actions.  Just possibly there might have been the possibility of some dialogue because at least, they all wanted to deal with the difficulties in the world – especially AIDS, poverty in the third world, global warming, and differing degrees of commitment to solutions.  What they all had in common was a desire to improve the state of the world and its people.

               We don’t know even yet the motivation of those who were busy in London planting their bombs.  But what they did, like other terrorists in recent years was simply to destroy.  It’s quite likely that they wanted to disrupt the summit conference so that it couldn’t accomplish anything.

               Of course, it’s all too easy for us to see evil only in others. If we think honestly about our own reactions, we can see the seeds of that same kind of evil.  Think of the hurtful words we have said simply because they would hurt, or the reaction that we may have to a situation like the bombings in London or to 9/11, a gut reaction that says, “Kill them all, get rid of the people who do such things.”

               Yet Jesus sows the seeds even on the hard path and says  “Let anyone with ears listen.”  Listen to the word that is sown, the word of the kingdom of God.  Hear the Word; be open to the creative and transforming power of Go so that we won’t be plucked up by that which would destroy.

               God calls us to be co-creators rather than destroyers, and even if sometimes we have to do the hard work of demolition it is to be for the healing and ultimate well being of the world, not to be the winner in a contest of escalating evil. 

               Still God continues to sow the seed along the hard path where the chances of it taking root are slim to none, but the extravagant sower continues to sow.  The seed is sown in other places also, in the rocky soil where the roots may not be able to go deeply enough to survive the difficulties that come.  How similar this is to the person who hears the word and receives it gladly but soon finds that the cares of the world are too great and the initial enthusiasm with which the word is received is not enough to keep the roots growing.

               The seed is sown in good soil but there are briars growing that choke out the growth.  This happens often in the exciting years of establishing a career, a marriage, a family, a sound financial base for the future.  The irony here is that the soil holds great promise and provides many good things, which is why the thorns find it so hospitable. It is often a time in life when we need to get our priorities in order and realize that it is only through God that life endures. The many other wonderful things in our life may change or disappear in a moment; only God is with us through everything.

               God, the extravagant sower, does really have a dream of a field where the Kingdom of God will grow and flourish.  The same seed that is sown along the path, among the rocks and the thorns is also sown in the soil of the hearts of people who hear and understand, who are open to the creative life-giving power of God.  However, there is no such thing as automatic faith.

               “There was a business consultant who decided to landscape his grounds. He hired a woman with a doctorate in horticulture who was extremely knowledgeable. Because the business consultant was very busy and traveled a lot, he kept emphasizing to her the need to create his garden in a way that would require little or no maintenance on his part. He insisted on automatic sprinklers and other labor-saving devices.
               Finally she stopped and said, `There's one thing you need to deal with before we go any further. If there's no gardener, then there is no garden!’

               “There are no labor-saving devices for growing a garden of spiritual virtue. Becoming a person of spiritual fruitfulness requires time, attention and care. How many of us are like that business consultant? We're very busy during the week and get caught up in work and social activities and don't spend the time we need to work on our spiritual growth? Then we come into church on Sunday for an automatic sprinkling of holy water, feeding off the energy of those around us. How many times during the week are you running really low on your spiritual food by Wednesday or Thursday and do nothing
about it?[iii]

               Our soil changes and requires cultivation and this is true also of those with whom we are called to serve as witnesses to the faith.  WE do not know the current condition of the soul of the people with whom we are in contact. 

               This is a parable about a God who dreams, who sows seeds generously among all people.  It is a reminder to us of the need to do the same. Those who appear distracted, disinterested, or unresponsive may be nearer the Kingdom than either we, or they, realize.  The truth is we dare not give up on anyone, at any time - including ourselves.

               Ray Kinsella’s wife, Annie, in the movie did not give up on her husband or on his dream despite the pressures around her to do so.  God does not give up on any of us but continues to sow the seed on the hard paths, the rocky ground without much soil, among the thorns that choke and on the good fertile soil. 

               There is a time between the sowing of the seed, and the yield of the harvest because God who is patient is willing to wait for each person to make his or her own decision.  We are never forced to believe, nor are we forced to serve.  God's way is one of love, not one of compulsion.  The God who created us knows the soil of our souls, but continues to sow the seed in all kinds of soil, and calls us to do the same.

               We are God’s field of dreams and within each of us there is a field of dreams that having received the gospel can and will bring forth a bountiful harvest, thirty, sixty or one hundred fold.  We are called to cultivate our own soil, to help to keep it free of weeds and to feed it with the nutrients of worship, Bible study, prayer, and honest reflection, as well as deeds of love, mercy and justice so that the gospel can grow in our lives and send out shoots into the field to bring more growth in God’s field of dreams. 

               Forty years ago, God planted some seeds in fertile soil in the hearts of those who believed that it was time for a Methodist Church to be in North Kingstown.  For forty years the seeds have grown and yielded a mighty harvest.  Today, in a world where terrorist activities threaten to choke out the seeds, where people are so busy that we have forgotten to take time to water, fertilize and encourage growth, where many think that religion is irrelevant, today, more than ever, we are called to continue to grow, to bear fruit, and to witness to the love of God in ways that cultivate life and that provide a lamp in the darkness.  Let anyone with ears listen to the Word of God as shown to us in the teachings, life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. 

 

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North Kingstown UMC

Date:    July 3, 2005

Prayer for Sunday Service July 3, 2005 (Communion meditation is below prayer)           

 O Righteous Ruler of the Universe:  We give you thanks for the heritage and hope of our own country, as people in every place give thanks for their homelands.

            When, as a nation, we walk in your way, grant us grace to continue in your will.

            When, as a people, we fail you, correct us, gently yet without compromise. 

            Enable those who govern us to seek the welfare not only of ourselves and of all people who share this planet with us but also the welfare of our children and our children’s children, that they may share the gifts we treasure, that they may dwell in unity and without fear from generation to generation.

            Strengthen our resolves to live up to those national ideas whose virtues we proclaim but whose practice we have not yet achieved.

            Teach us justice, kindness, and humility in your presence.

            Speedily bring to us and to all of your people that peace which is rooted in integrity, which flowers forth as wholeness.

            For you, O God, are our Peace. Amen.[i]

 

 

 

Text:     Hebrew Scripture:          Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 17-21   

Epistle:             Romans 7:15-25a

            Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

 

Title:     An invitation with promise

 

            Two hundred twenty nine years ago today, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail about the events of the previous day, July 2, 1776 when Congress voted for independence.  Among other things he wrote, “The People will have unbounded Power. And the People are extremely addicted to Corruption and Venality, as well as the Great.-- I am not without Apprehensions from this Quarter.”  This sounds vaguely like the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans where he laments the reality that he knows what he should do but finds it sometimes impossible to do it.  Paul despairs that, “I don’t understand why I act the way I do.  I don’t do what I know is right.  I do the things I hate.”

            What John Adams and the apostle Paul have in common here is a profound understanding of the tendencies of humans.  We find it easier to look out for ourselves than for others – especially if looking out for others should come at our expense.  They share an understanding that it is part of our tendency to seek control, to want to have things our way.  It was, in part, this understanding that led to the words in the Declaration of Independence that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  

The drafters of the Declaration of Independence knew the pain of being denied these unalienable rights – their hope and vision was that no one in the new country would be in that position.  Of course, for many years those unalienable rights really extended only to free white males.  Even then, human nature, self-interest took precedent over higher principles. 

            John Adams and the other founders of this country tried to set in place safeguards that would help to control or at least minimize these human tendencies.  They established three branches of government – an executive, a legislative, and a judicial.  The plan called for the three to be separate but equal and to be a source of checks and balances for the other two.  Throughout our history that has worked better at some times than at others.  John Adams words have been shown to be true that “the People are extremely addicted to Corruption and Venality, as well as the Great.” 

            Our country declares itself "One Nation Under God" but often proceeds to act out of political self-interest that says more about political ambitions of individuals than it does about Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.  Thousands continue to die in the Sudan while diplomats and generals debate the wording of censoring statements that save not one life. Too many children in our country are hungry.  Too many elderly cannot afford the medications they need.  Pick up the newspaper any day and you can read headlines that remind us that all too often we do not act like “one nation under God.”

I believe that we are fortunate to live in a nation that understands the foibles of human nature.  I believe the United States has lasted as long as it has exactly because our Founding Fathers factored in checks and balances to protect against dictators and demagogues. As you know, not all those who met in Philadelphia were Christians. Some like Jefferson and Franklin were deists, some Unitarians.  There were some Christians, especially Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists. “These men of the Enlightenment understood human nature and its ability to rationalize and justify any action it wishes to take; therefore, the Founding Fathers plan not to give any one branch of government too much power or independence. The United States Constitution is based on the notion that all of us are equally capable of sin and selfishness and that checks and balances offered a way to save us from ourselves and each others' dark side.”[i]

In writing to his wife, John Adams response to his concern about human tendency was, “But I must submit all my Hopes and Fears, to an overruling Providence, in which, unfashionable as the Faith may be, I firmly believe.”  Paul’s response to his despair was, “Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die?  Thank God!  Jesus Christ will rescue me.” 

Paul knew more than human tendency.  Paul knew the risen Christ.  Paul knew that he couldn’t do it on his own. He knew that he needed Christ.  Jesus knew that too.  He knew that we humans place incredible burdens upon ourselves and that others try to place burdens upon us as well.  Jesus knew that the people in his day struggled to obey all the laws, to follow everything that the Pharisees and Sadducees told them they must do.  Jesus knew human nature.

“As Christians we want to do our best for Christ. As human beings we have a really hard time doing it. In fact, we are very skillful at molding -- or rationalizing -- our own prejudices and actions in such a way that they seem to be expressions of God's will. As Christians we still need to be saved from ourselves long after Christ has saved us for himself. We are saved, but as long as we live in the world, we will be challenged and tempted to be of that world.”[ii] That is what Paul struggles with in the passage from Romans.

Jesus offers us a way to cope with all of this.  ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Although these are words that provide great comfort in the lives of many, they are also often misunderstood.  The difficulties that come with life are not the yoke that Jesus speaks of here and are not things that Jesus imposes upon us.  It also does not imply that our lives are going to be easy.  Jesus’ invitation to us does not mean that our lives will be perfect and that all we have to do is sit by the water resting and smelling the salt air.  We know better than that. Still this invitation is full of very important truths.   These truths cause these words to make our hearts yearn for what Jesus is offering. 

            Jesus’ invitation is to come and find strength alongside him.  When he tells us to “learn from him” he means more than simply listening to what he says.  He means to watch him, to walk with him and to learn from his actions.  We are to pay serious attention to the fact that he is “gentle and humble in heart”.   Service to God and to humanity requires a spirit of gentleness and humility that is exhibited at its best by Jesus.  The yoke which Jesus asks us to put on is not one which Jesus imposes on us, but rather one which he also wears!

            The yoke was a common wooden instrument that yoked two oxen together and made them a team.   There is a good possibility that as a carpenter one of the things that Jesus did was to make yokes for oxen.   These are not a one size fits all device.  First the oxen were brought to the carpenter for careful measurement.  Yokes were tailor made to fit each animal and were not interchangeable.  The yoke was designed to fit comfortably over the neck of the animals.  The wood was planed and sanded carefully so that there were no rough places that would irritate the neck of the patient beast.   A final fitting was necessary before the yoke could be put into use.  At that time, it was carefully inspected again to make sure that the load would fall evenly upon the two animals and be comfortable for them to wear together. 

            This is what Jesus is talking about when he talks about his yoke being easy and the burden light.   The yoke which we are asked to put on is well-fitting.  It has been designed for us.  Our abilities - as well as our limitations - have been taken into account.   Before He offers the yoke to us, the One who loves us has carefully considered our personalities, our life situations, all of the circumstances of life.   It is adjusted periodically to fit our changing conditions so that it is always “well-fitting” and kind to us. 

            The purpose of the yoke was to guide the animal, to keep it from running away, or going on the wrong path – much like our founding fathers tried to do with the three branch system of government.  Most yokes were designed for two animals - a team that would work together.  Jesus is inviting - or rather urging us - to become his yoke-mate.  He is telling us that we are to learn how to pull the load by working alongside him and watching how he does it.  Jesus is telling us that the heavy load will seem lighter when we allow him to help us with it.

            This is where John Adams and our founding fathers part company with the apostle Paul.  They provided checks and balances as a way of trying to control and prevent inappropriate human behavior. They had to do this because one of the basic tenets of our country is to allow people freedom to practice their religion, or their lack of religion, without the government imposing one particular religion or standard upon everyone.  And yet, John Adams recognized the need, the hope and the prayer that an “overruling providence” will somehow help deal with the addiction that we humans have to doing things our way without regard for others. 

Paul recognizes that Christ is the one who can help us.  That help comes when we become yoke mates with Christ, learn how to pull the load by working beside him, learning about and practicing his gentle and humble nature, and in that way finding rest for our souls.  The yoke of Jesus is easy and the burden is light because it is the way of God and it is profoundly satisfying to the human soul.  It is to join with Jesus himself in serving the world in the name of God and it is to hear, at the end of the day, the divine voice of blessing, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”   

 

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North Kingstown UMC

Date:    June 26, 2005

 

Text:     Epistle:  Romans 6:12-23

            Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42

 

Title:     Start Small – but don’t stay there

 

            On June 11, 2001, in the hours preceding his execution, Timothy McVeigh left a final written statement, the poem, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley.  The poem was written in 1875 as an expression of the kind of heroic individualism that resonates to this day.  The poem concludes, “I am the master of my fate:  I am the captain of my soul.”

            This poem expresses our human aspiration to live a life of proud autonomy.  We mortals want to be our own master.  We prefer not to be under any power outside our own ambitions.[i]

            I have a friend who runs headlong into this almost everyday of the week.  It is a constant battle between her and certain of her employees over whether or not will follow procedures that she has deemed necessary for the well being and smooth running of the company she owns.  It’s not that they disagree with the procedures; they can understand the reason for them and have been unable to suggest a better way, they seem to simply refuse to follow the procedures.  I suspect that it has something very basic to do with asserting their independence and maintaining control – I also suspect that they would be hard pressed to explain or even understand themselves why they have chosen those particular procedures as the place to assert their independence.

            This sentiment is not in harmony with the witness of the New Testament which seems to be more in tune with a song of Bob Dylan in which the singer declares, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody.”  The plain fact is that all of us inevitably serve some kind of lord – it’s only a matter of which master, or which authority we chose to follow.

            In his letter to the Romans, Paul recognizes two kinds of masters – “sin” or “obedience” which is to say God.  Let’s  be honest with ourselves and admit that all of us serve both of these masters at times, but we usually arrive at a basic orientation toward one or the other.  Paul understands sin to be a power that opposes God and enslaves people.  It’s far more than just poor manners or an occasional lapse of judgment.  It is those things in the world that harass us or entice us and strive to defeat God’s purposes. 

            “Sin inserts itself into every area of life, even the most sacred.  It appears in extreme ideologies like that of Timothy McVeigh but it also shows up in corporate greed, corrupt political power, institutional racism, oppressive nationalism, and many other social arenas as well as in individual indiscretions.”[ii]

            But there’s a way out of it – a way out of sin and into life, the life that God wants us to live.  That is the way of choosing to follow Jesus, intentionally choosing to have Jesus be the authority in our lives and making a commitment to live a life that pleases God and is in obedience to God’s will.  I always tell the youth preparing for confirmation that this is the time when they decide to be “Christian on purpose”, not because their parents had them baptized, not because they have come to Sunday School all their lives, not because it is what is expected of them at this age, but because they are making the decision that out of all the influences in the world, they are choosing on purpose, intentionally, to have Jesus be the one whom they will follow.

            Many years ago, when I was studying mechanical drafting a young woman came into our class one day with a huge smile on her face, just bubbling over with joy.  Although she had never been particularly friendly to me, she sought me out to tell me that the night before she had been to a revival and that she had accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.  As the day went on, she proceeded to tell me about all the changes that this would mean in her life.  She would have to give up smoking and drinking.  She would be “in the world, but not of the world”.   I heard litany after litany about the things she would no longer be able to do now that she was a Christian.  Not least among this list was that she could no longer associate with her friends. 

            I was greatly troubled by what I heard from her.  It seemed that she was expecting too much from herself all at once and quite clearly someone had set down these expectations for her.  Quite literally she was to be a “new creation.”  What I did not hear was how she was going to do this.  I did not hear about Christ walking with her, guiding her, strengthening her in this process or rather “immediate transformation” as it was to be for her.   I did not hear about grace or what would happen when she slipped.  This took place during my last week in that class and she assured me that she had people who would help her and “tell her what to do” – those were her words.  I often wonder what happened to her.

            John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, urged us as Christians to strive for perfection.  Please understand that Wesley didn’t use this word in the way we understand it today.  He didn’t use it in the way that I’m think that this young Christian would have understood it.  When Wesley talked about and urged striving for perfection he understood the word perfect to mean complete.  He urged us to be made perfect or complete in love – love of God and love of and toward our neighbor. 

            As Christians we try to be good don’t we?  We work to fulfill our commitments, to live as responsible citizens, to go to church, to be “good” Christians, don’t we?  When we come to worship, we hope to be in the company of other good people, people trying to live a Christian life.  But the rest of our life gets in the way.  Some come frustrated and frazzled because a spouse didn’t help get the children ready, the dog tracked in mud at the last minute, the car keys were determined not to be found and the weather changed between the time you left the house and the time you arrived at church.  You walk into church and someone comes toward you with a request to do something or a complaint about someone or something.  What happened to your hope to come in peace to worship God? 

Where are those perfect Christians that we are looking for?  Are they in one of the churches in the village or in East Greenwich or Kingston?  “Why do some people who claim to be Christian appear to be gossipers, controllers, whiners, or hypocrites? 

“We tend to look at ourselves with rose colored glasses and at others with a magnifying glass.  The church is made up of human beings, each with their own weaknesses and strengths and with their own peculiar personalities.  Personalities that we must work around, work with, and work against.”[iii]    

It is because people can be so difficult to live with and work with that Jesus reminds us that “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple - truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”  (Matthew 10:42) And that reward – it is the free gift of God, it is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

There is a bumper sticker that says, “Want what you have.  Give what you need.”  Think about it!  It’s a wonderful motto for us as Christians.  What is it we need?  Really need?  It’s not that new car or pair of shoes or new whatever.  What we really need is love, compassion, guidance, acceptance, respect.  Are we generous in giving those gifts to other people? 

What do we have?  Oh, so many things!  Think of the abilities you have, the relationships in your life, the world in which we live.