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.

 

====================================================================

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…

 

 

==========================================

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. 

 

=============================================

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]   

 

==========================================================

 

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. 

 

===================================================================

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.”   

 

============================================================

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.  Do we recognize what we have as gifts from God or do we wish we were different?

In times of war do we recognize that even our enemy is one of God’s children?  Are we as concerned about the number of injuries and fatalities on the other side as we are about the number on ours?  Do we love our enemy in the name of Jesus?  That’s a tough question, because if we say yes, and mean it, then they are no longer our enemy. 

Do we love the drug dealer hanging out down the street?  Do we see each person we meet as a child of God, someone worthy of respect and consideration and acceptance, and yes, even love?  Please understand, that loving – even in the name of Christ – does not mean that we do not hold another accountable for their actions, but it does change how we look at them – it allows us to see the person behind the action.

If we are honest with ourselves, we find this difficult to do on various levels.  We may be able to love the man or woman or child on the streets of Baghdad but find it much more difficult or even impossible to think about loving Saddam Hussein. 

Jesus understood this, and his advice is to start small.  Just a glass of water.  Today that may mean, a smile, listening, - really listening – without judgment or trying to give solutions. But listening instead with an ear of compassion or trying to understand the complaint of another.  It may mean looking at the bigger picture, making up our mind to do what is right in God’s kingdom, not just what is best or easiest for us.  Maybe it means limiting our consumption so that natural resources are not depleted an denied to future generations.  Maybe it means doing with less so that others may have the necessities of life.  Maybe it means paying extra in taxes so that important social or educational programs are not denied to those who need them the most. For those who disagree with us on whatever subject, perhaps our energy might be better spent praying for them rather than criticizing or condemning them.

A good servant is willing to do both big and small jobs. We recognize that we are called to be servants of God.  Jesus was willing to wash the feet of his disciples – the job of a servant.  Are we willing to let God use us in whatever way God needs us, rather than in the way that will draw the most attention to us or make us feel most important?  The more we are willing to serve God in whatever way God calls us, the more we realize that it isn’t us – it is God who is working through us.  The more we will discover that God blesses whatever it is that we do in Christ’s name whether it be caring for the children in the nursery, lighting the candles for worship, distributing the bulletins, greeting people with a smile, vacuuming the floor, repairing what is broken, folding the bulletins, singing, reading, preaching, or praying for the person who God brings to your mind.

Where do we start?  When do we start?  The time is now!  Look around you.  Is there someone who looks lonely?  Offer them your company.  Is someone hungry?  Give them something to eat.  Does someone drive you crazy?  Pray for them, listen to them, try to understand who they are and what they need.  Give to others what you need: water, food, shelter, love, acceptance, compassion, respect.

Jesus sent his disciples into strange lands, knowing that sometimes they would be accepted by some and rejected by others.  But Jesus sent them.  Jesus sends us.  Start small, but don’t stay there.      

 

 

======================================================

North Kingstown UMC

Date:    June 19, 2005

 

Text:     Hebrew Scripture:          Genesis 21:8-21

            Psalm:  86:1-10, 16-17

            Epistle: Romans 6:1-11

            Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39

 

Title:     Courageous Faith

 

            “Do not be afraid.”  Believe it or not that is the most repeated command in the Bible.  You might expect it to be something like, “Behave yourself”, “Say your prayers”, “Worship”, “Give God more money” or “Be kind to each other”.   But it’s not.  The most repeated command in the Bible is “Do not be afraid.”  As I think about that, I begin to see that it is with good reason. 

            We think of hearing the angel say to Mary, “Be not afraid,” as he tells her about her upcoming pregnancy.  In five verses of today’s Gospel, three times Jesus tells the disciples not to be afraid and in the story of Hagar and Ishmael, an angel of God tells Hagar not to be afraid.  The Psalmist calls out in trouble to the God who will hear and answer, helping him to not be afraid. 

A hostile environment might be the common thread through the scriptures for today.  Hagar is cast out into the desert.  Baptism casts us into the rigor of dying to sin and living to God.  Jesus tells us he did not come to bring peace but a sword.  The list of hazards, liabilities, and dangers that go with being Jesus’ disciples is long.  The one command in all of this is to “have no fear.”   For the baptized, the committed disciple, our living to God means recognizing the risks and resistance that go with the territory and trust God with our very lives.[i] 

I picked up on this perhaps this week more than at some other times because of what I heard when I read the scriptures and because of many conversations that took place last week while I was at Annual Conference. In the Gospel I heard, “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.”  I started to listen for some of the whispers and was not sure that I wanted to proclaim them from the housetops. Sometimes I hide being afraid behind not wanting to rock the boat.  When Jesus says, “Do not fear” the verb would be better translated, “Stop being afraid.”  Stop being afraid of the ones who can hurt us only temporarily, of those who might disagree with us, or of those who might get angry.   Jesus is saying that the voice of people is not the voice of God. 

When I was going through the ordination process one of the interviewers asked me about what it meant as a pastor to be prophetic.  I didn’t know how to answer that, but through the years I’ve learned that part of it means that when God puts something on our heart and keeps nagging about it, then being prophetic does not mean keeping the mouth closed.  Sometimes questions or concerns need to be raised or they cannot be seen or discussed.  Some of us worry way too much about what other people say or think of us and far too little about what God thinks of us.  But it’s easier said than done, isn’t it?

Jesus tells us that sparrows are the most common and cheapest bird around and yet, not one of them dies apart from God.  God even knows every hair on our heads.  Isn’t that amazing!   God knows everything that we go through, and nothing that happens to us escapes God’s knowledge.  That’s part of what we see happening in the story of Hagar and Ishmael.  Out in the wilderness, Hagar and Ishmael face death from starvation and dehydration – but God is aware of their situation and intervenes.

Several times in the book of Genesis, God had promised Abraham that he would have descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on a beach.  Not content to wait for God to fulfill this promise, Sarah had given Abraham her servant Hagar who bore him a son named Ishmael.  Even though this was not the son that God had in mind, God kept the promise to Ishmael as well and here in the wilderness, Hagar is told that she and her son will survive and that a great nation will be made out of his descendants also.  This story ends up being a story not about Abraham, Sarah and Hagar and the jealousies of humans but a story about God.  In the end, God is the central character and actor making promises to Ishmael.  In one sense today’s headlines from the Middle East had their start right here.  Muslims think of Ishmael as a prophet and a patriarch of Islam. 

William Holladay, an Old Testament scholar, and a seminary professor of mine wrote that “Muslim pilgrims to Mecca have vivid associations with Ishmael and Hagar.  Pilgrims walk seven times around the Ka`ba, the holiest shrine in Arabia, the cube-shaped structure that according to tradition was built by Adam and then rebuilt by Abraham when he paid a visit to Ishmael many years later.   Near the Ka`ba is the holy well Zamzam, whose waters miraculously appeared and saved Ishmael’s life.  After pilgrims have circumambulated the Ka`ba, they trot, with shoulders shaking, seven times between two low hills in imitation of the frantic Hagar searching in despair for water for wailing little Ishmael.

            These traditions of Ishmael and Hagar function in Islamic tradition the way narratives about vulnerable children – Moses cast adrift in the bulrushes, Joseph and Mary carrying Jesus on the flight to Egypt – do in our biblical tradition.  One might say that Muslims are looking over our shoulders when we read this passage.  `Those people are our people,’ Muslims seem to say. `Be aware that we share these stories, even though we hear them differently than you do.’”[ii]  One of the whispers I’ve been hearing is that we need to try to listen to the stories as others hear them.  We may not always agree, but listening and understanding the viewpoint of another is a respectful and ultimately peace making way of relating to other members of God’s family.  Might we hear a word of hope in this story that God stands in covenant with Ishmael’s descendants as well as with Isaac’s?  Is not God standing with the people of Islam as well as with the Jewish and Christian communities?  Are we able to hear and proclaim this whisper as good news as it applies to the war-ravaged Palestinians and Israelis?

            On another level, the story, ancient as it is, has a ring that is all too familiar to us today and throughout history. Situations involving “the other woman” are common. Children of divorced (and remarried) parents often get caught in the crossfire.  Children born of extramarital relationships are often among those cast away.

            In many ways this story can be understood as the story of the dispossessed. One of the whispers that we all need to hear and proclaim from the housetop is that God hears the cries of those whom we may try to exclude and God includes them because they too, are God’s children.  That’s good news – really good news – and we are the recipients of that good news. Many early followers of Jesus were Jews who found themselves at odds with other faithful Jews.  That’s part of what Jesus was talking about in his words to his followers in Matthew’s gospel.  They would soon learn that not everyone in their family would appreciate or agree with their following Jesus.  They would soon learn that sometimes they had to make a decision between Jesus and their family.  

Actually Jesus’ words are a quotation from the prophet Micah (7:6).  In that passage the prophet tells about the terrible divisions that would always occur when God was doing a new thing.  When God acts to rescue God’s people, there are always some who declare that they don’t need rescuing, that they are comfortable as they are.  Part of Jesus’ message here is to remind them, don’t be surprised if this happens now; this, too, is part of our tradition. Our scriptures contain warnings about the great disruptions that will happen when God is acting.

Others of Jesus’ followers were not Jews but Gentiles, people who were already on the outside as far as Jews were concerned – people who were not descendants of Isaac; some, many of whom were likely descendants of Ishmael.  Remember that Jesus said, “There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen.  I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.” (John 10:16) He said, “I will never turn away anyone who comes to me, because I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” (John 6:37-38)

 Do we realize how great it is that Jesus broadened the scope of who he had come for – we are those other sheep!   Outcasts or insiders?  I guess it depends upon your point of view, doesn’t it?

There are so many others who have been sent into the wilderness literally or figuratively.  At one time, people like Copernicus and Galileo were excluded from the church because of their heretical notions of the earth traveling around the sun rather than vice versa.  Jesus the prince of peace brought the sword of truth and it was rejected by many.  Galileo’s excommunication was officially reversed only about 15 years ago, more than 350 years after Galileo’s death.  

Painfully there is the sordid history of our culture and church in which slaves were brought from Africa to this country, treated and believed by many to be less than human.  Thankfully there were many who heard the whispers and proclaimed from the housetops how wrong this was.  Early among these were our faith-filled Quaker brothers. God was acting and doing a new thing and brothers fought against each other.  Stop being afraid – cling to the promise of God; remember that the word of people is not always the word of God.    We’ve come a long way but we still have a long way to go.

Some theologians see the story of women in Ishmael’s story.  There are the stories of women in scripture when we were considered property. Scripture influences and reflects life and it was a long road in our country to the point of gaining the right to vote (this only in my mother’s life time).  We are all too painfully aware of the basic rights denied to women still in many cultures. Within the church there has been the long difficult road leading to the ordination of women.  In the 20 years from 1977 to 1997 the number of women ordained in the United Methodist Church grew from 319 to 3003.  Today there are still many many churches that do not permit the ordination of women.  But some have heard the whispers and proclaimed from the housetops.

The prophet Isaiah reminds us that “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts” (55:8) and we must never forget that God did save Hagar and Ishmael.  By the way, did you know that the name Ishmael means “God hears”.

Bill Holladay in his article about Hagar and Ishmael writes, “In 1964 I served on the staff of an archaeological dig at Shechem on the West Bank.  During the tea break one midmorning, as I sat among the Palestinian workers, a young woman perhaps 20 years of age, her bedroll over her shoulder, ran sobbing through the crowd.  Some of the workmen laughed at her, a few threw stones after her.  She came and went in no more than ten seconds and my Arabic was not good enough for me to learn the story.  Was she a Bedu prostitute run out of the village long after sunup?  Was she a daughter expelled from her household for some real or imagined sexual offense?  I shall never forget my glimpse of Hagar that morning.”

Whom have we cast out of our cultural households?

In our culture today and in our churches the new hot debate – the new Hagar and Ishmael are homosexuals.  Within our culture and within our churches the debates sound all too familiar.  People line up on both sides and throw stones forgetting that when the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus there was someone missing – the man who was also involved in the act.  We forget that Jesus’ response was, “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.”  (John 8:1-11) 

You might well imagine that among the many issues discussed at Annual Conference, there was discussion about homosexuality, same sex unions, and gay clergy.  It wasn’t the only topic and not even the one that took the most time, but it was there.  People on both sides believe that they are hearing the whispers of God and are proclaiming from the housetops. People on both sides are covering their ears so as not to hear or throwing stones to silence the speakers. It takes courage to raise these questions – and so many times I think that I don’t have the courage.  Jesus told his disciples and us to stop being afraid, to stand up and acknowledge Jesus – not to deny him.  “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:27)   

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he wrote, “For if we have been united with Christ in a death like his (that is in baptism), we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (6:5)

The story of Ishmael doesn’t end with this story.  Tradition holds that Abraham visited Ishmael in later years and scripture tells us that when Abraham died, both Isaac and Ishmael were present to bury their father.  Is this a whisper of hope for all of the Ishmaels in thew orld and for those who yearn to be united with all of the sheep in Jesus’ flock?    

 Earlier we sang, “For all the writing that survived, for leaders long ago, who sifted, copied and preserved the Bible that we know, give thanks, and find its story yet our promise, strength and call, the model of emerging faith, alive with hope for all.”[iii]

The story of Abraham and Sarah and Hagar remind us, as we will soon sing, that “God made from one blood all the families of earth” and prays that God’s wisdom and grace will be given to us to include the races and viewpoints that our families exclude, till peace in each home bears and nurtures the bud of peace shared by all God has made from one blood.[iv]

Stop being afraid.  What you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Remember the last words of Jesus as recorded by Matthew, “I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)

 

==================================== 

North Kingstown UMC

Date:   12 June 2005

Text:     Hebrew Scripture:          Genesis 18:1-15

              Psalm:  116: 1-2, 12-19

              Epistle: Romans 5:1-8

               Gospel: Matthew 9:35-10:8

Title:  “Was that you, God?”

 

Last week, during her time with the children, Pastor Beverly noted that life doesn’t always turn out the way we expect it to when we are young…a thought that gave many us a bit of a chuckle.  I think I can safely say that on Thursday, the first of April, 1976, I truly had no idea that almost three decades later I would be standing in the pulpit of a church, any church, about to deliver my first “real sermon” – my children, of course, would argue that I have, in fact, given quite a few in my time, but those sermons really don’t count in this context.

 

But…life moves forward, sometimes backwards or even sideways.  We grow older, hopefully find love, marry, raise children, yahdee, yahdee, yah as Seinfeld might say; oh, and maybe we even go to a lay speaker’s course!  So here I am.  “Was that you, God?”

 

Please remember the date I just mentioned, April first, 1976; it’s important to the story.

 

Preparing a first sermon is somewhat of a daunting task.  I am generally comfortable speaking in front a group, so that normally isn’t much of an issue.  But the awesomeness of the prospect of talking to other Christians about the word of God has a tendency to snatch you upright.  You wonder, “what should I talk about and how might I best get that message across?” 

 

Believe me, during the, at times, harried process, that small prayer, “Lord, please don’t let me screw this up” continually pops to mind.  But now I’m calm.  Was that you, God?

 

I imagine that many turn to a reflection upon their personal faith journey as source material, or return to favorite passages in scripture to aid in their preparation.  There is a bit of that here, but in the last few weeks, a recurrent theme has appeared in the sermons and scripture, which might be called “the focus and application of our faith.”  I think it is a very important and timely theme, it really struck home with me, and so I will return to it, albeit from a slightly different angle, today.

 

First, the focus part.  Last month, Pastor Beverly reminded us that, “if we empty our faith of the trinity and its mystery and focus only on Jesus, as the marketing campaign “WWJD – what would Jesus do?” – expressed, then our personal faith can disintegrate into something that is heavy on Jesus and light (lite) on God and the Holy Spirit.  I think it’s best to think about how the trinity, as an understanding of God, helps us to better understand ourselves and how God works in and through us.”

 

Let me repeat that last part, “…better understand ourselves and how God works in and through us.” 

 

Last week, having just saved, of all things, a drug pusher from drowning, Steve Brook’s character in the short vignette gets into a debate with God…interestingly, a very Jewish response.  But, was he really going to win that one?!

 

Arguing from a utilitarian viewpoint, he wonders if it wouldn’t have been better to let the pusher drown.  After all, with him gone, perhaps fewer children would have access to drugs.

 

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory focusing on the consequences of our actions.  Developed by Jeremy Bentham, and others, it posits that all actions should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.  In fact, many of our laws are written according to this “greatest common good” principle.  It is a good, but imperfect ethical principle.

 

For, “greatest common good,” as we understand that expression, may not be “good enough.”  In the first place, the greatest good for the majority can easily result in a justification for suppressing a minority or other marginalized group.  In fact, utilitarian arguments were used in support of slavery here in America.  But, more importantly, “greatest common good” as we perceive it, may not reflect God’s plan.  In the vignette, God immediately sets the record straight as to his priorities, reminding the rescuer, and by extension all of us, “I desire mercy.” 

 

Think about it, if we don’t even know God’s full plan for our lives, how can we possible presume to know his plan for the rest of humankind?  That drug pusher, as evil as he may have been to this point in his life, may well go on to run a successful rehabilitation program – saving many more people than he poisoned.  “We” just don’t know.  In fact, this possibility is more than just wishful thinking.  Some of the most effective drug rehab centers in California, for example, are run by staffs of former addicts.  Was that you, God?

 

It seems a couple of hard questions for all of us come out of this discussion.   First, “have I lost focus and turned away from God?”   Even a little bit?  Second, am I so deep into my faith comfort zone that, to use a very overworked expression, “I talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk?”  How you answer these questions in your heart may help you refocus your faith, and ultimately guide your actions.

 

Now, to be fair, Steve’s character seemed to have had a little extra help here, didn’t he?  I mean, he got to really have a conversation with God in the most human sense of the word – as I am talking to you right now.  Just as Abraham did in our Hebrew scripture reading this morning.  Just as we have seen in other scriptural passages, such as when Peter, James, and John witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus. 

 

No one I’ve met has ever told of a chance meeting with God face-to-face…of ever having been in the physical presence of our lord or his son Jesus Christ – by which I mean in the sense you and I are here today, in-the-flesh.  Or have we been??  Was that you, God?   I’ll return to that question in a bit.

 

Our belief in God in all his glory truly is an act of pure faith, not a fact proven in some “scientific” sense as we commonly use that term.  This lack of “scientific” proof does not, or should not, diminish our deeply held convictions – but it certainly doesn’t make them any easier at times either.  Jesus recognized the challenge for those who would follow after the first disciples.  In john’s gospel, chapter 20, verse 29, when speaking to Thomas after the resurrection, Jesus said, "because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."   Again, let me repeat that, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."   These words should give us immeasurable comfort.  Right from the beginning Jesus knew it would be more difficult for us, those who came after. 

 

Now, I am relatively certain that each of us has experienced a crisis of faith or has stumbled along our faith walk.  When tested, perhaps some of you have wished for some concrete indication that your faith was correctly placed.  “Show me some sign!!” You might even have cried in desperation or frustration – even while, deep down inside, knowing your faith was well placed.  But, even so, some unassailable “proof”...perhaps.

 

Really, after all, wouldn’t it be much easier if He just revealed himself to us in a direct manner that we, with our limited human skills of comprehension, could clearly understand?  Not the quiet voice in the still of the night, but standing right here in front of us... Right now...holding a conversation with us?  Just like Steve’s character.

 

This is, in fact, the premise of the popular television show, “Joan of Arcadia.”  Its bumper sticker, if you will, is “millions of people speak to God. What if God spoke back?”  Now, I’ll confess upfront that I have never seen a whole episode, and I am not going to stand here and tell you that the writers of the show have their theology entirely correct, but a couple of points are worth touching on. 

 

In this show, a young teenager named Joan Girard, played by Amber Tamblyn, is approached each week by someone introducing themselves as God, who then proceeds to give her specific directions to do things, such as get a job, join the debate team or volunteer with children. The appearances are hard for her to believe, even more so as she never knows who's going to turn up next. One minute it's a cute boy her own age, the next it's the lunch lady, or a little girl.

 

But even meeting God in person, and doing what she is asked, does not result in a sugar coated life for Joan.  Just as in our world, bad things happen to good people; her athletic older brother, for example, is now confined to a wheelchair following an automobile accident.  Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reflected on such suffering, “we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us”

 

Oh, and God never answers when she asks, “Oh, that's why you want me to do this, right?” He wants her to figure it out for herself.”

 

How about another example?  Wouldn’t it be easier if we, like Peter, James, and John, could stand trembling on the mountain in the presence of Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and our Lord?   Well, perhaps afterwards.

 

Wouldn’t it be easier when witnessing to our friends about our faith if we could say – “remember, you saw the news, just last Thursday, Jesus was at the Warwick Mall – and look what he did there?”

 

Responding to questions such as these might evolve along at least two paths of reasoning.  Some would argue that the simple answer is, “Yes, of course it would be easier.”  All our humanly doubts would be gone – no questions about believing in Jesus then – “I’ve seen Him!!” You could declare.  No need for faith now, I have proof!!

 

Or would it?  I can think of at least one reason why having such wishes realized in fact might be fraught with peril. 

 

Sadly, with our human limitations, we might not recognize Him for who He was.  “No way!” Might be your first response.  “Of course I would recognize him.”  Imagine if an exceptionally charismatic man walked into the back of the sanctuary right now – we’re not talking Steve’s drug pusher here, I mean this guy just exudes righteousness.  He moves peacefully among the congregation, chooses one of us and says “follow Me – now”.  With our human imperfections and prejudices, and with memories of people like David Koresh and Jim Jones in the back of our minds, would we say “yes”?  Or would we, as so many in his time did, turn away from the Savior and reject Him?  What a crushing event that would be!  Was that you, God?

 

It seems to me that in following this line of reasoning faith should remain faith.  Now, let me be clear, I am not implying that all of us, in our own way and in our own hearts, have not found some measure of proof of our Lord’s existence.  But the focus of our faith should remain on the two greatest commandments as related in Mathew’s gospel (22: 36-9), Jesus replied: “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'love your neighbor as yourself.

 

For those who still seek such physical affirmation, might I suggest that you try to shift the paradigm.  Many things in science have been proven to exist, not by direct observation, but by the effect that their presence has on other things in nature.  This is often the case, for example, in physics, particularly in the sub-atomic particle realm.  Trust me on that one.

 

In a similar fashion, just look around at our natural world to see the hand of God at work.  A brilliant sunrise or, for those who prefer to sleep in, a spectacular sunset.  The blooming of new life, as we have recently experienced, after a difficult winter.  The joy of discovery in a young child’s face.  The calming effect a faith in our Lord has on those near the end of their earthly life.  Was that you, God?

 

The second line of reasoning, the one I believe is more accurate, rejects the basic premise of those earlier questions.  I would argue that, when we least expect it, God does come to us -- in the form of a stranger – but unlike the fictional character Joan, we don’t know it.

 

I asked you earlier to remember the date, April 1, 1976.  For those of you who have lived in this town for many years, the events of this day may come rushing back.  That day was the last day of Jeff Howard’s earthly existence.  He died, suddenly and tragically, just a few hundred yards from here, on the old baseball field at the old high school during a junior varsity game with East Greenwich.  You can imagine the impact that had on the school and the town.

 

The thought of going to Jeff’s funeral terrified me.  I had never seen a dead body, and I had never been to a funeral.  However, the Howard family was sensitive to the numbers of young people who would be in attendance, so the wake was closed casket and the Baptist service was wonderful.  But that’s not the important part of the story.  While deeply saddened, as you would expect, this deeply Christian family was simultaneously celebrating his entry into heaven. 

 

Now, for this seventeen year-old senior, lapsed Catholic, about to graduate, freshly accepted into the Naval Academy (I found out the day before he died!), about to depart home to enter “the real world,” this was incomprehensible!!  But I immediately recognized that something important was going on there.  Seed planted.  Was that you, God?

 

Over the years that seed, was watered and fertilized by many.

 

My academy roommate, Mike, now an associate pastor in Virginia... Was that you, God?”

 

The happy, smiling athletes at special Olympics games.  Was that you, God?”

 

The elderly woman helped down the stairs.  Was that you, God?”

 

The beggars on the street in many cities and countries, sometimes helped, sometimes quickly walked past – eyes averted.   Was that you, God?”

 

So many more examples…all anonymous

 

The process for all of us continues today.  The church services attended, conversations with other Christians, bible studies etc. -- constantly reinforcing the understanding that to be righteous is to “love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

How should we respond?  The Psalmist asks the same question, “How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?” And comes up with the answer, “I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.”  Not bad advice!

As Pastor Beverly noted a few weeks back, righteousness can operate on at least two different levels.  The first we’ve just discussed, the true focus of our faith.  The second one is the obvious outward acts we perform as Christians: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless and so forth.  It seems really easy to be righteous in this sense, doesn’t it?  I can give some money, show up to paint the parsonage; donate some clothes to the less fortunate, all good things…right?  The kinds of things we Christians should do!

But she also cautioned us, “the danger is that they can become separated so that these righteous acts become an end in themselves, or they become a love of ourselves and our vision of our own goodness rather than love of God. 

What are we really focused on with our actions?  What are we really willing to share with the least, the lost, and the lonely...the stranger who doesn’t look or act like us?  Was that you God?

What does this mean for us in practice?  We are all endowed with specific talents or gifts in this, our earthly, world.  Some of us are born to lead wisely, others to follow faithfully; some to sing, some to cook; some to visit shut-ins and others to tend to the educational needs of the congregation. 

As Methodists we have all pledged to faithfully participate in the ministries of the church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service – and we do so anew each time we receive new members into the congregation.  Do we follow through on the full measure of that pledge?

As a kind and loving God, I imagine that He smiles gently and shakes His head slowly, as we do with our own children, when we make lame excuses as to why we can’t get involved.  Too busy, too tired, to weak, too old, too uncertain.  But, we heard today that Jesus sent out the first disciples to “the lost sheep of Israel”...to do God’s work amongst the strangers to His word – that’s us now, that is our charge.

Now, I am not suggesting you should place yourself in dangerous situations.  Filling up your car with blankets and heading into an unfamiliar inner-city in the middle of a dark winter night, without the proper planning and support is probably a bad idea…

Nor am I trying to monkey with church doctrine here.  As Methodists we affirm that faith is the only response for salvation.  As God’s children, we receive His grace without price.  But we are also reminded that God’s grace and human activity work together in the relationship of faith and good works.  While we cannot “earn” our way into heaven, we are taught in the Wesleyan tradition that salvation evidences itself in good works.

But I am suggesting that, whatever your talents, seek to grow in your spiritual involvement with the church.  As you are called by God, if you see an unmet need, here at the church or in the wider community, pray on it and offer your thoughts, ideas, and time -- with our faith refocused on God, our deeds will be righteous. 

Freely you have received, freely give.  He will be there with us. That was you, God!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let us pray.

 

Lord, refocus and strengthen our faith each day.  Sometimes, in our humanly, day-to-day existence, too busy, too tired, or too distracted, that faith falters or wavers as we struggle to move forward in life.  Continue to walk with us, to guide us, and to keep our motives pure when carrying out Your ministry. We ask this in Your Son’s holy name, amen.

 

========================================

North Kingstown UMC

Date:    June 4, 2005

 

Text:     Hebrew Scripture:          Genesis 12:1-9

            Psalm:  33:1-12

            Epistle: Romans 4:13-25

            Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

 

Title:     Mercy, not religious formality

 

           

Dialogue: Steve and God[i]  

Steve:  But I don’t understand, God.  I thought that you would be angry.

 

God:     Why would I be angry?  You dived into the river and saved a drowning man’s life.

 

Steve:  But he was a drug-pusher!  I should have let him drown.  I’ve saved a              man who will use his life to ruin the lives of others!  I can’t believe that I was that dumb!  I wasn’t thinking.  I just jumped in, and didn’t even think what I was doing.

 

God:     Saving a person’s life is never dumb, Steve.  Besides, what you did was the first nice thing anyone ever did for that man.  It might change him.

 

Steve: But, God, he is a creep!  And in the process of saving him, I lost my Bible in the water.  God, I traded the Bible, your holy Word, for a lousy drug-pusher!

 

God:      My Word is in your heart, Steve.  You haven’t lost it.

 

Steve: Then I missed Sunday School and worship because I was soaking wet.

 

God:     You did a good thing, Steve.  I am going to bless you for it.

 

Steve: And then I had to take that creep to the emergency room to get a cut on his arm stitched up. And I even had to use the tithe I was going to put into the offering plate to help pay his emergency room bill!   That money was for your church!

 

God:     I desire mercy, Steve, not sacrifice.

 

Steve:  God, I don’t know why you don’t just strike me with a lightning bolt, or give me some mysterious disease that makes me die slowly like the poor kids that creep will kill with his drugs.

 

God:     Steve, I have no intention of killing you.  I have blessed you.

 

Steve: I don’t deserve to be blessed.

 

God:     Look in your pocket.

 

Steve:  Is my Bible there?  O thank you, God.  (Steve reaches into his pocket.)  This isn’t my Bible.

 

God:     It’s a lottery ticket.

 

Steve: But how did it get in there?  I didn’t buy it?  I don’t gamble!  That is against your will!

 

God:     I put it there.  It’s a winner.

 

Steve:   Where did it come from?

 

God:     The man you saved lost it out of his pocket.

 

Steve:   Oh no!  He’ll be after me.  He’ll think I stole it!  He’ll kill me!  (Steve thinks a moment.)   So that’s how you intend to kill me for saving that creep.

 

God:     I told you, I’m blessing you, not killing you.  You did a good thing.  Besides, the man you saved got something much better than that ticket.  I put your Bible in his pocket.  Between your act of mercy and the miraculous appearance of a Bible in his pocket, I don’t think that he can resist me any longer.

 

Steve:   You switched my Bible for his lottery ticket.  How did you do that?  And you say the ticket is a winner?

 

God:     Six million dollars sound like a winner to you?

 

Steve: Six million dollars sounds like a big winner to me.  You have blessed me.  Thank you, God.

 

God:     You’re welcome.

 

Steve: Of course I’ll give you a tithe.  No, I’ll give you a double-title!

 

God:     Uh, Steve, we need to talk about that.  Actually, I was thinking that you could keep a tithe of the winnings, and the rest we could use to help the food pantry and soup kitchen keep their doors open, and then there are three homeless families on the other side of town, and then there are some kids who need drug rehabilitation after buying that guy’s drugs, and ….

 

Steve:  Sounds good to me, God.  Let’s do it.

 

God:     First, we have to turn in that lottery ticket.  I’ve been wanting to use that racket for good for a long time.

 

(Steve exits to turn in the ticket.)

 

 

            Did Steve do a good thing in saving that drug dealer?  Be honest with yourself about how you feel.  Suppose that drug dealer starts to get the message when he finds the Bible in his pocket.  What if he decides to wander in our door on a Sunday morning to try to find out more about the guy who had a Bible in his pocket, who got his good clothes wet trying to save him and spent his own money to get medical treatment for him.  If he comes in here looking to find out more about that book he found in his pocket – that Bible – how would you feel?  Would you welcome him?  Would you turn away?  Suppose he sits next to you? 

            If those questions disturb you at all then you have a sense of how the Pharisees felt when they saw Jesus having dinner with Matthew his newest disciple – a tax collector – and when they saw the others who came- other tax collectors and sinners.  Tax collecting was a very different occupation in first century, Roman-occupied Palestine where one would probably not utter the words “tax-collector” without spitting.  The very act of extending any sort of invitation to such a shady character makes decent people wonder about Jesus’ own character.

            Jesus responds to their objections in three ways: with a proverb, a quotation from the prophets, and a statement about the nature of his ministry.[ii]

First the proverb: those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  This points to Jesus’ healing and saving role.  Granted, in our society there is much emphasis on preventive medicine and so those who are well do need a physician to help us stay that way; but it is the sick who most appreciate what a doctor is able to do and the change that comes after being made well. 

            Next Jesus uses a quotation from the prophet Hosea, “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice.” (6:6) may at first seem to be out of place but when seen in context, it tells of God’s relationship with Israel and the way that Israel has repeatedly turned away from God.  The people may have continued with their ritual sacrifices but their hearts and their lives have not reflected God’s love and mercy.  The message here is that God desires those who are genuinely loving and merciful, not merely those who fulfill the ceremonial religious obligations.

            A proverb and a quotation set the stage for a statement about the nature of his ministry. “For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”  It’s easy for us to miss how radically different this was for the Pharisees and the disciples to hear.  Throughout much of the Old Testament the message has been that “sinners will not stand in the congregation of the righteous” (Psalm 1:5), or that God loves “righteousness and hates wickedness” (Psalm 45:7). Here Jesus announces that his whole ministry is based on the reverse, that his physician’s office is open to the wicked not the righteous.

            Righteousness can operate on at least two different levels.  One is the obvious outward acts: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless and so forth.  These are righteous acts, but beneath these deeds is a more basic vision of God’s will that to be righteous is to “love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.”  True righteous practices then are expressions of this deeper love of God and neighbor.  The danger is that they can become separated so that these righteous acts become an end in themselves, or they become a love of ourselves and our vision of our own goodness rather than love of God.

            When the Pharisees protest about Jesus’ association with tax collectors and sinners they have lost the vision of a God of love.  They have come to see righteousness in terms of separation from sinners; retreat rather than action.  They have forgotten the words of the psalmist who said, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation … then I will teach transgressors your way and sinners will return to you.” (Psalm 51:12-13). 

            In Jesus’ ministry is a vivid portrayal of sinners being restored to God, being taught God’s ways through the loving healing example of Jesus, and of those sinners returning to God.  What we see is true righteousness in action, “righteousness so astoundingly faithful to the heart of the Old Testament and to the will of God that it comes across to Jesus’ contemporaries as dramatically innovative.”[iii]   

            I believe that one of the questions for us today is, “have we become so accustomed to the gospel that we are unable to hear the good news? When we really hear it, when Steve rescues a drug dealer, do we hear that as good news, or do we place a value judgment on other people?  Does righteousness – or right living and right response - mean separating ourselves from those who we think are sinners or does it mean helping to show them the way to the physician?  When we come to the table to participate in communion are we expecting to see only those we think are acceptable, or are is the welcome mat spread wide to include everyone?  If we are to follow the one who calls tax collectors and sinners, (by whatever names we would call them today) are we ready and willing to have our horizons broadened and our view enlarged to include all those whom Jesus calls to the table? 

Many of us only learn this by taking the plunge and moving beyond our comfort zone. “Such was the case with Sister Helen Prejean. Her story is told in the book Dead Man Walking. Sister Helen heard of a correspondence program with prisoners on death row and decided to participate even though she’d been told not to expect anything in return. Much to her surprise one of the prisoners responded and caught her completely off guard by asking her to be his spiritual guide. Apparently his execution date was fast approaching, and he wanted some representative of God to be there for support over the next several weeks.

            Sister Helen hesitated. It was one thing to do charity long distance; quite another thing to do mercy face to face with a convicted rapist and murderer. But a voice deep inside of her told her she must go. So she went. The first several meetings were difficult. Gary came across cocky and arrogant and refused to admit his guilt. To make matters worse, she was despised and publicly vilified by the victims' parents for even spending time with Gary. And yet, she continued to risk her name, her reputation, her own safety, to reach out and embrace Gary with the love of God.  The more she persevered in loving him, the more his defenses began to crumble. Finally on the night before his execution, Gary confessed to his crime and asked for God's forgiveness. In a flood of tears, he thanked Sister Helen for all her love and support. He then tried to send her home, insisting that her work with him was done and that he was ready to meet his Maker.

            She insisted on staying through the execution because she wanted the  last face he saw before he died to be one of love and mercy not hatred and vengeance.[iv]

Let us pray:

            God of love and mercy, some of us may be the ones who most need to be rescued. Perhaps we have been rescued and now we are the ones you call to be your instrument in rescuing.  With grace and love you have lifted us out of our sin and called us to follow.  Help us to call out to our brothers and sisters to tell them that Jesus is the healing cure we have all sought.  Show us how to work together, united by your love, to serve you and to invite all to your glorious feast.  May we be those through whom your love is extended to the lost, the last and the least!   Amen.

 

=============================================================

North Kingstown UMC

Date:    May 29, 2005

 

Text:     Hebrew Scripture:          Genesis 6:11-22, 7:24, 8:14-19

            Psalm:  46

            Epistle: Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-31

            Gospel:  Matthew 7:21-29

 

Title:     Noah Built His Ark in the Sunshine

 

            The Story of Noah and the Ark is one that has become legendary.  In so many ways our culture has diluted and sugar-coated it to make it a story for children.  It has been used in all sorts of ways and someone in Little Rock even says that his state is the only one mentioned in the Bible, and it is in this story: “Noah looked out the ark and saw….”![i]

            James W. Moore, a United Methodist Pastor and author wrote a book entitled, “Noah Built His Ark in the Sunshine.”  I am indebted to him for this insight.  It’s obvious when you think about it; it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.  It didn’t even look like rain.  People were living their daily lives.  Men and women were getting married and having children; people were partying and having a good old time.  There are many things we could say about this story and many things we could debate – but today I’d like to focus on this insight of Rev. Moore’s that Noah Built His Ark in the Sunshine because I think that regardless of how we understand this story that is a piece that is applicable for us.

            “Noah built the ark in the sunshine; in other words, he prepared in advance for the storm that was to come.  He didn’t wait until the last minute.  He used the days in the sunshine to get himself ready. He used those bright days to build up the resources he would need when the dark floodwaters came.”[ii]  

            When you think about it, that’s generally the way thinking people behave – at least in many areas of our lives.  If you build a house in New England in the summer, you would never neglect to put in a heating system just because it is hot in the summer.  If you have any knowledge at all of New England, you know that the winters are cold and a functioning heating system is essential. We would think a person foolish to wait until the first snowfall to decide that they need a furnace in their house. 

            Part of the purpose of school is to prepare young people to function in the world and to have skills that will help them find a job to support themselves.  We expect them to develop skills that will be consistent with the type of work they expect to do.  A gifted pianist does not apply for a position as a neurosurgeon.  The time to prepare is ahead of time, before the skills are needed.  Soldiers are not expected to go into war without having the necessary training in advance.

            The same is true for people of faith.  The time to prepare ourselves to face the floods and difficulties of life is during the days of sunshine, during the times when life is going well.  In building a house, when the forms are poured for the foundation, they must be allowed to cure for a time before the rest of the house is built on top of it.  That doesn’t mean that a person can’t come to know God and gain strength from God in the middle of a crisis, but it is simply a fact that a foundation is stronger if built before the doctor says the word “cancer” or the officer shows up at your door to say, “I’m sorry but ….”  

            Most of the great people of faith that we think about are people who built their ark in the sunshine.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the noted German theologian, executed in a Nazi prison camp in 1945 is a good example. He had been captured and imprisoned by the Gestapo  because of his commitment to God, his resistance to Hitler, and his opposition to the Nazi movement.  While in prison, his main concern was to be a pastor to his fellow prisoners. For Dietrich Bonhoeffer everyday was an opportunity to serve God.

            From this same period of history came also a woman, Corrie ten Boom, who grew up in Holland.   Because of the faith she had learned from her father, Corrie and her family risked their own lives to hide their Jewish neighbors.  Her family eventually was arrested and she and her sister Betsey ended up in Ravensbruck in Germany where Betsey died. After the war Corrie fulfilled a vision of her sister’s – a home where people affected by the war could be safe and have a place to heal. 

We might think of Mother Teresa whose work in Calcutta was a constant and inspired witness to her faith.  After her death, we also learned that much of her life had been a struggle – that she had not always felt close to God and that she spent much time in the desert of faith.  Yet, the ark that she built in the sunshine, the foundation of her faith, carried her through these difficult times, and she continued to take care of those who needed her most and to proclaim that this was a result of God’s love and care. We could think of many others, people we know who have not gained the spotlight of the world, but who have been faithful and who have shown that faithfulness in the actions of their lives.

            This is a place where the story of Noah fits well with the Gospel reading, in which Jesus contrasts the house built on the rock with the house built on the sand.  This comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus warns his disciples, “Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven.  Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in.”  People will try to justify themselves and point out all the good that they did, but Jesus response may be “I never knew you.”

            I don’t know about you, but I don’t like that response. But then when I think about it a little more, I realize that the next section of the Gospel, contrasting the two houses helps to explain this.  Once again, what we have built in the sunshine makes a difference. 

            Richard J. Foster quoted Mother Teresa, “Pray for me that I do not loosen my grip on the hands of Jesus, even under the guise of ministering to the poor.”  Foster concluded, “That is our first task: to grip the hand of Jesus with such tenacity that we are obliged to follow his lead, to seek first his Kingdom.[iii]   In this passage I think that Jesus is telling the disciples to be careful that the works they do in his name be truly for Jesus, and not for themselves. The question that is being raised is about the foundation of their house – is it built upon the rock of Jesus, or the shifting sands of seeking approval, recognition. Talking about their faith – or our faith – is not enough.  What really matters is how we live out that faith on a daily basis.

            The people laughed at Noah when he started to build the ark; they made fun of him.  They told him that what he was doing was ridiculous and unnecessary.  We need to prepare in advance for the troubled waters.  Somewhere down the road, there is a “flood” waiting for us, and if we haven’t prepared, if we haven’t built up inner resources, it may well sweep us under.

            There has been a lot of discussion recently about the new fire codes in the state - and as a church, we are subject to these new regulations.  Let me assure you that your Trustees have been attentive in dealing with these regulations.  Every piece of construction must meet the prevailing codes. The code for us in building our foundation of faith is to build upon the Word of God, and to obey Christ’s teachings.

            In addition, we must occupy the ark or the house we build. The story is told of a contractor who wanted to reward a carpenter for the good work he had been doing for him.   He sent for the carpenter and placed in his hands the blueprint for a nice home.  He ordered that the house be made beautifully and sturdy and that only the best materials be used, regardless of the price.   He explained that he would be going on an extended trip and wanted the house completed when he returned.

            Seeing the chance to make a huge profit, the carpenter skimped on materials, hired inexperienced workers at low wages, and covered mistakes with paint.  When the rich man returned the carpenter handed him the keys to the house and told him that his instructions had been carried out to the letter.  Good, replied the rich man as he returned the keys to him.  This is your new house.  I’m glad you built a house that you deserve to live in.

            The real test in life comes when the storms are upon us. Who or what do we turn to when the flash-floods of life come crashing down?  Do we go running for the sandbags desperately hoping to keep the waters from destroying us, thinking that if we keep busy and do what we can to protect ourselves then we will be safe?   Do we run as fast as we can in the opposite direction believing that we can outrun any problem and keep it from getting to us?  Do we sit quietly in our living room, watching television, and saying, “what flood?” believing that denial will keep us safe?      The Psalm which we read this morning proclaims, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea.” 

            While grace is a free gift, a strong spiritual foundation still requires maintenance, spiritual disciplines, the encouragement of a faith community, and action based on faithful convictions.  All of these strengthen our foundations.  Past neglect of the life of the spirit can be retrofitted and repaired through present attention. 

            Our spiritual bedrock is the steadfast love of God.  Psalm 46 offers fabulous images of God, our refuge and strength.  Having our trust in God as the foundation of our spiritual house is the right place to begin and the sunshine is the right time to begin.  Building walls that involve our hands firmly gripping the hand of Christ will strengthen our house. When the winds blow and the floods come, trusting in God and staying near to the heart and hand and will of God will see us through the storm. 

 

 

==============================================================

North Kingstown UMC

Date:    May 22, 2005

 

Text:     Hebrew Scripture:          Genesis 1:24-2:3

            Psalm:  8

            Epistle: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

            Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

 

Title:     The Heart of Faith

 

Have you found yourself among a group of people when the subject of faith or church attendance comes up? Frequently what I hear at that point is something like, “Well, I don’t think it really matters what you believe or whether you go to church, what’s more important is that you live a good life”.  This raises an important question – what is really important?  What is at the heart of our faith?  Does it make a difference what you believe and how you act upon those beliefs? 

            In the Christian calendar, today is Trinity Sunday – and it is specifically devoted to a doctrine that is at the heart of the Christian faith.  In talking about the Trinity it’s easy to do one of two things.  One tendency is to try to simplify it and explain it using images like water in three states as solid, liquid and gas, or ourselves in differing roles like child, partner and parent.  These help some but they shed only a partial light on what the Trinity is all about.  The other tendency is to get into a deep intellectual argument and explanation that quite frankly is never adequate.  The church has not been able to adequately explain the Trinity in 2000 years, and I’m certainly not going to do it in 15 minutes.   One of the best responses I have heard is, “It is absurd to apologize for mystery.”  I like that because the long and short of it is that we can discuss and debate and illustrate until the cows come home and it will still be a mystery.

            Does that mean we should ignore the Trinity?  I noticed a church ad in the “Yellow Book” that proclaims, “Jesus Simply Jesus”.  Please understand that I know nothing about that church, but I don’t think that “Jesus Simply Jesus” is the best approach – especially when the ad continues to say “A Church Committed to Biblical Purpose”.   If we empty our faith of the Trinity and its mystery and focus only on Jesus as the marketing campaign “WWJD – What Would Jesus Do?” –expressed, then our personal faith can disintegrate into something that is heavy on Jesus and light (lite) on God and the Holy Spirit. 

            I think it’s best to think about how the Trinity as an understanding of God helps us to better understand ourselves and how God works in and through us.  We can reflect on God, who created us and sustains us in love.  We can reflect on Jesus, who came to reveal God in real time, in human body and offered us grace through his death and resurrection. We can reflect on the Holy Spirit, God’s living presence in each of us, bringing us into a closer relationship with God and one another.  It is not an option to ignore or eliminate one or the other. 

            In today’s reading from Matthew we hear that clearly, in what we call the Great Commission.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember that I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  There is so much in those simple words – I believe that this is where we find the heart of the faith.

            We are the ones who are sent into the world to make disciples and to invite people into a relationship with the God on whose promises we rely.  We heard earlier part of the great Creation story from the book of Genesis.  That’s become a hot topic with the debate between teaching creationism and evolution. Quite frankly I don’t really understand the controversy; I do not need seven literal days to see God as the divine creator of the universe.  All I have to do is look at a baby or think about the complexity of the human body to believe that there is intelligent design and I’m quite willing to accept that this design took place over a very long period of time. 

Think of the human heart that pumps over one thousand gallons a day, over 55 million gallons in a lifetime.  This is enough to fill 13 super tankers.  It never sleeps, beating 2.5 billion times in a lifetime.  Our lungs contain one thousand miles of capillaries.  The process of exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide is so complicated that it has been said it is more difficult than it would be for a man shot out of a cannon to carve the Lord’s Prayer on the head of a pin as he passed by.  DNA contains about two thousand genes per chromosome – 1.8 meters of DNA are folded into each cell nucleus.  This is like putting 30 miles of fishing line into a cherry pit.  And it isn’t simply stuffed in.  It is folded in.  If folded one way, the cell becomes a skin cell.  If another way, a liver cell, and so forth.  The body uses energy efficiently.  If an average adult rides a bike for one hour at ten miles per hour, it uses the amount of energy contained in three ounces of carbohydrate.  If a car were this efficient with gasoline, it would get nine hundred miles to the gallon.[1]

As our Psalm proclaimed, “O Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them…? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.”   And, yes, we have been given dominion or authority over the earth in the sense of being stewards, caretakers – of being responsible for the care of the world. 

I read a paraphrase of a great theologian that said, “We are collaborators in creation. What you and I are becoming, the world is becoming.” This has the ring of truth – and it also has the ring of grave danger.[2]

Fred Craddock, the great preacher told a story of a man “who moved into a cottage equipped with a stove and simple furnishings.  As the sharp edge of winter cut across the landscape, the cottage grew cold, as did its occupant.  He went out back and pulled a few boards off the house to kindle the fire.  The fire was warm, but the house seemed as cold as before.  More boards came off for a larger fire to warm the now even colder house, which in turn required an even larger fire, demanding more boards.  In a few days the man cursed the weather, cursed the house, cursed the stove, and moved away.”  Unlike the man once we’ve destroyed our home the planet, we have no place to move.[3]

While God’s creation was decisive, it was not conclusive – in other words, the work of creation continues, and we are the ones charged with managing that process within the framework created by God.

Jesus spent much time in prayer seeking direction from God – we cannot focus on Jesus without focusing on the one he called Father.  When Jesus was nearing the end of his earthly life he told his disciples about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom God would send to be with them.  The Holy Spirit: the one who would teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus had said.

Jesus doesn’t just say to baptize people and set them loose.  We are challenged to teach and instruct people in the ways of Christian living.  We do not or should not bring people into a fellowship of faith and then leave them on their own without thorough instruction on precisely what it means to be a disciple. This is not accomplished in one Bible Study or in a particularly inspiring and moving sermon or worship service.  It takes place over a lifetime – for each of us.  It is a challenge to be in relationship with people and to let our relationships foster the environment where the new believer, or the old believer, eager soaks up the teachings of the Messiah of hope. 

Jesus spent so much of his time walking and talking with his disciples, teaching them, correcting them, and guiding them.  In the Great Commission we are told to teach others to obey everything that Jesus taught but, Praise God, we do not do this alone.  Jesus reminds us, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

It’s all about what God did for us and what God asks of us.[4]  What God did for us in Jesus Christ certainly included important ethical instruction, but that was not the center of it.  It was not an array of insights on how to go about living in the right way.  It wasn’t even primarily a call to live out love because God wants us to.  The good news focused most of all on God’s revelation of his redeeming love in the coming, the dying, and the rising of Jesus of Nazareth.  This is emphasized over and over again in the sermons in the Acts of the Apostles and in the letters written to the early church. 

Again and again, the New Testament recognizes that human sin is an immense problem.  We all have an inclination to disregard God and to go our own way.  Like the man burning the boards of his house to keep warm, we think more of ourselves in our use of the resources of the earth and our relationships with other nations than we do about our grandchildren or our great great great grandchildren. 

In the gospels, Jesus saw himself as more than a great teacher and example.  He saw his death as uniquely crucial for the redemption of humanity.  In Mark’s Gospel (10:45), we read, “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  In John’s Gospel, (10:11b) “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  Again in Mark’s Gospel, (14:24) “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”  Jesus viewed himself as the ultimate sacrifice slain for our lives. 

The more deeply a parent loves an erring child, the more the parent is in agony and the more willing to enter into some form of self-sacrifice to reach the child, get his attention and turn him around.  God loved us so much that God was willing to make that sacrifice for us.  God’s love is revealed to us in Jesus – God made flesh - who in love laid down his life to get our attention and bring us back to God.

But then God insists that we humans respond to what Jesus did for us.  That response can be characterized as “faith-obedience”.   The one who died for us comes to us as Friend, Brother, and Master and we are to live as disciples of Jesus’ seeking to follow him in all things.  According to the Great Commission, a rounded understanding of Jesus’ teachings about how humans should live is a key dimension in becoming a Christian, and the life of the church should reflect this.   In all of our lives and in the life of the church we do this better at some times than at others and in some areas better than in others.

We see this in the way we learn to love others and in the way we try to draw lines around whom we should love and who we can leave out.  Unfortunately for our sinful desires, Jesus didn’t leave out anyone – and as his disciples we struggle to learn how to put this into action. Jesus came out of death and returned to draw into his loving embrace those who had deserted him, those who had doubted him, and those whose actions had taken him to the cross.  He didn’t tell his disciples to find only those who had followed and listened to him.  In fact Matthew tells us that even then “when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” Christ calls all who are his to live toward opponents and enemies the love that he lived toward us. 

On NPR I heard a soldier talking about a friend who had been killed.  In part of his statement, he said, “It makes me hate them all the more.” I can understand how the young man feels, but it made my heart cry.  If we were to talk with the young men he was referring to, we would also find hurting men who have learned to hate.  I thought about the story of Christmas Eve during World War II when the trenches for one night were emptied and the land between filled with men showing pictures to each other of their families; when they became to each other men who were sons, brothers, husbands, and  fathers, men with hopes and dreams and not just a faceless enemy.

The beginning images in Genesis and the ending images in Matthew bring us full circle.  In the Genesis story humans are created in the image of God.  To bear the image of God is to see ourselves differently, but not just ourselves. It is to see everyone else differently as well. We see through human eyes, but God sees something very different.  Perhaps on that Christmas Eve, some of the soldiers started to realize that their enemy bore the image on God just as unmistakably as they did. 

God the creator calls us to see this image in everyone – both those who are different, and those who are close to us.  When we see and know the image of God it changes how we see ourselves and how we see others.  It also brings a change in how we act and how we treat one another.

Thomas Troeger wrote, “If I think of you as the enemy or the other that makes it impossible for us to have a creative or a reconciling relationship.  If I see that you are the very image of the one who created you, just as I also am, then think of what that does for each of us.  Our life becomes a way of drawing forth all that is best from each other’s heart, all that is best in each other’s gifts.”[5]

When we look at Jesus and see Him feeding the hungry, we see the image of God in action.  When we look at Jesus and see Him healing somebody who is broken and in need, we see the image of God in action.  Imagine a world where we looked at everyone and saw the image of God who made us all.

We need the Trinity to experience the fullness of the ways that God has been revealed to us. There is no time when that creative power of creation will be absent from us.  There is no time when the sustaining power and love of God will be absent from us.  There is no time when the love of Christ and the daily presence of the Holy Spirit is absent from us.  There is no time when we are not being called to regenerate the earth and to regenerate ourselves. 

Eugene Peterson’s The Message, closes Paul’s letter to the Corinthians this way, “And that’s about it, friends.  Be cheerful.  Keep things in good repair.  Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony.  Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.  Greet one another with a holy embrace.  All the brothers and sisters here say hello. 

“The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.” 

 

 

 

=======================================

May 15, 2005 Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2: 1-21

Psalm 104: 24-34, 35b

1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13

John7: 37-39

 

“Are You Plugged In?”

Let us pray:

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer!

Good morning!  It’s a privilege to be your preacher this morning on Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church! 

 

What a wonderful day to preach my first sermon as a Lay Speaker!  At first I wasn’t so sure I’d ever feel that way when Pastor Bev emailed me with the lectionary  scriptures saying,” Oooh, I didn’t realize that May 15^th is Pentecost!  Have fun!!”

However, there is something about living with selected scriptures for a few weeks to realize that any day is a wonderful day to listen to the words of the Bible and discern how they may be applied to our lives today. 

I don’t have the same memories of Pentecost that I do of Christmas and Easter.  There are so many traditions related to those two church holy-days.  However, I well remember one tradition at my church in Pennsylvania. On Pentecost Sunday we always had red frosted cupcakes to go with our after church coffee.  And, a friend of mine told me recently that her pastor always wore red high top Keds in honor of the day.  The best I could do was red balloons and a red kite!

I hear rumors that there might be a birthday cake after church, too.  Enjoy!

As I told the children, today is the birthday of the church.  The mighty wind and the red flames brought the message that something important was happening that day.  The disciples were empowered and spoke in languages that allowed everyone to hear about the great things that God had done.  As with most crowds, some understood and glorified God and some sneered and proclaimed them drunkards.

What really stands out is the effect on our good friend, Peter.  Peter who had denied Jesus three times, who had hidden from the Pharisees with the other disciples behind locked doors, was emboldened to stand with these same disciples and address the crowd with a loud voice proclaiming that Joel’s prophesy was being fulfilled that day- that God was pouring out His Spirit upon all those who chose to believe in Him.  Later in the Chapter 2 we read that 3000 responded that same day by being baptized. Now 2000 years later we look back  and realize that this experience at Pentecost was truly the birth day of the church!

What happened there?  A large gathering of Jews celebrating their Pentecost, the Feast of First Fruits, was transformed by God into an opportunity to shower the gift of the Holy Spirit upon any one who made a decision to believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ!  It was the Day the Power was Turned On for us all! What a difference from the Old Testament where the Holy Spirit was parceled out to only to chosen individuals and groups! 

It helps me to think of things I don’t understand in terms of something that makes sense to me.  I cannot stand here and explain the mystery of the Holy Spirit.  It helps me, however, to compare the Holy Spirit to something we use every day, electricity.  Our electric power is generated at a power source - a generating station.  The electric power generated by Narragansett Electric is available to us at the electric outlets in our homes and we can use it to do all kinds of things if we just plug in to the socket.  In like manner, since Pentecost, God, the Source has made enormous power available to any one who makes a decision to believe in Jesus Christ and plug in to the Holy Spirit. In each case it takes an action to access the power!

But why, I’ve often wondered, did God choose to make this power available to us all?

As I was preparing this sermon I opened one of the daily emails I get from Robert Schuller, the “Possibility Thinking” pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, and said to myself,” Wow!  This fits!” It helps to answer my question of why God chose to share the Holy Spirit with believers on Pentecost.  He is talking about Jesus and the giving of the Holy Spirit. Let me read it.

 Dr Schuller wrote: (and I quote)

“They didn’t realize it but this Possibility Thinker was about to solve His biggest problem.  For he had one big problem on this earth. It seemed like an ‘impossible problem’.  He could only be one place at a time.

“Someone said to me recently, ‘It’s too bad He isn’t around today.  We could sure use Him.’ And they added sadly, ‘Why did He have to die anyway?’

“’Die? He isn’t dead,’ I answered. ‘It seems to me that his spirit is very, very much alive today.’

“’He just got rid of His body,’ I suggested. Adding, ‘That was the biggest problem he faced, you know.  He had a body so he could only be in one place at a time.  While he was in the north He should have been in the south, too.  I’m sure He must have thought many times, ‘I wish I had a million bodies.  A million hands.  A million hearts.  A million tongues. Two million hands. I wish I could be in a million places at the same time.’

“So He conceived of a brilliant scheme of getting His body out of the way, and sending His living Holy Spirit into the thinking brains of millions of people of every race, in every city, in every country, in the whole world!  His way of getting to a million places at one time!

“Guess what?  He is alive this very moment sending messages into the minds of people.  Your brain was deliberately designed to pick up God’s spiritual signals in the form of ideas, impulses and moods.  Christ is busy this very moment sending out a message to you.  It takes the form of a “possibility thought’ in your mind.  Listen to it!  Respond to it!  And Christ can live in you!” ( Robert H. Schuller,  Hours of Power, pg 103)(End of quote)

Here then is a new way of looking at God’s reason for turning the Power on and making it available to us.  God had sent His Son in the flesh to show us how much He loved us, how much He was willing to sacrifice for our salvation. We still didn’t all ‘Get it!’

Now it was time for a different way of showing His love for us. In order that many more people all around the earth might hear the Good News story and come to believe in God’s great love he needed us as His storytellers in word and deed. At Pentecost He gave us the energy and power we needed for this task.  In the words of Charles Wesley’s famous hymn,” O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer’s praise!”

So then, since God had a reason for making the Power available to us, what further evidence do we have that this Power of God known as the Holy Spirit exists?

With the children we talked about the evidence of the wind’s existence by seeing the kite rise high into the sky. What evidence have we heard about in our readings today which show us God’s power, the source of the Holy Spirit?

First look at the new behaviors of Peter and the other disciples.  Where they were fearful, now they are bold in sharing the Good News!  What a difference that made in getting the Word out; and what a response from the crowd!

Then, think back to the Psalm.  What a wonderful litany of God’s power at work!  The world is full of God’s riches- the earth and its bounty, the sea and its creatures- all dependent on God’s grace and glory. How can we not praise Him and his power!  How can we not look around us every day and see the evidence in our back yards, in the faces of our children, in the food we eat., in the people who enrich our lives!

Thirdly, look at the words of Paul in 1^st Corinthians.  God as the Holy Spirit has given each of us different kinds of gifts,” …different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God.  God works in all of us in everything we do. ” (I Corinthians 12:5-6).

What are the gifts which are evidence of the Power of the Holy Spirit?   Paul mentioned some: speaking, wisdom, knowledge, healing, miracles, prophesy, etc. etc.  Just looking around this church we might add some of the ones we see evidenced in our midst;  hospitality, organizing, strategic planning, teaching, music, caretaking, listening, cooking, cleaning up, ushering, keeping books, counting money,  etc,

These gifts are evidence of the Holy Spirit’s Power. However, their purpose is stated in verse 7:” Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good.”

The power of the Holy Spirit is given to each of us so that we can together, each of us using our unique bundle of spiritual gifts, carry out God’s work here on earth for all His people!

 What if we keep quiet about our gifts, are shy about sharing them, think they are not important, are embarrassed that we might not be “good enough” at a particular task?  How then would God’s work get done?

How many of you have shopped at BJ’s or Costco or Bernie’s and seen coffee makers, microwaves, TV’s, etc. stacked up on shelves in cartons?   Are they any good to anyone there?  What if you bought a big high definition TV, brought it home, unpacked it and put it in a beautiful media center then did nothing but admire its great design – would it serve its designated purpose?  Of course not!  Until you plugged it in to the electrical circuit it wouldn’t be able to fulfill its purpose of allowing you to watch the Red Sox play Ball!  It has to be plugged in to work!

In the same way you, with your spiritual gifts, cannot serve your purpose for God unless you take them out of the box and plug into the Power of the Holy Spirit.  Then, when you are plugged in, you will see wonderful results.  As you use these gifts for the common good you will receive the promises of God.

What are these promises of God? 

Peter recounts the prophesies of Joel in Acts 2: 17-18.  As Eugene Peterson tells it in The Message: 

“I will pour out my Spirit, on every kind of people:

 Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters;

 Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams.”

 And in verse 21;   “And whoever calls out to me, God, for help, will be saved!”

 Then in John 7: 38, we hear:  “If anyone believes on me, rivers of living water will flow out of that person’s heart”

Plug into the Holy Spirit and you will be filled! You will be energized to do God’s work in your family, your church, your community, your world!  Your life will be overflowing! You will have everything you need!

Let’s recap: 

Pentecost, then, was the day the Power of the Holy Spirit was turned on for anyone who chose to believe. 

We have evidence of it. 

We know there was a purpose behind this gift. 

We have heard God’s promises of what we can expect if we plug in to this power.

What response then does God desire of us?

We are first called upon to Believe in Jesus, God’s gift to us!  Peter told us to repent and be baptized – to make a commitment to put God first in our lives

Next we are called upon, gracefully and gratefully, to Receive God’s gifts to us; the Holy Spirit; our spiritual gifts which allow us to serve; His son, Jesus; the world He has made for us; and on and on. 

Thirdly, we are called upon to dream dreams and see visions, to Conceive of what this world might be like if we all used our spiritual gifts for the common good.

We can believe, receive and conceive but nothing will happen unless we Act!

We must decide to “Plug In” to this power source before we can accomplish more that we can imagine! 

We must ask the Holy Spirit for help in discerning our spiritual gifts, in finding people to help and causes which will further God’s work.

Then we will be energized for to be God’s hands, feet, tongues and hearts to do the work which God has waiting for each of us.

Pentecost was the day the power of the Holy Spirit was turned on for you and me.  Unless we plug our lives into this Source God cannot use us.  It’s up to each one of us!

Are you plugged in?

Let us pray!

Our gracious and our loving God:  We celebrate the birthday of your church, the day when thousands were baptized and joined together as believers.   We thank you that you sent your Son to show us the Way and your Holy Spirit to be with us on our journey.  We ask you to be with us now as we go about our daily lives, to keep us always mindful of your presence, to open our hearts and minds to the power of your Holy Spirit that we might bring glory to your name and the name of your precious Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen

Let us really listen to the words as we join in singing hymn # 2241 in Faith We Sing, “The Spirit Sends us Forth to Serve”

 

 

 

 

==========================================================

North Kingstown UMC

Date:    May 8, 2005  - Ascension Sunday, Festival of the Christian Home

 

Text:     NT Scripture:     Acts 1:6-14

            Psalm:  68:5-10

            Epistle: 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

            Gospel: Luke 24:44-53

 

Title:     Taking Up Our Faith

 

            “On Wednesday, October 11, 1994, NASA’s Magellan space explorer fell silent.  The Magellan had circled Venus more than fifteen thousand times since arriving at the planet in 1990, but on this day NASA scientists intentionally changed the satellite’s course and sent it veering into the planet where it burned to a crisp in the atmosphere.

            “Why would NASA send the Magellan – which cost nine hundred million dollars – plummeting into the planet?  Because the Magellan was virtually out of power.  One final experiment had drained its batteries to the point where it could no longer transmit data.

            “Without power, even the highest technology is worthless.”[1]

            When the power goes out, things come to a screeching halt.  “When the resurrected Christ appeared to the disciples outside Jerusalem, he was only interested in one thing.  He wasn’t interested in talking about the restoration of Israel.  He didn’t want to discuss the days and the hour when the kingdom might arrive. But he did want to talk about power.  At the heart of the conversation was this message: Don’t let the power go out!

            “He wanted the disciples to receive the full power of the Holy Spirit so they would be empowered to be the most effective witnesses possible.  The kingdom will come, but Jesus is more interested in the transforming influence of a witness plugged into the power.”[2]

            Jesus tells them about the Holy Spirit which they will receive and that the Holy Spirit will give them power.  Not power as the world knows it.  Power within the church is something very different.  It is not “power over” but “power with”:  Power with the Holy Spirit, power with each other, power for a specific responsibility – to witness.  It is power that comes with marching orders – power to witness to Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and throughout the earth.  This is the same power that we receive through the Holy Spirit – not power over, but power to witness.

            Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria were specific places to the disciples, but they were also symbolic and that symbolism is true for us today.  Jerusalem is our family, our neighborhood, those close to us.  Judea is more like our sphere of influence – our schools, workplaces, the grocery store, the mall.  Samaria is the place where “those other people” live, the ones we don’t like.  You can identify your own Samaria.  Basically, our witnessing is comprehensive and inclusive; we are to be witnesses throughout the earth.

            No, that doesn’t mean that everyone has to be a preacher, or travel throughout the world speaking to large crowds, or even stand in front of Wal-Mart telling everyone about Jesus.  For most of us, that is not the kind of witnessing that that we are called to do, but we are still witnesses – in more places than we realize. 

            When Jesus had told the disciples about the power of the Holy Spirit and given them their marching orders to witness, he was lifted up out of their sight.  In the Acts of the Apostle, Luke describes the situation, “While he was going and they were gazing up into heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  They said, `Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?’”  Why, indeed?  Can you think of a more normal response to something so amazing? 

The key here, however, is that standing looking up toward heaven is good for a time, but then it’s time to do something. In the spiritual life we move back and forth between moments of inspiration and our daily routine.   Both the uplifting mountaintop and the hard work of faithful living are spiritual.  The key is to channel the energy from one into the other. It’s important to recognize the temptation to continue gazing heavenward when there is work to be done.  It is equally as important to recognize the danger in constant work without time to gaze into heaven. 

Today is the day that is celebrated as Mother’s Day or in the church, The Festival of the Christian Home.  This offers us an example of this kind of balance.  Oh how we love to look at a baby, to play with it, how we love it when the baby responds to us with a smile and the beautiful sounds that a baby makes.  However, we all know that we cannot spend all the time playing with the baby.  The baby needs to be changed, and fed, and put down to stretch and to sleep.  If we fail to do any of these things, the baby will let us know with some rather pointed crying. However, if we mechanically go about the process of meeting only the baby’s physical needs the child will not learn how to interact, will not feel the arms of love. 

As children grow older the challenge increases.  It is a challenge to provide a healthy balance of freedom and limits, play and work, encouraging our children to talk and teaching them when to listen, encouraging their dreams and helping them gain the tools needed to fulfill their dreams even when they think they don’t need those tools.  Being a parent is not an easy job – and parents need a source of power for this that ideally comes from their relationship with God and their lives as faithful disciples.

The same is true for all of the roles of our lives student, teacher, manager, clerk, mechanic, nurse, accountant, or whatever it is we find ourselves doing each day.  Our culture has become all too familiar with the term “burn-out”.  A prayer in our hymnal #535 uses a powerful image that describes too many of our lives, “Like an ant on a stick both ends of which are burning, I go to and fro without knowing what to do, and in great despair.”  If that sounds too much like your life then you probably need to seek God’s help in restoring the healthy rhythm between prayer and action.  You probably need to check your power connection and be sure you are plugged into the source of true power.

That’s what the disciples did after they stopped staring off into heaven.  They returned to Jerusalem and devoted themselves to prayer.  It is significant who was there.  The remaining eleven disciples were there including Peter and Thomas.  Remember that the night Jesus was arrested; Peter was the one who had denied three times even knowing who Jesus was.  Thomas was the one who hadn’t been there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples following his resurrection.  Thomas was the one who said that unless he saw the mark of the nails in his hands, and put his finger in the marks of the nails and in his wounded side, he would not believe. Peter and Thomas were there – there is a place there for all of us who have ever denied Jesus or doubted.  But it wasn’t just the eleven remaining disciples.  There were others there including women who were part of their group; mostly not named – although Jesus mother is named.  His brothers were also there.  If we were to read a little farther we would find Peter standing up among the believers – some 120 people – on one particular occasion.

Although each of us is invited to a personal relationship with Christ, the importance of a community of believers together praying and seeking God’s guidance cannot be overestimated. As they took up their faith and began the process of learning what it would be like to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and throughout the earth, without Jesus’ physically present with them, they learned how to be present to each other, and how to work together to make the decisions that were necessary to the daily functioning of a group of believers. It didn’t always go smoothly, but they didn’t give up.  They sought the power that Christ had promised them, the power they needed to live together without driving each other crazy, the power to care for the needs of those among and around them, the power to be witnesses through their lives, their actions not only their words.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a world renowned writer, scholar, spiritual leader and Zen Buddhist monk was cited by Martin Luther King, Jr. as a holy man whose ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to world brotherhood, to humanity.  

He describes a “true peace walk”.   “In 1981, on the day the United Nations decided whether to pass a resolution on disarmament, a huge march was organized in New York City.  Half a million people walked together for peace. When some of my friends invited me to join the march, I agreed to participate only if I could walk in the style of walking meditation. …  We were a multinational, multicultural group representing many spiritual traditions.  Holding a banner that read, `Reverence for Life,’ we walked mindfully down the streets of Manhattan.  Groups of young people around us were marching quickly, almost running, and shouting slogans like `Disarmament now!  Down with nuclear weapons!’   Our group did not say anything; we just walked slowly and peacefully.  We learned later that, because of our way of walking, we slowed 300,000 people behind us.  Throughout the long walk, there were groups behind us shouting, `Can’t you walk faster?’ trying to pass us.  When they went by us, they would look back in frustration at this cluster of people who were moving so slowly.  But then a curious thing happened.  As they watched us, they changed their attitude, quieted down, and began to walk more slowly themselves.  It became a true peace walk.  People still remember this walk because of the small group in the `March for Peace’ who actually practiced peace with every step they took.”[3]

For me this is a vivid example of living what we believe.  I think that peace demonstrations are far more powerful when they model peace rather than anger, or frenzy.  Our witness as Christians is far more powerful and authentic when our lives model Christian behavior, when people can see Christ’s way in our lives; when our witness is a living example of Christ’s love.

I know that none of us is perfect and that there are times when we will become frenzied, or our anger may be our anger rather than Christ’s righteous anger at injustice and oppression.  Each of us brings our history, our personal experiences that to some extent influence the way we hear or respond to what takes place around us. As adults we know that the way we responded as children is not always an appropriate response for us as adults. Part of our responsibility, as parents and as adults who care for the children among us, is to help them grow into appropriate healthy responses.  Part of our responsibility is to examine our own lives in honest ways seeking God’s guidance so that we may identify, understand, and when appropriate change the ways that we respond.  We are not perfect witnesses for Christ, but we are called to be intentional about seeking God’s guidance. We are challenged to grow in our faith, our understanding of it, our practice and our witness.

Each day the challenge is for us to be plugged into the source of true power, take up our faith, and walk into life as living examples of Christ’s love.  Each day we are sent to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria; our homes, neighborhoods, places of employment, the marketplace, or any place where we are seen and where our actions influence others. Our life is a spiritual life moving back and forth between moments of inspiration and our daily routine; channeling the energy from one into the other; gazing heavenward and also getting on with God’s business. 

 

==========================================================================================

May 1, 2005 Garland

A GENTLE AND REVERENT ACCOUNT

I Peter 3:13-22

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Rev. F. Richard Garland

 

The Church has long taught that every baptized Christian is called to give witness to faith.  The truth is that Christian witness is a most difficult vocation, and can be a fearsome and foreboding venture. Yet throughout the Gospels Jesus urges his disciples to give their witness in the world, and throughout history the story of faithful witnesses has been a source of inspiration to every generation.

Too often, in our modern era with its emphasis on the dramatic and the attention getting, it is assumed that Christian witness is a loud and demanding enterprise.  For more and more people that is a turn off, and for sensitive Christian people it is an embarrassment.  We need an understanding of witness which honors Christ and points faithfully to God, a witness that is accepting of people and gentle with their spirits, a witness that every Christian can do. It is difficult to cummicate faith if we are busy judging others or seeking to have our way with them.

Stephen Covey, a noted authority on interpersonal relationship tells of being on a New York City subway train one Sunday morning.  He writes:  "People were sitting quietly - some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed.  It was a calm, peaceful scene.  Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car.  The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.  The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation.  The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people papers.  It was very disturbing.  And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.  It was difficult not to feel irritated.  I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all.  It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too.  So, finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said,  "Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people.  I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?"  The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly,  "Oh, you're right.  I guess I should do something about it.  We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago.  I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either.""

In our rush to make our feelings known, in our desire to take control of situations, in our haste to make our own witness, we often fail to take the time to listen.  In the process we operate out of assumptions that distort our perspective and interfere with our capacity to give a faithful witness.  Jesus was not like that, and the Church at its best is not like that!   To be sure, Jesus did make some blunt and unpopular statements to which authorities took offense.  But when he was teaching the people and when he was making witness to the Good News, he was a gentle and caring man, one who offered acceptance and peace and healing.  He heard their needs at the deepest level.  He gave a gentle and reverent account of his ministry and the people flocked to him as those who have come to be fed.  And fed they were: to the extent that the Gospel of Christ spread like wildfire across the land.  The God who rescued people from slavery and kept them safe through the wilderness of their spirits, was the same God who entered the life of a child.  In his maturity Jesus offered a gentle and healing touch to a weary and broken world.  By his life and ministry he gave a gentle and reverent account of the power of God, and it changed the history of the world.  It is that kind of witness to which we are called.  The best witness of faith is the gentle, heart to heart dialogue of people interested enough in each other to hear each others story.

I shall always remember one of my Confirmation Classes as one of the most unique classes I have ever taught.  We had been talking about what it means to be a Church member as a preparation for one of their assignments for the class, and I asked them what they thought members and pastors did.  They didn't have the foggiest notion.  So I began to share what my day might include, sharing with them some of the things that I do as a pastor. I talked about the teaching and the reading, about the hospital calls and the funerals, the preparation for sermons and Worship Services and the meetings, the baptisms and the weddings.  One of the class shook his head as I described staying up all night holding the hand of a dying person, and he asked, "Why did you go into the ministry anyway?"  You know, he was one of the few lay persons who ever asked me that question.  I could probably count on the fingers of my hands the number of people who have asked me that question in the last thirty years.  I shared about growing up in the church, and the satisfaction that, as a youth, I got from helping other people, and how I believed that God called me to go into the ministry.  It was a special moment for me and, I trust, a gentle and reverent account of part of one man's pilgrimage of faith.

When was the last time you shared something deep with another person?  an ache of your spirit? or a word of encouragement to someone who needed to know that they weren't the only person who struggled with life's issues?  When was the last time you told a lonely person that God loves them even when they don't love themselves?"  When was the last time that you listened to someone with an understanding heart?  When was the last time that you told a person that you didn't believe that God would punish people if they gave up on life?  When was the last time you talked with a friend, or a stranger who was becoming a friend, and told them what it's like for you to trust Jesus with your hurts and hopes and special dreams?  The life of every person is filled with opportunities to witness.  They are times of sharing, with gentle reverence, part of your pilgrimage of faith.

A CLEAR AND PRESENT VISION

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Revelation 21:1-6

Fifth Sunday of Lent

March 13, 2005

When your Pastor first broached the possibility of my preaching a “last chance sermon,” I was not only intrigued, I knew exactly what text I would have to preach on, if given the opportunity, Revelation 21. This great vision is one of the most beloved passages of Scripture.  The rest of the Book of Revelation may be for many people an enigma wrapped in a mystery covered by a veil, but these words have comforted people in every generation.  They continue to provide vision for those who face significant decisions.  They provide hope for those dealing with life's deepest hurts.  They are a healing balm for life's most grievous wounds.  They still give satisfaction to those who drink deeply from the well of their wisdom.

But, I knew immediately that I had missed something, and that this would be an opportunity to set the record straight. For years I have used this text only for Memorial Services, offering the hope and the comfort of a dwelling with God who would wipe away tears from our eyes, and where death would be no more. What I had missed is that the language, for the most part, is in the present tense, not the future tense. Further, every preacher knows that in the gaps between the words of the text there is another story, waiting to be told. I knew I had to tackle this - to preach on what I believe is the deeper meaning of this text - what I have come to realize as a clear and present vision. Had there been any doubt in my mind, it was removed when I learned that the ecumenical lectionary for this day includes Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones.

I think Bob’s first reaction was to be a bit taken aback. Both of our ministries have had to do with hard justice issues - he has distinguished himself in his faithfulness. Neither of us have wanted to be so heavenly focused that we were no earthly good, and we have been largely successful in that regard.

So, first a little background: Early in the Book of Revelation John writes, “I, John, your brother who shares with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, ‘Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches.’” If you Google ‘the island of Patmos,’ you will get thousands of hits for lovely vacation opportunities. Dig a bit and you discover that it is a rugged island, perhaps the crater rim of an extinct volcano, about 40 miles off the southwest coast of Turkey, once a stop over on a voyage from Ephesus to Rome, and the last from Rome to the east, it was one time the site of a penal colony where the Romans placed political exiles like John.

So let us listen again to this familiar passage of scripture. Listen as John describes something in the here and now. Try to unhook from hearing about some distant future.

 

[A reading of Revelation 21:1-7]

 

Now a reality check. Rome had crushed Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple just 20 years before. The new Christians were the next target. Emperors like Caligua and Nero were adored and feared by many Romans and by the time of Domitian they were looked upon as divine. It is likely that John, barely escaping with his life,  was banished to Patmos for refusing to affirm “Caesar is Lord.” He was a prisoner, sentenced to hard labor. There while in a cave beneath a temple to the goddess Diana, (a strong willed and powerful goddess, who could punish injustices against the local gods with ferocious and deadly accuracy), that John saw his vision of a new heaven and a new earth.  From where he is sitting anyone else would have seen a valley of dry bones. John is either hallucinating or he is seeing something that we have missed over the years, seeing a clear and present vision where we have mistakenly thought it was about some distant future.

Let’s look at what John sees: A new heaven and a new earth, the sea was no more. He sees a holy city, new Jerusalem. The realist knows that Jerusalem has been put down and the Temple destroyed. Caesar is divine. Just look at the prison camps, the mines, the soldiers, the ships in the harbor - all a harsh reminder: Rome is fully in charge. John sees something else entirely. He looks at the prison camps and sees the seeds of their own destruction. He sees the mines and knows that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. He sees the soldiers and knows that “every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for the fire, and he knows that unto us a child is born, to us a son is given: that the government will be upon his shoulder, that his name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.” There is no place for Caesars in this holy city, this new Jerusalem.

John sees a wedding banquet, a feast of salvation with those gathered welcoming the bridegroom. And what is this but a codeword for the very Presence of Christ? Anyone else would have seen the poor, the dispossessed, the exile, those enslaved by the principalities and powers. John knows that these are the very people welcomed in the parables of Jesus. As the old gospel song puts it: “He brought me to his banqueting table, And his banner over me is love.”

John hears a voice, not from the Temple of Diana above, but from God: “The home of God is among mortals.” There are echoes here of another Vision, as paraphrased by Eugene Peterson in The Message: “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” Here in the midst of the power of Rome to exile and enslave, God has moved into the neighborhood and is beginning a transformation.

So who do we believe, the realist or John? In a desperate attempt to put out the spark of this vision, the realist would teach us that this is indeed a powerful vision, but that it is something in the distant future something to hope for when this veil of tears is finished. It’s a winsome temptation, but putting John’s vision off to some future and delightful heaven only serves to keep the masters of oppression and death secure in their power. That is not what John sees. In a clear and present vision, he sees the power of life victorious over the merchants of death, now! And why is that? It is because he knows the story of the resurrection! Jim Wallis, in his splendid book, “God’s Politics, Why The Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It,” observes, “Southern slave masters gave their captives the Bible to keep their eyes trained on heaven, instead of their plight on earth. But in the Bible those same slaves found Moses and Jesus.” Rome was actually tolerant of Christians, provided that they would also worship Caesar. John would have none of that, because he knew the story of the gospel, and he saw that Rome was creating valley after valley of dry bones. It was the same repulsive sight that Ezekiel had seen and the question remained the same: “Can these bones live?

There is much in our world that needs a clear and present vision.  People look at bleak neighborhoods, emptiness fed by anger and despair, fanned by institutionalized violence; and they wonder "Can there be any hope for justice?"  When you’re young and poor and alone on the mean streets of urban America, it’s even worse. And rural poverty is America’s dirty little secret. Families seek to cope with economic decisions; they struggle with issues of declining health; they work on relationships that seem beyond repair and sometimes realize that they have to abandon them; and they wonder "How can I possibly hope for better days?"  Even churches: dispirited, worrying about aging memberships, shrinking budgets, and changing life styles, even they ask "What hope is there for our survival?

So, there is much in our world that needs a healing presence.  We see around us the signs of mourning and crying and pain, and we pray that these things would pass away.  There is an emptiness when someone close to us dies, or a relationship in which we have invested much energy begins to wither.  There is a sadness when we see values discarded or made impotent by the rush of the world. There is a loneliness in a world made impersonal by its rules or unresponsive to human need.  In the face of it all a person needs someone to just hold their hand; a society needs to hear, "We won't beat you down."  A church needs to hear, "We want you to survive."  We need a vision of the very presence of God.

Such a vision can restore balance to life and give energy to go on. And when you read the story between the gaps in the words of the text, that’s what John saw.  It was not by his choice that he was on the Island of Patmos.  He had been banished for his faith, but he had not abandoned the faith that had caused him to be so confined.  If anything, it had sharpened his vision.  He saw, even more clearly, what it meant to come into the presence of the living God.  For him it meant a new heaven and a new earth; a holy city where God dwells in the midst of the people; a place where all things become new and the thirsty receive water from the fountain of the water of life.

For the theological purest, this kind of theology is called “realized eschatology” which Thomas Merton describes as “the transformation of life and of human relations by Christ, now,” not in some distant future. One does have to be careful here though. This does not mean toleration of life destroying circumstances like abusive relationships, or immoral budgets, or preemptive wars, to name a few. It means living in the transforming Presence of Christ who makes all things new.

Sometimes we see truth most clearly in times of trouble.  We realize how dear a person is to us when their life is at risk.  We see how important a ministry is to us when we are at risk of losing it.  We experience healing when we accept the gentle touch of someone who cares.  Our thirsting hearts are satisfied when we finally drink deeply of the wisdom which flows pure from the Spirit of God. We recognize a clear and present vision when, in the depths of despair, the only recourse we have is to remember that the Spirit of the Lord can make dry bones live.

Earlier this year I came across a little book entitled “Life Is So Good.” It is a biography of George Dawson. The title comes from a favorite saying of his great grandmother Sylvie, “Life is good, and I do believe it is getting better.”  There is a piece of me that is inclined to dismiss such sentiments - too polyanish - usually the boasting of the sheltered and the privileged. But this promised to be different - you see, Sylvie had been born a slave. George was born poor in the rural south. At age ten his best friend Pete was lynched, blamed for doing to a white girl what he hadn’t done. At  age twelve his family farmed him out as a servant to make ends meet. He lived a hard life on the rails and when he settled down, married and raised his family, he made sure that they were all college graduates. He outlived two wives and at age 98 he decided it was time for him to go to school for the first time and learn to read. When George Dawson said, “Life is good, and I do believe it is getting better.” it had the ring of a deeper truth, born of a clear and present vision.

There is a wildly popular set of books by Tim LaHaye called The Left Behind Series. It has sold millions of copies and is a huge commercial success. Its basic premise is that there is a rapture coming in which the righteous will be suddenly caught up into a glorious heaven and all the rest of us schmucks will be left behind. The implication is that we had better shape up before the righteous ship out. Images from Ezekiel and the Book of Revelation are used to justify the assumption. Well, I’ve read the Bible too and I think that the series misses the point. When Jesus came preaching, he began with Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” When Jesus set the standards for the new economy of life, blessedness belonged to the poor in spirit, to those who mourn, to the meek, to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. When Jesus welcomed people into his kingdom, it was those who did justice and kindness to the hungry and thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked and visited the sick and the prisoner.