The United Methodist Church
Open Hearts - Open Minds Open Doors
Willmar, Minnesota, USA
office@willmarumc.org
Sermons Archive 2
The sermons on this page (unless otherwise noted) are those of the Rev. Chad Gilbertson, pastor of the United Methodist Church of Willmar, Minnesota, USA.
Beginning August 2008.“A PROPHETIC PRAYER…OR TWO”
Luke 2:22-40
December 28, 2008
Well, Christmas is over, and the common question being asked is something like, “Did you get what you were hoping for?” Perhaps a better question would be, “Did you get what you needed?”
Over 2,000 years ago, two deeply religious people…a prophet named Simeon and a prophetess named Anna…received exactly what they were hoping for. Today, we recognize that gift to be exactly what we need – for today and for all time.
Simeon was a temple worker who had the privilege of dedicating a Jewish baby named Jesus. The thing about this event was that it wasn’t just an accident or by chance that Simeon was there that day…in fact it was a Christmas gift for him that had been promised to him and that he had been waiting for. In fact, it was the gift that Simeon always wanted.
8 days after the first Jewish son was born he was to be presented for circumcision at the temple where he was to be dedicated by his parents to God. The mother of the child was considered unclean for 7 days after giving birth according to the Law of Moses, so the 8th day was the first chance she had to enter into the temple.
A sacrifice was also required of the parents, typically a young bull or a lamb…but a poor couple could instead offer two young birds in exchange, and that is what Joseph and Mary brought that day. The young carpenter and his bride had an ordeal in bringing their Son into this world, the whole manger in a barn situation that we all know about.
The trip to Bethlehem was probably also costly for them, and having barely more than nothing to begin with made this sacrifice a literal sacrifice for them
What they didn’t realize though was that God’s hand was still involved. At the temple that day were Simeon and a prophetess named Anna.
Simeon, we read, was righteous and devout. The first of those terms shows that he behaved well towards people, while the second signifies that he was careful about his religious duties. Scripture tells us that he was “looking forward to the consolation of Israel,” which is another way of saying that he was waiting for the long-expected Messiah.
Simeon had good reason to look for the Messiah – it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that the Messiah would come during his lifetime. We know from the text that it was this same Spirit that guided Simeon into the temple at the exact time Mary and Joseph arrived with the baby Jesus. Simeon took the baby into his arms and praised God. Listen again to the words Simeon’s words of praise: “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
God had promised Simeon a gift, and now God was delivering on that promise. I can imagine Simeon saying to himself, “This is exactly what I wanted!”
Anna also arrived in the temple as this was taking place. Anna, we read, is an older woman. She is a widow who, according to scripture, “never left the temple.” That phrase could be taken to mean that she had living quarters somewhere within the Temple, or more likely that she was constantly at worship. Anna was likely aware of the long-awaited Messiah and when she realized that she was in the presence of the Promised One she praised God and began to speak about the child to those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, or the deliverance that would be brought by the Messiah. Anna also might have uttered, “This is exactly what I wanted!”
Simeon and Anna waited their entire lives for the “perfect gift” and God finally delivered on the promise. The good news for us is that this was a gift that keeps on giving!
Let’s take a quick look at what this gift really is.
First, the gift is salvation. Salvation, according to John Wesley, begins with justification, continues with sanctification, and ends in glorification. Justification is, in its most simple terms, the pardoning of sin. This is only possible through the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ. Sanctification can be thought of as becoming more dead to sin and more alive to God. The final stage, glorification, is that time when we become like Christ. 1 John 3:2 says, “What we do know is this: When he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” And so we might think of salvation as being made into the image of Christ.
Second, the gift is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” The Gentiles, of course, were the non-Jews. They were often considered heathens, those who did not acknowledge the God of the Bible. To become “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” would mean that the message of peace, hope, love and joy that was the message of the Messiah, would be passed on to all people. Isaiah 49 foretold of the promised Messiah and who he would be coming for. The prophet wrote, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” By suggesting that the child would be a light to the Gentiles, Simeon was suggesting that his message would be spread to all people in all parts of the world.
Third, the gift is “glory to your people Israel.” I did some study on the word ‘glory’ because it is such an oft-heard word in the Bible. In the 40th chapter of Isaiah, the prophet encourages his listeners to “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…” And in verse 5, he says, “Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.” In the Christmas story from Luke, the heavenly host sings, “Glory to God in the highest heaven…” So what is this glory that is promised to Israel? It is the expression of God's person. It is any manifestation of God's character, any manifestation of God’s attributes in the world. It is the brightness, the product of God’s presence. It is the revelation of God’s self.
So what does this mean for us today? What is the gift that we receive when we receive Jesus into our hearts and lives? It is the gift of glory – God’s presence with us. It is the gift of light – a light for all people – a light that shines in the darkness and shows us the way. It is the gift of salvation – forgiveness of sin, becoming more and more aware of God and God’s presence in our lives, becoming more Christ-like. Isn’t this what we are all hoping for? Isn’t this exactly what we need?
In just a little bit, we are going to be celebrating the sacrament of baptism. The parents and sponsors of Ivy/Lane will be presenting the child to God, just as Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. This is their way of offering their child the gifts of glory, light and salvation. If you’ve never received these gifts – if you’ve never asked Jesus to come into your life and become your Lord and Savior, then use the Baptismal Ritual as your own personal prayer. When the parents and sponsors are asked the questions in the beginning of the service, hear them as questions to you and answer them yourself. Repent of your sin, confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, and accept God’s grace. God has given us the gift we’ve been hoping for…the gift we so desperately need. Have you accepted it? Will you accept it today? AMEN.
“A PRAYER OF JOY”
Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20
Christmas Eve, 2008
It may be a stretch, but I want to try to take you back over 2,000 years ago, to a field outside of Bethlehem. If it helps you to close your eyes, go ahead and do so (but know that I would never make that invitation at a midnight service!).
You are a shepherd. You live in the field and make a living caring for sheep. When food becomes scarce, you move the flock to a new location. Always you are on the lookout for predators – wolves, snakes, and other beasts that could easily harm or even devour one of your precious flock.
Imagine what you might be wearing. Most likely, you’re in a long robe with long sleeves and a covering for your head to protect you from the hot sun during the day, and keep you warm on cool nights. On your feet are simple sandals – nothing much – just enough to keep your feet protected from rocks and thorns. In your hand would be your trusty rod – a walking stick that could also be used to ward off enemies of the sheep – and your staff – the familiar shepherd’s crook.
Imagine the scene written about in our story for tonight. The fire had long since gone out as you and the other shepherds huddled around the embers. The spring air is pleasant though damp. You sit in the night poised, listening for the distressed sounds of ewes who might be delivering their lambs. It is the middle of the lambing season, the only time during the year when you’d be required to keep watch all night in the fields. Already you’ve witnessed six lambs being born this night. Even for hardened shepherds the sight could still bring a tear to the eye, though you’d do your best to hide the emotion from everyone else.
None of you notice at first the light that had begun to glow. It was, in fact, the smell of the angel that first catches your attention. There is a freshness about it, fresher even than the spring air that surrounds you, that grabs you with a jolt. As you turn, you see the tall shining figure of a man standing in the midst of the glow. But this was no man.
You all look to David, the senior shepherd, to see what his response might be, whether to run or to take up your staff to protect yourself.
But David had fallen on his face. He understood who it was. The other shepherds follow his example and hug the ground.
The voice of the angel is kindness itself, and filled with joy. It speaks with a laugh. His first words are those so often heard from the lips of angels, "Do not be afraid." You can almost hear the hint of a smile when he speaks.
Then the angel pauses as if he were waiting for you to glance up and look him in the face.
"I have good news for you, good news of great joy!"
In the midst of what seems like a dream, you hear the angel speak a word that shocks you… “Christ," he said, "He is Christ the Lord."
With this announcement, you look up…even if only slightly. You glance into the eyes of the other shepherds, and begin to speak: “Could it be? Christ has come? The Messiah?”
As you look back toward the angel, without saying a word you ask for a sign. “This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
Puzzled, you now begin to rise to your feet and move toward the angel to ask more questions. And then all at once the sky explodes with light, knocking you back to the ground. Now squinting between your fingers, you see thousands of other angels, bathed in a blinding light. The sky crackles and sizzles with energy, and then comes a second explosion, this one of sound as the host erupts in praise:
"Glory to God in the heavenly heights, and peace to all men and women on earth who please him."
Your eardrums are throbbing and your eyes are momentarily blinded. When you finally are able to open your eyes, all you see are multicolored spots. And when someone is finally able to find words to speak, all he can say is, "What shall we do?"
Again it’s the senior member, David, who answers: "What do you think? Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing!"
And that’s exactly what you do. You run at full speed down the hill and into the town. And while it takes more than just a little bit of searching, you finally find them in a stable behind one of the inns – Mary, Joseph, and the baby. Excitedly, you tell everyone you meet what the angel had told you about this child. Interestingly, where people wouldn’t normally give an ordinary shepherd like you the time of day, they listen – interested and amazed at what you have to say.
The call of the sheep is beckoning you to return to the hillside. But as you make your way through the city streets and then back up the hill, you find yourself speaking a prayer – a prayer that glorifies and praises God – a prayer of joy.
As we return to today, we ought to know that while the message of the angel was given over 2,000 years ago, its meaning is timeless. It may have been first directed to shepherds, but today the message is for you and me:
To you…to us is born this day a Savior – one who can and will save us To you…to us is born this day the Messiah – the one who can and will free us To you…to us is born this day the Lord – the one through whom anything is possibleThis is the good news of great joy. May we who have heard and experienced this story tonight return to our homes in the same way as the shepherds – praising and glorifying God. And may our prayers tonight and every night be prayers of joy.
AMEN.
“A PRAYER OF WONDER”
Luke 1:26-38
Fourth Sunday in Advent, 2008
Well here we are…the Fourth Sunday in Advent – the last Sunday before Christmas. While the first three weeks of Advent featured more songs that had the theme of preparation, today we throw open the doors and sing the songs of Christmas. The scripture lesson from the gospel of Luke introduces a couple of the main characters from the Christmas story and sets the scene for what will take place in just a few short days.
The story of the angel’s visit to Mary and the announcement that Mary had been chosen to give birth to the Son of God is a story filled with wonder.
The story begins with a reference to the “sixth month.” This would be the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Looking at the verses prior to these, Luke is telling the story of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth who, in their old age, are informed that their prayers had been answered and they would give birth to a son they were to name John. Listen to the two verses just before our story begins:
“After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five monthsshe remained in seclusion. She said, ‘This is what the Lord has donefor me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgraceI have endured among my people.”So Elizabeth was in hiding for five months, and “in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.” The angel greeted Mary with a message that caused her to be perplexed, or to wonder: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
What kind of greeting was that for an ordinary young woman with no apparent ties to God? We don’t read of her being raised in the synagogue, or being the child of a priest or a Pharisee, or having read and studied the scriptures. “Favored one?”
It would be easy to see how Mary could have been perplexed by the sight of the angel. Zechariah, we read earlier, was terrified and overwhelmed with fear when the angel visited him. But the scripture here is very clear – Mary was much perplexed by his words and she wondered “what sort of greeting this might be.”
The angel reassures Mary by telling her that she has nothing to fear. I love Eugene Peterson’s translation in The Message: “God has a surprise for you!”
And what a surprise it would be. The angel continues: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Wow! Some parents imagine that they are going to give birth to the next American Idol, but Mary gets a message from God through Gabriel that she is going to give birth to the Son of God. In a way, it answers the question from Pete’s song Mary, Did You Know? While she may not have known that her son was going to walk on water or calm a storm or heal the blind man, she was being told that her son would do and be much, much more.
Mary’s response is another question of wonder: “How can this be?” If this were the movie Gone With the Wind her next line might be, “I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies.” Mary had good reason to wonder. She was young…she was unmarried…and most of all, she was a virgin.
But again the angel speaks and reassures her. Again turning to The Message: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God.” The angel continues, telling Mary about her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy. “Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant!” And then the angel speaks the line that erases all of Mary’s wonder – a line that we would be wise to commit to memory: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
It was that promise that allowed Mary to respond with confidence and accept the task. We need to remember that she was not yet married to Joseph and that his reaction to her pregnancy would likely be a strong one. In fact, Matthew’s gospel tells us that Joseph’s initial reaction was to divorce her. We should remember that there was a law on the books in Mary’s time that allowed for the death penalty to be carried out in cases of adultery. There was no way that Mary could have been sure that her acceptance would not lead to suffering or even death. Yet she recognized the will of God and said, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
As I was pondering this story, it occurred to me that we are not that different than Mary. True, our status might be quite different, but the opportunity we’ve been given by God is quite similar – give birth to Jesus.
No, I’m not suggesting that each of us could or should become pregnant with the Son of God --- Mary has already accomplished that. But whenever we have the opportunity to tell someone about Jesus Christ and the great things he has done in our lives, we have the opportunity to give birth once again to Jesus, to make him come alive for someone who may never have heard about him. Whenever we share of ourselves through teaching or mentoring, we have the opportunity to give birth to Jesus once again.
Whenever we:
•Provide food where there is hunger
Provide food where there is hunger•Provide opportunities where there is poverty
Provide opportunities where there is poverty•Provide spiritual nourishment where there is spiritual longing
Provide spiritual nourishment where there is spiritual longing•Provide healing where there is brokenness
Provide healing where there is brokenness•Provide hope where there is despair
Provide hope where there is despair•Work for justice where there is oppression
Work for justice where there is oppression•Proclaim Christ,
Proclaim Christ,we have the opportunity to give birth to Jesus once again.
But often times we wonder if we’re up to the task. Like Mary, we wonder, “How can this be? Are you sure it’s me you want?” Like Moses, when he was called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, we make excuses:
•I’m not qualified
I’m not qualified•I don’t have the right training or education
I don’t have the right training or education•I don’t think it will work; people won’t listen to me
I don’t think it will work; people won’t listen to me•It’s not my gift
It’s not my gift•I don’t want to do it – send someone else
I don’t want to do it – send someone elseBut in the midst of our doubting, in the midst of our list of excuses, the voice of the angel announces…it echoes…it booms: “Nothing is impossible with God.” If we say yes to the task of birthing Jesus into the lives of others through our words and our actions, God will make sure that we have what we need to be successful. Notice I didn’t say it would be easy…I didn’t say it would happen without a few missteps…I said we would be successful.
In the same way, God makes possible the many other things we wonder and worry about.
•Economic crisis? Nothing is impossible with God!
Economic crisis? Nothing is impossible with God!•Unemployment? Nothing is impossible with God!
Unemployment? Nothing is impossible with God!•War? Nothing is impossible with God!
War? Nothing is impossible with God!•Illness or injury? Nothing is impossible with God!
Illness or injury? Nothing is impossible with God!•Disease…or even death? Nothing is impossible with God!
Disease…or even death? Nothing is impossible with God!If we can turn our fear into faith, then we can turn wonder into wins, victories that acknowledge the true power and promises of God.
So how do we do that? What makes it possible to rely on God and to give in to God’s call on our lives as Mary did? There are several things that would be helpful, but let me borrow from John Wesley to suggest some things to focus on:
1.Prayer; private, family, public; consisting of petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving.
Prayer; private, family, public; consisting of petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving. 2.Searching the Scriptures by: reading, meditating, and hearing.
Searching the Scriptures by: reading, meditating, and hearing.3.The Lord’s Supper. Wesley asks, “Do you use this at every opportunity?”
The Lord’s Supper. Wesley asks, “Do you use this at every opportunity?”4.Fasting. It was Wesley’s recommendation that Christians fast every Friday. While abstaining from food was the common fast, today the encouragement might be to fast from alcohol, television, the computer, video games, or anything that draws our attention away from God.
Fasting. It was Wesley’s recommendation that Christians fast every Friday. While abstaining from food was the common fast, today the encouragement might be to fast from alcohol, television, the computer, video games, or anything that draws our attention away from God.5.Christian Conference. This is the means by which small groups of Methodists met regularly to “check in” with one another on how they were doing in following God’s call in their lives.
Christian Conference. This is the means by which small groups of Methodists met regularly to “check in” with one another on how they were doing in following God’s call in their lives. These are things that draw us closer to God. These are things that take us out of our normal, earthly-driven routines and bring us into closer relationship with the God who formed us, the God who redeemed us, and the God who walks with us daily. These things are the things that increase our faith. So why not put them into place in your life, and in doing so find your wonder wiped away? AMEN.
“A PRAYER OF HOPE”
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Third Sunday in Advent, 2008
This scripture reading should be somewhat familiar to many of you, particularly if you were a part of this church when it went through the ReVision program. The first three verses of Isaiah 61 served as the guiding scripture for that entire process as it is a great mission statement for the church. This morning, however, we look at these verses as a prayer – a prayer of hope.
I remember when I was a kid, the days leading up to Christmas. Because both my brother and I were rather impatient, the gifts usually didn’t end up under the tree until Christmas Eve day. Oh, it wasn’t always that way. In years prior, those gifts would be wrapped and placed under the tree weeks before Christmas. But my brother and I, in our impatience, would check the tags and when we found one with our name on it, would shake it and look at it carefully, trying to figure out what was inside. When shaking didn’t solve the mystery, we would get a knife and cut the tape so that the flap of wrapping paper on one end could be opened up. Then, when we got the answer we were looking for, we’d carefully place a new piece of tape over the old one and no one would be the wiser…at least that’s what we thought.
The people of Israel in the time of Isaiah were equally impatient. By the time of Isaiah, the Jewish monarchy was in ruins. After 586 B.C. most of them had been carted off by their captors to live in a foreign land.
Yet they knew they had been given a promise – we heard part of that promise last week. “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God…In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Earlier in Isaiah, in the 7th chapter, this promise was given: “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.”
Someone was coming. The 9th chapter of Isaiah told them, “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.”
These were some pretty impressive promises. A ruler was coming. A king. They used a special word to refer to this long-awaited person. That word was “Messiah,” which means “anointed one,” or “specially chosen one.” In Greek, Messiah is synonymous with Christos from which we get the word “Christ.” And when he (this Messiah or Christ) came, he would do some amazing things.
In Isaiah 61, the prophet foresees this Messiah and speaks for him…
“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me;And just look at all this Messiah has been anointed to do:
•bring good news to the oppressed
bring good news to the oppressed•to bind up the brokenhearted
to bind up the brokenhearted•to proclaim liberty to the captives
to proclaim liberty to the captives•release to the prisoners
release to the prisoners •to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God•to comfort all who mourn
to comfort all who mourn While the most hopeful among the people of Israel and Judah envisioned one day taking back their homeland and recovering their independence, Isaiah’s vision scoffed at such puny pint-sized dreams. Under the spirit-filled leadership of this new ruler, there would be more than just a return to a homeland. There would be a different world. This new ruler would usher in a new day – a new year – the year of the Lord’s favor.
Many of us today have big prayers. Many of us have great expectations. We’re crying out for comfort and searching for hope. We look at our lives…we look at the world, and we wonder, “Is this it? Is this all I have to look forward to? I thought that things would be different. I thought things would be so much better.”
And things can be different; things can be so much better. For those who are locked in the prisons of self-destruction, Jesus brings liberation from sin and all its consequences. What he did on the cross in giving his life for humanity would bring freedom of a magnitude that no one could have ever dreamed. Many of us have received and realized that freedom, and you understand that it couldn’t have come from anywhere else.
Isaiah 61 also speaks of comfort - comfort for those who mourn. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
And then Isaiah says the Messiah would bring…
a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
These are beautiful images. They show that Jesus will replace the hurt with the remedy.
That’s what Jesus comes to do.
So as we live amid the tremendous build up for another December holiday, we may rightly wonder, “Will Christmas live up to my expectations? Will it be everything I hope for…and more?”
I found a quote from C.S. Lewis and his famous work The Weight of Glory, where he captures some of the longings we have for Christmas:
“Ah, but we want so much more---something the books on aesthetics take little notice of, but the poets and mythologies know about it. We do not merely want to see beauty, though God knows that is bounty enough. We want something else that can hardly be put into words---to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why the poets tell us such lovely falsehoods. They talk as if the west wind could really sweep into a human soul, but it can’t. They tell us that the beauty born of a murmuring sound will pass into a human face, but it won’t, or at least not yet... The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.”
You know maybe all my life I’ve been expecting too much out of Christmas and not enough from Jesus Christ.
Christmas itself cannot fulfill all of the hopes of our hearts…but the Bible says Jesus can.
What are your expectations of Christmas this year? What kind of prayers are you praying?
Christ can deliver a holiday to your home that never fades away - one that doesn’t get boxed up and stored away for another year - but rather, one that brings good news and freedom and comfort and justice…one that brings true hope.
Are you impatient to have something to celebrate every day? Invite Jesus in, and it will be. AMEN.
A PRAYER OF COMFORT
Isaiah 40:1-11
Second Sunday in Advent, 2008
This Advent and Christmas season, we are looking at the Scripture readings as a series of prayers. Last week we read Isaiah 64, “O that you would tear open the mountains and come down” as a prayer of expectation, and asked the question, “Do we expect God to do great things?” This week we focus on Isaiah 40 as a prayer of comfort.
This Christmas season presents us with a few more challenges than we’re used to facing. We still have the tasks of baking and shopping and wrapping and cleaning house and partying and in many other ways preparing for the busy holiday season. But this year, we are doing all of this in the midst of what we are, I believe, now officially calling a recession. If we’re not supposed to use the ‘R’ word, then use whatever term you’re comfortable with. But the bottom line is that there seems to be a bit more caution and chaos in our world this holiday season.
And if the only reason for the season is the shopping and partying, we probably have good reason to be nervous. After all, the amount of shopping and partying and carrying on we can do depends in large part on how much money we have to spend on those things. And if we have to be careful about our spending, then it puts a damper on those things.
But as Christians, we ought to recognize a different reason for the season…a very different reason. We ought to recognize and remember that we are preparing for God to come down to earth…and all that will come with God’s coming.
Some live in fear of that time. They have surrounded themselves with and live lives filled with sin. And when we sin, we injure ourselves. When we sin, we separate ourselves from God, from the only true source of life. When we sin, we separate ourselves from one another, walls are built between people, "the peace that was meant to be" - as one hymn puts it - is lost.
And while we may not want to talk about it, where sin is present, punishment often follows. The evidence of God's punishment is before us in the Bible.
God had given the children of Israel everything they needed. God had given them a land flowing with milk and honey. God had protected them from those who would have killed them. It was even God who brought their nation into existence and who rescued them from slavery.
And yet they repaid God with disobedience and rebelliousness. First it was the Golden calf. Then they complained that manna from heaven was not good enough for them. Then they refused to accept the land God was giving them - complaining that conditions there were less than perfect. Then, once they possessed the land, they began worshipping other gods.
When God had made them wealthy, they did not care for the poor or look after the refugees. They sacrificed everything they had received upon the altars of success, and neglected the worship of praise and service that is due to our Creator.
And God punished them. It is clear from the Bible that God
allowed them to be destroyed as a nation because of their
disobedience and rebelliousness. They were carried off into
captivity and separated from the land they loved because of their
sin. When God was finished, there was not much left of that
great nation. Its temple was destroyed and its people were
scattered to the four winds.
It would have been easy for God to finish them off. And in fact God does send them a prophet to announce God’s judgment – God’s decision about them. God sends them Isaiah and instructs him in his mission - saying to him, and through him to us:
"Comfort, comfort my people. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Announce to them that their warfare is ended, their punishment,
over. Tell them that I am coming to them - coming that I might
lead them back to the promised land. Tell them to make a path in
the wilderness for my arrival. Tell them to even out the crooked
places and make them straight. Tell them that there is good news
for Zion - that I care for my people just as shepherds care for
their flocks, that I will carry them in my arms and gently lead
them to their fold."
Comfort, comfort my people....
God could have given Isaiah a final vision of doom. But instead God tells the prophet to comfort, not condemn. That is the kind of God we serve and worship – a just God who is merciful, a God who sends comfort and salvation.
And it is that same God who walks into life’s troubling times today. I’m not suggesting that the financial crisis is the result of our sin, but I don’t think I’d be too far out on a limb to suggest that our response has, sometimes, been less than faithful. Even though we still experience abundance, we complain that we don’t have enough. Even though we still live in a land of milk and honey…a land where there is bread without scarcity and we lack nothing, we’re critical. We’ve sacrificed our time and energy to the gods of wealth and leisure and fame and prosperity. We, too, have failed to care for the poor or look after the immigrants and refugees. We, too, have sinned.
But the good news is that God is still God. The good news is that God still promises to return in all glory and majesty. The good news is that forgiveness and salvation are still available through God’s redeeming power. The good news is that God still speaks a message of comfort through prophets and messengers.
This morning, we have an opportunity to experience that comfort. This morning, as we come to the table, we can receive the gifts of forgiveness from sin, release from captivity, and comfort from our affliction. All we have to do is come…come to the table of our Lord…come and receive the bread of forgiveness and the wine of release…come with an attitude of prayer, asking God to comfort us in these times of trouble and chaos. Then, as the prophet says, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.” Our problems may not be solved, but we will come to know that nothing is impossible with God. AMEN.
“A PRAYER OF EXPECTATION”
Isaiah 64:1-9; Mark 13:24-37
First Sunday in Advent, 2008
The season of Advent is traditionally thought of as a season of preparation. The readings for each week draw our attention to this activity and remind us of its importance. What is it that we are preparing for? What is it that we are waiting for? The simple answer is the birth of Jesus Christ. The four weeks of Advent lead us to Christmas, where we recognize and remember and celebrate the birth of our Lord.
But Advent is more than preparing for the birth of Jesus. Advent is a time to prepare us for all that the miracle birth means to us. After all, Jesus was no ordinary baby. He was God in human flesh, coming to earth to live as one of us. And so during the Advent season, we ought to be seeking a greater understanding of the significance and the relevance of the birth of Christ.
This year, something caught my attention as I read through the readings for each Sunday of Advent. Perhaps it was the focus on prayer that has emerged in this church in the past year, with the “Seasons of Prayer” articles in the Spire, a couple of adult groups studying prayer, the Friday morning prayer gatherings, and others. When I read the scripture readings for Advent, I heard them differently – I heard them as a series of prayers.
Our theme for this Advent and Christmas season is “A Time for Prayer,” and each week we’ll be looking at a different kind of prayer as suggested in the scriptures. This morning we begin with “A Prayer of Expectation.”
Listen again to the first verse of Isaiah 64: “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence.” Do you hear the sense of expectation in that sentence? What, exactly, is asked for in this prayer?
The prophet prays that God would appear in some remarkable and surprising manner for the people of Israel against their enemies – we hear that in verses 1&2. In verses 3-5, Isaiah explains what God had formerly done, and was always ready to do, for God’s people. Then the prayer moves into one of confession. There is an admission that the people are sinful and unworthy of God’s favor, and that they had deserved the judgments they were now under. They call upon the mercy of God as a Father, and acknowledge that God has the power to shape them. Finally, they earnestly pray for the pardon of sin and the turning away of God’s anger.
It’s a fervent prayer of expectation. The people of God not only ask God to watch over and protect them, they expect it to happen. The Israelites not only confess their sin against God, they expect God to respond with mercy and forgiveness.
How could the people of Isaiah’s time have such faith in God? Because they knew of God’s faithfulness throughout the generations.
•They knew the story of Abraham and Sarah…of how God promised them a child in their old age and then gave them Isaac
They knew the story of Abraham and Sarah…of how God promised them a child in their old age and then gave them Isaac•They knew the story of Joseph…of how he was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, but because of God’s mercy he received a prominent position in Pharaoh’s court
They knew the story of Joseph…of how he was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, but because of God’s mercy he received a prominent position in Pharaoh’s court•They knew the story of Moses…of how he was spared from death and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter…of how he was called by God to do a great thing despite his early shortcomings
They knew the story of Moses…of how he was spared from death and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter…of how he was called by God to do a great thing despite his early shortcomings•They knew the story of the deliverance of the Hebrews…of how they were slaves in Egypt to a hard-hearted leader…and how that heart was finally opened after ten terrible plagues
They knew the story of the deliverance of the Hebrews…of how they were slaves in Egypt to a hard-hearted leader…and how that heart was finally opened after ten terrible plagues•They knew the story of the wandering in the wilderness…of how the people found themselves without food or water, and God miraculously providing exactly what they needed
They knew the story of the wandering in the wilderness…of how the people found themselves without food or water, and God miraculously providing exactly what they needed•They knew the story of the Promised Land…a land flowing with milk and honey…a land where they would always have what they needed in abundance
They knew the story of the Promised Land…a land flowing with milk and honey…a land where they would always have what they needed in abundanceAnd because they knew these stories, they trusted that God would intervene on their behalf once again. They believed…and they expected…that God would do great things.
How is it with you? When you pray, do you expect God to do great things? When you follow God’s lead, have you come to expect the unexpected?
When our church started the Community Meal program, I didn’t know what to expect. Before our first meal in June, I asked our volunteers to come early to a meeting. In that meeting, I explained that none of us knew what was going to happen. I remember saying that we shouldn’t get discouraged if the only people who showed up were our own church members…and they were coming to work. I said that the people who needed to come would come. And the people have come – 40 the first two months, then 60, then 75, then 80, and last Sunday, 130.
But you know, it’s not just a great meal that people are getting. We’ve had our medical resource people doing blood pressure glucose checks and then either following up with or referring those whose levels were higher than recommended. We’ve had our legal and financial resource people answer pressing questions, and we’ve had experts in other areas helping to provide information and referrals.
And then, last Sunday presented us with another opportunity. When people take the time to build relationships with guests, we begin to hear all about their lives – their joys as well as their pains. Last Sunday, some of our members heard the story of two young mothers for whom life had gotten a bit messy. You heard Jon speak a bit about their story. Because of the rules and regulations of the social service system, they found themselves without the means to provide themselves and their babies with some basic needs. And once again, we were presented with a wonderful opportunity. And do you know what? I expect that God will do a great thing in and through the people of this church. I know that every tag on the tree will be taken and these young mothers and their babies will have a wonderful Christmas.
The text from the Old Testament prophet shares Isaiah’s expectation that God would once again do something great. Isaiah expects that God would reveal Himself once again to the people. But first the prophet paves the way by confessing the sins of Israel and asking for forgiveness.
How are we preparing for Christmas? How are we preparing our hearts and minds for God to come down once again and save us?
The traditional reading for the first Sunday in Advent sets the stage for us. This year, the reading is from Mark, chapter 13. Beginning in verse 24 Jesus says: “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”
Are we talking about getting ready for Christmas here? Have we made a mistake? The answer is “No!” Because it all depends on what we are preparing for!
The secular world measures the time of preparation before Christmas by the number of shopping days until December 25th. The Church measures it’s time of preparation in terms of the number of days remaining until the time when Jesus will return to the earth in glory and power.
I don’t know about you, but that completely reverses my personal expectations about celebrating Christmas...let alone getting ready for it. Don’t get me wrong.
I like to get caught up in the “Christmas spirit.”
I like to put up and decorate the tree.
I like hearing Christmas music.
I like Christmas cookies and Christmas parties.
I like wrapping gifts.
But if the theme of the first Sunday in Advent is to focus our attention on the real meaning of Christmas, then we need to realize that celebrating the birth of Jesus was important to our ancestors in the faith because they had experienced the life-changing effects of having “God with them”...God living in them...and they were eagerly waiting for Him and expecting Him to come back in order to establish the new heavens and the new earth.
I’m not advocating a change in the customs used to celebrate Christmas. I’m just suggesting that we change our attitudes about what we are preparing for. Let’s recapture the sense of eager anticipation about God’s coming which was present in the early Church. During this Advent season, let’s listen to God calling us to look beyond ‘today and tomorrow’ to the time when Jesus will return.
This morning we are preparing for much more than December 25th.
We are celebrating the fact that God has indeed come to us through Jesus’ birth into this fallen world—in order to destroy sin’s gridlock on us. This is what Isaiah was praying for.
This Advent season, let’s expand our Christmas preparations to include an expectation that Christ is coming back to earth in power and glory. No one knows when that will happen, but we do expect that it will happen.
Let’s prepare to celebrate the great things that God has done and is doing; and let’s celebrate the expectation that God will continue to do great things in the future. AMEN!
“I WAS HUNGRY…”
Matthew 25:31-46
November 23, 2008
Have you ever been hungry? I mean really hungry - the kind of hunger that weakens you and gives you the feeling of not being able to even move? And if you’ve ever been that hungry, has it been because you have chosen not to eat, or because you had nothing to eat? If you’ve ever been in the position of being hungry because you had no access to food, then you can probably appreciate this morning’s scripture reading. You can appreciate it because Jesus is encouraging people to help you and your search for one of life’s basic needs.
But chances are, most if not all of you here this morning have never experienced that kind of hunger – that kind of need. We’ve always had something and that something sustained us until the next day. For us, we can appreciate Jesus’ message in this passage for another reason – because in it, Jesus is warning us about how we ought to act towards those who have little or nothing.
As I look at all the messages that Jesus delivered this is one of the most powerful. Jesus makes it clear that when He returns he will be able to distinguish one person from another in their relationship with Him. He will know who has been faithful to his call and who has not.
Not only will he know, he will separate those who have been faithful from those who have not. And in doing so, we would be wise to notice what it is that identifies the faithful from the faithful.
The King does not say, come you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world, for you have attended worship every Sunday for your entire life.
Yes, I believe that church attendance – your presence - is important. But I also believe that according to this scripture there will be a lot of wet goats - Christians who did very little between getting buried in the water and buried in the cemetery.
You see, your faithfulness is what identifies you as a child of the King.
The sheep, as Jesus calls them, were very clearly identified by the way in which they modeled Christ-like behavior to a very special group of people:
They gave the hungry some food.
They gave the thirsty some water.
They invited strangers in.
They clothed those without clothes.
They visited the sick and imprisoned.
Was it their ‘doing’ that ensured them a reward? Absolutely not! Their ‘doing’ identified them. It was clear from the way they lived their lives that they were children of the king.
Notice something else about how Jesus separates the people one from another:
He doesn’t put the rich on the right and the poor on the left.
He doesn’t put Americans on the right and foreigners on the left.
He doesn’t put Republicans on the right and Democrats on the left.
It is not who you are that determines what side you are on – It’s how you lived your life.
In other words, Christ-like behavior can be modeled by anyone.
Look at the group that is “blessed” by God. They probably haven’t been to Bible College, they may not have had perfect Sunday School attendance, they were certainly not sinless. They were blessed by God because they tried to live a right life for Jesus Christ. Anyone who is willing can do that.
Christ-like behavior is not just for pastors and care ministry volunteers and church staff people. Christ-like behavior is for any and every Christian.
Notice again the actions performed:
They gave the hungry some food.
They gave the thirsty some water.
They invited strangers in.
They clothed those without clothes.
They visited the sick and imprisoned.
They didn’t solve world hunger, or clean up the drinking water for everyone in the world, or cure cancer or free the prisoner. Their actions were simple, ordinary acts of love performed by simple, ordinary people who loved Jesus Christ.
Note also the recipients of outreach:
Those who could not even provide basic needs like food, water and clothing for themselves
Those who did not know a friend, who were strangers
Those who couldn’t take care of themselves because of their health
Those who were what we would now call convicts – perhaps thieves, drug dealers or murderers
What Jesus is saying here is that our acts of service should be done for anyone. But in saying that, know this - reaching out those in need can get messy. And most of us don’t like messy.
If this church were to get really serious about carrying out the items in our mission statement, I’m here to tell you that things are bound to get a bit messy. The carpet might get stained or worn, doors might get broken or worn out, our seat might get taken. If we, as individuals and as a church, were to get really serious about living out Jesus’ mission statement, this sanctuary would suddenly be filled with people we’re never seem before – or at the least, people we haven’t seen in a long, long time. You may be uncomfortable and maybe even a little offended at times. But I say the mess is worth it.
Back in the passage, Jesus makes it very clear – there are no excuses for not responding to the needs of God’s people. “But Lord we didn’t know…” “Lord, when did we see you…..and not help you?”
If we had thought that those dirty, needy, strange, people were you…Certainly we would have helped right away!
What a sad excuse!
If we are not providing a ministry of food, clothing, shelter, visiting, and caring – and I mean providing those things in a way that impacts people’s lives, what excuse will we give Jesus as he points us in the direction of those on the left?
One last time look at those needs that were met…
Hungry
Thirsty
Stranger
Needing Clothes
Sick
Imprisoned
God calls every Christian to reach out to the world with both physical and spiritual needs. You and I can do it. It’s not a question of can we, but will we. Several years ago a college basketball team had a little motivational slogan as they strived for a national championship…”If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”
Tonight we’re hosting another of our Community Meals. If you’re looking for a tangible way to begin responding to this passage of scripture, look no further. The kitchen crew assembles at 3:00 to begin preparing food. The greeters and the serving crew is in place just before 6. And the clean up crew stays around until things are complete. But maybe you’re not physically able to participate in the cooking or the serving or the clean up. Then show up at 6 for the meal and allow your gift to be one of fellowship. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” is just as important as “I was hungry and you gave me food.”
During this Thanksgiving season, let us give thanks for those who help supply our basic needs. But let us also give thanks that God gives us the opportunity to help others. And as we serve, may we remember Jesus words, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” AMEN.
“USE YOUR TALENTS”
Matthew 25:14-30
November 16, 2008Stewardship Theme: GiftsThe parable of the talents is a parable about the manner in which God will judge people. It is a pretty cut and dry message.
A man who is about to leave on a journey entrusts his servants with different portions of his property. They are to look after that property, to take care of it while he is away.
Two of the servants put the investment to work and double what they are entrusted with. The result is that they are richly rewarded for doing so and given even more responsibility. The third, however, takes the safe route. He simply buries the money in the ground, uncovering it when his master returns. Obviously he gains nothing from the investment; he simply returns what he was given. The master, greatly displeased – even angry with what he believes to be a poor choice – takes the money from him and gives it to the first servant, and then throws him out of his house. If the master in this story were Donald Trump, we’d hear his famous, “You’re fired!”
As I said, it is a pretty cut and dry account, but what as Christians are we to make of it? What lesson does it have for us?
I have seen this parable interpreted as frank and simple encouragement to work hard at developing the gifts and talents that God has given us. The message is that if you aren't productive with what God has given you, you will lose it.
And that is true - And it explains why so many people are spiritually impoverished…why our churches and our societies are in so much trouble.
Too many people have failed to use what God has given to them.
Too many people have failed to do anything more than hide God’s gifts deep in their own lives.
Too many people have failed to reach out - and to share God’s gifts with others
And the end result is that those gifts haven’t done anyone any good.
It is almost as if those gifts had never existed, as if God had never given us anything.
Use it - or lose it - that is one of the messages of this parable. But today I want to suggest to you another.
I want to suggest to you that while it is true that God wants us to use our gifts and to multiply them for the benefit of his Kingdom, that we are not judged according to the quantity of the work we do for God, nor even by the quality of that work. Rather we are judged by our attitude - by our willingness to do as God wants us to do - by our willingness to risk all that we have been given for the sake of the Kingdom just as Jesus risked all of himself for our sake.
As Paul writes, "It is by grace, through faith, that we are saved, not by works, lest anyone should boast."
If we reduce the parable of the talents simply to a matter of saying that we must be productive for God - or else be condemned by God - then we miss what is so good about the Christian life. We miss the good news of Jesus Christ, the good news of the grace and mercy won for us on the cross. And I believe that, in the end, if we focus on productivity, we will end up like the servant who failed to invest the talent that his master gave him. We will end up being afraid – so worried about trying to equal the effort made by Christ – so worried about wanting to be successful – that we don’t do anything at all.
In pastor and author Erwin McManus’ book Chasing Daylight, McManus uses the story of Saul and his battle with the Philistines to illustrate the importance of taking the initiative – of just doing something. The story can be found in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel. And in the 13th chapter, we hear that the odds are stacked against Saul and the Israelite army. The Philistines had “30,000 chariots, and 6,000 horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude.” Recognizing that they were greatly outnumbered, the Israelites literally went into hiding. 1 Samuel 13:6-7 tells us that “the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns. Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.” Saul’s response – and this leads into the point McManus is making in telling this story – is to plant himself firmly beneath a pomegranate tree, sit and do nothing.
In chapter 14 we learn that it is Saul’s son, Jonathan, who takes the initiative. He takes just one other man, the man who carried his armor, and no weapons. Listen to Jonathan’s words of invitation to his armor-bearer: “It may be that the Lord will act for us.” Jonathan didn’t know what was going to happen…he just knew that he had to do something. To make a long story short, these two men defeat the Philistine army. Scripture says that the two of them killed about 20 men causing the rest of the Philistines to flee in panic. Jonathan believed that God would lead him and empower him to victory, and with that strong belief, he was successful.
McManus writes, “I am convinced the great tragedy is not the sins we commit, but the life that we fail to live.” And then, in the next sentence, he pens a line that I think we would all be wise to remember: “You cannot follow God in neutral.”
Consider the servant who buried the talent entrusted unto him. When he is asked by the master to give an accounting of what he has done with his talent what does he say?
“Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow,
and gathering where you did not scatter seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your
talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.”
The servant was afraid - and so he took no risks, he buries what he had been given to keep it safe and ends up doing nothing.
The judgment of the master falls upon the servant when he hears his explanation of what he done:
"You wicked, lazy slave. You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and
gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the
bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.”
returned I would have had received it back with interest."
There is no sin in failure my friends. There is only sin in not attempting to succeed.
If you are a member or frequent visitor to this church, you have hopefully heard about our Task-Based approach to ministry. Rather than working with a large number of committees to accomplish what needs to be done, we are seeking to identify the tasks that need to be accomplished and then recruiting a person or small group to carry out that task.
One of the other attributes we’ve identified about this model of ministry is that it is a permission-giving model. What that means is that if you’ve got a great ministry idea, and if that ministry idea is in alignment with our church’s mission, you have permission to just do it. Simply share your idea with me or our Ministry Coordinator Jeff Schmitz, or the Church Council. Obviously, if budgeted funds are needed there are a few additional steps that need to be taken first. But if you have a gift or an interest or a passion, then put it to work, knowing that you have permission to do so.
Our Annual Conference is giving us a message that is very similar. They are telling pastors and churches to take risks – to try new ministry ideas – to just do something. They’re even saying that it’s OK to fail…as long as you are making an honest effort to try something new and different.
The parable of the talents is not a lesson about our degree of ability or productivity. It is a lesson about our attitude and responsibility - about stepping out with God's treasure in our hands and risking it all for the sake of others - for the sake of God.
The servant was afraid - and so he did not try. This is the basis on which he was judged.
And this is the basis on which we are judged.
How many times have we told our children that what counts is not whether we win or lose but how we play the game? We would be wise to remember this as we look at the gifts we have - whether they are few, or many.
What counts is whether or not we dare to risk with those things that God has given us.
What counts is whether or not we invest ourselves in God's kingdom
Whether or not we provide food where there is hunger
Whether we or not we provide opportunities where there is povertyWhether or not we provide spiritual nourishment where there is spiritual longingWhether or not we provide healing where there is brokennessWhether or not we provide hope where there is despairWhether or not we work for justice where there is oppression Whether or not we proclaim Christ to all
What counts is whether or not we, in faith, are willing to use what we have been given in the service of others - which is another way of saying - whether or not we are willing to use what we have been given in the service of God.
Do we work with the resources that God has given us for his sake? Or do we focus on the fact that we might fail and so refuse to try?
There is a little piece I've seen reprinted in various forms in different church newsletters. It goes like this:
- What would the church be like if every member were just like me?
- Would our church be empty on Sunday, or full to overflowing, if everyone attended as I
do?
- How much Bible Study and prayer would occur if everyone took the time I do?
- How many bruised, hurting, lonely people, would be touched by the church if every
member acted exactly as I do?
- Would we need more ushers and offering plates if everyone gave like me?
- How many children would be led to faith through the Sunday School and church if
everyone had my priorities?
- Would the church just be an attractive social club, would it be closed, bankrupt, out of
business; or would it be a dynamic force for Jesus Christ in our community and our
world if everyone were just like me?
- What would the church be like if every member were just like me?
God gives us many things. And in turn God expects us to try to develop the good things we have so that the world around us can benefit from them, so that those gifts might be fruitful in us, and add to the good things that God's world needs. God expects us to invest what we have been given, so that everyone might experience the blessedness of life in God’s care, so that everyone might want to raise a song of joy into the air.
God, like the master in today's parable believes in us. God trusts us to do well with God’s love, to develop the gifts we have been given so that all the citizens of the kingdom may benefit from them.
Do not fear failure - because even if we personally do not double the goodness we have received; even if we do not personally conquer all the problems and together solve all the crises we face,
- if we have tried to work with what God has given to us,
- if we have taken risks without first counting the cost,
-if we believe that God will come alongside us and enable us to do far more than we could ever do on our own, then God will be pleased with us, and God will invite us to enter into the joy of our master and give to us even more than we first received. AMEN.
“CHOOSE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE”
Joshua 24:14-25
November 9, 2008Stewardship Theme: CommitmentHave you ever faced a time when you had to choose between two attractions? I’m a hockey fan and I try to watch both the professional and college games when I can. I’m also a “hometown” fan, so I align myself with our Minnesota teams. In the pro game, that’s pretty easy as we only have the Minnesota Wild to cheer for. But with the college game, it’s a bit more difficult.
It used to be far easier – in Division I there was only the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. But then the St. Cloud Huskies joined the division, followed by the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks. And most recently, my college alma mater, Bemidji State joined the ranks. When any of those teams play against Wisconsin or North Dakota, it’s pretty easy to choose. But when they play against each other (as Minnesota and Mankato did last weekend), the choice is a bit more difficult.
In the Old Testament book of Joshua, we find the story of the Israelites settling in Canaan. The first part of the book, chapters 1-12, describes the settlement of the people as the result of a successful military campaign led by Joshua against the Canaanites. Chapters 13-21 report the distribution of the land among the victorious tribes. The final three chapters, from which we get our reading for this morning, contain three stories that focus on the loyalty that Israelite tribes owe to their God who has given them the land they now occupy.
In verse 14 of chapter 24, Joshua says to the Israelites, “Revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.” Joshua continues, introducing a theme which is echoed throughout the chapter, “Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve.”
Joshua chapter 24 is all about choice. God has delivered on the promise of salvation and the people are asked to choose whether or not they will follow God.
I think that we, as today’s people of God, are asked to make similar choices on a daily basis. We all know the demands on our time, and it seems that no matter which stage of life we are in – whether we are school-aged children, youth, young adults, young parents, empty-nesters, or retired folks – we’re never exempt from people and things that compete for our time and our energy.
Even when it comes to things that are healthy, like growing our spiritual vitality, we always seem to have to make a choice:
•Prayer time or internet time?
Prayer time or internet time?•Scripture reading or novels?
Scripture reading or novels?•Church functions or cultural events?
Church functions or cultural events?•Sunday morning worship or the sporting event?
Sunday morning worship or the sporting event?The questions and challenges we face today are not all that different than the questions and challenges faced by the Israelite people centuries before Christ. While some may argue that the internet and other things of pop culture aren’t really gods that are receiving our worship, they are things that often stand between us and the things that bring us closer to God. They are things that force us to make a choice. Paul gives us words of encouragement in Colossians 2:6-7: “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
In verse 16, the Israelite people state publicly their choice: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight.” At the end of the paragraph, the people respond emphatically, “We will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
One might think that things could be left right there – the people had made their choice and had publicly proclaimed it. But it wasn’t enough for Joshua.
In verses 19-21, Joshua begins a whole new cycle of conversation. He tells Israel that they cannot serve God, because God is separate from them (“He is a holy god.”). He confronts Israel with the need and the danger of making a choice to enter into covenant with God. He warns them about making a lukewarm commitment and says, “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.”
But once again, the people respond, “We will serve the Lord!” They’ve made their choice – there is no turning back. Joshua offers one final word – “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
There is a point to this story that we should not miss. For all of the promise and hope that comes with God’s salvation, it also carries with it a high degree of accountability and obligation. Covenant with God is an unending commitment, not to be entered into lightly.
Today you are being asked to make a commitment. While it may appear to be a commitment to the church, it really is a commitment to God. We recognize that “The earth is the Lords’ and all that is in it…” including the church. And if we believe that the church is not mine or yours or even ours, if we believe that the church is God’s, then the commitment you make today is really between you and God.
It’s no secret that our economy is in chaos. We’ve watched the stock market fluctuate greatly, with far more downs than ups. When I looked on Friday afternoon, the DOW had dropped over 900 points in two days. We hear about the tenuous situation financial institutions are in and wonder about our savings and loans. We hear rumors about the Social Security system, and worry about our retirement. I’m not suggesting that we turn a blind eye to the serious situation at hand. But what I do want to remind you of is the way in which God has the ability to turn chaos into calm, nothing into abundance, slavery into freedom.
In the story of Creation, God creates an orderly world out of nothing but darkness and chaos. In the New Testament, we hear the story of Jesus taking a minute amount of food – five small loaves of bread and two fish – and feeding over 5,000 people…with 12 basketfuls of leftovers. And in today’s story, we are reminded of how the people of Israel were delivered from slavery in Egypt and brought to the Promised Land of Canaan.
This Promised Land was, itself, in a bit of chaos. Under the old leadership, there were really two classes of people – the very wealthy and the very poor. As the rich got richer, the poor became even poorer.
As these new “immigrants,” the Israelites, entered Canaan, they brought with them a new way of life. As an obedient people under a leader chosen by God, they brought into existence a new society based on justice and freedom.
When we are open to the movement of God among us, when we begin to understand what a faithful relationship with Jesus Christ can do for us, when we are obedient to God’s commandments and God’s call in our lives, we can begin to see the blessings that are poured down upon us.
When we give, we give God the opportunity to do the miraculous. When we give to a missionary, we provide the opportunity for someone to hear the miraculous salvation message. When we give to missions or to the discretionary fund, we help provide the miracle of food, clothing or shelter.
But also when we give, we offer God the opportunity to do a miracle for us. Remember Malachi 3:10 which states: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” And Luke 6:38 reminds us: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.”
In both of those passages – one from the Old Testament and the other from the New – we are promised that when we are faithful in our giving, God will be faithful in return. As a matter of fact, we will likely find that we will receive even more than we gave.
We really do have a choice. And it is a far more serious choice than will I cheer for the Gophers or the Huskies. The choice really is to choose this day whom we will serve. Will we serve the masters of material wealth? Or will we serve the God who created us, redeemed us, and sustains us?
(I’m going to ask the Praise Team to come back up front to lead us in our closing song.) [Our 8:15 a.m. Sunday worship is in a contemporary format.] As we hear and sing this song, I invite you to bring your Commitment Cards to the front and place them in this basket. But before you come forward, ask God to help you determine whether or not the commitment you are making is reflective of your faith in God and your thanksgiving to God. Then, with a glad and cheerful heart, bring your commitment to God. Thanks be to God for the opportunity to make this commitment. AMEN!
“GO AND DO LIKEWISE”
John 13:1-15
November 2, 2008Stewardship Focus: ServiceWe are in the fourth week of our Stewardship campaign – a two-pronged campaign designed to feature our church’s ministries and remind people of their promises to support the church through their prayers, presence, gifts, and service. This morning, we’re talking about service – the giving of our time - and I want to reflect on what we’ve seen and heard in the “Celebrating Our Ministries” parts of our worship time to make a point: it takes the people of God, using the gifts that God has given to them, to carry out the work of God.
Let’s think back to what we’ve seen and heard. We began three weeks ago, when Justine talked about the Worship Ministries of the church. She helped us to see very clearly just how many people are involved in making sure worship happens each week here. Then two weeks ago, we heard about the accomplishments of the Trustees in the past year. With the exception of a few specialized projects, every one of the tasks completed by the Trustees was completed by volunteers. Last week we heard about Care Ministries and Missions. Again, much of the ministry that takes place in these areas is accomplished by volunteers. Just a little bit ago, you heard about Christian Education and Youth Ministry. Here are areas that have, in the past, been served by paid staff people, but more recently have been coordinated and run by volunteers. Look at the bulletin insert and you’ll see just how many volunteers are needed in the Christian Education area alone. If you don’t hear me say anything else this morning, hear me say this: The church needs you to do all the good you can - with your talents, your interests, and your passions – for God, for others, and for the church.
In the gospel lesson for today, Jesus lays the foundation for what I’ve just said. He has gathered his disciples together in the Upper Room to celebrate the Passover. In Luke’s version of the Last Supper, he tells of a dispute that arose within the disciples, about which of them was the greatest. And in the midst of the argument, Jesus gets up from the table, takes off his robe, ties a towel around his waist, pours water into a basin, and begins to wash the disciples’ feet. When I picture this scene, I imagine the disciples continuing the arguing until the first of the feet is placed into the basin. Then, very slowly, as the disciples see what is happening, the room gets very quiet. Soon the only sound that is heard is the sound of water being poured over the feet of each disciple.
Peter is the only one who questions this act. And we would be wise to understand why Peter would raise the concern. Washing feet wasn’t a very pleasant job. People in Jesus’ day didn’t wear shoes and socks like we do – they either wore sandals or they went barefoot. Their usual mode of transportation was on foot, and as such, they would often step into all kinds of unpleasant messes. Washing feet was a ritual for houseguests, and it was performed by the lowest of the servants in the house.
As Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, he was telling them that no job was too low or too small for them. He said, “If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” The point I think he was trying to make is that we should never think so highly of ourselves that we fail to do good – even if doing good involves a task that seems ‘beneath us.’
Last year, many people in the church read through the book Treasures of the Transformed Life by Rev. John Ed Mathison. The fifth section of that book talks about participating in the life of the church through service. Rev. Mathison writes, “Reaching out in service to others really does make us more flexible, helps us strengthen our gifts, and reminds us that God is constantly at work around us. But it does something else that may be the most important part of all: It allows us to be more like Jesus.” Listen to these phrases that Mathison shares as encouragement to serve:
•See the need
See the need•Reach out in love
Reach out in love•Do what you can
Do what you can•Use your gifts
Use your gifts•Do what you love
Do what you love•Don’t be afraid
Don’t be afraid•Serving is our purpose
Serving is our purpose•Lean on God
Lean on GodWhat can you do? What are your gifts? What do you love to do? These are good questions to ask yourself as you think about your service to God and the church. This morning, you have the opportunity to make these things known. On your bulletin insert is an addendum to the “Service Commitment Form” that was available last year. I want you to take time to fill this short form out this morning before you leave and either hand it to me after the worship service or leave it in the church office. For those of you who weren’t here last year, or who didn’t fill out the complete form, there are copies available in the lobby. This will take you a bit longer to fill out, but please take time to fill it out and, again, either leave it with me or in the church office. Please know that we will use these forms to get to know you a bit better and to help place you in an appropriate ministry area.
But suppose you’re not a form-filling-out kind of person. Suppose you have a great ministry idea and a passion to see it happen. Do you have to wait until you’ve been asked to serve? Absolutely not! If you’ve got an idea that compliments our church’s mission and vision, and if you’ve got the passion to make it happen, then know that you’ve got permission to just do it! It would be helpful to let me or our Ministry Coordinator Jeff Schmitz or our Church Council chair Deb Lippert know so that your new ministry can be included in our overall ministry plan, but at the same time, know that you’ve got the permission to move forward.
John Wesley, the man credited with beginning the Methodist movement, developed a set of rules for the people called Methodist. One of these rules was this:
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
“Do all the good you can”…that’s what Jesus did when he washed the feet of his disciples. That’s what we do when we “Go, and do likewise.” AMEN.
“WHAT IS GOD’S?”
Matthew 22:15-22
Stewardship Theme: GiftsOctober 26, 2008With the election just a few short days away, I hope you’re taking time to study up on the candidates. While I’m not going to try and tell you who to vote for, I am going to tell you to vote. Your vote is important – it is both a right and a responsibility. But before you enter the voting booth on November 4, take time to study the issues and where the candidates stand on those issues.
One of the most important issues this election year is the economy. I have to admit that I’m pretty naïve when it comes to the economic crisis this country is facing (come to think of it, I’m pretty naïve when it comes to financial matters period). When the media first started talking about this thing called the “bailout bill,” I honestly pictured a cartoon character in my mind. There he was, standing tall with a bucket in one hand and a big, bright ‘B’ on his cape – “Bailout Bill!”
But serious times call for serious measures. Each and every one of us ought to be thinking about how we can live our lives most fully, given the tough economic times.
And it is in this context that we hear Matthew’s story about a group of Pharisees who posed a question to Jesus. The Pharisees, we should remember, were a devoutly religious group of people. Not only did they follow the law in such a way that every ‘i’ was dotted and every ‘t’ was crossed (probably twice!), they often went out of their way to make sure you knew they were living that way.
The question they ask, as we read in the scripture, was intended to trap him. If one were to go back a chapter in the gospel, we would find three parables in which Jesus clearly indicts these religious leaders. Now, it seems, they are fighting back. They pick a moment when Jesus is in public and they pose this question, designed to discredit him in the presence of the crowd. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”
There were three regular taxes which were required by the Roman government. There was the ground tax which amounted to one-tenth of the grain and one-fifth of the oil and the wine produced; there was the income tax which was one percent of a person’s income; and there was the poll tax. This tax had to be paid by every male between the ages of 14 and 65, and every female from 12 to 65 years old. The tax was one denarius, and this would have been the tax in question here.
Asking the question would certainly pose a dilemma. If Jesus said it was unlawful to pay the tax, he would most likely be reported to the Roman government and arrested. If he said it was lawful, he would stand discredited in the eyes of the people. To a Jew, God was the only king…to pay tax to an earthly king would admit the validity of his kingship and insult God. Whichever way Jesus answered – or so his questioners thought – he would open himself up to trouble.
The extent to which the Pharisees go to trap Jesus is multiplied by the audience. Scripture tells us that the Pharisees and the Herodians went to Jesus. These two parties were bitter opponents. When it came to the subject of paying taxes, the Pharisees would be in opposition, as they would see the payment of tax to a foreign king an infringement of the divine right of God. The Herodians were the party of Herod, king of Galilee, who owed his power to the Romans and who worked hand-in-glove with them. The hatred of these two parties for each other, however, would temporarily be set aside so that they could work together against an even greater enemy – Jesus.
Jesus, though, knew their intentions. In his wisdom, he asks to see a coin – a denarius – the coin used to pay the tax in question. He asks whose image is on it, knowing full well that when a king came to the throne, he struck his own coinage. The answer was that Caesar’s head was on it. “Well then,” Jesus said, “Give it back to Caesar…it is his. Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s.” The questioners are left speechless…they walk away amazed at what they have just seen and heard.
Today we ought to be asking the question, “What is God’s?”
The answer to that is quite simple – it’s all God’s. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” In Genesis, God gives everything to us. God said, “Have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.” Everything we have has been given to us by God.
Do we live with that understanding? Or do we feel as though we’re worked hard and somehow earned all that we have?
In Deuteronomy 8, Moses is warning the Israelite people not to become proud or self-sufficient. In verse 12 he says, “When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Moses continues, “Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.”
The point is clear – it is God who makes all that we have available to us. If we live in a comfortable house, it is by God’s doing. If we have tremendous wealth, it is by God’s doing. If we have the finest clothes and cars and tools and toys, it is by God’s doing. But as we give thanks to God for what we have, let us remember the words of Jesus: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
If we believe that it is all God’s…and if we believe that we ought to give back to God what is God’s…then it should be easy. Everything we have goes back to God.
But God, in love and generosity, gives us a different instruction. God says that the standard for giving ought to be the tithe. And in many places throughout scripture, the word tithe is defined. Let me make this as easy as possible, because God made it as easy as possible – the biblical standard for giving is 10%.
The reason I say God made it easy is because figuring 10% is simply a matter of moving a decimal point one place to the left. If I’ve got $10, 10% is $1. If I’ve got $100, 10% is $10. If I’ve got $1,678, 10% is $167.80. Aren’t you glad God didn’t make the tithe 12%...or 8%?
So why should we be concerned with giving…and specifically why should we be concerned with this notion of the tithe? Let me share with you a couple of reasons:
Number one, giving reminds us that God has given us everything we have. The idea of stewardship is that we don’t own or earn anything. Rather, God gives it to us to be good stewards of it. 1 Chronicles 29:14: says, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything that we have has come from you, and we give you only what you have given us!” May we never begin to think, Look what I have accomplished, but rather remember it is God who has given us all food, land, property, wealth, prosperity, and more. The key understanding of stewardship is that we give because God has given us everything
A second reason for giving is that it showcases where our priorities lie. The Bible says we are to seek God’s kingdom first. How do we know that God is first in our lives? By giving. That is a demonstration that God has first place in our priorities.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and your thoughts will also be.” You don’t have to tell me what’s first in your life; just let me see your bank statement and calendar from last month. Where we spend our money, time, and energy indicates what is really first in our lives, what we really worship. “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.” My desire for all of us as people of God is that we demonstrate how God is our top priority by tithing and giving. That’s what really demonstrates that we put God first.
A third reason to give is to help those who are in need. Deuteronomy 24:21 says, “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.” While gleaning might be less popular than it once was, the message remains the same. We are not to hoard everything for ourselves. We are to leave some for those who are facing difficult times in their lives. We are to share with the alien (one could read that to mean the migrant or the immigrant), the orphan, and the widow. We are to share with the jobless, the homeless, and the hopeless.
Earlier this morning, you heard Susan talk about our Care Ministry and Missions programs. Most every one of the missions she named is supported by gifts beyond the pledge. While our General Budget supports missions in a small way, much more is given by those who choose to go beyond – to give a second-mile gift – for those special projects. Also this morning, you were given yet another wonderful way to share a second-mile gift…by giving to a family in need. Please be generous.
There’s a powerful final reason for giving: It allows God a chance to prove that God is real. Malachi 3:10 states: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”
I challenge you to let God show you just how true this passage really is. When your Commitment Card is mailed to you later this week, prayerfully consider making the step to tithe, or at least make a commitment to move closer to the tithe. Be aware of additional opportunities to give, and be generous as God has been generous with you. I know things are tough economically, but God has promised that if we bring our tithes into the storehouse, the windows of heaven will open up and we will receive an overflowing blessing. God’s got more treasure than any of us can even imagine! If we give generously, we will not go without. AMEN!
“LIKE-MINDEDNESS”
Philippians 2:1-13
September 28, 2008
How many of you remember the ad campaign for Gatorade from 1992? That was only 16 years ago…think hard! One of the commercials I remember showed the featured basketball player (think the initials ‘MJ’) doing amazing feats, followed by young kids trying to copy his moves. Do you remember the song and the slogan that went with the images? “I want to be like Mike.” Of course the ‘Mike’ in this case was Michael Jordan.
When we are younger (and sometimes as we get older), we tend to have role models. These are people that we want to try to emulate in every way. For those who idolized Michael Jordan, they would practice taking off from the free throw line, trying to dunk the ball (or at least make a lay up), or the fallaway jumper from 25 feet, or the fancy no-look behind-the-back pass. And for those really serious about copying MJ’s mannerisms, they would do these with their tongue sticking out as Jordan often did.
There is nothing wrong with having a role model…as long as that role model always acts in a way that is worthy of copying. But that’s the problem…our role models are human…and humans make mistakes. We see it often with artists and athletes – marriages are ruined because of infidelity, the need to be seen as always being at the top of their game leads to abuse of drugs or alcohol, choices are made that lead to run-ins with the law. Our human role models sometimes display behavior that is less than ideal.
But in this morning’s reading from Philippians, Paul introduces us to a different kind of role model. Paul introduces us – and encourages us to be like a divine role model…Jesus Christ.
Paul states this desire to make Jesus our role model in a couple of different ways. In verse 2 he writes, “Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” He says almost the exact same thing in verse 5: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…”
So how is it that we can be more ‘Christ-minded?’ Let me suggest three things from the verses that follow.
Verse 6 into verse 7 reads, “Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave...” The first step we can take in seeking to have the same mind as Christ is to accept and embrace the servant role.
Jesus Christ was God – fully divine. He could have walked the earth as one with all kinds of status and privilege. Actually, he could have seated himself in some kind of palace-like structure and given commands and orders to all of humanity from his high place of honor.
But he didn’t. Jesus was God – but in a fully human form.
Jesus knew that if he was going to be embraced by humanity, he needed to be one of them. As a matter of fact, if he was going to get the people of his day and age to accept his teaching and his ministry, he would need to take on the role of one who was willing to put others and their needs first. Jesus would need to take on the role of a servant.
Tonight we will be serving our monthly Community Meal. People ask me why we’re doing this and I tell them that it’s what Jesus tells us to do. Think about the story of Jesus and his disciples on the hillside, surrounded by thousands and thousands of people. As the day gets late, the disciples tell Jesus that it’s dinnertime, and that he should send the people away so they can eat. Do you remember Jesus’ response? He said, “You feed them.” And that’s one of the things we’re seeking to do through our Community Meal.
Another story has Jesus gathered in the Upper Room with his disciples, about to celebrate the Passover Meal. As his followers argue about who is the greatest, Jesus gets up from the table, fills a basin with water, drapes a towel over his arm, and one by one kneels at the feet of his disciples to wash them. This act is one that is usually reserved for the lowest of servants in the house. But as Jesus completes the task, he says, “Go and do likewise.”
Throughout Scripture Jesus gives us examples of serving others. And each time, it seems, the encouragement is for us to do the same. If we want to be Christ-minded, we need to take on the servant role.
The second characteristic of one seeking to take on the mind of Christ is humility. When Paul wrote that Jesus refused to exploit his equality with God, that’s humility. When Jesus took on a role that was much lower than a role he could have had, that’s humility. When he emptied himself, giving up all of his potential power and prestige so that he could show us by example how we should live, that’s humility.
Monica Baldwin, an English writer in the 1940’s, once said, “What makes humility so desirable is the marvelous thing it does to us; it creates in us a capacity for the closest possible intimacy with God.” When we are humble, we recognize and accept who we are and the purpose for which we were created. We understand that God is God … and we are not, and we’re OK with that. If we want to be Christ-minded, we should practice humility.
The third characteristic of those seeking to have the same mind of Christ is obedience. While Jesus provided us with beautiful models for servanthood and humility, his model of obedience went beyond all others.
Jesus knew his role on this earth. He knew that he would be born to humble parents in a less-than-desirable location. He knew that he would spend much of his time growing up in the temple where he would teach the teachers and ask questions of the elders. He knew that he would need to be baptized by John in the Jordan, and that he would have to endure 40 days of fasting in the wilderness where he would be confronted and tempted by the devil. He knew that he would call a group of unlikely candidates to be his closest followers – people who would learn from him and then carry on with the ministry Jesus began. He knew that wherever he would go, he would be met with crowds of people seeking his teaching and healing. Jesus knew this to be his role…and he gladly took it on.
But his role didn’t end with great teaching and healing of the masses. Jesus knew his role would include an unpleasant ending. In Mark 10:33-34, Jesus says to his disciples, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him.” Would Jesus’ obedience really lead him to death?
Of course it did. Jesus knew that his suffering and death was all part of God’s plan – a plan to save the world and the world’s people. Jesus knew that his death would free people like you and me from the bond of sin and make available to us the gift of eternal life in heaven.
Jesus, in a very human moment, thought twice about whether or not he could make that kind of commitment. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, he said, “If it is possible, remove this cup from me.” Jesus didn’t really want to go through with what he knew God had called him to do. But Jesus was also obedient, and his obedience led him to add, “Not my will be done, but yours.” Jesus was obedient, even though that obedience led him to death on a cross.
If we want to be Christ-minded, we need to practice obedience. And if we take Scripture seriously, that obedience may come at a cost. Jesus said in John 15:12-13, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Obedience to Christ may mean laying down our lives for our friends. Now some read that and take a very literal interpretation – meaning that we should be ready to die for our friends. And while that may be so, laying down our lives can also mean that we set aside our wants, our wishes, our hopes and our dreams so that the wants and wishes, hopes and dreams of our friends can be realized. That’s obedience – that’s Christ-like.
Who is your role model? If it’s Michael Jordan or Adrian Peterson or Joe Mauer, then practice, practice, practice. Maybe one day you’ll develop into a star basketball or football or baseball player. But if your role model is an athlete or an artist or any other human being, be ready for a let-down. Human role models sometimes fail to live up to the moral standards we have set for them.
Instead, why not make Jesus Christ your role model? Why not seek to live your life in the way Christ lived his? Practice service. Practice humility. Practice obedience. Live a life that is Christ-minded. AMEN.
"FORGIVE FROM THE HEART”
Matthew 18:21-35
September 14, 2008
Most of us are probably familiar with the phrase, “To err is human…to forgive, divine.” But did you know that the ability to forgive can actually keep you healthier and add years to your life?
According to the 2001 Journal of Adult Development, forgiveness of others and self was associated with decreased psychological distress, including feelings of restlessness, hopelessness and nervousness.
Katherine M. Piderman, Ph.D., staff chaplain at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, wrote in an article: “Evidence is mounting that holding on to grudges and bitterness results in long-term health problems. Forgiveness, on the other hand, offers numerous benefits, including:
Lower blood pressure
Lower blood pressure Stress reduction
Stress reduction Less hostility
Less hostility Better anger management skills
Better anger management skills Lower heart rate
Lower heart rate Lower risk of alcohol or substance abuse
Lower risk of alcohol or substance abuse Fewer depression symptoms
Fewer depression symptoms Fewer anxiety symptoms
Fewer anxiety symptoms Reduction in chronic pain
Reduction in chronic pain More friendships
More friendships Healthier relationships
Healthier relationships Greater religious or spiritual well-being
Greater religious or spiritual well-being Improved psychological well-being”
Improved psychological well-being”Hearing this, it should come as no surprise that forgiveness is a topic often written about in the Bible. One such example is found in our Gospel lesson for the morning from the 18th chapter of Matthew.
The text begins with a conversation between Peter and Jesus. Just prior to this conversation, Jesus has been teaching about how to handle disagreements in the church. He reminds his listeners to begin by going directly to the person and if that doesn’t work, to bring one or two others with you. If the person still refuses to listen, Jesus suggests telling it to the church, and if that doesn’t solve the problem Jesus says to treat them like a Gentile or a tax collector. That doesn’t mean to give up on them or to send them away like an outcast. That means that all attempts should be used to win them over with the kind of love that is reserved for the most difficult of people.
It’s after this teaching that Peter questions Jesus: “How often should I forgive?” Peter, in all sincerity, was looking for a number. He wanted to know exactly what was expected of him, an honest, Christ-following disciple. Peter even suggested a starting point: “Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”
Peter didn’t just grab that number out of the air. Seven is a number that would have great significance.
In the teaching of the Rabbis, a person was expected to forgive an offender three times. Peter takes the Rabbinic teaching, doubles it, and adds one for good measure.
Who here knows what the number of humanity is - the number that is assigned by biblical tradition to poor, wretched, imperfect mortals? SIX. Six is the number of humankind. SEVEN is the number assigned to God by tradition - the number that is regarded as the emblem of perfection and of completion. Think about the story of Creation. Seven days and Creation was complete.
How often should we forgive someone asks Peter - "Is seven times enough? Seven is the divine number - seven is lots – its everything - it's certainly more than the human number certainly more than what our human nature suggests to us. Is seven times enough?
Jesus responds by putting his arm around Peter and saying, “No, my friend. Seven might be a good number, but I expect more of you. How does seventy-seven sound?”
You should be grateful that we’re reading this story from Matthew’s gospel as translated in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Do you know what other translation say? “Seventy times seven.” That’s enough to require a calculator! But the number isn’t the point.
What Jesus is really trying to say here, I think, is that if you are sincere about your forgiveness…if you’re really seeking to forgive from the heart, then you don’t keep track. You forgive time after time after time…just as God has forgiven us.
And, when you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. Can you imagine trying to keep track of all of the times you have forgiven each of your friends? And then when you add in those people you don’t know but who just happen to offend you in some way, the calculations become impossible. Think about the notebook you’d have to keep…or the computer program you’d have to use. There would be a page or an entry for every person who ever crossed paths with you. Then there would be a list of the offenses they have committed against you…and just to be able to prove it at a later date, you’d have to list the date and time and place each offense occurred. Then you’d have to keep track of those offenses you have forgiven, and which ones you’re still thinking about. That’s just not realistic, is it?
And so Jesus suggests a number that goes beyond Peter’s suggestion in both number and meaning. I think Peter got the point – but to make sure, Jesus follows up with a story…a parable.
In the story, a king is going through his account book when he discovers that one of his slaves has not repaid his debt. The debt is a large one – 10,000 talents (to help us understand the amount, let’s call it a million dollars). The slave is unable to pay and so the king takes the action he is legally allowed to do – he orders that the slave, his wife, their children, and all of their possessions be sold so that payment could be made. Again, the king was well within his right to do this so that he could reclaim that which was rightfully his.
The slave cries out, “Please, don’t. I’ll do everything I can to repay you in time. Just give me another chance.” The king, realizing the sincerity of the slave, nods in agreement. And not only did he nod in agreement, but our story says that he forgave the debt. In other words, the king said, “Go on you way – your debt is no longer.”
You’d think that the slave would be ecstatic…and perhaps he was. But in his joy, he forgot the lesson he had just learned. Either he forgot, or he didn’t allow the lesson to change his way of thinking and treating others.
The story continues with this slave going out and meeting a fellow slave who owed him money. The amount owed in this case was much smaller – 100 denarii (or to help us understand the amount, let’s call it $2.47). The first slave demanded payment right then and there, and when the second slave couldn’t come up with the money, the first slave had him thrown in jail.
When the kind heard of this, he was understandably enraged. He called for the first slave, gave him a bit of a lecture about his behavior, and then handed him over to be tortured until he could pay his debt. Jesus concludes this story with a scary warning: “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from the heart.”
We’ve experienced the torture that comes from not being willing to forgive, haven’t we? We know the feelings of high blood pressure, high stress, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and lack of sleep. We know the feelings associated with broken friendships and a decline in our spiritual and psychological well-being. When we fail to forgive, we torture ourselves.
I know that forgiveness is difficult for some people…maybe most people. William Willimon writes: "the human animal is not supposed to be good at forgiveness. Forgiveness is not some innate, natural human emotion. Vengeance, retribution, violence, these are natural human qualities. It is natural for the human animal to defend itself, to snarl and crouch into a defensive position when attacked, to howl when wronged, to bite back when bitten. Forgiveness is not natural. It is not a universal human virtue."
But while forgiveness is not a human virtue, it is a heavenly virtue. It is something we are commanded to practice. It is something that has been modeled for us, and we have been challenged to follow that model.
Think, for a moment, about the Lord’s Prayer. It is something that we say often in church and most Christians have committed it to memory. But do we really listen to what we are saying? Do we really seek to live that which we are praying?
There is a line in the Lord’s Prayer that should make things perfectly clear for us when it comes to the issue of forgiveness: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Sure, we more often use the word ‘trespasses’ instead of ‘sins’ but we’re not referring to encroaching on someone else’s land. We’re talking about encroaching on their hearts…and the message and meaning are the same. If we’re serious about the Lord’s Prayer, we are asking God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others. For some, that’s a pretty scary suggestion.
Using that same example also gives us something to think about if we’re having trouble forgiving. The Lord’s Prayer suggests that if we remember how much mercy God has shown us; if we allow the incredible wonder of God’s grace and God’s forgiveness to fill our hearts and our minds, if we recognize the incredible mercy God has poured out on us, then we will, in turn, be able to forgive others from the heart.
The point is that God doesn't keep track with us, therefore we shouldn’t keep track with others. Keeping track is not gospel … it only leads to physical and emotional distress.
The Gospel is that we can come to God over and over again - that we can have a fresh start each day - that the past is put behind us - and forgotten completely. And the gospel is that when we remember the mercy of God towards us, it is easier to show the mercy of God towards others.
Sometimes of course – there are things like distance or death that can keep us from forgiving. And sometimes forgiveness is not accepted, and old wrongs simply can't be made right because too much time has passed or too much has changed.
But in those times we can pray to God and say: "Lord, I can't forgive this. Do it for me. Take this hurt into your own hands and bring your gift of healing."
A fresh start is possible. God does it with us 70 times 70 times 70 times 7 times…and we can do it with others. We can, with God’s help, forgive from the heart. AMEN.
“PRAISE THE LORD!”
Psalm 149
“Pep” Rally Sunday (September 7, 2008)
I had a little bit of trouble deciding what to wear this morning. My first thought was to borrow a Willmar Cardinals [a local high school] jersey, but I didn’t want to alienate those who attend a different school. Then I thought about a Minnesota Vikings jersey…until someone reminded me that they’ve never won a Super Bowl. Actually, I didn’t want to offend our loyal Green Bay Packer fans (especially with the big game tomorrow night!). My son Jon has a Centennial Cougars hockey jersey from one of his friends, but we don’t live there anymore, so I didn’t think that made much sense. And so I settled on the maroon and gold of the University of Minnesota.
Oh, I realize that I’m taking a bit of a risk even wearing these colors. I know that there are probably more than a handful of diehard St. Cloud Husky fans (including one who could find a way to cut the power to my mic … but you wouldn’t do that, would you Wes?)…and I realize I’m going against our middle son Matt who is now a student at Minnesota State in Mankato (but he’s not here, so he doesn’t have to know!). But in the end, I had to make a choice if I wanted to fit in with the theme of the day.
Sports teams present a number of challenges. For the spectators, it’s sometimes hard to know who to cheer for. We all have our favorites, but what happens when our favorite team is on a losing streak? Do we find a team that is experiencing more success and cheer for them instead? Do we wait for our team to turn things around and then jump back on the bandwagon? And what happens when our favorite player is traded to another team? Does our allegiance follow the player…or does it stick with the team?
For the coaches it’s also difficult. In Little League, you want to give everyone the opportunity to play – and hopefully you want to give them equal opportunity. But sometimes that means taking your star player out and replacing him or her with someone who is less talented. Sometimes that happens in the middle of a close game. And sometimes that move leads to the team losing the game. And sometimes that leads to unhappy players…and even unhappier parents.
For the athletes it’s no different. When even the slightest glimmer of talent is realized in a young athlete, they are often pushed relentlessly by parents and coaches. This past summer’s Olympics were plagued with questions about the eligibility of certain athletes. Were they pushed into Olympic competition too soon? What would be the long-term effect of such rigorous training on such frail bodies?
Of course, the athletes themselves are often the ones pushing themselves beyond their limits. They understand what it will take to make the varsity team, or what they need to do to earn a scholarship to college, or that there is a slight possibility that they might get discovered by a pro scout.
I’m not here this morning to cry out for the end of organized sports. I grew up playing Little League baseball, football and hockey. I was a cross-country runner in middle school and high school (but I won’t talk about those two years on the high school wrestling team). I played intramural sports in college, and I continue to try to fool myself into believing that I can play softball. I love organized sports are think they’re important in teaching and developing valuable life-long skills, so that’s not the point I want to make this morning.
The point I want to emphasize this morning is that there is another team which is far more important than any sports team…God’s Team.
We all have the opportunity to be a part of God’s Team. And I say that we have the opportunity, not because God is sitting in some office talking with talent scouts and deciding who is going to get drafted to God’s Team. I say that because, while we all have been drafted by the one who created us and formed us and gave us life, some people sadly choose not to be a part of the team.
But we’re not going to dwell on those who aren’t part of the team this morning, we’re going to look at those who are.
Those who are members of God’s Team are truly blessed. Each and every day we are provided with gifts in abundance – a new day, new sights, new sounds, new people crossing our paths, new opportunities and possibilities. What a blessing it is to be able to recognize and receive the gifts God offers.
But it doesn’t stop with the blessings. Members of God’s Team are recipients of some wonderful promises, as well. We know that Old Testament greats like Moses, Abraham and Sarah, Joshua, Rahab, David, Jephthah, Samuel and the list goes on received the promises of life, land and descendents because they chose to be faithful members of God’s Team. In the New Testament we read the stories of Joseph and Mary, Elizabeth, Stephen, and of course, the first disciples. Their lives were richly blessed by the promises that were realized when they said “Yes” to God.
But those promises aren’t limited to characters in the Bible. Those same promises are offered to us…today…when we remain a vital player on God’s Team. Look at some of these promises:
•From Psalm 34:4 – “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
From Psalm 34:4 – “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”•From Matthew 5:11-12 – “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
From Matthew 5:11-12 – “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”•From Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
From Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”•From Psalm 32:5 – “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
From Psalm 32:5 – “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”•From Psalm 23:1 – “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
From Psalm 23:1 – “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”These blessings…these promises are greater than any starting position, scholarship, signing bonus, or trophy that we can earn playing sports. You see, all of these things are temporary – here today, gone tomorrow. But God’s promises are eternal – forever.
That leaves us with just one more thought – our response to the blessings and promises for members of God’s Team. Just like sports teams at all levels have cheerleaders, we are called to be the cheerleaders for God’s Team. As cheerleaders, there are many ways to cheer:
•We lead the cheers for God’s Team when we tell someone what God has done in our lives or what our relationship to God means to us
We lead the cheers for God’s Team when we tell someone what God has done in our lives or what our relationship to God means to us•We lead cheers for God’s Team when we invite someone to join us in church or Sunday School or Youth Group or Bible Study
We lead cheers for God’s Team when we invite someone to join us in church or Sunday School or Youth Group or Bible Study•We lead cheers for God’s Team when we bring ourselves to make a sacrifice by attending worship
We lead cheers for God’s Team when we bring ourselves to make a sacrifice by attending worship•And we lead cheers for God’s Team when we praise the Lord
And we lead cheers for God’s Team when we praise the LordPsalm 149 is a call to praise. The members of God’s Team are urged to “Sing to the Lord a new song,” and to sing God’s praises “in the assembly of the faithful.” The members of God’s Team are encouraged to praise the Lord with dancing and with music. The members of God’s Team are called to “Let the high praises of God be in their throats” because God is pleased with the Team and has adorned them with victory.
My friends…my teammates…victory is ours! The promises and the blessings offered to us are eternal – we cannot spend them away, nor will they rust away. Freedom from fear, forgiveness from sins, provisions provided, a heavenly home, and much, much more…these are the gifts and the promises God makes. These are the gifts and promises we, as members of God’s Team, have already received and will continue to receive – in abundance. That is a reason to cheer: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! AMEN!
“GENUINE LOVE”
Romans 12:9-21
August 31, 2008
If I were to write a mission statement for a Christian, I think I’d turn to the words of the apostle Paul for help. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t turn there for just a little help, I’d turn there for an opportunity to blatantly plagiarize! You see, Paul knows more that just a little bit about what it means to be a Christian. Paul has been on the other side of the fence, and he knows of what he speaks. And I don’t think there could be a better mission statement for the Christian than Romans chapter 12. Last week we looked at the first 8 verses of this chapter, this week we look at the other verses in that chapter – verses 9-21.
Paul begins with the word ‘love.’ Again, Paul knows of what he speaks. And not only does Paul know a lot about love, Paul writes a great deal about love – what it is, and what it is not. The 13th chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is perhaps the best known and most widely used example of love. But here, Paul begins with a phrase that ought to get us looking a bit more closely and thinking a bit more about what he is saying: “Let love be genuine.”
What is genuine love?
Well, if we take the dictionary definition of genuine as ‘real, sincerely felt, or candid (which could be translated as honest)’ we get a picture that is a bit different than the definition of love as seen or heard in our pop culture. Songs and movies and romance novels try to tell us that love is dependent upon certain qualities that a person possesses. Genuine love, on the other hand, is one that is unconditional. It is, as the dictionary suggests, a love that is real, sincere, and honest.
In recent years, a number of books have been written about why certain generations tend to stay away from the church. These books have titles like:
They Like Jesus, but Not the Church
Lord, Deliver Me from Your Followers
and Un-Christian: What a Generation Thinks about Christianity.
On the inside cover of Un-Christian it says, “A major new research project, unveiled for the first time in this book, describes the increasingly negative reputation of Christians, especially among young Americans.”
The research shows that these young Americans see Christians not for what they stand for, but for what they are against. They perceive Christians as being judgmental, anti-homosexual, and too political. And young people are quick to point out they believe that Christianity is no longer as Jesus intended.
And maybe it is. Perhaps the church today is filled with people who are less than perfect. But isn’t that who Jesus spent the majority of his time with? Wasn’t the church of Jesus Christ built on Peter, who proved time and time again that he was far from perfect? But just look at what this institution – formed from human beings from all walks of life – has accomplished throughout history. And just look at what the church today is accomplishing – despite what the critics may be saying.
There can be no doubt that the Christian Church was never intended to be a neat and tidy place where everyone always got along, but do you know what attracted so many folks to Christianity in the first place? People were saying, “Look how much they love one another! I want some of that!”
Is our love for God and for others genuine and real…or do we just play lip-service?
Are we putting our faith into action, or are we sitting in the bleachers with a pencil and paper creating judgmental lists?
Do we really love other people or just the folks who look like we do, think like we do, believe like we do, dress like we do, and talk like we do?
This past week, I was interviewed by a reporter from the West Central Tribune. For those of you who read that paper regularly, you might remember that some time ago, they wrote a story on the issue of hunger in Kandiyohi County. At the encouragement of our own Susan Cafferty, they decided to do a follow-up story on local churches’ response to hunger in our community. After Susan answered a few questions about our Community Meal program, I had the opportunity to share. The questions I was asked were those I pretty much expected – what encouraged us to get this program started, how many people are involved, and what a typical menu looks like.
But then the reporter asked a question that I didn’t expect. It wasn’t that I didn’t know the answer to the question – it was more like the answer was so obvious (to me, anyway) that the question didn’t even need to get asked: “Are there any requirements to receive this free meal?”
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the question was based on the experience of the reporter. It’s pretty widely known that organizations known for the assistance they provide in the areas of food, clothing and shelter are limited by the rules and regulations established by those organizations. In our schools, the free and reduced lunch program – a program designed to help alleviate hunger and provide assistance to those in need – is available only to those who qualify. Agencies that offer assistance are often bound guidelines, but my answer to the reporter is that we (the church) will offer a meal and whatever other assistance we are equipped to offer to whomever walks through the door – no questions asked, no strings attached. That, to me, is genuine love!
Paul writes, “Outdo one another in showing honor…Contribute to the needs of the saints…Extend hospitality to strangers…Live in harmony with one another…Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” That’s genuine love, and that is what the church and Christians should be all about!
It is my belief that one of the most dangerous things in the world is not some weapon made by hands…it’s a closed mind!
A closed mind does not like anyone who does not think just like we do.
A closed mind cries out: “You’re either for us or against us!”
A closed mind causes folks to look at the actions of another – past or present – and cast judgment: “That person is no Christian.”
We as Christians are called to “Love one another with mutual affection.”
That love is agape love—the kind of love which God has for every one of us. It is a love that knows no boundaries…it is unconditional!
Do we love other people unconditionally? Or do we pick and choose? Do we demonstrate our love for others by working together to accomplish the tasks that need to get accomplished, or do we argue and about and get hung up on the little things?
Dr. Leonard Sweet, author and professor at Drew University Seminary in New Jersey, tells a story of a debate that nearly split the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917. Since the Orthodox churches trace their roots further back than our protestant church, a split would be serious business.
The issue that caused so much controversy, believe it or not, was the size of the candles in the chancel. Should they be 22 inches tall or as some innovators were saying, only 18 inches tall?
18 inches was common! How dare they think the same candles could be used in the church as were popular in homes? The proper size for God’s table is 22 inches!
The debate, as I said, nearly split the church.
Do you know what else was going on in Russia in 1917?
Revolutionaries were plotting because the hunger issue in some places in Russia was so bad that people were reduced to eating human flesh! And if that wasn’t bad enough, the revolutionaries’ answer to the problem was to murder thousands of hungry people.
While the church was arguing about the size of candles, millions of Russians died.
Dr. Sweet writes: “God help us and forgive us because we get so turned inward while the world suffers, and we fail to show the love of Christ with one another, we argue about things that Jesus does not care about, and we let the world starve!”
Friends, let us show the world that we are capable of acting differently. Let us show the world that we are able to rise above our petty differences to make a difference. Let us show the world that we don’t judge people, but rather welcome them into this place we call the church and invite (and, dare I say expect) them to take up the cause of reaching out to the least, the lost and the left out. Let the world look upon the church and see genuine love. Let the world look upon the church and say:
“Look how they provide food where there is hunger!”
“Look how they provide opportunities where there is poverty!”
“Look how they provide spiritual nourishment where there is spiritual longing!”
“Look how they provide healing where there is brokenness!”
“Look how they provide hope where there is despair!”
”Look how they work for justice where there is oppression!”
”Look how they proclaim Christ to all!”
That, my friends, is the mission of our church…and when it is paired alongside Paul’s mission statement for the Christian, it presents a great challenge. But as the people of God and the church of Jesus Christ, we can (and dare I say we must) rise up to meet that challenge. And when we’re able to rise up to the challenge, our neighbors, our community, and the whole world will see genuine love. AMEN!
“DON’T CONFORM, TRANSFORM”
Romans 12:1-8
August 24, 2008
Some of you might recognize the name Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Dr. Peale was actually raised a Methodist and was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922. For those of you familiar with the inspirational magazine “Guideposts,” Dr. Peale was one of the co-founders of that magazine. But perhaps Dr. Peale is best known as an author – and not just any author, but the author of one of the top-selling books of all time: The Power of Positive Thinking. That book has been translated into 40 languages and more than 20 million copies have been sold. First published in 1952, it stayed on the New York Times Bestseller List for 186 consecutive weeks.
In this book Dr. Peale shares a story about a man who approached him after one of his speaking engagements, asking to talk about a matter of desperate importance to him. Dr. Peale took him backstage and the two sat down. The man said he had come to town to handle the most important business deal of his life. “But I don’t believe I can put it together” he said, “because I am discouraged and depressed. I listened to your speech tonight about the power of positive thinking and I want to ask how I can get some faith in myself.”
Dr. Peale said that it involved two steps. First it was important to discover why you have these feelings and then secondly to analyze them and get treated. “This will take a long time,” Dr. Peale said, “but I have another formula that will give you immediate results. As you walk down the street tonight, I want you to repeat a phrase over and over again. Say the words several times before your important appointment and do it with an attitude of faith and you will receive the ability and the strength to deal with this problem.” The words Dr. Peale gave the man were the words from Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The man walked away repeating those words and later reported that this simple formula did wonders for him and that he completed the business deal successfully. He added, “It seems so incredible that a few words from the Bible could do so much for me.”
How many of us are like that man in the story? How many of us fail to believe that a few words from the Bible can do so much for us?
Let’s look again at the beginning verses of today’s scripture reading from Romans 12…and let’s begin by reading them together – verses 1 and 2:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you maydiscern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.This morning, I want to focus on the idea of transformation – what is it, and how do we achieve it?
Let me share some statistics with you. A recent survey done by the Barna Group suggests that 9 out of 10 in America believe God exists. That’s not bad, but when you consider the fruit of this belief, the results are far less impressive. In the same survey, 46% of those identified as believing in God say that they attend worship on a regular basis. OK, maybe worship isn’t the best indicator of a person’s faith, but things only go downhill from here.
Of the adults who believe that God exists, only 24% attend Sunday School regularly. And when these same folks were asked what the highest priority in their lives was, only 18% said that understanding and living out the principles of their faith was the number one priority in their lives. Imagine that…fewer than 2 out of every 10 God-believers would say that understanding and practicing what is preached or taught or studied in their Bible Studies is the most important thing in their lives.
Even though we might be members of God’s Holy Church, there is another force that has this wonderful strategy to make us think like the world so that we take a path that leads us away from God.
Think about this (and in today’s age of Reality TV it might not be too far fetched) - what if someone followed you with a video camera and watched as you left church this morning? What if they followed you everywhere you went and filmed everything you did and said through the week until you came back here again next Sunday? And what if that video was played on the screen next Sunday for God and everyone to see?
What would that video say about you? Would we see consistent examples of you putting others first, treating others with respect and compassion, and serving them as Christ taught us to serve? Or would we see you safely behind the locked door of your house, in a very private place, reading things, and viewing things, and browsing sites on the internet that would glorify God?
Will God be so happy with the choices you make throughout the week that he can say “Well done good and faithful servant?” Or would the things we see on the screen cause you to sneak out of the room, too embarrassed to show your face when the lights came back up?
Perhaps you’re thinking, “Don’t put me on that guilt trip; I know that I’m not perfect (no one is!) and there are only a couple of little things that I’m doing that I shouldn’t be doing. But what about all of the good things I did? Don’t they count for something? Do I have to change those one or two things even though they’re small in comparison to the good I do?”
It is interesting, but Paul never suggested that we “change.” No, the word he used is “transformed.” Hear his words again. (Rom 12:2) “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” You see, change is temporary…but transformation is permanent.
I don’t know a lot about baking cookies – that’s not one of my spiritual gifts. But my limited knowledge understands that with most cookies, you begin by putting a bunch of ingredients together to make a dough. This dough is then transferred to a cookie sheet – sometimes it is simply spooned onto the sheet, other times it is rolled out and cut into shapes. I know that the dough, before it is baked, can be molded and shaped into any shape you can imagine. I’ve seen cookies with thumbprints in them, with designs cut out, and with the imprint of a fork in them. All of that happens with raw dough. But after you’ve put that dough in the oven and baked it, you’re stuck with what comes out – there’s no changing the shape.
The same thing is true of our faith. Before we are “baked” into the shape that the world would want us to take on, let’s allow ourselves to be molded and shaped into the image of God! That’s how we were created, after all…in the image of God. And that’s how we ought to live our lives – living as though we are the reflection of God to those we meet. The word “change” is for those who aren’t very serious about their faith - transformation is what God is looking for!
So how do we get there? How do we allow ourselves to be molded and shaped into the image of God? How do we live our lives as a reflection of God?
I think we begin with by working on the less-that-positive statistics identified in the Barna survey. We make worship a high priority in our lives and we make a commitment to attend worship regularly. Last fall, some of you filled out commitment cards where you identified the number of times you would be in worship in the coming year. Are you keeping your commitment? Are you challenging yourself to exceed that goal?
Another priority to make in our lives is Sunday School. And no, I’m not saying that dropping your kids off for Sunday School and going out for coffee fulfills that thought. Sunday School is for all ages and all stages of your faith journey. If the Sunday morning offerings aren’t your cup of tea, then suggest something different. What a joy it would be to see every person who attends worship also attending Sunday School!
I think a third priority I’d list when thinking about how to be transformed is missions or service. When it comes to missions, there are a couple of different levels of involvement – and all are important. Some folks are able to write out a check when a need arises. This church sends out literally thousands of dollars each year to our United Methodist Committee on Relief for disaster response, to our local Salvation Army to provide social service needs, to the Food Shelf to help feed those how are hungry, to Habitat for Humanity to help build homes for people in need, to the Shelter House and Emma Norton Residence to assist women and children in crisis, and to countless other organizations. Giving money is one way to be in mission.
Another way is to donate goods and supplies. In the past year (and I’m probably going to miss more than one), we’ve collected for Simpson Housing Services, a shelter for people without homes in Minneapolis, for the victims of hurricanes, for flood relief, and our current collection, school tools that will be distributed at tonight’s Community Meal. If you haven’t seen the overflowing basket out front, take a look before you leave today – it’s quite an impressive display of generosity.
The third way to be in mission is to do hands-on mission work. A great example of that is tonight’s Community Meal. If you haven’t signed up to help, I’d encourage you to just show up. We start preparing food around 3, we serve at 6, clean up happens after that – rest assured, we’ll find a place for you! And if you can’t come tonight, let your role in this mission project be to invite someone to the meal. Take the flyer that is in your bulletin and give it to a neighbor. If there are children in your neighborhood, be sure to invite those families and let them know that they can pick up school supplies as well as a meal.
But beyond the Community Meal, the opportunities abound. There are Saturday work days scheduled at the church, there are Habitat for Humanity homes to be built, there are projects to be completed at our United Methodist camps like Decision Hills in Spicer, there are workers needed to do flood clean up in Iowa and other parts of the country, there is still a ton of work to be done on the Gulf Coast to clean up after Hurricane Katrina, and there’s probably still work to be done right here in Willmar to assist those whose homes and businesses were damaged by the tornado. You don’t have to look very far to find opportunities to serve – what is needed is the desire to use the gifts we have been given in whatever way we can.
By now, some of you might be thinking that all of this sounds like a great idea…an ideal goal…but you’ve already been baked into the shape of the world. You’ve conformed to the point where you can’t change things. Your priorities are already established and you think there’s no way out. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” as the saying goes.
If that’s you, then let me share a bit of Good News. But let me warn you…the Good News isn’t without a bit of pain and discomfort.
There is a story in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah that should offer us hope. In the 18th chapter, the prophet writes, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done?’ says the Lord. ‘Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.’
If you’re feeling like your vessel – your life – is spoiled, go to God. Ask God to remold and remake you into someone who more closely mirrors the image of God. It’s hard work, I’m not going to try to tell you different. After all, you’re up against the whole world. But know that you’re not alone. And as God reworks you into another vessel, never forget, “I can do all things (not just some things…but ALL things) through Christ who strengthens me.” AMEN!
“DO NOT BE AFRAID”
Matthew 14:22-33
August 10, 2008
You may have heard the story about a man who gets too close to the edge of the Grand Canyon, looses his balance, and slips over the edge. Just before falling 1000 feet, he grabs on to a root sticking out from the edge. "Help me!" He hollers. "Is there anyone up there? Help me! Save me! Is there anyone up there?"
A voice answers, "I am the Lord. I can save you. Do you believe in me? Do you really want me to help you? "
"O, yes, Lord, I believe in you, more than you'll ever know. Please help me."
"OK," the Lord says. "I'll save you. Now, let go."
"What?!"
"Just let go of that root you're holding on to, and I'll save you. You have to trust me."
The man pauses a moment, and then shouts out, "Is there anyone else up there?!"
We’ve all had those times in our lives when we’ve been afraid. And hopefully at least once during those fearful times, we’ve experienced God’s presence saying to us, “Don’t be afraid. I can save you.” The question that is always there is, will we listen to that voice?
Let’s take a look at this story of Peter and the disciples and their trip out upon the water.
We hear in the story that the disciples have been commanded by Jesus to take a boat and go before him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while Jesus stays behind to dismiss the crowds that had gathered to listen to him. By evening Jesus had reached his mountaintop destination and was alone – praying. Meanwhile, the disciples were far from shore, being battered by wind and waves.
Obviously the disciples battled this storm a long time. The text tells us that it wasn’t until morning that they saw a glimmer of hope. As the sun begins to appear on the horizon, the disciples see someone or something - walking across the water towards them - and they are terrified and quite naturally given the circumstances, they cry out in fear.
Immediately Jesus, for it is he who is walking upon the water, responds to the disciple's fear with the words - "Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid."
Peter answers Jesus first - saying “Lord - if it is you - command me to come to you on the water." When I think of that sequence of events, I imagine Peter wishing he could take back those words as quickly as they came out of his mouth. When Jesus said, “Come,” I can imagine Peter responding, “Just kidding…” But that’s not the way the story goes.
As soon as Jesus issues the command "Come," Peter climbs over the edge of the boat and puts his feet upon the water, and begins to walk towards Jesus.
Think about it - Peter did not need to get out of the boat. He did not need to venture forth upon the stormy waters. He could have simply stayed where he was and waited for Jesus to come to him. He could have sheltered himself in the safety of the boat in the knowledge that everything would be okay now that the Lord was coming to him and the other disciples.
But he did not. Instead Peter took a chance. He asked the Lord to call out to him to come. He asked the Lord for the power to meet him, not in the calm and quiet of the boat, but in the confusion and chaos of the sea.
Here is courage indeed - The courage to venture forth into danger and to do what the Lord has said can be done; the courage to risk taking a step that does not really need to be taken, simply because the Lord tells him it can be taken.
Most people suffer from a lack of boldness, a lack of courage - even Christians suffer in this way.
Given the choice between continuing in a situation where, despite the burdens and the dangers that are all around, there is a reasonable degree of safety, and venturing out into a new and unknown situation, where the dangers seem even greater and where there is no apparent safety net, most people will elect to stay put - to stay where they are.
We hear of women that will stay in a home where they and their children are being abused rather than walk out and try to find a new life.
We hear of adults who will work for years in a job that is slowly destroying their health and happiness - rather than risk their homes and their security by returning to school or starting their own businesses.
We hear of teenagers who will not walk up to and talk to someone whom they are attracted to because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing…afraid of being laughed at and rejected.
We hear of people who have had dreams of traveling around the world or of doing something else very special who, instead, stay where they are and allow their dreams to wither and die.
What have we been afraid to do? What have we put off or cast off because we thought the cost was too great?
Who have we have avoided because we did not know what to say to them?
Where have we refused to go because we feared what might happen there?
What goal have we hid from because we have felt inadequate?
What dream have we let wither and die?
Sometimes we need to get out of the safety of the boat. We need to say to the Lord, "Lord, if it is you - bid me come to you."
I am not saying go out and do something absolutely foolish without first considering the consequences. But I am saying - if you have a dream - or if you are in a situation where you feel less than happy or whole - and you hear the Master calling to you to take a chance - if you see that you can do something to help someone else - or simply feel that God is calling you to change something in your life that seems unchangeable – then take that risk.
Peter got out of the boat and walked upon the sea.
And he did well. His faith held him up - the power of Christ held him up, and he continued to do well until he forget about that power that he had called upon. He did well until he focused on the danger he was in, until he looked at the strong wind and the waves - and became afraid. Then he began to sink.
When we take a risk - when we venture out upon the unpredictable, chaotic waters - to do something new, or simply to fulfill what we believe our calling is - it is very important that we venture out in faith, not in fear. It is important to trust the one who has called us to this challenge or this task, regardless of what we see or hear surrounding us.
Peter - when he is overcome by fear - begins to look more like a sinking stone than the rock on which the church would be built. His risk looks as if it has failed – but wait…there’s more!
Peter sinks - but as he sinks Peter remembers from whence his help comes - and he cries out - "Lord! Save me!" And Jesus reaches out his hand and catches him.
That is what the Lord does when we risk as well; it is what he does when he bids us come to him over the rough waters.
When we step out, when we take a risk to come closer to God, and then falter...the hand of Jesus reaches out to us and lifts us up. All we have to do is remember – remember the one who has called us to this task, and remember the one who has promised to never leave us - and focus on him once again.
Jesus says to Peter after reaching out to him to save him (and I believe he says it gently), "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
When we take a risk for the Lord, when we dare to do what is right, when we decide to go an extra mile - a mile that we need not walk - but which Jesus tells us we can walk – we should not doubt that he is near to us to help us.
We do not need to doubt the outcome. We do not need to fear the adversity we encounter on the way.
All we need to do is keep focused on Jesus, to look to where our help comes from. Hebrews 12:2 reminds us to “Fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”
Like Peter who stepped out of the boat and walked on the water towards the Lord who had called him - we too can step out, and we really ought to step out, to respond to the Lord who bids us come to him.
When we do, power flows. When we do, marvelous things happen.
When we do, we discover new things about ourselves and our world and our God.
We can risk, because we have a powerful Lord watching over us,
We can trust, because we have a forgiving God caring for us,
We can step out without fear, because we have a God who is sure to save. Amen.
“ALWAYS ENOUGH”
Matthew 14:13-21
August 3, 2008
There were three mice that died and went to heaven. After a couple of days, St. Peter stopped by and asked them how they liked being in heaven. The mice said that it was OK, but since they have such short legs, it was hard for them to get around because heaven was so big. So St. Peter told them that he thought he would be able to help them. After a little while, an angel came to the mice and gave each of them a set of roller skates. Right away, the mice put the roller skates on, and they could zip around heaven, really enjoying themselves.
A little later, a certain cat died and went to heaven. After a couple of days, St. Peter stopped by and asked the cat how he liked being in heaven. The cat answered by saying, "Oh, boy, do I like being in heaven! I’m having a great time and I’m really enjoying myself. And most of all, I love those meals on wheels."
Our Gospel lesson for this morning tells the story of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes for the some 5000 plus people on the hillside. It would be interesting to imagine the apostles on roller skates (or maybe today it would be rollerblades) as they sped down the aisles through the crowds, handing out the food. But the main point is not the sight of the apostles serving the crowds; nor is the main point even the fact that Jesus apparently performed a miracle here. No, I believe that the main point of this story is that, with God, there is always enough.
This morning, as we almost always do on the first Sunday of the month, we will celebrate Holy Communion. I truly appreciate and admire the people who set up for Communion, the Communion stewards. In the three churches I’ve been in, the Communion stewards have always performed the ministry with great care and precision.
I say that I admire these people because it’s not an easy task. How many of you have ever prepared a meal without knowing how many people you were going to serve? In all seriousness, when our stewards set up for Communion, they don’t know if we’re going to have 100 people in worship…or 200…or 300. But in my 16 ½ years of ministry, we’ve never run out of the elements for Communion…there has always been enough.
Oh sure, there are those times when the Communion servers begin nervously glancing at me…and I try to quickly calculate how many little cups are left and how many more people need to be served. I sheepishly remember the time in another church when it was very clear that we were going to run short of bread. The stewards, recognizing the crisis, leapt into action. Before I knew it they were coming forward with a small plate of perfectly formed white cubes. I didn’t think much of the unusual smiles and giggles of the last people to be served until I was served…and realized that the “extra” cubes that had been brought forward were not white bread but rather angel food cake that had been prepared for coffee hour. We may have had to improvise…but there was enough.
Some Bible scholars point out that there was no miracle involved here, but that the people in the crowd all had brought lunches with them in their pockets. When they saw the apostles starting to pass out the meager five loaves and fishes, they brought out their lunches and shared with one another. This theory sounds like the following true story.
After months of hard work and years of saving, the day came for a young couple to open their dream restaurant. All that was needed was the final health inspection after which they would be issued their business permit. After that ‘first-thing-in-the-morning’ inspection, "Our Place," as they called their restaurant would be in business.
But that morning the winds and rains of Hurricane Hugo hit, unexpectedly making its way 200 miles inland to their North Carolina town. Trees were uprooted, power lines were down, homes and stores were destroyed. The anxious young couple hurried to their restaurant and found everything intact.
A deputy sheriff pulled up and told them that their restaurant, the fire station next door and a service station down the road were the only businesses in town with electricity. The young couple called the health inspector to come immediately so they could open, but because of the power outage, he couldn’t get into his office to issue the permit. No permit, no business opening. With a refrigerator stocked with 300 pounds of bacon and beef and bushels of tomatoes, lettuce and bread, there was only one thing to do: give the food away.
They told the deputy, "Tell your coworkers and other emergency people you see that we’ll have free BLT’s and coffee for anybody who wants to drop by." Soon firemen, policemen, linemen and other workers were filing into “Our Place.” When the couple heard that another restaurant was scalping people by charging ten dollars for two eggs, toast and bacon, they placed a sign in their window: FREE BLT’S--FREE COFFEE. Families, travelers and street people were welcomed.
Then something began to happen. People started to clean counters and sweep floors. Volunteers took over the dish washing and helped at the grill. When word got out about what was going on at “Our Place,” people from a neighboring town that had not been too badly hit by the storm brought food from their freezers. Stores and dairies sent over chicken, milk and groceries of all kinds.
And so the long day went. Those first cups of coffee and BLTs somehow stretched to 16,000 meals. The restaurant’s small stock increased by 500 loaves of bread, cases of mayonnaise, 350 pots of coffee and bushels of produce. Their act of generosity was noticed by God…and there was enough.
Someone has suggested that it might be more accurate to call the story the division (rather than the multiplication) of the loaves. This may seem to be an unimportant distinction to make, since the important point is that everyone gets fed. But there is a significant contrast: multiplying the loaves suggests a change in quantity, whereas dividing the loaves implies a change in quality. Jesus makes do with what he has been given. Blessed and broken, touched by the power of God, it is these loaves and fishes which are now able to feed the multitude. Jesus doesn’t need to produce more food; rather, in offering these gifts up to God, he brings forth the possibilities and capabilities hidden in the depths of what is already there.
And that is exactly what God does with us. God meets us where we are and gifts us and empowers us to do far more than we could ever imagine. Rather than heaping more and more upon us, God says, “You have enough…now go and do.”
However, we sometimes have a hard time believing that, don’t we? We look at our skills and say, “I’m not good enough.” We look at the number of people present and say, “We’re not big enough.” We look at our financial resources and say, “We can’t afford it.” And all along, God is trying to tell us, “You always have enough.”
Remember the words of Paul who, in Philippians 4:19 says, “My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” On our own, by our own hands, we’ll never have enough. But with God there is always enough. Because this is so, let us not be afraid, let us not doubt, let us not hesitate. Instead, let us go out and use what we have been given to reach the least, the lost and the left out. Let us go and share of our abundance with those who have little. Let us go and reach out in mercy and compassion to the poor, the broken hearted, and the downtrodden. Let us offer not only what we have, but also what God has. Then they, too, will know that there is always enough. AMEN.
