09-08-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101: THE LORD HELPS THOSE…

  Leighton Farrell was the senior minister of the Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas from 1972 until 1995.  He tells the story of a man in his church who made a covenant with a former minister to tithe 10% of his income to the church every year.  When the man initially made this covenant, he was young and didn’t have a whole lot of money.  Thus, he gladly gave the church a check for $1000.00 when he was only making about $10,000.00 a year.

  Things quickly changed, however.  It was a little more difficult for him to write out a $10,000.00 check to the church the year he made $100,000.00.  It was a little more difficult still for him to write out a $100,000.00 check to the church the year he made a million dollars.  Then one year, his income topped out at six million dollars.  He simply could not bring himself to write out a check to the church for $600,000.00.  That’s when he went to see the Rev. Dr. Leighton Farrell.

  “Dr. Farrell,” he said, “this tithing business has got to stop.  It was fine when my tithe was only about a thousand dollars a year, but…I can’t afford to give the church six hundred thousand dollars!  Dr. Farrell, I want you to let me out of the covenant I made with that old minister.”  At that, Dr. Farrell knelt on the floor and began to pray.  A few minutes later, the man interrupted him.  “Dr. Farrell,” he said, “what are you doing?  Are you praying that God will let me out of my covenant to tithe?”  Dr. Farrell replied, “No.  So you won’t feel so bad about tithing, I’m praying that God will reduce your income back down to $10,000.00 a year!”  Needless to say, that was not exactly what that man wanted Dr. Farrell to do.  Generosity can certainly be a challenge, and sometimes it seems as though the more we have the more difficult it becomes.  Keep that thought in mind as we move on.

  Several months ago, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities.  Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are.  Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by, and influenced by, other people…for better or for worse.

  Then we worked hard to establish a few new narratives about God.  Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ, we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms.  Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying and the law of reciprocity.  We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry and judgmentalism.

  The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world.  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?”  Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world…and abiding in the kingdom of God.  Our goal in this series of sermons is learning to abide in the kingdom of God.

  Today we continue the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint.  Obviously, the community we’re talking about here is the church.  The issue we’ll be dealing with today is how the church becomes a generous community.  More specifically, the issue we’ll be dealing with today is this: How do I become generous myself?

  Perhaps in order to consider what it takes for us to become generous, we ought first to consider what it is that keeps us from being generous.  In this series of sermons, we’ve talked a lot about our narratives.  As I mentioned a moment ago, our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Thus, what might be the narrative that keeps us from being generous?  I suspect there are three, actually.  They are: a judgmental narrative, an entitlement narrative, and a scarcity narrative…a judgmental narrative, an entitlement narrative, and a scarcity narrative.

  Let’s consider our judgmental narrative first.  Perhaps we come by our judgmental narrative naturally because we think it’s really quite biblical.  Most of us are pretty sure that somewhere in the Bible it says, “The Lord helps those,” – say it with me now because I know you know it – “the Lord helps those…who help themselves.”  Do you know where it says that in the Bible?      It doesn’t say that in the Bible.  That phrase is actually found in a 1757 edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac, written by Benjamin Franklin.  Now, Benjamin Franklin said a lot of brilliant things, but this may not have been one of them.  Because the fact of the matter is, the Lord does not help those who help themselves.  The Lord helps those…who can’t help themselves.

  The Old Testament is full of stories where God intervened in people’s lives when they had exhausted all of their other options.  Case in point: Abraham when he longed for an heir; the Israelites when they were in bondage in Egypt; Elijah when Queen Jezebel vowed to put him to death.  The list goes on and on.  And truth be told, aren’t we more likely to turn to God for help when our own resources are exhausted…when we have nowhere left to turn?  The Lord doesn’t help those who help themselves.  The Lord helps those who can’t help themselves.

  Then there’s our entitlement narrative.  An entitlement narrative teaches us that the things we possess – be they time, talent or money – are ours to use as we see fit.  They are ours; we have earned them; we are entitled to them.  I think Scripture teaches us a slightly different narrative.  As I often say, “All that we have – and all that we are – are but products of God’s benevolence.”  Thus, nothing is necessarily ours.  We are stewards of God’s creation, not owners of God’s creation.  We may have worked hard to get where we are, but it was God who gave us the talent, it was God who gave us the drive, and it was God who provided the end result.

  If you have any doubt as to whether or not what I’m saying is true, think of this.  God and an atheist were having a debate.  God said, “Look at the world I have created.  Isn’t it marvelous?”  The atheist said, “I could do the very same thing.  Science has provided me with incredible capabilities.”  So God said, “Go ahead.  Let’s see you make a man out of the dust of the earth.”  At that, the atheist bent down and scooped up a handful of dirt.  And God said, “No, no.  You have to make your own dirt.”  It’s all about perspective.  Like I said, God is the source of all that we have and all that we are.  We are merely stewards of God’s creation, we are not the owners. 

  Yet perhaps the greatest narrative that hinders generosity is what some authors have termed the myth of scarcity.  We have this deep-seated, irrational fear that there may not be enough to go around.  When it comes to the issue of generosity, the theory is that whatever I give away is lost.  Whatever I provide for the needs of others contributes to my own potential lack of resources. 

  Gordon Bloomendaal was a minister friend of mine in the Dutch Reformed Church in Luverne, Minnesota.  Gordon’s motto was: If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much!  He reminded me of it often.  When Gordon was in seminary, he was serving a little church in rural Minnesota.  Now this was back in the 1950s, so – as you might suspect – his salary was exceedingly small.   What’s more, he had a wife and two children at the time.  Providing for his family and paying for seminary was an extremely difficult proposition for him.

  One Sunday morning, it came time for the offering.  He opened his wallet and all he found was a single one-dollar bill.  As he pulled that single one-dollar bill out of his wallet and placed it in the offering plate, he said a little prayer.  He said, “Lord, this is all that I have and we’re out of groceries.  I am trusting that – somehow – you will take care of things.”  That very afternoon – I kid you not – three families from the church each brought a carload of groceries to Gordon Bloomendaal’s house.  We may think that that which we give away is lost and that it contributes to our own potential lack of resources.  Yet when it comes to God, there’s no such thing as a myth of scarcity.  In fact, when it comes to God…there’s no such thing as scarcity at all.

  We’ve tried to shoot a few holes in that which keeps us from being generous.  Perhaps now it’s time to consider what it is that helps us become generous.  In the passage Dan read a moment ago from the book of Exodus, Moses had just led the Hebrew people out of bondage in Egypt.  There they were in the wilderness, and they found they had nothing to eat.  When Moses beseeched the Lord, God sent manna from heaven.  I can’t tell you exactly what that manna was.  The word “manna” itself is a Hebrew word that means, “What is it?”  In any case, the people found themselves to be in want and God provided...because the Lord helps those who can’t help themselves.

  Note also, however, that God instructed the people as to just how much they should gather.  “Gather as much of it as each of you needs,” God said, “an omer to a person.”  How much is an omer?  Well, an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.  Does that help?  Actually, an omer would work out to be just a little less than a gallon.  In God’s mind, that was all that a person would need.  Thus, the lesson here is clear.  In order for a person to actually become generous, that person must only take what he or she needs.

  Perhaps the word we’re looking for here is frugality.  Frugality means being careful about our resources.  It’s not the same as being stingy.  It does not mean that we have to be cheap.  Frugality means that we take what we need, but not necessarily everything we want.  As spiritual writer Dallas Willard once put it, “Practicing frugality means we stay within the bounds of what general good judgment would designate as necessary for the kind of life to which God has led us to live.”  Note that he says, “…for the kind of life to which God has led us to live,” not to the kind of life we may have fancied for ourselves.  The key to generosity is frugality, and the key to frugality…is discerning the kind of life we believe God is calling us to live.  What thus remains for us, I suspect, is discerning just exactly what kind of life we believe God is calling us to live.  That, my friends, you must do for yourselves.

  Yet one more thing still needs to be said.  Consider the passage I read a moment ago from the gospel according to Luke.  There once was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen, and who feasted sumptuously every day.  At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus – covered with sores – who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table.  Apparently, however, the rich man would not even give Lazarus that.

  It came to pass that both men died.  As a wise man once said, “No one gets out of here alive.”  The poor man was carried away by angels to be with Abraham.  The rich man found that he was in not quite so pleasant a place.  He begged Abraham to dispatch Lazarus to bring him some water, yet Abraham would not do so.  “During your lifetime,” he said to the rich man, “you received your good things, and Lazarus – in like manner – evil things.  But now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.  Besides all this, between you and us, a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so…and no one can cross from there to here either.”  Where do you suppose it was that the rich man found himself?

  Lest we think our generosity does not matter, Jesus provides us with a stern warning.  Greediness, or stinginess, or even a lack of generosity…can have eternal consequences.  We have but one lifetime to get it right.  Jesus means to imply that generosity is important, but I think he also means to imply a bit of importunity.  Put another way, Jesus seems to be saying, “Live your life as you should…and you’d best be starting right now!”

  Erma Bombeck was a newspaper columnist who achieved fame in the 70s and 80s for writing down-to-earth books on humor in life.  She died of cancer in 1996.  Shortly after she was diagnosed with her disease, she wrote an essay entitled, “If I Had My Life to Live Over.”  I think it pertains to that about which we have been speaking.  Listen closely to her words.

·         If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

·         I would have invited friends over to dinner, even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

·         I would have eaten the popcorn in the good living room, and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

·         I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

·         I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

·         I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

·         I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

·         I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life.

·         Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

·         There would have been more, “I love you’s,” and more, “I’m sorry’s.”

·         I would perhaps have had more actual troubles, but I’d have had fewer imaginary ones.

·         If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring, and stay that way later in the fall.

·         If I had it to do over again, I would travel lighter next time.  I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds.  I would pick more daisies.  I would try to give so much more than I ever received.

  We need to discern what it is that we really need in life, and what it is that we can do without.  And as Jesus seems to indicate, we’d best be doing so as soon as possible.  The Lord helps those who can’t help themselves.  Thus, we have the opportunity to assist God in that process…and we have the assurance that God will be there for us when we need him, as well.  Amen.

 

09-01-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY

  There are many different translations of the Bible and – although each one may offer a slightly altered rendition of certain words – they all tend to basically agree on the important things.  In the year 1631, however, the Kings Printing House in London was authorized to reprint the King James Version of the Bible.  They provided a slightly different translation of the seventh commandment.  Instead of printing, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” they printed, “Thou shalt commit adultery.”

  This was considered quite scandalous at the time.  Head Printer Robert Barker was fined three hundred pounds.  That would be about four hundred and fifty dollars, and while that may not seem like much to us, four hundred years ago…I suspect it was a bit more significant.  In any case, after the error was discovered, the roughly one thousand Bibles that had already been printed were tracked down and destroyed.  Eleven copies survived.  One is on display at The Living Word National Bible Museum in Branson, Missouri.  I’ll bet you didn’t even know there was a Living Word National Bible Museum in Branson, Missouri!  Another can be purchased online, if the price is right.  As of the 5^th of August, I see that the going rate was $99,500.00.  How much would you be willing to pay to have your baser instincts justified biblically?

  Generally speaking, however, most of our translations of the Bible are in agreement on the important things.  For example, we all have four gospels in the New Testament of our Bibles, do we not?  They are: the gospel according to Matthew, the gospel according to Mark, the gospel according to Luke, and the gospel according to John.  Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to as the synoptic gospels because they – in essence – provide a “synopsis” of Jesus’ life.  Not so with the gospel according to John.  The gospel according to John reads more like an extended statement of faith.  Thus, in a nutshell, we could say that the synoptic gospels tell us what Jesus did, while the gospel of John attempts to tell us what Jesus means.  Are you with me?  Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us what Jesus did, while the gospel of John tries to tell us what Jesus means.

  Now immediately preceding the passage I read from the gospel according to John is the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand with but five loaves of bread and two fish.  That is the only miracle story recorded in all four gospels.  After Jesus fed the five thousand, the synoptic gospels go off in a different direction.  The gospel of John, however, proceeds to tell us how the people reacted.

  Jesus fed five thousand people with but five loaves of bread and two fish.  It was a miracle that greatly impressed these people.  In fact, it impressed them so much that they didn’t even go home that night.  They camped out on the hillside where they had been fed.  When morning came, they set out in search of Jesus themselves.  When they were unable to find him on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, they crossed the sea in boats and found him in a town called Capernaum.  The first thing they said to Jesus was, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

  Now, unbeknownst to them, Jesus had walked across the Sea of Galilee, but that’s another story.  Jesus had impressed these people so much that they went to great lengths to find him.  So when they found him, they said, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

  Jesus did not even bother to answer their question.  Instead, he got right to the heart of the matter as to why they were looking for him in the first place.  Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you: you seek me – not because you saw signs – but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”  In other words, “You’re not looking for signs of the coming kingdom of God.  You only want another free meal.”

  Jesus’ words to his peers seem a little bit harsh, do they not?  Perhaps they are harsh words for us to hear in this day and age, as well.  For example, we come to church – more or less on a regular basis – in search of Jesus as well, do we not?  But why do we come?  Why do we come to church?  Are we looking for signs of the coming kingdom of God?  Or are we – like the people of Jesus’ day – only looking for another free meal?  Put another way: Are we really looking for Jesus, or are we only looking for what Jesus can do for us?  Let me explain.

  I had a friend quite a number of years ago who was raised in the Presbyterian Church.  Yet once he reached adulthood, he joined the Methodist Church.  Why did he join the Methodist Church when he’d been raised a Presbyterian?  Was the Methodist preacher better?  Was the Methodist music more contemporary?  Was he struggling with the theological concepts of Arminianism versus the Reformed faith?  No, he joined the Methodist Church because it was the biggest church in town.

  You see, he owned a furniture store downtown, so – if he was a member of the biggest church in town – he felt it would increase his customer base.  I am not making this up; he told me that him-self.  My friend came to church in search of something.  Yet perhaps he came not looking for signs of the coming kingdom of God, but rather, he came because he was looking for that free meal.  Perhaps he came not looking for Jesus so much as he was looking for what Jesus could do for him.

  As is sometimes the case with us, so it was with the people who crossed the Sea of Galilee in search of Jesus.  They weren’t looking for Jesus so much as they were looking for what Jesus could do for them.  So Jesus, in essence, told them that they were wrong.  He said, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.”  In other words, don’t try to build up treasures on earth, but rather, try to build up treasures in heaven.  You see, the distinction here is really quite clear.  When we are in search of what Jesus can do for us, our goal tends to lean toward building up treasures for ourselves.  Yet when we are really in search of Jesus Christ, our goal tends to lean toward building up treasures in heaven.  Do you see the difference?  One has the aim of building our personal kingdoms, while the other has the aim of building the kingdom of God.  Which one do you suppose Christ had in mind?

  Ah, but we can’t help but be a little bit selfish, can we?  After all, what’s the point of building up the kingdom of God if there’s nothing in it for us?  Bombarded as we are by buy now, pay later schemes, our “wants” quickly come to be perceived as “needs.”  And we’ve always been led to believe that Jesus provides for our needs, have we not?  So how do we come to look for Jesus…instead of what Jesus can do for us?

  I think it begins by looking at what Jesus has done for us.  Consider what Jesus says in verse 35.  “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”  In other words, Jesus is the bread of eternal life.  Those who partake of him are the blessed recipients of life everlasting.  Ladies and gentlemen, that’s what Jesus has done for us.  Our response should be one of gratitude, rather than constantly searching for something else Jesus can do for us.

  Later in this passage, Jesus indicates that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood.  He was making reference to the sacrament of communion, of course, but it was a concept that utterly appalled those who heard him.  John clearly indicates that this became a dividing line for Christ’s followers.  As he notes in a later verse, “After this, many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.”

  Why did many of Jesus’ followers draw back and no longer go about with him?  Was it because they were appalled at Jesus’ graphic description of the sacrament of communion?  Or was it perhaps because they began to realize that Jesus had nothing to offer them but himself?  Personally, I think the latter is true.

  People quit following Jesus because he would not do for them what they wanted him to do.  Perhaps that’s true for us today, as well.  For example, the churches that tend to be booming these days are the churches that give people what they want.  We call it the Prosperity Gospel.  The churches that are struggling these days are the churches that teach Christians that they have a role to play in the coming kingdom of God.  Put another way, they ask: Does God exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve God?  I know that’s not necessarily what we want to hear…but it does have to do with our response to what Jesus Christ has already done for us.

  Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”  Jesus is talking about eternal life.  Those who have a part of him are the blessed recipients of eternal life.  Still, we tend to reply, “What about the present life?  As the bread of life, can Jesus sustain us in the here and now as well?”

  Rabbi Harold Kushner has written a book entitled, When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough.  That’s a pertinent title for the Baby Boomer generation…and perhaps for Baby Busters and Gen Xers and Millennial Kids, as well.  Acquisition becomes the key as we spend our lives keeping up with the Joneses – as we try to earn enough money to have everything our hearts desire.   Then what happens?  We end up feeling empty inside…because all we’ve ever wanted – somehow – isn’t enough.  As Saint Augustine put it some sixteen hundred years ago, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.”

  This is where Jesus Christ – as the bread of life – can truly sustain us.  He provides bread for the journey…this journey we call life.  By taking part in the life of Christ, we find that peace and contentment we so desperately seek.  Yet how do we take part in the life of Christ?  How do we get our fill of bread for the journey?  Honestly, I think we get our fill of bread for the journey when we stop and take inventory of our lives so far.  Think for a moment about what you have …instead of what you lack.  Have you got your health?  Have you got a loving family?  Have you got a source of income?  Is there food on your table?  Are you surrounded by caring friends?  The list goes on and on.  The point is this: If you can say “yes” to any or all of the aforementioned questions, then you indeed know that God is in your life.  You have received bread for the journey so far.  Why, then, would you ever think…that it might run out?  Amen.

 

08-25-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

WHAT GOD HAS HAD IN MIND ALL ALONG

  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  You’ve heard those words before, have you not?  Those words are found in the first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible.  You know: the creation story in the book of Genesis.  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

  Then about 150 years ago, a man named Charles Darwin came along and upset the apple cart.  He proposed a theory of evolution that insinuates that we human beings evolved from apes.  I must admit, in fairness to Darwin, that I have indeed met people who didn’t seem to be quite as far along on the evolutionary scale as the rest of us.  But I digress. 

  Now, my friends, a third story of creation has finally been uncovered.  I think it helps to explain just why life is the way it is.  Listen now to the recently discovered third story of creation:

  On the first day, God created the cow.  God said to the cow, “You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun.  You will have calves and provide milk to support the farmer.  I will give you a life span of 60 years.”  The cow replied, “Lord, that’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for 60 years.  Let me have 20 years, and I’ll give back the other 40.”  And God agreed.

  On the second day, God created the monkey.  God said to the monkey, “Entertain people, do monkey tricks and make them laugh.  I’ll give you a life span of 20 years.”  The monkey replied, “How boring.  Monkey tricks for 20 years?  I don’t think so.  Give me 10 years and I’ll give you back the other 10.”  And God agreed.

  On the third day, God created the dog.  God said to the dog, “Sit all day long by the door of your house and bark at anyone who tries to come in or walk past.  I’ll give you a life span of 20 years.”  The dog replied, “That’s a little too long to be barking and sitting.  Give me 10 years and I’ll give you back the other 10.”  And God agreed.

  On the fourth day, God created man.  God said to the man, “Eat, sleep, play, have fun and enjoy your life.  Do nothing but have a good time.  I’ll give you a life span of 20 years.”  The man replied, “What?  Only 20 years?  No way, Lord!  I’ll tell you what.  I’ll take my 20, plus the 40 the cow gave back, plus the 10 the monkey gave back, plus the 10 the dog gave back.  That makes 80, okay?”  And again, God agreed.

  So that is why – for the first 20 years of our lives – we eat, sleep, play, enjoy life and have fun.  For the next 40 years, we slave in the sun to support our families.  For the next 10 years, we do monkey tricks to entertain our grandchildren.  And for the last 10 years…we sit in front of the house and bark and anyone who walks by!  As the new creation story concludes, “Life has now been explained.”

  Chances are – since I found this third creation story on the Internet – it may not be entirely true.  But like this third creation story, doesn’t the creation story in Genesis leave us with a feeling of being profoundly special?  After all, we are the crowning achievement in God’s good creation.

  If you take the Genesis story literally, of course, humanity was created on the sixth day.  Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden.  They were given every plant yielding fruit for food.  They were given dominion over all creation.  Human beings are the crowning achievement in God’s act of creation, and that should leave us feeling quite special, indeed.

  Then consider how the Old Testament proceeds.  God makes a covenant with Abraham to make of him a great nation.  Through his grandson, Jacob, they become the nation of Israel.  Later, when God’s people find themselves in bondage in Egypt, God sends a deliverer by the name of Moses.  Under King David, they become the most powerful nation in the world.  In later years, following their conquest by other nations, God remains faithful through various prophets and promises them ultimate deliverance.

  That deliverance came to fruition in the person of Jesus Christ.  They were delivered from the greatest enemy of all…the enemy we call death.  Now, through Jesus Christ, we are the chosen people of God.  God sent his Son that we might receive adoption as the children of God.  How’s that for leaving us with a feeling of being special?

  Is it any wonder, then, that individualism runs so rampant in our society today?  After all, we’re the chosen people of God.  Who on earth matters more than us?  Unfortunately, that often comes to be translated further into being, “Who on earth matters more than me?”  Who on earth… matters more than me?

  Actually, it was an eerily similar phenomenon that the Apostle Paul was dealing with in the passage we read from the book of Ephesians.  Christians at Ephesus were well aware that Christ had died for them, and that they were now numbered among the chosen people of God.  That led to rampant individualism and selfishness.  Since they were now children of God, they came to believe that they were quite special.  And in the process, they became a bit self-indulgent.

  Paul reminded the Christians at Ephesus – these Ephesians – that they were indeed very special.  “You are a part of the body of Christ we call the church,” he says…a tremendous privilege.  Yet as most of us know – and as Paul gently reminds the Ephesians – with great privilege comes great responsibility. 

  For example, what greater privilege is there than the privilege of parenthood?  Yet as Paul reminds us, with great privilege comes great responsibility.  I think that great responsibility is summed up quite well in a poem called, “The Little Chap Who Follows Me.”  Listen closely to the words.

A careful man I ought to be;

A little fellow follows me.

I do not dare to go astray,

For fear he’ll go the self-same way.

            I must not madly step aside,

            Where pleasure’s paths are smooth and wide,

            And join in wine’s red revelry –

            A little fellow follows me.

I cannot once escape his eyes;

Whate’er he sees me do, he tries.

Like me, he says, he’s going to be;

The little chap who follows me.

            He thinks that I am good and fine,

            Believes in every word of mine;

            The base in me he must not see,

            The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,

Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow,

I’m building for the years to be:

A little fellow follows me.

  There is no greater privilege than parenthood, yet perhaps there is no greater responsibility either.  Like I said, with great privilege comes great responsibility.  To the Ephesians, Paul is quite clear that they have great privilege.  They are the proud recipients of the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and – because of that – they have received adoption as the children of God.  Yet Paul explicitly adds that with great privilege comes great responsibility.

  “Put off your old nature,” he says, “which belongs to your former manner of life…and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”  In other words, with great privilege comes great responsibility.  Once you were frivolous and self-centered.  Yet now that you belong to Christ, you are to live as a transformed people.  You are to intentionally exert some self-discipline, and some self-control.

  In the passage I read earlier, Paul becomes a bit more specific.  “Put away falsehood,” he says.  In other words, do not lie.  “Be angry but do not sin,” he says.  In other words, people may grieve you and upset you, but you are called to not respond in kind.  “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths,” Paul says, “but only such as is good for edifying…that it may impart grace to those who hear it.”  In other words, don’t gossip.  And before you tell someone what you heard someone else say about them, think about it.  Is this going to make them feel better about themselves, or is it only going to hurt them?

  Finally, Paul says, “Be kind to one another: tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  Paul actually goes one step further than saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Paul seems to say instead, “Do unto others as God has already done unto you.”

  Paul really lays it on the line here.  Why, it’s as if he was saying, “You are the blessed recipients of the grace of God.  Yet with great privilege comes great responsibility.  You are thus called to live your lives as if the grace of God really means something.” 

  Like the Ephesians before us, we are the blessed recipients of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  We are adopted as children of God and have come to be known as the chosen people of God.  Yet this beneficent status necessarily begs an important question.  And that question is: “What difference does it make?”  Honestly, what difference does it make in the way we live our lives?

  Much has been written of late that due to the rampant individualism in the world today, there is precious little difference between the behavior of Christians and the behavior of non-Christians.  Christians spend their money just as selfishly as non-Christians.  Christians sue one another just as often as non-Christians.  Christians hold grudges against one another just as often as non-Christians.  Christians gossip – Christians lie – just as much as non-Christians.  Christians seek vengeance upon one another just as often as non-Christians.  Christians watch exploitative movies and T.V. shows just as often as non-Christians.  What difference does our chosen status as Christians really make?

  Let me tell you something that I think we often overlook.  Jesus Christ died for you, which makes you very special in the eyes of God.  But he also died for me.  He died for the Methodists down the street.  He died for those ruffians who hang out in Diamond Park.  He died for the homeless people we try to overlook on our city streets.  He died for the Mexicans who try to sneak across our borders when no one is looking.  He died for the Muslims in foreign lands who hate us with a passion.  He died that everyone in the world might one day be numbered among the chosen people of God.  That is not universalism…but rather, that is universality. 

  You are special in the eyes of God, but so is everyone else.  I think what Paul is really getting at is that it’s not all about us.  As Christians, we need to put off the old nature and put on the new nature.  Why?  Because everyone has the potential to be a child of God.  What God really wants is for all of his children to live in peace and harmony.  And the way it begins…is when God’s own children learn how to get along.

  Ladies and gentlemen, the new nature of which Paul speaks exercises a measure of self-control.  Why?  Because other people matter to God just as much as we do.  Christianity has everything to do with getting along with others as if they were our brothers and sisters.  And that, my friends, is what God has had in mind all along.  Amen.

 

08-18-2013 Sermon by Rev. Larry Peters

 

A SIMPLE FRUIT STORY

Rev. Larry Peters

August 18, 2013

Psalm 67:1-2, 4-7

1 John 4:7-21

John 15:1-8

  In all of our lessons for today, we are being taught the way to live our life.  Our teacher is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Life is a classroom.  We are the students of life.  We learn many things in life.  There is literally something new for us to learn each day, if and when we pay attention.  We must attend class.  We must pay attention in class; pay attention to what is happening, what is around us, what God has given us in life, and the lessons we learn.

  One thing that we should learn is that we all have something to give.  God has given each of us certain talents and abilities.  We should learn to see them in ourselves, and learn to see them in others.  We should see the benefit of sharing together what we have learned; what we have worked on; who we are; what we can do; what we can give.  These are the fruits of our produce.

  In addition to our talents and abilities, we are given fruit of the Spirit that Paul describes in Galatians as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  These are character qualities of Jesus that God intends every believer to have.  This fruit is not produced by us, but only produced in us.  They are produced by the Holy Spirit who himself lives in us.  This truth is made known to us in 1 John 4:13 where it reads; “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his Spirit.”  Living by faith in the Son of God who indwells us in what the fruit of the Holy Spirit is all about.

  To fully appreciate just how precious these words are, we need to see them in the larger context of Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia.  This is written at a time when believers in Galatia were falling away from the simple message of the gospel.  They were abandoning the message that a sinner is declared righteous before God as a free gift of his grace through faith in Jesus Christ and what he did for us on the cross.  Instead, they were falling for the lie that they could make themselves righteous before God through obedience to the Old Testament law.  It comes down to this:  What do you believe, if you believe anything at all?  Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it this way; “Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.”  Or put still another way; “If you don’t believe in something, you will fall for anything.”

  False teachers had been misleading the Galatian believers into thinking that they could be more righteous and acceptable before God on the basis of the law of Moses (that is law put forth by human beings).  And this message isn’t for the Galatian believers alone.  It is a message intended for you and for me.  It is a message of great encouragement for those who believe in and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as Lord; and is a warning to those who would choose to put something else in place of him.

  There is the question of what to do with the law of God.  If we choose to turn away—what then?  Do we simply ignore the need to be holy in the way we live?  Do we reject God’s law altogether?  Do we forget about following the pattern of Jesus’ own holiness, and to grow into his likeness?  Are we to be our own guide, following our own way, our own standards—would that, in any way, save us?  No!  The standard of holiness has not changed.  Neither has the way toward holiness.  We are to cease trying to make ourselves holy on the basis of our own human efforts.  Instead, we are to allow God’s Holy Spirit to live the life of Jesus Christ through us.

  God’s Holy Spirit is our guide.  God’s Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ is our teacher along life’s way.  We need to pay attention!  As followers of Christ, his disciples, we acknowledge Jesus to be our Lord and Savior.  There is no other way!  We receive him into our life, and he shows us and teaches us how to live!  Jesus said: “I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).  Do you want to have an abundant life?  Do you want to live a fruitful life?  Then you want Jesus Christ!

  You must have Jesus Christ in your life, so that you can live through him.  For unless you are a Christian, a follower of Christ and a confessor of him as Lord, there is little chance that you have any idea of what it is like to live the abundant life in Christ!  People in Galatia began to measure their spirituality by their own belief, performance and standards.  True believers measure their spirituality only through Jesus Christ who blesses us in great measure!

  We live to love and serve God and our fellow human beings.  Through God’s grace, we are able to be a blessing to someone in need.  May we be able to live out the perfect character qualities of Jesus in us, to be his disciples, to glorify God, and by bearing much good fruit.

  I’d like to share with you today a simple fruit story.  My grandfather was a farmer.  He was an educated man.  He graduated from Edinboro State Normal School.  I later graduated from this school when it was no longer “normal”, but when it became a university.  My grandfather loved to teach and everybody thought he was going to be a school teacher.  Instead, he learned about life and taught what he knew in a different way.  He was an apple farmer and he was good at it.  His love was to produce good fruit, and he was always ready to help others.

  The local farmers would take their best fruit to sell at the grand old Market House here in Meadville.   There was friendly competition among the farmers and each year they would “crown” and “apple king.”  I don’t know if this was any more than a title.  I do remember that he would often hand out pencils with “apple king” printed on the side.  We grandkids were always proud to get one.  My grandfather found a way to use his talent and ability.  He also seemed to pay attention to what was around him and to the needs of other people.  He was a student of life, learning life lessons and seeing the benefit of sharing together what we have learned.

  My father was born and raised in Meadville.  He was a city kid.  He knew very little about farming.  But he liked the farmer’s daughter.  Later on he married her and she became my mom.  Still later, when I was a boy, we were all surprised when dad decided to move us out to live on a farm.  This is the same guy who would run from my grandfather’s cows when they came walking up to him—some of them had horns!  Well, our farm on Route 86 near Saegertown didn’t have any cows.  We mostly had fruit; red and black raspberries, strawberries and apples.

  I remember that my grandfather was very helpful in sharing what he knew to get dad started.    In particular, I remember when he taught my dad how to graft a branch of one type of apple tree onto the trunk of a different type of apple tree.  In his own orchard, grandpa had many strange looking trees that grew different types of apples.  One of the benefits of grafting is that varieties of fruit ripen at different times which can stretch out a fruit season over months.  I also think that my grandpa liked experimenting with what he could do as a fruit farmer.  My dad, in turn, was mechanically inclined and was good at repairing his and my grandfather’s farming equipment.  This was something that my grandfather was not always able to do.

  When we pay attention to what is around us and to the needs to which we can design our purpose, when we strive to use the talents and abilities that God has given us in life, and when we see the benefit of sharing together what we have learned, what we can do, what we have worked on—these are the fruits of our produce, the very best of who we are and what we have to give!

  One of the favorite ways of teaching or telling a story is to do so in a way that connects with the people who hear the story.  Jesus, when teaching, was a master at reaching out to people.  The people were amazed at what he taught and the way, the authority, in which he taught it.  One of the more familiar analogies or parables that Jesus used to teach was that of fruit and fruit-bearing.  Many people were farmers.  The climate of the land is such that with irrigation, cultivation and proper care, a broad assortment of fruits were able to be produced.  The Bible repeatedly mentions such fruits as figs, plums, grapes, melons and several kinds, pomegranates, olives, pears and apples.

  The people knew about fruit and the vines, branches and trees on which they grew.  The people knew, for example, that if a fig tree failed to bear figs for three straight years, as in Jesus’ parable of the unfruitful fig tree, it was unlikely to ever do so again.  So the tree would be cut down and burned, and something would be planted in its place—something that was sure to bear fruit.  They understood how no branch can bear fruit by itself, that it is only healthy when it is attached to a good tree or vine.  And they understood about grafting, how branches of various types could be grafted onto a single host plant.  Even so, sometimes the grafts held and succeeded, and sometimes they did not.  Sometimes they fell off and withered away.

  Jesus wants to make this point very clear.  He says in our lesson today that “whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).  Jesus Christ came to give us life!  Apart from him there is only death!  When I was a boy, I tried my own experiment with grafting.  I cut off a branch from an apple tree and stuck it in the ground.  I thought that maybe I could grow a new tree and produce my own apples.  Well, it didn’t happen.  It does not work that way.  I guess I thought that the power to produce apples was in the branch.  But I learned that the branch only bore the fruit, it did not produce the fruit.  And now, no longer part of the tree, it was lifeless.  It would only dry up, wither and only be good for firewood.  Apart from the tree, the branch could do nothing.

  Jesus is our source of life.  We need to remain connected to Jesus!  Jesus says, “Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4,5).

  And Jesus says that God is the vinegrower.  God is the one who removes every branch that bears no fruit.  This is not only to remove the branches that no longer bear fruit, but to enhance the fruit-bearing possibilities of the branches that do.  This is weeding out the garden!  And there is also mention of pruning.  God prunes every branch that does bear fruit.  Pruning is another way of caring for the branch.  Pruning encourages new growth so that the branch can bear even more fruit.  And God looks upon his garden and calls it good!  God is glorified when we bear good fruit!

  As Jesus taught the people, he connected with them.  They understood what he was talking about when he told his fruit stories.  They knew that Jesus is concerned not just about branches and fruit—but about people’s lives.  In all of our lessons today we are being taught the way to live our life.  The way to live our life is to love and serve God and our fellow human beings, and to glorify God by bearing much good fruit.

  Nourished by God’s love, we grow.  We learn how to love because God loves us.  This love stimulates us in a life-transforming way that we cannot help but love others as God loves us.  Love is one of those good fruits of the Spirit, that the Holy Spirit of God produces in us and that we are to share with others.  As we grow in the Lord, and as we grow more and more to be instructed in the Scriptures, we grow increasingly to perceive the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  As Paul says, “Since we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Romans 8).  And as we do, we discover a way to live life that is abundant and fruitful.

  What a great privilege we have!  God the Father has placed God the Holy Spirit in us when we believed and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord!  And God the Holy Spirit, who has taken up residence in us, lives the very life of God the Son through us!

  May Jesus Christ be praised!  May we increasingly allow the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in us; and may God be glorified as a result!  Amen.

 

 

08-11-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101: TWENTY-TWENTY HINDSIGHT

  Gary and Linda had been married for nearly twenty years when things began to go awry.  Facebook had just come into vogue as a computer pastime, and Linda had established her own account.  Over the course of the next few months, she reconnected with an old college boyfriend.  He was living in the state of Mississippi, and Linda wanted to go down there and see him.  In Linda’s mind, the visit would be perfectly innocent.  In Gary’s mind, however, the visit seemed a bit suspicious. 

  That’s when they came to see me.  The funny thing is: it was actually Linda’s idea to come and see me.  I suppose she thought I was cool, and that I would understand.  Yet as all three of my children would quickly tell you, I am not cool…and I don’t always understand.  Now I don’t normally tell people what to do in a counseling situation, yet after hearing of their dilemma, the first thing I said was this: “Linda, you need to cut off all contact with that old college boyfriend immediately.  You’re playing with fire here, and people who play with fire…often times get burned.”  I knew right away that my counsel would go unheeded because Linda was extremely disillusioned when they left my office that day.

  Linda did go down to Mississippi to see that old college boyfriend.  And as Gary suspected all along, the visit was not as innocent as Linda let on.  Linda and her old boyfriend rekindled an old flame – a decision that would eventually cost Linda her marriage.  Yet the boyfriend was married himself and – believe it or not – he had absolutely no intention of leaving his wife.  In the end, Linda lost her husband, she lost her old college boyfriend, and she lost the respect of her daughters, as well. 

  As often happens in a situation like this, neither party tends to feel terribly comfortable in the church any more.  I never saw Linda again – at least not in church – yet Gary did come to see me one more time.  He was angry and bitter about what had happened.  You might even say that he had become a bit vindictive.  He was withholding alimony checks, he did what he could to turn his daughters against their mother…in short, he was making her life as miserable as he possibly could.  Yet in the process, he was making his own life miserable, as well.

  I suggested that what he really needed to do…was to somehow find it in his heart to forgive her.   His forgiveness would not be for her sake, but rather, his forgiveness would be for his own well-being.  It would help bring peace to his sorely troubled soul.  Yet the question I have for you now is this: Was that really the proper thing for me to advise?  Should he forgive her for his own well-being, or should he forgive her for another reason entirely?  Keep that thought in mind as we move on. 

  Several months ago, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities.  Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are.  Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by, and influenced by, other people…for better or for worse.

  Then we worked hard to establish a few new narratives about God.  Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ, we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms.  Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying and the law of reciprocity.  We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry and judgmentalism.

  The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world.  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?”  Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world…and abiding in the kingdom of God.  Our goal in this series of sermons is learning to abide in the kingdom of God.

  Today we continue the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint.  Obviously, the community we’re talking about here is the church.  The issue we’ll be dealing with today is how the church becomes a reconciling community.  More specifically, the issue we’ll be dealing with today is this: How does one come to truly forgive?

  Forgiveness is perhaps the most difficult thing with which Christians have to deal.  For example, Dr. James Bryan Smith is a professor of theology at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas.  In a book called, The Good and Beautiful Community, he makes mention of how often he comes face-to-face with the issue of forgiveness.  He writes:

I have had the privilege of being a guest on many Christian radio talk shows.  Typically, the host of the show interviews me about the content or the ideas from one of my books.  Many of the shows allow listeners to call in and ask questions.  Initially, I expected the callers to join in the discussion, perhaps even raising a question or two about the topic at hand.  I quickly learned, however, that that seldom happens.  Instead listeners often share their own stories that end with a very similar plea: “I have been terribly hurt by someone.  Please, tell me how to forgive them.”  No matter what the topic of the program was supposed to be, I could count on at least two of the calls being about forgiveness.  What people seem to want to know is:  “Can I forgive?  Should I forgive?  How do I forgive?”

  Like I said, forgiveness is perhaps the most difficult thing with which Christians have to deal.  We’re all painfully aware of what we say in the Lord’s Prayer every week.  You know, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”  Deep down inside of us there seems to be a tremendous fear that if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven.  We all know that we need to forgive.  What we don’t seem to know…is how.

  I think of what I said to Gary in the opening illustration of this sermon.  I told him that he needed to forgive his wife for the sake of his own peace of mind.  Yet to say that to someone implies that forgiveness is an act of the will.  And, as we said a number of weeks ago, the will actually has no power in and of itself.  The will is merely the capacity to choose.  Thus, the will is neither strong nor weak.  Like a horse, the will only has one task: to do what the rider – in this case, the mind influenced by the body and/or the social realm – tells it to do.  Therefore change – or a lack thereof – is not an issue of the will at all.  Change happens when other influencers are modified.  Perhaps forgiveness, too, happens when other influencers are modified.  The question now is: What exactly is it that needs to be modified in order for us to have the capacity to forgive?

  I think Jesus lays out what needs to be modified in the passage we read from the gospel according to Matthew.  Jesus says that, once upon a time, a king wished to settle accounts with his slaves.  A slave who owed ten thousand talents was brought before the king.  A talent was the equivalent of fifteen years wages for a laborer.  Thus, in today’s terms, if a laborer earns $30,000.00 a year, ten thousand talents would come to exactly four billion, five hundred million dollars.  In other words, this slave owed his king a great deal of money. 

  As the slave could not pay, the king prepared to sell him, his wife and his children...that payment might be made.  The slave then dropped to his knees and begged the king not to do so, swearing up and down that eventually he would repay the debt.  The king then had mercy upon that slave, and forgave him of his debt.  Remember: that slave owed his king 4.5 billion dollars.

  That very same day, that very same slave encountered another slave who owed him a hundred denarii.  A denarius was the usual day’s wage for a laborer.  Again, if the average laborer earns $30,000.00 a year, a day’s wage would be about a hundred and fifteen dollars.  Thus, the second slave owed the first slave about $11,500.00.  The first slave then grabbed the second slave by the throat and cried, “Pay what you owe!”  The second slave begged the first slave for mercy, but the first slave would hear none of it.  He then threw that man into prison until he could pay his debt.  Yet think about it: Can one really repay a debt from prison?  Thus, the first slave essentially threw the second slave into prison for life.

  When the king caught wind of what that slave had done, he was furious.  “You wicked slave,” he cried.  “I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?”  And in anger, he sent that slave off to be tortured until he could pay his debt.  Then Jesus adds, “So my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or your sister from your heart.”

  Okay, that story ends rather unpleasantly, does it not?  For the sake of our argument today, we’re simply going to pretend we didn’t hear that part of the story.  Because I think the greater point is that each and every one of us is a whole lot more like the first slave than we are like the second.  Jesus’ point is this: Each and every one of us has been forgiven far more than we can imagine.  And because we have been forgiven so very, very much…we come to forgive others out of gratitude to God.  So you see: forgiveness is not a matter of the will.  Forgiveness…is a matter of the heart.

  The problem today, however, is that most people have been conditioned to not see themselves as sinners.  No matter what sort of evil or transgression we commit, we are conditioned to believe that somehow…it’s not our fault.  Either that, or we find a creative way to rationalize our behavior.  Ladies and gentlemen, God does not look at it that way.  God created a perfect world, and God created a way for people to be perfect in it.  Thus, in God’s eyes, any transgression – apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ – is enough to send us into the abyss of hell. 

  For example, I do not see a hierarchy in the Ten Commandments.  Each sin mentioned seems to be equally egregious in the eyes of God.  The sixth commandment says, “Thou shalt not kill.”  Thus, murder is enough to get us banished from God’s presence forever.  The seventh commandment says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  Thus, adultery is enough to get us banished from God’s presence forever.  The fourth commandment is, “Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”  Thus, skipping church is enough to get us banished from God’s presence forever.  The tenth commandment is, “Thou shalt not covet.”  Thus, wanting what someone else has is enough to get us banished from God’s presence forever. 

  Are you starting to get the picture?  While we may not think that our little sins are any big deal, I assure you…God thinks differently.  Yet thanks to the grace of God in Jesus Christ, God forgives us and remembers our sins no more.  Thus, perhaps we are a lot more like that first slave than we would like to think.  Our debt is a whole lot closer to 4.5 billion than it is to eleven thousand.  And because we have been forgiven so great a debt, we can come to forgive the debt of another.  Forgiveness is not a matter of the will.  Forgiveness…is a matter of the heart.

  Yet one more thing still needs to be said.  Mary read the story of the Patriarch Joseph a moment ago.  Joseph was his father’s favorite son, and he made no bones about it.  Joseph lorded his privileged status over his brothers, and it brought about some serious sibling rivalry.  When Joseph told his brothers about a dream he had had – one in which they all bowed down to him – that was the last straw.  They sold him as a slave and told their father he had been devoured by a wild animal. 

  Joseph was carted against his will to Egypt, where he became the slave of an Egyptian military man.  When that man’s wife made a play for Joseph, and Joseph ran away, she accused him of accosting her.  That landed Joseph in prison.  Yet possessing a unique ability to interpret dreams, Joseph interpreted one of Pharaoh’s dreams and saved Egypt from a deadly famine.  That got Joseph promoted to second in command over all of Egypt.

  The famine came anyway, yet Egypt had stores of grain aplenty.  Joseph’s brothers later found themselves to be in want, and they went to Egypt to purchase food.  It was there that Joseph revealed to them who he really was.  As you might suspect, his brothers fell silent…knowing in their hearts exactly what they had done.  Yet Joseph replied, “Do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here.  For God sent me before you to preserve life.”

  Joseph possessed what I like to call twenty-twenty hindsight.  Looking back over his life – as difficult as it had been – he knew that everything that happened to him had to happen to him, in order for him to arrive at the place he found himself now.  Joseph knew that the pain and suffering he had endured had helped to build his character.  Joseph knew that the hardships he had endured had taught him perseverance.  Yet most of all, Joseph knew that the afflictions he had encountered had developed a profound faith within him.  That’s how he could forgive his brothers.  He was grateful for all that God had forgiven him, and he knew that it was through his afflictions…that God had brought him to the place he was destined to be.

  Remember Gary?  Gary has since remarried a wonderful woman and he cannot imagine life without her.  Had he not gone through what he did go through, he would not be in that situation.  Gary possesses the gift of twenty-twenty hindsight.  He can look back on his life and see that everything that happened had to happen…in order for him to arrive at where he is today.  No doubt, it was painful at the time.  But, like Joseph, he can now look back on his life and see that God was able to turn what was very, very, bad into something very, very good.  What’s more, in the process, he has finally found in his heart the capacity to forgive his first wife, as well.

  Forgiveness is not a matter of the will.  Forgiveness is a matter of the heart.  When we come to realize how much God has forgiven us, how can we not forgive the transgression of another?  What’s more, through twenty-twenty hindsight, we come to realize that those transgressions may have been necessary for us to arrive at where we are today.  Thus, I ask you a question: Are you grateful to God for where he has brought you, or are you still bitter about what might have been?  I suspect the answer to that question says a great deal about our own capacity to forgive.  Amen.

 

 

08-04-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101:

HOW MANY PRESBYTERIANS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?

  What I’m about to discuss this morning is what has been described as denominational light bulb issues, to which there just may be more truth than meets the eye.  Each one pokes fun at a different Christian denomination – including our own – so I can fulfill my calling as an equal opportunity offender here…and not be accused of being intolerant.  In any case, listen now to a few denominational light bulb issues.

·         How many Methodists does it take to change a light bulb?  The answer is: Undetermined.  Whether your light is bright, or dull, or completely out…know that you are loved.  You can be a light bulb, a turnip bulb, or a tulip bulb.  A church-wide light bulb service is planned for next Sunday morning.  Bring the bulb of your choice, along with a covered dish.

·         How many Pentecostals does it take to change a light bulb?  Ten.  One to change the light bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.

·         How many T.V. evangelists does it take to change a light bulb?  One…but for the message of light to continue, be sure to send in your donation today.

·         How many Catholics does it take to change a light bulb?  None.  Catholics use candles.

·         How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb?  What do you mean, change?

·         How many Disciples of Christ does it take to change a light bulb?  Ten.  One to change the light bulb, and nine to say how much they liked the old light bulb better.

·         How many Amish does it take to change a light bulb?  What’s a light bulb?

·         How many Unitarians does it take to change a light bulb?  We choose not to make a statement either in favor of, or against, the need for a light bulb.  However, if you in your own journey have found that light bulbs work for you, that’s wonderful.  You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your personal relationship to your light bulb…and present it next month at our annual light bulb service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions – including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, and tinted – all of which are equally valid paths of illumination.

·         And last, but not least: How many Presbyterians does it take to change a light bulb?  Forty-four.  One person to notice that the light bulb is out.  Eighteen to sit on the Session, who will refer it to the Board of Trustees.  Nine to sit on the board of Trustees, who will refer it to the Personnel and Property Committee.  Ten to sit on the Personnel and Property Committee, who will refer it to a sub-committee for further review.  The sub-committee will secure three estimates to determine the most cost-effective bulb.  They will then refer it back to the Personnel and Property Committee, who will refer it back to the Board of Trustees, who will refer it back to the Session.  The Session will then authorize the minister to tell the Administrative Assistant to tell the custodian…to change the light bulb.

  You think I’m kidding, don’t you?  I’m not so sure I am.  The aforementioned light bulb jokes reveal an element of truth about many different denominations in the Christian faith.  The point is that there are many different kinds of denominations because there are many different kinds of people in the world.  Perhaps the issue now is: Is one denomination better than another?  Is one form of faith more correct than another?  Or have we, as Christians, muddied the waters of the simple faith that Jesus Christ came to deliver?  Keep that thought in mind as we move on.

  Several months ago, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities.  Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are.  Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by – and influenced by – other people…for better or for worse.

  Then we worked hard to establish a few new narratives about God.  Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ, we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms.  Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying, and the law of reciprocity.  We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry, and judgmentalism.

  The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world.  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?”  Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world…and abiding in the kingdom of God.  Our goal in this series of sermons is learning to live in the kingdom of God.

  Today we continue the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint.  Obviously, the community we’re talking about here is the church.  The issue we’ll be dealing with today is church unity.  With such a vast array of denominations in our world today, how do we know which one is right?  How do we choose from such a varied assortment?

  Jesus makes a rather profound statement about just such a thing in the passage we read from the gospel according to John.  The scene is the Last Supper.  Shortly after washing his disciples’ feet – and shortly before departing for the Garden of Gethsemane – Jesus begins to pray for his disciples.  He says, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word…that they may all be one.”  In other words, Jesus is praying for the unity of his disciples.  Yet he is also praying for unity among those who will come to follow him in the future.  Ladies and gentlemen, that would be us.  Jesus prays for unity in the Church.

  We seem to come up a little bit short in fulfilling Jesus’ desires here, do we not?  For example, do you know how many Christian denominations there are in the world today?  According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life – as of December 19^th, 2011 – there were approximately 41,000 different Christian denominations in the world.  That’s a far cry from the vision Jesus had when he celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples, wouldn’t you say?  Thus, how are we to determine who is right and who is wrong?  Or, should we even seek to determine who is right and who is wrong?

  Regarding this matter, I recently encountered a quote that is often attributed to a fourth century theologian by the name of Augustine, although it cannot be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the one who first said it.  Regardless of who gets the credit, the quote goes like this: “In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.”  What does that mean?

  I think what that means is that in the important things – in what Augustine calls the essentials – Christians should be of one heart and one mind.  What are the essentials?  The essentials are that Jesus Christ is the Son of God…and that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one.  The Apostles’ Creed is a pretty good summation.  The Nicene Creed may be a slightly better summation.  The point is that when it comes to the essentials, Christians need to be united.  A divided Christianity makes all of us look bad.  The last thing on earth we should be trying to decide for ourselves is who gets to go to heaven, and who does not.

  What, then, are doubtful matters?  It’s because of doubtful matters that we have 41,000 different Christian denominations.  For example, what we call the “Great Schism” of the church occurred in roughly 1054 A.D.  That’s when the Eastern Orthodox Church in the east split from the Roman Catholic Church in the west.  While the actual split had been brewing for years, the essential issue for the split was what we call the Filioque.  Filioque is a Latin word that means, “and from the Son.”  The root of the problem was this.  The Western Church added the Filioque to the Nicene Creed, regarding the Holy Spirit.  They said, “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son.”  The Eastern Church said, “No, no!  The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only!”  And that’s what split the church right down the middle.

  I am somewhat oversimplifying the matter, but not a great deal.  Many of us would find such a disagreement to be ludicrous.  “They split the church over that?” we might say.  To us, such a thing might be seen as a nonessential.  To them it was seen as an essential…and all it accomplished was to split the church in two.

  Many years ago, I was guilty of attempting to do just such a thing, as well.  Shortly after David Koresh and the Branch Davidians made news in Waco, Texas, I did a sermon series on cults.  Now it just so happened that at about that time, I was lifting weights with a friend at his house.  Two Jehovah’s Witnesses came by to evangelize his household, and he turned them over to me.  Let’s just say that I kind of tied them up in knots.  What I did not realize at the time, however, was that those two Jehovah’s Witnesses were merely teenagers.

  Shortly thereafter, the father of those two girls came over to my house.  To make a long story short, he actually threatened to bring some friends with him the next time in order to beat me up.  So in my very next sermon, I told my congregation all about what had transpired with that Jehovah’s Witness.  Then I said, “I can almost see the newspaper headlines now:  ‘Presbyterian Minister Assaulted by Witnesses.’  Then the first line of the article would read: ‘Six Jehovah’s Witnesses remain hospitalized…’”

  Okay, I got in a little trouble for that.  But hey, that was twenty years ago.  I was young, impulsive and immature.  Shortly thereafter, however, I was reading my Bible when it was like I was hit between the eyes with a two-by-four.  I read of how the disciples were proudly telling Jesus of how they had forbade certain people from casting out demons in Jesus’ name.  Jesus said to them, “He who is not against us…is for us.”  I was convicted by the very gospel God had called me to proclaim.  While we may not agree with the Jehovah’s Witnesses – or a lot of other church denominations, for that matter – are they really against us?  As Augustine once put it, “In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.”

  Dallas Willard was one of the leading spiritual writers of the twentieth century.  At a conference in California, he once said, “I am going to tell you what is the single most important task of a Christian.”  You could have heard a pin drop as the audience waited to hear what Dallas Willard thought was the single most important task of a Christian.  Willard then leaned into the microphone and said, “The most important task of a Christian…is to pray for the success of your neighboring churches.”  Trust me…that was not at all what anyone in the audience expected.

  Yet maybe he was right.  For you see, when we pray – genuinely pray – for the success of other churches in our community, we are breaking the narrative of selfishness, and entering into the mind of God…who is also striving for the success of those churches.  You see, it’s not just about us.  It’s about the essentials…and it’s about the kingdom of God.

  So…how many Presbyterians does it take to change a light bulb?  Quite a few.  And that’s all right, because that’s what works for us.  Our God must be a God who loves diversity, or he never would have created such a thing as a giraffe.  What works for us may not work for everyone else, but that does not mean that we are not in agreement on the essentials.  So, pray for the success of our church, and pray for the success of the churches in our community.  After all, the only thing that really matters…is the coming kingdom of God.  Amen.

 

07-28-2013 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101: THE ABCs OF THE CHURCH

  Several weeks ago, I was at one of the banks in town and got to talking to the bank manager.  She knows I’m a minister and – as often happens with ministers – the subject of church became the focus of our conversation.  She asked me if we were getting a lot of young people at our worship services on Sunday mornings.  I said that society has changed, that we worship out of a traditional format, and that young people simply don’t attend church that much anymore.  We’ve got a number of devout, young families in our church…but we’re certainly not seeing an abundance of them.

  Then she told me about the church her son and his wife attend.  Apparently, that church is booming, and it’s packed to the gills with new, young families every week.  As you might suspect, the music in that church is what we call contemporary…but then she went on to tell me about the minister.  She said, “We just hate having to listen to him!  He is so incredibly boring!” 

  I’ve got to tell you…that crushed me.  It shattered an image I have long tried to foster about the preached word.  You see, to me, a sermon is a work of art…and I try to paint a masterpiece every week.  Okay, maybe I don’t paint a masterpiece every week, but that does not mean that I don’t try.  My philosophy has always been: Give people something they can sink their teeth into – something they can take home with them – and they’ll be back the next week.  Yet as the aforementioned story seems to indicate, that philosophy may not be right.   

  In my devastation – and I do mean devastation – I turned to God in contemplative prayer.  In the process, I received a message that could only have come from up above.  The message was this: If you plant the seed deeply, it takes a little longer to grow.  Again, if you plant the seed deeply, it takes a little longer to grow.  Perhaps the question now is, “How do we plant the seed deeply?”  Keep that thought in mind as we move on.

  Several months ago, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities.  Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves.  Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are.  Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by – and influenced by – other people…for better or for worse.

  Then we worked very hard to establish a few new narratives about God.  Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ, we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms.  Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying and the law of reciprocity.  We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry and judgmentalism.

  The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world.  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?”  Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?”  Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?”  Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world….and abiding in the kingdom

of God.

  Today we continue the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint.  Obviously, the community we’re talking about here is the church.  The issue we will essentially be dealing with today is substance.  More specifically, how do we plant the seed deeply?

  Jesus addresses just such a thing in the passage we read from the gospel according to Matthew.  He says, “A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up.  Some seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly.  Yet having no depth of soil, when the sun rose, they were scorched.  Some seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Some seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain…some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

  The disciples failed to understand the point of Jesus’ story, so he explained it to them this way.  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in the heart.  This is what was sown on the path.  As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.  Yet such a person has no root, and when trouble or persecution arises, they quickly fall away.  As for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears God’s word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word…and it yields no fruit.  But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and yields – in one case – a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

  That’s fairly self-explanatory, I suspect.  The question now is: How do we get there?  How do we ensure that we – and by “we” I mean the church – are planted in good soil?  How do we ensure that the seed is planted deeply?  But then again, do we even want to plant the seed deeply?  I mean, if you look at what the results are when one aims to be significant these days, planting the seed deeply just might be the last thing a preacher would want to do.

  For example, let’s consider what many people call the ABCs of the church.  The ABCs of the church are how one typically measures success in the church.  The ABCs of the church is an acronym that stands for: Attendance, Buildings, and Cash.  We tend to measure the success of a church – or the lack thereof – based upon the number of people who are in attendance on Sunday mornings, the condition the building is in, and the amount of cash coming in on a weekly basis.  There you have it: The ABCs of the church.  Yet do prolific ABCs truly represent a successful church?

  Loren Mead takes issue with that in a book entitled, More Than Numbers: The Way Churches Grow.  In it, as you might suspect, he addresses the question: What does it really mean for a church to grow?  He then outlines four specific categories of church growth.  They are: Numerical growth, Maturational growth, Organic growth, and Incarnational growth.

  Numerical growth is exactly what you think it is.  It’s growth in the ways we ordinarily describe it: growth in Sunday worship attendance, growth in the size of the budget, growth in activities and programs, and growth in active membership.  Maturational growth has to do with growth in the spiritual maturity and stature of church members.  Organic growth is the growth of the congregation as a functioning community.  Incarnational growth is growth in the ability to take the meanings and values of the faith story…and make them real in the community outside of the congregation.  Thus, the ABCs of the church are not just Attendance, Buildings and Cash.  Perhaps the real ABCs of the church are: Attention to God and what he is still trying to do in the world; Building the kingdom of God in our little corner of the world; and Caring for the community in which we live.  In my mind, those ABCs are better.  What remains for us at this point in time is to find a path that will lead us there.

  Perhaps the path the church must take is similar to the path that Jesus took.  Jesus came to show us how to live and how to love.  Yet the path Jesus took was that of a suffering servant.  Think about it.  Jesus always took the lower place.  Jesus always displayed humility.  And when it came time to offer himself as a living sacrifice, did he call upon a legion of angels to squash the hated Romans and preserve his own life…or did he willingly go to the cross to die?  As Jesus once said, “He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s…will find it.”  Perhaps the secret here is not self-preservation, but rather, going so far as to offer up one’s very life for the sake of others.

  All too often, the church is primarily concerned with itself.  We worry more about Attendance, Buildings, and Cash than we do about Attention to God, Building the kingdom, or Caring for the community in which we live.  Perhaps at this point, we should ask ourselves a question.  What difference would it make in our community if our church was no longer here?  Would our community be greatly diminished, or would life go on pretty much as usual?  If the answer is the former, we’re on the right track.  Yet if the answer is the latter...we’ve got some serious soul-searching to do.

  The way we plant the seed deeply is by proclaiming a message of self-sacrifice.  The way we reveal that the seed is planted deeply within us is by living a life of self-sacrifice.  The more the church aims at self-preservation, the more likely it is to die off completely…or at least come to be irrelevant.  Yet the more the church aims at self-sacrifice – like Jesus did – the more likely it is to encounter the resurrection that Jesus himself encountered.

  Now this is not the kind of message that’s going to make us popular in the short run.  But maybe in the long run, it will come to bear the fruit we desire.  Someone recently sent an article to me that I believe was sent to them by none other than Ted Martin.  It was written by a young woman by the name of Andrea Dilley, and it’s entitled: Change Wisely, Dude.  She writes:

When I came back to church after a faith crisis in my early twenties, the first one I attended regularly was a place called Praxis.  It was the kind of church where the music was contemporary, the message was affirming, and the atmosphere was soothing.  In fact, one Sunday morning the young, hip pastor actually lifted an infant in the air and said, “Dude, I baptize you in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit.”

  To Andrea Dilley’s credit, she was not impressed.  Later she adds:

I’m not the first person ever to go low-church, and Praxis isn’t the first institution to pursue the hard-to-get demographic of young people.  Across America today, thousands of clergy and congregations – even entire denominations – are running scared.  They are desperately trying to convince their youth that faith and the church are culturally relevant, forward-looking, and alive.  And the way they do it is to radically alter the old model.  It’s out with the organ, and in with the guitars.  It’s out with self-sacrifice, and in with self-fulfillment. 

  She says she was raised in a small Presbyterian church, but left it in her early twenties.  When she came back, she wanted an anti-institutional church that looked less like a church than it did a coffee house.  But after a couple of years of that, she says that the coffee began to taste thin.  Now she’s back in a more traditional church because she found that she actually missed the hymns, the tradition, the sacraments, and the substance.  She closes her article using these words:

So as you change – or as change is imposed upon you – keep your historical identity and your ecclesiastical soul.  Fight the urge for perpetual reinvention, and don’t watch the roll books for young adults.  We’re sometimes fickle.  When we come – if we come – meet us where we are.  Be present to our doubts, our fears, and our frustrations.  Walk with us in the perplexing challenge of postmodern faith.

Even so, your church – and your denomination – might die.  My generation and those following might take it apart…brick by brick, absence by absence.  But the next generation just might rebuild it.  They might unearth the altar, the chalice, and the vestments and find them not medieval, but enduring.  They might uncover the Book of Common Prayer…and find it anything but common.

  In other words, in spite of the direction society seems to be going these days, we need to maintain our theological integrity.  We need to plant the seed deeply, and give it time to grow.  The ABCs of the church are not Attendance, Buildings and Cash.  The ABCs of the church are Attention to God and what he is trying to do in the world; Building the kingdom of God in our own little corner of the world; and Caring for the community in which we live.  If we can do that, we will be placing our faith in God to resurrect us, rather than placing our faith in ourselves.  And truth be told, isn’t that how a resurrection takes place anyway?  Amen.