New Clothes (2014)

This sermon was heard at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church in Shreveport, Louisiana on Sunday December 28, 2014, the First Sunday after Christmas.

This sermon has the same title as another sermon I preached on this Sunday several years ago, but it is quite different. Praise God and enjoy!

Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Psalm 148

Colossians 3:12-17

Luke 2:41-52

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

Occasionally I begin a sermon with a caveat, today will be one of those days. Homiletics is the study of all things preaching. My homiletics professors would say that definition is too narrow, but that’s why they are professors. The professors say we should not share too much of ourselves and today I will probably share too much. They say our experiences should not be used to typify the experience of the gospel and I hope I don’t do that. You’ll be the judge.

They also teach scripture and the glory of God must be central to the sermon. If I fail in this, that’s my fault, not theirs.

You see, about a million years ago, when I was in high school, I was a stage rat. Most waking hours after school would find me in the theater. When I wasn’t on stage in supporting roles,[1] I was working in the sound booth on a board so old it had tubes. (See, I told you it was a million years ago!) One of the shows I was in was “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail” where I played the unnamed “Farmer.”

If you’ve never heard of it, neither had any of us. It was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, the team that wrote “Inherit the Wind” based on the Scopes “Monkey Trial.” “Thoreau” is about the life of Henry David Thoreau seen through a series of flashbacks during, yes, the night Thoreau spent in jail for failing to pay a poll tax. This is neither here nor there really; this is a transition to share something Thoreau wrote.

One of Thoreau’s many books was “Walden.” The introduction to a Thoreau collection calls “Walden” “part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self-reliance.”[2] To judge by this sentence, I see it as Thoreau’s assertion that he was the smartest kid in the class. From Lawrence and Lee’s dramatic treatment, I’d say Thoreau thought he was the smartest kid in the class. I say this with confidence because now with humility I have to admit that I have spent most of my life thinking I was the smartest kid in the class.

I say it with humility because in retrospect I know I’m not the smartest kid in class, but like Thoreau, I still try to come up with novel declarations of revelation, interesting spiritual discoveries, and satire. Let’s face it, I’ve given you Pastor Jim’s grandfather sowing his fields riding his bicycle backwards, the Nun-Bun, and RefuJesus. Anyway, I say all of this to share one of the most famous quotes from Walden which is often shortened to “beware of enterprises that require new clothes.” Maybe what Thoreau was getting at is that who we are is more important than what we wear.

To make that point from a theological prospective, this story comes from the introduction of a short book called “Transformational Ministry, Church Leadership and the Way of the Cross:”

In a recent class discussion, a student mentioned a workshop she had attended in which an “image consultant” spoke to the gathered ministers (or church professionals as they referred to themselves).  The consultant pointed to the need for clergy to project a positive professional image.  She told them that, because they are made in the image of God, they should buy only the best clothes, jewelry and accessories, and should make every effort to look as chic and smart as possible.  After the student related her (all too true) story, I paused for a very long time.  I was frankly appalled and, momentarily at a loss for words.

The students sat as the silence hung heavy around us.  Finally, I said: “I guess what I’m trying to picture in my mind is this: how should we look if we are supposed to reflect the image of the God who has revealed himself to us in the tormented shape of a Jewish man named Jesus, crucified on a city dump and discarded by the powers of his world?”[3]

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes indeed.

Isaiah declares:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

my whole being shall exult in my God;

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

            he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.

In Colossians we read:

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.

Thoreau tells us it’s not about the suit we wear but the one who wears the suit. Scripture doesn’t. Scripture has us take a hard look at the clothes we wear. But more than that, scripture has us look at the clothes we are given and the one who gives them to us. Isaiah tells us that the Lord our God gives us the most glorious clothes. Isaiah tells us that we are given the garments of salvation. We are given the garments of salvation.

We are given clothes more valuable than any we can imagine. Scripture compares this garment to wedding clothes. The adornments are compared to jewels, jewels more costly, rare and plentiful than we can possibly imagine. This is the value of the garments of salvation, not their appearance but their value; more than we can imagine. Receiving these garments, these wonderful garments, our praise shoots forth like the fruit of a miraculous garden, perhaps a garden not seen since the days of Eden.

For this we rejoice, yes we rejoice. Receiving these garments brings joy; joy in receiving salvation; joy that the Spirit of the Living God continues to indwell us. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let Earth receive her King!” [4] As Isaiah prophesies, the Lord clothes us in his righteousness so that our praise may inhabit Zion, Jerusalem, and all creation. Our righteousness? Never. It is Lord’s righteousness that we receive.

Given the garments of salvation, we are to do more than model them on the fashion runways of Milan and New York. We are to more than just wear them. It seems that some folks, especially in some of my least favorite contemporary Christian music, treat salvation and the coming of Christ like waiting on a bus. This is not the purpose of the salvation we receive. We are given a blessing to be a blessing. We are to be a blessing, not a spectator.

Oh yes, the Great Commission tells us, entreats us to go. Go and make disciples… then the rest of Matthew’s gospel tells us of ways to go and make disciples. In his life and his writing St. Paul shows us more ways. Isaiah gives us an image of the garments of salvation like the fine clothes of a bridal party. Paul’s image gives us something more of a work shirt or coveralls.

The man who was one of the greatest Rabbis of the ancient world, a man who had more to brag about than any other man who would boast about his rabbinic pedigree, Paul teaches that being a part of Christ’s body is not something to lord over others, it is for service to others. Thus we dress in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. We bear with one another and forgive as our Lord forgives us. Our clothes are not silk and linen; our clothes are love which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

This is what we wear into the world. This is the gift we receive. This is the gift of our Lord God, which is perfected in Christ, which remains with us in his Holy Spirit and gives great joy. Yet Paul’s life shows us that this joy may not bring happiness, not in the way our world defines it. Saul of Tarsus was blinded. The Apostle Paul was bound, arrested, and flogged. He was left by travelling companions and shipwrecked. But in his faith, faith in the Lord Christ there is joy. Even in our pain we are to share God’s joy with the world. Joy we are to take away from our Walden’s and share with the world. Yes, in our world’s ways we will be crucified; but in Christ, when we choose to seek it, we will find joy.

Back to the oversharing: The past two years have been very difficult for my family. Unemployment (mine), disability (Marie’s), and poverty (shared together) have been our constant companions since the closing of the church in Marshall two years ago. I have been challenged by the despair of grief and sorrow of depression and more. People I thought were in our corner abandoned us. Support I thought would uplift us was nowhere. Grief, sorrow, pain, rejection have been constant companions.

Happiness, well, that was something that left the building a long time ago. Sharing joy is difficult when you feel no joy, but happiness and joy are not the same thing. That was a turning point when the Lord revealed joy and happiness were not only different but oftentimes unrelated. Oh it’s a lesson I continue to learn, but at least I God has not given up on me, nor I on God. So please share my joy as I tell you when I was at my lowest, it was your Pastor Jim who came to see me in the hospital; thanks to you all and praise to God. I treasure that memory.

On that note, there’s a sentence in our gospel reading that gets to me every time I read it. This particular phrase is seen twice in scripture. Once here after the young Jesus is found schooling the Scribes and Pharisees but once earlier when the shepherd boys come at birth, the birth we celebrated a scant three days ago. Each of these times, scripture tells us that Mary “treasured all these things in her heart.” Mary preserves and protects; Mary guards these memories[5] in her heart.

Especially during this time, during this season, we too need to remember who provides us with the garments of salvation, and what is expected of us when we wear them. We are to take this most valuable of garments and wear it into the world like a work shirt so all God’s creation may be blessed by God’s greatest gift. We need to treasure this. Then we need to share what we treasure with those who need to hear this very good news.

As a theater rat, I was a member of our school’s repertory theater company. We would go out and perform at grade schools and nursing homes. I was Linus and Schroeder in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown;” the Shoe Salesman in “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day;” and Weaver #2 in “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” I can’t know, but I imagine Thoreau would have been a fan of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

Thoreau enjoyed puncturing the pompous. To have a wee tot declare the Emperor is naked would have been right up his alley. Thoreau was truly onto something if he was saying who we are is more important than what we wear. But in Christ we say more. We show the world that what’s important is not just who we are but the one who makes us who we are.

I shared a shortened version of a quote from “Walden” earlier, but now I want to add a bit more to give it some extra context:

“A man who has at length found something to do will not need to get a new suit to do it in; for him the old will do, that has lain dusty in the garret for an indeterminate period. Old shoes will serve a hero longer than they have served his valet—if a hero ever has a valet—bare feet are older than shoe, and he can make them do… But if my jacket and trousers, my hat and shoes, are fit to worship God in, they will do; will they not? …I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.” [6]

I think Thoreau has a good point, but it’s not a good theological point. In Christ we are called to more. I want us to consider our clothes. I want us to be clothed in the garments of salvation from Isaiah. I want us to intentionally be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. And there is no better piece of clothing to remind us of this than our baptismal gowns.

To quote Henry Nouwen:

In the waters of our baptism, we are covered in a newness of life. The world of our old life is washed away. When washed, we are fully reconciled to Christ. We are free to fully trust that we belong to God. Dressed in the robe of Christ, we are to free our minds, hearts and souls to be truly free in this world to be ministers of His reconciliation. But it is only in this sacramental relationship that we can accomplish this, otherwise we fall back into our self doubt and self rejection.[7]  

This has been a tough year for us, and I want to thank you. I want to thank all of you for truly being the Body of Christ for my family this year. Happiness, well… but in Christ we are clothed in joy. In retrospect, I wonder if in knowing himself Thoreau denied himself the joy of a life in Christ, and contrary to his public personae falling into self-doubt and self-rejection. Thoreau seemed to be more influenced by the religious than the faithful. This is truly a shame but not so uncommon in his day nor in ours. But judging from his literary works, faith doesn’t seem to be the kind of suit Thoreau would wear anyway. As for me, as for us, as for the Body of Christ, we’ll take joy in the community of our baptism in of Christ over a private Walden any day.

---

[1] Remember, there are no small roles, only small actors.

[2] Thoreau, Henry David. Henry David Thoreau : A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers / Walden / The Maine Woods / Cape Cod. Library of America.

[3] Jinkins, Michael, Transformational Ministry, Church Leadership and the Way of the Cross.  Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2002, page xi.

[4] This morning’s opening hymn was “Joy to the World”

[5] thre,w, Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. VIII, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1972, page 142.

[6] Thoreau, Henry David. “Walden, An Annotated Edition.” Walter Harding, Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1995, page 20-21.

[7] Nouwen, Henri, Bread for the Journey, A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith, December 26 entry.

Grammar Rocks!

This sermon was heard at the Broadmoor Presbyterian Church on Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2014.

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Psalm 8

2Corinthians 13:11-13

Matthew 28:16-20

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen

When it comes to looking at scripture one of the things that I like to say is that all translation is interpretation. I’ve said it here and I’ve said it in other places. Of course there are other issues. Douglas Adams has commented on this in his work.

If you are not familiar with the work of Douglas Adams, you are missing some of the best comedy, science fiction, and comedic science fiction to come out of Britain in the latter half of the 20^th Century. He worked in radio, television, computer games, film, and stage. He worked on Monty Python, Doctor Who, a detective novel series, and travel and endangered species documentaries; but these are not the greatest source of his fame. Douglas Adams is the creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

In the second of the five books that make up the Hitchhiker’s Trilogy (yes, Adams wrote five books in the Trilogy, that’s just a germ of his sense of humor) Adams says this about time travel and language:

One of the major problems encountered in time travel is not that of accidentally becoming your own father or mother. There is no problem involved in becoming your own father or mother that a broadminded and well adjusted family can’t cope with. There is also no problem about changing the course of history—the course of history does not change because it all fits together like a jigsaw. All the important changes have happened before the things they were supposed to change and it all sorts itself out in the end.

The major problem is quite simply one of grammar, and the main work to consult in this matter is Dr. Dan Streetmentioner’s Time Traveler’s Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations. It will tell you for instance how to describe something that was about to happen to you in the past before you avoided it by time-jumping forward two days in order to avoid it. The event will be described differently according to whether you are talking about it from the standpoint of your own natural time, from a time in the further future, or a time in the further past and is further complicated by the possibility of conducting a conversation whilst you are actually travelling from one time to another with the intention of becoming your own mother or father.

The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy skips lightly over this tangle of academic abstraction, pausing only to note that the term ‘Future Perfect’ has been abandoned since it was discovered not to be.

The one thing I want us to take from this is that often, when we say or write things, others interpret them differently depending on time, place, experience, expectation, and so on. When we read things, often we read them differently from how they were intended by the writers.

Our first reading is not just an example of this, it’s a controversial example. The New Revised Standard Version gives us “God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…” The New International Version replaces “humankind” with “mankind.” The King James Version gives us “man” instead of either of these. This opens the “gender of God” controversy, is God a man because God created man?

Then again verse 27 gives us God’s simultaneous creation of male and female. With this, the whole human/man/humankind/humanity controversy falls flat. It will be milked forever, but in this piece of scripture, given women and men were created together, the controversy of Adam’s rib born in Genesis 2 is missing in Genesis 1. Of course it is present in Genesis 2, so fight the good fight.

No, the controversy I want us to consider is who the “us” and “our” are when God said “Let us make humankind in our image.”

Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday. Today we celebrate the three persons of God. We don’t celebrate three Gods. I like the way Karl Barth describes the Trinity describing God as “not three divine I’s, but thrice the one divine I.” One of America’s premier Barth scholars, the Reverend Doctor Cynthia Rigby reminds us that trying to describe the Trinity is almost as easy as trying to nail Jello to the wall. Describing the Trinity Patrick used the Shamrock, three leaves yet one plant. Naming the Trinity, the most common terms gleamed from scripture are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Mind you, scripture contains no mention of the Trinity, not even in our Genesis reading. When we talk about one God in three Persons, we talk about how God has been revealed in the total body of scripture, not somewhere specific. But since our God is one God not three, then who else is in that group of Gods who make up that first person plural in verse 26? Simply put, our controversy is that humanity is created in the image of Gods, but not in the image of the Triune God.

So who is our God talking about and who is our God talking to? This is where the controversy kicks into high gear. This may not be easy to hear in a Christian Church, Genesis was not written for us. I’m going to say it again because it’s shocking, Genesis was not written for us. Genesis was written as a way for the Hebrew people to remember who they are. The first eleven chapters are collectively known as the Hebrew Creation Narrative. It’s a story, a tale, a myth created to explain to a race of people who they are. It’s not a scientific tome. It’s a story for a people.

Now, just because this story isn’t burdened by facts does not mean it does not contain truth. One of the things Genesis does which no other faith had done before is introduce a benevolent God. A God who creates in love instead of needing to be tricked into creating was new. The Hebrews also introduced a new way to look at history; history as a linear expression. Up until that time people saw history as a cyclical expression of events. Linear history was just as new as a benevolent God.

What we don’t put together as Christians is the host of gods worshiped in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Marduk, Tiamat, Baal, and Asherah were just some of the ancient gods worshiped in the Middle East at the same time as the God we worship. There are the Egyptian Gods like Ra, Isis, and Osiris; the Roman gods including Jupiter, Mars, and Minerva; and the Greek gods like with Zeus, Poseidon, and Aphrodite. To the Hebrews, the heavenly host was a busy place and our God was master of them all. When people were created, it was in the image of all these gods that we were created.

So here’s a good question, do these gods still exist? Whatever happened to the other gods of the ancient world? The Hebrews “knew” they were “real,” as “real” as the God they worshipped. They didn’t worship Baal or Zeus or Jupiter or Ra; but they still knew they were “real.” Still, thousands of years later, when our God who was around since before the beginning began, these other gods were around too; yet you don’t hear about anybody worshipping them anymore do you?

One of the best ways to describe what became of these “gods” comes to us courtesy of a 1967 episode of “Star Trek.” In the second season episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?” our intrepid explorers find a planet whose sole inhabitant is the Greek god Apollo. One of the science officers comes to ask Apollo what happened to the other gods of the Pantheon. Apollo responds “They returned to the cosmos on the wings of the wind.” The officer asks if this means they died. This is when Apollo shows us what it means for a god to die, “We're immortal, we gods. But the Earth changed. Your fathers changed. They turned away until we were only memories. A god cannot survive as a memory. We need love, admiration, worship, as you need food.”

A god who is no longer worshipped is no longer a god. Baal, Zeus, Jupiter, Ra—they were gods when people believed they were gods. When they became planet names and plot devices on TV shows like Stargate and comics like Captain Marvel they died a little bit every day. We know the Pantheon is powerless even if it is not empty. Yes, we may have been created in their image, but the only god who has real power is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God whose name is The Lord.

This is controversial, this is disturbing, and this is true. On this Trinity Sunday the Trinity is not found in Genesis. The Triune God is not a part of Hebrew theology and Genesis is the foundation stone of Hebrew life. So where does that take us on this Trinity Sunday? It takes us in a very interesting place, the very beginning. The New Revised Standard Version of Holy Writ begins like this, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”

Let’s learn a little Hebrew, what do you say— The Hebrew word the NRSV translates as “a wind from God” is ruach. Everybody, please say it with me, ruach. Ruach—there you go, you’re speaking Hebrew. This word sounds like wind, doesn’t it, ruach, but as with so many words it has more than one definition. An alternate definition of ruach is spirit, as in the Holy Spirit. Now that sounds like ruach. Suddenly, two-thirds of the Trinity appear in the first two verses of scripture and we never realized it. It may not how the original listeners would have heard those words, but it should be how we hear them, and it is faithful to the text where seeing the Trinity in verse 26 is not.

In our readings today, we go from the first words of scripture to the last words of Jesus as Matthew records them. Please forgive my foray back into the text, this time general grammar. In any sentence, the most important verbs of any sentence are the action and being verbs. In the case of The Great Commission, it’s the verbs that tell tell the nouns what to do. The participles, the –ing verbs tell the nouns how to do it.

In the great commission, the meat and potatoes is “Go and make disciples;” but the controversies about baptizing or what should and should not be taught overshadow the basic command.  When folks get tied up in the “how’s,” we neglect “go and make disciples.” When we get all tied up in the “how’s” sometimes we even chase our tails and it looks like the process becomes the outcome, and that must never be.

(If you want proof, catch the live internet feed from General Assembly this week.  It’s more proof that anybody who respects church polity and enjoys sausage should never watch either one being made.)

During my formative years, Saturday morning cartoons were fabulous. Bugs Bunny and Road Runner, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (and I can go “Hey, Hey, Hey” with the best of them), even Shazaam—my introduction to Captain Marvel; these populated my Saturdays. That was until just a couple of minutes before the half-hour and the hour, then it was time for Schoolhouse Rock.

New York advertising agent David McCall wondered how his young son could remember every Beatles song, but not his multiplication tables. McCall and Bob Dorough went on to write the first Multiplication Rock songs and animator Tom Yohe created the first visuals. They were and still are a hit. As for me, I own the four CD set along with Schoolhouse Rock Rocks, a CD of Schoolhouse Rock recorded by artists from the ‘90’s including Blind Melon, Better Than Ezra, and Moby. I’ve used Schoolhouse Rock while doing public address at Community College Baseball games and as a teaching tool while tutoring Greek in seminary.

One of the sets of Schoolhouse Rock is Grammar Rock. The one of the most popular and most remembered of these set is Conjunction Junction. How many people remember the function of Conjunction Junction is to hook up words, phrases, and clauses because of this little ditty? How many remember the three main conjunctions at the junction are “and, but, and or.”

What makes grammar rock on this Trinity Sunday is that we worship God who has appeared to us as Father and Son and Holy Spirit. We worship the God of the “and.” We don’t worship the God of “but” nor do we worship the God of “or.” We worship the God who calls all people to the throne of grace and mercy. We worship the Lord Jesus who calls all of us to go and make disciples. We worship the Lord Jesus whose last words to his disciples were “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Let me leave you with these words from Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”  Amen.

The Changing Face of God

This sermon was heard at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church in Shreveport, Louisiana on Sunday March 2, 2014, Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday.

For the first time ever, Video


Audio only

Exodus 24:12-18

Psalm 2

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen

Our brains are wonderful things. When we see things, they allow us to process images and colors into wonderful images others may not see. It’s why when some people look up into the clouds they can see animals. It’s why the ancients saw winged horses and lions; huntsmen and water bearers in the night skies.

In addition, our imaginations, perhaps with a twinge of ecstatic fervor, have seen the Almighty in more than just the clouds and the skies. The image of Christ has been seen in (among other things) Cheetos, tortillas, trees, dental x-rays, cooking utensils, windows, rocks, stones, and walls—both painted and plastered.

During a space shuttle mission in March 2002, a new camera with extremely high resolution was installed on Hubble Space Telescope. One month later the Hubble Space Science Institute released new photographs of the Cone Nebula, also known as the Space Mountain, to showcase this new camera. Located in the constellation Monoceros, the Cone Nebula is a region that contains cones, pillars, and majestic flowing shapes that abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from nurseries of newborn stars. Shortly afterwards people, believing they could see the Lord’s face in it, began to call it the “Jesus Nebula”.

A controversial incident that received considerable publicity happened in October 1996 when the face of Mother Teresa was claimed to have been identified in a cinnamon bun at Bongo Java in Nashville, Tennessee. Dubbed the “Nun Bun”(yes, the Nun Bun) by the press, it was turned into an enterprise by the company, selling T-shirts and mugs, which led to an exchange of letters between the company and Mother Teresa’s representatives. On December 25, 2005 (yes on Christmas Day 2005) the bun was stolen during a break-in at the coffee house.

To put the cherry on this sundae, here’s something from the “I saw it on the internet so it must be true” file, The Jesus Toaster. Yes my brothers and sisters in the Lord, you can invite the Lord to breakfast burning his image into a piece of bread. What a great way to start the day, your favorite spread over the visage of the fully-human fully-divine Messiah. List price is $39.99, but it can be yours for only $34.95 at Amazon.com and at jesustoaster.com it’s just $24.95! You want to see the face of our God? Just a little “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” and you better believe you will see the face of Jesus!

How’s that for the changing face of God? As for me, I’d suggest using wheat or rye bread in the Jesus Toaster. Using white bread may be just a bit too on the nose as Presbyterian stereotypes go.

Now, as far as miracles go, toasting bread quit being miraculous a long time ago. Today we read what is in my opinion one of scripture’s great miracles; the revelation of Jesus to his apostles, the transfiguration. This word, transfiguration, literally means “to change face” or as we would understand it “to change appearance.” His essence remained the same, Jesus did not change, but his appearance did. And on the mountain Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.

His face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white, as white as light.  Suddenly, this simple Palestinian carpenter wasn’t engulfed by light; he was light as bright as the sun. His clothes were whiter than alabaster, whiter than the palest moon.

He appeared with two of the greatest heroes of the faith; Moses, the Law Bringer and Elijah, the One Who Was Lifted in the Whirlwind.  Then a voice suddenly came from a bright cloud that came over them like a white fog saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased,” and then these words came from the cloud, “Listen to him.”

Now, this voice from the bright cloud isn’t the first time the Lord spoke to the people out of a cloud. Our Old Testament reading has another instance where this happened. In that reading the Lord said to Moses; whether out of a dream, a cloud, or the clear blue air we’ll never know, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait for me there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.”

The voice even went as far to tell the tag-alongs to stay with Aaron and Hur. Oh, and if they had any complaints they should be lodged with Aaron and Hur. Appeals up the food chain would not be heard.

Then the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai and the cloud covered it for six days and on the seventh the Lord called Moses out of the cloud. The appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring, a consuming fire on the top of the mountain. Through the cloud, at the base of the mountain, the people of Israel could see the fiery appearance of the Lord. That is where Moses stayed forty days and forty nights.

In our two readings we have seen the face of God in Jesus, Jesus shining with great heroes of Judaism. We have heard God in clouds and in a disembodied voice. The Lord appeared to Moses as fire. God even spoke as the Word cast in stone to the people in the Ten Commandments not long before this passage. Those who saw these things were some of the greatest leaders and disciples of our Lord and God that we know, Moses, Aaron, Peter, James, and John. We even get a few others like Hur and the unnamed “elders.” So why does God show up in so many different ways to so many different people? I may not have the “correct” answer, but I have an answer.

I believe that the Almighty reveals God’s own self to people in the way the people need. There is no “one size fits all” revelation of the Lord to the people. The Transfiguration even shows that in the special revelation of Jesus Christ the Lord chooses more than one face to show the people.

In the days before Jesus, God appeared to the people through fire, cloud, voice, written word, the word of the Prophets, even in silence and absence. Then God became incarnate, the fully-human, fully-divine Messiah Jesus was born, lived, died, lived again, and rose. Then fifty days later, on Pentecost, through the Holy Spirit, the Lord came to be known to humanity forever.

Now here’s what’s even more important about this, I am not saying that God changes. God is the same and remains the same. No Christian would ever say we worship three Gods, we worship the Trinity of the three persons of the one God whom Karl Barth called not the “three divine I’s, but thrice the one divine I.” I’m saying we worship a God who meets us where we are, Father, Son, and Spirit. God seeks a relationship with each and every one of us where we live—in our homes, in our workplaces, in our churches—everywhere we live. God meets us in our joy and even more in our tribulation. Jesus comes to us and says, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.”

In a changing world, God changes appearance to meet us where we are, but God never changes being who God is. A reading which is often heard this Sunday comes from 2Peter. I will share the New Living Translation because it sounds more conversational, more like something you would hear at a coffee house:

For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.

Peter tells us we don’t need to make stuff up. We don’t need to create Christ out of Cheetos. The voice of God came to Peter, James and John at the Transfiguration and is shared again in Peter’s letter, “This is my son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Oh, and the first time we heard these words? The baptism of the Lord.

Because of all of this we can have great confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. Their words are like a lamp shining in the dark until the day dawns and Christ shines in our hearts. Because God comes to us where we are, because God comes to us in joy and sorrow, because God comes to us in light when we are at our darkest, we can live in the confidence of our vocation as Christians to shine the light of Christ into the world.

We too are called to shine the light of Christ into the world.

We are to carry on the work of Jesus; going to those who are overcome by fear, those who are terrified.  And we are to touch them saying, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”  We are witnesses to the grace and peace and glory of Jesus the Christ who walked the earth as a Palestinian Jew two-thousand years ago and continues to walk with us today; empowering us through the Holy Spirit for the work of the church for all of creation.  We are the ones who are called to gather and welcome the broken people of the world and through God’s love make us one.

We can give a smile, or a word of encouragement.  We can spend time with someone.  We can give gifts of ourselves and our works.  We can do service for others who need our help, who need to see the light of God in the world.  We can give the thirsty a cold drink.  We can offer a prayer on their behalf.  We can visit people who are alone and frightened.

We are to share the message Jesus shared with his disciples on that mountain top so long ago.  “Get up and do not be afraid.”  In this word, Jesus reminds his disciples that he is with them.  In this word, Jesus reminds us, his disciples, that he is still with us.

“Joan of Arcadia” was a TV fantasy/family drama telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. In the pilot episode, God appears to Joan and reminds her that she promised to do anything he wanted if he would let her brother survive a car crash that left him a paraplegic. God appears in the form of various people including small children, teenage boys, elderly ladies, transients, or passersby. Joan is asked by God to perform tasks that often appear to be trivial or contrary, but always end up positively improving a larger situation.

In its way, it was her own private transfiguration, the same God showed different faces. Each of these faces met Joan where she was in her specific time and place. Each of these faces had a specific thing for her to do. That of course, is the nature of episodic television.

We won’t always have that same “thing to do” when we see the face of God, after all, we don’t live in episodic television. We do have three things though. We hear God’s voice saying “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. We feel the touch of Jesus as he tells us “Get up and do not be afraid.” We also have the vocation of all Christians, “Go and do likewise.”

Go and do likewise, this is the Word of the Lord. Amen.

Andrew

This sermon was heard at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Longview, Texas on Sunday January 19, 2014, the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary time.



Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalm 40:1-11
1 Corinthians 1:1-9

John 1:29-42

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

A movie I like to see every time it’s on TNT is “A Knight’s Tale.” You might remember; it starred Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, and Paul Bettany. Ledger played a peasant who served a knight who died in the middle of a tournament. Impersonating the knight, Ledger wins. With a bit of mischief, a ton of gumption, and a cadre of great friends Ledger becomes Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein and sets the medieval world afire with his jousting.

Adding fun to the festivities, Paul Bettany plays the poet Geoffrey Chaucer . In this version, Chaucer is a down on his luck degenerate gambler who joins up with our merry gang to provide papers of nobility, vital for a band of peasants masquerading as a knight and his squires, and serves as von Lichtenstein’s herald announcing him before battle.ⁱ My favorite of his introductions goes like this:

I have the pride, the privilege, nay, the pleasure of introducing to you to a knight, sired by knights. A knight who can trace his lineage back beyond Charlemagne. I first met him atop a mountain near Jerusalem, praying to God, asking his forgiveness for the Saracen blood spilt by his sword. Next, he amazed me still further in Italy when he saved a fatherless beauty from the would-be ravishing of her dreadful Turkish uncle.

This is when the crowd boos the dreadful Turkish uncle.

In Greece he spent a year in silence just to better understand the sound of a whisper. And so without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you, the seeker of serenity, the protector of Italian virginity, the enforcer of our Lord God, the one, the only, Sir Ulllrrrich von Lichtenstein!

And the crowd goes wild!

I love this, and Bettany sells it so well. You know who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. Then under his breath, as the crowd goes wild, in an aside meant for himself and the theater audience, Chaucer says, “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week.”

In its own way, this reminds me of the introductory portion of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, which we read today. I enjoy Paul’s writings because they are so rich. There is so much in every letter. It may seem awkward for us to read what we would think of as an intimate form of communication being shared publicly. Then again, in an age of social media; maybe we’re actually getting back to this more open form of letters… but that’s for another day.

Paul’s letter begins as so many of them do, with greetings and uplifting words.

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

How’s that for a greeting. It sure beats “Dear Valued Customer.” Once at the church in Berryville, Arkansas I got a piece of junk mail addressed to the “Owner” of the church. I spent a good hour praying over the glorious theology and horrible polity of that little tidbit.

Paul tells them they are sanctified in Christ Jesus! It is through Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, that they are made holy, set aside for God's work; and it’s not just the church at Corinth. It’s “all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord,” together, all of us, the entire body of Christ; we are sanctified in Christ Jesus. We aren’t “Lone Rangers,” we aren’t flying solo. Now that’s what I call a greeting. So what’s next?

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I begin a service, I like to begin with words similar to theseⁱⁱ because, well, those words? How’s that for a blessing? Then Paul said says “God our Father.” First he established that the church is the church of all believers, and then he makes sure that all believers know that God is our Father. Our Father! Absolutely glorious.

Seeing that we just heard the rest of this I won’t rereading more of it, but what Paul writes is so wonderful. He gives thanks for them; the Apostle gives thanks for the congregation. As one who has been sent to congregations, pastors do give thanks; and Paul gets even more specific. He is thankful for the grace God has extended in Christ so that they may be enriched in spiritual gifts as the testimony of how Christ has been strengthened amongst them as they wait for the return of the Lord.

Again, Paul explains that as they have become stronger in Christ they have received these gifts. Now, the gifts aren’t a reward. It’s not “You know Jesus, here’s a cookie.” No, gifts are given for a specific reason, and if you are familiar with Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians you will know what Paul has to say about this. Again... that’s for another day.

Paul also affirms that God will strengthen them to the end so that they may be blameless on the day of the Lord. Code? Maybe a little. He’s saying that until the day of Christ’s return God will strengthen them so that they may be righteous under the law. Would you like someone to tell you that? How about Kemper? How about me? [In the Late Service I added the name of the person who read the passage from 1Corinthians: How about William?] I can do you better. The Apostle Paul speaking with the authority of scripture tells us all that.

In “A Knight’s Tale,” there was more than one stadium introduction, here’s another gem from Chaucer:

Yes, behold my lord Ulrich, the rock, the hard place, like a wind from Guilderland he sweeps by blown far from his homeland in search of glory and honor, we walk... in the garden... of his turpulence!

As we know, Paul teaches hard lessons as well as encourages. He showed people the rock and the hard place like a wind from Guilderland. Paul wasn’t in it for glory or honor and we may still be walking in his turpulence. Whatever that is. ⁱⁱⁱ

While we stopped at verse nine, the timbre of Paul’s words changes at verse ten, “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.” Yes, Paul's turpulence will be known in abundance by anyone who reads this letter regardless of the century it is read.

So if Paul takes the people to the rock and the hard place, why does he begin with such flowery prose? First it's not unusual to open a letter with something nice to say, but undeserved flattery isn't Paul's style.

That leaves only one viable conclusion, what Paul wrote in verses one through nine is absolutely true, and what he wrote in verse ten and beyond is absolutely true too. Paul loves the people of the church at Corinth enough not to tell them what they want to hear. He tells them the truth. He tells them that they are blessed. He tells them that they are sanctified to do God's work with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He tells them that God is their Father and Jesus is their Lord. He tells them that they are blessed. The grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ is with them all.

And he will show them where their walk with their Lord lacks, and again... that is for another day.

Paul loves them enough to share the joys and the pain of new life in Christ. He loves them enough to build them up. He loves them enough to point out the rock and the hard place. He loves them too much to lie. He loves them too much to hide their demons; he'd rather they meet them in Christ. He does this as an Apostle and as an evangelist.

This takes us to our gospel reading; Jesus walking through the wilderness as John the Baptist screams out “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” Now John had been proclaiming the coming work of the Lamb of God, and while many of the temple leaders considered him the weirdo-in-the-wilderness, he had followers. So when John announced the coming of the Lamb two of John's disciples left to follow Jesus. One of these was Andrew and the other was unnamed.

Jesus noticed them, of course and asked the big question, "What are you looking for?" They asked in reply, "Where are you staying?" I can only imagine a coy smile and maybe a cock of the eyebrow as the Lord said "Come... and see." There they stayed. Except for that nastiness around the crucifixion, they stayed.

Jesus walked and they followed.

When they followed their world opened up. They lived the greatest story ever told, and went on to tell it themselves. Andrew is known as the great evangelist, and the first person he brought to the Lord is his brother Simon, the man who would become Peter, the Rock upon whom Christ would build the church.

Jesus walked. They followed. But on that first day, where did Jesus walk? Where did they follow? Scripture's kind of vague on this, the city square perhaps. Maybe they went to the garden, maybe a nice sitting room. Maybe there was some place in a vineyard, scripture doesn't say.

I would love to imagine that they had their conversation at the fisherman's or carpenter's union hall. Or maybe they found a place to hold their discussion over a cold one and a game of pool. If they were in a hipster state of mind, maybe they went to a coffee house that sold fair trade coffee. What I'm saying is that I imagine they assembled where people assemble.

We put names and titles and labels on Jesus, Andrew, and the Unnamed Apostle; names they have earned and deserve. But when we do we might forget that they were men. They were guys. They had calloused hands from working a hard trade. They had first century lunch pails. So I imagine when they went to talk about what ever they talked about that day, they were comfortable. They weren't in the Pastor's Study .

So what happened next? What happened after the following of the earthbound Lord?

According to ancient church historians Andrew preached in Scythia. He preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper river as far as Kiev, and from there he traveled to Novgorod. He became a patron saint of Ukraine, Romania and Russia. According to tradition, he founded the See of Byzantium in AD 38, installing Stachys as bishop.

He preached in Thrace, and his presence in Byzantium is mentioned in the 2nd century Acts of Andrew. This diocese would later develop into the Patriarchate of Constantinople where Andrew is recognized as the patron saint.

He is considered the evangelist to the people of Soviet Georgia. After being shipwrecked in Malta, Andrew struck the rocks where they ran aground, A healing spring opened and the ship's captain who was blind in one eye was healed.

In short, he got around.

Andrew was an evangelist. Looking at John's gospel he was the first evangelist, bringing Peter to the Lord. His influence has been known far and wide in Asia and Europe for over two millennia. And it is known in this sanctuary.

The name by which this congregation is known, St. Andrew, was suggested by Dr. Joel May and was met with enthusiasm because of Andrew's association with evangelism and with the nation of Scotland, yet another land where Andrew is the patron saint.^iv Where does that leave us today? How has this congregation been sanctified to continue doing God's work?

Gloriously since the very beginning, since 1965 this congregation has been breaking new ground in ministry. While still a mission of First Presbyterian here in Longview, St. Andrew was the first local congregation to scandalize the mission of Christ by ordaining and installing women as Elders. It's as right as rain to us today, but 50 years ago it was a scandal as large as any the church faces today in ordination standards. And St. Andrew led the way.

From the very beginning the congregation has opened the doors of the building and put blade to the land for the community. Within the last ten years, St. Andrew has helped birth the Longview Interfaith Hospitality Network. LIHN is an ecumenical coalition which houses homeless families in various local churches. This provides a safe place for people to get on their feet out of the cold. The next year saw literal ground breaking on the community garden providing fresh veggies to LIHN families.

Throughout the years this congregation has also provided support to seminarians and missionaries including our friend the Rev. Jan Dittmar.

There is no way we can ever forget our Lord's love for children and the love shown through the Little Angel's Academy. Help to those who are homeless began here with Habitat for Humanity. The original Longview offices were on this very campus. St. Andrew is now able to serve as an assistance center with the American Red Cross.^v

As for the future of St. Andrew, a vision is laid out. By the insight of the Spirit, led by the Pastor Nominating Committee, the congregation has developed a mission study to guide you as you seek your next pastor.

At the end of “A Knight's Tale,” when the charade is up, Sir Ulrich has died and Heath Ledger's Sir William Thatcher has risen like a phoenix out of his ashes, Chaucer gives one final stadium introduction.

I would lay rest the grace in my tongue and speak plainly. Days like these are far too rare to cheapen with heavy handed words, and so, I'm afraid without any ado whatsoever... Here he is, one of your own, born a stone's throw from this very stadium, and here before you now, the son of John Thatcher... Sir Wiiiiiilliam Thatcheeer.

Days like these are far too rare, so let me end without any ado. Just last week this part of the Body of Christ responded to new life in Christ by ordaining and installing new Elders to the Session. In the Presbyterian Church in baptism, confirmation, ordination, and installation; the children of God are referred to by their first names alone. The reason for this is glorious. The reason is that in Christ we share the same last name. We are the children of God and by this miracle of grace the family names we carry are an earthly convention. The Lord does not need them to know whose children we are. We are the Lord’s children, the children of God.

So today, as the children of God, living wet in the waters of our baptism, remembering the heritage of Andrew's evangelistic fervor, I leave you with the words of St. Andrew's third pastor, the Rev. Michael Parsons, “As we go about our daily business, we should remember a witnessing church is a living church—and a church is PEOPLE. … This is no easy task for me; it is a day by day challenge to us all... it may well be said that 'fellowship is as fellowship does'—where this church goes depends on you, for you are the church.”^vi

iAll quotes from “A Knight's Tale” come from the Internet Movie Database page for “A Knight's Tale.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu

ii I begin worship saying “May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” To many it seems like a formula, but what it is is a wonderful and powerful blessing.

iii According to the Urban Dictionary, turpulence is “a tumultuous explosion of persona resulting in a feeling of total envelopment by another person's presence.” http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=turpulence

ivRogers Smith, Nancy, “St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, The First Twenty-Five Years, 1965-1990.” page 3.

vFrom the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church Mission Report.

viIbid Rogers Smith p. 10.