Where the Light Is

This sermon was heard at The Federated Church in Weatherford, Oklahoma on Sunday July 9, 2016, the fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

While I ordinarily preach using scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary, this is Children's Sunday. The Federated Church just completed its "Fun with Bells (and Parables) Vacation Bible School. Keeping with the theme of the week, I am preaching the parable of the light and the basket.

Genesis 1:1-5
Luke 11:33-36

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

This is one of those Sundays when there is too much to say and too many places to start. So let’s start here. Some people will say that the pulpit is no place to talk about politics. I will agree that the pulpit is no place to endorse a political candidate or a political party. Aside from the tax ramifications, which are important, it’s a bad pastoral move. It’s not my role to endorse anyone and you don’t want to hear it. But, to say the gospel is apolitical is misreading the gospel.

In ancient Rome, Caesar was Lord. Caesar was the master over the empire and ruler of all. The word of Caesar was life and death. To declare “Jesus is Lord” was a political statement. To say “Jesus is Lord” was to put the authority of somebody else before the Emperor and was punishable by death. The Romans were pretty lenient with religion; they didn’t care because it kept the locals happy. But to declare a living man was God and Lord of all was to challenge Caesar, and that wasn’t happening.

So if I should ever sound political that’s why and that’s what I consider before I say anything in the pulpit. Yes, the gospel is political.

This week has been a study of contrasts. It’s been hard wrapping my head around it. The news has been filled with lows and the church has been filled with highs! It’s not like we have turned a blind eye to the world, but Vacation Bible School has been glorious. To see the joy in the kids and the volunteers was wonderful!

When I was in Berryville, Arkansas, four churches came together for VBS and it was fun, but there were over a hundred kids and it seemed like as many parents and it became a huge production. Don’t get me wrong, it was great, but by the time it was done I was exhausted. The production was huge. And I didn’t really get to know any of the kids. This week, walking down the street, sitting in The Cup, playing “Telephone,” teaching lessons, hearing the bells, seeing the crafts, and just watching your children and grandchildren, and neighbors; I got to know the kids. I could see and feel the Holy Spirit at work. I could see joy in their faces. I didn’t see pride, I saw delight. Even playing there was love and cooperation and peace that surpassed my understanding.

To hear the questions, the comments, oh, it was so wonderful. We checked out the foundation in the baptistery and they asked me questions about baptism, so it’s probably time for that conversation for some of you.

Let me share this wonderful story, Zach saw the gaps in the Magill’s back patio wall and asked what they were, Terry told him they were to drain the patio after it rained and that very few people ever noticed them. As this was happening I was sitting next to Alice and said he was going to be a Detective someday. Alice suggested he could be an intelligence analyst. Let’s face it, the kid’s got a future.

Just to sit by the pool, watch the children play, watch Lisa juggle, drink a limeade; do you mind if I praise God that you called me to be your pastor? That you called Marie and I to come to Weatherford and The Federated Church? Thank you and praise God!

Then during the afternoons, I would go into the office and check the email. One of the joys of serving The Federated Church is that for four generations, you have figured out how to be one Body of Christ with first two and then three Christian denominations under one roof. You figured that out. God knows the Presbytery hasn’t figured it out, just ask Jody and Bruce, they’ll tell you. You have found the way. The flipside of that is that with three denominations I get triple the newsletters and triple the action alerts. Because of the violence in Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Dallas this week, that’s been a lot of reading.

Just to add more blood to this fiasco, while editing the sermon, Marie told me about two more on Saturday, another shooting in Alabama and the incident at the Dallas Police Headquarters.

Some of those emails asked how I was planning to modify today’s worship and sermon. Well let’s start here, I wasn’t planning on telling you about my email. I was planning on a lovely extended children’s message. Lighter than usual, a pleasant change for everybody. To help, some folks provided ideas for worship. These included links and letters and resources. These provided food for thought. There was a lot of good information. Some suggestions. A couple of suggestions those weren’t very subtle either.

This quote came from Texas Governor Greg Abbot during a Friday afternoon press conference, “We as a people need to move forward and live our everyday lives knowing that Texas is going to be greater going forward unaltered, unaffected by this act of cowardice.” (Dallas mayor and Texas governor address shooting, http://finance.yahoo.com/video/dallas-mayor-texas-governor-address-001007137.html, retrieved July 9, 2016. Remark found at 11:30.) Really, as a city, as a society, as a people, we need to move forward unchanged, unaffected after a peaceful protest is shattered by sniper fire? The Dallas Police Department, I can’t say they supported the protest, but they supported the rights of the protesters. Then these protectors became victims of this heinous act of cowardice and we’re going to be greater going forward unaltered and unaffected?

I was shown other more conciliatory words from the Governor later in the day. More polished, but not from a dais, not from a microphone. These words came first.

In this great nation we have killings in schools and in movie houses, in homes and in the streets. Police and civilians are killed by police and by civilians. First degree murder and justifiable homicide, warranted and unwarranted killings and for the love of God a seminary classmate from Dallas buried her mother and two cousins last year because they were shot and killed in a House of God. They were members of the Emmanuel AME Church. They are three of the Charleston Nine.

Still we are told we “need to move forward and live our everyday lives knowing that [our world] is going to be greater going forward unaltered, unaffected.” We live our everyday lives unaltered, unaffected, like nothing has changed because nothing has changed. And if we continue to live like this nothing will change. Violence and hatred and rage and darkness will be a way of life until something drastic changes. Unaltered and unaffected is the last thing we need to be.

Like I said, it’s been quite a week.

I try to be subtler than this in my sermons, but one of the things I do is work through the musical question, “So what?” Well, so this…

Jesus said, “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy (the NIV text note says this could mean ‘generous’), your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy (the NIV text note says this could mean ‘stingy’), your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” You should have seen it here this week. You got a taste of it earlier. There was a light shining that glowed from within these kids. There was a light that glowed, reflecting the light of the Holy Spirit that burns.

I was filled with such joy because I got to be a part of it! What a privilege! What an honor! These kids were so generous with their love for God and for one another. They shared what they had. They shared time and energy. They made sure no one was left behind. They laughed together, they learned together, and, during the parable of the Good Samaritan, when they discovered the smelly kid in their class at school was their neighbor too, they paused together. At that moment, they became more generous with who they thought was their neighbor. Their light became healthier.

These kids are so generous. They submitted to the Word of God and to learning and the bells and the crafts and most of all to one another. Kids that didn’t know each other on Tuesday were friends on Thursday. The light that shined was full and bright. At the food bank they came to realize that the poor not only needed bread and cereal, but baby formula and toilet paper. The epiphany was obvious; poverty means more than they knew. Generosity means more than they know.

Yes, they learned that they will goof, to use grown up words, that’s the nature of sin. In a world that spends so much time and energy on mayhem, murder, and bedlam, in that darkness there is light. In a world where my internet news feed is 85% chaos or Kardashian, in that darkness there is light. These wonderful children, who live in this circus learned that by love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ redeems the world and their “whole body [will be] full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on [them].”

I saw that in a world full of darkness, the light still shines.

Terry taught them a song, “This little light of mine/I’m gonna let it shine/Not gonna hide it under a bushel/Gonna let it shine on everybody/I’m gonna let it shine. The light shines and we are called to take that light and shine in the world. Genesis tells us, the Lord created the light and separated it from the dark. That’s what the Lord was doing here all this week, taking the light and separating it from the dark.

For those of you who weren’t here last week I asked, “What’s your story?” This is mine. This is a time when Jesus and the church made a difference in my life. During a week when the darkness threatened to swallow everything, your children shined the light of Christ. The light of Christ shines and I pray it can be seen in my eyes. Don’t let your light rest in a place where it will be hidden, under a bowl. We all need to be able to share our light, and let it shine, and the children will lead us all.

A Super-Sized Children's Sermon

On this Christmas Eve, I chose to use the children's sermon to bring the full gospel, so while it was called "A Time with the Younger Church," I prefer to think of it as a Super-Sized Children's Sermon. Something happened along the way and the recording did not take, my apologies. On that note...

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on December 24, 2012, Christmas Eve.

Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20

My mom always said that it’s just not Christmas until she heard the story of the birth of Jesus from Luke’s gospel. Now, you all know that it you shouldn’t disagree with your mom so it’s OK to agree with me. I agree with my mom, I don’t think it’s really Christmastime until I hear this too.

One of my favorite holiday TV specials is “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Charlie Brown finds himself having a hard time understanding what Christmas is all about. He gives Christmas cards to the whole gang, but nobody gives him one. He sees great and wonderful Christmas trees covered in tinsel and ornaments and big lights, but the only tree he can get is a scraggly old thing that falls under the weight of one ornament. Even his dog Snoopy gets into the act winning first place in a house decorating contest.

Finally Charlie Brown finds himself on the stage at school getting ready for the Christmas Pageant. He’s upset. He’s sad. He’s confused. Nothing seems right so he cries out, “Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

Charlie Brown’s best friend Linus walks up and answers him in the best way he knows:

Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will toward men.’”

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

So, what does this tell us about Christmas?

It tells us first that Jesus loves the little children. Jesus loves the little children so much he became a little child. Just like little Kevin in the nursery, just like all of you, just like me, and just like Mr. Al, we were all babies once, just like Jesus. That’s why Jesus loves us so much. He was one of us.

Another sign that he loves children is that as soon as he was born, the angels went and told the shepherd boys. The angel didn’t tell the President, or Caesar the Ruler of Rome. The angel didn’t tell the leaders of the temple or the Session of the church. The angel didn’t go to anyone who most people would think is important, he went to the children.

Jesus loves the little children so much he was one and he told them first. That gives children a lot of credit as far as I’m concerned. If Jesus loves the little children then everyone should love the little children, shouldn’t they?

Do you feel like everybody who is here loves you? I hope you do because I know they love me too.

Now, Jesus has a lot of names. We call him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace just to name a few. We call him those names because the prophet Isaiah does first. These names seem to be for a grown up for the baby Jesus, don’t they? Titus says “the grace of God has appeared,” doesn’t he? That sounds kind of complicated, doesn’t it?

Well, I’m gonna make it easy. As I told you, Jesus came because he loves us. He loves us so much that he came to save you and me. This is God’s Christmas present to us. Jesus is God’s present to us. How’s that?

Did you know there isn’t a better present? You might find all sorts of neat things under the tree tomorrow, but none of that stuff lasts forever. Now, I think presents are great, I like presents too, but they won’t last forever will they?

And then you have to write thank you notes don’t you?

The present we get that will last forever is Jesus. The gift he gives us is God. That’s where our salvation is too, in God through Jesus!

So, now we need to thank Jesus, do you know how? The first thing we need to do is say “Thank you, Jesus.” Can we do that together?

Then we need to thank Jesus by being good girls and boys. Not like those boys and girls acted toward Charlie Brown. We need to thank Jesus by helping others. We need to do this all the time because with all of these people around you, people who were babies once too, they love Jesus. They say “thank you” to Jesus, and they act like good boys and girls helping others too. So let’s thank Jesus together…

Dear God,

Thank you for your Son Jesus,

Who came as a baby,

To save the world.

Amen.