You Want Me to Do WHAT?

This sermon was heard at The Federated Church in Weatherford, Oklahoma on Sunday July 3, 2016, the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

2Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Galatians 6:7-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

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

In this life, there are things we have to do. Our bosses, our parents, and even our children tell us there are things to do. Sometimes it’s society, whether the government, which is just the formal arm of society, or obligation and expectations, like keeping the lawn mowed. Often we don’t want to do them. We’d rather laze around the house, hike in the mountains, sit on the back patio with a beverage of choice, or shoot the back nine. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said it like this, “A recent study showed that more people are afraid of public speaking than are afraid of dying. That means that at a funeral, the average American would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy.”

Naaman is a mighty warrior. He has won many battles and gained glory in the name of the King of Aram. Of course he doesn’t get to share the spoils with anybody because he has leprosy. A tiny slave girl laments over the fate of her master. She tells her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” If you think your health plan has hoops, here’s a slave girl referring her master to a Jewish Prophet in exile in Samaria through her mistress. So the King of Aram signs off on this and sends Naaman off to the King of Israel with a signed letter and a gift of silver and gold worth about $680,000 by today’s standards.

Unfortunately, when the King of Israel got the letter it said “so you may cure him.” His first response was You want me to do what? “Am I God? Can I cure disease?” He rented his garments, a fancy way to say he dramatically tore his clothes in woe, grief, sorrow, and in this case he wondering if the King of Aram was raring for a fight sending his mightiest General. Elisha caught wind of this and sent the king a note saying send him to me. The king was more than happy to pass the buck. He sent Naaman to see the prophet in Samaria.

Let me set the scene for you. Naaman isn’t travelling alone or with a small cadre of officers. The man is traveling with a small army including the slaves who serve them. He’s got an entourage that would make a Hollywood diva positively jealous. Elisha’s house isn’t a ranch style three bedroom with attached garage a couple blocks from good schools either. It would be more like a Mexican Villa. There would be a main house with a walled courtyard surrounding the larger compound. This is where Naaman knocked and the servant met him.

Now imagine this, you’re a servant, probably the chief steward to Elisha, the prophet of the Lord, you have received Naaman at the gate and seen the army of the King of Aram. You have received the formal request that Elisha heal the General of his leprosy. So Elisha’s in the 9th Century BC equivalent of his man cave and he tells you to tell the General, in front of that army, to go take a bath in a dirty river.

Imagine being that guy, now say it with me, “You want me to do what?” You get to meet an army and tell its General to get naked and take a bath in front of the very people he has defeated in battle. If you’re imagining sudden death, I suspect you’ve put yourself in his sandals. Naaman couldn’t give Elisha’s servant the satisfaction of hearing it, so he says it to his servant, “He wants me to do what?” Instead he talks about cleaner rivers at home. The servants shrug and say “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”

Naaman does and his flesh is made anew, baby soft.

Now, did you notice this about the story, the people who move the action along are the people with the least power. When Naaman balks at taking the trip to the Jordan, it is his servants who convince him to go. Before that it’s not Elisha but his servant who delivers the delightful news of the cure. When Naaman arrives at the King of Israel’s throne with an army and the blessing of the King of Aram seeking a cure it’s Elisha who takes this problem off the King’s hands. Finally, and most significantly, it’s a slave girl that gets the ball rolling. Her concern for her master causes her to seek her mistress and tell her where to find a cure. An Israelite slave girl is the ultimate non-person in this place and time. Age, race, and gender all play against her. She is nobody and she sets this chain of events in motion. Over and over I have asked “You want me to do what?” and nobody asked her anything.

After all of this history, and all of this narrative, here comes another question: How many of these servants really wanted to speak up in front of the people with such power? You already have my opinion about the King of Israel sending Naaman to Elisha, he was glad to have him out of the throne room. And the servant of Elisha, going to meet an army alone to tell the General to take a bath. I’m guessing he feared for his life.

What about Naaman’s servants and the little girl? Did they want to speak up? The Naaman’s servants knew giving such bold advice alone could get them killed, and if it didn’t work, it would get their dead bodies stomped to dust. As for the little girl, she wanted the General who conquered her people cured. Now that’s something. She had the least, and she had the purest motive and without her there would be no story of the healing power of the Lord through the authority of the prophet Elisha. People want others to do what is right in their eyes and the eyes of their peers for their own gain. The little girl gained nothing.

Paul warns the Galatians that powerful people want them to be circumcised not for their benefit, but for the benefit of the people in charge of the Synagogue. He writes, “The only reason they do this, is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.” Before Paul became a force in Christianity, the gentiles who wanted to accept Jesus were required to first become Jews. It was logical at the time, Jesus was a Jew, the followers of Jesus were Jews, so to be a new follower of Jesus was to first be a Jew.

It was all to keep the law, but “not even those who are circumcised keep the law,” reminded Paul, “yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.” The truth was the ritual wasn’t so much for the glory of God or Christ, it was for the leaders who wanted the gentiles circumcised. Paul, who was one of those leaders before his conversion, refused to accept those accolades anymore. He cried out, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” He would die for none but his Lord Jesus the Christ. What others wanted, Paul knew was worthless, submission to the cross is all that mattered, and he made sure the Galatians knew.

This power through submission theme continues in our gospel reading. Jesus sent the seventy-two to offer his peace upon a household, and if his peace remains to stay. Then “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” Of course when they return they tell another story.

When they returned they had fish tales to tell, one pair landing bigger fish than the last. “Lord,” they said, “even the demons submit to us in your name.”

Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Jesus says,

“Yeah, you have this power. This is good, but this is not why I sent you out.” He sent them out to share the good news. To heal the sick. To bring in the harvest. Demons and snakes and scorpions were tools to do the work, not the work itself.

Jesus told them, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” The flashy part isn’t the important part. Relationships, that’s what’s important. A relationship with the heavenly Father, that’s what’s important.

In this world, we will be asked to do a lot of things and our first impulse is to answer, “You want me to do WHAT!” We see it in our reading from Kings. Our reading from Galatians offers it up in a form, but Paul has told us that form is no longer required. In Luke, Jesus has paired up 72 disciples and sent them out, but it seems they became more enamored by the frosting than the cake. Here’s what I want you to do.

I want you to remember a time in your life when faith changed your life. Was it a mended relationship, or forgiveness, or healing, or a turning point. Think about it. Really think about it. Then, can you find a way to share that story in a couple of minutes? In evangelism (WAIT, YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT! It’ll be alright, hold on!) these are called “elevator talks.” Share what you want to share in just a couple of minutes, the length of time it takes to go up a couple of floors on an elevator. People don’t want to know theologies, they want to know what kind of difference Jesus, what kind of difference this body of Christ has made in your life.

That’s what I want you to do. Be just like that little girl in 2Kings. She knew there was a prophet, she knew there was healing to be had, and she shared. Now I’m not saying “tell the world” tomorrow. Share the story with your spouse, or someone from the congregation. Share it with me or Marie, we love good stories, and we’ll share our stories with you. This way together we take the first step to share the good news of the kingdom of God with the world… one person at a time.

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.

Ladies and Gentlemen and Children of All Ages

This sermon was heard at the Broadmoor Presbyterian Church in Shreveport, Louisiana on Sunday July 7, 2013, the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

2Kings 5:1-14

Psalm 30

Galatians 6:7-16

Luke 10:1-11, 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.

During last week’s sermon,[i]  the Reverend Freeman told a story about his grandfather the Reverend Freeman. Jim’s grandfather was a talented man. Among his many skills was the ability to ride his bicycle’s handlebars facing the back wheel, his feet pedaling backward to move the bike forward… while juggling. That must have been a sight. In the story, a member of the congregation loaned Grandpa Pastor Freeman a plot of land so that he could plant a garden. On the day he began to till the plot, everyone came out to watch him work the land.

Already having the title of today’s sermon in mind, my first thought was, “Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages! Step right up! Step right up and see the Plowing Pastor! Can he plow a straight line while facing backward on the Tilling-Two-Wheeler-of-Death? Watch and see as he attempts to juggle the seed into the farrows!” and that’s when the high school band drum line kicks in to increase the tension until the cymbal crash and trumpet voluntary at the end of the stunt.

So that was just me, huh?[ii]

“Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages…” Whenever we hear these words we know that something exciting is going to follow. This is the cry of the Ringmaster, the Master of Ceremonies under the big top who lures our attention to the center ring, drawing our attention to what’s important. In fact, the only reason the Ringmaster is important is to draw our attention to the main attraction.

This is what Paul is getting at in his letter to the Galatians. He’s trying to make sure that nobody gets suckered into the bad P. T. Barnum sideshow the Scribes and Pharisees are trying to get the church to buy. Our reading from the New Revised Standard Version is a very good translation of what Paul says; but the New Living Translation has fewer $5.00 words and better English sentence structure. This makes Paul’s intended message more transparent. Verses 12 and 13 read:

Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. And even those who advocate circumcision don't keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

Paul is telling us these church leaders make lousy ringmasters. They aren’t drawing the Galatians to what’s important. Their evangelism is for their own benefit, not for the church. They are trying to sell a bill of goods they don’t keep because they can’t. They aren’t pointing to what’s in the center ring. They are trying to draw attention to themselves so their peers will think they’re big shots. Their goal is to bring people to themselves, not to Christ.

Paul even says that whether they are circumcised or not doesn’t matter to Jesus. It’s not the flesh that matters. Paul says what counts is whether or not they have been made a new creation. It’s not what we look like as much as what we become and what we do as a new creation that makes a difference to the Lord. It’s people who live as a new creation that truly come to know the peace and mercy of God.

Let me make this clear—I don’t think this can be said often enough—our salvation does not hinge on what we do. We are saved by grace through faith. What matters to God is that we are transformed and how we are transformed by our salvation. If our transformation is only skin deep, it won’t matter much to us, the world, or to God for that matter. If we aren’t transformed by our salvation, it’s like being a dried out piece of clay in the potter’s hand. The potter’s hand is the one place where clay can be made into something useful, but dried out it’s nothing more than a lump. As Paul says, we reap what we sow.

A tale of transformation is found in our gospel reading. Many of us know this reading well, the “Sending of the 70.” [iii] What we know is Jesus sends these believers out to all of the cities and places he intends to visit. These men who were sent are sent with a mission. They are sent with instructions, and some new rules.[iv] First and foremost, Jesus says pray. They are told to pray first then act.

Jesus sends them with two pieces of advice. He tells them it’s dangerous out there and travel light. As Jesus sends them he says, “Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.” Or in the words of Cat Stevens, “Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there/But just remember there’s a lot of bad and beware.”[v] Under those circumstances, this is good advice; when in danger, it is best not to be burdened by stuff.

These instructions also mean they will have to depend on the Lord for their provisions, and not their packing skills or wiles.

 

They are told when they enter a home to say “Peace to this house!” If the peace is shared, the peace will remain. They are told to stay and accept their hospitality. This way they rely on the Lord for their safety, their lodging, and their sustenance. They aren’t supposed to scope out town looking for a better offer. They are to rely on the Lord to show them where they are supposed to be so that they may do remarkable things.

 

If the peace is not shared, it will return to them. Then while leaving, they are to knock the dust from their feet in protest.

Then too, some of Jesus’ instructions will make them uncomfortable along the way because they aren’t all kosher. One is to greet no one along the way.

 For travelers in this time, greeting involves ceremony. When I lived in southeast Colorado it was traditional when driving down the street to wave to everyone. I was told if you didn’t wave to a neighbor when you passed them on the road then they wouldn’t talk to you again until after church on Sunday. Because your neighbor snubbed you at church, everyone would know you had snubbed your neighbor during the week. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account you know what that means for this century. In a time when greeting someone on the road could lead to an hours long ritual, Jesus tells his disciples to forego ritual and go.

The following command is given twice. When they enter a new town and its people welcome them, they are to eat what is set before them. This command can be difficult for a Jew who keeps a kosher table. Casting aside familiar dietary restrictions in favor of crawfish étouffée would be very difficult for them.

 

Jesus’ ministry was focused on the Jews, but he would be traveling through gentile cities too. Since his recon teams would be going there first, they had to be ready for what was ahead of them. So he gives new rules my earthly father would approve, eat what’s put in front of you and clean your plate.

Jesus’ final piece of advice, his last new rule is to deliver the one message of the coming of the Kingdom of God. He tells them to deliver this message whether facing acceptance or adversity. When they are welcomed into a new community they are to say, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”  When they are not welcomed they are to say, “The kingdom of God has come near.”

For those who know the peace of God, this will be a blessing, “The kingdom of God has come near to us.” For those who reject God’s peace, this is more a warning than a blessing.  It sounds like a holy version of “Wait ‘til your father gets home.”

When the circus comes to town there is a group that comes a day or two before the show to prepare for the arrival of the main caravan. They do the last minute publicity. They scout out laundromats, grocery stores, gas stations and other places that are important for a traveling show. Jesus sends the seventy to do the advance work and give a taste of what the kingdom of God is like.

Then after the seventy return to home base, they report their wonderful success and Jesus affirms them saying (again from the New Living Translation) “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!” Then Jesus gives them the advice Paul gives the Galatians; don’t brag about what you’ve done. Don’t rejoice “that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

In this day and time we are called to be the next seventy, sent where our Lord sends us. In prayer we are to seek the way. We are to travel light and beware. We are to rely on God alone and eat what we are given. We are to offer God’s blessing… in one way or another. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are to point to God and God in Christ, not to ourselves. And in Christ, by Christ, and through Christ we are transformed, just like the original seventy 2,000 years ago.

We are to cry out, “Ladies and Gentlemen and Children of all ages! Step this way! Everyone’s welcome!” Then by the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ we may all come into God’s glorious presence where we may survey the wondrous cross together. This is what we have been sent to do.

---

[i] Freeman, The Reverend James, “Of Chariots and Plows.” Heard at the Broadmoor Presbyterian Church, June 30, 2013, the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

[ii] I was prepared to say “Okay, so that wasn’t just me, nice” if the people had responded.

[iii] Or “the 72” depending upon your translation, but I preached that several years ago.

[iv] Culpepper, R. Alan. “The New Interpreter’s Bible.” “Luke” section.  Leander E. Keck, Senior New Testament Editor.  Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995, page 222.

[v] Stevens, Cat, “Wild World.”  Off of “Tea for the Tillerman.” 1970.

No Pussy-Footing Around

This sermon was preached at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday December 16, 2012, the 3rd Sunday of Advent.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Isaiah 12:2-6

Philippians 4:4-7

Luke 3:7-18

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

Something happened to the sermon. The sermon this was turning into on Thursday took a radical turn on Friday. On Friday everything changed. Well, everything didn’t change, but tragedy crossed the national conscience. I’m not going to expand on the events. The last thing anyone should do is ever mention the name of the shooter ever again. I’m not saying ignore the issue, I’m saying let’s stop cloaking mass-murders in notoriety and infamy. I am not saying to ignore the victims either; I’m saying that easy platitudes aren’t enough for what happened.

On Friday a friend of mine wrote “today I saw the devil at work… what kind of person could walk into a school and take 20 5+ year olds life [sic]… words cant [sic] describe my thoughts right now.” He wasn’t pussy-footing around, was he? The problem with what he said is it shows a short memory.

The massacre at Columbine High School happened on April 20, 1999 in Jefferson County, Colorado, outside of Denver. That shooting ended the lives of fifteen innocent victims along with the gunmen.

On October 2, 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order community of Nickel Mines, a village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The gunman shot ten girls, killing five, before committing suicide in the schoolhouse. What made this school shooting different was the Amish community’s response of forgiveness and reconciliation toward the widow of the shooter.

These shootings pale beside the Bath School Massacre. Since Bath was a bombing and not a shooting and took place in 1927 it doesn’t get the press. At Bath Consolidated Schools, a man who lost his farm to school taxes took it out on the school. He killed 38 children ages 7-11, two teachers, four other adults and himself. At least 58 others were injured.

The Bath School massacre is the deadliest mass murder in a school in U.S. history and the third-deadliest non-military massacre in U.S. history, behind 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing.

To complete our walk down memory lane I give you the Pontiac’s Rebellion school massacre, where four shooters entered the schoolhouse near Greencastle, Pennsylvania, shooting and killing the schoolmaster and nine or ten children. While reports of the number killed vary, it is known that only three children survived. This one doesn’t get any press despite or because it was the first American school shooting. It happened on July 26, 1764.

That’s what I mean saying everything didn’t change. There have been school shootings in America longer than there has been an America. Some folks talk about this as a second amendment issue when the first shooting predated the second amendment. It’s a matter of sin which predates the second amendment too. As for my friend who “saw the devil at work” on Friday, has he missed other atrocities people have inflicted upon one another? Is it that he hasn’t been paying attention? I’m willing to go with hyperbole, exaggeration to make a point. Then again, I just made an error I warned us about last week.

Last week I said that I can only confess my sins. Well, I just confessed my friend’s sins instead of my own. Let’s be honest, that’s not a good thing.

Last week’s gospel reading was John the Baptist’s ministerial introduction where “He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” We meet him again today in the last part of this introduction where Luke tells us of John meeting the crowds.[1]

Then John unloads on them! “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” There’s no pussy-footing around with John, is there? People love pastors who share a message and do it with aplomb, a certain composure, style, and tact that puts people at ease and ready to listen. Well, John the Baptist was never known for tact that puts people at ease. Starting a conversation by yelling, “You brood of vipers!” puts a bow on that.

John’s tells the crowd they have sinned and it is up to them to repent because only in repentance is there forgiveness. There’s a lot of baggage on that word repentance but there’s an easy way to look at it, the Hebrew and Greek words for “repentance” can be translated “turn around.” John is telling us we must all turn our lives around to produce the fruit of repentance. Period. End of sentence. No pussy-footing around.

Friends, it is time I share with you that I have sinned. My sin has touched all of you. I have been pussy-footing around. When we came to Marshall I knew that we would need to do work in stewardship and evangelism. The path I take to begin this work is by teaching.

You have heard me say we have to know our stories. This is right out of ancient Celtic evangelism. St. Patrick was successful in Ireland because he knew his own story as a slave on the Emerald Isle and the history of the people. When he returned as a priest, knowing the gospel, the people, and the place, he was able to share the Good News in the land where he was once a prisoner and slave. I told that story once, once.

Knowing our stories and knowing them here in this place is the most wonderful way we can share the gospel in the way people will be able to hear it and respond to it. But I pussy-footed around, hoping the pieces would fall together. I don’t blame anyone for not getting my stories, I can be obtuse. Let’s face it, I just used the word obtuse! I must confess that I didn’t make the point I intended.

During our recent “Committed to Christ” evening study, one of the nights was about sharing our faith. I tried to cajole the class into trying what the study was teaching about faith sharing. Well, my “cajoling” wasn’t effective.

Another lesson in “Committed to Christ” was about giving. It brought out that Christ expects us to give our time, talent, and treasure. I’ve mentioned this triad every October during stewardship season too. Often people think giving one or two of three is enough.

This “Committed to Christ” lesson used an example of a divorced man who is not meeting all of his commitments (admittedly a gender stereotype but that is how it was taught). It asks what’s better, a man who pays his money but never spends any time with the kids or the man who is Weekend-Super-Dad but fails to pay for basic essentials. According to the lesson the correct answer is “none of the above.”

It’s time and talent and treasure and two out of three is bad. Later in the evening, someone said, “Well, God knows I do all I can.” The lesson didn’t get across; God expects more, God expects it all. Trying to make a point in a delicate way didn’t make my point at all. Pussy-footing around again.

A couple of weeks ago I used the R.E.M. lyric “It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine” as my way of saying God is doing a new thing. God is doing something we may not even be able to see or recognize, but God is alive and God is not done with us yet. That point got lost. When I said “It’s the end of the world” that was all some folks heard. My style overwhelmed my substance. Pussy-footing again.

I have sinned against God and I have failed you. And now it is up to me to repent and seek forgiveness. Anyone who says that I have not sinned, thank you, but if I have not sinned I cannot be forgiven. For any who say “you sure have messed this up,” I ask you to remember the words of 1John, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” The words of sin, repentance, and forgiveness are good words for all of us. They are at the hub of John’s message.

By my pussy-footing, I have failed to express the depth of our financial situation. I knew something was going on. Neal shared that information during session meetings and congregational meetings too. The news was out there, but I never shared it with you in a way that caused the urgency that makes people do something.

Well thanks be to God! About ten weeks ago when the Session met, Lisa took the financial situation information home and told her family what was going on. Robbie, yes Robbie, took the time to ask people what we should do. Robbie isn’t a child of this congregation anymore, he’s a grown man, and he acted like a grown man—he saw something broken and he asked for help to get it fixed. God bless you Robbie.

Some were embarrassed that Robbie aired the dirty laundry. Robbie stood up and said “what can I do?” No pussy-footing there.

At the last stated Session meeting Lisa asked again what we can do. Neal laid out several options. (Don’t think he laid out only one, he laid out several.) Today during the congregational meeting the Session will bring one of these to you and it is up to you to decide what we will do next. Using John’s words we will be asked to decide whether the ax is lying at the root of the tree or not. During this meeting no pussy-footing will be allowed.

We won’t allow blaming either. We won’t confess anybody’s sins but our own. We won’t do those things because they won’t help.

There’s something I read on the internet Friday, and since it was on the internet it must be true right? It was attributed to a graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, a PC(USA) seminary. I don’t know if he really said this or not, but regardless these words are worth sharing:

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world.

That Presbyterian Minister was a fellow named Fred Rogers, yes, that Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers, and he’s in accord with what John told the crowd to do.

The crowd, knowing disaster was coming around the corner if they did not bear fruit in keeping with repentance, asked John what to do. Again in his very direct manner he had instructions for many different people in the crowd:

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

John was telling people to be helpers, not hindrances. He told them to bear good fruit. He told them to turn from their ways that hurt one another. He told the people to take care of each other. He told them to behave like the brave teachers at Newtown and Nickel Mines and Columbine. He told them to be useful like the first responders—the police, fire, and medical workers who took care of the scene, taking care of innocent victims.

This afternoon we need to look for helpers. We need to be the people of the Philippian church who Paul calls gentle. He tells them to “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

To this let me add while John said, “do not be anxious,” he did not say “don’t be concerned.” We need to be informed, concerned, and respond. There’s a line between “stress” and “distress” we can’t cross. Panic freezes action, the right amount of urgency can spur us onto great things. This is our call to confess and repent our sins, not anybody else’s. This is our chance to begin writing a new chapter today, a chapter baptized in the Holy Spirit with fire.

Today we light the Pink candle of joy. On a day like today, wedged horribly between a national tragedy and a local emergency, we are called to rejoice in the Lord always. Paul even repeats himself, “I will say it again: Rejoice!” But how? In the midst of horror and panic how can we rejoice? We say “Rejoice” in a world where we say Jesus is coming, and in the meantime we see evidence to the contrary. So how?

In situations like we have seen over this past week there is nothing else we can really do except listen to our Lord and Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers says find the helpers. Our Lord says I am your helper. John said this and more, exhorting the people and preaching the good news to them. Our helper is the Lord. It is up to us to seek the Lord’s help. Thanks be to God.

---

[1] This paragraph was cut from the final manuscript due to time restraints. I add it here because I love to think about the crowds of biblical times as well as our own:

I love when the crowds come out in scripture because of the wide variety of people. This crowd included at least some of John’s disciples. I’m just as sure it had some folks who were interested, but had yet to make a commitment. Judging from what John is about to say some of his opponents are among the crowd. There may even be some temple leaders, scribes, Pharisees, members of the Sanhedrin, folks who would become enemies of Jesus too. Then, there’s a category of people we often ignore—just plain folks. As sure as I am today during a demonstration, I’m just as sure that in the day there were some folks in the crowd who were there because it was a good crowd. Remember, nobody ever shows up for a bad crowd.

Gideon Sunday Children's Sermon Audio

This children's sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday October 28, 2012, the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time.



On October 28, 2012, First Presbyterian Church along with many other local churches and the local Gideon camp celebrated Gideon Sunday. You can find the general format for this children's sermon at at this link and hear it here!

God bless the Gideon ministry. More information can be found at the Gideons homepage.

Picking Up, Dusting Off, Moving On

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday March 25, 2012, the 5th Sunday in Lent.

Podcast of "Picking Up, Dusting Off, Moving On" (MP3)

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33

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

Growing up, my mother was raised in the town where I was born, Mexico, Missouri. Mexico was once known as the “saddle horse capital of the world.” Simmons Stables still stands (well, sort of) on West Boulevard between Grove and Webster Streets. She was also raised in the shadow of the Mexico Military Academy, a boy’s military school with an equine program. So horses were always a part of her life. She passed that on to me with the Triple Crown.

When I was ten years old was the perfect time to introduce anyone to the Triple Crown. It was 1973 and the horse was Secretariat, still one of the most regaled horses of all time. He won the Kentucky Derby in a time that is still a race record. His win in the third race in the crown not only established a race record that still stands, but he won by 31 lengths, an absurd distance to win a race. It’s like winning the Daytona 500 by a half a lap going away.

Over the next five years, the Triple Crown would be won in 1977 by Seattle Slew and the next year by Affirmed. Before Secretariat won the crown, no horse had completed the feat since Citation in 1948. No horse has won the crown since Affirmed either. It was a great time to learn about horse racing.

Because of this upbringing, I was unknowingly in a great position to meet Marie. As you know, she is horse crazy. I may like to watch a race, but she can tell you things about the horses and the “Sport of Kings” that I would never guess. Among the things she taught me about was race preparation.

We can begin with pedigree. The sires and dams of great horses can be traced back so many generations that Luke’s genealogy of Jesus almost looks quaint by comparison. Preparing a horse for the Triple Crown begins long before the horse turns three, it takes generations and generations.

Training begins on these horses almost after they take their first steps. There is much for a farm, trainer, and horse to do even before setting foot on a track. Just preparing a horse to run takes work, and instilling and nurturing that love to run takes the right amount of work and play.

On the day of the race there are the stable hands and horsemen that work the horse to prepare for the big day. There is feeding and grooming. There is walking and putting on tack. There is a ton of preparation before the horse goes out before tens of thousands of people, probably the biggest noise they have ever heard. This all before the jockey dresses and weighs in before the race. Then comes the post parade and the wait for the gate. That’s when the hard work begins.

While I was contemplating this scripture, this is the image I could not get out of my head.

Our Gospel reading begins not long after Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the events we will celebrate next weekend on Palm Sunday. Jesus was a threat to the establishment. He was drawing crowds that made the temple leadership uncomfortable. They were uncomfortable because any large crowd around a charismatic Rabbi would make the Roman overlords uncomfortable. Momma Rome wasn’t happy; and when Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

So our reading begins with the Greeks looking for Jesus. These Greeks were pagan Greeks; the Book of Acts uses a different word for Greeks who were Jews and believers in Christ. While Rome was the political and economic capital of the Empire, Athens was the cultural center of the Empire. The Greeks were travelers. They brought art and stories and mythology and religion home with them from their journeys. Also to say “the Greeks” wanted to “see Jesus” is to say that they wanted a meeting. They wanted a sit-down.

They wanted to hear his story. They wanted to learn about him and they wanted to take the word of God and Jesus home with them to share with others. These Greeks would be among the first evangelists. I suspect they stayed in town long enough for the crucifixion and resurrection. Scripture doesn’t say whether or not they did. It doesn’t even say whether or not they ever met with Jesus at all.

With the arrival of the Greeks Jesus saw the final domino fall into place. It was at this moment that Jesus knew his message would go beyond the bounds of Palestine. Jesus knew his words and his deeds would be known throughout the world. He knew that what was coming would be told. He knew his hour had come, and after it came word of it would go through the whole wide world.

Jesus and Philip and Andrew; we first heard these names after the baptism of the Lord as Jesus calls his first disciples. In a wonderful way, the news of the Greeks comes in the reverse order of their call to discipleship. What once went from Jesus to Andrew to Philip now goes from Philip to Andrew to Jesus. The Lord saw this circle close. So with this news, with these signs, and with his knowledge; he picks himself up, dusts himself off, and moves on. This as he moves the whole world one step closer to eternity.

This is probably not how it happened, there’s very little chance it did. But I imagine when Jesus gets the news of the Greeks seeking a meeting he literally picks himself up, dusts himself off, and moves on.

As he begins to move on, he begins with a quick agricultural parable. Usually, the agricultural parables were used to describe the Kingdom of God. This is one of the purposes for this parable. He tells his disciples that unless a seed dies, it remains a single seed. But when it dies and takes root it produces many seeds. Jesus tells them that only by the death of a seed will other seeds be produced. This is the Good News of the Kingdom of God, more seeds will be produced, but Jesus shares the price of the bounty. It will cost the life of the first seed to produce all of the rest. The second purpose of this parable is to show that the fully-human fully-divine Jesus must die.

This takes us to something important to remember about Jesus. Our Lord did not have a death wish. Jesus did not approach the hour singing “Get Me to the Cross on Time.” We hear this speech in the Garden of Gethsemane, and we hear it here too.

His heart is troubled. Jesus knows what’s going to happen, and now happen soon. But he’s not in a hurry to meet his fate. I guess he has always known his time with his apostles would be short, but he has just gone from an indefinite “one day” to a very finite “the hour.” He has gone from “some day” to “not long from now.”

What troubles him? Perhaps it is the coming crucifixion. Surely the humiliation, indignity, and pain would be troubling. He knew he would soon be paraded like someone worse than a common criminal. Rome saved crucifixion for special cases. Rome saved crucifixion for people who were to be made examples for all to see. He knew he would be writhing. He knew the pain would be unbearable. He knew the thirst of the day’s sun would scorch his body inside and out. He knew the flogging and mocking would come.

Yet, Jesus knew that it was for this very reason that he came to this hour. In all of the horror, terror, and glory; Jesus both dreaded and embraced the hour and his destiny.

In this knowledge, in this hour Jesus cried out “Father, glorify your name.” And the reply came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” While the crowd didn’t hear the thunder of God at the baptism of the Lord, they heard this. They heard the voice from Heaven in all its glory. Jesus declares this word is not for him. After all, Jesus is confident with his relationship with his Heavenly Father. This voice is for the disciples. This word is for us so that we may be confident. Confident in the Heavenly Father and confident in the one he sent to us, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord Incarnate, Emmanuel—God with us.

Friends, I have never heard this thunder so clearly in all my life. I feel like we, this part of the Body of Christ, is that race horse being led to the gate. We have been made ready to run the race of our lives. Unfortunately, we don’t have the benefit of knowing the track is a dirt oval and the race is going to end after ten furlongs. Horses and NASCAR drivers have the benefit of knowing it’s nothing but left turns for the whole distance. We don’t.

So what do we need to know to run the race? What do we need to know about this hour for this congregation? The first thing we need to remember is that if we try to hold onto our life, surely we will lose it. Jesus warns his disciples and I can’t imagine this warning doesn’t pertain to the Body of Christ as well.

Jesus says the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. This English translation isn’t quite what Jesus means. This is an expression, like “month o’ Sundays” meaning “a long time” and not “thirty weeks.” What Jesus means is that those who love their life more than Him will lose what they hold onto so dearly. It is when we hold the Lord and the love of God above everything else that we will keep our lives for eternal life.

Yes, I say again, eternal life is available to us on this side of the grave. It is not something we wait for while on this earth. It is available to us now when we love God more than anything else. Because of this, because of this gift, because of God’s good grace, we are called to respond faithfully. This is how we live eternal life, not just have it. To live life, we must share. We are called to take what God has given us and share it with the world.

So if we love the building and the programs and the denomination and all other manner of things more than we love the Lord our God we have surely missed the point. If we love our history more than we love the Lord we have missed the point. If we love our polity and Confessions more than we love the Lord we have missed the point.

We are called to love the Lord who loved us first more than everything else. Jesus leads us to places we would have never considered going without him. In its way, this should be troubling to us. It was troubling to Jesus so it would be awfully conceited of us to not be troubled too. But like Jesus we are called to embrace this hour. In Christ, we are called to approach the hour with confidence in our relationship with the Almighty, not in the trappings we put around Him.

We are called to love God and one another, not history, buildings, and paperwork. I found a way to describe a healthy relationship with the church a couple of weeks ago on the wall of a fellowship hall in Dallas—“Cherish our past—Support the present—Embrace our future.” This is a good plan for any congregation.

So, am I about to share my five point plan with you? Am I about to tell you it’s going to be in the newsletter so stay tuned? Oh how I wish it were so. If there is one thing that has been revealed to me recently it’s that thinking has put the church in the place it is now, and it’s not more fancy thinking that’s going to get us out of it.

I’m a smart man, I’m a learned man, I have great knowledge and training, and right now it’s not changing the world. If all it took was good thinking, a smooth voice, and an internet presence; I’d have this thing licked. But that’s not what it takes, not at all.

We have to begin again with the basics. We have to begin with establishing Godly priorities. Our first priority is this, establishing a relationship with the Lord. That’s where it has to begin. It begins with walking the word. It begins with prayer. It begins by keeping company with those who walk in the word and live life bathed in prayer. It begins by realigning our priorities.

We need to hear that voice again, the voice that came from heaven saying “I have glorified my name and I will glorify it again.” Only by listening and responding to the voice and its glory will we ever, ever make it out of the starting gate.

Looking for Jesus

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday February 5, 2012, the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Podcast of "Looking for Jesus" (MP3)

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Isaiah 40:21-31

Psalm 147:1-11, 20c

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Mark 1:29-39

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

There are times reading the scriptures that the simplicity of a phrase becomes more than the sum of its parts. I find this glorious grace in the phrase “Everyone is looking for you.” Jesus has gone to be alone with the Father and when his new companions find him they declare “Everyone is looking for you.” They mean everyone in town, in truth they have no idea how right they are.

At the beginning of our reading, we’ve reached the end of a long day; this is the day that started with last week’s reading of Jesus teaching in the synagogue. This is the day he teaches with authority in his words. With his words he exorcises a demon from a possessed man. His words carry so much authority his deeds flow from his mouth. That is an authority beyond the scribes.

After synagogue worship, Jesus, with James and John, go to the home of Simon and Andrew. It’s a multigenerational setting with at least two generations and perhaps even more groups of parents and children. Since Simon and Andrew joined Jesus the previous day and since there is no work on the Sabbath, there may well not have been enough to go around. Still, the call to hospitality rings loud, so with the mouths to feed at home; Simon and Andrew bring three more.

There are three more mouths at dinner while Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. Here’s something interesting about fevers. Deuteronomy 28 brings warnings about what will befall the nation should they be disobedient to the Lord. The blights include curses to the countryside and curses to the city. There are curses to the grain basked and the kneading trough. Neither the family nor the livestock nor the crop will be fruitful. There will be blight and terror in the household.

Verse 22 offers this specific curse, “The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.” Yes, that’s right, fever. The same fever mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:22 is found in verse Mark 1:31. Jesus goes to her and helps her up; he lifts her back to health. The fever leaves. The fever leaves and she begins to wait on them. The Sabbath is not yet over, and she serves him.

Humanity’s sin is figured in the body of a wrecked woman who lies sick to the world, so ill she cannot rise. Jesus comes not only taking her illness, but taking the curse of sin from the world. This little note would not have gotten past the people of Israel. They who knew the law best would have seen this connection.

Just to add fuel to the fire of biblical injunctions and social conventions, touching the ill is a taboo, especially for a person who is not a member of the family. For a strange man to touch a woman who is not a member of the family is also against the mores of the time. Then for him to heal and her to serve; each does work on the Sabbath making a not a trifecta but a superfecta of prohibited behavior.

This is the simple point, Jesus breaks the rules. Jesus does things that no other person can do, not because he is above the law but because he is the law. He is the living law teaching us a new way to live together and take care of one another. He teaches us that even when it is unexpected, even when it is difficult to fathom, we are called upon to serve one another. Jesus shows us what it means to be our brothers’ keeper.

In fact, the word that our bible[1] translates as “to wait upon” is where we get our word deacon. In the Presbyterian Church, deacons are “ministers of compassion” sharing the grace and peace of God in the world through service. It’s not an administrative vocation like the Ruling Elder, it’s a passionate call to serve. It is truly a wonderful ministry and I thank the ladies of the church who have taken this ministry as their own to serve the body of Christ and the world.

But Jesus isn’t quite ready to tell the world who he is yet. So while this gospel begins proclaiming this the “gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” Jesus is not ready for the others in the narrative to know this yet. So as soon as the sun sets and the Sabbath ends he heals many and drives out demons, he silences the demons so they will not share the news they know.

This tells us something special too, this tells us that the demons know the truth of the Son of God; the demons know Jesus is the Christ. Often we hear people who “aren’t sure there even is a God.” We also hear that evil’s greatest trick is to make it so people don’t think the devil exists. Combine the two and there’s a really big trick: The demons who believe in God have convinced people that neither they nor God exist. Now that’s the big lie.

Yet, somewhere deep inside most of us is a place that longs for peace, longs for connection. For many people, the desire to seek God takes them to a solitary place where they seek connection not with something but with nothing. They seek a peace that does not exist in the natural world and they use nature as that focus. Many people would rather believe in creation than in the creator. It give us a choice, do we believe in something or do we believe in nothing. Friends, we believe not in something but someone, we believe in Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Jesus wakes early in the morning and while everyone else sleeps he goes to a solitary place to pray. He doesn’t seek to commune with nature, he seeks nature’s creator. Even Jesus needs some alone time with the Father, and if that’s true for him it is infinitely more true for us.

When the four find him they tell him everyone is looking for him. What does he do? Does he set up a base camp and open a shrine or a temple? No. Jesus tells his friends it is time to go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so he can preach there also. That is why he has come, not so that people can come to him, but so that he can go to the people. We know that we need to seek God, but before that happens, before that can happen; the Lord Jesus, God who walked the earth, sought us first.

According to the Christian Century Magazine:

The GenXer [that is someone from the Post-Baby-Boom Generation, someone born between 1962 and 1980] is suspicious of institutions, especially religious institutions. He focuses on personal experience in the spiritual quest, and on a sense of suffering expressed in a psychological and spiritual crisis of meaning. The GenXer also accepts the ambiguity that may be found in the fusion of sacred and profane, spiritual and sensual, orthodox and blasphemous in popular culture. He does not reject or dismiss faith tradition or religious institutions, but they are not the only sources of spirituality. The implications are clear: If traditional Christianity is to engage the spiritual quest of the GenXer, it must attend to the ways in which these young adults draw on the church and popular culture.[2]

This was written nearly fifteen years ago, but considering the bulk of people who define their heavenly belief system as “spiritual, not religious,” it still rings true. As the article says, they don’t reject everything out of hand, but they connect it with what they know better than Jesus, the world around them. They seek connection, connection to the world and to something bigger.

Our gospel says everyone was looking for Jesus. In our time it may be more accurate to say everyone is looking for their own personal Valhalla or Nirvana or Heaven or whatever. So if everyone is looking for Personal Jesus, what do we do to help them find him?

The answer is as easy as this, share. It is up to us to share God with the world. We are called through the community of God to have a relationship with the Lord that came for us first. We are called to worship a God who seems to break the rules which appeals to many but in truth has broken the mold.

We worship God who came not to be served but to serve. In response we serve one another, the community, and the world. Today we do this not only with our work, words, tithes, and offerings; we do this through the Souper Bowl[3] offering.

We are called to reach out. We are called to share our treasure, sure, but that’s not all. Jesus of Nazareth, a man without earthly treasure, shared his time and his talent. Jesus shared his fully-human fully-divine being with the world and with us.

This too is our call. We are to welcome people with hospitality. We are to share our time. And when the time comes, we are to take time and recharge our batteries through praying. We are to take our talents to the people who come and to the world that doesn’t know what’s coming.

This is what we share. Why do we do this? Why do we share ourselves with the world? Simple, that is why Jesus has come, so that’s why he sends us too. I can’t promise this will always be comfortable. I can’t promise you will always feel ready when the time comes. Just know that God does not call the equipped, but equips the call.

And as always, remember, we are to seek God but God seeks us first, that is why he came.

---

[1] This is from the New International Version. As for me, I prefer the NRSV’s translation which says “she began to serve them.”

[2] Foster, Charles R. "Paying Attention to Youth Culture," Christian Century, December 9, 1998, 1186. Parenthetic definition of GenXer is mine.

[3] See http://souperbowl.org