The Secret Darkness

1 Samuel 16: 1-13
Ephesians 5: 8-14

It doesn’t take much to convince most people that they’re sinners. We all know our faults and our struggles and our burdens. We have all heard the sermons about how our wicked ways will lead us straight into Satan’s arms instead of Jesus’. However, even though we know we’re not perfect and that we are all sinful in some way, most of us sitting here probably believe we’re not terribly wicked sinners with no hope of salvation either. We’ve been raised to believe that Jesus can and has saved us from the lies we tell and the evils we commit.

 This passage in Ephesians about light and darkness, those who are wake in Christ and those who are asleep, reminds me of the Story of the Prodigal Son. We all know that the prodigal son was the bad apple. He is both the bad guy and one of the victim in the story, and at the end he receives a reward that he has not earned in the slightest. But we always forget about the Eldest Son. The son who although he always seems to do the right and honorable thing, is not the one in the story that ends up with his Father’s arms wrapped around him in love and forgiveness.

Martin Luther once said to “Sin boldly”. I think that the prodigal son was a bold sinner. He was a man that lived his life in a way that shames more honorable people, and yet he is the one that ends up having a transforming experience where he comes out of the darkness of his sinful life and enters into the light. The Eldest child starts out in the light and ends up in the darkness. How does this happen? How can someone good and dependable like the eldest son end up being the one that sits on the sidelines and watches as his good for only having a good time brother ends up receiving everything that he, the eldest brother, has worked so hard for his whole life?

I think this is our problem as Christians sometimes, those of us that are lifers. We have always believed in Jesus and we cannot remember a time when we didn’t believe that God has sent his son so that we wouldn’t be condemned, but instead we would be saved and have eternal life. We are the eldest child who attends church every Sunday and volunteers our time for various committees and community functions. We’re the ones that people depend on and we have come to see ourselves as not perfect, but pretty dang good people. We don’t really consider ourselves degenerate sinners, but we don’t consider ourselves saints either.

A couple years ago, I was on a CS Lewis kick and read the book, The Screwtape Letters, which is about the story of an older demon counseling a younger demon. At one point in the book, it says, "You will say that these are very small sins, and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy [God]. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to keep the man away from the Light.… Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

Perhaps, this is why Martin Luther says to sin boldly so that everyone may know what are sins are and they will eventually come into the light. We’ll have to face the sins if people point them out to us, but if they are secret sins and ones that are committed with little guilt or thought, they can eventually pull us away from God just as effectively as committing murder. It’s hard to think that a few small sins can do the same amount of damage as murder, but yet, it does and sometimes more easily too.

You see, it is only human beings that put a gradient on sinful acts. We do not see a lie being as awful as murder. We do not see how disrespecting an individual can be as awful as raping a person. We do not see how constantly being jealous over what others have can be as bad as committing robbery. And yet, every person that commits murder, rape, and robbery all began with these so-called little sins too. And the more we do something, the less fantastic it seems and the more ordinary and okay it seems.

I was watching the show Bones the other day when the lead actress said something very interesting. She said that in an experiment, people were given goggles that made everything upside down when they looked through them. For three days, everything was upside down, but the brain adjusted to this disorientation and on the fourth day when they woke up, the world looked right side up until they took off the goggles. Then it took them another three days for their brain to adjust and again see the world the way it was. Our minds are amazing. God created our mind to help us adapt to whatever life throws at us so that we may survive.

In an effort to survive in a sinful world, sometimes we shut out our own sinfulness. We put levels on sinful acts and tell ourselves that the lie we told our spouse is not that big of a deal even though a lie is a sin. We get tired of the world beating us up, and to protect ourselves we make our own culpability less by thinking that the things we do, although wrong – do not really damage our soul and our connection to Jesus. But they do.

And the really scary thing is that the more we pretend that these little sins mean nothing in the long run, the blinder we become to when we commit larger sins. A couple years ago, I took a tour of a cave. The guide taught us an interesting fact about this. A person who lives in total darkness for just a few months will become irrevocably blind. Darkness not only hinders sight, it causes blindness.

This passage in Ephesians is asking us to wake up and see where we are living in darkness. It is reminding us that we are beautiful people that are filled with God’s Holy Spirit and therefore, we do not need to fear or live in darkness. But although we know this on an intellectual level, and even manage to believe it sometimes, we do not always live as children of the light. We do not own the person we are and the inheritance we have been given.

In the story of the Prodigal son, it took a man who faced a deep darkness to recognize where the light in his life existed. He didn’t want to become blind and lost, and he returned to the source of his greatest happiness – his father’s arms. The eldest child who never left his Father’s house and yet, had no joy in his heart was the one who gradually was pulled deeper into the darkness.

As lifetime Christians, it is hard sometimes to find joy every Sunday. We are weary of being the good person all the time, the dependable person, the one everyone comes to for advice. Sometimes, we just want to live our life free of commitments and obligations and worries. And we begin to grumble about those who seem to live a freer and more sinful life. We make comments about the way they dress or the things they do. We make up stories about why they weren’t at that social function this week and we refuse to forgive those who we feel have slighted us by not doing what we feel they ought to have done.

This is the way the Eldest child felt about his brother. He begrudged him the goodness and light he found. He felt jealousy and he coveted not only the easier lifestyle he imagined his brother had, but then at the end, he coveted the relationship his brother ended up having with his father. He was committing sins without even realizing it and we do the same thing.

That is why Jesus constantly tells us not to judge others and not to be so fearful and worried about what goes on around us. Sin boldly, and repent with a joyful heart. It is Lent and therefore it is time for us to see where we have lied to ourselves about who we are and face Jesus with bowed heads. Ask the Lord to bring us back into the light, to shine upon us and reveal where darkness has entered our hearts. It is time to let the Holy Spirit refine and purify our souls so that not only will we be in the light, but we will BE a light to those who are still in the dark.

Amen.

You're Justified, But Are You Sanctified?

Exodus 17: 1-7
Romans 5: 1-11

A few years ago, I chose this passage and tried to explain justification to all of you. When it came back around, I realized now it is time to explain what sanctification is all about. But first, let me remind you what it means to be justified through the blood of Jesus Christ, as Paul says to us in Romans 5. He tells us that “When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…while we were still sinners, Christ died for us...we have now been justified by his blood.”

Let's say you were caught speeding down this highway in front of the church. You were doing 100 mph, obviously slightly out of the acceptable speeding window. You go to court and just as the judge is about to throw the book at you, someone steps forward and says, "I will pay the fine. I will take the punishment." And you get off, without paying the fine, without any punishment at all. You have been justified, you have been made right in the eyes of the law. It doesn't change the fact that you were speeding, but the court sees you as innocent. That is what Christ did for us. That is what it means to be justified by the blood of Jesus.

Lent is well on its way and we are in the midst of trying to figure out who we are in the eyes of society as well as God. We are struggling to understand our role in the world and how it sometimes conflicts with what God would have us do in our lives. When we hear that Jesus died so that we would not have to take on the punishment for our sinful lives it is an amazing discovery. It is freeing and life-giving.

But this is where sanctification comes in. It is not enough to be merely free of the punishment of sin. That is what God has done for us. How do we show that God has done this amazing and miraculous thing for us? How do we share with the world that we are people who have been saved and transformed and forgiven though the life-giving blood of our Savior? Martin Luther said "There is no justification without sanctification, no forgiveness without renewal of life, no real faith from which the fruits of new obedience do not grow." 

Martin Luther seems to be implying that if we are truly justified by the blood of Christ, then something inside of us changes. Paul also tells us that when he says, “…but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. In today’s society, when someone says that we should be thankful for our struggles we look at them like they are crazy. Why would anyone be joyful over pain and heartache?

How could any person be thankful for constant despair? What could we possibly have to learn from the seemingly endless pain that living life brings? Think of the process of refining maple syrup. Maple trees are tapped with buckets hung under the taps, and out drips a sap which is thin and clear, like water. On a good day, 50 trees will yield 30-40 gallons of sap, but it is essentially useless at this point with only a hint of sweetness. 

Then as the buckets fill, they are emptied into large bins that sit over an open fire. The sap comes to a slow boil; and as it boils, its water content is reduced and its sugars are concentrated. Hours later, it has developed a rich flavor and golden-brown color, but it must be strained several times to remove impurities before being reheated, bottled, and graded for quality. In the end, those 30-40 gallons of sap are reduced to one gallon of pure, delicious maple syrup, which is far better than the cheap, imitation, colored sugar-water that passes for maple syrup in the grocery store. 

It is the same when we come to faith in Christ. We start like raw, unfinished sap, which could have been tossed aside as worthless. But God knew what he could make of us. He sought and found us, and his skillful hands are transforming us into something precious, sweet and useful. The long and often painful refining process brings forth a pure, genuine disciple easily distinguished from cheap imitations.

Therefore, every struggle we endure and every heartache that we experience is a moment where we can learn how to rise above the pain and become more like Jesus. We can wallow in our despair or we can find strength of character that brings people to us. I heard a seminary professor once tell the class that people who have been wounded and allowed the wounds to heal instead of fester tend to have a sort of gravitas to them. They have the ability to pull people to them because the strength of their character, the purity of their wounded but healed soul shines forth clearly for others to see. People are drawn to them because they recognize that this person has not only known pain, but has risen above the pain to become a better, more Christ-like person.

That is what Jesus is calling us toward. A life of gravitas where people are drawn to the person we are because we have something more inside of us. We have the light and love of Jesus Christ, present in the power of the Holy Spirit, given as a gift from God. People who have risen above their pain to be a balm to other wounded souls are people who make the world a brighter place. It doesn’t mean they don’t endure suffering, but they do not let it defeat them. They let it refine them into someone who has grace and mercy in their heart.

Are we such people? Are we filled with the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ or have we allowed our past burdens and pain to create bitter hearts and judgmental attitudes towards those around us? Are we joyful or are we sorrowful? Lent is the time to analyze our character. It is the time we look deep inside ourselves and we pull out the ugliness that we don’t like to face any other time of the year. It’s the time when we recognize ourselves in the jeering crowd that rejects Jesus, our Savior. It’s when we see our sinfulness more clearly and we are convicted in our hearts and spirits to change.

A basic mark of true spirituality is a deep awareness of sin. In Scripture those who most despised their sinfulness were often those who were the most spiritual. Paul said he was the chief of sinners. Peter said to Jesus, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man." Isaiah said, "Woe is me, because I am a man of unclean lips." Spiritual people realize they are in a death struggle with sin. For Paul, ultimate spirituality was to be like Jesus, and that is not something you could attain by any one-time experience.

We are justified by the blood of Christ, but that does not mean we are sanctified. Sanctification is a life-long process that starts by recognizing how unworthy we are to be children of God, and yet finding deep joy and gratefulness that we ARE God’s children and we are loved beyond anything we could ever imagine. And through that love, we change and become more like Jesus.

Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:15, "I have written so that you will know how people ought to act in God's household." While there are right and wrong ways to act when attending church services, Paul is not talking about attendance manners but rather how you and I are to act as part of God's household - the body of Christ. 

Stuart Briscoe explains that as a young man he joined the Marines. "Their magnificent dress uniform attracted me, and I thought that I would get one of those uniforms immediately. But they didn't give me one for months. When I asked about it, they told me, 'You are a Marine. The moment you walked through the gates, you became a Marine. You are a Marine to stay.' I said 'Give me another uniform then.' They replied, 'You are not fit to wear one yet. We will have to do something about your back, about your chest, and about your shoulders. We'll have to teach you how to march, how to walk, how to look like a Marine, and how to behave like a Marine. Then you can wear the uniform.' I was a Marine the moment I was sworn into that position, but it took me a long, long time to wear the uniform. 

We are sanctified the minute that we are washed in the blood of Christ. But it will take us the rest of our life to learn how to behave in a sanctified way. We will always be justified because we are washed in the blood of Christ at the moment of our baptism. However, it is a lifetime of learning and refining that makes us sanctified. And it is only possible to be sanctified if we recognize where we have fallen short of the glory of God. When we recognize how our sins have kept us from God. This is your time to become closer to God; to see yourself through Jesus’ eyes and to allow the Holy Spirit to chase away the darkness and bring you further into the light of God’s love. May you be so brave as to face who you are while seeing who you will become with God’s grace.

Amen. 

What's So Special about the Transfiguration?

Exodus 24: 12-18
Matt 17: 1-9

Every year we read the story of the transfiguration and I can remember as a child, not really understanding what the fuss was all about. So a couple guys show up and Jesus glows for a moment. Big deal – Jesus is God – doesn’t that mean Jesus might have a little something extra that makes him shine in ways that us mere mortals cannot? And the couple of guys showing up – that happens all the time in the Bible, why is THIS moment so special?

I remember that what really interested me was Peter’s response to all of this happening. Why in the world did he want to make shelters for the three of them? I mean, if they walk down the mountain there is probably food and shelter there already, why go to all the work of preparing special shelters? To my young mind, that was a much more interesting thing than these men appearing and Jesus shining brightly.

When I thought about this, I realized the Transfiguration was never really explained properly to me which is why I always just read the scripture and nodded my head and wondered what we were really celebrating here – that God talked to Jesus or the fact that Peter can sometimes be a dunce? The Transfiguration has special significance to us because this is the moment when the glory of God shines forth so brightly in Jesus that even dunce-ish Peter sees that Jesus is more than a mere mortal. This is the reason they had all dropped their nets to follow a man they had never met. That special, other-worldly power that radiated out of Jesus at special moments and otherwise was a gentle beacon that pulled people toward him.

The Transfiguration is the moment when we realize Jesus is a human being, but Jesus is also God. Jesus has come to save us; Jesus is the manifestation of a God that loves us so much that God became part of God’s own creation. God became human to understand us better and to love us more fully and so we could understand God better and love God more fully. This is a moment of great significance! This is where the prophecy of Immanuel comes true – Immanuel: God with us and present in the form of Jesus Christ.

Most other religions have a remote God. A God that while it sometimes cares about what is going on in its peoples’ lives, rarely interacts in any way with them. But not Christianity! In Jesus Christ we were given the most miraculous gift – that of a God that cares so much that God became one with us! God watched our struggles; heard our fears and complaints; listened to our hours of sorrow after our losses, and could not stay separate from us any longer. God became human to help us and to understand us. God could not stay a remote God that merely watched our lives; God wanted to be part of them.

Which is why what happens to Jesus is so hard for us Christians to bear. This week we begin our Lenten season with Ash Wednesday. We know the ending to the story. We know the pain and sorrow that is about to be revealed to us. We know the cross is coming and we do not want to carry it. We do not want to listen to how he was tortured and humiliated, and in light of this moment of the Transfiguration as Jesus sees our fear and tells us gently, “Do not be afraid” as he puts his hand on our shoulder – we realize we are afraid. We’re deathly afraid of what is to come.

Our lives are full of unknowns. We go about each day waiting for the day when our own cross will be too heavy to carry any longer. We are afraid of the ending; not just our Lord’s ending, but our own. We want to have faith in God. We want to believe that everything will turn out alright in the end, but this world is so often in chaos that it becomes hard to remember and trust. We see the same thing in Peter, James, and John in this passage.

They go up the mountain with Jesus after hearing the news of Jerusalem’s destruction and Jesus’ imminent death. It is only human that in their minds they play out the next few days and weeks. They begin to look for alternatives, desperate for a second opinion, a way to stop time. They want to build a safe sanctuary away from the world, to be content in the moment, saving Jesus and themselves from the heartache to come. They cannot, and neither can we.

We cannot stop those hospital room moments when we’re told that we have an incurable disease. We cannot stop those times when we hear our child is in jail or in some other serious trouble. We cannot stop those times when we are fighting with those we love most and it feels like our world is crashing around our ears and our hearts are about to burst from the pain of it all. We know that these moments exist and it isn’t until we see something good in the midst of all the bad that we are able to understand what Jesus is here to teach us. Like when we are at our lowest moment and our grandchild comes running up with a flower clutched in his sweaty hand and a big grin on his chocolate covered face and he says, “I love you.” That moment of happiness in the midst of great sadness is when we begin to understand that where there is suffering, there is also God. These are the moments when we realize God is present in suffering and sacrifice, just as God is present in the promise and potential of our lives.

But too often we forget about God’s presence. We become distracted and we allow the world to tell us that God doesn’t really care. C.S. Lewis wrote in the Silver Chair about this. He has Aslan tell everyone, “Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly. I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearance. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.”

When we meet Jesus Christ in our lives, everything becomes clear for a brief moment. We do not wonder and we are not afraid in those moments of clarity. We know who we are – we feel contentment and peace. However, they do not last because the world takes its toll on our hearts and minds. This is what Aslan was warning his people about – that clarity is harder to come by and the peace and happiness is harder to feel in the middle of a chaotic world. He is warning them to not lose sight of God and we must not lose sight of who Jesus Christ is. The Transfiguration is so special because it is a moment of clarity right before the greatest trials and sorrows for the disciples. For us.

The transfiguration offers the disciples and us the paradox that while there is nothing we can do to save ourselves from suffering, there is also no way we can shield ourselves from the light of God that sheds hope in our darkest moments. This moment is the moment we hold on to when we feel lost in the darkness and feel hopeless and empty.

We cannot keep ourselves safe just as we cannot stop what is about to happen to Jesus. In our lives there will be joy and sorrow and both must be faced, but that does not mean we face these things alone. The Transfiguration is our reminder that God is indeed with us and that no matter where our life journey takes us, we have Jesus on our side and the Holy Spirit in our hearts and that God loves us so much that we have been given these great gifts despite doing nothing to earn them.

Yes, the Transfiguration is something to be celebrated. This is our moment of hope that will anchor us as Lent begins. We will remember the blessing of our God loves us so much that he became a part of us; that God suffered and died for us; this is our moment to remember no matter what crosses we bear – we do not have to carry them alone.

Amen. 

Love Thy Neighbor

Lev 19: 1-2, 9-18
Matthew 5: 38-48

The passage in Leviticus reminds us of the Ten Commandments as well as the passages we read the last two weeks in Matthew where Jesus explains in depth how we are to behave. We are told not to lie or steal, to not be overly zealous in reaping our harvest, but instead we are to leave some harvest for those that have nothing. We should not pervert justice and we should not curse or put stumbling blocks in front of the blind and deaf.

Some of these commands seem silly, why would anyone curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind? That seems like such a cruel and awful thing to do, have people really done such things in the past? Yes, they did. Back before science could explain so many illnesses and diseases, people that were different were treated as if they had demons or were cursed by God for doing something wrong.
Now that we have more knowledge about science and health, that is a less common treatment of the blind and deaf, but who have taken their place? Society always seems to have to have someone to bear the brunt of their dislike and scorn. In the United States it would be safe to say that immigrants and gay and lesbian people often bear the brunt of our scorn and dislike.

The more I read this passage in Leviticus, the more I thought about my friend John. Some of you know that last year I lost a dear friend, but I did not tell any of you John's story. The passage in Leviticus has made me feel like this is the time to tell you about the man who was John Wilson. Some people that call themselves Christians would tell me that John isn't worth missing. Others would tell me that John is in hell because of the choices he made. I'll let you decide.

John was born the oldest child of two. He was the apple of his father's eye, and John did everything he could to please his father. However, he had a secret that he knew his father wouldn't approve of and when his father found out, John was punished severely. As a teenager he realized he might have some feelings for boys rather than girls. When his father found out, he beat John until he was admitted into the hospital with a concussion and when he came out his mind blocked out his feelings for boys to protect him.

Even though John continued to be a model son, his father never again treated him the same and because of the concussion, John never knew why. He just continued to try. He went into the army and he became an army medic. John felt like if he was going to take lives, he was also going to do the best he could to save them as well.

He went and did two tours in Afghanistan and on the last tour, there was a lot of trouble. A young man got shot up pretty bad and John went in to save him. As he was running toward him, John took a bullet in the shoulder that made him fall so hard that his leg broke. He was laying there, feet away from the young man, a good friend, and watched as the Afghans tried to save that boy. John stared into his eyes as that young man died and as the others began to work on him, he told me all he could think, "If I could have got to him, maybe he'd still be alive. If I had just been a little faster, a little better.."

John survived his wounds and he came back to work on preparing other soldiers to go over. He was a captain and he had medals of honor and bravery. It was never enough for his father. Then John met someone, a man, who didn't shy away from talking about the war or even joking about it with him. This man made him feel alive, cherished, and loved when for so long he had felt empty and lost. John was confused and felt guilty and conflicted. It had been beaten into his mind and body that to have these thoughts and feelings were evil.

That's when I met John. As a Christian, as a pastor - what should I tell this man? What would you tell him? The words of Leviticus keep coming to my mind. "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life."

I told John that Jesus loved him. I told him that he was not bad or evil. I know what the Bible says about homosexuality and I understand why some people feel so strongly against it. However, in that moment, as I saw the pain in his face; the absolute agony of trying to understand his emotions and thoughts, I knew it was not my place to judge him but it was my job to remind him that Jesus loved him and had died for him. It was my Christian duty to be there for someone in pain, to help him by listening to his story and trying to understand where he was coming from.

John ended up marrying the man that made him feel alive. They had a beautiful, private ceremony and it lasted for a short, idyllic period. Unfortunately, both in England as well as America, we do not take sufficient care of our troops with PTSD and in a moment of a flashback, John panicked and took his life. He apologized over and over again in his suicide note for not being good enough; for not being strong enough to stay and his last words were that he couldn't handle that he had survived when he was so unworthy when that young man had died.

John never felt he was good enough to be loved. I truly feel like he is dead because of not only his father's actions but because we as Christians do not do a good enough job at loving people. We are too quick to judge them and Jesus never told us to do that. I understand this is an issue that has deep feelings for many people. I am not telling you to change your position; that is for you and God to figure out. What I want to point out is that we always have a choice in how we treat people.

We can love them or we can hurt them. Jesus tells us to love. It's not always easy to do, but it is worth it. John was one of the most giving, self-sacrificing people I've ever met. He never knew his own worth and that is what seems truly sinful to me. In some churches, in some people's minds the idea that John was both gay and committed suicide would be enough to put him in the deepest depths of hell. But what of the man that gave up his peace of mind, and parts of his body, and then later his life so that all of us are safe here today in this church? What about the man that came back broken and suffering and tormented, and decided to help these other young men so they wouldn't be caught unaware as he was? What about the man that decided he needed to help out at medical clinics for free because there were so many that could use some good medical care?

Today I am not advocating for gay rights or anything like that. I am advocating for love and acceptance for everyone no matter who they are because every person has a story. Every person is more than their sins. The next time we feel the need to pass judgment on someone for whatever we think is wrong with them, we need to remember they are more than what we see on the surface. Jesus died for them too and that makes them our brother and sister in Christ. That makes them valuable and beautiful and worth loving.

Christianity is about helping our brothers and sisters. Being there for them. Loving them when no one else will. Not judging their sins because we don't want them judging ours. It's about understanding that EVERYONE sins and there is no degree to sin, no variance. Murder is not worse than a deliberate lie. They're both sins. They're both wrong. WE put degrees on them because it helps us organize it in our minds, but God sees a sin as a sin because sin is what separates us from God.

Some would think that means we're all doomed, but the good news is that Jesus died for EVERY sin so that when we ask God to forgive us, when we finally understand the sins we have committed have hurt ourselves and others that we can obtain forgiveness for them. Whether it's a lie or a murder - once we understand the depth of pain we've caused and feel remorse - forgiveness is given. Therefore, there is no degree to sins because Jesus has made us all equal in the eyes of God.

Do not judge your brother or sister because you are just like them - whether you want to admit it or believe it or not - in God's eyes we are all God's children and LOVED.

Amen.

Choosing Life Over Death

Deut 30:15-20
Matthew 5: 21-37

In my hands today are two options. In my left hand I hold life and prosperity. In my right hand I hold death and destruction. If I choose one of you from the congregation to come up and pick a hand, knowing already because I have told you, what is in each hand - which would you choose? You'd choose the left hand, correct, the one with life and prosperity in it? I mean, who would deliberately choose death and destruction when they KNOW the other hand holds life and prosperity?!

And yet, the writer of Deuteronomy's last words to us are, "Now choose life so that you and your children may live..." as if it is not certain that we will choose life to begin with. Why might that be?

How often did you lie this week, big whoppers and little white lies? How many times did you curse in anger, become jealous and covetous of what others have, become so angry that you couldn't think rationally? How many times did you say or think something truly awful about another person or even yourself? How many times did you speed and barely brake at a stop sign? How many times did you get on facebook or reddit instead of working? How many times did you gossip or complain about another person?

How many times did you pray this week? How many times did you crack open your bible and read it? How many times did you talk to your family, your friends, and your co-workers about your faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done for your life? How many times did you stop to think about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit throughout your day? How many times did you treat someone with kindness and respect despite not really liking them? How many people did you help who cannot help you in return?

Every day we have a choice. We choose life or we choose death. Life is kindness, courtesy, gentleness, meekness, and respect. Death is anger, jealousy, hatred, bitterness, and envy. Life is about being a person that does not need to say a word to proclaim themselves a Christian because our actions tell everyone who we are. Death is the slow wasting away of our faithful connection to God through our deliberate ignorance of God and Jesus' command to love.

The writer of Deuteronomy is aware of how tempted we are to stray from God's goodness and straight into the path of destruction which will only lead to death.

Sometimes we do not realize we are choosing death instead of life. One more hour at work instead of going home to our family. One more drink after a long, hard day. One more small lie to keep a loved one from being hurt. One more cookie because it's been a stressful morning. One more hour on the internet instead of going to sleep. One more phone call to talk about all the juicy gossip we heard that day. One more nasty thought said out loud. One more flirting glance at the good looking person walking by despite being married.

When does one more become too many? There is no way to tell. If there was, we all could avoid sin! We all could avoid temptations and addictions if we knew what would be the tipping point. When does a couple drinks after work become alcoholism? When does a phone call to chat become a nightly nasty gossip session about all the people we dislike? When does an hour extra at work turn us into workaholics? When does that one more cookie become the way we cope with stress all the time? When does that flirting glance turn into an affair?


We do not know or no one would sin. The write of Deuteronomy is trying to warn us that we must be careful and deliberate in our actions. We must embrace God. We must embrace Jesus' way of behaving if we are to choose life. The writer tells us, "But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient...I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed."

Those are harsh words; they are scary words! Sometimes, the problem with us Christians is that we have become so used to hearing that we are forgiven for our sins that we think sinfulness has no consequence at all. That is not true! Sin destroys who we are inside, it destroys the connection we have to God and without that connection we are left without the anchor we need to keep us steady in times of pain and crisis. If we are not anchored in Christ then we are bound to screw up even more by making bad decisions!


The consequence of sin, and thinking our sins are easily forgiven and therefore unimportant, is that we no longer know the mind and heart of Jesus Christ. As I have mentioned before, we can call ourselves Christians all we want, but when our actions do not back up our words, then our words are meaningless. We can say we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, but if we do not act like Jesus has saved us - then do we truly believe what we say?

Loving Jesus and being loved by Jesus, understanding the depth of his sacrifice for us - it changes who we are deep inside. We are different and therefore we act differently. We are not of the world anymore. We are part of God. We are God's children, God's precious heirs to the kingdom of heaven. If we want to receive our inheritance, we cannot sin willfully and think that we are choosing life. Choosing life means embracing the Spirit's gifts of love and gentleness, grace and mercy, humbleness and faithfulness.

If our lives do not portray these gifts, then we have somehow gone down the path of "one more" and can no longer see how destructive our choices have become. Who you are is God's child. That identity will always belong to you - if you choose life in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Christians in Community

Psalm 112 : 1-10
1 Cor 2: 1-16

If those who fear the Lord and keep the commandments are happy, and we are not happy, then do we truly fear the Lord and keep the commandments? This is a question that we must repeatedly ask ourselves because we are never good all the time. It is a lie to say that we are always good people and that we always love our spouses with our whole hearts and that we are always kind and generous in our thoughts, time, and attention to those around us.

Because, let us be frank, it is not realistic for a human being to always be good. That is what we have learned over the years, this is the wisdom that comes with age and mistakes. We are at heart good people that strive to make the world better, but we cannot always be kind and caring. We are eventually going to sin. We are eventually going to say something mean or do something unkind. We are eventually going to fall short of the glory of God.

That is where Jesus comes in. During Advent Bible study this year we went over the story of Adam and Eve, and the question I put to the class is, "If Adam and Eve had not eaten of the Forbidden Fruit and had been able to stay in the Garden of Eden, would we still have needed Jesus Christ?" We all sat there looking at each other, thinking it over. I'll ask the question to all of you. Do you think we always needed Jesus, from the beginning of our creation, or could we have saved ourselves?

In today's society, we like to think of ourselves as self-sufficient. We love our independence! We're not real big on carpooling because that means depending on someone else or having to leave when they do. When we do projects with people, we're always leery of depending on everyone to do their part so sometimes we micro-manage and nitpick, thinking to our self that if we could just do it ourselves it would have been easier!

We say that a lot, don't we? If we could just do it ourselves, our life would be so much easier. But, that's a lie.

It's a lie that is exposed by the questioned I posed to you a moment ago. We always needed Jesus. From the beginning of time, God knew that humanity was not perfect. God knew that we would be tempted to do things that were not right and God knew that eventually Jesus would be the only way to save us from ourselves. There was no way we could save ourselves without God's help.

But society tells us that it is important for us to do things on our own and that we should be self-sufficient. We're told that sharing what we have is wrong and we're told that if we have to lean on anyone then we're failing ourselves and society. However, Jesus makes a mockery of this kind of independent thinking. Jesus didn't do his ministry all on his own. He deliberately looked around and found twelve men that would be willing to help him. He took on women who helped to feed and shelter them during his three years of ministry, and who also learned a lot by his side and began to teach others. Jesus knew that being independent isn't as important as we try to proclaim it to be.

Being a Christian means more than being baptized. It is about more than taking communion once a month or year. It is more than wearing a cross or knowing a few bible verses. Being a Christian is being part of a community. It is about caring and sharing and loving one another and the only way we can live out the scriptures, the only way we can be like Jesus is to be in a community together. That means we cannot always do this alone.

There are so many people that will try to tell us that they don't need to come to church because they can find God anywhere. Well yes, they can. But you cannot be a disciple of Jesus Christ by walking through the woods alone. You cannot be a disciple by fishing or hiking or reading the bible every night alone. Being a disciple means going to others and sharing what you have learned. It means putting up with people you don't like and dont understand, and somehow communicating that although there are differences, there is also respect.

The Psalm today reminds us that we are to praise the Lord and we are to follow God's commands. Jesus commanded us to love God and to love one another and to spread that love throughout the world. That is the commandment we are called to follow. And so it brings us back to the very first question I gave to all of us, "If those who fear the Lord and keep the commandments are happy, and we are not happy, then do we truly fear the Lord and keep the commandments?" What are we doing wrong?
Are we working together? Are we sharing our problems with each other? Are we showing mutual respect for each other despite our differences? Are we being grownups about our problems in the church or are we spreading gossip and causing dissension? Are we always complaining about the church without doing anything to make it different and to make growth and change possible?

Jesus tells us over and over again that we are not in this alone. He is with us. He has given the Holy Spirit to us as a guide and a voice in our ears. We are called to work together, in community with love and respect, to make what we have here a blessing to our town, our state, our country and the world. If we are unhappy, then we are not following God's commandments. If we find ourselves angry and vengeful at each other and the church, the Psalm tells us today that, "The wicked are angry, they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing."

We can be mad at each other for the problems we have and the challenges we face, or we can work together to make this church a prosperous and loving atmosphere for all who step through the doors. It is up to us. Jesus makes it clear that if we try to do this as individuals that we will not succeed. We need each other. We're all here with different gifts and ideas. We are to use these gifts for the betterment of the church and our community, not to hide them or squander them on petty things.

Those who fear the Lord are gracious, merciful, and righteous. We are told that the righteous have hearts that are steady and unafraid. Righteous people will not be moved but will stand firm and demand justice and equality and goodness for everyone. This sounds like a Christian disciple to me. This sounds like exactly what Jesus was teaching his disciples to be and therefore, this is what we must be. We cannot be generous and gracious and merciful without others. We need community. We need to come to church. We need to invite others to church.

This week, take the time to share your love of Jesus Christ with someone else. Invite them to come to church. Tell them about the fellowship luncheon we had and tell them about the spaghetti dinner next week. Tell them about how we are planning on going to help the people at the Ronald McDonald house and invite them along! Share your faith. Share your love for God with someone who might desperately need to hear about Jesus' unconditional love.

The only way to be a Christian is through the things we do as well as what we believe. We need to live out the scriptures and we can only do that together. Then, true happiness will be ours because we will be following God's commands without fear or reservation.

Amen.

Blessed Are The Meek

Micah 6
Matthew 5

As you study the character traits described in the Beatitudes, you can't help but realize one thing; these qualities are by no means natural to the human spirit. They are very foreign. Poverty of spirit, true mourning over personal sins against God and meekness does not come to us naturally.

The greatest preacher of all time, Jesus Christ, proclaimed "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." The Greek word for "meek" means to be gentle; to be strong, very strong, yet be humble and tender. It is a person with all the emotions and ability to take and conquer, but he or she is able control themself in all ways. It is a state of being disciplined -- a person who is disciplined because they are God-controlled.

But many people tend to think of a meek person as being inherently weak. That is not true. Jesus Christ was a meek man, but he was not weak. His strength came from his trust in His Father in heaven and our strength also comes from God. Jesus was bold in his actions. He stood up for what he believed in. He stated the truth simply and powerfully and walked through angry mobs of people quite often. He deliberately allowed himself to be accused, beaten, and killed on the strength of his faith in God. These are not the actions of a weak man.

W. E. Vine writes: "Meekness is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercise of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good and therefore without disputing and resisting."

True meekness is a submissive and trusting attitude toward God. It is an attitude which considers all things that come our way as being for God's good purpose in our life. Meekness looks beyond circumstances, no matter how upsetting and hurtful, and humbly bows the knee to the Sovereign God.
Jesus is the perfect picture of someone who was filled with the Holy Spirit, and lived a life of true meekness. He had all the power needed to prevent His arrest and crucifixion, yet He surrendered to God's will. He fully understood the sovereignty of God and the results of the free will of humanity. If meakness truly meant weakness, then Jesus as a meek person would have not had the strength to endure the things he dealt with on a daily basis.

People were constantly following him, constantly badgering him, constantly belittling him and his disciples. Jesus rarely had a moment to rest and relax in his three years of ministry. He was bombarded day in and day out with needy people and cocky, unlearned disciples, and his own desires. We sometimes forget that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine which means he had the same desires and temptations as the rest of us.

Do you think he didn't want to yell at people that were mean to him? Do you think he didn't want to make fun of the person that asked him their 100th ignorant question? Do you think he never wanted to play hooky from work or that he never wanted to lie to make his life a little easier? He did. We know that because Jesus is just like us. He was human in all ways and therefore he suffered with the very same temptations we suffer with. Jesus relied on the strength of his Father in heaven to get him through each and every moment of temptation.

There is only one moment in the bible where Jesus allows his anger to overrule him and that is when he overturns the tables in the Synagogue. He was outraged on God's behalf that these people would take something pure and holy, and pervert it so evilly. Once again, Jesus was not being weak, but in his humble faith in God, he allowed his righteous anger to remove the offensive people from God's house.

Humanity has the strength to ignore God's will or to take God's gifts, talents, and abilities and use them for our sake, or we may choose to use God's good blessings to glorify the Lord. Without meekness, we will squander what is given to us by God to gain earthly wealth, self-satisfaction and fame (little or great). That is what happened to the moneychangers in the temple when Jesus comes in and becomes angry. They had taken the blessings God had given to them and perverted them for their own well-being rather than to glorify God.

What we need to remember is that being meek means finding a strength that does not rely on our self, but on God's goodness and grace. It is having faith that God loves us so much that everything that happens to us both good and bad, are for a greater purpose than we can ever fully comprehend. When Abraham and Sarah began on their faithful journey with merely a promise from God that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars, they had no idea what their actions would bring about.

Sarah had so many doubts and so much pain as she got older and continued to be barren! Abraham allowed Sarah's doubts to turn him from God's path and he had a child with his servant. They suffered and they had doubts and they had a lot of torment as they followed God's path for them. But because they stayed true to God through it all, because they continued to have faith, Isaac was born and from Isaac came Jacob and from Jacob came the 12 tribes of Israel and Jacob's son Joseph saved the Hebrews by bringing them to Egypt during the famine and eventually Moses was born who led them from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land of Israel. Then came King David and from David's line was born Joseph, and Mary his wife gave birth to a son named Jesus Christ.

All because an old couple dared to believe an outrageous promise from the voice of God. What is God creating from your life that you could never imagine at this point, but years in the future will bear great fruit? Stay faithful, humble, and meek. Trust in the Lord. Believe God's promises. We are not weak for having faith. We are strong and powerful, but gentle and caring because our convictions bring us closer to God and therefore we become more like Jesus Christ.

The Beatitude of meekness epitomizes the results of kneeling in total submission to God's will. It comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit and from allowing God to produce Christ-like character in us. Meekness says, "not my will, but Yours be done."

The Bible says, "...the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace." Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." The meek will rule and reign with Christ upon this earth someday.

True meekness is not a natural character trait. It can only be obtained by knowing Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. We need to invite Christ into our life today to discover the joyful surrender of true meekness.

Finally, the last thing I will leave you with is something I found on the internet titled the "Devil's Beatitudes" which is what happens to us when we forget to trust in God's promises and we go our own way, perverting our blessings by ignoring Jesus' voice for our own gain.

THE DEVIL'S BEATITUDES
1. Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend even an hour once a week with their fellow Christians – they are my best workers.
2. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked -- I can use them.
3. Blessed are the touchy who stop going to church –for they are my missionaries.
4. Blessed are the trouble makers – for they shall be called my children.
5. Blessed are the complainers –for their complaints are music to my ears.
6. Blessed are those who keep a list of the preachers mistakes -- for they get nothing out of his sermons.
7. Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church – for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.
8. Blessed are those who gossip -- for they shall cause strife and divisions that please me.
9. Blessed are those who are easily offended -- for they will soon get angry and quit.
10. Blessed are those who do not give an offering to carry on God’s work — for they are my helpers.
11.  Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister — for he shall be with me forever!
12.  Blessed are you who, when you read this think it is about other people and not yourself — I’ve got you too!

Amen.