Genesis 12: 1-4
John 3: 1-17
When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about how to enter the kingdom of heaven, Nicodemus did not understand. Even though he had studied the Torah and prophets in the Old Testament for most of his life, he was just as confused as you and I sometimes are when reading the scriptures. Jesus had thrown Nicodemus a curve ball and he was not prepared for it. Nicodemus could not believe that Jesus was saying he had to be born again. He asks, “How can I re enter my mother’s womb at my old age?”
It isn’t a dumb question. Nicodemus expected a different answer about how to get to heaven from Jesus. Perhaps he expected him to say that if you follow the Torah you will get to heaven. If you treat your wife and children well, you will get to heaven. Perhaps he expected him to say that if you treat your friends with kindness and if you are a pillar of the community you will get into the kingdom of heaven. These are, after all, things that Nicodemus has done his whole life as a Pharisee. These are things that we do as Christians with the hope of pleasing God and getting into heaven.
So Nicodemus’ question is one that we may ourselves have asked Jesus because it was a serious question and he really wanted to know the answer. Jesus went on to explain that one must be born of both the water and the Spirit. The flesh gives birth to flesh and the Spirit gives birth to spirit. If I was Nicodemus at this point, I’d really be scratching my head trying to figure out what it is that Jesus could mean. Which is probably why he asks the question, “How can this be?”
It doesn’t give us a lot of hope does it? Here is someone who is filled with knowledge about God and the Old Testament and he has no idea what Jesus is talking about. So how are we to figure this out? The good news is that Jesus doesn’t care if you have a master’s degree, a PHD or even a high school diploma. This Pharisee had the equivalent to those things and he couldn’t figure it out. What we need to have is knowledge of the Spirit, or as my friend Sarah calls it, heart knowledge.
Heart knowledge is a knowledge that anyone can have no matter their age or education level. A five year old sometimes has more wisdom than a 30 year old. A 30 year old may have more wisdom than a 70 year old. A person that never goes to church may know more about God than a person that sits in the pews every Sunday. Heart knowledge is a gift of the Holy Spirit that we either welcome or deny. If we welcome it, the Lord’s words slowly become clear as we study them. If we seek the Lord, we find Him. However, if we deny the Holy Spirit, our hearts are hardened to these words and we are left like the Pharisee – wondering, “How can this be?”
Nicodemus thought he knew what Jesus would say when he asked his question, because Nicodemus wanted an easy answer from Jesus. But we can’t look down on him, because we want the same thing from Jesus. We want easy answers. We want easy ways to follow and obey and to get into heaven. So when Jesus tells us that it has nothing to do with our education or work or all the things we do to better ourselves, we are easily frustrated. These are not easy things to hear.
This is God telling us that if we want to get into the Kingdom of Heaven we must be born again, we must be willing to let go of what we instinctively grab onto. If we are born again, we then come to Jesus as a child, a newborn. A young child is innocent, without guile or prejudice. We should be open and loving and accepting and that is all about heart knowledge. Even an older person can experience the love of Christ; they can be filled with the Spirit and changed into one who has experienced a rebirth in Christ.
Too often we write off people as they get older. “She hasn’t come to Christ yet, she never will!” “He won’t change. He’s too old to change!” Not true. The Spirit gives birth to new ways of thinking and new ways of looking at things. It can happen at any time of our lives and it does not matter how educated or uneducated a person is – God does not see these things as boundaries as we do. Abram was over 70 years old and he became the father of Israel. He left his home, family and wealth to journey to places unknown. Because he was open to the Spirit of God.
Jesus tells us that we must be open to the Spirit moving within us. And sometimes the Spirit tells us things we do not want to hear. Things like, give all your money to the poor. Or go to Japan where all that radiation is and help those people recover from this tragedy, or go to Tripoli and help give aid to those who have been hurt. Or perhaps you hear God telling you to step into a family problem and fix it – even though it will take a lot of time, effort and maybe even cost you a family relationship or two. Or maybe God is telling you that it is time to quit your job and do something much riskier. Or maybe the Lord is saying that you cannot hold these grudges anymore, the ones that are like dark stains upon your soul.
To enter the Kingdom of Heaven we must be born again into the Spirit. Is Jesus saying let the past be past, let the future be a mystery, but grab and hold onto the present as one just born does? All a child knows is today, all a child has is heart knowledge. All a child cares about is the here and now. They are open to new ideas, to new people and they do not have the prejudice and the hatred we harbor as adults. Does being born again mean to wipe the slate clean? Perhaps this is Jesus’ way of saying we must give in to the Spirit’s guidance and allow ourselves to change.
After the prayers of confession I often tell you that the good news is that you are a new creation in Christ. A new creation is an unwritten book waiting to be filled. A new creation in Christ is filled with love and acceptance. Sin no longer means what it did before. To be born again means to allow yourself to be forgiven for past mistakes and to free yourself with God’s help to embrace a future not restricted by prejudice. We are open to God’s voice, no matter what he is telling us – whether it is something we want to hear or even if it is totally unexpected and maybe even unwelcome. Allow the Spirit to free you; allow God to renew you so that you are a new creation in Christ. Embrace today. Embrace a life filled with the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sin Boldly
Genesis 2: 15-17, 3:1-7
Matthew 4: 1-11
In the scriptures today we have Adam and Eve being tempted by the snake and then there is Jesus being tempted by Satan – two people that give into temptation and another that does not. These two stories are so immensely familiar that all week long I was intimidated by them. What could I tell all of you about these scriptures that you do not already know or have not been told before?
But then I began to think of Adam and Eve and Jesus. I’ve decided to tell you their stories in my own way. There’s Eve who’s taking a stroll through the Garden before lunch time, and sees a snake that begins to talk with her. It’s a pleasant conversation and she’s intrigued by this little snake that seems to know more about the trees in the middle of the garden than she does. She calls her husband over so that he can hear what the snake has to say as well. After all, Eve wasn’t the one God had told the instructions too, it was Adam. Maybe he would be able to answer the questions better than she. Maybe he would know the truth if this little snake was lying to Eve or if he was telling the truth.
So Adam walks over and the conversation resumes. “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” Eve, thinking she knows the answer to this one replies, “We may eat the fruit of the trees except for the one in the middle of the garden. We can’t even touch it without dying.” Sure, she embellished the story a little, thought Adam, but she’s basically right.
And then the snake replies, “You will not die! God knows that if you eat that fruit you will be like God, knowing what is good and what is evil.” Adam stays silent because he already knew that the tree was named the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil because God had told him, so it made sense that if you ate it, you’d have that knowledge. But now, now this serpent is saying that he wouldn’t die if he ate it? So maybe, Adam thought, Maybe I WANT to know about good and evil if I’m not going to die from it. Surely, God wouldn’t be mad because I took one little bite of a piece of fruit!
Then Eve walked over to the middle of the garden and for once she took a good, long look at that forbidden tree. Before she had been afraid to even go near it because she thought to even touch it meant death. But now, she noticed how juicy and red and shiny those fruit looked; how green the leaves were and how strong the branches. So she reached up, hesitantly at first, to touch just a bit of the bark. Cringing, she waited to die but nothing happened. Adam and the snake watched with interest. Then, gathering her courage she grabbed an apple from the tree and pulled it off.
Sniffing it she looked at Adam, who looked back at her. Shrugging, Eve took a big bite. Eyes widening she noticed how juicy it was, how sweet it tasted and she handed the apple to Adam to try. Noticing Eve was not dying from this bite; he too shrugged and took a big bite. Neither of them noticed the snake slinking back into the bushes, laughing the whole time. What they did notice was that they did not have any clothes on! Embarrassed, they rushed around looking for things to make clothing with and forgot all about having disobeyed God.
Jesus is the other example of a person tempted by a wily creature. Jesus goes into the desert for forty days and forty nights without food or water or shelter. He’s sunburned, his lips are cracked, and his eyes are bloodshot. No animals will come near him because he smells so bad. He’s having visions of strange things and all he knows is that he wants to go home, he wants food, he wants water, but most of all he wants to do what is right; what His Father has sent him here to do. But now that he’s weakened he’s having doubts. He’s lived the last 30 years with these people and they are some hard eggs to crack. A stubborn lot of people who are determined to see things only one way and it’s not Jesus’ way.
Then Satan appears. He’s dressed in the nicest linen clothing and his sandals are without dust or dirt. His hair is brushed, his beard is trimmed. He smells wonderful and he has such an air of confidence and assurance about him that it takes Jesus aback. At this moment Jesus doesn’t feel like the Messiah. He doesn’t feel like a human being because every part of his body aches and smells and is burned. He doesn’t feel like God’s Son except in name because right now, he’s not sure he can do what he came here to do. And now this man, the one called Satan is here and he looks and acts like everything Jesus is not at the moment.
Jesus’ doubts intensify. What am I doing here he thinks. Why did I think I could change this world that is so stuck in its ways? Then Satan begins to speak while Jesus is having these awful thoughts. “If you’re REALLY the Son of God turn these stones into bread. You’re hungry, you need to eat or you will die. Then you won’t be able to do anything at all.”
I could do that, Jesus thinks. It would take only a little bit of the power inside of me. Power. I have power, he remembers. I’m not just a human. I’m not just the Son of God in name. God is here with me. I’m not alone. He replies to Satan, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Satan looks satisfied instead of disappointed. That one was too easy. He’s just setting him up for the bigger push. Jesus will crumble when I get to what he really wants. What he’s desperate for. Coming closer, Satan takes Jesus to Jerusalem to the top of the highest part of the temple. Jesus is able to look down at all of the Jews in the courtyard coming to pray or leaving after praying. He can see the families milling together. He can hear the children’s laughter, the mother scolding her young child for running away. He can watch the father lift his little girl on top of his shoulders. These are his people. These are the ones he has come here for.
Watching Jesus’ face, Satan says softly, “I know you think you’re the Son of God, but you have to admit you don’t look much like the Messiah who is the king of these people. If these people saw you right now they would turn and point and laugh at you, not bow down! But if you throw yourself from this perch, if you let the angels sweep you up, they will see and they will know who you really are. They’ll believe in you.”
Jesus sees all of his people through a cloud of heavy exhaustion. He just wants to help them, to save them from themselves. They’re not evil people, not really. They’re just misguided. He’s tired, he’s hungry. His balance is precarious and he slips just a little as he continues to look down. It’d be so easy, he thinks. So easy to finish what my Father wants if I just show them who I am. The angels will.. wait. My Father. His plan. My plan. No. Jesus looks over at Satan, and says, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’. I will not put my Father to the test.”
Now, Satan looks a little worried, just for a moment. Jesus isn’t hesitating for very long with these answers. Every time he seems even a little tempted, something stops him. What is stopping him? Satan wondered. Why doesn’t he give in like everyone else has since Adam and Eve? What does he think about that brings him this strength to say no and to say no with conviction?
So Satan took him this time to a very high mountain and flashed pictures of all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus. He showed him Rome with all its beautiful architecture and thousands of people who worshiped a hundred different gods except for Jesus’ Father. He showed him Greece with the pretty waters and greenery and the many people who worshipped gods and goddesses. He showed him Egypt with its desert sands and beautiful pyramids and the people who worshiped other gods that were not The God.
“We can change all of that you know. I will give you all the kingdoms of the world, I will let them all know the truth about who you are and they will no longer worship anyone but you and your Father. I can do it. You know that I can. All you have to do is bow down and worship me. Such a small thing to get what you really want. You won’t have to die. You won’t have to suffer anymore. Why do this to yourself? Why go hungry and thirsty and dirty for people who don’t care or know who you are? Why allow them to kill you when I can give them to you now without death. It will be glorious. Just bow to me.”
He’s right, thought Jesus. He could give this to me. What I’ve wanted for so long. What I came here to do – to let the people know who God is and that if they worship my Father they will know love and happiness without equal or end. I could give these people to my Father, but I’d have to betray him to do it. How could I dare to worship someone who isn’t God and then turn and think my relationship with God will not be broken? Does Satan think I’m stupid? Why would I fall for this?! And then Jesus yelled at him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
Amen.
Matthew 4: 1-11
In the scriptures today we have Adam and Eve being tempted by the snake and then there is Jesus being tempted by Satan – two people that give into temptation and another that does not. These two stories are so immensely familiar that all week long I was intimidated by them. What could I tell all of you about these scriptures that you do not already know or have not been told before?
But then I began to think of Adam and Eve and Jesus. I’ve decided to tell you their stories in my own way. There’s Eve who’s taking a stroll through the Garden before lunch time, and sees a snake that begins to talk with her. It’s a pleasant conversation and she’s intrigued by this little snake that seems to know more about the trees in the middle of the garden than she does. She calls her husband over so that he can hear what the snake has to say as well. After all, Eve wasn’t the one God had told the instructions too, it was Adam. Maybe he would be able to answer the questions better than she. Maybe he would know the truth if this little snake was lying to Eve or if he was telling the truth.
So Adam walks over and the conversation resumes. “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” Eve, thinking she knows the answer to this one replies, “We may eat the fruit of the trees except for the one in the middle of the garden. We can’t even touch it without dying.” Sure, she embellished the story a little, thought Adam, but she’s basically right.
And then the snake replies, “You will not die! God knows that if you eat that fruit you will be like God, knowing what is good and what is evil.” Adam stays silent because he already knew that the tree was named the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil because God had told him, so it made sense that if you ate it, you’d have that knowledge. But now, now this serpent is saying that he wouldn’t die if he ate it? So maybe, Adam thought, Maybe I WANT to know about good and evil if I’m not going to die from it. Surely, God wouldn’t be mad because I took one little bite of a piece of fruit!
Then Eve walked over to the middle of the garden and for once she took a good, long look at that forbidden tree. Before she had been afraid to even go near it because she thought to even touch it meant death. But now, she noticed how juicy and red and shiny those fruit looked; how green the leaves were and how strong the branches. So she reached up, hesitantly at first, to touch just a bit of the bark. Cringing, she waited to die but nothing happened. Adam and the snake watched with interest. Then, gathering her courage she grabbed an apple from the tree and pulled it off.
Sniffing it she looked at Adam, who looked back at her. Shrugging, Eve took a big bite. Eyes widening she noticed how juicy it was, how sweet it tasted and she handed the apple to Adam to try. Noticing Eve was not dying from this bite; he too shrugged and took a big bite. Neither of them noticed the snake slinking back into the bushes, laughing the whole time. What they did notice was that they did not have any clothes on! Embarrassed, they rushed around looking for things to make clothing with and forgot all about having disobeyed God.
Jesus is the other example of a person tempted by a wily creature. Jesus goes into the desert for forty days and forty nights without food or water or shelter. He’s sunburned, his lips are cracked, and his eyes are bloodshot. No animals will come near him because he smells so bad. He’s having visions of strange things and all he knows is that he wants to go home, he wants food, he wants water, but most of all he wants to do what is right; what His Father has sent him here to do. But now that he’s weakened he’s having doubts. He’s lived the last 30 years with these people and they are some hard eggs to crack. A stubborn lot of people who are determined to see things only one way and it’s not Jesus’ way.
Then Satan appears. He’s dressed in the nicest linen clothing and his sandals are without dust or dirt. His hair is brushed, his beard is trimmed. He smells wonderful and he has such an air of confidence and assurance about him that it takes Jesus aback. At this moment Jesus doesn’t feel like the Messiah. He doesn’t feel like a human being because every part of his body aches and smells and is burned. He doesn’t feel like God’s Son except in name because right now, he’s not sure he can do what he came here to do. And now this man, the one called Satan is here and he looks and acts like everything Jesus is not at the moment.
Jesus’ doubts intensify. What am I doing here he thinks. Why did I think I could change this world that is so stuck in its ways? Then Satan begins to speak while Jesus is having these awful thoughts. “If you’re REALLY the Son of God turn these stones into bread. You’re hungry, you need to eat or you will die. Then you won’t be able to do anything at all.”
I could do that, Jesus thinks. It would take only a little bit of the power inside of me. Power. I have power, he remembers. I’m not just a human. I’m not just the Son of God in name. God is here with me. I’m not alone. He replies to Satan, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Satan looks satisfied instead of disappointed. That one was too easy. He’s just setting him up for the bigger push. Jesus will crumble when I get to what he really wants. What he’s desperate for. Coming closer, Satan takes Jesus to Jerusalem to the top of the highest part of the temple. Jesus is able to look down at all of the Jews in the courtyard coming to pray or leaving after praying. He can see the families milling together. He can hear the children’s laughter, the mother scolding her young child for running away. He can watch the father lift his little girl on top of his shoulders. These are his people. These are the ones he has come here for.
Watching Jesus’ face, Satan says softly, “I know you think you’re the Son of God, but you have to admit you don’t look much like the Messiah who is the king of these people. If these people saw you right now they would turn and point and laugh at you, not bow down! But if you throw yourself from this perch, if you let the angels sweep you up, they will see and they will know who you really are. They’ll believe in you.”
Jesus sees all of his people through a cloud of heavy exhaustion. He just wants to help them, to save them from themselves. They’re not evil people, not really. They’re just misguided. He’s tired, he’s hungry. His balance is precarious and he slips just a little as he continues to look down. It’d be so easy, he thinks. So easy to finish what my Father wants if I just show them who I am. The angels will.. wait. My Father. His plan. My plan. No. Jesus looks over at Satan, and says, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’. I will not put my Father to the test.”
Now, Satan looks a little worried, just for a moment. Jesus isn’t hesitating for very long with these answers. Every time he seems even a little tempted, something stops him. What is stopping him? Satan wondered. Why doesn’t he give in like everyone else has since Adam and Eve? What does he think about that brings him this strength to say no and to say no with conviction?
So Satan took him this time to a very high mountain and flashed pictures of all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus. He showed him Rome with all its beautiful architecture and thousands of people who worshiped a hundred different gods except for Jesus’ Father. He showed him Greece with the pretty waters and greenery and the many people who worshipped gods and goddesses. He showed him Egypt with its desert sands and beautiful pyramids and the people who worshiped other gods that were not The God.
“We can change all of that you know. I will give you all the kingdoms of the world, I will let them all know the truth about who you are and they will no longer worship anyone but you and your Father. I can do it. You know that I can. All you have to do is bow down and worship me. Such a small thing to get what you really want. You won’t have to die. You won’t have to suffer anymore. Why do this to yourself? Why go hungry and thirsty and dirty for people who don’t care or know who you are? Why allow them to kill you when I can give them to you now without death. It will be glorious. Just bow to me.”
He’s right, thought Jesus. He could give this to me. What I’ve wanted for so long. What I came here to do – to let the people know who God is and that if they worship my Father they will know love and happiness without equal or end. I could give these people to my Father, but I’d have to betray him to do it. How could I dare to worship someone who isn’t God and then turn and think my relationship with God will not be broken? Does Satan think I’m stupid? Why would I fall for this?! And then Jesus yelled at him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
Amen.
Treasure (Ash Wednesday)
Isaiah 58:1-12
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Are we God’s people? Have we committed ourselves to being the ones who follow God despite it not being cool and sometimes we have to sacrifice what we want for what He wants? Isn’t that what we are here for today? We remember that we are created from dust and to dust we shall return. We remember that if God had not breathed the breath of life into us we would be nothing at all.
In Isaiah, God is pretty disappointed with his people over their fasting rituals, but more than that it is their lack of love and appreciation that has God shaking her head and saying, “If only you would listen to my commands I would give you everything”. But the people do not do that. Instead, they pretend to follow the fasting rituals, pretend they are interested in God’s ways, but then they follow a different path entirely. They choose to go their own way rather than God’s way. God is disappointed in their hypocrisy.
It is like when the United States government begins to finally consider cutting spending and one of the ideas is to change the dollar bill to a coin because it could save us $5.5 billion dollars, Americans who were yelling about overspending all of a sudden gripe about pockets jingling and how they prefer the dollar bill to a coin. We’re hypocrites. Instead of embracing an idea that would save us money, we cling to the old dollar bill that is no longer economically healthy for us to keep.
It is the same thing when Christians talk about loving their neighbors and welcoming everyone who comes through the church door, but when someone very different from the congregation walks in, the people become uneasy and cold toward the person. They forget that God tells us to love everyone. Not everyone who is easy to love or everyone who is just like us. We are to care for every single person – especially those people who are hardest to care for.
A young widow with her three children wanted to attend a Christmas Eve service and so she dressed up her two sons and daughter and headed to the nearest church. When she went to walk inside, the pastor stopped her and began to speak to her. At first, she thought he was merely being friendly until he pointedly looked around and asked, “And where is your husband this evening, Ma’am?” When she said it was just her and her children attending the service the pastor told her, “We don’t welcome your kind here”. She hadn’t mentioned she was a widow because it was still so fresh of a wound that she knew she would have cried and tonight was about enjoying Christ’s birth. Not that it mattered to this man who felt he had the right to judge her and turn her and her young children away.
These passages we read today deal mostly with fasting practices, but behind the fasting is the point that we allow ourselves to become hypocrites in our religious practices. In Matthew, it warns us not to allow people to see us giving to the poor because it is no one’s business but God’s and your own. When you call attention to things like that, you do not give your money to help the poor or to be a good steward, you are doing it to bring yourself glory.
The same is true with fasting. If you show yourself as worn out and hungry, you will generate sympathy and admiration from those around you and Jesus says that will be your only reward. Instead, he says that we should put on our best clothes and act happy when we fast because then no one but God will know our sacrifice and we will be rewarded.
We fast not to bring attention to what good Christians we are, but because we are showing God our faithfulness. We are trying to relate to what Jesus has gone through. We are relating to our fellow human beings who go hungry at night, who do not have a roof over their heads and are persecuted for their beliefs. We fast not to show people what a great person we are but to remind ourselves that we are nothing but the dust of the earth that God has given life too. It is not about us, and it never has been.
We need to get over ourselves. We are to remember that the only treasure we require is what we have been given through our Lord Jesus Christ. Treasure is not gold or a house or a car. It is not a big diamond ring or a fancy office space. The real treasure in life is a family that cares about you, friends who would give you the shirt off their back if they knew you needed it. Treasure is knowing that just as Isaiah said, “You will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” It is knowing that God is there for you. It is knowing that Jesus Christ became a man who lived, died and was resurrected so that you might have eternal life.
Treasure is knowing that Jesus became sin so that we may be forgiven for our sins. Ash Wednesday is about remembering we are nothing without God. We are nothing without Jesus Christ who sacrificed himself for us. We are nothing without the Holy Spirit who guides us and molds us into new creations. We are nothing without the God who loves and cares for us, the God who has breathed life into us and has forgiven us more times than we can count because we mean the world to our Creator. We are precious in Her Sight.
During this Lenten season, take the time to fast and pray. Take the time to remember how little you would have if God was not with you. Give thanks that God remains faithful no matter how often we turn away and ignore his commands. Give thanks for Jesus Christ and for the blessing of a God that cares enough to bring suffering upon herself. Thanks be to God the Father, to Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit! Amen.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Are we God’s people? Have we committed ourselves to being the ones who follow God despite it not being cool and sometimes we have to sacrifice what we want for what He wants? Isn’t that what we are here for today? We remember that we are created from dust and to dust we shall return. We remember that if God had not breathed the breath of life into us we would be nothing at all.
In Isaiah, God is pretty disappointed with his people over their fasting rituals, but more than that it is their lack of love and appreciation that has God shaking her head and saying, “If only you would listen to my commands I would give you everything”. But the people do not do that. Instead, they pretend to follow the fasting rituals, pretend they are interested in God’s ways, but then they follow a different path entirely. They choose to go their own way rather than God’s way. God is disappointed in their hypocrisy.
It is like when the United States government begins to finally consider cutting spending and one of the ideas is to change the dollar bill to a coin because it could save us $5.5 billion dollars, Americans who were yelling about overspending all of a sudden gripe about pockets jingling and how they prefer the dollar bill to a coin. We’re hypocrites. Instead of embracing an idea that would save us money, we cling to the old dollar bill that is no longer economically healthy for us to keep.
It is the same thing when Christians talk about loving their neighbors and welcoming everyone who comes through the church door, but when someone very different from the congregation walks in, the people become uneasy and cold toward the person. They forget that God tells us to love everyone. Not everyone who is easy to love or everyone who is just like us. We are to care for every single person – especially those people who are hardest to care for.
A young widow with her three children wanted to attend a Christmas Eve service and so she dressed up her two sons and daughter and headed to the nearest church. When she went to walk inside, the pastor stopped her and began to speak to her. At first, she thought he was merely being friendly until he pointedly looked around and asked, “And where is your husband this evening, Ma’am?” When she said it was just her and her children attending the service the pastor told her, “We don’t welcome your kind here”. She hadn’t mentioned she was a widow because it was still so fresh of a wound that she knew she would have cried and tonight was about enjoying Christ’s birth. Not that it mattered to this man who felt he had the right to judge her and turn her and her young children away.
These passages we read today deal mostly with fasting practices, but behind the fasting is the point that we allow ourselves to become hypocrites in our religious practices. In Matthew, it warns us not to allow people to see us giving to the poor because it is no one’s business but God’s and your own. When you call attention to things like that, you do not give your money to help the poor or to be a good steward, you are doing it to bring yourself glory.
The same is true with fasting. If you show yourself as worn out and hungry, you will generate sympathy and admiration from those around you and Jesus says that will be your only reward. Instead, he says that we should put on our best clothes and act happy when we fast because then no one but God will know our sacrifice and we will be rewarded.
We fast not to bring attention to what good Christians we are, but because we are showing God our faithfulness. We are trying to relate to what Jesus has gone through. We are relating to our fellow human beings who go hungry at night, who do not have a roof over their heads and are persecuted for their beliefs. We fast not to show people what a great person we are but to remind ourselves that we are nothing but the dust of the earth that God has given life too. It is not about us, and it never has been.
We need to get over ourselves. We are to remember that the only treasure we require is what we have been given through our Lord Jesus Christ. Treasure is not gold or a house or a car. It is not a big diamond ring or a fancy office space. The real treasure in life is a family that cares about you, friends who would give you the shirt off their back if they knew you needed it. Treasure is knowing that just as Isaiah said, “You will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” It is knowing that God is there for you. It is knowing that Jesus Christ became a man who lived, died and was resurrected so that you might have eternal life.
Treasure is knowing that Jesus became sin so that we may be forgiven for our sins. Ash Wednesday is about remembering we are nothing without God. We are nothing without Jesus Christ who sacrificed himself for us. We are nothing without the Holy Spirit who guides us and molds us into new creations. We are nothing without the God who loves and cares for us, the God who has breathed life into us and has forgiven us more times than we can count because we mean the world to our Creator. We are precious in Her Sight.
During this Lenten season, take the time to fast and pray. Take the time to remember how little you would have if God was not with you. Give thanks that God remains faithful no matter how often we turn away and ignore his commands. Give thanks for Jesus Christ and for the blessing of a God that cares enough to bring suffering upon herself. Thanks be to God the Father, to Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit! Amen.
A Consuming Fire
Exodus 24: 12-18
Matthew 17: 1-9
In both Exodus and Matthew, when God appeared on the mountain he appeared as a cloud. God often appears as some natural phenomenon in the Old Testament such as a burning bush, a cloud that appears as a consuming fire or a whirlwind. God never shows his face to us, but he does show Moses his back later on in Exodus. Perhaps the reason God does not come to us face to face is because his glory would be like a blast of cannon fire hitting us straight in the belly.
Just seeing God’s back makes Moses’ face glow with an inner light. Jesus when he is transfigured shines with the light of the sun. When I was a child, a friend once told me that he had beaten the sun. Puzzled, I asked him what he meant and he said, “Well my momma always told me if I stared to long at the sun I would go blind. But I stared at it a long time and for awhile I couldn’t see a thing, but eventually I did! So I’m stronger than the sun, I beat it!” Perhaps if God were to appear to us now in all his glory, it would be like staring into the sun. It is too much; it would blind us temporarily as it did my young friend.
So when God does show us his glory, it appears as a consuming fire. It overtakes the mountain that Moses is on and has his face shining with light for days afterward. It transforms Jesus into this glowing person that blinds and baffles the three disciples so that when they do speak, it is nonsensical.
The more I have thought about this consuming fire, the more I have come to realize that there are two kinds of fire that may consume us in our lives. The first is the one where we are covered in God’s grace, where his Spirit envelops us and helps to transform us into new creations in Christ. We become thirsty for scripture, we seek God in all that we do and we feel consumed. People begin to tell us that they don’t know us anymore because the new person we are becoming eclipses the old one.
God literally burns through our past, cleansing the sin and deadness from our spirits and leaving behind a light that shines brighter than the sun. When Jesus was transfigured, he was showing us the inner light, the power that God has, the glory that was inside Jesus that allowed him to heal so many and to be so wise in his teaching. He was literally transformed into the glory of God and it was a consuming fire, just like the Israelites witnessed when God descended upon the mountain as a cloud. The cloud could not contain God’s magnificence and it appeared as something that could actually devour them.
Truth be told, it was probably frightening to witness. If we were the Israelites and Mount Nittany was Mt. Sinai and we saw this cloud descending upon it and it appeared like a consuming fire, who would be the first one that would want to venture up it? I would not be volunteering to walk that path. If we were Jesus’ disciples and witnessed Jesus literally lighting up like a light bulb, his clothes changing and two men appearing beside him – we would be disoriented and perhaps a little frightened. God’s glory is not some small thing.
But there is another kind of consuming fire. When we allow ourselves to be caught up in the world, when we allow vices to rule our lives we are often consumed. Charlie Sheen has been in the media lately. He has a drug and alcohol problem which has affected his work in the past and now it is threatening to take him completely over – if it hasn’t already.
He has actually gone on live television spouting strange things about winning and tiger blood and raising his twin sons with two women he calls goddesses. This is a man who when he looks in the mirror he sees nothing wrong with himself. He thinks everyone else is crazy to not understand how the life he leads is a great life. He has allowed himself to be taken over and literally devoured by his choices.
Not all of our choices appear bad at first. Many times when we end up stuck in the ditch; we have no idea how we got there. It’s not just one choice that brings us to the breaking point like the movies try to tell us. It isn’t one wish or one action that changes our lives forever. It is a slow process. Did Charlie Sheen plan to become some crazy man that people are now laughing over while they drink their morning coffee? I doubt it. We need to be more deliberate in what we do and say. We need to reconsider the things we have always done to understand if they are things that will help us or hurt us.
A drink after a hard day isn’t bad, but sometimes we have months full of hard days – should we drink after every one of them? There is nothing wrong with having a little alone time away from your family and spouse once in awhile – but if you’re gone more than you’re home then that could be a problem. If you like to eat out and go to different places because being home is boring, there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you do it so often that you are draining your finances then that is a problem. Don’t be consumed by the wrong things. Don’t allow yourself to be taken over and one day realize your life is not your own.
Instead, allow yourself to take some time to find that inner fire. The one that is the Holy Spirit who points out where Jesus is and shows us glimpses of the kingdom of heaven. When we witness God’s glory, it is often in brief flashes. It is sunlight glinting on a coin. That little bit of light is able to wipe away a lot of grime in our lives. When we read the scriptures and are able to spot something new, something we never noticed before it is like finding buried treasure and that is the kind of fire we should be consumed with. Our lives are enriched by God’s glory. We become transformed people, just as Jesus was transformed. We begin to shine with an inner light just as Moses shined. People begin to say, “I don’t know you anymore” and instead of being hurt we are delighted.
God brings richness to our lives that cannot be hid. When we are with God, we are candles in the dark night. Our lights flicker and shine and become a beacon to others. They begin to ask questions, they come forward wanting to know what has changed us. When we walk with Jesus, we become a lighthouse for others. Our lives become consumed with the fire of the Holy Spirit. We are lifted up into God’s grace and we experience what it means to be transformed. Allow yourself to be consumed this week, not by the world but by the Holy Spirit. Let God’s light shine into your darkest places and help you to be transformed.
Amen.
Matthew 17: 1-9
In both Exodus and Matthew, when God appeared on the mountain he appeared as a cloud. God often appears as some natural phenomenon in the Old Testament such as a burning bush, a cloud that appears as a consuming fire or a whirlwind. God never shows his face to us, but he does show Moses his back later on in Exodus. Perhaps the reason God does not come to us face to face is because his glory would be like a blast of cannon fire hitting us straight in the belly.
Just seeing God’s back makes Moses’ face glow with an inner light. Jesus when he is transfigured shines with the light of the sun. When I was a child, a friend once told me that he had beaten the sun. Puzzled, I asked him what he meant and he said, “Well my momma always told me if I stared to long at the sun I would go blind. But I stared at it a long time and for awhile I couldn’t see a thing, but eventually I did! So I’m stronger than the sun, I beat it!” Perhaps if God were to appear to us now in all his glory, it would be like staring into the sun. It is too much; it would blind us temporarily as it did my young friend.
So when God does show us his glory, it appears as a consuming fire. It overtakes the mountain that Moses is on and has his face shining with light for days afterward. It transforms Jesus into this glowing person that blinds and baffles the three disciples so that when they do speak, it is nonsensical.
The more I have thought about this consuming fire, the more I have come to realize that there are two kinds of fire that may consume us in our lives. The first is the one where we are covered in God’s grace, where his Spirit envelops us and helps to transform us into new creations in Christ. We become thirsty for scripture, we seek God in all that we do and we feel consumed. People begin to tell us that they don’t know us anymore because the new person we are becoming eclipses the old one.
God literally burns through our past, cleansing the sin and deadness from our spirits and leaving behind a light that shines brighter than the sun. When Jesus was transfigured, he was showing us the inner light, the power that God has, the glory that was inside Jesus that allowed him to heal so many and to be so wise in his teaching. He was literally transformed into the glory of God and it was a consuming fire, just like the Israelites witnessed when God descended upon the mountain as a cloud. The cloud could not contain God’s magnificence and it appeared as something that could actually devour them.
Truth be told, it was probably frightening to witness. If we were the Israelites and Mount Nittany was Mt. Sinai and we saw this cloud descending upon it and it appeared like a consuming fire, who would be the first one that would want to venture up it? I would not be volunteering to walk that path. If we were Jesus’ disciples and witnessed Jesus literally lighting up like a light bulb, his clothes changing and two men appearing beside him – we would be disoriented and perhaps a little frightened. God’s glory is not some small thing.
But there is another kind of consuming fire. When we allow ourselves to be caught up in the world, when we allow vices to rule our lives we are often consumed. Charlie Sheen has been in the media lately. He has a drug and alcohol problem which has affected his work in the past and now it is threatening to take him completely over – if it hasn’t already.
He has actually gone on live television spouting strange things about winning and tiger blood and raising his twin sons with two women he calls goddesses. This is a man who when he looks in the mirror he sees nothing wrong with himself. He thinks everyone else is crazy to not understand how the life he leads is a great life. He has allowed himself to be taken over and literally devoured by his choices.
Not all of our choices appear bad at first. Many times when we end up stuck in the ditch; we have no idea how we got there. It’s not just one choice that brings us to the breaking point like the movies try to tell us. It isn’t one wish or one action that changes our lives forever. It is a slow process. Did Charlie Sheen plan to become some crazy man that people are now laughing over while they drink their morning coffee? I doubt it. We need to be more deliberate in what we do and say. We need to reconsider the things we have always done to understand if they are things that will help us or hurt us.
A drink after a hard day isn’t bad, but sometimes we have months full of hard days – should we drink after every one of them? There is nothing wrong with having a little alone time away from your family and spouse once in awhile – but if you’re gone more than you’re home then that could be a problem. If you like to eat out and go to different places because being home is boring, there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you do it so often that you are draining your finances then that is a problem. Don’t be consumed by the wrong things. Don’t allow yourself to be taken over and one day realize your life is not your own.
Instead, allow yourself to take some time to find that inner fire. The one that is the Holy Spirit who points out where Jesus is and shows us glimpses of the kingdom of heaven. When we witness God’s glory, it is often in brief flashes. It is sunlight glinting on a coin. That little bit of light is able to wipe away a lot of grime in our lives. When we read the scriptures and are able to spot something new, something we never noticed before it is like finding buried treasure and that is the kind of fire we should be consumed with. Our lives are enriched by God’s glory. We become transformed people, just as Jesus was transformed. We begin to shine with an inner light just as Moses shined. People begin to say, “I don’t know you anymore” and instead of being hurt we are delighted.
God brings richness to our lives that cannot be hid. When we are with God, we are candles in the dark night. Our lights flicker and shine and become a beacon to others. They begin to ask questions, they come forward wanting to know what has changed us. When we walk with Jesus, we become a lighthouse for others. Our lives become consumed with the fire of the Holy Spirit. We are lifted up into God’s grace and we experience what it means to be transformed. Allow yourself to be consumed this week, not by the world but by the Holy Spirit. Let God’s light shine into your darkest places and help you to be transformed.
Amen.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
For We are God's Building
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20
1 Corinthians 3: 1-9
Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country to spend a long time overseas. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, "Look, I'm going to leave. And while I'm gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I'm away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip." Everyone agrees.
He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers everything is in a mess--weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the girl at the front desk is sleeping, loud music is coming from several offices, and two or three people are messing around in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a great loss. Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, "What happened? Didn't you get my letters?"
You say, "Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We've even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have 'letter study' every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters." I think the president would then ask, "But what did you do about my instructions?" And, no doubt the employees would respond, "Do? Well, nothing. But we read every one!"
There’s not much point in studying the Bible and going to church every Sunday if we aren’t going to do what God has instructed us to do. I can only imagine at how God shakes his head at us when we show up on Sundays wearing our Sunday best, but our hearts are filled with sinfulness. The Lord wants us to take an active part in our relationship with Him and to do that we must be more than church-goers. We must be church-doers.
In their own way, those people in that company were obedient to their boss. They stayed working at the company and they did read those letters of his, but they never quite understood what it was they were supposed to be doing. What are we working toward? Do we have a goal as Christians? Do we have a purpose here at Trinity church in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania? Does everyone know what the goal is and how we are working to achieve it?
George Harrison once said that, “If you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there.” As Christians we need to know where we are going. We need to know more about what Jesus Christ is up to in the world and there is one really good way to do that. It requires making the Christian way of life something more than a Sunday activity and instead make it an all week habit. If we are never thinking about God outside of church, how is it even possible to SEE God outside of this building?!
The best way to see God is to start speaking to Him. We all know we are supposed to pray, but did you know that some of the most faithful Christians in all of our history have been men and women who pray continually? Everything that happened in their day was spoken of with God. These men and women are now the pillars of our Christian faith because they knew what Jesus was up to in the world. They knew where they were going because they obeyed the Lord.
Too often we get caught up in the pettiness of life so God become obscured. Just like those early Christians, fighting over who they followed. I follow Paul, well I follow Apollos. And Paul writes back to them that neither Paul or Apollos are important at all. They were merely the instruments God used to bring those early Christians to Jesus Christ. What is important in the story is always “what is Jesus up to?” and then following Him.
That is where the people in the company went wrong. They knew exactly what their employer was up to, exactly what he wanted from them, but they did not follow him. The old adage of while the cat’s away the mice will play is perfect for these people. Honestly, it speaks the truth about all human beings. We do not have any sense of urgency when it comes to following Jesus Christ. Most of us go the whole day without worrying about following Jesus. We’re too busy putting out fires at work, fixing dinner at home, putting the kids to bed and running errands for our spouses to have time to worry about what Jesus is telling us to do.
You see, if we take the time to listen to Jesus he helps us build up defenses. He helps us to change those sinful parts of us into good and Godly parts. Jesus is trying to help us create a life and a world where we can always be happy and content. But we are too busy doing our own thing and traveling our own path to bother giving his way a chance. We say we are obedient and that we want to build a better world, but whenever we get the chance we don’t often take it.
This reminds me of a poem I once read about a man watching a building demolition. It went:
As I watched them tear a building down
A gang of men in a busy town
With a ho-heave-ho, and a lusty yell
They swung a beam and the side wall fell.
I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
And the men that you'd hire if you wanted to build?"
He gave a laugh and said, "No, indeed,
Just common labor is all I need."
"I can easily wreck in a day or two,
What builders have taken years to do."
And I thought to myself, as I went my way
Which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks to town
Content with the labor of tearing down?
"O Lord let my life and my labors be
That which will build for eternity!"
The only way we can make our life and labors geared toward eternity is if we pay attention to what God is telling us. We need to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, we need to keep our eyes peeled for where Jesus is and we need to ask ourselves if we are doing this because of God or because of our self. But even more than knowing what Jesus is up to is actually following where he leads us.
Do we have a goal that we work toward, one with a carefully made plan? Are we patiently trying to do the best that we can or are we the kind of people that will tear down what others have worked so hard to create and never notice the damage we leave in our wake? Paul tells us that we are co-workers in God’s service, we have a place in God’s grand plan, but we have to be willing to do more than read the instruction manual – we have to be willing to follow. We have much to do!
Amen.
1 Corinthians 3: 1-9
Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country to spend a long time overseas. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, "Look, I'm going to leave. And while I'm gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I'm away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip." Everyone agrees.
He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers everything is in a mess--weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the girl at the front desk is sleeping, loud music is coming from several offices, and two or three people are messing around in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a great loss. Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, "What happened? Didn't you get my letters?"
You say, "Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We've even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have 'letter study' every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters." I think the president would then ask, "But what did you do about my instructions?" And, no doubt the employees would respond, "Do? Well, nothing. But we read every one!"
There’s not much point in studying the Bible and going to church every Sunday if we aren’t going to do what God has instructed us to do. I can only imagine at how God shakes his head at us when we show up on Sundays wearing our Sunday best, but our hearts are filled with sinfulness. The Lord wants us to take an active part in our relationship with Him and to do that we must be more than church-goers. We must be church-doers.
In their own way, those people in that company were obedient to their boss. They stayed working at the company and they did read those letters of his, but they never quite understood what it was they were supposed to be doing. What are we working toward? Do we have a goal as Christians? Do we have a purpose here at Trinity church in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania? Does everyone know what the goal is and how we are working to achieve it?
George Harrison once said that, “If you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there.” As Christians we need to know where we are going. We need to know more about what Jesus Christ is up to in the world and there is one really good way to do that. It requires making the Christian way of life something more than a Sunday activity and instead make it an all week habit. If we are never thinking about God outside of church, how is it even possible to SEE God outside of this building?!
The best way to see God is to start speaking to Him. We all know we are supposed to pray, but did you know that some of the most faithful Christians in all of our history have been men and women who pray continually? Everything that happened in their day was spoken of with God. These men and women are now the pillars of our Christian faith because they knew what Jesus was up to in the world. They knew where they were going because they obeyed the Lord.
Too often we get caught up in the pettiness of life so God become obscured. Just like those early Christians, fighting over who they followed. I follow Paul, well I follow Apollos. And Paul writes back to them that neither Paul or Apollos are important at all. They were merely the instruments God used to bring those early Christians to Jesus Christ. What is important in the story is always “what is Jesus up to?” and then following Him.
That is where the people in the company went wrong. They knew exactly what their employer was up to, exactly what he wanted from them, but they did not follow him. The old adage of while the cat’s away the mice will play is perfect for these people. Honestly, it speaks the truth about all human beings. We do not have any sense of urgency when it comes to following Jesus Christ. Most of us go the whole day without worrying about following Jesus. We’re too busy putting out fires at work, fixing dinner at home, putting the kids to bed and running errands for our spouses to have time to worry about what Jesus is telling us to do.
You see, if we take the time to listen to Jesus he helps us build up defenses. He helps us to change those sinful parts of us into good and Godly parts. Jesus is trying to help us create a life and a world where we can always be happy and content. But we are too busy doing our own thing and traveling our own path to bother giving his way a chance. We say we are obedient and that we want to build a better world, but whenever we get the chance we don’t often take it.
This reminds me of a poem I once read about a man watching a building demolition. It went:
As I watched them tear a building down
A gang of men in a busy town
With a ho-heave-ho, and a lusty yell
They swung a beam and the side wall fell.
I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
And the men that you'd hire if you wanted to build?"
He gave a laugh and said, "No, indeed,
Just common labor is all I need."
"I can easily wreck in a day or two,
What builders have taken years to do."
And I thought to myself, as I went my way
Which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks to town
Content with the labor of tearing down?
"O Lord let my life and my labors be
That which will build for eternity!"
The only way we can make our life and labors geared toward eternity is if we pay attention to what God is telling us. We need to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, we need to keep our eyes peeled for where Jesus is and we need to ask ourselves if we are doing this because of God or because of our self. But even more than knowing what Jesus is up to is actually following where he leads us.
Do we have a goal that we work toward, one with a carefully made plan? Are we patiently trying to do the best that we can or are we the kind of people that will tear down what others have worked so hard to create and never notice the damage we leave in our wake? Paul tells us that we are co-workers in God’s service, we have a place in God’s grand plan, but we have to be willing to do more than read the instruction manual – we have to be willing to follow. We have much to do!
Amen.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
A Secret Wisdom
Psalm 112: 1-10
1 Corinthians 2: 1-16
While studying the bible this week i discovered a secret about God and the commandments he has given us. I was learning of the first people to fill the earth and how quickly they turned wicked and violent. And then there was Noah who was pleasing in God’s eyes. Noah who walked with the Lord, Noah who saw God’s commands as life-giving rather than rules that would cage him in and take away his freedom. Noah understood that when God tells us to do something it is not because he wants to be a tyrant or dictator, but that there is a reason, a good reason behind the command. Noah understood that God was our loving parent and if we follow God’s ways there is freedom and life in the act of following.
So imagine my surprise when I read the Old Testament reading in my devotion the next day and it says in the very first verse, “Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands”. It sounds to me like God is trying to tell us something here. The wonderful thing about the Lord is that when he wants to get through to us, he’s not very subtle. He keeps hammering away at all of us until we get too exhausted to fight anymore. Isn’t that wonderful? God doesn’t give up on us – ever.
The next few verses in Psalm 112 tell us why we should fear the Lord and delight in his ways. It says that our children will be blessed and mighty, that they will know wealth and riches. It says that those who know God, will know even in the darkest of moments that the light (which is Jesus Christ) will be with them. Goodness comes to those who are generous and lend freely, and those who act with honor will be honored themselves. This is an amazing passage!
What is wonderful about the Old Testament is that it sets up many of the rules we are to follow. Not just the Ten Commandments or the laws in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. I’m talking about rules of the heart, rules of the Spirit. I’m talking about the secret Wisdom that comes straight from God’s heart to our own hearts. You see, it is not easy to live your whole life trying to be loving and kind and generous. Matter of fact, it can be downright exhausting to always try to have a smile on your face and kind words on your lips.
This is why so often we fail. We forget that all goodness and power and glory not just GO TO God, but COME FROM God. We try to do it on our own! Silly, silly, silly of us! And we all do it, we learn from an early age that we are to do things on our own. We teach our children to feed themselves, to walk without aid, to tie their shoes and put on clothes without our help. Then we teach them to do chores such as clean their room and mow the lawn. Then we teach them to drive and schools teach them how to think on their own. We teach them how to be completely independent and so when it comes to trying to be spiritually wise, we all try to do it on our own. Because that is what we have learned.
However, we cannot. We need God the Father’s help. We need Jesus Christ. We need the Holy Spirit. If we could be spiritually wise on our own, Adam and Eve never would have eaten the fruit. There is a reason why before beginning the sermon I ask that the Lord open our hearts and minds to His Word. I ask because if I do not ask for the Lord’s help, these words are just words.
They have no power or potency because they would merely be the words of one woman rather than God’s Holy Word that is filled with the power to change lives. And isn’t that what we proclaim? That because God is with us, there is holy power to be found in this sanctuary today. Ready and waiting for us to open our hearts, to free our minds from our human limitations where we think we are so wise – but we need to remember that we are no where near wise.
Without God, without God’s loving guidance, without the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and Jesus’ faithfulness we would be and are nothing. And once we understand this truth, once we wrap our minds around the fact that we need God – we become free. Isn’t that interesting? Everyone always taught us that to be free means to not need anything from anyone. But that is human wisdom, not Godly wisdom.
Freedom means accepting God’s dominion. It means fearing God’s magnificent power, it means respecting God’s wishes for us. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, once we accept God the Father’s commands and the Holy Spirit’s guidance our life will change forever.
Freedom means letting go of doubt and fear. Freedom means accepting what comes to us as gifts from God and even the painful times in our life are no longer something to be feared. We learn from the pain, we grow and we change during stressful, hurtful times. It does not trivialize our pain, it does not make it less real or less painful. But it DOES makes it more than human anguish – we remember that the one who died for us, shares this agony with us and that we may lean upon His strength to get us through.
There is the freedom. When Carrie Underwood sang the song, “Jesus take the wheel”, this is exactly what we must do. Let Jesus take us where we are supposed to go. Let the Spirit soothe our anguished hearts, and we let ourselves accept that God is not a ruthless dictator who likes to see us squirm, but that God is an anxious parent, worried over His creation. Worried that even though he offers us life, we constantly choose death. Worried that even though he has given us everything he has to give, there are still those who will never accept Him. There are so many people that never really see God, not the way God is. Not like Noah saw God – as one that brings and gives life. Instead, many of us see God as stern and unbending, indifferent to our pain and suffering.
If you really want to make your head spin, consider this analogy for God. God is the wallflower sitting in the corner at the dance. The wallflower that is actually a wonderful, good and kind person, but no one ever sees that. No one ever notices the goodness and grace because they are too busy staring at what is flashy, shiny and appears perfect. God is the forgotten, unnoticed person in this room, the one you never think much about, but if you paid attention you would see that person has a wealth of love to give.
So my challenge to you this week is to find that wallflower. Find the person that goes unnoticed in your life and take the time to say a few words. Take the time to get to know that person you think is funny or strange or weird. It may just be Jesus Christ you have been ignoring. God often uses unexpected people and ways to reach out to us but we have to have eyes that see and ears that hear and hearts that are open to the wisdom of God's Spirit.
Amen.
1 Corinthians 2: 1-16
While studying the bible this week i discovered a secret about God and the commandments he has given us. I was learning of the first people to fill the earth and how quickly they turned wicked and violent. And then there was Noah who was pleasing in God’s eyes. Noah who walked with the Lord, Noah who saw God’s commands as life-giving rather than rules that would cage him in and take away his freedom. Noah understood that when God tells us to do something it is not because he wants to be a tyrant or dictator, but that there is a reason, a good reason behind the command. Noah understood that God was our loving parent and if we follow God’s ways there is freedom and life in the act of following.
So imagine my surprise when I read the Old Testament reading in my devotion the next day and it says in the very first verse, “Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands”. It sounds to me like God is trying to tell us something here. The wonderful thing about the Lord is that when he wants to get through to us, he’s not very subtle. He keeps hammering away at all of us until we get too exhausted to fight anymore. Isn’t that wonderful? God doesn’t give up on us – ever.
The next few verses in Psalm 112 tell us why we should fear the Lord and delight in his ways. It says that our children will be blessed and mighty, that they will know wealth and riches. It says that those who know God, will know even in the darkest of moments that the light (which is Jesus Christ) will be with them. Goodness comes to those who are generous and lend freely, and those who act with honor will be honored themselves. This is an amazing passage!
What is wonderful about the Old Testament is that it sets up many of the rules we are to follow. Not just the Ten Commandments or the laws in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. I’m talking about rules of the heart, rules of the Spirit. I’m talking about the secret Wisdom that comes straight from God’s heart to our own hearts. You see, it is not easy to live your whole life trying to be loving and kind and generous. Matter of fact, it can be downright exhausting to always try to have a smile on your face and kind words on your lips.
This is why so often we fail. We forget that all goodness and power and glory not just GO TO God, but COME FROM God. We try to do it on our own! Silly, silly, silly of us! And we all do it, we learn from an early age that we are to do things on our own. We teach our children to feed themselves, to walk without aid, to tie their shoes and put on clothes without our help. Then we teach them to do chores such as clean their room and mow the lawn. Then we teach them to drive and schools teach them how to think on their own. We teach them how to be completely independent and so when it comes to trying to be spiritually wise, we all try to do it on our own. Because that is what we have learned.
However, we cannot. We need God the Father’s help. We need Jesus Christ. We need the Holy Spirit. If we could be spiritually wise on our own, Adam and Eve never would have eaten the fruit. There is a reason why before beginning the sermon I ask that the Lord open our hearts and minds to His Word. I ask because if I do not ask for the Lord’s help, these words are just words.
They have no power or potency because they would merely be the words of one woman rather than God’s Holy Word that is filled with the power to change lives. And isn’t that what we proclaim? That because God is with us, there is holy power to be found in this sanctuary today. Ready and waiting for us to open our hearts, to free our minds from our human limitations where we think we are so wise – but we need to remember that we are no where near wise.
Without God, without God’s loving guidance, without the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and Jesus’ faithfulness we would be and are nothing. And once we understand this truth, once we wrap our minds around the fact that we need God – we become free. Isn’t that interesting? Everyone always taught us that to be free means to not need anything from anyone. But that is human wisdom, not Godly wisdom.
Freedom means accepting God’s dominion. It means fearing God’s magnificent power, it means respecting God’s wishes for us. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, once we accept God the Father’s commands and the Holy Spirit’s guidance our life will change forever.
Freedom means letting go of doubt and fear. Freedom means accepting what comes to us as gifts from God and even the painful times in our life are no longer something to be feared. We learn from the pain, we grow and we change during stressful, hurtful times. It does not trivialize our pain, it does not make it less real or less painful. But it DOES makes it more than human anguish – we remember that the one who died for us, shares this agony with us and that we may lean upon His strength to get us through.
There is the freedom. When Carrie Underwood sang the song, “Jesus take the wheel”, this is exactly what we must do. Let Jesus take us where we are supposed to go. Let the Spirit soothe our anguished hearts, and we let ourselves accept that God is not a ruthless dictator who likes to see us squirm, but that God is an anxious parent, worried over His creation. Worried that even though he offers us life, we constantly choose death. Worried that even though he has given us everything he has to give, there are still those who will never accept Him. There are so many people that never really see God, not the way God is. Not like Noah saw God – as one that brings and gives life. Instead, many of us see God as stern and unbending, indifferent to our pain and suffering.
If you really want to make your head spin, consider this analogy for God. God is the wallflower sitting in the corner at the dance. The wallflower that is actually a wonderful, good and kind person, but no one ever sees that. No one ever notices the goodness and grace because they are too busy staring at what is flashy, shiny and appears perfect. God is the forgotten, unnoticed person in this room, the one you never think much about, but if you paid attention you would see that person has a wealth of love to give.
So my challenge to you this week is to find that wallflower. Find the person that goes unnoticed in your life and take the time to say a few words. Take the time to get to know that person you think is funny or strange or weird. It may just be Jesus Christ you have been ignoring. God often uses unexpected people and ways to reach out to us but we have to have eyes that see and ears that hear and hearts that are open to the wisdom of God's Spirit.
Amen.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Walk Humbly
The scriptures for this sermon are:
Micah 6:1-8
Matthew 5: 1-12
Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother.
The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.”
The second said, “I sent her a BMW with a driver.”
The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You remember how Mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can’t see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. He’s one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot recites it.”
Soon thereafter, mom sent out her letters of thanks:
“Milton,” she wrote one son, “The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”
“Gerald,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home, so I rarely use the BMW. And the driver is so rude!”
“Dearest Donald,” she wrote to her third son, “You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious”.
Outside of my mother’s house there is a tree that has been growing for over fifty years at least. It is massive, the trunk thick and strong and the branches extending to the heavens filled with big, green leaves. However, sometimes I have noticed that after winter has gone and spring begins not all of the branches bud. Sometimes there is a branch here or there that has nothing on it and it becomes dry and frail. The rest of the tree is beautiful but if someone doesn’t prune the dead branches, it will damage the rest of the tree as it dies.
This process isn’t so very different from what we have to do as good Christians. If we want to be healthy and strong we have to constantly reassess our lives and consider what needs to be different about ourselves. Sometimes we fall into bad habits that drag us down and take over our lives. That’s why it is important to pay attention to the advice we are often given in the bible such as verse 8 in Micah 6 where we are told to “Act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God”.
Humility is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in a Christian’s life. Many of us want to be humble and try to be, but it is so much harder than Jesus makes it seem. One of my favorite Steelers player is Troy Polamalu, a Greek Orthodox Christian is considered one of the most humble football players in the NFL. However, about six weeks ago in a game he forced a fumble and when he saw he was about to be tackled, he did a backward pass to try to pick up more yards and the guy he threw it too just managed to catch it. After the game when he was asked about it, he answered, “The play at the end of the game was incredibly arrogant and selfish and foolish of me. I represent something bigger than myself: my faith, my family, and my team. I’ll try to never let that happen again.”
First of all, it takes a lot of guts to admit you are wrong. Second, even someone who tries to be humble and faithful can have moments of pride and selfishness. The lesson Troy learned is one that comes to all of us at some point in our lives. God does not enjoy a prideful person and from personal experience when you ask God to teach you to be more humble – he takes you up on that offer pretty quickly!
But the main reason we should be humble is because we are only here through God’s power and grace. We are told often in the Old Testament and in the New Testament that it is those who suffer who hold God’s favor. It is those people who understand how sinful, arrogant and selfish they are as human beings who receive God’s mercy and grace. Those people inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells us, “Blessed are the meek, the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn.” The Lord tells us how to be humble as well, the more we thank God and give him praise, the more aware we become of how little we have done to earn what we enjoy in life.
Humility and a passion for praise are the way we grow in grace. The Bible is full of self-humbling people who bow down before God, and people giving praise to God for their blessings. The healthy heart is one that bows down in humility and rises in praise and adoration. The Psalms strike both these notes again and again. Also, Paul in his letters both articulates humility and breaks into many praises. As the years pass Paul mentions in several letters to churches how he is the last of the apostles, the least of all saints and the foremost of sinners! And as his self-esteem sinks, so his rapture of praise and adoration for the God who so wonderfully saved him rises.
Without a doubt, learning to praise God all the time, for everything that is good is a mark that we are growing in grace. One of my professors who had once been in stage four of prostate cancer often told us how painful both the cancer and the treatment was during that time of his life. He told us that between bouts of agony and fear, in which he had to stuff his mouth with bedclothes to avoid biting his tongue, he would say aloud over and over again: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Ps. 34:1). He said that the only way he knew of to get through the pain was to find joy in the Lord who is always good and beautiful.
If we want to grow in grace, we are to acknowledge that it is only with the Lord that we are able to do anything. It seems like such a simple thing, but all of us are tempted to take credit for what God has brought about in our lives. But if you want to grow in grace, try to be humble and always remember to praise the Lord for what you have been given.
Amen.
Micah 6:1-8
Matthew 5: 1-12
Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother.
The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.”
The second said, “I sent her a BMW with a driver.”
The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You remember how Mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can’t see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. He’s one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot recites it.”
Soon thereafter, mom sent out her letters of thanks:
“Milton,” she wrote one son, “The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”
“Gerald,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home, so I rarely use the BMW. And the driver is so rude!”
“Dearest Donald,” she wrote to her third son, “You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious”.
Outside of my mother’s house there is a tree that has been growing for over fifty years at least. It is massive, the trunk thick and strong and the branches extending to the heavens filled with big, green leaves. However, sometimes I have noticed that after winter has gone and spring begins not all of the branches bud. Sometimes there is a branch here or there that has nothing on it and it becomes dry and frail. The rest of the tree is beautiful but if someone doesn’t prune the dead branches, it will damage the rest of the tree as it dies.
This process isn’t so very different from what we have to do as good Christians. If we want to be healthy and strong we have to constantly reassess our lives and consider what needs to be different about ourselves. Sometimes we fall into bad habits that drag us down and take over our lives. That’s why it is important to pay attention to the advice we are often given in the bible such as verse 8 in Micah 6 where we are told to “Act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God”.
Humility is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in a Christian’s life. Many of us want to be humble and try to be, but it is so much harder than Jesus makes it seem. One of my favorite Steelers player is Troy Polamalu, a Greek Orthodox Christian is considered one of the most humble football players in the NFL. However, about six weeks ago in a game he forced a fumble and when he saw he was about to be tackled, he did a backward pass to try to pick up more yards and the guy he threw it too just managed to catch it. After the game when he was asked about it, he answered, “The play at the end of the game was incredibly arrogant and selfish and foolish of me. I represent something bigger than myself: my faith, my family, and my team. I’ll try to never let that happen again.”
First of all, it takes a lot of guts to admit you are wrong. Second, even someone who tries to be humble and faithful can have moments of pride and selfishness. The lesson Troy learned is one that comes to all of us at some point in our lives. God does not enjoy a prideful person and from personal experience when you ask God to teach you to be more humble – he takes you up on that offer pretty quickly!
But the main reason we should be humble is because we are only here through God’s power and grace. We are told often in the Old Testament and in the New Testament that it is those who suffer who hold God’s favor. It is those people who understand how sinful, arrogant and selfish they are as human beings who receive God’s mercy and grace. Those people inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells us, “Blessed are the meek, the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn.” The Lord tells us how to be humble as well, the more we thank God and give him praise, the more aware we become of how little we have done to earn what we enjoy in life.
Humility and a passion for praise are the way we grow in grace. The Bible is full of self-humbling people who bow down before God, and people giving praise to God for their blessings. The healthy heart is one that bows down in humility and rises in praise and adoration. The Psalms strike both these notes again and again. Also, Paul in his letters both articulates humility and breaks into many praises. As the years pass Paul mentions in several letters to churches how he is the last of the apostles, the least of all saints and the foremost of sinners! And as his self-esteem sinks, so his rapture of praise and adoration for the God who so wonderfully saved him rises.
Without a doubt, learning to praise God all the time, for everything that is good is a mark that we are growing in grace. One of my professors who had once been in stage four of prostate cancer often told us how painful both the cancer and the treatment was during that time of his life. He told us that between bouts of agony and fear, in which he had to stuff his mouth with bedclothes to avoid biting his tongue, he would say aloud over and over again: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Ps. 34:1). He said that the only way he knew of to get through the pain was to find joy in the Lord who is always good and beautiful.
If we want to grow in grace, we are to acknowledge that it is only with the Lord that we are able to do anything. It seems like such a simple thing, but all of us are tempted to take credit for what God has brought about in our lives. But if you want to grow in grace, try to be humble and always remember to praise the Lord for what you have been given.
Amen.
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