Servant Leadership

 

Job 38:1-7
Mark 10: 35-45

Did anyone else cringe a little when you heard James and John ask to sit on the right and left side of Jesus in his glory? It takes a lot of arrogance and vanity to ask such a question right after Jesus just finished predicting his death for the third time. These are not things we normally associate with the disciples. Such human failings are often associated with the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were the natural bad guys in the New Testament. But the truth is that every one of us is tempted to look out for ourselves rather than for others.

John Calvin once said that this passage is a bright mirror of human vanity because it shows that holiness and zeal are often accompanied by ambition or some other vice of the flesh so that followers of Christ often have a different objective than what they should have. This problem is as old as time. Many leaders often seek their own agenda and glory rather than seeking to help others.

It happens everywhere and in every country. Those who we would uphold as bright, shining examples of how to behave often have hidden motives and purposes. Just yesterday I was reading a story about Tim Tebow that made this quite clear. Whatever you may think of the young man, he has become a bit of a symbol for some Christians because of the way he clearly states his Christian views despite the many who would make fun of him.

Many people have lifted him up as an ideal Christian. Yesterday, as I was reading the news I saw a story that stated Tim Tebow is trade marking his Tebow move of bowing on one knee as well as the word. He states that he does this so no one will use it incorrectly, but what will really result is that anyone that uses the move or the word in promotions will have to pay Tim Tebow royalties off their commission. Mr. Tebow may want the public to think he does this to make sure the Tebow move will be used respectfully, but it is easy to see the benefits he will gain by doing this as well.

James and John are also leaders, they have been by Jesus’ side from the very beginning, and they were even the first ones called by Jesus to follow him. It would seem that they  would have the most knowledge and insight into what Jesus is talking about when he mentions dying and suffering for the third time, so it remains inexplicable that right after Jesus finishes speaking they make this extraordinary request of him.

What is James and John’s motivation behind their request? Is it just about glory and honor as the other ten disciples think and so they begin to argue and squabble with each other? Or do James and John truly understand what Jesus is speaking of and they are so afraid that they are seeking security by asking to be at his right and left in glory? Maybe they really do know what is coming next and they are afraid, and in their fear they seek the promise of a secure future. James and John may not be just power hungry; instead maybe they are acting on their fears.

But in their haste to secure their future, whether it is through greed or fear, they miss a vital piece of information. Jesus’ moment of glory comes when he hangs on a cross with a criminal on either side of him. Jesus reminds his disciples that, all who would desire to be first in the Kingdom must be last. He reminds them that leadership is not about having power over others, but it is about serving those who are beneath you. Jesus’ vision of leadership is all about helping others.

We gain positions of power so that we may help others to also be powerful. We gain money so that we may give it away. We gain possessions so that we might have something to give to our guests when they come to visit us. These things are not to make us feel like kings, but so that we may let others feel honored and respected. This is not the way the world thinks.

If we are honest, it is not the way WE think.

There are many people in the United States that consider themselves Christians and are appalled at the idea of giving what we have earned to someone else. We call it socialism and communism which are scary words in a capitalist society. Capitalism is about pulling yourself up by the bootstraps and earning what you have on your own. No handouts are needed because everyone gets the chance to help themselves.

Except, that isn’t true, is it?

If capitalism worked the way it should, every person in America should have a job, and healthcare, and a decent home as long as they are willing to work for it. That is the way it is supposed to be. But it seems like in every nation, no matter their religion or government, there are poor people and rich people and those that are in between. As Christians, do we ignore the faulty logic of capitalism or do we realize there is a reason Jesus told the rich, young ruler to sell all of his possessions and take up his cross? Possessions often make us slaves to consumerism. We become possessed by the things we buy and give them power over us.

I have to have the nice car and the expensive house. I have to have more clothes than I can wear in a week and twenty pairs of shoes to match them with. I have to have the jewelry and go on expensive vacations. Why? Because I earned it by working hard. Because then everyone will know that I work hard because they will see the rewards I have reaped.

But Jesus tells us it is not about that. Leadership is not about the fancy things, it is about giving it away. It is about serving those who do not have what we do. In our vanity and ambition we forget that none of these things truly make us happy. Yes, they are nice to have but as long as you have food in your belly every night and clothes enough to cover your back – do all the extras really make you happy or do they put chains on you?

Jesus is reminding the disciples and any who would follow him that we cannot pin our happiness and salvation on mere humans or their ability to have many possessions. What makes a leader, what makes a person a Christian is their ability to be cautious, self-reflective, and their ability to have compassion on those they are leading. Jesus is reminding the church that it also needs to remember it is not about how many people fill the pews or how much money we pull in every month but about how many people we have brought to Christ and how many people we have helped. There were only twelve disciples and yet Christianity has about 2 billion followers today. It is not about the numbers or the power or the prettiness of the church. It is about our willingness to serve rather than be served.

If we come to church expecting things, we are here for the wrong reason. Church is the place where we worship God, become closer as a community, and where we learn to serve and help others. It is not to be used to further our own agendas and power. It is not meant to satisfy our need for recognition and adoration. Church is where we learn the true meaning of discipleship and leadership and how we are called to put aside our own desires so we may look after others.

Jesus shows us how in his willingness to die on a cross, beside two criminals so that we may all have a chance at eternal life. Jesus makes us a promise that he is willing to uphold. Jesus’ words correspond to his actions. He walks away from his family, his home, and allows himself to be torn away from God through his death on the cross. Jesus sacrifices everything to lead us to safety. He emptied himself so that we may be filled with the Holy Spirit.

That is leadership. It is what Jesus calls us to do if we are to be true followers. We sing the song “Each one, Reach One” today and it says, “If we follow after Christ we all can lead one to the Savior and together we can tell the world that Jesus is the way, if we each one, reach one.” We follow Jesus by leading people to Him. We will lead people to Jesus by trying to serve each other instead of seeking fame and glory and honor. We will lead people to Jesus when we remember to love people instead of possessions.

Amen.

Is Jesus Enough?

Job 2: 1-10
Hebrews: 1:1-4, 2:5-12

 Please raise your hand if you think you’ve experienced a blessing from God in your life. Now, I want you to think about those blessings. Perhaps you have always had good health, or a loving spouse, or you were given children during your life. Perhaps your blessing is your job and the ability to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. Perhaps your blessing is that someone far away is fighting for you and your freedom. That someone is willing to sacrifice their well-being, giving up parts of their body, their mental and emotional well-being as well as their lives for all of us here today. Perhaps your blessing is a good education and the ability to provide the same for your family. Perhaps your blessing is the sanitation workers who are willing to clean up your garbage and other things so we have a safe, clean environment. Perhaps your blessing is the sun that continues to shine every day and the grass that continues to grow despite the billions of people who never think about these things as blessings at all.

And then there are the personal blessings, the ones that affect only you. That time God’s voice stopped you from cheating on your spouse. That time when you braked quickly enough not to hit that child in the street. That time you managed to ignore temptation and not take advantage of an easy situation. That time when you persisted in getting a second opinion because you knew there was something wrong and the next doctor discovers cancer in its beginning stages.

These are our blessings. We acknowledge they come from God. They make us feel warm inside and help to strengthen our faith in God’s goodness and mercy. We preach about Good News because we have experienced goodness and love. But now, I want you to imagine all of those blessings never happened or were stripped away from you like Job.

 Everything you hold dear and precious in your life; everything that has made your life worth living is gone. Your children, and grandchildren, and spouse are dead. Your home and business are gone, taken from you by others. Now, even your health is gone and so you sit homeless, on an ash heap, sores covering your body while your friends ask what you did to anger God. Surely someone who is suffering so much has done something to receive such curses upon their life. But you look around, you look inside yourself and you know – you did nothing so bad as to merit such a harsh punishment as you have received. You have been cursed and you have no idea WHY.

How do you feel about God now?

There was a woman I knew in seminary who was a devout Christian. She loved Jesus so much. She had dedicated her existence to furthering the Gospel and helping others. At 27 she was diagnosed with cancer. A rare form that is severely painful. While still fighting it, she found out she was pregnant and lost the baby to the chemo and radiation treatments she had started before knowing she was pregnant. She finally got the cancer into remission and was just putting her life on track when at 31 she went to the doctor for a routine checkup and was told that her bones had a disease that weakened them and eventually she’d be in a wheelchair and then she’d die from this disease. Her husband couldn’t take it and so he left her.

Five more years she spent fighting this disease, while continuing to attend church, to pray to God and help others - still a dedicated Christian. I met her as she was dying from the disease. I remember her looking at me from behind the oxygen mask, wasted away and pale, and she lifted it away for a second and said, “Why? What have I done to deserve this?”

The truth of her story, the truth in Job’s story is that we don’t always suffer because we deserve to - sometimes bad things; horrible, awful things happen to the best people in the world. There is nothing we can do to shield ourselves from the awful situations of this world. However, how we respond to these things tells us more about our belief and faith in God than how we react during the good times.

Can you still praise God when no blessings flow? Will you still believe in God if God only ever promises you Eternal Life and no other blessings? Is it enough to know that God sent His Son to die for you on the Cross so that you might live in the Kingdom of Heaven, if while on earth you suffer torment equal to Hell?

This passage we read today is one most people like to skip right over. These are not easy questions to answer for any of us. We can all point to a moment in our life when things were AWFUL and doubts about God came to the surface. We all struggle with our faith in the bad times. If all we ever had were bad moments, would we believe in God? Would we believe in the promises, would we believe in the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us?

Whether you believe in Jesus or not – there are going to be bad times. There is going to be pain. Sometimes we try to say that if we lead a good life then good things will come to us. We tell each other that if we love others we will be loved. If we care for others we will be cared for. We tell ourselves that God loves us so much that Jesus will save us from every disaster and pitfall. But the truth is that sometimes we don’t get saved from the pain and hurt. Belief in Jesus Christ does not equal a life free from torment.

And once we realize that, then what? Will you still believe in God if tomorrow you are stripped from every blessing you have but the promise of eternal salvation? It’s the only assurance Jesus gives us in our life. “Believe in me and I will bring you Eternal life.” Jesus does tell us that we will suffer just as he suffered. We ignore that truth too often. Jesus does not promise us roses and rainbows. He promises eternal salvation in heaven, and he promises torment on earth.

This passage cuts through the flowers we would lay around the cross to hide the blood, sweat, and tears. This passage takes away the gilding, the cloth that drapes the altar which is a place of sacrifice; it takes away the pretty stained glass windows that depict serene pictures of love and Jesus. It takes away all that is pretty and good and leaves us with the barren truth.

Job sits on the ash heap, sores covering his tired and shell shocked body. His children freshly buried in graves, his home and farm destroyed. His wife comes to him as he scratches at his sores and she says, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

She says to him, there is no point in saying nice things about God. There is no point in silently remaining faithful when God has stripped you bare of everything that was yours to love. Curse God and end this agony, let your body die so that your torment will end!

And Job replies, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Job makes a point we often forget about with our rosy outlook on the Resurrected Jesus. For Jesus to live, he had to die. For Jesus to save us, he had to suffer a horrible death and separation from God. Jesus’ faith was as tested as ours is tested.

We can respond by continuing our faithful, quiet belief in God, or we can curse God and die. God promises us one thing, and as long as you believe in Him, you will receive that promise. You will be given salvation.

Is that enough for you?

Amen.

Respecting God and Humanity

Proverbs 1: 20-33

Mark 8: 27-38
 

A little boy walked into class on the first day of school wearing a “Jesus loves me” bracelet on his wrist. When the other boys noticed, they laughed and pointed. The little boy felt ashamed because all of his friends thought he was a big dork for having a bracelet that let everyone know he went to church and loved Jesus. He took it off when no one was looking and hid it in his pocket so no one would laugh at him anymore. But when the boys noticed he had taken it off, they made fun of him even more. “Guess you really DON’T love Jesus, do you?!” the one boy sneered at him.

Upset, angry, and on the point of crying the boy ran into the bathroom and took the bracelet out of his pocket. He stared down at it for a second, crushed in his tiny, sweaty fist, and then angrily threw it into the toilet and flushed it down. He thought to himself, “Now no one will ever make fun of me again”, and he’d never again have to feel this way.

That little boy made a choice that day which would affect the rest of his life. He developed a disdain for people who went to church and loudly proclaimed to love Jesus. They drew attention to themselves and allowed others to make fun of them and they just kept talking about how much Jesus had done for them. He didn’t get it. Jesus allowed his friends to make fun of him when he just wore a bracelet. Why would these people let complete strangers belittle them and treat them so horribly? Was anything or anyone worth being treated so bad and feeling so awful about yourself? He couldn’t imagine Jesus would do the same thing for him.

There are thousands of people outside of these walls that have felt the same way. Perhaps you are one of them. Talking about going to church and attending Sunday school sometimes feels like a socially unacceptable thing to do. When we mention God or Jesus or faith, people seem to shut down on us. They begin to fidget and look away; they will pull out their phones or check their watches, say something inane and then change the subject. It always seems like they are thinking, “I can’t believe they brought that up.”

Such reactions are disheartening and after awhile, we put up barriers. We deliberately do not say anything about our faith and going to church, and we definitely don’t mention what we learned in Sunday school or something the pastor might have said during the sermon. If we want to keep our friends and not be considered strange or one of those crazy, fanatical Christians, we know that there are only certain people we can mention church too.

Today is Invite a Friend to Church day in many churches around the U.S. I have to wonder how many new people are going to attend. Unfortunately, not only are church-goers hesitant to bring up Jesus and invite a person to church, but getting a person to actually want to go is even harder than trying to talk about it. We come up with a thousand excuses not to mention Jesus or church, and this bible passage calls us out. It reveals our hesitancy, reminding us that we are not to feel ashamed about our love for Jesus Christ and if we are, then Jesus will surely have something to say about it.

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, but forfeit their soul?” That is the crux of it all. We may have a million friends because we hide a part of who we are, but in the meantime we lose a piece of our soul every time we ignore Jesus in favor of talking about anything else that will please the people we are with.

I mentioned a couple sermons ago that one of my very best friends does not believe in religion, but believes in God. Do you know that him and I talk more about God and AGREE than I do with some Christians? Sometimes we have arguments about my belief in Jesus, but I am proud to say I have never once belittled his faith. The point is to create a discussion, and if he didn’t live three thousand miles away, I know I could get him to come to this church once in awhile to hear what I have to say. We have created a place in our friendship where we are allowed to agree and disagree about God and our belief.

We all need that. We all need to be able to have people we can discuss our faith and belief with outside of these church walls. We need to be thinking about God more than just on a Sunday morning. God is with us every single moment of our lives, and yet we barely give God a moment throughout the week to be recognized. Too often we hide our faith in Jesus behind a laugh when someone makes a religious joke. We pretend that we don’t really believe that prayer changes things, when we have experienced it in our own lives. We talk about the ride we took on Sunday or the football game we watched, but not the great lesson our Sunday school teacher prepared that day.

“What can anyone give you in exchange for your soul?” There goes Jesus, once again asking the hard questions and making us realize where we have gone wrong. We only get one life to live. We only get so many moments where we may proudly proclaim ourselves to be God’s children. Some are little moments, but others are more momentous. Each of us has faced a time when we could choose God or we could choose to ignore God. We have times when we feel shame and fear to expose ourselves as Christians, especially in a hostile environment.  

I cannot help but think of the people killed in Libya a few days ago. They were killed because they were Americans and an American had made an awful video depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammed as a violent, evil person who did despicable things to men, women, and children. It wasn’t right that the protestors of the video killed those four people. It also wasn’t right that a person would create such an awful video that they knew would cause chaos and anger and pain. There is so much distrust between Christians and Muslims that the actions of a few cause a world-wide ripple.

The Christian pastor that burns a Koran on September 11^th, and the Muslim leader who kills an American – there is an utter lack of respect for other people’s beliefs and thoughts and feelings. There is a lack of dignity being paid to each side. We are all human beings and God has created us all. Jesus reminds us that we are to love everyone and that includes not only the Christians of the world, but the Muslims and the Buddhists, and the atheists.

When we react with such hatred, anger, and fear toward other people, it is just another way of ignoring God and turning our back on what we are taught in church and Sunday school. It is easy to be angry and mistrustful – it’s much harder to be understanding and loving. Jesus tells us, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”  

There are times when we unconsciously show our shame and disdain for Jesus. For instance, when we pretend not to be an avid church-goer around our friends and acquaintances at work, when we hate other people with more passion than we love Jesus – we show shame in what we have been taught by God.

When we deliberately ignore all we know to be true, we disrespect our Lord and His teaching. We, like that little boy, put God in our pocket to hide Him and our faith from the world and there are times that we also throw God away so that we can act and feel and think in ways that we know Jesus would disapprove of.

God is not just for Sundays. Jesus loves you every day, every moment of the week. It is time we showed our love for God and others every day, and every moment of the week as well. It is time we respect all of humanity for God created us all in God’s image.

Amen.

 

 

Embracing Our Doubts

Isaiah 35: 4-7a

James 2: 1-10

There seem to be days when it is easier to believe the promises of the Bible than on other days. When we read passages like in Isaiah that talk about our eyes being opened and the lame leaping like deer – we often have one of two responses. Sometimes we are comforted by such a message and then there are days when we are disheartened.

Who here has believed the promises and known disappointment? I think all of us would be able to raise our hand on that one.

Then we hear people say things like, “If God didn’t answer your prayer it is because God has something better in store for you. God has a better plan than what you could come up with.” We hear songs sung like, “Thank God for unanswered prayers” and we nod our heads because yes, there ARE times when we are grateful God did not answer our fervent prayer.

But there will always be times when we wish God would answer and we hear nothing but silence. There will be times when we are praying for Aunt Susie in the nursing home fighting dementia or Grandpa Ronnie whose diabetes has gotten out of control and has lost both his legs. There will be days when we are praying for safe passage for our family and friends, when we pray for the drought to end or the hurricane to pass us by and none of these prayers will be answered in the way we want and need them to be.

As faithful Christians, what are we to do with this knowledge? We know that not all prayers are answered. We know that sometimes no matter how strong our faith and belief in God, that what we pray for will not be what we receive. There are thousands of disillusioned Christians for that reason and sometimes we are one of those thousands of people.

Yes, even your pastor has had doubts and been disillusioned with God. We all have battles in our lives, moments that test the very fiber of our being and they are often the moments that test our faith to its utmost as well. For some, that fragile connection to God will break and for others it will be stretched thin but not broken.

Jesus had an interesting view on the subject of faith. He often told the crowds and disciples that it does not take very much faith to move mountains and change the course of our lives. But he also did not have a problem with doubts and questions from the people. He often seemed to encourage the dialogue with his parables and stories. Jesus believed that doubts were healthy; perhaps even a necessary part of our faith.

The reason it is healthy is because a person that questions what God is doing and not doing is someone that is thinking. A person that reads a line of scripture like, “and the lame will leap like the deer” and thinks, “I’ve yet to see that happen, is it really possible?” is someone that is analyzing and puzzling out what their faith means to them and to God. When we were children we thought and acted like children. We accepted what the pastor and our Sunday school teachers had to say without too many questions. They knew better than us.

Now that we are adults, we must think and act like the responsible people we strive to be by making sure that we never just accept what another tells us as truth. We remember that the Bible while inspired by the Holy Spirit, it was written by mortal men and women and was transcribed over and over again. There may be mistakes in there, honest mistakes but mistakes nonetheless. We remember that although the pastor has gone to school to help teach the congregation, they are one person and with limited knowledge and power compared to Jesus Christ. We cannot just accept every word a person says as Gospel Truth. It’s healthy to question and yes, even argue over our views.

When we take time to discuss the various viewpoints, we are giving God a chance to teach us more, to show us more about whom God is and who we are as His children. Let me give you an example. A few months back I referred to the Holy Spirit as She. Every now and then I do this because I know there are some people out there that feel women do not get represented enough in the Trinity. Jesus is male and we often refer to God as Father, but when God made humanity we were made in God’s image. Male AND female.

The Holy Spirit has often been referred to as Wisdom in the Old Testament, and in the Greek Wisdom is pronounced Sophia which is also a woman’s name. Some people get around using he or she for the Holy Spirit by using the word IT, but I find that to be too impersonal. When the person asked me about why I would call the Holy Spirit SHE, these are the things I told them. I’m not sure if the person approved or disapproved of the pronoun I had used, but I do know that because they asked they walked away with more information on why I had used the word I had instead of the one that is most often spoken. And with that extra knowledge they were better able to decide for themselves if the Holy Spirit was a SHE or a HE or an IT in their own mind.

Questions are a good thing. Doubt is a good thing. Do not despair if you find yourself questioning the Bible or your own faith and belief. Embrace these things because it is in the things we struggle with the most that we are able to learn more about God and ourselves. It’s not comfortable or an easy thing to experience, but these struggles really do enrich our faith.

A few years ago I met a friend who loved to argue and debate which worked out well because I also love to argue and debate topics. We spent our nights working in the seminary cafeteria and debated many theological issues. It was a growing and learning process for me because he came from a strong biblical background and I had not. I came into seminary without having read much of the bible and without having taken a single course in theology and God. He went to a bible college and knew more than his fair share and so we would talk and learn from each other.

One night, he brought up a point I could not get around. It was one we had argued over often, but this night his argument hit me square in the heart and I found myself struggling with doubts. As I was walking home, I looked up at the stars and tears were streaming down my face. I remember saying to God, “If this is the way it is, I’m not sure I can be a pastor because this hurts to believe.” I struggled and struggled with this issue for months. I wrestled with God like Jacob had wrestled with God and I wasn’t sure who was winning.

Finally, God and I came to an agreement. I realized that no one knows everything about God and although it is possible that I was wrong in my belief, no one would be hurt by my belief. God helped me to understand that the most important part of my faith is not about everyone’s views aligning perfectly with my own, but that I make sure to be open to other’s views. I make sure to respect an individual’s beliefs even if they are vastly different from what I believe because only God knows why they believe that. It is not our place to judge, and all we can hope is that others will be as kind and tolerant of us.

It was a good lesson to learn. It was also an extremely hard one that caused me many sleepless nights and confused days. But my faith is stronger for the questions and doubts, for the struggles and pain. Yours will be as well. Do not hide your doubts; do not run away from your questions. There are answers out there. Not always easy ones and not always pleasant, but if you want to know more – God is waiting.

 

Amen.

The Making of a Christian

Song of Solomon 2: 8-13
James 1: 17-27

A good friend of mine is not a Christian. He’s not Jewish, or Muslim, or even a Buddhist. He told me that he had once read quite a bit about all of these religions, but he wasn’t sure he could believe in any of them. For awhile, he considered himself an atheist. After all, if he couldn’t believe in any religion in the world, he must not believe in God. However, the more he thought about it the more he realized he did believe in God. What he didn’t believe in were people.

There is a vast difference between believing in religion and believing in God. We tend to not make the distinction, assuming that if you believe in one you certainly believe in the other which is why my friend thought for so long he must be atheist. Religion is fallible. God is not. Religion was created to help organize the chaos that surrounds our lives and it was created to put shackles on God.

Are you uncomfortable with that idea? I am. How can our belief in Christianity put a shackle on God? Our beliefs start out pure and with good intentions. The disciples and Paul helped to build the Christian religion with their desire to spread the Good News. They instituted rituals and customs because it is what they had in their Jewish faith and it is what people need. We need the comfort of knowing what to do and what to say and when to do it.

Let me give you an example. If I told you that as of now, we would only do Communion on Christmas and Easter, what would your response be? And what if I said that Consistory has decided that we no longer need candles or altar cloths because a barren church better represents Jesus? What if I said we will no longer have bulletins because we’re going to let the Holy Spirit lead church?

It’s unsettling. These are things we know are coming, they are tools to help guide us as we worship. The candles represent the fire God has lit inside our hearts, the altar cloths tell us what season and occasion it is while giving a homey, comforting feel to the sanctuary. Communion is supposed to bring us closer to God and to each other. Each one of these things has a meaning and a purpose to help us worship God.

But do they?

My friend who does not believe in religion is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. He has devoted his life to helping others by becoming a children’s psychiatrist. Each friend he makes he keeps in close contact with and his wife of two years knows how much he loves her because he makes sure to not just tell her but to show her. My friend may not believe in Christianity, but he lives a Christian life. How is that possible?

Well, if we get back to the idea that religion can sometimes put shackles on God, I see how it is possible. We become so ingrained in our beliefs and systems and our committees we forget that God exists outside of all of these things. God existed long before we created and God will exist long after they are gone. God does not begrudge us our many committees or paperwork to make sure all is well and smoothly run in the church. God does not begrudge us the money it takes to keep a building up to date or the money we spend on toner and paper to create bulletins every week.

The problem is us. When we get so caught up in what HAS to be because it has always BEEN, we stifle the creative power of our Lord. Yes, we have always had Communion once a month. Yes, we have always had bulletins and candles and altar cloths. Does this make us more of a Christian church to have these things? What makes a person a Christian? What makes a church a holy place?

James tells us that, “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.” We are told to be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to become angry. James makes it very clear that this is what makes up a Christian because God is working in us to correct our faults. We do good things not because it gets us into heaven, but because good things have been given to us and our response is to love like we have been loved.

But how many of us do it? For as much love and blessings as we all have been given, we all know in our hearts that we do not respond with equal love and generosity. Sometimes we do not respond at all. We take the things given to us as our due. We often feel self-entitled and we can allow ourselves to become narrow-minded.

James tells us that this is not God’s way. According to James, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” God does not change like shifting shadows. God does not get caught up in rules and committees and when it is time to have Communion. These things are not what are important to God. They are helpful, they are useful tools, but they are not what make up a Christian or a church.

Actions. It would annoy my friend to know I called him a Christian because he has known way too many that do not live like Jesus lives. I remember the day I told him I was going to become a pastor, strangely enough, he was the only one I told that supported me unconditionally. Even my family had deep reservations about it but he said to go for it. Then he made me make a promise to him. He asked, “Please, do not ever force your beliefs on someone and if you say something, mean it and do it. Promise me you will not become a hypocrite.”

That stuck with me through all three years of seminary and now the two years I have spent here. Do not become a hypocrite. When we say do not judge lest you be judged, when we say love others as God loves you, these things are powerful if we stick to them. One of my favorite quotes is by Francis Assisi and it says, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

Actions. We can say we are a Christian or we can say we are not. It is our actions that prove our words to be truth or lie. We can say we are here to help people, to give back to the community, but it is our actions that tell the most about why we are here. We can say we love others and do not judge, but when we gossip and complain about everyone around us, we make a mockery of those words.

We all will fall short of the glory of God. We’re human. We weren’t made perfect, we are in the midst of being perfected. We will make mistakes. We will fall and crawl and find ourselves lost at times. That is human nature. But if we keep these words of James in mind, if we remember the life that Jesus lived on earth - we have a guide to follow, we have a way to pick ourselves back up, to brush ourselves off and get back onto the way of being the person and the people that God desires us to be.

It is time we let the shackles fall away so that we all may be free to love unconditionally. That we may be free to see God in the many ways God exists in our lives. We are not perfect, but God has made us a promise. Follow Him, and we will be given eternal salvation. We need to follow Jesus more than we need to follow our manmade rules. Jesus didn’t always follow the rules and yet he said, “I came not to abolish the law, but to perfect it.” Our history has shown us we weren’t always right in how we worshipped God. When we oppressed black people and justified it with scripture. When we refused women leadership positions and justified it with scripture. We have been wrong before. We will be wrong again.

Jesus reminds us that sometimes we must break the rules to follow God. Rules are not perfect, but God is perfect. If we follow Jesus, then we will be doing what is right and good and true. Our actions will align precisely with our words, and everyone will know we are Christians in both word and deed.

Amen.

Incarnational Gospel

1Kings 2: 10-12, 3:3-14
John 6: 51-58

For the last few weeks, we have spent quite a bit of time in the book of John. We have been concentrating on what it means for Jesus to be the “Bread of Life”. The idea that Jesus’ flesh and blood has the power to bring us life is not an easy one to accept. Jesus knows this. It is why he spends so much time trying to show the people around him that eternal life is being offered by a God who cares enough to become one with us.

Some of us have been reading the bible for so long, and have heard these passages so many times that perhaps the meaning of what we are reading has become obscured. God, our Lord, loves us so much that He could not sit back in heaven and watch us flounder here on earth. God wanted to be a part of our struggle, to help us through each bump in the journey and God’s answer was Jesus Christ.

Picture a child, your child or a relative of yours. Think about a time you have watched them struggle with something. Perhaps it was bad grades, or inappropriate friends, or the struggle to make the right decisions as they became adults. A parent’s instinct is to help their child. We want to guide them, protect them, and help them with the wisdom we have earned with our own mistakes. God is no different. God looked at us and saw our pain, and God could no longer sit back and let us go through life without help.

Jesus, throughout the book of John and particularly in the sixth chapter, is hammering home the idea of incarnation. Incarnation is God, made flesh. We Christians make a bold claim. We claim Jesus Christ is not just the Son of God, Jesus Christ IS God. We know that Jesus is both fully a human being, flesh and blood like us; but we also know that Jesus is fully God. Jesus is not just LIKE God, Jesus is completely, 100% God. When he tells us the only way to see the Father is through the Son, it is because Jesus is God and has come to earth to show us more about our Heavenly Father than we ever could have known previously.

This is beyond radical compared to other religions! The Jewish and Muslim faiths agree with us on many things about God. We all agree that God is holy, loving, and righteous. But when it comes to Jesus, this is where we stand alone. This passage drives home the heart of Christian belief. Jesus’ body, broken on a cross is the flesh we eat; his blood, poured out for the world is our drink. Through his flesh and blood, we are given the gift of eternal life. It is given for all who are willing to accept such a radical thing – that the salvation of the world comes from the broken body of God.

The broken body of GOD. No other religion dares to say such a thing about the all-powerful, all-knowing God except Christians. It is incarnation, a God who is eternal, but enters into time, born of a Virgin and the Holy Spirit, becoming an intimate part of history to save us all. A man named George Macleod once said a prayer that says it all: “The morning is yours, rising to fullness; the summer is yours, dipping into autumn; eternity is yours, dipping into time”.

Jesus is a gift unlike any other. The shocking words he pronounces in this chapter remind us that when we eat and drink at the holy Table, eternity has broken into time in a unique, unrepeatable way. And God keeps on dipping into our time. Today, as we eat and drink the bread and wine, we are joined with the living Christ who is forever, and because we are joined to him, we are forever. Through the laying down of his life for us, he took away the sins of every person on earth. This bread and cup are for every person, in every land, in any imaginable state of mental, physical, and spiritual health.

As I mentioned, this idea that God could have come down from heaven to offer up his life for our own, is unique to Christianity. It is where Jews and Muslims part ways with us. Even Jesus’ disciples find this teaching in John 6 to be difficult to accept. Those of us that choose to believe, commit ourselves to a life of irony and unconformity.

Try explaining this passage to someone that knows nothing about Christianity. It sounds barbaric, like we are cannibals to be eating flesh and blood. It sounds insane, this idea that flesh and blood could make a person never die. It sounds like we are following a man who makes incredible and impossible claims. The secret to our faith is we are not following a man. We are following God. John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. .. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

This is the secret we are meant to share with the world. Somehow, we need to make known to those who would look at this passage and scoff at such claims of eating flesh and drinking blood will bring eternal life, we must let them know what we know. The grace of God is given to us as we take the bread and wine. We are lifted up into heaven, for a brief moment as we eat and drink and pray together, we are in intimate, loving communion with God. Such moments change the course of our life forever. We have been touched by God. Jesus has shown us more about God’s loving, inexhaustible, and patient nature than we could have known without Jesus’ presence on earth.

This talk of Jesus of flesh and blood, eating and drinking it, it is too radical for many people. Our faith would be easier if it was only a matter of logic and belief. But this chapter reminds us that Jesus intends to have all of us, body and soul. His truth wants to burrow deep within us, to consume us as we consume him, to flow through our veins, to be digested, to nourish every nook and cranny of our being. As we take Communion, we sit with God. We have been given a gift too precious for words, and it is our job to show others how this offer of life has changed who we would have been if we never experienced such an intimate encounter with Jesus, our God and Savior.

Jesus has come down from heaven with the intention of taking it all back. He wants all of us, and he wants us to have all of him. This God, OUR God is so scandalously, intimately available to us. And Jesus tells us here that whoever knows this, knows how to live forever.

Amen.

Bread of Life

1Kings 19: 4-8
John 6: 35, 41-51

Would you recognize Jesus if you met him today?

Many Christians feel that they know who Jesus is and would recognize his presence if they met him. In our lives, there will be many times when we encounter Jesus and we may never realize we just had a brush with a holy presence. There will be other times when the presence is so powerful, that immediately we know Jesus and are changed by the encounter forever. This does not happen to everyone and so I ask again, how often do you recognize Jesus in your life? If you cannot recall an instance, let me share one of mine.

A few years back I was walking into a bookstore because I knew a new book was coming out by a favorite author. As I went to open the door, an older woman who was obviously down on her luck or even homeless stood beside it. She looked at me and asked softly, “Do you have any spare change?” I hesitated. I had a $20 bill on me and my debit card. No change, no ones, and that book was calling my name.

I looked at her, smiled and said, “When I come back out I will have some change to give you.” She looked at me for a moment and then nodded her head as I walked inside. Was it my imagination or was that disappointment in her eyes? When I came back out, with some ones clutched in my hand – she was gone and I didn’t see her anywhere along the many stores. I knew logically that management had probably asked her to leave, but I found myself sadly wondering if I just failed Jesus. Did I really need that book more than that woman needed $20? Why didn’t I just GIVE her that money? I was going to school to be a pastor; I’m supposed to be generous and loving, not selfish!

I have no idea if that was Jesus or not, but I do know that I failed that woman and myself that day. The irony of it all is that I rarely ever carried cash while I lived in Pittsburgh, but on THAT day I had a twenty dollar bill and so I had the ability to help. But I didn’t.

Jesus tells us the only way we will know God is through the one whom God sent. Jesus also tells us the only way to meet him is if God has drawn you to Jesus. For some of us, this means we will always believe that only Christians will get to heaven. It seems to me that this passage also tells us that God, who created every living person, will constantly try to draw us near to Him through Jesus no matter our religion, race, or creed.

We believe the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. So how do we recognize Jesus when we meet him? Here’s another encounter of the one who died for us all that I read about in SouthAsianConnection.com.

Her name was Indu who was a hardcore atheist. Her life had been full of pain and torment. Her parents were against religion and often told her not to believe in God and that religion was a waste of time. She was eight years old when she was raped and abused by a neighbor. She internalized her pain to such a point that at 14 she became severely depressed and suicidal. She started cutting her wrists, she hated herself, she felt empty inside and knew what a mess her life had become.

At 17, she gave up on life and tried hanging herself. When her friend found her the doctors estimate she had been without a pulse for at least 12 minutes and spent eleven days in a coma. She said it was during that time she met Jesus. She was in a beautiful place with wonderful music unlike any she had heard before when two angels approached her and said the Lord wanted to see her. Immediately, she was afraid and thought the Lord wanted to punish her. When he appeared she said she recognized Jesus’ voice, and immediately began to apologize for all she had done wrong.

Instead of appearing angry, he was concerned and caring. She said they talked for a long time while Jesus explained the purpose of life and that each person did have a purpose. Jesus told her the purpose was found through Him. Through her time spent with Jesus, she was given a reason to live. She said some people tell her that she didn’t really meet Jesus, that it was all a dream. She responded by saying, “If that is true, then how did I find a reason to live, healing from past hurts, childhood sexual abuse, bulimia, and depression? Wouldn’t I live the same way as before if it wasn’t real? These struggles do not just go away by coincidence. Her family and friends had noticed she’d changed. That’s the power of God.”

Indu’s story is one of many that I have heard. Some will believe her story, others never will. This person’s life was at an end, but Jesus gave her life back. There are so many ways to meet and know Jesus. Some of us will get fantastic experiences and others of us will meet Him in our normal routines. But each moment is a chance for us to change, to grow, to learn more about whom we are and why we are here on earth.

For us to recognize these encounters requires for us to be aware of what the bible says about the kind of person our Savior is and not just assume we know. All of us tend to have a picture in our heads of what Jesus looks, talks, and acts like. Usually that idea of Jesus stems from our own experiences with the world. What if Jesus showed up today and was nothing like you had always pictured him to be? How do we react when our Lord tries to show us there is more to him than we could ever imagine?

If we go back two thousand years, the Jewish leaders killed Jesus because they could not believe this simple man was THEIR Messiah. He was nothing like they had pictured or what they wanted from a Savior. They could not understand and so they hated him. Many of us think we know Jesus, but I think history has shown us that we only know parts of him. There is so much more to God than we could ever fully know or understand.

But Jesus does not give up on us. He continues to meet us where we are at in our faith and life, to help bring us closer to Him. Even our ideas about Christianity sometimes need to be updated by Jesus. Fifty years ago, women were not considered suitable pastors, and all Catholics were looked at with suspicion by Protestants. Our ideas about God and religion come from how we grew up and what we were taught. I urge you to pay close attention to the people God is introducing into your life, and the encounters you have with them.

It may just be that God is using the people around you to show you more about who Jesus is and Jesus is trying to help bring a purpose and peace to your life that you never experienced before. The only way to know for sure is to keep our eyes and hearts opened to the powerful love that is Jesus Christ.

Amen.