Exodus 20:1-21, Philippians 3:4(b)-14, Matthew 21:33-46

Exodus 20:1-21
Philippians 3:4(b)-14
Matthew 21:33-46
Communion
October 5, 2014
“Commanded To Love”

We’ve splashed our rules all over the sanctuary walls.
So many rules we don’t have time for dancing …
Our grafffiti defiling the house of God.
God’s graffiti is different: God writes: Love upon our hearts.
Some night, let’s sneak into the sanctuary and paint over the rules
and write God’s graffiti all over the walls … Love Love Love Love.

So writes the Presbyterian minister and author Ann Weems.
A few moments ago we listened once again to one of the most important passages in the Bible, a passage that serves as one of the cornerstones for two of the great religions of mankind – the Jewish and the Christian faiths, the 10 Commandments. These commandments have also been used by some of the greatest societies of all time as a pattern for behavior.
But how should we view and consider the 10 Commandments? What are they?
Are they laws written in stone by God, who will strike us down if we attempt to break them?
Are they 10 laws meant to do away with any fun we might have, or think about having, and handed down to us by a God who is a killjoy and continually spouts forth a litany of “Thou shalts” and “Thou shalt nots”?
Are they 10 laws that restrict what we do, and that are handed down to us by a God who is only interested in limiting our actions?
Or —
Are they 10 rules to closely follow and to keep track of our obedience to, and to take great pride in our ability to follow, while at the same time looking down on those we do not feel keep the Commandments as well as we think we do?
Both ways of interpreting the 10 Commandments are fairly prevalent. Some people see them as rules that restrict us while others see them as rules that cause us great pride when we feel we follow them better than others.
But are there other options for interpreting the 10 Commandments and other options for visualizing God?
Let’s take another look at God giving the 10 Commandments to the Israelites and see if we can come up with another way to interpret the 10 Commandments and another way to visualize God. God had just freed the people of Israel from slavery. Through Moses God had worked miracles and mighty deeds that made clear God’s will for freedom for God’s people. They had been freed by God, but maybe they felt — now what?
Should their freedom change how they live? Are they to live any differently because they have been freed from slavery by God?
Certainly.
The glorious fact that they had been freed from slavery by the power of God was to be the deciding factor in how they lived. They are to live differently from others because God had blessed them with their freedom.
But how were they to live differently? At Mt. Sinai they found out. In the fire and the smoke and the quaking of that holy mountain they found out how God wanted them to live. They had been freed from slavery by their freeing, life-giving God, and now they were to have undivided loyalty to God. They were to have a loyalty that would not allow them to try to manipulate God by carving idols or to take God’s Holy name lightly and that would require them to take a Sabbath day of rest out of every 7 days to remember and worship God. They were also to live in a special relationship with others, honoring their parents — refraining from murder, adultery, stealing, lying and coveting or doing anything else that might keep them from living in this special relationship with God and others.
The 10 Commandments were indeed commandments but they were not Commandments that restricted what the people could and could not do as much as they freed them to love God and to love others, to honor and respect and worship God and to treat others with love and honor and respect.
The 10 Commandments are commandments to love God and to love others. They are not commandments to restrict us or make us feel proud, instead they are commandments to us to love.
We are commanded to love
Jesus understood what the 10 Commandments were all about. When He confronted the Jewish leaders who for centuries had thought that they were better than all others and who used the Commandments as a measuring stick to see how much better they were than others, Jesus made it clear that just having the Commandments, just being in the vineyard, so to speak, is not enough for the Kingdom of God. Unless you let the Commandments lead you to be open to God, loving and respecting God and loving and respecting all people, you are not living in the ways God calls you to live, no matter how good a person you are. If you do not let God lead you to love for Him and others, you are not living in the ways of God.
The tenants in Jesus’ parable thought they had it made there in the vineyard. They thought they had it made and did not care about the landlord’s servants or his son. They didn’t let having the vineyard change them and their attitudes towards the landlord.
Having the love of God, having salvation, should change us and it should bring about a change in our attitudes. It should bring about a change in our devotion to God, and in the love we have and share with others.
That’s what the 10 Commandments are all about. Love. Love Love. Love.
We are commanded to love.
Paul finally understood this. He thought his life was perfect until he met Jesus and saw just how imperfect he was. Then he began striving to live in love. He began striving to live in love for God and love for others. He finally discovered that his life was not meant to be spent feeling superior to others, but loving others. Those 10 Commandments he had taken such great pride in were actually commandments to love God and to love others. He was commanded to love.
So am I. So are you.
We are all commanded to love. We are all commanded to love God and commanded to share the love God has given us with others. We are all commanded to love.
We can not let ourselves become so proud that we look down on others. We also can not let ourselves become so legalistic that we can not show love to others, no matter who they are. No, we must learn to live in love with God and with others.
This is not easy. Paul understood how difficult it was, and yet he let God strengthen him as he strove to fulfill this commandment to love. It is only as we let God do something that is indeed impossible through us that we can love others. It is only when we let God’s love take root in us that we can truly love others. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as yourself.
Today is worldwide Communion Sunday.
This is the day when Christians throughout the world come together around God’s table. Some who come we will find it easy to love, for we know them and can easily love them, or they are just like us and it will be easy for us to love them. Others may not be as easy to love. They may be from other lands other cultures. They may be completely different from us. But we are commanded to love.
How much do you love?
How much do you love God?
How much do you love others?
Do your actions show a love and commitment to God and others?
Does the way you spend your time show your love for and commitment to God and others?
As you partake of the Sacrament, learn once again what it means to love. Learn again what it means to be open to God in your life and to be open to others. Learn again what it means to be loved by a gracious God, who can lead us to love Him and the world.
Use this time in this place and around this table with these people to reflect on how well you do show a love for God and others in your life. Use this Sacrament to strengthen your love for God and for the world.
Who knows – – maybe we can even take Weems up on her dare:
Some night, let’s sneak into the sanctuary and paint over the rules
and write God’s graffiti all over the walls … Love Love Love Love.
We are indeed a people who are commanded to love. Amen.

Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16
Thank God That God Is God (And We Are Not)
September 21, 2014
Some of you may remember, as I do, Chevy Chase when he was part of the regular line up on “Saturday Night Live”. One of the skits he would do almost every week would be a satirical look at the weekly news. He would always begin by saying:
“Good evening. I’m Chevy Chase – and you’re not!”
That line still gets laughs.
If I were to teach a class entitled Religion 101 one of the first lessons may be entitled: God is God – And You Are Not
Maybe you remember the CitiBank credit card commercial from a few years back featuring a guy telling of his family vacation. while scenes from that outing flick by on the screen. The family goes on a trip, stops at a souvenir tourist trap and the kids want a zillion pieces of plastic junk. The guy narrating sighs and states: “So I pay. I’m the Dad. It’s my job.” More vacation scenes flash across the screen. The family stops at a restaurant. After everybody chows down, the guy again concludes: “So I pay. I’m the Dad. It’s my job.” The concluding scenes go by with the family car breaking down and a mechanic coming out to fix it. Yet another sigh from the long-suffering father: “So I pay. I’m the Dad. It’s my job.”
Yes, sometimes we are in charge, it’s our responsibility, and the buck stops squarely in front of us. And although we may grump and grouse about those times, most of us kind of like knowing that we are in control of what is going on and what is coming up next. In fact, we like it so much that we tend to try to take over the reigns of control when we are clearly no longer qualified to be running the show. We try to act like we know what we are doing when really we don’t. We try to be in control of things we have no control over. At times we try to be something we are not, and usually we get in trouble when we do that.
The fact of the matter is that sometimes we even want to act like we are God. Worse than that sometimes we act like we can tell God what to do, or who to love and who not to, or what is right and what is wrong. We are constantly tempted to, as I like to put it — “play God.”
Why are we so quick to forget that God is God , and that we are not”?
Maybe we need to have a basic conversation with ourselves every morning. I recently heard of a minister who urged his congregation to revisit the conversation in John 1 between John the Baptist and the crowds when they asked him if he was the Messiah. John emphatically replied “I am not the Messiah” Maybe every day we need to look in the mirror and emphatically tell ourselves “I am not the Messiah!” or “I am not God”
God is God – and we are not
Over the centuries, forgetting this fact has led to countless tragedies, large and small, personal, national and global.
Adam and Eve thought they had godlike freedom, but they did not.
David thought he had godlike authority over who lives and dies, but he did not.
The Israelites thought they had godlike exclusiveness, but they did not.
Peter thought he had godlike loyalty to Jesus, but he did not.
Saul of Tarsus thought he had a godlike mission to wipe out Christians, but he did not.
The Romans thought they had godlike ruling power, but they did not.
Americans thought they had a god-like manifest destiny over all who lived in the country they wanted, but they did not.
Medical science sometimes thinks it can play god, but it cannot.
The bottom line is that God is God, and we are not. What that means is that we have no right to decide who God will love, how God will act, or what God will do.
He’s God. We are not. It’s His job to decide who to love, how to act, or what to do.
But that does not stop us from questioning God, does it? Sometimes we might want to question what God does, or look at someone and say: “Certainly God could not love them!” But – it’s not our job to tell God what to do, or who to love and who not to love, or what is right and what is wrong. He’s God. We are not.
Let me ask you a question:
What if you got to heaven and found out that God had decided to let everybody in?
How would you feel about that? Republicans and Democrats, doctors and dope pushers, lawyers and lay-abouts, merchants and murderers, hookers and horse thieves.
How would you feel about that?
Certainly that will never happen! you might think. But that’s our opinion, and God might have a different opinion. Who God loves is God’s business, not yours. He’s God. You are not.
David Leinenger is a Presbyterian minister in Pennsylvania who tells the story of some controversy that surrounded a First Anniversary September 11 service in September of 2002 that was held in the town where he is pastor. It seems that they decided to have a community wide interfaith service to mark the 1 year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. David was quoted in the local paper as saying the service would be open to all religious faiths and that representatives from many religious faiths would take part in the service. Well, he began to get letters. A lot pf them. One read:
Dear Pastor Leininger, While visiting in Northwest Pennsylvania last summer (from my present home in Tampa), I read a newspaper article concerning your invitation to the Director of the Islamic Cultural Center in Jamestown to speak to your church members. A week or so ago, once again visiting the area of my birth, I read of the Warren Area Ministerial Association’s plan to hold a Sept. 11th memorial service at the Library Theatre. In this article you are quoted as emphasizing that “It will not be just a Christian service. Instead, it will help people of all faiths to ‘reach to the depths of their souls and their own understandings of the God of the universe.'” As a Christian who believes in the whole Bible as the truth of God, I strongly take issue with this position of yours. We Christians are to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and none other! As you must know, Jesus said (as quoted in John 14:6), “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The woman continued trying to tell Pastor Leininger who God would save and who God would not save. The fact is that she may have been trying to tell God who He could and could not save. But you know God is God and she is not.
God is God and we are not.
You may not think that you try to “play God” or tell God what to do or who to love or who to save, but do you choose who you will pay attention to and who you will not, or do you choose who you will speak to and who you will not, or do you choose who you will feel sorry for and help and show God’s love to and who you will not? Isn’t that a form of trying to “play God” or judge who God will and will not love, or tell God who He can and can not love? Do you ever judge someone by thinking: “I can’t waste my time reaching out to that person, they are a hopeless case!” Isn’t that a form of trying to “play God” or judge who God can and can not love, or tell God who He can and can not love? Too many times we “religious people” keep trying to “play God” and judge who God can and can not love. We keep trying to do God’s job for Him. And we don’t do a very good job of it.
Maybe that’s why Jesus had more trouble with and controversies with “religious folks” than folks who were not very religious. In the parable Jesus told in Matthew 20 Jesus provides us with a glimpse at the difference between what God’s will is and what we might want God’s will to be. The landowner’s generosity is bestowed on these last-hired laborers for a reason known only to him. He does not explain or apologize for giving the same wage to everyone hired, regardless of the amount of time logged on the job. The only response the landowner has to the disgruntled first-hired workers is “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?”

Well, is God not allowed to do what God chooses with what belongs to God? God is God, and we are not. Maybe we would not pay the last laborers hired as much as the first laborers hired. But it’s not our job to question why the landlord decided to do it the way. Maybe, if we were God, we would not love all people, regardless of who they were or what they had done or how they had lived their lives. Maybe, if we were God, we would not forgive all people, regardless of who they were or what they had done. We might say to someone: “I’ll never forgive you! You don’t deserve it”. Maybe, if we were God, we would not show our love to all people or feed the hungry regardless of why they are hungry or help those in need regardless of why they are in need or show love even to the most unloveable people.
But God is God and we are not, so it is God’s job to decide who He will love nd save and show love to, and it is our job to do what God tells us to do. It is up to God to call us to love and care for all people, regardless of who they are, and it is only up to us to live the Christian life in the best way we know and show God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion to all people, whether we think they deserve it or not. God commands us to reach out to all people with His love, welcome all into our fellowship, invite all into our fellowship, and show His love to all people, whether they are people we would normally reach out to or not.
God has chosen to show His love to those He has chosen to show His love to. He’s God. That’s His job. Our job is to follow God, not lead God. Our job is to show His love as He calls us to show it, not as we would want to do it. But here’s the thing — I am glad that God is God and that we are not. If we were God , if people were God, if God judged us by the standards we set for others, we would all be in trouble. None of us would have a chance for God’s love or the salvation God gives us. The truth is that we all have been in the position of the laborers who were hired last but got as much pay as everybody else. The truth is that we all have been dependent on someone who showed us God’s love, even when we did not deserve it. The truth is we all continue to depend on God’s gracious love for our salvation.
There’s a story of a man who lived a wild life until he gave his life to God. He finally attended Seminary and upon graduation was ready to begin his ministry. Being a Presbyterian, he had to be examined on the floor of Presbytery before he could accept the call to the first Church he would serve. While being examined, he talked about God’s love for sinners and how, in his ministry, he wanted to share God’s love with all people. Finally someone asked him if he thought everyone would be saved, and he replied: “I don’t know if God will save everyone. But I do know he saved me when everybody else had given up on me, and if he could do that, he could save just about anybody.”
Yea. I thank God that God is God and we are not. God has freely forgiven us. It’s not up to us to judge who else God will love or forgive or show His grace and mercy to .He’s God – we are not. Deciding who He will love is His job. Our job is to follow Him and show His love, compassion, grace, and mercy to all people. That may not be that way we would do it if we were God, but that’s why I thank God that God is God , and we are not. Amen.

Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 18:21-35
“Forgiving Others”
September 14, 2014

Have you ever noticed that Jesus places a great deal of emphasis on our need to forgive others? Forgiving others is one of the most important of Jesus’ teachings, and one of the keys to living the Christian life. In fact, Jesus even goes so far as to say that if you’re not willing to forgive others, you can’t experience the fullness of God’s forgiveness in your life. In the Sermon On The Mount Jesus said: “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Jesus teaches this same principle here in Matthew 18. Here in Matthew 18 we learn a lot about forgiveness, how much we’ve been forgiven, and how much we need to forgive others. We also learn that being forgiven and forgiving others are inseparable concepts.

The “big idea” of Matthew 18:21-35 is this: If you are going to follow Christ, you need to forgive as you have been forgiven.

If I were to ask you to think of someone you’ve had to forgive recently, or someone you need to forgive, it probably wouldn’t take very long for you to come up with a name. It’s a fact of life, as you live your life you will have many opportunities to forgive others. If you’re married, you’ll have many opportunities to practice forgiveness. If you have a job, go to school, have neighbors, go to Church, or do anything else, in whatever you do in life, you are going to have many opportunities to practice forgiveness. And guess what? You, yes even you, will give many people many opportunities to forgive you. Opportunities to forgive are a part of life. So the question is: how do you do it? How do you forgive others as God wants you to forgive them? What does it mean to forgive as you have been forgiven?
As we look at Matthew 18 we see several guidelines for forgiving others. When someone comes to you asking for forgiveness, here are several things to keep in mind. But be warned , these are not easy.
First of all, if you are going to practice forgiveness as Jesus teaches you to do, you need to forget about keeping count. In this passage Peter comes to Jesus and asks, “Lord how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Where did Peter come up with the “seven times” figure? Well, in the Jewish belief system, seven was the perfect number — the number of completion. Therefore, forgiving someone seven times “completed” your obligation to forgive, and you weren’t required to extend it further.
Jesus said to him, however,”Not seven times but seventy-seven times,” The point is that you are not to keep track of the number of times you forgive someone. In other words, each and every time they come to you seeking forgiveness, you are to forgive them.
Now, it’s important to know that Jesus is not talking about someone who hurts you and does not feel guilty about it or does not ask you to forgive them. He’s talking about someone who is truly sorry for what they have done and comes to you asking for forgiveness. In that case, Jesus makes it clear. If you are going to be the forgiving person He calls you to be, you forgive those who ask you to forgive them, no matter how many times they may offend you and have to ask for your forgiveness.
Jesus makes it clear to Peter, and to you, and to me, that we are to forgive others an unlimited number of times. He also makes it clear that God doesn’t expect you and me to do anything that he’s not willing to do Himself. The truth is that you and I are to forgive others an unlimited number of times because God forgives us an unlimited number of times. In other words, you can forget about keeping count when it comes to God’s willingness to forgive you. If you ask God to forgive you, He will. In the same way, you need to forget about keeping count if someone asks you for forgiveness. If someone asks you to forgive them, do it, regardless of how many times they’ve asked in the past. Forgive others as you have been and continue to be forgiven. Forget about keeping count.
There’s a second guideline Jesus gives here in Matthew 18. That is when someone asks you to forgive them, don’t just forgive, but cancel the debt. Sometimes when you forgive others you have the power to cancel their debt, to let them completely off the hook, and you need to do that whenever you can. In Matthew 18 Jesus tells the parable of a man who owed his king a huge sum of money. He owed him millions of dollars in today’s way of thinking about it. There is no way he could pay the debt, so the king ordered that everything the man owned, and even his wife and children, be sold, and the man sold into slavery also. In that way the debt, or at least part of it, would be repaid. The man who owed the debt begged and pleaded for mercy, and the king took pity on him. He took pity and canceled the dept all together. Just like that, with just a word, millions of dollars of debt was wiped away. This man had gotten in over his head and he owed far more than he was able to pay back, but the king understood something about forgiveness, and so he cancelled the debt and let him go.
You know, there are some times when you forgive others that you simply have to cancel the debt and let them go. When someone does something wrong, they should do whatever they can to make it right. But sometimes people wrong us to such an extent that they can never make it right. If they come to you seeking forgiveness, and you have the power to cancel their debt, then cancel their debt. Let them off the hook. Forgive them completely.
Maybe you’re wondering why you should forgive someone completely and cancel their debt, or just let them off the hook. If you are wondering why you need to do that, remember the principle to forgive others as God has forgiven you. When God forgives you. The Bible says He doesn’t remember your sin any more. It’s forgiven and done away with. You need to forgive others in the same way. When you forgive others, remember how God forgives you, how God forgets your sins. That will help you forgive and forget theirs.
So, we have seen two guidelines for forgiving others as God has forgiven you. Forget about keeping count, and cancel the debt.
A third guideline about how to be the forgiving person Jesus calls you to be that we see here in Matthew 18 is that, even though you forgive them and let them off the hook, you still need to keep them accountable. In this parable in Matthew 18, the king forgives the servant’s debt, and then the servant goes out and refuses to forgive someone else of a much lesser debt. The king then throws the servant he has forgiven but has refused to forgive someone else in jail
What’s the lesson here? What can we learn from this? We can learn that along with forgiveness comes accountability. The king didn’t cancel the servant’s debt and give him free reign to run up more debt, and neither did he give him free reign to treat his fellow servants ruthlessly. He forgave him, he cancelled the debt, and he also held him accountable. In forgiving others, this is the area where you might often drop the ball. When someone comes to you asking for forgiveness, the best response is to say, “Absolutely, I will forgive you. I will cancel the debt. Now, what can we do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?” When you forgive others, even though you completely wipe out their debt from the past, you need to help them establish terms of accountability so that they will be able to overcome their past and move on toward being the people God wants them to be.
Remember that you are to forgive others as God has forgiven you. Remember that God forgives you absolutely and completely, yet He makes you accountable to Him and others for your actions.
With forgiveness comes accountability, so when someone comes to you asking for forgiveness, give it to them. Also, give them the opportunity to establish terms of accountability so that their striving to be the person God wants them to be can be complete.
So we have seen 3 guidelines for being the forgiving person Jesus calls you to be. Forget about keeping count. Cancel the debt. Keep the offender accountable. But there’s a fourth guideline, and that is really the most important one of all. When someone comes to you and asks you to forgive them, remember the mercy God has shown you and show them the same. God wants you to forgive others and Jesus teaches you to forgive others, because we have been forgiven. Your debt to God is much greater than anyone’s debt to you, and yet God forgives you, and because of that, you can forgive others. None of us deserve God’s love and forgiveness, but He forgives us anyway. All of us fail again and again in the same areas of our lives, and yet God continues to forgive us again and again. There is no way you could ever need to forgive anyone else more than God has forgiven you. When we consider God’s mercy in your life you find yourself compelled to show mercy to others. The wicked servant in this parable was punished because he was willing to receive mercy but wasn’t willing to give it, and Jesus said: “This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
God takes forgiveness very seriously. He expects you to forgive others completely, because that is how He forgives you. He takes forgiveness so seriously that He was willing to send Jesus into the world to die on the cross for your sins and to pay the debt for your sins, a debt that you could never pay yourself. God’s forgiveness is not because you deserve it, but because He’s merciful. He doesn’t keep count of your offenses. He cancels the debt completely. He makes you accountable to him and others so that you can become more holy, more like Him.
So – I’ll ask the question again I asked earlier — do you need to forgive someone?

Forgive them as God has forgiven you. Forget about keeping count. Cancel the debt. Help them establish terms of accountability. And most of all, never forget how much God has forgiven you for, and share the forgiveness God has shown you with others.

That’s how to live a life of forgiving others Amen.

Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13-21
“Counting On Jesus”
August 3, 2014
Several years ago Bill Murray starred in the movie “What About Bob?” In it he plays Bob Wiley, the patient of a psychiatrist who is desperately trying to take a vacation with his family, but Bob does not think he can make it a month while his psychiatrist is on vacation. He takes the bus from New York to the psychiatrists’ vacation home in New Hampshire and spends the entire month with the psychiatrist and his family. In the process the psychiatrist learns how much good he is doing others and decides to continue the practice, although at the start of his vacation he was ready to quit.
At one point the psychiatrist says : “You know – I never thought anyone was counting on me!”
It’s a funny movie, and it shows how we need to be available for others, even when it’s not convenient to us.
Jesus was certainly willing to be available for others, even when it was not convenient for Him. In the passage directly before our passage for today, John is killed by Herd, and Jesus seems to want to get away for awhile. He seems to want to take a break, to take a vacation. He seems to want time alone with the disciples and with God. It’s not really all that unfair a fair a request when you think about it.
His cousin, his predecessor in ministry, had been killed. and Jesus probably wanted some time te to sort things out, so to speak. Time to think about what He was doing. Maybe some time to pray about God’s will for His life. Time away from the increasingly pressing crowds. But the crowds follow Jesus and the disciples. They can not get away.
What does Jesus do?
Does He yell at them and tell them to go away, to come back later? Does He
refuse to see them? No, He has compassion.
He has compassion
He has compassion for the crowds and compassion for their needs.
He heals many of them and teaches them.
He has so much compassion that the day gets late, everyone is hungry and no one has any food.
Now what does Jesus do? The disciples want Him to dismiss the crowds so they can go into the nearby towns and villges and get something to eat but what does Jesus do?
Again, He has compassion. He refuses to send the crowd away.
“You feed them” He tells the disciples.
But — how? How could they do that? they ask. They don’t have enough food to feed so many. They figure there must be at least 5.000 people there. They are not prepared to feed such a crowd, and don’t have the money to buy enough food. They found 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, but what were they in such a large crowd?
How could they give them something to eat?
You know what? There was something the disciples had forgotten how to do. They had forgotten how to count. Not in the traditional way, but by Jesus’ way, a “new math” of abundance! They saw the situation by the following mathematical equation: (5 loaves plus 2 fish) divided by (5,000 people) = a desperate need they could not meet. They know how to “count” in the sense of world, but they did not know how to count in Jesus’ new way, the “new math” of abundance! They forgot one important factor in the equation – JESUS. They forgot that, whatever they had, Jesus could take it and bless it and use it for His work and will in the world. They forgot that they could always count on Jesus, and when they counted on Jesus, a miracle occurred! What they thought was just a small amount of food just 5 loaves and 2 fish, suddenly became an enormous amount of food!
You may remember the episode of the “I Love Lucy” show where Lucy is baking bread and glances down at her cookbook and reads that she needs to add in 12 cakes of yeast. When her friend Ethel arrives she questions whether that is too much, but Lucy says “that’s what the cookbook says”. They look at the cookbook again, and discover that Lucy had misread the cookbook. She only needed to put in 2 cakes of yeast, not 12. But they figure the cakes of yeast are very small and won’t be any problem. They go shopping, and when they return home Lucy notices the door of the oven is ajar. Opening the door to investigate, an enormous loaf of bread emerges, so big it pins Lucy against the cabinets on the opposite side of the kitchen. Ethel runs to get a huge lumberjack saw and rescues Lucy from the monster loaf of bread!
Like the small cakes of yeast can do powerful things — Jesus can take small things, and do powerful things. Here’s how the true mathematical equation the disciples were facing in trying to feed the 5,000 should have looked like:
(5 loaves + 2 fish) plus JESUS divided by (over 5,000 people) = A Miracle!
A miracle occurred when they gave what they had to Jesus and let Him do His miracle!
Like the psychiatrist in the movie “What About Bob” the disciples learned to care and have compassion that day, but they learned more than that – they learned how to count on Jesus’ ability to care, Jesus’ ability to meet needs and work miracles. They learned that, when they step up do what they can Jesus can do the rest. In other words, they learned to learned to count on Jesus.
OK – so – what about us?
Well, aren’t there times we are like the disciples? Aren’t there times we feel so overwhelmed by needs around us in world and community that we just want t get away? Aren’t there times we feel like saying:
“God – take care of those needs I see around me” But feel Jesus saying “No – you do it!”
Aren’t there times we want to ask –
God, surely you don’t expect me to take care of all these needs!
Like the disciples, we forget how to count, not by the world’s standards, but by Jesus’ “new math” of abundance! The mathematical equation for how we see it may look something like this:
(Our limited resources) divided by (the world’s great needs) equals disaster!
This story before us today is a word for every weary disciple, and a word for us. Although we may feel we are confronted with impossible expectations we are supported by Jesus’ promise to give us more than enough to reach out to those in need, if we will just do it. The mathematical equation we should be looking at is:
(Our limited resources) plus (JESUS) divined by (the world’s great needs) equals A MIRACLE!
How can we do all God has called us to do?
How can we find enough to meet the needs of so many people?
How can we visit the sick, console the distressed, find a word of hope for others, and help those who desperately need it?
Well, the task is obviously impossible, but, like the disciples, if we will simply do what we can and depend on Jesus for the rest things will get done.
Yea (our limited resources) plus (JESUS) divined by (the world’s great needs) equals a miracle!
You see, Jesus is not really saying “ you do it”, instead Jesus is saying: “Let’ it together!”
When we look at needs and situations around us we might be overwhelmed, but we need to count Jesus into equation
(Our limited resources) plus (JESUS) divined by (the world’s great needs) equals A MIRACLE!
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, remember to count on on Jesus!
Matthew West has a song that’s getting a lot of air play on the Contemporary Christian radio stations these days where he sings about a man who asked God why He didn’t do something about all the problems in the world — and God replied;
“I created you!”
In other words, God created us to work with Him, to put what we can do with what He can dom through us and see the miraculous difference we can make together.
Feel for the needs of others, and do what you can to meet their needs.
Feel compassion for others, and do what you can to help them.
Think of what you can do – what we together can do – what we together with Jesus can do – to meet the needs of others
Think of what can be done when we add Jesus to the equation
Think of what we can do when we count on Jesus
We don’t have to feel like the psychiatrist in “What About Bob” whose patients would not leave him alone — or the disciples overwhelmed by needs of those around them –
We can count on Jesus. and find our needs met, and, find His miraculous power when we willing to do what we can and count on Jesus to do the rest!
A minister tells the story of one day, while walking into the Hospital to visit someone, a mother and her young daughter were ahead of him. Just before they got to the entrance, the little girl noticed the closed door and asked her mother how they were going to get inside. The mother smiled, walked forward, and the electronic eye opened the door and they walked in. As they were walking in, the little girl turned to him and said: “It’s ok – just step up and a miracle will happen” Jesus says to us – “It’s ok – step forward in faith – and a miracle will occur!”
Step up – in faith – and count on Jesus! AMEN

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
“A Dirty Church”
July 13 2014

Not many people like dirt. It’s usually something you try to get rid of. Things that are dirty are usually considered bad. Most people like things clean instead of dirty. When your house is dirty, you clean it. When your car is dirty, you want to wash it so it can be clean. When your clothes are dirty, you wash them so they can be clean. When you are dirty, you take a bath or a shower so you can be clean.
Most of us like things clean instead of dirty.
Unless, of course, you are a kid.
Most of you know that I was the Pastor In Residence at Camp Monroe this past week. They had an over abundance of Day Campers, kids ranging in age from 6 to 9 at Camp this past week, There were 24 little ones from 8am to 5pm every day, although it seemed like there were thousands of them! My only real duties at Camp were helping lead the opening of the day worship in the morning and the closing of the day worship at night. The rest of the day I was supposed to be free to rest, work on sermons, or whatever else I wanted to do. Well, I did what I wanted to do. My heart went out for the counselors and the Day Campers, and by Tuesday morning I was helping herd the 24 little ones to their activities and taking part in the activities with them. I did everything from playing soccer – both regular soccer and crab — swimming, which I must admit felt pretty good at 2 in the afternoon, to helping with the horses to crafts – those of you who know me realise that I had a wonderful time! But I was reminded last week that kids don’t mind getting dirty! In fact when I came to be meal time or time to get in the pool we would almost have to hose them down t get them clean! No – kids don’t mind being dirty! I bet you know what the first thing I did was when I got home Friday afternoon – I dumped my clothes in the washing machine and myself in the shower!
Besides being a kid, there are other times when dirt is not that bad.
Being a potter, Sally likes nothing better than to have her hands in the mud making pottery. Back when she was pottery she comes home covered with dirt – clay – and mud from head to toe. But before she would leave the studio you know what she does? She would clean her wheel and her work area. And when she got home she would put her clothes in the dirty clothes basket so they can be washed. and took a shower to get the mud – clay – dirt off of her.
I know the joke about being made to take a bath every Saturday night whether you needed it or not – but the truth is most of us like to be clean instead of dirty. And we like things around us to be clean. We take great pride in things being clean, and spend a lot of effort getting things clean. Most of us do not like dirt.
Unless, of course, we enjoy planting flowers or growing vegetable.
When I was growing up we had a man that would help Mom and Dad with yard work on occasion named Nick White. Nick was an elderly gentleman who could tell people where to plant plants. He would dig around in the yard – getting “soil samples” as it were – then would announce:

“You can plant here. It’s good dirt.”
Sometimes you just need good dirt. What makes for good dirt? A proper balance of nutrients to start with, some fertilizer can’t hurt, maybe a little Miracle Grow, then some water and sunlight. These things can help plants grow. But frist you have to have good soil – or as Nick would say – good dirt. To have healthy plants you have to start with good dirt. And you have to be willing to get dirty.
The Parable before us today is a story Jesus told about a farmer who sowed seeds, the different types of dirt the seeds fell into, and what happened in each type of dirt. Now most of you know I am by no means a person of great horticultural skills, which is say I am no farmer. But even I wondered at the farming practices of the man Jesus told about in His story. But these were normal practices for the farmers of the first century. First century farmers usually broadcast the seed by hand as they walked through their field. The fields were small by today’s standards, and the sowing very imprecise. It was natural that some seed would land in unproductive areas. Many times pathways interlaced the fields, and were packed hard by many feet. Much land had a shallow layer of soil over a stone base. The rock would absorb heat during the day, releasing heat to the seed during the night, causing the seed to spring up quickly – as happened in verse 5 of our text. Then there was the problem of borders of the fields that would be infested with thorns, and the seeds would blow onto this soil instead of the freshly plowed ground. The farmer would not be able to see them, but in time they would sprout and choke out the good seeds the farmer was sowing.
The hard ground, the rocky soil, the weed infested soil. Problems every farmer in the first century had to deal with. Problems all of Jesus’ listeners could relate to. But then there was the good soil. The good dirt. But Jesus had more in mind when He told this story than telling a tale of a farmer and what happened to his seed.
Why do you think Jesus told this story? I believe that Jesus knew that, as His disciples and others were doing His work , not all “soil” or not all “dirt” would be “good soil” or “good dirt”. Not everyone would believe in Christ. Things would interfere with the growth of God’s Spirit in their lives. Some wouldn’t even listen. Others would, but not let it “take root”. Still others would listen but let the world choke it out God’s Spirit out of them. And there would be other “seeds” that others would spread that at times would seem to take root quicker and be more productive than the “Gospel seeds”. But sometimes there would be seeds that would land in the “good soil”, the “good dirt”, and these would take root and bear fruit, and God’s work would be done.
We know that still holds true today. We can do everything we can, We can be as faithful as we can be, but there are still those who don’t listen as we try to spread the Good News of God. There are still those who don’t let the Good News of God’s love make a difference in their lives. There are still those who let the concerns of world choke out the message we try to give them about God and God’s love for them. There are still others spreading other seeds that are not the love of God and sometimes these seeds seem to take root and be more productive than the “Gospel seeds.” But then there are still those who let God’s love make a difference in their lives and change their lives! We live in a world where a lot of different “seeds” are being sown. Some are seeds of hatred and violence. We see evidence of these seeds being sown every day. Some are seeds of addictions. We see the results of the sowing of those sees also. Some are seeds of poverty, hunger, homelessness, loss of jobs and despair. But there are others who are sowing seeds of hope, of love, of God’s love – as a response to these other seeds that are being sown. Even though these do not always bear fruit, we can sometimes see what happens in people’s lives when they do and can work to continue spreading those seeds of God’s hope and love in the world.
Let me give you an example of 2 people who spread God’s seeds – “Gospel seeds” in the world – in a place where it was dangerous to do so – but continued spreading the seeds. In 2002 Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer were workers in Afghanistan trying to bring Christ into that war torn country. One of the families they showed the Jesus film to betrayed them to the authorities. They were arrested by the Taliban, but freed when our forces drove the Taliban out of their area. They still hope to return to Afghanistan to continue their work there. When asked if they would do anything differently next time, Dayna Curry said: “I know particularly that we did not have that many people praying for us the day we were arrested. Normally we did, but on that one day we didn’t. If you are going to do something like show the Jesus film, make sure there’s a whole lot of prayer coverage” Dayna and Heather are examples of faith, and knowing that sometimes it may seem your work for God is unproductive, but you can’t give up because that productive time, that good soil, that good dirt, is out there, you just have to make sure the seed gets to it.
Every day we have to spread the seeds and share God’s love with the world. Certainly some will take root and produce fruit and some won’t. But we still have to spread the seed.
How do we spread the seeds of God’s love to the community around us? We can do this every day as we work to help those around us. We can spread seeds of God’s hope and God’s love as we reach out to those in need. We can do this through volunteering for organizations that help others or donating to organizations that help others or visiting someone who is sick. We can spread seeds of God’s hope and God’s love as we share a smile or a friendly word with a stranger. We can spread seeds of God’s hope and God’s love by working for legislation that helps those in need. We can spread seeds of God’s hope and God’s love by praying for those who are in need, those who need to experience God’s hope and love in their lives and for those who are working to bring God’s hope and love to others.
There are so many ways that we can spread God’s seeds of hope and love in our community and the world. The Lee County Presbyterian Youth Group is going to be doing this all over our community this week. The Mission Week to our community may not sound as exciting as going to Atlanta or Washington DC, but every day we will be touching the lives of folks in our own community and making a difference as we serve at the Br ead Basket or help out at CUOC. Every day we are going to be spreading the seeds of God’s love and hope to those whelement o deperate need it, right here in our community. Some of us are going to help the youth and their leaders by proving lunch on Tuesday.
Everyone is going to have an opportunity next Saturday to help distribute the Bags of Love to the homeless people here in town. What a on hands ministry that will be!
Sure, there will be those who don’t let the Good News of God’s love make a difference in their lives as we reach out to them. here will still be those who let the concerns of world choke out the message we try to give them about God and God’s love for them. There will be others who will be spreading other seeds that are not the love of God and sometimes these seeds will seem to take root and be more productive than the “Gospel seeds.” But I promise you that there will be those who will let the “Gospel seed” we sow take root in their lives and in whom the Gospel will take root and bear fruit. We just have to sow the seeds.
But there is another angle to this story we also need to consider. We do not only have to sow the seeds, but we also need to see what kind of dirt we have here! Do we, here in this Church, have an environment in which God’s seeds of love and hope that we plant can grow and be nurtured? Do we have an environment where the seeds God has sown in each of us can grow and flourish? Is our Church “good soil” – is it “good dirt”?
We need to have a “Dirty Church”! My apologies to all of you who work so hard to keep our Church clean but there are some respects in which our Church needs to be dirty! We need to be “dirty” in that we need to create an environment in which the seeds God sows in us can grow and flourish so we can go out and sow more seeds. What kind of “dirt” – what kind of “soil” do we have here? Is it the kind of soil that is like the path Jesus spoke of? Is it well worn and omfortable, traditional but not exciting and refusing to try new things God may be wanting us to try? A Church that is like the well worn path is a Church that does not give the seeds God plants within us a chance to take root. Or is our Church like rocky ground where the seeds God plants within us can quickly grow but not have any opportunity for nurture and no opportunity to take root and grow? Or is our Church like the thorny ground, choking out the excitement and enthusiasm God plants within us before they can begin to produce fruit? Or is our Church good soil, good dirt that promotes the growth of the seeds God plants within each of us?
We need to be a “Dirty Church” . We need to be a Church of good soil, good dirt that promotes the growth of the seeds of God’s love and hope that God places in us.
Earlier I mentioned some things that made for good soil – good dirt. Things like a proper balance of nutrients to start with – some fertilizer can’t hurt – maybe a little Miracle Grow – then some water and sunlight. These things can help plant seeds grow. What about God’s seeds? What about the seeds God plants within each of us? What makes for good dirt, good soil, for these seeds?
For these seeds to grow – they need things like Worship – Worship that is exciting and also inspiring. Worship that opens us up to what God may be saying to us – and the directions God may be moving us. These seeds study – study that is challenging and that opens us up to God’s word and God’s will for our lives. These seeds need service – service that helps us spread the seeds God has planted in us. these seeds need fellowship – fellowship that helps strengthen the bonds God has blessed us with – strengthen the love we have for each other and the love God has for us and helps the seeds God has planted within us grow.
These are the things that make for good dirt, good soil, where the seeds God has planted in us can grow and mature and produce fruit and from where we can go out and spread God’s seeds of love and hope in the world and the community.
Let’s be good soil. Let’s do what we can to be a Dirty Church. Let’s do what we can to be a Church that is good soil for the seeds plants in us can grow. Not a well worn path where no roots can take hold or a rocky ground that does not promote growth of God’s seeds in us or thorny ground where the seeds are choked out — let’s be good dirt – good soil. A Dirty Church that promotes growth of the seeds God plants in each of us and then let’s go out and spread more seeds for God’s glory in our community and the world. Amen.

Matthew 10:24-39

Matthew 10:24-39
The “Bald Truth” About Fear
June 22, 2014
Last week I mentioned my Dad in my sermon and how the older I get, the more I resemble him. Those of you who have been to the manse and seen pictures of Dad know exactly what I am talking about — Dad’s hairline – or lack thereof — and mine are the same. Pictures of Dad in his younger years show that he had dark, thick, wavy hair as a teenager. Pictures of me in my teen years show that I had thick wavy hair at one time also. Then, as Dad liked to say about himself, all my wavy hair waved goodbye! When I was Ordained into the Ministry 30 years ago Dad spoke at the service – and commented that he taught me a lot of things – not the least of which was how to comb my hair!
Dad liked to say: “Grass doesn’t grow on a busy street” and “God only created a few perfect heads – the rest he had to cover with hair”. I have a small statue that has a bald man grinning and under it it says “Bald Is Beautiful”. At the first Church I served I had that statue in my office, and one day a four year old came in, looked at the statue, and asked what it said. “It says Bald Is Beautiful” I replied. He looked at me and said “Like you?” As they say, out of the mouths of babes. I began going bald in college. Dad offered to pay for a hair transplant, but I told him that I wasn’t interested. I really don’t mind being bald, although I do remember one time Sally and I were in a store that had an overhead mirror for security purposes. She was in one part of the store and I was in another – but the way that she tells the story I suddenly let out a blood curdling scream – I don’t remember it being as loud as she claims it was – and when she came running to me I was pointing up at the mirror and said “Please tell me that’s not me!” I still had some hair in the front at that point and did not realize how much I had lost in the back!
My baldness always comes to mind when I read the passage from Matthew we are looking at today and Jesus says that the hairs on our heads are numbered. I wonder if Jesus saw a bald man in the crowd that day and grinned as he made this statement. But you know, I don’t think Jesus was trying to be funny here. I believe He was being quite serious about the reality that those who participated in His mission would likely be recipients of the same hostility and rejection He experienced. Jesus had already been branded as being the reincarnation of Satan so “how much more will they malign”, He says, those who follow Him But in spite of the hostility they would face, Jesus told His followers not to fear, In fact, He told them this three times – in verse 26 – verse 28 and verse 31. And He gave them reasons for not fearing. In verse 26 He says that God’s purposes are revealed, in verse 28 He tells them not to fear because God has control of the future, and in verse 29 He tells them they should not fear because God also has control of the present.
Jesus tells His followers – and that means us — not to fear, but to trust God. In reality, though, isn’t “not fearing” more easily said than done? Franklin Roosevelt famously declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” but who among us can turn fear off when it has us in its grip? And it doesn’t matter whether what we fear is terrorism, illness, bad things befalling our children or the collapse of our retirement savings. During the last recession, one of the call-in news shows had a woman on the line who said that the dive in the stock market and the beating her retirement funds had taken had her literally trembling with fear.
Jesus’ comments about not fearing come in the context of His sending His disciples out to preach in towns and villages of Galilee. At the same time He warned them of coming persecutions, saying,
“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; … Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me …” (Matthew 10:16-18). Because of our own experiences with fear, we can imagine something of the dread the disciples must have felt as Jesus dispatched them, especially as He went on to speak of the threats and dangers they could expect to encounter But then He told his disciples not to fear any of these things. He said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Those words give an entirely different perspective on fear from the one that usually haunts us. Jesus isn’t saying that all we have to fear is fear itself, but rather Jesus says to “fear that which is truly deadly.” He’s talking about the things that truly matter, and about the importance of taking the long view: He’s saying that the worst that other people or troublesome circumstances can do to us is still not as bad as suffering spiritual death. God, and not anyone or anything else, Jesus says, holds our ultimate destiny in His hands. In the final analysis, only two events can happen to His followers — life and death — and both of these are in the hands of God.
Okay, we understand Jesus’ point, but from the standpoint of our day to day lives, there’s a lot of scary stuff in the world, in the community, and even in our own lives. When confronted by a threat, who among us can sit back and say, “Oh well, whatever harm this situation can cause me, it cannot destroy my soul.” More times than not, when we perceive a threat to our immediate circumstances, our fear is in the present tense and it’s not unreasonable. In fact, for most of us, fear of something is unavoidable. It’s an involuntary response to a threat. It can even be a positive thing, for, in the case of an immediate threat, fear often leads us to respond. There’ve even been studies that report that realistic fear appears to be healthy for a person. Moderate levels of fear, for example, have been associated with better adjustment to surgery than low or high fear levels. But fear can also paralyze us and cause us to panic and react in ways that make things worse.
Friends — Jesus’ instructions to His disciples invite us to let a little heavenly light shine on our earthbound fears. Not that we can put all our fears behind us, but we can lower the level of terror inherent in the situations that frighten us. I think it would be helpful to differentiate between being afraid and being fearful. We have little control over feelings. Our feelings simply are what they are. But we have choices about our attitudes and how we will live. Feeling afraid is a normal response to a perceived threat. But being fearful is an attitude toward life. And there is a difference.

I read about a man I’ll call Jack. Jack managed a church camp, which was a popular site for not only summer children’s programs but also for church retreats the rest of the year. The camp was situated in a heavily wooded site, and the main lodge sat a considerable distance from the house where Jack lived. To keep expenses down, the camp did not keep the lodge lit and heated except when it was in use. In winter, with the early dark, Jack often had to walk over to the lodge in darkness to turn the lights on and the heat up in preparation for a church group to arrive. Most of the time Jack was already busy somewhere else in the camp when it came time to turn the lights and heat on and he didn’t want to take the time to go home and get a flashlight, so he would walk to the lodge, seeing only by whatever moonlight there was. Jack says that when he arrived at the dark lodge and was ready to open the door, there was always a moment of uneasiness. The lodge was not kept locked, and it was always possible that someone was inside up to no good. That thought always crossed his mind, and it was a realistic possibility. But always, after recognizing the fear, Jack told himself that such a scenario was very unlikely, and that he’d never had any trouble before. He’d open the door, reach around to the light switch and turn the hallway light on.

Now — for Jack, at least, that fear was real, but his decision to go into the lodge anyway meant that he was choosing not to act fearfully. When it comes to fear, there’s always some choice in how we react. In the gospel reading, Jesus tells us to face our fear, even at its possible worst, and proceed in the right direction anyway. That has applications for us even in the face of problems forced on us. A man who was a gunner in the nose bubble of a B-17 airplane during World War II was in that part of the plane as the pilot was landing on a narrow strip of jungle. Suddenly, the gunner saw that there was a ditch across the runway. “I knew it was curtains,” he said. “I tried to warn the pilot, but I couldn’t speak fast enough. When I finally switched on the intercom, I knew the pilot had seen it. He was praying ‘God, don’t let me panic, don’t let me panic.'” Somehow, the pilot managed to bounce the plane on the ground and into the air again, leaping the ditch. The gunner says that he has often thought of that prayer and prayed it himself in the years since. He prayed not for anything tangible, but just not to panic.
Friends — we who follow Jesus ought to remind ourselves that the things we fear are never have the final word on our lives. That’s what Jesus was telling the disciples as He sent them out into dangerous situations. We can imagine several of them praying a similar prayer: “God, don’t let me panic,” and it must have been answered, because they all went forward, doing what God called them to do, regardless of the dangers. Jesus assured them that God, whose eye was on even the sparrow, who knew even the number of hairs on their heads, regardless of how great or small that number may be, was with them would not desert them. As a follower of Jesus, the same is true for you. The same is true for all of us who follow Jesus. Nothing can separate you from the love of God, not even fear itself, and not even the frightening things that actually happen to you.
Don’t let your fears paralyze you into not doing what God calls you to do. The God who calls you is the God who is with you, and He has the power over all things and the last word in all things. Amen.

 

Isaiah 50:4-9(a), Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 21:1-11

Isaiah 50:4-9 (A)
Philippians 2:5-11
Matthew 21:1-11
Passion / Palm Sunday
“What About The Palms?”
April 13, 2014
We have completed our Lenten journey with Christ to the cross, and have come to Passion / Palm Sunday, the first day of what we call Holy Week. It’s a day of very mixed emotions as we worship. We celebrated Jesus coming into Jerusalem with all the palms and parade riding in on the donkey to the shouts of “Hosanna!” as the children reenacted this for us during the first hymn. But even as we celebrate we know why Jesus has come to Jerusalem, don’t we? We know the purpose of this journey He has taken. The cries of “Hosanna” will be replaced by cries of “Crucify Him!” before the end of this week and Jesus will be crucified. He will die. He will die for our sins. The grand celebration of Palm Sunday is quickly replaced by the passion of the events of Holy Week, but a much grander celebration at Easter next Sunday is coming, also. Before we get to Easter, though, we have to make it through this week. We have reached Jerusalem on our journey with Christ, but we still have a lot to think about as we move through this Holy Week, and we pray that our commitment to Jesus will strengthen as we follow Him all the way to the cross.
Our scripture passages for today give us glimpses of Jesus’ commitment to do God’s will, and as we look at these we pray that our commitment will be made stronger.
Listen to God’s word as we read from Isaiah 50:4-9(A), Philippians 2:5-11, and Matthew 21:1-11.
When I served a Church in Wentworth, between Reidsville and Eden, NC I would gather each week with a group of ministers to share ideas on the scripture passages we would be preaching on that week. I remember one such meeting the week before Palm Sunday when we were discussing these passages before us today, their meanings, and the best ways to communicate their meanings to our congregations. Each of us were throwing out our ideas. “What about this?” and “What about that?” “What about the suffering servant?” and “What about the mind of Christ?’. Finally one of us held out his hands and said: “What about the palms?” We all stopped and looked at him as he held up a palm branch that was on his desk, then put it down and tapped the palm of his hand. We all began thinking – Yea – what about the palms?
Let’s do some imaginative thinking today as we consider the palms. Try to go back in time and imagine with me that first Palm Sunday. Jesus is entering Jerusalem. Most pictures of the event have the sky a beautiful blue and the sun shining as the crowds wave their palm branches and shout: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord – Hosanna in the highest!”
There is a lot of excitement! Jesus of Nazareth is coming into Jerusalem and the people are celebrating. Yes – that first Palm Sunday must have been quite a day! That first Palm Sunday parade quite a parade.
But – why? Why is everyone so excited?
Jesus is coming into town with some of His followers, but it must have looked like quite a ragtag bunch – this teacher on a donkey and his followers shouting.
What’s the big deal? And what about the palms? Why is everyone waving palm branches? Well, palm branches were used as symbols of peace and of power. When wars were over and peace was in the land returning triumphant soldiers were greeted with a palm branch parade. I guess they had palm branch parades in those days much like we now have Ticker Tape parades. Some of the people on that first Palm Sunday may have thought that Jesus was the Messiah, but their definition of Messiah may have been that Jesus was the Savior coming from God to overthrow the hated Romans and establish a kingdom of God’s peace and righteousness and justice. Those who understood Jesus to be the Messiah would have been very excited as He entered Jerusalem. Maybe they thought He would confront the Romans and inspire a rebellion! This would certainly have been a great cause for celebration and a great cause for a palm branch parade! The Jews had been praying for centuries for God to send His Messiah into the world to overthrow the foreign governments that ruled them, in this case the Romans, and rule in power and righteousness, and just the thought that Jesus just might be the Messiah would have filled the people with excitement and joy and sparked a spontaneous, celebrative parade.
But historians tell us that this was probably not the only parade going on in Jerusalem on this day. Pilate, the Roman Governor, would have been arriving in Jerusalem to help keep the peace during the Jewish feast of the Passover on this day also. Pilate’s parade would have certainly looked more grand and impressive than Jesus’. With a show of power, strength, and prosperity, with an army of troops carrying flags to symbolize Roman rule and weapons to enforce that rule, Pilate’s parade would have indeed looked more impressive that the rag tag bunch following Jesus. But there is no joy among the people for Pilate. Pilate represented the hated Roman government. There were no palms in Pilate’s parade. It was Jesus that had the people excited. It was for Jesus they cut and waved the palm branches.
But they didn’t understand Jesus did they? They may have thought they had understood Jesus but when it became apparent that they had misunderstood Him their mood quickly changed. When Jesus did not gather the people for a revolt, their mood changed, didn’t it? The shadow of a cross began to hide the joyful mood of the palm branch parade much like a cloud hides the sun. It only took a few days for the shouts of “Hosanna” to turn into shouts of “crucify Him!”. The palm branches that greeted Jesus on Palm Sunday were trampled by the crowds and thrown away because Jesus did not do what they thought He should do. The crowd did not understand. They did not understand the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah. They had no understanding of or room for a Messiah who would be a servant whom God would call to suffer to redeem the world. They did not understand Christ as Paul and the early Christians did as they sang of Christ who came into the world for our salvation. They did not understand that it was not a political victory God was achieving through Christ but a spiritual one, one that would reach far beyond their time, but was for all time.
So – what about the palms?
The palm branches were done away with, swept out with the other garbage of the day. But there were other palms weren’t there?
There were the palms of Jesus’ hands. There were the palms that were pierced with the nails. There were the palms that truly brought God’s kingdom and truly brought salvation. There were the palms that were truly more powerful than Pilate or any other worldly power. These were not the palm branches that were for Christ in that parade on Palm Sunday but these were the palms of Christ. These were not the branches the people of Jerusalem offered Christ on that first Palm Sunday, but the palms Christ gave for the world.
The palms of Christ.
Christ came into the world and came into Jerusalem so that His palms could be pierced. He came into the world and came into Jerusalem so that He could die and rise again. He came into the world and came into Jerusalem so that we could have salvation and eternal life.
Well , what about the palms? What about the pierced palms of Christ? What do you make of them? What do they mean to you? They can mean salvation, and they also can mean a changed life, a changed mind, here and now.
Paul calls upon us to have the same mind as Christ did. What does that mean? It means to be willing to give. It means to be willing to experience God’s love and share God’s love with others. It means to let God change your life and work for God to make a difference through you in the world. It means to do all you can to share God’s love with others. Paul reminds us that Jesus did not flaunt the power He had as God Himself in the flesh, but instead gave of Himself and did God’s will. Having the mind of Christ means we do the same. This was certainly not easy for Christ, and it is certainly not easy for us, either. At least it’s not for me – and I doubt it is for you. No, this is not easy. We would rather be like Pilate with all his trappings of power and authority than be like Jesus who gave of Himself on the cross. We would rather be served by others than to serve others. We would rather follow the one in power and have the prestige than to follow the one who gives of Himself and serves. We would rather sit back and let others serve us than get involved in serving them. We would rather promote our ideas and push for our agenda than to pray for God’s ideas and God’s agenda for us. We would rather have the mind of the world and go in the world’s ways than the mind of Christ and go in Christ’s ways.
But Christ , who gave Himself for us, can strengthen us to be more like Him. Christ – who gave Himself for us, can give us His mind. Christ can strengthen us to think as He thought and act as He acted. When we pray to have the mind of Christ, God can change our minds into Christ’s mind.
As you begin and proceed through Holy Week, pray that God will give you the mind of Christ. Focus on the palms of Christ, and how the fact that they were pierced makes a difference in your life and in the world. Reflect upon the pierced palms of Christ. Reflect upon the love of God for you. Reflect upon how God wants you to have the same mind as Christ had, and let that love – those pierced palms – change you, change your mind, change your actions, change your attitude and through you change this Church, this community, and the world. Amen.

 

Genesis 2:15-17, 25-3:7, Matthew 4:1-11

Genesis 2: 15-17, 25-3:7  

Matthew 4:1-11

“Given Another Chance!”  

Lent 1 (Communion)

March 9, 2014

            We begin the Season of Lent today as we gather around God’s Table and celebrate the Sacrament of Communion. Lent is one of the most important times in the Christian year as we reflect upon the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross. The draped cross in the Sanctuary helps us remember what Christ did for us, and the draped cross in the Prayer Garden also reminds us and the community to focus on Christ and the cross – and rededicate our lives and theirs to following Him.  

            Our scripture passages for this First Sunday In Lent remind us of our need for God’s forgiveness, but they also remind us that that, through the death of Christ on the cross for our sins, God gives us forgiveness and another chance.

            Listen to God’s Word from Genesis 2 and 3 and Matthew 4.

            The Italian artist Masaccio   painted a startling fresco entitled “The Expulsion FromThe Garden Of Eden”.  This work of art is a powerful portrayal of the event of Genesis 3 — what we have come to know as “The Fall.” Adam and Eve are depicted as walking away from a gate to the Garden and the gate is guarded by an angel with a sword. Behind the gate there is a beautiful light and lush greenery, but in front of Adam and Eve there is darkness, rocky soil, and sinister looking creatures. Adam is covering his face with his hands, as if he is  unable to bear the pain of the expulsion from the Garden, while Eve openly expresses her anguish, all the while trying to cover her nakedness with her hands. 

            What a powerful image of sin, and the way it separates us from God  and from each other. What a powerful image with which to begin the season of Lent — and make our approach to the Lord’s Table.

            The story in our Old Testament passage for today from Genesis 2 and 3 is an explanation of how sin, death, evil, and all that comes with it came into the world, but t is also about how our relationship with God, with ourselves, with each other,  and for that matter with all creation got away from how God willed for it to be. In Genesis 2 we have, in beautiful and even mythic language the creation of Adam and Eve and how they were created to live in relationship with God, each other, and with all creation.  They are placed in the Garden and given all that they will ever need.  Creation is in harmony with itself and with its creator.  There is no reason to hide and no reason for shame. Only open and loving relationships exist between the creatures and their Creator. Genesis 2:25 gives a powerful ending to this beautiful chapter: “And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.”

            But — do Adam and Eve stay in these loving and open relationships with God, each other and all of creation? No. the very next chapter, Genesis 3, is filled with doubt and rebellion. Adam and Eve choose to go against God. They choose to doubt God instead of trust God. They choose to rebel against God’s ways rather than live in God’s ways. And what happens? I guess the phrase “all hell breaks loose” pretty much describes the situation. Things get completely out of sync. Adam and Eve no longer live in open, honest, loving relationships with God with each other, and with all creation.  They now cover themselves. They hide. They are ashamed. The beautiful relationship between Adam,  Eve,  God, and all creation is completely shattered, and as  Masaccio’s fresco so graphically depicts they leave the Garden in shame and anguish. 

            You know, it’s not hard for us to imagine the anguish of Adam. We can almost hear the pleadings of Eve: “Please, Lord! Give us another chance! Give us another chance!” No, it’s not hard for us to identify with Adam and Eve.  Why is that?  Why can we identify with them? It’s because we are all sinners.         We all know what it’s like    to live in broken relationships. We all know what it’s like to live with shattered dreams. We all know what it’s like to want to beg for another chance. Another chance to set our lives straight. Another chance to make relationships better. Another chance to experience the loving, caring relationships we yearn for with God, each other, and all creation.

            How wonderful it would be if we truly had another chance! How wonderful it would be if we had a chance to truly live as God originally intended for us to live – and truly have loving relationships with God, each other, and all creation.  We all know the desire to have a chance to make things right. We all know the plea: “Please — Lord – give us another chance!”

           Have you ever wanted to cry out to God, or even dried out to God or to someone who you have upset and has turned away from you “Give me another chance!  Please! Just give me another chance!” I’m sure you have.  I know I have.  It’s part pf the human condition we call sin.  Well, friends, by God’s grace and mercy here’s the Good News: God loves us, and through what God has done for us through Jesus Christ  we are given another chance.  We are forgiven of our sins, our brokenness can be healed, our relationships with God, each other, and all creation can be restored, through what God has done for us on the cross of Christ. Christ is the only one who can bring us out of our state of sin, rebellion and broken relationships and bring us back into a state of  living in God’s will. Through Christ we can be restored to relationships with God — with others — with ourselves — and with all creation. Yes, through Christ — we are given another chance.

            In our Gospel passage from Matthew 4 Christ resisted temptation and chose to live in relationship with God.  Christ can give us the forgiveness we need to live our lives differently and the spiritual strength we need to make the choices He made.

Through the death of Christ and His resurrection we are all given another chance to make our relationships with God and others, and  our relationships with all creation, better.  Another chance to live in loving, caring relationships and to truly live as God intended for us to live. Another chance to make things right.

Friends — that’s what the season of Lent is all about. Lent is a time for us all to realize that we need another chance.  Another chance to make our lives and our relationships better and more the way God intends for them to be. Lent is also a time to realize that, in Jesus Christ, we have that “other chance” we so desperately need, the only “other chance” we can ever have.

            Yes, we all need another chance for our lives. And, yes, by the blood of Christ on the cross we have that other chance. By the blood of Christ every sin can be forgiven and every relationship — whether it be our relationship with God, with others, or with creation can be repaired.

            Lent is about our being given another chance.

We won’t take the time to do it now, but when you get home I invite you to experience the “other chance” that God gives you through Christ. Sometime write on a piece of paper every sin that you can remember that you have not confessed to God. It may take a while for you to compile such a list once you really thought about it.  I know it would me.   But compile this list, however long it takes. Once you have compiled your list, write over your list I John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

Then tear up the list, and  praise God for forgiving you.

Friends — God is indeed a God of grace. God is indeed a God of “another chance” — regardless of how many “other chances” we may need. God invites you to the His Table and partake of the sacrament that reminds us of His great love for us and the great lengths He went to to give all of us another chance. Yes, friends, through Christ we are gien another chance. Amen.

 

Exodus 24:12-1, Matthew 17:1-9

Exodus 24:12-18

Matthew 17:1-9

Olympic Christians

March 2, 2014

Today is Transfiguration Sunday – the last Sunday before the 40 day Season of Lent. On Transfiguration Sunday we remember the remarkable vision Peter, James, and John had of Jesus as He was changed – or transfigured – before their very eyes and they saw Him in all His glory and also saw Moses and Elijah – the major religious heroes from their tradition – talking to Jesus.  This glorious event occurred a week after Peter had proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, which so far was the highlight of Peter’s faith,but at the same time Jesus began talking about how He was going to Jerusalem and was going to die on the cross, but also rise again from the dead.  Peter, James, and John obviously needed this glorious vision of the transformed Christ if they were going to follow Him to the cross and beyond. As modern day disciples of Christ, we also need this day with the vision of the transfigured Christ in all His glory if we are going to follow Jesus through the season of Lent to the cross and beyond. So – pay attention to the glory of God we see in  Exodus 24:12-18 and the glorious vision of the transfigured Christ we have in Matthew 17:1-9. 

Listen to the word of God. (Read passages)

The last few weeks Sally and I have had our TV tuned in to the Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia. Every night we have watched the Olympic skiers, skaters, ice dancers,   hockey players, luge riders, and curlers compete for the gold medal, or at least the silver or bronze, in their respective sports.  The Olympics Gamers is a of a grand celebration of athletic achievement that celebrates the spirit of athletic competition and world cooperation. Before the Sochi games there was a fear that terrorists would attack and make the Sochi Olympics remembered for a terrorist strike, as the 1972 Munich Olympics are, instead for the Olympic spirit, but through excellent security and by the grace of God the Olympic spirit was supreme.

One of the Olympic events that Sally and I loved to watch was the downhill skiing. We loved watching the skiers fly through the snow trying to have the fastest speed and win a medal. They were competing for that exhilarating feeling of accomplishment and pride, as well as the pride they and their countrymen would feel as they stood at the medal ceremony with their prize around their neck as their national anthem played. Once it became clear that an American would not win a medal, we began watching Matthias Mayer of Austria,   Christof Innerhofer of Italy and Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, who ended up winning the gold, silver, and bronze medals. As far as I am concerned all the competitors were excellent skiers, but these three were named the best. These were the three who were rewarded for their training and endurance with the prize of standing on the dais as heroes at the medal ceremony with the gold, silver, and bronze around their necks.

            But you know — the road to victory is often as treacherous as the toughest downhill run. All three of the downhill ski medalists, in fact all the Olympic athletes, had to train every day whether they felt like it or not, and had to go past the pain to achieve their goals.
But think about the Transfiguration – the event in our Gospel passage from Matthew 17. When Peter, James and John climbed the snow-capped mountain with Jesus skiing was not on the agenda, and yet they witnessed Jesus in his glory, along with Moses and Elijah, standing tall together on the heroes’ dais, as it were. Moses, of course, had stood high upon a holy mountain before. The venue was Mount Sinai, and it was a 40-day event, not the 21-day telethon of the modern Olympics, and the outcome – complete with an appearance from God Himself and the new Stone Tables with the 10 Commandments, forever linked him to a much greater than the Olympics event. To Peter, James, and John he represented God’s law. Elijah also enjoyed hero status in the eyes of Peter, James and John.  Contests on Mt. Carmel with the prophets of Baal, confrontations with a  queen who was the original Jezebel, confrontations with kings, appointments with angels, meetings with God featuring earthquakes, wind ,  fire, along with  a ride to glory in chariots of fire that left onlookers open-mouthed and shocked. Yea – he was a hero in the eyes of Peter, James, and John. He represented the prophets. And now these heroes from the past are standing together on another mountain with Jesus. This was a vision much greater than that of any Olympic heroes on their dais at their medal ceremony.   

This trio – Jesus, Moses and Elijah – stood on the mountain in the presence of  Peter, James and John, who were stunned to see that it was their Jesus who stood tallest, transfigured before them, taking the gold and gleaming like a star. Who knew? Sure, their leader impressed the crowds, but who could have known that He would eclipse Moses and Elijah? Of course, Peter himself attempted to bolt out of the starting gate, so to speak, like a champion, but his strategy to build “three dwelling places” for the triumvirate was an embarrassment. It was only when he heard he voice from heaven spoke that Peter stopped in his tracks for a little divine coaching. No national anthem resounded from the clouds for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah as it does today for Olympic heroes – but instead the voice of God spoke with the grand pronouncement: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” Wow. What a great, life changing vision this must have been.  This account of the transfiguration outshines the most poignant story we will hear out of Sochi or any other athletic event. It changed the lives of Peter, James, and John – and  through their changed lives and the changed lives of the other followers of Jesus, God has changed the world.

They say that Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, created the Olympic symbol of the of the five, intertwined rings after he saw the design on an ancient Greek artifact. The rings, representing the five general regions of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania, represent an ideal of world peace and harmony. Many of the Olympic athletes carry the Olympic flag with the five interlocking circles and it’s ideal of world peace and harmony after they win their events. As followers of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, we have a flag to carry into the world – the flag of Christ.  We have been charged to carry it and display it wherever we go. As the Olympic champions are athletic champions, we are asked to be spiritual champions. The rings on the “flag” of our Lord and Savior that we carry don’t symbolize the five general regions of the world, but the flag we carry represents the Savior of every person, our Lord Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ, we need to be Olympic Christians – spiritual champions who represent Christ to the world through what we say and do. 

So, let’s take a look at the five interlocking rings, as it were, that we are to take into the world that symbolize our Lord Jesus Christ.   If we can live out the principles these rings represent, we can be, as it were, Olympic Christians.

First, there is the ring of justice. Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai with its call to love God and others. Jesus lived out this call in the way He lived and taught others to do the same. The people who love God and love others and work for God’s will for justice in the world are the people who are following our Lord Jesus Christ. Loving God and others, and being committed to  working for  Gods will for justice and love in our community and the world, is one of the principles in the interlocking rings of principles we are to show the world if we are going to be Olympic Christians,  

The second is the ring of mercy. Compassion lies at the root of Jesus’ parables and miracles. Showing mercy dominates both the Old and New Testaments.  If we are to be Jesus, followers, we need to be committed to being merciful. Showing mercy to others, just as God has shown mercy to us, is another of the principles in the interlocking rings of principles we are to show the world if we are going to be Olympic Christians.

Thirdly we need the ring of faithfulness. Moses, Elijah, and every other Biblical hero remained faithful to God, even when other people tried to dissuade them from being faithful.  The Israelites Moses lead through the desert tried to get him to take them back to Egypt. Elijah at one point felt that he was the only person in Israel still following God. Even though they had times others tried to discourage them, they remained faithful.  If we are going to be the followers Jesus calls us to be, we are going to have to be faithful to Jesus – even when others may be trying to keep us from it.  Faithfulness – and the ability to remain faithful despite all odds — is another of the principles in the interlocking rings of principles we are to show the world if we are going to be Olympic Christians.

Fourth – we have the ring of God’s truth. Moses and Elijah – and all the heroes of the faith we read of in the Bible – stood for and aced in God’s truth.  Jesus stood for and acted in God’s truth and called those who would follow Him to live in God’s truth.  Living in and acting in God’s truth is a foundation of our relationship with God and others. Our witness as Christians will crumble unless we are committed to God’s truth and living in God’s truth. God’s truth — and the ability live in God’s truth ad show it to others through our actions and words — is yet another of the principles in the interlocking rings of principles we are to show the world if we are going to be Olympic Christians  

The fifth interlocking ring we need to be Olympic Christians is the ring of the love of God. Jesus taught God’s love and shared it with others in all His acts of mercy and compassion — and  showed it most completely on the cross. If we don’t have God’s love in our lives towards others, the other principles – the other rings – will collapse in a heap of mangled, tangled confusion and we will not be the Christians —  Olympic or and in our actions otherwise – Jesus calls us to be. Our love for one another and for others is the mark of the Christian. God’s love is yet another of the principles in the interlocking rings of principles we are to show the world if we are going to be Olympic Christians 

You know, winning Olympic gold occurs for only a select few. In the Exodus 24 passage we  only Moses was allowed to go on the top of Mount Siani to experience God, and in the Matthew 17 passage only Peter, James, and John were selected to have the vision of Jesus in all His glory. And yet, we can stand as Olympic Christians when we can bear these principles of Christ into the community and the world.

To be an Olympic hero it takes commitment, perseverance, and years of training.  It is truly no easy task. To be an Olympic Christian is not an easy task either. It takes commitment, perseverance, and training.  It takes a commitment to following God’s ways, studying His word, praying to Him. and putting what He tells you as you do these things into practice. It takes a commitment to the community of believers we call the Church – being committed to the times of worship, learning, fellowship and service that we do as God’s people. But we have an advantage that the Olympic heroes may not have – we have God strengthening us so that, if we are committed, persevere, and apply the principles of Christian training, God will bless us and we can indeed become Olympic Christians who show the principles of God’s justice, mercy, faithfulness, truth, and love to the world. As we prepare to journey into and through the Season of Lent, let’s keep this powerful image of oir glorious Christ in mind,  and strive to be the Olympic Christians He calls us to be. Amen.

 

Matthew 5:38-48

Matthew 5:38-48

Do No Harm

February 23, 2014

            We have been looking at Matthew 5 this month, and seen that it is one of the most important chapters in the Gospels.  It is important in its context and also important as a ”stand alone” chapter that is filled with Jesus’ teachings about how to live as His people.  Matthew 5 is important in its context. In Matthew 4 Jesus begins His ministry and preaches that the Kingdom of God is near and people need to repent and follow Him, and He specifically calls Andrew, Peter, James and John to follow Him. By the beginning of chapter 5 there were “crowds” following Jesus, and certainly the crowds were wondering exactly what Jesus was calling them to do. Well, in Matthew 5 they begin to find out as Jesus begins teaching how His followers are to live. Of course, Matthew 5 is also important in its context as the being the beginning of the 3 chapter Sermon On The Mount.  So it is important in its context – but it is also important as a “stand alone” chapter with its teachings on how we should relate to others if we are going to be followers of Jesus.

We have seen in verses 1-12 – The Beatitudes – that Jesus is calling us to change our lives and focus on God’s will for our lives so we can be more poor n spirit, or realizing our need for others and for God — more mournful, or realizing that we are all sinners and that we have not lived as God has called us to live – more meek, or more submissive to God and more tolerant of others — more committed to righteousness, or making God’s priorities of love and righteousness our priorities and working to make these a reality in our community and in the world — more merciful, or more eager to show the mercy God has shown us to others — more pure in heart and more committed to God’s ways — more committed to being a peacemaker and committed to working for God’s will for peace and understanding in our world  and committed to doing all we can to promote better understanding among others — and even committed to not giving up when we are persecuted for doing God’s work and will in the world. We  have also seen in verses 13-20 that Jesus is calling us to be His salt and His light to a world that needs His preserving influence and His light in its darkness, and how we need to be careful to be ‘re-salinized”  when we find ourselves “desalinized”, Last week we looked at verses 21-37, where Jesus gave some strange and even severe metaphors about gouging out our eyes or cutting off our hands — but we learned that there are things and attitudes we have to do away with  — “cut out” – if we are going to live as followers of Jesus. Today we conclude Matthew 5 by looking at verses 38-48 – and we will see more teachings that go against how we would normally feel or behave, but that show us what we need to feel and how we need to behave if we are going to be followers of Christ.

TV critics and comedians – particularly Late Night Talk Show hosts – found it highly ironic that the TV show titled Do No Harm helped sink NBC’s ratings last winter. The series, which was a modern take on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story, debuted on January 31, 2013, but lasted for only two episodes before the network yanked it due to miserably low ratings. The fact is that it was the lowest in-season debut for a scripted show on a major network ever. Partly because of that flop, NBC, which started the year with the highest ratings among the networks, soon sank to lowest. I have not found any real analysis of why the show failed, but perhaps it’s partly because of its name. Weigh Do No Harm against Fast & Furious, Falling Skies, Breaking Bad, Sudden Impact and the like and it sounds unexciting and bland. Maybe even boring.

Actually, isn’t that the problem with a lot of the “be a good boy” or “be a good girl” stuff we try to teach our children and practice ourselves? The not-so-good stuff often seems more interesting and appealing.

As Billy Joel once sang:

“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints – cause sinners have much more fun”

Yea, sometimes the not-so-good stuff seems more interesting and appealing.  And that’s the problem we have even with some of Jesus’ words, isn’t it? For example, take what Jesus says in our passage for today from Matthew 5:38-48 — turn the other cheek, give to everyone who begs from you, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, go a second mile with the one who forces you to go the first mile, and to the one who wants to take your sweater, well, give your coat as well. Where’s the thrill in doing stuff like that?
We might want to throw all these teachings from Jesus in the “do-no-harm” category.

When someone bad-mouths you or does you wrong, you have to decide how you’re going to react. You can hit back, which may well make matters worse, or you can turn the other cheek, refusing to add to the problem, and therefore doing no harm. Now, if you do  choose to strike back, there are some creative ways you can do that – and you can find plenty of ideas online. There are websites like ww.getrevenge.com, http://www.thepayback.com that will help you learn how to send nasty e-mails, anonymous letters, and how to, in general, make someone miserable. So you can choose to get revenge and even find some creative ways to do it, but if you do, you’re not living as Jesus calls you to live. But it’s your call – your choice.

We can quickly agree that doing no harm is a good thing. It’s a good idea. But it doesn’t grip us the way confrontation and discord does. In the mid-1990s, Bill Moyers had a TV special featuring theologians, novelists and others talking together about the book of Genesis. When they got to the Cain and Abel story, they all agreed that Cain was the bad guy, but they also said that, from the story angle, he was the more interesting character. Abel, who does all the right things and is approved by God, didn’t generate nearly as much discussion or interest as did Cain. One of the writers even said that without Cain there wouldn’t have been the conflict necessary for creating a good story. And that’s the problem with not doing harm. It doesn’t seem as active or even as fun as doing harm.  It’s doesn’t even sound as active as doing good. In many circumstances, not making matters worse is the right thing, but it’s hard to generate much enthusiasm about it.

But since when was the excitement quotient the primary measure of how we should serve God?

You may recognize “First, do no harm” as a tenet from the medical world, where, we understand, it’s a basic principle of health care. But it also belongs to the world of religion. In 1739, a small group of people in London approached John Wesley asking for his guidance for living spiritually upright lives. He organized them into a group to meet weekly for the purpose of spiritual growth and moral examination, and he gave them three general rules to guide their behavior. The second and third of these were, respectively, do good and practice the spiritual disciplines.  Those two might well have been expected advice for spiritual development. But before mentioning those, Wesley stated his first principle: “It is  expected of all who continue in the group meetings that they should continue to evidence of their desire of salvation, First: By doing no harm and avoiding evil of every kind ….”

          Friends, that’s bedrock Christian behavior, as Jesus’ comments Matthew 5:38-48 about cheek-turning, second-mile-going and cloak-giving suggest. And this passage is not the only place in the New Testament where such do-no-harm teaching shows up. In 1 Peter 2 we read about Jesus: “When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten …” and Peter calls us to follow Jesus’ example. So, doing no harm is not just something Jesus talked about, but also something he practiced. We can also get a perspective on this do-no-harm practice from Leviticus 19, which is part of the Holiness Code of ancient Israel. At the beginning of the chapter, God commands the people to be holy and then goes into details. Most of the chapter is about doing no harm: not stealing,  not dealing falsely with others, not lying, not defrauding others, not creating problems for the handicapped, not rendering false judgments, not slandering others, not taking vengeance.  In fact, it’s only after the list of how to avoid doing harm that God gives them a command about something to do: Love you neighbor as yourself. In other words, part of loving our neighbors, which is a command that Jesus also said was critical, is doing no harm!
I don’t know about you, but almost every day I find myself in situations where I have no idea how to make them better, but I’m pretty clear on what not to do to make them worse.  I don’t think I’m alone in this.  Most of us probably find ourselves in situations almost every day where we  are not sure what to do to make the situations better, but we’re pretty clear on how to not make them worse. How do we not make situations worse than they already are? Following Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5:38-48 will certainly help, as will the list God gave the Israelites in Leviticus 19. Here are some other suggestions – do not spread rumors, don’t blame others for your mistakes, don’t vent your anger on people who are not involved in your situation (maybe you remember the old Excedrin “Sure you’ve got a headache, but don’t take it out on me!” commercials). In other words, the Christian life is not about revenge – it’s about doing things that show God’s love, not things that don’t.  

Starting from a position of doing no harm is the willingness not to get our own way, and the ability to lay down the burden of needing to come out on top. In fact, in some situations, it’s the freedom to drop the matter and to forget it, but not in the spirit of “Whatever!” (which often means “I’m not going to waste any more time on you!”) or with passive-aggressive behavior, seeming to agree with someone but actually dragging your heels about cooperating, but in genuine willingness to let the other person have his or her say.

           Now – I do believe that “do no harm” has it’s limits. When it becomes destructive to ourselves or others not to take positive action, then active love for one’s neighbor needs to take over.  Most of the situations we deal with, however, are best dealt with by following Jesus’ teachings and doing no harm. Most of the situations we deal with do not involve extreme evil, but are rather differences of opinion, and often the way we love the person we’re not seeing eye-to-eye with is by first doing no harm. That may sometimes take the form of saying nothing. It may sometimes take the form of not passing along gossip. It may sometimes take the form of giving the other person some room to work things out. It may sometimes take the form of compromise and seeking the common good. It may require praying and letting God strengthen you to respond in a “do no harm” way. It almost always requires our thinking about what doing no harm means in that particular situation, and then practicing what we’ve concluded.

In Matthew 5, Jesus is calling His followers to actively live the Scriptures. That’s what Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5 boils down to – actively live the life of love for God and others that Jesus teaches you to live. And in the examples from Matthew 5:38-48 actively living the Scriptures means actively doing no harm to others. Instead of hitting back, turn the other cheek. Instead of making a big fuss about being forced to go one mile, volunteer to go a second mile. And instead of seeking to hurt your enemies, pray for them.

Intentionally doing no harm is a vital practice in living as Jesus’ followers. It is a way of loving all people. Jesus gives us examples of how it’s done — turning the other check, loving our enemies, and so on — and models in His own life the returning of good for evil. This is the new ethic of God’s world. This is the way people behave in God’s world. This is the way Jesus’ followers behave.  Like the rest of the teachings Jesus gives in Matthew 5, these are not easy things for us to put into practice – but they are possible.  It takes a great deal of prayer and conversation with God.  It also takes making Church involvement a priority, for we  need to gather together to worship, learn, fellowship and serve God with other Christians and let God touch us — and then share with each other how God  has touched our lives. The Church can also be a lab so to speak where we practice and refine the techniques of doing no harm with others who are striving to live in this way also.  The practice of “first do no harm” is not easy, but with God’s strength it is possible for us as we  live our lives as Jesus’ followers.

            Yes —  “first, do no harm” may not sound exciting, but it is an aspect of the life Jesus calls us to live, and it has the power to change our relationships with God and others in a positive way.  Amen.