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Weekly Sermons
THE GLOW OF GOD’S LIGHT
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
February 19, 2012
Matthew 17:1-9 (Philippians 4:13)
There is just something radiant about good, decent, Godly people of faith.
A woman was busy trying to complete her Christmas shopping when she saw a poorly dressed little boy standing outside a shoe store. He was looking longingly at a bright yellow pair of snow boots. A tear trickled down the little boy’s face.
The lady stopped beside the little boy. “I’m sorry you seem to be sad. What seems to be the problem?” “I had so hoped to get a pair of boots for Christmas this year to help keep my feet dry and warm. But Mommy said that we don’t have enough money to pay the rent and buy any Christmas presents. So I just thought I would look at them and pray, and maybe God could help me get some boots next year.”
Looking down, the lady noticed the boy’s feet. He wore only beat up sneakers, obviously hand-me-downs from an older sibling and basically worn out. The holes in the sneakers betrayed wet socks made so from the freezing rain and snow.
A lump swelled in the lady’s throat as she thought about her own children, and how sad it would be if they could not have boots to protect their feet. So she bent down next to the boy and said, “Let’s go inside and take a closer look.”
Inside, she had the attendant bring out a pair of yellow boots, big enough to accept the boy’s feet and shoes. Then she told the attendant to wrap them up for sale. She then paid for the boots and gave them to the astounded little boy.
Again tears welled up in his eyes, but from joy this time. He chimed, “Are . . . you God? You answered my prayer.” She replied, “No, no, but I am one of his children.” The boy beamed, “I thought I could see a resemblance.”
Yes, there really is something radiant about good, decent, Godly people of faith. They just seem to glow of God’s presence. And I suspect that you know someone just like that.
The story we heard read a moment ago is referred to as The Transfiguration of Jesus. It is a miraculous story about a remarkable event in Jesus’ life that may strike us as rather odd. I mean, I’ve never seen anyone transfigured such as Jesus was; and I think I would be panic stricken if I did. But something significant happened up on the mountain with Jesus that day, and something that deserves our attention.
This event, the Transfiguration, marks the beginning of the end for Jesus. It is the event that occurred just prior to Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem and the cross. From here, Jesus will gather his friends and make that fateful pilgrimage that will ultimately cost him his very life.
He knew what awaited him there. He knew that soon he would be betrayed into the hands of those who seek to kill him. He knew that his friends would desert him in his hour of need. He knew that he would be falsely accused, mercilessly battered, and cruelly hung on a cross until he died. He knew what awaited him in Jerusalem; and yet he felt compelled to go. It was his calling. It was his destiny. Go to Jerusalem he must.
How do you prepare for such a thing? I don’t know. And I hope I never have to find out. I don’t have that kind or depth of faith, or at least I have my doubts. And yet the Bible says that God will not lay anything upon us but what we are capable of enduring. I just hope God never wants to prove this to me. Like many have said—I know the Bible says that God will not make us go through something too great for us to bear, but I wish that God didn’t have this much faith in me.
I wonder if Jesus ever felt this way. I suspect the thought crossed his mind at the very least. Why else would his mood be so somber as he made his way to Jerusalem? Why else would he sweat drops as of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to his arrest? Why else would he cry out “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” from the cross? Oh, I think Jesus knew what awaited him in Jerusalem. And I think he faced the same temptations and fear that we all experience.
But this is the purpose of the Transfiguration—to give Jesus what he needed to face the challenges that lay ahead. Let’s see.
Jesus took his three closest friends, Peter, James and John, up to the top of Mt. Tabor, a high hill that sets in the Armageddon Valley just outside of Nazareth. It was the same mountain from which Deborah led the Jewish army to victory over a formidable enemy in the valley below. It was considered a holy and sacred mountain where the presence of God was especially near. And it is here that Jesus decided to prepare himself for the difficulties ahead.
Atop Mt. Tabor, there usually is a fog, sometimes rather dense, that gives the place an eerie aura. You almost expect to hear the voice of God speak through the thick mist.
Well, apparently, this time, it did. For while they were praying, the disciples noticed that Jesus seemed to take on a weird, rather angelic glow, as if standing before the face of God himself. Then, there appeared two figures standing next to Jesus. They reckoned these men to be Moses and Elijah—the two most revered of Israel’s saints. And Jesus appeared to be conversing with these pillars of the faith. Then they heard a voice speak from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
With that the fog subsided and the angelic figures disappeared. Jesus went and found his friends cowering in fear nearby—and why not (!)—after what they had just witnessed—something for which they were totally unprepared. But Jesus gently touched them and said those words that frequently found utterance from his lips—words for all of us—“Do not be afraid.”
According to a parallel passage in Luke, Peter is so inspired by the events that he suggests that they build three altars on the mountain—one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus—and that they just stay up there and worship the rest of their lives. But Jesus flatly said “No!” God had other things for him to accomplish. And so they left their mountaintop experience to see where destiny would lead them, to discover what things God had for Jesus and them to accomplish.
You have heard me say this many times across the almost 8 years that I have been with you, but I believe it with all my heart. GOD WILL GIVE US WHAT WE NEED WHEN WE NEED IT THE MOST. We may not always recognize it, but we do get it. It may only be with 20/20 hindsight that we see how God carried us through some trial. But, indeed, God gives us exactly what we NEED when our hour of need comes.
This is exactly what the Transfiguration was for Jesus. It was precisely what Jesus needed to be able to accept God’s call, to face the injurious days of Jerusalem, to walk the road to the cross.
The Bible tells us that Jesus routinely separated himself from the crowds to pray and to seek God’s counsel. No doubt, prayer was the source of Jesus’ faith and courage, and what helped him to keep his life in its proper perspective. And to be sure, when a significant event lay before him, Jesus first prepared himself in prayer. Just as he prayed for 40 days in the wilderness prior to beginning his ministry, now Jesus went upon holy Mt. Tabor to pray before beginning the final chapter of his ministry.
And there, God gave Jesus exactly what he needed when he needed it.
And I believe this is true for us as well.
Life has its ups and downs. It always has, it always will. The ups and downs of life are normal, it is a natural part of the rhythm of life. But what I want to suggest is that 1—there are never lows so deep that we cannot endure, and 2—those low moments help us to appreciate the rest of the times of life, and 3—those high moments are God-moments that enable us to endure the lowest moments.
I believe it is essential for us to be especially grateful for the good times in life. Joy and happiness ought to be a call to prayer to thank God for his presence in our lives and for the love that enables us to experience these mountaintop moments and for the people with whom we share them. Such prayerful times will then become occasions for blessing, encouragement, strengthening, hope, and will make us stronger people of faith.
Oh, no, we won’t get to stay on the mountaintop. Life has its natural rhythm of ups and downs. But those high moments serve to prepare us for whatever life brings us. Then, when those really low times hit, we can remember—we can remember that God IS present with us, and will NOT abandon us, but will enable us to endure and eventually flourish in life once more.
For Jesus, the Transfiguration was exactly what Jesus needed before turning his face toward Jerusalem. It was an opportunity for God to reveal himself again to Jesus and to reassure him that He would be with him every step of the way.
For us, we may not glow with heavenly fire, but God uses our better moments in life to call us to prayer. And it is there, in those moments of prayer and thanksgiving that we find our encouragement, our reassurance, our affirmation that we are not alone, but that God WILL walk with us every step of the way.
I used to be fearful when good things occurred, for I assumed that something bad was about to follow.
Now, I see the good times as times to be thankful for God’s presence, and to find reassurance IN God’s presence. Then, IF bad times ensue, I KNOW I’ll be okay, for GOD IS WITH ME.
LIGHTHEARTED
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
February 12, 2012
Matthew 11:28-30
This church season we are in is known as Epiphany, and is referred to as “the season of light.” It starts with the Wise Men following the star of Bethlehem, a light that draws the whole world to the baby Jesus. And for the past several Sundays, we have explored the significance of light—such as God’s Word being a light unto our paths in life, or Jesus being the light that spurs growth in our souls, or Jesus referring to us as lights of the world that enable us to show others how to find God.
I wanted to keep the theme of “light” throughout Epiphany, which runs through next Sunday. But we’ve just about run out of passages in the Bible that deal with light. Even Linda said to me last Sunday that the choir and the hymnal has just about run out of music about light. Next week we will talk about the transfiguration of Jesus, when he glows with a heavenly light. But what about this week?
Listen closely as I read again our passage for the day and see if you can find the connection to the theme of light. Okay? Here we go.
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden . . . light.”
Okay, okay—the reference may not be about visible light, but it does use the word. Besides, this will allow us to “shed some light” upon a topic that is critically important to me. Last week we talked briefly about science vs. religion. This week, let’s talk about religion vs. faith. Oh yes, there IS a difference, and one that I think is vital to spiritual health.
I have shared this story with some of you before, but it bears repeating. Mahatma Gandhi is my spiritual hero—second to Jesus, of course. But Gandhi squarely addressed the issue of religion vs. faith less than 100 years ago.
India was struggling for independence and freedom from British rule during the first half of the last century. A genius of a man named Mahatma Gandhi was admitted to law school in England where he excelled as a student of national and international law. Upon graduating from law school, instead of returning to his native India, he accepted a position in South Africa where he worked to protect the rights of Black South Africans against the brutal rule of apartheid. Gandhi gained international fame for his courageous and brilliant legal work.
Eventually, India came knocking on Gandhi’s door, requesting his help in leading its campaign for independence. Gandhi prayed and searched his heart, and came to the conclusion that doing so was his calling. So Gandhi returned to India and became the figure-head of the non-violent revolution against British rule.
When the Western press learned this, they requested, and received, an interview with Gandhi. During that interview, someone from the Western press asked Gandhi a loaded and potentially explosive question. The question was this, “Mr. Gandhi, are you a Christian?”
Being the genius he was, Gandhi immediately perceived his dilemma. If he were to answer no (and indeed he was Hindu of faith), politicians and religious officials of the West would revoke their support of Gandhi and his purposes, thereby making the course toward freedom most difficult if not impossible. If he were to answer yes, his fellow Hindi and other natives of India would refuse to follow him and the campaign for freedom would be defeated.
After a brief pause, Gandhi answered in this manner—If by asking me if I am a Christian you intend to ask if I believe in and practice the teachings and doctrines of the Western church, then no, I am not a Christian. However, if by asking me this question you intend to ask if I believe in and practice the teachings and wisdom of Jesus, then, yes, I am a Christian.
Therein is the subtle yet critical difference between religion and faith that we need to take a closer look at, for in this difference lays the secret to victorious and mature spiritual living.
What is religion? What is faith?
Religion is an organized institutional set of statements and practices that express people’s beliefs about the divine. Religion can be about a heavenly deity or a set of deities, or it can be about a cosmic principle that pervades life. Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism would be commonly known deity-oriented religions. These religions teach that if you follow and practice their specific set of doctrines you will please the god, or the gods, and thus live in peace and stand to gain the gods’ eternal favor.
Universalism, Druidism, some New Age systems, and the so-called church of scientology would be examples of cosmic principle religions. These religions do not identify a person-like figure who rules over the universe, but do believe in various universal natural laws that, if accepted and lived by, lead to personal enlightenment and fulfillment.
Both kinds of religion have been around practically since humans gained self-awareness eons ago. There just seems something natural about we humans that causes us to search beyond ourselves for that greater purpose or that higher power or that origin of origins. There is just something about us that compels us toward worship.
Let me say that it is not my intention this morning to compare individual religions or to declare any better or worse than another. It would seem that my being here, in a Western Christian church would serve as statement enough about my personal biases. I AM a Christian. I have made a conscious affirmation to follow the teachings and beliefs of Jesus, whom we refer to as the Christ. That IS my faith. Let me say that again, that IS my FAITH, not my religion.
At any number of bass tournaments across the years I get a common question as I spend 8 to 10 hours in a boat with another angler. “So, what do you do for a living?” And any number of times, when I tell them I am a United Methodist minister, I get the reply, “Oh, so you are one of those religious folks.” And my answer is always the same, “No. Oh I AM a person of faith, but even my parishioners would tell you, I not a religious folk.”
I wish you could see some of the facial expressions that my reply evokes. They range from utter confusion, to shock, to genuine inquisitiveness. Then they ask me what the (bleep) that means. And now the door to witnessing to my faith is open. There have been a number of times that a wonderful conversation has ensued, and several times have led to fishing partners ending up in church. Nearly always the conversation ends with my partners saying, “You know, that’s what I believe too. I’m just surprised to hear a preacher say it. That’s not what I remember hearing at church before.”
Basically my beliefs are very close to what Mahatma Gandhi said to the Western media several decades ago-- If by asking me if I am a Christian you intend to ask if I believe in and practice the teachings and doctrines of the Western church, then no, I am not a Christian. However, if by asking me this question you intend to ask if I believe in and practice the teachings and wisdom of Jesus, then, yes, I am a Christian.
Religion is about appeasing an angry God. It is man’s attempt to please and reach God. In religion, what I do (or not do) is the deciding factor regarding my spiritual and eternal status. Do this; don’t do that. Wear your hair this say. Cut your hair that way. Don’t cut your hair. Cover your head in worship. Uncover your head in worship. You can’t wear shorts. You can’t wear slacks. You can’t wear makeup. You can’t wear jewelry. You can only worship on Sunday, or Saturday, or Friday, or whatever day—and all the rest are wrong and therefore offend God. You HAVE to be baptized. You have to be baptized by total immersion; only as an adult; and only THEN can you please God and go to heaven.
Religion is man’s attempt to manipulate God and gain God’s favor. AND religion is man’s attempt to manipulate and control OTHER PEOPLE. It is manipulative, it is judgmental, and it is SO FAR REMOVED from the teachings and practices of Jesus.
Religion so often becomes a millstone hung upon the necks of the people. It makes life and God so difficult that the common person just gives up. It’s too hard, too confusing, and so counter-intuitive to our experiences in life. And so people say that’s not for me. I don’t have any desire to be religious if that is what religion is about.
AND NEITHER DO I.
A religious person went to Jesus and asked, “What is the most important commandment? What must I do to be saved?” What was Jesus’ response? “You have to religiously follow every smidgen of the law in order for God to love you.” NO! What did Jesus say?
He quoted his scripture, saying, “You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength,” and “you shall LOVE your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
Unlike religion, FAITH is NOT about what we must do to gain God’s favor, God’s love. FAITH is about KNOWING THAT WE ARE LOVED; we ALREADY HAVE God’s favor, God’s love. Jesus SAID SO, he LIVED SO, he DIED SO that we might understand just how deeply WE ARE LOVED BY GOD. Faith ACKNOWLEDGES this and ACCEPTS this, and LIVES this in relationships with other people. FAITH IS LIFE, a life that simply practices what the prophet Micah declared some 2,500 years ago—“What is it that the Lord requires of you . . . but to love kindness, do justice, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
Faith is not supposed to be burdensome. Now I did not say that faith was easy. Faith is about living lives of love—and that is difficult enough. But faith is NOT burdensome. It is NOT about appeasing an angry God; faith is about being set free by a God who loves us, and living our lives through this love toward ourselves and others.
So if you have the choice between religion and faith, choose faith, choose a way of living that incorporates the teachings and examples of Jesus, choose freedom and life. And while the tenets of faith are usually lived out within the context of religion, and United Methodism is a religion, make faith your life’s goal. For faith is the very purpose of life itself—love kindness, do justice, walk humbly in love toward God and your neighbor.
This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
(See, I told you we would talk about light.)
THE LIGHT OF LIFE
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
February 5, 2012
Genesis 1:1-3; John 1:1-5, 8:12
Our readings today started off sounding alike—did they not? “In the beginning . . . God.” There is no doubt about it, when John began his gospel, he had Genesis in mind.
Genesis—In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth.
John—In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And these two passages lie at the heart at an ancient debate that still rages on yet today. Creation—Is it God or evolution?
There are many good Christians on either side of this debate. Christians who hold that the Bible is word-for-word dictated and always literally true believe that creation happened exactly as it is recorded in the first chapter of Genesis. Therefore they believe that God created EVERYTHING in all of creation in 6 24 hour periods—six days as we understand them. They also maintain that the universe is only about 7,000 years or so old, citing the genealogies recorded in the Bible, and adding the ages of the people together who comprise those genealogies. These Christians believe that scientific methods such as carbon dating are tools of the devil which tempt us to believe things that run contrary to the Bible, thus steering us into the gates of hell.
I saw a bumper sticker that summed up this school of thought years ago—“The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.”
But there is a much larger number of Christians who disagree about the literal interpretation of the Bible, yet who maintain that the Bible is most definitely God-inspired. They remind us that this same Bible that says creation took place in “six days,” also says that “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” (II Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4) Therefore the Bible is intended to answer the question “who” rather than “how.”
I attended a seminar by the title “Religion vs. Science.” The speaker was a Jewish rabbi who held degrees in both science and religion. The format of the seminar included 45 minutes for a presentation and 45 minutes for questions and discussions. The rabbi was given a lavish introduction, then he began his presentation. “So we are gathered here to discussion the topic ‘Religion vs. Science.’ What’s the big deal?” And with that he sat down. A rather uneasy moment of silence passed, then he continued, “Okay, I suppose I owe you more than just that one sentence. So here we go. The Bible tells us Who; science tells us how. What’s the big deal?” Instead of seeing religion and science as polar opposites or alternative theories, he saw them as partners in helping us understand Who created the universe (The Bible), and how creation has come to this point at this time.
I just wanted to let you know that there is more than one so-called “Christian” attitude toward science and religion, and that a growing number of scientists are also Christians.
But back to our passages.
Genesis: “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep . . . Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”
John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
These two “in the beginning” passages have at least a couple of things in common. What were they? God. Light.
Throughout the Bible, the presence of God and light go together. Last week we heard the Psalm proclaim God’s word as “a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:108) I John 1:5 states, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” And Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
One of the things about creation that science and religion agree upon is the fact that without light, there is no life. The order of creation in Genesis is the same order that science maintains. And the FIRST STEP in creation, and therefore life, was . . . LIGHT.
There is no life without light. Yeah, I know, there are blind, albino catfish that live in underground streams in southern Indiana and elsewhere. They live in total darkness. However, there would be no blind albino catfish if it were not for a sun that shines outside the cave. Without light, there is no life. Light is the catalyst for life. Light is energy, complete with heat and various vitamins. It is absolutely necessary for there to be light in order for life to exist at all.
God knew that. That is why the first day of creation was devoted to making light. Then and only then could there be life as we know it. But now that there WAS light, there could be plants and micro organisms in the water, and eventually on dry land. Then there could be fish and reptiles and birds. Then there could be mammals, and finally humans—just as both the Bible and science maintain.
The order of creation is the same for both the Bible and science. And both agree, without light there is no life. Period.
Remember the little seed we all planted in a paper cup in grade school? We first gathered some dirt. Then we put the dirt into the cup. Then we put a little seed in the cup. Then we put a little water on the dirt. Then what did we do? We put the cup with the dirt and seed and water . . . in the light of the sun. The warmth and nutrition of the sun caused the seed to germinate into a living organism.
And which way did the little plant grow? TOWARD THE SUN, of course. Even a simple plant, which has no brain or conscious thought, knows from where it gains its life and strength. From the tiny mustard seed to the acorn of the mightiest oak tree, the plants of God’s creation reach skyward toward the sun, toward God’s heaven, extending themselves in praise, worship, and adoration of the source of life.
And who is the source of life? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was . . . God . . . in him was . . . life, and the life was the . . . light of all people.” (John 1:1, 4)
Much like the sun of the sky is the source of life upon this planet, the Son of God is the source of life within our souls. Christ is the light of the spiritual life, who alone can cause the seeds of faith sprout in our hearts which grow into salvation.
And this spiritual life-giving Son is available to all, to you.
What is our favorite Bible passage? “For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life. For the Son came into the world, NOT to condemn the world, but that the world might BE SAVED through him.” (John 3:16-17)
God is in the creation business. God is in the life-giving business. God is in the saving-your-soul business. God is in the love business. God is in the business of making life and soul flourish. God is in the “you” business.
John and Genesis both agree—GOD is the source of life and light, without whom there is no life at all.
Open your hearts, let the Son shine in. Then you will surely be alive.
PEOPLE OF THE BOOK
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
January 29, 2012
Psalm 119:9-11, 105; I John 1:5-7
At the birth of our first child, I was astounded to discover that the baby does NOT arrive with a how-to manual. He didn’t. Here we were with a brand new baby boy, and we were to make things up as we go?
That just doesn’t make sense. You buy a flashlight and inside the package is a set of instructions on how to use a flashlight. The jar of steak seasoning I bought at the grocery store has instructions on the lid so you will know how to open the bottle and shake the contents out. So you would think that something as important as the birth of a baby ought to have a how-to manual come with it. But NOOOOO!
Indeed, just about every other endeavor in life comes with instructions of some kind. Before the Conference would appoint me to preach in a church, I had to take classes in theology, and counseling, and public speaking—believe it or not. In fact, fully ordained United Methodist ministers are required to have both a bachelors degree and a masters degree. Training not only is important, but required.
Our oldest son, Brian, is now a trooper with the Indiana State Police. But before they would give him a squad car and a badge, he had to attend a 6 month academy, complete with physical, psychological, emotional, and technical training. Then and only then would he be considered ready to assume the responsibilities of a State Trooper.
Our youngest son, Jeremy, is a corrections officer with the Indiana Department of Corrections. But before they assigned him to watch over offenders he had to go through several weeks of training that included self-defense techniques as well as instruction on the legal aspects of patrolling prisoners. And any additional responsibilities he has taken on at his work has required additional training before assuming those responsibilities.
My wife, Vicki, is a registered nurse. But before the State of Indiana would issue her a license to practice nursing, she had to get a degree in nursing. In that course of study, she was trained on how to stick people with needles, and how to read medicine doses and doctors’ orders, and how to perform CPR, as well as how to deal with people like you and me.
Life, however, like childbirth, does not come with a how-to manual or training courses. You pretty much have to learn what you need to know in life by trial and error. I suppose we could learn from the mistakes and wisdom of others; but what is wisdom but a perspective we gain after we should have had it. But we pretty much on our own in life—aren’t we? There are no training courses required of us or how-to manuals that we are given when we reach the rite of passage into adulthood. Right?
What’s that? We DO have a how-to manual? We DO have a guide in life, a resource that helps build wisdom BEFORE you need it, a manual that gives us instructions on how to live? We DO?
The . . . what? Bi . . . bull? The Bible? What’s that?
Okay, okay—so I’m guilty of over-dramatizing this. But I have a good friend, a fellow United Methodist pastor, who was approached one Sunday after worship by a person asking what was that thing that he read from just before he spoke. After a couple of clarifications, my friend asked if she were talking about the Bible. The woman inquiring had never heard of the Bible, and wanted to know if that were something that only preachers had access to, or if she could possibly get one for herself.
We live in an age in which MANY people have no exposure to the Bible, and even many of those who DO know what it is have precious little knowledge about it, or know how to use it.
Well, we’re going to learn more about the Bible this morning. For it IS a how-to manual, and studying the Bible GIVES us good instructions on most of life’s more critical issues. It IS a training manual that has roots in God himself.
As Christians, followers of the Christ, God’s Messiah, we are the “people of the Book.” Or at least, Christians USED to be known as people of the Book. I remember my grandparents had a Bible—the Good Book—sitting on the lamp table. The odd thing was, it never collected any dust, like many I have seen in other homes. Rather, the cover was tattered, the pages were worn, and some pages had been bent over, earmarked for easy retrieval.
My grandparents were “people of the Book,” and they read it fairly regularly. My grandmother would read passages from the Bible before going to bed. I also believe she read from it when she first arose in the morning—but since I never got up at 4 in the morning, I can’t say for sure. But she liked having a brief time in the Bible as the first and last things she did each day.
And that’s not a bad for us either.
The Bible. The Good Book. A lamp unto our feet and a guide unto our paths. Holy scripture. The Word of God. There are many tags for the Christian holy writ; but whatever you call it, it IS a how-to manual, a book of life’s wisdom, food for our very souls. And I want to encourage you to become a regular visitor of this life training course.
So, how do I get started?
First of all, get a reliable translation of the Bible. What we refer to as The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, the native tongue of the Jews. It is the Jewish Bible which Jews use yet today. What we refer to as The New Testament was originally recorded in ancient Greek—the one exception to that being The Gospel of Matthew which first appeared in Hebrew. MY POINT is, translating from Hebrew or Greek into English is a difficult chore.
I’ve taken ancient Greek and I understand how complicated ancient languages are. Many of the old words could have more than one meaning. For example, the Greek word for “go” is also the word for “come.” We used to joke in class that the ancient Greeks did not know if they were coming or going. Much of the translation has to be done contextually, and that done by historians familiar with the times.
Some of the reliable translations that we can trust would be The New Revised Standard version, The New International version, and The Jerusalem Bible. There are others, but these are about the best and most accurate translations of the Greek and Hebrew Bibles out there (repeat names).
Some people prefer Bibles that paraphrase the English—it sounds more like the way we talk. And these can be helpful, of course, and are perhaps easier to read. But these paraphrased versions are one person’s opinion about what he or she believes the Bible means to say, and are not based on the original languages. And these versions may or may not have the accurate scholarship or contextual understanding of the translators of the Bible. Some of the more popular paraphrased versions include The Cotton Patch version and The Living Bible. They are not bad; they just are not true to some of the words or contexts of the original writings.
But a paraphrase version is far better than no version at all!
The point is, get a Bible, and make sure it is a good, modern, up-to-date version. The New Revised Standard version (which is what we have in the pew racks), The New International version, The Jerusalem Bible, and the Living Bible are decent choices. But just get one!
Okay, so now you have a Bible. Where do you begin?
I recommend you begin with The New Testament, and begin with the first 3 letters—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Matthew was a disciple of Jesus and thus he knew Jesus personally. He also was the ancient’s version of a CPA—he was very organized, and wrote his letter thusly. The first 4 chapters set the stage, the context, for all that follows. Chapters 5-7 are an outline of the teachings of Jesus which we refer to as The Sermon on the Mount. It is the best summary of Jesus’ teachings on the planet; period. The rest of Matthew expounds upon chapters 5-7 in greater detail and clearer context.
Mark is the oldest of the New Testament books, and was written by Peter’s personal secretary/translator. It also is the most brief of the stories of the life of Jesus, but is a strong summary of Jesus’ ministry and teachings.
Luke was written by Paul’s translator and personal physician, and recounts much of the same material as Matthew and Mark from a slightly different perspective. Luke also wrote The Acts of the Apostles, a historical account of the growth of the faith from the time of Jesus through much of the first century A.D. Acts would be a natural follower of the first 3 letters of The New Testament.
If you want to learn some ancient history and theology, follow Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts with a study of Genesis and Exodus—the first two books of the Bible. From those two books, you will get a background upon which The New Testament was built.
If you want to learn more about New Testament theology, read the letters that follow Acts in the New Testament. Many of those letters were authored by Paul through either Silas or Timothy, and are Paul’s opinions about the everyday implications of Jesus’ teachings. Some of the material is dated culturally; some of it is rather gender-biased. But by-and-large Paul’s writings form the basics of Western Christian theology.
But I strongly recommend you begin with the life and teachings of Jesus. What he says is incredibly relevant to everyday life. And if we would only implement his wisdom into our hearts and lives, the world would be a far greater place, and we would be far better people.
We are the People of the Book. We DO have a sacred how-to manual—the wisdom of God himself—at our disposal. And if we TRULY WANT to live spiritually victorious lives, The Bible is the place to start.
“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.” (Psalm 1:1-3)
“How can (we) keep our way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commandments. I have laid up your word in my heart that I may not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:9-11)
“You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.” (I Peter 1:23)
THE LIGHT YOU HAVE
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
January 22, 2012
Matthew 5:14-16
There is the story about a boy and his lantern. It comes from Holland years ago. A fishing village sat along the seashore. It was a peaceful little town with a village square and a lighthouse on the point that jutted out into the ocean.
Like many such fishing villages, this one had known its share of tragedy. Fishing in the ocean can be a perilous means of making a living. Much of the fishing took place at night, and the lighthouse helped the fishermen to maintain their sense of direction, and gave them a sense of being close to home. The lighthouse was even more valuable during nights when the storms blew in while the boats were still at sea.
One night, a particularly bad storm moved in, making the seas treacherous. The boat’s captain gave the orders to return to port before the boat took on too much water and sank in the angry sea. But just as the helmsman turned the nose of the boat toward shore, the light in the lighthouse went out.
An alarm was sounded in the village indicating the failure of the lighthouse beacon. Many townspeople braved the elements to the town square—those were their husbands and fathers and sons out there on the dark seas. The reflective mirror for the lighthouse beacon had broken. Everyone feared the worst.
There was a tall flag pole in the town square. Perhaps if someone could climb up the flag pole with a lantern, just maybe the trawler could find its say safely to port. The only problem was, all of the able bodied men were at sea. And with the winds blowing sharply and the rain pouring, the women and old men of the village were simply unable to scale the slippery pole, let along carry along a lighted lantern.
Finally, a young boy of about 10 years of age stepped forward and said, “I can climb that pole.” His mother tried to hold her son back, but before anyone could stop him, he had shimmied several feet up the flag pole. He turned to the crowd below and shouted, “When I get to the top, use the flag rope and send up a lantern.” And with that, on up the pole he went.
Indeed, someone attached a lit lantern to the flag rope, hoisted it up to the boy who held onto the pole for dear life while steadying the lantern as best as he could.
Minutes drug on. It seemed like an eternity as the people waited for any sign of hope for their loved ones’ welfare. Suddenly the boy shouted and pointed toward the harbor. Dimly at first, then increasingly brighter, the stern night light of the fishing trawler could be seen nearing the pier. Because of the bravery of that young boy, the men of the fishing boat managed to find and return to port, and their lives were spared. Because the lad let his light shine amid the darkness, the fishermen found their way home.
There are a lot of people out there who are drifting aimlessly in the seas of life who don’t know which way to go. Their horizons are dark, their lives are tossed about, and they feel all alone against the storms of life. How will these folks ever find their way to port? How will they be able to identify and find a safe harbor?
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
I believe every kind gesture or good deed we share with others makes a difference in that person’s world. Even in the darkest of hearts, a small Godly act plants a seed that can grow and bear fruit, even if we don’t get to see the outcome. A simple word of encouragement, a small act of assistance, just lending an attentive ear can bring God’s light into the hearts of the discouraged or lonely.
Dr. Jones was a pediatrician who truly loved his work and his patients. Like most physicians, Dr. Jones often worked long hours to make sure his patients received the best of care, even if this took him into the wee hours of the morning.
One evening, after putting his children to bed, Dr. Jones went next door to his office to catch up on some paper work. About 2 o’clock in the morning, he heard a knock at the door. Since his colleague was on call that evening, Jones assumed this was who was knocking. But when he opened the door, he was surprised to see one of his patients, Brian, a 16 year old, standing there.
Dr. Jones invited Brian in and began heating some water for hot chocolate. After a few niceties, the doctor asked why Brian was out so late. Brian said he was unable to sleep, and snuck out of the house to take a walk and to think about things in his life.
After some encouragement, Brian began to relate those things. His parents routinely argued and fought with one another, and he could not help but believe that it was all his own fault. He had just broken up with his girlfriend. His grades were not as good as he wanted, and was afraid they might keep him from getting into architectural school to pursue his life’s interest. He said he felt so alone in the world. But he had noticed a light on in the doctor’s office, so he decided to stop.
Dr. Jones listened attentively, offering a word of encouragement wherever it seemed appropriate. He told Brian that he knew a few people in the architectural world who would be glad to meet with him and familiarize him with their professions. Then, after two hours of conversation (4 o’clock in the morning), he drove Brian home, and watched Brian sneak back into the house via a first story window.
Brian made several visits to Dr. Jones office, at more reasonable hours of course, and became well known and well liked by the staff. You could see the light shining in Brian’s eyes again.
A few months later, Dr. Jones moved his office to a new location and lost contact with Brian. But one day he received a piece of mail from Brian—an invitation to his high school graduation. And inside the invitation, the doctor found a handwritten note. It said:
Dear Doctor Jones,
I wanted to thank you for caring about me that night. I don’t think you ever knew, but I felt so bad that night, I planned to kill myself. Everything in my life seemed so bad, and I didn’t know what to do next. As I was walking down the street, I saw your office and noticed the light was on. Then, for some reason, I decided to talk to you. All that talking, and your listening, made me realize a lot of things about my life that were good. Some of the options and ideas you mentioned to me really helped. I am graduating from high school, and I’ve been accepted to the university’s architecture school. I couldn’t be happier. I know I’ll have hard times, but I also know I’ll get through the hard times. I’m very, very thankful that your light was on that night.
Sincerely,
Brian
The older I become, the more I believe that God puts us in places where we can do good. Dr. Jones believes it was no happenstance or coincidence that he was in his office that night at that late hour. Neither do I. I believe God puts us in places sometimes where we can do something positive, be someone’s light. It is up to us to become sensitive to others and to the leading of God. But we ARE God’s light in the world. And it behooves us to offer kindness and hospitality, for who knows but what God has put us in a particular place at a particular time for a very special reason.
I also believe that “what goes around comes around.” I love the commercials in which a person does a kind deed for someone, which inspires the witness to do likewise, and on and on until someone does a kind deed for that first kind person.
Jennifer was in route for an appointment with her doctoral dissertation oral exam. She had been working on her degree for 5 years and had finally arrived at that nerve wrenching time of defending it to her dissertation team.
She was in the process of flying cross country to make her appointment. But her flight had arrived very late, and her connecting flight was about to disembark. Sprinting through the airport, she paused to rest on one of the moving sidewalks to catch her breath. Ahead of her was an older woman carrying a bag, who also appeared out of breath. Jennifer said she did not know why, but she asked the lady if she too was trying to make the connecting flight. Indeed she was, so Jennifer grabbed the woman’s bag and said, “I’ll sprint on to plane and tell them to wait for you.”
Indeed, Jennifer arrived at the plane just as the flight attendant was about to close the door. Jennifer asked the attendant to wait for the woman, and the plane waited just long enough for the lady to board.
After the plane had departed and leveled off, Jennifer took the woman’s bag to the lady, and she thanked Jennifer heartily for her kind deed.
The next morning, Jennifer entered the building at the university to meet with her committee. With considerable apprehension, she opened the door to the room and walked in. There across from here were several professors, dressed in their black robes, notes in hand, ready to put Jennifer through the ringer. But just as Jennifer sat down, she spied a familiar face. Seated directly in the middle of the panel was . . . you guessed it, that very same lady she had helped the day before—with a wide grin and a sparkle in her eyes.
Needless to say, every time there was a difficult point in her oral defense, the lady in the middle came to her rescue, helped her to calm down, and encouraged her to make her defense. And, needless to say, Jennifer passed her oral exam.
You never know when God wants you to accomplish a kind deed in someone’s life, a deed that could very well make a world of difference for that person. And you never know when your own good deed will find its way back to you when your troublesome time comes along.
YOU ARE the light of the world. Let your light so shine, let your hearts achieve even the simplest acts of kindness, and you just might add a little light in the world.
As one author wrote, “We cannot hold a torch to another man’s path without brightening our own.” (Ben Sweetland)
BRIGHT LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
January 15, 2012
Matthew 4:12-17
When was the last time you repented?
Repentance is at the very core of the ministry of Jesus. It was one of his most basic doctrines. So many of the stories about Jesus contain the theme of repentance, even if he didn’t use the word.
There is the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. I do find it ironic that there is not a parallel story about the MAN caught in that very same activity. Nevertheless, the story goes that a woman of the community was caught having an affair. This was a direct violation of Jewish religious law, and the law of Moses stated that such behavior was punishable to the extent of stoning the offender to death.
For whatever reason, someone in the vigilante crowd thought it wise to take the woman to Jesus—I suppose to get his blessing, or to test Jesus in some way. But when she was brought before Jesus, someone explained what she had done. They he reminded Jesus about Moses’ words, and then asked what he thought they should do. Jesus replied, “I tell you what. Let’s allow whoever among you is without sin, who is not guilty of doing something that violates the law of Moses—let that person cast the first stone at this woman.”
There was silence as everyone searched their hearts, finding himself and herself unable to live up to Jesus’ standard. There may have been adulterers among the crowd. There may have been petty thieves, or people who had cheated on a business transaction, or who had eaten without washing their hands, or who had spoken words of gossip, or who had secretly wanted to visit the woman they held under condemnation, or who had visited her house of ill repute.
Slowly, at first, then in increasing frequency, the sounds of stones being dropped harmlessly to the ground broke the silence. One by one, the once angry and judgmental mob dissembled, leaving only Jesus and the woman. Then some of Jesus’ most redeeming words proceeded from his heart, “Where are your accusers?” “There are none, sir.” “NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU; GO AND SIN NO MORE.”
Go . . . in another direction. Turn . . . your life around. Devote your energies as well as your heart to more worthy endeavors. Walk away from your present place in life, and walk toward what is honorable, redemptive, and wholesome. Repent and believe in the Gospel.
You probably remember the definition of repent. Literally, the Greek word, the language of the New Testament, for repent means . . . to turn and walk in the other direction. Repentance means turning away from what is harmful or destructive or which runs counter to the Gospel of Jesus, and to turn and begin walking toward what is good and right and spiritual. Repent and believe in the Gospel simply means just that—to turn away from the ungodly and to walk toward the Godly.
As the prophet Micah put it—love kindness, pursue justice, and walk humbly with our God. If we do that, we KNOW that we are walking in the right direction.
I recently finished a book entitled, While the World Watched, by Carolyn Maull McKinstry. I CONSIDER THE BOOK A MUST READ. Even though the events described by Ms McKinstry occurred 45-50 years ago, her words are as relevant today as they were back then.
Ms. McKinstry, an African American, was a teenager in 1963, and a member of her church, when 4 white fellow residents of Birmingham, Alabama, planted and exploded a bomb in the women’s restroom of that church. The explosion occurred while hundreds of people were in attendance on a Sunday morning near the end of the Sunday school period. Four of McKinstry’s closest friends were in the bathroom when this infamous even happened, and were killed as the rubble from the explosion crushed them as they stood in front of the mirror. McKinstry herself had been with her friends in the bathroom just moments prior.
The book is McKinstry’s memoir of the late 1950’s and the 1960’s. She describes life as a black child in that hotbed of racism. The title of the book pretty much describes what America was like back then. We knew things weren’t right, but we did precious little, if anything, to help make them right. Countless bombings, kidnappings, rapes, hangings, cross burnings and other satanic practices such as segregation of every public facility happened, but hardly anyone was ever brought to justice for these heinous crimes. The world simply watched while good, decent, Christian, honest people of color were essentially massacred before our eyes.
I remember my father’s response to the events in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia in those days. “If those N’s would just stay where they belong we would not be having all this mess.” As a child, I remember thinking, “Yeah, that’s right . . . but where do they belong and why do we have to treat them differently?” Do you remember what we were told?
We were told that black people were not really human like the rest of us. They were kind of like people, but closer to apes than humans. They were stupid. They were dirty and carried all sorts of weird diseases. Black men wanted to rape white women and molest white children. The only thing they were good for was to do heavy labor, otherwise we ought to ship them all back to Africa and let them live in the jungles where they belong. That’s what many of us were told.
White people who did speak up in response to the atrocities were labeled as N-lovers and considered traitors to the white race. And there were a number of white people who joined their black brothers and sisters in marches and other acts of civil disobedience, and who walked arm in arm with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But many of those never made it back home. The racists hated them even more than they did the Blacks.
Dr. King was the central figure behind the cause of justice in those days. A master of the English language, and an unparalleled scholar of the Bible, he was able to put a solid spiritual foundation under the pursuit of justice and equality. He was the one who got it right when he said that both blacks AND whites were victims of racism: 1) because a nation divided is a weak nation suffering not only from injustice, from the waste of humanity and the contributions that all Americans could make for the country, 2) because many of us whites were working under sheer ignorance, simply repeating what our ancestors had mythologized to justify their dehumanizing of people of color—make them out to be less than human and you don’t feel guilty for the mistreatment and enslavement of them.
You know, what Dr. King was essentially saying was that this nation needed to . . . repent. It needed to see the light of truth, and to turn away from the cold darkness, and to walk in a new direction, to walk toward that light of truth, and to see all people through the eyes of God himself.
My question is . . . have we done that yet?
Maybe we have, at least to some degree. But we have such a long way to go before we can realize justice for all. And here is the evidence.
Over the years of my ministry, when I have addressed this subject, I have had people come up to me and suggest that I need to move on, that we HAVE addressed this matter, and that the best thing we can do now is to put it to rest. Freedom has been won, equality is a matter of fact. So stop stirring up cold ashes.
Folks, the ashes are not cold. There is still a lot of racism in our society and community. You have seen the Confederate flags on homes, businesses and automobiles, on bumper stickers, license plates, and window stickers. But much of the racism of our society is far more subtle than that. Many people still want to keep “their kind” in their places and out of our sight. We don’t want to be reminded of the crushing poverty, the rampant unemployment, the tragic violence, and the inescapable hopelessness of being a person of color.
I once asked a black friend about all this. Have we adequately addressed the issue of racism? He asked, “Do you wake up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and think, “Darn, I’m white?” “No.” “But so many of my people wake up in the morning, look at themselves in the mirror, and say, ‘Darn, I’m black.’ Every day is a sore reminder that we are not like everyone else, and we can’t help but wonder what the majority population is saying about us when we walk by.”
Have you tried to make eye contact with a person of color at the grocery store or the movie theater? Few will allow that. They are still scared, still angry, still wondering what we are thinking when they walk by. IT HURTS so see how hurt so many are in their hearts. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be on guard all the time just because I have more melatonin in my skin than you. Why is race an issue at all?
Why? because that is what I was taught. And children are so impressionable. And those myths we were taught as children are oh so difficult to outgrow. But we can try. He HAVE to try, or else we fall short of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We ALL stand in need of repentance. There is not one of us here who deserves to cast the first stone. There is not one among us who is so righteous in our walk that we couldn’t use a little redirecting.
As long as poverty and human suffering exists, as long as people are afraid of each other, as long as stereo-types persist, as long as there are any who are lonely or without hope, we are in need of loving kindness, pursuing justice, and walking ever more humbly with our God.
A nation divided cannot survive. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If there is one who suffers, we all suffer. It is the mandate of the Christ himself that we love one another and find ways to lift one another up—for when we do so, we all stand a little taller.
Love kindness, do justice, walk humbly with your God. Repent and believe in the Gospel. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and work tirelessly for liberty and justice for all—there is nothing more Godly than that. And in doing so, you will find your very purpose in life.
Repent and enact the gospel!
THE BEST GIFTS COME IN THE SMALLEST PACKAGES
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
Christmas Eve, 2011
Luke 2:1-16
Christmas Eve always sets me thinking about Christmases past. Christmas was a special occasion when I was a child. It was the one time of the year that even my father would behave himself, stay sober, and otherwise be rather pleasant. Add to that, not only was I an only child, I was an only grandchild on my mother’s side of the family. Do you think I always got what I wanted for Christmas?
And usually there were large gifts under our Christmas tree—large enough to hold an electronic football game, or a hockey game, or a Golferino game. On Christmas Eve, before going to bed, I would lay beside the Christmas tree, gazing at the presents, wondering what all might be waiting for me to open and enjoy. I especially looked forward to opening the large packages.
But I have learned over the years that it is not always the large package that holds the most precious gift. Sometimes, the best gifts come in the smallest of packages, and from the most unlikely of sources.
(story of the homeless man at the rail station, given food, but shared with another, older, needier homeless man)
Sometimes gifts are given even when the giver is unaware he is doing so.
(story of 2 boys on bus, snow storm, strange and frightening woman sang, thanked the boys for being her Christmas gift that year)
Here is one last story that speaks to the hearts of people during the Christmas season.
(caroling, raising money for the Fannie Battle Day Home—a young child would ask for donations as the carolers sang—but, nervous as she was, first home “Dannie Hattle Bay Fome” then “Hannie Dattle Fay Bome”—the more she tried, the worse her presentation became—but people’s hearts were touched by the little girls sincere attempts, they were more generous than ever—years later, she still remember that night, but her memories now are of the generous gifts, the Christmas carols, and the good feeling of having helped make Christmas a happy time for the givers as well as the young mothers at the Fannie Battle Day Home)
Sometimes the best gifts come in the smallest packages. And sometimes, the best gifts are the ones we give rather than the ones we get.
But through it all, may we never forget the greatest gift of all—the baby born in a stable and laid in a manger—Emmanuel, God-with-us—the gift of God himself. THAT is the true meaning of Christmas, and the reason we give and receive gifts—to honor the Babe of Bethlehem.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
WHAT’S IN A CITY?
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
December 4, 2011
What’s in a city? Why are they so important? They must be. I mean, any time you meet someone, the first question they ask is, “Where are you from?” Apparently getting to know what city a person is from orients our acquaintance with that person. Their home city gives them an identity. It helps us to understand a person better. And it may give us a connection, a common point, from which to build a relationship.
I remember getting acquainted with a parishioner in my very first assignment. He had heard that I had a Tennessee heritage and he wanted to know more. “Where abouts in Tennessee is your family from?” he asked. I told him my parents were from Loudon, Tennessee, about 45 minutes southeast of Knoxville. He replied, “Really! I know where Loudon is. I grew up in Lennor City (which is just 5-6 miles from Loudon.” And from there we could share all sorts of memories together, and as a result of our common cities, we became good friends.
My first full-time appointment was to Alquina, several miles east of Connersville. Linda Quick grew up near Everton, a few miles south of Connersville. Now, her reaction to Alquina has to be a mixed one. She had cousins who attended the Alquina church, and the Alquina and Everton United Methodists used to be on the same charge, served by the same pastor. However, before Fayette County consolidated their schools, Everton and Alquina were bitter rivals in basketball. It was a rivalry more hostile than between Bloomington and West Lafayette. So relationships that grow out of mutually familiar cities are not always positive—though ours is.
But where we are from may cause people to form attitudes about us, whether just or unjust. My home town is Lapel. Here in New Palestine, that simply gives us something in common—Lapel and New Palestine are both small towns. But If I were to identify my home town in Morristown, just a few miles down Highway 52, I might get thrown out of town. (Roger Holder knows why) There was a big fight between the Morristown and Lapel boys basketball teams several years ago, and the feelings are still rather hot.
Where we are from identifies us, and helps people understand who we are and what we are like. To hear that someone is from Geist gives us a different impression than had they been from Fairland. We may think of people from New York City as intense, even rude, but people from Los Angeles as laid back air heads. Yes, that is stereo-typing, and is far from universally accurate; but that is how people from New York City and Los Angeles are portrayed.
Well, cities were just as important in the ancient world to one’s identity, perhaps even more so. People in ancient days did not have last names, so their cities of origin were often used to distinguish their identities. Jesus’ father is identified to us as Joseph of Nazareth; whereas the man who claimed Jesus’ body from the cross was identified as Joseph of Arimathea. Even Jesus was referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, or simply as the Nazarene.
Another city we hear about frequently this time of year is the ancient city of Bethlehem. I, and several of you, have been there. Bethlehem is probably the second most mentioned city in the Bible behind the Holy City of Jerusalem. It is one of the oldest cities in Israel, but it never has been large or prestigious. And yet this little village has played a huge role in Judeo-Christian history, as we shall see in a moment.
Today, Bethlehem is the center of the hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians. About 6 miles southwest of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is located in what we know as the West Bank, controlled by the Palestinian authority. Israel has erected a 40 foot tall wall between itself and the territories of the West Bank supposedly in order to keep terrorists out of Israel. But the result of this action is that the residents of Bethlehem can no longer get to their former jobs in Jerusalem. Essentially, Israel is trying to starve Bethlehem and its residents out of existence. Without jobs, there is no income. And during the ten year period between my two visits to Israel, the economy of Bethlehem as been decimated and the people are living in utter poverty. The wall also has put a hurt on the tourist trade—Christians wanting to visit the birthplace of Jesus—and the vestige of Bethlehem’s economy. It is an outright crime against humanity what Israel is doing to the people of Bethlehem and the West Bank.
Anyway . . .
The oldest reference of Bethlehem that I could find comes from about 18- or 19 hundred years B.C. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, had a wife named Rachel. She died giving birth to their son, Benjamin. The Bible tells us that Jacob buried Rachel near Bethlehem.
Bethlehem’s first claim to fame came sometime around 1,100 BC. King David was the first ruler to bring the 12 tribes of Israel into a unified nation. Prior to that, various tribes had “judges” who made all the legal decisions for their area and acted essentially as a regional ruler. Ibzan, one of the early judges hailed from Bethlehem.
Then there is the story of Ruth. Ruth married an Israelite son of Naomi; but tragically her husband died, leaving both her and her mother-in-law husband-less, homeless and desolate. Together they moved back to Naomi’s home town—Bethlehem—and there Ruth met a shepherd by the name of Boaz. They married, and Ruth gave birth to Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who was the father of a shepherd boy named David—all of the lineage of Jesus. This is the same little David who later would defeat the giant Goliath and the Philistine army.
Then, when King Saul was gaining in years, the nation’s prophet, Samuel, went to Bethlehem, sent there by the Lord, who was going to reveal to Samuel who to anoint as the king-to-be. Everyone was amused that the next king would be from a tiny, obscure, insignificant town such as Bethlehem. Yet Samuel went to Bethlehem, and after interviewing a number of young men, anointed that same shepherd boy, David, as the next king of Israel.
Jesus, then, was born in Bethlehem. He grew up in Nazareth where Joseph was a carpenter. But in the year that Jesus was born, Rome demanded every citizen of the Israel was to return to the town of the ancestry to register their names for the purpose of taxation. Since Joseph and Mary both were descendants of Bethlehem, that is where they had to go to register. And while they were there, Jesus was born.
What more appropriate a place for Jesus to be born than in the city of his ancestors to mark him from the lineage of Ruth, Jesse, and King David! Indeed, the prophet Micah, several hundred years before Jesus’ birth, identified Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah—“But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from old, from ancient days.” (Micah 5:2)
Finally, as the heavens proclaimed the birth of the new king of Israel at Jesus’ birth, Wise Men, emissaries from kingdoms in the east, came to pay homage to this king-to-be. The current king, Herod, became so paranoid about this newborn rival that he decreed that all male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2 years be slaughtered so as to destroy his rival to the throne. Mary and Joseph heard of the evil scheme and managed to escape Bethlehem prior to the slaughter that is documented in historical records. It really took place. And it was only until Herod died that Mary and Joseph took Jesus back to Israel, to Nazareth, where Jesus grew up.
The word Bethlehem is a derivative of two Hebrew words—beth and lehem. “Beth” means the house of, or the community of, or clan of. “Lehem” is the Hebrew word for bread. Literally Bethlehem means, the City of Bread. And since ancient Hebrew had no vowels, only consonants, some people call the city Beth-el-hem (you can put the vowel either before or after the l)—el being the Hebrew word for God--which could mean the City of Godly bread.
Is it mere coincidence that Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread to feed the world? After all, he was from the City of Bread, and everyone expected the Messiah to usher in an era of abundance and plenty. Is it mere coincidence that Jesus referred to himself as The Bread of Life? Or is it mere coincidence that on the night he was betrayed to be crucified that he took a loaf of bread and broke it, comparing the bread to his soon to be broken body?
And so, on a night long ago, in a small, insignificant town, in a remote corner of the world, inside a cave used as a stable for animals, to poor parents, a child was born. This was God’s way. It always has been—ever since the prophet Samuel anointed a diminutive shepherd boy to be the next king of Israel, God has revealed himself to the world in the most humble ways.
The King of kings and Lord of lords, loved us so much that he laid aside his robes and riches to come to us as one of us. God took on human flesh, our flesh, and lived among us, that we might see and feel who He is and what He is like. The Almighty became a lowly servant to set before us the model of the spiritual life. The Great Judge put down his gavel and placed upon himself the mantel of our conviction and sentence, and took our place on death row to demonstrate how extensive and genuine his love for us truly is.
The Bread of Life born in the City of Bread, or City of Godly Bread—see, I told you that you can tell something about someone by knowing where they come from.
And now every time you break bread, whether during communion at church, or at family gatherings during holiday reunions, or simply when you sit down for a meal at home or a local restaurant, may it be a call to prayer that we might give thanks for the baby of Bethlehem and all that he means to us.
INVESTING YOURSELF IN THANKS-LIVING
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
November 20, 2011
Matthew 25:14-30
Ours is the age of investments. It seems as if every other commercial has to do with money, and how to invest our money in order to get the most return on our dollar. You can get your money the old fashion way and earn it; or we can talk to Chuck; or we can follow that little green circle that seems to know where we need to go. Today, we are told to invest our money in gold, which is supposed to be inflation proof; and, did you know that silver is producing twice the return on your dollar than gold!
As I was writing this sermon, a song kept creeping into my mind from the 1970’s. I don’t remember the music group that sang the song, but I do remember its strong beat, and the lyric that kept repeating throughout the song—“Money, money, money, money . . . money.”
We, as a society, are fascinated with money, and we all are looking for an edge, an advantage, that will help our investments grow and grow. And as Christians, we might consider the possibility that we have an advantage over everyone else. We have . . . the Bible . . . the answer book for every issue in life. Surely there must be contained therein divine wisdom on how to become rich beyond our wildest imaginings, advice, solid advice on how to invest our resources in order to get the most return. Don’t you think?
Let’s see, uh, oh, okay, here is a passage—Mark 10:21. This rich, young, entrepreneur goes to Jesus and asks his advice on how to improve on his investments. Jesus said, let’s see, “Go and sell everything that you have and invest it in gold” . . . no. Let’s see, “Go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor (?) and then come and follow me.” Uh, sorry, I guess that wasn’t such a good passage concerning investments.
Oh, here we go, just a few more verses farther, uh, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Oops! Sorry! That wasn’t very helpful to our investment strategies either.
Let’s see, ah, here we go, a passage on treasures. In Matthew, chapter 6, Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money.” Rats!
Here is another passage, this time from Paul. He is giving Timothy advice on how to be a wise investor. Let’s see, Paul writes, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” What!?
Uh, I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to wonder about these biblical investment strategies. How about you?
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Here’s one on investing. Yes, this may be what we are looking for. Again, in Matthew 6, Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Interesting! You know, Jesus never said that money is evil, although Paul said the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. But Jesus seemed to have a different take on investments and investing than we do today.
This kind of goes along with a commercial I saw on TV the other day. The camera showed a father and son sitting on a beach looking out over the water. The voice-over then said, “How would you like to make in investment in the things that really matter most?” That got me to thinking about investments and what really mattered most. Was it my bank account? No, not really. But about that time, I heard a knock on the door; and when I opened the door, there stood two little boys who share my last name, smiling from ear to ear, shouting, “Grampa!” THEN the commercial made sense. LIFE made sense. What REALLY MATTERS MOST made sense and became vividly clear.
Even the parable about the talents made sense. Three stewards were given sums of money by their master to take care of. Two of them invested their master’s money wisely, actively, and came back with generous returns. One of them did not actively engage his share, and was chastised, even though he returned all that was given him. But isn’t that the point. It was not the amount earned that mattered to the master. But what mattered to the master was that his stewards actively invest. The amount of the profit was not the issue. The issue was the effort put forth by the steward, or lack thereof.
Jesus did not give advice on investing money as much as he gave advice on how to invest our hearts, our lives—the things that really matter most—spiritual things, heavenly things where neither moth nor rust can consume, nor thieves break in and steal. Jesus’ advice was not so much about financial matters, but about life matters; not about becoming rich, but about becoming rich in spirit. So when someone asked Jesus what is it that really matters most, he said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Loving, living, investing ourselves in the things that matter most, THESE are the investments that pay real dividends. Living for God and living for others IS the essence of our souls, the essence of our very lives. It is righteousness for which our souls hunger and thirst. The size of our portfolios doesn’t really matter. What matters is the size of our hearts, and the investments we make in the lives of others. Serving Christ and our neighbors are the investments that make a difference in the long run.
There is an old story that illustrates what I am trying to say this morning. It is about a middle-aged woman in route to a speaking engagement several hundred miles from her home. She was about half way there when suddenly she heard a loud boom. Looking in her mirror, she could see the residue of what used to be a tire spraying over the highway behind her. One of her rear tires had blown.
Fortunately, she was not driving fast at the time and was able to steer the car to the roadside. She had never changed a tire before, and really wasn’t sure what to do. She got out and opened the trunk, but she didn’t even know how to access the spare, let alone jack up the car and change the blown tire. Then, just as suddenly as the tire had blown, it began to rain, and hard. She dashed back into her car. Wet from head to toe, all she could do was cry, wondering what she ever was going to do. She had no cell phone signal. She was out in the middle of nowhere. She felt so alone.
Then a pickup truck pulled up and stopped just ahead of her. Quickly she locked the doors of her car as her stomach rose to her throat. Out of the pickup stepped a young man, stringy long hair, unshaved face, wearing busted blue jeans and a dirty flannel shirt. The driving rain soaked him immediately, making him look even more frightening than before.
Slowly he made his way to her car and tapped on the window. Hesitantly she lowered the window just enough to hear and talk. “Looks like you got troubles, Ma’am,” he said. She replied, “Oh, I’ll be all right. You ought to get back to your truck and out of the rain.” Without a smile the young man replied, “I’m already wet, Ma’am. Now if you’ll just hit the truck release I’ll change out that tire for you.”
Hesitantly, reluctantly, she finally pushed the trunk release button. In no time at all, the young man had the tire changed and the trunk shut. Uncertain what to expect now, the woman reached for her purse to offer the man a tip for his services, but all she had was a $100 bill. When he returned to the window, she again lowered it just a little and offered the man the $100 bill. Then he smiled for the first time and said, “No thanks, Ma’am, I’m just glad I could be of help.” “Then how can I pay you for your kindness?” she asked. He replied, “The best way to pay me is to return a favor for someone down the road. That’s all the payment I need.” With that he returned to his pickup truck and drove away.
The woman still was shaking as the truck’s tail lights faded out of sight. “I could use a cup of coffee,” she thought to herself. Down the road a couple of miles was a small roadside diner. The rain had stopped, so she pulled in the parking lot and made her way inside.
A young woman, obviously pregnant and looking exhausted, waited on her. “Black coffee,” please, she said to the waitress. There were a dozen or so customers there, but the young woman appeared to be the only server on duty. Some of the customers were complaining about the slow service; others griped that their eggs weren’t cooked to their preference. Finally she returned to our lady’s table, tears in her eyes, and poured a cup of coffee. The woman said to the waitress, “My dear, you look like you are going to collapse. Sit down here a minute and rest.” The waitress replied, “I can’t; the boss might see me and fire me. And I can’t lose this job. I’m 8 months pregnant and have two kids at home. My husband lost his job at the factory when they closed it last year, and can’t find work. And we are only a week away from Christmas, and I don’t have any money for gifts for our children. If I lose this job, I just don’t know what we will do.” Stifling tears, she ran to appease yet another grouchy customer.
The lady reached for her purse to pay for her coffee, then remembered she only had that $100 bill. Then a warm feeling came over her as she slid the $100 bill under her cup with a note that said, “Merry Christmas.” She felt good knowing that she had been able to help someone down the road.
That night when the young waitress got home, she rushed in to her husband and said, “You’re not going to believe the tip this woman left for me at the restaurant today!” The husband interrupted and said, “Okay, but let me tell you first about me changing a tire for this frightened lady in the rain this morning.”
Thursday is Thanksgiving. And it is good that we set aside a day in which we can reflect upon our blessings and give thanks to God. But perhaps the best way we can give thanks to God is not just in thanksgiving, but in thanks-living. Perhaps the best investment we can make in life is WITH our lives, investing our energies, resources, and hearts in the things that matter most, in the things of Christ.
When you make a difference in one person’s life, you change the world forever.
Happy Thanks-living!
LOVING AND SERVING OTHERS: RISK-TAKING MISSION AND SERVICE
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
October 30, 2011
Matthew 16:24-25
Colleen was a professional woman in her 30’s. She had become quite successful in her profession and had risen to the office of assistant vice-president of an accounting firm. She liked the income her job produced, and found the work challenging. Yet, something in her soul seemed unsettled. She sensed that she was looking for something more, something more meaningful.
At church one Sunday morning, Colleen listened as the chair of the church’s mission committee shared information about an upcoming mission trip to a country in central Africa. The project would run about 2 weeks in length, and would involve building a small facility that would serve an orphans school as a medical clinic. The clinic would serve children who either were orphans or refugees of a recent civil war, and who had nowhere else to go. Her church would be able to erect the clinic and even help serve some of the wounds and broken hearts of these precious children.
Something about this touched Colleen’s heart, and six months later she found herself working in an environment as unlike her normal work environment as you could imagine. The days were extremely hot and humid. There were no air conditioners, no running water, no bathrooms. Her sleeping arrangements included an army cot covered with a mosquito net to protect her from malaria. Her back ached; her once soft hands were blistered and sore. And the poverty and need of the children was heart-wrenching and tore at her soul.
But all these discomforts paled in light of the bright eyes and smiles of the children. Even with the stress of the war etched on the brows of these kids, Colleen could see glimpses of joy in their eyes. During break times, she would sit among the children and teach them camp songs, complete with gestures. The laughter of the children was contagious, and soon other volunteers would join in.
On the last night of the trip, Colleen could not sleep. All night she relived those 2 weeks—the bricks and mortar, the songs and clapping with the children, the hope being restored in the eyes and hearts of the boys and girls there. And some time during that night, something changed in Colleen’s heart.
She began to think about all the children back home, the ones living in the inner city near her office, children who also were poverty stricken, who went to sleep hungry every night, and whose eyes were as empty of hope as these African children’s eyes 2 weeks ago. Something had to be done or else those inner city children would be lost forever.
So when she returned home, Colleen sought and obtained the support of her business firm to sponsor an inner city service program that included a latch-key after school program for elementary aged children, complete with tutoring, a healthy snack, and time for singing and playing in a safe environment.
One evening after volunteering a couple of hours at the program, Colleen thought about the changes that had taken place in her life. A year ago, she never would have imagined finding herself working with children in the inner city. But now she could not imagine life otherwise. There were children in need; and she could not rest until some of those needs had been addressed.
And so it is for those whose hearts have been deeply touched by the grace of God—for those who have come to accept God’s incredible love into their hearts, who are driven to love God in return, and who want to establish a deeper, more meaningful relationship with this loving God. Service is the natural response of the heart invaded by God’s unconditional love.
And yet this runs so counter to modern culture. Our culture teaches us to live to ourselves, to watch out for good old #1. We are led to believe that the way to happiness and fulfillment is to pursue our own self-interests; and if EVERYONE would only do that, everyone would be happy and the world would be okay. As someone put it, “You have to look out for yourself, for if you don’t, no one else will.” Or as another author said, “Most people, given the choice between having a better world, or a better place within the world as it is, would choose the latter.” Our culture tells us that our time, our money, and our energies are best applied at home; and we should expect everyone else to do the same. And if everyone were to do just that, there would be no poverty or crime or unhappiness in the world.
Nonsense! This narcissistic ideology flies in the face of Jesus’ life and teachings, and denies our basic created order.
The Bible tells us that God created us humans in God’s own image. In other words, the very heart of God is hard-wired into our very souls, and if we try to live otherwise, we will find only disappointment and emptiness. I have seen men and women who have worked feverishly to make it to the top, only to look around once they got there and miserably inquire, “Is this all there is up here?”
The essential reality of life is—life is not about me; it is not about us individually. Life is fundamentally about you, about those around us, about how we care for one another.
(analogy of heaven/hell/spoons)
If life is about ourselves, we will find ourselves starving, even in the face of success and prosperity as the world defines it. If life is about others, we will find ourselves rich regardless of our financial or professional status.
“Whoever would save their own lives will lose it; those who lose their lives for my sake will find it.”
Jesus’ life was all about serving others rather than himself. He, himself, said that he had come into the world, not to be served, but to serve and to offer his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28) And he taught this disciples that whoever would be considered great among them must be the servant of all the others. (Matthew 20:26-28) And on the night he celebrated the Passover with his friends, the ones he knew would betray him that very evening, Jesus put on the garb of a servant, and went around and washed the feet of his friends.
The heart that is filled with the love of God cannot help but love others. A heart that is filled with the love of God cannot help but be moved by the injustice and suffering in the world. A heart filled with the love of God cannot help but be broken by the very things that break the heart of God.
We love because God first loved us. And the life that has been loved by God cannot live for itself, but must live for the care and welfare of others.
What’s more, this service-oriented life IS the God-imageness that is hard-wired into our souls. It is our very created nature. Think about it. You are driving along when you come upon a crash that just happened. What do you do? Do you just drive on by, or do you stop to see if anyone needs help? A man is walking down the sidewalk when he notices a building on fire, and he hears a child inside screaming for help. Does he just walk on by? What IS his intitial gut response but to ignore the obvious risks to his own welfare and to run into the burning building to help rescue the imperiled child? Why does he do it? Is he suddenly out of touch with reality?
I beg to differ. As Bishop Schnase writes, “In that critical moment of pure insight and absolute choice, the person is not out of touch with reality. In that moment the person receives the truest reality of all, that our lives are interconnected . . . and that we are ultimately one. In moments of such revelation, we see so clearly that we are propelled to the highest and truest of responses. If I let you die, I kill something inside myself.”
President Obama recently awarded a wounded soldier with the Medal of Honor, something that rarely is bestowed upon a surviving soldier. Usually such meritorious service is performed by those who lose their lives saving others. But this soldier made numerous trips to carry wounded colleagues out of harm’s way, putting himself in a crossfire, to make sure that his friends got out alive. Was he out of touch with reality? Was he out of his mind? NO! Indeed, HE was in the deepest sense IN his mind; he was IN touch with the realty and purpose of life itself. He was fulfilling the God-created image of his soul, serving his fellow soldiers with total disregard to his own welfare.
Now, I’m not suggesting that God wants you to rush to Afghanistan and brave bullets necessarily. But I am suggesting that God wants you to fulfill your God-created image, your purpose in life. Theologian Frederick Buechner described God’s call to mission and service as “the place where your deepest gladness and the world’s deepest hunger meet.”
There is so much need, suffering, and human challenges all around us that require loving service to remedy. As Bishop Schnase states, “These are the things God needs people to work on.”
Bishop Schnase hits the proverbial nail on the head in the paragraph that reads, “Ultimately, the practice of compassionate service in Christ’s name grows from interior decision, a spiritual reorientation. As our life with God becomes more vibrant, dynamic, and real, we discover that we can choose to stand in a place of love, of hope, and or risk with an outward-focused posture; or we can choose to stand in a place of fear, defensiveness, protection, and self-absorption . . . The more consciously aware we become of our interior life with God, the better choices we make. Growing closer to God draws us closer to one another.”
But what can I do, me, just one person? (starfish thrower)
We all are God’s children—rich or poor, black or white, male or female—in Christ, we all are interconnected. SO, when you make a difference in one person’s life, you make a difference in the world. And THAT is what life in Christ is all about.
GROWING IN GRACE
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
October 23, 2011
Galatians 5:16-25
In his book, Five Practices of Fruitful Living, Bishop Schnase reminds us of an old Native American story. I had heard it before, but it was a treat to hear it again.
The story is about a conversation between a grandfather and his grandson. Native American grandfathers played an important role in their tribes. They served as the wise counsel for his family, and grandchildren loved to sit with their grandfathers and soak up as much wisdom as possible.
In this story, the grandfather is telling his grandson about the struggles and temptations of life, and how to develop a deep spiritual strength. Grandfather said, “Little one, there are two wolves that are at war with each other within me. One is motivated by peace, gentleness, honesty, justice, and love. The other lives by resentment, bitterness, hate, anger, and violence.” The young boy asked his grandfather, “Which one wins?” The old man replied, “The one I feed.”
Think about that for a moment. Each of us is faced with temptations multiple times every day. Native Americans talked about 2 wolves at war within us. We are more prone to talk about the 2 little angles that sit on either shoulder trying to talk us into our out of something. The apostle Paul talked about the war that raged inside of him, saying that the more he tried to do what was right, the more prone to fall he seemed to become. There really is an ongoing war between good and evil in this world, and, indeed, in our souls.
In your life, which one usually wins? Which one wins when the boss brings a pile of work that he wants finished before you leave for the day, usually just before quitting time? Which one wins when someone pulls out in front of you in traffic? Which one wins when Painter throws a pass 5 feet behind his intended receiver? (Okay, okay, he’s looking a little better each game.) Which one wins when a hotty or a hunk gives us “the eye?”
The Indian grandfather was right. The one that wins is the one we feed.
It is a fact of life that unless we are fed, we cannot live. Those who do not eat do not survive; only those who DO eat survive. And this is as true for the wolves at war within us as it is for us. The wolf that gets fed survives, even flourishes. The wolf that does not get fed has to starve eventually.
This is what Paul means when he compares the fruits of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit. He is describing the two wolves within us. He says, “Live by the Spirit . . . and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Don’t gratify the evil wolf; don’t feed the bad one; don’t even give it a small morsel that might give it strength. Instead, feed the good wolf; give it a steady diet of wholesome, spiritual food so that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control may abound.
I Peter 2:1-3 reads, “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Feed the wolf you want to win.
I have to assume that everyone of you wants to grow spiritually, or why else would you be here. Right? Well, be sure that spiritual growth results only from an intentional effort to feed the right wolf. Okay, a little may rub off on us by just showing up for worship. But solid spirituality is no accident. Rather, solid spirituality results only by a conscious, continual, and intentional effort on our part. It takes work to prepare meals for our good wolf; and it will grow only if we work to feed it.
I like Jesus’ analogy when he says, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
If spiritual growth and spiritual fruit is our heart’s desire, then we HAVE to feed upon pure spiritual things; we have to feed the proper wolf properly and regularly.
Attending worship is a good start. It is a first step toward spiritual maturity. And it is important that we keep attending, and attending frequently, regularly, as often as possible.
Farmers can answer this question. If you don’t regularly plow a field, what happens to that field? It becomes hard and the only seeds that can germinate on a hardpan field are weeds.
Bishop Schnase tells about the very talented concert musician who continues to practice every day, even after years of focused learning. The musician explained, “If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it.”
Neglecting to feed our souls, even for a short period of time, makes a noticeable difference. I’ve heard some of you say if you miss Sunday worship, you feel out of sorts all week long. And this should not surprise us. The good wolf needs feeding. And when we regularly worship, we
open ourselves to what God has for us that day, and the more often we open ourselves to what God has for us, the better the good wolf is fed.
Then does this mean that we can’t worship God on our own? No, not at all. But I do intend to say that solitary worship can only get you so far. God created us as community creatures; we need other people—we need their friendship, their support, their insight, their prayers. NO ONE IS AN ISLAND; we cannot survive for long in isolation. But worshipping in community is good for us and fosters a deeper spirituality than we can develop on our own.
Jesus performed his entire ministry in the company of his disciples and many other followers. He recognized the importance of corporate spirituality. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, founded congregations, classes and other support groups so that the people could learn and grow more readily. He was convinced that it is in corporate worship that we best grow. Then we best serve together; and thereby we grow all the more together.
But corporate worship is only a start. It takes more to feed the good wolf adequately. Spiritually healthy people expose themselves to God’s pure spiritual milk in other ways in addition to Sunday worship. There are many ways that we can expose ourselves to what God has for us in addition to Sunday worship.
These small groups that are studying Bishop’s Schnase book is one way. Getting involved in a Bible study group or Sunday school class is another. Becoming active in a women’s group or men’s group is another way to expose ourselves to God’s wisdom. Personal devotions and inspirational reading is another. Serving at a soup kitchen or Christian thrift store is yet another. Praying for the church and for others makes us more sensitive to God’s presence and direction. The more ways we can feed the good wolf within us, the stronger it will become and the more it will win.
I realize this sounds so easy. Then why don’t we get more involved in spiritual activities?
I suppose there are several reasons. First, we may feel embarrassed or inadequate about our lack of familiarity about the Bible or theological terms. And who knows what we may be asked to share? And what if they ask me to read? And we may not know anyone which will only add to my feeling of awkwardness. Besides, with our lifestyle, we just don’t have time.
First of all, let me put your minds at ease. The people around you are good people, so you don’t have to feel intimidated or inadequate. Besides they probably feel the same way you do. And the only way you will get to know others is to get involved and thereby get acquainted; and the only way to become more familiar with the Bible is to dig right into it. And finally, really, a lack of time is only an excuse. I know that people are very busy these days; I get that. So am I. But life is truly a matter of choices, a matter of setting priorities. No one ever “finds” time; they “make” time. And we make time by rearranging our schedules, by setting priorities, and committing ourselves to those.
If you want to grow spiritually, you have to make time; you have to make spiritual growth a conscious, continuous, and intentional effort. As Bishop Schnase says, “God desires a relationship with us. God wants us to experience the riches of God’s grace. When we cooperate with God by placing ourselves in Christian community, we make ourselves more able to absorb God’s truth. When we remain too busy or too resistant, God’s attempts to reach us are like a pencil on glass and we remain unchanged. The inner world is a source of power and strength, but it needs to be cultivated. We do so through the practice of Intentional Faith Development.”
There is no doubt in my mind that each one of you is hungry, spiritually hungry, or, again, why else would you be here this morning. Well, worship is like the salad, the appetizer. And appetizers are good; I like appetizers. But I like meat and potatoes too. Appetizers are intended to whet our appetites, to cleanse our palates, and raise our anticipation of the meat and potatoes and dessert that follows. So, if you intend to feed your soul, if you intend to grow spiritually, get involved in the smorgasbord of activities available to you through the church.
There are two wolves at war within each of our hearts. One is motivated by peace, gentleness, honesty, justice, and love. The other lives by resentment, bitterness, hate, anger, and violence. Which one wins?
WHO’S WORTHY?
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
October 2, 2011
Matthew 26:20-29
Today is what we call “World Communion Sunday.” Christians all around the world are celebrating our “community” as brothers and sisters in Christ. People of every color and ethnicity, people from every continent on this planet, people from every walk of life will be taking communion on this first Sunday of October. We do this every year on the first Sunday of October, figuratively side-by-side with Africans, Asians, Europeans, Australians, South Americans, and North Americans in proclaiming our common faith. From the poorest to the richest, from the weakest to the most powerful, from the darkest to the palest, we rejoice that we and they have been called children of Almighty God himself.
For me, this is a very special day—to think that God considers ME just as worthy of his love and blessing as the starving child in Africa, or the homeless man downtown Indianapolis, or woman grieving the murder of her husband by brutal governmental forces in Central America. Why? Why would God consider me when there are so many people on the planet who are in far greater need than I have ever experienced, who are incredibly deserving of God’s attention and blessing? What is it that makes ANYONE worthy of God’s attention and blessing? What is it that makes us worthy of receiving communion and being called God’s sons and daughters?
Some of you have heard me talk about my father before. Let’s just say that his lifestyle made him an annual candidate for heathen of the year. He worked at a factory for 40 years and as a bartender for 20, and spent most of his free time as a customer at the local taverns. He had a tough life, a survivor of both the Great Depression and the Texas Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. Life had dumped an unfair share of hardship on his family during his childhood, which, naturally, made him cynical and wary of everything and everyone. And somewhere along the line, he had been deeply hurt by some church people whose condescending remarks about his family turned him bitter toward the church and anything Christian. (You can imagine his dilemma when I announced my intention to enter ministry!)
Oh, he had a religious background. Both of his grandfathers were Baptist preachers. And I remember him responding to an altar call when I was about 3-4 years old. But whoever church person it was who offended him did so at such a deep level that my father eventually rejected the church. Now, he did attend my services once in a great while, mostly at the prodding of my mother. And I am sure that he believed—he told me so. He told me that he prayed every night before going to sleep; but he didn’t want anything to do with the church and church people. And on those few occasions that he attended one of my services, and we happened to be serving communion, he refused ADDAMATTLY to take it.
He told me that he could not take communion; it would not be right. He believed that you had to be worthy of taking communion, and he knew (bleep) well that he was not worthy. And he knew that nearly everyone who did take communion were no more worthy to receive it than he was. And he would be (bleeped) if he would be a hypocrite like them. And, folks, he prided himself at being more honest about his shortcomings than the hypocrites who received communion as if they deserved to receive it.
So perhaps you can see why this subject of who is worthy to receive communion weighs so heavily on my heart.
But . . . I think the question is faulty. The question about who is worthy of receiving communion assumes that you have to be worthy to receive it. And that is a faulty assumption. That is NOT what Jesus or the Bible says about communion. In fact, it says quite the opposite.
As we heard in our Bible reading, Jesus gave the first communion, NOT to those who deserved it, but to those who NEEDED it. Those who received communion that night were NOT righteous people, but were the very ones who would deny ever knowing Jesus in just a few short hours. Jesus served them the first communion, NOT because they were righteous, but because he loved them, and wanted to give them a tangible reminder, a vivid object lesson, of his love for them—even KNOWING they would soon betray him. They would NEED that lesson to pull them back together after he had been crucified.
Jesus gave us communion, NOT because we deserved it, but because he WANTED to, he WANTED to let us know how great God’s love IS for us all, regardless of who we are or where we have been, or what we have done.
Love is not something that we earn or deserve. Love is a gift that is freely given, a gift that is given regardless of our worthiness PRECISELY BECAUSE we are LOVED. A parent does not cease to love a son or daughter just because he or she has done something wrong. In fact, parents tend to hope that their unconditional love might actually redeem a wayward offspring and inspire the wayward child to come back.
NO ONE DESERVES love, redemption, salvation. NO ONE DESERVES love, redemption, salvation ASSIDE from love, ASSIDE from God’s most earnest desire for us to accept his love. It is not at all possible for us to live such perfect lives as to deserve communion with God. Yet this is precisely the intention of communion—God INTENDS to convince us that WE ARE LOVED, and that it is GOD’S LOVE that opens the table of communion to us, that redeems us from our sin and sets things right. It is GOD’S LOVE that enables us to love and be loved—The Bible clearly says, “We love because God first loved us.”
Jesus tries to make this point to a people who thought they had to deserve God’s approval. He told the people that their righteousness would have to exceed that of the Pharisees, the religious leaders who preached perfect living, in order for them to gain God’s approval. In fact, Jesus said, “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) in order to be WORTHY of God’s approval—a fact as futile to them as it is to us. And this led the people to ask Jesus, “Then who can be saved?” to which he responded, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.” (Luke 18:26-27)
So, WHO is worthy to receive God’s blessing? WHO is worthy to be called God’s children? WHO is worthy to receive the bread and juice of Holy Communion?
WHOMEVER GOD CHOOSES! And who is it that God chooses for his blessing, his love, his communion?
(Linda, second service on screen so we can read together) John 3:16-17—For God so LOVED the world that He gave his only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him may have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, NOT to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
WHO IS WORTHY? Whomever God chooses! WHO DOES GOD CHOOSE? The world! EVERYONE who simply accepts his gift!
You ARE God’s child. You are GOD’S CHILD. YOU are God’s child. HE HAS PROCLAIMED IT! AND THAT’S THAT!
And we get to stand figuratively shoulder to shoulder with God’s children around the world and of all ages and accept God’s love into our hearts, to receive his gift joyfully and with such deep gratitude that we devote ourselves to living lives of love and service, even as we have been loved and served through Jesus Christ our Lord!
BECOMING A CHILD AGAIN
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
September 11, 2011
Mark 10:13-16
Vicki and I are now up to 4 grandchildren, all boys, and I mean ALL BOYS. I don’t know where they get all that energy. I just know that even one of those boys has twice the energy of their grandmother and grandfather combined.
But what a joy they are! I love to get down and wrestle with them, and chase them around the house. They laugh and giggle; they grin and smile; and they give the most wonderful hugs. As the old adage goes, had we known that the grandchildren were going to be so much fun, we would have had them first.
But there is just something about a child that is so endearing.
I feel like that about Celebrations Child Care. I absolutely love interacting with the kids. There are a couple of boys who will drop in at my office occasionally. We chat for a minute or two, and then they return to class. It is difficult for me to get lunch here for all of the hugs and high fives. If I get tired in the middle of the day, I just take a walk around the church and let the children recharge my batteries.
I’m telling you, there is just something about a child that is so endearing. What is that? What is it that is so wonderful about a small child?
Whatever it is, Jesus appreciated this too about children. There is a wonderful picture of Jesus, seated, with several children playing around him, listening to him talk. It has to be inspired by the story we heard just a moment ago.
Jesus had been teaching, as was his custom. Surely many people had gathered to hear his kind words. The people thought so highly of Jesus that some of them brought their children that he might bless them in God’s name. That would probably be something like what we do at children’s baptism, though without water. But he would lay his hand on a child’s head or shoulder and offer him or her a word of blessing.
Jesus’ disciples, however, saw this influx of children as an intrusion. The seriousness of Jesus’ teachings was no subject for small children. And with all these kids crowding around him, it had become impossible for Jesus to keep on track, or to keep the adults’ attention. But as the disciples began to shoo away the children, Jesus spoke up in their defense. The exact word describing Jesus’ reaction to the rebuking by the disciples was the word “indignant.” Indignation may be defined as “anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean.” It would have been an emotion similar to Jesus’ reaction toward the unjust money changers at the Temple—when he made a whip of cords and drove the greedy money changers out, and overturned their tills. This was no trivial matter to Jesus. He WANTED the children to come to him. He WANTED to talk with them, play with them, honor them in their child-like innocence.
In his indignant rebuke of his disciples, Jesus shouted, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” Then he began to scoop up the little ones into his arms, and interacted with them, and blessed them, surely to the delight of their parents and the whole community.
Yes, there simply is something endearing about little children.
Last weekend, we took a couple of our grandsons to a family gathering. Vicki’s brother owns some wooded property, and has cut 4 or 5 short trails all which leave from and return to his house. There were 6 kids there from ages 7 to 5. They were thrilled to have those paths to play on. More than that, though, I, too, was thrilled to have those paths to play on. For an hour or better, I picked up my big stick and played Star Wars with the kids, running about the woods, fighting evil dudes, and otherwise thwarting the Empire’s attempt to subdue the universe.
It was either that, or sit with the grownups while they revisited old family stories for the umpteenth time. I had the time of my life out there with those kids. There just is something endearing about little children.
Not quite 30 years ago, I served the United Methodist church in Cambridge City, just down highway 40 about an hour. There lived a very special child with whom I had a wonderful relationship by the name of Barry. Barry and our middle son, Jacob, were best of buddies. Jacob would have been about 3 or 4 years old; Barry was about 20. But Barry was multiply handicapped, and had the mind of a child of about Jacob’s age.
Barry had learned the order of worship at the church. He knew when the prayers were to be said, the offering taken, the Gloria Patri sang. And he LOVED to sing.
One day, we altered the order of the service. Everything went just find until we came to the place where we usually would sing the Gloria Patri. We had something else in its place, that is, until Barry began to bellow out at the top of his lungs, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost . . .” At that point the rest of the congregation joyfully chimed in to finish the Gloria Patri, and we all had a wonderful laugh at Barry’s leading.
The church was small and informal enough that Jacob would sometimes come up and sit on my lap during scripture readings or other parts of the service that I wasn’t involved with. Yes, when Barry noticed his best friend sitting on Dad’s lap in front of the church, here he bolted, and soon I had Jacob AND Barry sitting on my lap. Barry weighed over 200 pounds, but the load was one of the most joyous moments of my life. AND IT IS TO SUCH AS BARRY THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BELONGS; and UNLESS WE BECOME LIKE BARRY, WE WILL NEVER GET THERE OURSELVES.
What is it that makes children so endearing? What does it mean to be child-like? What are the child-like qualities that Jesus wants from his followers?
(solicit answers)
If only. If only the world were like this. Had the world been like this 10 years ago, how might things have gone differently on 9-11? If only. If only the world were more child-like. If only I were more child-like. How might the world be different? How might our relationships, our marriages, our friendships be different? How might our foreign policies be different?
You probably have seen the short essay by Robert Fulgrum on children. Actually it is a bit on world leadership, and it has to do with life’s most important lessons for children AND adults:
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum.
What is it about children that is endearing?
Trust (we have to teach kids NOT to trust). Do we really, really trust God? (Parable of the birds of the air)
Faith. How else is a child to learn anything except they have faith that what they are told is true? At least early on, Mommy and Daddy know everything; what they say is the gospel truth. Do we believe God? Do we believe the Gospels to be the gospel truth?
Playfulness. Life is too serious to be taken seriously all the time. We HAVE to have simple fun; we HAVE to be able to play—or else we forget how to live.
Unconditionally loving. Children just naturally WANT to love, and be loved. They EXPECT to be loved, and are so disappointed if they are not loved by even one soul. Why can’t we EXPECT to love and BE loved? Quite often in life, you get back what you give out. GIVE LOVE, and GIVE OTHERS A CHANCE TO LOVE IN RETURN.
There is a child in here, inside you and me. If we would only access that child, and encourage others to access their inner child . . . what difference would it make in this world?
And Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
Poem by 13 year old Jodi Suzanne Waitzman
Everyone is good enough
Everyone is right
Everyone deserves a home
And a warm bed at night
Everybody needs a friend
Everyone needs their space
All people are created equal
So why is it the human race?
Perhaps our only problem
Is that some refuse to see
Not everyone else is in trouble
The trouble is you and me
So if we work together
As a team, me and you
Maybe we can rebuild our world
And make our dreams come true
(food for thought as we remember the events of 9-11-2001)
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: SO WHAT?
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
September 5, 2011
Exodus 20:1-17
Over the course of this summer, we have taken a look at each of the Ten Commandments:
-You shall have no other Gods before me.
-You shall not have any graven images.
-You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
-Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
-Honor your father and mother.
-You shall not murder.
-You shall not commit adultery.
-You shall not steal.
-You shall not bear false witness.
-You shall not covet.
So now what?
I once heard a preacher say that when he was in the 4th grade, his teacher would begin each morning with a set of rituals. First came a reading from the Bible. That was followed by a prayer. That was followed by a ten point health inspection. Two students were chosen to be the doctor and nurse, who went up and down each row checking each child for 1) clean hands, 2) clean teeth, 3) combed hair, 4) clean ears, 5) clean clothes, 6) clean socks, 7) polished shoes, 8) a clean handkerchief, 9) a pocket comb, and 10) clean fingernails. If you passed all 10 points, you got a gold star on the chart provided by a soap company. If you failed even one point, your name was written on the chalk board inside a circle called the mud hole, and it stayed there until you passed all 10 points.
I would suppose that many of us view the 10 Commandments in a similar fashion. Keep all of the commandments, and get a gold star; fail one and you end up in the mud hole until you get your act cleaned up. In this way, the 10 Commandments serve as a measuring stick for us to get into heaven. Keep the commandments and be deemed clean by God; fail even one commandment and be put on God’s mud hole list.
Jesus actually taught against this notion. At one point, Jesus was confronted by one of the outstanding citizens of his community and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus replied with a short list of the commandments, saying, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor your father and mother.”
The man responded, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” In other words, I have checked off the 10 commandments and am found clean—my ears are clean, I have my comb and handkerchief, my chart is filled with gold stars. My name is not in the mud hole.”
The author of this gospel tells us that Jesus loved the man, and gave him a new command that was just for him. Jesus told him to go and sell all that he owned, give the proceeds to the poor, and then come and follow the way of Jesus. And the young man went away sadly, for he had many possessions. (Mark 10:17f) You see, Jesus understood what lay between the young man and eternal life. He knew what, amidst his plenty, the man needed. And what he needed was more than a measuring stick or a check-off list. He needed a new understanding about life itself.
As we have seen, that was not the purpose of the 10 Commandments. They were not given to the Israelites as a moral code that had to be kept in order to be blessed. Rather they were given to show the Israelites what a set-apart, Godly community would look like. God’s community of people would worship only God, would not condemn others in God’s name, would observe the day of rest and worship, would honor fatherhood and motherhood, and would not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet—like all the other nations around them did. God had called the Israelites to be his servant people, a people distinctly different than the rest of the world set apart to witness to God’s love for all people and to show the world what Godly living was like.
God was aware that his people were imperfect. After all, while Moses was receiving the command not to make graven images to worship, his brother Aaron was busy in the valley below constructing a golden calf for that very purpose. Surely the commandments were not meant to be a measuring stick, but a very high goal for which the people of God were to strive.
Okay, then, does that mean that we don’t have to worry about obeying the commandments? Actually, we are not the first people to ask that question. In fact, within half a century of Jesus’ lifetime, there were Christians who believed that DISobedience to the commandments was the way Christians were to live. They took the words of Paul and distorted them to fit their wishes. Their argument went something like this:
Paul says that we are not saved by our goodness, but by the grace of God. Some people have lived so badly, it must take more grace for them to be saved. Hmmm, more sin, more grace—It follows then that if we want to get even more grace from God, we should be living even more deeply in sin. The more we sin, the more grace we get. So we don’t have to obey the commandments, since it is sin that grace addresses. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Not if you take the words of Jesus seriously. Early in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated rather emphatically, “Do not think that I have come to abolish either the law (commandments) or the prophets (the intent of the law). I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them both. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever breaks even one of the least of the commandments, and teaches others to do likewise, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven . . . For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (those charged with teaching and keeping the law), you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 517-20)
And we have seen that Jesus not only defended the commandments, but made them even stricter—“You have heard it said . . . ‘You shall not murder’ . . . But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.” “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at (another) with lust has already committed adultery in your heart.” (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-29) And he goes on to say that if an eye or hand causes us to break a commandment, we should destroy that eye or cut off that hand, for it is better that we go through life without an eye or hand than to spend eternity in hell.
No, Jesus would have found the “sin and grace” theory of salvation repulsive. There ARE moral and spiritual standards by which we are expected to live. There are things that Godly people do, and things they don’t do. That is what sets them apart from the rest of the world. That is what makes them witnesses of God and Godly living. That is the way people saved by grace live. Our obedience of the commandments is the way we show our gratitude for the love and saving grace of God. And when we fall short, our repentance—our turning from sin and walking in a new direction in life—is the appropriate response to God’s forgiveness and acceptance.
Jesus was approached by one of the scribes, a keeper of the religious law, who asked him which of the commandments was the greatest, the most important. The scribe’s intent was to trap Jesus in his own words, for the scribes believed that Jesus was opposed to the law and commandments. Jesus answered the scribe with two Bible passages that the scribe would know very well, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39, quoting Deuteronomy 8:5 and Leviticus 19:18)
THIS is keeping the letter and spirit of the all the law and commandments. Live by the law of pure love, and you WILL keep the commandments, naturally. Jesus was concerned with something more than the scrupulous and meticulous keeping of every detail of the law. He was deeply concerned with what is in our hearts, what it is that motivates and drives us in everyday living. Is what motivates and drives us things that break the commandments, or is it love?
In another encounter with the legalists, Jesus responds to the question of what is it that defiles us in the eyes of God—strict obedience to the commandments, or what? Jesus concluded, “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:19-19) It is NOT simply breaking a commandment that defiles us before God, it is the heart, the intent behind breaking the commandment that defiles us.
IF it is love that motivates and drives us, IF it is love that is in our heart, we don’t even have to worry about the commandments; for LOVE FULFILLS the commandments.
SO, the 10 Commandments are not intended to be RULES that God gives us to follow so that God can love us and reward us with eternal life and keep us from going to that other place. Rather these commandments stand before us as a proper response to God’s call for obedience and the formation of a set-apart, Godly, servant community. The commandments tell us what such a community must be like if that community is to endure. They tell us what a Godly heart is like.
Surely Jesus knew that our penchant for winning stars and avoiding the mud hole is usually tainted by self-concern. And he knew that spiritual living was about more than just winning heaven and escaping hell. It is about life itself, and this is why his commentary on the commandments was summed up in the words, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all (good) things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
My mentor, Ross Marrs, ended his commentary on the Ten Commandments with a poem. I want to end my sermon series on the Ten Commandments with that same poem.
My God, I love thee not because
I hope for heaven thereby,
Nor yet because, if I love not,
I must forever die.
Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me
Upon the cross embrace;
For me didst bear the nails and spear,
And manifold disgrace.
Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ,
Should I not love thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven,
Nor of escaping hell.
Not with the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward.
But as thyself has loved me,
O everloving Lord,
So would I love thee, dearest Lord.
And in thy praise will sing;
Because thou art my loving God,
And my eternal King.
A MATTER OF THE HEART
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
August 28, 2011
Exodus 20:1, 17
“You shall not covet.”
This last of the 10 Commandments seems to be aimed squarely at our society today (as if the other 9 were not!). We very much are a society that desires what we do not have.
For instance, you know very well of my love for fishing and boats. My first boat was a 14’, v-hull jon-boat with a 9.9 horse power motor. My second boat was a 17’ aluminum bass boat with a 50 horse power motor and a steering wheel. My current boat is an 18’ fiberglass boat with a 150 horse power motor with an on-board battery charger. But my dream boat is a 20’ bass boat with a 225 horse power motor with GPS and side-imaging sonar. Once you get the bug, you have to have bigger and better—THAT’S what will make us happy, finally, don’t you think?
I recently saw the old Lays potato chip commercial with that memorable slogan. Do you remember what that slogan was? “Nobody can eat just one.” If you have one, you’ll HAVE to have another, and another, and another. And if someone else has Lays potato chips, those fortunate and happy people, you’ll HAVE to find a way to get some of your own. Then you will be as happy as they are.
There is the commercial of a fellow opening a drink of some kind when he sees someone else opening a can of vegetable drink. The first guy slaps himself on the forehead and says . . . “I could have had a V-8.
But perhaps a better illustration of coveting can be found in a commercial that ran during the last Christmas holiday season. The commercial begins with a husband and wife standing in their driveway. Apparently the wife has just purchased her husband a new car. At first he is quite happy with his gift, that is, until a neighbor drives past in his brand new whatever brand that his wife purchased for him. The scene fades with the first husband’s face showing disdain and disappointment that his neighbor got THAT car and he only got THIS car.
Coveting is the belief that it is what we possess or do not possess that measures the value of life. It means that life can only be fulfilled by THINGS, and more things, and things that others have but we do not have yet.
Whether it is the new secret formula that will make your face look 20 years younger, or the new driver that will hit a golf ball farther and straighter, or a device that will make your waist smaller and stronger without the hassle of working out, or a deodorant that will make you irresistible to the opposite gender, surely there is something out there that we just can’t live without, something that will quench all of my life’s hungering. Whether it be my neighbor’s house, or his wife, or his male or female servant, or his ox, or donkey, or anything else that is your neighbor’s. IT’S NOT YOURS, LEAVE IT ALONE. Besides, having and possessing is NOT what will make you happy.
I heard an old hillbilly once say, “Happiness is not about what you have or not have. It is better to be happy with what you have rather than be unhappy with what you don’t have.” I think I understand what he meant. Happiness is a matter of the heart and soul. You either are happy or unhappy, and it has very little to do with what we have or don’t have. Happiness has to do with faith, with relationships, with trusting God.
Jesus said that it is silly to be anxious about what we have or don’t have. He likened happiness to the lives of the birds of the air, noting that they neither work or toil, yet God provides for them. How much more, then, said Jesus, will God provide us with what we need. Rather than searching for earthly things that will give us life, we are to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness. And if we do that, God will give us all other things (the things that we need) as well—what we need, not necessarily what we want, but what we NEED to live life in peace. (Matthew 6:25-33)
I’ve heard people say, “When I was young, we were poor; but we didn’t KNOW we were poor. We were happy, and that’s all that mattered.” Yes! That’s it! That is what life is all about—being happy with what you have, not unhappy with what we don’t have. Bigger and better will NOT make us happy; it will only make us hungrier and hungrier. Why?
Nutritionists tell us that it is not so much how much we eat that will quench our hunger, but WHAT we eat. We can eat a whole bag of potato chips and still be hungry. Why? Because we have not given our bodies what they need to be healthy. We have eaten what we want, but not what we need.
Jesus tells us that the things of this world CANNOT make us happy. Why? Because our deepest hunger is not about material things, but about spiritual things. He said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst . . . for righteousness, for THEY shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6) Coveting is a matter of confusing our hunger for righteousness for our addiction to salty chips. What we don’t have will not, cannot, make us happy, for happiness is a matter of the heart and soul.
Does this mean, then, that it is wrong to want something that we don’t already have? No, not necessarily, as long as what we want doesn’t keep us from doing what is right. It is not wrong for me to want to replace my pickup truck that has over 220,000 miles on it . . . as long as it does not keep me from doing what is right with God. A new truck will not make me happy. What will make me happy is serving God and making sure that I reserve enough resources to be able to tithe to the church and to support the kinds of ministries that help God serve the needs of the people. But what WOULD be wrong for me would be to purchase the most expensive truck I could find, with all the bells and whistles and gadgets money could buy, thinking that this would make me happy—when all it would do is feed my addiction for more and bigger while stealing from God to support my habit.
Bigger and better doesn’t cut it. Trusting God is what cuts it. Trusting God is what life is all about, where true happiness is found. Happiness is a matter of being happy with what we have, not unhappy with what we don’t. It is a matter of heart and soul and trusting God.
Jesus knew the difference between trust and lust; and so must we come to know the difference between what we want and what we need in order for life to be full and complete, in order for our souls to feed on righteousness and the things of God.
Spiritual living is a matter of trust, not lust. Coveting is the belief that bases life’s security on the things that WE can gather. Storing up treasures, harboring more than we NEED, and the excessive accumulation of things is the opposite of trusting God, where alone happiness may be found.
Jesus tells the story of a farmer who had an especially abundant harvest, so much so that his current barn and silo complex was too small to store his grain. The man apparently does not think first about thanking God for the abundant harvest, but his first thoughts were about himself. The passage reads: (note, when biblical writers repeated something, we are supposed to notice)
The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” But God said to him, “YOU FOOL! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Then Jesus concludes) So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16-21)
Coveting is such a short-sighted view of life that thinks only of oneself. The spiritual life sees the bigger picture and thinks of the community and God’s desire for the community first; and this is where true and satisfying happiness is found.
My mentor, Ross Marrs, says that coveting represents a short view of life, whereas pursuing righteousness puts life in its proper eternal setting. Coveting is only concerned about me in the here and now; righteousness is concerned about the bigger picture and what is right in God’s eternal eyes. Marrs writes, “To be convinced that the meaning of life has to do with possessions, to take the short view of life and miss the eternal context in which we live, to seek to serve all the gods (of this world)—all this is at the root of covetousness.”
He goes on to define the difference between trust and lust. “Lust is present when we are overwhelmed and driven by self-concern and the short view of life.” Trust, he says, “is that spirit that accepts life as a gift from the hand of God, embraces the idea that life should be lived fruitfully for oneself and for others, and does not let anxiety eat at the roots of faith and drive us to seek to worship all the gods. Trust is based on the conviction that this world was created by God and that God cares for all of his creation.”
And here is the best definition of coveting I’ve ever come across. Again from Marrs, “At the heart of coveting is the lack of a clear self-image (remember we are created in God’s image) (repeat opening), and this drives us to keep accumulating outer representations, outer symbols that are meant to tell others who and what we are. Strip away all those symbols, take away all the props by which we convince ourselves and others that we are somebody, and disaster comes. Nothing remains but an empty shell.” And I would add that this is precisely why we are so hungry. We are eating the wrong foods, consuming the things of the world, rather than feeding on God’s righteousness and serving God first rather than ourselves.
The truth is, we are NOT living our own lives. Our lives are not OURS. Our lives are a gift from God. And being created in God’s image, our soul can only be satisfied in the things that satisfy God—God’s righteousness. Until we shape our lives around the will of God for this world, we never will be truly happy. But when we do, and when we see our lives making a difference in the world and in the lives of others, we will finally know the peace that passes all understanding. And we WILL be satisfied.
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
August 21, 2011
Exodus 20: 1, 16
Perhaps few illustrations about this topic can be found than the recent trial of Casey Anthony. Casey was on trial for the death of her little daughter, Caley. If you kept up with the trial at all, you know there had to be a lot of bearing false testimony going on. Someone, or several someones, had to be lying because testimonies given during the trial contradicted each other, sometimes from the mouth of the same witness.
Was it the defense attorney, who, in his opening statement said that Casey’s father and brother sexually abused her when she was a child, and that Casey’s father was trying to cover up what was an accidental drowning in the family swimming pool, and making Casey a scapegoat? He never submitted any evidence to support any of these claims.
Was it Casey who lied? Yeah, the court even heard testimony from a former friend of Casey who, after calling sick for work, bragged to her friend about what a great liar she was.
Was it Casey’s mother, whose deposition stated that she was at work when someone used the family computer to investigate how to make chloroform; but who testified at the trial that she was not at work, but she was trying to find out information about chlorophyll—creating an alibi for her daughter’s defense.
It is no wonder the jury had a difficult time finding a verdict—they didn’t know who to believe. It seemed that everyone was lying, and probably so. Thus one can understand why the jury returned a “not guilty” verdict, because neither the prosecution nor the defense could prove anything because of all the lying.
Lying has to be one of the worst enemies of a strong community. Lies, deception, double speak, half-truths all undermine the foundation of any social network. In such a society, trust diminishes and confidence wanes, while suspicion, doubt, paranoia, and cynicism flourish. Without trust, there can be no community; and lying and bearing false witness destroys community.
The Bible understands this very well, and there are numerous passages that condemn lying.
-Psalm 27 has the author asking God for protection from false witnesses (Psalm 27:11-12).
-The creation story has the serpent lying to Eve, calling God a liar, and by the serpent’s deception, Adam and Eve would be evicted from Eden.
-The book of Ephesians says, “Putting away all falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another,” (Ephesians 4:25).
-Colossians tells us, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices, and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:9-10)
-James has a lengthy discussion about mastering the tongue. (James 3:1-12)
-Jesus has strong words about the value of speaking truth in simple and plain language. (Matthew 5:33-37)
-And there is the story of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts (Acts 5), who lied to Peter and the leaders of the early church about the value of some property they had sold (they wanted to keep some money for themselves rather than give it all to the church). When Peter challenged their lie, both Ananias and Sapphira died on the spot. I guess God is the one we can never fool with a lie.
Needless to say, lying undermines the very fabric of any community, whether nation, state, town, or home. We all know this. We do. But that does not seem to deter folks from lying. How much do we need a voice crying for honesty and integrity at every level of our lives!
Lying has almost become commonplace, rather expected in some arenas. I mean, our national leaders do this all the time. They call it politics; others call it double-speak, innuendoes, and down-right falsehoods.
Does anyone remember what a former president said upon being removed from office for his lies and his involvement in the break-in of the opposing party’s headquarters? “I am not a crook. I’ve earned everything that I’ve got.”
Or who can forget another former president denying having intimate relations with that woman, and asking his interrogators for a definition of the word “is?”
Or what about another former president and vice-president revealing the identity of a secret agent, who happened to be the wife of a former ambassador who had determined that no nuclear or biological weapons or materials had been sold to Iraq, thus undermining that president and vice-president’s excuse for a preemptive invasion of that country.
We watch as people plead the 5th amendment to avoid self-incrimination. We have become aware of such things as erased tapes, doctored evidence, illegal cover-ups, and denials that obviously are lies. Resumes are padded (just ask the Notre Dame football program about that!). And, oh, by the way, Al Gore never claimed that he invented the internet, regardless of what his opponents have claimed. He DID sponsor some major legislations that financed internet research and development, but he never said that he invented the internet. And who is not aware of the malicious ways certain politicians have interpreted certain words to defame or misrepresent their opponents—words like liberal or conservative. Many good people have been defeated in elections because their opponents painted false pictures about them.
TV commercials use lies and innuendoes to sell their products on an ongoing basis. Twice in the past year or so, a particular yogurt company has been warned by the Federal Food and Drug Administration about making false claims in their commercials. The company’s newest set of commercials still pushes the proverbial envelope trying to convince us that if we eat this yogurt, we’ll never be constipated again. Captions that read, “real people, not actors” is supposed to make us think that what the people say hasn’t been scripted—yeah, right. The one commercial that has stuck in my mind for several decades is the peanut butter commercial that claims, “Choosy mothers choose . . . Jiff.” That implies the rest of the nation is not choosy, or caring, or loving who do not buy Jiff peanut butter. That’s flat out false; it’s a lie. But it sure motivates us.
I heard a comedian recently say that he had always slept well on his bed until all these commercials came out that tell him that his current mattress is inferior. Now he can’t sleep at night anymore.
How about the office worker who gets a call from his wife asking him if he had made dinner reservations for her birthday, and asks him if he had forgotten. He stumbles all over himself trying to hide the fact that he had forgotten . . . and we laugh at his awkwardness, giving our approval for his falsehood. He very well could have said, “Oh, thanks for the reminder. I’ll take care of the reservations right away.” Rather, he lied to save face.
A community that speaks truthfully is a strong community, one that can withstand the occasional challenges it faces. Whether it is a government, a business, a school, a church, a home, honesty is always the best policy. For it builds trust and faith, without which any community will collapse.
Conversely, falsehood creates distrust and suspicion. It causes pain and hurt that really never can be repaired completely. This commandment not only warns us not to bear false witness; it also calls us to be aware of the hurt that lies cause and the damage they cause to relationships.
But here is a rhetorical question for you. Is it REALLY the best policy to always tell the truth? Unfortunately, there are times when someone uses the truth for malicious purposes. We can, if we wish, use the truth to hurt and wound.
I recall an episode of a TV western in which a woman was trying to make a fresh start in life. A former call girl, she has fallen in love with a wonderful young man, and they plan to be married. But a former client passes through town, finds out about his former mistress, and threatens to reveal her secret past to everyone if she doesn’t leave with him. Yes, it was true that she had been a call girl; but sometimes it is best to let bygones be bygones.
I used to think that it was necessary that every couple considering marriage be completely honest about their past. That way there would be no surprises. But as I have become more experienced in life, I’ve changed my mind about that. There very well may be some things in the past that are best NOT revisited. The past is not as important as today and the future. Let the past stay in the past.
I used to ask my grandfather to recount some of his experiences in World War I. He never would. He had been in some of the worst and most bloody battles of the war. But as he said, “some things are best left untold.” He simply was sparing me and himself a pain that did not need to be revisited.
I think this is what the passage in Ephesians was saying. “Putting away all falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another,” (Ephesians 4:25). Both lies and malicious uses of truth destroy community. This commandment calls us to honor community; it reminds us that we ARE members of one another. And ANYTHING that harms someone within the community hurts the whole community as well. A chain truly is only as strong as its weakest link. People who value people and community do not lie, nor do they use truth maliciously. Community people, Godly people realize that life is not about them, it is about the whole community and how they relate to one another.
That is the point of this commandment. We live in community. We are members of one another. We live together as a bundle. And we carry the ability to help or to hurt.
We all are aware that we live in a broken world. And not everything is as simple as it appears. Still, we are not to take this as an excuse to live loosely with the truth. We still are under command to live in community with one another, and to do all that we can to uphold and strengthen one another. Compassionate truth, loving truth, truth with integrity, is necessary to do that. And WE CAN do that. And we can expect and demand that of everyone else.
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
August 14, 2011
Exodus 20:1, 15
“You shall not steal.”
I would suppose that none of us would argue the principle of this commandment. We’ve been taught from childhood that stealing is bad, it is wrong. Anyone guilty of thievery should be punished in ways strong enough to deter him from doing that again.
Stealing is one of the most disgraceful things one can do. It is absolutely disrespectful; it belittles the value of other people; and it creates a reputation that is almost impossible to erase. “Once a thief, always a thief,” is a phrase I remember hearing when I was a child, and a person guilty of stealing is never to be trusted again.
So hated was a thief in biblical times that one of the accepted punishments for stealing was chopping off the thief’s hand. It’s hard to shoplift if you have no hands to lift anything. Even today, there are societies that cut off appendages for thievery. Minor offenses might just cost you a finger or two, while the more serious stealing takes on more severe surgery.
Stealing is a sin of violation, not just a sin of taking what is not yours. I’ve heard some people describe being the victim of theft as feeling like they have been raped. Not just their property, but their sense of security and safety has been violated and will never be recovered. Their ability and willingness to trust others is gone. And anywhere they go from now on, they will suspiciously wonder if their thief is the guy walking beside them on the sidewalk, or behind them at the grocery store. A thief takes not just your property, but your life as well.
No one likes a thief.
And yet stealing has become all too commonplace. Can anyone tell me what one object is stolen more than any other? What is the most stolen thing in the world? THE BIBLE!
That reminds me of an event that occurred early in my career. One of our church members called and said that someone had broken into the church. So I and a handful of church folks gathered at the church to take inventory and see what might be missing. Well, the p.a. system was still intact. The Sunday school birthday penny bank was still there. The brass altar items were still there. In fact, all that we could not account for were just two things. Our thief broke into the church and stole . . . a couple of sandwiches stored in a refrigerator, and . . . a Bible.
The people were infuriated. How dare someone break into the church and steal, of all things, food and a Bible! But as I said to the people, if someone were going to break into the church and steal something, what better things could he steal than food and a Bible—sandwiches for his belly, and the Bread of Life for his soul. That was one act of thievery that really didn’t bother me very much. In fact, had he come in during office hours and asked for a couple of sandwiches and a Bible, I would have been most pleased to give them to him.
Still, stealing has become far too commonplace today, even acceptable many times.
For instance, one of the most costly acts of stealing taking place in businesses today is employees taking business supplies for personal purposes. Among the more common items are ink pens, paper, envelopes, paper clips, postage stamps (or mailing personal mail with business postage from the office), and photo copies of personal material on the business copier. So expensive has this trend become for businesses that some organizations use lie detectors to test the honesty of their employees. Yet these thieves don’t consider what they do as stealing, but rather as a fringe benefit justified by their perceived low salaries.
Stealing also occurs when someone refuses to get a job, but exploits the agencies designed to help the truly needy. The thievery is multi-fold in that the thief is taking resources that are intended to help those who truly are needy, AND the thief is stealing from those who donate items to these agencies, or the tax payers whose tax money supports such agencies. And yet the thief doesn’t see this as stealing, but as taking advantage of opportunities.
Theft is not just an activity of the poor; perhaps not even most common among the poor, who, I have found, to be among the most honest and trustworthy people. But thievery is all too common among white collar folks.
A decade or so ago, right here in Indianapolis, a current governor and another millionaire pulled off one of the most creative and legal acts of theft I’ve ever seen. They developed a plan to run their jointly owned business into bankruptcy, and by doing so basically stole their employees’ pension program and pocketed the funds for themselves. Hundreds of families were left penniless while two rich men walked away with millions and millions of dollars that weren’t theirs. But a loophole in the law made their thievery perfectly legal.
And a handful of other business executives, seeing how these two thieves managed to do their dastardly deed, followed suit—Enron, a prominently known toy conglomerate, and half dozen other businesses were raped similarly, though not all of them managed to get away with their schemes—thank goodness.
Even the current economic recession was fueled by unregulated financial institutions that got caught making money illegally, and executives paying themselves huge bonuses for their thievery. And who is paying for their dirty schemes? WE ARE, and our children and grandchildren for years to come. Oh, and has anyone found the 6 billion dollars Haliburton “lost” during the invasion of Iraq? Somebody got rich for giving Haliburton the contract to rebuild the infrastructure of Iraq.
Even the state is in the business of stealing, and we don’t seem to mind. I remember the debate that raged in the state of Ohio, where we lived for a year of my seminary education. Ohio wanted to start a state lottery, and promised that the money the state received from lottery funds would pay for the secondary education system for the whole state to the point that they could drastically reduce, perhaps even eliminate, property taxes. The middle and upper income home owners liked the sound of not paying property taxes, and the lottery was approved. Five years later, the state government had to come back and reinstitute the former property tax rates because the lottery wasn’t bringing the big bucks as promised.
I remember thinking how lucky I was to live in Indiana where we weren’t so blind to the empty promises of lotteries and gambling. Well, that didn’t last long; and have our property taxes been drastically reduced as once promised by the state of Indiana? Not mine, if fact the property taxes of our condo in Bloomington has RISEN significantly. And who is paying for these empty promises? WE are. Hoosiers are by far the most frequent visitors to casinos and to mini-marts to purchase lottery tickets; AND we are paying higher taxes to boot. Duh!
The ongoing debate about our national budget fits into this topic as well. On the one hand, those who want everything from their government and then their elected representatives reduce taxes are robbing from the future, from their own children and grandchildren, who will have to find ways to pay away the debt. But on the other hand, those who lobby to reduce funding for education and other programs designed to break the cycle of poverty are stealing from those who are doomed to empty lives in ghettoes across this nation—not to mention reducing our schools’ abilities to adequately educate our own children. No wonder Washington is having a difficult time finding a middle ground!
Then there is one more act of thievery that we must consider. I don’t want to, because I have seen the enemy and I am it, among others. And before I get into this one, I want to blame this portion of the sermon on my mentor and author of a book on the Ten Commandments, Ross Marrs.
On Sunday, following a worship service, Ross suggested to me that we greet the people outside on the sidewalk since it was such a beautiful day. So we led the procession down the middle aisle. A couple of ushers opened the front doors to First United Methodist Church of Bloomington, and we started out. Ross, however, froze on the top step, his gaze fixed on something just ahead. I looked and saw a brand new, fancy, gold trimmed Cadillac parked in front of the church. Ross raised back his shoulders, turned to me with a wink, and said, “It looks like I need to talk to someone about increasing their giving to the church.”
Yes, he was joking, or was he? In his book, Ross quotes the prophet Malachi who wrote, “Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” (Malachi 3:8-10)
This passage raises some interesting, if not disturbing, questions for many church-goers. Many of us have nice cars, nice houses, nice boats (I do). We surely don’t think about having these things as stealing—we have the receipts and cancelled checks to prove otherwise. But whose money are we using to pay for these things. Who went uncared for because of these things? How has the will of God been hindered because of our hungering and thirsting for nicer things?
I hate this notion—I’m trying to figure out how to pay for a new truck since the one I have has over 220,000 miles on it.
Marrs writes, “God has laid claim on our lives, our energies, our talents, and our treasures. We are given dominion, responsibility for all these things and for one another. When we violate that trust we steal from one another, from ourselves, and from God. If we listen carefully we might again hear the prophet warning us to keep our hands off what God calls his own.”
I can’t imagine anything much worse than stealing from God. There is the story in the Bible of the couple who tried to hide the worth of their property sale from the church so they would not have to pay more tithe. And what happened to them? They died where they stood as they lied before God.
Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar (the government) what belongs to Caesar; but give unto God the things that are God’s.” And what is it that belongs to God? It might be simpler to ask what is there that does NOT belong to God? EVERYTHING? Did you know that the average United Methodist gives 2% of their income to the church, even in the face of the Bible’s demand for 10%? I’ve seen studies that indicate IF United Methodists gave even as much as an average of 5%, we would have more money than we could spend.
No one likes a thief. A thief’s reputation can never be restored, though perhaps if the thief repents and makes up for his deed. But a community that does not steal, but honors the property and lives of others, and honors God with God’s own resources—that is a strong, honorable, and Godly society. We can do that; we really can.
THE NEED FOR A PEOPLE WHO BLUSH (HANDS OFF! PART 1)
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
July 31, 2011
Exodus 20:1, 14
“You shall not commit adultery.”
That’s pretty much all that needs to be said. Right? (sit down)
Okay, so we have about 15 minutes or so to fill before we sing the final hymn. But what more needs to be said? What is there about “you shall not” that we don’t understand? The commandment is pretty much clear. Don’t do that! Period! But I suppose we should explore this a little bit and try to answer today’s culture’s question, “Why not? Everyone is doing so. Aren’t they?”
According to TV and other entertainment media, yeah, it seems everyone and their sister IS. I can’t stand to watch TV much anymore precisely because what little morality there is on the set is very little indeed. It almost makes you blush, especially if you are watching with your kids or grandkids, or your parents or grandparents. And if it doesn’t, it probably should.
Long, long ago, when Moses first presented this commandment to the former slaves in Egypt, he was calling the people to a higher standard of morality and spirituality than their former masters, and that of their neighboring tribes in the Middle East. The purpose of the Ten Commandments was to set the Israelites apart from all of the other nations to be the servants of God. They were to be beacons to the world to show people what Godly living was like, and how God hoped they would live—spiritually and emotionally healthy.
A Godly community is a strong community, and a strong community is one that is built upon the higher spiritual standards of God himself. But a community that lives by lax standards of morality and spirituality is weak and doomed to destruction. And what is the heart of any strong community than a strong family base.
Originally, the word adultery meant having intimate relationships with someone besides one’s spouse. This commandment, then, was intended to defend the sanctity of marriage and to protect the institution of marriage from disdain and disregard. It was intended to defend the community from the kinds of behaviors that put not only the household, but the entire community in jeopardy.
The surrounding communities to the Israelites held a very different attitude toward marriage and intimate relations. The pagan religions of the Israelite’s day worshipped gods of fertility, and many societies practiced open marriage, and a total lack of sexual integrity. The Greek and Roman societies of Jesus’ day were known for their orgies and freedom from morality. There even were temples devoted to the gods of love and eroticism—today we refer to such places as brothels, but back then the people called it religion and felt perfectly justified to do whatever, with whomever. Even in the ancient educational institutions—a professor was encouraged to teach his students everything they needed to know about life—EVERYTHING. There even were priests whose job was to break in engaged women prior to their marriage.
That’s the kind of world in which Moses and the Israelites found themselves after leaving Egypt. But any society that is so lax in morality can only be filled with greed and utter selfishness. There is no strength, no spirituality, no morality, nothing upon which a strong community may be built. As Jesus once said, a house built upon the shifting sands will fall when the storms of life avail; but a house built upon solid rock will stand. A house built upon the solid rock is one which holds Godliness and faithfulness in high esteem, and which practices intentionally the precepts of fidelity and marital respect.
The title for today’s sermon is borrowed from Rev. Ross Marrs, my mentor, whose chapter about this commandment is entitled, “The Need for a People Who Blush.” He rightly states that there are few things that make us blush any more. He writes, “Our society, having declared itself free from what might be considered outmoded and Victorian sexual practice, how seems loose on its sexual hinges. Like children set loose without restraint in a candy store, we imagine that we can exercise every sort of freedom without consequences. We find ourselves awash in a world of sexual innuendo and explicitness.” Marrs goes on to say that there is hardly a commercial on TV without sexual overtones. From cars, to diet supplements, to body washes, to skin conditioners, to hair dyes, to a hundred other products, we are promised to be irresistible to the men or women out there. Sex sells; and according to current social trends, sex is all that really matters.
Marrs writes, “We worry about the pollution of our air and water, which threatens our health and lives, (but) the pollution of our language and images threatens a greater danger.” The fabric of our society is tearing at the seams. There is precious little moral fortitude to be found any more. There are very few things in this world that still makes us blush. And that’s a shame. We have become so much like the pagan, Greek, and Roman societies of ancient days, and the institutions of the family and the church are greatly weakened. Our world has become spiritually bankrupt.
The prophet Jeremiah warned about the bleak future of a society without moral discipline. Speaking in behalf of the Lord, he says that the people “acted shamefully, they committed abomination; yet they were not ashamed, they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown.” (Jeremiah 6:15, 8:12)
THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW TO BLUSH. They no longer respected common decency, or the institutions that make a community strong, or the God who calls them to be a set apart people to be his witnesses in the world. They no longer respect one another; but live for self-gratification. They no longer honor their promises or the vow they have made to God. They no longer know how to blush; and everything in their world falls apart.
Some have pointed out that the violation of this commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” actually breaks the last five of the Ten Commandments. When you commit adultery, relationships are murdered (you shall not murder), others’ honor has been compromised (you shall not steal), evasive behavior and story-telling takes place (you shall not bear false witness), and you have fallen prey to the belief that happiness is found in places where you don’t belong (you shall not covet).
Happiness, self-fulfillment are not found in lies and broken promises. The hunger of our hearts cannot be satisfied by the lusts of the flesh. Our spiritual fulfillment only is found in a faithful, monogamous relationship. I told a couple during a wedding recently that since they have promised to be faithful to one another, they, for the first time in their lives, can trust completely and bare their souls to one another in ways not possible before. IF, however, either ever breaks that trust, it may be impossible to recover the trust, and therefore the relationship. But it is in a faithful, deeply spiritual, relationship with one’s soul-mate that true fulfillment and happiness will be found.
I think this is what Jesus was trying to say when he said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6) We cannot, and will not, feed our souls upon things designed to make us blush. The soul’s hunger can only be satisfied by Godliness, faithfulness, devotion, and working for the good of one’s soul-mate.
I heard someone once say, “There is nothing out there that you can’t get at home, except trouble and disease.” I think he is right.
But it occurs to me that a great many of us, if not all of us here this morning, HAVE been faithful. We have NOT committed adultery. We have not had so-called intimate relations with anyone outside our marriage. So we’re in the clear. Right?
Then Jesus has to put his foot in the door and begin meddling. “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (or man) with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)
Seriously? Surely Jesus knows how impossible this is. No one can not notice the hotty or hunk. We are wired this way; there is no way any of us can pass Jesus’ command. Is he serious?
Well, later in this same sermon, Jesus says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He tells us not to lust, and to love our enemies, and not retaliate, and not be angry, and obey all of the commandments. There is no way in heaven or on earth that we can possibly be as perfect as God is perfect. There simply is no way. So how can any of us possibly be saved? He must have been exaggerating. Right?
No. Jesus knew very well that a journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. When we ogle at the hotty or hunk, we diminish that person, as well as our soul-mate, as well as ourselves, as well as God. I understand all too well how difficult it is not to notice. But we can say to ourselves, “But that is as far as this can go, period. That is a person of divine worth, as is my soul-mate, as am I. And it is necessary for me to honor that divine worth, or else I cheapen my faith and my relationship with my soul-mate.
The answer is, on our own, we cannot be saved. There IS NO WAY that we can be perfect. Jesus knew that. He knew we could not possibly obey his every word. And eventually people would ask him, then how can we be saved. The answer is only by the grace of God.
Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is NOT YOUR OWN DOING; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) It is by the forgiving love of God that any of us have spiritual life, eternal life, life fulfilled. And it is our proper response to this forgiving love that we do our best to do what is right, to trust God and God’s words, and to find our satisfaction in the spiritual things of God.
WHAT GOD THINKS OF US
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
July 17, 2011
Exodus 20:1, 13
One of the earliest stories in the Bible has God visiting Cain, Adam and Eve’s son, and inquiring about the welfare of his brother, Abel. Cain says to the Lord, “How should I know? Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord replied essentially, “No, you are your brother’s murderer.”
It seems that Cain was enraged because Abel’s offering was more pleasing to God than his own. So, instead of re-evaluating his own spiritual character, Cain attacked his brother and killed him. God was so enraged at the murder, and at Cain’s attempt to hide that fact, that God placed a curse upon Cain. But in his next act of grace, God showed compassion toward Cain, and revealed God’s divine regard for human life.
The Bible says, “The Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.” (Genesis 4:15) Some claim that this mark was the mark of a murderer, but that is not the case. This mark was the mark of protection; it was intended to protect Cain from any other would-be killer. And through this act of God, we discover God’s grace overcoming God’s wrath and telling us something about what God thinks of us.
As we saw in the second commandment, God thinks more of us than we think of ourselves. It is true. God thinks more of us than we think of ourselves. Indeed, God thought more of Abel than Cain did. And God even thought more of Cain than we probably do. And comsidering all of the violence, the wars, the shootings in streets and schools, God has a FAR HIGHER OPINION of us that we do of each other.
And I think this is the crux of this commandment, “You shall not murder.” God thinks more of us that we do; God has a very high regard for each and every one.
You may remember a reference we made to Psalm 8 a few weeks ago; but it bears repeating. It reads:
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (Don’t you rather expect the next phrase to establish the lowly state of humans relative to the wonders of the universe? However . . . ) “Yet you have made (humans) a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands.” (Psalm 8:3-6a)
This commandment, then, asserts that life is a precious and sacred gift of God’s hand. God considers human life as precious and sacred, and therefore so should we—really—so should we.
But did you notice something different about this commandment, something that stands out from the way many of us memorized this commandment? Hear it again, “You shall not murder.”
How did we memorize it before? “You shall not kill.” And I think God would be most pleased if this older version were observed, if we would not kill other people at all. But that ideal world does not exist. Unfortunately, we live in a real world, a world far removed from idealism.
Even God recognized that the Israelites were in for difficult and dangerous days. Eventually, they were to re-enter the Promised Land where their ancestor Abraham settled half a century before. But there would be people living there, people who considered the land to be theirs. And they would not be open to sharing the land with a new tribe, especially one that laid claim to the land as their own. In other words, in order for Israel to establish itself within its former homelands, there would be conflict. And in order for Israel to retain its homeland, there would be war after war after war. There would be violence and killing. There would be times when killing might have to take place for the greater good to be achieved.
The author of Ecclesiastes writes, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal . . .” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3a)
Even God recognized the dilemma facing His people. The ideal of not killing may have to be violated for the greater good to be achieved, for his ultimate will to prevail.
The Hebrew word (the language of the Israelites) used in this commandment implies unjustified killing—or murder. Even in our own court system, we allow room for what is called “justifiable homicide” in cases in which our own safety or lives are in jeopardy. We recognize the right to defend ourselves and our community against the forces of evil; and sometimes defending ourselves may involve taking another’s life. I hope I never have to encounter such an occasion. I know some of you HAVE, during your service of country and freedom. And I’m pretty sure my oldest son may have such occasions as a State Police officer—I hope not, but . . .
Nevertheless, what this commandment does is two things—it voices God highest regard for human life—while recognizing the possible need to defend oneself or one’s community against evil. So it is more accurate to the intent of the commandment to translate it, “You shall not murder.”
Now, that seems simple enough, does it not? Don’t murder. But how wide or narrow shall we define the word murder?
We live in a world where killing is way too common place. Every day we are confronted with stories of violence that shocks our sensibilities and demands that we do something about it. Children shooting children; children shooting parents; parents killing their children—such nonsense seems to be more and more widespread that it’s almost is commonplace. May it never be so regarded!
But we also live in a society that has long debated the use of capital punishment as a deterrent to violent crime. Some states have banned capital punishment, while others use it regularly. Is it appropriate for the state to kill people for killing people? Is that intense irony or justified retribution?
The long-standing uproar over abortion has so polarized this nation that we never may be able to come to some middle ground. And the truth is, the majority of us fall somewhere between the two extremes in this debate, and are torn between the idealism of the sanctity of life and the harsh realities of the real world—it is not a black and white issue.
My generation was similarly torn between the two polars of hawks and doves. The war in Viet Nam divided my generation and this nation as perhaps no other issue. Where do we draw the line between justifiable war and the senselessness and irresponsibility of sending innocent people to kill and be killed for little reason or none at all? When is war justified? When it is appropriate to invade another sovereign territory preemptively? When is it time to bring our soldiers home? There is no doubt that war sometimes MUST be waged to overcome the forces of evil, and I vigorously defend our right to defend our lives and our country. But what constitutes justifiable homicide? How do we know when war is appropriate or not?
Euthanasia—is it mercy or is it playing God? And suicide—is it a tragedy or a viable remedy in some instances?
These issues not only are divisive, but they are very complex and confusing; and we often find ourselves wavering between the extreme opinions. And our potential for killing one another and rationalizing it is greater than ever before. For instance, you may recall that I have said that I am probably the only pacifist in Hancock County . . . who possesses a gun permit. And typically I am opposed to capital punishment; but I would have volunteered to put the needle in the arm of Timothy McVey after he killed all those children in the federal building in Oklahoma City.
And I think this debate needs to include pollution and the killing of the planet. To be sure, if we succeed in killing the planet, we humans don’t have much of a chance of surviving!
And for that matter, over 20,000 CHILDREN will DIE today, and tomorrow, and every subsequent day thereafter, from malnutrition, from a lack of food and water—all this in a world in which we pay farmers NOT to produce food, and in a nation which throws away enough food to feed the hungry and save the lives of all these children? Is this murder—not saving a life when it is perfectly possible to do so?
What is a Christian to do? What is a Christian to believe? When is it justifiable for a Christian to kill?
Jesus carried this commandment even further when he said, “You have heard it said that you shall not murder. But I tell you that if you are angry with someone, you will be liable to judgment.”
It’s beginning to be difficult to be a Christian, is it not! Well, it is; it is difficult to be a Christian for the same reason it was difficult for the Israelites to be God’s set-apart people. It is not easy to be different from the world. But that is what is expected of us. God calls us to be His set-apart people, his servants, in the world to witness to a higher standard of spirituality. And a part of that higher spirituality is having such a high regard for human life that it reflects that of God Himself. The Bible tells us God made humans in God’s image. God has the highest regard for human life. And we, as God’s children, are to seek Godly attitude and regard toward humanity ourselves.
IF everyone lived by the law of love—love God with all of your being and love others as yourself—there would be no wars, no murders, no violence at all. And human greed and selfishness stands in the way of such a utopian world. But just because others do bad things does not mean that it is okay for us to kill, rape, and pillage as well. WE ARE CALLED TO BE DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT from the world. And so WE HONOR HUMAN LIFE, and work feverishly to call the world to do the same.
May we learn to honor others as highly as God honors us. And may we become comfortable with the notion that God regards us so highly, and earnestly desires to have fellowship with us. And as more of us come to appreciate God’s high regard for humanity the need even for justifiable violence will diminish.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
July 10, 2011
Exodus 20:1, 12
May I confess up front? This commandment is the most difficult of all to preach about. O, I believe in the commandment; and there are many good reasons for having and obeying the commandment. But sometimes, for some of us, me included, honoring our father or mother, or both, is very difficult even painful, perhaps even impossible.
In an ideal world, this would be a perfect commandment, “Honor your father and mother.” And I think God is encouraging us to live ideally, and to treat one another ideally, and to love one another ideally. What a wonderful world this would be if everyone lived lives worthy of honor! How wonderful it would be if everyone loved one another and treated one another honorably! How Eden-like it would be if all children respected and obeyed their parents, and if all parents loved their children and treated them with Godly love and understanding!
And I think this is what this commandment is about. It is about encouraging children to honor their sacred role in the family and to honor their parents’ sacred role in the family. And the commandment encourages PARENTS to be . . . well, PARENTS—honorable and respectable.
Parenthood is a sacred institution. It is perhaps the greatest trust that God can show us when he places children in our care. I took this trust very seriously when each of our sons was born. God placed their lives into my hands, into Vicki’s and my hands, and I did not want to fail God or my sons . . . in great part because of my experiences as a child.
Not all mothers or fathers command our respect. Social studies indicate that over half of the households in our country are dysfunctional, even abusive. They even state that 1 out of 4 females were sexually abused by their fathers of father-figures—1 OUT OF 4! The studies also say that childhood victims of abuse are far more likely to be abusive than children from healthy homes; and that abused children will either become abusers themselves, or they will tend to compensate by trying all the harder to be good parents for their children.
I remember the day. I actually can’t remember exactly what had just happened except in one of his frequent drunken rages my father had cussed me out and otherwise crushed my spirit, accusing me of doing something that I had NOT done . . . for the umpteenth time. As he drove away to get even more drunk, I went outside to the garage and screamed at the top of my lungs, and with tears streaming down my face, I slammed my fist into the garage wall as hard as I could. O, it hurt . . . almost badly enough to get me to forget my emotional pain. But as I held my badly bruised hand close to my chest, I prayed my most sincere prayer ever. “God, I promise you, I will not treat my children like this. They deserve far better from their father. Just help me to survive that long.” So, if you see in me a tendency toward a Jekyl and Hyde existence, you may understand that there are two personalities at war inside here, and the naughty one sometimes slips out.
But what I trying to illustrate is that it is not easy for me to preach about this commandment, and difficult for many people to honor this commandment, to honor their father and mother.
Blessed are you who had honorable parents! Blessed was I to have had Ruth Peters Thomas for a mother, and Ben L. Peters as a grandfather! But blessed, indeed, are those of us who had honorable parents! And for you, this commandment is not so much of a challenge.
But what IS a challenge is to be honorable parents. I truly believe that this commandment is not just aimed at children, or even mostly at children; but I believe this commandment is rather directly aimed at . . . parents. It is a command for parents to be honorable, to be deserving of their children’s honor.
There are few things in this world more difficult than being a parent. As important a job as parenting is, they don’t give you any “how to” manuals. I mean, they give you owners manuals for your automobiles, your refrigerator, your washing machine, even your cell phone—but not for parenting. Oh I know there are a lot of authors who have written books on parenting, but even those are not very helpful when your baby wakes up every hour and a half all day, every day . . . every night.
When I see an expectant couple, I say to the future parents, “So I see you must be tired of getting sleep at night.” Parenting is a VERY DIFFICULT job, one you can’t appreciate until you are in it. This is why, when observing a newborn baby, many people say, “Oh, what a beautiful baby,” then turn to the parents and say, “oh, I’m so sorry.”
No one tells you about the frequent feedings, and the even more frequent diaper changes. They don’t tell you about colic. They don’t prepare you for the “terrible twos” or the “throbbing threes,” or the “frightful fours.” And no one can get us ready for the late night worrying about the safety and welfare of our teens who are out with their friends. It is a difficult and challenging chore to be a father or a mother.
But we are not left without guidance, not really. Not only are there good role models out there that we can learn from, not only are some of us blessed to have had mothers and fathers who set good examples for us, but we also have good guidance from the Bible.
Read the teachings of Jesus and learn from them how to be not just good parents, but good and holy people. Jesus’ examples of love, compassion, forgiveness and prayerful worship are the essence of the higher spiritual life. And a heart built upon these premises is an honorable heart in whatever role it finds itself. See how highly Jesus favored children and interacted with them, and you’ll understand how precious they really are. And notice how he calls us God’s children, and learn the lessons Jesus teaches about how God is a GOOD heavenly Father, and how we can be good mothers and fathers by emulating God’s heart in our own lives. IF we would only pattern our lives around Jesus’ principles of spiritual living, we will be honorable people AND parents.
I’ve referred to my mentor, Rev. Ross Marrs, throughout this series on the Ten Commandments, and I must do so here as well. For, Marrs has another take on this commandment, one that is especially relevant for our society today.
He writes, “This commandment (to honor father and mother) was not given to little children. It was meant for grown people, for mature men and women who would face the new problem of providing for aging parents in their new cities and towns.”
I heard someone say, “Parents, be kind to your children. After all, someday they will be choosing your nursing home for you.” And we hear talk about it on the news how middle-aged adults find themselves ushering their grown children out of the house only to find themselves becoming parents of their . . . parents.” I have heard hundreds of stories about the terrifying experience of having to take the car keys away from an elderly parent, or having to have that dreaded conversation about moving into assisted living.
I remember the day I talked to my mother about her living arrangements. She could hear only with the assistance of a hearing aid, and she had macular degeneration and could see only out of her periphery. Dad was already gone, and she lived alone. Fortunately there was a neighbor who spent many hours visiting with my mother and otherwise taking care of her needs. But I had to have “the talk” with her.
“Mom, what do you want to do when it becomes impossible for you to live here alone? You know, you are welcome to come and live with us.” “Yes,” she said, “I know.” But like so many others of her generation, she said, “But I don’t want to be a bother.” She went on, “When that time comes, help me get in that nursing home where Claire went. She seemed very pleased with it. But I’m not ready go there yet.”
“Okay,” I said, “But if you stay here, I am going to get you a system that connects to you telephone that can help you get help from anywhere in the house. You just wear this little thing around your neck. Then, if you fall or need help and you can’t get to the phone, all you have to do is push a little button on your necklace and the police and the medical people will be right over to help.” Thankfully, she agreed; and she had to use it a couple of times. And it saved her life as well as her independence.
But I think I agree with Marrs that this commandment about honoring parents was written to grown people who were both parents and had parents. It was a reminder to honor their parents AS WELL AS to be honorable parents themselves—because someday, their children would be taking care of them just as they were taking care of their parents.
And that’s a pretty good idea—to set your kids an example—to take care of your parents as you hope your children will take care of you so they will KNOW HOW to be parents themselves.
Perhaps a rewrite of this commandment would be, “Parents, set a good example for your children about what a family is supposed to be like.” What do you think? “Parents, set a good example for your children about what a family is supposed to be like.”
Honoring one’s parents, and also being honorable parents was one of the ways that the Israelites could distinguish themselves from the rest of the tribes of the area. It was a most sacred way of putting Godly love into practice, and to show the rest of the world what Godly living was like. This commandment takes the priorities of life away from oneself, and directs them toward others. Godly living is not about me, it is about me living for everyone else. It is not about you; it is about you living for everyone else.
An illustration just popped into mind. A man wanted to know the difference between heaven and hell. So an angel took the man to a place where several people were sitting around a campfire, over which hung a big pot of stew. But as the man looked more closely, he was that the people were gaunt as if they were starving. Then he noticed that each person had a long spoon permanently attached to an arm, one so long that even if he could dip the spoon into the stew, the spoon was too long for him to reach his mouth. “This is hell,” the angel whispered.
Then the angel took the man to another place that was exactly the same as the previous one—the people, the fire, the stew, the way too-long spoons. But what was NOT the same was that each person sitting around the fire looked happy, well fed and fit. “This is heaven,” the angel whispered.
The man said, “I don’t get it. Why do the people in heaven look healthy while the people in hell were starving?” The angel replied, “Because in heaven, the people feed each other.”
When God said, “Honor your father and mother,” God is basically saying, “Take care of one another.” Or as Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
By honoring we become honorable, and we set a good example for everyone else in living the Godly life. And doing so, we honor God and witness to the world what God and Godly living is like.
True, some parents are not honorable; but that does not mean that we can’t be honorable. HONOR PARENTHOOD in your own life, and thus set an example of Godly living for the whole community.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
June 26, 2011
Exodus 20:1, 7
“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.”
In some translations of the Bible this verse reads, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vane.” Both translations, “vane” and “wrongful use,” are accurate and relevant for us today.
Misusing the name of God—THAT is the crux of this verse from the Ten Commandments. And I am afraid that there are many ways of misusing God’s name, and that it is done on O so many occasions every day, by nearly everyone.
So, what does it mean to misuse the name of God?
I think the most common belief about this is using the words God or Jesus Christ in a tirade of profanity.
This makes me think of comedian Bill Cosby’s routine. He was describing his childhood when he said that for years he thought his name was Jesus Christ, for that was what his father said every time he saw him. He said his brother’s name apparently was, shall we say, darn it, Bill was Jesus Christ. One day, he said, his father caught him, Bill, doing something and yelled “Darn it!” to which Bill responded, “No Dad, he’s Darn it, I’m Jesus Christ.”
But think about it. Just how Christian is it that we should use the name of God or the Savior in any way other than worship? When we say, “God bleep it,” we are demanding that God condemn one of his own creatures. Is there anything more antithetic to God’s nature than that? John 3:17 ways what? “For God sent the Son into the world, NOT to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” And what was it that Jesus said about the expected heart and actions (and therefore language) of his followers? “By this they will know you are my disciples in that you curse one another.” NO! “By this they will know you are my disciples in that you . . . LOVE one another.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” “Forgive us OUR trespasses AS WE FORGIVE those who trespass against us.”
Yes, it is a misuse of God’s name to use it in a tirade of anger or cursing. In fact doing so is 180 opposite of the proper use of God’s name. IF we use the name of God at all, should it not be done so as a blessing? “God bless you,” is a far more respectable use of God’s name, for God AND for the one we are addressing . . . that is, unless we say so out of anger, like, “GOD BLESS YOU.” But even then, it sounds a lot better than the other utterance, and saying “God bless you” with gritted teeth does show an intention on our part to NOT misuse God’s name.
But to misuse God’s name is to misrepresent both God and us. We misrepresent God by projecting an image of God that is not who God is. We cause others to misunderstand the holy and loving nature of God and to question whether this is a God they want to follow. But we also misrepresent who WE are, and what it means to be a follower of God by projecting an image of ourselves that does not reflect the image of the God we purport to worship. Is that the way a loving, praying, worshipping Christian is supposed to talk, act, witness?
Using God’s name to curse or condemn, therefore, is wrong on multiple levels, and is something we need to avoid. Even if we don’t use God’s name in a cursing, we still are behaving in ways that run counter to the will and nature of God.
So what are we to do when something or someone makes us angry? What are we to do or say when the idiot cuts us off in traffic, or steps in front of us in line, or when our golf shot goes off course or that big bass breaks off next to the boat? How are we to respond when someone else misuses God’s name toward us?
This dilemma is why Paul puts anger in a list of fruits of the flesh, alongside adultery, murder, and so on. Anger is what usually puts us in a mood to misuse the name of God. But Paul ALSO says these words, “Be angry, but do not sin.” Paul realized that anger is a natural response to an offensive or hurtful event, so, in itself, anger is not evil or sinful. WHAT WE DO WITH THE ANGER, however, often IS evil and sinful. Anger that is hurtful IS sin; but anger that leads us to do what is right IS NOT sinful. Righteous indignation, an anger that leads us to confront injustice or that motivates us to pursue Godliness IS NOT SINFUL. When anger motivates us to do what is right, that is the proper way to use anger. But when we allow anger to motivate us to curse or condemn or hurt someone, that’s when we misuse God’s name, whether we uttered the word God or not.
Now, let’s put this third commandment in its historical context. Remember, the purpose of the Ten Commandments was to set the Israelites apart from the rest of the tribes as a distinctly different kind of people, as representatives, witnesses, and servants of God. God had called the Israelites to reflect God’s image in their lives, to be holy in the midst of the profane. They were to represent the name of God, not to misuse it. And THAT is what would make them distinctly different than the rest of the people—their words, their behavior, their faith, their hearts.
Ross Marrs, my beloved colleague and mentor, told a story that speaks to this subject. Ross was a bit of a mischievous child, and sometimes would be scolded by his father. Ross’s father would sit him down and ask him a simple question, “What is your name?” He would answer, “Ross.” His father then would demand, “What is your family name?” Ross would reply, “Marrs.” Then his father would say, “That’s right. It is Marrs. It is not Adams, or Phillips, or Smith, like your friends. It is Marrs. So what makes you think that you are supposed to act like an Adams or a Phillips or a Smith when your name is NOT Adams or Phillips or Smith? You are to act like a Marrs, and a Marrs doesn’t do things like that.”
In this commandment, God is saying to the Israelites, “Is your name Canaanites or Syrians, or Philistines? NO! So what makes you think that you are supposed to act them? You are not Canaanites or Syrians or Philistines. You are Israelites. So behave like Israelites; live according to your name.”
Now we are talking about far more than cussing; we are talking about living.
We Christians bear a name worthy of the highest praise and glory. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has put his stamp upon our hearts. God has called us his CHILDREN. WE are children of God; we bear the family name of God himself. So ought we not live according to our name?
Marrs writes, “Our lives, the world, God’s reputation are placed in our hands. Those of us who claim to be children of God honor or dishonor the name of God by what we do with these gifts.” He goes on to say, “Perhaps the way we most wrongfully use God’s name is our taking the name and yet not living a life that honors that name . . . Praise and practice are inseparable for the faithful.”
In other words, it is one thing to sing God’s praise on Sunday, but quite another to live lives of praise throughout the week. It is one thing to claim God’s love on Sunday, but quite another to LIVE that love in the world. It is one thing to ask for forgiveness on Sunday, but practice vengeance Monday through Sunday.
I recently heard a comedian describing his childhood, riding in the car, and hearing his Dad drop expletive after expletive at the slow driver in front of him saying, “Bleep it, get out of the way, we’re late for church.” Funny, but eerily familiar.
“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.” To me, this is one of the most frightening and humbling verses in the entire Bible. For it is the one commandment that is most difficult for me to keep. In fact, I hesitate to tell anyone that I am a Christian, for I know all too well how often I fail to live up to that name; and I don’t want others to shape their understanding of God by how I sometimes act or speak. You won’t see religious slogans or bumper stickers on my vehicles, not because I am ashamed of God or of my faith—far from it—I just don’t want my occasional driving habits reflect badly on God’s name.
I saw this on a trip recently. I’m driving along on the interstate at about 74 miles per hour where the speed limit is 70—not too bad. But I notice in my mirror a van weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off, and speeding, surely, at about 80 or 85. And what should my wondering eyes observe as the van sped by me like I was backing up? “Milton Street Baptist Church, Smithsport, Louisiana.” The driver’s witness was almost as bad as mine when I get cut off in traffic.
“What is your name?” “Christian.” “So, it’s not pantheist, or atheist, or secularist?” “No.” “Then you don’t have to act like a pantheist or atheist or secularist?” “No.” “Then act like a Christian.”
Our call in life is to live Monday through Saturday as we profess on Sunday. We are to live up to our name, the name by which God calls us. We are God’s children. So we are not to live like all the other peoples on the earth. We are to live according to our name, as God’s people, fulfilling what we profess in our words and deeds.
Maxie Dunnam, a respected Christian and Methodist writer, in his commentary on the Ten Commandments, says, “This is a commandment against profanity and obscenity. But what is more profane or obscene? Four-letter words, or starving children who could be fed if we were not so selfish? Pornographic magazines, or thousands dying in Latin America in political wars which our government supports? . . . We break this commandment when we say we believe in God and that we accept the ideals of His Kingdom, but we don’t take Him seriously . . . We (are) atheists in practice, though we may be Christians in profession . . . when we live much of our lives as though God did not matter.” Then he gives us three things to ponder.
1—What do I think about most when I’m not thinking about my work?
2—How do I spend my leisure time, the time not required for my job or my keeping the household going?
3—How do I spend my money . . . beyond the normal grocery bills and high utility rates and huge house payments? How do you spend the rest of your money—on recreation and relaxation or serving God’s children who need us desperately?
In other words, Dunnam is asking us if we are taking God’s name in vane, or if we are living UP TO God’s name.
What is your name? What does that imply about your life?
THE JEALOUS GOD
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
June 19, 2011
Exodus 20:1, 4-6
The Jealous God
This is one of the more difficult concepts to understand—that of God being jealous. Isn’t God more mature than that? Jealously, at least in my mind, is a sign of immaturity and insecurity. It is something that we are to try to outgrow. Some even say that jealousy is a sin.
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, includes jealousy in his list of the works of the flesh. He writes, “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh . . . Now the works of the flesh are . . . fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealously (Galatians 5 16f).”
Does this mean that God is a sinner? If this is so, that sure is not the way we have been taught to believe about God—the pure, the holy, the perfect God. If, then, God becomes jealous, and the passage in the Ten Commandments has God saying that He IS jealous, does this mean that God is less than perfect? Does this mean that all we have been taught about God is wrong?
Nah.
The word used in the Hebrew text, the language of the Israelites, the people this was written to, does not mean the same as our word for jealous. Our word for jealous describes a very self-centered, petty, suspicious, possessive orientation; and in this way, jealousy IS a sinful notion. But the Hebrew word that we translate as jealous literally means “red in the face.” What this word implies is that GOD CARES DEEPLY about us, so deeply that God works so hard to have relationship with us that it makes him red in the face.
I remember my father working in his garden. He had nearly half an acre of a garden, and he toiled and labored to cultivate and aerate the soil to maximize his harvest. And in those hot days of summer, his face sometimes would turn bright red. He was not jealous, he was not angry. He simply showed the symptoms of heat and labor related fatigue.
THAT is what this passage of the Ten Commandments is trying to show us. God so loves His children and cares for His children so deeply that God toils laboriously to cultivate relationship with us, so much so that his face turns red from the effort. God Is NOT jealous in a possessive, envious way so much as God simply toils that hard to get our devotion.
I saw a movie a LONG time ago, back in the black and white movie era, that portrayed this notion. I wish I could remember the movie’s name and its actors—but I’m old now. But the movie was about a woman who was in love with a man who did not know that she even existed. So throughout the movie, she tries ploy after ploy to gain his attention. She worked and worked, and tried and tried, and did pretty much everything she could to get him to notice her. Of course she eventually succeeds, they fall madly in love, were married, and lived happily ever-after.
THAT is how God feels about us. He loves us SO much, that He literally would tread heck and high water to get our attention and affection.
But this whole notion of the jealous God comes out of the context of making idols or things that represent God. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous (red-faced) God. (Exodus 20:4-5a)”
EVERYONE in those days had idols. Abraham, the ancestor of the Israelites, was the son of an idol vender. The wives of Jacob, also known as Israel from which the Israelites got their name, stole their family’s idols when Jacob returned to his own homeland. EVERYONE had idols, and every city-state had their own idols to represent their own unique deity. AND IRONICALLY, even as Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God, his brother Aaron was fashioning an idol in the form of a golden calf so that the Israelites would have some representation of THEIR God. Moses was so infuriated by this, according to one account in the Bible, that he THREW the stone tablets containing the commandments down at the people; and he had to go back up the mountain to get another set. Even before Moses had delivered the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, they already had disobeyed the second one—to have no graven images or idols.
But, really, what’s the big deal with having a token to remind us of our God? What could possibly be wrong with having a cross in our home, or a “What would Jesus do” token in our pocket, or a picture of Jesus hanging on our wall, or a replica of daVinci’s God of creation in our possession? We all have them. I have them. The United Methodist official logo is a cross and flame—the cross symbolizing Jesus and the flame symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Some traditions use the image of a dove to represent God’s presence among us. Is this wrong? What’s the harm of having graven images?
Apparently God doesn’t like graven images. Deuteronomy 27:15—a passage written well before the Ten Commandments were recorded in Exodus—reads, “Cursed by anyone who makes an idol or casts an image, anything abhorrent to the Lord, the work of an artisan.” God doesn’t like idols or graven images, period. JUST WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
First of all, remember that all of the other peoples HAD idols. We learned last week that the purpose of the Ten Commandments was to set the Israelites apart distinctly from the rest of the peoples, to make them a uniquely different people, who would be known as the servants of the loving and redeeming God. The idea here is to distinguish THE God of all creation from the many gods of the world. IF the Israelites were to create their own idol, their own earthly representation of God, that would only make the Lord out to be one of many gods competing for our allegiance. The only thing that would make the Israelites distinct among the peoples would simply be the shape of their graven image. THAT’S NOT WHAT GOD WANTED EITHER FOR OR FROM HIS PEOPLE. This “red-in-the-face,” relentless God wanted, not representations, but relationships. God wants not that we carry an artifact in our pockets; God wants us to carry HIM in our hearts.
Second, how silly is it to believe that anything in all of creation is capable of encompassing the Creator? As one Bible scholar put it, “Idols are abhorrent to God, and God is jealous because when idols are made, the Creator is blended with creation.” The ancients thought that by blessing. And they carried their idols to impress the gods in the hopes of getting something from the gods—as if WE possessed power over the gods.
But the Bible teaches us that there is NOTHING in all of creation that can impress or influence the Creator. The Maker is FAR greater than any thing He has made. Idols only serve to bring God down to our level, to humanize God, or to make God a power that we can control. And bringing God down to our level in NO way honors the One who created all and is over all.
No, it is nonsense to think that we can make anything in God’s image. God is too big to place in a box, or an idol, or even a theology. Any attempt to carve an image of God is futile at best; and there is nothing that we, the creature, can create that will impress the Creator, or manipulate God into giving us his blessings.
The fact is, we already HAVE God’s blessing. God showers blessings on his people without being asked. It is God’s foremost pleasure to give his people good gifts. The only thing that God hopes for in return is the one thing that He cannot make. What is the only thing in all of creation that God did not and cannot make? The answer . . . in a moment.
The Bible says that of all the creatures in all of creation, one is particularly precious to God. Genesis 1:27-28 says, “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (And) God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
To make idols is to reverse God’s intent at creation. WE DON’T NEED TO CREATE ANYTHING IN GOD’S IMAGE, in fact we CANNOT make anything in God’s image. BUT, WE ARE CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE. Psalm 8 says, “What are human beings that you (God) are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:4-5)” Our job, then, is NOT to make God in our image, to lower God to our level. Our job is to LIVE UP to God’s image, to fulfill the God-image in us.
I like what Dr. Ross Marrs, my former senior pastor and mentor says about this: “God thinks more of us than we think of ourselves.” God deems us worthy of His love, so much so, in fact, that He labors until He is red in the face trying to get our attention and our devotion. God wants to deliver his love; God wants us to enjoy the blessings He already is showing upon us; God wants us to have receptive hearts; God wants us to live UP to the Godly image that HE imprinted upon our souls.
Again, the only thing that God hopes for in return is the one thing that He cannot make. What is the only thing in all of creation that God did not and cannot make?
He cannot make us love him. He cannot make us have a relationship with him. O, he pursues us until He is red in the face. But true love cannot force the beloved to return love. Love can only be accepted or rejected. Yet the red-faced God keeps on trying, keeps on loving, keeps on hoping.
The so-called Parable of the Prodigal Son depicts a son who has forsaken his father to go out and live on his own. But rather than holding a grudge against his son, each day the father gazes toward the horizon hoping, longing to see his wayward son coming home. Then one day, the father sees the image of his son, head down, approaching. Surely with tears of joy streaming down his cheeks, the father RAN out to meet his son, and embraced his son, and RECLAIMED him AS HIS SON, HIS VERY OWN CHILD.
Today is Father’s Day. It is a day on which most of us seek to honor our earthly fathers, and express our gratitude for the faith our ancestors have preserved and delivered to us to this day. I am so thankful for the fathers and father-figures who HAVE been good witnesses and wholesome role models of the faith.
Yet, while it is appropriate for us to honor our fathers as best as we can, how appropriate it is that we honor the God and Father of us all, who created US in His own image, and who pursues us until He is red in the face. Only a truly loving Father would do such things in the mere hope that we will notice and respond in kind.
God is ever pursuing you, wanting, hoping to embrace you in his love. On this Father’s Day, I pray you will honor God with the one thing that God cannot make. Honor God with your love, with your gratitude, with your devotion.
NO LONGER ORPHANS
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
June 5, 2011
John 14:15-21
Is there any more empty of a feeling than that of feeling all alone in the world? Now, I’m not talking about being somewhere by ourselves. All of us have times when we are by ourselves, such as when we drive to work or to the grocery store. In fact, there are occasions when we like nothing better than just to be by ourselves for a few moments. We all need some “down” time when there are no phones to be answered, no clients to be served, no children pulling on our clothes crying, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.” We all need to be able to take a deep breath from time to time just to settle our nerves and to regain some semblance of a grip on life. That’s not what I’m talking about.
Rather, I’m talking about the feeling of being all alone, abandoned, at a place in life when we feel like no one understands us, or perhaps even cares about us. We just feel alone, facing the wiles of life without anyone’s support or guidance or a shoulder to cry on.
Jesus’ disciples felt like this, at least for a while. In today’s reading, Jesus is trying to pump up his friends’ confidence in the face of his own impending death. And, indeed, following Jesus’ death many of the disciples began to question what they were going to do now that Jesus was gone. At one point, Peter remarked to his companions, “I don’t know what y’all are going to do, but as for me, I’m going fishing.” (I knew I like Peter for some reason!) Actually what Peter was saying was now that his reason for living was gone, he was reverting to the life he knew before following Jesus—as a commercial fisherman on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. He at least had something to fall back upon, even in the face of utter confusion, disappointment, and abandonment.
But it is a very lonely and frightening feeling suddenly to be alone, to have one’s life and future ripped away from them, to become abandoned.
I had not thought much about this feeling until about 13 years ago. We all know this is going to happen, but you are never really prepared for all of the emotional baggage that comes along with losing your parents. My father died in 1996; my mother in 1998. And on the way to my mother’s funeral it suddenly dawned on me that I was, for the first time and forever more, an orphan. Not only that, but I have no siblings—no brothers or sisters, no mother or father.
I’ve never felt so alone in all of my life. For the very first time, I was literally on my own. There was no one to fall back upon, no one from whom to seek advice, no one occupying the place that for all of my life was home. My life’s anchor had been severed; my ship was adrift; I would never have a parent in my life again.
What do you do when you feel all alone? Again, I’m not talking about when you are by yourself, or when you feel lonely. There are steps you can take to remedy these feelings. But what do you do when you feel as if you are one against the world, when you feel orphaned, all alone in this world?
A long, long time ago, a young man found himself feeling alone in his world. The man’s name was Joshua. He had been an assistant to Moses during the years following the Hebrew’s escape from Egypt. Moses had taken Joshua under his personal supervision, teaching him how to lead effectively and how to listen to the voice of God. Then, just as the Hebrews had arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, with the Promised Land just on the other side, Moses called Joshua aside and told him that he, Moses, would not be going with the Hebrews across the river, that he was old and would soon join his ancestors in the tombs. Now, Moses said, it was Joshua’s time to assume leadership, and to lead the people back into Israel, and to conquer the enemies that stood in their way.
Joshua was stunned. Moses had always been there. Moses had always made the critical decisions and applied the best strategies. But now he was on his own, by himself, alone. The responsibilities of leading a nation rest squarely upon his shoulders, and his alone.
But it was there in his darkest hour that Joshua received the best news of his life. Just as the Hebrews were to cross the river and face their enemies, Joshua heard the voice of God say to him, “My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I WILL NOT FAIL YOU OR FORSAKE YOU,” which literally translates, “I will not abandon you.” (Joshua 1:2-5)
And I truly believe that the promise God made to Joshua applies to every one of us as well.
We all fine ourselves in the wilderness of life from time to time. We feel lost, hopeless, abandoned, alone. It happens to us all on occasion. It may come as a result of a death of a loved one, or by a divorce, or the loss of a job, or the betrayal of someone we cherish. There are no “how-to” manuals for these occasions. There are no classes or seminars offered ahead of time. We just suddenly find ourselves at the river’s edge and seemingly nowhere to turn, and no one to turn to.
Yes, we all have had times like this; perhaps some of you are in a season of darkness right now. But, if I get nothing else across in my tenure at this church, I want you to realize that YOU ARE NOT ALONE, NEVER. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE, but God himself is with you, wrapping his ever loving arms around you, giving you what you need when you need it most.
Jesus’ disciples felt so alone in the face of Jesus’ words about his death. What would they do? Where would they go? How would they ever find meaning and definition in life again?
Remember what Jesus said? “I will ask my Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth . . . You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”
“Another Advocate,” he said. What is an advocate? The word used in this passage comes from the ancient Greek word “paraxaleo,” which has a rich set of definitions. It includes the notion of someone who speaks in behalf of you—such as a mediator or someone who represents you before another party. But it also includes the notion of someone who encourages, comforts, cheers up.
The Interpreter’s Bible Commentary on the Gospel of John puts it this way: “No one is so tender as the Holy Spirit—so tender or so patient. And yet he comes to rally us, to bring us to our feet again, to help us to face life still unafraid . . . The Spirit whom (God) sends us is a strong Spirit, with rousing calls upon us. He braces; he revives; he reinvigorates; he puts new heart and courage into those who were dispirited; and rallying the broken ranks, enables us to snatch victory out of defeat. So it was with the first disciples. So, please God, is it with us still.”
Just as Jesus was a tender, patient advocate who brought God to us and us to God, just as Jesus encouraged and raised up the dispirited during his brief years on earth, now God has sent another Advocate to be a tender, patient, reinvigorating Spirit for US today; and not only for today, but forever, always, in all times and places. WE ARE NEVER ALONE, for God’s Spirit lives with us and is in our very hearts and souls.
Many times, I have heard people say they just don’t know how they got through various trials and troubles. Then they will stop and say, “Well, of course I do now. Hindsight is 20/20; and even though I thought I was alone, now I understand that it was God who was with me through it all, and who gave me the strength to get through it.”
We may FEEL as if we are all alone; but we NEVER truly are. God will never leave us or forsake us; and as alone and forsaken as we may feel, God IS still with us.
I know this to be true. Some of you have heard me talk about my experiences during the time our oldest son’s life hung in the balance. He had been involved in a horrible crash while on patrol with the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department. He was put into a medically induced coma, and for 3 days we had no idea 1) IF he would live, and 2) if he did live, would there be permanent brain damage from his injuries. A wife and two small children were left in the balance.
Of course, we prayed for Brian’s life; and yet I knew there were no guarantees. But in the midst of my own darkness and fear came a silent assurance. It was as if someone were saying to me, “Whatever the outcome, WE WILL be okay; maybe not in the short run, but eventually we will make it through and be okay.” It was then that I realized, indeed, I was not alone; I was not forsaken; I was not forgotten; but the Lord of hosts was with me, even IN my very soul. I wasn’t ready to give Brian up, but I knew whatever the outcome, God would be with us.
Praise the Lord, he now is a trooper with the Indiana State Police, and his wife and 2 boys have a vibrant husband and father. But this is why I am so sure of God’s ever-presence in our lives, and why I say repeatedly that God DOES give us what we need when we need it most. We are NEVER alone. God IS with us.
BELIEVE it. TRUST GOD. And even through the season of our darkest hour, we WILL be okay in God’s good time.
We are NOT orphans; our heavenly Father IS always with us, now and forever more.
GROWING UP
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
May 29, 2011
I Peter2:2-10
How do we grow up into healthy adults?
That’s a trick question, by the way. The fact is everyone, if he or she lives long enough, will grow into adulthood. But at what age does that happen, and just what does it mean to grow into “healthy” adults?
Vicki and I had a conversation about this recently for a class she is taking. And one of the things, I think, that our society has lost over the last 100 years or so is our definition of adulthood.
I remember thinking about this when I was quite young. How would I know that I had become an adult? At what age would I be considered an adult? And to be honest, I don’t know the answer to that. When did I cease being a boy and became a man? When did you cease being a girl and became a woman? How did we know when that had happened, that we left childhood and became grownups?
There used to be rites of passage that marked such an occasion. In Native American tribes, there were adulthood ceremonies in which a boy competed in various events to prove he was worthy of being called a man; and if we WERE worthy, he was given a new name to witness to his transition.
Some aboriginal tribes have a customs that include tattooing and piercing to mark, literally, the onset of adulthood. Women in some societies are marked with particular colored dots to indicate their stage in life—one color for available to be wed, and another to indicate they already are married.
In these various communities, you KNEW when you ceased being a child and became an adult. The whole society recognized these rites of passage, so you knew when to feel like an adult. Even in our own society, a hundred years ago, adulthood was marked by the age at which one quit school in order to get a job to help support the family.
But we don’t have such markers, such rites of passage any more. And I think we’ve lost something in the process.
I was watching a young father carry his toddler son from childcare to the car the other day. My mind saw a man carrying a boy. But then I asked myself what is the difference? Why is one called a man but the other is called a boy. They both are the same gender, but what is it that makes one a man and no longer a boy?
No, really, what is it? I honestly cannot tell you when I ceased being a boy and became a man; or have I don’t that yet? I don’t know. And what about my kids, are they boys or men? It depends on who you ask, I suppose. But regardless of how old they become, they still are my kids—yet is it fair or appropriate to call my 33 year old son, a father of 2 boys and a state police officer, my kid? Probably not; my son, yes, but definitely NOT a kid.
But to be honest, I can’t help but wonder if much of what is troubling about our society has to do with the lack of rites of passage for our children. I think a lot of kids want to be considered adults, so they do things they believe adults do; while many adults have never matured or grown up enough to be worthy of the tag man or woman. We have kids acting like adults, and adults acting like kids. Where do we draw the line, and what are the expectations of childhood or adulthood?
Does adulthood begin when you get your first job? It is liberating to be earning your own cash, but is that what it means to be an adult? Is it when you get your driver’s license? Is that when one becomes a responsible adult? What about when you are old enough to vote, or old enough to join the military, or old enough to purchase alcohol? Is that when you become an adult? Judging by the way some older people behave, probably not.
So what does it mean to be an adult, to be mature? You have seen the signs rating movies as being for “mature adults” only, or billboards advertising “adult entertainment.” Candidly, I see very little “mature” or “adult” about such things. I would hope that mature adults would have far higher standards than that.
You see, I think about these kinds of things because I have that kind of time. I also read passages in the Bible such as our reading from I Peter, and they send my mind off in a hundred directions.
“Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation.”
When we were infants, we were fed milk (that is, those of us who were not lactose intolerant) until such a time that we could be introduced to cereal, then to solid foods. With proper diet and exercise, our bodies grew and matured; and with proper medications we guarded against various diseases. And over the course of time we became physically able to fend for ourselves; physically, we became adults.
But I Peter is saying that the same progression is true for our spiritual and mental development as well. Spiritual and mental maturity grows in similar fashion to our bodies. It takes time, and it takes proper nourishment, exercise and health consciousness for our souls and minds to become strong and mature.
For me, one of the key signals of maturity is the ability to think on one’s own, for you to be able to think for yourself, to reason for yourself, to come to well informed conclusions for yourself.
Richard Foster is a developmental psychologist; he also is a Christian. He has written extensively about physical, mental and spiritual maturation, and he makes a lot of sense to me. He says that people have to develop mentally and spiritually in stages just as we have to develop physically. And his theory includes several stages that we have to go through in order to reach a mentally and spiritually mature adulthood.
He says that in infancy, we are totally dependent upon our caregivers both for the food that makes our bodies grow and the stimulation that makes our minds grow. In the toddler stage we not only try out our legs for walking, we also begin to try out our mental legs and learn that we can manipulate our surroundings (they call this the “terrible twos”). Then we enter the childhood/pre-adolescent stage when we realize that we are too young to fend for ourselves, so we affirm our dependence upon our caregivers; mentally and spiritually, we also depend upon our caregivers (Mom and Dad can do no wrong, they know everything) and need their adults to give them black and white answers to all of life’s questions. Then comes adolescence, the stage when our bodies begin to change and do weird stuff, and when we begin to question authority and all the stuff we have been taught. Finally comes adulthood, when our bodies have reached their potential, and when we have taken on the courage to fend for ourselves both physically and spiritually/ mentally. We come up with our own bread and our own tried and tested opinions.
And this scenario is true unless we become fixated at one stage in our spiritual and mental maturation, and fail to move on to the next.
It is his opinion, and that of a number of religious sociologists, including Dr. Tex Sample, a noted United Methodist scholar, that a majority of people in our society today have failed to move beyond the pre-adolescent stage of spiritual and mental maturity. Many of today’s adults have failed to learn to question and think for themselves. They are reluctant, even afraid to try to think for themselves for fear of making the wrong choice. So they long for “father-figures” to tell them what it is that they should believe. And there are a lot of people out there who are far too ready to take on that role who themselves have never matured beyond that stage either.
This is why the Jim Jones and David Koreshes of the world are able to dupe folks into following them. And, according to Dr. Sample, this is why so many fundamentalist churches are growing like they are—because there are a lot of people who don’t have the capacity, or the will, to learn to think for themselves, and so they want someone who will spell out life in black and white terms. But I fear that these good people who are fixated at this stage are missing out on so much peace, and so much fulfillment, and so much self-confidence.
It takes courage to raise questions and to search for truth on one’s own, to trust one’s own faith-centered judgment; but spiritual maturity cannot take place until we seek truth for ourselves.
I Peter is encouraging us to just GROW UP. The apostle Paul put it this way (I Corinthians 13:11): “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.” GROW UP! Take the steps necessary to become mature in faith. I think this is what Paul meant when he told his readers to “work out our own salvation.” No one else can do that for us; we have to walk that lonesome valley for ourselves.
It takes courage to let go of the ways of the past and to open ourselves to new possibilities.
It takes courage to open our hearts to faith.
It takes courage to trust ourselves to be able to think for ourselves and to make our own decisions.
It takes courage to trust God and to accept the salvation that God offers through Jesus Christ.
So, back to our original question: do you remember what that was? How do we grow up into healthy adults? How?
(We grow up) By longing for the pure spiritual milk; by striving for what is pure, what is right, what is just what is Godly,
(we grow up
by incorporating into our lives the pure spiritual fruit of love, peace, gentleness, self-control—the qualities that come with courageous growth and maturity.
How do we grow up into healthy adults? By believing in and trusting Jesus Christ to walk with you every step of your life.
Are you ready to believe? Are you ready to follow Jesus?
CAN Y0U BE PROSECUTED?
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
May 22, 2011
I Peter 2:19-25
We learned a couple of weeks ago that I Peter was written during a time of intense persecution of Christians and other disloyal citizens of the Roman Empire. The Caesar, Domitian, (picture)was quite mentally ill, and believed himself to be the chief of all the Roman gods. Therefore, Domitian demanded that all citizens be required to bow before the Roman banner and pledge their allegiance to, “Caesar, my lord and my god.”
Christians could not bring themselves either to think of Caesar as a god, or to call anyone else except the Lord Jesus Christ their Lord, or the God of heaven and earth as their God. To pledge allegiance to Caesar in such a manner would be to betray their devotion to God, and thus bring their immortal salvation into serious question. But to refuse to honor Caesar brought on certain doom and death.
What would you have done back then? Aren’t you glad we don’t live in a time of such persecution? Ah, but we do.
(Picture
Christians in Central America feel called to speak out against the brutal regimes of ruthless dictators, to call for reform and for justice. But when they do, family members of the Christian spokespersons disappear, never to be heard from again; or they themselves are shot by drive-by snipers. Entire villages have been burned to the ground because a priest demanded justice for his parishioners. That’s right here in Central America, in our Northern Hemisphere.
Methodists bishops, and Christian leaders of other denominations are constantly in danger from their governments in Central Africa. Houses are burned, children are kidnapped, preachers are shot, schools are ransacked, Christian husbands disappear, Christians’ cars are bombed—all because the message of Jesus Christ demands justice and righteousness and personal respect for all people.
I have a cousin who wants to be a missionary to China. But missionaries in China are subject to imprisonment, torture, public beatings, banishment from the country—some even have been executed—just for speaking words of truth, love and righteousness. And the missionaries and Christians in these dangerous places stand out like proverbial sore thumbs, for they refuse to bow down before evil regimes, and they demand just treatment of the poor and oppressed, and they otherwise practice lifestyles of love and generosity—unlike the brutality exercised by those in power. These Christians are easy targets precisely because they incorporate the teachings of Jesus in all they do and say.
In other words, these fine Christians are being persecuted, even prosecuted for being . . . Christians. Their lives and lifestyles become evidence by which they are prosecuted against the atheistic laws of the land. Right now, in many places in our world, in the 21st Century, Christians are being imprisoned because live by the words of Jesus, and encourage others to do the same. Whether we are talking about China, Uganda, or Colombia, governments are persecuting, prosecuting, and punishing good Christian people simply for being Christian.
Are we, here in New Palestine, a blessed people or what! Thank God we don’t live in such a place, that we live in this country were religious freedom is protected and where Christians are not persecuted! Right? Well . . .
A number of years ago, a good friend of ours, we call her Sally, joined a group of Catholic Christians who were ministering to the desperately poor and oppressed Christians of the remote regions of Nicaragua. This was during the brutal regime of Manuel Noriega, the same Noriega that the American administration was subsidizing. Some of the people of these remote regions of Nicaragua had joined a movement known as “Freedom Fighters,” people who wanted justice and an end to Noriega’s brutal oppression, people labeled by Noriega and The United States as enemies of the state. Yes, our tax dollars were subsidizing a ruthless and brutal dictatorship—for whatever reason.
Anyway, Sally went with a group of Christians into these remote regions of Nicaragua to help feed hungry children, and to help them to learn to read and think for themselves, and to organize them into communities so they could work toward justice and freedom.
Within just a few weeks, Sally heard her name, and the names of several of these Christian volunteers, read over the local government controlled radio station. Such lists of names occasionally were read, tabbed enemies of the state, and Noriega’s secret police (executioners) would track down those whose names had been read, and those people were never heard from again. Some of those whose names had been read along with Sally’s DID disappear, and a couple of attempts WERE made to kidnap Sally. Fortunately, there were a few insiders who were sympathetic toward the Christians, and they were able to move Sally out of the region before they kidnapped, tortured, raped, and killed her as they had done to hundreds before her.
She is safe now, back in The United States; but even our own government STILL keeps an eye on her lest she again engage in such treasonous activities as teaching children how to read, and providing needy people with adequate food supplies, and telling them the stories about a man named Jesus who believed in justice and equality and freedom for all people.
I have a file at the office of the FBI. I KNOW I do. 1—I was a close friend of Sally, and all of her friends were investigated for potential acts of treason (you see, she spoke at my church to tell about her missionary work in Nicaragua);
2—We visited the office of a couple of the political parties in Puerto Rico for one of my doctoral classes. And one of those parties is critical of the U.S. because even as a territory of The United States, we won’t enforce EPA regulations there, so the many pharmaceutical companies in Puerto Rico are dumping raw sewage and chemicals into the ground water, and pay workers far less than U.S. minimum wage requirements.
3—On that same trip, we visited the home of a decorated Puerto Rican Viet Nam veteran, who lives on the island of Viecces (sp?). The United States uses this island as target practice for Navy warships and jet fighters, even though there are several thousand Puerto Ricans who live there. School often has to be cancelled because the noise of exploding ordinants and strafing aircraft is too loud (not to mention dangerous) to hold classes. Unexploded bombs are found all along the beaches children play on, many of whom have been killed by stepping on a bomb buried in the sand.
Our decorated war hero is now defying the U.S. military by refusing to move out of his house, which the government wants in order to expand their firing range. The FBI and CIA constantly watch who enters and exits his home—so my picture and identity surely are filed under suspicious characters.
I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, being watched by my government; but I know it is true.
Fortunately for me and you, we DO live in a country in which religious freedom is enforced. We can gather for worship openly and without fear that the police are going to come here and arrest us for doing this. We are blessed to live in a land where we are not persecuted for being Christians . . . or do we? (United States?)
I contend that there IS religious persecution in this country, not organized as such, and certainly not by our government. But I contend that religion IS under persecution by the mood of today’s society. Give me a moment now: Answer me this, how are Christians and other religious people portrayed in movies today, or TV situation comedies? They are not very cool, are they? Rather, WE are portrayed as boring, obnoxious, self-righteous goof balls to be made fun of and written off as out of touch with cool society.
I know when I’m fishing in a tournament and my boater asks me what I do for a living—he either becomes very self-conscious of his behavior and language, or he replies that he just doesn’t get into all that religious cra . . . uh, stuff.
I heard a remake of an old country music song recently that says, “I was country before country was cool.” Well, I was Christian back when being a Christian WAS cool. But it’s NOT cool today.
And one of the best ways to put an end to a conversation at most parties is to ask someone what church they attend. And who doesn’t want to be cool? We want to be cool, we want to be liked. We DON’T want to be labeled or left on the outside looking in. We DON’T want to be tagged as one of those weird Christians who are out of touch with what is hot and trendy.
But all of this causes me to wonder—IF, by some quirk of legislation, Christianity were to become outlawed, as it is in many other countries—IF Christianity were to be outlawed, would there be enough evidence to prosecute you? Me?
Would the prosecuting attorney be able to build a case against us by discovering what movies we go to see, or what TV programs we watch, or what websites we visit, or what magazines we prefer to read? What would they say when the prosecutor called witnesses, such as our neighbors, our friends, our family members, our co-workers, and would that further build his case against us? Could the prosecutor tell by our very lives, our activities, our hobbies, our language, our wallets if we were guilty of being a Christian?
(Slide Change)
What kind of evidence would the prosecutor be looking for? Here is Paul called the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19f): Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.”
BUT, the fruit of the Spirit (the things the prosecutor WOULD be looking for) are (Galatians 5:22f): love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
“Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God,” said Micah.
“By this they will know that you are my disciples, that you love one another,” said Jesus. The author of I Peter wrote,
“If you endure when you are (persecuted) for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and (are persecuted) for it, you have God’s approval.”
Here is your SO WHAT moment: I hope you will take a look at your life to see what kind of evidence there is in it that betrays to the world that you, indeed, ARE a Christian
because: 1) The feeling of knowing that what you did or said made a positive impact upon someone’s life is a joy and satisfaction beyond description; and, as they say the fringe benefits of being a believer are, well, out of this world.
Being a follower of Jesus Christ is the greatest thing going, period, regardless of what the world may say.
RANSOMED!
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
May 8, 2011
I Peter 1:17-25
A friend and colleague, upon receiving his first appointment as a local church pastor, walked up to the pulpit from which he would be preaching. First, he looked out over the empty church to see what it looked like from up there (and trust me, that is what we all do on our first visit to a new church). Then he looked down at the pulpit, and he noticed something inscribed into the wood, words that he would be confronted with after turning the last page of every sermon he would deliver there. What were those words? There were two words etched forever into that pulpit, two words that have shaped his, and my, sermons ever since. Can you guess what those 2 words were? “SO WHAT?” To any sermon, this has to be the final and ultimate question—okay, now, so what? Given all of this information, so what does this have to do with me? So what?
Today’s Bible reading is a powerful summary of what Easter accomplished. It is easy enough to accept the facts of Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and even his resurrection. But it is not so easy to answer the final question, the ultimate question, the “so what” about Easter. Today’s reading gives us that “so what.”
First, let me share a brief history of the context behind the writing of I Peter.
The Letter of First Peter was written sometime between 80 and 90 A.D. It was a period of intense persecution under the emperor Domitian, who insisted that all the citizens recognize him as the chief of the Roman gods. Every person was required to bow before a statue or symbol of the Roman Empire, under Roman military supervision, and pledge their allegiance to Domitian with the words, “Domitian, my lord and my god.”
Those who complied with Domitian’s demand were given a marker of some sort to prove their allegiance to the empire—a coin or some sort of token with the seal of the emperor on it, or some who were particularly fanatic about the emperor proudly wore a brand upon the back of their hands, or even on their foreheads. Those who held such tokens were allowed to participate in the community’s markets and economic livelihoods. But those who refused to pledge their allegiance to the emperor suffered enormously.
Christians in particular were forced to make a horrible decision. To Christians, the only one deserving of the title “lord and god” was the Lord. To give anyone or anything else that title would be utter blasphemy. And no Christian wants to offend GOD! But if a Christian refused to pledge his allegiance to Domitian, he faced certain doom. 1—He could be beheaded right there on the spot; 2—He could be imprisoned and taken to Rome where he would become fodder for the gladiators or the wild animals at the games in the Coliseum; or 3—he would be denied access to the markets and economy of his community, which meant he could neither buy or sell, so eventually he and his family would starve to death. So who do you offend—God or the emperor?
Persecution was intense; choosing between God and Domitian was a matter of life and death.
It is upon this backdrop that I Peter was written; and it was written to the people of what today is northern Turkey—churches that the disciple Peter had established, and people whose earthly and eternal lives were at stake.
With that information, let’s take a closer look at today’s reading (I Peter 1:17f; p232).
v.17—It is the Father who judges ALL people (including Caesar)
-live in reverent fear (awe, wonder, utter dependence)
-during exile—time of persecution
v.18—ransomed—to secure the release of for a required price; to set free on payment of ransom; the payment for the release of a person or property detained; release purchased
-NOT with PERISHABLE THINGS like silver or gold (world’s treasures) which people of the world (of the empire) pursue, the stuff Domitian has to offer for your allegiance
v. 19—but with imperishable (something that not even Domitian can give OR take away)
And what is it that is imperishable, beyond the realm and reach of Domitian?
-the precious blood of Christ, the Son of Almighty God
v.21—“through him you have come to trust in God” TRUST GOD Why? WHY? “who raised him from the dead . . . so that you faith and hope are set in God.”
-Jesus was faithful even unto death; and what did it get him?
-Why should we put our faith and trust in God?
--Caesar can take your life in this world
--But only God can KEEP your life in the world to come (Revelation)
v.22—You have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth (of God, as opposed to Domitian’s lies)
-you DEFILE your souls with Domitian’s lies
v.23—“You have been born anew, not of perishable seed, but imperishable through the living and enduring (abiding) word of God”
Your choice is between Domitian and God, between this world and the next, between perishable (momentary) treasures and imperishable (eternal) treasures (Jesus—lay up)
Now comes the author’s SO WHAT moment—(v. 24) “’All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ That word is the Good News that was announced to you.”
SO WHAT for us?
We are not under persecution from governments or principalities.
But I want to suggest that we ARE under persecution from society’s short-sightedness
--bigger, better, more and more, treasurers on earth such as fame, fortune, comfort, ease—things of this world
We are blinded by the allure of perishable seed, and blinded to the truth of God’s imperishable word. We are tempted to place our trust in IRA’s and savings accounts, rather than rely on God for life itself. We are held hostage to the world’s definitions of success and security, things, perishable things and aspirations that are useful only in this world—THINGS that eventually leave us empty.
But WE HAVE BEEN RANSOMED, saved; our freedom has been bought.
And it is NOT the perishable things that save us; it is the imperishable love of God.
Through Christ, WE TRUST GOD, and are no longer slaves to emptiness and vain ambitions.
And if God has provided us with the assurance of eternity, don’t you think that God will provide for us in this world as well?!
Here is our SO WHAT moment—Matthew 6:25f, p.6
SACRIFICIAL GIVING
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
March 27, 2011
Matthew 6:1-4
Some of you will recall my sermon from about 3 weeks ago having to do with putting on the whole armor of God. We compared the works of the flesh with the fruits of the Spirit. And we saw that those who put on the whole armor of God were able to resist the fiery darts of the devil. Those who protect themselves with spiritual armor produce good spiritual fruit in their lives. And Paul described the fruits of good Christians as: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Today, we are going to look at the fruit of generosity.
Jesus and his disciples were observing a worship service during which the people made their annual contributions to the synagogue. (Picture) In those days, nearly everyone’s income was based on farming—as it used to be in this country. This meant that a family’s cash flow was tight until the harvest came. Then they might have some money to buy clothes or furniture or to reinvest into their businesses. But it also was the time of year that families and individuals were able to give their best offering to the synagogue. And the synagogues were smart enough to hold special offering services during the harvest hoping to cash in, so to speak, on people’s generosity while they had money to spend.
Today, most of us have jobs that pay on a more frequent basis, sometimes weekly, sometimes by-monthly, sometimes monthly—but usually more than just once a year. So we are smart enough to take up offerings every week hoping to cash in on your generosity according to your ongoing cash flow. And I’ll admit, the best way for me to be generous to the church is to have my offering electronically transferred from my bank account, that way I don’t forget or otherwise spend my money before I make my donation to the church.
But back to the story. Jesus and his disciples were observing a service of offering and sacrifice. It was quite the pomp and circumstance occasion. Whenever a donor came down the aisle, trumpeters would blast their horns to grab everyone’s attention. Many times, the donors make quite a parade out of the occasion, essentially flaunting their offering in order to impress the onlookers with their generosity. And, frankly, some of the donations were rather impressive, and their donations greatly helped the synagogue’s ministry.
On one such occasion, the horns blew and in came a very wealthy person with large donation in hand. Everyone oohed and ahhed. But while all eyes were fixed on the parade of the rich man, a poor widow, the poorest of the poor in those days, slipped into the synagogue unnoticed—except for the eyes of Jesus. And while the rich man was sitting his large sum on the altar, this poor widow slipped 2 half-pennies into a mostly hidden offering plate. Then she ran out before anyone saw her.
Jesus pointed out this contrast in behavior between the poor widow and the rich man. Then he said, as generous as the rich man’s offering was, he had given out of his abundance; whereas the poor widow, as small an amount as she donated, gave ALL the money she had in her possession. She had sacrificed everything that she had in order to honor God. So it was HER gift that most impressed Jesus that day.
Now, Jesus never criticized the rich man for his gift. Not at all. The synagogue needed his gift to continue its ministry. But the rich man and the poor widow had different hearts, different motivations, for making their donations. The rich man enjoyed impressing the onlookers with his clothes, his entourage, and his large gift; the poor woman sought only to worship God and for him alone to see. “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
During our fundraising campaign for the new facility, big Rev. Bob brought a slogan that carried as much weight as he did. Do you remember what the slogan was that drove our finance campaign? EQUAL SACRIFICE, NOT EQUAL GIFTS. It was a good slogan that helped to put our giving in perspective.
But I would like to offer an alternative to that slogan, one that we may take to heart as we each worship God according to our ability. I would like to offer the slogan: EQUAL GENEROSITY, NOT EQUAL GIFTS.
I personally like the word generosity better than sacrifice, although it is a sacrifice to be generous. But generosity speaks of a willing and joyful heart. Sacrifice may also speak of a willing and joyful heart, but sacrifice sounds like a requirement, a mandate, whereas generosity sounds more like going even beyond the requirement. As I once heard a black pastor friend say to his congregation, “Don’t give until it hurts, give until it feels good.” THAT is generosity, giving until it feels good—between you and God.
Giving is not about trying to influence policies by giving or withholding funds (I call that holding God hostage), nor is it about impressing others; not at all. Giving is all about getting our priorities in order; it is all about worship; it is all about expressing our devotion to God.
This is why Jesus said, “Whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right had is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and our father who sees in secret will reward you.”
And this is why Jesus said the poor widow left the synagogue more justified than the rich man. She gave generously, she gave sacrificially, and she gave secretly, worshipfully, in devotion to God.
Giving is a sacred act of worship. And there are multiple ways to give.
Naturally, our monetary gifts are vitally important to the church. We cannot pay the bills we accumulate doing our ministry otherwise. And we cannot support the many mission projects that we support without your generous donations. Monetary gifts keep the church open and in the business of witnessing to the love of Jesus Christ. But there are other ways of giving also.
You can give of your time . The church has many needs, or opportunities for you to worship God with your time—such as folks to sit at our greeting desk in the welcome center in the evenings during the week, or people to assist with the children’s and youth programs, or folks to help set and tear down for special events like the Upward Celebration last Sunday, or to serve as greeters or ushers or “ask me” people, or to help with the donuts and coffee ministry during the 9:30 hour.
And there are many other opportunities out there for you to give generously to God’s ministry, (You can contribute to community projects… )such as helping at the local food pantry, or serving at the various soup kitchens around, or helping to pack school supplies being sent to Sierra Leon, or delivering meals or other goods to deserving families in the community.
Your time is precious. It is the one resource that you cannot renew. Once it is spent, it is gone. So spending our time generously in service of God is a wonderful opportunity to honor and worship him.
But the bottom line is, God loves the cheerful, generous giver, whether rich or poor. And giving is all about equal generosity, not equal gifts.
Generosity has always been at the heart of Godly worship.
Jesus told the parable about the Good Samaritan who save a man’s life because of his generosity, even when others passed the injured man by.
And it was Abraham whose generosity and hospitality so pleased God that God gave him a son by his wife even in their old age.
Two strangers approached Abraham’s camp one evening. Abraham, being the Godly man that he was, jumped to his feet and flagged down the strangers. Realizing just how dangerous the desert was at night, he insisted that the strangers spend the night at his camp. Then he had Sarah cook up a big meal for the strangers while he, himself, provided provender for the strangers’ rides, gave them water to wash up, and otherwise tended to their every need.
Providing generous hospitality was the ancients’ prime directive, the very heart of their faith; and providing generous hospitality was the most generous expression of the prime directive. What Abraham did not realize at the time was that these were no ordinary strangers, but angels in disguise sent by God to test Abraham’s true heart. And because of Abraham’s genuine generosity, God gave Abraham and Sarah their long-awaited son, Isaac.
Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:6-8, “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”
God provides us with resources so that He can accomplish his ministry through us. Our resources are not really our resources; they are God’s resources. And God provides abundantly so that we may give in abundance that his good work be accomplished.
So alms giving is an act of worship in which we cheerfully and generously engage for the purpose of honoring God and enabling God to accomplish his good will in our community. And in this sense, giving IS all about equal generosity, not equal gifts.
Generous giving forces us to sort out our priorities and makes us ask ourselves what is it that is ultimately important in our lives. Whatever that ultimate thing is, whatever is primary in our hearts, it is there that we shall place our treasures.
During this season of Lent, may you search your souls and determine what or who your ultimate priority is. Then may you let that help you prioritize your worship and generosity.
THE FINE ART OF FASTING
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
March 20, 2011
Matthew 6:1, 16-18
Here we are in week two of the season of Lent. It is the time of year when we take spiritual inventory of our lives and seek ways to grow closer to God. It also is the time of year when we take a look at some of the spiritual disciplines that help us in that quest.
Last week we took a look at prayer. This week we get to explore the subject of fasting.
I appreciate the way Jesus began his discussion of spiritual disciplines. It helps to put the disciplines, even life itself, in proper perspective. “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
The word piety means the practice of our religion or our worship. So Jesus warns against practicing our religious activities for the purpose of impressing others. That is NOT what worship is about at all. True, genuine worship is an activity that occurs between the believer and God. It doesn’t matter if anyone witnesses our worship or not. We don’t do so for the purpose of being seen by others, but for the purpose of being in fellowship with God.
This is not to say that corporate worship, such as what we are doing right now, is bad. Not at all. We are here to support each other and to find support from one another as we, together, worship our God. We are NOT here to impress anyone—at least I hope that is not the reason we are here. But we are here to join in worship of the God who created us and who still loves us dearly. We are here because we want to honor God; and we do so corporately so as to pool our energies and resources to better witness to the community regarding God’s love for everyone. THAT is okay; God honors that kind of corporate worship.
But ultimately our worship is private, between us and God, even when we are among fellow believers. And we do our worship for God’s sake, not our neighbor’s sake. We do our worship to honor God, not to impress others with how religious we want to appear. “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
That applies to prayer, as we saw last week. That also applies to the spiritual discipline of fasting.
Fasting is the discipline of doing without something in order to take on a deeper sense of Godliness and faith. In the Bible, fasting had to do primarily with not eating, going without food, for extended periods of time, in order to get in touch with God.
Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness as he prayed and otherwise prepared himself for the call that God had placed upon him. And when the devil tried to take advantage of Jesus’ hunger and tempted Jesus to turn the stones into bread, Jesus responded with the scripture that says, “We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Jesus understood that if he were to be true to his calling, he would have to rely on GOD for his primary sustenance. And so he went without food for an extended period of time to help drive that point deeply into his soul.
Fasting also was done in biblical times during times of grief and mourning. Job fasted in sackcloth and ashes to symbolize how devastated he was after losing his family and his homestead, and how desperately he needed God to help him sort out his life. Military leaders fasted ahead of major military campaigns seeking God’s wisdom and favor before engaging in battle.
Kings fasted before making significant decisions about the fate of their kingdoms in the hopes of receiving God’s insight into the matter.
The point is, fasting has long been a practice of believers who sought to overcome the desires of the flesh in favor of the wisdom of God.
In more modern times, Mahatma Gandhi stands as a prime example of the power of fasting. The diminutive Gandhi essentially brought down the reign of powerful Great Brittan by the power of fasting and non-violent revolution. Several times during his confrontation with Great Brittan, the leader of India utilized fasting as a means of communicating to the world the brutality of British colonialism. And Gandhi’s spiritual discipline served not only as a model for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s approach to civil rights in this country, but was a model for the revolution we saw recently in Egypt.
But fasting is a spiritual discipline in which we give up something in order to take on a more Godly disposition. It is an attempt to set ourselves free from material things in favor of the higher spiritual things—to grow away from the world and closer to God.
Have any of you ever engaged in fasting? It’s okay if you haven’t. Churches don’t talk much about fasting now days. I’m not sure why we have gotten away from fasting. Perhaps it is because we preachers enjoy eating too much—I don’t know. But fasting used to be much more commonly practiced that it is today. I suspect we don’t like to feel like we are suffering, and hunger is not a feeling that we cherish.
But what is it that we really cherish? What is it that we really treasure?
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.”
Fasting, then, is an attempt to clarify what it is that we really treasure. It is an act of self-denial of earthly things in order to take on greater portions of heavenly things.
One of the things many Christians do during the season of Lent is giving up something for the 6 weeks of the season. Our Lenten fasting may be a favorite food, or a popular TV program, or a personal habit that may not be healthy for us—something that we really can live without—so that we can focus on taking on a deeper walk of faith in God.
I like that. It is good for us to give us unhealthy things in favor of healthier things. But what we moderns do that the ancient Christians did not do is once Lent is over we go back to eating or doing whatever it was that we gave up for Lent. My contention is, if something is bad enough for us to give up for Lent, why would we take it back when the season is over? I do it too, but it makes me wonder why.
I don’t smoke. I tried when I was much younger since my friends were trying. But I never enjoyed the taste or smell of smoke. In fact, I have a mild allergy to smoke. But what I am trying to say is, smoking is a habit that I never acquired, and therefore never had to try to quit.
But having known many people who do smoke, I am aware that quitting is a very difficult endeavor. Not only are the chemicals in cigarettes addictive, but the very activity of smoking brings pleasure and stress relief to the smoker. This makes quitting twice as difficult to quit as other habits.
According to expert counselors, the best way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace the bad habit with a good habit. This gives you something else to do whenever the urge comes to engage in the bad habit. For smokers, I don’t know what that good replacement habit may be, but supposedly if you have a good habit to turn to, it is easier to resist the urge to light up, it give you something else to do instead.
I have a health condition that makes me hyper sensitive to caffeine. My heart tends to go into a-fib if I have even the least amount of caffeine. Fortunately, there are a number of caffeine free drinks out there so I have a choice, a better habit to replace a bad habit. The first 3 or 4 weeks of fasting from caffeine were horrible—the headaches, the cravings. But now that I am caffeine free, I don’t want to go back to it and put my life at risk. I have other alternatives to replace what is bad for me.
This is what fasting is—it is giving up something bad in order to make room for something good. Spiritually speaking, fasting is giving up something that hinders our ability to grow closer to God and taking on other behaviors and disciplines which encourage spiritual growth.
It is a means of saying “no” to worldly things and “yes” to heavenly things.
It is storing up treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves cannot break in and steal.
How goes it with your soul? What are the activities or habits in your life that are harmful to your soul, or which get in the way of growing closer to God? Are there addictions that hold you captive; are there loves that cause your soul to rust and your faith to suffer? Are there things that hurt you or those around you that you need to get rid of?
You can get rid of them. You can. Oh, it may be hard work. In fact it may be the hardest work you have ever done to rid yourself of whatever worldly things consume you. But you CAN get rid of them. You CAN sacrifice them on the altar of God. And you CAN replace those harmful things with healthy things, wholesome things, Godly things.
Fasting is the discipline of doing without something in order to take on a deeper sense of Godliness and faith. It is a spiritual discipline that belongs between you and God. It is NOT something that we do to impress others with how “spiritual” we are. Rather it is an act of private worship in which you seek to grow in faith and Godliness.
Perhaps we all need to engage in fasting more regularly. For I am pretty sure that each of us has stuff in our lives that we would be better off without. And we could offer this bad things as sacrifices in worship of God as we take on more healthy disciplines in their place.
May this season of Lent be a time of healthy spiritual introspection and wonderful fasting. For as you rid yourselves of what ails your soul, the closer you will grow to God.
EASTER STORIES 2011 - This is a brief outline of the Sunday Easter Services by Rev. Dr. John Thomas (J.T.)
PART TWO
Even nature celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus
Dogwood Tree Legend
Once was tall and stout like the mighty oak, thus
Romans used for cross
Dogwood tree was so sorry and grief stricken to be used to crucify Jesus
Jesus impressed with Dogwood’s grief, promised
1, never again be big enough to be used for a cross
2, would be bent and knarly like Jesus’ own body
3, petals would be formed in the shape of a cross
Two long petals, two short petals
4, center of petals would resemble the crown of thorns
5, while the petals would bear reddish stripes to remind world of Jesus’ blood
6, petals otherwise would be white, the color of victory and resurrection
7, now world would love Dogwood trees because of its testimony
Sand Dollar
1, has 5 holes in its shell, 4 for the nails, 1 for the Roman spear
2, one side has a shape in it that looks like a poinsettia—Christmas flower—birth
3, other side has what looks like an Easter lily
4, open the shell, and 5 little dovelike pieces appear ready to fly and testify
PART THREE
Laughter at the Funeral
Woman at Mom’s funeral
Man walks in, sits next to her
Why Margaret; Mary
Is Lutheran Church
Laughter
Her mother and his aunt introduced them
Even in death God works miracles
Through death of Jesus that we are introduced to radical new Messiah
Through resurrection of Jesus that God bellowed across all time and space
that the victory was His, forever shattering the myth of death/defeat
There's a lovely little legend
That I would like to tell
Of the birth and death of Jesus
Found in this lovely shell.
If you examine closely
You'll see that you find here
Four nail holes and a fifth one
Made by a Roman's spear.
On one side the Easter Lily
In its center is the star
That appeared unto the shepherds
And led them from afar.
The Christmas Poinsettia
Etched on the other side
Reminds us of His Birthday
Our Happy Christmastide.
Now break the center open
And here you will release
The five while doves awaiting
To spread Good Will and Peace.
This simple little symbol
Christ left for you and me
To help us spread His Gospel
Through all Eternity
April 17 A WITNESS FROM HOLY WEEK (Palm Sunday) - *Not whole sermon
-early in the service (Matthew 21:1-11)
-later (Matthew 27:32-35, 45-50)
I want to do an in-character presentation—two of them, one for the Triumphant Entry, the other for the passion and crucifixion. Both will be 7-10 minutes maximum, probably shorter. I won’t be writing a script as such; I want this to be extemporaneous and thus more dramatic. On both occasions, I will leave the sanctuary to signify that I am finished.
I don’t want to do the “The Peace of Christ be with you,” thing on this Sunday. Perhaps we could signify the end of the service by having the worship leader/choir simply process out at the end.
BARELY SQUEEZING THROUGH
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
April 10, 2011
Matthew 7:13-14
Do you remember life before interstate highways?
I was a freshman in college when Interstate 69 was built from Indianapolis to Anderson. I commuted from Lapel to The University of Indianapolis that year, and the completion of I-69 pretty much cut my commute time in half.
Before I-69, we had to drive across highway 32 to Noblesville, then down highway 37 to Castleton. There you could get on the newly opened I-465 and proceed around to the south side of town. And before either I-69 or I-465 existed, you couldn’t hardly get from Lapel to U. Indy. It was an hour and a half to 2 hour commute through Indianapolis. But with the interstates, it only took me about 45 minutes to make the commute.
While we are reminiscing, I remember going to Indianapolis from Lapel. It seemed like such a long drive. And I remember there being a 4-way stop on highway 37 which we deemed to be about half way between Noblesville and Indianapolis. It was way out in the country. The intersection was surrounded by cornfields. It was the 4-way stop at the junction of highways 37 and 100. Do you remember highway 100? It was the old bypass around Indianapolis. Today, that same location would be about where I-69 crosses 82nd street. Anymore, you can hardly tell where Noblesville ends and Castleton/Indianapolis begins.
But this incredible expansion of Indianapolis and Noblesville was enabled by the building of the interstate highway system.
Before the interstate highways, in order to visit my grandparents in Tennessee, we made the trip via the old 2-lane, curvy highways. It used to take us 12-14 hours to make the trip to Loudon, Tennessee, 30 miles southwest of Knoxville. Today, I can be at my aunt’s house in Loudon in under 8 hours. Those broad, smooth, multi-lane superhighways have made travel so much more pleasant and easy. But I believe we are missing so much of Americana in the process.
Sometimes, don’t you just get a hankering to travel the roads less traveled? I’d love to have the time to drive west on either the old highway U.S. 40, or the famous Route 66, or take the old highways south through the towns and villages we used to go through on the way to Grandma’s house. The interstates have made travel easier and quicker, but I think we miss a lot by by-passing the old two-lane scenic routes.
Yes, you have to put up with the twists and turns of the mountains, and the traffic signals in every hamlet and town along the way. And you’ll inevitably end up behind some driver that never gets above 25 with no passing lanes in sight. And you’ll have to put up with the Gomer’s and Goober’s along the way. But you also get rewarded with beautiful vistas and uncorrupted nature and local cafes that serve 6” thick apple pie.
The hard and narrow way may be more difficult, but I’d venture to say that it is more rewarding for those who dare to go that way.
Many years ago, I came across a book entitled, The Road Less Traveled, by Dr. M. Scott Peck. Peck was (is?) a well published psychiatrist, and the premise of this book had to do with the tendency of people to take the route of less resistance rather than deal with the difficulties of life. The road less traveled, then, was the one on which people actively engaged life, pot holes and all; and by doing so found a more complete and meaningful life.
He opened his book with the short sentence, “Life is difficult.” . . . Yeah, it is. It seems as life is but one pothole or speed bump after another. And just about the time I think I’m beginning to make some real progress I run into a series of stop lights. Then, I become bitter at life. Why does life have to be so hard? Isn’t life supposed to be light and easy? Isn’t life’s road supposed to be smooth and even? So why does everything seem to happen to me?
There was a woman, we’ll call her Diane, in a parish way back when whom I admired so much. She was a pillar of strength and a calming presence in times of storm. But it had not always been that way.
As a child, she was basically neglected. What little attention her parents paid her was always harsh and negative. She essentially had to raise herself and establish her own morals and values. Fortunately, there were a couple of friends who encouraged her to attend church with them. And it was there that she learned that not all people were like her parents. And she learned that indeed she was loveable, and that God WANTED to love her and help her with her pain.
You’ve, no doubt, heard the phrase, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Well, Diane clung to that adage (in fact, I believe she was the first person I ever heard make that statement—what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger). Rather than let her hardship break her, Diane used her hardship to become a stronger and better person. And she became one of the most loving and balanced persons I have ever known; and she developed a remarkable faith and trust in God.
Then one day I got the call. Diane had been diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable disease. No, not Diane! Please, Lord, she’s been through enough in her life; she doesn’t deserve this.
When I got to the hospital I found Diane and her adult daughter in a tearful embrace. What do you say? They never taught us this kind of stuff in seminary. But I heard my mouth say, “Diane, I’m so sorry.” She responded, “It’s okay. Really, it’s okay.” Her daughter took a step back and managed an angry, “No its not, Mom. It’s not okay; and it just not fair. It’s just not fair.”
Diane reached out and took her daughter’s hand and said in such a compassionate tone, “Who ever told you that life is supposed to be fair? Life is not about fairness; it is about dealing with all the stuff it throws at you. Don’t you remember, what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger; and what does kill you lets you go be with God. Well, I get to go be with God; and you get to become a stronger and better person.” Then we all held hands and cried for a while.
M. Scott Peck would have been so proud. Listen to his opening paragraph, “Life is difficult. This is a GREAT truth, one of the GREATEST truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult—once we truly understand and accept it—then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”
Life truly is a series of challenges, of problems, of heart-breaks. We get sick; we lose jobs; friends and loved-ones die. The furnace goes out; our child struggles at school; the battery in the car fails. We break arms and legs; we get scorned by people we thought were our friends; and we lay awake at night wondering what’s going to happen next. Why me, Lord? Why me?
Why? Because, well, “stuff” happens. Life is full of . . . stuff. It simply is. But what is important through all this stuff is what we do with the stuff when it happens. Do we let it get us down, or do we rebound and become stronger through it?
Peck suggested that it through meeting and solving life’s problems that life takes on meaning. Here again his words, “Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually.”
Skirting or attempting to avoid or deny life’s problems only leads to greater pain than the problem itself. Denying the reality of pain and problems not only just makes things worse, but we rob ourselves of growth; we fail to become better people; we never learn how to live.
I really think this is what Jesus is saying in today’s Bible reading: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Now hear me clearly about this, okay. God does not make bad things happen, or even “let’s” things happen, in order to punish us, or even to teach us something. God is NOT in the bad stuff business. God does not make bad things happen. But God IS in the redemptive business; God IS able to USE bad times to make us better and stronger. No doubt, God cries when we cry, and hurts when we hurt. And no doubt, God is anxious to heal our pain and redeem our sorrow, and otherwise help us to overcome and even flourish.
When Jesus encouraged us to take the difficult narrow road, I think he was encouraging us to embrace life in its entirety—the good times and the tough times. Life ISN’T SUPPOSED to be easy; NO ONE EVER GUARANTEED THAT LIFE WOULD BE FAIR. Not even Jesus. But Jesus DID guarantee that he always would be with us and would see us through the tough times, and then dance with us during the good times. And there in the midst of all of life’s stuff—it is THERE that we find GOD, and where we find LIFE ITSELF.
For sure, it was through life’s pain and challenges that I have become a better person. Whether it was the day I swore I would never put my family through what my father put us through, or the day I finally stood up to my bully, or the day my most vocal supporter stabbed me in the back—I truly grew in manhood and in faith BECAUSE, not in spite of, but BECAUSE of those difficult times.
Hear what the apostle Paul says about this (Romans 5:3-5): “We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
No one knows more about pain and difficulties than Jesus. He was mocked and scorn everywhere he went. False accusations continually were made against him. His home synagogue rejected him and even tried to kill him. His best friends betrayed him, and one even handed him over to those who sought to kill him. And he was beaten mercilessly and nailed to a cross like a common criminal. And what’s more, he KNEW all these things were going to happen; and still he chose the road less traveled. He chose the hard and narrow way rather than the wide and easy way, the easy way out. And because he did, he not only found his life, he saved our very souls.
The easy road is the one that leads to destruction. But the narrow and hard road is where REAL LIFE is engaged, and where true mental and spiritual growth occurs.
Embrace life, for it is there that you will find yourself, AND your God.
JUDGING AND BEING JUDGED
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
April 3, 2011
Matthew 7:1-5
A number of years ago, I decided to go and observe one of my members at work. It was fascinating. It was the first time I had ever been in a court room. The mood was somber and the room was quiet. Several people were seated in the front row; some in civilian clothes, others in jailhouse orange. A few of the front row guests were accompanied by men in suits and ties. Then in walked the bailiff and announced, “Please rise for the Honorable Harry Holtsclaw.”
Judge Holtsclaw was a member of the church I was serving. Having never seen a courtroom or a judge in action before, I was curious to see how cases were settled. It was a small claims court, so the judge mostly handled shoplifting, overdue child support, and an occasional domestic dispute case. But the process was fascinating nevertheless.
The first case concerned a woman who had been accused of switching the price sticker on a package of meat at the grocery store in order to get the expensive roast at a smaller roast’s price.
The judge asked the prosecutor to state the case. He alleged that the woman removed a price sticker from a lesser expensive cut of meat and placed it over the price sticker of the more expensive one, and then proceeded to the checkout to make purchase. The defendant was asked to give her side of the story. She reported that the roast she wished to purchase had no sticker on it. She looked around and noticed one laying next to her chosen package and assumed that the loose sticker belonged on it. So she innocently attached the loose sticker to her package. If it was the wrong sticker, she was sorry; but she did not intend to be dishonest.
Then the judge said to the prosecutor, “I understand you have a witness to call.” The prosecutor produced a store security employee who testified that he saw the woman switch the labels, that the woman’s version of the story was false. Apparently he had been watching the woman from behind a one-way glass behind the meat counter; and he said that she knowingly removed the small price tag from a smaller roast and put the tag on top of the larger roast’s price tag.”
Judge Harry looked at the woman and said, “It is clear to me that you are lying to me through your teeth. I find you guilty as charged,” and went on to declare her sentence.
“Wow,” I thought to myself, “he sure didn’t waste any time with that case!”
In similar fashion, Judge Harry settled half a dozen cases in lightning quick order. Some of the cases were “he said/she said” type cases without witnesses. Still, Judge Harry would quickly declare his judgment, and, I must say, with stunning accuracy. I remember thinking to myself, “Man, I’m glad he’s the judge and not me. I’m not sure I could settle some of these cases, much less do so fairly and justly.”
Since then, I have been in several courtrooms and have seen a number of judgments rendered. And I must say that I am truly impressed with the work of these court judges. They are good people who do their best to enforce the law justly and fairly, and to protect society from those who would do us harm. We have an attorney affiliated with this congregation in Judge John Kitley, and he is a highly regarded judge in Indianapolis. I am glad there are good people like Judge John and Judge Harry who devote their lives to such a high calling. And, yes, I am still glad that I am not in a judge’s seat—I don’t think I have what it takes to get that job done.
But then again, I DO occupy the judge’s seat way too often; and when I do, I fail as miserably as I fear. I occupy the judge’s seat; YOU occupy the judge’s seat; we all do that from time to time.
For me, I am at my worst behind the wheel of the car. When I am driving, I DEMAND JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS from everyone. If it is my turn to go through a 4-way stop and someone else goes ahead of me out of turn . . . oh boy! And if someone cuts me off in traffic . . . I pity the foo. And if someone flashes me the Hawaii peace symbol . . . oh, oh! Now, I’m getting better in my later years, but . . . it’s difficult for me to stay out of the judgment seat, especially when I know I am right and the idiot out there is clearly wrong—at least in my humble opinion.
I know it is hard to believe, since I am so easy going and laid back, but I lead the YMCA basketball league in Dayton, Ohio, one year in technical fouls. I’m not sure why; I suppose I knew the rules of basketball better than the officials, and I kept trying to prove the point. I remember asking one official if he got his license out of a Cracker Jacks box—the problem was, I WAS right in this case, so he didn’t T me up. He did tell me that I could watch him officiate the college game on TV the next evening; and I told him that I had seen him on TV, and he was as bad on there as he was at our game.
Again, over the years, I have mellowed, in part because of encounters I have had with parishioners and others who know more about preaching and theology than I do—or at least they thought so—and I was powerless to call technical fouls on them. I have come to realize that judging probably isn’t my calling, certainly not my strong suit.
And this passage from Matthew 7 has helped me as well. “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” I hold drivers and officials to incredibly high standards, higher than I am able to measure up to. And that is not right, not at all. It is not right, just, or fair for me to pick at the splinter in an official’s eye when I am blinded by the log in my own eye. I have enough to worry about just taking care of myself—I have no business trying to run other peoples’ lives. Besides, if I truly wish for mercy and forgiveness and patience to be practiced toward me, perhaps I should try practicing mercy and forgiveness and patience toward others.
Basically, what Jesus is saying to us in today’s reading is to practice The Golden Rule—“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12) Don’t judge unless you wished to be judged, and by the same measure by which you judge others. It’s not right to expect others to live at a higher standard than we expect from ourselves. Treat others as you would want them to treat you, especially at those times when you fall short of moral perfection.
Common courtesy—Jesus wants from us what we would want for ourselves.
We recently heard the Apostle Paul describe the fruits of the Spirit, the mind and practices of people who are led by God’s Holy Spirit—“The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) He goes on to say, “There is no law against such things.” Or it could be said, “There is no judgment against those things.”
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.”
Every Sunday, we get to join our voices together to recite The Lord’s Prayer. Please turn to your bulletin. Under the 8:30 service, you will find the words to The Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father, who are in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.” Now, let us read the next sentence together, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Did you catch that? Forgive us OUR trespasses AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. Every Sunday, we ask God to judge us by the same measure that we judge others. That is what that says—forgive US as WE FORGIVE. And that’s only fair and just, is it not? It is not right for us to hold others to a higher standard than the one we hold for ourselves. Nor it is right for us to ask God to hold others to a higher standard that we would hope for ourselves.
IF WE EXPECT TO BE FORGIVEN, WE MUST BE FORGIVING. IF WE HOPE TO RECEIVE MERCY, WE MUST BE MERCIFUL. And that is just what Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)
The judgment seat is not a place for amateurs like you and me, and not always desirable for professionals. I’m sure there are cases in which a court judge has to make painful decisions, especially in which innocent bystanders stand to get hurt. I mean, how does a judge make decisions in cases like divorce settlements knowing that regardless of how he rules, someone is going to get hurt—when there are children involved? I can’t imagine how difficult would be for a judge.
I’m reminded again of the judgment scene in the book, The Shack. Mack wants judgment and justice wielded against the offender who killed his little daughter; he wants it badly. But before the angelic judge would render the sentence, the angel makes Mack sit in the judgment seat. Reluctantly he takes the seat. Then the angel of judgment tells Mack that he has to decide who gets to go to heaven and who goes to hell—that is, from among his 5 children. The angel says that only 3 of them get to go to heaven; the other 2 will have to be sent to hell. HE will have to decide which goes where. Then, and only then, can Mack be deemed qualified to pronounce sentence upon his daughter’s offender.
Mack refuses to comply. How on earth or in heaven can a father render such a decision. Mack loves all 5 of his children, even if 1 or 2 of them are giving him trouble at the time. Finally, in desperation Mack begs the angel to send HIM to hell in place of the two children he was asked to condemn. Then the angel smiled and basically said, you have chosen well; for that is what Jesus has done for you so you won’t have to be judged by your heavenly Father for your sins. Mack finally got it; and eventually was able to find compassion in his heart even for his daughter’s offender.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.”
Judging is easy; not judging is hard work. Practicing The Golden Rule is oh so difficult. It is so much easier to pick at the splinter in the eye of another than to behold the log in our own. But those who live in Christ Jesus, who are led by God’s Spirit will have hearts filled with “love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” and they will have no need to be others’ judges. AND WHAT A MORE PEACEFUL, ENJOYABLE, AND DESIRABLE LIFE THAT IS!
SACRIFICIAL GIVING
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
March 27, 2011
Matthew 6:1-4
Some of you will recall my sermon from about 3 weeks ago having to do with putting on the whole armor of God. We compared the works of the flesh with the fruits of the Spirit. And we saw that those who put on the whole armor of God were able to resist the fiery darts of the devil. Those who protect themselves with spiritual armor produce good spiritual fruit in their lives. And Paul described the fruits of good Christians as: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Today, we are going to look at the fruit of generosity.
Jesus and his disciples were observing a worship service during which the people made their annual contributions to the synagogue. In those days, nearly everyone’s income was based on farming—as it used to be in this country. This meant that a family’s cash flow was tight until the harvest came. Then they might have some money to buy clothes or furniture or to reinvest into their businesses. But it also was the time of year that families and individuals were able to give their best offering to the synagogue. And the synagogues were smart enough to hold special offering services during the harvest hoping to cash in, so to speak, on people’s generosity while they had money to spend.
Today, most of us have jobs that pay on a more frequent basis, sometimes weekly, sometimes by-monthly, sometimes monthly—but usually more than just once a year. So we are smart enough to take up offerings every week hoping to cash in on your generosity according to your ongoing cash flow. And I’ll admit, the best way for me to be generous to the church is to have my offering electronically transferred from my bank account, that way I don’t forget or otherwise spend my money before I make my donation to the church.
But back to the story. Jesus and his disciples were observing a service of offering and sacrifice. It was quite the pomp and circumstance occasion. Whenever a donor came down the aisle, trumpeters would blast their horns to grab everyone’s attention. Many times, the donors make quite a parade out of the occasion, essentially flaunting their offering in order to impress the onlookers with their generosity. And, frankly, some of the donations were rather impressive, and their donations greatly helped the synagogue’s ministry.
On one such occasion, the horns blew and in came a very wealthy person with large donation in hand. Everyone oohed and ahhed. But while all eyes were fixed on the parade of the rich man, a poor widow, the poorest of the poor in those days, slipped into the synagogue unnoticed—except for the eyes of Jesus. And while the rich man was sitting his large sum on the altar, this poor widow slipped 2 half-pennies into a mostly hidden offering plate. Then she ran out before anyone saw her.
Jesus pointed out this contrast in behavior between the poor widow and the rich man. Then he said, as generous as the rich man’s offering was, he had given out of his abundance; whereas the poor widow, as small an amount as she donated, gave ALL the money she had in her possession. She had sacrificed everything that she had in order to honor God. So it was HER gift that most impressed Jesus that day.
Now, Jesus never criticized the rich man for his gift. Not at all. The synagogue needed his gift to continue its ministry. But the rich man and the poor widow had different hearts, different motivations, for making their donations. The rich man enjoyed impressing the onlookers with his clothes, his entourage, and his large gift; the poor woman sought only to worship God and for him alone to see. “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
During our fundraising campaign for the new facility, big Rev. Bob brought a slogan that carried as much weight as he did. Do you remember what the slogan was that drove our finance campaign? EQUAL SACRIFICE, NOT EQUAL GIFTS. It was a good slogan that helped to put our giving in perspective.
But I would like to offer an alternative to that slogan, one that we may take to heart as we each worship God according to our ability. I would like to offer the slogan: EQUAL GENEROSITY, NOT EQUAL GIFTS.
I personally like the word generosity better than sacrifice, although it is a sacrifice to be generous. But generosity speaks of a willing and joyful heart. Sacrifice may also speak of a willing and joyful heart, but sacrifice sounds like a requirement, a mandate, whereas generosity sounds more like going even beyond the requirement. As I once heard a black pastor friend say to his congregation, “Don’t give until it hurts, give until it feels good.” THAT is generosity, giving until it feels good—between you and God.
Giving is not about trying to influence policies by giving or withholding funds (I call that holding God hostage), nor is it about impressing others; not at all. Giving is all about getting our priorities in order; it is all about worship; it is all about expressing our devotion to God.
This is why Jesus said, “Whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right had is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and our father who sees in secret will reward you.”
And this is why Jesus said the poor widow left the synagogue more justified than the rich man. She gave generously, she gave sacrificially, and she gave secretly, worshipfully, in devotion to God.
Giving is a sacred act of worship. And there are multiple ways to give. Naturally, our monetary gifts are vitally important to the church. We cannot pay the bills we accumulate doing our ministry otherwise. And we cannot support the many mission projects that we support without your generous donations. Monetary gifts keep the church open and in the business of witnessing to the love of Jesus Christ. But there are other ways of giving also.
You can give of your time. The church has many needs, or opportunities for you to worship God with your time—such as folks to sit at our greeting desk in the welcome center in the evenings during the week, or people to assist with the children’s and youth programs, or folks to help set and tear down for special events like the Upward Celebration last Sunday, or to serve as greeters or ushers or “ask me” people, or to help with the donuts and coffee ministry during the 9:30 hour.
And there are many other opportunities out there for you to give generously to God’s ministry, such as helping at the local food pantry, or serving at the various soup kitchens around, or helping to pack school supplies being sent to Sierra Leon, or delivering meals or other goods to deserving families in the community.
Your time is precious. It is the one resource that you cannot renew. Once it is spent, it is gone. So spending our time generously in service of God is a wonderful opportunity to honor and worship him.
But the bottom line is, God loves the cheerful, generous giver, whether rich or poor. And giving is all about equal generosity, not equal gifts.
Generosity has always been at the heart of Godly worship.
Jesus told the parable about the Good Samaritan who save a man’s life because of his generosity, even when others passed the injured man by.
And it was Abraham whose generosity and hospitality so pleased God that God gave him a son by his wife even in their old age.
Two strangers approached Abraham’s camp one evening. Abraham, being the Godly man that he was, jumped to his feet and flagged down the strangers. Realizing just how dangerous the desert was at night, he insisted that the strangers spend the night at his camp. Then he had Sarah cook up a big meal for the strangers while he, himself, provided provender for the strangers’ rides, gave them water to wash up, and otherwise tended to their every need.
Providing generous hospitality was the ancients’ prime directive, the very heart of their faith; and providing generous hospitality was the most generous expression of the prime directive. What Abraham did not realize at the time was that these were no ordinary strangers, but angels in disguise sent by God to test Abraham’s true heart. And because of Abraham’s genuine generosity, God gave Abraham and Sarah their long-awaited son, Isaac.
Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:6-8, “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”
God provides us with resources so that He can accomplish his ministry through us. Our resources are not really our resources; they are God’s resources. And God provides abundantly so that we may give in abundance that his good work be accomplished.
So alms giving is an act of worship in which we cheerfully and generously engage for the purpose of honoring God and enabling God to accomplish his good will in our community. And in this sense, giving IS all about equal generosity, not equal gifts.
Generous giving forces us to sort out our priorities and makes us ask ourselves what is it that is ultimately important in our lives. Whatever that ultimate thing is, whatever is primary in our hearts, it is there that we shall place our treasures.
During this season of Lent, may you search your souls and determine what or who your ultimate priority is. Then may you let that help you prioritize your worship and generosity.
THE FINE ART OF FASTING
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
March 20, 2011
Matthew 6:1, 16-18
Here we are in week two of the season of Lent. It is the time of year when we take spiritual inventory of our lives and seek ways to grow closer to God. It also is the time of year when we take a look at some of the spiritual disciplines that help us in that quest.
Last week we took a look at prayer. This week we get to explore the subject of fasting.
I appreciate the way Jesus began his discussion of spiritual disciplines. It helps to put the disciplines, even life itself, in proper perspective. “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
The word piety means the practice of our religion or our worship. So Jesus warns against practicing our religious activities for the purpose of impressing others. That is NOT what worship is about at all. True, genuine worship is an activity that occurs between the believer and God. It doesn’t matter if anyone witnesses our worship or not. We don’t do so for the purpose of being seen by others, but for the purpose of being in fellowship with God.
This is not to say that corporate worship, such as what we are doing right now, is bad. Not at all. We are here to support each other and to find support from one another as we, together, worship our God. We are NOT here to impress anyone—at least I hope that is not the reason we are here. But we are here to join in worship of the God who created us and who still loves us dearly. We are here because we want to honor God; and we do so corporately so as to pool our energies and resources to better witness to the community regarding God’s love for everyone. THAT is okay; God honors that kind of corporate worship.
But ultimately our worship is private, between us and God, even when we are among fellow believers. And we do our worship for God’s sake, not our neighbor’s sake. We do our worship to honor God, not to impress others with how religious we want to appear. “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
That applies to prayer, as we saw last week. That also applies to the spiritual discipline of fasting.
Fasting is the discipline of doing without something in order to take on a deeper sense of Godliness and faith. In the Bible, fasting had to do primarily with not eating, going without food, for extended periods of time, in order to get in touch with God.
Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness as he prayed and otherwise prepared himself for the call that God had placed upon him. And when the devil tried to take advantage of Jesus’ hunger and tempted Jesus to turn the stones into bread, Jesus responded with the scripture that says, “We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Jesus understood that if he were to be true to his calling, he would have to rely on GOD for his primary sustenance. And so he went without food for an extended period of time to help drive that point deeply into his soul.
Fasting also was done in biblical times during times of grief and mourning. Job fasted in sackcloth and ashes to symbolize how devastated he was after losing his family and his homestead, and how desperately he needed God to help him sort out his life. Military leaders fasted ahead of major military campaigns seeking God’s wisdom and favor before engaging in battle. Kings fasted before making significant decisions about the fate of their kingdoms in the hopes of receiving God’s insight into the matter.
The point is, fasting has long been a practice of believers who sought to overcome the desires of the flesh in favor of the wisdom of God.
In more modern times, Mahatma Gandhi stands as a prime example of the power of fasting. The diminutive Gandhi essentially brought down the reign of powerful Great Brittan by the power of fasting and non-violent revolution. Several times during his confrontation with Great Brittan, the leader of India utilized fasting as a means of communicating to the world the brutality of British colonialism. And Gandhi’s spiritual discipline served not only as a model for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s approach to civil rights in this country, but was a model for the revolution we saw recently in Egypt.
But fasting is a spiritual discipline in which we give up something in order to take on a more Godly disposition. It is an attempt to set ourselves free from material things in favor of the higher spiritual things—to grow away from the world and closer to God.
Have any of you ever engaged in fasting? It’s okay if you haven’t. Churches don’t talk much about fasting now days. I’m not sure why we have gotten away from fasting. Perhaps it is because we preachers enjoy eating too much—I don’t know. But fasting used to be much more commonly practiced that it is today. I suspect we don’t like to feel like we are suffering, and hunger is not a feeling that we cherish.
But what is it that we really cherish? What is it that we really treasure?
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.”
Fasting, then, is an attempt to clarify what it is that we really treasure. It is an act of self-denial of earthly things in order to take on greater portions of heavenly things.
One of the things many Christians do during the season of Lent is giving up something for the 6 weeks of the season. Our Lenten fasting may be a favorite food, or a popular TV program, or a personal habit that may not be healthy for us—something that we really can live without—so that we can focus on taking on a deeper walk of faith in God.
I like that. It is good for us to give us unhealthy things in favor of healthier things. But what we moderns do that the ancient Christians did not do is once Lent is over we go back to eating or doing whatever it was that we gave up for Lent. My contention is, if something is bad enough for us to give up for Lent, why would we take it back when the season is over? I do it too, but it makes me wonder why.
I don’t smoke. I tried when I was much younger since my friends were trying. But I never enjoyed the taste or smell of smoke. In fact, I have a mild allergy to smoke. But what I am trying to say is, smoking is a habit that I never acquired, and therefore never had to try to quit.
But having known many people who do smoke, I am aware that quitting is a very difficult endeavor. Not only are the chemicals in cigarettes addictive, but the very activity of smoking brings pleasure and stress relief to the smoker. This makes quitting twice as difficult to quit as other habits.
According to expert counselors, the best way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace the bad habit with a good habit. This gives you something else to do whenever the urge comes to engage in the bad habit. For smokers, I don’t know what that good replacement habit may be, but supposedly if you have a good habit to turn to, it is easier to resist the urge to light up, it give you something else to do instead.
I have a health condition that makes me hyper sensitive to caffeine. My heart tends to go into a-fib if I have even the least amount of caffeine. Fortunately, there are a number of caffeine free drinks out there so I have a choice, a better habit to replace a bad habit. The first 3 or 4 weeks of fasting from caffeine were horrible—the headaches, the cravings. But now that I am caffeine free, I don’t want to go back to it and put my life at risk. I have other alternatives to replace what is bad for me.
This is what fasting is—it is giving up something bad in order to make room for something good. Spiritually speaking, fasting is giving up something that hinders our ability to grow closer to God and taking on other behaviors and disciplines which encourage spiritual growth. It is a means of saying “no” to worldly things and “yes” to heavenly things. It is storing up treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves cannot break in and steal.
How goes it with your soul? What are the activities or habits in your life that are harmful to your soul, or which get in the way of growing closer to God? Are there addictions that hold you captive; are there loves that cause your soul to rust and your faith to suffer? Are there things that hurt you or those around you that you need to get rid of?
You can get rid of them. You can. Oh, it may be hard work. In fact it may be the hardest work you have ever done to rid yourself of whatever worldly things consume you. But you CAN get rid of them. You CAN sacrifice them on the altar of God. And you CAN replace those harmful things with healthy things, wholesome things, Godly things.
Fasting is the discipline of doing without something in order to take on a deeper sense of Godliness and faith. It is a spiritual discipline that belongs between you and God. It is NOT something that we do to impress others with how “spiritual” we are. Rather it is an act of private worship in which you seek to grow in faith and Godliness.
Perhaps we all need to engage in fasting more regularly. For I am pretty sure that each of us has stuff in our lives that we would be better off without. And we could offer this bad things as sacrifices in worship of God as we take on more healthy disciplines in their place.
May this season of Lent be a time of healthy spiritual introspection and wonderful fasting. For as you rid yourselves of what ails your soul, the closer you will grow to God.
PRAYER AND EVERYDAY LIVING
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
March 13, 2011
Matthew 6:1, 5-13
Today we begin the 40 day journey of Lent. Lent is the season leading up to Easter and the great celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of preparation, a time of spiritual self-examination, a time of getting our souls focused on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and what that means for us.
For many Christians, Lent is a time of self-denial and fasting and prayer. Many people sacrifice something for the season; we refer to this as “giving up” something for Lent. This sacrifice is supposed to be something we value, something that we like very much; and we do so to remind ourselves of our need for God in our lives. Jesus once said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” So we give up something that we really like, but don’t necessarily need, so that when the urge for that thing arises we will be reminded of the season and thus of our utter dependence upon God’s grace for all good gifts in life—including life itself.
Some people sacrifice a favorite food or drink, such as coffee, or caffeine, or ice cream, or soft drinks, or donuts. Others will give up watching certain TV shows, or going to certain places of recreation. But the bottom line is—we give up something in order to take on a greater appreciation of who God is and what God means to us. We give up something that we don’t need, and may even be bad for us, in order to grow spiritually.
Then there are folks who “take on” something for Lent in order to grow spiritually. Some volunteer at food kitchens or homeless shelters. Others do chores for people who are unable to so themselves, such as picking up fallen limbs in someone’s yard, or planting bulbs and flowers, or visiting people who are shut-in. Still others may take on a spiritual discipline such as reading the Bible daily, or praying daily, or joining a book club that focuses on spiritual subjects.
Whether you are giving up something for Lent, or taking on something for Lent, or both, the whole idea of this 40 day season is to take inventory of our souls to see how we can grow closer to God and thus prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter.
Why 40 days? The number 40 it tied to a couple of significant events in our faith history. First of all, the number 40 reminds us of the years the Hebrews wandered in the desert following their release from slavery in Egypt. Moses led the Hebrews to freedom. Then, during the next 40 years (which stands for one generation) Moses helped his people recover their former identity and religion, while giving up the Egyptian beliefs and traditions. In other words, they both gave up and took on much like we try to do during Lent.
The other occasion of the number 40 has to do with the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert as he prepared himself for the ministry that awaited him. It was a prolonged time of prayer and fasting as he dedicated himself to God’s plan for his life. And that is precisely what Lent is to be for us—a time of prayerful reflection and purification so that we, too, can be better prepared to live the lives that God is calling us to live. MAY THIS BE A HAUNTINGLY WONDERFUL 6 WEEK JOURNEY FOR YOU!
Today, in our Lenten journey, we focus our attention upon prayer.
I think that prayer is one of the most neglected sources of power and growth available to us. And I think this is because many of us simply don’t know HOW to pray, or at least we don’t believe that we do. But I want to suggest that prayer is as easy and natural as communicating with anyone around us.
All of us pray. There are occasions that just drive us to pray, especially during times of stress or potential harm. You have heard it said of soldiers, “There are no atheists in a foxhole.” All of us pray, but prayer is still one of the most underutilized sources of power at our disposal.
But how are we supposed to pray? Are there magic formulas or peculiar words that we have to utter in order to get what we want? Do we have to pray as eloquently as great-uncle George in order for God to hear us? Am I supposed to pray out loud, or in the silence of my heart? Can I pray any time, or do I need to be at church for God to hear my prayer?
I want to make three quick points about prayer that hopefully will be of help to you as you journey through the season of Lent, and beyond.
1—Prayer is easy and natural.
2— Prayer is about what we want, but ultimately about what God wants.
3—Prayer is a way of life.
1—Prayer is easy and natural.
The Bible tells us that we are created in God’s image. I believe that means that we are spiritual beings created to have spiritual relationships with our Creator. If that is true, then prayer is a natural component of who we are. Prayer is the natural link between ourselves and God. Prayer is like the electric cord between the wall plug and a lamp. It is the conduit by which we relate to God and receive God’s power for victorious living. It is how our souls are fed and how our faith grows. Prayer is natural, it is easy, but requires an intentional effort to exercise it. We have to grow into it.
In today’s reading, Jesus tells us to make prayer easy. Prayer is not complicated; it is being who we are in the presence of God. Jesus tells us that we don’t have to heap up lofty, complicated words and phrases. God is not impressed with our language. People might be impressed, but impressing people is not what prayer is about. Prayer is simply being who we are in the presence of God.
We are created in God’s image, and that is good. Who we are is good in God’s eyes. Who we really, truly are deep down inside our souls is GOOD and GODLY, the reflection of God himself. So prayer is all about getting back to who we really, really are—getting beyond the facades and images that we have created, and getting back to our God-image-ness.
When we do that, when we get back to who we really are, then we can be at ease, and we can be honest, and we can be ourselves before our Lord. Jesus show us this by the way he addresses God. When Jesus prays, “Our Father who art in heaven,” the word for “Father” is the Hebrew word that little children use to address their “Daddy.” Jesus calls God Daddy. THAT is the kind of relationship Jesus says we have with God. Prayer is supposed to be as easy and natural as relating to a genuine and loving Daddy.
We are God’s children; God is our heavenly Daddy. So prayer is to be no more complicated than that.
1—Prayer is easy and natural.
2— Prayer is about what we want, but ultimately about what God wants.
In other passages, Jesus encourages us to be honest and to pray for what we want. God knows what is on our hearts, so be honest and ask honestly—but with an open mind. Just because we want something doesn’t mean that is what we need. And just because we want something doesn’t mean that the answer will always be yes. Sometimes God’s answer may be no, but always for the right reason. We can ask for what we want, but we must be open to what God wants for us.
I’m reminded of the story of a high school senior boy whose ultimate dream was to get a new car for his graduation gift from his father. On graduation day, his father gave him a gift wrapped in the finest paper with a note that said, “I hope you enjoy this, you deserve it. Read all that is inside here, and you will discover what it is that you are looking for.” Quickly the boy opened his gift to find, not the owner’s manual of a new car as he had supposed, but a Bible.
He was devastated, and held a grudge against his father for decades. Then one day, he received word that his father had been gravely ill, and had lost his fight against his disease. His father’s will requested that his son read a particular passage from the Bible his father had given him. Reluctantly the son agreed.
It was there at the funeral that the son made a startling discovery. When he opened his Bible to the prescribed passage he found a note that read, “Congratulations, Son, I love you and always will.” Inside the note, the son found a check written for exactly the price of the car that he had hoped for.”
Prayer IS about what we want; but ultimately it is about what our heavenly Daddy wants for us. Daddy knows best, and will give us only the best—not necessarily what we want, but what we need. This is why Jesus once prayed, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” It is perfectly okay for us to tell God what is on our hearts, what we want; AND it is a higher walk of faith to be open to what it is that God has to give us.
1—Prayer is easy and natural.
2— Prayer is about what we want, but ultimately about what God wants.
3—Prayer is a way of life.
The apostle Paul urged his readers to pray without ceasing. That sounds like a lot more prayer than most of us would ever want to perform. But I am going to suggest that life IS a continuing prayer, whether we intend it to be or not. How we live IS a reflection of our soul, for better or worse, and exposes what our life’s desires really are. How we live IS what we desire, what we pursue, what we value. The question is, is how we are living REALLY what we want our lives to be about.
Paul’s exhortation to pray without ceasing intends to make us conscious of what our heart’s desire is, and to measure what we want with what God wants for us. If we pray without ceasing, we are making an intentional effort to live by the creed, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” Praying without ceasing means taking Jesus with us everywhere we go and continually striving to do what is right and good and Godly. It means making an effort to be constantly in contact with our heavenly Daddy for guidance in our daily living.
This is what Jesus meant when he said that no one can serve two masters; you can only hold allegiance to one. Which life will you choose—the one that puts your own interests ahead of all others which leads ultimately to emptiness and disappointment? Or will you choose to pursue a life of prayer and Godliness which leads to peace and fulfillment?
As you make prayer you way of life, indeed you will find yourself growing closer to God in trust and faith. And you will find who you really, really are down deep inside—and that is a good thing indeed.
1—Prayer is easy and natural.
2— Prayer is about what we want, but ultimately about what God wants.
3—Prayer is a way of life.
May your journey through this Lenten season be full of prayer and growth in the Spirit of God!
FAITH THAT MATTERS
John Thomas
New Palestine UMC
March 6, 2011
Ephesians 6:10-17
Luke 6:46-49
I love movies about ancient warriors. We recently went to see the movie The Eagle. It was based on historical accounts of the ancient Roman occupation of England and portions of Scotland. The Roman expansion into England went fairly well until the Romans met up with an army of Scots known as the Seal People. The Seal People were brutal warriors who used camouflage and guerilla tactics to successfully repel an elite Roman unit.
Shame of the defeat befell the name of the defeated Roman leader, who not only lost the battle, but whose sacred gold battle eagle, the symbol of Rome, was lost to the Seal People. Now, the leader’s son, a young officer newly assigned to northern England wants to clear his father’s reputation and retrieve the sacred gold eagle.
I don’t intend to go through the episodes of the movie. But what I found interesting was the accurate depiction of the Roman soldiers’ battle gear. Rome’s soldiers were the best trained soldiers in the world equipped with the most technologically advanced gear of their time. Each soldier was outfitted with the same gear: sturdy sandals, knee length skirts to allow for agility and speed, a mesh or metal breastplate to protect their torso, leather gloves to protect their hands, a sword or spear, a shield, and a helmet. They were the most formidable military force on the planet precisely because of their gear.
Before engaging the enemy in battle, each Roman soldier routinely donned his battle gear. To engage in battle without even one piece of his protective equipment would put his life in dire jeopardy. In order to fight effectively and to increase his chances of surviving battle, the Roman soldier was very careful and intentional about having all the tools he needed.
Even today, when we send our soldiers into battle, we try to equip them with the finest gear possible. If you go into war unprepared, you are only asking for trouble, and you shall surely fail. In order to engage the enemy effectively, you must have the proper tools and equipment to get the job done.
During his ministry, the apostle Paul was imprisoned multiple times. And when the Jewish authorities tried to arrest Paul and execute him for spreading the gospel of Jesus, he appealed to his Roman citizenship for protection. He was put into protective custody, and spent months under Roman guard. No doubt, Paul had seen firsthand what the properly equipped Roman soldier possessed, and understood the purpose of each piece. Indeed, he most adequately described the armor of a Roman soldier in today’s reading. And he encouraged his readers to equip themselves for battle in similar fashion. But the war he was preparing his readers for was not to be waged against armies of rival nations; he was referring to everyday life for Christians.
You may have heard the phrase “spiritual warfare.” Paul believed that there is a continuing war taking place in the world, in our lives, regarding our very souls. Remember what he said, “Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the HEAVENLY places.
Paul was convinced, and I agree, that life is a constant battle between the forces of good and evil, between heaven and hell, between God and Satan. And it just seems to be true.
We have seen this here in this church. It seems like every time we try to fulfill what we believe to be God’s will for our church, something bad seems to occur, or some trial tests our faith. Evil seems to rear its ugly head in an attempt to discourage us or to put perceived hurdles in our way.
Even in my personal life, I see this dynamic at work. Like any of you, I have my finer moments and my not-so-fine moments. But I work at trying to be good and do well according to Jesus’ principles. And it just seems like every time things seem to be going well for me spiritually, and I say to myself, “Wow, I seem to be making progress, and things are going well,” I immediately stumble and fall on my spiritual rear end.
You’ve seen this depicted before. A person finds himself in a tempting situation, and suddenly there appears on his shoulders a little angle on one side, and a little devil on the other—“Do this,” “No, don’t do that”—back and forth.
Folks, life is like that. We are confronted with choices and temptations each and every day. Paul once wrote that there was like a war going on inside him, the more he tried to do what was right the more miserably he seemed to fail. We all have occasions in which we find ourselves saying, “Wow, I wish I had not said that,” or, “I wish I had not done that,” or “That wasn’t the way I intended this to go.” Over and over again, we find life being one challenge after another, one temptation after another, one trying decision after another.
In the 5th chapter of Galatians, Paul puts this in words plain enough even for me to understand: “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh.” Then he goes on to describe the kinds of things that the little devil on one shoulder tries to lead us into: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before—those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
“By contrast,” Paul continues, “the fruit of the Spirit (that little angel sitting on the other shoulder) is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control . . . Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”
So what does all this mean to me, to you? IT MEANS EVERYTHING. Faith is supposed to make a big difference in our lives—in our words, in our actions, in our habits, in our everyday life and lifestyle.
I may have told this story several years ago, but it bears repeating. There was a fellow who was known to live a life of the flesh. He worked in a factory, not exactly the most spiritually oriented environment. His language was hard, his behavior was just as hard. In spite of his wife’s pleas, he just would not change his ways. Nor would he go to church or have anything to do with all that “Jesus stuff.”
Then, one day, to everyone’s surprise, he actually accompanied his wife to church. You could tell that he felt real awkward, like a fish out of water. But for whatever reason, the preacher’s sermon moved his heart, and at the conclusion of the service, he made his way down to the altar and gave his life to Christ.
The preacher had a brief chat before the man left that day, warning him that being a new Christian in such an environment as a factory could be tough. Heathenish people don’t always treat people of faith very nicely, and he may find himself estranged from his former friends.
The following Sunday, everyone was pleased to see our convert back at church. After the service, the preacher rushed up to him wanting to know how things went at work this past week. The man answered, “Fantastic, it could not have gone better. In fact, I have been a Christian for a whole week now, and no one suspects a thing.” Oops . . .
Or there is the story about the newly converted factory worker who was quizzed by one of his co-workers, “I hear you’ve become a Christian. Is that true?” The guy in question replied, “You (BLEEP) right, I’m a Christian.”
Accepting Jesus into your heart is SUPPOSED to make a difference in your life, in your attitudes, in the way you live your life. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” A heart that has been invaded by the love of Jesus Christ WILL change, it WILL be transformed. And the closer we grow to Christ, the more we grow in our faith, the more we will become imitators of Christ. His heart becomes our heart; his nature becomes our nature. When you have Jesus in your heart, you WILL be a different person.
Jesus said the person who builds his life upon the wholesome spiritual principles is like a house built upon a foundation of solid rock. When the storms come, that house will be able to withstand the winds and floods BECAUSE of its solid foundation. But whoever does NOT incorporate the wholesome spiritual principles into his life is like a house built upon loose sand. When the storms of life appear, that house will be swept away with the winds and floods.
So what must we do to nurture and develop a Christ-like heart? The Psalmist wrote, “How can people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you, do not let me stray from your commandments. I have laid up your word in my heart that I may not sin against you.” We must arm ourselves for spiritual warfare to defend our hearts against the forces of evil that attack us from every direction.
Here, again, is what Paul had to say about this: “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Then he goes through the equipment of a Roman soldier as a fitting comparison to spiritual warfare. “Fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness, (wear shoes that will) make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace, take the shield with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
What are the weapons and shields of the modern day spiritual warrior? Worship, Bible study, PRAYER, working hard to make the precepts and principles of Jesus to become the foundation of our daily lives. And how do we become strong in the Lord and be better able to refute the desires of the flesh? By opening our hearts to the love of Christ and letting his power of redemption become the fuel that powers our lives. And how shall we know that we are being effective at resisting the devil and becoming victorious in our spiritual warfare? By realizing the fruits of spiritual living—love, joy peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Friends, it is tough out there in the world. Temptations abound, the road is filled with pot holes, there are hurdles that would trip us all along life’s course. But it IS possible to win the spiritual warfare. In fact, it already IS won. Jesus did that for us upon the cross. Now, the victory is for the taking for those who abide in Jesus.
May you open your hearts to faith, and may Jesus make a noticeable difference in your living.
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