11 August 2013 “Take Time to be Holy” Luke 12:32-40

 From the road, driving by, living in the country looks so peaceful. From the other side of the fence, it is a very different place. 

  It was not long after we moved to the farm near Brenham the romance faded and I realized, I was on the wrong side of the fence. I was a city boy. I knew very little about so much I needed to know and so much of it was on such a grand scale. But I was resourceful and I soon discovered my education for all things country was as sure as my nearest neighbor.

 I knew enough to know the health and safety and well-being of our young family depended on our neighbors.  Living in the country it is critical you spend the time and energy necessary to be ready for any and all surprises and the generations of experience from neighbors is invaluable.

 For those of you who were “country before it was cool” you will agree, surprises come fast and without warning when you live in the country.

 There were those times when frozen water pipes thawed and began to leak. So, you crawl under the house and learn about pipes and wet cold ground and closed in spaces. When the well stops working you learn what ants can do to electrical boxes and you learn how to fix the problem, prime the pump and get water back to the house and animals. When water percolates from the ground you discover the end of your field line from the septic and you get to fix that too.

 When the tractor will not start, the fence breaks, the cows get out, the chicken snake finds the hen house, or one finds its way into your house, you cannot turn to anyone but yourself and your knowledge from neighbors to be a mechanic, fence builder, cowboy, or snake charmer.

 Trial and error, along with conventional wisdom, and the help of kind neighbors, and you get done what needs to be done. Then you fall in bed and sleep like never before.

 We are often in similar settings with our faith life. It seems peaceful from the pew. But, we know better. There is a lot we need to know from our nearest neighbor to just survive, let alone flourish. Faith seems to demand every ounce of our wit and wisdom and then some.

 In the Isaiah and Luke readings this morning, God is our dependable neighbor as God lays out wit and wisdom for us and offers sound steps for our faith development and life on the other side.

 The vision from Isaiah tells us, “wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” If we will do these things we “shall eat the good of the land,” but, if we refuse and rebel, “we shall be devoured by the sword.”

 Then from Luke, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms.” “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But know this; if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

 It sounds like we are on the other side of the fence again. The nature of the unexpected hour sends us knocking on doors for help. We are not equipped, we are not ready. We need a wise neighbor.

 It must be human nature for us to so easily make the leap from worry or concern to worst case scenario when faced with the challenges of life’s little vicissitudes, as my mother called them. You know the times. Those unwanted phone calls, frightening doctor’s visits, contentious family meetings, knowing the boss is looking our way.

 Isaiah’s words this morning offer little comfort. If anything, they confirm worst case situations. God is fed up with the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah. God will not let them make their usual offerings for forgiveness. God will not listen to their usual excuses. God knows they will not change their ways.

 That is what God wants from Sodom and Gomorrah and it is what God wants from us. Cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow. Apparently we do none of these well enough. If we refuse we shall “be devoured by the sword.” Oh, great, worst case scenario!

 Then in Luke we have an impossible response, “Do not be afraid.” Oh sure, we are about to be devoured by the sword and the message is “Do not be afraid.”

  Doesn’t God remember we live in worst case scenarios! Luke is right.

 We are afraid our sins are completely unforgivable and we are afraid that we never do enough to be as good as God wants us to be and we are afraid that we will never “eat the good of the land and receive God’s kingdom.” Because we know ourselves.

  Jesus, ever the understanding neighbor tries to comfort us. He says we will be blessed if we are living our lives dressed for action and waiting for our Lord, waiting for him in the midst of his life for us.

 We easily forget Jesus has a life for us and if we will be found waiting for him to return, so we can open the door to our hearts and love him when he knocks, our life with him will be blessed.

 In our waiting we get ready by spending time with God in a best case scenario. We pray and we talk with God. We study and learn who God is through scripture revealing who Jesus is. We love Jesus and do things for him. We are alert.

 This does not mean we will not be anxious, worried, or afraid. It does mean that we will always have Jesus in our hearts to turn to in those “keep you awake at night” moments for comfort and assurance and instruction about how we might grow closer and deeper in our love. Where we will be safe on his side of the fence.

 God’s promise is clear. No matter how things turn out, Jesus will come to us and serve us. He will tend to our hearts to sooth and comfort us in joy or in pain. For, dear ones, it is God’s love and God’s grace that makes us ready for the unexpected hour.

 This truth about God’s love is at the heart of God’s grace. God, we forget, creates us out of love, never ending limitless love. So, instead of worst case scenario’s, what if we project instead God’s scenario?

 I had a friend in Uvalde who was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He prayed for two miracles. His first prayer was for his miracle, the one where he would be healed to care for his family.

 His second prayer was for God’s miracle. Where God would give him the strength he would need if the worst case scenario happened. He was not afraid, because he knew without a doubt it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom, the kingdom here, or the kingdom there in heaven. Either way, Farris lived with God, which was his best case scenario.

 Our response is to find equal joy in loving God back and living in God’s kingdom, God’s best case scenario, in a state of grace. Our response is to fill the kingdom with God like love. To make ready and preparing our lives and the lives of those whom we love. Which according to Jesus, includes everyone. For God’s kingdom is inclusive, not exclusive.

 Our call this morning is to respond to God’s grace with grace. Grace that helps us sell all that we have and give alms. Grace that draws us to pray for God’s scenario so we can give up on creating our own kingdom filled with Sodom and Gomorrah doings.

 Perhaps most comforting of all, with God’s grace, we are to give up on creating for ourselves a kingdom filled with our own worst case scenarios. Scenarios of death, and destruction, and impossible pain and suffering.

  We have not been blessed with an abundance of rain these past few years and the farms and the country are dry. Our land and rivers are thirsting for rain. Yet, they retain a different beauty.

 Many of us love to spend time being in those places where we can fill our souls with God’s blessing from God’s natural created order. Just being in those places where smells, colors, and textures are calm and quite soothes the most troubled soul and restores our hope. Seeing the occasional rain cloud and knowing the rivers and ponds will run deep again keeps worst case scenarios from defining our lives. We hear ourselves say again how we love the out of doors, the country. We love this world we feel alive in and the world where we feel God’s blessing refreshing our souls.

 It is a bit easier to see the possibilities of God’s desires in our lives, living with purpose, in the beauty of place and land. We see a glimpse of the profound truth that God’s grace is constantly being given to each of us as the sun rises, the day stretches with new wonder, and the sunset colors our hope.

 Yet, we still may not imagine God’s plan for us. We do understand God’s blessings create God’s kingdom. We do believe God’s blessings unfold for this little flock as only God can desire. But our scenarios have extreme limits. God’s, we have faith, have none.

 So we prepare ourselves to always be ready to receive God’s grace and through our life to give that same grace to others. We give grace to others when we love as Jesus has loved us. We give God’s grace to others by giving our lives to God as God gave his Son’s to us. Not for our sakes, but for Gods.

 For the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour to take all those who live by grace to the kingdom of grace.

 Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is our Father’s good pleasure, as loving neighbor, to give us this grace and this kingdom where from either side of the fence we will be ready for that unexpected hour.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.  

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04 August 2013 “Wise Up” Luke 12:13-21

 The summer seems an ideal time for folks to go back home. It is often too hot for much else. We visit family, we see old friends, we have those quaint High School reunions with those strangers who join us in our longing for the “good ol’ days.”

I am not so sure we really want to return to those days long gone. Actually, I am pretty sure we do not. As attractive as the notion may be, I would wager the old house is not as big as we remembered, the street not so wide, the neighbors no so young any more. Our buddies, our playmates, even the bully down the street, they have all gone on and yet, like us, they too may remember and long for the “good ol’ days.”

 Those memories and our longings awaken in us a desire to just go back home. To lie in the bed in our old room and nestle in to old familiar daydreams and rich longings for just another moment to relive it all.

 Unless things were really bad, we felt safe back home. That is where our imaginations had no limits. Where dreams and wishes could really become true as we played and had fun and life was not so serious.

 As time has softened the edges of the hard parts of growing up we tend to remember more and more of the good and we find it easier to admit, those were good days and we felt more alive back then.

Now, in 2013, well, we have matured and our longings change. We look forward to the rest from full-time work or we are already there. Our ‘good ol’ day’s’ dream has been replaced with a desire for lazy care free days where life is simpler and filled with new riches.

 This question of the simpler and richer life is taken up in this morning’s gospel.  Prompted by a question from the crowd, Jesus is quick to recognize a deeper age old problem. This request for him to tell a man’s brother to divide the family inheritance is a request driven by greed.

  During the past few weeks in the gospels lesson’s, and the passages in between, Jesus is teaching and modeling for his disciples the kind of behaviors and practices that make for a God-centered life. In this morning’s offering someone in the crowd makes a rather rude intrusion asking Jesus to intercede in a family matter concerning “stuff” and how it is being divided.

 In response, Jesus makes clear that life is not about stuff.  And he tees up pretty high the moral to the story. Life is about God and relationships and we are to be on guard against the greed of stuff. Be it money, possession, or collections. We are to be wary of our justifications for our riches when they are based upon our greed.

 Of course, recognizing our greed can be tricky. We may not even realize our greed until one day we wake up and someone asks God why we will not divide the family inheritance with the family. Why we hoard our gifts and our blessings. Why we fail to share and give until we have nothing left because we have so much to lose. So much that makes us rich.

 Now Jesus comes to say to us that our life is not to be valued by the abundance of our possessions. It is foolish to think about having larger barns or houses or storage units or second homes. If we think we can store in those places ample goods for our soul, we are mistaken.

 Ok, perhaps we did not expect this to be a lesson about our riches and our soul. One or the other, ok. But both. Not so much fun. And now, given our riches, we are to look into our souls for evidence of our greed.  Oh great, now the greed card is being played too.

 Apparently, all we have in this world will eventually belong to someone else. If our souls have been validated solely by our rich goods, well, that too will belong to someone else.

 Now, before I get too far from the truth that is clearly here in this morning’s gospel, there is nothing in our Luke passage that is preaching against our valuing our goods, our possessions, our work, who we are or who we hope to be. No, having things and people in our lives are not what make us the fools God predicted we may become.

 Digging in and screaming to all who hear that we will not tear down our larger barns convicts us and makes us suspect in God’s eyes. It marks us as a fool. For this very night our life may be demanded of us. The things we have invested our life in, whose will those be?

 That is so not God’s question. No, instead, God says, be rich towards God. Build a rich relationship with God. The goal of life is relationship and interdependence rather than independence and self-reliance. It is a rejection of the notion that he or she who dies with the most toys wins. Eternity and the reign of God function as a great equalizer.

  The rich man in this morning’s parable is physically and fiscally secure. His business prudence is obvious. He is living what he thinks to be ‘the good life.’ But, as the parable tells him, he has foolishly impoverished his soul. He may be rich in substance, but he is poor in the quality of his life because he has made himself poor with God.

 Before we become too judgmental, we must ask, where is our spiritual prudence in light of how our good life has unfolded? Do we feel our good life guarantees a goodness in our soul? Do we feel that we are connected to God’s will or just to our own?

 Perhaps most troubling, how will we know? How will we know our riches have turned us from the ‘good ol’ days’ when Jesus’ message first caught our attention? When we thought Jesus is the answer. When we decided to give our life to the Lord. To follow him and love and serve only him.

 The answer to our spiritual richness lies not in finding the good life or reliving the ‘good ol’ days,’ but in finding instead the blessed life. The answer lies in having a goodness in our soul. That goodness, of course, is in a person, Jesus Christ.

The way to a life of lasting richness lies in becoming rich toward God. By creating experiences through which God can be encountered and allowed to reveal who God is for each of us. By celebrating  the ways we can live into God’s intent for our lives.

 Our God lives in Jesus Christ, and through each of us as we live simply with humility. Enjoying the harvest that comes from living with family, having friends, and community. Living a vocation of blessed service to God and to one another. Where we learn to share ourselves and our gifts and our bounty with others. Where we worship and pray and offer and give thanks for the signs of the blessed life around us.

 Jesus says we are not here to live the good life. We are not here to build bigger barns, or houses, or to have more stuff, more money, more more. 

 No, we are here to seek an alternative life, a blessed life. A life where we begin each day desiring to deepen our relationship with God. To live beyond our means and our efforts in humble service to our God.

 Do not forget, God is a real presence in our lives. One with whom we can share the life experience. One with whom we can form a relationship like no other. One where we are loved by our God. It would be pleasing to God if we loved God in return.

We are being called in our inheritance as children of God to be a place where we are “rich toward God.” Where God is present and God is alive and God is known. We are called actually and truthfully to see ourselves as the Body of Christ. To see ourselves as having a vibrant sense of faith, a yearning hope and love in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

 We are also challenged to begin to see ourselves as a church filled with God’s purpose, God’s presence, and God’s power. To see ourselves as embracing the sacred, where communion and baptism are central ways to reveal and connect us with God. To see ourselves as not afraid to serve God in our own unique way as Genesis Presbyterian Church having come from the richness of Trinity and Wilshire churches to form a new place. A new ‘good ol’ days’ where others are welcome, where others are encouraged, where they see life, a rich life found in the presence of Jesus’ abundant grace and love.

 Dare we live with these truths and reach out to share them in our ministry with one another in ways that take us beyond the ‘good ol’ days’ to one new day and then on to another, and another, and another. New day after new day where new ways reveal God to our soul. To one another. To the world. Then we will know we are rich toward God.

 Augustine has written, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

 We give thanks Lord God, for as our life has become one with yours our hearts and souls are no longer restless. For we rest in you and we are rich. We are rich because these new days, dear Lord, are truly the everlasting ‘good ol’ days’ newly alive in us, your children.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.  

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28 July 2013 “We Don’t Loose Heart” Luke 11:1-13

  To find ourselves entertained, captivated, and forever affected by the really powerful and compelling stories of the human experience are one of the great pleasures in life.

  I, like many of you, love to read. I enjoy the rich study of the human endeavor though fiction, mystery, adventure, and comedy as it mirrors real life. Movies and theatre do this equally well. And music, well, music moves the soul and the body in ways that often surprise us.

  One memorable movie for me is, “The Last Samurai.” It was based on a story by John Logan.  While there is extreme violence and even death to contend with, there is contrasted an equally extreme sensitivity to living life richly, peacefully, while surrounded by exquisite beauty.

 As is usually the case, there were several scenes and bits of dialogue that stuck with me. One of my favorites is the line, “Tell me how he died and I will tell you how he lived.”

 Paying such close attention to the telling of this morning’s gospel story and being open to the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudging, we might rightly ask, which scenes and bits of dialogue stuck with you? Was there a particular word or phrase that caught you and caused you to hear something new or to sense something powerful at play?

 Was it during the reading of the Lord’s prayer perhaps? “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

 Or, might you have been surprised by the behavior of the one fellow there at his friends’ door asking for bread at midnight?  “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived.” he says. Only to hear, “Do not bother me, the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed.”

 Or, were you taken by the promises made that seem impossible? “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.”

 Or perhaps your spirit was shaken by those crazy questions? “Is there anyone among you who if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?” Or, “if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion.”

 For me, it is the friend at midnight. I realize it is my introverted nature that forms my opinion. If I had the gumption to go to a friend at midnight and they sent me away, I would not stand there insisting.

 In the first place, I would probably be whispering, trying not to wake the whole house, trying not to offend my friend. I would just as likely change my mind before I got there and not even go to ask for anything in the middle of the night.

 The story does bring to mind how desperate we must be before we ask for help? We gather our courage, for we are desperate, and then it seems we become apologetic. Please, dear friend, forgive my desperation.

  It is as if we want to ask for help, but are afraid. For we have known rejection and have lost heart and stopped asking. We have felt dejected and unloved.

 But, there is something powerful at play this morning if we will hear the message of hope that Jesus has for us. If we will but see life through a new lense.

  “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”

 Because of his persistence he will get up. Jesus teaches us what we do not see. We must first pray and then remember, the most important quality of prayer is persistence, the grace just to keep at it.

 Of course, keeping at it in most things is easier said than done. In the face of seemingly impossible odds, life’s stressors, standing at midnight knocking where we least want to be, when prayer comes, how often does it seem those prayers are not answered. Or answered in ways we did not want them answered.

 Knowing this, Jesus says to us this morning, just keep at it! We are to persist, to keep at it, because we often do not properly understand our place in life and our relationship with God. Actually, this truth should not be surprising to us.

 We expect that with free will and by our own wits and strength of purpose we can conquer the world and overcome all adversity. Guess what, it will not happen. We are not created to change the world. We are not given the power to affect the outcome of our lives or even the lives of those we love. As badly as we want too, it will not happen.

 Changing the world and controlling our lives is God’s business. Oh, sure, God uses us for God’s glory, but our proper business is to love one another. Our proper business is to practice charity, do works of compassion, not worry too much about the ultimate good that we try to do, the ultimate outcome we desire, or even the results of our intentions. That is all God’s business.

 Our business is to do what we can, when we can, no matter how grand or how small. We are to witness that God’s Kingdom, our “With-God life,” is coming, bit by bit, step by step, even in and through sin filled folk like us.

 There is a clear “take it one step at a time” mentality in this morning’s scripture. Be trusting, faithful, obedient, and persistent. Take one step at a time and do not worry about tomorrow.

 But we are not naive!  Taking care of ourselves and our family and friends takes more than we can muster some days. Looking beyond ourselves to think about solving the problems of our extended families, our neighbors, our fellow church members, our community, our world, just overwhelms us. And it should.

 Our job is to do what we can, when we can, however we can, where we are and to just keep at it. Jesus says to us. “in as much as you have done it unto the least of these, in the least of ways, you have done it unto me.”

 Our job is to do what we can to all of these. Love the poor as Jesus has loved us. Do for them as Jesus has done for us. Keep at it. Be persistent in God’s work, even when we are tired and do not see results, even when it is hard. Because God has set the example. God has been persistent in working with each of us and loving each of us. Persistent and infinitely patient.

 Tom Long, a Presbyterian pastor and author tells a story about the time that his church in Princeton, New Jersey became concerned about the problem of hunger.

 Members from the church had worked in an inner-city ministry there and made the rest of the church aware of the endless problem of hunger in Trenton. The church decided to reach out. Every Sunday during the service, as the hymn was sung, people were invited to come and place an offering into the offering place. The money would be used for those hungry in Trenton.

 As the Sundays wore on, and as they learned more about the problem, the congregation became overwhelmed. The problem was growing and the offering could not keep up with the need. Gradually, it dawned on the congregation that they did not have the resources to solve the problem.

 Then there came that Sunday when, as they were receiving the offering for hunger, an older woman, one of the town’s “bag ladies,” who had shown up that morning with everything she owned in a shopping bag, dressed in an old hand-me-down coat, came forward when the offering was received for those in need.

 The congregation watched her shuffle down to the front, many of them probably thinking that she was going to take money out of the offering plate rather than put some in, knowing that she had nothing to offer. When she got down front, the congregation watched.

 She put nothing in the plate. She did not file past the plate, rather, she folded her hands, knelt before the plate, and prayed.”

 Long says that for him that woman became an eloquent parable of Christian compassion. Despite our good efforts, we are not going to solve the problem of hunger. That is God’s work. But we do not lose heart. We give and we do what we can. Then we pray.

 We ask God to take our meager efforts and use them. We ask God to do for us that which we cannot fully do for ourselves. Such labor is seen then as a prayer that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. By our shameless persistence, doing what we can, when we can, where we are, God will hear us knocking on God’s door.

 The great theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, when speaking about Christian persistence said; “Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which one must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs us our lives. It is grace because it gives us the only true life.”

 At least because of our persistence, grace, when asked for again and again, as we knock despite our hesitation, will be given to us by our God. Our God, who will get up and open that door and give us whatever we need.

For by God’s grace, everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

 Once opened, we give all we can, and then we pray.

 “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.  

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21 July 2013 “Choose the Better Part” Luke 10:38-42

 I suppose we have the summer to thank for the heavy emphasis on travel in Luke’s gospel so far. Certainly gas prices tell us more folk are on the road going and coming. Jesus has been on the move too.

 This summer he set out for Jerusalem, sent 70 in pairs to every town and place he intended to go, and then we traveled with him along the road where the Samaritan showed mercy to his neighbor.

 With him we have taken the road less traveled. We have been on the road of the Holy Other. The road that has made all the difference for Jesus and for us. Because Jesus’ road follows along the way of God’s Kingdom.

 We learn a lot traveling with Jesus on summer break. He has shown us that it is God alone who has chosen us to be on God’s road where our savior, Jesus Christ, has topped to be our good Samaritan. Where again and again Jesus has stopped along our road of life to lovingly and graciously attend to us and love us as his children.

 Along this way we have also learned there is a particular way we are to live. We are to live a new life grounded in Christ’s love. We now know this new life will form us to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.

 Being so formed, ours is to be a life seeking God’s will. A life doing love. A life accepting God’s grace and doing service to all whom God places along our way.

 This morning, with Jesus, we take a rest from our traveling. With him we enter a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomes us. As Jesus settles into the house Martha is busy attending to her work. It is obvious she takes her work seriously.

 While her work is important we quickly learn the many things she is doing distracted her from attending to Jesus. Obviously duty and obligation requires workers and Martha was such a worker. Just as obviously, to attend solely to some work results in our neglecting others.

 Mary, her sister, was not a worker. No, Mary was a listener. She sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying. Mary was attracted to attend to Jesus. She was not distracted to the many tasks or the many things as was Martha.

 This did not sit well with Martha. She was after all a task driven woman and what Mary was doing made her angry. Angry enough to go to Jesus and complain that Mary was leaving all the work for her. Angry enough to even be upset with Jesus.

 She says to him “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?” I can just see her with both hands on her hips as she burns her gaze into Jesus’ eyes.

 We should not be surprised to then hear Mary say, “Martha, you are upset with me because you are distracted from spending quality time with Jesus. I am not distracted. I show my faithfulness by attending to his presence. I am not angry with anyone because I have chosen the better way in life, the one thing that really matters, fully attending to Jesus. So do not be angry with me or with Jesus because of what you are feeling guilty about! Own you own decision!

 Jesus may have added, “Martha, do not try and force Mary to follow your path. There are many ways to be faithful. She has chosen the better part.”

 Mary is not being lazy. Mary is doing something, she is active. Her activity is just different than Martha’s. Mary is showing us that her life with Jesus has become relational, and as such, it has become her passion.

Mary is being faithful to Jesus. She is living the active life style of a faithful Christian. She is living a life of worship and service.

 “In his book, “The Life of God in the Soul of Man,” Henry Scougal laments that so few people seem to understand what true Christianity is. Some imagine that all God wants is for us to have the correct mental understanding of Christianity. Others think it is a matter of external duties – obeying the laws of the bible, keeping busy doing the right things. Still others believe that real Christianity is having the right affections and feelings toward God.

 Each  of these misses the point, according to Scougal. The  essence of Christianity lies not in the realm of thought, performance, or feelings. Real Christianity is a union of the soul with God. The apostle Paul describes it as Christ “formed in” us. (Gal. 4:19)

  “A union of the soul with God.” We have heard it said that Jesus is in our midst. That Jesus is here, in our heart and soul. There are classically two ways for Jesus to be set in our soul, and both ways involve prayer. They are taken from Paul’s advice to the Thessalonians that they should “Pray without ceasing”

 We may have the best example of the practical nature of Paul’s advice in Brother Lawrence’s little book, “Practicing the Presence of God.”

 Brother Lawrence assures us, “We do not have to be constantly in church to be with God. We can make our heart a prayer room into which we can retire from time to time to speak with God gently, humbly, and lovingly. Everyone is capable of these familiar conversations with God – some more, some less. God knows what our capabilities are. Let us begin, for perhaps God is only awaiting a generous resolve on our part.”

 Practicing the presence of God is as easy as keeping an ongoing conversation with God throughout the day. I know how ironic that sounds. Nothing with God is easy. But God knows what is in our hearts and God knows our intentions even when we slip from them from time to time.

 The other way to bring the practice of prayer closer to our hearts and minds comes from the Quaker writer Thomas Kelly who says we are to prayerfully let the presence of Christ flow through us.

 He writes, “Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul. A holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself.

 Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within which illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of men (and women). It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And God is within us all.”

 The good news from Paul, Brother Lawrence, and Kelly is Christ is already a living presence within us. Jesus’ is a presence we can awaken and Jesus’ presence is such that Jesus can live and act through us. Once we accept Jesus’ invitation to come and follow him our life in Christ becomes the sole basis for our life in the world.

James Torrance, Scottish theologian and professor, taught his students this powerful truth, “Our life in Christ is a matter of, moment-by-moment, living our lives out of who we are in Christ.”

 He was fond of quoting Galatians 2:19-20: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”

 But, we cannot help ourselves from being distracted by many tasks and by many things, as was Martha. We naturally flow back into our Godless selves, quickly losing sight of who we are in Christ.

 Our task this morning, as it is many mornings, is to discover how we may flow back to the Christ who is alive and waiting patiently for us to return. Our flowing back to God is certainly Jesus’ preference. Jesus prefers we accept the better part of life, listening to his word and, receiving his wisdom and being in relationship with him. And that is probably our preference too.

 As scripture tells us, many things will be taken away from those who are distracted by many things. We will worry and Jesus will eventually be taken from us.

 On the other hand, Jesus will not take himself away from those grounded in him. Grounding ourselves in Jesus, we will soon discover that our holy union with Christ does not lie dormant.

 For God reveals time and time again God’s holy union within us. Such revelation is revealed in the life of Jesus. It is known to us in the stories of our lives and loved ones. We did not design this revelation. It was God’s predetermined design grounded in love.

 In order for God’s design on our life to triumph we must strive to be in conformity with Jesus. Our conformity happens when we become more  and more like him. When we are obedient to God’s call. When we are faithful to God’s design. When we follow God’s commandments and laws and spend time in prayer and study. When we adopt the very characteristics of Jesus and practice his presence,

We conform when we love God, and our neighbor. We conform when we set our dreams and desires aside and seek instead the life Christ has for us.

 Only them might we have a chance to stop our aimless, self- perpetuating worry. For then we will be attracted to a better life. We will be attracted to a better person. We will be attracted to Jesus Christ.

 Thomas Merton, the Trappist Monk, has assured us, “We know God in and through ourselves in so far as God’s truth is the source of our being and his merciful love is the very heart of our life and existence.”

 As God’s truth becomes the source of our being we will become more and more like Jesus. As God’s merciful love is the very heart of our life and existence, Jesus will draw us deeper into holy communion, into holy union, with himself.

 This is how we are to achieve our chief end, which is to glorify God.

  This is how we choose the better life.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.             072113.gpc

14 July 2013 “Why Did He Stop?” Luke 10:25-37

One evening, a long, long time ago, neighbors from across the street were visiting. We were young in those days, newly married with kids, living in the suburbs. There was an older couple who lived next door with their teenage son. He was sort of a geek and his mother, Eunice, complained non-stop that her son, Randy, was not accepted or appreciated by the other kids in high school.

 So later that evening, wanting to be good neighbors, we decided we needed to help Randy’s mom feel better about her son. That’s what neighbor’s do, right? Help their neighbor feel better. So, we wrapped their house! We really did.

 Well, actually, Janet just watched. We wrapped Randy’s house that night when a couple from across the street came over. And it seemed to work. Eunice complained and bragged at the same time about Randy’s “friends” wrapping their house. We never told her it was us. We felt pretty good about helping our neighbor that night.

 That was our take on being neighborly. God, on the other hand, probably thought otherwise. God, you see, has never wrapped anyone’s house I’m   aware of. No, God has a very different idea about being a neighbor. Especially about being a good neighbor.

  God’s idea is told this morning in the familiar tale of the Good Samaritan.

 The lawyer in the story tests Jesus with his question. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus, being the better lawyer, answers his question with a question, “What is the law?”

 Jesus knows this lawyer well. He is of the establishment, the land of the gifted and talented gentry. He is a man aligned with the Priestly and Levite classes in society. Those who feel chosen by God.

 Predictably, the lawyer ticks off the correct answer, “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

 Yes, that is the law, Jesus says. Inheriting eternal life is about others, being in relationship and love with others. Loving God and loving your neighbor and the stranger as you love yourself. That is the law.

 Then Jesus gives his command, “do this,” and his promise, “and you will live eternally.” But the lawyer could not leave it alone. “Who is my neighbor?” he asks. So Jesus tells his story.

 A man was on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him, stripped him, beat him and left him for dead on the side of the road. A priest came along, saw him lying there, and passed him by moving to the far side of the road. Priests, you know, are the people of God.

 A Levite came along next, saw the man there on the road, and he too moved to the far side. Levites are also the people of God.

 Then a Samaritan came along the road, saw the man lying there half dead, and was moved with pity. He did not move to the far side. He stopped.

Everyone at the time knew this is not the way it should be. Samaritans were anything but the people of God.

 He went to him, bandaged him, poured oil and wine on his wounds, put him on his animal, brought him to an inn and took care of him. He even left extra money with the inn keeper to care for the man with the promise of more if necessary when he returned.

 Then Jesus asks the lawyer, “which of these three do you think was a good neighbor?” The lawyer knows, we all know, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus commanded once more, “Go and do likewise.”

  In the Old Testament book of Amos the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel . . . .” A plumb-line, as many of you know, is a carpenters tool used to make a straight line or to find the shortest way between two points or to know a level drop from point A to point B. The plumb-line is the straight and narrow, the true path to the right way between divergent places.

 The plumb-line in Amos is like the road in Luke. It is the way traveled by the man, the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan. We know it was not straight and we know it was the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was a treacherous road with plenty of places for robbers to hide. But there is a message there that is the true way, the right path for all Christians.

 In his story Jesus is setting a plumb-line before us. He is saying, this road will represent the defining moment, the straight and true way, to inheriting my Kingdom. Follow this way, for I will never pass you by on the other side if you will but follow me. The road alone is not the way to eternal life.  It is what happens on the road that counts. That is where our defining moment comes.

 Moving to the other side of the road is what the priest and Levite did. For it is simply what a sensible person does, right? Right, so let’s be honest. There is a bit of the priest and Levite in us all. We know better than to stop and pick up a hitchhiker, we move to the other side of the road. If an animal is injured in the road, we move to the other side. If we are on the street and someone dirty and different comes our way, we move to the other side. If it would not be safe, or sanitary, or prudent, or wise, or healthy, we should move to the other side of the road.

 This Samaritan, you see, did a very crazy thing. He did not move to the other side. He followed this dangerous path walking straight into the crime scene where he found this unidentified man lying near death.

 Jesus tells us, follow the crazy behavior of this Samaritan. Our place, the disciple of Christ’s place, is on the least desirable side of the road. The crazy side. The side that does not make sense. The side of the other, the stranger, our neighbor as it turns out. For it is on this side we find we are called to reach out to that neighbor in mercy and love. Love in practice. Jesus moves us, each of us, to the side of the road of the other, our neighbor, and ultimately to himself. This is the defining moment for us.

 Through the crazy behavior of this Samaritan God is telling us we need to be just like Jesus. We must live like the “Holy Other” who calls us not just to show mercy to our neighbor but to give them everything we have.

 After all, isn’t that what Jesus did for us? Did he not give his life to care for and love you and me? Has he not stopped by your side of the road?

 Our call, from this divine Jesus, is our call to faithful discipleship. It is a call to live in spiritual union with Christ and follow this one who is the Holy Other. Our response is to let him teach us his ways and not to be stuck forever in our own.

 When we show the side of the Other in ourselves, we know God is alive and in us. For God is present in the fallen man on that road between Jerusalem and Jericho and when we tend to him, we tend also to God.

 To follow Jesus, the most radical Holy Other known to humanity, living as he has shown us to live, becomes the defining moment in our neighborly behavior. For in his radical nature, in his gift of self-giving love, forgiveness and mercy, Jesus has great expectations. For his life Jesus expects nothing in return and he expects the same from us. We are to love, forgive, and show mercy with the same expectation of nothing in return. No thank you, no personal gain, no returned favor, nadda, nothing.

 For we are to be grounded by the call to neighborly God like behavior. What is written in the law? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all you mind; and your neighbor as yourself.

 There it is. The great commandment.  Live love! Be “neighbor” to those around you. Welcome and cherish God’s presence, whether in the stranger, the enemy, or the friend. Be comforted so that your heart shall rejoice and your work of discipleship shall flourish. Just do love!

 The call to this spiritual union of love with Jesus requires we live a holy life, that we take an active part in his ministry, that we tithe, that we live a life style where it matters that our salvation has arrived in this person we know as Jesus, where scripture is the authoritative Word of God and the creeds of the church, our church, are the accurate reflections of the gospel, where we recognize the vital Christianity of our Reformed tradition, where we are so grounded in scripture and informed by the history of the church we long for community with all of God’s people. Then our work of discipleship shall flourish.

Early in Dostoevsky’s novel, “The Brothers Karamazov,” a wealthy woman asks the elderly monk Staretz Zosima how she can really know that God exists. He tells her that no explanation or argument can achieve this, only the practice of “active love.”

 The woman then confesses that sometimes she dreams about a life of loving service to others – she thinks perhaps she will become a sister of mercy, live in holy poverty, and serve the poor in the humblest way. But then it crosses her mind how ungrateful some of the people she would serve are likely to be. They would probably complain that the soup she served was not hot enough or that the bread was not fresh enough or the bed was too hard. She confesses that she could not bear such ingratitude – and so her dreams about serving others vanish and once again she finds herself wondering if there really is a God. To this Startez responds, “Love in practice is a dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.”

 We glorify God when we set aside our dreams of sanitized neighborly care. Love in practice is a dreadful thing. We do not get to pick and choose those whom God brings us for our neighborly response.

 Thomas Merton, the monk from the abbey at Gethsemane said, “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business. What we are asked to do is to love and this love will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy, if anything can.”

 This life on the other side is a healing life, a saving life. Not because we are cleaver or are often found in religious buildings, but because of our response to the “least of these.”

 Our world is filled with the chance to respond to those whom we perceive to be the least. Be they neighbor, or stranger. Be they folk on our side of the road or on the other side.

 God prays our response with be one of love.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

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30 June 2013 “He Sets His Face” Luke 9:51-62

I have often thought of preaching a series of sermons on “personal moments of inspiration.” The series would begin by retelling our stories about the ways inspiration has crept into our lives and what we were motivated to change.   

 It would be familiar turf for everyone. We all have moments when we were inspired for one reason or another.  It might come from a person, a point in time, or from rather unassuming places. But it helps to find that certain time or place where life slows enough for us to hear a deeper voice, a voice that may speak in ways unexpected.

  That place on a mountaintop where the world seems small, the forest trail early in the morning where we come alive, our first cup of coffee there on the back deck overlooking the lake feeling the quiet, a powerful book helping us see a world of possibility, listening to that favorite music that moves our soul to deeper understanding, a good movie that moves us in a unique way and we are lost in the story.

  One particular movie for me is, “The Remains of the Day,” starring Anthony Hopkins. While the story has no happy ending for the main character, played by Hopkins, it is a sobering and inspirational story of life lived for noble reasons that unwittingly takes away the possibilities for meaningful love and happiness.

  Not all inspiration comes from happy endings. Just as often it may be a shocking reminder of how quickly a life of goodness and joy may be lost that inspires. Through such inspiration we may be moved to discover the need to live a life of lasting value, short term and long term.

 You may remember the story. Hopkins plays the part of a butler named Stevens who has dedicated his life to his craft. He is so devoted to serving his master he makes no place for any distraction.  He takes no time for himself. He allows for no relationship that would draw his energy and effort from his master.  Every whim, every desire, every moment of his life was given to his master.

  Stephens is so focused he intentionally avoided the distraction and attention of a deserving woman who loved him, which eventually caused him to lose her forever and to lose any meaningful chance for true happiness.

 The tragic point comes when Stephens realizes how trapped his life had been. Like a slave, he was never been free and he realizes too late the price he has paid. His life has been a life forever lost.

 This morning in the gospel we read about would-be followers of Jesus. Jesus reached out to one and said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”   Clearly they were not inspired by Jesus’ invitation.

  To these Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their own dead…” and “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

  We too have received Jesus’ invitation to accept him into our lives. That invitation, that most important decision, has inspired us to live a very different way. At some point we realize our acceptance is rooted in God’s desire we follow God’s will and not our own. Accepting God’s invitation will cost us everything that we hold to be solely important and ours. Not accepting the invitation may be worse.

  But, surely Jesus does not mean what we have heard this morning and in other places in scripture. Surely we are not to leave or hate our mother, our father, our family, and our careers. Why would Jesus use such strong words to push us out of the family nest, away from our life long personal and professional identity?

  Jesus knows it takes a huge push, much self-doubt, and some degree of separation for people to find their own soul and their own destiny apart from what others and society want them to be and do.  To move beyond family-of-origin stuff, cultural stuff, even local church stuff, is a path that few of us follow positively and with integrity.

  So Jesus pulls no punches, saying you must “let the dead bury their own dead” you must “hate” your home base in some way and make choices beyond it.

As strange as this may seem we really should be happy Jesus spoke this way, or we would never have the courage to believe how it might be true. This may not be so inspiring, but the truth is we must leave home to find the real and larger home.

 Read the biographies of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus. The spiritual greats’ motto seems to be, “Leave home to find it!” And of course they were never primarily talking just about physical home. But about all the validations, securities, illusions, prejudices, smallness, and hurt too, that home and family always imply.

  This is painful to hear and impossible to accept. But we are not alone. There is a necessary suffering that cannot be avoided, which Jesus calls “losing our very life.”  But remember, we are not alone.

 Accepting Jesus’ invitation will free us to let God make God’s plans for our lives. It will free us to allow our living Lord God to be grounded in our lives where God will free us for faith filled turning points, turning points from desperation and loss and loneliness and regret, to points of grace, life, blessings, love, and ultimately, real freedom.

  Isn’t that what Jesus did? Jesus reached a turning point in his life. Earlier in chapter 9 of Luke’s gospel Jesus foretells his death. Not once, but twice Jesus said to his apostles, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of man is going to be betrayed into human hands . . . he must undergo great suffering . . .  be rejected by the elders . . . and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

  The turning point comes when Jesus realizes it is time to live out that decision. Faced with divergent paths, Jesus turns his face to Jerusalem, not to Galilee, where it is safe, but to Jerusalem, where he would suffer and die.

  All too often we have discovered making the toughest decisions in life does not guarantee an end to our life struggles. But, we cannot just sit on the sidelines with our head buried in the sand.  God’s will, lived through us, requires that we act. God calls us to a Christian life of action knowing full well the short term and long term costs.

  How then do we faithfully act in this secular world?

 In “The Remains of the Day,” Stevens acted and insulated himself from his authentic self in the process. His devotion was in the wrong place.

  You may recall a story the author, Anne Lamott, tells about her son wanting to go hang gliding.  At first Lamott was frozen in her inability to act because of her fear for the potential outcome.  If she said yes, her son might be killed in some tragic accident.  If she said no, he might sneak out and hang glide anyway.  Either way, she was convinced he would be hurt. What is a mother to do?

She eventually turned to friends for advice. But, they did not help. “Let him go,” they said, “let him have a good time, let him grow up.” But, she replied, “What about my worry?” “Snap out of it,” they said. “You are babying him.” Like I said, they were no help. She listened to her heart but was frozen in her indecision.

 Jesus listened to his heart too. Unlike Lamott, Jesus was not frozen in indecision.    No, on the contrary, and critically for us, Jesus was inspired to act knowing that, “The greatest sacrifices, the largest risks, the greatest ventures are undertaken only in the name of love.”   Only with love in his heart could Jesus set his face on Jerusalem and not Galilee, only with love.

  How easy would it be for us to separate ourselves from life and suffering and struggle by insulating ourselves living as the butler Stevens lived? Always staying on the narrow road of life may seem prudent, but our prudence may cost us our very lives in the end.

 You may remember a story George Buttrick, the famous theologian, tells of the way a faithful Christian acts.  He recalls how some years ago there was a newspaper account of two men coming down a factory staircase and of one of them flipping the lighted end of a cigarette into what he thought was a fire bucket filled with water. The bucket held gasoline instead.

There was a sudden burst of flame. One man instinctively ran downstairs to save his own skin. The other, just as instinctively, ran upstairs to warn the people working in the factory floor above.

 Which of our selves takes over in such a time, the downstairs self or the upstairs self, the Galilean self or the Jerusalem self? Are these times our own turning point perhaps?

  At its deepest level, love becomes sacrificial and beneficial to the beloved. Stevens, the butler, certainly sacrificed, but he lost any hope of loving and being loved.  Anne Lemott made a sacrifice, she chose the love in her heart for her son and told him no and endured her son’s disappointment, much longer than he did, of course.

  Jesus did not take the path home to Galilee. He set his face to Jerusalem. He took the road less traveled out of love for us in order to free us from sin and a life of eternal damnation. For Jesus, there was no cost too high for eternal freedom for those he loved.

 Our challenge this day and possibly for many days to come is to realize we will always be faced with divergent roads, turning points, where we will be challenged and asking ourselves, my will or God’s.  It is just a fact of life.

 Yet as children of God, there is a singular freedom we may gain, freedom in our holy union with God.  A freedom that will lead us to a life filled with God’s love and God’s grace giving us the courage and the strength, and the faith, beyond our singular abilities, to walk with God wherever God may lead, to obey Christ Jesus in whatever he commands.

Even when he says, “follow me.” Even if we must put our life in God’s hand and walk Jesus’ path.  Even if we must set our life on the way to Jerusalem.

 For it is only there God’s love ultimately sets us free.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.  

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