Reliable Witnesses

 Scripture.   2 Peter 1:16-21 (CEB) 

16 We didn’t repeat crafty myths when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Quite the contrary, we witnessed his majesty with our own eyes. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to him from the magnificent glory, saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 In addition, we have a most reliable prophetic word, and you would do well to pay attention to it, just as you would to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Most important, you must know that no prophecy of scripture represents the prophet’s own understanding of things, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will. Instead, men and women led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

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2nd Peter - not one of the letters that gets preached on with any frequency.  We sometimes forget that anyone besides Paul even wrote letters.  Paul’s letters have authority - maybe too much authority sometimes.  Peter’s, not so much, even though Peter was one of those who walked with Jesus when he was here on earth and Paul wasn’t.    This letter is rich in encouragement and instruction, giving hope to people who are beginning to falter.  I will be quoting much of it this morning.   I would suggest you read it when you get a chance - it’s short.   Trigger alert - a prophecy concerning the end of the world is discussed. 

A side note for those of you who are interested in the history of the New Testament - because there are events mentioned in Peter’s letters that didn’t happen until after he died, chances are excellent that, as with some of the letters attributed to Paul, this letter was not actually written by Peter but by one of his students, quoting him extensively.  This was not a bad thing.  Unlike today, at that time it was accepted practice for students to write in the style of their teacher, reflecting that teacher’s positions and opinions, then sign their teacher’s names to that writing to give it authority, for they had none of their own.  

This letter was written at a time when folks were beginning to question whether Jesus was coming back at all.  It had been much longer than anyone anticipated having to wait.  Many of the original apostles had already died, and people remembered that in the stories they told, that Jesus had told the apostles that he would return during their lifetimes.  People were wondering whether they really needed to care about how they lived, if Jesus wasn’t coming back, if there was to be no judgement.  Some preachers - who both Paul and Peter denounced as False Teachers - were taking advantage of these doubts, telling the churches that prophecy was chancy at best and that they need not consider scripture to be truly inspired by God.  And Peter responds saying,  Don’t listen to them. We did not make this stuff up!  I was there!  I saw Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus, and Jesus transfigured, gleaming!  I heard the voice from heaven saying “This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”   And I heard the prophecies.  I heard Jesus speak of his return, and of the coming judgment. I am hear to tell you that prophecies are not stories invented by humans, but are truths given to them to speak by God through the Holy Spirit.   

People were getting discouraged.  The world was in a shambles. Wars and injustice everywhere.  No matter how much they preached the Good News, no matter how many hungry they fed or homeless they housed or demons they cast out, there were always more.  They couldn’t seem to make a real difference in the way humanity chose to live.   And Jesus hasn’t come back yet.  They are still waiting.  They were sure he would be here by now.   So when false teachers said, “Where is the promise of his coming? After all, nothing has changed—not since the beginning of creation, nor even since the ancestors died.” (2 Peter 3:4)   the people started to wonder.  Why should we even bother?  

We’ve heard that same question.  Maybe we’ve even asked it ourselves.  We know that countless people have left the Church because the Church seems to be powerless against the evils of the world.   That trend began among young people  in the 1960s and 70s, the days of the Civil Rights Movement and the War in Vietnam, and comparatively few who left at that time returned, or brought their children.  More have left and continue to leave because the Church excludes their friends or themselves over issues of gender identity or sexual orientation.  So today we look around and see the empty seats.  We worry that the Church might be dying.  And the false teachers continue to say “What’s the point?  The Church is impotent against injustice at best, and a collaborator at worst.” 

There are those who leave the Church because they lose faith in God’s goodness in the face of evil and suffering.  If we are to be rewarded for our faithfulness, then why do good Christians suffer from cancer?  Why do innocent children die?  Why do fires and floods do such terrible damage to homes and churches and take so many lives?  When good people and bad people alike suffer these bad things, why bother to be good?  When we can see evil people prosper and good people suffer, why should we be good?  

In the 3rd chapter of this letter, Peter reminds the people “that with the Lord a single day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a single day. 9 The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives.”  He describes the judgement day as a day when all evil will be exposed and destroyed, and says, “11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be? You must live holy and godly lives, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming day of God.  14 Therefore, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found by him in peace—pure and faultless. 15 Consider the patience of our Lord to be salvation.”  

Consider the patience of the Lord to be salvation.  How very good is it to know that we all are given the opportunity to change our lives and become the kind of people God desires us to be.  For “By his divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own honor and glory. 5 This is why you must make every effort to add moral excellence to your faith; and to moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, endurance; and to endurance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, affection for others; and to affection for others, love. 8 If all these are yours and they are growing in you, they’ll keep you from becoming inactive and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (2 Peter 1:3-8)

Peter said, “ I’ll keep reminding you about these things, although you already know them and stand secure in the truth you have. 13 I think it’s right that I keep stirring up your memory, as long as I’m alive.” (2 Peter 1:12-13)   To the end of his life, Peter kept telling the story of Jesus as he knew it, as he himself witnessed it.   He was a reliable witness, and he loved to tell the story.

I love to tell the story - not just the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, but the story of how Jesus works in my life today.  How hearing his commandments and trying to live by them has changed my life today.  How I had left the church of my upbringing at age 18, was not part of this church or any other for the next 25 years, but I learned about a loving, forgiving God in a 12 Step program and then searched for and  found a church where I was nurtured and loved, in Jesus name.  I love to tell the story of how I always know Jesus is walking with me - whether I’m going through good times or a tragedy, I am never alone.  Never.  Because my brother Jesus is always there, always holding my hand, always providing a willing shoulder for me to lean on.   I know that in the Church universal there are all kinds of people, but that the head of the whole Church is Jesus the Christ and it is his example I need to make my model, not that of any human, for we are prone to error.  

I have witnessed God’s love, manifest through Jesus Christ, with my own eyes, felt it with my own heart, known it in the darkest times and in the brightest.  And I love to tell that story to any who will listen.

When you go from this place today, I ask you to please - be reliable witnesses!  Tell the story - your story.  Share the truth of God’s glory as it has come to you in your own life and  your own experiences.   Go out, and tell the story of Jesus and his love!  

God's Fields

Scripture. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 CEB

3 Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you like spiritual people but like unspiritual people, like babies in Christ. 2 I gave you milk tom drink instead of solid food, because you weren’t up to it yet. 3 Now you are still not up to it because you are still unspiritual. When jealousy and fighting exist between you, aren’t you unspiritual and living by human standards? 4 When someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and someone else says, “I belong to Apollos,” aren’t you acting like people without the Spirit? 5 After all, what is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants who helped you to believe. Each one had a role given to them by the Lord: 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow. 7 Because of this, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but the only one who is anything is God who makes it grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together, but each one will receive their own reward for their own labor. 9 We are God’s coworkers, and you are God’s field, God’s building.

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I may have mentioned before that my church calendar has a list of things I need  to consider when planning worship and sermons on any given Sunday.  First, of course, the whatever Sunday of the liturgical year it is - today is the 6th Sunday after the Epiphany.  Then national and international days to recognize - like Scout Sunday and Earth Stewardship Sunday and MLK Sunday.  Then denominational items of interest or importance, like today’s Special Offering for Week of Compassion.  Then congregational events, like the Installation of Officers, which go straight to the top of my list.  Finally, there are special weeks when a particular topic or cause that is important to me is being lifted up by one of the clergy groups I belong to.  This week is what I have called in the past “Science Sunday” but is actually known as Evolution Sunday, when we are called upon to discuss the relationship between religion and science.  This year the particular focus for Evolution Sunday is “how we can work together to deal with the problems of the climate crisis”.   So I have all of these things to consider alongside of whatever the readings are.  

This week seemed pretty easy to me.  Paul is talking about God’s fields.  We are an agricultural community.  Agriculture is being affected adversely by climate change.  But it’s kind of a stretch, because Paul was talking about church unity.  We'll see how that works out.

For several years I went to Sacramento every June to participate in a lobbying effort with California Interfaith Power & Light,  a network of religious communities committed to being faithful stewards of Creation by responding to global warming through the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy.  On my first trip I saw the Central Valley of California for the first time ever.  This photo is what it looks like from the air, and I was blown away by the beauty below me.  Flying over Southern California is nothing like this.  That’s all buildings and mountains and desert.  But this . . . Every trip I would glue myself to the window in the plane so I wouldn’t miss one mile of this beauty.   Then I moved here and discovered the fields and orchards and vineyards are even more breathtakingly beautiful at ground level than then they are from the air.   Now I sit in McCoy’s in the mornings and listen to a group of men talk about their crops, problems and worries and solutions.  They all breathed a little easier for a minute when the drought broke, but anyone who has ever lived or worked on a farm knows the worries never really stop - getting enough rain but not too much, the temperatures being just right for particular crops, keeping the birds out and the bees in.  And market conditions.   As conditions change, so do the crops that are planted.  As times and technology change, so do the methods used to plant and grow and harvest the crops.    And people tend not to agree about how to deal with changing situations, as can easily be seen by how violently people disagree over climate change, its causes and potential solutions.  I’m thinking the cause is not as important as the solutions.  We can worry about blame after we do what we can to fix the problem.  Not enough rain and snow to provide the water we need?  Don’t care why.  We just need to work together to figure out how to get by with less water so those fields and orchards and vineyards can continue to bless us with food and beauty.   

The people in Corinth were having disagreements - which seems kind of standard for the church in Corinth.  They were divided over lots of things, but in this particular passage they were arguing over which preacher/pastor their loyalty should go to.  

Have you ever seen what happens when the person who started a successful ministry in the church has to step aside and watch someone else take it over?  In way too many cases, the planter tries to control every thing that the new person does with her program - and even tries to force them to keep it exactly as it was.  Because after all, they developed it.  They believe they know best what is needed, and they don’t see any need for change.  Sometimes the congregation will take sides and argue over who is the best at running the program. This sometimes also happens when a new pastor is called, especially when the previous pastor was the church planter or had been there for decades.   

Some of the church members wrote to Paul to complain about what was going on.  And Paul wrote back, “Seriously people?  This is what’s important to you?  This is not how adults in the faith behave, with fighting and division between them.  You are still unspiritual in your behavior, and you need to grow up.   When you take sides and argue in this way you are acting like people without the Spirit.  Here is what you need to know.  Neither Paul nor Apollos is important here, but only God.  You need to know that “I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.”   

In today’s church - and I am not talking about this particular congregation, but in general - splits can happen over something that seems as trivial as what color the new carpet should be.  (and in case you are wondering, our new carpet will be almost exactly the same color it is now.)   It’s usually not really about the carpet, though.   It’s about control.  Who has the control over the congregation.  Who gets their way.  Each side in any controversy fully believes that they know what is right for the congregation.   

Our denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has split a number of times. One of the most famous was over how we do music in worship.  “The controversy over musical instruments began in 1860, when some congregations introduced organs, traditionally associated with wealthier, denominational churches.  More basic were the underlying approaches to Biblical interpretation.  The Churches of Christ permitted only those practices found in accounts of New Testament worship. They could find no New Testament documentation of the use of instrumental music in worship. The Disciples, by contrast, considered permissible any practices that the New Testament did not expressly forbid. While music and the approach to missionary work were the most visible issues, there were also some deeper ones. The process that led to the separation begun just prior to the American Civil War."  There are those who believe the issues of slavery and States Rights were almost equally to blame for the split as organ music.   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Church_(Disciples_of_Christ)).  More recently we have fallen out and lost congregations over such issues as whether the Bible should be interpreted literally and who is welcome in our churches.   

It is sad that a movement begun over the desire for Christian unity should split over, well, anything.   It is sad that anyone ever says things like, “If you are really a Christian you must believe this particular thing or take that particular action or belong to this or that political party.”  It is sad that we cannot, as a church and as a nation, agree to disagree on trivial things like carpet color and major items like climate change.  It is a shame we can’t just go forward to make the world a better place without arguing over how it got in this shape in the first place.  

I heard an interview on the radio last Sunday morning with a song writer (whose name I didn’t get) who was talking about how important caring for the environment is to him, and he said, “If we want to see change, we have to take action.  No pointing fingers or asking why someone else isn’t doing something,  WE have to take action.  And it doesn’t have to be a big thing,  Recycle more intentionally.  Change your diet.  Buy locally.  Use native plants.”   I like that.  I like the idea of individually taking responsibility for whatever small things we can do rather than waiting for some one to lead us in some giant effort.  It doesn’t matter what kind of change we want to see, or in what field of effort we want that change to happen, If we want to see change, we have to take action.

Paul said about himself and Apollos, "The one who plants and the one who waters work together, but each one will receive their own reward for their own labor.  We are God’s coworkers, and you are God’s field.”  

We are God’s field.  We each have been planted and watered by others, but God is the one who makes us grow.  And we are God’s co-workers in that field.  We each individually get to plant the seeds of God’s love and water those seeds with the example of our lives.  We individually get to take the kind of actions that spiritual adults take, not fighting or looking to be right, but treating one another with respect, working toward justice in whatever way we believe is right - and then stand back and let God grow our crop, so that God’s kingdom may flourish on earth, as it does in heaven.

Why are we here?

 Scripture Matthew 5:13-20.    The Message.   

3 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

17-18 “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.

19-20 “Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom.

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Why are we here?   Seems like a silly question, doesn’t it?  In meetings I attend we have a number of readings at the beginning of each meeting.  One is titled “Why are we here?” Inevitably, some smart aleck will pipe up with, “Because it’s Sunday!”  Which, of course, is not the point of the reading at all.  But, really, when you think about it, we’re all here because it’s Sunday.  Some of us are here off and on during the week, but for the most part - it’s Sunday morning, and this is what we do on Sunday morning. 

This week I chose to use the Message version for our Scripture reading.  As many of you know, it is not my favorite because it is paraphrased and I tend to prefer a more nearly accurate translation from the original language.  But sometimes Eugene Peterson way words a passage or phrase that resonates strongly with me, and then I want to share that with you all.  

He begins, of course, by answering that question.  “Let me tell you why you’re here.”  “You’re here to be the salt-seasoning that brings out the God flavors of the earth.” And “You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.”  Preachers tend to get carried away expounding on un-salty salt and lamps covered up by buckets, but we could just pay attention to these two phrases.  God brings flavor to the earth.  God brings color, beauty to the world.  And these make sense.  Homemade soup is wonderful just as it is.  It is better, tastier, more satisfying with salt added.  And while the night time is lovely, the beauty of the earth, the colors of nature, can best be seen and experienced in the light of day. Even the night sky is beautiful only because of the lights that we can see in it - brightly shining stars and planets.   Life without God in it, that is to say, a life in which we do not pay attention to God, can be very nice.  But life with God in it, a life in which we allow God to be an active participant, changes what was very nice into something amazing.   We are here to let other people know that . . . in words if necessary, but mostly through how we are with others, in the example of our lives.  If we are cheerful and kind, generous with our caring and our time, if we speak well of others, and work at kindness even in the face of rudeness and anger . . . if through our lives people can see God’s hand, then we are doing what we are here to do.  Bearing God’s light-bearers, bringing God’s light into the world, is why we are here.

The salt and light portions of this passage are significant and important parts of this passage, and like many preachers I have devoted entire sermons just to these two things.  But wait, there’s more!  There’s the whole “completing God’s law” part.   Jesus says, ““Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete.”  This part can be problematic because Jesus kept fussing at the Pharisees for their insistence on adhering to the letter of the law even when that kept them from fulfilling the intent of the law - like saying it is unlawful to heal on the Sabbath, thus forcing someone to suffer pain or illness longer than necessary. So why on earth would he say (according to the New Revised Standard Version) “… whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. . .” .   It seems a bit of a contradiction and a problem for us.  Because you know, there are a lot of those 613 laws that we definitely do not follow.  We break dietary laws at pretty much every meal.  We do not stone people to death for blasphemy.  We don’t stone people to death, period.  We work on the Sabbath all the time.  We believe slavery is immoral, so we just ignore all the laws that tell us how to treat our slaves.  Women are no longer considered property, so many of the laws regulating the behavior of women are likewise ignored.   This present reality makes the whole “whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments” bit worrisome.

In the Message Version Peterson chose to phrase it this way.   “Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom.”

This is helpful. This is really very helpful.  Scholars - Christian and Jewish alike -  break the 10 Commandments into 2 parts.  Commandments one through four deal with how to love God.  Commandments five through ten tell us how to love one another.  This is why Jesus spoke of the greatest commandment and the second greatest, because all of the other laws relate to one or the other of these, providing details on how one should do these things.  So when Jesus fussed at the Pharisees for their rigid adherence to the letter of the Law, it was not because the Law shouldn’t inform their lives, but because they had forgotten the purpose of the Law.  They were obedient, but not necessarily living right.  It is better, for example, to heal on the Sabbath than to allow one of God’s children to suffer even one more hour.  This honors God’s intentions for us to love one another.  Healing on the Sabbath does not in any way trivialize the Law, although it does break the literal commandment to do no work on the Sabbath.   So Jesus said to his followers, “Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom.”  

When we look at all those Laws from this perspective we come to realize that it is not a matter, as some would argue, of choosing which laws to follow and which laws we can safely ignore as not relevant to today’s society.  It is more a matter of determining in what way we should perceive any specific law when seen through the lens of the two greatest commandments upon which all of the others depend - Love God and Love One Another.  Some laws were written to protect the nomadic society from illness - don’t eat shellfish or pork or carrion eaters.  Some laws were concerned with the just treatment of people who could easily become oppressed - slaves, resident aliens, widows and orphans.  Some specify how those who could not live within society should be punished - thieves, adulterers, murderers, blasphemers.  The proper treatment of wives and concubines is spelled out - the Hebrew people were not monogamous.  We might have a problem with that, but it was the best solution for women and children who needed the support and protection of a family unit.  It was one of the ways in which the weaker members of society were protected.  The intent of so much of the Law is protecting the weak from those who would oppress, keeping the people alive and well, keeping the people working together as a community, caring for and about one another.   

Jesus said, “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.”  

In Matthew 22 Jesus put it all together.  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”  The Law, all of it, is about relationship with God and with one another.

Don’t trivialize the Law, not even the smallest item, for to do so is to trivialize yourself. Although the world has changed in the 3,400 or so years from the time the Laws were written, each and every one of those laws is important in that each and every one speaks to relationship.  Don’t worry so much about the fine details of this regulation or that one, but concern yourself with living rightly, being in right relationship with God and with each other.   If we are, in fact,  the city on the hill, the light-bearer, the salt-seasoning then the reason we are here is to bring God’s light, God’s colors, God’s flavor into every thing we touch, every action, every word.  

This instruction is not only for individuals, although Jesus was addressing his words to individuals.  It is also for the Church.  If we as church have lost our saltiness through tiredness, through being weary of the struggle just to keep going, it will be difficult to continue with our mission, which is to carry the Gospel to everyone, all the world. For the church, being the salt and the light means allowing everyone to see that, in our relationship with God and with one another we are agents of God’s love.  Being the city on the hill doesn’t mean we get to stay on the hill.  For Jesus said, “We’re going public with this.”  We are to go out, shining that light on the suffering around us. We are to be God’s hands and feet in the world.  We are to be the means by which others get to taste Godliness and open themselves up to God, our loving and generous Father.   May we be renewed in our purpose, that we may regain our saltiness and let our light shine brightly from the hilltop on which Christ has placed us.  

Asked and Answered

Scripture Micah 6:1-8    (CEB)  

1  Hear what the Lord is saying:
Arise, lay out the lawsuit before the mountains;
        let the hills hear your voice!

2  Hear, mountains, the lawsuit of the Lord!
        Hear, eternal foundations of the earth!
The Lord has a lawsuit against his people;
        with Israel he will argue.

3 “My people, what did I ever do to you?
        How have I wearied you? Answer me!

4 I brought you up out of the land of Egypt;
        I redeemed you from the house of slavery.
        I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you.

5 My people, remember what Moab’s King Balak had planned,
        and how Balaam, Beor’s son, answered him!
        Remember everything from Shittim to Gilgal,
        that you might learn to recognize the righteous acts of the Lord!”

6 With what should I approach the Lord
        and bow down before God on high?
Should I come before him with entirely burned offerings,
        with year-old calves?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
        with many torrents of oil?
Should I give my oldest child for my crime;
        the fruit of my body for the sin of my spirit?

8 He has told you, human one, what is good and
        what the Lord requires from you:
            to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God.

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The message title comes from my decades of legal experience. I have, after all, watched thousands of hours of TV courtroom drama from Perry Mason to JAG to all of the Law & Order series to Matlock to Boston Legal and so many others.   I always loved seeing the defense lawyer growling “asked and answered” at the prosecutor when they had just asked the totally innocent defendant the same question in a slightly different way for the 5th time.  The detectives on those programs do it too, when trying to get a confession from the accused.  For some reason people tend to believe that asking the same question in a different way will elicit a different response, maybe hoping the person they are asking will give up and agree with whatever just to get them to stop asking.   Children seem to do this instinctively.   The leaders of Israel do it here.  

Of course, this passage is not a script from a courtroom drama about criminal matters.  The lawsuit Micah is describing is more in the realm of contract law.  God made a covenant with Israel, saying “I am your God and you are my people” and wants know why they are not keeping up their end of the bargain - again.   God’s covenant with Israel had always been this,”  No matter what happened, in every situation, every time Israel strayed, God remained faithful to the covenant, even if they did not.   The prophet Micah, God’s mouthpiece, begins with God’s lament - “What have I done to you that you should turn away from me?"  and reminds them of how they were liberated from Egypt.  He said, 

My people, remember what Moab’s King Balak had planned,
        and how Balaam, Beor’s son, answered him!

What Balak had planned was to get Balaam to curse Israel so that they wouldn’t be able to defeat and over run his country, Moab, as they had the other Canaanite nations when they entered the Promised Land.  He had Balaam, a holy man, brought to him, gave him instructions, and sent him out to  curse Israel and - Three times, God stepped in to prevent evil from befalling Israel by giving Balaam the words to say.  Three times Balaam pronounced a blessing on Israel instead of a curse.  Three times Balak asked him why he was blessing Israel instead of cursing her.  Three times Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do’?” 

Whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do.  See, this is the part that the leadership of Israel kept getting wrong.   They would do part of what they had been told to do.  The ritual stuff came easily to them - the fancy vestments and ritualized ceremonies, the sacrifices and tithing - they had those down.  They kept falling short on the “love one another” parts - caring for the widows and orphans who have no one to give them food and shelter.  Treating resident aliens equally under the law.   Making sure no one in their land is oppressed, that all are treated fairly, and all are afforded equal rights.  In the next few verses God will denounce those who put profit ahead of ethical behavior, and who follow the policies of kings instead of God.  

“What do you want from us?”  they asked.  And they offer increasingly expensive sacrifices.  And Micah answered, you know what God wants.  You have been told repeatedly.  God wants you - all of you, not your burnt offerings or incense or oil or gold or even your oldest child.  God wants you to care for each other, to help where you can, to treat others as you would be treated, to do good without bragging.    God wants you to keep the covenant and be his people, fully and unreservedly.  Asked and answered.  What God wants, what the Lord requires of you is to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God.

We are coming to the time in our service when we install the Board officers, elders, deacons, and team leaders who just last week were newly elected, or re-elected for a second term, joining those leaders  were elected in previous years whose terms have not yet expired.  The words of installation are a covenant between the new leaders and the congregation, a promise made to each other and to God.  The leaders will promise to serve to the best of their ability with God’s help, the congregation will pledge eager support for God’ ministry under the leadership of those they have elected.  

Eager support - not sitting back and letting the elected leaders do everything, but offering to be helpful when help is needed.   The leaders cannot do everything - and they shouldn’t try to do everything.  All of us, everyone here, will be bound by that covenant - to serve faithfully and to eagerly support God’s ministry.   What God wants from us, requires from us, is to serve selflessly, with love and humility, doing all things in God’s name.   What God requires from us is to keep that ancient covenant - for he is our God, and we are his people. 

Jesus Incognito

Scripture John 1:29-42  (CEB)

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is really greater than me because he existed before me.’ 31 Even I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it rested on him. 33 Even I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and testified that this one is God’s Son.”

35 The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.

38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”  They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?”

39 He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

40 One of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Christ. 42 He led him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

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There is so much in this passage.  I really didn’t know where to start.  I had the section I planned to focus on all picked out a month or so ago.  But between the planning and the writing, sometimes stuff happens.   My eye falls on a different portion of the text.  And suddenly, that becomes the focus.  Suddenly little bits and pieces that I have been writing down and hanging on to for maybe months come together with a phrase to make an entirely different message happen than the one I was  expecting to preach.  Such is the case today.   I was planning to focus on how we often don’t recognize the Christ when we see him.  You know, because in this passage John, his own cousin, didn’t recognize Jesus as the Christ until he came to be baptized.   (Hence the title and artwork)

But this morning several things came together.  

Some months back I was listening to an interview with a truck driving country music singer, and the interviewer asked him, “Where are you coming from and what kind of freight are you hauling?”  He asked that question once as literal question for the trucker, and then again as a life question for the person. 

Yesterday I got a message from someone who comes to Worship Replay on Thursdays asking if there was going to be a Bible study anytime soon.  I told her about the Young Adult study.  But I also asked what she was looking for.  

This morning I was reading a book while eating my oatmeal. (Nothing uplifting.  

Urban fantasy.  Don’t judge.)  The main character, Cali, was watching people going into a church and thought, “A higher power to bring one’s troubles to sounded like a great idea but she hadn’t found one that called to her yet. Once a month or so, she wound up at a service of some kind and tried to listen for the call that others talked about. It had yet to arrive but she never failed to enjoy the unity of purpose that resonated through the places of worship.”

And in this passage from John,  “When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked “What are you looking for?”

What freight are you hauling?   What are you looking for?  What call are you listening for?  Maybe even - Why are you here?

A friend posted on Facebook one day, “Why people are leaving the church?" is a relevant question but the more relevant question for me is "Why people are staying in the church?"  (Rev. Nestor Gerente, UMC Pastor)

Some are here because they’ve been coming here their whole lives.  Their parents came here, and maybe their grandparents, even great-grandparents.  Some are here because a friend invited them.  Some found us through our music.  Some found the website and came out of curiosity.  Some came because they were looking for a place where they would find acceptance, and heard this was that kind of place.  Some came because they liked the preaching they found on our YouTube channel.  All have stayed because they were looking for something and found it here.  Maybe continuity. Maybe healing. Maybe love. Maybe a family. Maybe an opportunity to serve.  Maybe, for some indefinable reason, you just feel like this is the place you are supposed to be.  Why ever you are here, and why ever you stayed - this is the place and the people who have called to you to come and worship.  Come and serve. Come and be our sibling in Christ.  

When Jesus asked John’s two disciples who followed him, “What are you looking for?” they didn’t really answer him.  All they said was, “Where are you staying?”  That’s not an answer to his question.  They may not have been real clear on what they were looking for themselves. They addressed Jesus as Rabbi, and John had said that Jesus was greater than he, so maybe they were just looking for a better teacher.  But they did know that they believed what John had told them about him.   Because Andrew told his brother “We have found the Messiah.” 

Jesus invited John’s two disciples to come with him to see the place where he was staying.  And so they did.  Andrew’s brother Simon came along.  As we know - because we just read this - Jesus immediately changed Simon’s name to Peter.  Little did Simon Peter know that everything about his life was about to change along with his name.     

And that is the message.  That when we come, when we are called, when we show up to serve, everything about our lives will change.   We may not even know why we show up.  Or we may know, but we aren’t totally honest about it - even to ourselves. 

 In 1993, when I started going to church, when I found that little Disciples congregation in Port St Lucie, Florida,  I told the pastor (and myself) I was looking for a church was because my stepson needed it.  I’m pretty sure she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t call me on it.   I went because I was hungry and thirsty, and something about that pastor made me believe I could be fed in that place. I did not expect my life to be turned upside down. I expected that I would continue working as a secretary forever and that church would be a part of my life on Sunday mornings.  Then I started showing up for social events.  I brought food to pot lucks.  A few months later I volunteered to help with Vacation Bible School.  I went to the congregational meeting.  It was short.  They pretty much always are, at least  in every congregation I have been involved with. I had no idea what Jesus was going to call me to do, but in less than a year after I first walked into that church on a Sunday morning, I realized that I had been called to the ordained ministry.  And let me tell you, I did not want to answer this call.  I was quite sure that God had gone completely nuts.  I mean, me?  I do know I will be forever grateful to my pastor, the Rev. Dr. Betsy Steier Goehrig and to her dear friend, the Rev. Dr. Ben Bohren for gently guiding and encouraging me along the way - through college and seminary and right up to now.   

Today, right after worship, we will be asked to look at the slate of officers that the nominating committee presented.  Each of these individuals was asked if they were willing to serve the congregation in a specific way - as Deacon or Elder or Team Leader or Board Officer.   Each of them prayerfully considered the invitation and accepted.  Each of them will spend the next year or two or three, depending on the term for that office, giving of their time and energy beyond just showing up on Sunday mornings.    All of them have answered Christ’s call to work together to serve their siblings. 

Their service will probably not lead to the ordained ministry, but the opportunity to serve God is always life changing.  And mind you, even if you have not been called to serve in this sort of official capacity, if there is some way in which you would like to help, let me know.  Jesus asked, “What are you looking for?” Whatever you would like to do, however you want to serve God and each other, we can make it happen. We are all called as partners in Christ’s service. 

Foolishness!

1 Corinthians 1:10-18   CEB

10 Now I encourage you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Agree with each other and don’t be divided into rival groups. Instead, be restored with the same mind and the same purpose. 11 My brothers and sisters, Chloe’s people gave me some information about you, that you’re fighting with each other. 12 What I mean is this: that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” “I belong to Apollos,” “I belong to Cephas,” “I belong to Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 Thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that nobody can say that you were baptized in my name! 16 Oh, I baptized the house of Stephanas too. Otherwise, I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. 17 Christ didn’t send me to baptize but to preach the good news. And Christ didn’t send me to preach the good news with clever words so that Christ’s cross won’t be emptied of its meaning.

18 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.

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At least once a year, Christians are reminded of John 17, Jesus’ prayer for his disciples, and especially for unity among them and all who would believe because of their preaching, in which he says to the Father,  “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. they may be one so that the world may believe”.  Hearts are touched and Christians come together to pray for their unity. Congregations and parishes all over the world visit each other or exchange preachers or arrange special ecumenical celebrations and prayer services. The event that touches off this special experience is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is this week, and which is promoted by both the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches. We had a plan here at First Christian Church for that sort of event this week, but it fell through, as plans sometimes do.  You may have heard the old saying, “Man plans and God laughs.”  Although, honestly, we weren’t thinking of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity when we made those plans. 

Nevertheless, it is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.   We know, because we have read the Bible, that from the very beginning unity was not exactly a hallmark of the Christian movement.   They had barely started out when the Greek and Hebrew believers started arguing about the fair treatment of their widows.  Peter ran into trouble when he baptized the uncircumcised Cornelius and his household!   And here we are only about 20 years after the resurrection, and Paul is having to chastise the churches in Corinth for their disagreements on a number of topics, but especially on unity.  “Now I encourage you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Agree with each other and don’t be divided into rival groups. Instead,” he said,  “be restored with the same mind and the same purpose.”   It seems that some members of those churches were considering themselves followers of the various preachers who had come through the city and arguing about who was best.   Paul comes down on them pretty hard.  “Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 Thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that nobody can say that you were baptized in my name! 16 Oh, I baptized the house of Stephanas too.”   

Has Christ been divided?  What a question.  Over the millennia since this letter was written, the Church has divided many times.  This does not mean that Christ has been divided.  Only that our theological understandings and practices are different from each other.  Since our founding in the early 1800s the main focus of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is Christian Unity.  We say “Unity is our polar star” - it is supposed to be the goal which helps us determine our direction as a Church.  “However, the history of the Stone-Campbell Movement (that would be us) has been marked by social, cultural and theological tensions internally.  There have been a number of splits since our founding, over things like slavery and whether instrumental music had a place in worship. In the early 20th century the Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ became two separate streams of the Restoration tradition. Continuing arguments over led to a further division, with 3,500 congregations withdrawing in the late 1960s and early 1970s to form the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ.”  Since that time we have seen more congregations breaking away for a variety of reasons - most recently because our 2014 General Assembly adopted a resolution titled, “Becoming a People of Grace and Welcome to All.”   You know, All means ALL.  We, here at First Christian Church, claim this and work hard to live it, but not all Disciples congregations feel the same.   However, because Unity is not the same thing as Uniformity, it is perfectly ok for our congregations - and for individual members of our congregations - to have differing thoughts on this matter and many others.    We may all have different theological understandings, but the bottom line for Disciples is our belief that “We are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.”   I am grateful that in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we do not have to have the “right” theology to be baptized, or to become members, or share the Lord’s Supper.  

Paul said to the Church in Corinth that “18 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.”  Perhaps it is foolish of us to continue to work toward and pray for Christian Unity.  Certainly it is in the eyes of the world, especially as we don’t appear to be enjoying much success.  But we believe that is what Jesus wants, what God wants.  He prayed for us, his followers, to be one with him and with God and with each other.  Perhaps it is foolishness on our part to believe that regardless of all of our differences, we can be united in our love for God and for Jesus the Christ, even though our theology and practices may differ.  Perhaps it is foolishness to believe that we can agree to disagree.   But this struggle, this foolish struggle, has been going on since the beginning of the church - the struggle to interpret and understand what Jesus meant when he preached the Good News.  The struggle to somehow form an institution that could remain true to those teachings.  The struggle to be obedient to the commandment to love one another, in whatever way we understand that and to accept that we aren’t all going to agree on what that means.  The struggle to bring God’s justice into the world, when we don’t agree on what that looks like. This struggle to be one Church, even one congregation, united in Christ, even though we disagree on so many things may look foolish to the world.  But for we who believe, this struggle for unity with one another, with Jesus, and with God - as the Church, as a congregation, and as individuals - is the path to a new life, a better life, a life filled with hope and light, and to a world where God’s justice and God’s peace are the rule.

In the coming week, let us pray for Christian Unity - not uniformity - but Unity, so that the message of the cross may reach into every heart and God’s vision for us and for his world come to pass.  

What next?

Scripture  Isaiah 42:1-9   (NRSV) . 

42 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
    he will bring forth justice to the nations.

2 He will not cry or lift up his voice,
    or make it heard in the street;

3 a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
    he will faithfully bring forth justice.

4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
    until he has established justice in the earth;

5 Thus says God, the Lord,
    who created the heavens and stretched them out,
    who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
    and spirit to those who walk in it:

6 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
    a light to the nations,

7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.

8 I am the Lord, that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to idols.

9 See, the former things have come to pass,
    and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
    I tell you of them.

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Today is the first Sunday after the Epiphany.  The Christmas decorations have been taken down and stored away till next year.  The season that begins on the day of the Epiphany is, for many people, a time of letting go - of the stress and busyness of the holidays.  It’s a time when maybe we feel like we can breathe until the Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday.  It is part of what is called Ordinary time - those times during the church year when nothing major is going on - it is defined more by what it isn’t than what it is. It is not Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter or Pentecost.  Ordinary Time is when we hear stories of Jesus’s daily life and ministry  - the time between his baptism and his crucifixion.   During Ordinary Time the drape at the entrance outside is green, and I wear a green stole - the color of hope and growth.

Ordinary Time sounds . . . ordinary.  Not special.  Same old same old.  But this season, this Season after the Epiphany,  after the Magi arrive to worship the newborn King and after the prophets in the Temple recognize the Messiah in the infant Jesus, this is a time of new things.  Jesus was a new thing come into the world,  and his coming was heralded by a magnificent star, a new thing in the night sky.  And it fulfilled the word of God, who said to the people through the prophet Isaiah, “See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare.”    

New things abound right now.  It is a New Year.   At First Christian Church we will soon have a new budget and new officers.  We are making changes to the sanctuary so it is more welcoming.  We are going to adopt a cop! Or two.  We went visiting last week!   And we experienced a different sort of worship service.  In a few weeks, the folks from Pella Lutheran will come visit us here.  And then we may start conversations about what it might be like if we became one congregation.  We’ll see.  It’s a new idea, for us.  

New things can be frightening.  It’s change.  People don’t like change very much.  It is much easier to keep doing the same things we’ve always done - at home, at work, at church.  The people of Israel kept doing the same things.   All through the Hebrew Bible we see the people who have just been saved from some terrible thing clean up their acts, get all passionate about their Lord, and do all the right things.  And then the right things become routine.  Worship and giving are no longer a response to God’s love, but just the things that they do because the Law says to do them.  They stopped caring about the welfare of the widow and the orphan and the stranger in their land, and expecting the Temple to take care of them.  That’s what their tithe was for, after all, to care for the poor and to support the Temple.  And God noticed.  And God tried to get their attention.  Sent prophets to shake them out of their complacency.   But the leaders didn’t listen, and the people suffered.   When it got bad, when the nation had drifted too far from the Lord, and bad things happened, the people cried out and said, “Save us, Lord.  And we promise, we will never do that again,” and God always forgave, always sent someone to save them - a general or a great leader.  Until finally, because the people kept repeating the same behavior, God sent a new kind of Messiah, whose coming was foretold by Isaiah.  Not a noble or a great warrior.  But an ordinary man, a teacher and healer, who would care deeply for the injured - the bruised reed and the dimly burning wick.  Who would preach justice for all the people, all the nations.  And whose voice would quietly convince those who heard it, not overwhelm them with noise, and in that way change their hearts, so that they stopped repeating the same behaviors over and over.   So that their souls would be healed, and their passions would be engaged in the right things, for the right reasons.  Not because the Law said to, but because their hearts said to.  Because they loved each other, and all the world, as deeply as God loved them, in response to God’s gift of love.   

Sometimes the loud voices of the world overwhelm us.  They drown out that still, small voice that speaks to our hearts.  We may find it easier to just keep doing what we have always done than to seek new ways to be.  We do all the things we are supposed to do, because that’s what we do, but maybe not because we are still care passionately about those things.  Or maybe we have stopped doing those things that we used to be passionate about, because nothing is changing.  Our efforts may seem to be in vain.  Maybe a new thing, a new idea, a new focus is needed in our lives to re-ignite our passion. 

And so, another new thing.  Clergy women friends have been posting in our groups about what their Star Word is for this year.  Since I had no idea what they were talking about I started reading blogs and articles about Star Words.  They are words written on stars, to remind us of the Star that heralded Jesus’ birth, and everybody gets one - a gift to commemorate the gifts the Magi brought.  And that word, that Star Word,  becomes our individual focus for the year.  There are 150 different words (and stars) so no one will have the same word as anyone else.  Because we are all different, we will all use our word differently.  Some won’t pay much attention at all.  Some will wonder why they got the word they did, and pay close attention to that word in their life.  It is suggested that you hang it up someplace - a mirror or refrigerator - so it stays on your mind.  One woman blogged that her word last year was Restraint, and that she had lost 90 pounds just by focusing on that word, restraining herself from taking that second helping, that larger piece of pie, that handful of cookies.  

The Star Words are gifts.  They will be distributed in offering trays.  As you reach in to the tray to get your Star (no looking - just reach in and take one!) consider that in this instance when the offering tray comes to you, you are not being asked to give.  Rather you are receiving a gift - a reminder that this is the way it is in God’s world - God always gives first, and then we are invited to respond with our gifts and ourselves.

If I could have some deacons to distribute these?   Let us sit in silence while they are being distributed.  When you get your word, contemplate it for a moment.   

[silence until all are distributed and everyone has had a moment to sit with their word.]

May the word you have received bless your life.  Now please stand and join me in singing “This is a Day of New Beginnings”