I Will Not Take These Things for Granted

I have seen and experienced a lot of different things in my life. I have lived in different parts of the country. I have traveled to different destinations on vacation and mission trips alike. I've met good people who would give you the shirt off their back and I've met others who lacked simple integrity and respect.

In my lifetime, I witnessed some historic moments. The Bicentennial celebration in 1976, the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981, the Challenger explosion in 1986, the first Gulf War in 1990, the dramatic days of 9-11-2001, the war against terrorism in Afghanistan in the 21st century, the housing crisis of 2008 and the current mess we are in, COVID-19 virus pandemic.

As Author Charles Dickens wrote over a century ago: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

One commentator said of these words that Dickens was shedding light on two different times going on in two different countries. It describes how human emotions, political situation, and religious fervor had set apart two countries. The timings were of the French Revolution when human rights, public emotions, public despair, and mob violence were the order of the day, while on the other hand, there was peace in England.

Which city best describes our nation today? The tumult of the revolution in France or the peace and order found in England? Which one would you rather have?

We live in difficult times, do we not? It's another election year with attack ads and accusations flying on the airwaves, highways, and through the halls of the Capitol and the White House. The COVID-19 virus pandemic continues to spread worldwide. The number of cases on the rise has taken off in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut metro area. There are areas that have strict "shelter in place" orders in hopes of containing this menace. But my whole family is pretty much there. Mom, Dad, stepparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, my brother's family all live within a stone's throw of the epicenter of the pandemic.

There is so much happening and changing every hour. Stores are closed. Restaurants are closed. Bars and taverns are closed. Parks are closed, the gym, and the churches, too. I have never seen entire aisles completely empty in a grocery store for this long.

What are we to do?

We could wallow in self-pity, feel sorry for ourselves, whine and complain about how we've got nothing to do. Yes, things are different now. While some of the things we take for granted are no longer at our available, there is so much we can be thankful and grateful for.

I am grateful for my mostly good health, my supportive, loving family, and a congregation that cares about my well-being and the well-being of each other. I am grateful for having clothes to wear, food to eat and a roof over my head. I am grateful for the men and women who work hands-on in our healthcare system using their skills and gifts to help those who are sick. Your gratitude is determined by your attitude.

And during this pandemic and time of "social distancing", I am most grateful for the gift of grace given to me in the person of Jesus Christ. It is an irresistible grace that is unwavering and untiring in its work in our lives.

Recall with me the story of Nehemiah, having returned to Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon, was tasked with rebuilding the fallen walls of their once-mighty city. Nehemiah said to them, "' You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.' I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, 'Let us start building!' So they committed themselves to the common good." (Neh. 2:17-18)

We must also commit ourselves to the common good both during this pandemic and the months to follow. There is much for us to do and we will persevere through every challenge and opportunity that God places before us.

Stay healthy. Stay safe. And watch out for one another. Be kind. We are all in this together.

Peace,
SDN

Sharing is Timeless

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Sharing is timeless. It reveals itself in many forms and through various expressions. An elderly couple walked into a restaurant and ordered a hamburger and a soda. The waiter noticed the elderly gentleman cut the hamburger in half and slide one portion over to his wife.

Taking pity, thinking the poor couple couldn't afford much to eat, the waiter offered to bring another burger to the table.

"No, no," said the husband. "We share."

Later, the waiter approached them again, saying he would be more than happy to give them another hamburger. But the response was the same.

"No, it's all right. We share."

When the waiter noticed, however, that the wife was not eating, he could restrain himself no longer. Approaching them, he asked the husband, "Why isn't your wife eating?"

"Oh, she's just waiting for the teeth."

How do you share yourself with others? Perhaps sharing your teeth is a bit extreme, so what are some other ways we share?

Paul writes in our text this morning that “our coming to you was not in vain”(1 Thess. 2:1). Paul shares his motivation and purpose. It reveals much about a steward’s approach to the life of faith. Paul is responding to reports about members of the church in Thessalonica who were questioning Paul’s motives as an Apostle of God. For the church Paul started years earlier was no stranger to conflict. The church in Thessalonica was born out of violent upheaval. We read in Acts 17 of the rather unhospitable welcome Paul and Silas received when they first arrived in Thessalonica. They went to the local synagogue on three Sabbath days argued with the leaders from the scriptures, “explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead…” (Acts 17:3) And several who heard them were persuaded to join them. But not everyone was happy to have these outsiders in their city, so they accused Paul and Silas, before the city magistrate, that these men were “turning the world upside down”. Later on there were other free-lance teachers of religion and philosophy who sought their own interests and worked for a fee, who sought to earn a profit, expecting a pay day for sharing their knowledge and gifts. They were working for themselves with their own personal agenda and purpose. Paul, in contrast, worked a side job in order to not be a financial burden in those early years. They shared the Gospel and their whole selves with these new believers of Jesus. Paul outlines his and his companions’ deeper objective for engaging the Thessalonian church. Despite the great opposition they faced, Paul acknowledges that through much suffering he mustered the courage to speak the gospel to the church. He does so because as he writes, “you have become very dear to us”. Paul’s desire is not only to share the Gospel with those he loves, but also to share the lives of Paul’s fellow workers with the people.

In other words, Paul and his co-workers came with purpose in order to share the life-giving gospel of Christ.

Our society today trains us to specialize in trivial pursuits. Whether it involves wasting time watching TV with no real purpose, surfing through the newsfeed on social media sites, playing video games or reading trifling, indulgent literature, our culture dedicates itself to spending time engrossed in vain interests, interests that simply have no real value in the long term. In contrast with past generations, most of us don’t chase after our next meal or work constantly to merely survive. And perhaps we have made an idol of our idle time.[1] An idle mind is the devil’s playground.

The late George Burns once said, “When you stop sharing yourself and offering something to the rest of the world, it's time to turn out the lights.”

How often do we find ourselves simply staring at our phones as if we are waiting for it to ring or hope to discover something amazing going on in the world or hearing of some gossip that’s traveling through cyberspace. How often do we find ourselves flipping through the hundreds of TV channels available today and conclude there is nothing on worth watching. How often do we find ourselves going through one web page after another for hours at a time? How often do we find ourselves majoring in minor things?

To be effective stewards of God, we must discern the true value of time, the value of money, the value of gifts and share them. Effective stewards recognize that God creates all things for a purpose, for a reason, and that our life’s end is to honor God with our time, talent and treasure. And to that end, we come to know, perhaps in a new way, we are to fulfill God’s purpose by sharing ourselves with others; by sharing and expecting nothing in return; by sharing ourselves without reservation. And in doing so, we share the gospel.

Bobby was a special-education boy. He was just bright enough to remain in a regular classroom but was still noticeably different. He was the constant butt of jokes by his classmates, but he never seemed to mind. Every day, as the neighborhood kids walked home from school, Bobby’s mother would look out the window to see them all laughing and joking together—all except Bobby. He was always walking behind the others, all alone. It was obvious that the other children felt uncomfortable around Bobby and shunned him.

One day Bobby burst into the kitchen after school. “Mom, guess what?” he said. “Valentine’s Day is two weeks away, and our teacher said we could make valentines and give them to the other kids in our class!”

His mother’s heart sank as she pictured yet another opportunity for Bobby to be excluded. “Mom,” Bobby continued, “I’m going to make a valentine for every person in my class!”

“That’s very nice, Bobby,” his mother answered, fighting back the tears.

Over the next two weeks, Bobby worked every afternoon on those valentines. They were truly labors of love. When the big day finally came, he was so excited about taking his valentines to school that he couldn’t eat breakfast. But he was also a little worried.

“I hope I didn’t forget anybody,” he said as he dashed off to school.

Bobby’s mother made a fresh batch of his favorite cookies and prepared herself to comfort her son when he returned home brokenhearted from the valentine exchange. She knew how disappointed he would be with the response he received from the other children.

That afternoon she saw the same cluster of neighborhood kids walking home together. A half block behind them, all alone, was Bobby. Bobby’s mother turned away and placed a plate of cookies on the table; expecting the worst.

Much to her surprise, Bobby came through the door with a huge smile on his face. “What is it, Bobby?” she asked. “How did it go?”

With a shout of pure joy, Bobby said, “Guess what, Mom! I didn’t forget a single kid!”

Bobby was so focused on sharing that he didn’t consider the response he would get. He was so concerned about others that he was blind to the fact that he was being slighted.

Sometimes when we share, our motive is to make people think we’re wonderful or to prompt others to share something in return.

The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes, “Share what you have: To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” Paul and Silas shared their whole selves to kickstart the church in Thessalonica, amid the risks that they faced, not afraid to fail, not looking for a return on their investment, knowing it was all in God’s hands.

May we be so focused on sharing our time, talent and treasure that we don’t consider or think about what we’ll get in return. As you consider your stewardship commitment of your financial resources for 2015, remember your purpose for being here on this earth is to share your whole self with others; “to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to notice the wounds, to toil and not seek for rest, to labor and not to seek reward, except to know we are doing God’s will.”[2]. Amen.

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[1] The Stewardship Companion. David N. Mosser (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007).  P. 73.

[2] Ignatius Loyola. 2000 Years of Prayers, complied by Michael Counsell (Harrisburg: Morehouse Publishing, 1999) p.203.

I'm Ready to Play!

Matthew 22:1-14

I thoroughly enjoy watching college football. I love the excitement, the drama, the competition, and the school spirit. Back in the day when Texas played Texas A&M the Friday after Thanksgiving, I found the school spirit for both teams extraordinary, especially when I discovered why the students of Texas A&M stand the whole way through the game. Back in 1922, the Aggies were having a great season. They were on their way to becoming champions of the Southwest Conference. In January, they went to Dallas for the Dixie Classic. A basketball player named E. King Gill went along to scout the game from the stands.

But the team was hit hard with injuries. By the end of the first half, the coach wasn't sure that he would have 11 healthy players to put on the field. He looked up in the stands and waved for E. King Gill to come down to the field.

There were no locker rooms, so the coach brought the guy down to the field and put a jersey on him right there. E. King Gill stood there throughout the second half as the 12th man, so that if they didn't have 11 men to put on the field, he would be ready to play. He stood there, the whole second half, saying, "Coach, if you need me, I'm ready to play." And ever since, the students at Texas A&M have stood the whole way through the game. It's their way of saying, "Coach, if you need me, I'm ready to play."

And I wonder if, during these days, some of us won't feel the Spirit of God moving within us so that we say, "Lord, if you need me, I'm ready to play."

The kingdom of God is for everyone who is prepared and ready to play. Everyone gets an invitation. And although the invitation to God’s kingdom is open to all, it rests upon the invited to respond appropriately; to be prepared and ready to play. In the parable, the king plans to throw a wedding feast for his son. Wedding feasts are a major celebration in the ancient times of Jesus. Wedding feasts are a big deal. Nobody missed a good wedding feast. And if it’s the king, you know it’s going to be awesome. The king sends his slaves to go and invite guests to the wedding. But they refuse to attend. They don’t want to come. Can you imagine inviting people you know well, who you are close with, to a wedding you are hosting and nobody wants to come? They refused to go. They just flat out blew him off. The only thing they did do was kill the king’s messengers.

After eradicating these murderers from the face of the earth, the king sends other slaves to invite more people. They are to invite everyone they meet, good and bad alike. Invite everyone: the outcasts, the riff-raff, the blind and the lame, tax collectors and prostitutes; invite everyone, regardless of race, regardless of class, regardless of gender, regardless of sexual orientation, regardless of their citizenship. Invite the poor, the abused, the misused, the lonely: all are welcome. And they accept!

Now the joint is jumpin’! The wedding party is in full swing. People are dancing, eating great food and good drink, enjoying the night of their lives. It’s the social event of the year. Everyone is having a great time. Everything is awesome!

But not everyone responds appropriately. There are expectations of every guest. Although the invitation to God’s realm is open to all, it nevertheless rests upon the invited guests to be prepared and ready for whatever. Disciples who aspire to faithful stewardship recognize that when they respond to God’s invitation, they do so with a proper attitude, a proper demeanor and are properly prepared. When we arrive at God’s banquet, we approach as those ready to share in the festivities, prepared to offer our lives to serve those for whom Christ died. We are given a robe of integrity from Christ.[1] With that robe, we come prepared and ready to play.

How can we be ready to offer our lives to serve those for whom Christ suffered and died?

Historically the church in the Western world has worked hard to be prepared. It has utilized and embraced a model of church growth designed to attract people to attend congregational events, and ultimately invites them to join a local congregation, by providing services to the individual. A local church will provide excellent child-care, professionally played music, state of the art facilities and ministries specially tailored to individual desires. If you build it, they will come.

I believe this has resulted in a consumerist church where individual Christians choose their congregational affiliation based on personal preferences and choices. Increasingly, the caste, the class and the taste -- the “attractional” value -- will be what determines the choice of one's church more than anything else.

The main task of the church consists in going out and getting the salt out of the saltshaker and into every corner of society. But when the salt continues to seek out larger and larger saltshakers within which to seclude themselves from the world, the mission of God suffers. God's mission for the church requires each and every Christian to take personal responsibility for seeing that God's kingdom comes to the little corner of the earth that they inhabit. We are called to take the Gospel message out into the world, not sit back and wait for everyone to show up at our door. How do we get ready for this mission work? How do we prepare ourselves to be the messengers ready to live out and share the Gospel?

We prepare ourselves by allowing God to change us through the Holy Spirit. God loves us for who we are, but not enough to let us stay that way. But we don’t want to hear that. Deep down we don’t want to change. We want to hear that everyone is all right exactly as they are; that God loves us as we are and doesn’t want us to change. People often say this when they want to justify certain habits and/or behaviors, but that dog won’t hunt! Think about it: when the blind and the lame came to Jesus, he didn’t say, “You’re all right as you are”. He healed them. When the prostitutes and tax collectors came to Jesus, he didn’t say, “You’re all right as you are”. He forgave them. His love reached them where they were, but his love refused to let them stay as they were. Love wants the best for the beloved. Do we believe that God wants everyone to stay exactly as they are? God loves serial killers and criminals; God loves ruthless and arrogant businessmen; God loves manipulative parents who damage their children’s emotions for life. The point of God’s love is that he wants them to change. He hates what they are doing and how it affects everyone else and themselves, too.

In the end, if God is good, he cannot allow sinful behavior, and an unrepentant person, if they don’t change, to remain forever in the party he’s throwing for his son.[2] We must be willing to change according to the leading of the Holy Spirit to become all who God has called us to be, not who we think we are to be. We must be willing to embrace the new things God is doing in the life of our church. As we celebrate and remember 75 years of ministry at the crossroads of Main and Lawrence Streets, we are amazed at the life and ministry that has taken shape within these walls; the legacy of this grand facility to be used to minister to the whole community of God in Jesus Christ.

It’s not enough to rest on our laurels and accomplishments always living for some moment five years ago, ten years ago, fifty years ago. It is not enough to want the safe, soft side of discipleship and shy away from the more difficult work of outreach and social justice. It is not enough to want blessings from God, but bawk when it is time to share in the work of ministry. It is not enough to share in a free dinner at the church, and be unwilling to serve a meal in a soup kitchen or hand out groceries at Helping Hands. And if we refuse to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty, if we refuse to do the more difficult work of ministry, and not be prepared for the wedding feast, the kingdom of God, then we are saying we don’t want to stay at the party; that we do not want anything to do with God, Jesus, the church, any of it. We will not be able to say, “Lord, if you need me, I’m ready to play.”

Billy Joel sings that “the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.” And tomorrow is scary. Tomorrow is unclear. Tomorrow is uncertain. But tomorrow is…exciting, electrifying, stimulating, mind-blowing, thrilling. What a ride it will be!

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[1] The Stewardship Companion: Lectionary Resources for Preaching. David N. Mosser. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007) p. 71.

[2] Matthew for Everyone: Part 2. Tom Wright. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004) p. 84.

How to be Content in a Dissatisfied World

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

How do you find contentment in a dissatisfied world? How do we find satisfaction in a world that is never satisfied with what it has; a world that is never pleased with what it has accomplished, always complaining about the present, that the present isn’t good enough, always looking for the next big thing to come down the road. How do you find contentment amid such dissatisfaction and unhappiness?

There are dissatisfied people everywhere we go. I recently read a poem by Jason Lehman entitled, “Present Tense”. He writes:

“It was spring. But it was summer I wanted, the warm days, and the great outdoors.
It was summer. But it was Fall I wanted, the colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.
It was fall. But it was winter I wanted, the beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.
It was winter. But it was spring I wanted, the warmth, and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child. But it was adulthood I wanted, the freedom, and the respect.
I was twenty. But it was thirty I wanted, to be mature, and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged. But it was twenty I wanted, the youth, and the free spirit.
I was retired. But it was middle-age I wanted, the presence of mind without limitations.
My life was over. But I never got what I wanted.”[1]

Every one of us can think of at least one person we know who is never satisfied with their situation in life. We all know someone who is a “complainer” or a “whiner” always finding the negative in someone or in someone’s life situation. We all have a tendency to complain and whine from time to time. We complain about politicans: their greed, lack of understanding, their poor decisions. We whine and complain about young people today wondering why they don’t come to church and follow the traditions we’ve always known and followed. We complain about the church and its leadership that they are not doing enough to visit and care for members of the church, failing to connect with the youth in some meaningful way, and that the demands of the pastor’s family takes the pastor away from shepherding the church members. My children whine and complain about wanting candy before dinner or to stop at Shipley’s for donuts or to buy a new toy every time we go to the store.

In her book, "Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now", author Maya Angelou has a whole chapter on the subject of "complaining." Angelou says that when "whiners" would come into her grandmother's store in Arkansas, she would go through a routine that would begin by quietly beckoning Maya to come closer. Then she would bait the "whiner" customer with "How are you doing today, Brother Thomas/Sister Harriet?" As the complaining gushed forth, she would nod or make eye contact with Maya to make sure she heard what was being said. As soon as the "whiner" left, her grandmother would ask Maya to stand in front of her. "And then she would say the same thing she had said at least a thousand times before. 'Sister, did you hear what Brother So-and-So or Sister-Much-to-Do complained about? You heard that!' And Maya would nod. Mamma would continue, 'Sister, there are people who went to sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake up again. Sister, those who expected to rise did not .... And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all for just five minutes of this weather or ten minutes of that plowing that person was grumbling about. So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister. What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.'"[2] We all know someone who is never satisfied. For them contentment is an allusive dream.

I believe that one of the main reasons for such dissatisfaction in our world is because we have forgotten who we are. We have forgotten who we are as people created in the image of God.

The Ten Commandments remind us of this. It serves as a central pillar in Israel’s understanding of its relationship with God. Therefore, it is one of the most significant contributions of the Old Testament to our theology. They project a basic principle throughout Western civilization that there are certain moral principles that go beyond the present and can be traced back to the Creator. The Declaration of Independence observes that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator…” and it serves as one of many instances reflecting the influence of the Decalogue on human life and thought.

They list the fundamental obligations of people toward God and toward one another. God comes first, but the respect owe to God cannot be separated from justice and one’s relationship to one’s neighbors. They express the divine-human relationship in verses 1-4 and 7-9, while verses 12-20 speak to human concerns.

On the divine-human commandments, we could classify all of them under the theme of “avoiding idolatry”. Remember that the Hebrews lived and practiced their faith living amongst many peoples who practiced some form of pagan worship. The Decalogue built a hedge of protection around God’s people. If the people remember who their God is, then it is likely they will remember who they are as people created in God’s image.

The remaining commandments, focusing on our relationships with one another, are a direct reflection of our relationship with God. They are the commandments that establish the basic structure of our modern day society; solidify the trust and interdependence found in our community life guiding us as we learn how to be content and satisfied with who we are and what we have.

There is a question that hangs in the air in corporate boardrooms and at cocktail parties, in IPO road shows and at the kitchen table: HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

How much money -- to compensate you for your work? How much time -- to devote to your family? How much public glory -- to satisfy your ego? How much opportunity for private reflection -- to deepen your understanding? How much STUFF is enough? And, no matter how much stuff you have, how do you find contentment?

But while the question "How much is enough?" may not be new, the velocity, the intensity and the scale of the answers that people can choose from today ARE new. Choices -- in work and in life -- are coming at greater speed, from more directions, and with consequences that are more immediate and more dramatic than ever before.[3]

We live in a time in history in which it appears to be almost impossible to satisfy our appetite for more and more. This is one topic the Decalogue addresses in several ways. Greed can start in a person’s desire to care for themselves and their family. All too often, caring can devolve into excessive self-centeredness, even self-indulgence. What begins in a desire for security, morphs into pure greed…and greedy people rarely enjoy happiness. The greedy person can never get enough. They are never satisfied with what they own, with what belongs to them. It has become more and more difficult to maintain a sense of balance regarding our use of food, gadgets for home or office, clothing, vacations, entertainment done on our behalf as we look on. The Ten Commandments free us from these “other gods” and more: the god of goals, the god of people, the god of stuff, the god of status.

As God’s people today, the Decalogue is more than a list of rules and regulations. It is God’s gracious gift to all stewards of Jesus Christ by which we are provided with the means to respond to God’s love. They are the instrument placed in our hands by a loving and protective God, by means of which we express our acceptance of all God is and does. This is how to be content in a dissatisfied world. Amen.

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[1] Jason Lehman, Present Tense. Written when he was 14. Copyright c1989 by Jason Lehman, Woodbridge, Connecticut. Used by permission.

[2] Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (New York: Random House, 1993), 85-87.

[3] "How Much Is Enough?" Fast Company July-August 1999, 110.

Say "Yes!" and Go!

Matthew 21:23-32

Whether we are willing to acknowledge it or not, our culture loves to watch the mighty and powerful take a fall. In politics, if we sit on one side of the aisle, we hope to see our opponent lose his or her power, influence and prestige. When George W. Bush was President, he had more than his fair share of critics and was the subject of many jokes by many comedians and others. During Barak Obama’s presidency, he, too, has had more than his fair share of criticism and has been the subject of many jokes by many comedians and others. Our culture loves to build up and tear down those in power. We love to take aim and fire our weapons of slander and gossip at those who govern and sit in high places.

Whenever one of these two men gave a speech, there were those individuals who are skeptical about their thoughts, reflections and ideas. There are always individuals who want to heckle them, who want to trip them up and make them look bad. Remember when President Bush had a shoe thrown at him during a news conference. President Obama has had hecklers of all kinds in the audience at various speaking engagements across the country. We see this everyday on any one of the variety of 24-hour news channels available to us.

Criticism, trying to make someone a fool: this was nothing new for Jesus. He had experienced this before. They were not innocent questions. The chief priests and the elders of the people had been trying to find ways to expose Jesus as a fake and a fraud for some time. They were trying to trip him up and discredit him. “By what authority” do you teach the things you do? Their agenda is clear. But Jesus has their number.

Jesus has an edge over the religious leaders of his day: he’s fully human AND fully God. He knows the hearts of those leaders. He sees them coming miles down the road. He knows them so well that his counter-question to them sets up a lose-lose scenario for them and a win-win for Jesus. Any answer they would offer would anger the crowd and expose their hidden agenda.

Jesus knows their hearts. He knows they wanted to make him look bad in public. He knows them so well he explains it through a story; a story about a father with two sons. The father asks them to go work in his vineyard. One son refuses to go, but later changes his mind and goes to work. The other son says yes but fails to show up for work. Jesus asked, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” Our God is a God of grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. The answer is the son who, though he first said no, later changed his mind and went. The other son could talk the talk, but was not able to walk the walk. He knew the right words to say, but didn’t live according to God’s will. “God welcomes those who have had less than ethical lives but who have repented and desired the goodness of God and God’s realm.”[1] The chief priests and the elders said the right words, but they didn’t follow through working to fulfill God’s will. They knew what was expected of them, but didn’t practice what they preached and taught because I believe they presumed that there were extra actions to be taken in order to be a true believer of God. There are some who believe you must have a proper understanding of and ability to articulate theories of Christian dogma in order to be eligible for heaven. There are many who express a deep faith in God but live a life that promotes a faith based strictly on one’s moral righteousness. And there are others who put their faith in a specific denomination, a specific church building, a specific way of interpreting Scripture or some doubtful type of conversion experience, complete with date, time and location. These are secondary aspects of faith. We must be careful to not put our faith in something other than God’s grace. It will be a distraction for us and lead us down the wrong road; a road that leads to the loss of ourselves, our faith and to our destruction.

As stewards of Christ, we are called to remember who we are. The chief priests and elders remembered who they were, but didn’t live it out in their daily lives. On the other side we have people represented by tax collectors and prostitutes who may not know the right words to say, but they are the ones who do God’s will because they learned who they were by living out the Gospel as they heard it. They expressed their faith by repenting of their sins and giving themselves to God in Christ. They may not be the most articulate individuals of theological doctrine, but they quickly understood what the walk of faith with Jesus truly entails.

We have four options according to this parable as Christ’s disciples: 1) say yes and fail to go, 2) say no and fail to go, 3) say no, then repent and go, and 4) say yes and go. Number four is our best option; our most faithful option. And as they say at Nike, we are called to “Just Do It”; we are to say yes and go; to let our yes be a yes and our no to be a no. We are to say yes to God and go wherever he leads us. To lose one's own will in the will of God should be the true occupation of everyone’s time on earth.[2]

Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and writer, wrote this great prayer many years ago that continues to be a guide for me on my own spiritual journey. “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing."[3]

And we must make sure we are responding and relating to Jesus, allowing him to confront us at any point in our walk with him where we have been like the second son, saying ‘yes’ to God while in fact running in the opposite direction.

For any promises we make as Christ’s disciples can never take the place of performance, and articulate words are never a substitute for fine deeds.[4] Amen.

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[1] The Stewardship Companion: Lectionary Resource for Preaching. David N. Mosser (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997)  p.68.

[2] Poet George Mackay Brown, quoted in Context, December 1, 1997, 8.

[3] Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude (New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1983), 83. 

[4] The Daily Bible Study Series: Matthew. William Barclay

It's God's Prerogative

Matthew 20:1-16

Christian author Phillip Yancey, in his book “What’s So Amazing about Grace?” shares a story about a discovery among theologians of what is unique about the Christian faith. “During a British conference on comparative religions”, he writes, “experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating several possibilities.

Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods' appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.

The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What's the rumpus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace."

After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law -- each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional.

Aware of our inbuilt resistance to grace, Jesus talked about it often. He described a world saturated with God's grace: where the sun shines on people good and bad; where birds gather seeds in grace, neither plowing nor harvesting to earn them; where wildflowers burst into bloom on the rocky hillsides. Like a visitor from a foreign country who notices what the natives overlook, Jesus saw grace everywhere. Yet he never analyzed or defined grace, and almost never used the word. Instead, he communicated grace through stories we know as parables.[1]

Parables like the one I just read from Matthew 20 where Jesus reminds us that in the kingdom of heaven the grace and mercy of God is often surprising, shocking, provocative, even offensive. The kingdom of heaven is where people are valued not because of their economic productiveness, but because God loves and engages them for who they are. That which initially appears to be an outrageous injustice between the landowner and the laborers is actually the greatest justice of all—a justice motivated by a different set of criteria: mercy and grace.

This is not a parable for just anyone; it is not addressed to the general crowds or even to seekers. This parable is designed primarily for the disciples (19:23, 27; 20:17); for those who have been around with Jesus since the beginning, to “insiders”, to those in the know, who, to some extent, know about God’s grace and mercy. The passage is a part of their instruction, their learning, as they travel from Galilee to Jerusalem (19:1; 20:18). It’s a warning to the disciples. Jesus is teaching them to not think that, because they’ve been close to Jesus so far, they are somehow the favored few for all time. They cannot claim any special honor or a special place because they were followers of Christ before anybody else. They are on the same level with believers of every time and place. All of us are equally precious to God.

This parable is also bracketed by two counter intuitive sayings (19:30; 20:16), sayings that in themselves carry an enormous threat for those who identify themselves as insiders, for the privileged who enjoy a special place with Jesus (see 20:20–28). The parable in effect shows what it means when the first shall be last and the last shall be first. It’s God’s prerogative that there is no first and there is no last. God does not rank us based on any criteria.

This parable is a warning for all of us. We come to believe that because we’ve been a member of a particular club, group or church that we are in charge. We get to call the shots. Any new people, new members are ignored, not included in what’s happening, and resented if they provide ideas for a new project, a new curriculum, or for suggesting doing something new or something better or doing something completely different from what has been done before. Will we put ourselves in eternal danger by begrudging God’s generosity to those whom we think unworthy? Will we endanger our community by resenting those who do not measure up to our standards?

This parable about the laborers and the vineyard owner tell us three things about the character of God: it is God’s prerogative to be a God of comfort; it is God’s prerogative to be a God of infinite compassion; and it is God’s prerogative to be a God of generosity.

First, the comfort of God is that everyone is equal in God’s eyes, whether you believed in Him your whole life or on your deathbed; whether you’re an elder or a deacon or a member of Presbyterian Women or youth group, you are equal in God’s eyes with everyone else. No matter when someone comes to Christ, he or she is equally dear to Him.

Second, there is the infinite compassion of God. There is nothing more tragic than a person who is unemployed; whose talents are rusting from idleness because there is nothing to do. In Jesus’ time, men went to the marketplace prepared to work. The men in our parable stood waiting because no one had hired them. The master shows compassion by recognizing the average day’s wage was not very much. In fairness to all, those who worked fewer hours should receive less pay. The owner showed compassion toward and did more than was required giving them more than what they deserved.

And third, there is the generosity of God. All service is equal in the eyes of God. It’s not the amount of service given, but the love in which it was given. That’s what matters. Is there a difference between a rich person buying a gift out of their abundance? Or a child gives a gift that cost a few bucks but which he saved for it held more value. All God gives is grace; it’s grace you can’t earn and grace you don’t deserve. God’s grace is not the sort of thing you can bargain with or try to store up for a rainy day. God’s grace is not the sort of thing that one person can have a lot of and someone else only a little. It’s what people receive from having served God and God’s kingdom. It’s a covenant in which God promises us everything and asks of us everything in return. When God keeps his promises, God is not rewarding us for our effort, but doing what comes naturally for God: being overly generous and gracious with all of us.

It all comes down to God’s grace. Pastor and teacher Frederick Buechner describes grace as “… something you can never get but only be given. The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you. I created the universes. I love you. There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.”[2]

God’s grace is for everyone. Who are we to judge God’s generosity to those whom we think don’t deserve it or don’t measure up to our standards? God’s grace is for everyone. Will you accept it? Amen.

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[1] Philip Yancey, What's So Amazing About Grace? (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 45.

[2] Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (New York: Harper & Row, 1973), 33-34.

Why Should I Forgive?

Matthew 18:21-35

Will you pray with me?

Holy God, your Word is strong and leads our feet to your holy dwelling place. Strengthen and guide us with your Word through the power of your Holy Spirit; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

There once was a man named Simon Wiesenthal.  Simon was a Jewish prisoner in a concentration camp during World War II.  He suffered a great deal at the hands of the Nazis, but not as much as some of his friends and family who lost their lives in very cruel, inhumane ways. 

One particular day Simon was taken away from his work group to speak to a dying Nazi soldier.  The dying soldier wanted to confess his atrocities and sins to Simon.  The soldier told Simon about specific instances when he had been ordered to kill Jewish families and he complied.  The soldier asked Simon to forgive him.  He appeared to be truly repentant of his sins and wanted to confess to Simon, who for him represented all Jews.

Simon was faced with a very difficult choice between compassion and justice.  After some time passed, Simon said nothing and left the soldier’s bedside.  The soldier died sometime during the night.  Simon was often haunted by the memory of the soldier and wondered whether he had done the right thing.

What do you think? Did Simon do the right thing?  Should he have forgiven the penitent soldier?  What would you do if you were Simon?

Forgiving someone is very difficult to do because it involves becoming vulnerable; it involves removing the barriers which separate us from God and our neighbor.  These barriers are a result of sin and they cut us off from a relationship with God, the source of life.  Because of this separation, we are out of sync, out of step with creation; we are filled with anxiety and fear living a life that is incomplete. 

The unforgiving slave of our text found himself with a debt of ten thousand talents.  This is an outrageous amount of money!  If one talent was worth more than fifteen years’ worth of wages for an average laborer, imagine how much it would be if you multiplied that by ten thousand.  One would have to work for one hundred and fifty thousand years to pay this debt.  It’s mind-blowing.  The unforgiving slave is buried under a mountain of debt. 

So the king one day decides to call in his loans, beginning with the unforgiving slave.  The king is all but ready to sell the unforgiving slave and his family to another master to pay off the debt, but the slave begs him to reconsider. Then a miracle happens: the king forgives the man of his enormous debt and sets him free; this huge, enormous debt that was weighing him down, that had him stuck in the mud with his wheels spinning, was taken away.  The barriers between him and the king are gone.

This is the Gospel message: God has removed the barriers between God and us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.”(Romans 6:23)  Death is the pay check of sin.  God has given us a way out of this mess we’re in.  Jesus Christ took upon him the sin of all humanity, past, present and future, paying in full the debt we owe through his death and bodily resurrection.  This is why every Sunday we confess our sin together, letting go of our debt that comes from sin.  We acknowledge our need for God’s forgiveness through our prayer of confession. We are forgiven of our sin.  And we are assured of this when the pastor or lay reader or all of us in one voice declare in Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

What do we do with this freedom from sin?  What are we to do with this forgiveness that has taken down the barriers between us and God?  Jesus says we are to share this same forgiveness with our neighbor, with everyone we meet each day.  (And so we have the Passing of the Peace.  “Because God has forgiven us let us forgive one another.”  When we pass the peace to one another, we’re not simply exchanging pleasantries and small talk, we are sharing the forgiveness we have found in Christ with those around us.)  There is nothing anybody can do to us that can in any way compare with what we have done to God; and if God has forgiven us the enormous debt we owe to Him, we must forgive one another the debts owed to us.  We forgive one another because God has forgiven us.

Once the slave was forgiven by the king and released from slavery, he ran into one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii.  One denarius equals one day’s work.  Multiply that by one hundred and it’s only one hundred days of wages or just over three months of work.  It doesn’t compare to the debt forgiven by the king.  But it turns out the forgiven slave does not forgive as the king had forgiven him.  He has him thrown in prison until the one hundred denarii is repaid.  Word gets back to the king.  The slave is punished and tortured.

Forgiving one another is very difficult, but it is necessary to bring wholeness and restoration to our lives and our relationships with one another.  It gives us the chance to rise above the old baggage that once weighed us down. 

Have you ever attended a tractor pull?  For the uninitiated, the “tractor” in these events is more like a rocket with four wheels.  Some of these tractors have multiple engines and are longer than a truck.  The tractor-like rear wheels are about the only item on the machine that resembles an ordinary farm tractor.

These high-powered tractors are hitched to a wedge-shaped trailer that plows into the ground creating greater resistance the farther it is pulled.  The tractor, racing toward the finish line, usually starts out strong, but quickly labors and often stalls under the ever-increasing resistance.  The wheels of the tractor often spin so rapidly that the tractor becomes literally stuck in the mud, spinning its wheels and unable to continue.  Only when the trailer is unhitched from the tractor can it move again.

We all have something in our past or present that is weighing us down: old memories, spoken words we regret, imposing physical abuse upon someone or a victim of abuse, financial debts that we just can’t seem to pay off.  Many of us have done things that we are unable to forgive ourselves for.  And we find ourselves spinning our wheels and stuck in a moment we can’t get out of.  It’s when we unhitch ourselves from what is weighing us down that we can get out of the pit and get back on solid ground. 

Why is it so hard to forgive others?  Why do we hold on to grudges, old hurts, bitterness and feelings of resentment? 

When we hold on to bitterness and hurts from the past, we are enslaved to it.  It gets a grip on our hearts and it slowly suffocates our spirit.  It grows like a cancer that’s out of control slowly killing us.  It’s a splinter that festers under our skin infecting our spiritual and physical bodies.  Do we really want to live like that? 

To forgive is to let go; to let go of the barriers that separate us from God and from one another.  It is to let go of what is holding us down and holding us hostage.  It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, but it is the only way to get right with God and with one another.  It’s the only way to free ourselves from slavery to the hurts, bitterness and resentment of the past.  It’s the only way to free ourselves from the tremendous debt we owe God because of sin.  It’s the only way to free ourselves to live in peace and harmony with our neighbor.

I believe that, as author Beth Moore puts it, “We never look more like Christ than when we forgive.” We never look more like Christ than when we forgive.  To be Christ in our time is to forgive ourselves and one another as God has forgiven us.  That is why we are to forgive.

Let us pray.  Gracious God, we kneel before you acknowledging our need for forgiveness.  We are entangled in a web of sin and resentment.  We’re tired of living enslaved to fear and anxiety.  We want to be made complete and whole again so we may live in sync with your whole creation.  Thank you for forgiving us our sin so we can forgive one another.  Amen.