On the night before he was arrested, tried, and crucified, Jesus used the metaphor of a vine -- the wine-stock, rooted in the soil -- and the branches, fruitful with budding clusters of grapes. Inasmuch as they were in the middle of the Last Supper, and the wine at that meal had come from crushed grapes, coming up with this metaphor in that setting made sense.
Jesus says that God was the Vineyard Owner, the vine grower, and that the goal of the whole endeavor is to produce good fruit from a single, precious, original vine, the healthy core stock, which Jesus indicated was himself. So…God “planted” Jesus as a living source for his disciples to draw strength and guidance and productivity from. They would be empowered through their living relationship with Jesus. That’s the point.
Since this parable appears to be an allegory, in which each element of the story represents something else, then… if (1) God is the vine-dresser, the farmer who owns the vineyard, who invests the original time & energy to get it going, who plants the vine, and prunes and tends the blossoming, burgeon-ing branches -- and if (2) Jesus is the core wine-stock, the living vine, rooted in the earth -- and if (3) the disciples are the branches, who draw sap and sustenance from the vine, which in turn draws Life up from the soil… where do you and I appear in the story?
Are we fresh young tendrils of vine stretching out toward the sun? Are we the buds that the bees will fertilize? (That might be fun.) Are we the swelling bunches of grapes? (Getting fuller and fatter and sweeter with age.) Are we the current harvest… the rich & robust vintage that will at some point be crushed and bottled and labeled Los Altos UCC 2012 (a good year)? Or are we, perhaps, the end-point of the process… consumers of the grape juice that Jesus & his church have spent 2000 years bringing to fruition? … Where do you and I appear in the story?
If the Kingdom of God is like a vineyard, and God is the landowner (the gardener), and Jesus is the Living Vine stock… it is customary to place ourselves in the role of Jesus’ “present-day disciples.” That is, we who are Jesus’ followers are “branches” on the vine – not yet the fruit, certainly not the harvesters (for that would mean Judgment Day) and it would be entirely self-serving to imagine ourselves as the end-of-the-line consumers. Having said that, we must remember that the church as an institution is always “only one generation away from extinction.” If we cannot persuade the coming generation to stay involved, to help with our mission, and to join us in spreading the gospel, the Living Body of Christ will cease to live on earth.
So, it is not just to our advantage as a congregation that we raise our children & grandchildren to be faithful church-goers, and that we open our embrace to strangers, and that we welcome & include all comers (whoever they are, wherever they are on life’s journey)… it is not just to our advantage and for our thriving… it is essential to the productivity of the whole vine-yard of God that we “stay on the Living Vine.” That we produce “fruit.”
If we, like Jesus’ disciples, are the branches… the parable is fairly straight-forward: We must draw our nourishment from Jesus’ own life. We’ve got to hang in there with him -- hang onto him through all the twists and turns of life -- keep connected to Jesus, come hell or high water! It is essential that we “stay on” the Living Vine! For a branch that is broken off -- even when leafy green, even with sprouting tendrils and budding fruit -- will not grow to maturity. The busted-off branch will wilt and wither. The rich potential of that life -- the fruit that was hoped for, and worked toward, and invested in -- will be lost. “Abide in me,” seems to be the punchline.
"Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me & I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)
The “busted-off branch” that withers (Jesus says) is thrown away. If they are fruitless, they’re useless, good- f’r-nothin’. (John 15:6) These cut-off branches (whether “pruned off” for a purpose, or simply “broken off” by accident) will wilt and waste away, eventually returning to the soil from which their nutrients had come. In other words, they’ll become mulch. … compost for the next generation of growth, but not useful in the present.
According to Jesus’ parable, it’s to be expected that some branches will fall away. Even in that initial group of 12 disciples, some falling away was about to start that very night! Judas left the Last Supper early and went to bring the authorities to arrest Jesus. After that, Peter went to watch Jesus’ trial, but became frightened and denied (three times) that he even knew who Jesus was. Some branches will break off; some will fall away. So, be ready for it. Jesus alludes to the fact that all vines need occasional pruning early in their growing season, if the farmer wants a bumper crop of fruit. But whether you & I are pruned off (for God’s reason, for the good of the whole venture), or we break off, or we simply drop off, there will be no productive growth (no good gospel fruit) from us. How sad that would be for all of us!
I am glad that we have three Confirmation-age boys as well as another dozen young people who are active in our Sunday School and youth groups -- poised to do good things for God in Jesus’ name. There’s some new fruit!
But in his metaphor of the Vine, Jesus seems to appreciate older, more mature branches – those who have several growing seasons behind them already, and (even though they have ceased to sprout new fruit) they are conduits along the vine to keep the fresh, young tendrils attached to the root.
Mature branches have an important role in holding the whole plant together. Our long-time members, even those who are frail and elderly shut-ins, who still read our newsletter and respond to our Stewardship campaign, who remember earlier choir directors before David Joseph and former ministers before Pastor Stephen and Pastor Terry and me, are valuable assets to the life and ministry and meaning of this congregation. God bless them!
But to the extent they (or any of us younger folk) fail to keep the living sap (drawn from the vine-stock) coursing through our daily lives, we begin to dry out. Eventually, no more fruit; alas!
In a vineyard, the more mature branches would be just woody enough to have some potential as kindling! They can be collected and used for fire wood, I suppose. So something good can come of it… However, it’s not what the vineyard owner was hoping for: it’s not the complete joy that Jesus wants for them. For joy, says Jesus, is the outcome he is trying to produce. “I have said these things to you, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)
Of course, let’s not forget that Jesus is speaking metaphorically, not literally. He is not really a vine, and we church members don't really have intertwining limbs, and we don't expect grape clusters to pop out of our fingers... So, what is this talk of bearing much "fruit"?
The Apostle Paul made a list of the qualities of character that he felt demonstrated on-going connection with the Spirit of Jesus (in Galatians 5: verse 22): "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control... these are the fruit of the Spirit of God."
Such things as in that list of 9 virtues don't happen "automatically!" Oh, they are natural. Yes! They are inherently possible. But in the day-by-day living of our lives, stumbling blocks and set-backs arise that get in the way of experiencing fully what love can be… what makes joy “complete”…
Our friends & family members may help advise us on a few of these traits -- love, joy, peace, patience... -- but, frankly, most of us most of the time are really poor role models of that! We are as apt to flash with anger in some situations rather than model peace or patience. When things don’t go our way, we are less concerned with kindness or faithfulness than with getting it corrected!
Oh, we do well enough in the loving department, I suppose… at least within our families and friendships. I’ve been told several times (by long-time members here) that what makes Los Altos UCC distinctive is “how nice all the people are”, “how deep the loving relationships are”… the “quality” of the people here are top-notch and very supportive of one another. (Can I hear an “Amen!”?) We get a lot of joy out of loving relationships, not out of conflict. Active love, not apathy. So, that first virtue in St. Paul’s list of nine (“Love”) has been well appreciated and regularly reproduced in our vineyard.
And there’s joy, the second virtue. When people gather here at Los Altos UCC, there’s lots of laughter; lots of fun! Come to choir practice: just for the lift of spirits, if not because you’re a good singer. David makes it fun. The youth events and outings are always fun (well, except when I give a Confirmation lecture). And part of the joy is because there’s lots of food! Maggi calls our Fellowship Committee “Caterers R Us” because there’s frequently food at every event. Stay after worship today for our LENT EVNT Potluck and crafts, and you’ll see what I mean! But that’s not all…
Thank God it’s Tuesday afternoon Bible Study has wine & cheese; Thursday night Lenten discussions start with Soup Supper; Priscilla Circle always meets over lunch; Red Hatters go out to lunch on the last Sunday of the month; Young At Hearts have Monday dinners out twice a month (and you’re all invited, because YAH’s are really all of us!); Maggi’s new Women’s Fellowship will always have refreshments (she tells me); Men’s Fellowship alternates between a Monday night meeting over dinner at Polly’s Pies one month and a breakfast at Hof’s Hut on the next; Saint Patrick’s Day (Sat. March 17) will see us in Patterson Hall enjoying Corned Beef & Cabbage and playing BINGO, just for the fun of it! Love and Joy!
The list of nine fruits of the Spirit, which can serve as “proof” that we are staying on the Living Vine, are: "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control... these are the fruit of the Spirit of God." (Galatians 5:22)
As I said: if we’re supposed to be producing spiritual “fruit” according to the list of virtues that St. Paul gives us in Galatians, I think we do pretty well at the love business, and we enjoy the joy part. But there’s a real struggle with the third one in the list: peace.
We’re grateful that our soldiers, Air Force, and Marines have come home from the war in Iraq; and it seems (in this election year) that there’s very little attention given to the “war on terror.” (Maybe we have won it, after all?) We pray for the safety of our personnel involved in the war in Afghanistan, who are targets not only of the enemy Taliban & insurgents from Pakistan, but of our allies as well (it seems, since the flap over burning the Qurans arose last week). There are renewed threats from Syria, unrest in Libya, & now sabers are rattling in Iran regarding their developing nuclear capabilities (and our ally Israel’s threat to bomb their research facilities)…
bombs & battles still go on between Israel and Palestine; the chaos of so many African civil wars, not to mention those American military who patrol the line between North Korea & South Korea -- peace is an elusive word.
Even closer to home, sibling squabbles and divorcing parents, rude relations between in-laws, make it very hard to produce peace in our homes. Need I mention that we also need peace in our hearts? I tell you, it’s tough!
As for the rest of that list of nine spiritual fruits: I think we’ve made progress in kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness… at least when we know that folks are watching. If, on the other hand, we think we won't be caught, we may do things that we know are wrong. Some folks lie. We make excuses to shirk our responsibilities. And let’s admit it: we hurt people. (!)
It’s understandable that we slip up in these virtues from time to time. It’s hard to be very spiritual when the world can be so ungodly! I mean, that's what people do to us, and that's what we see all around us... Kindness doesn't win the day in many movies. Gentleness and faithfulness seem a bit "naive." It’s a rough world we’re in.
How far have we come in producing the fruit of patience...? I remember as a teenager that my Mother used to say: "Paul Andrew, my patience is growing thin!" (I figured, at least I was doing my part to help her GROW it!) If we’re honest, we’ll admit that we're irritable and resentful quite often, boastful and jealous, self-centered... And self-control? Well, you’ll have to “judge for yourself” that one!
I won’t take the time this morning to unpack all nine of those virtues as we did LOVE and JOY, but you know how you behave. You know what your attitudes are. You can judge yourself. You can judge for yourself. I’m sure you would agree that we are tolerant toward others (even if they differ from us) and we are certainly polite in public… We don’t want to give Christianity a black eye by being rude! And we’re tolerably good toward those civic groups and those good neighbors who share our values -- folks who are “like” us! We can say that we certainly bear some of the fruits of the Spirit, in some situations, with some people.
But Rabbi Jesus tried to stretch our circles of loving a bit wider -- to include our “other” neighbors. (Yes, them! You know which neighbors I mean: the ones who have their car parked in the yard, or the dog who barks all day when its owner is away, or who play loud music or who get into fights, or who don’t supervise their kids; those people who litter, or who trespass... you know: that un-lovable neighbor!). We grit our teeth and try to apply the Golden Rule: “Do to those ungrateful irresponsible petty neigh-bors, what we would like them to do to us.” (Sell their house, move away)
Let’s be honest: it’s hard to commit to the Jesus Way, when you think of all that he asks of us. Remember from my sermon a few weeks ago: Jesus went so far as to suggest that we love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us! (Oh, my!) To this day, there’s a lot of resistance to that idea!
I think Jesus was absolutely right: that we need to be connected to God's spiritual “resource-base” (through Jesus, who is the Vine) if we are to nurture and nourish such traits in our character. Apart from that, we'll probably not do it!
For example... We often let our emotions lead us like a roller-coaster. If we don’t “feel like it,” we don’t do it. (!) If our “feelings are hurt,” we pull back. (!) There’s gonna be no fruit on that branch; it’s wilting! We flit & flicker between people and things that promise to stimulate our "hap-piness" but, apparently, with no clue as to the character values that will give us a foundation of joy! Pleasure is a fleeting reward; joy is the real thing.
“I have said these things to you (Jesus went on to say) so that my joy may be in you, and that your
joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)
Friends, there is only one consistently reliable Source to encourage the growth of Christian character traits like these, and that is Christ himself! As a communion hymn from Jamaica puts it: "Christ is able to make us one, at his table he sets the tone: teaching people to live and bless, love in word and in deed express!" That is the ideal to which Jesus dedicated his life -- and for which he was willing to die: teaching people to live better, to bless one another, and to express love.
It's been 2,000 years, now, since that message was incarnate in Jesus Christ and still the Church struggles to do as he did, to love as he loved, to grow the kinds of spiritual "fruit" that he expected of us. Why is there such resistance to giving our lives over in full faith and trust to God's guidance, God's leadership, to gain Christ-like values?
Los Altos UCC is our congregation. We have autonomy as an organization to plan and pursue the program of our choosing, without going to any outside jurisdiction or hierarchy for authorization. We raise our own money, and we spend it as we choose. We can hire (or fire) our minister without asking anyone outside our own congregational membership to approve it. In the UCC, every congregation enjoys this kind of freedom and autonomy. But we also ought to remember that this church is more than merely “ours” to do with as we please. We are God's investment in God’s Vineyard and we’re supposed to produce the kind of fruit God is looking for.
All these past 62 years of clearing the ground and building these buildings, leading worship services and teaching Preschool classes, Vacation Bible Schools and Sunday Schools, choirs and fellowship events, and doing the work to establish a successful operation here in the Los Altos neighbor-hood -- as well as 20 centuries of divine investment in churches throughout the world -- are intended to yield “much fruit”…that’s God’s desired return!
So, in conclusion: what are the basic lessons from Jesus’ metaphor of the Vine and the branches? First, the purpose for which God (the Vineyard Owner) has invested time & energy in creating us -- the purpose for which Jesus Christ (the Vine) is planted, nourishing us -- is so that we can bring forth much fruit just like he did. Good fruit! Gospel fruit. Namely: more love. More joy. More peace. More patience. Second: our task is to do our best to STAY CONNECTED to Jesus, the Living Vine, in order that (as fruit-bearing branches in God's Vineyard) we can help create a "kinder, gentler" better world. More grace, forgiveness. Where there is less greed, less violence, less vengeance... more faith & self-control.
It's fruit like that (in your lives and in the lives of others we deal with) that God expects of us. That's the only kind of "produce" God requires of us -- we who carry the name of "Christian," who draw upon God's strength (from the soil of Scripture and Sacrament and Spirit). We draw that strength through Jesus, the truly rooted vine… the Living Word, our Savior & Lord.
Let's imagine that it's harvest time. God (the Vineyard Owner) comes to collect the fruit we've produced. What do you and I have to show for all the generous investment God has made in your life and in my life (as live branches on the Jesus-Vine)? Have we been popping out plump ripe fruit like those nine virtues on St. Paul’s list? Or has the sap dried up? Are you still securely grafted onto the vine? And what about us as a group? What do we have to show for ourselves (as the Vineyard of God) here at LAUCC?
Deeper love for one another, that’s a measure. Love for strangers who quickly become included in our circle as “friends,” that’s another. Greater care for our neighbors in need, as demonstrated by your support of our many Outreach Missions. Good. I fully expect that God will harvest from us more patience (…if we just give it some time). More joy. That's what we bring as "fruit" in return to the One who planted us, and who nurtures us... for the purpose of God's Vineyard is to produce good fruit. May our harvest be bountiful! Both for you & for God: bear good fruit.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
“The Light Shines in the Darkness” a sermon based on Matthew 5: 14-16 and John 1:1-14
All we need is a blackout to realize how much we rely upon light: its energy, electricity, and its many derivative functions. Light attracts our attention, even when seen from a long distance. A light in the darkness draws us to it (almost like insects, moths to a flame).
When I think of light shining in darkness, the image I hold in my mind’s eye is a picture from a LIFE magazine at least 40 years ago, because I was in high school. I’m a Baby Boomer – born in the Space Age, the Atomic Age, the age of TV. And the picture was taken from an orbiting spacecraft – perhaps by John Glen, that first time a man “went into orbit” or, perhaps, one of the early Gemini pairs. It was a photo of one half-of the earth -- shrouded in clouds, hidden from the sun -- much of it appearing only as a drift of dull ocean.
But in that dark emptiness, at one tiny, breathtaking point, there was light! The people of one of the large Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth… I don’t recall) had left lights burning all night as a sign of reassurance for the astronauts. In the wide, half-world of blackness, that pin-prick of light stood out like a flicker of life in the midst of desolation – a glimmer of hope in the midst of despair, It struck me then, and it strikes me still: isn’t that like the light which came into our world some 21 Centuries ago?
In all the deep darkness of the Middle East under Roman military occupation -- with only the faded remnants of the once heroic Hebrew Monarchy and an oppressive priesthood -- embattled by its neighbors from the dawn of time & full of poverty, widows, orphans, & sinners… In all that darkness, at one tiny, breath-taking point, there was light! Jesus (born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth) bringing life & light to all he met… one day at a time, one person at a time, one decision at a time.
And light like that, in a most unexpected form – whether encountered along the path as a stranger, or sitting next to you in a pew, or looking back at you from a mirror – is breath-taking.
Just think… Think of a time you felt anger emanating from someone… Think of a time you felt sorrow pouring from someone… Think of a time you felt fear shuddering from someone… And then think of a time when you felt LIGHT shining from someone! You’ve felt it, haven’t you? We all have. But, oh, not nearly often enough!
Light helps us to see where we are going and what we’re doing. Without light, many things must stop. My mom used to say, when I went out to play: “Be home when the street-lights come on.” She was sure that nothing good would happen after nightfall. She wanted her babies safely home!
Ever since the initial “Big Bang” that got the universe going, light permeates the cosmos. And yet (when you think of it) inter-stellar space is filled with darkness! Light is a precious resource. Where there is no light, there is no life.
The first words of God in the Bible (in the book of Genesis) are: “Let there be light!” And God’s world has been evolving ever since!
Plants soak up light in photosynthesis. Electronic messages are sent by way of fiber-optic cables at the speed of light; laser surgery is common; a tiny camera attached to a fine filament of light allows a doctor to see inside an esophagus (for example) in order to help someone swallow again.
God the Creator provides the light energy itself: the sun by day and the moon & stars at night. God gives us life in 24-hour packages – of which 12 of them are lighted, and 12 hours are left dark. The sun’s light recharges the life-energies of plants and animals. Light is the original “resource” from which all physics, biology, and chemistry derives -- E=mc2. Light is essential to life.
Everybody sees how life on earth relies on light. It’s so visible! Constant darkness and shadow, gloom and chill, would give anyone “cabin fever.” Back when I lived in Michigan, where winter could last for seven months (and weeks at a time would go by with slate grey days between a very late dawn and a much too early night-fall), I told folks that I was born in Orange, California, and therefore I was partly solar-powered!
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us:
“You are the Light of the World! A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but atop the lamp-stand, where it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works & give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16)
It’s one thing to say that Jesus is the light (“Jesus is the Light, he is the * light of the world”); it’s quite another to take that task of being the “light” seriously for ourselves.
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
I guess we followers of Jesus can’t just be humble, fading wall-flowers. We’re supposed to be multi-kilowatt generators of light! Jesus wants us not to be embarrassed by our good works: let ’em be seen! And let the glory go to God, your Creator, who empowers you.
Light helps people find their way. You can do that! Light brings warmth. You can do that, too. Yes, we Christian do need occasionally to be like a city on a hill, lit up with light, which make all passers-by say “wow!” People need a bit of “spectacle” in a visually-oriented world. We need to let our light shine, and not hide it under a bushel.
For some folks, it comes easily… those whose temperaments naturally radiate the warmth and engaging style of “light” -- light-hearted people, with a light touch, or like a ray of light in the dark of night. Some folks strike us as light-bearers: they are radiant, some-what charismatic, extroverted, visible, present. We warm up to them.
Others may be a bit more shy, introverted by temperament, such that out-going expressiveness of “doing good that others will see” may be a frightening thought. Still, whether it comes easily or not, we should all be able to ask ourselves: Who can see our good deeds?
Now, if we’re talking about Los Altos UCC, I’d say our neighbors, first of all, who see our yard banners and who drive by the church building. (And at this time, I want to thank Elaine Thornton for getting the new outdoor banners made, such as you see on the fence, letting passers-by know what’s happening here.) Beyond that… (and what they may see in the Saturday Press-Telegram listing, or from a visit to our web-site)… people have to actually get inside our building to “know” what we do.
Whether you are “by nature” out-going or reticent, ask yourself personally: Who is your audience, for whom you are shedding your light? I want you to join me in a pledge: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” (Can I hear it? “Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”) Let the wind of the Holy Spirit blow through you -- blowing on the glowing coals and embers of your spiritual life until a flame comes up! Let the breath of God, the wind of the Spirit, push the inherent brilliance of your flame outward, so everyone can see the good you are doing. Don’t be shy. Be as attractive as light can be!
But don’t forget that you are not the source of your glow. It’s not about your glory, your brilliance, and your energy. Let’s remember that God gives the light -- we just put it to good use!
John’s Gospel makes the point that Jesus is the light of the world. In our second reading this morning, the Gospel writer says: “All things came into being through him… and what has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
John, who comes as a witness “to testify to the light, so that all might believe,” is not (himself) the light. “The true light,” he writes in verse 9, “which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. … And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory… full of grace and truth.” We have seen his glory, “the glory as of a father’s only son.” We have seen the true light in the example of Jesus Christ.
If Jesus is the true light that enlightens all people, who was in the beginning with God, shining through the interstellar darkness, and bringing life into being… how can he say that you and I are the light of the world?
Isn’t it true that (as our new banner puts it – and “thank you” to Eve Bettridge and the ladies of our Wednesday Creative Hands group for making this Lenten Banner!) “Christ is the light of the world”? I believe that. Most certainly, I say that Christ is the light of the world!
But doesn’t Jesus teach that you and I (and others) are “the light of the world”? Well, I believe that also. In other words, I think there is truth in both of these sayings, even though they seem to disagree. I think of it like this: You & I REFLECT the light of Christ. We are “conduits” of God’s love, & life, & light into the darkness of our day.
More than that, we lift the light of Jesus up, high! We are not just one person, as was Jesus; we are a whole assembly, a church of nearly a hundred! We have the light of a whole city, a city set on a hill (says Jesus). And since it is God who gives the light, and it is Jesus Christ who is the light, our “fuel-source” will never run out.
We are to be like light in the darkness, shining, letting work be done and good works be seen. (It’s been said that bright lights have the most “candle-power” but dim lights, the most “scandal power!”)
We are (as Jesus says) “the Light of the world” -- gathered together here like a city set on a hill, so that we cannot be hid.
And when we leave this place (when we are “scattered”), it’s like we’ve been placed individually out there on lamp-stands, so that we can give light to everyone that needs it. We don’t “hide our light under a bushel” or under the bed, when we’re in the dark. We hold it up, hold it out, hold it high! So that we can reflect the light of Christ – Jesus: who is himself the true Light of the world, our source of life and love -- into every dark place that frightens us... into the dim corners of society where God’s light is needed so badly.
As our choir put it in this morning’s anthem: “Run to the darkness! Seek out the hopeless, confused, and torn. Hold out your candle for all to see it.”
So much of our world today is shrouded in fear… clouded in its vision… hidden from joy. So much of it feels little more than a drift of dull pain. But in all that darkness, at occasional, tiny, breath-taking points, there is light! Even pin-pricks of light stand out like flickers of life in the midst of desolation; like glimmers of hope in the midst of despair; like the glory of God in the midst of unbelief.
Let us reflect the light of God into our world as Jesus did! Don’t be embarrassed to think that people “notice” your behavior, your attitudes, your relationships – we’re supposed to let it shine! (“Let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine!”)
And don’t let your light go out! (Pfff!) All-enveloping night, like the empty stretches of space, does not give rise to life. Light is crucial to the very survival of the created order. We all have to do whatever we can (what little we can) to keep the light of Christ shining among us.
“A city set on a hill” needs more than light-hearted light. It needs a dynamo of energy to set it ablaze for all the world to see! Jesus is concerned that we not be dim-bulbs. Jesus has the survival of the whole world on his mind, and that means every bit of us has got to get lit up... get up, get out... and get on with it.
Not for our glory. Not for Los Altos UCC. Not for our sakes, but for God ! Shine on! And do it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
When I think of light shining in darkness, the image I hold in my mind’s eye is a picture from a LIFE magazine at least 40 years ago, because I was in high school. I’m a Baby Boomer – born in the Space Age, the Atomic Age, the age of TV. And the picture was taken from an orbiting spacecraft – perhaps by John Glen, that first time a man “went into orbit” or, perhaps, one of the early Gemini pairs. It was a photo of one half-of the earth -- shrouded in clouds, hidden from the sun -- much of it appearing only as a drift of dull ocean.
But in that dark emptiness, at one tiny, breathtaking point, there was light! The people of one of the large Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth… I don’t recall) had left lights burning all night as a sign of reassurance for the astronauts. In the wide, half-world of blackness, that pin-prick of light stood out like a flicker of life in the midst of desolation – a glimmer of hope in the midst of despair, It struck me then, and it strikes me still: isn’t that like the light which came into our world some 21 Centuries ago?
In all the deep darkness of the Middle East under Roman military occupation -- with only the faded remnants of the once heroic Hebrew Monarchy and an oppressive priesthood -- embattled by its neighbors from the dawn of time & full of poverty, widows, orphans, & sinners… In all that darkness, at one tiny, breath-taking point, there was light! Jesus (born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth) bringing life & light to all he met… one day at a time, one person at a time, one decision at a time.
And light like that, in a most unexpected form – whether encountered along the path as a stranger, or sitting next to you in a pew, or looking back at you from a mirror – is breath-taking.
Just think… Think of a time you felt anger emanating from someone… Think of a time you felt sorrow pouring from someone… Think of a time you felt fear shuddering from someone… And then think of a time when you felt LIGHT shining from someone! You’ve felt it, haven’t you? We all have. But, oh, not nearly often enough!
Light helps us to see where we are going and what we’re doing. Without light, many things must stop. My mom used to say, when I went out to play: “Be home when the street-lights come on.” She was sure that nothing good would happen after nightfall. She wanted her babies safely home!
Ever since the initial “Big Bang” that got the universe going, light permeates the cosmos. And yet (when you think of it) inter-stellar space is filled with darkness! Light is a precious resource. Where there is no light, there is no life.
The first words of God in the Bible (in the book of Genesis) are: “Let there be light!” And God’s world has been evolving ever since!
Plants soak up light in photosynthesis. Electronic messages are sent by way of fiber-optic cables at the speed of light; laser surgery is common; a tiny camera attached to a fine filament of light allows a doctor to see inside an esophagus (for example) in order to help someone swallow again.
God the Creator provides the light energy itself: the sun by day and the moon & stars at night. God gives us life in 24-hour packages – of which 12 of them are lighted, and 12 hours are left dark. The sun’s light recharges the life-energies of plants and animals. Light is the original “resource” from which all physics, biology, and chemistry derives -- E=mc2. Light is essential to life.
Everybody sees how life on earth relies on light. It’s so visible! Constant darkness and shadow, gloom and chill, would give anyone “cabin fever.” Back when I lived in Michigan, where winter could last for seven months (and weeks at a time would go by with slate grey days between a very late dawn and a much too early night-fall), I told folks that I was born in Orange, California, and therefore I was partly solar-powered!
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us:
“You are the Light of the World! A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but atop the lamp-stand, where it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works & give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16)
It’s one thing to say that Jesus is the light (“Jesus is the Light, he is the * light of the world”); it’s quite another to take that task of being the “light” seriously for ourselves.
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
I guess we followers of Jesus can’t just be humble, fading wall-flowers. We’re supposed to be multi-kilowatt generators of light! Jesus wants us not to be embarrassed by our good works: let ’em be seen! And let the glory go to God, your Creator, who empowers you.
Light helps people find their way. You can do that! Light brings warmth. You can do that, too. Yes, we Christian do need occasionally to be like a city on a hill, lit up with light, which make all passers-by say “wow!” People need a bit of “spectacle” in a visually-oriented world. We need to let our light shine, and not hide it under a bushel.
For some folks, it comes easily… those whose temperaments naturally radiate the warmth and engaging style of “light” -- light-hearted people, with a light touch, or like a ray of light in the dark of night. Some folks strike us as light-bearers: they are radiant, some-what charismatic, extroverted, visible, present. We warm up to them.
Others may be a bit more shy, introverted by temperament, such that out-going expressiveness of “doing good that others will see” may be a frightening thought. Still, whether it comes easily or not, we should all be able to ask ourselves: Who can see our good deeds?
Now, if we’re talking about Los Altos UCC, I’d say our neighbors, first of all, who see our yard banners and who drive by the church building. (And at this time, I want to thank Elaine Thornton for getting the new outdoor banners made, such as you see on the fence, letting passers-by know what’s happening here.) Beyond that… (and what they may see in the Saturday Press-Telegram listing, or from a visit to our web-site)… people have to actually get inside our building to “know” what we do.
Whether you are “by nature” out-going or reticent, ask yourself personally: Who is your audience, for whom you are shedding your light? I want you to join me in a pledge: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” (Can I hear it? “Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”) Let the wind of the Holy Spirit blow through you -- blowing on the glowing coals and embers of your spiritual life until a flame comes up! Let the breath of God, the wind of the Spirit, push the inherent brilliance of your flame outward, so everyone can see the good you are doing. Don’t be shy. Be as attractive as light can be!
But don’t forget that you are not the source of your glow. It’s not about your glory, your brilliance, and your energy. Let’s remember that God gives the light -- we just put it to good use!
John’s Gospel makes the point that Jesus is the light of the world. In our second reading this morning, the Gospel writer says: “All things came into being through him… and what has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
John, who comes as a witness “to testify to the light, so that all might believe,” is not (himself) the light. “The true light,” he writes in verse 9, “which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. … And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory… full of grace and truth.” We have seen his glory, “the glory as of a father’s only son.” We have seen the true light in the example of Jesus Christ.
If Jesus is the true light that enlightens all people, who was in the beginning with God, shining through the interstellar darkness, and bringing life into being… how can he say that you and I are the light of the world?
Isn’t it true that (as our new banner puts it – and “thank you” to Eve Bettridge and the ladies of our Wednesday Creative Hands group for making this Lenten Banner!) “Christ is the light of the world”? I believe that. Most certainly, I say that Christ is the light of the world!
But doesn’t Jesus teach that you and I (and others) are “the light of the world”? Well, I believe that also. In other words, I think there is truth in both of these sayings, even though they seem to disagree. I think of it like this: You & I REFLECT the light of Christ. We are “conduits” of God’s love, & life, & light into the darkness of our day.
More than that, we lift the light of Jesus up, high! We are not just one person, as was Jesus; we are a whole assembly, a church of nearly a hundred! We have the light of a whole city, a city set on a hill (says Jesus). And since it is God who gives the light, and it is Jesus Christ who is the light, our “fuel-source” will never run out.
We are to be like light in the darkness, shining, letting work be done and good works be seen. (It’s been said that bright lights have the most “candle-power” but dim lights, the most “scandal power!”)
We are (as Jesus says) “the Light of the world” -- gathered together here like a city set on a hill, so that we cannot be hid.
And when we leave this place (when we are “scattered”), it’s like we’ve been placed individually out there on lamp-stands, so that we can give light to everyone that needs it. We don’t “hide our light under a bushel” or under the bed, when we’re in the dark. We hold it up, hold it out, hold it high! So that we can reflect the light of Christ – Jesus: who is himself the true Light of the world, our source of life and love -- into every dark place that frightens us... into the dim corners of society where God’s light is needed so badly.
As our choir put it in this morning’s anthem: “Run to the darkness! Seek out the hopeless, confused, and torn. Hold out your candle for all to see it.”
So much of our world today is shrouded in fear… clouded in its vision… hidden from joy. So much of it feels little more than a drift of dull pain. But in all that darkness, at occasional, tiny, breath-taking points, there is light! Even pin-pricks of light stand out like flickers of life in the midst of desolation; like glimmers of hope in the midst of despair; like the glory of God in the midst of unbelief.
Let us reflect the light of God into our world as Jesus did! Don’t be embarrassed to think that people “notice” your behavior, your attitudes, your relationships – we’re supposed to let it shine! (“Let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine!”)
And don’t let your light go out! (Pfff!) All-enveloping night, like the empty stretches of space, does not give rise to life. Light is crucial to the very survival of the created order. We all have to do whatever we can (what little we can) to keep the light of Christ shining among us.
“A city set on a hill” needs more than light-hearted light. It needs a dynamo of energy to set it ablaze for all the world to see! Jesus is concerned that we not be dim-bulbs. Jesus has the survival of the whole world on his mind, and that means every bit of us has got to get lit up... get up, get out... and get on with it.
Not for our glory. Not for Los Altos UCC. Not for our sakes, but for God ! Shine on! And do it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
“Let Us Love One Another” (A Christian Ethic of Love) a sermon based on John 15:12-17 and I John 4:7-12
Since this is the Sunday nearest to Valentine’s Day, as I considered what today’s sermon topic ought to be, I thought: How about “LOVE”?
The first passage of Scripture that came to mind is the familiar text from the Apostle Paul that is used so often at weddings: First Corinthians 13: “Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy, nor boast. It is not proud, rude, nor self-seeking. Love is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.” Back in my college days, I used to sing: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy soul.” (Tim Burtram, 1973)
Love is a topic all through the Gospels, as well as the letters of Saint Paul.
That, in turn, brought to mind the first letter of John, in which we are told that love is not so much the fact that we love God, but that God loved us and sent Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for our sin. “Beloved, since God loves us so much, we also ought to love one another.” (I John 4:11)
Last Sunday I mentioned that the New Testament (originally written in Greek) has three words for LOVE: eros (sexual, romantic love) as in erotic, that hormonal stimulating, titillating, and passionate love; philos (a Platonic or "familial" love) as in philo-sophia (love of wisdom), and phila-delphia (brotherly-love); and the third word: agape.
Agape-love is other-centered, God-honoring, compassion -- a love that "comes alongside" your partner in mutual support & fulfillment. It is this third word which is the distinctively Christian attitude toward others: love.
However, human love – if it is to be rich, fulfilling, long-lasting – will have elements of all three kinds of love… eros (physical attraction), philos (a sense of kinship, a stimulating like-mindedness), and agape (a “rational good-will” -- not so much a “feeling” as a “decision” to care for one another). The best love will always be mutually felt, each partner holding the other in high regard; each one being the “cheerleader” for the other’s best efforts. “Agape/love” is an attitude of respect that values the “other” highly.
To speak about love from this pulpit reminds me of when I was here years ago – when I was a Campus Minister at Cal. State, Long Beach (back in 1993-94) and Rich Smith was your Pastor. Back then, Rabbi Ken Kaufman and I presented a discussion series that we called: "The Rabbi & the Reverend." It was an opportunity for students, staff, and faculty members of both faiths -- Jewish and Christian -- to meet together over lunch and discuss with the two of us our "traditional teachings" concerning a number of issues.
One of our topics was: "Love, Sex, and Marriage"... and I pointed out that the typical American pattern had become: (first) "falling in love," (then) having sex, and (finally) getting married. Some people stopped at step two!
The Rabbi (in turn) said of our topic: "Love, Sex, and Marriage," that Torah affirms all three, but not in that order! In fact, Torah (Jewish Law) expects them to come in exactly the reverse order! First, you commit…
Jewish tradition includes "arranged marriage" (as you may know from "Fiddler on the Roof": the "matchmaker"). As in the case of Jesus’ own parents (Mary & Joseph), a betrothal -- a pledge of commitment -- was made before either partner had any chance of really “getting to know” the other. Within Judaism, it is after marriage, exclusively, that the sexual experiences come... with the intention that sexual intimacy would further solidify their commitment to the marriage, and bring forth children in a stable home. "Love," said the Rabbi, "was a later development, which arose from those shared experiences..." Love was born from the celebrations & struggles, and the time spent together living out the commitment of their marriage. (Now, there's food for thought! Waiting for sex until after marriage?)
I tell you those stories, by way of introduction, to suggest that we may be "presuming" we know what we mean by LOVE while others in our society think differently. Times have changed; our society is highly sexualized. Kids don’t want to wait even until they are dating to start “hooking up”!
I’m sure you’ve heard of “sexting.” Middle school girls have been sending nude photos of themselves using their cell-phone cameras and the internet! When asked, one said: “It didn’t mean anything; it’s just sex.”
Back in my campus ministry days, I was invited to speak at the Student Center at Dominguez Hills about “The ETHICS of Dating & Love Relation-ships.” I told those college students at Dominguez Hills that LOVE need not necessarily involve sex at all, nor lead to plans of marriage... for the purpose of "dating" (during high school and college) may, in fact, be simply "to become better friends"-- to get to know a person at a deeper level over time.
Man, oh, man…did that date me! I was old-fashioned even back then. Who even talks about “dating” anymore? Young folks just hang out & hook up. (Nobody goes on “dates” anymore, Pastor Lance!) But when I was younger, dating was the process of getting acquainted -- "going out" together -- a time for mutual exploration of different personality types, communication skills, one’s sexuality, values and expectations, and setting boundaries. (Does anybody even talk about setting boundaries anymore?)
The purpose of dating was: to get acquainted, and to "explore"... Not to find a sexual partner -- although that may have been one of the partners' desire! (It used to be the boy wanted to “score” but now it seems both parties are equally apt to make the first move.) In any case, I advised those students that they'd better be clear about their standards in advance (and be prepared with a variety of ways of saying "No!") before any pressure was put on them.
I suggested to those students that they may want to be clear in their own mind, as well as clear with their friend, as to what purpose they were spending their time together (and know, at least for oneself, what you expect from this exploration in intimacy). For them, love was eros! No philos, no agape.
In today's sermon, I cannot cover whole topic of "Love, Sex, and Marriage" so I’ll deal only with LOVE. In fact, I will narrow the discussion, for time's sake, to focus upon (what I would call) "a Christian Ethic of Love."
The word "Ethics" applies to the principles we hold by which we evaluate behavior. Ethics are broad guidelines that we abstract from careful observation & thought; principles which we believe will enable people to function fully and effectively. (One could say that our ethics are our "ideals.") ETHICAL BEHAVIOR are those actions which assure that individual well-being will flourish, and that social "good" will be enhanced.
"Ethics" is a little different than "Morality." “Morality” is defined by how our actions effect others. Recognizing that our actions do affect other people (which is the "moral dimension") -- and engaging in the process of defining "ethical" guidelines for those encounters -- are good for us to do, and healthy for society, whether one is Christian or not. You don't have to be “Christian” to have ethics.
And you don't have to be Christian to speak of love. The words "I love you" are common currency in the public domain! Christian ethics will some-times match the values of society (values of "practicality," for example; or improving one's "material well-being"), but what distinguishes the Christian perspective is our measuring of ourselves against Jesus' story & promises.
For the Christian, neither social norms, nor ethnic traditions; not Torah-Law, nor even State-law is our primary concern. Our behavior is measured against the standard of Jesus' own ethics. Are we Christ-like in what we do?
As the founding figure of Christianity, the views held by Jesus and his followers -- those men & women whose lives were changed & who were so deeply affected by his death -- is the measure of whether something is to be called "Christian" or not ("Christ-like" or not).
So, what -- specifically -- is a "CHRISTIAN" ETHIC of Love?
When St. John writes: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God,” what makes our understanding of LOVE different from the soap operas, or from “love songs,” or the Sonnets of Shakespeare?
The test is simple enough: does our love reflect the values of Jesus of Nazareth -- as his life and teachings are recorded in the Gospels? To me, that is the primary measure of Christian Love: it will be "Christ-like" love. And Jesus, in turn, we believe, lived fully (& demonstrated perfectly) the kind of love that God intends... of which there are three noteworthy attributes:
First, it is non-judgmental. God's love is non-judgmental.
Jesus said, for example: "My Father sends rain on the just and the unjust alike..." Jesus says it is not enough to "love only those who love you" (to love only those who are like us), but that we are to "Love our enemies..." That kind of non-judgmental, unconditional, freely given, God-initiated, steadfast love is often called "GRACE" in the church. But it is LOVE: AGAPE
Second, God's Love -- Christian Love -- is self-correcting.
Jesus taught his followers to pray: "Forgive us, in the same way as we forgive others." (Not just occasionally, but over-&-over: forgive 70-times-7 times!) His followers were often encouraged to "Repent..." (that is, to "turn around" and to "start over.") Jesus says we may "go, and sin no more," and time & again he says: "your faith has made you well..." In other words, it seems to me, Christian Love expects "change" to happen; it encourages self-correction, development, growth... The inability to change is death.
God’s love is non-judgmental... Self-correcting...
And, third, Christian Love, like God's Love, is "other-serving" -- even to the point of renouncing self, if needs be! Advocating on behalf of the unlovable. Giving of oneself. "Christ-like" love is other-centered; other-serving.
In today’s first reading, Jesus says to his disciples:
“My commandment is that you love one another, as I have loved you! No one has greater love than this! … No greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends,” said Jesus. Christian Love is like the best friendship: it’s "other-serving" -- to the point of renouncing self, if needs be! Advocating on behalf of the unlovable. Giving of oneself.
What's required of our ethics in order to say they are "Christian" is not a simple list of forbidden & approved behavior (rules of "do's and don't's"), but rather an approach that is wholeheartedly open toward God: an attitude toward God that engages our whole mind, our whole body, and all our being! (Love the Lord your God with all your heart… soul… mind… strength!)
And then, from that source, we are to wholeheartedly love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (You'll recognize that, of course, as "the Great Commandment" that Jesus taught.)
Similarly, "the Golden Rule" (that we spoke about last Sunday) shows our ethical approach: we will do unto others that which we would really appreciate them doing for us. It's not enough for us to refrain from doing harm. No, to be Christian ("Christ-like") we must promote others' welfare. The Christian is commanded to love! Jesus says:“This is my commandment!”
Now, those "others" (whom we are instructed to love, to hold in regard and with respect) may not respect us; they may not thank us; they may not respond to our kindness... They may even want to take advantage of us (since they know we are “supposed to be” doing our best to love them)! Well, that's their problem. (And I'll admit: it is sometimes hard to live with moral sensitivity in an a-moral world; sometimes our “ethics” may be liabilities!) Face it: Christian love demands much from us. It’s not natural, nor easy.
As you can see, "Christ-like" love is not very sentimental, nor romantic; and it's certainly not for the lazy! The love of God which we freely receive challenges us to move in a positive, life-giving direction (to reconcile).
It’s not enough just to love our "innermost circle," where our social obligations & sense of moral responsibility is strongest (such as our family). Nor can we say we’ve done our part by loving the next wider circle of "friends" (who are people, most often, who are "like us" and whom WE LIKE). Nor is it enough for our love to include those further-distant circles of co-workers, acquaintances, and strangers. Our call to LOVE in Christ’s name stretches even so far as to the circles we have defined as our "enemies." We are to love! Period! That is the Christian mandate.
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God…
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (I John 4:7-8)
This central ethical principle of Jesus -- this imperative to LOVE -- strikes us as extreme. It is radical! It doesn't allow us to set up any easy checklist of "good/bad" (nor of "us/them"), and we cannot "absolutize" any of the circles of relative responsibility as our self-selected "target audience" for bestowing our love. It’s intended for everyone. Whoever you are, and wherever you may be along your life’s journey, God’s love is for you!
Love, as demonstrated by Christ and his followers, will (1) enable people to function fully and effectively (as God would desire). John’s letter admits: “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us.” Or as Jesus said on another occasion: “By this shall all people know that you are my disciples: if you have love for one another.” Love as demonstrated by Jesus will enable people to function more fully and effectively as God would desire. God’s “will” being done!
It will (2) inspire people to better themselves, and (3) it will show respect, mutuality, and justice toward others. To do less is not Christian love.
So, if someone says they "love you," but the relationship they mean by that word does not serve those ends, they are speaking of something other than a Christian ethic of love.
I would sum it up by saying that we show a person love when we "get RADICAL in showing them RESPECT"...realizing that the person they are (male, female, boyfriend, girlfriend, gay/straight, transgendered) is a Child of God. Loved by God! Precious. Made in the image of God, and of equal worth as oneself.
A Christian ethic of LOVE is (1) non-judgmental, (2) self-correcting, and (3) other-serving... It’s a love that stands out from the "norm" by being more patient and forgiving than most; neither jealous, nor boastful; rarely resentful, delighting in open communication... All those things that St. Paul wrote about in First Corinthians 13 (which will be a sermon for another time).
To my way of thinking, acts of love are the only things of eternal value. So, let us learn it, and live it. For “they will know we are Christian by our love!”
Amen.
The first passage of Scripture that came to mind is the familiar text from the Apostle Paul that is used so often at weddings: First Corinthians 13: “Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy, nor boast. It is not proud, rude, nor self-seeking. Love is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.” Back in my college days, I used to sing: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy soul.” (Tim Burtram, 1973)
Love is a topic all through the Gospels, as well as the letters of Saint Paul.
That, in turn, brought to mind the first letter of John, in which we are told that love is not so much the fact that we love God, but that God loved us and sent Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for our sin. “Beloved, since God loves us so much, we also ought to love one another.” (I John 4:11)
Last Sunday I mentioned that the New Testament (originally written in Greek) has three words for LOVE: eros (sexual, romantic love) as in erotic, that hormonal stimulating, titillating, and passionate love; philos (a Platonic or "familial" love) as in philo-sophia (love of wisdom), and phila-delphia (brotherly-love); and the third word: agape.
Agape-love is other-centered, God-honoring, compassion -- a love that "comes alongside" your partner in mutual support & fulfillment. It is this third word which is the distinctively Christian attitude toward others: love.
However, human love – if it is to be rich, fulfilling, long-lasting – will have elements of all three kinds of love… eros (physical attraction), philos (a sense of kinship, a stimulating like-mindedness), and agape (a “rational good-will” -- not so much a “feeling” as a “decision” to care for one another). The best love will always be mutually felt, each partner holding the other in high regard; each one being the “cheerleader” for the other’s best efforts. “Agape/love” is an attitude of respect that values the “other” highly.
To speak about love from this pulpit reminds me of when I was here years ago – when I was a Campus Minister at Cal. State, Long Beach (back in 1993-94) and Rich Smith was your Pastor. Back then, Rabbi Ken Kaufman and I presented a discussion series that we called: "The Rabbi & the Reverend." It was an opportunity for students, staff, and faculty members of both faiths -- Jewish and Christian -- to meet together over lunch and discuss with the two of us our "traditional teachings" concerning a number of issues.
One of our topics was: "Love, Sex, and Marriage"... and I pointed out that the typical American pattern had become: (first) "falling in love," (then) having sex, and (finally) getting married. Some people stopped at step two!
The Rabbi (in turn) said of our topic: "Love, Sex, and Marriage," that Torah affirms all three, but not in that order! In fact, Torah (Jewish Law) expects them to come in exactly the reverse order! First, you commit…
Jewish tradition includes "arranged marriage" (as you may know from "Fiddler on the Roof": the "matchmaker"). As in the case of Jesus’ own parents (Mary & Joseph), a betrothal -- a pledge of commitment -- was made before either partner had any chance of really “getting to know” the other. Within Judaism, it is after marriage, exclusively, that the sexual experiences come... with the intention that sexual intimacy would further solidify their commitment to the marriage, and bring forth children in a stable home. "Love," said the Rabbi, "was a later development, which arose from those shared experiences..." Love was born from the celebrations & struggles, and the time spent together living out the commitment of their marriage. (Now, there's food for thought! Waiting for sex until after marriage?)
I tell you those stories, by way of introduction, to suggest that we may be "presuming" we know what we mean by LOVE while others in our society think differently. Times have changed; our society is highly sexualized. Kids don’t want to wait even until they are dating to start “hooking up”!
I’m sure you’ve heard of “sexting.” Middle school girls have been sending nude photos of themselves using their cell-phone cameras and the internet! When asked, one said: “It didn’t mean anything; it’s just sex.”
Back in my campus ministry days, I was invited to speak at the Student Center at Dominguez Hills about “The ETHICS of Dating & Love Relation-ships.” I told those college students at Dominguez Hills that LOVE need not necessarily involve sex at all, nor lead to plans of marriage... for the purpose of "dating" (during high school and college) may, in fact, be simply "to become better friends"-- to get to know a person at a deeper level over time.
Man, oh, man…did that date me! I was old-fashioned even back then. Who even talks about “dating” anymore? Young folks just hang out & hook up. (Nobody goes on “dates” anymore, Pastor Lance!) But when I was younger, dating was the process of getting acquainted -- "going out" together -- a time for mutual exploration of different personality types, communication skills, one’s sexuality, values and expectations, and setting boundaries. (Does anybody even talk about setting boundaries anymore?)
The purpose of dating was: to get acquainted, and to "explore"... Not to find a sexual partner -- although that may have been one of the partners' desire! (It used to be the boy wanted to “score” but now it seems both parties are equally apt to make the first move.) In any case, I advised those students that they'd better be clear about their standards in advance (and be prepared with a variety of ways of saying "No!") before any pressure was put on them.
I suggested to those students that they may want to be clear in their own mind, as well as clear with their friend, as to what purpose they were spending their time together (and know, at least for oneself, what you expect from this exploration in intimacy). For them, love was eros! No philos, no agape.
In today's sermon, I cannot cover whole topic of "Love, Sex, and Marriage" so I’ll deal only with LOVE. In fact, I will narrow the discussion, for time's sake, to focus upon (what I would call) "a Christian Ethic of Love."
The word "Ethics" applies to the principles we hold by which we evaluate behavior. Ethics are broad guidelines that we abstract from careful observation & thought; principles which we believe will enable people to function fully and effectively. (One could say that our ethics are our "ideals.") ETHICAL BEHAVIOR are those actions which assure that individual well-being will flourish, and that social "good" will be enhanced.
"Ethics" is a little different than "Morality." “Morality” is defined by how our actions effect others. Recognizing that our actions do affect other people (which is the "moral dimension") -- and engaging in the process of defining "ethical" guidelines for those encounters -- are good for us to do, and healthy for society, whether one is Christian or not. You don't have to be “Christian” to have ethics.
And you don't have to be Christian to speak of love. The words "I love you" are common currency in the public domain! Christian ethics will some-times match the values of society (values of "practicality," for example; or improving one's "material well-being"), but what distinguishes the Christian perspective is our measuring of ourselves against Jesus' story & promises.
For the Christian, neither social norms, nor ethnic traditions; not Torah-Law, nor even State-law is our primary concern. Our behavior is measured against the standard of Jesus' own ethics. Are we Christ-like in what we do?
As the founding figure of Christianity, the views held by Jesus and his followers -- those men & women whose lives were changed & who were so deeply affected by his death -- is the measure of whether something is to be called "Christian" or not ("Christ-like" or not).
So, what -- specifically -- is a "CHRISTIAN" ETHIC of Love?
When St. John writes: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God,” what makes our understanding of LOVE different from the soap operas, or from “love songs,” or the Sonnets of Shakespeare?
The test is simple enough: does our love reflect the values of Jesus of Nazareth -- as his life and teachings are recorded in the Gospels? To me, that is the primary measure of Christian Love: it will be "Christ-like" love. And Jesus, in turn, we believe, lived fully (& demonstrated perfectly) the kind of love that God intends... of which there are three noteworthy attributes:
First, it is non-judgmental. God's love is non-judgmental.
Jesus said, for example: "My Father sends rain on the just and the unjust alike..." Jesus says it is not enough to "love only those who love you" (to love only those who are like us), but that we are to "Love our enemies..." That kind of non-judgmental, unconditional, freely given, God-initiated, steadfast love is often called "GRACE" in the church. But it is LOVE: AGAPE
Second, God's Love -- Christian Love -- is self-correcting.
Jesus taught his followers to pray: "Forgive us, in the same way as we forgive others." (Not just occasionally, but over-&-over: forgive 70-times-7 times!) His followers were often encouraged to "Repent..." (that is, to "turn around" and to "start over.") Jesus says we may "go, and sin no more," and time & again he says: "your faith has made you well..." In other words, it seems to me, Christian Love expects "change" to happen; it encourages self-correction, development, growth... The inability to change is death.
God’s love is non-judgmental... Self-correcting...
And, third, Christian Love, like God's Love, is "other-serving" -- even to the point of renouncing self, if needs be! Advocating on behalf of the unlovable. Giving of oneself. "Christ-like" love is other-centered; other-serving.
In today’s first reading, Jesus says to his disciples:
“My commandment is that you love one another, as I have loved you! No one has greater love than this! … No greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends,” said Jesus. Christian Love is like the best friendship: it’s "other-serving" -- to the point of renouncing self, if needs be! Advocating on behalf of the unlovable. Giving of oneself.
What's required of our ethics in order to say they are "Christian" is not a simple list of forbidden & approved behavior (rules of "do's and don't's"), but rather an approach that is wholeheartedly open toward God: an attitude toward God that engages our whole mind, our whole body, and all our being! (Love the Lord your God with all your heart… soul… mind… strength!)
And then, from that source, we are to wholeheartedly love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (You'll recognize that, of course, as "the Great Commandment" that Jesus taught.)
Similarly, "the Golden Rule" (that we spoke about last Sunday) shows our ethical approach: we will do unto others that which we would really appreciate them doing for us. It's not enough for us to refrain from doing harm. No, to be Christian ("Christ-like") we must promote others' welfare. The Christian is commanded to love! Jesus says:“This is my commandment!”
Now, those "others" (whom we are instructed to love, to hold in regard and with respect) may not respect us; they may not thank us; they may not respond to our kindness... They may even want to take advantage of us (since they know we are “supposed to be” doing our best to love them)! Well, that's their problem. (And I'll admit: it is sometimes hard to live with moral sensitivity in an a-moral world; sometimes our “ethics” may be liabilities!) Face it: Christian love demands much from us. It’s not natural, nor easy.
As you can see, "Christ-like" love is not very sentimental, nor romantic; and it's certainly not for the lazy! The love of God which we freely receive challenges us to move in a positive, life-giving direction (to reconcile).
It’s not enough just to love our "innermost circle," where our social obligations & sense of moral responsibility is strongest (such as our family). Nor can we say we’ve done our part by loving the next wider circle of "friends" (who are people, most often, who are "like us" and whom WE LIKE). Nor is it enough for our love to include those further-distant circles of co-workers, acquaintances, and strangers. Our call to LOVE in Christ’s name stretches even so far as to the circles we have defined as our "enemies." We are to love! Period! That is the Christian mandate.
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God…
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (I John 4:7-8)
This central ethical principle of Jesus -- this imperative to LOVE -- strikes us as extreme. It is radical! It doesn't allow us to set up any easy checklist of "good/bad" (nor of "us/them"), and we cannot "absolutize" any of the circles of relative responsibility as our self-selected "target audience" for bestowing our love. It’s intended for everyone. Whoever you are, and wherever you may be along your life’s journey, God’s love is for you!
Love, as demonstrated by Christ and his followers, will (1) enable people to function fully and effectively (as God would desire). John’s letter admits: “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us.” Or as Jesus said on another occasion: “By this shall all people know that you are my disciples: if you have love for one another.” Love as demonstrated by Jesus will enable people to function more fully and effectively as God would desire. God’s “will” being done!
It will (2) inspire people to better themselves, and (3) it will show respect, mutuality, and justice toward others. To do less is not Christian love.
So, if someone says they "love you," but the relationship they mean by that word does not serve those ends, they are speaking of something other than a Christian ethic of love.
I would sum it up by saying that we show a person love when we "get RADICAL in showing them RESPECT"...realizing that the person they are (male, female, boyfriend, girlfriend, gay/straight, transgendered) is a Child of God. Loved by God! Precious. Made in the image of God, and of equal worth as oneself.
A Christian ethic of LOVE is (1) non-judgmental, (2) self-correcting, and (3) other-serving... It’s a love that stands out from the "norm" by being more patient and forgiving than most; neither jealous, nor boastful; rarely resentful, delighting in open communication... All those things that St. Paul wrote about in First Corinthians 13 (which will be a sermon for another time).
To my way of thinking, acts of love are the only things of eternal value. So, let us learn it, and live it. For “they will know we are Christian by our love!”
Amen.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
"But I Say To You That Listen: Love!" (a sermon based upon Luke 6:27-36)
Today’s Bible story catches Jesus mid-way through his Sermon on the Plain, when he says to the crowds: “But I say to you that listen: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also… Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Just imagine how different world history might have been, if nations such as ours which claims to be Christian (or those European people whose history of Christianity traces itself back to the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval church, and form the very roots of Catholicism, Lutheranism, & Orthodoxy), had actually based their foreign policy on these words from Jesus, the Head of the Church: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. …
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Or, even better: the great summary sentence at the center of today’s text: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Had any of us so-called “Christian” nations put that principle into practice as “state policy,” the contours of Western civilization would probably be quite different. But no nation has ever done that. No nation (not even neutral Switzerland, nor remote Sweden) has come very far down that road in the 2,000 years since Jesus first said: “Love your enemies.” We still prepare for war.
As a political entity, we Americans are not un-like the other nation-states of the world. Our economy and military is not based on sayings from Jesus, no matter how well-memorized (or beloved) our Bible may be! But… I am not here this morning (on this Scout Sunday) to preach about “Peace-making” … nor politics. That’s not my role as your Pastor. Even with the Flag Ceremony and the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of today’s worship, the pulpit is not the place for political commentary.
But I do want us to feel the uncomfortable “pinch” of conscience when we consider (personally) how quickly we dismiss Jesus’ command to “Love our enemies.” It would be nice if we could say (as in the Scout Law): “I will do my best to do…” that! …with the hopefulness (and humility) that “doing our best” to TRY to live Jesus’ command to “love our enemies” is at least a starting point.
Jesus says he wants us to “do good to those who hate you, to bless those who curse you, and to pray for those who abuse you.” Can we be honest? That’s hard to do! If anyone strikes me on the cheek, I doubt that I’d offer the other !… I may not fight them; in fact, I would more likely flee. But I sure wouldn’t stand there & take it!
Furthermore, if we believe the Golden Rule: aren’t we supposed to do what we imagine the other person would like to have done if th ey were in our place? At least I try to be merciful, as our Father is merciful. But that’s a long way from obeying Jesus: “Love our enemies… Do good to those who hate you… Bless those who curse you,… and pray for those who abuse you.”
If we take nothing else from this text, let’s at least hold those four emphatic verbs in mind: to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray. In fact, as I worked on this sermon this week, it stuck me: that’s about as good a job description of being “Christian” as I’ve heard lately. To love, to do good, to bless, and to pray is as far removed from being judgmental, exclusive, critical, or biased against anyone as a person can get. These words, though challenging -- and almost impossible to put into practice in the face of largely mean-spirited, me-first-ism, ethically-challenged, ruthlessly competitive values of modern America -- still capture the preferred ethic of Jesus Christ.
Last Sunday, we heard again the words of our Los Altos UCC Constitution as a congregation in which we say that our very purpose for being here in Long Beach is (and I quote): “to worship the creating, caring God, and as God’s partners, continue the work of Jesus Christ.” Wouldn’t that work be to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray? It’s good occasionally to remind ourselves of our founding principles and focus.
Even though Jesus’ way is still radical, counter-cultural, and hard to implement (personally or publicly), we’ve got to try! To the degree we are actually trying to do that, week-in-and-week-out, I am honored to be your Pastor. To the degree other issues and personal agendas, other activities and controversies, other emphases side-line our public articulation of Jesus’ values, dampen the Spirit God gives us, or limit our thrust of Jesus’ mission into our community, it can become tedious. Our lay leaders are tempted to “burn out” if they feel it’s all on their shoulders. As a church, we’ve got to aim for the higher goal as set by Jesus, even if it’s a struggle to meet it & some resist it.
Jesus said to his followers back then, and to us in our day (as we seek in this generation to make the historic faith “our own”) : “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also… Give to everyone who begs from you. If anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. …
“ Do to others as you would have them do to you. Lend, expecting nothing in return… Be kind, to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Quite a list of commands, don’t you think?
We don’t hear it quite that clearly on most occasions. And I wonder if the crowds there that day heard those eight emphatic verbs, in that context, any better than the rest of us do now? A moment ago I lifted up the first four verbs – love, do good, bless, and pray – as a concise summary of what Jesus expects of us, but there are four further verbs in this brief snippet of Scripture: namely, to give, to lend, to be kind, and to be merciful. I’ll admit that it’s not as easy to remember a list of eight actions as it is to remember just the first four, but that’s what Jesus is looking for when he says: “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”
There are two words in the GIRL Scout Oath that are not in the Boy Scouts’ list of 12 character traits (that we used in our Call to Worship) – you know: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly… and all the rest. Those two words in the Girl Scout Oath are “considerate” and “caring.” Those two words go together really well. A Scout will do her best to be considerate and caring.
What that means to me is: to be polite… showing good manners, being respectful.
But more than that: to be considerate “considers” others – thinks about what it might be for them. To walk in their shoes. To see it through their eyes. That’s what I think Jesus meant when he gave us the Golden Rule: “Do unto others what you would like them to do unto you.” Or, at least, don’t do something to somebody else that you wouldn’t want them to do to you! Be considerate and caring of others. A Girl Scout says she will “respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, [to] make the world a better place.” I like the Girl Scout Oath, the Boy Scout Oath, and the suggestions Jesus made: to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray … to give, to lend, to be kind, and to be merciful.
I wonder if the crowds there that day heard those eight qualities of character, in their context, any better than the rest of us? What provokes my wondering is the way Jesus starts that list of commands: “But I say to you that listen…” Love your enemies, do good, and so forth.
Here we are, well into the middle of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain” (which is Luke’s version of Matthew’s more famous “Sermon on the Mount”), when Jesus draws attention to the LISTENERS. “I say to you that listen…” So, does that mean that some people had “zoned out”? Had they gone to sleep?
Had their minds gone off on some tangent of thought, because of something Jesus had said in the Beatitudes (in that familiar list of blessings and woe’s) which preceded these words? Since such things happen in every sermon I’ve ever preached -- people zone out, their minds wander, they doze off -- I suspect that Jesus’ audience (too) might not have been an exception!
“I say to you that listen…” presupposes that there are some folks present who don’t listen, who won’t listen, or who can’t listen… They have “had enough” (heard enough!) already! They “blow it off” as impossible, or they consider it as too idealistic to be taken seriously, or it may be someone who is simply so stuck in their habits and ruts so as not to be dislodged! Jesus knows that some folks present will not be listening.
By the way, the Greek word “lego” (which is translated “listen”) is in the emphatic mode, so it may actually be intended as a command: LISTEN!
“Love your enemies.” “Agapate.”
I think you all know that there are three different Greek verbs that are translated “love” in our New Testament. One, eros, is romantic -- sexually-attracted love -- that wants to “hook up” and be joined to one’s partner. “Eros-love” is intimate and passionate. To that kind of love, Jesus says: “Whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder!” (For what it’s worth: that’s why I support the concept of marriage rights for ALL people, regardless of gender, race, economics, or any other social criterion that presumes mankind has the authority to “asunder” them that God has “joined” … couples that God has intended/designed to be together.) But this is not a sermon about eros-love, so hold that thought for another occasion. (Maybe I’ll get back to it closer to Valentine’s Day.)
The second verb which we translate as “love” is phileo -- as in Philadelphia (brotherly love) or philosophy (love of wisdom). “Phileo” relates basically to a warm, personal affection for its object; something we like, appreciate, or enjoy. Most of us “love” chocolate (for example) in a “phileo” kind of way, not in an “erotic” way…
The third verb that is translated “love” is “agape/agapao” which is used to mean a rational good-will (not a feeling) which recognizes the value of its object. If phileo is a feeling, agapao is a decision; it’s an attitude of respect that values the “other” highly.
It is this word (agape) which is used throughout today’s text.
Even one’s enemies (says Jesus) must be regarded from the viewpoint of recognition of their value as persons, and with a rational good-will which desires what is best for them. What is best for them, them, the “other” person, yes even our enemy!
Who exactly these “enemies” might be, Jesus gives us no clue. The word is not further defined. You can fill in the blank for yourself.
Is it your mean neighbor who guns his motorbike very loudly every morning, or your pierced-&-tattooed teenager’s friends? Is it a gay couple that you’ve been told you really should look down upon, or that transgendered co-worker who was a he but is now a she (or vice versa)? Is it someone from the opposing political party? With the rancorous debate of an election year coming upon us, the political polarization of our society will exacerbate! -- You know who I mean: those Democrats who cannot stomach a Republican flag-waver, or those Republicans who detest the tax-&-spend liberals who are always criticizing America! (Where all that rancor comes from was well put in an old song: “We’ve got to be carefully taught… to hate all the people our relatives hate! We’ve got to be carefully taught.”) You know who you hold to be an “enemy.”
For whomever we reserve the word “enemy,” Jesus’ command is clear: “Agape them!” Exercise rational good will toward them… desire what is best for them. We saw Jesus do that with “outcasts and sinners” of every stripe, all through his life and ministry! Agape them; love them; desire to do what is best for them… what you would have them do unto you, if you were in their place. To “love them” is to do more than merely “tolerate” them, or be “open” to them.
Jesus didn’t just “tolerate” the tax-collectors (for example); Jesus ate with them, in their homes! Jesus invited them to be his disciples & appointed them as his apostles.
He was not just “open to” smelly fishermen and nicely-scented prostitutes, Jesus came alongside them, welcomed them, created a community out of them… yes, outcasts & sinners!
Jesus was not apathetic toward the problems of disease and poverty, instead, Jesus embraced the humanity of the lepers & the widows, the orphans & little children, and gave them value! He pointed out a poor widow who (in giving away her last two pennies) had been more generous and self-sacrificing than the many wealthy men in the Temple. He told the story of a Good Samaritan, who did better than the judges and the priests, even though the man was despised by the majority of Jews (called a “dog”).
“Agape them!” says Jesus. That’s an order from the Head of the Church!
Do good – that is, exercise pro-active positive action that expresses regard and love even toward those who express hatred toward you! When you are reviled, return a blessing. Include in your prayers those whose conduct toward you is abusive; pray for their repentance, their healing, their well-being… not vengeance nor curses upon them.
“Agape them.” Love them, do good to them, bless them, and pray for them – and the four further verbs: give to them, lend what you can, be kind, and be merciful.
All that seems “unreasonable” (even after 2,000 years) because “no one else” does it this way! Many Christian Churches have found it easier to revert to being a “Bible” church than to take the challenge of going beyond the Mosaic Law to Jesus’ higher ethic. Moses gave us the law of retaliation (Exodus 21:23-24, Leviticus 24:19-20, & Deuteronomy 19:21):
If in a conflict, a man knocked out another man’s tooth, the injured party was permitted by law to knock out a tooth of his opponent. If an eye was poked out, the injured party had the right (and the expectation) to poke out his enemy’s eye. If a family member’s life was lost at the hand of another, the family could call for the execution of the perpetrator. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life” was the law -- the “biblical” code of justice: to retaliate in kind.
Jesus’ higher ethic tells us to “love one another.” To love your neighbor… that may be possible; but to love your enemy? No thanks!
The new kind of relationships that Jesus emphasized seem to be a liability in a dog-eat-dog economy, where business ethics can be ruthless and “compassion” is seen as weakness. Are we not put at a disadvantage if we follow Jesus’ commands and begin to behave in this way when others do not? Sure, we can return love to those who love us; we can give to those from whom we expect reciprocity. To “pay back” evil for evil (Let’s see how you like it, when the shoe is on the other foot!), is common-sense… pay-back and put-downs are common-place practices! It feels ”unfair” to expect Jesus’ followers to behave differently from the norm. “Won’t they walk all over us?” Abuse us even further? Can’t a Christian draw a line, and say: “I’ve had enough!”
There is no spiritual dynamic in returning good for good, or evil for evil. That’s the way most folks operate: tit-for-tat… What you did to me, I’ll do back at you! The vicious cycle of insult and injury perpetuates and escalates. It’s the way of the world.
As Gandhi once said: “If we continue an eye-for-an-eye and a tooth-for-a-tooth, soon the whole world will be toothless and blind!”
Jesus taught that his followers must go beyond the commonplace common-sense expectations, and demonstrate a level of ethical conduct which is noticeably different & higher than the conduct of others. It’s not enough to be “nice” (to be good-&-godly) in an ungodly society, if we don’t stand up and stand out.
To be loving, pro-active, and positive in situations when others are (at best) apathetic and (at worst) retaliative, will be noticed. You will be shining a light that others may see and give glory to God because of it. (This isn’t easy advice that Jesus asks of us!) We love in this radical way, first, because Jesus tells us to… and he is the sole head of the church!
We love because Jesus sets the goal for us -- we who would be Christian (Christ-like). But we also love because that is the right way to be; it brings its own reward in the sense of “well-being” in having done what was right. To conduct ourselves in this way is to exhibit in our lives the very character of God – to be sons & daughters of the Most High!
God who is graciously disposed toward us, regardless of our hard-ness of heart, foolish-ness of mind, or stubborn-ness of character. God knows you and me; and (despite that) God loves us!
God is kind to the ungrateful, and long-suffering toward the wicked; giving good things even to the most ungrateful and grasping among us. That’s why we speak of “Amazing Grace” … the word “Grace” means: unearned and undeserved goodness.
Since the Gospel reveals to us a God who is good -- compassionate, merciful -- toward all people… so must we be as God’s children, God’s servants. What we know of God’s character through Jesus, so (too) we must exhibit in our character (if we want to call ourselves “Christian”). We have to go the “extra” mile; we have to do the “unexpectedly” generous thing. Do what is expected, yes… and then some!
WE have to be pro-active in building good-will; we must take the initiative where reconciliation is needed. We must do the positive good deed – to use a term we know from the Boy Scouts. To use the Golden Rule as our measure: “To do unto others as you wold have them do to you.”
If we say that our purpose is to provide a place of worship for people who believe in the principles Jesus taught. And if the principles that Jesus taught were to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray… to give, to lend, to be kind, and to be merciful… Are we listening? Are we ready to be caught doing that, in public, in Jesus’ name?
May it be so. Amen.
Just imagine how different world history might have been, if nations such as ours which claims to be Christian (or those European people whose history of Christianity traces itself back to the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval church, and form the very roots of Catholicism, Lutheranism, & Orthodoxy), had actually based their foreign policy on these words from Jesus, the Head of the Church: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. …
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Or, even better: the great summary sentence at the center of today’s text: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Had any of us so-called “Christian” nations put that principle into practice as “state policy,” the contours of Western civilization would probably be quite different. But no nation has ever done that. No nation (not even neutral Switzerland, nor remote Sweden) has come very far down that road in the 2,000 years since Jesus first said: “Love your enemies.” We still prepare for war.
As a political entity, we Americans are not un-like the other nation-states of the world. Our economy and military is not based on sayings from Jesus, no matter how well-memorized (or beloved) our Bible may be! But… I am not here this morning (on this Scout Sunday) to preach about “Peace-making” … nor politics. That’s not my role as your Pastor. Even with the Flag Ceremony and the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of today’s worship, the pulpit is not the place for political commentary.
But I do want us to feel the uncomfortable “pinch” of conscience when we consider (personally) how quickly we dismiss Jesus’ command to “Love our enemies.” It would be nice if we could say (as in the Scout Law): “I will do my best to do…” that! …with the hopefulness (and humility) that “doing our best” to TRY to live Jesus’ command to “love our enemies” is at least a starting point.
Jesus says he wants us to “do good to those who hate you, to bless those who curse you, and to pray for those who abuse you.” Can we be honest? That’s hard to do! If anyone strikes me on the cheek, I doubt that I’d offer the other !… I may not fight them; in fact, I would more likely flee. But I sure wouldn’t stand there & take it!
Furthermore, if we believe the Golden Rule: aren’t we supposed to do what we imagine the other person would like to have done if th ey were in our place? At least I try to be merciful, as our Father is merciful. But that’s a long way from obeying Jesus: “Love our enemies… Do good to those who hate you… Bless those who curse you,… and pray for those who abuse you.”
If we take nothing else from this text, let’s at least hold those four emphatic verbs in mind: to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray. In fact, as I worked on this sermon this week, it stuck me: that’s about as good a job description of being “Christian” as I’ve heard lately. To love, to do good, to bless, and to pray is as far removed from being judgmental, exclusive, critical, or biased against anyone as a person can get. These words, though challenging -- and almost impossible to put into practice in the face of largely mean-spirited, me-first-ism, ethically-challenged, ruthlessly competitive values of modern America -- still capture the preferred ethic of Jesus Christ.
Last Sunday, we heard again the words of our Los Altos UCC Constitution as a congregation in which we say that our very purpose for being here in Long Beach is (and I quote): “to worship the creating, caring God, and as God’s partners, continue the work of Jesus Christ.” Wouldn’t that work be to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray? It’s good occasionally to remind ourselves of our founding principles and focus.
Even though Jesus’ way is still radical, counter-cultural, and hard to implement (personally or publicly), we’ve got to try! To the degree we are actually trying to do that, week-in-and-week-out, I am honored to be your Pastor. To the degree other issues and personal agendas, other activities and controversies, other emphases side-line our public articulation of Jesus’ values, dampen the Spirit God gives us, or limit our thrust of Jesus’ mission into our community, it can become tedious. Our lay leaders are tempted to “burn out” if they feel it’s all on their shoulders. As a church, we’ve got to aim for the higher goal as set by Jesus, even if it’s a struggle to meet it & some resist it.
Jesus said to his followers back then, and to us in our day (as we seek in this generation to make the historic faith “our own”) : “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also… Give to everyone who begs from you. If anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. …
“ Do to others as you would have them do to you. Lend, expecting nothing in return… Be kind, to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Quite a list of commands, don’t you think?
We don’t hear it quite that clearly on most occasions. And I wonder if the crowds there that day heard those eight emphatic verbs, in that context, any better than the rest of us do now? A moment ago I lifted up the first four verbs – love, do good, bless, and pray – as a concise summary of what Jesus expects of us, but there are four further verbs in this brief snippet of Scripture: namely, to give, to lend, to be kind, and to be merciful. I’ll admit that it’s not as easy to remember a list of eight actions as it is to remember just the first four, but that’s what Jesus is looking for when he says: “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”
There are two words in the GIRL Scout Oath that are not in the Boy Scouts’ list of 12 character traits (that we used in our Call to Worship) – you know: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly… and all the rest. Those two words in the Girl Scout Oath are “considerate” and “caring.” Those two words go together really well. A Scout will do her best to be considerate and caring.
What that means to me is: to be polite… showing good manners, being respectful.
But more than that: to be considerate “considers” others – thinks about what it might be for them. To walk in their shoes. To see it through their eyes. That’s what I think Jesus meant when he gave us the Golden Rule: “Do unto others what you would like them to do unto you.” Or, at least, don’t do something to somebody else that you wouldn’t want them to do to you! Be considerate and caring of others. A Girl Scout says she will “respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, [to] make the world a better place.” I like the Girl Scout Oath, the Boy Scout Oath, and the suggestions Jesus made: to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray … to give, to lend, to be kind, and to be merciful.
I wonder if the crowds there that day heard those eight qualities of character, in their context, any better than the rest of us? What provokes my wondering is the way Jesus starts that list of commands: “But I say to you that listen…” Love your enemies, do good, and so forth.
Here we are, well into the middle of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain” (which is Luke’s version of Matthew’s more famous “Sermon on the Mount”), when Jesus draws attention to the LISTENERS. “I say to you that listen…” So, does that mean that some people had “zoned out”? Had they gone to sleep?
Had their minds gone off on some tangent of thought, because of something Jesus had said in the Beatitudes (in that familiar list of blessings and woe’s) which preceded these words? Since such things happen in every sermon I’ve ever preached -- people zone out, their minds wander, they doze off -- I suspect that Jesus’ audience (too) might not have been an exception!
“I say to you that listen…” presupposes that there are some folks present who don’t listen, who won’t listen, or who can’t listen… They have “had enough” (heard enough!) already! They “blow it off” as impossible, or they consider it as too idealistic to be taken seriously, or it may be someone who is simply so stuck in their habits and ruts so as not to be dislodged! Jesus knows that some folks present will not be listening.
By the way, the Greek word “lego” (which is translated “listen”) is in the emphatic mode, so it may actually be intended as a command: LISTEN!
“Love your enemies.” “Agapate.”
I think you all know that there are three different Greek verbs that are translated “love” in our New Testament. One, eros, is romantic -- sexually-attracted love -- that wants to “hook up” and be joined to one’s partner. “Eros-love” is intimate and passionate. To that kind of love, Jesus says: “Whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder!” (For what it’s worth: that’s why I support the concept of marriage rights for ALL people, regardless of gender, race, economics, or any other social criterion that presumes mankind has the authority to “asunder” them that God has “joined” … couples that God has intended/designed to be together.) But this is not a sermon about eros-love, so hold that thought for another occasion. (Maybe I’ll get back to it closer to Valentine’s Day.)
The second verb which we translate as “love” is phileo -- as in Philadelphia (brotherly love) or philosophy (love of wisdom). “Phileo” relates basically to a warm, personal affection for its object; something we like, appreciate, or enjoy. Most of us “love” chocolate (for example) in a “phileo” kind of way, not in an “erotic” way…
The third verb that is translated “love” is “agape/agapao” which is used to mean a rational good-will (not a feeling) which recognizes the value of its object. If phileo is a feeling, agapao is a decision; it’s an attitude of respect that values the “other” highly.
It is this word (agape) which is used throughout today’s text.
Even one’s enemies (says Jesus) must be regarded from the viewpoint of recognition of their value as persons, and with a rational good-will which desires what is best for them. What is best for them, them, the “other” person, yes even our enemy!
Who exactly these “enemies” might be, Jesus gives us no clue. The word is not further defined. You can fill in the blank for yourself.
Is it your mean neighbor who guns his motorbike very loudly every morning, or your pierced-&-tattooed teenager’s friends? Is it a gay couple that you’ve been told you really should look down upon, or that transgendered co-worker who was a he but is now a she (or vice versa)? Is it someone from the opposing political party? With the rancorous debate of an election year coming upon us, the political polarization of our society will exacerbate! -- You know who I mean: those Democrats who cannot stomach a Republican flag-waver, or those Republicans who detest the tax-&-spend liberals who are always criticizing America! (Where all that rancor comes from was well put in an old song: “We’ve got to be carefully taught… to hate all the people our relatives hate! We’ve got to be carefully taught.”) You know who you hold to be an “enemy.”
For whomever we reserve the word “enemy,” Jesus’ command is clear: “Agape them!” Exercise rational good will toward them… desire what is best for them. We saw Jesus do that with “outcasts and sinners” of every stripe, all through his life and ministry! Agape them; love them; desire to do what is best for them… what you would have them do unto you, if you were in their place. To “love them” is to do more than merely “tolerate” them, or be “open” to them.
Jesus didn’t just “tolerate” the tax-collectors (for example); Jesus ate with them, in their homes! Jesus invited them to be his disciples & appointed them as his apostles.
He was not just “open to” smelly fishermen and nicely-scented prostitutes, Jesus came alongside them, welcomed them, created a community out of them… yes, outcasts & sinners!
Jesus was not apathetic toward the problems of disease and poverty, instead, Jesus embraced the humanity of the lepers & the widows, the orphans & little children, and gave them value! He pointed out a poor widow who (in giving away her last two pennies) had been more generous and self-sacrificing than the many wealthy men in the Temple. He told the story of a Good Samaritan, who did better than the judges and the priests, even though the man was despised by the majority of Jews (called a “dog”).
“Agape them!” says Jesus. That’s an order from the Head of the Church!
Do good – that is, exercise pro-active positive action that expresses regard and love even toward those who express hatred toward you! When you are reviled, return a blessing. Include in your prayers those whose conduct toward you is abusive; pray for their repentance, their healing, their well-being… not vengeance nor curses upon them.
“Agape them.” Love them, do good to them, bless them, and pray for them – and the four further verbs: give to them, lend what you can, be kind, and be merciful.
All that seems “unreasonable” (even after 2,000 years) because “no one else” does it this way! Many Christian Churches have found it easier to revert to being a “Bible” church than to take the challenge of going beyond the Mosaic Law to Jesus’ higher ethic. Moses gave us the law of retaliation (Exodus 21:23-24, Leviticus 24:19-20, & Deuteronomy 19:21):
If in a conflict, a man knocked out another man’s tooth, the injured party was permitted by law to knock out a tooth of his opponent. If an eye was poked out, the injured party had the right (and the expectation) to poke out his enemy’s eye. If a family member’s life was lost at the hand of another, the family could call for the execution of the perpetrator. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life” was the law -- the “biblical” code of justice: to retaliate in kind.
Jesus’ higher ethic tells us to “love one another.” To love your neighbor… that may be possible; but to love your enemy? No thanks!
The new kind of relationships that Jesus emphasized seem to be a liability in a dog-eat-dog economy, where business ethics can be ruthless and “compassion” is seen as weakness. Are we not put at a disadvantage if we follow Jesus’ commands and begin to behave in this way when others do not? Sure, we can return love to those who love us; we can give to those from whom we expect reciprocity. To “pay back” evil for evil (Let’s see how you like it, when the shoe is on the other foot!), is common-sense… pay-back and put-downs are common-place practices! It feels ”unfair” to expect Jesus’ followers to behave differently from the norm. “Won’t they walk all over us?” Abuse us even further? Can’t a Christian draw a line, and say: “I’ve had enough!”
There is no spiritual dynamic in returning good for good, or evil for evil. That’s the way most folks operate: tit-for-tat… What you did to me, I’ll do back at you! The vicious cycle of insult and injury perpetuates and escalates. It’s the way of the world.
As Gandhi once said: “If we continue an eye-for-an-eye and a tooth-for-a-tooth, soon the whole world will be toothless and blind!”
Jesus taught that his followers must go beyond the commonplace common-sense expectations, and demonstrate a level of ethical conduct which is noticeably different & higher than the conduct of others. It’s not enough to be “nice” (to be good-&-godly) in an ungodly society, if we don’t stand up and stand out.
To be loving, pro-active, and positive in situations when others are (at best) apathetic and (at worst) retaliative, will be noticed. You will be shining a light that others may see and give glory to God because of it. (This isn’t easy advice that Jesus asks of us!) We love in this radical way, first, because Jesus tells us to… and he is the sole head of the church!
We love because Jesus sets the goal for us -- we who would be Christian (Christ-like). But we also love because that is the right way to be; it brings its own reward in the sense of “well-being” in having done what was right. To conduct ourselves in this way is to exhibit in our lives the very character of God – to be sons & daughters of the Most High!
God who is graciously disposed toward us, regardless of our hard-ness of heart, foolish-ness of mind, or stubborn-ness of character. God knows you and me; and (despite that) God loves us!
God is kind to the ungrateful, and long-suffering toward the wicked; giving good things even to the most ungrateful and grasping among us. That’s why we speak of “Amazing Grace” … the word “Grace” means: unearned and undeserved goodness.
Since the Gospel reveals to us a God who is good -- compassionate, merciful -- toward all people… so must we be as God’s children, God’s servants. What we know of God’s character through Jesus, so (too) we must exhibit in our character (if we want to call ourselves “Christian”). We have to go the “extra” mile; we have to do the “unexpectedly” generous thing. Do what is expected, yes… and then some!
WE have to be pro-active in building good-will; we must take the initiative where reconciliation is needed. We must do the positive good deed – to use a term we know from the Boy Scouts. To use the Golden Rule as our measure: “To do unto others as you wold have them do to you.”
If we say that our purpose is to provide a place of worship for people who believe in the principles Jesus taught. And if the principles that Jesus taught were to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray… to give, to lend, to be kind, and to be merciful… Are we listening? Are we ready to be caught doing that, in public, in Jesus’ name?
May it be so. Amen.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
“Our Mission as a Church” (a sermon based on Matthew 28:16-20)
This morning we heard the “commission” Jesus gave to his disciples -- his final words in Matthew's Gospel -- which serves the Church Universal as our “mission statement” (as an organization) and our “job description” as Christians.
"All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me," said Jesus to his eleven remaining disciples... and (by extension) to every one of us who have come to faith through their words and witness, as it has been passed down through the ages.
"Go, therefore (with that authority), and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them (in the name of Abba & Son and the Sanctus Spiritus -- the Triune God, as we say in our Doxology) and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember… I am with you, always, to the end of the age!"
Friends, those are our marching orders from the one & only commander-in-chief of the Church (from the very Head of this Body of Christ): Jesus himself!
So, unless (and until) Jesus himself returns to cancel out those orders, they're still in effect. To my way of thinking, it is only the One who has commissioned us -- the One who has “called us into service” (and who leads us along this journey) -- who can change that mission, if needs be. Until "Thy Kingdom comes" as fully "on earth as it is in heaven," no Church Council, Pastor, or other person has the authority to say: "We've done enough of that mission. Let's get on to something else."
Los Altos UCC has been about that task for over 60 years! Even so, just because we LA-UCC’ers have faithfully carried out that mission from Jesus in the past, does not mean that we can now withdraw our efforts and simply maintain ourselves -- leveled off at a comfortable plateau of 100 members -- or rest secure on the good name we have achieved for ourselves in the community -- or retire to the sidelines. Our mission, even though it has been well done, is still only just begun!
On the occasion of our Annual Congregational Meeting, we do well to hear again the purpose for which this congregation was founded. From our Bylaws, Article III, we state: “Our mission at Los Altos United Church of Christ is to join together to worship the creating, caring God; and, as God’s partners, continue the work of Jesus Christ.” I like how that is said: “As God’s partners, continue the work of Jesus Christ.”
And so, to that end, this morning, we heard the call of Jesus to his disciples to "Go... make disciples... baptize them... and teach them everything" that Christ has commanded us. (Every thing? Yes, every-thing!) That is the task we always have before us.
We are supported in that mission by two things: First, by Jesus' own authority (which -- he says -- is above every earthly power) and, second, by his promise to be with us, with us always! With us even unto the end of the age, to the end of our days! We are commissioned --authorized, empowered, and supported in what we do.
So, the real question for us is what shall we do? What should we be doing, to be the Body of Christ in this Los Altos neighborhood, in Long Beach and neighboring Orange County? What did Jesus say…?
Go, make disciples! Okay, I think we know what's required there. Finding people like the first four fishermen that Jesus recruited, and then a local tax collector, and then others along the way: making disciples. We can look at how Jesus did it, how previous generations here did it. We need to ask ourselves: What's involved in disciple-ing? And: how well are we doing it? Frankly, there are no new members joining today. Sorry.
According to Jesus, our first task is to make disciples... and (second) to baptize them! A year ago, Laverne Joseph baptized little Benjamin, and in a few months I may baptize one of our three Confirmands… but over a two year period, that’s not many. But the commission from Jesus goes on to a third thing:
Go... make disciples... baptize them... and teach them everything that I have commanded you.
In my sermons, I tend to teach. Perhaps more-so than I ought, if some of the comments in our recent Worship Survey are to be reckoned with.
I've been told that my sermons, because they revolve around a specific Bible story -- a "passage" or two of Scripture -- come across to some of you more like an in-depth Bible study than a "motivational," devotional, or personally "inspiring" talk. One of the pastoral relations members suggested that, because I teach two Bible Studies a week, I may be "tuning" my sermons to those dozen people rather than to the needs of the congregation at large, who are not as interested in the history of Bible commentary. I intend to do better in the coming weeks, exposing more of my "personal" life and suggesting implications & applications for you in your family situations.
To my mind, the goal of a sermon is to make us aware of the presence of God in our world and in our lives, and, through that inner awareness (that shared experience of God's Spirit being with us, and in us, and among us), that we will find what we need to be able to change our lives for the better.
If our worship hour together (Sunday after Sunday) does not result in changed lives, what's the point of calling upon God's name, learning God's Word, or discerning God's Will? We're in the "life transformation" business! That's why God has invested so much time & energy into this old world!
That's why Jesus spent his life -- his blood, sweat, & tears -- to form a new community! That's why the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives (strengthening us, guiding and directing us)... in order that we may change for the better! We want to go out "lifted up" and energized, ready to do what we can to make a better world. As our Bylaws say:
“Our mission at Los Altos United Church of Christ is to join together to worship the creating, caring God; and, as God’s partners, continue the work of Jesus Christ.”
And so it behooves us (to use an old-fashioned word) -- it is to our advantage -- that we remind ourselves from time to time of our original commission: "Go, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them everything that Jesus Christ has commanded us."
From the books I've been reading about church growth and evangelism, I've discovered that one of the reasons that so many newer congregations tend to thrive today (while older groups like ours have plateaued) is that they are clear about their purpose. They are clearer about their "reason for being" than are many of the longer-established congregations.
Their mission is not something that lies in the past, with their founding population, but rather they are called to do something in the present with an eye to the future. Their sense of "mission" is on their doorstep, not off in the distance. Their call to serve God by forming a vital Christian community is for today, not for former times; relevant to the 21st Century society, not to the 1950's or the 70's.
Just think about how different some of our "neighboring" UCC churches are one from another... There's the magnificent First Congregational UCC (with it brick tower downtown, and mahogany interior, grand artistic design from a Century past, massive pipe organ, a feeding program for the homeless and a summer day camp for the urban poor, flamboyantly open and affirming of the gay and lesbian community), Second Samoan UCC two blocks away, more conservative but equally generous in providing food and necessities to the urban poor. There’s Bay Shore Community Congregational in Belmont Shore with its focus on families and children’s programs. There are the two tiny congregations to our North (Woodruff and Crossroads) sharing one minister between them, but providing innovative Tuesday night worship and (like us) hosting a thriving Samoan congregation in one building, and an American Catholic congregation in the other. Over toward Torrance (where I used to serve), there’s the Neighborhood Church (up on Palos Verdes peninsula, a restored mansion on a magnificent bluff overlooking the Santa Monica Bay), the Manhattan Beach Community Church (with its long-running musical arts drama program), among other nearby UCC’s such as Los Alamitos (who just turned 100 years old!) In our Central Association, we have Hispanic churches, Japanese-American, and several long-standing African-American congregations.
How can a person's experience of any one or another local congregation in the UCC be presumed relevant to any other UCC congregation, when we are "all over the map" in size, in worship style, in target population, outreach activities, local history, culture, ethnic make-up, even in language? Pointing to the "local mission" of each local congregation does not give a coherent picture of what it means to "be" UCC!
The question we ought to ask ourselves is: "What do we tell people who come to us, asking to know what the UCC believes?"
We have a history in America that goes back to the Mayflower Pilgrims of 1620 and includes the Abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement of the early 1800’s. We are the denomination which first ordained a black minister in 1785, the first ordained woman minister in 1853, and the UCC ordained the first openly homosexual minister in San Francisco in 1972. Also…our current President Barack Obama raised his family in the UCC.
But those are historical markers, not “beliefs.” When people ask me what the UCC “believes,” I say, first, we are Christian. Jesus is the only head of our church. No district supervisor, pope, bishop, or council can tell any local congregation how to be the church in their setting, for their time, in their community.
We are “autonomous” entities in “covenant” with one another. We follow Jesus Christ with the best lights available to us… each congregation drawing upon different resources from our uniquely diverse history in America. In that regard, we helped pioneer religious freedom, established schools in every community, and expected Christians to take on active civic responsibilities for the betterment of society.
Our Bylaws go on to tell how we (Los Altos UCC) intend to fulfill that mission, as we continue the work of Jesus Christ. I quote:
“We seek to provide spiritual support for each person’s faith journey,
and to be an available, dependable channel of Christian love.
By celebrating diversity, and being open to innovation, we aim to
nurture one another to wholeness and be motivated to ministry in our community, environment,
and world.”
Those 48 words are worth remembering, and they deserve to be “un-packed” for all the rich meaning they contain. How do we provide “spiritual” support? What do we know of one another’s “faith journey”? How can a person become more “available & dependable” a channel of Christian love? How do we celebrate our diversity? How open are we to innovation? How can we better nurture one another toward “wholeness” or motivate one another to ministry in our community? 48 words are not too many to memorize, and they may challenge us to better "discipleship."
Since it is 11 AM, and time to begin our Annual Meeting, let me close with our own words once again, as we define our purpose as a congregation: “We seek to provide… etc. (as above)”
To which I say simply “AMEN” … may it be so.
"All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me," said Jesus to his eleven remaining disciples... and (by extension) to every one of us who have come to faith through their words and witness, as it has been passed down through the ages.
"Go, therefore (with that authority), and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them (in the name of Abba & Son and the Sanctus Spiritus -- the Triune God, as we say in our Doxology) and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember… I am with you, always, to the end of the age!"
Friends, those are our marching orders from the one & only commander-in-chief of the Church (from the very Head of this Body of Christ): Jesus himself!
So, unless (and until) Jesus himself returns to cancel out those orders, they're still in effect. To my way of thinking, it is only the One who has commissioned us -- the One who has “called us into service” (and who leads us along this journey) -- who can change that mission, if needs be. Until "Thy Kingdom comes" as fully "on earth as it is in heaven," no Church Council, Pastor, or other person has the authority to say: "We've done enough of that mission. Let's get on to something else."
Los Altos UCC has been about that task for over 60 years! Even so, just because we LA-UCC’ers have faithfully carried out that mission from Jesus in the past, does not mean that we can now withdraw our efforts and simply maintain ourselves -- leveled off at a comfortable plateau of 100 members -- or rest secure on the good name we have achieved for ourselves in the community -- or retire to the sidelines. Our mission, even though it has been well done, is still only just begun!
On the occasion of our Annual Congregational Meeting, we do well to hear again the purpose for which this congregation was founded. From our Bylaws, Article III, we state: “Our mission at Los Altos United Church of Christ is to join together to worship the creating, caring God; and, as God’s partners, continue the work of Jesus Christ.” I like how that is said: “As God’s partners, continue the work of Jesus Christ.”
And so, to that end, this morning, we heard the call of Jesus to his disciples to "Go... make disciples... baptize them... and teach them everything" that Christ has commanded us. (Every thing? Yes, every-thing!) That is the task we always have before us.
We are supported in that mission by two things: First, by Jesus' own authority (which -- he says -- is above every earthly power) and, second, by his promise to be with us, with us always! With us even unto the end of the age, to the end of our days! We are commissioned --authorized, empowered, and supported in what we do.
So, the real question for us is what shall we do? What should we be doing, to be the Body of Christ in this Los Altos neighborhood, in Long Beach and neighboring Orange County? What did Jesus say…?
Go, make disciples! Okay, I think we know what's required there. Finding people like the first four fishermen that Jesus recruited, and then a local tax collector, and then others along the way: making disciples. We can look at how Jesus did it, how previous generations here did it. We need to ask ourselves: What's involved in disciple-ing? And: how well are we doing it? Frankly, there are no new members joining today. Sorry.
According to Jesus, our first task is to make disciples... and (second) to baptize them! A year ago, Laverne Joseph baptized little Benjamin, and in a few months I may baptize one of our three Confirmands… but over a two year period, that’s not many. But the commission from Jesus goes on to a third thing:
Go... make disciples... baptize them... and teach them everything that I have commanded you.
In my sermons, I tend to teach. Perhaps more-so than I ought, if some of the comments in our recent Worship Survey are to be reckoned with.
I've been told that my sermons, because they revolve around a specific Bible story -- a "passage" or two of Scripture -- come across to some of you more like an in-depth Bible study than a "motivational," devotional, or personally "inspiring" talk. One of the pastoral relations members suggested that, because I teach two Bible Studies a week, I may be "tuning" my sermons to those dozen people rather than to the needs of the congregation at large, who are not as interested in the history of Bible commentary. I intend to do better in the coming weeks, exposing more of my "personal" life and suggesting implications & applications for you in your family situations.
To my mind, the goal of a sermon is to make us aware of the presence of God in our world and in our lives, and, through that inner awareness (that shared experience of God's Spirit being with us, and in us, and among us), that we will find what we need to be able to change our lives for the better.
If our worship hour together (Sunday after Sunday) does not result in changed lives, what's the point of calling upon God's name, learning God's Word, or discerning God's Will? We're in the "life transformation" business! That's why God has invested so much time & energy into this old world!
That's why Jesus spent his life -- his blood, sweat, & tears -- to form a new community! That's why the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives (strengthening us, guiding and directing us)... in order that we may change for the better! We want to go out "lifted up" and energized, ready to do what we can to make a better world. As our Bylaws say:
“Our mission at Los Altos United Church of Christ is to join together to worship the creating, caring God; and, as God’s partners, continue the work of Jesus Christ.”
And so it behooves us (to use an old-fashioned word) -- it is to our advantage -- that we remind ourselves from time to time of our original commission: "Go, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them everything that Jesus Christ has commanded us."
From the books I've been reading about church growth and evangelism, I've discovered that one of the reasons that so many newer congregations tend to thrive today (while older groups like ours have plateaued) is that they are clear about their purpose. They are clearer about their "reason for being" than are many of the longer-established congregations.
Their mission is not something that lies in the past, with their founding population, but rather they are called to do something in the present with an eye to the future. Their sense of "mission" is on their doorstep, not off in the distance. Their call to serve God by forming a vital Christian community is for today, not for former times; relevant to the 21st Century society, not to the 1950's or the 70's.
Just think about how different some of our "neighboring" UCC churches are one from another... There's the magnificent First Congregational UCC (with it brick tower downtown, and mahogany interior, grand artistic design from a Century past, massive pipe organ, a feeding program for the homeless and a summer day camp for the urban poor, flamboyantly open and affirming of the gay and lesbian community), Second Samoan UCC two blocks away, more conservative but equally generous in providing food and necessities to the urban poor. There’s Bay Shore Community Congregational in Belmont Shore with its focus on families and children’s programs. There are the two tiny congregations to our North (Woodruff and Crossroads) sharing one minister between them, but providing innovative Tuesday night worship and (like us) hosting a thriving Samoan congregation in one building, and an American Catholic congregation in the other. Over toward Torrance (where I used to serve), there’s the Neighborhood Church (up on Palos Verdes peninsula, a restored mansion on a magnificent bluff overlooking the Santa Monica Bay), the Manhattan Beach Community Church (with its long-running musical arts drama program), among other nearby UCC’s such as Los Alamitos (who just turned 100 years old!) In our Central Association, we have Hispanic churches, Japanese-American, and several long-standing African-American congregations.
How can a person's experience of any one or another local congregation in the UCC be presumed relevant to any other UCC congregation, when we are "all over the map" in size, in worship style, in target population, outreach activities, local history, culture, ethnic make-up, even in language? Pointing to the "local mission" of each local congregation does not give a coherent picture of what it means to "be" UCC!
The question we ought to ask ourselves is: "What do we tell people who come to us, asking to know what the UCC believes?"
We have a history in America that goes back to the Mayflower Pilgrims of 1620 and includes the Abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement of the early 1800’s. We are the denomination which first ordained a black minister in 1785, the first ordained woman minister in 1853, and the UCC ordained the first openly homosexual minister in San Francisco in 1972. Also…our current President Barack Obama raised his family in the UCC.
But those are historical markers, not “beliefs.” When people ask me what the UCC “believes,” I say, first, we are Christian. Jesus is the only head of our church. No district supervisor, pope, bishop, or council can tell any local congregation how to be the church in their setting, for their time, in their community.
We are “autonomous” entities in “covenant” with one another. We follow Jesus Christ with the best lights available to us… each congregation drawing upon different resources from our uniquely diverse history in America. In that regard, we helped pioneer religious freedom, established schools in every community, and expected Christians to take on active civic responsibilities for the betterment of society.
Our Bylaws go on to tell how we (Los Altos UCC) intend to fulfill that mission, as we continue the work of Jesus Christ. I quote:
“We seek to provide spiritual support for each person’s faith journey,
and to be an available, dependable channel of Christian love.
By celebrating diversity, and being open to innovation, we aim to
nurture one another to wholeness and be motivated to ministry in our community, environment,
and world.”
Those 48 words are worth remembering, and they deserve to be “un-packed” for all the rich meaning they contain. How do we provide “spiritual” support? What do we know of one another’s “faith journey”? How can a person become more “available & dependable” a channel of Christian love? How do we celebrate our diversity? How open are we to innovation? How can we better nurture one another toward “wholeness” or motivate one another to ministry in our community? 48 words are not too many to memorize, and they may challenge us to better "discipleship."
Since it is 11 AM, and time to begin our Annual Meeting, let me close with our own words once again, as we define our purpose as a congregation: “We seek to provide… etc. (as above)”
To which I say simply “AMEN” … may it be so.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
"New Beginnings…" a sermon based on Isaiah 42:8-10 and Luke 5:36-39
Isaiah says that God’s creativity will produce something new. “See the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare.”
In other words: just as clearly real as those “former things” have been, so, too, God is preparing “new things!” New things! New beginnings…
“Before they spring forth,” says God, “I tell you about them.”
Isaiah is a bit vague. We may not know exactly what is coming, but whatever the new things are, they will so show forth the glory of God, their Creator -- and they will so completely fulfill every need & desire of human-kind -- that the “former” things upon which we have come to rely… will no longer be remembered! The “former things have come to pass.” To pass…
What God is about to do (in Isaiah’s mind) is going to be so complete a renovation, so radical a revolution to the existing course of affairs, that it can be described as a NEW CREATION.
And this new thing will not be just a new beginning for humanity… The whole of nature will experience renewal. The sea will roar, and the coast lands (and all their inhabitants -- those inhabitants on the coast of the Samoan Island in the South Seas to the Pacific coast here in California) -- will sing a new song! The Lord will be praised from the ends of the earth!
What a day of celebration that will be! When Samoa & America, & all islands and coast lands between us (and beyond us!), will sing God’s praises to the end of the earth! A new thing, springing forth. A new beginning...
The Apostle Paul picked up this theme in Second Corinthians 5:17 (and again in Galatians 6:15) when he applies the term to “believers.” We (who follow Christ) are New Creations (he says)! The old has passed away. Former things -- whether it is our former sins, our former selves, our former ways, or our former social status -- that which has been (has “passed away”) and is no more, when we are “in Christ.” According to the Apostle Paul, drawing upon Isaiah’s promise, we who have embraced God through Jesus Christ are “New Creatures” in a “New Creation.” We are that “new” thing!
Even in the Book of the Revelation (Chapter 21), when the “new heaven and the new earth” (and the “new city” of Jerusalem) descend from God… we are told that “all tears will be wiped away”… injuries healed, resentments forgiven, sins washed away. The “Alpha” & “Omega”, the Beginning and the End, will make all things new in the Kingdom of God.
“I am the Lord,” says God. “That is my name.
My glory I give to no other. See, the former things
have come to pass, and new things I now declare!”
From it’s very inception, the Church has been in the “new beginnings” business! We are “born again.” We are redeemed. We once were lost, but now we’re found. Forgiveness lets us start over. The church is the place for “second chances.” With repentance and forgiveness at the center of our being, we hold out hope to hurting people, whose relationships and lives have been broken, saying: It doesn’t have to be that way… forever. “Former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare!”
Do you believe in the possibility of change? Do you believe that new things are possible? Or are you satisfied with former things… what we’ve always known, what we’ve always done, what we’re “used to”… thinking.
What distinguishes “living things” from “dead” -- animated objects from the inanimate -- is movement and change. Life is a “happening.” Life connotes “action.” Life is an “event”, a performance over time. Life adapts to changes in the environment. Life feels and responds to stresses and struggles. Living things don’t lie down quietly except to restore their energies. Living things move & tremble and are aware of what’s going on.
In his parable of the new wine, Jesus indicates that the fruit of the vine (even after it has been harvested, and crushed, and its juices pressed into containers), is still alive and growing. It is fermenting and expanding. The new wine is still performing it’s dance of life!
And for that reason, says Jesus, “no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. (You lose both the wine and the
wineskin.) No… New wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”
And there’s the rub. Taeou Fou (New Beginnings UCC) is new wine. There is liveliness and ferment and obvious growth in our new Samoan UCC congregation. We celebrate that newness! We welcome that growth, that excitement, that style that brings so much to our older traditional ways.
Los Altos UCC… are we the wineskin? Are we (this facility, this property, this congregational structure, these 100 members) the over-sixty-year-old container into which this lively new ferment has been poured?
And, if so, how do we respond? We don’t want to split our seams, burst our cork, push ourselves beyond our comfort zone! So the question is: Will we be flexible enough -- supple in our structure, malleable in our methods, expansive in our attitudes, and inclusive in our welcome -- to allow the new energies & liveliness of Taeou Fou (New Beginnings) to stretch us?
I think we can. We’ve done so thus far – first, by the invitation for our Samoan neighbors to “nest” here, then by taking an intentional time to “explore” and to “discover” each other’s essence – and then (with a vote of strong confidence in our Moderator, Tom Provencher, and our whole Leadership Council) voting to make a covenant between equals (not a landlord and a tenant, but “partners” in ministry), and finally to this day of joint celebration of “New Beginnings” ... not only the new beginning of Taeou Fou UCC but a new beginning for Los Altos UCC as well.
I see us (Lo, these 2,000 years later) as simply the “current crop” of wineskins, filled to bursting with the same lively Gospel Spirit that quickened Jesus and those earliest Christians.
We are simply today’s “vintage.” That’s why we ask the Holy Spirit to “come” and re-vitalize us for this new day. “Fill us with your Spirit, Lord!” We realize that we are the “Body” of Christ – we are a living body. We are not dead! That’s why (as a congregation) we should always have some of the dynamism, the vitality, the zest of a “living process,” as we face the changes and challenges that life brings our way. If we don’t adapt in our responses, then we’ll be in trouble in the long run.
“New wine must be put into new wine skins,” Jesus reminded his audience. “Otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled.”
As Jesus speaks of it, wine is a life-force. It’s a performance, a doing, an event, an action. There is a “ferment” to life; a bubbling, yeasty sparkle. Something is happening. And lively things (like fermenting wine) need to have a “flexible” container, not a stiff one. It will need space to grow and to expand, and to become all that it can become.
I think Jesus was warning his followers, his eager young church, that changes were always going to be coming at them. At the outset, when they had flexible structures and creative minds, ready to try new things with new people, the church’s growth and expansion would feel natural and healthy. But at some time they would begin to stiffen... Harden…
They would prefer that the new dynamics of new members coming to them from different places, with different life experiences and diverse opinions, should be satisfied by following the patterns of their parents and grandparents. “This is how we do it; get used to it.” But to do so -- to try to stuff the new energies into familiar old patterns -- Jesus warned, would bring some “bursting” at the seams. You don’t want to lose the new wine.
But you also don’t want to lose the old wineskin! So make space on the shelf right beside you for the new wine in its new wineskin!
I like the fact that Jesus understands our preference for the familiar. He knows the human tendency to “settle down” for the “status quo.” He knows that we prefer to stay within our “comfort zone,” to limit ourselves to what we already know, and to settle for less than we could become.
“No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires the new,”
says Jesus, as the parable concludes, “for he says: the old is good!”
“The old is good.” Aren’t you relieved to hear Jesus say that!? All this talk about change and adaptation, welcoming the new and expanding our vision, can be unnerving to those of us who prefer older patterns of life.
“No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires the new,
for he says: the old is good!”
We’ve got to admit that Jesus is right! It is our natural tendency to resist changes. By nature, we value the “good old” as somehow actually “better than” the new! C’mon, let’s own up to the fact that we like the way things “used to be”… the “good old days” when the church was central to the family and to the community.
Let’s be real and admit that we are, most often, satisfied with what we have already experienced of God’s love and power and presence in our lives – we don’t come to church expecting anything radical or new or different! In fact, we might even resent being pushed into new things by somebody’s agenda! Can we say that? I know a lot of us feel that way.
It’s only when we admit that we find pleasure in maintaining the status quo, and that we don’t really feel the NEED to refresh our thinking any more than it already is – or feel the need to renew ourselves by intentionally inviting and welcoming newcomers into our midst – that the warning light should go on:
Uh-oh… Maybe I’m getting stuck in the past!
“Watch out, Pastor Lance, your wineskin is hardening!” I’m becoming dry and brittle, inflexible. The warning light should come on that says: “You’re stretching yourself no more.” We’re falling into a routine, taking fewer risks. Watch it, Los Altos UCC: we’re slipping back into yesterday’s familiar patterns of thought. “The old is good…”
There is no question that Jesus was right when he said: “No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires the new, for he says: the old is good!” He knows what we’re like. But let’s not take that “truism” as advice for how we “should” be. After all, we’re not called to be old wine, nor even old wineskins. That’s what we may be, and what we may prefer. But it’s not where the church is headed!
Let’s not forget that, since it is God’s Spirit that is filling your life, the “wine” in you is foreve NEW, alive, and growing. Even after it has been harvested, crushed, and contained within you, the life forces of God’s Spirit in you go on!
You and I are (all of us) “new wine” with new ideas and new values – surprisingly new ways of behaving and relating to one another, because it is Jesus who sets the agenda! Yes, even us “old dogs” can learn “new tricks” if we’re willing to be open. As Pastor Time alluded to the fact that his congregation is learning much about how to be “UCC” from our example, may we Los Altos UCC long-timers learn new patterns of faithfulness and fellowship and ministry from our Samoan partners!
May our congregational system be flexible enough of a container to give the “new wine” that God has in store for both of our congregations space to flourish, with opportunities to join together (as we will in today’s lunch), and room to grow with us. May we, together, bear good fruit – good wine! – to the glory of God in Jesus Christ!
Amen.
In other words: just as clearly real as those “former things” have been, so, too, God is preparing “new things!” New things! New beginnings…
“Before they spring forth,” says God, “I tell you about them.”
Isaiah is a bit vague. We may not know exactly what is coming, but whatever the new things are, they will so show forth the glory of God, their Creator -- and they will so completely fulfill every need & desire of human-kind -- that the “former” things upon which we have come to rely… will no longer be remembered! The “former things have come to pass.” To pass…
What God is about to do (in Isaiah’s mind) is going to be so complete a renovation, so radical a revolution to the existing course of affairs, that it can be described as a NEW CREATION.
And this new thing will not be just a new beginning for humanity… The whole of nature will experience renewal. The sea will roar, and the coast lands (and all their inhabitants -- those inhabitants on the coast of the Samoan Island in the South Seas to the Pacific coast here in California) -- will sing a new song! The Lord will be praised from the ends of the earth!
What a day of celebration that will be! When Samoa & America, & all islands and coast lands between us (and beyond us!), will sing God’s praises to the end of the earth! A new thing, springing forth. A new beginning...
The Apostle Paul picked up this theme in Second Corinthians 5:17 (and again in Galatians 6:15) when he applies the term to “believers.” We (who follow Christ) are New Creations (he says)! The old has passed away. Former things -- whether it is our former sins, our former selves, our former ways, or our former social status -- that which has been (has “passed away”) and is no more, when we are “in Christ.” According to the Apostle Paul, drawing upon Isaiah’s promise, we who have embraced God through Jesus Christ are “New Creatures” in a “New Creation.” We are that “new” thing!
Even in the Book of the Revelation (Chapter 21), when the “new heaven and the new earth” (and the “new city” of Jerusalem) descend from God… we are told that “all tears will be wiped away”… injuries healed, resentments forgiven, sins washed away. The “Alpha” & “Omega”, the Beginning and the End, will make all things new in the Kingdom of God.
“I am the Lord,” says God. “That is my name.
My glory I give to no other. See, the former things
have come to pass, and new things I now declare!”
From it’s very inception, the Church has been in the “new beginnings” business! We are “born again.” We are redeemed. We once were lost, but now we’re found. Forgiveness lets us start over. The church is the place for “second chances.” With repentance and forgiveness at the center of our being, we hold out hope to hurting people, whose relationships and lives have been broken, saying: It doesn’t have to be that way… forever. “Former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare!”
Do you believe in the possibility of change? Do you believe that new things are possible? Or are you satisfied with former things… what we’ve always known, what we’ve always done, what we’re “used to”… thinking.
What distinguishes “living things” from “dead” -- animated objects from the inanimate -- is movement and change. Life is a “happening.” Life connotes “action.” Life is an “event”, a performance over time. Life adapts to changes in the environment. Life feels and responds to stresses and struggles. Living things don’t lie down quietly except to restore their energies. Living things move & tremble and are aware of what’s going on.
In his parable of the new wine, Jesus indicates that the fruit of the vine (even after it has been harvested, and crushed, and its juices pressed into containers), is still alive and growing. It is fermenting and expanding. The new wine is still performing it’s dance of life!
And for that reason, says Jesus, “no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. (You lose both the wine and the
wineskin.) No… New wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”
And there’s the rub. Taeou Fou (New Beginnings UCC) is new wine. There is liveliness and ferment and obvious growth in our new Samoan UCC congregation. We celebrate that newness! We welcome that growth, that excitement, that style that brings so much to our older traditional ways.
Los Altos UCC… are we the wineskin? Are we (this facility, this property, this congregational structure, these 100 members) the over-sixty-year-old container into which this lively new ferment has been poured?
And, if so, how do we respond? We don’t want to split our seams, burst our cork, push ourselves beyond our comfort zone! So the question is: Will we be flexible enough -- supple in our structure, malleable in our methods, expansive in our attitudes, and inclusive in our welcome -- to allow the new energies & liveliness of Taeou Fou (New Beginnings) to stretch us?
I think we can. We’ve done so thus far – first, by the invitation for our Samoan neighbors to “nest” here, then by taking an intentional time to “explore” and to “discover” each other’s essence – and then (with a vote of strong confidence in our Moderator, Tom Provencher, and our whole Leadership Council) voting to make a covenant between equals (not a landlord and a tenant, but “partners” in ministry), and finally to this day of joint celebration of “New Beginnings” ... not only the new beginning of Taeou Fou UCC but a new beginning for Los Altos UCC as well.
I see us (Lo, these 2,000 years later) as simply the “current crop” of wineskins, filled to bursting with the same lively Gospel Spirit that quickened Jesus and those earliest Christians.
We are simply today’s “vintage.” That’s why we ask the Holy Spirit to “come” and re-vitalize us for this new day. “Fill us with your Spirit, Lord!” We realize that we are the “Body” of Christ – we are a living body. We are not dead! That’s why (as a congregation) we should always have some of the dynamism, the vitality, the zest of a “living process,” as we face the changes and challenges that life brings our way. If we don’t adapt in our responses, then we’ll be in trouble in the long run.
“New wine must be put into new wine skins,” Jesus reminded his audience. “Otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled.”
As Jesus speaks of it, wine is a life-force. It’s a performance, a doing, an event, an action. There is a “ferment” to life; a bubbling, yeasty sparkle. Something is happening. And lively things (like fermenting wine) need to have a “flexible” container, not a stiff one. It will need space to grow and to expand, and to become all that it can become.
I think Jesus was warning his followers, his eager young church, that changes were always going to be coming at them. At the outset, when they had flexible structures and creative minds, ready to try new things with new people, the church’s growth and expansion would feel natural and healthy. But at some time they would begin to stiffen... Harden…
They would prefer that the new dynamics of new members coming to them from different places, with different life experiences and diverse opinions, should be satisfied by following the patterns of their parents and grandparents. “This is how we do it; get used to it.” But to do so -- to try to stuff the new energies into familiar old patterns -- Jesus warned, would bring some “bursting” at the seams. You don’t want to lose the new wine.
But you also don’t want to lose the old wineskin! So make space on the shelf right beside you for the new wine in its new wineskin!
I like the fact that Jesus understands our preference for the familiar. He knows the human tendency to “settle down” for the “status quo.” He knows that we prefer to stay within our “comfort zone,” to limit ourselves to what we already know, and to settle for less than we could become.
“No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires the new,”
says Jesus, as the parable concludes, “for he says: the old is good!”
“The old is good.” Aren’t you relieved to hear Jesus say that!? All this talk about change and adaptation, welcoming the new and expanding our vision, can be unnerving to those of us who prefer older patterns of life.
“No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires the new,
for he says: the old is good!”
We’ve got to admit that Jesus is right! It is our natural tendency to resist changes. By nature, we value the “good old” as somehow actually “better than” the new! C’mon, let’s own up to the fact that we like the way things “used to be”… the “good old days” when the church was central to the family and to the community.
Let’s be real and admit that we are, most often, satisfied with what we have already experienced of God’s love and power and presence in our lives – we don’t come to church expecting anything radical or new or different! In fact, we might even resent being pushed into new things by somebody’s agenda! Can we say that? I know a lot of us feel that way.
It’s only when we admit that we find pleasure in maintaining the status quo, and that we don’t really feel the NEED to refresh our thinking any more than it already is – or feel the need to renew ourselves by intentionally inviting and welcoming newcomers into our midst – that the warning light should go on:
Uh-oh… Maybe I’m getting stuck in the past!
“Watch out, Pastor Lance, your wineskin is hardening!” I’m becoming dry and brittle, inflexible. The warning light should come on that says: “You’re stretching yourself no more.” We’re falling into a routine, taking fewer risks. Watch it, Los Altos UCC: we’re slipping back into yesterday’s familiar patterns of thought. “The old is good…”
There is no question that Jesus was right when he said: “No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires the new, for he says: the old is good!” He knows what we’re like. But let’s not take that “truism” as advice for how we “should” be. After all, we’re not called to be old wine, nor even old wineskins. That’s what we may be, and what we may prefer. But it’s not where the church is headed!
Let’s not forget that, since it is God’s Spirit that is filling your life, the “wine” in you is foreve NEW, alive, and growing. Even after it has been harvested, crushed, and contained within you, the life forces of God’s Spirit in you go on!
You and I are (all of us) “new wine” with new ideas and new values – surprisingly new ways of behaving and relating to one another, because it is Jesus who sets the agenda! Yes, even us “old dogs” can learn “new tricks” if we’re willing to be open. As Pastor Time alluded to the fact that his congregation is learning much about how to be “UCC” from our example, may we Los Altos UCC long-timers learn new patterns of faithfulness and fellowship and ministry from our Samoan partners!
May our congregational system be flexible enough of a container to give the “new wine” that God has in store for both of our congregations space to flourish, with opportunities to join together (as we will in today’s lunch), and room to grow with us. May we, together, bear good fruit – good wine! – to the glory of God in Jesus Christ!
Amen.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
“Singing a New Song” a sermon based on Psalm 98:1-9 and Ephesians 5:15-20
Psalm 98. “Sing to the Lord a new song… Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth…” When I read that text, I like to imagine that, under the great canopy of the sky, one lone figure stands. A single voice, unaccompanied, rises into the vault of heaven:
“Sing God a simple song. Lauda, laude.
Make it up as you go along. Lauda, laude.
Sing like you like to sing! God loves all simple things,
for God is the simplest of all. Yes, God is the simplest of all.
I will sing the Lord a new song. To praise him; to bless him,
to bless the Lord! I will sing God’s praises while I live,
all through my days.”
Leonard Bernstein wrote that… back in the late 60’s, for the Mass that dedicated the Kennedy Center, as a memorial to our slain President. I heard it in High School… and it’s played in my mind for forty years!
“Sing God a simple song. Lauda, laude.” Laude is the Latin word for “praise.” Just as “hallelujah” is the Hebrew word for “Praise the Lord.” In whatever language, praising God is a joyful experience, a happy place to be.
In the Psalm, the lone voice is not solo for long… After the first verse (about the Lord’s victory and vindication), the Psalmist goes on to suggest that “all the earth (the whole wide earth) breaks forth into joyous song, and sings praises.” (verse 4) With lyre & dance, with trumpet & horn, the sound of melody weaves a fugue above & below that first voice. Waves of sound, voices upon voices, until the ground begins to tremble beneath our feet…
“Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world, and all those who live in it…
Let the floods clap their hands!
Let the hills sing together… for joy!”
I don’t know about you, but I tend to take the rocks and trees, the skies and seas, quite for granted! They are all around us, and have been since time began. But the Psalmist suggests that we ought to listen (with expectant ears) to the universe… as it echoes the praises of God’s people.
Psalm 98 says that the joy is because of “the presence of the Lord… for He is coming to judge the earth… with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.” (verse 9) It is a sense of expectation, together with a sense of presence, that triggers joyful praise.
From ancient Israel to our own church right now, people who worship the God of the Bible have never stopped singing! From Moses’ sister Miriam, chanting God’s victory song over the fading rumble of floundering Egyptian chariots, to Paul and Silas singing at midnight in a Philippian jail, God’s people have relentlessly raised voices of praise to the One who loves and saves them.
We’ve just begun a New Year – 2012 years since Jesus came – and the Church calendar for January usually follows the footsteps of Jesus. Last Sunday his baptism, this Sunday his temptation, next Sunday his calling of the fishermen, and on it goes. We’ve covered that ground already… two years ago. I know, because I preached those sermons! It never hurts to recall what we’ve already learned, but I prefer to push us into new territory. And what better text to do that very thing than the one our choir just sang: “Sing, sing, sing a new song!”
Singing is among the most basic and universal “disciplines” of the spirit; an experience that colors the whole Christian life for most of us.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the early church: “Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs among your-selves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God… at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20)
Be filled with the Spirit… singing and making melody… giving thanks to God at all times and for everything… These words come not so much in the tone of “suggestion”… as… a “command!” Singing praise to God and giving thanks, apparently (from the earliest Bible stories to the present) is an indispensable part of what it means to be in the church!
Singing a new song, no less than praying or the study of Scripture, or the doing of acts of Outreach & compassion, is a spiritual discipline.
Singing claims the singer: body, mind, and soul! Martin Luther said that when a person sings, they are “praying twice”: once with the words, and once with the feeling that is intrinsic to the music. Singing “church” songs is like “full-bodied” prayer; an act of worship that demands not just head/words, but heart/feeling, and body/breath! Muscle, sinews, voice…
And singing “in church” is a discipline of the whole gathered community – the whole congregation. We sing “together!” So does the choir, of course. They are trained voices, skillfully directed & blended. But as the congregation sings a hymn together, as only so many untrained and random voices, we experience something about the “communal” nature of the Christian life. We’re not in it alone. We’re a mixed choir. We’re amateurs (in the best sense of the word) derived from “amor” love.
As much as I like to imagine that “one, lone voice” singing to God a simple song, a new song… the humbling reality of most musical experience is that it takes at least TWO to create “harmony”. When we sing “together,” we’re saying something about the multidimensional reality of God that we cannot say (or sing) alone. The true nature and work of God is in “weaving” differences, individuals, together in “harmony.” Jesus once said: “Where two or more of you come together in my name, I am with you.” Two or more…
As inspiring as it may be to speak of one’s “personal relationship” with Jesus, or walking that “lonesome valley” along one’s journey of faith, from Jesus’ perspective, our faith is not an individual phenomenon – it’s corporate, plural: when two or more are “together” in Jesus’ name… that’s when he says he’ll be with us. Two or more. Christianity is an “us” kind of thing, not a “me” thing; the church (“ecclesia”) consists in the gathering (the assembly, the congregation) that congregates. Us together!
God’s work is in “weaving” of differences, individuals, together in a “harmonious whole.” The work of God is about “unison” (everyone doing the same thing together) dissolving into differences, and even some “dissonance,” and then learning to “resolve ourselves” again in harmony.
Bringing our differences together in harmony, as we do when singing together, further teaches us to “listen” to one another, and for the good of the whole, to “blend” our voices, our energies, our preferences. A congregation of individuals -- such as ours here at Los Altos UCC -- has to discipline itself to mutual, respectful listening. We want our varied tastes and opinions, talents and skills, to blend in a harmonious tapestry: a whole experience, where we find “in our diversity is our essential unity.”
The total performance of the “new song” we are composing here at Los Altos – made up of our individual lives, each with a unique voice – is being sung to the Glory of God, and not for anyone’s personal vanity. It’s not to my credit that our church members come together so faithfully (like an extended family or as friends) week in and week out. You’re doing it for God, because you love Jesus, and you care about God’s world.
In fact, if anyone began to think that our flourishing is about ME instead of the corporate “body of Christ” (all of you!), it would be like that “prima donna” who wants his or her voice to stand out in a chorus They pierce the blended fabric of the music in a sort of “self-congratulatory” bid for distinction, which actually ruins the performance, plain and simple. Our worship is not for us (for what we can get out of it as individuals) so much as it is our expression of ourselves together to God!
Singing corporately our “new song” to God is a discipline of trust.
We learn to trust one another by listening to each other. We learn to trust that, by “subordinating” our personal preference in order to serve the common good (the greater good) of the ensemble, we will be blessed and served in return. The more I sing with David’s choir, the more I like to sing… period! Our own sound is enhanced when we blend our voices; God is honored, and the church is edified. Rather than providing a solo performance, singing sacred music together reminds us that “community” is in dispensable for discipleship. We’re in this “church thing” together!
And the last thing I appreciate about singing in church is how those hymns and spiritual songs capture the most basic themes all Christians hold in common: praising God, our Creator; reminding ourselves that we are saved by God’s grace, not by our own efforts at being good. So many of our church songs pick up the central truth of our Christian faith: that God in Jesus Christ has been revealed above all as LOVE, so that whoever loves is born of God, and knows God. Church songs are primarily “love songs” in a more profound way than the more emotional & romantic phrases that are so popular on Valentine’s Day.
It is in our songs of “Hallelujah” (“Praise God!”) -- and in our Easter “Alleluia” -- that we join with the saints of old making the ancient acclamation: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! The very act of robust singing together helps us to believe that sin and evil (and death and tragedy) will not have the last word in this world! As Neil Diamond put it in his “Song Sung Blue”: “Me and you are subject to the blues now & then; but when you make a song, you sing ’em out again.”
Church musicians (like David Joseph, and our choir members) have a particular “calling” in the Body of Christ: they lead the whole church in its worship and praise, making music and singing to the glory of God. If you pay attention to the lyrics of the songs (the choir’s anthem or the hymns we sing together), you’ll notice that sometimes it is a prayer, sometimes a statement of faith, sometimes a lament, other times rejoicing. No less than the 20 minutes of my sermon, the 20 minutes of our singing and music-making during worship broadcast the Gospel!
When you sing, try to listen carefully between the notes, and you may hear creation itself drawing its long, slow, great breath – the roaring of the sea along the shore, the wind in the pines, the sight of the mountains when the Santa Ana’s blow the haze away…
“This is my Father’s world. And to my listening ears,
all nature sings, and around me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world! I rest me in the thought of rocks & trees,
of skies & seas: God’s hand these wonders wrought!”
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Break forth into joyous song, and sing praises!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
Let the trees clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy,
at the presence of the Lord!”
So says the Psalmist, and I say “Amen!”
“Sing God a simple song. Lauda, laude.
Make it up as you go along. Lauda, laude.
Sing like you like to sing! God loves all simple things,
for God is the simplest of all. Yes, God is the simplest of all.
I will sing the Lord a new song. To praise him; to bless him,
to bless the Lord! I will sing God’s praises while I live,
all through my days.”
Leonard Bernstein wrote that… back in the late 60’s, for the Mass that dedicated the Kennedy Center, as a memorial to our slain President. I heard it in High School… and it’s played in my mind for forty years!
“Sing God a simple song. Lauda, laude.” Laude is the Latin word for “praise.” Just as “hallelujah” is the Hebrew word for “Praise the Lord.” In whatever language, praising God is a joyful experience, a happy place to be.
In the Psalm, the lone voice is not solo for long… After the first verse (about the Lord’s victory and vindication), the Psalmist goes on to suggest that “all the earth (the whole wide earth) breaks forth into joyous song, and sings praises.” (verse 4) With lyre & dance, with trumpet & horn, the sound of melody weaves a fugue above & below that first voice. Waves of sound, voices upon voices, until the ground begins to tremble beneath our feet…
“Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world, and all those who live in it…
Let the floods clap their hands!
Let the hills sing together… for joy!”
I don’t know about you, but I tend to take the rocks and trees, the skies and seas, quite for granted! They are all around us, and have been since time began. But the Psalmist suggests that we ought to listen (with expectant ears) to the universe… as it echoes the praises of God’s people.
Psalm 98 says that the joy is because of “the presence of the Lord… for He is coming to judge the earth… with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.” (verse 9) It is a sense of expectation, together with a sense of presence, that triggers joyful praise.
From ancient Israel to our own church right now, people who worship the God of the Bible have never stopped singing! From Moses’ sister Miriam, chanting God’s victory song over the fading rumble of floundering Egyptian chariots, to Paul and Silas singing at midnight in a Philippian jail, God’s people have relentlessly raised voices of praise to the One who loves and saves them.
We’ve just begun a New Year – 2012 years since Jesus came – and the Church calendar for January usually follows the footsteps of Jesus. Last Sunday his baptism, this Sunday his temptation, next Sunday his calling of the fishermen, and on it goes. We’ve covered that ground already… two years ago. I know, because I preached those sermons! It never hurts to recall what we’ve already learned, but I prefer to push us into new territory. And what better text to do that very thing than the one our choir just sang: “Sing, sing, sing a new song!”
Singing is among the most basic and universal “disciplines” of the spirit; an experience that colors the whole Christian life for most of us.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the early church: “Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs among your-selves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God… at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20)
Be filled with the Spirit… singing and making melody… giving thanks to God at all times and for everything… These words come not so much in the tone of “suggestion”… as… a “command!” Singing praise to God and giving thanks, apparently (from the earliest Bible stories to the present) is an indispensable part of what it means to be in the church!
Singing a new song, no less than praying or the study of Scripture, or the doing of acts of Outreach & compassion, is a spiritual discipline.
Singing claims the singer: body, mind, and soul! Martin Luther said that when a person sings, they are “praying twice”: once with the words, and once with the feeling that is intrinsic to the music. Singing “church” songs is like “full-bodied” prayer; an act of worship that demands not just head/words, but heart/feeling, and body/breath! Muscle, sinews, voice…
And singing “in church” is a discipline of the whole gathered community – the whole congregation. We sing “together!” So does the choir, of course. They are trained voices, skillfully directed & blended. But as the congregation sings a hymn together, as only so many untrained and random voices, we experience something about the “communal” nature of the Christian life. We’re not in it alone. We’re a mixed choir. We’re amateurs (in the best sense of the word) derived from “amor” love.
As much as I like to imagine that “one, lone voice” singing to God a simple song, a new song… the humbling reality of most musical experience is that it takes at least TWO to create “harmony”. When we sing “together,” we’re saying something about the multidimensional reality of God that we cannot say (or sing) alone. The true nature and work of God is in “weaving” differences, individuals, together in “harmony.” Jesus once said: “Where two or more of you come together in my name, I am with you.” Two or more…
As inspiring as it may be to speak of one’s “personal relationship” with Jesus, or walking that “lonesome valley” along one’s journey of faith, from Jesus’ perspective, our faith is not an individual phenomenon – it’s corporate, plural: when two or more are “together” in Jesus’ name… that’s when he says he’ll be with us. Two or more. Christianity is an “us” kind of thing, not a “me” thing; the church (“ecclesia”) consists in the gathering (the assembly, the congregation) that congregates. Us together!
God’s work is in “weaving” of differences, individuals, together in a “harmonious whole.” The work of God is about “unison” (everyone doing the same thing together) dissolving into differences, and even some “dissonance,” and then learning to “resolve ourselves” again in harmony.
Bringing our differences together in harmony, as we do when singing together, further teaches us to “listen” to one another, and for the good of the whole, to “blend” our voices, our energies, our preferences. A congregation of individuals -- such as ours here at Los Altos UCC -- has to discipline itself to mutual, respectful listening. We want our varied tastes and opinions, talents and skills, to blend in a harmonious tapestry: a whole experience, where we find “in our diversity is our essential unity.”
The total performance of the “new song” we are composing here at Los Altos – made up of our individual lives, each with a unique voice – is being sung to the Glory of God, and not for anyone’s personal vanity. It’s not to my credit that our church members come together so faithfully (like an extended family or as friends) week in and week out. You’re doing it for God, because you love Jesus, and you care about God’s world.
In fact, if anyone began to think that our flourishing is about ME instead of the corporate “body of Christ” (all of you!), it would be like that “prima donna” who wants his or her voice to stand out in a chorus They pierce the blended fabric of the music in a sort of “self-congratulatory” bid for distinction, which actually ruins the performance, plain and simple. Our worship is not for us (for what we can get out of it as individuals) so much as it is our expression of ourselves together to God!
Singing corporately our “new song” to God is a discipline of trust.
We learn to trust one another by listening to each other. We learn to trust that, by “subordinating” our personal preference in order to serve the common good (the greater good) of the ensemble, we will be blessed and served in return. The more I sing with David’s choir, the more I like to sing… period! Our own sound is enhanced when we blend our voices; God is honored, and the church is edified. Rather than providing a solo performance, singing sacred music together reminds us that “community” is in dispensable for discipleship. We’re in this “church thing” together!
And the last thing I appreciate about singing in church is how those hymns and spiritual songs capture the most basic themes all Christians hold in common: praising God, our Creator; reminding ourselves that we are saved by God’s grace, not by our own efforts at being good. So many of our church songs pick up the central truth of our Christian faith: that God in Jesus Christ has been revealed above all as LOVE, so that whoever loves is born of God, and knows God. Church songs are primarily “love songs” in a more profound way than the more emotional & romantic phrases that are so popular on Valentine’s Day.
It is in our songs of “Hallelujah” (“Praise God!”) -- and in our Easter “Alleluia” -- that we join with the saints of old making the ancient acclamation: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! The very act of robust singing together helps us to believe that sin and evil (and death and tragedy) will not have the last word in this world! As Neil Diamond put it in his “Song Sung Blue”: “Me and you are subject to the blues now & then; but when you make a song, you sing ’em out again.”
Church musicians (like David Joseph, and our choir members) have a particular “calling” in the Body of Christ: they lead the whole church in its worship and praise, making music and singing to the glory of God. If you pay attention to the lyrics of the songs (the choir’s anthem or the hymns we sing together), you’ll notice that sometimes it is a prayer, sometimes a statement of faith, sometimes a lament, other times rejoicing. No less than the 20 minutes of my sermon, the 20 minutes of our singing and music-making during worship broadcast the Gospel!
When you sing, try to listen carefully between the notes, and you may hear creation itself drawing its long, slow, great breath – the roaring of the sea along the shore, the wind in the pines, the sight of the mountains when the Santa Ana’s blow the haze away…
“This is my Father’s world. And to my listening ears,
all nature sings, and around me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world! I rest me in the thought of rocks & trees,
of skies & seas: God’s hand these wonders wrought!”
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Break forth into joyous song, and sing praises!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
Let the trees clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy,
at the presence of the Lord!”
So says the Psalmist, and I say “Amen!”
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