June 19, 2011, "The Salt of the Earth"

Matthew 28. 16-20

The Salt of the Earth is a modest metaphor … it’s how Christians can flavor the world.

How much salt does it take to flavor a radish?

Yes, just a pinch.

If the lid falls off the salt shaker, and the radish is buried beneath a pile of salt, it’s ruined … too much salt, and nothing tastes good … just a pinch, and the food is always good.

A pinch is all it takes!

God never intended that all the earth should be Christian.

Oh yes, someday, all the world will bow the knee and confess Jesus as LORD and Savior … but that will be a day far and removed for now, and only God can bring it about.

Right now, just a pinch of salt.

That’s what God intends.

Just a few Christians; that’s all takes.

A few Christians here, a few Christians there … scattered throughout the nations  … just a pinch, not a pile, just a pinch.

Gently doing our work.

Christians … the Salt of the Earth.

Jesus envisions the power of our influence.

To flavor the world.

Like good salt, that brings out the flavors of love and life in every culture, every part of the world, in every human life.

Gently, and quietly, even anonymously, to flavor our world, to bring out the best.

The best everywhere.

Salt of the Earth is the story behind the Great Commission … to move out into the world … to engage the world flavorfully, not forcefully.

That people might taste the love of God, and decide for themselves, just how good God truly is.

O taste and see that the LORD is good …

We are the Salt of the Earth … and it works!

Because authority has been to Jesus, for the sake of the earth.

All authority has been given … not just some, not just for heaven, but for earth, as well …

Authority … to love, to make all things new, to restore, to build up, to bless and to hold.

Authority as Jesus lived it …

Not to gain power, but to empower.

Not to rule over, but to stand beside.

Not to give orders, but to invite us to walk with him.

To make disciples might better be translated – to disciple.

To disciple people!

And we know the meaning of disciple.

To be a student.

To help people become students of Jesus.

I’ve been a student of Jesus this week.

Reading Matthew.

And much of it this morning.

I wanted it to be fresh.

Jesus says, everything I have commanded you.

And where does Jesus establish his commandments for us?

The sermon on the mount.

His ministry begins on the mount.

His ministry reaches its culmination on the mount.

Places high and lifted up.

To remind us of Moses and the Commandments.

To remind us of the Mount of Transfiguration.

And the mount on which the Holy City is built.

High places where God comes close to us.

To disciple someone is a gentle thing.

We don’t grab people and threaten them with hell-fire and brimstone and everlasting punishment.

We walk with them for awhile.

Maybe a long time.

We practice kindness.

And we pray.

Maybe we’ll never see the day when someone accepts Jesus … but what is that to us?

Why must we always see the fruit of our efforts.

There’s something selfish about that.

We put it into God’s hands.

Because God does the work.

When and where God will.

And it’s just right, when God does it.

Always is.

At the right time.

I think of Dr. John Fowler in Turkey.

Medical missions, twenty years of labor and love.

How many converted?

Thousands?

Hundreds?

Just a few … in that land where it’s hard to be a Christian.

But it’s not about big numbers.

It’s about big love.

And Dr. Fowler has big love.

Dr. Fowler mentioned last night an Anglican Church that’s been there for several hundred years.

Slow and steady.

Steady and sure.

He said, “It’s an example of perseverance.”

You bet.

We don’t give up.

We stay on course.

Slow and steady.

And God does the rest.

Kindness is our greatest power.

Kindness can open someone’s heart to the love of God.

You see, we can’t convert anyone.

Only God can convert someone.

It’s God’s business.

Our business is kindness.

Conversion is God’s business.

No one knows when the disciples were converted.

It was a long process.

Even after three years with Jesus, they’ not at all clear … even as Matthew notes, some doubted, or maybe all of them had a little doubt.

Conversion belongs to God.

It’s a long process.

It takes a life-time.

I’ve heard pastors talk with one another on a Monday morning – “How many people came forward yesterday?” … “How many conversions?”

Look, with all the right pressure and harsh preaching, we can get people to do anything.

Lots of people have “converted” under duress.

They were frightened.

They were cajoled.

They were pressured … and that does more harm than good … it may build statistics, but it doesn’t build the kingdom of God … it doesn’t change hearts.

Only God does the converting.

Even Saul’s story.

When was the conversion?

On the road in the blinding light?

When he fell down.

When he got up.

When he was blinded?

When Ananias prayed for him?

When the scales fell from his eyes?

When he went to Arabia?

When he went to Jerusalem?

Conversion is a slow and beautiful process.

Some things happen all at once, of course.

Maybe.

But the real story is a story of time.

Time to think.

Quiet moments.

As God works in our lives.

It’s important for us to appreciate the power of kindness.

A gentle work!

Being with someone.

Kindness counts for everything.

And it’s effective.

Think of the Christians who’ve made a difference in our lives.

What were they like?

For me, they were all gentle and wise.

All of them were kind.

All of them were patient.

Jesus then takes us to baptism.

Baptism is grace.

Pure grace … something given to us.

Something good.

Something godly.

Just given to us.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

All of God.

Not just some of God.

But the whole realm of God’s mercy and goodness.

Creation, salvation, empowerment.

The Father.

The Son.

The Holy Spirit.

Nothing more needed.

Nothing left out.

We get all of God.

Teaching people to obey, says Jesus.

Obey?

Wow … let’s unpack that word.

For many, it simply means conformity.

Conform to someone’s rules.

Do this, do that; don’t do this, and don’t do that.

When someone is telling us what to do, how does that make us feel?

It never makes me feel very good?

But the word obey is beautiful and wonderful.

It means to listen.

Listen deeply.

So deeply that something changes inside of us!

Think of a parent trying to make a child understand something really important.

We might walk up to the child.

Put our hands on the child’s shoulders.

Say to them, “Look at me.”

“Look into my eyes.”

And then we might say to them: “Listen to me.”

It’s not about commands, or rules.

It’s not about conformity.

It’s about listening.

Listening to the one who loves us.

To the one who says to us:

Blessed are the poor in spirit …

Blessed are those who mourn …

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness …

Forgive, and forgive again …

Love one another as I have loved you …

Abide in my word …

If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father …

Listen to him, says the Father, when Jesus is baptized.

Listen!

That’s the word obey.

To listen to God.

Deeply.

And God will do the rest.

The best evangelism is our kindness.

We can help clear the way.

Give people encouragement and love.

We help them listen.

Listen to God.

We help them listen.

Because we’re listening, too.

That’s our task.

That our work.

And that’s how we join with God to make this a better world.

After all, we’re the Salt of the Earth!

Amen and Amen.

June 6, 2010 - "Only One Winner"

1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17

This is one of the most beautiful stories in the New Testament …

Jesus and a large crowd make their way to a little town called Nain, 20 miles or so, southwest of Capernaum … and about 5 miles southeast of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up.

As they approach the city gate, they’re met by a large crowd coming out of the city … a funeral procession …

A young man has died, and the town comes out to comfort the mother and lay the young man to rest.

Professional mourners weeping and wailing … a courtesy to the family – so that relatives and close friends can cry their hearts out without embarrassment.

“Weep with those who weep” Paul the Apostle would write some years later …

So here they come, weeping and wailing … on their way to the cemetery … a young man’s body carried on a bier, hefted onto the shoulders of a few good men!

So it goes, they say to one another.

A time to be born and a time to die.

Dust to dust, earth to earth, ashes to ashes.

The way of all flesh.

What can any of us do?

Making their way to the cemetery … likely a small cave in a hillside nearby … where the boy’s father was laid to rest some time ago … and probably grandparents and cousins and uncles and aunts, too …

But there’s another crowd on the road.

Coming toward Nain.

Jesus and his followers.

On a collision course, or so it would seem.

Jesus sees the mother, has compassion on her, writes Luke.

The Greek word for compassion, splagcnizomai – literally means inward parts – the heart – the seat of our emotions – something deep inside moves within a Jesus … 

We might say to someone in sorrow, My heart goes out to you.

Or we might profess our faith in Christ by saying, LORD Jesus Christ, I give my heart to you.

Calvin’s motto: O LORD, promptly and sincerely, I give my heart to you.

Or politically we might say of someone with liberal proclivities, She a bleeding-heart liberal.

In the Roman Catholic tradition, the bleeding heart of Jesus - an iconic image of God’s love and mercy.

The heart of Jesus goes out to the woman.

I imagine her walking slowly in the dust of the road, head covered, eyes cast down to the earth … sobbing … she doesn’t see Jesus coming toward her.

But Jesus sees her!

Jesus says to her, Do not weep!

I can only imagine a startled look on her face.

What?

What was that?

What did you say?

Before she has a chance to do anything,

Jesus steps behind her.

I have in mind this image:

Jesus with his hand help up.

Like a cop at an intersection – stop … this far and no further.

He touches the bier.

The procession grinds to a halt.

In a few moments, folks are gonna get real angry.

But before anyone can say anything, Jesus speaks to the boy on the bier, Young man, I say to you, rise!

And the young man sits up and begins to speak.

Luke adds so tenderly,

Jesus gave him to his mother.

A great and holy fear comes upon crowd it says.

They glorify God.

They cry out to one another:

A great prophet has risen among us … God has looked favorably on his people.

I have no idea what I would have done, but I would have done some serious shouting, that’s for sure.

Hip hip hooray.

Yippee ki yay and who let the dogs out.

There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight.

From the moment I read this passage, I had an image of a Las Vegas prizefight … bright lights and thousands of fans at the MGM Grand or Caesar’s Palace.

Two boxers making their way to the ring, followed by their handlers and hangers-on …

Into the ring they climb, bouncing and weaving and jabbing into the air …

The announcer steps to the center of the ring …

Grabs the mike …

Ladies and gentlemen …

In the white trucks … life …

In the dark trunks … death …

The boxers step to the middle of the ring for last minute instructions … they tap their gloves together and step back to their respective corners … the handlers climb out of the ring … now it’s up to the boxers … and there can only be one winner!

The bell rings sharply, and the boxers move toward one another, crouched and ready … and before 30 seconds pass, a blow is struck … death collapses and falls to the canvass …

Death has met its match in the matchless grace of God.

I found myself reading John Donne’s remarkable poem this week:

Death be not proud, writes Donne, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,

For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,

Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.

From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,

Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,

Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,

And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,

And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

And from the Book of Revelation …

God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

Mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

For the first things have passed away.

From Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the mighty 15^th Chapter:

When this perishable body puts on imperishability,

And this mortal body puts on immortality,

The saying that is written will be fulfilled:

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, O Death, is your victory.

Where, O Death, is your sting.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ.

All of us are here in this place walk in both processions …

We all walk on our way to the cemetery.

The way of all flesh, indeed.

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

So it is in the land of cabbages and kings.

The last time I checked, the mortality rate was still a hundred percent.

Dadgum it all …

I’m not happy about it, and I don’t think you are either.

But death is the reality of life.

And it does us no good to ignore it.

Every spiritual writer I’ve ever read encourages us to consider our death and to die well …

We’re all on our way outta town to the cemetery.

But at the same time,

We walk in the other procession, too, don’t we?

We walk with Christ toward life.

Life now.

And life eternal.

There’s a song in our soul, and it’s all about life.

To God be the glory, great things he hath done.

Even now, by the power of the Holy Spirit,

We get up from the bier of death.

From discouragement and fear.

From all the things that kill the soul and bury our hope.

Jesus says, Stop, rise and live again!

Join me in the fight against death.

Every time we worship God, we strike a blow against death.

Every time we act justly on behalf of the widow … anyone deprived of a fair chance at life – we strike a blow against death.

Death isn’t just the dying of the body.

Death is the dying of the soul.

The death of hope.

The death of joy.

The death of love.

The death of opportunity.

Every door slammed shut is death at work.

Every deed of discrimination.

Every racist joke.

Every unkind word … every moment of greed and it’s pitiful pride in the bigger barns we’re all trying to build.

Death at work all over the place.

Right now, in America,

Compassion is dying amidst economic panic.

Fearful of not having enough, we grab what we can from weaker hands and poorer nations.

Is not the Gulf disaster a timely reminder of what lengths we go to, in order to feed our fuel addictions?

A way of life unsustainable in a world of 6 billion people?

Jesus puts his hand up, and says, No more of this. Stop!

Jesus sees the woman.

I wonder sometimes what I see?

What are my eyes like?

From the movie Avatar, the natives of Pandora greet one another by saying I see you.

I can’t think of anything more important – to have good eyes … to see one another … to see our world with the eyes of Christ.

As we drive about town, go to work, what do we see?

Whenever our eyes are closed to the suffering of another, it’s death at work; death closes our eyes.

And when our eyes close, so goes the soul!

The eyes are the windows of the soul … when we pull the shades, the soul grows dark!

When we close our eyes, compassion dies!

I fear that America is losing one of its greatest strengths – the common weal – the compassion we have for another.

In a recent study, some disturbing findings:

College students today are less likely to "get" the emotions of others than their counterparts 20 and 30 years ago….

Specifically, today's students scored 40 percent lower on a measure of empathy than their elders did.

The findings are based on a review of 72 studies of 14,000 American college students overall conducted between 1979 and 2009.

"We found the biggest drop in empathy after the year 2000," said Sara Konrath, a researcher at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.

Compared with college students of the late 1970s, current students are less likely to agree with statements such as "I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective," and "I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me."

"Many people see the current group of college students — sometimes called 'Generation Me ' — as one of the most self-centered, narcissistic, competitive, confident and individualistic in recent history," said Konrath, who is also affiliated with the University of Rochester Department of Psychiatry.

Konrath's colleague graduate student Edward O'Brien added, "It's not surprising that this growing emphasis on the self is accompanied by a corresponding devaluation of others.”

[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37399539/ns/health-behavior/]

What happened in the year 2000?

What’s happening to college students?

Why the significant drop in empathy?

Even as we speak, researchers are scrambling to find out.

But here in this place, we know the cause.

Call it sin.

Call it the Devil.

Call it hell.

Call it whatever you want.

But let’s call it honestly.

Too much materialism and too much self-indulgence.

Too much hurry-up, and too much a focus on possessions.

Too much self-esteem and not enough mercy.

To much of self, and too little of others.

Too much saber rattling and too much muscle.

Too much of the body, and too little soul.

Too much virtual world, and not enough of the real world.

In a survey of college freshmen in 1966, 44% thought it was important to be well off, but by 1996, thirty years later, that number had risen to 73%. In 1966, 83% of the freshmen thought a “philosophy of life” was important, but in 1996 only 42% thought so.

[http://sfts.edu/newsletter/docs/Bev_Franco_Essay.pdf, p.5]

We have to ask ourselves some mighty big questions.

A friend said to me this week, Christians are people who dig around in their souls.

I think we have to do some serious soul-digging.

To have the eyes of Christ.

The heart of Christ.

To raise our hand.

To halt the processions of death.

A medical missionary in Haiti brings life to that island.

A man drilling water wells in the Sudan brings life to the parched throats of a thirsty people.

A woman ladling out beans and rice in a downtown soup kitchen brings life to the hungry and weary of skid row.

A kindly word brings life to the discouraged friend at work.

A protest against war and those who lust for war brings life to a war-weary world.

Our prayers …

Faithfulness to a friend …

To forgive and let bygones be bygones …

To do with a little less and give away a little more …

To let go of bitterness …

To give our lives to Christ ...

A million ways to stop the processions of death.

A millions ways to bring life to our world.

Are you with me on this?

I know that you are.

Because you are Covenant on the Corner.

Amen and Amen!

Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

I heard about three men – a Baptist, a Catholic and a Presbyterian … they died on the same day and went to heaven.
St. Peter met them and said, “I’m sorry men, but you’re rooms are available yet.”
Peter didn’t quite know what to do, so he called Satan and asked if he’d keep the men for a little while.
Satan reluctantly agreed, but in a few hours later, called back.
“Peter, you’ve got to come and get these guys.”
“The Baptist man is saving everybody.”
The Catholic man is baptizing everybody.”
“And the Presbyterian has already raised enough money for air conditioning.”

Strategy … you’ve got to have strategy … a plan … an idea of where it’s going, what needs to happen, how to do it.
Jesus has strategy.
Jesus knows what to do to build His church.

For the last several weeks, we’ve been looking at JesusStrategy …

Choosing the leaders.
Training the leaders.
Inspiring the leaders.

Today: the Great Commission – Matthew 28
Sending the leaders.
To continue doing what Jesus does – build His church!

Let’s take a look at the Matthew reading …

The missionary heart of the church.
Mission is who we are, and mission is what we do [remember this phrase].

Covenant on the corner … looking up and down Sepulveda … along 80th to the west, and 79th to the east … our friends and neighbors, many of whom have little or no religious anchoring in their lives … living and wandering and wondering … trying their best to do good … and God loves them through and through, that’s for sure … and it’s up to us to share that love …

Love is action.
Love rolls up its sleeves and gets to work.
Love is focused and specific.

Love works for the wellbeing of our community.
Love reaches out to our unchurched neighbors.
Love invites them to go to church with us … and have lunch with them afterward …
Loves pays attention.
Love listens.

The church faces outward … mission is who we are, and mission is what we do.

What does Matthew 28 mean for Covenant on the Corner?
By the way, I like that description … Covenant on the Corner … where cross the crowded ways of life … intersection … things going and things coming … energy, traffic, noise, lots of people.
Covenant on the Corner.

What does Matthew 28 mean for Covenant on the Corner?

Let’s step back for a moment to the larger picture for American Presbyterians.

The big news for 40 years has been our decline in membership … what’s happened to Covenant has happened to thousands of Presbyterian congregations around the nation.

We enjoyed enormous success after WW 2: new members … new churches … new programs … we had it all, and it was grand.

But in the last four decades, things changed … the Presbyterian Church today is half the size we were 40 years ago … we have closed hundreds of congregations … we’ve cut back and reduced … we’ve downsized and made do with less.

That’s the pattern we’ve lived for the last 40 years.

It’s made us a little edgy … fearful.
We’ve turned inward.
We’re likely to grumble and argue with one another.
Presbyteries and General Assemblies … too often like the folks in the wilderness … grumbling against Moses, wanting to return to Egypt … hesitant and fearful.
When they came to the Promised Land, they sent in spies to check it … and what a land it was … flowing with milk and honey just like God said … opportunity unbound … there it was for the taking … but some of the spies said, “We can’t do it. The folks are giants. In their eyes we look like grasshoppers.”
They lost heart; they missed the opportunity; time passed them by.

In my 40 years of ministry, I’ve seen our churches turn inward, protective and cautious.

We try to hang on to the members we have.
Let’s not rock the boat.
Let’s not roil the waters.
Let’s not take any chances.
We stop reaching outward and start looking inward.
We settle for what we have and hope it doesn’t change.
We take care of what we have, and we hope that no one leaves.

But nothing stays the same.

Let’s say First Presbyterian in Crane Hill, ND has 50 active members.
They work hard to hang on to them … keep them happy … be sure no one leaves …

But what happens?

Fred gets ill and goes into a nursing home. Now they only have 49 active members
Three weeks later Ted and Sally move to Philadelphia to be near their children. Now they have 47 active members.
A month later, Joan is transferred to a bank in Chicago. Her husband and their three children move with her – so now they only have 45 active members, and three less children in their Sunday School.
Three months later, Jim dies and six months later his widow moves to Phoenix. Now they have only 43 active members.
And, of course, Randy and Jane leave in a snit: … they don’t like the music, and it seems that someone forgot to put their name in the bulletin. Now they have only 41 active members.
Charlene leaves because she wants more social action, and her two children go with her.
Now they have only 40 active members, and two less children in their Sunday School.

To hang on and hope that no one leaves doesn’t work … it doesn’t work for Wal-Mart or Macy’s or Trader Joe’s, and it doesn’t work for the church.

So what happens?
Why do churches turn inward?

Fear … fear is always the underlying issue …
Why did Israel fail to take the Promised Land?
Why did Peter begin to sink beneath the waves?
Why did the Temple officials plot against Jesus?
Why did Rome execute Him?
Fear!

We all get fearful when the world changes.

We remember the good old days …
We wonder why we can’t have them again.
We don’t like what’s happening … it’s confusing and confounding.
Nothing looks familiar … everything seems strange to us.

The world goes on, and we’re standing still.
The keys we once used to open doors don’t fit anymore.
Our children and grandchildren sing the strangest things … whatever happened to Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby?

We all get fearful when the world changes!

But listen to God’s Word:
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

I will build my church, says Jesus!
Come and follow me.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.

On every hand, Jesus speaks encouragement … trust … faith … confidence … straight ahead … you can do it.

On every hand, Jesus says, “Go!”
You can do it.
You can climb the mountain.
You can cross the river.
You can manage the challenge.
You can come through the crisis.
I believe in you.
I have confidence in you.
I put my future into your hands.

Mission is who we are, and mission is what we do.

Do you have friends who are unchurched [turn to each other a moment – give a rough estimate, a number – 2, 4 10 unchurched folks you know].

Chances are they believe.

In the latest Pew poll, folks are very spiritual … folks believe … but 2/3 are disconnected from fellowship; they’re bowling alone, dancing by themselves …
They’re missing a key ingredient: connection!

Something vital is missing.
Like corn on the cob without butter and salt.
Like a burger without cheddar cheese.
Like hot apple pie without ice cream.

Donna’s father was a cattle dealer in Minnesota … next to the house, a cornfield … I learned something about corn … it has a shallow root system, and grows tall.
Grow a stalk of corn all by itself, and in the storm, it’ll blow right over … the roots don’t hold.
But plant acres of corn … thousands of corn stalks growing next to one another … and let the storms come.
The stalks support one another.

Folks trying to make it alone in the world are stalks of corn planted all by themselves … the root systems are shallow … when the storms come, it doesn’t take much to blow ‘em over.
The missing ingredient for millions of Americans – the people connection, and observers of the American scene all agree: it’s getting worse. The lonely-factor is growing larger in our lives; the lack of people-connection is telling in our growing edginess, our impatience with one another, our grumbling and our anger.

That’s why we have a work to do.
Our job … our mission … our purpose … to transplant people … from growing alone, to growing alongside of one another … with Christ in the center!

Mission is who we are, and mission is what we do.

But mission will change things …

Bring new folks into the life of the church, and the life of the church changes.

Back in Detroit, a new family in the church told me about their third visit … they found a pew and settled in.
A few moments later, in came Peg Kordenbrach – she looked at them, shook her head, and said, “You’re in my pew!”
The new family moved to the next pew … and thank God, when they told me, they laughed about it.

I think about Peg.
I wonder what went on in her mind that day?
Was she even thinking about it?
“This is my pew,” she said.

Whose pew?
Whose church?
Ten, twenty, thirty years from now, we’ll all be gone … and then whose pew, whose church?

Right now, today, we lay the foundations for tomorrow.
The corner stone for a 21st century church.
Covenant on the Corner.

With Jesus our Lord at the center”

We will face the future and find a way.
We will meet the challenge … we’ll be experimental, innovative, creative … we’ve nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
The promised land … not back there somewhere … but out there, ahead of us.

With Jesus our LORD at the center:
We’ll play our part, and play it well.
We’ll direct our energy outward.
We’ll tame our fears and build our faith.
We’ll stir the pot and roil the water …. Jesus did it all the time.
We’ll be progressive, and we’ll be open …
A 21st century church.
A place where everyone is welcome.

When it comes to members:
We’ll not worry about keeping the members we have; we’ll train the members we have to keep the faith.

Go … make disciples, said Jesus … baptize them … teach them … and I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Mission is who we are, and mission is what we do.

Amen!

Inspire

John 20:19-23

I’ll never forget it … his words live in my memory, a special place there for him … a little piece of holy ground.

It’s my senior year of high school … Grand Rapids Christian High … Grand Rapids, Michigan … two weeks before graduation … a Bible Class taught by the Rev. Morris Faber – built like Hobbit, hair swept back – a twinkle in his eye, delight in his faith – a love for the Bible, and a love for his students.

He invited the graduating seniors in his class to step forward and tell their post-grad plans … so, one by one, plans were shared about college or work … and then my turn came.

I stood in front of the class – I was wearing a white shirt, sleeves rolled up – with a pack of Camels in my front pocket.

I said to the class, “I’m going to Calvin College in the fall, and I’m entering the pre-seminary course.”

The classroom erupted in raucous laughter … I mean, they really laughed.

You see, I wasn’t seminary material by any stretch of the imagination … I won’t bore or delight you with the details, but suffice it to say, I was anything but the image of a pre-seminary student.

And I was laughing right along with everyone else … I never did fit the traditional molds of faith and religion.

I remember when I was in 5th or 6th grade Sunday School – at the First Reformed Church in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, the Sunday School teacher – a dear soul, for sure, wanted us to memorize the LORD's Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed, and I remember so clearly saying, “I’m not going to do that. It doesn’t mean anything to memorize them.”

I don’t recall her response … it must have hurt her, I’m sure, but what I remember is my own internal compass … I already loved God dearly and deeply … God was a constant factor in my life … a companion to me … some of my earliest memories are of God – can’t say much more than that – God was simply there; a loving presence, strong and gentle at the same time.

I remember going through at least two confirmation classes, and when the time came, declining to join the church as everyone else did … it just didn’t seem right to me to go through a class and then be eligible to join the church – just like that … it seemed to me then, still does, that faith needs to be more thoughtful, maybe most costly … more dramatic.

I always loved God.
And I always knew that God loved me.

I rarely missed church … worship was an anchor experience for me … but I was anything but material for a pre-seminary course, at least as my classmates imagined it.

So they laughed uproariously, and I laughed right along with them.

And when the laughter died down, Rev. Faber turned to me and said – and these are the words that live in my heart – “Tom, I believe you will do it.”

His words of encouragement went deep and have blessed me all these years, to this very moment. When I get to heaven, Rev. Faber will be one of my first appointments – to thank him for that remarkable day in June, 1962.

Some years later, while in Grand Rapids for study, I was grabbing a hamburger at Russ’s – a great west Michigan hamburger chain – and lo and behold, there a few tables from was Morris Faber and his wife.

I stepped over and introduced myself … Morris looked at me for a moment and then looked through to me to some time and place beyond me … a hint of a smile on his face … I knew in a moment that he was somewhere else far away.

His dear wife greeted me and apologized: “Morris has Alzheimer’s,” she said.

I shared my story and said “Thank you” to both of them.

Whether Morris heard me or not, I don’t know … but when I get to heaven, he’ll be one of my first appointments.

His words live in my heart.

Call it inspiration!

From the Latin, inspirare, to breath upon, to fill with breath … associated with divine influence … the breath of God … the image of creation, when God blew breath into the nostrils of the little dust creature.

When someone dies, we sometimes say, “they expired” – their breath took leave; the breath went away … to in-spire is to fill with breath … like the creation story … God breathed into the nostrils of the dust creature and it became a living being.

The word for Spirit, in the Hebrew and the Greek means breath or wind:

Ruah (hiwr) in the Hebrew
Pneuma (pneuma) in the Greek– from which we derive the word pneumonia … or pneumatic

Breath, wind, inspiration … the very being of God, God’s love and God’s mercy, God’s purpose and God’s promise – not out there somewhere, but within the heart, flowing in and through us to one another, to the world.

When Jesus came to the disciples in the night, when shadows rule and voices whisper – the doors were locked; fear filled the room – Jesus says, Peace be with you.

The tension … the contrast …

And then again, Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.

The baton is passed.
The diploma given.

But look at it again … as the Father has sent me, so I send you.

Same task … same mission … same work …

Let’s step back a few years to John the Baptist … the Jordan River in the southern stretches of Palestine … folks coming out to hear John preach … I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness; make straight the way of the LORD.

Jesus comes to John for baptism … when John sees Him, he exclaims, “Here’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

That’s why God sent Jesus … to take away the sin of the world … by dealing with it.
To lift up the downtrodden and give welcome to the excluded.
To shame Pilate with silence.
To confront the religious rulers with their hypocrisy.
To welcome sinners … and touch the untouchables.
Turn a few heads and turn a few tables.

John the Baptist testifies: I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him (John 1:29-34).

God sends the Holy Spirit to inspire the Son, to empower Him.

And now on the other side of the cross, the Risen Jesus meets the disciples in their darkened room behind locked doors.
Jesus greets them with a traditional blessing: Peace be with you … shalom aleichem.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you … with the same purpose, and the same Sprit.

To take away the sin of the world.

And how does Jesus do it?

With a snap of the fingers?
A nod of the head?

No … by putting Himself in the line of fire …
By turning a few heads and turning a few tables …

Now on the other side of death, Jesus commissions His disciples.
Deal with sin with sin … take up your cross … put your life on the line … turn a few heads … turn a few table.
Welcome the unwelcome.
Open wide the doors of grace … forgive liberally and inspire people to get on their lives.
Forgive where forgiveness has been missing: the Samaritan woman at the well … the woman caught in adultery … the marginalized and the excluded – give them welcome; they, too, have a place in the kingdom of God.

And in some instances, don’t forgive … retain sins …

Retain where forgiveness would be a lie … listen to how Jesus addresses the religious rulers after He healed the blind man on the Sabbath … remember how those men got all hot and bothered because the healing occurred on the Sabbath? They missed the healing, the restoration of a man blind from birth … could they see the glory of God? Nooooo. All they could see was a rule violated, and they were angry at Jesus.
Listen to how Jesus addresses them: “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains (John 9:39-41).

Take the measure of life, and use the measuring rod of God.
Lift up the good and shine a light on the evil (Romans 12:9) … be kind and gentle with one another, but ruthless with the sins of power.

Our task is to tell the truth … God’s Truth …

A political button recently appeared: “If Obama is president, would we still call it the White House?”

Racism is a sin that cannot be forgiven, but must be illumined and revealed for what it is – hideous and dysfunctional, crippling to a soul and devastating to a nation.

The pillaging of our environment for short-term gain – the peddling of fear to gain political leverage.
Starvation for millions because we lack the political will to make it different … the global slave trade and sex trafficking.

Nationalism without a larger vision … narrow allegiances and small loyalties …

The lack of health care for millions … sub-standard conditions for LAX hotel workers … school districts under funded; our nation’s lack of public transportation, proving an even greater hardship now for the poor … thousands of returning vets who have survived fearsome injuries, only to face a future of hardship back home (AARP July/August, 2008, p.62).

These are sins, sins that cannot be forgiven … they must be illumined and revealed for what they are by the Word of God …

As Jesus did in Jerusalem …

Is it any wonder they killed Him?

But in killing Him, they undid themselves.

In rising from the dead, Jesus makes it wonderfully clear: the goodness of God, though battered and bruised, remains intact … the message goes forth; the love of God goes on.

Jesus invites us to join Him.
Stand with Him and embrace His work.
Take up our cross and follow Him.
As the Father sent me, so I send you.

We have a moral responsibility … to be handled with care … handled as Jesus managed it …
Immerse ourselves in the Word of God as Jesus did … when confronted with the Devil in the wilderness, Jesus reaches into the Bible He knew so well … One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Jesus used the text to refute those who claimed to know it best!
Make ourselves available, with prayer and humility … “Here I am, LORD … I go where you go and I do as you ask.”
With Jesus in the Garden, Not my will be done, but yours, O God.

This is the most important thing any of us will ever do; this will go with us all the way to eternity.
We’re in that room, right now, with the disciples, with Jesus.
He breathes upon us the Spirit … as the Father has sent me, so I send you.

Are we ready for it?
Covenant on the Corner, are we ready for it?
Yes we are!
Yes we are … yes we are!
We are His disciples.
Wouldn’t have it any other way. Amen!

Come and See - May 11, 2008

By Lee Gardner and Leslie Evans


LEE: Thank you Bill for your recognition of the mothers in our congregation. We respect their wisdom and mentoring abilities as we develop our church community. In the village in Nicaragua which Leslie and I visited earlier this year, we found this same respect for mothers in their village. With many of the men off to Costa Rica or Honduras to obtain employment, the women of Nueva Vida are called upon to provide the leadership of their community.

As our text from the Gospel of John indicates, Jesus extended an invitation to take a journey unlike any other. Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael, accepted an invitation to “come and see”… to see and be transformed…. at the beginning of the journey, they saw the Christ, and followed his invitation. This morning, Leslie and I would like to share with you the highpoints of our “Come and See” journey to Nicaragua as part of a mission initiative of our presbytery.
In 2005, our Presbytery received an invitation from CEPAD, an organization in Managua, Nicaragua. The invitation was to “come and see.” Come and see what God is doing in Nicaragua. CEPAD is a Christian non-profit, non-partisan association of different protestant denominations, Christian institutions, and pastoral committees that confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and desire to live out the gospel through service to others through empowerment. _CEPAD brings together churches or groups of churches in North America and churches, pastoral committees, organizations, and communities in Nicaragua and facilitates covenant partnerships between them.

In February of 2006, Leslie and ten others from our presbytery spent a week with CEPAD learning about the economic, social, and religious aspects of life in Nicaragua. They saw churches, factories, co-ops, and schools, and had a 3-day home stay visit with families in the rural village called Nueva Vida. After prayer, discussion, and reflection, our presbytery affirmed that the presbytery should take the next step toward becoming partners with a community in Nicaragua.

In January of 2008, thirteen representatives of churches in our presbytery (including Leslie and myself) continued the “come and see” journey to Nicaragua. CEPAD took us to Nueva Vida, to become reacquainted with them, and together with them, see if we would be a good fit for partnership.

LESLIE WILL DESCRIBE THE VILLAGE FOR US… LESLIE…

LEE: The partnership into which we are being invited is referred to as a “covenant partnership”. A covenant partnership is not a one-time mission excursion – where we go in, build something, and leave. A covenant partnership is based upon love – love of God – love of one another. A covenant partnership is mutual – gifts are given and received by both partners. It is based upon building relationship first; it is based upon spending time together, observing and participating. A covenant partnership is to accept and embody as fully as possible the values and customs of our partner. It is not speed dating --- it is a courtship. Before a hammer is lifted or a dollar is donated, we are to develop a relationship – we are to know one another as brothers and sisters.

LESLIE WILL NOW SHARE A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE from our visit to the village of Nueva Vida… LESLIE…

LEE: Thus, a covenant partnership is very different from the familiar mission project of seeing a need in the world, going in and building, fixing, or feeding, and moving on. There will always be times to immediately address a need – to alleviate horrible suffering – like the special offering today that Mikal has quite appropriately organized to help the people of Burma. A covenant partnership is different. It calls us to a mutual relationship of exchanging gifts, a relation of mutuality that will be transforming of both partners. Peter, Andrew, Philip and Nathanel had no idea they were stepping into a journey not of tasks, but of transformation. A covenant partnership asks us to step into a journey of transformation.

LESLIE WILL NOW DESCRIBE ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE OF COVENANT PARTNERSHIP EXPERIENCED BY OUR TEAM. LESLIE…

LEE: When the 13 of us met to take this trip, all of us knew at least one other person in the group. By the time we returned home, we knew each other quite well! We had eaten together, snored together, shared toilet paper and hand sanitizers, prayed together, laughed and cried together. We were transformed by the gifts and graces of each other. As we sought to build relationship with our Nicaraguan hosts, we built relationship with each other. We came from 8 LA area churches: Immanuel, Covenant, Brentwood, Culver City, United University, Church of Peace, Bethesda, and West Hollywood. 8 women; 5 men. This partnership is an endeavor not of one individual, nor of one church, but of the whole presbytery. As we strengthen our relationship with brothers and sisters in Nicaragua, we will strengthen the relationship among each other and among the churches in our presbytery.

To conclude, let me briefly describe how I personally was transformed by this “Come and See” journey. When I first thought about going on this mission trip, I thought to myself, "Oh, this is just another plea for money to support an overseas mission project to build something." But as I was exposed to the development planning and purposes of this journey, I learned that this journey would re-define my understanding of "Missionary Work". It was truly a “life changing” event for me. I came back eager to take on the new responsibilities of being an elder in our church, participating more actively in our adult Christian education programs, and dedicated to listening better.

I would invite you to pick up in the narthex a copy of our trip pictures, our trip group diary, and a fact sheet regarding CEPAD.

Let us now join in Hymn #525 as our response to the issues raised to think about this morning.

Money - September 23, 2007

Luke 16:1-13

Jeremy Blake, age 35 and Theresa Duncan, age 40, filmmakers, artists, writers and lovers, ended their lives this summer – Duncan with pills and bourbon, and one week latter, Blake walked into the Atlantic Ocean.

Why begin on such a disturbing note?

To remember why we’re here.
For all the folks who can’t believe,
who struggle with faith …
who take drugs and abuse themselves …
who are bright and creative, sad and lost, fearful and hopeless.
For their sake, we’re here today.

“You are the light of the world,” says Jesus. “You are the salt of the earth.”

The Apostle Peter says:

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We’re baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We’re fed at the LORD's Table.
We count among our ancestors the likes of Abraham and Sarah … Moses and Miriam, David and Solomon … Deborah and Lydia …
Their stories, our stories: from bondage to freedom … through the wilderness, across the River Jordan … we stand with Joshua by the walls of Jericho; we watch David pick up five smooth stones in the Valley of Elah and defeat Goliath; we buy the field in Anathoth with Jeremiah; we stand with Ezekiel by the valley of dry bones.
We walk with Jesus in Galilee and follow Him up to Jerusalem; we pray with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane; we watch Judas betray Him, and Peter deny Him.
We stand with the disciples at the foot of the cross; we flee in horror and can only doubt.
On the third day, we run with Peter to the tomb, to see if it’s really empty, as the women tell us.
We’re on the mountain with Jesus when He says, “Go … go into all the world … tell folks the truth, that life is good and God is real … tell folks about the water and the bread … help them find themselves by finding God – all of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit … and I am with you always, to the end of the age, until the task is done.”

“Go” says Jesus …

The church of Jesus Christ is a missionary organization … the church of Jesus Christ exists for the sake of those who are not here … who can’t believe, who won’t believe … we believe for them.
That’s our Covenant purpose …
I love the name Covenant Presbyterian Church.
Basic agreements – essential tasks.
The promise of God: “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

We are people of the covenant, and its various permutations:
The creation covenant with Adam and Eve,
The rainbow covenant with Noah and His family.
The blessing covenant with Abraham and Sarah.
The salvation wrought by Christ on the cross, confirmed by God in the empty tomb, sealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

We are people of the Covenant!
We are Covenant Presbyterian Church.
Our purpose is our neighbor; to bring light to the world … a light so good, so clean and so pure that folks like Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan are included in the circle of light.

2 Corinthians 5:

The love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for them.

We echo Paul’s confession:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.

The Prayer of St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.

It is the glory of our life … less of ourselves and more of Christ … to live the prayer of John the Baptist: “He must become greater; I must become less.”
Christ in the morning, Christ at noon, Christ at night.

It can be done; it’s happening now … we grow into Christ, and Christ grows into us. Not that we’re already there, but we press on to the high calling of Christ.

Josh Waitzkin, the chess prodigy who inspired the film, Searching for Bobby Fisher, has written a book entitled, The Art of Learning.

Waitzkin notes that success is not driven by some mysterious process, but by mastery of basic skills …

Vince Lombardi, famed coach of the Green Bay Packers, the glory days of Bart Star and Jim Taylor, said of the Packers: “We don’t play fancy football; we play basic football and play it very well.”

I used to be drummer in another life … several hours a day, practice … a simple rule of thumb: if I missed one day of practice, I knew it; if I missed two days, the band knew it; if I missed three days, the audience knew it.

Every practice session began with the rudiments, the basics … single and double-stroke rolls … paradiddles … flams and ratamacues … basic skills … again and again and again …

Basic skills – Covenant:
Love one another as I have loved you.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.

Basic skills, Covenant skills: use your money well, says Jesus; make friends with it.

Jesus catches everyone’s attention with a story about a rich man and a dishonest manager …
The point is clear – if dishonest managers know how take advantage of the moment and make friends while they can, surely God’s people ought to know how to make friends, too.

Use money to make friends, says Jesus … be faithful with material things … practice the art of giving … give and it shall be given unto you … a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over … for the measure you give will be the measure you get” – Luke 6:38.

Money is one of the most powerful commodities of life … I think about money a lot … will there be enough? Wish I had more … when’s the next paycheck … will Donna be able to support me in the life-style to which I’ve grown accustomed?

A woman told her friend, “I’m responsible for making my husband a millionaire.” “Goodness, what was he before you married him?” She replied, “A billionaire.”

A tour guide was showing someone around Washington, D. C. The guide pointed out the place where George Washington supposedly threw a dollar across the Potomac River. "That's impossible," said the tourist. "No one could throw a coin that far!" "You have to remember," said the guide, "a dollar went a lot farther in those days."

And for the latest in stocks …

Helium was up. Feathers were down. Paper was stationary. Knives were up sharply. Pencils lost a few points. Hiking equipment was trailing. Elevators rose, while escalators continued a slow decline. Light switches were off. Mining equipment hit rock bottom. Diapers remained unchanged. Shipping lines stayed at an even keel. Balloon prices were inflated. And batteries exploded in an attempt to recharge the market.

Bill Evans recalls a pastor saying, “Give until it feels good.”
That’s basic … that’s covenant.
The art of giving.
Doing it right.

Donna and I took dance lessons for years – we learned a basic rule: “When it’s done right, it feels right.”

If it’s not done right, it never feels right, no matter how hard we try, no matter how often we try it – if it’s not done right, it doesn’t feel right.

We’d go back to the dance studio, the instructor would show us the missing move, and there it was – we could do it, we could do it right, and it felt right.

Do it right. Give until it feels right!

Learn the basics. Look to Christ in all things.
George Burr said at Staff this week: “Look for God in the music.

Pray more often; open your Bibles and read a little bit every day. Read John Ortberg’s latest book … watch Joel Osteen now and then to get a boost … feed your soul, fill your life with positive energy and the grace of God.

“The one who sows bountifully will reap bountifully.”

As long as there are Jeremy Blakes and Theresa Duncans, we’ve got our work cut out for us … that’s why we‘re here!

I’m glad to know these things, and I know that you are, too. Use your money to make friends. We are … Covenant People! Amen!