2.5.23 "Salt & Light" - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Isaiah 58.1-12; Matthew 5.13-20

Jesus says to his disciples, you are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world … 

And then asks: what good is salt, if it loses its saltiness? … what good is light, if its covered up?

Salt is salt … light is light … they have purpose … it’s your purpose, says Jesus … so let it happen, let it be … don’t fumble it, don’t stand in it way, don’t mess it up … 

There was a time in America when the church was a powerhouse … after World War 2, Americans went to work, and they went to church … what we would call “mainline” churches - Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, American Baptists, Episcopalians … 

In the earlier part of the 20th century, megachurches came to be - historic Protestant Churches … tall steeples marked the landscape - 4th Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Riverside Church in New York City, Pasadena Presbyterian Church, and Westminster on Lake Avenue … 

The police showed up on Sunday mornings to direct traffic … such was the appeal, the power, the presence, of historic Protestant Churches throughout America … 

After the war, churches sprouted up throughout the suburbs … I was pastor of one such church in Livonia, MI - founded in 1951 … folks came in droves … multiple services.

A colleague of mine said, “We couldn’t have stopped them had we tried.” 

These were the program churches: musicals, mission trips;  pageants and potlucks … a lot of good was done, a lot of fellowship, enjoyed … but danger signs were present … in a society with turbulent undercurrents.

This church, 1961, welcomed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to it’s pulpit for a Saturday morning visit to Pasadena.

Westminster took a stand in favor of school integration … 

And guess what …

Folks walked away from Westminster in droves - the membership drain continued throughout the 60s and 70s … and continued … for lots of reasons … so, here we are today.

From a recent article: 

… by 2021 the percent of Americans who claim to be “None” … is at 29% … only about 60% of Americans claim now to be Christians and less than 50% are members of a church. 

The article goes on: 

Many are leaving because they are no longer welcome. Because they have called out how their church acted; or because they don’t like their church’s stances on politically- and socially-important topics (like climate, politics, racism); or they despise how the church treats women and silences their voices; or who can get married in the church and who cannot.

So, here we are, 2023 … a magnificent building, a legacy sanctuary, a glorious organ … with hopes and dreams.

We will never again have thousands in membership … 

The Protestant Era in America is done … but the work of the church continues. 

God is God … salt is salt … light is light.

For Westminster, I see a revitalized presence in the community … centered in the power of this building, a gift from God - yes, the Tower still stands, and it’s up to us to flood it with light, and flavor it with salt.

It will require of us - inventiveness, experimentation … the discipline to let go of the past, thinking outside the box, daring to take some chances.

God will help us.

God will help us, when we engage in the central work of the church: worship, mission, and justice.  

When we sing to the glory of God, for all we’re worth - praise God from whom all blessings flow …

When we celebrate our story - a story to tell to the nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right, a story of truth and mercy, a story of peace and light …

When we take a stand for justice, make justice our mission to the world - and what’s justice, we ask? That’s the salty question. What is justice???

To make things right … to make things right for God’s world, God’s creatures, great and small … for people in war-torn lands, for trees and water, for the weary, and the downtrodden.

What’s justice? we ask!

Gun violence calls for some salt and light - America’s paralysis with regard to sensible laws and legislation. 

The NRA proclaims a gospel of private interests and personal rights - to own guns - arm teachers, police patrols in our schools, active-shooter routines, and more guns … more guns … more guns … 

Misunderstanding the Second Amendment … bowing down to “acceptable” violence and death, as if the violent death of children could ever be acceptable. 

When it comes to laws and legislation, nothing works 100%, but that’s no reason to have no laws and legislation. 

A doctor said to a friend of mine: “We can’t make you any better, but we can keep you from getting worse.”

Right now, gun violence is getting worse … the civilized world shakes its head.

I, for one, do not believe that “more guns” is the answer … I believe that common sense and a commitment to the common good can help us create common-sense laws that will at least keep us from getting worse.

What is justice? we ask.

Climate change calls for some salt and light … scientists agree - human industry has impacted the weather … yes, weather is cyclical … but human endeavor has added to the momentum of global warming - glaciers melting, earth exploited, air, and water, polluted.

Some christians proclaim a gospel of innocence … “god will never allow the worst to happen” they say. 

“It’s god’s purpose for humans to dominate the earth. 

So, go ahead and drill baby. Dig that coal and sink those wells … 

Tempting God, it what it is.

The devil said to Jesus … Go ahead, throw yourself off the roof of the Temple; angels will come to your aid and save you.

Jesus replied: Don’t test God with foolish behavior.

What is justice? we ask.

The diversity of humanity calls for salt and light - 

Gender, life, and love … 

Millions of people, their children and loved ones … trans children, trans adults, gays and lesbians … because gender isn’t binary, it’s on a spectrum from A to Z … 

A young man whom I’ve know for years has recently come out, as a woman - This is who I am, he said; I’ve always been a women; it was my body that went in another direction.

There are those who in the name of their god condemn diversity of gender and life … criminalize homosexuality, prosecute doctors and hospitals who work with families and trans-children … 

The Pope recently said, “Homosexuality isn’t a crime,” and I would add: it isn’t a sin either. It’s just life, in all of its complexity and glory.

What is justice? we ask.

Mounting anti-semitism, anti-Asian violence, the persistence of racism … 

American society is still tilted toward white privilege and power  … millions of children are robbed of a fair chance at life … schools underfunded … private schools, charter schools, home-schooling - so much of it empowered by racism, the protection of white privilege, religious bigotry, even as corporate interests smell money in all of this.

What is justice? we ask.

You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world.

I’m grateful … grateful for the moment in which we live … it’s a challenge, for sure … even frightening, some of the time, but in just such a moment, we have the opportunity to forge something new, something fit for the future … a new paradigm of faith, hope, and love … to be the church of Jesus Christ, all over again, anew, forever and a day.

Brave and bold as our forebears … to meet the challenge of the day … engage the world, seek the kingdom of God.

The Spirit is powerful … to lift our hearts and minds to the possibilities of greatness … great with love, great with courage and innovation, great with humility and kindness, great in the ways and wonders of justice.

Yes, the Tower on Lake Avenue still stands.

You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world. 

Hallelujah and Amen!

9.11.22 "The Three C's! Part 1: Creation: A Good Start"

Genesis 1.1-5; John 1.1-5

A little boy came home from Sunday School one day, and proudly announced, “There’s baseball in the Bible.”

“Baseball in the Bible?” his Mom asked.

“You bet,” said the little boy.

“The Bible says, “In the Big Inning” … 

Well, it was the Big Inning, all right … and here’s the beginning of a new sermon series, “The Three C’s” … Creation, Covenant, and Christ.

Starting at the beginning, at least for me:

I was born and baptized a Presbyterian, at the First Presbyterian Church of Sheboygan, Wisconsin … I grew up in the Dutch Reformed Church … attended public elementary schools, and then a Christian high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan … and then on to Calvin University, where I met the love of my life, a sweet lady from Minnesota … and then on to Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI …  I was ordained January 27, 1970, in the First Presbyterian Church of Holland, by Grand River Presbytery … Donna and I moved to West Virginia, the West Virginia Mountain Project, where I served two small churches in the midst of coal country, Boone County, the poorest county in West Virginia … and from there to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and back to Michigan, and now, here I am, retired, and, by the grace of God, still working … grateful for most of it, bewildered by some it … some of it painful … all of it valuable … blessed with two marvelous children along the way, a lovely granddaughter on whom we dote … we live now in a Presbyterian retirement community, Monte Vista Grove Homes, here in Pasadena …  

And where did it all begin?

I mean, really begin? The Big Inning?

It’s a question for all of us … how we answer the question makes all the difference in the world.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself …

Behind this series of sermons are some of my deepest commitments to the church of Jesus Christ …

I believe, with all my heart: our purpose is to know something of God, head knowledge, heart knowledge, soul knowledge …  

To think about God is to think about life.

When we raise our theological questions, we’re also raising existential questions: Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are here? Where are we going? What’s important?

The Presbyterian tradition is a tradition of education … we train our ministers well … no guarantees - a seminary education will not automatically produce intelligence, wisdom, or ability … any more than a medical education will automatically produce a good doctor … or law school, a good attorney. 

Yet who of us would visit a doctor or hire an attorney who had no education? Yet, millions of Americans gather in churches led by men, and some women, of little or no training; mostly self-appointed … often given to outlandish ideas and bad theology.

That Americans are susceptible to this ought not to surprise us. Americans are practical in their thinking, and often deeply self-centered. Too many of us prefer not think about God, or life, but want to be told what to think about God and life. 

We’re easily tempted by snake-oil entrepreneurs … easily lured away from the gospel by high-powered religious entertainment … often confusing sentiments of the heart with spirituality … substituting a rousing worship service with devotion to God’s purpose.

We Presbyterians hold our ministers to high standards … we have good seminaries, well-trained professors … we require skill in the biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek … we require knowledge of doctrine and polity … before ordination, the ordination exams … they’re rigorous … all along the way, the Presbytery-of-care monitors the student, helps the student evaluate their sense of calling, supports them with counsel and prayer … helps the student better understand what it means to be a minister.

It all begins in the Beginning … the Big Inning … Creation!

God’s mandate to us: Care for the earth … care. for. the earth!

So, here we are … 2022 … what’s the greatest issue?

What do you think? For you, what’s the greatest issue?

If you ask a conservative Christian, the answer might well be “abortion” - “abortion is the issue, and we have to rid the land of its practice, and those who support it.”

A conservative Christian a few years back would have said, “Winning souls to Christ, that’s the issue … so when people die, they can go to heaven and live with Jesus for ever.”

A conservative politician might say: “It’s taxes … the need to cut taxes … limit the role of government … build a wall … keep America White!”

A liberal politician, these days, would likely talk about climate change, voting rights, a woman’s right to choose … universal health care.

If you ask a liberal Christian minister, it’s most likely to be climate change … care of the earth … things that pose a threat to God’s creation.

The poet Robert Service writes:

The waves have a story to tell me,

As I lie on the lonely beach;

Chanting aloft in the pine-tops,

The wind has a lesson to teach.

The Psalmist writes:

The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.

Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.

Jesus said: Look at the birds of the air … consider the lilies of the field …

The earth speaks to us … can we not hear?

The fires of summer … drought transforming the West … the Amazon forests … Greenland’s melting glaciers … oceans, filled with our debris … the extinction of species as human beings continue to extract and exploit the generosity of the earth …  

There are those who say “climate change is cyclical” … and it is … the geological record makes that clear … for millions of years, earth’s climate has been in flux, but since the Industrial Revolution, beginning in the 18th century, coal and steam, iron and steel, changed the world … human beings have become a dominant factor in the ebb and flow of the environment … 

I have a granddaughter … what kind of world do I want her to have? She has no choice right now; children never have a choice. But we have choices to make; evidence to consider; scientists and politicians who beg us to pay attention … we have the power to make a difference, to address the challenge of climate change and global warming.

We’re part of the problem, that’s for sure … which means, we’re also part of the solution …

I like that … part of the solution … that’s what it means to say, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth … 

And in the LORD’s prayer, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.

With our great power over the earth, comes the great task to care for the earth …

For the beauty of the earth, 

for the glory of the skies, 

for the love which from our birth 

over and around us lies. 

Dear friends in Christ, when we have left this mortal vale, when we are no more, our duties done: May it be said of us … They honored the earth, they gave ear to its cry, they strove with all their might to care all God’s creatures, great and small … may it be said of us: they followed Christ!

Amen and Amen!

December 16, 2018 - Palms Westminster - "Do Not Let Your Hands Grow Weak"

Zephaniah 3.14-20; Luke 3.7-18

My granddaughter and her parents live in Amsterdam, and during the winter months, it’s cold and damp.

Her folks picked her up from school the other day, on a cold and blustery day, and asked if she had played outside. “Yes,” said said. 

And, then, they asked: “Were you cold?

She replied, “No! Now I’m hardy!”

Well, she’s learning to be Dutch, learning to be hardy, because the Dutch have battled the waters to make a land … 

With dikes and dams and the latest in engineering, they’ve learned to work together; they’ve learned to be hardy.

As the Dutch put it: “God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland.”

So, here we are, the Third Sunday of Advent.

Zephaniah says:

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

And why exult? … because:

The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.

Because we have work to do!

The love of God is never a call to lay down and snooze … to blow off the problems of our world and simply say: “God will take care of us” … no, we’re called to put our hand to the plow and not look back … we’re called to take up our cross and go to work … Jesus says, Come, and follow me … go where I go, do what I do, be as I am … love as your Father in heaven loves … let your light shine before others, so they can see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven … you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

When God created the heavens and the earth, and created you and me, and put us into the garden - it wasn’t to lay around and dream sweet dreams …

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

And when it became obvious that help was needed, God created the woman, to be a partner in the work.

Everyone is called, everyone given a task … everyone has to work.

How many of you have ever kept a garden?

It’s a lot of work.

We prepare the earth … we buy the best seed … we plant with care … we pull the weeds and put on the fertilizer … we water and then we watch the miracle of growth occur … 

When God created us, it wasn’t just for a wee bit of a plot to manage, but the whole wide world … the fish of the sea … the birds of the air … every living thing that moves upon the earth.

God gives the world to us … and gives us the responsibility to care for it.

The whole wide world … that’s why God created us to work together … that’s why gives us the ability to form communities, to build nations … to care for one another … to provide for the weakest of the community … so that no one is left behind, no one abandoned … 

We do this together … 

Yesterday at a wedding, I read 1 Corinthians 13, and thinking about today’s sermon, these words hit me hard:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 

Whether it be a preacher in a pulpit, a parent with children, or the president of a nation: life requires truth …

To work together, we have to tell the truth … lies disrupt, lies distort, lies destroy … truth builds up, truth encourages us to work well with one another, even if the truth is hard.

Truth builds bridges, not ditches.

Truth builds highways, not walls.

Notice how the Apostle Paul put it?

Love takes no pleasure in wrongdoing … and, then, rather than saying “love rejoices in doing right,” Paul says, Love rejoices in the truth.

Ought we not in this place to be concerned about the truth? 

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life …  

Of all the places on the face of the earth where truth has to be central, it has to be in the church of Jesus Christ … 

Where truth counts all the time, where lies of any kind have no place: the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves, the lies we tell about others, lies about science and creation and immigrants … religious lies, spiritual lies, lies about who’s damned and who’s saved … who’s naughty and who’s nice.

Of all the many lies being told these days, none larger, and none more threatening to God’s creation, than the lies revolving around climate change …  

Our best scientists all agree, thousands and thousands of scientists all around the world, agree, that climate change is real, and it’s related to human activity … 

And it’s all about God’s good earth … 

Many years ago, an elder said to me, and this was in the day when nuclear war seemed so close, “So what,” said the elder; “If we all die, don’t we just go to heaven?”

His question caught me off guard; I don’t know what I said, but his question made me think … and one day, I put it in the form of a story.

A man stood at the pearly gates, and said to St. Peter, “Well, here I am?” 

And St. Peter said, “I have to turn you away?”

The man blustered: “I went to church, I prayed, I read my Bible, I witnessed to others.”

But St. Peter said: “You didn’t care about God’s good earth. What makes you think you’ll care about God’s good heaven.” And St. Peter turned him away.

God created the heavens AND the earth … the earth is precious to God … and it must precious to us, too.

We didn’t know better when it all began … we burned coal and chopped down the trees … we ripped up the soil and dumped our waste into lakes and streams.

But we know better now … God has been good to us: giving us women and men who are called, by the Spirit of God, to study God’s world … 

And they’re telling us, some of the them are shouting at us …

The release of carbon into the atmosphere along with the loss of forests is creating a change in our climate, and the outcome is already evident, all around the world, and it’s going to get worse if we fail to join hands and join efforts to make the needed changes … to keep on caring for God’s good earth.

Zephaniah said: Do not fear, O Zion, do not let your hands grow weak

Like the Dutch: it’s time to be hardy.

Build the dikes and the dams.

Learn new ways of taking care of God’s good earth.

Pay attention to those who tell the truth.

Think carefully, think critically, pray a lot.

Be informed by the truth, and formed by the Spirit of God.

Today, here, at Palms Westminster, the Third Sunday of Advent: shout aloud for joy and never for a moment let your hands grow weary … 

Hallelujah and Amen!