April 3, 2022, "Go!" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

 Isaiah 43.16-21; Philippians 3.1-16

Now it’s official, now it’s real.

As of Friday, April 1 (no fooling), I’ve become your Interim Minister … with joy and pleasure, I accept the task, and gladly promise each of you my very, very best.

It’s fitting and right that this Sunday, a Sunday of beginning, is also the end of my little three-part sermon series, “On Your Mark,” “Get Set,” “Go."

I’ve used the analogy of a race … runners emerge from the locker rooms, shake limbs, stretch muscles, lost in thought, when the announcement comes, “On Your Mark.”

We are the people, and these are the times.

There is no one else here, but you and me.

We’re the runners; this is the race.

It’s our moment.

Others have run the race before us.

Now it’s our turn - we’ll do our best, to push ahead to victory.

It’s the race of faith, which means we do this together … arm-in-arm, hand-in-hand … helping one another to run the race … no one crosses the finish line alone … we cross the finish line together.

Last week Sunday evening, Donna and I watched the Oscars … I was particularly touched by the sense of gratitude that marked most of - I suppose a result of the last two years of Covid … all the challenges, delays, restrictions, disappointments - everyone seemed profoundly grateful and deeply humbled, to stand before their peers with an Oscar in hand - acknowledging everyone who made this moment possible - it takes a village to raise a child … it takes an industry to make a movie.

On your mark, get set, go.

And where shall we go?

We go to the future.

None of us know what the future holds, and that’s scary, but the God we know in Christ Jesus our LORD has made it abundantly clear to us, that the future is ours … and God is clearing the way.

As your Interim Minister, it’s my task to work side-by-side with you, to review and consider everything that has led to this moment … the brightest moments, the unhappy setbacks … every bit of the journey - to be studied, pondered, questioned … where did we do it right? when might we have made better decisions? what do we need to do now?

Very importantly, we’ll examine our neighborhood - demographics - who’s moving in, who’s moving out? What are the schools like, and what are the challenges?

We will consider the powerful cultural changes that now shape our times.

I was ordained in 1970, the First Presbyterian church of Holland, Michigan … when the future of the Presbyterian Church was certain … I went to high school, college, seminary … and expected to serve the church my entire life … the church was here, and so was I, and so were my colleagues …  

In 1990, I became senior minster at a church in Livonia, Michigan, a Detroit suburb … the church was founded in 1951, in the rush of the post-WW2 era - when folks went to church in droves, by the millions, all over America.

The church grew to 2400 members in the late 60s, with a beautiful building, a fine staff, and an elevator … 

One of the former associate ministers of the church said to me, “Those were the days; we couldn’t stop people coming to church. The parking lot was jammed, the Sunday School overflowing … the coffers full; it felt good, and we thought we were great.” 

By 1990, it had declined to 1300 members, on the books at least. In reality, it was more like 500 members. Folks had moved, times had changed.

When Dr. Max Morrison was minister here, along with a huge staff and much excitement, folks got up Sunday mornings, put on their Sunday Best, and made their way to the church … here in Pasadena, and all across the land … 

But all was not sunshine and sugar … the Supreme Court and its landmark decision, Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954 … President Eisenhower sending troops to Little Rock in 1957. 

Westminster Presbyterian Church stands in favor of school integration, invites the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to speak here in 1962 … and, in time, a thousand members walk out. A serious loss, no doubt.

But God looked upon Westminster and said, “Well done, good and faithful church. You chose the better part. You stood on the right side of history.”

In the 80s and 90s, evangelical churches had a go at it, with praise bands and megachurches, and for a time, they were on top of the heap, even as mainline churches continued to lose membership. Now, evangelicals are in the throes of it, too, torn apart by infighting, scandals, and young people simply moving away from the faith of their parents … 

As for religious affiliation in America, more and more simply check “none” … who knows the outcome?

Yet God makes it clear: There is always a way to be faithful, always a way to serve the LORD, always a way to bear witness to the world for the love of Christ.

We will never return to the heyday of the 50s and 60s … or to any other moment in time … the past is past - it’s gone; we learn from it, build upon it, and then we move on … we do what our forebears did in their time - they innovated, they invested, they took chances. 

Building this church was taking a chance. 

A chance on something new, a Tower on Lake Avenue.

God speaks through the Prophet Isaiah:

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

In the months ahead, we will consider how best to serve the LORD in 2022 and 2023; how to bless this neighborhood, welcome everyone, engage in ministry, focus our priorities, care for our campus, revise and renew, and prepare the way … prepare the way for the next installed minister of Westminster Presbyterian Church.

To the glory of God, for the healing of the nations.

On your mark, Get set … Go!

Amen and Amen!

March 20, 2022, "On Your Mark!" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

Third Sunday in Lent

Isaiah 55.1-9; Luke 13.1-9 

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

In the name of all that is holy and good.

Everything, bright and beautiful.

All that we hope, and all that we hope to be.

I’m glad to be here, and I know that you are, too.

My name is Tom Eggebeen.

Pronounced like, “eggs and beans.”

It’s a Dutch name.

Someone asked me where I was twenty years ago.

I said, “I was getting ready for today.”

And that’s the truth.

I was getting ready for today.

I didn’t know it at the time.

But here I am, with a wealth of experience.

I’ve learned a lot over the years.

And so have you.

And together, we are the people, and these are times.

I’ll say that again: We are the people, and these are times.

For this moment, we were born.

And for this moment, we’ve all been getting ready.

In the mystery of God’s purpose - here we are.

No one else, just us.

Our stories, our hopes, our dreams.

Our broken hearts, our tears.

The good times, the hard times.

The whole package.

All that we are, and all that we hope to be.

Me and you, you and me.

Interim minister.

Westminster Presbyterian Church.

San Gabriel Presbytery.

The Presbyterian Church, USA.

And the whole wide world.

A new day?

Of course it’s a new day.

A chance to take a deep breath.

Collect our wits.

Review our story.

Give thanks.

Celebrate.

Look down the road a little bit.

Isaiah says it well: It’s time to buy some wine and milk, wine to gladden the heart, and milk to nourish the soul, and it won’t cost a cent.

Jesus knows full well that life is chancy, life can be hard … terrible things … things fall apart … but wait a minute, with a parable of hope: time is granted … we’ve got time, by the grace of God … yesterday doesn’t cancel today … today is a fresh start, and God is the one who waters the tree, and nourishes it … a tree called life, a tree called hope, a tree called beautiful … a tree called Westminster.

As I was giving thought to the sermon, and the next few weeks, looking at Scripture for these Sundays, thinking about Lent, the image of a foot race came to mind …

Runners emerge from the locker room, shake limbs, stretch muscles, gather thoughts, plan the run … move to the starting line … 

“On your mark!” comes the announcement … and to the line the runners go, kneel down, think … and then, “Get set” … into the stance at the line, on their hands, legs flexed to push off, adrenaline pumping … every thought focused on the moment … waiting … waiting … “Go!” … and off they go … with every fiber of their being … years of training … push, push, push, push ahead … until the race is run.

On your mark.

Get set.

Go.

Today, here we are.

Here’s the mark, this is the place, the race, the lane in which we run.

No where else for any of us.

No one else in our stead.

We’re the ones!

And this is the race!

I’m glad to be here with you.

To be running here in the race of faith.

It IS the race of FAITH … 

Which makes this race a bit different.

Here in this place, we help each other, we wait for one another, sometimes we lead, sometimes we follow ... we keep pace with one another ... we don't run too far ahead, and sometimes we wait for others to catch up.

Some years back, a funeral for a young lady with Down's syndrome ... she was kind, humorous, thoughtful ... with a ready smile ... cantankerous, sometimes, as any of us can be ... 

Notably … she was a slow walker ... her brother spoke as if he were speaking to her, "Karen, you were a gift to us, to our family, to everyone. You were a slow walker, and you slowed us all down, so we could see the world better. We couldn't rush when you were with us. We had to walk slowly. And for that, dear Karen, we’re grateful.”

The race of faith.

We run this race together ...

There’s a beautiful story told of a group of youngsters, with physical challenges, running a race, and off they went, each pushing for the finish line, but one of them fell, and they all stopped, returned to the fallen child, helped the child up, and together, holding hands, they walked across the finish line.

Just a story?

Perhaps … but what a story it is … the fellowship of faith, the Body of Christ, Westminster Presbyterian Church!

I'm Presbyterian enough to know that we're here for a purpose - not of our own devising.

God's devising …

To make a difference …

Life, life, and more life.

And for this life we run … we are the people, and these are the times. 

Can’t have any other way.

No one here, but us.

Right now, right here.

This is the race before us!

We shake our limbs, stretch our muscles.

And God says, “On your mark!”

Amen and Amen! 

Identity - July 20, 2008

Romans 8:12-25

Remarkable time this past week … Week Two of interim training … incredible setting: the Presbyterian Conference Center at Lake Tahoe.

My first week – 4 years ago – Pittsburgh Theo. Seminary … great faculty then, and a great faculty this last week … including Charles Svendsen, interim at Brentwood - 70 of us, but only 16 in Week Two training.

We divided into small groups of five or six – our group jelled quickly, and we grew rather close to one another … four Presbyterians and a Lutheran … two pastors from northern California, one from Phoenix, one from Corpus Christi, Texas … and then me from LA.

Part of our prep time: prepare and give a message to the group – nothing more challenging than preaching to preachers – as the expression goes: a preacher will go a thousands mile to preach, but not walk across the street to hear another preacher.
And prepare and present an ILE – Integrated Learning Experience – a verbatim, a snapshot, of some portion of our ministry.
To share with the group a chunk of our life:
Here’s who I am.
Here’s I operate.
Here’s what I value.

Which is exactly what Interim Pastors seek to do with their congregations … this remarkable interim time … an in between time … valuable and vital … a time to put our life up for review:
Who are we?
How do we operate?
What do we value?

Several pastors suggested, rightly I believe, that all pastors are interims … no matter how long a pastor stays, it’s always between times … something came before; something comes afterward … I guess that’s true for life, isn’t it? – we’re all interims; we’re only here for the time being … between what was, and what shall be.

We can all stand to do interim work:
Who are we?
How do we operate?
What do we value?

Lily Tomlin said: “I've always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific” (Jane Wagner, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe).

Not a bad idea for each of us … to be specific:
Who are we?
How do we operate?
What do we value?

Christians ponder these questions with a special tool.
Investors use the Wall Street Journal.
Sports fans read Sports Illustrated.
News buffs read the New York Times.
Christians use the Bible.
To get a handle on things … to get specific:
Who are we?
How do we operate?
What do we value?

Take a look at our Bible Text for the day – Romans 8:12-25 … Paul’s letter to the Roman church … and not a church as we might think … likely 30 or 40 house churches scattered throughout the city of Rome …

[read text]

The church in the city of Rome – a cosmopolitan church in the middle of a vast city.
Every nationality, tongue and creed – every religious expression imaginable - from the sublime to the hideous … rich and poor, slave and free – the powerful and the oppressed … all roads lead to Rome.
As Rome determined, so went the Mediterranean world … and the church in the midst of this mixing bowl …

Not a whole lot different than our time and place.

Think of it … Los Angeles … a world-class city … a trend-setter … our movies touch the world … every imaginable religious expression – from the sublime to the hideous … super-rich and profoundly poor … a destination city … a dreamland for millions of people around the world … Hollywood … Universal City … the Academy Awards and the Beach Boys … I wish they all could be California girls.

So here we are …

In this mixing bowl … Covenant Presbyterian Church – Covenant on the Corner.

Who are we?
How do we operate?
What do we value?

The first point Paul makes: we’re God’s people.
That’s the universal piece of the puzzle – the biggest picture … we’re God’s people … we share a common identity with 25 folks singing hymns beneath a palm frond roof in Haiti … or 10,000 souls gathered at a Chicago Megachurch using the latest technology … and everything in between … we’re all God’s people, and Jesus is our LORD.

Here’s where Paul introduces a fascinating idea … we’re adopted …

We were once a child of the streets … lost and frightened … and Abba God, our Father in Heaven, creates a family … Jesus is the first born of the clan …
Brothers and sisters added every day.
For reasons known but to God, we’re the ones, here and now, to worship the LORD, to engage in prayer – to be servants of the Most High God.

It’s a slow process … one-by-one … a little here, and a little there …

Like cooking chili … low heat, stir it now and then … give it a taste … a little more chili powder; a couple more hours … now add the beans

It’s a slow process … starting with Abraham and Sarah … right down to this very moment.
God adopts us …

Once I was not, now I am.
Once I was blind, but now I see.
Once I was lost, but now I’m found.

One of the great anchor passages of the Bible – from 1 Peter 2 … Morrey’s favorite …

But 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.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

Now we cry Abba, Father.
Abba … not just a music group.

It has the feel of “Dad” to it …
My children call me Dad.
I love them … they love me.
We’re close … we enjoy being together.
We’re a family.

When we come into the family of God … something good happens; we get an elder brother who fights for us … who stands up for us … who carries a cross for us.
And we get a Father.
We get a Dad … Abba … our Father who art in heaven … hallowed be your name.
And our Mother – the Holy Spirit and the Church.
And sisters and brothers across the world.

Suddenly, we have a family …
A story …
An identity …

And a future!

Heirs of the family fortune, says Paul.
Joint heirs with Christ.

What belongs to Jesus belongs to us, too.
What God gives to the Son, God gives to the family.

When we stand by a beloved’s grave, when we weep bitterly in the valley of the shadow of death, the Spirit of God speaks tenderly to us … your beloved is with Christ and all is well … what God gives to the Son, God gives to the family.

But with the glory goes the grunt work …
Take up your cross and follow me, says Jesus.
Carry the burden of justice.
Hold high the flame of faith, hope and love.
Engage the powers.
Battle the giants.
Just like Jesus.

And just like Jesus, the giants are tough and dangerous.
Countless times, Jesus warns the disciples:
They will seek to extinguish the light … they will intimidate you and try to buy you off … they will threaten and try to seduce … they want your silence; they want your blessing, but they don’t want the word of God.

I think of Billy Graham … a giant of man … a man of Christ; a servant of God.
In his later-years of reflection, Dr. Graham acknowledges that he got too cozy with the powers that be – powers that wanted to use him for their own special interests, gain and greed.
Partisan politics and narrow religion.
Now I believe that religion and politics belong together, but only at a distance … too close, and the picture grows fuzzy … and dangerous.
Billy Graham enjoyed the privilege and prestige that comes with power … but it’s pleasure lasted but for a time … it wasn’t long before Billy Graham found himself embroiled and embattled, saying things he didn’t mean.
Only the grace of God enabled Mr. Graham to extricate himself from the tentacles pulling him under the waves … the grace of God enabled him to reclaim his identity … a preacher of the gospel … a friend to all, a pawn of no earthly power … just a servant of Jesus Christ.

When we sign on with Jesus, we sign on with His program, and it isn’t always easy:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Paul speaks of suffering.
If we were Christians in Latin America or parts of Asia or Africa, we’d know the suffering of an underground church … a church persecuted … the threat of death and imprisonment for the name of Jesus.

But even here, from sea to shining sea, we have our own kind of suffering:

We stand with the poor and defend their cause.
We uphold the rights of the excluded and the forgotten.
We welcome everyone who wants to know God.
We care about the environment.
We pray for peace.
We seek justice.
We walk a picket line with LAX hotel workers.
We read the newspaper with the eyes of Jesus.
We hear the cry of a single mom trying to raise three children on a minimum-wage salary.
We weep with the family who’s just lost a daughter in Iraq, or a son in Afghanistan.

The world doesn’t come after us with guns or machetes.

The world comes after us with doodads and gimmicks.
Promises it can never deliver.
Frightening us endlessly until we’re dizzy from all of it.
The world:
Works us to the bone.
Entertains us when we’re bored.
Leave us too weary to worship … too lethargic to love … too frightened to be faithful …

That’s the world for ya’ … it’s always been the same … for Paul in the first century, or you and me today … it’s always a challenge to take up the cross and follow Jesus … but oh the glory, the goodness, the joy and the peace …. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I know that you wouldn’t either … following Jesus is the best thing we’ve got!

I like how Paul ends the passage … we’re folks who wait with patience … we know how it’s going to end, and we work toward that day one deed at a time … every prayer, every kindly thought … every time we catch ourselves and choose the high road … every good intention … every time we worship and gather together for Bible study, or plan a mission trip, eat together; enjoy one another’s company … we make this a better world.
We wait … with patience.

When it will work out?
When will peace come?
When will we cease killing one another?
When will hatred pass away?
When will God’s kingdom come?
And God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven?

It’s not easy following Jesus.
But then it’s a whole easier than being lost.

It’s not easy following Jesus.
But it’s a whole lot easier than being homeless in the universe.

It’s not easy following Jesus.
But it’s a whole lot easier than being all alone.

So we labor on.
We pray.
We love.

We rejoice in our LORD and Savior.
We give thanks for grace and mercy.
We forgive and are forgiven.

We are the people of God, here and now – in this amazing city called Los Angeles.
We’re Covenant on the Corner.
We follow Jesus.
And we know how it’s going to end, and it’s going to end well.

That’s who we are.
That’s how we live.
That’s what we value … Jesus my LORD. Amen!