October 20, 2019 "Big Ideas" - Palms Westminster Presbyterian Church

This sermon was given a few weeks back, but for today, tweaked, with some material deleted, and some added ... especially the material about Representative Elijah Cummings ...

If you're into reading sermons, you might compare the two and see how it evolved.

----------------------

Jeremiah 31.27-34; 2 Timothy 3.14-4,5

“The Culture of Remembrance,” he said … 

The Director of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer House in Berlin, Germany … “the Culture of Remembrance.”

I was there recently, and Jane Holslag, one of our missionaries, joined me for the tour … Jane had lived at Monte Vista Grove Homes for about year, and then some months ago, returned to Germany.

When I learned that I would be visiting Berlin, I contacted Jane, and she was kind enough to be a tour guide for a few days, and one of the things we did was to visit the Bonhoeffer House.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the great theologians of the 20th Century … he was arrested in this very home, April 5, 1943.

After the failed bomb-plot to kill Hitler, the discovery of documents linked Bonhoeffer, along with other members of his family and high-ranking military officers.

Two years later, April 9, 1945, Bonhoeffer was hanged.

“The Culture of Remembrance,” said the director.

Germany has worked hard to remember what at first everyone wanted to forget … after the war, no one wanted to remember anything, but just to get on with life. 

Everyone wanted a culture of forgetfulness.

But who can forget the horrors of World War 2, the death of 6 million Jews, and millions of others throughout Europe and around the world.

In recent years, Germany has worked hard to remember, and not to forget … Germans have built memorials, monuments, and museums … 

To remember what happened, and to remember why … why a madman like Hitler should be able to come to power, and in a few short years, drag the nation and the whole world into war.

Some things deserve to be remembered … even when they’re painful.

The culture of remembrance …

 To be sure that history doesn’t repeat itself … that hatred and bigotry will never again win the day, that Anti-Semitism will be identified and condemned quickly and thoroughly, and all forms of hatred and discrimination.

“The Culture of Remembrance” …

And that’s why we gather here for worship, Sunday after Sunday … we gather to remember … 

To remember why we’re here this morning … and who we are, and what needs to be done … we remember the words of Christ, the stories of creation, the politics of the prophets, the courage of the early church … we remember great things, and God’s great purpose … we remember the Big Ideas of faith, hope and love; grace, mercy and peace … the Christian Story … the women and men of faith who have trod this earth long before we ever showed up … and, yes, those who will continue to hold high the banners of Christ long after we’re gone.

At the heart of it all, thanksgiving.

The way of gratitude.

To say Thank you.

Thank you to God for the gift of life, the mercies of Christ, the joys of creation, friends, and family … to give thanks to God Almighty that we belong to God … God’s claim upon us … from before the beginning of time … I don’t know how any of this works, but the gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ is the proclamation of God’s faithfulness to God’s creation, God’s faithfulness to every creature, great and small … that life has the last word, not death … that hope prevails over despair … that love will prove victorious over hatred … that knowledge and kindness will put an end to ignorance and malice. 

And in the end, God’s hand upon us … 

There is nothing than can separate us from the love of God … nothing in life, and nothing in death … nothing anywhere, or anyhow, that can break the bond of God’s covenant love for us, sealed upon our life by the waters of baptism, and confirmed for us in the bread and drink of the Lord’s Table.

“You belong to me,” says God.

You belong to me, and I will see you through all of life’s tumult and sorrow … I will be with you in the best of it, and in the worst of it …

I am with you always … I am the Alpha and the Omega … the beginning and end … I am your first breath, I’m your last breath … in time and eternity, in the frailty of the flesh and in the hope of the Spirit, I am there, says God, with you, for you and by you.

And to say thanks for those whom God has given to us, who set the pace for us, who bear witness to what a devoted life looks like … I think of Representative Elijah Cummings who took leave of us this week … 

It was Mr. Cummings who said: My life is based upon pain, passion and purpose.

Year-after-year, he made clear what a committed life looks like, and now, God rest his soul … his work is done; ours is just begun.

And, then, a bit more … of what we’re about:

We’re here to welcome one another … to love one another as Christ loves us … to put into practice here and now what a committed life looks like - what our pain and passion and purpose needs to be … to reflect the pain and passion and purpose of Christ himself.

To remember, not just words and ideas, but to remember what Jesus did: how he put off his robe, and put a towel around his waist, to wash the disciples’ feet …

In that moment, no longer the teacher, but a servant … no longer words of instruction, but deeds of kindness and humility … 

When Jesus washed their feet, it was the sign of welcome:

To welcome the disciples into the household of God … weary travelers they were, all of them, feet covered in dust and grime … the journey of faith is long and hard … and in such a kindly moment, the Son of God is the one who washes their feet.

Jesus sets an example for us … how to welcome others into the circle of our life.

It can be something as simple as eye contact and the nod of our head - “I see you, I acknowledge your presence, I will not pass you by, but I give you my eyes, and I acknowledge your life.”

It can be a handshake, an arm around a shoulder, and even a hug.

All along the way, and throughout the three years of his ministry, Jesus shows us how to treat one another … 

How to be the household of God … where all are welcomed, none are turned away … where the hungry are fed, the thirsty given drink, the stranger welcomed, the naked clothed, the sick cared for, those in prison visited …

Because we are all one in Christ, in whom there is no longer the great cultural divides of race and religion, economic status, and gender distinctions … 

Paul the Apostle says it well:

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

The household of God … 

A household without boundaries, without walls, no ditches … no families separated, no fuss and fuming about who’s in and who’s out …

This is the work of Christ, and it must be our work, too … to build bridges, and open doors, to speak with words of welcome and peace …

To God be the glory. Hallelujah and Amen!

September 5, 2010, "Becoming You"

Luke 14:25-33

Jesus said to the disciples:

Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Well, that’s right to the point, isn’t it?

What did Jesus mean?

Doesn’t the Bible tell us to honor our father and our mother?

Indeed, it does!

So what is Jesus getting at?

Jesus is preparing his disciples for the work of the kingdom.

Jesus knew that the times were perilous.

Rome was in charge, and the religious leaders of Jerusalem had god all figured out.

It was a dangerous time.

And Jesus well knew that in such times, hard decisions were required.

Like an expedition leader crossing over a high and dangerous mountain pass to bring relief supplies to a remote village.

The leader says to everyone helping, “If you want to go any further, you’ll have to leave your packs behind. From here on out, the path is steep and dangerous, and it’s too hard to carry all your stuff, so just leave it here, beside the trail. And we’re not likely to pass this way again, so you may not ever see it again. And if you have any postcards to send home, do it now at the next village, because some of us may not make it back home” [from Tom Wright’s commentary on Luke].

Let me offer a few ideas on this passage from Karl Barth, but, first, let me tell you a little bit about Barth himself.

Born in 1886 in a Swiss parsonage, Barth grew up to become one of the greatest theologians of the 20^th Century.

Barth was teaching theology in Bonn, Germany, 1932, when Hitler and his Brown Shirts marched into power.

Barth was an early critic of German nationalism sweeping across the nation … the juggernaut of propaganda weaving together god and country, religion an race … Germany first, Germany best of all, Germany uber alles … and God is on our side.

Millions of Christians signed on with Hitler.

They thought that Hitler’s morality was just the ticket to restore a failing nation.

Hitler opposed abortion.

Hitler opposed pornography.

Hitler despised gays.

And he didn’t like aliens.

A message that appealed to millions of Germans.

But it was a confused message.

God and country and faith and flag and morality, all wrapped up into a package that led Germany nation down a darkening way …

All that glitters isn’t gold.

Behind this strange message of god and country, a deeper, darker message of world-conquest and the systematic seizure of Jewish assets and the eventual elimination of the Jewish race.

Hitler’s “morality” was a screen for a darker purpose.

And it worked.

Barth called it for what it all was – false gods, holding a cup of wrath in their hands … a cup filled with hatred … hatred for gypsies, Jews, homosexuals, communists and all non-Aryans … a cup poured out upon Germany and the entire world.

Barth saw it coming!

And made his decision.

All university professors were ordered to begin their lectures with Heil Hitler … Barth refused.

All university professors were required to sign a loyalty oath of absolute allegiance to the Fuhrer … Barth refused.

As a result, Barth was removed from his teaching position and ordered to have no further public appearances.

Thankfully, Barth was able to return home to Switzerland and in Basle, resume teaching and writing.

Others had no such recourse.

Some of Barth’s friends paid with their lives for their allegiance to Jesus Christ … 

When Barth speaks about decision-making, we can pay attention.

Barth says of this passage:

The biblical word for hate is not “emotional aversion.”

It’s not hostility, contempt or repugnance.

It does not apply personally to a mother or a father, but to the ties they embody and represent.

The disciple must be free of all such ties … because the way ahead may be very difficult.

And profound decisions may be necessary.

Not that a disciple would ever neglect the biological or social obligations of family … not at all, but a readiness to set the heart upon God [Church Dogmatics, 3.4.262].

Barth says this decision might even be reached agreeably by the whole family …

I can only think of Barth and his family - the heart-wrenching discussions they had in threatening times of Nazi Germany … and many families like them, in desperate times, as they thought about Christ, and what it means to follow him.

Jesus tells us the truth about discipleship.

We wouldn’t want it any other way, would we?

And we shouldn’t tone it down.

Nor sugarcoat it.

Jesus wants us to be clear.

He’s not recruiting us for a committee …

We’ve all been asked to serve on a committee a time or two.

We know the drill.

We ask about the responsibilities, and we’re told: “Oh, it won’t be much at all … a monthly meeting … maybe some paperwork now and then … but don’t worry about it.”

So we sign on.

And then, “Surprise!”

The monthly meeting turns into three or four.

The paperwork turns into a mountain of correspondence.

When it comes to Jesus,

We’re not buying a pig in a poke.

Jesus is upfront and honest.

There may be times when push comes to shove …

When the chips are down …

No more wiggle room …

You have to decide …

You have to choose …

Jesus tells us the truth:

It may be a costly business, following me.

Sacrifice may be required.

So pay attention.

Think about it.

Don’t start out on this course until you’re ready to go the distance.

Count the cost of the tower you want to build before you lay the first stone.

The price of the fight you want to fight.

As Barth wrote about this passage, I can only imagine him thinking back to the fateful days of the Thirties … the decisions he made … the decisions others made, too … 

Decisions that separated loved ones and families.

Decisions of faith that ended in death for many.

Few of us will ever have to make such momentous decisions.

A friend of mine, an sporting-goods executive, was ordered by his boss to fire 300 employees of a company recently taken over. My friend refused … and resigned his job because of it. He talked with me about it – he was married, but no children. But a home, a career …

Sometimes the road with Christ gets difficult.

Most of our decisions for Christ are on a smaller scale.

But even small-scale decisions are difficult sometimes.

I think small decisions for Christ can be difficult, as well.

We’ve all made decisions for Christ.

And sometimes they’ve been costly!

What e’er the cost we might pay.

It is far less than the price Jesus paid.

However heavy our cross may be,

It is far lighter than the burdens Jesus carried.

To redeem our souls and set us free.

To become who we are best of all: daughters and sons of God.

For that is who we are, and that is who we are becoming!

Amen and Amen.