October 1, 2023 "All" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

Psalm 78.1-4; Philippians 2.1-13 

Who hasn’t said a time or two, in a moment of distress, or anger … “To hell with you! … and I hope you rot there forever!” … and if we didn’t say it aloud, we thought it to ourselves.

Hell … the underworld … Dante’s “Inferno” … above which is posted the sign: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Hell has played a significant roll in Christian history … there is very little in Scripture to fit the images of hell conjured up in Dante’s Inferno or in the lurid images of Hieronymus Bosch …

For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church taught that unbaptized children would go to a version of hell … a place called Limbo - they wouldn’t suffer so much, as just being there alone, forever separated, from mother and father … from the church, from Christ …

The need for baptism was so great, anyone could do it, a friend, a neighbor, a nurse - a few drops of water, and it was done - the child was baptized … even a time lapse was allowed, between death and the waters of baptism … but get the baby baptized, now … don’t wait, don’t make a mistake …

Many a Billy Graham Crusade ended with the plea, “come forward, receive Jesus as your personal savior” … lest you die alone, and go to hell, to suffer eternally for your sins.

Missionaries went out to convert the lost …

Just the other day on the 210 freeway, a sign hanging on a bridge, “Jesus saves you from hell.”

While still a seminarian, I was assigned to lead an adult Bible Study at a nearby church …

One evening, the subject of hell came up … I expressed my views, that hell might very well be real, but not co-equal to heaven - heaven is forever, hell, but for the time being.

A gentleman stood up … agitated … he began to tell us how there was a hell … eternal fire, damnation … he went on and on, he face grew red, his hands waved, flecks of foam on his lips … he loved the notion of hell.

And that said a lot about him … not so much about God, or Christ, or love … his faith was mirror image of love - something upside down and backwards, something hideous and malevolent … he wanted people to burn - to suffer in hell, forever and evermore! 

There have always been serious questions about hell … the Bible touches upon elements of separation from God … but does the Bible teach a place of eternal torment, pain and punishment, forever and forevermore? 

What we have in the Bible is better, far better, and more beautiful!

The hope of Isaiah and Jeremiah, 

the love of Jesus, 

the universal vision of the Apostle Paul … 

third and fourth century theologians, 

monks and priests and philosophers … all have seen the love of God as winning the final and complete victory.

Including the likes of Karl Barth, one of the greatest theologians of the 20th Century, and folks like me, ministers, pastors, missionaries, who’ve given it serious thought, who’ve done the study - raised good questions.

It’s all about Jesus:

Jesus dies on the cross and "descends into hell” says the Creed … it’s called “the harrowing of hell” - to storm its gates, quench its fires, reclaim the lost … redeem the damned.

1 Peter 4.6-8:

For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does. The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Does God’s love cover a multitude of sins? Really? 

Is there a place where sin wins the day, 

where sin defeats the love of God, 

where God gives up on someone? 

Is there a place, where sin has more power over God than God’s love over sin? 

Our hearts cry out for punishment, when we think of Stalin, Hitler, or Tojo … crimes, heinous, terrible, vicious - only some kind of divine retribution makes sense.

But does it make sense that even the worst of all human beings should forever, forever, forever - be shut away in an undying hell? 

A prison of fire and death, endless torment, pain forever? Never again, a chance to see God, to turn around, to repent, to open up to divine love, to become a human being rather than a monster?

Is this what you want? 

What if one of our children should turn to the dark side of life? What about our parents, or grandparents, and who knows their secret sins? Could there be a heaven without our children, or grandchildren? Could there be heaven without our family? Without our friends?

And what is God if large parts of God are missing? Are we not all a part of God?

God’s creation is within Christ, and Christ within creation - if any part is missing, God is diminished … God is less than what God could be … God can never be fully God.

Whatever we are, whoever we are, we are all the people - who’ve gone before us - our DNA, our language, our culture, our faith, our fears and longings … 

We are all of the people, and they are all one of us - one God, one humanity … one God, one creation.

If I go to heaven, and some of those I love, and some of those who love me, are not there, will never be there, will never be a part of my life ever again, then I am no longer the person God created.

Has creation gone so wrong, God can do nothing about it? God is helpless before our willfulness? Or worse, God doesn’t care? Or even worse, does God have some bloodlust to hurt and punish and destroy endlessly those who denied God? 

Millions of every-day people who were Muslims, Hindus, or Jews … all dying forever in pits of fire and brimstone?

And if God can’t, or won’t, do anything about it, then what kind of a god are we dealing with?

Paul the Apostle is compelled and moved by a universal vision:

At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.

The name above every name, says Paul … for ALL! In heaven and on earth, and under the earth … 

Every creature, great and small … 

every broken spirit, every evil moment, 

ALL the tragedy and terror of life …

ALL the sins of the world, on his shoulders … and there, in that moment of sorrow and pain, wearing a crown of thorns, the great Son of God, the Son of David, takes away the sins of the world.

This is the end-game:

This is how it ends, and it’s the end that gives shape to our love, our faith, our programs and work, here and now … the redemption of everything. 

In life, in death, forever and a day … 

God’s heart is open!

God’s love is for all!

So everyone is invited to the LORD’s Table!

In a world where there are ditches, we build bridges; in a world where there are walls, we install the doors.

How it will all work, is not mine to say … millions of years, billions of years, lightyears of eternity and time, or in the blink of an eye … the love of God wins the day … this is the good news … the good news of glad tidings - brought to the shepherds in the hills by the angels of heaven … this is the Star of Bethlehem … this - is Christ the LORD.

World without end.

Hallelujah and Amen!

May 22, 2022, "Ford Every Stream" - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

 Psalm 67; John 14.25-29

I love to read Zane Gray novels … stories of the "old west" - more fiction than fact, but still fun to read.

Stories of huge cattle drives ... the constant search for water, forage … safety … and those rare and difficult rivers - how to cross a river ... 

If the water's too high, bed down the cattle - wait for the water to drop ... sometimes, last year's crossing changed during the winter, so another place has to be found ... 

None of it easy; all of it demanding ... and every bit of it, dangerous.

But the work pays off … there's always a place to cross the river.

Sure, it's just a novel of the Old West: Riders of the Purple Sage, The Spirit of the Border, The Rainbow Trail.

Beautiful young ladies with flowing hair and glowing eyes, handsome cowboys with rugged features and tender hearts ... hard days and lonely nights … raging storms and crooked cowboys.

The point of the story remains: there's always a place to cross the river … the cattle drive goes on ... the bad guys get their comeuppance, the hero gets the girl, the girl gets her man! Love wins the day!

I think of all the challenges Westminster Presbyterian Church has faced over the years ... how many rivers have been crossed ... issues resolved, sadness overcome, glory achieved, greatness enjoyed … the good work of being the church of Jesus Christ goes on - lives transformed, witness given, ministry sustained, mission accomplished, the bills paid …the Tower still stands, the organ plays on … year, after year, after year!

The Psalmist says it well:

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Like the cattle drive of old, there’s no going back … the only way, is the way ahead … if the water’s too high, we’ll wait … if last year’s crossing has changed, we’ll find another place to cross … we’ll experiment, innovate, invent … 

I can’t think of words more important for the people of God in such times as our’s: experiment, innovate, invent.

1930, 1940, 2001, and 2022 … every age poses its own set of challenges and questions … some periods are a little more settled than others … sometimes, everything is upside down.

Right now, we’re in a strange time, an in-between time … no one seems to know quite what we should do, or where we’re going.

Such times afford us a rare opportunity, an opportunity to step back a bit, take a deep breath, look long and hard at who we are, what we value, what we want, how to love the world, how to love one another. 

Amanda Gorman said: “To love one another just may be the fight of our lives.”

Jesus tells the disciples about the Holy Spirit … the Spirit, to teach us everything … everything pertaining to the life and work of Christ. 

We are not alone; we have the sacred text, we have the living Spirit of God - the deep traditions of our faith … we have one another - we have what’s needed to know who we are, how to live, what the love of God requires.

Jesus says to the disciples: Peace I leave you … my peace I give to you .. do not let your hearts be troubled, do not let your hearts be afraid … rise, let us be on our way.

In that moment, the disciples didn’t have a clue.

They had no idea what was to come.

Jesus says, I’m leaving you.

But I will not abandon you.

The Spirit will be here.

In Christ, our courage … 

In Christ, our hope.

Especially so these days … when hatred plays its ugly hand at every turn of the clock … politicians and preachers proclaim “replacement” propaganda - “the replacement of the white race” - and hatred of immigrants, people from the Middle East, people from south of the border, people of color, people from Asia … and always the Jews, of course. 

Irresponsible politicians, careless preachers, shout their malicious ideas of race and color, as if such could ever be God’s truth … but it’s not God’s truth… it’s the Devil’s lies … a script from hell - hell thrives on fear, hell loves hatred; hell despises the truth … hell lives on death.

I ask you: Was Jesus oblivious to the times in which he lived?

Was Jesus a recluse in the wilderness, a hermit on the mountain?

Jesus knew full-well the oppressive powers of Rome … the countryside punctuated with crosses … everywhere, betrayal, suspicion, high prices, food shortages, and too much religion, religion run amok … a land seething with unrest and fear.

Jesus lived in the midst of it all - when the time came, he journeyed to Jerusalem, the eye of the storm - where Pilate presided, and religion ruled. The Sermon on the Mt. is deeply spiritual, and powerfully political - the Sermon on the Mt. addresses the lies and deceptions of the day, the temptations to hatred and power.

Jesus offers peace, the antidote to fear … because bad decisions are made when we’re afraid … fear destroys our ability to think … fear twists love into useless shreds … 

Nowhere does Jesus suggest any of this to be easy; it’s hard to live the Christ-Way - then or now, for Jesus, or for us. 

But it’s the only way to survive, the only way to make some sense of our times, the only way to cross the river. 

Here, this morning, we do what God’s People have always done in difficult times: we turn to God … seek God’s counsel … pray for the Holy Spirit … seek the gift of courage: the courage to keep on keepin’ on … inventing, innovating, dreaming and daring.

Emily Bronté wrote:

No coward soul is mine,

No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere:

I see Heaven's glories shine,

And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.

A little child on the beach watched the sun sink into the sea … she asked her mother and father, with a tremor in her voice, “Will the sun come back?

Her mother said to her, “Early tomorrow morning, we’re going to the mountains, and we’ll watch the sun come back.”

Leo Buscaglia tells the story of his mother’s “misery dinner” …

It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy, because his business partner had left town with all the money. 

His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a feast. Some of the family scolded her for it. But she told them: ”the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." Her courage rallied the family. 

Cowboys on a cattle drive … 

The disciples in the land of doubt … 

A child on the beach … 

And Mama with her misery dinner.

Climb every mountain, dear friends.

Ford every stream,

Follow every rainbow,

'Til you find your dream 

In the name of the threefold God. Hallelujah and Amen!

February 26, 2012 - "A Good Conscience"

1 Peter 3.18-22

Good Morning Calvary on the Boulevard.

And welcome to the first Sunday of Lent.

In the traditions of our faith.

Lent, a time to say, “I’m sorry!”

A double “I’m sorry.”

For the sins of our life.

The things we’ve said and done.

That have hurt our families and friends.

And the things we’ve left undone.

Sin is not only what we do.

But what we fail to do.

To love big.

Forgive often.

Push ahead.

Be of good cheer.

Devote ourselves to good works.

Pray often.

Read our Bible.

Learn and grow.

Grow up into the love of Christ.

And that’s what Peter wants for his church.

To grow up into the love of Christ.

To be mature in the things of God.

Deeply grateful.

Ready to serve.

Full of faith.

Kindness and love.

Peter directs our attention to Christ.

Because of Christ, we’re here today.

In the family of God.

With hope in our heart.

And peace in our soul.

Because of Christ.

Who proclaims to us the Kingdom of God.

The way it should be.

The way it can be.

The way it will be.

Christ invites us to sign on with the Kingdom.

To stand on the right side of history.

To stand with him.

To take up our cross.

And suffer, if we must.

Suffer for the sake of good.

For the sake of the gospel.

For the sake of Jesus Christ.

In our passage this morning, Peter celebrates.

The far reach of God’s love.

Reaching into the darkest deeps of time and space.

The love of God going to hell.

Storming the kingdom of darkness.

The realms of evil.

To preach to the lost souls.

Because the love of God is vast and rich.

There is none beyond the reach of God.

In the end, all are saved.

All are redeemed.

I believe that in the end:

The fires of hell are quenched, and quenched forever.

The darkest place filled with light.

When I think of salvation, I think of light.

The rise of the sun after a dark night.

A dark room, and someone flips a switch.

That which was dark is now bright with light.

Let there be light, said God.

On my morning walk, a home.

Dark with shadows.

Large leafy trees filled the city easement.

The sidewalk heaved up by their roots.

And then one day, the trees were removed.

A new sidewalk paved.

It’s a new home.

Beautiful in the light of day.

I think of light when I think of salvation.

Souls lost in darkness are found.

The blind can see.

All of creation will sing the songs of salvation.

The work of Christ completed.

On that glorious day:

Christ will hand the kingdom over to his Father.

And God will say to Christ:

Well done, good and faithful servant.

This week, my son, Josh, handed his keys over to the manager of the Social Center. This week, the first day of school … Josh took a great picture - a child entering the building, the last child in a line - they’re all in the building now, safe and sound … with electricity and lights, bathrooms and running water, and a kitchen that works - a beautiful building … for parties and gatherings of one sort or the other … and a place for health-care workers to store their equipment and medicine.

We’re all very proud of Josh and what he’s done … and, of course, Calvary is part of that work … all of you have prayed for Josh … the Deacons gave a most generous gift … and personal gifts from many of you, as well.

With the keys turned over, the work is done.

That’s what Christ will do one day.

Turn the keys over.

The work will be done.

Heaven and earth made new.

Christ rescues the perishing, as the hymn puts it.

Christ rescues the whole of creation.

From top to bottom.

From the hallways of heaven.

To the depths of hell.

Nothing lost.

No one left behind.

All are saved.

Those lost in the flood.

And those redeemed by the water.

By the water of baptism.

We’re saved, says Peter.

Not because of anything physical, says Peter.

But the spiritual reclamation of the soul.

The transformation of our lives.

The mark of a good conscience, says Peter.

For we have said yes to Christ.

Who first said Yes to us!

We who once lived in the shadows of sin and death.

Live now in the light of Christ.

W live by the will of God.

By the rules of love.

Peter writes a little later:

The end of everything has come.

Therefore, be self-controlled and clearheaded.

So that you can pray.

Above all else.

Show sincere love to each other.

Because love brings about the forgiveness of many sins.

Open your homes to each other without complaining.

And serve each other.

According to the gift each person has received …

Whoever speaks.

Should do so as those who speak God’s word.

Whoever serves.

Should do so from the strength God furnishes.

Do this.

So that in everything, God may be honored.

Through Jesus Christ.

To him be the honor and power.

Forever and always.

And to that, I can only say, Amen and Amen!