"What Just Happened?" - January 3, 2016

Calvary Presbyterian Church, Hawthorne, CA

January 3, 2016

John 1.1-9

A loud noise somewhere … “What was that?”

A tremor of the earth … the house creaks … “Was that an earthquake?”

We turn on the news midway through some report … everyone looks serious … we wonder to ourselves, “What just happened?”

Newly weds after their first fight, “What just happened?”

Newborn parents come home from the hospital with their little bundle of joy; they look at each other and query, “What just happened?”

Those newborn parents will wonder “What just happened” ten thousand times throughout the course of the years to come … as we all do, much of the time, at work and play, in hard times, and sweet times, “What just happened?”

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o’er the plains,

And the mountains in reply

Echo back their joyous strains.

What just happened?

Something, good, that’s for sure … truly, really, wonderfully, good … something that continues to inspire us with hope … we sing the carols with gusto, tears rise in our eyes … candles burn brightly in the night … a night that cannot overcome the light.

We might well ask, what with all the divine light, why so much darkness? …

Wars and rumors of war, refugees on the road, just like Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt … refugees, then, refugees, still, in a world where there’s so much hatred, so much anger, so much bigotry, so much fear …

The darkness is real …

But it cannot, will not, ever, overcome the light …

The Bethlehem Baby … Shepherds from the fields … Wisemen from afar … the star still shines …

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by;

Yet in the dark streets shineth

The everlasting Light …

Glorious light … abundant light … light to warm the heart, and light to lead the way.

Jesus said: You are the light of the world … let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

What just happened?

Something good.

And something in which we can rightly believe …

We live by our beliefs, do we not?

If we believe the world to be a bad place, it’ll be bad place for us … if we believe the world to be full of goodness, we’ll find goodness around every turn of the road, no matter what, no matter where.

Jesus said, The eye is the lamp of the body … if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

We choose … we choose what to believe about the world … and we choose how we see it … 

Joshua said to the people in the wilderness, Choose this day whom you’ll serve … the gods of the past, the gods of the day … or …

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The God of Miriam, Deborah and Ruth.

The God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ.

What just happened?

Something good … 

Something to believe …

And something to live.

From the Prophet Hosea:

I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice … the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings …

To put it in contemporary words: Let me see your faith at work … not here on Sunday mornings, but out there, on Monday mornings … let me have more from you than just your prayers; let me see your deeds of mercy, acts of kindness and the works of justice.

Yes, going to church is good.

Reading our Bible.

Saying our prayers.

But lots of people go to church.

Lots of folks read the Bible.

Lots of people pray.

And then they buy guns and get angry …

Guns, guns, and more guns … and so much violence …

Christian Churches in America are full of violent people … people who long for the violent end of the world … the violent end of the United States … violent people - the KKK, the John Birch Society, White Supremacist Groups and all the rest … hateful, bigoted, fearful, ignorant, angry … all in “Jesus’ name!”

I’m heartbroken - the failure of the church to lift up the light … so many Christians have turned to the Dark Side … and opened their hearts to fear and hatred.

To quote Yoda:

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

And how some folks hate our President.

They hate all kinds of people - Muslims, immigrants, refugees, people of color, gays and lesbians, poor people, you name it …

But I say unto you, dear people of God:

Never!

Never ever!

Is this the way of Jesus!

Jesus was born to show the world another way … 

And if we wonder what it means,

Micah the Prophet answers our question:

The LORD has told you what is good …

To do justice,

To love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God!

James writes:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress …

Paul the Apostle writes to the Galatians:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And to the Corinthians:

Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude … love never ends.

Because God is love … and love is God!

People of God, we have a world on our hands … and never again can we go back to a world of distance … where it took weeks and months to cross a nation, or cross a sea … months to send and receive letters … t’s a world now of porous borders and instant communication; we live next door to one another … Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs … every stripe of race and creed and color … people who believe, and people who don’t … with lots of different holy books and lots of different traditions … 

Shortly before his death, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote:

We have inherited a large house, a great “world house” in which we have to live together— black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Moslem and Hindu— a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.

And how shall we live together?

What does it mean to follow the Child of Bethlehem?

In world of crude politics and violent voices … can we not lift up the alternative vision?

Do we dare to live the ways of peace?

Kindness?

Mercy?

Or shall we join the ignorant mob arming itself with fear and hatred?

Of will we take up the cross of compassion and love?

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play

And mild and sweet their songs repeat

Of peace on earth good will to men

For the Christmas Season now past … for the year behind us … for the year ahead of us … for the sake of our world, and our children and grandchildren …

What just happened?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word with with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

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! 

February 6, 2010 - "Let Your Light Shine"

Matthew 5:13-20

The love of God is our light.

Let it shine, says Jesus.

Let your light shine … for all the world to see … so that the world will see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Let it shine.

Bright and clear.

Pure and beautiful.

Let it shine.

Let it shine for all the world to see.

It’s your light …Covenant Presbyterian Church!

Let it shine.

Covenant, you stand tall for justice.

You have open the doors to all.

You welcome without question.

You are gracious and kindly.

You are loving and gentle.

You are forceful in righteousness.

Thoughtful in faith.

Positive in outlook.

Prejudice and discrimination have never found a home here.

Narrowness and fundamentalism have never taken root here.

You’ve are serious about the things of God.

If I may be personal for a moment, I can only express to you my gratitude … what a joy it’s been for me to be your interim pastor … and how good it’s been for my family – Rachel and Cy and Josh and Donna. We have all found a spiritual home here in Covenant on the Corner.

Your light shines bright and clear.

As for the future, who knows?

The future is not ours you see.

The future belongs to God.

What belongs to us right now is our light.

The light of our faith.

The light of our love.

The light of our hope - because Christ is risen from the dead!

The future is not ours.

What is ours, is here and now.

The present moment!

Right now.

Here and now, today!

And that’s enough.

That’s enough for God to get the job done.

That’s enough for the blessing.

That’s enough for the light.

Our light belongs to us.

Because it’s given to us by God.

And Cathy’s light, as well.

Cathy’s light will join your light in just a few more weeks.

Cathy brings a lot of experience, good credentials, good ideas and a good heart.

Her track record is clear: Cathy’s a hard worker!

But, please, please do me a favor.

Whatever you expect of Cathy, expect of yourself, as well.

Live with high expectations.

But don’t’ impose those on Cathy, all by herself.

Or on anyone else, for that matter.

Whatever you expect of another, expect it first, of yourself.

In the early 70s, when I was looking at moving to a new church, there was still a question in the church information form – “What do you expect of the minister’s wife?” …

One church said, “We want her to be an expert in Presbyterian polity, to lead the Women’s Association and be an extravert.”

Donna said to me, “If you go there, you’ll go without me!”

Well, that took care of that.

And then, one day, we read a church information form that answered the question well: “The ministers wife has the same responsibilities as any member of the church.”

Just like any member of the church.

I like that.

Because no one is more or less important than any one else.

We all have the same responsibilities … to be thoughtful and kind and wise and merciful, and to keep on learning and growing … you’ve heard me say it ten thousand times, we’re all in this together.

Cathy can only be Cathy.

True for any of us – we can only be who and what we are … as God has created us, as life has shaped us.

Colleen is Colleen.

Pam and Willie are Pam and Willie.

Dan and Ruth are Dan and Ruth.

Emily is Emily.

Some of us sing and some of us dance.

Some of us relate to God through our heads.

Some of us relate to God through our hearts.

Some of us relate to God through our hands.

Heads, hearts and hands.

We need all of it, and then some!

As you think about Covenant, think about yourself.

Everyone here is vital to the life of the church.

Be pro-active in you neighborhood.

Has your light been shining as of late?

What do people see when they see you?

What do people hear when you speak?

What do people see of God when they watch you?

Of course, no one is perfect.

But Jesus says, Let your light shine.

Be pro-active with your neighbors, families and friends.

Invite people to church.

It won’t work with everyone.

Some folks aren’t ready when you invite them.

But you can help them along the way.

Invite them to church every now and again.

And one of those days, they’ll say yes to you.

And then go out to lunch with them afterward.

And then do it again.

Invite them over to your home.

And do it again.

And, who knows, they may find Covenant to be a spiritual home … or maybe they won’t Covenant at all.

If someone is hyper-conservative, they won’t be comfortable here.

If someone is fearful of gays and lesbians, they won’t be comfortable here.

If someone wants a church that agrees with everything they already know and want, they won’t be comfortable here.

If someone wants a church that loves glamour and glitter, they won’t be comfortable here.

If someone wants a church to preach Jesus without justice, and a Christ without compassion, they won’t be comfortable here.

If someone wants a church that preaches hell-fire and damnation and eternal punishment, they won’t be comfortable here.

Covenant is a good and faithful church.

Covenant bears witness to the power of the gospel … and God is doing fine things in our midst, just as we are.

Who knows what the future holds?

But this much we know, we hold the light in our hands.

Let it shine, says Jesus.

Let it shine!

Somewhere along the line, as you keep inviting people, working with them, praying for them, you’ll find a connection growing …

You’ll see the light of faith emerge in someone’s life …

You’ll see the hand of God at work.

And that always takes time.

No one becomes a Christian in a moment.

Perhaps in a moment, we make the decision.

But it’s takes a life-time, and then some, to become a Christian – to grow up into the grace of God, and to learn how to carry our cross.

And always the mystery – the great mystery - God brings people TO the church.

From outta the blue.

Folks move here from Timbuktu …

They drive by the church one day.

They see a message title on the marquee.

A bell goes off in their mind.

Something goes “click” in their heart.

And the next Sunday they’re here.

God draws them here.

God fills their heart.

God says to them, Here is your spiritual home.

If someone is progressive, they’ll find a home here.

If someone looks for authentic Christians, they’ll find them here.

If someone wants good preaching, they will hear it here.

If someone seeks peace of mind and spiritual healing, they will find solace here.

If someone is looking for a place to get to work to make this a better world, they will find a spiritual at Covenant.

And more than that, we’re a connected church.

We’re Presbyterians.

We have the Presbytery of the Pacific on our campus.

And a whole denomination spread across the country and wrapped around the world.

We do a million great things because we’re connected.

Connected to a vast network of life and love.

Let your light shine, says Jesus.

And the world will see your good works.

And will give glory to your Father in heaven.

Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Covenant on the Corner.

You have much light.

It shines brightly.

The world see your good works.

And gives glory to your Father in heaven.

You have done well, dear friends.

You will continue doing well.

Let your light shine.

Amen and Amen