5.5.24 "New Song, Old Song" - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Psalm 98; John 15.9-17

In the beginning, 

God created the heavens and the earth … 

the earth was a formless void 

darkness covered the face of the deep …

Then God said, Let there be light,

and there was light.

Today is a day filled with light … 

For a few moments in our busy lives, we pay attention, to the divine, to the miraculous, to the glory … we stop, we look, we listen.

We stop what we’ve been doing all week long …  

We look upward to the heavens …

We listen … for the sounds of God.

Today:

We welcome Confirmands into the life of the church.

Our Confirmands covered a lot of territory - good questions, deep thoughts, social concerns … we touched upon some mighty big issues - racism, bullying, science and religion, faith and doubt, and influencers, too …

The church is in good hands with these young people … 

Our Confirmands bring life to us from their perspective.

Life and love as they see it, live it, and dream it … 

they will change the church.

as every generation changes the church … 

this is never your grandfather’s church … 

God is always and forever the creator of a new song.

Sing to the LORD a new song, writes the Psalmist.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe.

We sing old songs, too … from Genesis to Revelations, Moses and the Prophets … ancient creeds … great stories of faith … theologians and missionaries of the past.

There are dangers here:

Churches get stuck in the past … and never find the future.

A humorist put it this way:

If the 50s every return, we ready for ‘em.

But the 50s never return, nor the 80s or the 90s, or the early aughts … no, never to return …

As the Kingston Trio put it:

Did he ever return?
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearn'd
He may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man who never returned.

A new song to sing.

A new church emerging.

Calendar pages turned.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe.

With a further reminder: if some churches are stuck in the past, some churches are lost in the present.

If it’s only about new songs, the latest this, the latest that … the newest trends in music, digital displays, miracles, celebrities, books, podcasts, and wild preaching … churches get lost in the mad shuffle of a shopping spree … a frantic grabbing of the hottest and latest deals … 

I know … I’ve been there … 

I say it like this: 

liturgy without love is dead, 

preaching without passion is foolish … 

on the flip side, 

love without liturgy is out of focus, 

preaching without discipline is just plain sloppy. 

The tag line on our bulletin cover says it well: Traditional Worship; Progressive Values … 

We’re rooted in the historic church … all of its traditions  … filtered through the churches of the Reformation, focused in John Calvin and the Reformed Churches, and specifically, the Presbyterian Churches of Great Britain, and the folks who came to these shores with faith, hope, and love.

Traditional Worship; Progressive Values.

How might this look? What does this mean?

When President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Presbyterian missionaries opposed him, and joined what became known as the Trail of Tears. Those missionaries wept on their way to Oklahoma. They didn’t abandon their people when the going got rough. They stayed the course for justice and love. Those missionaries were progressive, because they were rooted in Jesus.

In the run up to the Civil War, northern Presbyterians tended to support the abolition of slavery … many Presbyterians in the south wanted slavery to continue. Those who worked to end slavery were on the right side of history … they were progressive, because they knew the voice of Christ and conscience.

In the 20th Century, Presbyterians continued the struggle for Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Human Rights … several of my friends, a bit older than I, walked in Selma and sat at lunch counters … they are progressive, because Jesus is their LORD.

My faith in Jesus leads me: to open doors, tear down walls, fill in the ditches … 

Isaiah the Prophet writes so hopefully: Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

My faith in Jesus leads me to welcome and affirm those whom some churches have rejected and condemned … 

my faith in Jesus sees all colors and genders as beautiful … and if I have to stretch a little bit, if I have to push myself beyond yesterday’s knowledge, Jesus helps me.

my faith in Jesus leads me to democracy and away from authoritarianism … 

my faith in Jesus refuses to be afraid of the stranger … but to welcome them, one and all …

my faith in Jesus wants a just and peaceful society, the abolition of poverty, good schools, well-paid teachers.

A world where everyone has a fair chance … where every child can dream, and every child can find open doors.

A world of kindness:

those who stumble are helped to their feet.

those in need have their needs met.

those challenged of mind and body are cared for.

the elderly, the widow and the widower, the orphan and the stranger, always a roof over their head and a decent meal.

Micah the Prophet speaks so powerfully: everyone can sit under their own vines and fig trees, and no longer be afraid. 

Dear Friends in Christ:

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe.

We’ll be at the LORD’s Table in a few moments … our confirmands have been at the Table before, but today, they’ll be at the Table for the first time - as members of the church, members of Westminster Presbyterian Church on Lake Avenue, where the Tower still stands … members of the church of Jesus Christ, all around the world, stretching back to the beginning of time, reaching ahead to the Kingdom of God - traditional in all respects, and with all it’s energy, progressive, reaching for the future.

At this Table, we come face-to-face with love … love as I have loved you, says Jesus!

Would Jesus have said this if it were impossible for us to really love?

I put it this way: what Jesus does all the time, we can do some of the time … maybe even much of the time … 

we ARE creatures of love.

Jesus sets before us the greatest of all human endeavors … to love as he loves you and me.

Jesus loves me, this I know,

for the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to him belong,

They are weak, but he is strong.

Sing a new song … sing an old song.

Celebrate the past … live for the day.

Reach for the future … touch the heart of God.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe.

Hallelujah and Amen!

11.5.23 "Worthy" - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

Joshua 3.7-17; 1 Thessalonians 2.9-13

On the Damascus Road, a flash of light, a voice … Saul falls to the ground … bewildered, confused … blinded by the light.

In that moment, Saul learns one of the greatest lessons of life - he had it all wrong.

It’s not the first time religious people have been wrong …

Some years back, I was involved in labor organizing, to help LAX hotel workers to unionize - for better wages, more benefits, job security, job safety.

We met with a hotel representative, along with several attorneys from management … the representative spoke of her faith in Christ, and made it clear that we had no right to be there, to disrupt the work of the hotel - that everything was good … and again, she made it clear, she was a Christian, she went to church, she believed … and made it abundantly clear that we needed to get outta there.

I said: “It’s not the first time people of faith have been on the wrong side of history.”

People of faith defended the enslavement of millions.

People of faith participated in the genocide of Indigenous Peoples.

People of faith stood with Hitler and Mussolini.

People of faith told little Ruby Bridges “You don’t belong here!”

People of faith told Rosa Parks, “Sit in the back of the bus!”

People of faith breathed a sign of relief when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered.

On the Damascus Road, Saul learned how to put things back together again, in new arrangement … all the materials were there - Saul’s intelligence, faith, energy, wisdom - but sometimes the room and its furniture need to be rearranged - a new configuration, a new alignment, some fresh paint and new curtains.

Over the years, I’ve learned, too … and you have, as well … the Christian journey is one of discovery and growth … God welcomes us as we are, and then begins to reshape us.

Let’s get back to Saul … now known as Paul.

Once again in Paul’s letter, he defends himself:

We didn’t put a burden on you … says Paul.

We are pure in our motives … upright and blameless in our conduct … like parents with a child, we loved you … we encouraged you to live a life worthy of God.

A life worthy of God … maybe you’re thinking right now, “What’s a life worthy of God? How can I get a handle on it?”

I remember Burt, my Sunday School teacher … I was 5 or six years old - our Sunday School class met in the church kitchen … there we were, among the pots and pans, cupboards and stoves … I asked a question, and the class laughed … I have no idea what the question was … and I don’t recall what Burt said to me, but the impression left upon me - I remember, to this very day … he didn’t laugh at my question … he treated me with care, my question, with dignity … a little moment in time for a little boy … but in that moment, Burt lived a life worthy of God.

I remember Mr. Goetzloff … his greenhouse behind his home … I can see it in my mind’s eye, and smell it - that rich, moist, smell of green … I remember walking along the sidewalk one day, I was likely no more than three … my mother was with me, and when I saw Mr. Goetzloff, I ran off to greet him, and I remember - hugging his leg … my mother said, “Be careful” … as a small boy’s enthusiasm might cause a tumble.

I think Mr. Goetzloff lived a life worthy of God - you can’t fool a child.

Over the years, teachers, professors, ministers; friends along the way - I’ve been fortunate … 

Were they perfect human beings?

I’m sure each of them, at the end of the day, had regret and sorrow, like we all do.

Not even the best baseball player gets a hit every time … the best bowlers roll a 300-game only a few times, if ever … the world’s finest musicians still miss a note … the best writers can publish a lousy novel.

We will not always be loving, wise, compassionate, or kind … we will not always be at our best … but the Holy Spirit continues to work within us … instilling virtue and vitality … nudging us along the way, and sometimes kicking us in the pants.

Years ago, the Ecumenical Institute, had a little ritual before we ate the evening Sunday supper: the host at the table would ask: “Were you faithful to the LORD this week?”

Only two answers were allowed: 

“Yes and No!” or “No and Yes!” 

No one is every totally faithful … and no one is ever totally faithless … though one or the other prevails for a time … oscillating backing and forth, jockeying for the lead in the race we’re all running.

We’re always saints and we’re always sinners throughout the week, sometimes a bit more saintly … and sometimes the other way around …  

Yet, I dare say, we manage to live a life worthy of God … just like Burt the Sunday School teacher, and Mr. Goetzloff, with his greenhouse …

Who was your Burt? … or your Mr. Goetzloff? 

All the good people we don’t even know … strangers - who simply do life, as best they can …  

The cashier who smiles at us … the neighbor who greets us … the co-worker who asks how we’re doing and actually takes the time to listen. 

Millions and millions of people - all around the world.

It’s does us good to remember them, to give thanks for them … learn from them … pattern our lives after them …  

In a world where the bad things make it into the headlines - because bad news sells, it does us well to remember how many good and decent people there are … all in their own way, all around the world, living lives worthy of God.

They reach for the heavens …

pursue justice …

speak the truth …

They practice forgiveness …

look on the bright side of things …

walk on the sunny side of the street …

They support science and learning …

they read books rather than ban and burn them …

they weep with those who weep; and rejoice with those who rejoice …

they pay attention … they share, care, and dare … they live life large.

And woven into all of it:

God at work, in all things for good - 

what we leave undone will be finished … 

what needs to be undone will be rearranged and repaired … 

what good we’ve done will be blessed and multiplied many times over.

Time and eternity in partnership … to bring about the good day of God’s delight.

We go to bed at night … with two prayers: 

LORD, thank you for all the good I did today … give me the eyes to see that good … the mind to know it - to know I’m moving right along, and your hand, dear God, is upon me.

And then a second prayer:

LORD, have mercy for what I’ve failed to do well, or didn’t do at all, and all the times I didn’t care, and did lousy with friend and family …  forgive me … and all will be well.

A life - worthy of God …  

Amen and Amen!