4.30.23 "Life: Devoted!" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Life: Part 1

Psalm 23; Acts 2.42-47

Together: Beauty!

I’m glad you’re here this morning … 

within these sacred walls, 

with so many stories to tell … 

stories of faith and hope, crisis and sorrow … 

the joy of a wedding, 

the baptism of a child, 

welcoming new members into the fellowship of faith, 

the somber moments of a funeral, the quiet tears of love and loss.

It’s all here - in this sacred place.

Because God is here …

God is everywhere … 

God is in your heart, your mind.

Your feelings, your thoughts.

Your hands, your toes.

God is in your work, your play.

When you sleep, when you rise for the day.

When you can’t sleep - tossing and turning … it may well be some great sorrow, some deep fear that keeps you awake … or, it could be happiness, too - the next vacation … like a child waiting for Christmas morning.

God is everywhere, in everything, around the corner and in all the nooks and crannies of life … above and below, behind and in front … in whom we live and move and have our being.

The LORD is present … 

The LORD is our shepherd …

Green pastures … still waters … right paths.

Even in the dark and haunted places of life,

The darkest valley.

The valley of the Shadow of Death.

God at work … setting a table for us.

A cup overflowing,

Even when enemies are present.

And enemies there are.

Things that go bump in the middle of the night.

Monsters in the closet.

Wars and rumors of war.

As the poet Poe put it:

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

Sometimes - the enemy is us.

Who hasn’t been their own worst enemy a time or two?

Foolish behavior, crazy ideas.

Terrible things … in the basement of the mind.

Yes, even then, even then, God is with us.

The abiding presence of Christ.

The hope that will not let us go.

The eternal love of God works it out.

Prepares the way.

Smooths the road.

Opens some doors.

Calms the soul.

I’m glad you’re here, this morning!.

And I’m glad to be here, too,

In the presence of one another.

We find our best selves.

There’s a lot we can do alone, of course!

Prayer and meditation.

Reading and writing.

Sitting back, having a drink.

Moping around in a funk … 

But even then, we’re not alone - 

we have memories … books … paper and pencil, a computer, the internet … we have family, we have friends … maybe too few, maybe not enough … 

Are we ever really alone?

We’re always in the company of our own humanity … 

Our DNA is not our own …

We bear within our bones and blood the whole of humanity … our time is connected to the seasons of the year … the dirt of the earth, from whence we were fashioned by the hand of God.

A whole world of people - people who’ve hurt us, who’ve helped us …  the stranger who writes a piece of music that lifts our heart and makes us dance … the stranger who writes that one book forever imprinted on the mind … the young lady at the counter whose smile makes our day … 

And the animals - the morning songbird … the dog on the beach running like mad into the surf … squirrels, those clever creatures, outfoxing our best efforts to keep them off our bird feeders.

All along the way, an abundance of life and love, dancing all around us.

The task before us, here in this place, is to intentionally create and sustain community … where love can flow … hope abound … patience be practiced … gratitude given … in a way unique to sacred places … to what the church has always pointed to … what God always had in mind.

But, let’s be careful.

Being together doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything good … a mob in Berlin, 1934, crying out for the blood of Jews … a mob in Alabama, 1918, dragging an African-American to a lynching tree … the mob that smashed its way into the Capital, January 6 … or some fundamentalist church full of itself, mean and proud.

Being together is NOT an automatic guarantee of anything good.

But when good gets together, good things happen.

Here, in this place, we practice the good … and it’s good for the soul.

We sing the songs of Zion, say the prayers, hear the sermon, ponder the deep and glorious things of God …  

We’re devoted … life requires devotion … not just to anything, but to the things of God … the best things of life … faith, hope, and love; grace, mercy, and peace - to these things, and to the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ. Dedicated! Determined! Devoted!

I’m glad you’re here this morning!

And I’ll say it - loud and clear, for all the world to hear:

Westminster Presbyterian Church, on Lake Avenue, Pasadena, California - a safe and welcoming church … a place to find life … where life can find a place.

Where a woman’s right to choose her health care is affirmed.

Where trans-children and their families are welcomed.

Where gender-diversity is celebrated …

Where all are welcomed … for who they are, and all they hope to be!

Where dreams are honored … 

Because “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

In this place, we learn the love of God - from the Sacred Text … our reading today says it well … the early Christians did some mighty important things that mark the way for us.

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles - (there’s that word, devoted).

Those early Christians spent much time together - in the temple … they broke bread at home … ate their food with glad and generous hearts.

The learned together … they worshipped together … they were devoted … and the world has never been the same. 

There is strength - being together, being devoted to the things of God: the rituals of the past, the dreams of the future … everything is better said, and more fully lived, when done - in the company of others.

Dear friends, I’m glad you’re here this morning.

And I’m glad to be here, too.

Onward we go.

Upward we look.

Outward we move.

Devoted - to the things of God.

Hallelujah and Amen! 

2.5.23 "Salt & Light" - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Isaiah 58.1-12; Matthew 5.13-20

Jesus says to his disciples, you are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world … 

And then asks: what good is salt, if it loses its saltiness? … what good is light, if its covered up?

Salt is salt … light is light … they have purpose … it’s your purpose, says Jesus … so let it happen, let it be … don’t fumble it, don’t stand in it way, don’t mess it up … 

There was a time in America when the church was a powerhouse … after World War 2, Americans went to work, and they went to church … what we would call “mainline” churches - Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, American Baptists, Episcopalians … 

In the earlier part of the 20th century, megachurches came to be - historic Protestant Churches … tall steeples marked the landscape - 4th Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Riverside Church in New York City, Pasadena Presbyterian Church, and Westminster on Lake Avenue … 

The police showed up on Sunday mornings to direct traffic … such was the appeal, the power, the presence, of historic Protestant Churches throughout America … 

After the war, churches sprouted up throughout the suburbs … I was pastor of one such church in Livonia, MI - founded in 1951 … folks came in droves … multiple services.

A colleague of mine said, “We couldn’t have stopped them had we tried.” 

These were the program churches: musicals, mission trips;  pageants and potlucks … a lot of good was done, a lot of fellowship, enjoyed … but danger signs were present … in a society with turbulent undercurrents.

This church, 1961, welcomed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to it’s pulpit for a Saturday morning visit to Pasadena.

Westminster took a stand in favor of school integration … 

And guess what …

Folks walked away from Westminster in droves - the membership drain continued throughout the 60s and 70s … and continued … for lots of reasons … so, here we are today.

From a recent article: 

… by 2021 the percent of Americans who claim to be “None” … is at 29% … only about 60% of Americans claim now to be Christians and less than 50% are members of a church. 

The article goes on: 

Many are leaving because they are no longer welcome. Because they have called out how their church acted; or because they don’t like their church’s stances on politically- and socially-important topics (like climate, politics, racism); or they despise how the church treats women and silences their voices; or who can get married in the church and who cannot.

So, here we are, 2023 … a magnificent building, a legacy sanctuary, a glorious organ … with hopes and dreams.

We will never again have thousands in membership … 

The Protestant Era in America is done … but the work of the church continues. 

God is God … salt is salt … light is light.

For Westminster, I see a revitalized presence in the community … centered in the power of this building, a gift from God - yes, the Tower still stands, and it’s up to us to flood it with light, and flavor it with salt.

It will require of us - inventiveness, experimentation … the discipline to let go of the past, thinking outside the box, daring to take some chances.

God will help us.

God will help us, when we engage in the central work of the church: worship, mission, and justice.  

When we sing to the glory of God, for all we’re worth - praise God from whom all blessings flow …

When we celebrate our story - a story to tell to the nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right, a story of truth and mercy, a story of peace and light …

When we take a stand for justice, make justice our mission to the world - and what’s justice, we ask? That’s the salty question. What is justice???

To make things right … to make things right for God’s world, God’s creatures, great and small … for people in war-torn lands, for trees and water, for the weary, and the downtrodden.

What’s justice? we ask!

Gun violence calls for some salt and light - America’s paralysis with regard to sensible laws and legislation. 

The NRA proclaims a gospel of private interests and personal rights - to own guns - arm teachers, police patrols in our schools, active-shooter routines, and more guns … more guns … more guns … 

Misunderstanding the Second Amendment … bowing down to “acceptable” violence and death, as if the violent death of children could ever be acceptable. 

When it comes to laws and legislation, nothing works 100%, but that’s no reason to have no laws and legislation. 

A doctor said to a friend of mine: “We can’t make you any better, but we can keep you from getting worse.”

Right now, gun violence is getting worse … the civilized world shakes its head.

I, for one, do not believe that “more guns” is the answer … I believe that common sense and a commitment to the common good can help us create common-sense laws that will at least keep us from getting worse.

What is justice? we ask.

Climate change calls for some salt and light … scientists agree - human industry has impacted the weather … yes, weather is cyclical … but human endeavor has added to the momentum of global warming - glaciers melting, earth exploited, air, and water, polluted.

Some christians proclaim a gospel of innocence … “god will never allow the worst to happen” they say. 

“It’s god’s purpose for humans to dominate the earth. 

So, go ahead and drill baby. Dig that coal and sink those wells … 

Tempting God, it what it is.

The devil said to Jesus … Go ahead, throw yourself off the roof of the Temple; angels will come to your aid and save you.

Jesus replied: Don’t test God with foolish behavior.

What is justice? we ask.

The diversity of humanity calls for salt and light - 

Gender, life, and love … 

Millions of people, their children and loved ones … trans children, trans adults, gays and lesbians … because gender isn’t binary, it’s on a spectrum from A to Z … 

A young man whom I’ve know for years has recently come out, as a woman - This is who I am, he said; I’ve always been a women; it was my body that went in another direction.

There are those who in the name of their god condemn diversity of gender and life … criminalize homosexuality, prosecute doctors and hospitals who work with families and trans-children … 

The Pope recently said, “Homosexuality isn’t a crime,” and I would add: it isn’t a sin either. It’s just life, in all of its complexity and glory.

What is justice? we ask.

Mounting anti-semitism, anti-Asian violence, the persistence of racism … 

American society is still tilted toward white privilege and power  … millions of children are robbed of a fair chance at life … schools underfunded … private schools, charter schools, home-schooling - so much of it empowered by racism, the protection of white privilege, religious bigotry, even as corporate interests smell money in all of this.

What is justice? we ask.

You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world.

I’m grateful … grateful for the moment in which we live … it’s a challenge, for sure … even frightening, some of the time, but in just such a moment, we have the opportunity to forge something new, something fit for the future … a new paradigm of faith, hope, and love … to be the church of Jesus Christ, all over again, anew, forever and a day.

Brave and bold as our forebears … to meet the challenge of the day … engage the world, seek the kingdom of God.

The Spirit is powerful … to lift our hearts and minds to the possibilities of greatness … great with love, great with courage and innovation, great with humility and kindness, great in the ways and wonders of justice.

Yes, the Tower on Lake Avenue still stands.

You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world. 

Hallelujah and Amen!