10.22.23 "Chosen" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

Psalm 99; 1Thessalonians 1.1-10

The text takes us to an interesting place, with one word, in verse 4 … which is to say, we’re not entirely sure … translations, of course, have to make a choice … what they have chosen is what we now read.

Our Lectern Bible, and my study Bible, is the NRSV, the New Revised Standard Version, which translates vs 4 from God’s point of view - God has chosen you … and for a Presbyterian, that’s solid gold - the sovereign grace of God … the work of the Holy Spirit … 

The primal work of salvation:

depicted so beautifully in infant baptism.

Long before the child knows anything, the child is already chosen by God, through the covenant promises - made in the earliest days of Israel with Abraham and Sarah, and celebrated by Peter’s preaching on Pentecost Day - the promise of God is for us, AND FOR OUR CHILDREN!

There’s no way that a child can choose God, of course … God is the principle player … it’s God’s will, it’s God’s purpose, it’s God who does the choosing.

This is an essential piece of the puzzle for me … I have always taken great comfort in the doctrine of assurance, blessed assurance, that I belong to God … in life, in death, body and soul … not because of anything I’ve done, but all because of what God has done, and continues to do in this world.

There is nothing in life, or in death, any time anywhere, that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our LORD … neither our foolishness, nor our sin … neither our failures, nor our faults … neither angels in heaven, nor demons in hell.

The bond between God and us is secured by God … not by us … that’s our assurance, our blessed assurance, our peace, our comfort … 

in ways we cannot imagine, 

in ways we cannot see, 

the Holy Spirit secures our life in Christ … 

forever and a day.

All of this has been a point of contention in the Christian world … it’s the been the occasion of heated debate, churches splitting … with Presbyterians going their way, and Baptists another.

As you might know, the Baptist traditions follow another path, which may also be intended in Paul’s note …

Paul wrote his letter in Greek … not English, or German or Dutch, or Spanish … but Greek … 

If one translator puts the emphasis upon God doing the choosing, another translator can put the emphasis upon the choice made by the Thessalonians … or by any of us …

Paul could very well be saying both.

My Presbyterian antennae stand up straight on this one … because of human pride … 

It’s easy for us to put ourselves in the center of things, to play King of the Mountain, and grab the loot … 

Presbyterians are disposed theologically to pay attention to sin - perhaps too much attention, but this much I know: we Presbyterians err on the side of caution.

We remember the Genesis story, the Tree of Knowledge, how Adam and Eve plucked the fruit, in an attempt to be like God, so they could dispense with God … we remember all the sorrow and destruction we human beings are capable of delivering to the world, when we sing our favorite song: Me First! Me me me me!

Pride goeth before the fall … but amazing grace is just around the corner.

 The grace that comes to us in the hour of need … from the Genesis story, Adam and Eve take the fruit willfully and plunge humankind into chaos … God compels them to leave the Garden … but before they leave, God becomes a tailor; God makes them garments of skins - sturdy clothing for the long journey ahead.

I am a Presbyterian, by faith, by choice, and I believe, because God chose me, before I chose God.

Those who see it from another perspective criticize us Presbyterians - for being too confident, too comfortable, maybe too cold.

We’ve been called the “frozen chosen” - have you ever heard that one? 

The “frozen chosen” … and there may be some truth to that …  

Let’s step back and think about our text.

Can it be that Paul is saying both? … God’s choice, our choice?

When Paul wrote his letter, did he chose a Greek word, and sentence-construction, that is purposefully ambiguous, a tease, a suggestion? … not the answer to a question, but to sharpen the question … compel us to think?

Maybe it’s like the waltz … Donna and I love to watch the waltz - it flows so beautifully across a dance floor …  

We took dance lessons for years - and we learned the secret of the waltz - contrary to most other dances … in most other dances, the man takes the lead, and the woman follows.

In the waltz, the lead changes every three steps …“he goes, she goes” … and that’s the power, the beauty, the flow, of the waltz.

Yes, it begins with the man taking the first three steps … and then the woman takes the next three steps, and off the couple goes, dancing gracefully - he goes, she goes, to the lilting music of the waltz.

I think Paul would approve of the waltz as a metaphor …

Yes, the first step is taken by God … I stand on that notion, and I stand by infant baptism, as the purest and best expression of God’s sovereign grace at work … God goes first.

The same is true in an adult baptism … peel back the layers of time, and sooner or latter, one finds the moment wherein God begins the great work of redemption … a work that emerges in later years … in faith, in a decision, to give one’s life to Christ, and in so doing, seek baptism. 

God takes the first steps; God dances with us … and God invites us to take the next set of steps … and then God, again … and then we again …  

Paul celebrates both realities … God takes the first step, and then, we take the next step … back and forth, and all around the dance floor.

Yes, we are chosen - that’s how it begins, that’s the anchor, the love of God, at work in all things, for good … and in the end, when life is slipping away, the primordial love of God will be there … as it was in the beginning, so shall it be at the end.

In the meantime, we are given enormous breadth and depth in God’s love … we make all kinds of good choices, to love, to forgive, to pray, to worship … 

To be loyal to the church of Jesus Christ, 

to be in worship, because we need to be here, 

others need to see us, and we need to see them … 

And thank God for YouTube - YouTube really works … the Spirit binds us all together … a holy fellowship, the communion saints.

The love of God is deeply personal, but it’s NOT a private affair. 

The journey of faith is always in the company of others … past, present and future - a great cloud of witnesses. 

Abraham and Sarah … Moses and Miriam … Isaiah and Queen Esther … Ruth and King David … John the Baptist and Mary the Mother of God … Paul and Dorcas … generation after generation … the torch of faith passed on … 

God lights the torch … we carry it.

God chooses us … we choose Christ … 

God makes the first move, we make the next move …

Just like the waltz … a beautiful dance.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

Amen and Amen!

10.15.23, "Always" Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 

There have been times when it was easier to be a Christian … at least, a cultural Christian!

Content with church attendance, a sermon that soothed rather than sobered, wanting stability rather than spirituality … and it was mostly good, though not often very deep, or thoughtful …  

Many a cultural christian reacted with less than Christian charity when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pointed out the evils of segregation.

Cultural Christianity … 

In the years after the Depression and WW2 … churches, sprouting up like dandelions, were built in the developing suburbs.

Attendance was so high, churches went to two services, with Sunday School during worship, so Mom and Dad didn’t have to fuss with the kids, especially after a busy week - with Mom in the home enjoying the latest advances in vacuum cleaners, and Dad at the office, enjoying a martini lunch and the latest sporting news.

People went to church in droves.

The crowds are gone now … these days, the megachurches continue to draw crowds, but in reality, the numbers are small.

Megachurches are accounted as such when their attendance is between 2000 and 10,000 … according to these statistics, there are 1,170 megachurches - only 5% of the total number of churches in America - with a combined attendance of only 4 million.

There are “super megachurches” with over 10,000 attendees … there are about 50 of these in the United States … the largest being Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Super megachurches make up only .01% of the total number of churches, and combined attendance is about 700,000.

The heyday of church attendance is over in America … people are de-churching themselves … where it will end, how it will end, I have no idea. 

All I know is this: now is NOT the time to wring our hands, clutch our pearls, put on sackcloth and ashes … nor is it time to try to recapture the the past - like Lot’s wife, who looked back, and turned into a pillar of salt … 

While some call this a “decline” … I call it “transition” … I call it “opportunity” … an opportunity to rejoice in the LORD … because God does not fail, God does not withhold … God creates new avenues, and opens up unexpected doors.

God said to the children of Isael: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing … I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

We live in a difficult world … and it’s gotten a whole lot worse this week … 

the horror of war … 

the bitter fruits of hatred … 

endless questions:

Climate change, global warming, refugees.

Religious and civil rights for LGBTQ people, transgender children and their families.

The crisis in our schools and libraries.

The on-going struggles for racial equality and opportunity.

Congress struggling to find its way.

A world teetering on the brink of who-knows-what.

If it isn’t one thing, it’s another … 

The world has always been chaotic, ever since Cain killed Abel … and with our present technology, our 24/7 news, TikTok and Instagram, the world is at our doorstep, banging on the door, and what a noise it makes.

So … here we are, this morning … in this magnificent sanctuary … to worship the LORD, to regain our bearings, to make some sense of it all, to find some peace, and the courage to keep on keepin’ on.

There are no better words than Paul’s immortal words to the church in Philippi:

… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I like the imperative here: think about these things!

Take a deep breath, gird up the loins, focus … look here, not there … here’s the stuff of life … here is where the church becomes the church, the church created and consecrated by the love of Christ, here is where become human beings … think about these things.

Did you notice the Bulletin Cover this morning?

A little girl, who just wants to be a little girl … protected by Federal Marshalls … because a whole lot people hated her, hated her color, hated her people.

If you google the story, you will find images of women and men, young and old, spewing hate at little Ruby Bridges … one of the protestors carries a sign: “All we want for Christmas is a clean white school.”

“What were they thinking?” 

when they cursed and damned little Ruby Bridges? 

When they shouted out their hate, their faces contorted and twisted, their fists shaking at her.

What Church did they attend?

What did their preachers preach?

What were they thinking?

Whatever they were thinking, they were not thinking about Paul’s words to the Philippians … they were not thinking of noble things … they were not rejoicing in the LORD.

Think on these things!

It’s always good to retool and recalculate what it means to walk in the footsteps of the Master … to face the hard realities of life, and still rejoice in LORD … to find our bearings not in the latest “deals from Amazon,” but in the best deal of all: the love of God!

These days, opportunity - the hard questions of life: Who am I? Where am I going? What do I value? What do I want?

Who doesn’t need hard questions now and then?

Who doesn’t need to oil the gears, mend a few rips in the fabric of the soul, put a little polish on the shoes?

If I may venture an illustration, let’s go to JPL and talk to the scientists and engineers about “having to rethink a problem.”

Norm! … how many failures in the beginning of the space program?

How many times did everyone get out the old slide rule?

And those big chalk boards reached with ladders, scribbled with formula after formula after formula - trying to figure it all out, recalculating, going through it all, again and again, detail by detail, number by number, idea by idea, to create a new paradigm - to build a satellite, build a rocket, get something done, make it work, and reach the moon.

Paul’s invitation to the Philippians is an invitation to all of us, get out the old slide rule, to recalculate, refigure, start all over again.

Rejoice in the LORD …

I can find a lot of reasons to grumble and gripe, and if I let myself go, I’m really good at it … but I can take that energy and turn it to something better … I can find a lot of reasons to rejoice … to give thanks … to smell the roses, watch the clouds, give thanks for the people who love me into life … and the great gift of God’s love - morning, noon, and night, in life, in death, in body and soul. When all else is said and done, what all else is gone, God’s love remains.

The grass withers, the flower fades … but the word of our God will stand forever.

Paul adds to the process:

Psalm 106.1-8; Philippians 4.1-9

Be gentle … 

The LORD is near …  

Don’t worry about anything … but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.

If the folks at JPL can go back to the drawing board and figure it out, well, then - we can do it, too …  

Is any of it easy for JPL? I don’t think so … and neither is our journey into faith.

If we want to rise to the challenge of Christ, if we want future generations to thank us for what we’ve done, it’s never easy, but it’s always good … always.

And it’s good to keep the picture of little Ruby Bridges before us … and the faces of the children in Israel and Gaza … the children of the world … all they want: just to be children.

That’s why we’re here: to be the church of Jesus Christ … to heal the hurt, quiet the hate, find the way.

Forever and a day. For time and eternity. Here and now; then and there! Always! dear people … always!

Rejoice in the LORD.

Hallelujah and Amen!