Unlikely Places       

A sermon by Randall K. Smith Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin &  Paxton United Methodist Church/Sermon

August 14, 2011/20 Sunday of Ordinary Time/Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13: 44-52

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

            Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  In the Jewish faith, wisdom is referred to as a “she” and Lady Wisdom the Old Testament says was with the creator at the beginning of time.  In the Gospel today Jesus hopes that people will understand the wisdom he speaks of when he tells parables of great fortunes found.

            My mother-in-law sent me a story about an 80 year old man who had just purchased a brand new Corvette convertible.  As he pulled out of the dealership he just kept going faster and faster.  He was soon barreling down the highway at 85 mph!  “Amazing,” he thought until he saw the blue flashing lights of a state trooper behind him.

            The trooper was mildly surprised when he discovered that the speed demon was also an octogenarian. The state trooper looked at the elderly gentleman and said, “Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes and it is Friday.  If you can give me a new reason for speeding—a reason I’ve never heard before—I’ll let you off with just a warning.”

            The gentleman paused for a moment and then said, “Three years ago, my wife ran off with a state trooper.  I though you were bringing her back.”

            “Have a good day, sir,” replied the trooper.

            We Americans like to think we have gotten a bargain. In the last decade or so we have seen the rise of E-Bay and the numerous shopping networks.  About an hour and a half down I-20 is one of the largest garage sale—flea markets in the world—Canton.  And many people like to watch Antique Road show and see people discover that something they had in the attic or basement is something actually worth a great deal of money.  We Americans like to dream of riches right along with getting the world’s greatest deal.

            Morace Park, antiques collector bought an old film container that turned out to hold a seven-minute movie featuring Charlie Chaplin.  Philip Gura, a literature professor paid $481 for a photograph of poet Emily Dickinson.  The snapshot is just the second photo of Dickinson known to exist.  The picture is considered priceless.  The Reverend Mike Ernst purchased a worn out old Corvette from a college student for $3,000 and spent the next many years restoring it. Only later did he discover that this particular 1962 Gulf Oil corvette had won twelve races at Daytona, Sebring, and other famous races.  He sold the restored car for $1.485 million!

            The discovered treasure Jesus talked about in today’s lesson is a far greater prize.  In both the parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl, the main character sells everything he has for one thing.  The Kingdom Jesus envisioned encompasses more than just the treasure or the one who finds it.  The Kingdom is like the world presented in each parable.  In each Jesus emphasizes that the character is willing to pay whatever the cost and the person is propelled to action by what he found.  The Kingdom should be enough to compel us to give up all and follow Jesus. 

            We also see that what is hidden—the Kingdom can be found, whether unintentionally like the man in verse 44 or intentionally like the merchant in verse 45.  The fishing net spoken of in verses 47-48 describes a net that is very large—a huge dragnet.  It is six feet deep and a hundred feet wide and requires a number of people to maneuver it.  The net is like the Kingdom—cast wide and far.

             When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom he wasn’t speaking of only something to be hoped for in the distance or in another life.  This large—all encompassing Heaven is here and now.  The Kingdom is here and now.  The Kingdom can be experienced when one reaches out to help someone.  The Kingdom can be experienced when one is ready to forgive others as God Eternal forgives them.  The Kingdom is real for those who are ready to do as Jesus did.

            The ancient church spoke of those who wanted to have Christ Conciseness. Imitatus Christus meant one who  actually imitates Christ.  A follower really was to ask themselves what would Jesus do—what did Jesus do—and then imitate that. 

            There is an ancient parable that isn’t found in the Christian scriptures but sure sounds like something Jesus would say.  A woman finds a precious stone and puts it in her bag.  The next day, a hungry traveler asks if she had anything to eat.  She empted her bag and found a piece of bread.  The traveler spied the stone and asked if the woman would give the stone to him instead of the bread.  Without hesitation, the woman gives the man the precious stone.

            Elated, the man took the stone and headed off to enjoy his new found wealth.  Several days passed when the woman once again came across the hungry traveler.  The traveler handed her the stone.  “I had intended to sell this stone and become rich.  But after I thought about it, I realized that you can give me something even more precious.” 

            The woman asked what that could be.  “I want whatever it is you have that made you able to give me this stone,” said the man. Within the soul of this woman resides the Kingdom of God. 

            The Good News is that the Kingdom of God wants to make a home in our heart and our soul.  The parables tell us that we can be the living, breathing field filled with priceless treasures spoken of by Jesus.  We with our past mistakes and present problems can be good soil for the Kingdom to grow.  We can be that field that someone stumbles upon or we can be that marketplace of pearls for those who are seeking something more eternal. 

            There is a fable from India about a rich man who is traveling far from home.  One of those traveling with the rich man was determined to steal the rich man’s purse.  Each night after the rich man feel asleep, the thief would get up and search through the rich man’s belongings.  But he could find no purse.  When the rich man went to eat breakfast he would search again—nothing.  This went on day after day and the thief never located what he wanted.

                Finally, in frustration, he asked the rich man where he had been hiding his purse.  The rich man laughed.  He had known from the first day that the man was a robber.  So every night when the thief went to clean up he hid his purse in the robber’s pillow.  He only retrieved his purse after the thief would go to breakfast.

            Sometimes we miss the treasure close at hand.  The Kingdom of God is among us.  Let us chose to live that Kingdom life now—today.  Amen.

 

 

Take Heart—I Am       

A sermon by Randall K. Smith Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church/Sermon

August 7, 2011/Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time/Old Testament Lesson Genesis 37: 1-4, 12-28/Epistle Lesson Romans 10: 5-15/Gospel Lesson: Matthew 14: 22-32

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

            Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, amen.  Two of my favorite miracle stories are back to back in Matthew’ Gospel.  Last week the Gospel was Jesus feeding the multitude and this Sunday Jesus walks on the water.  Miracle stories certainly got my attention as a child.  Miracle stories point to the very special nature of the one doing the miracle.  Jesus certainly wasn’t the only one in the Old and New Testaments that performed miracles. We must feel heartened by this miracle and then look closely at the words of scripture—and there we find that which separates Jesus from all the others in the Bible.

            Mark Twain travelled extensively in Europe and the Holy Land.  In one of his books he recalls a stay in Capernaum. It was a moonlit night and he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  Twain asked the man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take them out into the sea.  The man looked at Twain’s white suit, white shoes, and white hat and figured he must be a rich American.  He told Twain it would cost $25.00.  Twain walked away and later wrote; “Now I know why Jesus walked.”

            Today’s Gospel Lesson begins where last week’s lesson ended.  Jesus dismissed the well fed crowd.  He sent the disciples on ahead and climbed a mountain to find solitude and to pray.  There he stayed late into the night.  This is a regular pattern for Jesus.  Jesus loved his disciples.  He loved people.  But he needed time to pray and to meditate and to experience the transcendent nature of the Divine.

            We who wish to follow the path of Jesus also need times of quiet.  We need time to pray and to reflect.  We need time to unwind and unload.  During these reflective times we can pray our deepest hopes and fears.  When we do this we open up the possibility of transcending our everyday existence. And during such time we may be able to experience the very best—the divine—the holy—God. 

            The way of Jesus isn’t a solitary adventure.  There is no such thing as a solitary Christian.  The ways of Christ draw people together and closer to God.  A Christian life is like joining hands with others in a large circle.  As we hold on to each other we purposely step toward the center drawing us closer to each other and closer to the center—closer to God. 

            After Jesus’ time of prayer he went to rejoin his disciples.  The disciples had a very hard time on the sea with high winds and waves.  Jesus simply walked on the sandy shore and on the water toward the boat.  The disciples didn’t recognize him and were terrified.  They must have recognized that voice they heard so often when Jesus told them to take heart—I am.  This wonderful story is found in the Mark and John Gospels but only in Matthew’s telling does Peter ask Jesus to allow him to walk on the water to Jesus.  Peter the brave and faithful lost his nerve and Jesus has to reach down in the churning waters to save him.   

            If his own disciples didn’t recognize him would we?  If we walked past him on the street would we feel that pull—that warming of the heart?  We have no photographs or portraits of Jesus.  All the paintings of him are only a fanciful representation of what the painter thought Jesus might have looked like.  How then will we recognize his call?  Jesus is the one who extravagantly and recklessly commands us to leave the safety of the boat.  Our savior does not always call us softly and tenderly but sometimes calls upon us to throw caution to the wind and follow him.  And when you think about it, Jesus doesn’t always call us o’er the tumult of our life’s wild, restless sea.  Instead he calls us into the tumult and says, “Now, come and follow me.”

            Many Greeks and Romans were intrigued by the ancient Jewish faith.  It was not unusual to see “Gentiles” at a Jewish place of worship listening to the reading of the Psalms, the reading of the Torah, and the words of the Prophets.  These Gentiles looked upon the Jewish faith as not just a religion but also a philosophy to live by.  This should be true of those that follow Rabbi Jesus. 

            Marcus Borg in his book The Heart of Christianity discusses how the words “faith” and “belief” have changed over the centuries.  For example when someone says, “I believe in the Bible” they probably mean more than just that they believe there is a book called the Bible.  When someone says, “I believe in you” they are saying more than just affirming that you exist.  They are saying that they trust you or that they affirm what you say or how you act.  To say that we believe in Jesus means more than just believing that Jesus lived and taught and died.  The Latin word “credo” or creed actually means more than just affirming what one believes.  The Latin word credo has more to do with one’s heart than one’s head.  It says that “I trust” or “I give my heart.” 

            The creeds of the early church were seen as much more than just an affirmation of some literal truths.  Instead these creeds carried more of a sense of “I trust in” or “I give my heart to.”  Our spiritual hope is found in Jesus’ faith and Jesus’ understanding of God—Our Father.  It is in this pure faith that we give our hearts to Christ.  If we depended upon our own faith then like Peter, we will falter and we will fall.

            We are here this morning because we feel a strong yearning to reach for something that transcends our human understandings.  We are hear this morning because we desire to say, I trust in Jesus, his faith, his vision, his words, his dreams, his desire, his love, his ways, his Kingdom. Amen.

Embracing the Good News      

A sermon by Randall K. Smith/Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

July 24, 2011/Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time/Old Testament Lesson Genesis 29: 15-28/Epistle Lesson Romans 8: 26-39/Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13: 31-34

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

 Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  I was given this joke a few weeks ago.  A pastor had to have dentures.  The dentures were very painful that first Sunday and he was only able to preach three minutes.  By the next Sunday the new teeth were still hurting and he could only preach six minutes.  But the next Sunday he preached for over two hours!  After the very lengthy service a church member made the comment that the new dentures must be doing pretty well.  “That’s not the case,” replied the pastor.  “This morning I accidently put my wife’s teeth in and I just couldn’t stop talking.”

The short parables in today’s Gospel deal with the Kingdom Jesus envisioned hear on earth as well as in heaven.  The two parables describe something that starts out small but grows and grows. The parable of the mustard seed and the yeast speak of how the Good News will grow and multiply quickly.  And we know that through the centuries after Jesus’ time that Jesus communities sprang up all over the Roman Empire.  By the fourth century it was the largest religion in the empire.  From the empire the new faith spread throughout Europe. 

Once the Church was the dominate force in Western Europe.  Kings trembled in fear of the Pope.  Today, less than 5% of Europeans attend church.  In the United States that number is slightly less than 30%.  I read in the Methodist Interpreter some surprising statistics about church growth.  From 1999 to 2009 United Methodist membership grew from 9.6 million to over 12 million.  Does that surprise you?  It did me!  The United Methodist Church grew by almost 2.5 million members.

How can this be?  You might be surprised to learn that the religion in Africa that has the most adherents is Christianity.  It might also surprise you to know that the fastest growing denomination in Africa is the United Methodist Church.  In Africa membership has grown by about 250%.  In the Philippines Methodist membership is up by 161%.  On the flipside membership in Europe has dropped about 20% and in the United States it has dropped 8%.

I am not surprised about these numbers.  The message of Jesus was about the coming of a new Kingdom—a new way of thinking—a new way to understand God.  This message appealed to the poor but frightened those who were doing well under the old system.  In the 21^st Century the same is true.  In the poorer nations of the world the Jesus Message has strong appeal but in those parts of the world—the First World Nations the message is not nearly as appealing.  That is why in so many churches here in the United States seldom speak of the poor but speak often of condemnation and judgment.  That is why so many people say they are believers in the Christ but really don’t want to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.  That is why so many churches are viewed with suspicion and many no longer see the church as relevant or honest but are seen as exclusive country clubs. 

If I had read the next few verses after today’s Gospel we would see how Jesus was rejected.  We would read how the exclusive country club folks in ancient Palestine rejected John the Baptist.  Jesus’ message was upsetting to those who were prospering under the Roman occupation.  And yet Jesus felt sure that his way of understanding God would grow—like a mustard seed growing into a large shrub.  It would grow like flour that has had yeast added to it.

The parables today are called similitudes because they take something familiar and places within the parable a truth or a lesson.  First is the parable of the tiny mustard seed that grows into a large shrub or tree.  That is how the Kingdom message of Jesus will grow.  The second parable about the yeast might have been confusing to Jesus’ listeners.  In Jewish tradition and in other parts of Matthew, yeast is seen as a symbol of corruption or evil.  Jesus parable provided a shocking contrast to what his audience might have expected.  Not only that the amounts of flour the woman uses is massive.  The three measures spoken of are about ten gallons of dough when mixed with yeast and would produce enough bread to feed a 150 people. 

I think Jesus preaching along the Galilee and John’s thundering from the desert was a declaration that the Temple monopoly on Jewish understanding of the Divine was over.  And it is obvious today that the church’s monopoly on Christian understanding is over.  For the Church to regain its legitimacy of message we must look back while we move forward.  The church must once again be the place where the poor and brokenhearted are embraced. 

It must be the voice for the powerless and the friend of the weak.  We must reexamine how Jesus envisioned the Kingdom to be.  We must remember that Jesus embraced the richness of his ancient and sacred faith.  But he was determined that his ancient faith once again commit to the care of those who had been pushed away and once again the faith would become the vehicle by which one searches for meaning and truth in a world full of paradox and contradiction. And the truth Jesus preached is that God—Father of all humanity requires mercy and not malice.

Philip Gulley in his book, The Evolution of Faith—How God is Creating a Better Christianity tells of an experience he and his wife had.  While sitting on the back porch they watched a battle between two male hummingbirds battling for dominance.  They started chasing each other at such high speeds that the first hummingbird slammed into the garage door and found himself stuck.  Rev. Gulley rescued the small bird and held it gently in his hand until it recovered.

As the bird recovered for the shock, Rev. Gulley could feel it small wings flapping at unbelievable speeds.  He could feel its tiny heart racing wildly.  Clutching it loosely and gently he handed it off to his wife so she could feel and experience this beauty of nature.  As she let it go they witnessed the iridescent red and green as the small wonder flew away.

This is a wonderful metaphor for how we should embrace our faith and how we should hold one another.  Our faith shouldn’t be used as weapon.  Our churches must once again be seen as places of refuge where one will be embrace and not judged.  May the words softly and tenderly Jesus is calling become more than just a song to sing but words to live by.  Amen.

Grace Trumps Judgment      

A sermon by Randall K. Smith Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

July 17, 2011/Sixteen Sunday of Ordinary Time/Old Testament Lesson Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19/Epistle Lesson Romans 8: 12-25/Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

 

Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  This hasn’t been a good year for backyard gardeners or those who like to work in their yard.  My yard and garden look so terrible this year that I am not sure I could muster up the courage to call gardening a hobby.  I read this week something called Murphy’s First Law of Gardening—when weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it.  If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.  There is a corollary to that law:  To distinguish flowers from weeds, simply pull up everything.  What grows back are weeds.

Jesus once again uses a parable in order to teach a lesson—a truth—a bit of wisdom.    The Harper-Collins Bible Dictionary says the weeds—the King James Bible calls the tares were probably darnel—a semi-poisonous weed that looks like wheat.  In Jesus’ story it was the children of evil that sowed the weeds among the wheat.

 I remember hearing these verses when I was young and I knew I didn’t want to be a weed.  I wanted to be the wheat—wheat is good and weeds are bad.  This world we live in is often a scary place.  Along with the wheat there are the weeds.  Our world is full of war, famine, corruption, murder, violence, and indifference.  At the same time our world is full of beauty and grace and there are moments of  great joy and contentment.  That is the paradox of our world and the question that all religions struggle with—that evil can exists along side the good.

Jesus warns that if we simply go into the field and start pulling up plants we are most certainly going to pull up wheat as well as weeds.  We gardeners simply cannot tell the difference. Throughout history we have witnessed quick judgments that resulted in catastrophic results. 

Many years ago when my family went to France we came upon the town of Montsegur. Montsegur was a fortified town up on a hilltop.  As we were walking up the path to the town the thing that really amazed us were the snails.  Crawling along the path were large snails that had the brightest color of shell.  The shells were blue and green and pink.  I knew I wasn’t in Kansas or Texas for that matter.  Part way up, we realized that Jacob was picking up these snails and putting them in his pocket.  He was going to take them back to Joaquin to show his friends. We convinced him that he couldn’t do that.    

This city is in the southern part of France.  I love history and I have studied and taught about the Crusades.  Most of these disastrous Crusades took place in the Holy Land.  But that summer in France, I learned that one Crusade in the 13^th Century took place in the south of France and was waged against other Christians. In southern France, many Christians were not Catholics but Cathars.  They were devout Christians but held views considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church wanted this heresy erased and the Cathar Crusade was launched.  Montsegur was a Cathar stronghold.  As we visited this ancient city we heard of a crusading army that took control of a Cathar city.  The Catholic citizens of the city refused to identify which of their neighbors were Cathars.  I guess you could say the crusaders could not distinguish between what they considered wheat and weeds.  The general sent a messenger to the bishop accompanying the army to ask for instructions on how to proceed.  The bishop ordered that everyone in the city—Cathar and Catholic—men, women, and children be killed.  The bishop said, “Then God can sort it out!”

Jesus tells us in this Matthew parable that we are not very good at distinguishing the wheat from the weeds.  We are too quick to jump to conclusions.  We are too quick in making judgments about people.  When the goal of religion is fear and judgment then mercy and grace fall by the wayside.  In Matthew 5: 23-24 Jesus tells his followers that before they give any gift to God they should offer the gift of reconciliation to others. 

Jesus spoke the language reconciliation and forgiveness as well as the language of judgment.  Jesus would often speak words of judgment when he spoke about the priests and scribes.  So why is it that our vocabulary for judgment is rich and full but our vocabulary for forgiveness and grace is skimpy?

I read about a new minister preaching for the first time to his new congregation.  He said, “I would rather have a congregation full of kind atheists than hateful Christians.  Of course I would prefer kind Christians.”  The ministry of Jesus was about restoring people to wholeness and to befriend those who have experience rejection or condemnation.  From the tax collector to the Samaritan women, from the Roman soldier to the adulterer Jesus spoke of forgiveness and grace.

Jesus from a very young age found great meaning in the faith of Israel and that faith played an important part in his life.  He certainly understood the need for the Torah—for rules and process.  Jesus said that he didn’t come to overturn the law.  But Christ did bring grace to the law.  When Jesus healed on the Sabbath he allowed grace to be the foremost law.  This balance of rules and correction along with grace is the beginning of wisdom.

Central to Wesleyan—Methodist thought is grace.  John Wesley spoke often about God’s grace and wrote complicated scholarly writings of grace.  Grace from God, Wesley said can be found everywhere.  Grace is available to all even those who are not seeking it or are deserving of it.

I just finished a teenage book that Sue gave me to read.  In one part of the book the main character reminisces about when he use to attend Mass and went regularly to confession.  He said that what many don’t understand is that confession isn’t about listing one’s sins and then doing penitence.  Confession is about apologizing for one’s lapses, one’s anger, and one’s attitude.  When he finally goes back to confession the priest reminds him that one must not only apologize to God but one must make things right with those you hurt.  That is the reconciling power of the Christ.

Our life in Christ is an invitation to awareness, to be mindful of our right doings and our wrong doings.  It is about confronting our deeper impulses and motives that break and damage relationships.  Grace doesn’t come natural to us humans.  But we call upon our better angels when we make mindful and deliberate decisions to act with love and grace and mercy.  In the life and teachings of Jesus we can see that life is to be appreciated and enjoyed.  The righteous path of the Christ is the path of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and kindness.  The righteous path of Christ isn’t about separating the weeds from the wheat.  Amen.

 

The Epic Journey    

A sermon by Randall K. Smith Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

July 10, 2011/Fourth Sunday after Pentecost/Old Testament Lesson Isaiah 55: 10-13/Epistle Lesson Romans 8: 1-11/Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13: 1-9

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  In today’s Epistle Lesson, we hear the theologian Paul speak about the duality of life—good and evil.   In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks his first parable in Matthew.  In this parable Jesus speaks of a farmer sowing his seed knowing that some will bring forth harvest but some will not.  We really don’t know how much of Jesus’ earthly ministry Paul was familiar with.  Remember that Paul’s letters were written before the Gospels were written.  Paul experienced the resurrected Christ and certainly knew of his crucifixion and came to believe in the resurrection after his road to Damascus experience.  Central to Paul’s understanding was Christ crucified and Christ resurrected.  

In Palestine much of the land is a thin two-or three-inch veneer of soil over limestone bedrock.  The sowing of crops in such soil is risky at best.  But this was the life of the farmer.  The hope is that enough of the seed will fall upon good earth and will produce a good harvest.  Jesus knew that his Galilean listeners would know about the sowing and the harvest.  They also would know that a great portion of the yield would go to the Roman tax collectors. 

In the parable we can see the soil as people and their willingness to hear the good news of Jesus’ words.  Some would be like gravel and the good news would never take hold.  Some would be like weeds that would choke out the new growth.  Hopefully enough of the seed would take hold and flourish just as it was hoped that the good news that Jesus was teaching would take hold.

The letter to the Romans was a fine theological writing.  I think it makes it even the more remarkable that Paul was writing to a Jesus Community he did not help set up and had never visited.  And yet Paul includes in his letter his understanding of the battle of Good v. Evil that has always been a part of people’s spiritual struggle.  Paul was quite a scholar and was a student of the Torah so he certainly understood that the Torah was an attempt to create justice in society and also dealt with many profound issues which thinkers of every age and generation has dealt with.  And yet Paul finds the Torah incomplete and he can’t find solace or peace in the law.  Despite his best efforts he feels certain that he is condemned by the law.

For Paul his redemption—his salvation is found in the ways of Jesus.  The Christ, who was full of God’s own spirit, demonstrates to his followers and listeners a new way to understand and come to God.  Paul sees a way that the Spirit of God can dwell in people.  We must reorder our thinking and doing to place the things of God before earthly things.  It is this reordering of our living that Jesus felt was the key to Kingdom living.  Seeking God Jesus taught means that we must give careful attention to the priorities of God—love, mercy, wisdom, justice, and integrity.

Paul calls things such as material possessions and recreational pursuits “fleshy” pursuits.  We know that Jesus often fasted and withdrew for long periods of prayer and meditation.  But Jesus also feasted and celebrated.  In fact Jesus’ enemies accused him and his disciples of excessive celebrations! 

So we cannot view Paul or Jesus’ words as a call to withdraw from the world or to live a monastic life.  We must remember that we are complex beings with not only physical needs but also spiritual needs.  What we need to do is to balance these facets of our existence.  We cannot allow our earthly pursuits to drown out our spiritual needs.  We must always order and re-order our lives according to what God sees as paramount.  This internal debate and internal tension is why we must always search for God’s desires.

 The puzzle of Good v Evil will never be explained to our satisfaction.  We have seen Job and the writer of Ecclesiastes wrestle with Good and Evil.  Paul wrestles with the idea as both a practicing Jew and a Christian.  Rabbi Kushner wrote a best selling book on Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.  After WW II Christian writers such as J.R.R Tolkien and C. S. Lewis dealt with this great battle in books of Christian Fantasy.

            Eleven years ago I asked to be reassigned to the classroom after many years as a school principal.  I was preaching at two churches in Nacogdoches and going to SMU and Millsaps College in Jackson to take courses.  Something had to give in my schedule.  I needed my summers free for college.  I was assigned to the fourth grade.  It was a little intimidating to walk back into the classroom but after awhile I realized I was home.  One thing that surprised me was that many of the little fourth graders were carrying these large library books.  That was my first introduction to Harry Potter.

            Once I picked up and read the first of the seven books I was hooked.  I have read the books several times and have seen the movies many times.  I am looking forward to the final episode that is being released this week.  J. K. Rowling’s books are Christian stories written in the same way as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The seven books are a spectacular battle between the evil and good forces. 

            Harry is a hero of faith—a wounded hero who was orphaned as a baby when his parents are killed by evil personified—Lord Voldemort.  Harry is a modest hero who is ready to sacrifice himself completely on behalf of others.  You learn very quickly in the series that the things that motivate Harry and his friends are love, kindness, generosity, and faithfulness—what I would call the priorities of God. 

            At the end of the very first book, Harry’ friend and mentor, Professor Dumbledore explains to Harry what happened the night his parents were killed.  Lord Voldemort had come to kill him and his parents died trying to save him.  The magical curse that Voldemort tried to use to kill baby Harry backfired and rendered Voldemort powerless.  Dumbledore asks Harry if he knows why he lived.  It was love—the most powerful magic that saved him.

            Paul was a witness to the continuing battle of Good v. Evil.  It is through the love of Christ that Paul finds redemption and purpose.  In Christ, he comes to believe that Good will indeed overcome Evil.  Will we be seeds that flourish and grow?  Will we hold on to the love of Christ as we work as individuals and a church to bring the Kingdom Jesus envisioned into our world.  We must.  Amen.

Learning the Rhythms of Grace   

A sermon by Randall K. Smith/Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

July 3, 2011/Third Sunday after Pentecost/Old Testament Lesson Song of Solomon 2: 8-13/Epistle Lesson Romans 7: 15-25a/Gospel Lesson: Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

 Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. What do you think of when you think of the month of July?  I think of Independence Day with fireworks and watermelon.  I also think of how hot it gets in Texas.  I imagine some kids start missing there friends from school and others are going on vacations with their family.  This year July is pretty unique.  This July has five Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays.  This happens only once every 823 years—I guess you can say that this will be a once in a life time experience.

Old joke:  Do they have July 4th in England?  Answer:  Yes, right after July 3rd.  It used to be that when you went to get a passport you had to take a loyalty oath—I don’t know if that is true any more.  An elderly lady who always wanted to travel abroad went to get a passport.  The clerk had her raise her right hand and then said to her, “Do you swear to defend the Constitution of the United States against all its enemies, domestic or foreign?”  The lady turned pale and asked in a small voice, “All by myself?”

Most nations and ours is not exempt have and have had problems with immigration.  On the Statue of Liberty are the words, “Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”  For many around the world the United States is still the golden door and all of us should be thankful to live in the United States. 

Today, we as a nation may not be quite as willing to extend that invitation as we once were but the Christ still extends his invitation to all.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I felt like the Gospel Lesson for today was an answer to the problem Paul expressed in today’s Epistle Lesson.   Paul speaks about his own weakness.  I think that we forget that the letters written by Paul in the New Testament were more often than not dealing with problems that arose in the new communities of faith that began to sprout up throughout the empire.  Some of the letters dealt with Paul’s understanding of the Christ and some, like today, dealt with his own difficulties.

I picture Paul as a very resolute person who seemed very sure of himself.  I think of Paul as being domineering and confident of his own abilities.  When he was persecuting the Jesus Followers he certainly was confident that he was protecting the ancient faith of his ancestors.  And when he converted to the new faith he became it most vocal and strident spokesperson.  I think Paul would probably be a difficult person to be around and I wouldn’t want to get into an argument with him.

But this sliver of his letter to the Roman Jesus Community showed a side of Paul which makes him seem much more human.  He knows what God wants of him and yet he often finds himself ignoring what God requires and doing what he wants to do—even when he know it is wrong.  The Message says that Paul wants to serve God with all his heart and mind but is pulled by other influences and often does the exact opposite of what God desires. 

This internal conflict is not unique to Paul.  Too often we as individuals and we as a church seem not all that concerned with God’s desire.  We need to always remember that the prophet Micah told us what God requires—do justice, be merciful, and walk humbly with God. 

            I grew up in a church that really stressed our sinful nature.  I read this week a definition of sin that makes much more sense to me.  Sin is the mis-ordering of life as God would have life be ordered.  We are all guilty of mis-ordering our lives and just like Paul we often feel unable to act as God’s people—people who love justice, practice kindness and walk humbly with God.  Paul looked at his own life and saw himself mis-ordering his life even when he didn’t want to. 

            Paul found solace in his understanding that even though he often fell short, Jesus’ faith in God didn’t.  Our Gospel Lesson is a call by Jesus to get away with him and recover your life.  He urges people to walk with him and work with him.  He urges them to learn the rhythms of grace.   As our faith grows I think we need to recapture that grace as shown in Jesus’ words and his actions.  Maybe the Christianity of the 21^st Century will talk less and act more.  As Paul discovered, the richness of our faith doesn’t lie in obedience to antiquated claims or rigorous tests of doctrine but in our commitment to care for others and our honest search for meaning and truth.

            The bishops of the United Methodist Church are urging Methodists to “rethink church.”  In the face of declining membership and the growing dissatisfaction with the church in general we must realign ourselves with the vision and purposes of Jesus.  Ralph Waldo Emerson  once said that the power of the Gulf Stream will flow through an ordinary drinking straw, if the straw is placed parallel to the flow of the stream.  This is true of our spiritual lives also. 

            Those of us who value a transcendent dimension to life may not be able to explain or prove God.  But most of us have experienced God’s presence.  In these experiences we have found direction, peace, rest, joy, and meaning.  As we try to rethink church we must rid ourselves of the notion that Sunday is the day of the week for spiritual things.  Our time this morning is a time to connect with the Divine, connect with each other, and to hear and study the desires of God.  Our time at church is simply a time to prepare ourselves to live more deeply and compassionately Monday through Saturday—not just Sunday.

            Let us not allow our encounters with the Divine to become rigid and harsh but allow us to see life fresh and anew.  Seeking God’s will means giving careful attention to the priorities of God—love, mercy, wisdom and justice.  Amen.  

Roundabout  

A sermon by Randall K. Smith Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

June 19, 2011/Trinity Sunday & Father’s Day/Old Testament Lesson Genesis 1: 1-2:4a/Epistle Lesson 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13/Gospel Lesson: Matthew 28: 16-20

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

 

Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  Today is Father’s Day.  It is a day to be thankful for fathers who did their best as fathers.  I like this story about a ten-year old boy who answered the doorbell at his home one day.  When he opened it, there stood a strange man on the porch.  The man said, “Son, you don’t remember me do you?”  The boy didn’t.  “Well, I am your uncle on your father’s side.”  To which the young fellow replied, “Well, I am glad to meet you, but you are certainly on the losing side.”

Fathers don’t seem to get the respect they used to get.  A university recently completed a two year study in which they asked kids from the ages of four to six which you do like better—TV or Daddy/”  Forty-six percent indicated they preferred television.

In our world of disposable everything the family also seems to have become disposable.  Another study looked at church attendance and it showed that if both parents attend church regularly that 72% of the children remain faithful to the church.  If only moms attend the number drops to 15%. 

Being a parent is hard today—maybe even harder than in earlier generations.  Today with both parents working multiple jobs the fathers must take a very active role nurturing their children.  Both parents need to be supportive of each other and provide for physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of the kids.  According to Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, a father’s involvement with a child increases the child’s IQ, the child’s motivation to learn, and the child’s self-confidence.  In addition, children with involved dads are more likely to develop a sense of humor as well as an “inner excitement.” 

The most common image that Jesus used in describing God was that of “Father.”  Even though our faith speaks more of Mary I think that Joseph must have had those special qualities that a good father has.  So to all the fathers I salute you.  Your role is vital in helping children become confident, successful, happy people.

On the Christian calendar today is Trinity Sunday.  I don’t mind telling you that I don’t like preaching on the Trinity because I really don’t understand it.  But I don’t think that I should avoid this topic because it makes me uncomfortable.  I have no easy answers but I am not ready to just dismiss it as one of those great mysteries. I have in my recent years of study have come to see the doctrine of the Triune God as an incomplete and unfinished expression of what we are able to say about God.  And I can assure you that all our doctrines and creeds about God are not final and our confessions of faith must always be open to new modes of expression.  The doctrine of the Trinity really didn’t become orthodoxy until the Fourth Century.  At the Council of Nicaea the bishops were ordered by Emperor Constantine to come up with one statement of faith for all the empire.  The oldest affirmation of faith—the Nicene Creed was the result of this conclave of bishops.

The emperor hoped that the development of one statement of faith would unite the Christian faith and help unite the empire.  The council was fractious and even though the bishops signed on to the Nicene Creed history tells us there was never unanimity in belief.  The bishops who deep down didn’t accept the Nicene Creed simply went back to their part of the empire and kept preaching what they felt was the gospel truth. 

It seems amazing and frightening for us to think that bishops would raise armies to fight other bishops who had different understanding of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Thousands died over one single letter in the alphabet. Wars broke out between bishops that believed in homoiousios (similar) and homoousios (same)—the difference being an extra “o.”  Some bishops and probably the majority of Christians at that time believed that Jesus was such a perfect human that he was adopted by God as his son.  Jesus was said to be of a similar substance as God but not the same.  

But that idea did not become orthodoxy and the idea that Jesus and the Father were the same substance did.  The Christ was God incarnate.  Today the idea of the Trinity—the Triune God is the most accepted view of the Christian faith.

There is an ancient story about St. Augustine taking a break from his writing and walking along the seashore. There he saw a small child with a little pail intently scooping up a pail full of water out of the ocean and then taking further on shore and dumping it out.  The youngster continued this activity for quite awhile.  Finally Augustine asked the child what he was doing and the child answered, “I am emptying the sea out into the sand.  Augustine gently tried to explain the impossibility of the task.  The child replied, “Maybe so but I’ll drain the sea before you understand the Trinity.”

There is truth to the child’s comment.  We don’t understand the Trinity.  No one really does but bishops were ready to go to war to defend that idea.  Tertullian, one of the early theologians of the church explained the Trinity in a metaphor.  God the Father is a deep root and the Son is a shoot that breaks forth into the world.  The Spirit is that which spreads its beauty and fragrance.

During the time that the Book of the Revelation was written the Emperor Domitian ruled.  Domitian required that all who addressed him address him as Lord and God.  For a century or more the emperor was considered the Son of God.  But for the Christians it was Jesus the Christ who was divine—the perfect reflection of God.  For these Christians it was Jesus not Domitian or any emperor who was God’s son.

When Sue and I and our family traveled in France we soon discovered that instead of intersections there were roundabouts.  The road would suddenly become a circle with many roads branching off from the circle in different directions—the roundabout.  The French seemed to have this mastered but often we would go round and around until we found the road that we needed to take.  I was sort of surprised that many states including Arizona are adapting this French idea to their roadways!  But experts say that with roundabouts accidents have decreased by 75% and fatalities by 90%.

The Epistle Lesson for today is Paul’s farewell to the Corinthians.  I think Paul’s words of patience and acceptance are a wonderful way to bring to a close Trinity Sunday.  I heard Paul’s words echoed in John Wesley’s words when he urges tolerance toward those who don’t believe as you do.  I think Paul is reminding the Corinthians that we are all on a roundabout journey.  He reminds them that followers are traveling in the same direction but at different speeds. At times a fellow traveler may need to exit before you do.  Paul urges that we trust each other enough to allow that freedom.  Keep your eyes on the road and wish people well in their travels.  Roundabouts: a vision of God’s people traveling separately yet together toward a shared destination. Amen.

    

A Faith Worth Having  

A sermon by Randall K. Smith Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

June 12, 2011/Pentecost Sunday/First Lesson Acts 2: 1-8, 12-16/Second Lesson Psalm 104/Third Lesson 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13/Gospel Lesson: John 20: 19-23

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

             Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  In Act 5, Macbeth is overcome by dread, sorrow, guilt, and futility.  “Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death.  Out, out, brief candle life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.  It is a tale told by an idiot.  Full of sound and fury signifying nothing.  Pentecost signifies an unbelievable turn around for the Followers of the Way.  I think that after the death of Jesus that the followers probably felt like Macbeth—life is full of sound and fury but signifies nothing. 

The days following Easter were joyous times for the disciples but after Jesus left them once again they really didn’t know what was to come.  They had Jesus’ promise that he would always be with them in spirit.  They also were promised that God’s Holy Spirit would show them the pathway.  And Pentecost was that sign from God.  In the early church, Pentecost was the second most revered and celebrated Christian holiday next to Easter.  Pentecost announces a new beginning but much of what Peter preached wasn’t new.  Peter goes to the Bible for inspiration and his Bible was the Hebrew Testament.  He quotes from the prophet Joel when God declares that he will pour out his spirit upon all flesh. 

Peter declares a radical new way of understanding and embracing the Divine Presence.  But he uses words of the ancient Jews to articulate the new way of seeing.  Alfred North Whitehead writes that any lasting revolution—and Pentecost and the ways of the Christ are revolutionary—will revere the sacred symbols of the past all the while ruthlessly revising them.  The symbols of the past for the Jesus movement were rooted in their ancient faith—the prophets, the apocalyptic visions, and the Torah.  Even our celebration of Pentecost is rooted in the ancient Jewish faith.  Pentecost is a Greek word and signified fifty days after the Passover. 

Pentecost for the ancient Jews was an agricultural celebration that eventually morphed into a celebration of Israel entering the Promised Land.  As the faith of Yahweh became the dominant faith among the Jews it also became a celebration of the Torah being given to Moses.  Pentecost is also known as the Festival of Weeks and was a time to express gratitude to God and a time of thanksgiving for the harvest.  This festival along with Passover and the Feast of the Tabernacles are the three times of the year that pilgrims would venture to the holy city of Jerusalem.  The Festival of Weeks was a time to bring to the Temple the first fruits of the harvest and offer them to God. 

Sometimes ministers speak of the unchanging nature of religion.  That simply is not the case.  The Day of Pentecost changed and expanded in meaning to the ancient Jews and we Christians see Pentecost as the day when the Gospel—the good news is proclaimed for all the world.  Pentecost is a declaration that no one is to be left out because of their language, their color, their nationality, their poverty, or their disability.  Pentecost is a call to everyone—even those discarded by society to become honored friends in this new community of faith.  God may remain the same but our human understanding of God goes through change and hopefully our faith matures and better expresses the eternal love of God.

Clayton Sullivan is a biblical scholar and a Southern Baptist minister who teaches at Southern Mississippi.  I think he captures the miracle of the birth of the universal church.  “From a human viewpoint,” Dr. Sullivan says, “Jesus was no Jewish Napoleon or Alexander the Great.  In many ways Jesus would be viewed as insignificant.  Many have observed that he never traveled more than ninety miles from the place of his birth.  He never visited a major city of the Roman Empire.  He led no armies and conquered no territory.  He wrote no books.  He spent a considerable part of his life in microscopic villages like Nazareth and Capernaum.  He was not a person of wealth.  His recorded words can be read in about an hour’s time.  At the end of his life he was crucified between two thieves and was buried in a borrowed tomb.  Common sense suggests that after his death this insignificant man should have been forgotten.  Yet shortly after the crucifixion his disciples who previously had fled out of fear, sadness, and disappointment where transformed into a rejoicing community of believers and began proclaiming Jesus was Lord.” 

Paul Tillich, the great 20^th Century theologian said, “Faith means being grasped by a power that is greater than we are, a power that shakes us and turns us, and transforms and heals us.  Surrender to this power!”  The power of the wind—the Spirit can lift us out of the drudgery and depression of the routine.  Life lived in the Spirit is always about transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.  The Spirit brings with it a reminder of the wonders of creation.  It allows us to remember the blessings God has given to us in our families and friends.  It brings to reality how extraordinary and wonderful life can be when we look with Kingdom eyes. 

The work of Pentecost is not and has never been a solitary adventure.  All who love God and want to create Jesus’ vision of God’s Kingdom are in this together.  We are to be one in the Spirit.  No one can be left behind or forgotten.

There is an old story about a mouse that looked through the crack in the wall to see a farmer and wife opening a mousetrap.  Retreating to the barnyard the mouse hollered out, “There is a mousetrap in the house.”  The chicken clucked and scratched and said, “I know this is a great concern for you but it is of no concern to me.  I can’t be bothered by such.  But I will pray for you.”

            The mouse turned to the pig and told him of the mousetrap.  The pig sympathized and expressed his sorrow.  But since it didn’t affect him he offered nothing except, “I will pray for you.”  The mouse turned to the cow with her story of woe but the cow said, “What does that have to do with me?  It’s not my problem.  But I will pray for you.”

            That very night the sound of the mousetrap snapping it jaws was heard throughout the farm.  The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught.  In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake and the snake bit the farmer’s wife.

            Everyone knows that you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took the hatchet to the barnyard for the soup’s main ingredient.  But the wife worsened and the neighbors came by to comfort the farmer and his wife.  To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.  The farmer’s wife did not get better and died.  So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for his guests.  The mouse looked upon the unfolding events from a crack in the wall.  He said a prayer for each of his friends. 

            As a follower of the Christ we believe that there is more to life than just what we experience each day.  That hope and faith begins with what is inside our heart, soul, and mind.  It is there that the light of God can grow within us.  And we know that Christ’s arms are stretched wide enough to include us all.  And he expects us to open our arms to the world.  That is what Pentecost is all about.  Amen

When Night Becomes Day  

A sermon by Randall K. Smith/Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

June 5, 2011/Seventh Sunday of Easter /First Lesson Acts 1: 6-14/Second Lesson Psalm 68/Third Lesson 1 Peter 4: 12-14/Gospel Lesson: John 17: 1-11

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

             Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  I read this week of an elderly woman who died.  Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers.  In her handwritten instructions for her memorial service, she wrote, “They wouldn’t take me out while I was alive, I don’t want them to me out when I’m dead!  In today’s lessons from Acts and John we see yet another ending giving rise to a new beginning. 

            Today is the last Sunday of Easter.  In our liturgical church we believe that Easter should be celebrated over a period of weeks not just one day.  Today marks Jesus last appearance among his disciples.  It is Ascension Sunday.  The disciples want to know the timetable for the kingdom of Israel to be restored.  Jesus told them they don’t get to know the time that timing is God’s business.

 I guess this declaration in Acts should put an end to all this speculation as to the end of time.  Unfortunately there is just too much money in predicting the end or purportedly finding clues in scripture as to a time table.  That old preacher out in California who predicted the end times apparently wasn’t embarrassed at all.  He just said his calculations were a little off and the end of the world will be in October.  I guess he will just recalculate the end every time his chosen date passes.  Forget that Jesus said we will not know and such speculation is not our business.

Next Sunday we celebrate the real business of the followers of Jesus.  Next Sunday is the Day of Pentecost that signals the birth of the Church Universal.  There is a painting at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg called the Mourning Trinity.  It shows Jesus in King God’s lap.  Hovering above the son’s shoulder is a dove which represents the possibility of life.  It represents a love that can incite human life to take flight like a dove. 

Christians have been instructed since the fourth century to celebrate today—The Day of Ascension as a festival day.  There have been all manner of paintings of Jesus ascending into the clouds.  But I really don’t think the disciples were celebrating that day.  In a way it would be like a friend who is moving across the country.  You are happy for them but you feel sad when you think that you will not see your friend again.  It had only been a little over a month when they grieved the death of Jesus.  I imagine that they were grieving once again.

 They really don’t want those forty magical days to end.  In the opera, Jesus Christ Super Star there is a song in which the disciples where in shock after the arrest of Jesus.  Things that had been so promising were spiraling out of control.  On a hillside outside of Jerusalem they sing a lament and wonder whether there was some way they could start all over again.  But we all know that there are not many second chances. 

Once again the disciples are unprepared for what is to happen.  There just didn’t seem to be enough time.  Jesus had promised them that the Spirit would be with them always and that the Spirit would show them what they needed to do.

I often wonder if Jesus would be proud of the church that would be born in his memory.  I am not so sure.  I don’t know what he would think of the great wealth churches over the centuries have accumulated.  I don’t know what he would think about having princes of the church and huge cathedrals and churches built in his honor.  I don’t know what he would think of all the paintings and statues that depicted his time upon the earth. 

Cato the Elder said, “I would rather people ask ‘Why isn’t there a statue to Cato’ then ‘Why is there one.’”  I am not sure that our humble, compassionate Lord would be pleased with all this fuss.  I am the first to admit that I like much of the liturgy, holding fast to the liturgical calendar, the banners and paraments of the church, and other ancient reminders of our church’s history.  But show without substance is a real problem for the modern church.  And people who have never been in church and those who left the church but are still looking over the shoulder to the church know when the church is all talk but no action.  They recognize the difference between professing faith and living the faith.  They readily feel whether a church is welcoming or judgmental.

An old rabbi once asked his pupils how they could tell when the night had ended and the day had begun.  “Could it be,” asked one student, “when you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it’s a sheep or a goat?”  The rabbi answered, “No!”  Another asked, “Is it when you can look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it’s a fig tree or a peach tree?”  “No,” answered the rabbi.  “Then when is it?” the pupils demanded.  “It is when you can look on the face of any person and see that it is your sister and brother.  Because if you cannot see this, it is still night.”

So Ascension Sunday is an excellent time to reflect on how we partner with Jesus in life and faith.  The Gospel Lesson for today is John 17: 1-11.  Jesus has completed his last will and testament—his last bit of instructions to his followers before he goes to God.  This part of John is known as the High Priestly Prayer.  In his prayer, Jesus raises his eyes toward the heavens and prayed for his friends.  He prayed that he felt that his mission was complete.  He was asking God to guard his friends and to make his followers of one heart and one mind.  It was almost as if Jesus was handing off the ball to us.  We are to take his great message of compassion, love, and peace to all that we meet.

Paul Harvey once said, “Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium.”  It should not be surprising that over the two thousand years since Jesus left this earthly plain that followers came to have differences.  We see this from the beginning in Paul’s letters and in Acts.  But what is sad is how the Church lurched toward extremes and exclusion.  It is sad that the Church has often been the source of violence and a place were hate become sanctioned. 

If the Church of Jesus Christ is to keep alive the teachings of Jesus it is going to have to undergo a new reformation.  The Church like us must be reborn.  The Church of Jesus must once again become a servant to the world as Jesus was a servant to those he met.  Amen.

Do The Right Thing

A sermon by Randall K. Smith Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

May 29, 2011/sixth Sunday of Easter /First Lesson Acts 17: 22-31/Second Lesson Psalm 66: 8-20/Third Lesson 1 Peter 3: 13-22/Gospel Lesson: John 14: 15-21

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

                 Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  The Luke Gospel is actually told in two parts.  The first focuses on Jesus and his short ministry in the countryside of Galilee and the week Jesus and followers spent in the Jerusalem.  The second part of Luke’s story is found in the book called the Acts of the Apostles.  Many theologians refer to these books together as Luke-Acts.  In the 17^th Chapter, Paul is in the cultural and intellectual center of the Western World—Athens, Greece.  The Romans were the conquerors but their armies spread the ideas of the Greeks around the world.

            The gods of the Romans were first the gods of the Greeks.  As the drama unfolds in Acts, Paul and his Good News are met with skepticism.  When he speaks of the God of the universe being accessible to all people this was puzzling.  When he speaks of God as being the source of love and of life eternal the Athenians were really confused.  The gods to them were, for the most part, beings to be avoided.  The priests and priestess of the various gods saw their job as appeasing the gods, giving sacrifices to the gods, and for the most part hoping the gods would leave them alone.  During wartime, the Greeks would call upon the gods to favor them and to remember the temples erected and sacrifices given in their honor.

            Paul says he came to introduce the Greeks to a new way to understand God.  He speaks of a single God Creator who cares about humanity.  He speaks of Jesus who came from God—who was the perfection reflection of God to help humanity set things right.  Paul’s message was embraced by some but many remained in their fearful practice of sacrifices to keep the gods in a good humor. 

            There are people everywhere—people of good intentions and kind ways who, like the Athenians, just can’t get around the idea that one can not reason his way to God.  God remains unknowable and unknown if we really solely on reason.  But Paul knows that people can experience God through Jesus. 

            It is almost as if humanity is groping for God as if we are in a darkened room.  We can feel his presence—we can feel the Spirit but we cannot see and we cannot by reason alone explain this experience.  Paul describes a Creator who is constantly reaching out to his creation.  Paul said God has reached out through Jesus and has a provided a path to the Divine.  Meister Eckhart, the 11^th Century Christian scholar and mystic describes it this way.  He says to imagine a parent playing hide-and-go-seek with their young child.  The parent is hiding and the child is becoming frustrated at not finding the parent.  So the parent gives a little cough and the child come running.  God, says Paul, makes himself known. 

            The Gospel Lesson for this, the Sixth Sunday of Easter is a continuation of last week’s lesson.  Jesus is speaking to his disciples for the last time before his arrest.  Jesus says, “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.” If we love Jesus then we try to act as he told us to do.  Not an easy task when we remember that Jesus told us to love our enemies.  Not an easy task when we remember that Jesus told the rich young ruler to give away everything and follow him.

            Jesus was a man on a mission.  He healed the sick, fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind, and washed the feet of his friends.  He commanded them to love and showed them the way to God. 

            Every business, school, or church has developed a mission statement.  This became a big thing starting in the 1970s.  The Mission Statement of this church reads, “Members of the church gladly minister to our entire community, bringing the good news of God’s love made known through Jesus, by witnessing the Gospel, sharing our lives, and being committed to the welfare of others.”

            Kevin Starr is the executive director of the Mulago Foundation.  This foundation helps businesses or organizations that have a social conscience.  To receive matching funds from the Foundation you must begin by telling the Foundation the mission of the company or organization in no more than eight words.  If it is not eight words or less and if doesn’t have a verb, target, and outcome then the application will not even be considered.  For example a rural hospital might have as its mission statement, “Improve rural children’s health.”

            In the article I was reading about mission statements they came up with a mission statement for followers of Jesus.  “Love God, keep his commandments, receive his Spirit.”  Loving God and loving one another as Jesus loved means more than just speaking some words.  It means we are to go out and do the right thing—the God-thing—every day. 

            In the arena of faith we must decide if we want to be a follower of the ways of Christ.  Are we willing to work each day at patterning our lives and our living on Jesus?  Faith is more than nice words and good intentions.  If we proclaim our faith in Jesus but then ignore what he taught or ignored how he lived then we really can’t call ourselves a follower.  We might be a fan of Jesus but a follower is doer of his words.  Amen.           

 

 

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled

A sermon by Randall K. Smith/Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

May 22, 2011/Fifth Sunday of Easter /First Lesson Acts 7: 55-60/Second Lesson Psalm 31: 1-5, 15-16/Third Lesson 1 Peter 2:2-10/Gospel Lesson: John 14: 1-14

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

             Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  The Gospel Lesson today is part of a larger section of the John Gospel that some theologians refer to as The Book of Glory.  The verses for the 5^th Sunday of Easter are part of Jesus’ “final discourse” –his final words to his disciples before his arrest and crucifixion.  This scripture includes some of the best known and comforting words found in John’s Gospel.

            A friend of mine from Woden sent a page full of things that his mother taught him.  (I am pretty sure he got these from another source than his mother)  I wish I had had these for Mother’s Day and I am going to add them to my generic Mother’s Day folder.  Here are just a few of these words of wisdom.

1. My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done.  “If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside.  I just finished cleaning!”

2.  My mother taught me religion.  “You better pray that will come out of the carpet!”

3.  My mother taught me about hypocrisy.  “If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times.  Don’t exaggerate!”

            Even though today’s Gospel words were meant to prepare and to comfort the disciples it is clear that Jesus’ words baffled the twelve.  They just couldn’t understand how their communion with Jesus could continue even after he was gone.  A true meaningful faith is always hard to keep going.  I don’t think the disciples were wired to understand—I don’t think humans are wired to understand. 

            Recently the Mayo Clinic published its most comprehensive study about diet and our moms were right all along.  Breakfast is the most important meal of a day.  Breakfast is the most important meal for heart health.  In fact, they say eating just about anything substantial is the first and best step to avoid heart disease.  Lack of a proper diet and exercise, along with heredity are three things that are the major contributing factors to heart disease. 

            When Jesus told his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled he was saying don’t let your soul be troubled.  I think Jesus was telling his disciples (it is still good advice) that even in the messed up world we can be a followers of the ways of Jesus.  But he is trying to tell them that the road will not be easy. 

            We know that John was speaking about events that happened 60 years before he wrote his gospel.  He was telling through his words what it means to him to be a follower.  But he was also speaking directly the John communities at the end of the 1^st Century.  These new Christian communities were looked upon with suspicion and disdain by Jews and Gentiles and this new faith was not a sanctioned religion of the empire.  Those who practiced this new faith were looked upon as enemies of Rome.

            I like the way the Message speaks verses 6 & 7 of our Gospel Lesson.  “Jesus said, ‘I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life.  No one gets to the Father apart from me.  If you really knew me you would know my Father.”  Jesus is the road, the truth, and the life.  But to navigate the road, understand truth, and experience life requires spiritual nourishment.  Our spiritual life needs to be well-fed if it is to grow.  It doesn’t come automatically.

            Not only must we regularly receive and partake in spiritual nourishment we must also exercise our faith in the way—Jesus’ way.  Lasting peace—a heart not troubled will grow in our souls through the disciplines of faith.  The Mayo Clinic says that 30 minutes a day in some sort of activity including walking makes a difference in our physical health.  That would be a good rule of thumb for our spiritual well-being.  If we could find thirty minutes in our day for prayer, reading the scriptures, meditating on the scriptures we read that would bring closer and closer to God.

            I read one theologian this week that said we should stretch, exercise and relentlessly pursue Christ.  The more we pray, the more we read, the more we worship the more we will see Jesus pointing us to the Divine—to God.  He is the road, the truth, and life. 

            The early church survived because they formed communities of faith—support groups for each other. One can have more success exercising or walking if one has friends that are depending on you as you depend on others.  That can also be true in the realm of spiritual fitness.  Many times when we feel furthest from God it is because we are far from his word and his people. 

            Jewish youths for thousands of years have been required to memorize parts of the Torah.  This was partly because the boys might be called upon to recite holy words when the Torah Scrolls were not available.  It was also part of the spiritual discipline they were expected to learn and develop.  At a very early age Jewish children learn the prayer called the Shema. “Shema Yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai ehad.”  "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." I can imagine many times when Jesus was small and he was scared or frightened he would recite over and over again the Shema. 

            Recently a prayer called the Jesus Prayer has gotten much press.  A few weeks ago “60 Minutes” had a segment about the monastery in Greece called Athus.  NPR also had a segment dedicated to the growing popularity of the Jesus Prayer.  It certainly isn’t something new.  The monks at Athus have been reciting this prayer for nearly 1,000 years.  And they take serious when the scriptures say to pray without ceasing.  When they are not participating in the daily eight hour worship service they are working the orchards and fields and other tasks.  During all the waking hours they are to be praying.  One monk says he even prays when he is asleep! It is simply, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."

            I think that maybe when I get angry when someone pulls out on the highway right in front of me instead of saying or thinking what I usually say I should say instead, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me a sinner.”  The simple repetition of these words can be soothing and calming. 

            There are many crossroads in life.  There are many roads that we have travelled and will still travel.  Jesus points the way to God.  We can strengthen our life by regularly partaking in spiritual nourishment.  From our growing trust and faith we can then with greater confidence step out and live a more sacrificial life—feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and comforting those who are hurting.  Through growing spiritual awareness we can embrace Jesus’ ways—God’s ways of truth, love, and justice. Amen.

 

Comforting Words

A sermon by Randall K. Smith/Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

May 15, 2011/Fourth Sunday of Easter /First Lesson Acts 2: 42-27/Second Lesson Psalm 23/Third Lesson 1 Peter 2: 19-25/Gospel Lesson: John 10: 1-10

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

                Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  The most popular and most read scripture from the Bible is the 23^rd Psalm.  And I think to appreciate the poetry of the words you must read the King James’ translation.  We Christians think of Jesus not only as the perfect reflection of God but also a personal friend—savior.  Our Jewish brothers and sisters also perceive God as a being that they can relate to personally.  And all people, regardless of their religious persuasion experience times of alienation from the Divine and need reassurance that while we have pulled away from God, God is always near.

            In a time of reflection—maybe after a difficult time, the David of the Psalms sees God as a presence that is always there.  God leads him to still waters.  Remember that in Jewish theology water is often associated with chaos.  And the poet knows that like all humans, he walks in the shadow of death—he can’t escape it.  The Hebrew refers to the shadow of death as a place of deep darkness. His reassurance comes when he remembers that God is with him.  These are powerful images that are called upon many times during the church year and often spoken at funerals.

            There is a piece of music originally written for an African American church choir:

“The Lord is my Shepherd.  My guide, my caretaker, and my protector.  My way-maker, my heart-fixer-my mind-regulator.  He calms me to a pace and place of peace and contentment.  In a mad-dash, dog-eat-dog world, God is my peaceful calm and my calming peace.  He is the source of refreshment which satisfies my deepest yearnings for acceptance, and love, and home. He revives me from the inside out.  Again, again, and again,--especially when I’m down and can’t seem to get up, or I’m too scared to get up, or I just don’t want to get up, or I’ve been down so long, I’ve forgotten what it means to up.  He revives me.”

            I wonder if these words of poetry were as known to the surviving disciples of Jesus as they are to us today—probably so.  When they were looking at or thinking about sacred texts that would help them through the days after Jesus’ crucifixion did they find comfort in those words?  I would imagine the words, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of min enemies” would be comforting to people hiding from Roman soldiers and Temple spies.  Preparing a table would be a very Jesus thing to do.

            As more and more Jesus followers began to see Jesus—to experience the risen Christ I would imagine that not only was the sorrow lifting but these followers were experiencing the “other reality” of God.  It was when I read The Case for God that I first came across the Greek word, “ekstasis.”  The writer, Karen Armstrong believes that we will never be able to intellectually think our way to God but through a disciplined spiritual life we can experience God—what the Greeks called ekstasis.

            This is what I think the disciples began feeling starting on that Easter morning.  The woman felt a sense of ekstasis when they gazed upon the Risen Christ.  The disciples on the Emmaus road experienced this.  So did the disciples behind the locked doors as well as Thomas.  Jesus was seen by those who wanted to believe.  He did not appear to people who hadn’t been followers.

In the First Lessons from Acts the writer says, “Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles!  The writer goes on to say that that feeling of awe—of experiencing that which transcends the ordinary was a result of the daily discipline of worship, making each meal a celebration, and always being exuberant and joyful in the praise of God.  

            Over the next seventy years, followers would begin to write letters and longer accounts of what had happened.  Four of these longer accounts and many letters became the basis of the Testament of Jesus Christ.  These letters and accounts were written by people after the resurrection and so they saw the past events through post-Easter eyes.  But before there were written texts and approved ways of viewing and understanding Jesus there were followers who simply experienced the Risen Christ.

            I remember a lecture given by Marcus Borg who is one of the most renowned New Testament theologians of our time.  He said that we 21^st Century Christians must remember that there was a Jerusalem understanding of Christ during the first century.  In the second century Roman Empire there were several different ways of understanding the Christian experience.  When I look back at my heritage I see German Lutheran influences of the 16^th Century which had a new and different way of looking at the Christian experience.  And our Wesleyan way of understanding the Christian experience does indeed differ from the Calvinist approach that so strongly influences many Protestant churches in North America.

            Two weeks ago I watch a news report of a Cathedral in Russia that was celebrating its namesake Saint.  The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and many bishops had come from Moscow and other cities to participate in the celebration.  The thousands chanted the Nicene Creed which is the most ancient creed of our faith.  There are no pews in an Eastern Orthodox Church—the parishioners stood during the 3 ½ hour service!  It was another vivid reminder that there has never and will never be a single way to celebrate the resurrection and to live the resurrection faith. 

            Once again I think it is imperative that my pastoral advice is that all of us must be humble in our faith.  John Wesley always advised charity to those who differ in how they have come to experience the Risen Lord.  I think of those first followers who experienced the ekstasis of seeing Christ alive.  What truly good news they had to tell.  But they couldn’t live always in those moments of transcendence.  They did shave a story to share. This early church wasn’t driven by doctrine or creeds or litmus tests which would exclude people.  These early Christians had the difficult task of creating new communities based upon the Christ Commandment—love one another. 

            I am convinced that God’s Spirit was with these people and because they were attentive to each other and to the day to day concerns and needs strengthened their ties.  Their very best testimony to other people was the way lived, how they treated each other, and how they treated people who had been rejected by the rest of society.  That is still the best testimony of our faith.  Amen.

 Path of Transformation

A sermon by Randall K. Smith/Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

May 8, 2011/Third Sunday of Easter /First Lesson Acts 2: 14a, 36-41/Second Lesson Psalm 116/Third Lesson 1 Peter 1: 17-23/Gospel Lesson: Luke 24: 13-35 

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

                 Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  Today we are in the midst of the Easter Season but we are also celebrating the national day to honor moms.  It is not just a day to celebrate our mothers but a day that we also honor our grandmothers, aunts, neighbors—the women who had a hand in our raising.  I read this week Murphy’s Laws of Parenting.  I bet you moms can identify with a few of these.

1. The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.

 

2. The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet.

 

3. The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it.

 

4. A sure way to get something done is to tell a child not to do it.

 

5. For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty.

 

6. Toys multiply to fill any space available.

 

7. Yours is always the only child who doesn’t behave.

 

8. If the shoe fits…it’s expensive.

 

9. Backing the car out of the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.

 

      In our Christian tradition we know that Jesus’ mother is greatly honored.  In some traditions she is considered holy and eternal.  We see in the words of the Christian Testament that Mary had great love for her son—a mother’s love.

      Lucy from the Peanuts cartoons once was pictures with a face of discouragement and frustration.  “Do you think that life has any meaning when you have failed nine spelling tests in a row, and your teacher hates you?”  We have all felt the anguish and despair that Lucy was feeling.  All of us have had times when we felt alone, confused, and afraid.

      John Wesley spoke of his experience of encountering the grace of God first hand as a time when his heart was strangely warmed.  Today’s Gospel from Luke 24 is the longest post-Resurrection story in the Luke Gospel.  It is the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and there encounter with Risen Lord.  The two were lost in their thoughts and were not sure what direction their lives would take them.

      There was a boy who was lost and upset walking along the beach.  A kindly man offered to take him home.  The man asked how they could find their way to the boy’s home, “Mister,” answered the boy, “You just start walking and I will tell when we get there.” 

      In his days as a lawyer, Abraham Lincoln was walking back to his home in Springfield when a man driving a buggy overtook him.  Lincoln hailed the man and asked him if he would be good enough to take Lincoln’s overcoat to town.  “With pleasure,” responded the stranger, “but how will you where to pick up your coat?”  “Oh very easy,” laughed Lincoln, “I intend to remain in it!”

      The complete Gospel Lesson today identifies one of the disciples as Cleopas but the other remains unnamed.  Do you know what that usually meant?  That other disciple was a woman—maybe Cleopas wife Mary who John says was at Jesus’ crucifixion.  Christian tradition says the two disciples were Cleopas and Mary.  Were they headed home?  We really don’t know. 

      It was never safe to walk the roadways as robbers were quite common.  It was not unusual for travelers to walk together.  When Jesus joined them they didn’t recognize him—of course they were not looking for him either!  Cleopas and Mary began telling the stranger about the events of Good Friday.  Jesus asked what they were talking about and Cleopas was shocked that this newest traveler had spent time in Jerusalem and had not heard about the arrest and execution of Jesus of Nazareth. 

      Once again it was at meal time that these two disciples were cured of their spiritual blindness.  How many times in the Gospels does Jesus use a meal as a defining moment?  Even though Christ was the “invitee” he broke the bread and said grace and then the two saw.  The scripture says that Jesus left as suddenly as he appeared.

      In the Gospel accounts Jesus often appeared to his disciples at their most discouraging moment.  He would come and be with them when they were fearful and were really suffering and bewildered.  This is a godly pattern don’t you think?  When we are at our most vulnerable is often when we feel God’s presence the strongest.

      In 1 Peter 1, Peter says, “You call out to God for help and he helps…Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God.  Love one another as if your lives depended on it.” Trying to live a life that is centered on God is difficult.  Too often we get too absorbed in what is best for us—this type of living can be a very lonely place.  To live as God intended requires that we connect with others and the larger story of God’s Kingdom.  I think Peter is telling those who read or listen to his letter being read that above doctrine or creed or even the way we believe is love.  Love must be as strong and as lasting as the faith we profess.

      When I think of Cleopas and his wife Mary leaving the city and getting away from the place of tragedy I know they were frightened.  Were they fearful that someone would remember them as followers of that crucified rabbi?  Did they wear their cloaks and scarves pulled tightly around their faces?  Did they not want to look into anyone’s face as they moved out of the city? 

      This man who joined with them in their walk to Emmaus must have made them feel less threatened because they did begin to open up and let spill out all their grief and frustration.  

      Early in her writing career, Alice Walker was asked by a leading national magazine to write about growing up in the Jim Crow South.  Many of her memories were terrible, horrible events and the article she wrote was sent back to her.  The editors asked her to make several major revisions so as not to offend or upset the readers.  Ms. Walker certainly wanted the publicity being published would bring but she refused.  She finally said to the editor, “You don’t understand.  All I have to do in life is save my soul.”

      In many translations of the Bible you come upon the phrase to “fear God.”  I don’t know about you but when I was young I pretty much feared God.  I especially feared God when I was up to no good!  But the Hebrew notion of “fearing” God means to live in awe of the tremendous mystery that is God.  To fear God was to be in touch with the awesomeness of God.

      I think it is pretty awesome that the Risen Christ was revealed to Cleopas and Mary not in a burning bush or in cloud of vapor but in the simple act of sharing—sharing a meal!  We all might need to work at being in touch with the awesomeness of God so that we may see that awesomeness in our daily living. Amen.

Believing Thomas

A sermon by Randall K. Smith Pastor at First United Methodist Church Joaquin & Paxton United Methodist Church

May 1, 2011/Second Sunday of Easter /First Lesson Acts 2: 14, 22-32/Second Lesson Psalm 16/Third Lesson 1 Peter 1: 3-9Gospel Lesson: John 20: 19-31

(The following is the unedited text of the spoken sermon)

             Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen.  Tomorrow we celebrate 400 years of the King James Bible.   King James was the spiritual head of the Church of England.  A growing Protestant movement was gaining steam and demanding that elements of the Roman Catholic Church be purged from the churches in England.  James sided with the state church and ordered a new translation be written.  He wanted the translators when ever possible to make sure the translation supported the Divine Right of the King to rule and that the King also had supreme religious authority in his realm. 

            The King James Bible was published on May 2, 1611.  But the new Bible didn’t have a smooth entry.  Human errors were made.  In the 1612 version, Psalm 119 says “Oh, those bad, bad printers.”   It was suppose to say “princes” not “printers.”  The 1631 edition said, “Thou shalt commit adultery.”  It was a typo but those bad, bad printers were heavily fined!  The 1631 Bible became known as the Wicked Bible.  A few years later the printers left out the second negative in 1 Corinthians 6:9 so that it read, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall (not) inherit the earth?”

            Probably the most outrageous misprint happened in the 1795 edition which has Mark 7: 27 saying “Let the children first be killed.”  It was suppose to say, “Let the children first be fed.  Just a few years later “murmurers” of Jude 16 became “murderers” and this Bible became known as the Murderers’ Bible.

            For the English speaking world, no translation of scripture has reached the poetic beauty of the King James’.  Some Protestant denominations consider the King James translation as the only acceptable reading of the Bible.  In the 1930s Texas Governor, Ma Ferguson signed a law that mandated that only the King James Bible be used in Texas public schools.  Upon signing the law she said, “If the King James Bible was good enough for Jesus Christ it is good enough for the school children of Texas!

            Sometimes in history someone is saddled with a nickname that follows them forever.  I think that is the case with Thomas.  His name is always associated with doubt just as Judas is the betrayer or traitor.  Thomas the scriptures of the early Christians tell us was one of the twelve and was called “Didymus” or the twin.  He is not mentioned much in the synoptic gospels but has an important role in the John Gospel.  In John’s telling Thomas was a tower of strength among the twelve.  In John 11:16 it is Thomas who is ready to follow Jesus into hostile Judea and encourages the disciples to follow knowing that it might be a death sentence for all. Like all the disciples, he is unsure of what Jesus is teaching them.  In John 14:5 he confesses his ignorance.  But not understanding did not keep Thomas strong in his faith that Jesus knew and understood.

            Our Gospel Lesson today is one we have been taught since we were children.  When Thomas hears from others that Jesus was alive his reaction ranged from doubt to disbelief.  It is only when he sees Jesus, can touch the Christ, see and feel his wounds are his doubts erased.  This story is to encourage people to believe and to keep the faith even when they can’t see what Thomas saw.

            What I think was often overlooked in this story of awakening is that when Jesus appeared to his followers his overwhelming mission was to bring his follows a sense of peace.  He wanted to quiet the hurting hearts and wanted to quiet their fears.  Though we are not able to see what Thomas saw the Christ whose Spirit lives among us all can still heal the hurting heart and calm our fears.

            I am an extremely big fan of the Quaker minister, Phillip Gulley.  I have read all his book—fiction and non-fiction as well as his writings on his website.  He just recently returned to his beloved Indiana after traveling, preaching, and teaching.  He tells about going to church in Knoxville Tennessee.  An elderly man approached Rev. Gulley and said, “You are shaking hands with the son of a Civil War veteran.”  Rev. Gulley quickly did the man and decided the man must have meant “grandson.”

            But no he was the son.  His father fought for the Confederacy as a young man.  The veteran fathered the man standing in front of Rev. Gulley when he was 71 years old!  It is a remarkable world—full of remarkable people and remarkable events.

            While still in Tennessee a women grabbed Philip Gulley and privately asked him whether he thought Jesus’ resurrection was a physical or a spiritual resurrection.  Rev. Gulley could see that the woman was gearing up for an argument.  Gulley smiled and simply said, “I don’t know—I wasn’t there.”  He pointed out that the gospel writers weren’t even sure what happened.  Mark had Jesus appearing in various forms.  Mark and Luke have him levitating into the heavens.  John had Jesus cooking breakfast.  So even these early writings—30-100 years after the crucifixion didn’t agree on exactly what happened.

            I appreciated the way Rev. Gulley refused to be drawn in to a theological argument.  The older I get the less and less I like confrontations.  The older I have become the less dogmatic I have become and the more open I have become to the wonderful mystery of God.  In areas of faith we all must be very humble.  There is much we don’t know and will never know.  One doesn’t not have to understand the particulars of resurrection to believe in resurrection.   I believe not because I know the particulars but because I have witnessed resurrection in people I have met.  I have witnessed—you have too—good coming forth from what was something terrible.

            There is an ancient Chinese parable that Rev. Gulley posted this week.  It was about a farmer and his son.  They were very poor.  One day a wild stallion jumped their fence and began grazing on their land.  According to custom, the stallion now belonged to them.  The son was so excited and knew this was a wonderful thing.  But the father said, “Might be good, might be bad, who can say.” 

            The very next day the wild stallion jumped the fence and ran off.  The son saw only tragedy.  But the father said, “Might be good, might be bad, who can say.”  The next day the wild stallion returned leading six more horses!  Once again the son was overjoyed!  And once again the father said, “Might be good, might be bad, who can say.” 

            In his excitement, the son jumped on the wild stallion’s back and was immediately thrown and broke his arm.  The son felt horrible.  The father knelt beside his son and wiped his face with a cool, damp cloth, saying, “Son, it might be good, or it might be bad, we can’t yet say. 

            The very next day the Emperor’s soldiers descended on the little village and conscripted all the young, able-bodied young men to fight in the Emperor’s war.  They took all, except for the one with the broken arm.

            After the crucifixion Jesus friends, including the Twin, felt horrible.  Then they began to experience their Lord alive among them.  And despite the wonder and joy of resurrection the resurrection means little unless we join in that resurrection experience.  The resurrection can remain but a miraculous event to be read about or it can be lived.  Last Sunday at sunrise we sang with great joy the hymn, “He Lives.”  The refrain ends with, “You ask me how I know he lives?  He lives within my heart.”  Let us live transformed lives with Spirit of Christ within our hearts. Amen.