May 20, 2018              The Language of Love                           

I’d like to begin my sermon this morning, with an old testament passage that is not in our lectionary today. This passage is from the book of Genesis, in the 11^th Chapter verses 1-7.

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. An as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly,” And they had clay for bricks and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with it’s top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the mortals had built. And the LORD said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.

As we read in our prayer of confession this morning, the purpose of God confusing the languages of humankind, was to lessen the human sin and suffering that came from humanity having one language. I know that sin and suffering are not apparent from the reading of the story, but there are two key phrases that indicate this. They had clay for brick and bitumen for mortar – is a reminder of the slavery of the Israelites. And nothing they propose to do will be impossible for them – which is a reminder that before the flood, humankind did whatever it proposed to do and it was evil in God’s sight. And so, God’s confusing of the languages of the people at the tower of Babel, was meant to lessen our human sufferings.

Now the reason for remembering the story of the tower of Babel this morning, is because of our reading of the story of Pentecost. Pentecost is the reversal of the Tower of Babel. In the second chapter of Acts, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon those who are gathered, and we get that whole list of peoples from basically all the known nations, are now speaking in their own languages, but understand each other through the one language, the language of God’s Spirit, the language of God’s love.

And the reason God has done this now, is because in Jesus Christ, the whole world has been given a sign, so that we will not enslave and oppress one another, and we will not allow the wickedness of human imagination to run rampant in our lives.

Now, many will say, that oppression and wickedness run rampant in our lives today, and I would agree with you, there are a great many, who choose not to live in the Spirit of Christ, and great is the sin and suffering they cause among us. And when we see these things happening, we are called to remember that sign of Christ's death upon the cross, and turn from our willful and self destructive ways. And as followers of Jesus, we are called to proclaim the gospel, in the face of injustice and oppression, and the healing of a broken world. 

And I would also say, that despite the oppression and wickedness we see in the world, we forget about all of the people who choose to live in the Spirit of Christ, who choose to live with love in their lives. There are a great many more of these in the world, whose daily thoughtfulness, concern for others and sense of justice for all, goes unremarked and unreported in the news.

Every time, I hear of a poll of Americans, where 70 or 80% display the kind of justice, compassion, and mercy revealed to us in Jesus Christ, I am heartened. I am reminded that there are far more people out there whose lives may not be perfect, but who have a love for others in their hearts. I know that this love is present in the lives of our members, but I encourage you to keep at it, your love makes a difference. And I encourage you to grow in that love, so that you may continue to take part in God’s plan for the salvation of the world!  

Which brings me to something I saw yesterday. Yesterday, was the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. And at the Wedding they invited the Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Chicago to give a sermon. In that sermon he quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. telling us that we need to discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love in our lives, and then we will be able to make this old world, a new world, love is the only way.

And then he challenged those in attendance to imagine what the power of love could do in our homes and families, our neighborhoods and communities, our government and among the nations, even in our business and commerce. When love is our way - unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive love, - no child will go to bed hungry,  poverty will become history, the earth will be a sanctuary, justice will roll down like water, and humankind will study war no more. When love is our way, we will treat all people like family, as brothers and sisters, as children of God. And then he conclude his sermon talking about the harnessing of fire, and how it had forever changed the world, and if we could just learn how to harness love, it would have the same impact and effect on our lives.

And as I listened to that sermon, I thought about our story from Acts this morning. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the tongues of fire resting on each one of those gathered, the people with so many different languages speaking on one language, the language of love. That’s what God was doing at Pentecost, the fire of God's love had been harnessed in Jesus Christ, and now poured out upon his followers, so that we may make this old world new, so that we may bind up those who are broken, so that we might overcome sin and suffering of this world, and live as one throughout the whole wide earth.

And that’s the good news of Jesus Christ!

May 6, 2018             As God Has Loved Us                                    

This past week, I read a story about a young preacher at his first church. This young preacher was out to save peoples lives and the world along with it. He was especially passionate about God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. He preached in his sermons about the difference between love for ourselves and love for others. He preached about how love for ourselves was selfish and self-indulgent, and that the world would only be saved when we learned to love one another, as God loved us, in giving ourselves to one another as Jesus gave himself for us on the cross.

One Good Friday, the young preacher was asked to preach at the community service. There three churches gathered. In his sermon that day, he spoke about the difference between our love for ourselves and God’s love, and he spoke about how it had crept into our churches, and even into the hymnal. He held up the example of “In the Garden - he walks with ME, and talks with ME, and tells ME I am his own. It’s not about ME” he said, and then he spoke about the glory of Jesus giving up his life on the cross for us and for the world, and how in that sacrifice we needed to learn to do the same for one another.

A few weeks later, an elderly farmer, who had been wrestling with cancer, drew near to death. The young preacher rushed to the hospital to be with him and his family. Now this farmer was just like the salt of the earth people known in every church. Always there for us and for others, always finding ways to serve, always finding ways to bless others with their presence. The young preacher prayed a prayer with the family around his bed, about how God’s love in the farmer had touched the lives of the church, and how he would always be with them.

At the end of the prayer, the farmer smiled and told his family that he was ready to go, that he loved them, and he told the young preacher, how much he appreciated his constant care, his sermons, and his wonderful singing voice. And then he said, that he knew that young preacher, would sing “In the Garden” for him at his funeral, because he always loved that song. And then the farmer was gone. And sure enough, that young preacher sang “In the garden” for him, in front of the church, and the whole community who had gathered to give God thanks for the farmer.

This morning, in the gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has a greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  

I’m sure you understand, why I told the story of the young preacher and the farmer. The young preacher laid down his life, and sang that song, as an act of Christ like love for the farmer. As the young preacher had preached so passionately, God’s love is all about loving others, even if it means surrendering ourselves to their will. And that’s a struggle for people. It’s something we don’t practice a whole lot. In our worldly lives, we are in fact discouraged from practicing this kind of love for others. But this is not an abusive surrendering of our will, this is the surrendering of our will that allows others to be themselves, and frees us from the sin of needing to be in control of others. And at times, it does cost us not getting what we want, but many times getting what we want isn't good for us or others. It’s a skill that takes some practice, but it’s well worth it.

 The good news is, despite the world repeatedly telling us this kind of love is foolishness, that people have not been stopped from finding and forming friendships, the kind of friendships in which we can act on one another’s behalf. I have a number of good friends, who I trust can clearly discern the difference between their will and mine. Friends who I trust to act on my behalf, if I ever need them. Families learn to develop this kind of friendship, in which children learn to trust their parents, and parents in time, learn to trust their children. And husbands learn to trust their wives, and wives their husbands, at least that’s how it’s supposed to work. They learn to act not of their own will, but in the best interests and will of each other. I know I have detoured into the word friendship, but this kind of friendship is “agape”, one of the greek words for love, specifically God’s love, the love in which we give one another life!

Where can one find this kind of love and friendship, well you can find it in your local church. Yes, there are people in churches who don't practice their religion, but there are also plenty of wonderful people who do. In 4 churches I have experience people who are truly friends to their fellow members, and truly love as Jesus calls us to love one another. 

And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ!  

April 29,2018                The True Vine                                       

This past week, I was reminded once again that there is a difference between our physical life, and our spiritual life. One of the main writers of the old testament, called the Yawhist, because of the name he used for God, speaks of God creating us from the dust of the earth and breathing into us the breathe of life. For the Yawhist, one could be physically alive and spiritually dead, or one could be physically alive and spiritually alive.

In the gospel of John, Jesus meets with Nicodemus, a leader of the Pharisees, who seems to have forgotten this teaching. Jesus tells him, he must be born of anew, and that being born anew is not a physical birth, but a birth of water and the spirit. The reference to being born of water is of course baptism – in which we put to death the desires of the flesh, and turn to life in the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

And so, keeping this in mind, I read the gospel passage this week about Jesus being the true vine, and tried to discern what the writer of John was trying to tell us this morning.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser. In our Epistle letter this morning, also written by John, we are told what the true vine is, it is God’s love for us revealed in Jesus Christ. That love is such that it gave up it’s physical life for us, so that we might live in the Spirit of God. In that passage, love is mentioned some 20 times, and it is that love for others in which we find life in the Spirit.

This week we had a memorial service for Jim Kroening, and as usual I spent time with the family and invited them to share their good memories of him. When I do this, what I am really looking for, are those memories in which this love for them was present in their lives. I am looking for memories of humility, grace, forgiveness, listening, healing, compassion, and concern for others. This is the Spirit of Christ, that gives life to us, and to each other. That is why Jesus is the vine, because in him we receive our Spiritual life and sustenance.

He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Those who do not love, do not have these kinds of life giving relationships. Remember the passage in which Jesus says, what will it profit you if you gain the whole world by give up your soul? If one does not have this kind of love in their hearts, they may have every physical desire they can acquire, but they are spiritually withered and dead. As for friends and family, how can one have relationships, if one does not love, if one only lives for themselves? I know as the vinedresser, that God is said to be the one who causes this to happen, but only insofar as God has ordained that love is the power by which we have life in the Spirit, if we choose not to love, than we condemn ourselves.

Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. Ahh, the pruning part of this verse, which is the most difficult part of this verse for me. Now some may think of this as the pruning we experience in facing difficult times in our lives. It is important to remember that these events do not come from God, but are the result of the powers of sin and death in our lives. In these moments, we are called to turn to God to find meaning, purpose, and strength to overcome these situations. 

But in our gospel lesson this morning, I am inclined to think that Jesus is more specifically talking about how faith in God leads us to prune our lives of our more wasteful practices that lead to sin and suffering in them. Other sermons and commentators I read this past week, focused on our human obsessions with wealth, fame, power, sports, music, collectibles, and etc. Obsessions that can lead us into temptation, sin, and suffering in our lives. But those who have life in the Spirit, as much as they enjoy these things, place first their relationships with others, seeing these things as a way to share their passions, and to experience the passions of others.  

When our relationships of love are the primary focus of our lives, then the things, pleasures, and experiences we have in our lives will not become corrupt. In all of this, our vinedresser prunes us, in order to bear the fruit of God's love in our lives. This pruning is not intended to harm us, but to help us to grow in our love for one another, and to grow in our experience of God’s love for us. For in that love there is life, and abundance, and everlasting life.

         My father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. This morning in our adult study class, I spoke about Jesus seeking to establish the kingdom of heaven here on earth. This cannot be done through force of arms, or even by most just of governments. It can only be done when people have a love in their hearts for one another. 

        In the days of the early church, the apostle's founded communities dedicated to this kind of love called churches. I see this love in our church, as this church family cares for each other, and for those beyond the church. I also see this love in the members of other churches as well. Despite the trials, sin and suffering in the world, there are many followers of Christ working together and in their lives to make this love known. To them, Jesus is the vine through which they are sustained, and they are the branches which bear much fruit! 

      And that is the Good News of Jesus Christ!