Nov. 18, 2018                     Remembering the Saints                      

Helen Wood – born January 22, 1935 and passed away on January 7, 2018. Sadly I have very few details of Helen’s life. In the times I saw her at Willowcrest, she had already slipped beyond the ability to communicate. She had devoted friends, who cared for her, visiting and feeding her daily at the nursing home. And then a few weeks after the memorial service for her husband James Woods, the family moved her to Michigan to be close to a family member there.

It is difficult to imagine that she did not share in her husband’s concern for others. I have been told, that she was very active in supporting his work at school, as well as driving the school bus. So it is that we mourn her passing, and give God thanks for the blessing that she was to those who knew her, and for the part she played in his life and in ours.

James “Jim” R. Kroening, age 66, passed away March 5, 2018. He was born March 21, 1951 to Carl and Ruth Kroening in Milwaukee, WI. Jim grew up in Lockport, IL. He retired from Caterpillar after 31 years. Jim’s family remembers him as an outgoing person, teaching his sons to fish, canoe, and camp. Taking them to concerts and sharing his passion for music, photography, car racing, and movies. He was someone that could talk to anyone, who was a good listener, held his own opinions, yet could disagree with others and still see them as persons.

Jim loved his church, enjoyed helping others and appreciated the opportunities the church provided for mission and ministry. He delivered Meals on Wheels, served on the Sharing Pantry board, participated in CROP walks, enjoyed going to Feed My Starving Children, served as a Trustee and Deacon, helped with the Ham Dinner, Pancake Breakfast, and 4^th Tuesday Feasts at church. Jim visited a number of people who suffered illness and cancer, and drove many of them to appointments and out to lunch.

Jim had a strong sense of God’s call for us to be involved in bringing God’s kingdom into the world, and the role that the church plays in that. And Jim told me that in the United Church of Christ, he found a home where the God revealed in Jesus Christ was proclaimed and present.

Pamela Sue Morton, age 55, of Sheridan, IL, passed away Saturday October 13, 2018 at her home. She was born June 16, 1963 in Sandwich, IL, to Wayne and Madeline Bagwill. She married John A Morton on April 24, 1981, at Union Congregational Church in Somonauk, IL, where she was a member and served on numerous committees throughout her life. Pam was always very involved in her church, singing in the choir, as a deacon, a moderator, a Sunday School, teacher, a youth leader, and more.

     Pam ran the Stage Coach Shop in Northville, she was a cooker and baker extraordinaire, making wedding cakes for others. She was happiest working in her garden, or on the back of a horse. Pamela’s life work was service to others, and she did so quietly and humbly.

       In Pastor Maney’s remarks at her service, he spoke of how most people knew Pam through their relationship with her. Daughter who chose to live near the family home, Sister caring and listen in full without judging, Wife patient and faithful towards her husband, mother, grandmother, dog and horse lover, teacher, church member, and caregiver.

        Rev. Maney also spoke of how each of those relationships was rooted in the love we know in Jesus Christ, and compared that love in Pam’s life as a magnificent gemstone that Pam polished throughout her life. Each facet, in good times or bad, radiating the beauty of life that can be seen in someone who loves one another, as Jesus loved us. Showing forth the glory of God in ordinary everyday actions, whether decorating a cake, or cleaning horse stalls.

      Elvira Evelyn Knight, age 94, of Sheridan, passed Saturday, October 27, 2018 at Pleasant View Luther Home in Ottawa, IL. Mrs. Knight was born March 26, 1924 in Battersea, England to Frederick and Violet (Teche) Robertson. She met Virgil J. Knight during World War 2 when he was stationed in Southport, England. Virgil and Elvira married August 10, 1947 in Serena. Virgil passed May 27, 1998. 

       She was an active member of the Serena United Methodist Church and had been a Matron of the Order of Eastern Star. She was active in the Sandwich Hospital Auxiliary for many years and as a volunteer in the hospital gift shop, and reception for the emergency room. For a time before she went to the Luther Home, she attended services at Union Congregational, became a member and made a number of friends. She participated actively in the Sunshine Band, and we are grateful for the time she spent with us.

      This week we celebrate Thanksgiving, a traditional time of celebrating the harvest of the field, giving thanks for God’s blessing of our work, and being prepared to face the winter months that lie ahead. On this Sunday, we celebrate not only these gifts, but all the gifts of those lives God has shared with us, and who we have lost in this past year.  These people showed a variety of ways in which God makes his love known among us through the power of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. The people have made us who we are and will never be parted from us. And through our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they will be remembered and raised to life among us, even as they shall be raised to life in the kingdom of God that is to come! 

Nov 11,2018             Faith and Abundance                                     

Twenty years ago, the Illinois Conference had an associate minister for Evangelism and Stewardship named Bob Scheiler, and when he would come and preach at churches, he would ask the following questions.

Who has more energy, the couch potato who sits on their sofa, or the person who goes out an regularly exercizes? Who has more time, the person who sits and watches the minutes tick by, or the person who goes out and gets things done? Who has more knowledge, the student who crams the night before an exam, or the one who studies daily? Who has more money, the mizer who tries to hold on to every last penny, or the person who goes out an invests their money so they can make more? And his final question would be, who has more faith, someone who believes in God but does nothing about that belief, or someone who believes in God, and goes out and changes the world?

The simple point of these questions was to point out, life is found not in hoarding to ourselves all that we have, but in giving of ourselves, investing ourselves, spending ourselves, so that we might receive more than we give. Because, Bob Scheiler would say, the world tells us that there is never enough for all, that we must hold fast to everything we have, and that giving of ourselves leads to poverty and death. But God says, that through faith, there is enough for all, that we can give of ourselves, and that in giving of ourselves there is life!

The Bible has numerous stories of those who through faith gave of themselves and found life. This morning, widow of Nain, believing that she and her son will starve to death, agrees to feed the prophet Elijah, and miraculously, her food never runs out. We all know the story of Jesus telling his disciples to feed the five thousand, but all they have is five loaves and two fish, yet this is enough for all with twelve baskets left over. We all know the story of the servants given talents, those servants who invest their talents are welcomed into the kingdom of heaven, and the one servant who buries his gift, ends up in darkness. And our gospel lesson this morning, speaks of the widow, who puts in all that she has, trusting that God will take care of her, perhaps because through her faith, she knows that God has taken care of her many, many a time already.

How many of us, in our times of need, when all seems lost, when we stopped relying on ourselves alone, have found that God has provided us with family, friends, and opportunities a plenty to get going again. I myself like the saying, when the world closes a door, God opens a window. At least that’s how I like to think of it. And numerous times in my life, that’s how I have experienced it. Through faith, there is abundance and there is life! 

I’ve often told people the story of a parishioner in Smithton IL, who was laid off from his construction job. When I went by to see him, I expected him to be down, he had a mortgage, a year old truck with payments, a daughter in college, and two sons about to go to college. I thought he must be worried out of his mind how he would get through this. When I asked him about this, he said, “Pastor, this is not the first time I have been through this, God saw me through the last time, and God will see me through this time.” And sure enough, this 300 plus pound, rough, tough construction worker, found a way to go to auctions, and sell teacups and china on ebay, to make enough money till he got called back to work.

The Rev. Dr. Douglas Meeks, my systematics professor, wrote a book called God the Economist. In it, he writes about how through faith, we come to find that the world is filled with an abundance that never runs out, that through faith we are satisfied with all that we have been given, and through faith we are empowered to give freely of ourselves to the work of the church, to spread the gospel to all the world, and make the world a better place for all.

And that’s the Good news of Jesus Christ! 

Nov 4, 2018                       Love God                           

This morning Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment, and his answer is, ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Now as I studied the text this week, I broke it down this way.

Hear O Israel, - Shema Israel, is an old testament form of address, calling the whole nation of Israel to attention. The word about to be spoken is to all, all twelve tribes of Israel, and all the people who are not Israelites living among them. When a prophet began his speech with Shema Israel, it was not a edict to the people it was a message for the people, all the people.   

The Lord our God, the Lord is one. While we often say to one another that we all worship the same God, this is not always true. Most often we worship the God who benefits, blesses our ways, our beliefs, and our families. When Jesus speaks these words, he is not speaking of the God of one particular God, but the God who is the God of all. The not just of the Benjaminites or Ephramites, or any other particular tribe, but the God of all tribes, not just the God of Israelites, but the God of foreigners and slaves in their midst, and not just the God of the righteous, but the God of the lost and the sinner as well. This is the God of all, who cares for for all, to whom all can call upon for justice, grace, and peace. In this God, all are one.

You shall love the Lord your God. – the gods, small g, of this world do not ask for your love, but for your fear and obedience. They threaten punishment and condemnation. These gods, again small g, never give of themselves, but are always asking for sacrifices. Only in Jesus Christ, do we see a God who gives of God’s self. Our devotion to this God should never come from fear and punishment, but a love for the God who loves us. A God whose commands to us are in our best interests, for they are in the best interests not just of one, but for all.   

With all your heart, strength, soul, and mind – As God loves us, we are called to love God, as God gave himself in Jesus Christ for us, we are called to give ourselves in love for God. Our hearts should be set on God’s love for all, our strength should be put to use to show this love for all, our soul’s should be tuned to this love in our lives, and our minds should be set on realizing God’s will in our lives. If we do not love God, as God has loved us, we fall short, our lives become separated from God, and subject to the powers of sin reign over us in the form of chaos, division, violence, suffering, and death.  

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Loving God with all our heart, strength, soul, and mind, leads to a selflessness that leads to loving others. Only when we truly love God, are we emptied of the sinful motivations that rule our lives. Only then, are our eyes opened to the sufferings of others, and our part in them. Only then, does caring for others, turn from being a burden to a joy, and only then, will sin, suffering and death be overcome in all human life.

Interestingly enough, our reading of the greatest commandment, occurs on the Sunday before our national elections. For the last several weeks, we have seen god’s, small g, in the form of politicians, trying to make us afraid, threatening us with doom if we don’t vote for them, appealing to us to vote for our own interests over the interests of others, and telling half-truths and outright lies to us.

In the light of our meditation on the greatest commandment this morning, I hope that you will more clearly see the division, violence, suffering and sin, they are sowing in our nation. I hope that you will vote, not out of fear, but out of love, seeking not what is best for ourselves, but what is best for all. And I hope that you will more clearly consider, that only through our love for God and love for neighbor will we be able to free ourselves from the power of these false gods, and realize a nation in which all are one in the true God of Israel, the God we know in Jesus Christ.

Oct 28, 2018                                 Open Our Eyes                                                                 

When the Israelites first came into the promised land, the land of milk and honey that God had promised to Abraham, they marched to the city of Jericho. Now Jericho was a mighty city, with great thick walls and iron gates, so that no invading army might overcome it. But when the Israelites arrived at Jericho, God told Joshua, that he would give Jericho into his hands and gave him instructions on how it would be taken.

Each day for 7 days, the Israelites were to form a procession and circle the city. The priests would lead the procession, carrying the ark of the covenant, and the people would follow. On the seventh day, the procession would circle the city 7 times, and when the procession was complete, the priests would blow on their horns, and the people would give a great shout, and the walls of the city would come tumbling down.

And sure enough, that is exactly what happened, the walls came tumbling down, the Israelites won their first great victory, and went on to conquer the promised land.

I was reminded of this story, because in this morning’s gospel lesson we find Jesus outside the city of Jericho, Jesus who has been preaching about a new promised land, the kingdom of heaven. Jesus who is about to conclude his ministry and begin his walk to the cross. And so, this morning we have one last miracle, the healing of the blind man Bartimaeus.

Now the commentaries I read this past week say that Bar means Son and Timaeus is a greek word for honorable. But interestingly enough, there is a arimaic word bartime, which means gentile or unclean one. My own thinking about this, is that Jesus, in his last act of healing, chooses to heal a gentile, because now that he has preached the gospel to the Jewish people, through his passion, the gospel message will now go forth to the new promised land – the land of the gentiles.

And so, when we get this gentile Bartimaeus, calling out to Jesus, Son of David, to heal him, we get this backlash from the Jewish people surrounding Jesus, telling Bartimaeus to stay quiet. But to his credit, Bartimaeus calls out all the more strongly, “Son of David have mercy on me!” And Jesus calls him, and announces that his faith, has made him well. In saying this, Jesus affirms that the faith of the Gentiles is valid and can lead to salvation.

Now in the past week, I have been reflecting upon the mission of the United Church of Christ. From the mission of the Congregational church to slaves, immigrants and indians, to the mission of the Evangelical German church to widows, orphans, and the handicapped, and even further the mission of both churches to dialogue with and understand people of other faith traditions.

Last year at this time, we had a number of speakers talk about the missions of this church. Our support of the food resource banak, our joint youth ministry, Crop Walk, the Open Door, Our Sharing Pantry, Good Samaritan Fund, providing space for girl scouts, boy scouts, and AA meetings. And our ministry goes further than that, pastoral care for the sick, the shut in, the hurting and lost, and providing fellowship and service opportunities in our community to those in need. In all of this, we are acting as disciples of Jesus Christ.

So where does this lead us to today? As always, the gospel message leads us to those whom the world considers unclean today. The poor, the stranger, the foreigner, those who practice other religions. Those who the world blames for all it’s problems, those who the world tells us that we should be afraid of, those who the world tells us are disposable or at least not worth our effort to help.

Now not all of these modern day “gentiles” have faith. But many of them do, they seek to be honorable people, to earn a living, to act justly, to show compassion for others in need. Indeed, there are a great many more of these faithful people, than the world would lead us to believe. And it is our calling, as disciples of Jesus Christ to go forth and minister to these “gentiles

Oct 21, 2018                  The Greatness of God                                           

         How does one conceive the Greatness of God?

         In his book, “Your God is too Small”, JB Phillips, looks at a number of ways in which people use cultural myths, legends, and stereotypes to conceive of God’s greatness. God is like a Great Policeman, God is like a Great Parent, God is like a Great Director of our lives, and of course, my favorite, God is like a Superhero. In one of my favorite passages from the book, he equates God with Superman.

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's God!

Yes, it's God - strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. God - who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel with his bare hands, and who, disguised as Jesus Christ, a mild mannered prophet, wandering about the wilderness of Galilee, fighting the never ending battle for Truth, Justice and the American Way. 

Sometimes I wonder, just who the disciples thought Jesus was. For weeks, Jesus has taught the disciples about God’s love as a means to change people’s lives, rather than the violence of the Roman state. Three times, he has told them that he will be crucified, die and be buried. And yet, somehow, his disciples don’t seem to get it – somehow they think that despite all this, their Super hero Jesus will rise up, slaughter his enemies, and establish a new kingdom on earth. And of course, James and John, want to be first in line for their appointments in the new administration.

Sometimes, I wonder if we get it. In our society, I regularly see people on tv and hear them on the radio talking about how they believe that being a good Christian means being a good American, or how being a good Christians means belonging to one political party or the other, Or how being a good Christian means vanquishing our foes and exercising our military dominion over all the earth. Or how being a good Christian means ravaging our planet’s natural resources. The problem with this is, that that most often these images of God – like our Superhero image above, isn’t an image of God’s greatness, but instead is an image of our own greatness – human greatness. 

The good news is, that despite these distorted images of God, most of us want God’s presence and greatness in our lives, but it doesn’t come from ruling over one another, it doesn’t come from conquest and control, it doesn’t come from insisting on our own way, it comes from a greatness of love that God has revealed to us in Jesus Christ. As Rev. Maney pointed out in his meditation yesterday, greatness comes in the quality of our relationships with others, and from Rev. Gottwald’s letter yesterday, it comes from the somebody’s who get things done. In short it means being servants, not Lords.

So if we want friends and partners who work with us, we have to work with them. We have to value them even as we value ourselves. We have to listen to them, without trying to fit them into our plans. We have to help them realize some of their dreams, in order for them to help us realize some of ours.

         If we want families that are close, we will need to make time for one another. We will need to lay aside the things, that divide us from our families, the sibling rivalries, needs for attention, the haggling over money. We will have to learn that careers and money are of secondary importance to spending time with our children, and caring for our parents as they grow old, of being there for friends, neighbors, and our church family.    

         If we want a church that is alive, we need to make it a priority in our lives.  We need to suffer ourselves to be there for worship, and listen to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to be willing, to join in it’s fellowships and serve on it’s boards. We need to assess our lives and ask, where prayer and faith enter into our relationships, our decisions, our stewardship of God’s gifts to us, and of our talents.

         If we want to be free of our fears about wealth, we need to trust in the abundance of God’s love. That the things we buy cannot make us whole, or complete or even happy. That giving of ourselves freely in relationships of friendship, love, and service in our community makes all the difference in life. Bringing us face to face with our neighbors in need, and therefore face to face with God.

         If we want to know God’s peace, we need to trust in God through our hardships. To ask God’s help in the midst of our trials, and to remember the way of God’s love for us in Lord Jesus Christ, to seek guidance from our Christian brothers and sisters. We need to let go of those things we cannot control, and seek to put Christian principals in to action in those things we can. Only then will we find true Greatness of God, that has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ. And that greatness does not take the form of a king, but of a servant.

         As Jesus notes in our gospel lesson this morning, it is the Gentiles, who lord it over one another, but not his followers – they must be servants of one another, so that a new world, a world of God’s greatness can be found. They must follow in the way of that example which Jesus has given us – the way in which he died in our place for our sins, so that our lives might be transformed from lives of human power, authority and greed, into lives of spiritual peace, life, and blessing. And that is the good news of Jesus Christ!

Oct 14, 2018              Impossible for Men, But Not for God                                                            

Just the other day, as I listened to a radio program, an advertisement came on saying that the Holidays were just around the corner, and so, it was time to start thinking about going on a diet, so that we could look fabulous for the holidays, and enjoy everything we wanted.

I’m sure many of us have gone on these diets. There are the diets where you take pills. There are the diets where you eat nothing but meat! There are the diets where you eat nothing but soy, grapefruit juice, or mix up a healthy shake. Some people even believe there’s an Elvis diet – peanut butter and bananas 24/7.

Then there are those diets where you count your calories, or your points, or you fats. Every day you write down what you’ve eaten, and by the end of the week you have a “cheat day”, or you save up points to allow yourself that special something that you’ve wanted all week as a reward. Of course, there are those of us, who can’t wait till the weekend, so we make up “cheat days” during the week – and somehow forget to write down those little indiscretions on our charts.

And finally, there are those among us, who are meticulous about following our diets, but we just have to have those little items that probably are not helpful to us – a glass of wine, a diet soda, that bar of chocolate – even when we include them in our counts – they don’t seem to help us – but we won’t give them up, because we can’t live without them! 

Whatever kind of diet you want, I bet there’s one out there for you. One that will promise you will lose weight, while allowing you to eat plenty of your favorite food along the way. Of course, along with those kinds of diets, goes plenty of disappointment.

As I read the story of the rich young man this week, I was struck by his disappointment. This young man is full of possessions, and yet they are not enough for him. So he goes on a religious quest, to find something that will give meaning to his life. Being a good Jewish person, he has always kept the law, and lived by the commandments. But he begins to wonder if this is enough, if just being a good and righteous person is sufficient for salvation.

So when he hears that there is a great prophet in town, one who does mighty works, and whose teaching reveals the coming of God’s kingdom, off he goes to ask his question. “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  So Jesus asks him, “What do the commandments say?” And in short, the man replies – “I know them, and have kept them, all of my life” Impressed by this man’s love for God, Jesus replies, “You lack one thing; go sell what you own, give your money to the poor, and follow me.”

Our story this morning tells us that the young man was shocked, and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. He couldn’t live without them, and so he went away disappointed.

In our world today, there are plenty of people living on what I like to call the good person diet. Their lives have become filled with things, events, and activities. And when they get stretched to far, or owe to much, or feel like they are falling apart – they turn to God for help – which is a good thing! But on their terms – which often is not so good.

Many people tell themselves that if they are good people, they don’t need church. After all, being a part of a church would only interfere with their lives, and take them away from all the things they love to do. Some really work at it! They read the bible, they give to charities, they go to religious education seminars, they reads books by the latest prophet, they buy themselves rosaries, or prayer rocks and crystals, the watch the “hour of power” or the “700 Club” to get their lives together, some even have a genuine love for God, a desire to know God’s peace in their lives, but they lack one thing – “a love for others that leads us to give up ourselves.”

This is what it means to follow Jesus, and that is why God gave us the church. To be that entry point, where we could gather with others who believe, practice God’s love for us in Jesus Christ with one another, practice it in our ministries to those in need, and realize the presence of God’s kingdom in our midst. You can’t get that from a book, a TV show, or some kind spiritual diet, you can only get that through giving up a part of yourself, to become a part of God’s people. 

As they say in the dieting world, “Eating healthy isn’t something you do for a week, a month, or a season, - only when it becomes a way of life will you realize good health." Same thing goes for one’s spiritual health, it’s a way of life, life in the church of Jesus Christ! 

One final note, for the last two weeks, I have been on a special diet, I call it the no entertainment news diet. I have found that entertainment news plays upon people’s fears – that they will be uninformed about the latest and greatest tragedies of our day. Entertainment news also takes the facts and statements of our leaders and twist them to fit their particular narrative – no matter how disgusting it is.  Finally, Entertainment news tells us there is no hope of returning to better days, when people acted with a sense of morality, decency, and Christian values. Now to be clear, all the major news entertainment channels do this for ratings, because they are x% news, and y% entertainment. Unfortunately, this kind of reporting with a political bias, leads to charges of "Fake News", even though many of their facts might be correct. 

So you may be asking, Why Pastor are you talking about this? I'm talking about this because our readings, particularly our readings from Amos, speak to us about regaining the spiritual health of Israel. In a time when Israel’s leaders had become corrupt, and untrustworthy, when they divided the nation, and trampled on the poor.  Amos told the people to go on a diet. A diet of discerning and speaking truth to one another. A diet of speaking good to one another, rather than evil. A diet of doing good to one another, rather than evil. And a diet of establishing Justice in the gate – calling out injustice in society, and especially in their own communities.

This is how nation’s are called back to God, not by some glorified leader, but by the spiritual health of it’s citizens, and the practice of their faith in the living of their lives, and the communities in which they live. Now as always, we are told by the world, that it is impossible for men, and women, to make a difference in the world by their individual lives, but through faith, God makes what is impossible, possible, and gives hope to the entire world. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Oct 7, 2018                   One Flesh                                                    

In one of the churches I previously served there was a retired woman named Amy, who was very dedicated to her church and involved in it’s worship, missions and fellowships. Now Amy had a number of illnesses while I was there and so I visited with her a couple times a year at her home. And when I was there one week, I mentioned that our readings for the coming Sunday, were about Jesus talking to the Pharisees about divorce. This seemed to make Amy uncomfortable, and when I asked she told me why.

Years earlier, she had been married to an abusive drunk who on occasion would hit her. She had three children at the time, and always believed that her marriage would be a good one, and believed that there was something wrong about divorce – and so she tried to endure in this hellish situation, but in the end, her friends and family convinced her to get one. She always felt guilty about that, and told me that she didn’t think she would make it to church that Sunday.

So in thinking about her that week, I wrote a sermon about how God never intended for people to stay in abusive relationships, that that was not the example of one flesh that we get from the book of Genesis, and that Jesus teaching was about encouraging people to cherish the idea of marriage and grow in love for one another.

Now it so happened that Amy did attend that Sunday, and at the end of the service, she came up to me, with tears in her eyes, and said, “Pastor, you did your best to make me feel better, but all I could hear was Jesus saying how wrong it is to get a divorce.” And so I know, that on this Sunday, no matter what I say about this text, it’s not going to make a difference for some, but I’m going to say it anyway.

Jesus teaching on divorce has two direct purposes, and one indirect purpose. The two direct purposes are 1. Jesus is angry with the Pharisees for maintaining the legal loophole for men to get out of marriage – and oppress women in marriage. 2. Jesus is telling people who are still married, not to take advantage of that legal loophole, and to seek to live as one flesh in their marriage as God intended for them. And finally, the indirect purpose – is that Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love and forgiveness – and that forgiveness includes the healing of the broken relationships that arise between those who are contemplating divorce.

The first direct purpose arises from Moses law about granting divorce. Jesus says Moses gave this law because of the Israelites hardness of hearts. In other words, they were unable to forgive one another. This inability to forgive, leads to resentment and an ever greater rift in relationships. And in the end, it can lead to violence and suffering in marriage. And so Moses, granted the ability for people to divorce.

However, in Jesus day, this law had become not a safety valve for people in broken, unforgiving and abusive relationships, but a matter of convenience and power. And in retribution, while women did not have the right to file for divorce, they could leave the home and find someone else who would take care of them.  And so, law or no law, much like today, both men and women could destroy their marriage. But that’s not what God intended!

When I do pre-marital counseling with couples, I use a book called the 7 principles of successful marriages. The book is based 20 years of studies on couples whose marriages endured. These marriages have a number of similarities. The ability of partners to forgive one another, the ability of partners to make each other happy, the ability of partners to grow in learning about their partners, the ability of partners to lean on one another in times of stress and carry one another’s burdens, the ability of partners to respect one another and act on behalf of one another, and the ability of partners to see themselves as part of something greater than themselves – as one flesh, rather than two individuals. These abilities are what I call spiritual qualities, and while the book does not say so, they are the spiritual qualities associated with the Spirit of God. And to find life in that Spirit, is what God intended and intends for marriage.

One final note, while books on marriage may paint an ideal picture of marriage, marriages are by no means ideal. As we grow to be adults we are hurt by the world, and we develop a hardness of heart that affects how we interact, in the world and in marriage. And that’s why I think, Mark concludes this teaching on divorce with Jesus blessing of the children. Children are a symbol for us adults of innocence, joyfulness, and forgiveness. They have not yet developed the hardness of heart that we adults have developed. And perhaps we should seek to develop those childlike qualities, in order to overcome our hardheartedness, so that we may receive God’s blessing upon our lives and marriages.

And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ! 

Sept 30, 2018              Renew the Church                                         

               

One of my favorite stories about the power of prayer comes from a shut-in who I visited at my first church in Peru. He worked at Westclox, as a metal stamper, but he was also the go to guy whenever there was a problem on the line, or a new piece of metal needed to be invented for one of the clocks.

Whenever there was a problem the management would come to him, explain their problem, and then he would tell them to give him an hour to think about it. Then they would come back in an hour and he would have an answer for them.

One day, one of his coworkers noticed that when he was given a problem, he didn’t sit at his desk and work on it, instead he went down to the yard outside and would pace up and down, before coming back in. when his coworker asked him what he was doing, the man replied, he was praying – and that by praying, God would remove the clutter of his mind so that he could find a solution to the problem.

In my visits with this gentleman, I discovered that this was a regular routine for him, prayer in his daily life cleared away the clutter of his life, so that in his relationships with others, in his service to his church, in all that he did, he believed that God guided him and helped him to realize God’s purpose for his life. And I must say, he was one of the most joyful, thankful, happy, and peaceful people I have ever met

          This morning, James concludes his epistle by encouraging his church to pray. For James, prayer is the foundation not only of our personal lives, but also the foundation of a church’s spiritual life, and health. And so, in our reading this morning, James lists speaks of 4 types of prayer, and hints at the role of these types of prayers in the building up of the church.

The first prayer that James encourages is the prayer of intercession. “Are there any among you suffering – they should pray.  James recognizes that a great deal of our human suffering arises from the absence of God’s presence in our lives.

Prayers of intercession are an invitation for God to be present in our lives, to examine our lives, to guide our decisions, and to lead us back to God’s will and way for us when we have gone astray.  In those instances where human suffering is not our fault, prayers of intercession are an invitation for God to comfort us in our times of trial, and give us strength to face the evils and hardships of the world which oppress us, and to speak out against injustice in the world that creates human suffering. 

The second prayer that James encourages is the prayer of praise. “Are there any who are cheerful – they should sing songs of praise.” James as the leader of a Jewish Christian church, recognizes that songs are a form of prayer, and a very powerful one.

Prayers of praise remind us that God is our maker and the ruler of creation, who has a plan for the world and for our lives. Prayers of praise can remind us of the blessings that God has given to us, so that our lives can become focused on giving thanks. Prayers of praise can help us realize that we are not alone, that God loves us, and that God directs us to share this love with all the world.

The third prayer that James encourages is the prayer of healing for the sick. “Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church to pray over them, and anoint them with oil in the name of the LORD.”

In our modern day world, illness is treated in much the same way that it was treated in Jesus day, with isolation from others. Prayers of healing, encourage us to remember those who are ill, to check in on them, to comfort and encourage them to health. In the days before medicine, gathering the elders to pray, visit and anoint with oil was often the closest thing to seeing a doctor, for the elders had often seen many illnesses and knew what treatments they had seen work for others. Finally, even modern day medicine recognize the power of the spirit, and the power of prayer to assist in healing of patients.

The fourth prayer that James encourages is the prayer of confession – “therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you might be healed.” 

It is not surprising that prayers of healing the sick and prayers of confession and forgiveness are intertwined in this morning’s passage. Confession of sins, and forgiving one another, is a large part of maintaining the health of a congregation. Not only do we need to be able to forgive others, but we also need to be able to recognize our own need for forgiveness, less we become arrogant and sin against one another in our pridefulness.

Finally, as I noted in my story about the gentleman from Westclox, prayer can also help a church to focus on it’s purpose and mission in the life of it’s community. For James, this mission was to call those who wandered from the truth of God’s love for them in Jesus Christ, so that they might be saved from the kinds of suffering, sin, and death that afflict humanity.

Churches, like people, can become filled with all kinds of clutter, all kinds of competing interests, quarrels over money, and all kinds of pridefullness. When this clutter fills a church’s life, it forgets it’s purpose, and becomes aimless in it’s ministry. The good news is, that through prayer, churches can clear the clutter from their lives, and be renewed. The can focus again on God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, a love for us that was meant to be shared so that those who wander from the truth of God’s love, may be saved from suffering, death, and a multitude of sins.

And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

Sept 23, 2018                    Wisdom                                                

         For the last several weeks we have had readings from the book of proverbs in our lectionary texts. As I have noted before, Proverbs is a book of wisdom and speaks about how wisdom, the wisdom of God is found in human life. But Proverbs is not the only book that speaks about God’s wisdom, in the book of Psalms, there are a number of Psalms that speak of God’s wisdom, and how that wisdom is found, which brings us to our Psalm for this morning, Psalm 1.

1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers

The first thing you might notice about the opening verse of psalm 1 is the promise of happiness. Since the Hebrew dictionary only has 1100 words in it, the Hebrew word for happy, is also the word for blessed, and to describe a straight life – one in tune with God.

The second thing you might notice is that the opening verse describes how this happiness is not found. First of all it is not found in following the advice of the wicked – “live for yourself, live for today, life is all about you!” That is the advice of the wicked, and when we do this, we make each other enemies, and pile up problems for ourselves. Second, happiness is not found standing in the way of sinners – this is a blunt way of saying those who deny God’s existence and God’s salvation – mainly as a justification for their living for themselves alone. And finally, happiness is not found sitting in the seat of scoffers, who believe there is no meaning or purpose in life, and so they ridicule those who believe, and seek to realize God’s purpose for their lives. The sitting part of this describes leisure, and the lack of productivity in a scoffers life.

So now onto what kind of life produces happiness.   

2 But their delight (the happy/blessed) is in the law of the Lord, on his law they meditate day and night.

Happiness is to be found in the Law of the Lord. Now many take this to mean the ten commandments, or the hundreds of God’s laws written in Exodus, or Leviticus, which are indeed a part of God’s law and seeks to guide us to live in tune with God. But the Hebrew Word for law is Torah, and that includes all the stories and teachings of the bible. Every law has it’s situation, it’s context, and it’s story. God’s torah, speaks about life lived in healthy relationships with one another, in loving our neighbor as ourselves, and in some stories, what befalls those who do not. 

         Now meditating upon God’s law, is not a simple matter of book study. Yes, to meditate upon God’s law, means we should read it, regularly, but meditating upon it means keeping it in mind, consulting it when we make decisions, allowing God’s Torah to guide our lives. It means acting intentionally in our lives according to God’s Torah.

         So what does God promise to those who do this?

3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in their season, and their leaves do not wither, In all that they do, they prosper.

The promise to those who meditate upon God’s law is that their lives will be solid like trees, not easily uprooted by the winds of the world. That they will be connected to the wellsprings of life that will feed and sustain them. That they will be productive in life, not wasting their time in vain pursuits or idleness. And, that they will age gracefully, having become strong in God’s spirit to face the pass of years. This is the fruit of a life lived according to God’s purpose and meaning.

And for those who do not choose this path in life….?

4. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.5. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

Those who do not choose this path are not solid, but are like chaff. They are blown this way and that, they are consumed by the fires that test our lives. They waste themselves on things that do not last, and in so doing, have nothing to fall back on when times are tough. Those are the judgements, those difficult times in life, in which those who live for themselves and for the moment fall and fail, and great as is their misery and weeping in those times. And finally, the greatest tragedy of all, is that they have cut themselves off from others. From those who would care for them and help them in their time of need. They have rejected the congregation of the righteous, they have removed themselves from the congregation who looks after others, who cares for those in need, they have scoffed at and turned away from those who would have helped them and so in the end there is no help for them.

And so, we are given a choice…. 

6. for the LORD watches over the ways of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

         The final verse of Psalm 1 is a statement of faith! A statement that there is justice in the world, that righteousness shall overcome wickedness, that loving our neighbor as ourselves, shall work out better for us than loving ourselves over our neighbors. That meditating upon God’s Word and being a part of God’s congregation will make a difference in our lives, one that leads to a strong and abundant life, rather than one that leads to a life that is empty, and left upon the scrap heap.

        

         In our Gospel lesson this morning, once again Jesus speaks about his death, his suffering himself for us, his giving up his life for our salvation. And all his disciples can think about, is which of them is the greatest. And so, Jesus tries to tell them again, to stop thinking of themselves alone, to live as servants of one another, servants of even the least, servants of even children. In doing so, he is asking them to make that same faith choice, that the Psalmist calls us to make. For in making that choice, we are choosing God!

And that is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.  

Sept 16, 2018                  Dots and Stars                                       

This week as I read our texts on wisdom and harnessing our tongues, I was reminded of the story of Punchinello, written by Max Lucado. 

Punchinello was a Wemmick, and Wemmicks were little wooden people carved by a wood carver named Eli, whose workshop sat on a hill overlooking their village. Now the wemmicks came in all shapes and sizes and they all had jobs, and families, and friends, very much like we all do. But the wemmicks had one thing we don’t have. Each Wemmick carried with them a box of with dots and stars, and they spent all day putting dots and stars on each other

For those Wemmicks who did well at their jobs, who kept their paint looking fresh and new, other Wemmicks would stick bright gold stars on them. For those Wemmicks who weren’t as successful, who looked scuffed or chipped, the other Wemmicks would stick dull gray dots on them. Now Punchinello was one of those unsuccessful Wemmicks, try as he might, he just wasn’t very good at anything, and of course, everywhere he went, and everytime he tried his best, the other Wemmicks, would stick dull gray dots on him. And so, Punchinello, spent most of his time, home alone, or if he did go out, he would hang out with other Wemmicks with lots of grey dots.

But one day, Punchinello met a Wemmick who had no stars or dots, and her name was Lucia. And the reason she had not stars or dots on her, wasn’t because other Wemmicks hadn’t tried to put them on her, but because for some reason, they just wouldn’t stick to her. So Punchinello asked Lucia, why the dots and stars would not stick, and Lucia told him, it was because she went each day to visit Eli the woodcarver. And she encourage Punchinello to go see Eli himself.

Now at first Punchinello was afraid to go see Eli, what if Eli didn’t like him, and put more dots on him, but in time, Punchinello decided that he wasn’t any better off letting the other Wemmicks put dots on him, so he went. As Punchinello, entered Eli’s workship, he got scared again and was about to leave, but then he heard a strong warm voice, “Punchinello! How good it is to see you!” Punchinello, turned to see Eli, and asked, “Really, you know my name?” “Of course I do”, said Eli, “I made you.” Eli looked closely at Punchinello, “I see you have gotten some grey dots” Eli said. And Punchinello said, “I’m sorry, I tried so hard, but ….” “That’s OK Punichello,” Eli said, “I don’t care what the other Wemmicks think, who are they to be giving out dots and stars, it only matters what I think, and Punchinello, I think your pretty special! 

“But why,” asked Punchinello, “I can’t run fast, or sing or dance or do anything well.” “That doesn’t matter to me,” Eli said, “Your special because I made you, and your mine! And when you truly come to believe that, then the dots and the stars will no longer stick to you.” “But why” asked Punchinello. “Because the stars and dots only stick to those who think they matter, and if you believe in my love for you, they won’t matter any more.” Eli said. And then he added, “Punchinello, you come see me every day, and let me remind you that you are special to me because you mine, and someday, the dots and stars won’t stick to you either.”

As Punchinello, let Eli’s shop, he wondered it if was really true, If Eli really thought he was special, and Punchinello said to himself, “I think he really means it” And at that moment Punchinello heard a pop, and one of the grey dots fell to the ground.

This morning in our epistle lesson, James talks about the unbridled tongue, a restless evil, that poisons our lives. With our tongues we give out gold stars and grey dots to one another. Even worse is when we believe what others say and take it to heart and allow it to poison our lives. And from our scripture lessons, and from the story of Punchinello, I have two thoughts about this.

First, that we are called as Christians to bridle our tongues, to find ways to correct and encourage one another with words of kindness and concern, to leave behind the attacks and name calling we see in the worst of others, or that we have experienced ourselves, and get on with living and loving one another. And we are called to find ways for us to love those who are struggling and encourage them in a path that overcomes the powers of sin in their lives.

And the second thought is, that we are called to come to know our Creator, who loves us because he made us, and we are his. We are called to gather with him, in worship weekly and in daily prayer, to remember his great love for us in Jesus Christ, and to grow in our belief in God’s love for each and every one of us. And this is important, the farther we are from God, the more what others think will take hold of us, but the closer we are to God, the less what others think will hold power over us. For through our faith, the grey dots, and the poison in our souls from these harsh words in our lives, will fall from our souls, and we will truly become children of God, at peace in ourselves, and at one with each other and our Creator. And that’s the good news of Jesus Christ!