Hospitality
is the practice that keeps the church from becoming a club, a members-only
society. —Diana Butler Bass [1]
Practical,
practice-based Christianity has been avoided, denied, minimized, ignored,
delayed, and sidelined for too many centuries, by too many Christians who were
never told Christianity was anything more than a belonging or belief system.
Now we know that there is no Methodist or Catholic way of loving. There is no
Orthodox or Presbyterian way of living a simple and nonviolent life. There is
no Lutheran or Evangelical way of showing mercy. There is no Baptist or
Episcopalian way of visiting the imprisoned. If there is, we are invariably
emphasizing the accidentals, which distract us from the very “marrow of the
Gospel,” as St. Francis called it. We have made this mistake for too long. We
cannot keep avoiding what Jesus actually emphasized and mandated. In this most
urgent time, “it is the very love of Christ that now urges us” (2 Corinthians
5:14).
Quaker
pastor Philip Gulley superbly summarizes how we must rebuild spirituality from
the bottom up in his book, If the Church Were Christian. [2] Here I take the
liberty of using my own words to restate his message, which offers a rather
excellent description of Emerging Christianity:
Jesus
is a model for living more than an object of worship.
Affirming
people’s potential is more important than reminding them of their brokenness.
The
work of reconciliation should be valued over making judgments.
Gracious
behavior is more important than right belief.
Inviting
questions is more valuable than supplying answers.
Encouraging
the personal search is more important than group uniformity.
Meeting
actual needs is more important than maintaining institutions.
Peacemaking
is more important than power.
We
should care more about love and less about sex.
Life
in this world is more important than the afterlife (eternity is God’s work
anyway).
If
this makes sense to you, you are already inside of Emerging Christianity.
References:
[1]
Diana Butler Bass, A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the
Story (HarperOne: 2010), 64.
[2]
See Philip Gulley, If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of
Jesus (HarperOne: 2010). This list is adapted from his chapter titles.
Adapted
from Richard Rohr, “Emerging Christianity: A Non-Dual Vision,” Radical Grace,
vol. 23, no. 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2010), 3, 22.
When you hear the word Saint, what or who comes to mind
for you?
What do you think that being a Saint entails for the
average person?
Matthew 25: 31- 46,
Bishop Desman Tattoo of South Africa once said
that somewhere deep down inside every person is the ability to recognize
good. A Saint "isn’t" a person who is void
of human error, but a Saint is a person who is truly trying to live a life that
pleases their Heavenly Parent? And all the Saints in Heaven rejoice! Yet even atheists, those
who reject the very idea of a God would recognize and identify a Mother Teresa
as Saintly. Not a person who is void of
mistakes but one who lives a life of generosity, compassion, gratitude,
goodness and in service to God through the one who has appeared to us in human form. John 1:14. So then where does this ability to recognize
goodness come from? When I do a good
deed does that goodness come from me? Do
I own my goodness, or does it came through me from somewhere else? The Hebrew understanding of the word kindness might
give us a clue. In English we would say
“Mrs. Brown is a kind lady”. but in the Hebrew they would say “Mrs. Brown is a
daughter of kindness”. Attributing her
kindness not to her specifically but, coming out of generations of kindness, a
mother, a grandmother a great grandmother.
The Hebrew would suggest that our goodness and kindness comes not from
us, but comes through us as part of our inheritance. Therefore we cannot take full credit for
acts of generosity, compassion or kindness etc.
Jesus and the other great religious teachers of our world always refer
to their courage, compassion, acts of faith or servant hood as coming not from
them, but through them, from a higher power, their source of life, from that
which created all things, from God. In
all instances there appears to be a price paid for goodness, and there is a
price in sharing it. I don’t know about
you but I don’t usually go looking for what an act kindness has cost me, but I do have a
tendency to look for some sort of acknowledgement that I have done something good.
Let me tell you a true story of a young
business man who lived in a small community with his wife and children. He lived a modest life, always had enough
for his family with a little extra to go around for special occasions. As a young boy growing up the man found that
many outside his own family were very generous with what they had and he was
sometimes the recipient of their generosity.
This made an impression on the boy and as he grew into manhood he
decided that he too would be generous with his fellowman. It
became a very easy thing to do for the most part except for one small detail
yet to be discovered. One day he met
an old man that by cultural standards was rejected by the community, because of
his posture, dress, his physical appearance, his speech impediment and mannerisms.
Out of the goodness of his heart, the
businessman befriended the old man, and on several occasions invited him into
his home to share a meal. One day the old
man asked if he could borrow 20.00 dollars as he was a little short, and needed
gas money for his lawn mowing business.
So the businessman gave his friend the 20.00 dollars, never really
wanting the money back, but never telling him that it was a gift. A week or so later the man came by, told the
businessman that the insurance on his vehicle had run out and he needed 35.00
dollars more. The businessman was this
time a bit hesitant, there were many questioning thoughts racing through his
head, he gave the his friend the 35.00 dollars but with this condition added “I would like you to pay me back when you
can, please”. The man eventually
paid back 20.00 dollars and then seemed to disappear. The businessman began having extreme mixed
emotions about his experience. He had
been a friend to the old man, kind, generous, compassionate, he thought. Why didn’t the old man just tell him he
couldn’t pay the money back in the first place? But then again, why didn’t the businessman
just give him the money outright? The
money really didn’t matter, or did it? It was the act of kindness wasn’t it, or was it?The
businessman couldn’t figure out his feelings of sadness, discontentment, or the
emptiness, “My only intention was to do a good deed” he thought. One evening a few days before Christmas Eve,
the old man showed up at his door again, “Sir” he said “could lend me 30.00
dollars as I am a little short for Christmas”.
The businessman reached in his wallet and gives the old man a 50 dollar
bill saying “not a loan, but a gift for you and your family”. The old man just before opening the door
glanced back at the businessman with a strange smile, a giggle of joy, the
gleam in his eyes spoke without words to the businessman “Merry Christmas Sir”
he said and left. That was the day I personally learned to see God in the ordinary. My previous giving had become a subtle form of idolatry, worshiping my own good works. I also learned that day that this common form of
doing “good” can only lead to discouragement because of my concealed expectations. It wasn’t until I shifted my thoughts from performance, to God’s radiant presence, then I began to see the
light. “When you do for the least of
these you did it unto “ME”. Matthew 25: 40. I truly saw the face of Jesus in
the old man that day. What are we
missing then, when we do good works and yet still feel empty, get tired of
doing and we have not met God in our offering?
I think that the answer is
simple, because of our need of acknowledgement, our hidden expatiations or unspoken
conditions we can miss the sense of the holy in the ordinary, in the people we
serve, but especially in the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the prisoner, the
sick, or the dying. Jesus tell us folks
it is there that we will meet and see God, in and through them.
As we read this week's parable we
are reminded that it is in the feeding of the hungry, caring for
those on the margins of life, visiting the sick, clothing the naked, and being
present to the prisoner that our faith in God is revealed. This is the measure
by which we are judged, not by our belief in creeds or our interpretation of
scriptures. This reading comes at a time when the world around us is gearing up
for the biggest buying spree of the year, Christmas and people are being asked
to make gift wish lists for relatives and friends. For many in our world the wish list is for shelter, clean water, something to eat, a visit or a visual sign that someone
cares. Faith without works is not faith
at all Paul writes. James 2:14-26. Our nation, our group, our church, we
personally will be judged, not for the good we have done, but we will be judged
for the good that we have not done. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD
How many people here today would jump at
the chance to double your money?
What would you think of an investment
manager who told you, give me your money I can double it in a month?
What would you say is the best way to
protect your investment money today?
Reading Matthew 25:14-30
At first glance I
found this parable a little hard to take as my understanding of doubling your
money in any century is almost impossible unless the deal is, well you know
shady. In fact all good investment
councilors today will tell you this is not realistic in any economic
conditions. So what was Jesus getting at with this parable? Money talk!! Investments!! Profits!! Personal
gain!! or loss!!. Well I think Jesus is
pretty witty, because there is no better way to get someone’s attention than
money talk, would you agree? Isn’t it
ironic that if you look at many of Jesus parables, there seems to be a lot of
talk about money. I think it was and still is one of the best
way to get someone’s attention? You will recall the women who gives her last
penny, everything she had financially. Then there is the story of a wealthy man
trying to get into the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus tells his listeners; that is like trying to push a camel through
the eye of a needle. Jesus asks for a
Roman coin when ask if they should pay taxes to Rome. The prodigal son, is about Money, the young
son, foolishly spending his inheritance.
The Good Samaritan pays the inn keeper and tells him if there are any
further charges for keeping the Stanger he will pay it, and the list just goes
on, and on. Jesus often seems to be
pointing to this: There is always a price to be
paid when choices have to be made isn’t there. I believe Jesus is just trying to illustrate
for us that there are better choices in life than that which money, position or
power can provide. The worldly way often
leads people into places of kayos and darkness.
But if we learn to
surrender to God’s way, it always leads us to the light.
Jesus tells these
stories in the middle of his high risk venture.
It was during the last few days of his life that he shares this
particular parable. But, Folks: do you
think this story is really about money, fairness, or God’s wrath? How many of us have had the experience of
the third servant, I mean seeing God as unjust; a hard task master
who’s concerned more about us doing everything right and punishing those who
you get it wrong rather than loving us unconditionally? When you make a choice in life and things
don’t work to your advantage, who do you blame: your wife, husband, neighbor,
your employer, or do you do as the third servant does in the parable, put the
blame on God?
May I suggest a
question for us to consider here this morning. How often do you turn to the bible seeking answers
to you choices? Even deeper, how often
do you seek counsel through prayer. Are
you seeing God as did the third servant, a hard task master, who is harvesting
his obedient children only for thy Kingdom come. Do you think an unconditional loving God
separates his obedient children from the disobedient then sends some off to
eternal punishment? May I suggest to
you that it is you or I who call down judgement upon ourselves when we make a
bad choice? Being expelled from the Garden of
Eden was mixture of choices humans made, not Gods. The planet is still struggling with the
curiosity of humankind. We who think we
can do a better job of creating circumstances than God.
The deeper
understanding here is our bad choices in life do not stop God from loving us as
one of His own. If God were to punish or
reward you according to your behavior, would that not put an expectation on God’s
unconditional love. Punishment or reward are expression of conditional love but God
does not love us with conditions folks.
Wrath is a
consequence, one of the fruits of conditional love. Wrath is the consequence or the results of sin,
or in short as the Hebrew would say missing the mark folks.
I challenge you the next time you are in difficult circumstances,
confused, or lost, call out to Jesus for help and His Father who has promised
never to forsake or leave you will show up, somehow, some way. If you can trust in that rather than your
money or your security your life will change.
Turn around, and you will see God has never left you.
Do you know the
lyrics to “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”.
Are we that naive
to believe that God somehow takes away our ability to choose and then builds
the difficult circumstances surrounding our lives? Do not the scriptures throughout the Hebrew
and Greek writings teach us of a God who continuously rescues us from the
circumstances we have created, offering us a place of sanctuary and a way home? Is that not the God of our ancestors?
Are we that naive
to believe that we do not call down upon ourselves kayos and wrath? Are we not aware that the circumstances
surrendering our lives do not control our future? Try
telling that to, the Gandhi’s of this world, the Paul Hansen’s or the physicist
Stephen Hawkins. How about the Mother
Tessa’s, or the Martin Luther Kings of our world. All those great names who have superseded
their circumstances.
I’m sure you probably
have known someone in your own communities who has defied their circumstances
to live a full life. For them obstacles and hardship actually
turned into opportunities. You see everything is possible with God
folks, nothing can defeat the faithful.
Want to be part of the Kingdom of Heaven, turn around and begin
again. Take the risk, learn to discover
your talents and gifts and begin using them as a one of the Kingdom
builders. When you do, God will multiply
and expand your territory and give you more.
Jeremiah 29:
11: “For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Even if you only
see yourself as a one talent person. May
I suggest to you this morning to begin using it in to help in the building of
the kingdom of heaven? Jesus tells us
that the Kingdom begin right here, right now.
We are either kingdom builders for God or we are still trying to build
our own little kingdom. "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus"
A time to remember!Each of us will remember in different ways.For some a memory might be triggered by a
touch, smell, taste or a sound.Many a
time in my own life I have heard a particular song, or smelt the aroma of a
baking, and it has taken me back,back
to place and time long ago but not forgotten.As a child I can remember entering the gravel road to Heathers
beach.It was the start to our summer
vacation.What a feeling of freedom as
we began our two months of sun, fun, and the cottage.Everything there was so different from home,
you had to fetch your water, cook on a wood stove, use oil lanterns for light
at night and the ice man would come round selling a large block of ice for the
icebox.He keep it from melting by
hiding it under a pile of sawdust shaving on the back of his wagon.For me it was remembering a gentler time.
Now I don’t know about you but the smell of a pine or
spruce tree sometimes brings back the memories of Christmases long passed. Now there are other times when all I need to
do, is close my eyes and begin to remember a time of joy, happiness, or some other
place of tranquility, where I felt safe and secure. Like being cradled in the arms of my mom or
my nanny.
A German theologian who eventually died in one of the
concentration camps wrote: They can take away my food, they can strip me of my
freedom, or they can kill my body, but the one thing they can’t take from me is
my thoughts of those I love or my faith in God.
And it was those moments of remembering that gave Bonhoeffer the courage
to go through what he called, hell on earth.
He went on to write that remembering the love and joy of faith, family
and friends and the good times kept him alive, even when he could see no
future.
I would like to try with you this morning an exercise in
remembering, I hope you will participate with me. You will remember from last week I talked about the
breath, breathed into the nostrils of the man Adam which brought him to
life. We all know the power of breath
don’t we, because if you cannot take a breath you become deceased.
Let us
start by clearing our minds of today’s thoughts. To do that may I suggest a
breathing exercise that will help you to relax and help you to let go of the
clutter. I will first demonstrate how we will proceed. First you draw in a
breath, doing it very slowly making the sound “YA” as you do. Let this represent taking God into your being
or into your soul. Now when you exhale
or breathe out, make the sound “Way”. Let this represent surrendering your thoughts
and your emotion to the Spirit that gave you life and breath. Try
and find a comfortable sitting position with your hands on your lap, palms up.
Try and feel the breath of life filling
your lungs, fell the aliveness and then as you exhale try and feel the sense of surrendering
your breath. Now let do the exercise 5 to 10 times with closed
eyes and on the 5 th or 10th time relax and only listen to my voice. Let us begin.
Let this quietness
take you back to a place and time when you felt good about life, a time of
well being. It may have been as a child,
a young adult or it may be happening in your life right now. It was or is a time of joy and laughter, and
time of peace, contentment and happiness. I would like you picture in your mind’s
eye, the faces of those whom you love, those from the past and those from the present? Can you feel the love and joy shared by all? It
feels good to remember, because it helps me to feel good about myself and about
the people around me.
Now I would like you to come back into the
present, let yourself slowly return as you begin to reunite yourself with the moment. SEE
HOW EASY IT IS FOR US TO FORGET but not forgotten. It is not hard for us to think about the
present, our present condition, it is not hard for us to think about war and it
destruction today. Mainly because it
is right there in our faces every day isn’t it.
We can feel lost and alone, sick
and depressed in the moments of life can’t we.
That’s why it is so important to be able to glance back and to remember. So we never forget and remembering also help us
express our gratitude for all that has been given to us. That is why it is so important to remember
those who gave up their lives for us, for the good of all. Even if we don’t know them personally, we
need to offer thanks for them being there for us, just as we remembered loved
ones both past and present in the meditation.
We give thanks for the freedom we enjoy here on this beautiful Island
paradise, for so many still are facing war and destruction right now. In the bible reading today, Jesus, was about
to offer his life for the sake of humankind in obedience to His Fathers
will. Jesus asked the disciples to
remember Him whenever they would share a meal together, break bread and share a drink. He was
not asking them to just remember His suffering but to remember His life, what He
stood for, His teachings, the miracles of healing, His ultimate act of love and
His promises of a life to come. By
remembering Him in this Way we are remembering His joy, His laughter, His
wisdom, His wonderful compassion. These are wonderful things to remember and
keep close to your heart. That all who believe
in Him and His promises shall not die but will have an everlasting life. Let us the on this day of remembrance include
Jesus who died for all God’s children and be truly thankful.
A kindergarten teacher was
walking around observing her classroom of children while they were drawing
pictures. As she got to one girl who was working diligently, she asked what the
drawing was.
The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."
The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what
God looks like my dear."
Without looking up from her drawing, the girl replied,
"They will in a minute."
Question:
Who was it that first brought you to church? Who would you say was the spiritual mentors in
your life and how did they influence you?
Nov. 5, 2017 Readings:
I Thessalonians 2: 9-13, Psalm 107,
Matt 23: 1-12
Throughout his
missionary work, Paul relied on the encouragement and support of his fellow
companions, as they began to build the Christian Church as we know it today.
They were: BarnabasJohnMarkLukePriscilla & AquilaSilasTimothyTitus
Every once in a
while it is a good thing to reflect on and remember the spiritual encourages
and mentors in your life. Who were they
and how did they impact your faith and your thirst for God. For some it may have been someone who was
consistent about you attending Sunday school as a child or it could have been
through seeing a firsthand act of compassion for the elderly. Could it have been by someone who was
working with the disadvantaged in some way, reaching out to the poor, or an act
of being loved unconditionally by someone you knew or by a stranger you didn’t
know.
In my growing up
years I would have to say that my grandmother was my spiritual mentor, she was
the example and encourager. Think about
this for a moment folks: no loving
father would purposely neglect the safety of his child, allowing him or her to
walk into difficult circumstances that might be harmful or fatal. In the same way we must be the encouragers
for newcomers to the faith. We must take
them under our wing until they are mature enough to stand on their own. We must help new Christians become strong
enough to influence others for the sake of the gospel.
When my wife and I
began to build a family and have children, we also found ourselves going through
a difficult time in our marriage.
Through casual conversations I developed a friendship with a man whom
cared about us and our future. He would
come to our house every Sunday evening over many, many weeks just to see how
things were going and give us counsel.
He would not accept compensation for his time. He never took sides, never judged our
shortcomings, and never left without saying “I am as close as your phone, all
you have to do is call night or day”.
Over the years because of this friendship he has become an extended
family member, a brother, a friend to both Carolyn and I. As I got to know him I saw some of his human flaws, but I also saw that he was not
just doing this for us but he was out there doing it for others too. Maynard passed away while I was here
ministering with you last Feb. I couldn’t make the closing service for his
life. He remains one of the most import
spiritual mentors in my life. His acts
of compassion and his nonjudgmental attitude towards others helped to change my
life and brought me to the door step of pastoral ministry. When you look back, who do you see, who
supported you and gave encouragement that helped build your faith?
It is always of
great value to identify our spiritual companions, to see how they have
faithfully instructed and influenced us.
How many of you
recall the actor Sidney Poitier. When he
first came to America his first job was as a houseboy for a hotel in
Pennsylvania. Only one person and older
man at work took the time to help the young aspiring actor learn the customs, the
common language, and the history of his new homeland. In an interview many years later after
becoming one of most celebrated actors of his day, he said he couldn’t remember
the older man’s last name but there was something of that man in everything he did. Every good act that comes out of your life has
been shown to you by somebody.
Paul would have
said the same accept he never forgot the name of the man who changed his life,
it was Jesus and he told who ever would listen that he kept true to Jesus and
his teachings. A well-known preacher
once concluded that no faith can be kept without obedience. We were not called to become famous suggests
Paul, we are called to be obedient to the word of God. Trying to maintain obedience in your life is
how You Can love God too.
In urging the
followers of Jesus to be worthy, faithful servants, Paul is insisting that
their labor should not be excessively casual or halfhearted. Have you ever heard this saying “If you go halfway with me and I go halfway
with you and the world would be a better place.” Sounds good doesn’t it? As
hard as I have looked to get conformation of that statement in scripture, it’s
just not there. God doesn’t want half of
me, God wants all of me. God has not
called me to preach you a one half sermon, nor are we to discover only half of
a truth, God wants us to have the full meal deal, with all the trimmings
folks. Paul is challenging the
Thessalonians and us to a life worthy of God, to be empowered by the Holy
Spirit. Listen to these word in this song “Holy Spirit come”
As we prepare to approach
the communion rail today, my prayer for you is that the Holy Spirit might come
into your life, to show you that your acts of goodness and compassion for
others have come from those who carry the light. That we too might become a light for those
who are looking.
