The Path in Front of us

Sermon given at Grace UMC on 4/10/16

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Scripture Reading:

^NRS  Mark 1:13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. ¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵ and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." ¹⁶ As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

In Sunday school, they were teaching how God created everything, including human beings. Little Johnny seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs. Later in the week, his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and said, 'Johnny what is the matter?' Little Johnny responded, 'I have a pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife.'

On a sunny morning, William's mother came into her son's room and said, "William, it's Sunday. Time to get up! Time to get up and go to church! Get up!"  From under the covers came mumbles, "I don't want to go!" "What do you mean?" she said. "That's silly! Now get up and get dressed and go to church!" "No!" he shot back. "I'll give you two reasons. I don't like them and they don't like me!" "Nonsense," she told him. "I'll give YOU two reasons to go. First, you are 42 years old, and second, you are the PASTOR!"

This morning we come to the call scripture. Imagine for a moment that a stranger walks up to you while you are busy doing what you do. This stranger stands there for a moment and then says to you, come with me and I will make a carpenter or a teacher or a salesman for human beings. The Kingdom of God is near! What would you do? If you are like most people you would probably laugh and scoff at the stranger and then go on about your work. But I wonder if that person where Jesus if you might feel differently. I wonder if God were physically present in front of you if you might not feel a strange tug at your heart to listen and respond? Simon Peter, Andrew, John and James all do. They drop what they are doing and the respond.

Many years ago I felt a calling to ministry. It was in high school and Ed and I went and talked to Dr. Dietrich about ministry. I was in the 12^th grade and felt this awesome call to become a preacher. But the truth was that I wanted to do something else in life so I left that call to pursue other adventures. I might mention that the call never went away, it just became dormant. Ed on the other hand pursued it and became a minister long before I did. We are still friends today. Then in 1981 an industrial accident blew an eight foot grate through a control room and into my head. It is why most of you recognize that I am not always right in my head. From that I suffered a moderate concussion and lost all of my short term memory for a while. Men, it is the greatest excuse when talking with your spouse, having a short term memory loss. You really don’t remember what conversation just took place and you have a medical condition to justify it. All humor aside it took years to regain what I lost. But what I had is a second chance at life. Again I remember this time sitting with Reverend Sweat and talking about the call. But again I bolted back into the secular world because I could not see myself as a preacher. Now you need to know that when I was small my grandmother on my dad’s side said that I would be a preacher with a deep voice. Well one outa two ain’t bad. But then in the late 90’s I again felt that call, deeper and stronger than the first two times. I remember traveling as part of my job and either lying awake at night with the rich young man story on my heart or waking from deep sleep having dreamed that I was the rich young man and that I walked away from God. So I began to explore ministry as a lifestyle and the more I explored, the more I felt the call. I remember having a prayerful discussion with God about the need for school and how I could not become a minister if God didn’t open a door. Within that week an e-mail arrived from the Methodist Board of Education outlining a path in front of me to do just that.

I would love to sit here this morning and tell you that the road to ministry has been easy. But it has not been. There have been pitfalls and struggles, most of them brought about because I messed up, and yet, all along the way God has been faithful. So I am here this morning to witness to you that Simon Peter, Andrew, John and James took the more difficult road. They could have stayed and lived out their lives doing what they had always done. But they chose to follow Jesus. Their lives were markedly changed forever and each would come to an untimely death for the faith, with the exception of John who would live out his life in exile to bring us an even greater vision of God. But they chose to go. That is what it means to be a disciple, to choose to go, wherever and whenever and however God calls you to do that. It no longer is your choice, rather you submit yourself to the will of God and go. Jesus told us that when He said to us, Go therefore, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teach them all that I have commanded of you. He commanded us to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors in the same way. That is our mission.

So whether you answer that call to be a preacher, or a teacher, or a carpenter, or a business owner or whatever God calls you to do, you answer. And when you do, you begin to realize that God’s call is greater than anything the world has to offer. But you go! Today we come to this place and this hour with the question of call on each of us. What does it mean? Where God do you want me to go and what do you want me to do? Maybe it is as simple as showing up for a Habitat or Ramp project and lifting a hand to assist. Maybe it means providing healthcare to those less fortunate and sometimes doing it without expecting anything in return. Sometimes it means letting go of the past and reaching out into the future with no expectations except to do the will of the one who will send you. But whatever it is, it means that you are willing to learn from Jesus and become more like Him.

David and Goliath, Noah and his ark, Ruth and Naomi, Daniel in prison, Philip and the Eunuch….nearly every Bible story is the history of God providing an opportunity to the followers to use their skill set, combined with the desires that God put in their hearts to bring glory to God in their calling.  Recognize that Daniel in prison did not necessarily realize that he was in the midst of fulfilling God’s calling, but he was using his skills (dream interpretation), he had a desire to serve and he somehow trusted that God would give him that opportunity. And when we open our hearts to do the will of God, there will be affirmation and confirmation of that call. If we are called to preach, then our preaching will be well received, if we are called to teach, others will lift up our teaching, this is the way of things when you are called and accept that call.

As a church we need to work at identifying ways of witnessing to the call within our congregations. We need to say to people, answer the invitation of God and become the person God wants you to be. It starts by entering into the conversation in prayer, asking God for direction and listening to the voice of God that will come from prayer, the Word, and others who also feel you call. Jay Carey, a good friend and pastor at the church I attended in the 90’s one night said to me, you know, if you would listen and obey, God has a place for you. I remember that it came during a time when I had been deceived in my business world and had lost more money than I even knew I had. But I was praying for direction and it came from a friend. So listen to the voices around you but only after spending time in prayer.

Today we enter into a forty day period of intentional prayer for our General Conference and the delegates. We enter asking that God’s will be done and then a willingness on the other end to accept that will. We enter into a time of intentional prayer for the church as well. The path in front of us is full of uncertainty and tribulation. But each of us, as part of the Body of Christ, can bring to this table skills, wisdom and energy to face that future and move into it rather than shying away from it. We must become the people God called us to be. We must go where God calls us to go and do what God asks us to do. The path in front of us has Jesus standing there saying to each of us, follow me.  

A World of Fools

Sermon given at Grace UMC 4/2/16

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Scripture Reading

^NRS  1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  ¹⁹ For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." ²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³ but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. ²⁶ Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no one might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹ in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

April Fools day began four hundred years ago in 1564 in France. The current calendar that we use was adopted first by the French and it changed when the New Year began from March 21^st to January 1^st. But some still celebrated the New Year on April 1^st, and they were affectionately called Fools because of it, hence the name Fools Day. It became an opportunity to play pranks on one another. Friday was the day when we celebrated ‘Fools Day”, April 1^st. But it also was Connie Taylor’s birthday and Connie is no fool. In fact, this church could not do what it does without Connie being a part of our family.

What does it mean to be foolish for Christ? I remember staying awake many years ago and watching late night TV. On late night TV there are more infomercials than any other time of the day. For 9.95 down, 9.95 a month for 9.95 years you can own just about anything the foolish heart could be talked into. I have watched people over the years get sucked into one good scam after another. Estimates ranging in the billions of dollars are what experts believe people are scammed into every year. I know of a woman in this community who got scammed out of her entire fortune and lived her last years in near poverty because of it. There is foolishness all around us every day of every year. But what does it mean to be foolish for Christ?

Well we can start with Saul who we know as Paul. Paul was a great zealot for the court of the Jewish faith around the first century. That is until he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. After that he gave up all that wealth and prestige and all that went with it to live the life of an Apostle in a world that hated him for what he was teaching. His foolishness kept him almost constantly under the watchful eye of the Roman soldiers and he was imprisoned. Five times he was beaten with a breath of his life and once he was stoned and left for dead. I am sure his peers among the Sanhedrin were saying, what a waste, what a fool he has become.

A few short weeks ago Denver won the super bowl. In the years that will pass by we know that Denver will be remembered as the winner and Carolina as the loser. Do we see the winners as being blessed and the losers as those who missed the blessing? That is how we see the world is it not? In fact over time Carolina will be lost to us as we simply remember the winners of the game. Yet both had phenomenal seasons and should be proud of what they accomplished.

Jesus turned our world upside down when He preached the beatitudes on the side of the mountain. He teaches that those who are picked last can in fact be the winners. That those who are understand that what we need to seek in the Kingdom of God is very different than what people seek in the world around us. Woody Allen said, "I've been poor and I've been rich, and, believe me, rich is better." That is how we think in life today especially in the Western world. But it is not how God wants us to think.

A sermon I read recently had this to say, a parishioner of a friend of mine on the Internet once told him in a discussion of the beatitudes:

   I feel strongly that I have correctly heard and followed the

   guidance of the Holy Spirit all my life, and never once did I hear

   the Spirit say, 'Be poor in spirit, mourn a lot, be meek, be

   persecuted for my sake and so forth and you will be thrice blessed.'

   Instead what I have heard is 'I didn't give you those special gifts

   to have you fritter them away, get out there and go for it, go do

   what I told you!  Oh yeah, and don't expect to be blessed for it.'

What is it that God wants us to know? It is that we are blessed when we take the gifts that God has given us and use them for the glory of God in the world. That may very well mean that we find success by earthly standards, but that is not what we are about. Foolishness is proclaimed by those who do not understand the power of the Empty tomb. Foolishness is what they call us who worship a man who went to the cross as a criminal and died there. If you think about it, it is a little foolish to walk around telling people that Jesus died on a cross and because of that you need to believe in Him.

Paul proclaims that the truth is in the cross which is foolishness to the rest of the world. The truth is that God is calling us to do foolish things in the world to shame those who claim to have all the answers while people beneath them starve to death. The truth is that God is calling us to change the world through the ordinary, the marginalized and the poor. We are called to be foolish so that the world can come to understand what God’s love looks and feels like.

There are missionaries out there in the world today that are being foolish for God. One of them is Randy Marshall and you met his family a number of years ago when they came here. Randy is a missionary and he and his family are currently in the Ukraine bringing this message of foolishness to the young people around them. They send me an update almost weekly that chronicles the successes and yes, even the struggles that they have. He told me once that he was in Russia and lost everything he owned when they decided to kick him out of the country. And there are hundreds just like him all over the world. They are people who would take their talents and skills and bring the message of foolishness, the message of love to the world. Some of these brave men and women gladly put their lives on the line every day to do that work.

By the way, as the world tells Denver that they are wonderful and Carolina that they are losers, as the world of football goes through its annual upheaval of coaches being fired and players being moved, those who are foolish for God are winning. Micah the prophet has told us what we supposed to do in the world in verse 6:8, ^NRS  Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

There is a small cathedral outside Bethlehem marks the supposed birthplace

of Jesus.  Behind a high altar in the church is a cave, a little cavern lit

by silver lamps.  You can enter the main edifice and admire the ancient

church.  You can also enter the quiet cave where a star embedded in the

floor recognizes the birth of the King.  There is one stipulation, however.

You have to stoop.  The door is so low you can't go in standing up.

Are you foolish enough to trust God to lead you where God would want you go? Are you foolish enough to begin to be different in the world around you? Are you ready to part of the world of fools?

Lessons on Life

Sermon given at Grace UMC 3/24/16

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Scripture Reading:

^NRS  John 11:17  When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. ²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." ²³ Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." ²⁴ Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." ²⁵ Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" ²⁷ She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."

An old man lived alone in Idaho. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was backbreaking work, and his son, Bubba, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man mentioned it in a letter he sent to his son by saying, “I’m not sure exactly what to do. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. It looks like I won’t be able to plant that garden this year after all.” A few days later, he received a short letter from his son, “Dad, For heaven’s sake, don’t dig up that garden that’s where I buried the bodies!” At 4 a.m. the next morning, a crew of police officers, and the FBI arrived to find the bodies. After digging for hours, they gave up and apologized to the old man and left.
That same day the old man received another letter from his son. “Dear Dad, under these circumstances, that’s the best I can do, go ahead and plant your potatoes now.”

This morning we have come to this place to honor the story of resurrection. But do we really believe that it happened? Before Jesus goes to the cross Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, maybe even a relative, suddenly takes ill and dies. It happens in our world every minute of every day. Someone we love and cherish takes suddenly ill and then dies. What do we believe happens in those moments immediately following our physical death? Where do we go? What does it look like? There are numerous books that describe those who have died and returned and what they have seen, felt and experienced. But are their stories real? What do we really believe?

Martha and Mary have lost their brother. Many of here have lost a loved one at one time or another. It is a time of great sadness as we grieve for that loss. As a Pastor I have attended more than my share of funerals, some large with lots of people paying their respects and some not so large. I remember a man who died in a nursing home when I was serving at a small church called Thomas Chapel. I went to the funeral home and discussed the arrangements; his daughter was from out of town and had left the particulars with the funeral director. It was one of those days, the wind was whipping and it was spitting snow as we arrived at the hillside cemetery where he was going to be buried. I spoke briefly to the funeral director and waited for the family to arrive. We waited and waited and waited. No one did. The crew that had dug the grave saw what was happening and came over saying that someone should at least pay their last respects for the gentleman. It was one of the saddest funerals I ever did.

As a Pastor death has not reached only those who are far away or in someone else’s family. My mother passed in March of 2002. I remember it well. I was working for a client in Scranton, Pennsylvania when the call came. Like most of you, the call is never expected at that moment. Mom had battled a long fight with cancer and the consequences of uncontrolled diabetes. Funny thing about her last moments here in the physical realm! She prepared her flowerbeds for spring, a little early, but it was her normal routine to do so. She got all the things of her life in order and even called me on that Sunday. Mom never liked to use the phone and I thought it a little strange. But her death and the dysfunctionality of my immediate family at that moment left a scar that has truly never healed. Maybe some of you have similar stories to tell. Death is like that you know. 

Death is that moment when our physical life ends and something new begins. I say that because the laws of thermodynamics tell us that energy cannot be lost, it is simply refocused. Martha clearly believes that if Jesus had simply come there when they called for him several days earlier, then Lazarus would not have died. Jesus asks her strange question; at least for our day and age maybe, do you not believe that he will be resurrected. Of course she says in the final days when judgment comes. You see, the Hebrew people believed that when we die we rest in a place called Sheol or Purgatory and there we await the last days and final judgement. At that time we will be resurrected to face a life of paradise or that other place.

But Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me will not perish but have eternal life.”  Have I mentioned that Jesus is late to the funeral? I mean not just a minute late or even a half hour late but he is four days late. Now I think that this plays to the story that John wants us to know. An understanding of Hebrew faith is probably important here. They believe that the soul lingers after physical death. That it takes three days for the soul to progress into Sheol. I wonder if it is coincidental that Jesus waits to one day after that to arrive. I mean, He knows that everyone else knows that Lazarus in beyond the physical realm and no one can say, well he was just ill and Jesus cured him. No he is dead! DEAD, dead!

What Jesus does with Lazarus is an important message for you and me. In fact in some ways it is necessary to the story of His own death and resurrection. If Jesus has the power to raise the dead, then Jesus must be God. Now interestingly enough this story gets press in 1^st century Jerusalem and is reported by historians of that day and time. So we don’t just have the Biblical word, but witness testimony. Jesus raised Lazarus from his physical death back into the physical world. But that is not what Easter. That Jesus has that power is something we take sometimes for granted. That Jesus was willing to help a friend and/or family member is an important story.

What is important today is that the tomb where Jesus lay is empty just as the tomb where Lazarus lay was empty. We have traveled this path the last week from the entrance into Jerusalem where His very entrance on the back of a donkey proclaimed Him as Messiah. Next we go to the events of the Upper Room where when sharing the Passover feast, he introduced a new covenant that we now share. Funny thing about that, again, it cannot be coincidence that Jesus death comes on the eve of Passover at the very moments when they are slaying the lambs for the Passover feast. But Jesus death at Golgotha comes at a pivotal moment for each of us. Why would He do that? Why would He give His life for us? What grace has been shared as the blood was shed?

Easter is not about flowers or spring or the celebration of new bonnets and new suits. It is not about letting us enjoy the children in a program but it is about the message they sent us this morning. The tomb is empty and God’s love and mercy has been shed down the cross for you and me. We are free from the bondage of sin and given the promise of eternal life in paradise. Isiah tells us that one day we will share a meal on the mountain of God with the best meats, the best breads and the best of everything, best of all being in the presence of Jesus. I remember one night while visiting a funeral home where a member’s relative was in viewing. A woman came to me that night with a story. She said some years back she had died while being operated on. She remembers being in a place where she knew people there, but was unable to see, just sense them. There were a lot of people and they were around a table but she was not allowed to move into the throng of people and next to the table. She was turned around and woke up in recovery. Where was I she asked?

Do you believe in the resurrection? God has a promise for you that you too can one day sit at the table of God. But it requires that you come to the table with thanksgiving, repentance and belief. Do you believe?