Did You Want to Vacuum That Car?
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
All families have rules about how you are–and are not–supposed to behave. Parents don’t always explicitly tell you what the rules are. The rules are unconsciously passed down from generation to generation. For instance, it was an unspoken rule in my family that you were supposed to take good care of your personal belongings. I apparently did not learn the rule – at least not to my father’s satisfaction. I was at my parent’s house a few weeks ago. In the middle of another conversation, my father said to me, “Did you want to vacuum that car?” “What car?” I asked. With a disapproving glare my father said, “Your car. How can you let your wife drive around in that car when it looks so dirty.” He said it in the sort of way that suggested I should be ashamed or embarrassed about the sandy floors and dirty exterior, and McDonald’s wrappers littering the back seat. Unaffected by his guilt trips, I said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll clean it sometime.” An hour or so later my father came up to me and said, “So, did you want to vacuum that car?” Thinking he wanted to bond, I agreed to clean the car. My father escorted me to the car care section of his garage. His shelves are lined with solvents for every kind of car cleaning need -- Window cleaner, tire cleaner, shiny tire spray, vinyl cleaner, carpet stain remover, degreaser, Rain-X, Armor All, washer fluid, soap, wax, spot cleaner. He has cloths and rags, and little brushes to clean the vents. This is why I didn’t want to vacuum the car. He has the entire Wal-Mart care-cares section in his garage, and he uses it all. The canister vac was plugged in and ready to go. My father stood over me and supervised the job. “Aren’t you going to vacuum the mats? Here’s some glass cleaner. Work the armor all in good so it doesn’t look streaky.” In the end, it wasn’t about bonding. It was about my father needing to teach me the rules: If you have something nice, take care of it. The only way to enjoy your blessings is to care for them.
Paul is saying the same thing in today’s Scripture reading. If we want the church to work well, we need to recognize our spiritual gifts, and also take care in how we use them.
Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts reminds us that each one of us has an important function in the church. If we want to be an effective church that touches lives with the gospel, we begin by being good stewards of the gifts we’ve been given.
This morning, on the way in to the sanctuary, you were handed a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. You probably thought that was a little strange. I think we are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. All who enter this place are all of equal value to the overall picture of the Church! If even one piece is missing, then the picture will not be complete. You presence here gives shape to the Church. By calling yourself a Christian, you tell the world that you will try to be more Christ like, that you would help the church any way you can. Jesus gave his life so that you would be saved, and you commit your life that his church will be complete!
I heard about a high school that had a career day for the seniors. To kick off the meeting they assembled all the students in the gym and the job representatives, one by one, stood and explained how great it would be to come and work for them. After the presentation, the students could stop by booths and fill out applications or hand in a resume. Included in the program were Armed Forces representatives. The Navy recruiter spoke on the advantages of a career with his organization and encouraged the students telling them that they had what it took to make it in the Navy. After his presentation, a tough, muscular-looking Marine stood at the podium. He looked around at the crowd of students and shook his head. He said, “I don’t see anyone here who could make it in our program. It’s the toughest challenge you could ever face. I don’t think any of you have the guts to become a Marine. If you think you’ve got what it takes come and see me after the presentations.” After the assembly was over, guess which booth had the largest number of inquiries? The Marine was flooded with applicants.
Membership in the church of Jesus Christ should be held in the same high regard. The problem is that we’ve made it a weak and easy -- usually nothing more than a name on a piece of paper. God intends it to be something more.
We are all equally important to the Church. If even one piece is missing, the picture isn’t complete. Have you ever thought about who is missing from the church? Where are the missing puzzle pieces that help us resemble Christ when they are here? Unfortunately, I think they have been excluded from the church. Strange isn’t it? We say we want everyone to be part of the church. But the truth is that we have already decided what the big picture is supposed to look like, and we are happy to complete the puzzle with the pieces we already have. Sometimes our version of the final picture isn’t the same as God’s.
There are different ways to keep people out. [i] In extreme cases, people are excluded through assimilation. We decide that there are sine puzzle pieces out there will taint the others. They have a piece that looks different from the others. We say, “That piece you have is not like ours, so you must belong to another puzzle. You can survive, and even thrive here, if you make your puzzle piece look like the rest of ours. You can belong if you give up your identity.”
People also exclude others by domination. This happens when we think of others as inferior beings. We make sure that they can’t live in our neighborhoods, get certain kinds of jobs, or receive equal honor. They must stay in their proper place – that is, the place that has been assigned for them. Exclusion by domination – we see it in the caste system in India, or the former apartheid policies in South Africa. And sometimes even in the church.
Sometimes people are excluded through abandonment. It’s an attitude that says, “If we ignore others, maybe they will go away.” There are lost people in Trumbull. There are people who desperately need to be connected to the life-giving Body of Christ. For some reason, we avoid these people. We are more comfortable keeping our faith private. We don’t want to even mention that others may be lost because it sounds like we’re judging them -- or admitting that maybe we ourselves are also lost. We forget that the purpose of our puzzle piece is to put them all together to build a picture of the church.
Here’s my point about the puzzle. Even though you have pieces in your hands, I still have more in the box. The picture is not complete until everyone has a piece and gets connected. Everyone, together, makes up the complete picture--those who are here, those who have left, those we don’t want here, and those who have never been invited.
Look closely at your puzzle piece. Have you noticed that there are no complete pictures on any individual piece? Why is that? Because the puzzle is not completed by any one person, or piece. It takes many to complete this picture. Now I’d like you to look closely again at the piece. Notice that they are all shaped differently. Sure, they are all similar, yet not exact. It’s the same with people, wouldn’t you say? We are all similar in it that we have 2 eyes, ears, arms, legs, etc. But we are all very different in our personalities. We all have different fingerprints, different DNA. We are so much alike, yet so different. Each individual piece helps to complete the picture, Like each individual person, with individual gifts, talents, and personality, helps to complete the Church! That’s a very amazing piece of a cardboard that you are holding. And you are truly an amazing piece of this church.
Now, notice something else about these pieces. The edges of each piece are completely different from any other piece. Your piece may not fit with your immediate neighbor’s piece, but you can bet that it fits with at least 2-3 others pieces here! Kind of like people, we don’t get along with all the people in the Church, but there are those that we fit right in with! And when we get with those people, our part of the picture is completed! And those people that we do not get along with, they have others that they do get along with. Their pieces match up, and they complete their portion of the picture! We have all tried to complete a jigsaw puzzle. We know that it takes a lot of patience. It also takes a lot of patience to build up the Church. To complete a puzzle it takes a lot of organization as well. When you open the box, you first try to organize the pieces by identifying colors, marks and designs on the pieces, right? When we try to organize the Church, we try to organize by what everybody’s talents are, We try to find out where each person belongs in the overall picture. The way to do that is by sorting out by the shapes, or discerning everyone’s individual spiritual gifts. All are important. All are vital. Then you slowly begin to assemble parts of the picture. Connecting the slots one pair at a time, until it all begins to come together! Sometimes it is very frustrating when you find two pieces that look like they belong together, but you try and connect them and they do not fit! So you keep trying. You keep the faith. Then, after much work, the picture is complete. As people come to the Church, they begin to find where they fit in. Where their talents and gifts best match the needs of the Church. These gifts are what ‘bond’ us together in the Church. Much like the slots in the jigsaw pieces, we use these to interlock with each other . Let’s use these gifts to complete the Church! That’s how we show we are willing to take care of our gifts, and take care of one another.
Where do you fit in? Where are your talents and gifts most beneficial to completing the Church? I want us all to keep these pieces of the puzzle, as a reminder that we are all a very vital link in the Church! Without any of you, it would not be complete! May the Lord bless each of you! Also, remember my father’s lesson? “Do you want to vacuum that car?” The only way to enjoy your blessings is to care for them.
[i] See Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace, 75.
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Sermon for February 12, 2006
For all you who are snowed in, here is the sermon I would have preached today.
Returning Our Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
As we are now well into the New Year, has the excitement and thrill of the Christmas season come to an end for you? Have you taken down your Christmas tree yet? Are your children and grandchildren already bored with their new Christmas gifts ? Our joy in material things is not a lasting joy. Once the newness wears off we tend to push our gifts aside and find something else that captures our attention. So why not re-gift them? "Tacky," you say? I have no qualms about re-gifting when done properly. As experts now say, re-gifting is a recipe for public humiliation and long-held grudges when done arelessly. Done with finesse and tact, re-gifting can be a happy experience for all But there are some rules:
Talking about spiritual gifts makes some people nervous. There are two sticky attitudes that I’ve noticed in my conversations with people.
One attitude is that some people see the spiritual gifts and special talents of others and become envious. We say, “Wow, look at what God is doing through that person. I wish I could do that.” When we feel this way, it’s like we are that man in the cartoon who has taken his gift-- perfectly chosen and given in love-- and tried to return it for something better.
Another attitude is heard in those who say, “I’m just not a very gifted person. I’m just an ordinary Christian, not a gifted one.”
I think the church in Corinth had similar feelings about the gifts of God.
The passage we read comes from a letter to a divided community. Some of the Christians in Corinth felt very pround of themselves because they knew that they were doing things. Some were teaching people the gospel of Jesus Christ, others were having visions of what God wants and were able to share these visions with the community. Others were healers and teachers and workers of miracles;. As a result of these activities, people’s lives were being changed and the results were dramatic.
Other people in the church at Corinth felt very unimportant. They had a gnawing sense that what they were doing for God didn’t matter very much - that somehow, it wasn’t as good as what others were doing. To make matters worse, people around them gave greater glory and encouragement to those who were doing more “spiritual” things. It was like how some today feel that because they only have a 10th-grade education that they are not as good as those who have gone to a university -- or how some who cook and clean at home do not feel as needed or as important as those who have a career outside the home. With all those different feelings about who was important and who was less important, the unity of their church vanished. The church in Corinth began to have troubles, it divided into factions. While this went on, those who believed themselves to be inferior simply tried to survive, and to hope against hope that they mattered to someone somewhere. People left the church in Corinth and others refused to come. Those who remained were unhappy and less and less effective in showing the love of Christ to the world. What was true of Corinth is true in many places, not only in churches, but in every kind of group known to humankind. We see the same problems in in AA groups and self help agencies, in the PTA and in service clubs, in factories and in schools, and even in homes. There are all kinds of sad places where we don’t feel cared for, respected, or needed.
Divisions in churches happen in many ways, but most often they arise because of how people are treated, how people act towards each other and think about each other, and not because of doctrine or belief. More churches have split up because of swelled heads, and pure thoughtlessness, than because of disputes about theology. It seems that the more we insist that what we are doing is the one and only right thing, and the best thing for everybody, the more likely we are to be wrong in how we actually treat one another. Likewise, the more we feel that we’re not as important as someone else--the more we put ourselves down or allow others to put us down--the our witness as a church is damaged. We end up confirming in the minds of others that there are degrees of value and worth in the church.
Wherever people and their gifts are measured against one another, there is pain and sorrow and anger, and the work of God is hampered. Think you are more special than you are, and kiss the work of healing goodbye. Think you are less important than you are, or that others are less important, and kiss the work of bringing wholeness to others goodbye. Who’s going to believe that God is real, and that faith in God makes a difference, a positive difference, when the people who worship God, are constantly criticizing others or criticizing themselves.
If the church is to work as God intended it to work, then the we, the people of the church must learn to develop a godly vision about ourselves and our brothers and sisters. Wherever people see each other as God sees them, the church works well. There may be disagreements, but there won’t be divisions. There may be arguments, but there won’t be resentment There won’t be envy, or pride, or self-abuse because of it. There will be love.
Our vision needs to be focused on what God wants us to see about ourselves and about others. We are called individually to faith in Jesus, but we are called into a community, a church, so that we might have all the blessings that God wants us to have, and so that we might be able to give all the blessings that God wants us to give. We are a people who are called to feed one another and support one another. We are a people who are called to witness to the world that God’s love is a transforming love. It is so transforming that it’s able to tear down all barriers, remove all walls, and unite people in faith. Paul wrote the Corinthians about these matters. He reminded them of who they were and of whose they were, of what they should be doing and who they should be doing it for, of where their abilities came from and where those abilities were meant to be applied.
Listen to verses 4 through 7 again. Paul writes: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works through all of them in all people . . . Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
One God, one Spirit, one Lord - and a variety of gifts, all meant to be used for one purpose - to bring salvation and wholeness to the world. When we have a grounded perspective on our spiritual gifts, we can be a united body that reaches out and ministers to the community.
The Church newsletter of the First Presbyterian Church of Cedartown, Georgia once published the following article:
Returning Our Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
As we are now well into the New Year, has the excitement and thrill of the Christmas season come to an end for you? Have you taken down your Christmas tree yet? Are your children and grandchildren already bored with their new Christmas gifts ? Our joy in material things is not a lasting joy. Once the newness wears off we tend to push our gifts aside and find something else that captures our attention. So why not re-gift them? "Tacky," you say? I have no qualms about re-gifting when done properly. As experts now say, re-gifting is a recipe for public humiliation and long-held grudges when done arelessly. Done with finesse and tact, re-gifting can be a happy experience for all But there are some rules:
1. Don’t tell the gift recipient that their present is a re-gift!This morning we’re going to think about some other special gifts God has given us. They are gifts that we can enjoy and re-gift all at the same time. The Bible refers to them as spiritual gifts. In today's Scripture reading, Paul refers to them as “manifestations of the Spirit” (12:7). The Holy Spirit has given us special abilities to enable us to be a blessing and a help to others. Paul gives some examples this passage: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues, and prophesying. Nobody in the church is merely average. God’s Spirit is in us to provide us with gifts, talents, and abilities to serve Him.
2. Please, at least change the old wrapping paper.
3. Only re-gift new items. Onceyou use something, it’s a hand-me-down. Nobody wants your hand-me-downs for abirthday gift.
4. Don’t re-gift to the person who gave it to you in the first place.
5. Don’t EVER re-gift the following items: candles, soap, random books, mysterious CDs (unless your brother wants the hip-hop version of “Man of La Mancha”), obscure software, cheesy jewelry, scarves (do we not all own a scarf?), fruitcake, pens, cologne, boxed sets of extinct bath products (Jean Nate? No, no, no), videos or DVDs obviously acquired on a street corner, socks and any appliances or electronic gear the giftee would be puzzled to receive because they probably just got rid of it (including hot-air popcorn poppers and anything with a cassette deck in it).
6. Don’t give partially-used gift cards
7. Don’t give products from defunct companies. Nobody wants your Enron Celebrity Golf Tournament T-shirt.
Talking about spiritual gifts makes some people nervous. There are two sticky attitudes that I’ve noticed in my conversations with people.
One attitude is that some people see the spiritual gifts and special talents of others and become envious. We say, “Wow, look at what God is doing through that person. I wish I could do that.” When we feel this way, it’s like we are that man in the cartoon who has taken his gift-- perfectly chosen and given in love-- and tried to return it for something better.
Another attitude is heard in those who say, “I’m just not a very gifted person. I’m just an ordinary Christian, not a gifted one.”
I think the church in Corinth had similar feelings about the gifts of God.
The passage we read comes from a letter to a divided community. Some of the Christians in Corinth felt very pround of themselves because they knew that they were doing things. Some were teaching people the gospel of Jesus Christ, others were having visions of what God wants and were able to share these visions with the community. Others were healers and teachers and workers of miracles;. As a result of these activities, people’s lives were being changed and the results were dramatic.
Other people in the church at Corinth felt very unimportant. They had a gnawing sense that what they were doing for God didn’t matter very much - that somehow, it wasn’t as good as what others were doing. To make matters worse, people around them gave greater glory and encouragement to those who were doing more “spiritual” things. It was like how some today feel that because they only have a 10th-grade education that they are not as good as those who have gone to a university -- or how some who cook and clean at home do not feel as needed or as important as those who have a career outside the home. With all those different feelings about who was important and who was less important, the unity of their church vanished. The church in Corinth began to have troubles, it divided into factions. While this went on, those who believed themselves to be inferior simply tried to survive, and to hope against hope that they mattered to someone somewhere. People left the church in Corinth and others refused to come. Those who remained were unhappy and less and less effective in showing the love of Christ to the world. What was true of Corinth is true in many places, not only in churches, but in every kind of group known to humankind. We see the same problems in in AA groups and self help agencies, in the PTA and in service clubs, in factories and in schools, and even in homes. There are all kinds of sad places where we don’t feel cared for, respected, or needed.
Divisions in churches happen in many ways, but most often they arise because of how people are treated, how people act towards each other and think about each other, and not because of doctrine or belief. More churches have split up because of swelled heads, and pure thoughtlessness, than because of disputes about theology. It seems that the more we insist that what we are doing is the one and only right thing, and the best thing for everybody, the more likely we are to be wrong in how we actually treat one another. Likewise, the more we feel that we’re not as important as someone else--the more we put ourselves down or allow others to put us down--the our witness as a church is damaged. We end up confirming in the minds of others that there are degrees of value and worth in the church.
Wherever people and their gifts are measured against one another, there is pain and sorrow and anger, and the work of God is hampered. Think you are more special than you are, and kiss the work of healing goodbye. Think you are less important than you are, or that others are less important, and kiss the work of bringing wholeness to others goodbye. Who’s going to believe that God is real, and that faith in God makes a difference, a positive difference, when the people who worship God, are constantly criticizing others or criticizing themselves.
If the church is to work as God intended it to work, then the we, the people of the church must learn to develop a godly vision about ourselves and our brothers and sisters. Wherever people see each other as God sees them, the church works well. There may be disagreements, but there won’t be divisions. There may be arguments, but there won’t be resentment There won’t be envy, or pride, or self-abuse because of it. There will be love.
Our vision needs to be focused on what God wants us to see about ourselves and about others. We are called individually to faith in Jesus, but we are called into a community, a church, so that we might have all the blessings that God wants us to have, and so that we might be able to give all the blessings that God wants us to give. We are a people who are called to feed one another and support one another. We are a people who are called to witness to the world that God’s love is a transforming love. It is so transforming that it’s able to tear down all barriers, remove all walls, and unite people in faith. Paul wrote the Corinthians about these matters. He reminded them of who they were and of whose they were, of what they should be doing and who they should be doing it for, of where their abilities came from and where those abilities were meant to be applied.
Listen to verses 4 through 7 again. Paul writes: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works through all of them in all people . . . Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
One God, one Spirit, one Lord - and a variety of gifts, all meant to be used for one purpose - to bring salvation and wholeness to the world. When we have a grounded perspective on our spiritual gifts, we can be a united body that reaches out and ministers to the community.
The Church newsletter of the First Presbyterian Church of Cedartown, Georgia once published the following article:
We will never become a church that effectively reaches out to those who areAll we have to do in order to attract those who are missing is to use our gifts in ways that encourage one another in mutual support. We need to demonstrate to the world that we have as much sense as a goose. The seems little enough price to pay to win the lost and minister to one another.
missing if we shoot our wounded and emphasize our minuses. Instead of becoming
fishers of people, as Christ calls us to be, we will be keepers of an
ever-shrinking aquarium. The next time you see geese heading south for the
winter flying in a “V” formation, you might be interested in knowing what
science has discovered about why they fly that way. It has been learned that as
each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately
following it. By flying in a “V” formation the whole flock adds at least 71%
greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. Christians who share a
common direction and a sense of community can get where they are traveling on
the thrust and uplift of one another. Whenever a goose falls out of formation,
it suddenly feels the draft and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly
gets back into formation to take advantage of the uplifting power of the bird
immediately in front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in
formation with those who are headed the same way we are going. When the lead
goose gets tired, it rotates to the back of the formation and another goose
flies point. It pays to take turns doing hard jobs with people at church, or
with geese flying south. The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front
to keep up their speed. What do we say when we honk from behind... Finally, when
a goose gets sick, or is wounded and falls out of formation, two other geese
fall out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with
the wounded goose until it is able to fly again, and then they launch out on
their own or with another formation, to catch up with their original group. If
people knew we would stand by them like that in the church, they would push down
the walls to get in.
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Sermon for Sunday, February 5, 2006
Doing the Devils’ Dirty Work
Matthew 15:18-20; Titus: 3:1-8
Here is your morning test. Pretend I’m not your pastor. I’m really your hairdresser. I’ve always wanted to open a hair salon named Hair Like Matt’s. Imagine that you are at Hair Like Matt’s and I cut your hair, and when we’re done, your hair looks just like mine. Basically, you get a bad haircut. Really bad. You go home to wash your hair and restyle it. Your new hairstyle is bristly with long hairs sticking up where they shouldn’t, while shorter patches of hair dot your scalp. What do you do?
Matthew 15:18-20; Titus: 3:1-8
Here is your morning test. Pretend I’m not your pastor. I’m really your hairdresser. I’ve always wanted to open a hair salon named Hair Like Matt’s. Imagine that you are at Hair Like Matt’s and I cut your hair, and when we’re done, your hair looks just like mine. Basically, you get a bad haircut. Really bad. You go home to wash your hair and restyle it. Your new hairstyle is bristly with long hairs sticking up where they shouldn’t, while shorter patches of hair dot your scalp. What do you do?
- Shrug your shoulders and say, “Oh well, it will grow back.”
- Go back and ask the hairdresser to fix it?
- Find a new hairdresser and promise never to go to Hair Like Matt again?
Maybe you should go to ThePayback.com. We all know someone with a problem or someone who offends us, but were not always able to confront these people. ThePayback.com does the dirty work for you while keeping your identity a secret. For $3 you can send your hairdresser an anonymous letter that says:
Someone who really cares about you wants you to know that when people leave the
barbershop, they expect to look as they pictured in their minds before the
haircut. Sometimes that can be a hard standard to live up to, but if it is
a current style, it should not be too difficult for an average barber. Always
cut the customer’s hair in the style that they request.
If your hairdo causes small children to panic whenever you are near, then you can also send an edgier letter:
Dear barber,You need to get you eyes check by a licensed eye doctor because some
is terribly wrong with your hand-to-eye coordination. Perhaps you have the
shakes? I could have cut my own hair with a blindfold on and done a better
job than you.
I don’t recommend this approach, of course. I believe if you have something to say about someone, than you should have the guts to say it to his or her face. But, at some point, someone told us that direct confrontation might hurt another person’s feelings. Instead of being honest, it’s easier to talk about idiots behind their backs. Our ears usually itch to hear stories about another’s guilty secrets.
Of course, we know we shouldn’t tell stories about other people, especially fake ones. We’ve seen what happens to the elementary school boy when he’s labeled as slow, or to the high school girl who is rumored to be easy, or to the promotion chances of a co-worker who we’ve heard, on good account, is lazy or brainless. It hardly matters whether or not the stories are true. Like the flu, rumors spread by human-to-human contact.
About 12 years ago, I opened an impassioned letter asking me to boycott Procter and Gamble. The author of the chain letter (who by the way spelled Procter incorrectly) claimed that the President of Procter & Gamble appeared on the Phil Donahue Show and announced that “due to the openness of our society”, he was confessing his association with the church of Satan. He stated that a large portion of the profits from Procter & Gamble products suppoted the satanic church. The letter said, “Inform other Christians about this and STOP buying Proctor & Gamble products. Let’s show Proctor & Gamble that there are enough Christians to make a difference! We urge you to make copies of this and pass it on to as many people as possible. Liz Claiborne also professes to worship Satan and recently openly admitted on the Oprah Winfrey show that half of her profits go towards the church of Satan. This needs to stop!”
One of my life principles is to never support a Satanist. I sorted through all my household products, setting aside everything with a demonic Procter & Gamble logo. As I looked at my harvest of P & G items, I realized what an inconvenience my boycott would be. They make all my favorite products: Cascade, Joy, Comet, Spic &Span, Ivory, Mr. Clean, Bounty towels, Duncan Hines, Jif Peanut Butter, Crisco, Head & Shoulders, Scope, Crest, Downy, Bounce, Sunny Delight, and Pepto-Bismol.
I called P&G customer service and asked them about it. They sent me an enormous packet of letters from Archbishops, Billy Graham, and other Christian luminaries supporting P&G’s integrity. All of the talk shows have also denied this story, but it persists in petitions across the country. Is it a massive satanic plot on a gullible Christian culture, or a downright lie?
Did you hear about the kid who ate six bags of Pop Rocks at a party? In 1971, Life Cereal made a commercial in which a chubby-cheeked, freckle-faced, impossible-to-please little kid named Mikey devoured a heaping bowl of Life. A few years later, we heard rumors that Mikey had devoured a heaping bowl of death. At a party, the rumor goes, Mikey threw back six packs of Pop Rocks, and then chased them with an entire six-pack of Coca-Cola. The consequent explosion allegedly killed him in a flash. None of us doubted the story, and why should we? We heard rumors that Pop Rocks contained an drug that had once been declared illegal by the U.S. government. We trusted the facts of Mikey’s death to be true. To set the record straight, the manufacturer took out full-page ads in forty-five major publications, wrote over 50,000 letters to school principals around the country, and sent inventor of Pop Rocks on a national tour to demonstrate that Pop Rocks induced nothing more deadly than a mild burping sensation. The ruse didn’t work, and Pop Rocks were taken off the shelves briefly during the 1980s. Now listen to this little piece of coincidence that I discovered just this morning. And this is an original theory as far as I can tell. Before his death, Little Mickey was also pitching Skippy Peanut Butter, the brand that competes with and consistently undersells Jif. And Jif is made by - -- guess who -- the Satanists at Procter & Gamble. Is it all a colossal cover-up, or frivolous falsehood.
Have you ever been a victim of Gossip? If you have ever had lies spread about you, then you know how devastating it can be. The tricky thing about gossip is that it is often spread with what appears to be good intentions. A story about a neighbor is told to protect others from making the same mistake. A tale about a troublesome child is spread to keep other children in line. It’s not gossip. We are just sharing our concerns. A Christian woman who suffers with depression writes online about how gossip affected her:
“Some people I thought were my friends were trading rumors about me. When I
confronted one of them, she said it was because they were ‘concerned’ about me.
They were so concerned that they couldn’t pick up the phone or write a letter,
drop round to see me or send E-mail. They were more concerned with spreading
what they thought were my guilty secrets. Never mind that their ‘news’ was bad
guesses showing the situation in the worst possible light, or that their guesses
were completely wrong. Never mind that none of these people had even seen me in
several weeks. They were 'concerned.’”
With concerned friends like these, who needs enemies?
Speaking of enemies, as Christians, our enemy is evil, represented not by Procter and Gamble, but by death, and the devil. In fact, one of the names given to the devil in the NT is diabolos. Diabolos literally means “the slanderer”. The devil is the representation of the one who spreads false accusations and slanderous words about others. The devil is the original gossiper. If we are spreading gossip and smearing the name of others, we are doing the devil’s dirty work.
Gossip reveals more a bout the heart of the gossiper than the one gossiped about. When you wag your tongue about someone else, your words defile you, not the other. Listen again to what Jesus says: Evil words come from an evil heart and defile the person who says them. When our words are doing the devil’s dirty work, it means that our hearts are not in line with God’s. In fact, God is on the side of the victim of gossip. Jesus says, “Count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.”
There is an old saying: There isn’t much to be seen in a little town, but what you hear makes up for it. We hear a lot in our little town, don’t we? In fact, one of the reasons I want us to think about gossip is because it has the power to destroy our church. People have left this church because of the power of gossip. And I think it could be different. I think we can make some basic commitments to each other that we are going to do God’s work instead of the devil’s.
In Paul’s letter to Titus, Paul is writing to a missionary working on the island of Crete. Paul gives Titus some advice on how to guide a new church. One of the things he tells Titus is that to win over the Cretans, the church will have to demonstrate new life in Christ. Paul writes, “Titus, remind the church that at one time, you acted like pagans, but now you are different because of Jesus Christ. Let your actions show the kindness and love of Christ. Do good. Slander no one. Be peaceful and considerate and show true humility.
Spiritual growth can happen in our church if we learn when to keep our mouths shut. Dietrich Bonhöffer, the German Christian martyr of WWII, believed we minister to one another by considering our words before we speak them. In his book, Life Together he writes, “Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words . . . He who holds his tongue in check controls both mind and body.”
When we hold our tongues and control our gossip about other people, then we come to discover that everyone has a place in the community - strong and weak, wise and foolish, gifted and ungifted. We begin to see that our differences are not incentives for judging and condemning each other. Our differences give us reasons to rejoice in one another and serve one another. Each member of the community is made in the image of Christ, and each person has a place at our Table.
Yiddish folklore tells a tale of man who told a lot of malicious lies about the local rabbi that. Eventually overcome by remorse, the liar begged the rabbi to forgive him. “Rabbi, tell me how I can make amends,” he begged. The rabbi sighed, “Take two pillows, go to the public square and there cut the pillows open. Wave them in the air. Then come back.” The rumormonger quickly went home, got two pillows and a knife, ran to the square, cut the pillows open, waved them in the air and raced back to the rabbi’s chambers. “I did just what you said, Rabbi!” The rabbi smiled. “Now, to realize how much harm is done by gossip, go back to the square... and collect all your feathers.”
Or, as Will Rogers put it, “Live so that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.”
We can bless others through truth-telling, instead of cursing them through storytelling. We can speak directly to others instead of speaking to others about them. It’s the golden rule at the heart of Christian ethics. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard a person say, “You know, I wish someone would trash talk me around town today. I wish someone would call me a crook, or a liar or a weirdo behind my back because confrontation makes me uncomfortable.”
Are we doing the devil’s dirty work, or blessing others in Christ’s name? Are we liars or lovers?
God’s loving givers, or the devil’s diabolical drones? Whose side will we be on?
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Sermon for January 29, 2006
Recovering Our Thankful Praise
1 Corinthians 11:27-34
I am again indebted to the work of Alex Gondola in his book Come As You Are: Sermons on th e Lord's Supper (Lima, OH: CSS, 2000).
Most of us can hardly get through a day without feeling at least a little bit guilty about something. As psychiatrist named Paul Tournier once wrote, “A guilty conscience is the seasoning of our daily life.” You parents out there – who hasn’t felt guilty about disciplining the children -- either that we have disciplined them too much, or haven’t disciplined them enough? And that’s only one of many things that can make a parent feel guilty.
There’s a book called “How to Be a Guilty Parent” that lists 85 different types of parent guilt. Like “Working Mother Guilt.” That’s what happens when you get a telephone call your child says: “Hello, Mom? Is that you, Mom? I can hardly remember your voice any longer! I know you don’t like me to bother you at work, Mom, but, I really have to know: where do you keep the instant coffee? I’d like to give the Fire Department and the Police some coffee before they leave.”
Parents aren’t the only ones who feel guilty. Children sometimes feel guilty about letting down their parents. We all know people go through life thinking they were never good enough for their parents. They could never meet their parent’s high expectations. They were never smart enough, never athletic enough, never caring enough. Now scientists are talking about researching technology to genetically engineer superior children. Who will be smarter, faster, and better looking. Maybe we can re-engineer the guilt gene, too.
Parents can feel guilty. Children can feel guilty. Sometimes students feel guilty about not getting the most out of their education. Homeowners can feel guilty about taking a Saturday nap instead of fixing the faucet. And so on. Tournier was right: a guilty conscience is the seasoning of daily life.
If we could just wash our guilt away, we’d buy “Repent Body Detergent” and use it by the bucket. But we can’t. So people try other ways to get rid of guilt. Some of us try to deny our guilt. We are like the minister who walked down the road and saw a group of boys surrounding a dog. “What are you doing with that dog?” the kindly clergyman asked. “We’re having a contest,” said one of the boys. “Whoever can tell the biggest lie wins the dog.” The minister “Oh, my. When I was a little boy like you, I never told lies.” There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, one of the boys responded, “Okay, mister, you win the dog!”
I know many people who deny they’ve ever done wrong in their lives. Paul saw the same problem in the church in Corinth. Originally, worshipers gathered to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. They decided to serve a full meal with it. They called it a love feast. Their love feast was anything but loving. People were rude, cruel, self-serving,and self-gratifying. Rather than waiting on one another, they jumped in front of each another in line to get the best food. Instead of waiting on the poor, the poor were left hungry. While the poor got nothing, those who jumped in front of them gorged themselves drank insatiably, to the point of drunkenness. So Paul tells them how to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. He says words that we still say today:
1 Corinthians 11:27-34
I am again indebted to the work of Alex Gondola in his book Come As You Are: Sermons on th e Lord's Supper (Lima, OH: CSS, 2000).
Most of us can hardly get through a day without feeling at least a little bit guilty about something. As psychiatrist named Paul Tournier once wrote, “A guilty conscience is the seasoning of our daily life.” You parents out there – who hasn’t felt guilty about disciplining the children -- either that we have disciplined them too much, or haven’t disciplined them enough? And that’s only one of many things that can make a parent feel guilty.
There’s a book called “How to Be a Guilty Parent” that lists 85 different types of parent guilt. Like “Working Mother Guilt.” That’s what happens when you get a telephone call your child says: “Hello, Mom? Is that you, Mom? I can hardly remember your voice any longer! I know you don’t like me to bother you at work, Mom, but, I really have to know: where do you keep the instant coffee? I’d like to give the Fire Department and the Police some coffee before they leave.”
Parents aren’t the only ones who feel guilty. Children sometimes feel guilty about letting down their parents. We all know people go through life thinking they were never good enough for their parents. They could never meet their parent’s high expectations. They were never smart enough, never athletic enough, never caring enough. Now scientists are talking about researching technology to genetically engineer superior children. Who will be smarter, faster, and better looking. Maybe we can re-engineer the guilt gene, too.
Parents can feel guilty. Children can feel guilty. Sometimes students feel guilty about not getting the most out of their education. Homeowners can feel guilty about taking a Saturday nap instead of fixing the faucet. And so on. Tournier was right: a guilty conscience is the seasoning of daily life.
If we could just wash our guilt away, we’d buy “Repent Body Detergent” and use it by the bucket. But we can’t. So people try other ways to get rid of guilt. Some of us try to deny our guilt. We are like the minister who walked down the road and saw a group of boys surrounding a dog. “What are you doing with that dog?” the kindly clergyman asked. “We’re having a contest,” said one of the boys. “Whoever can tell the biggest lie wins the dog.” The minister “Oh, my. When I was a little boy like you, I never told lies.” There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, one of the boys responded, “Okay, mister, you win the dog!”
I know many people who deny they’ve ever done wrong in their lives. Paul saw the same problem in the church in Corinth. Originally, worshipers gathered to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. They decided to serve a full meal with it. They called it a love feast. Their love feast was anything but loving. People were rude, cruel, self-serving,and self-gratifying. Rather than waiting on one another, they jumped in front of each another in line to get the best food. Instead of waiting on the poor, the poor were left hungry. While the poor got nothing, those who jumped in front of them gorged themselves drank insatiably, to the point of drunkenness. So Paul tells them how to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. He says words that we still say today:
For this is what the Lord himself said, and I pass it on to you just as I
received it. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of
bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body,
which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took
the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God
and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as
often as you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
Then Paul says something we don’t quote much anymore.
That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking
from the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, not honoring
the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon
yourself.
There is no room for denial at the Lord’s Table. Please don’t come to the Lord’s Table thanking God for how good you are while also proudly admitting how unworthy your neighbor is. Paul says, “Judge yourself so that you won’t be judged so you won’t have to be judged by God.”
Maybe you don’t like that idea. If we can’t deny our guilt, maybe we can try works righteousness – we try to do a lot of good things to make God happy with us and get rid of any guilty feelings we may have. Say, you feel guilty about not visiting your Aunt Tillie. To make it up, you resolve to visit Aunt Tillie every single week, although, frankly, visiting Aunt Tillie and her 37 cats isn’t really that much fun. Still you do it. You visit Aunt Tillie winter and summer, rain shine, for 52 consecutive weeks. Will that stop you from feeling guilty? No! Because eventually, your spouse or your children are going to complain that you’re not spending enough time with them. You’re always away visiting Aunt Tillie.
So you start to stretch out your visits to every two weeks. Eventually, Aunt Tillie will call you up and ask why you don’t to like her anymore. You don’t visit like you used to. If you get angry, and slam down the phone, you’ll have to feel guilty about that! You can’t win. It’s impossible to work off our guilt. Because we can’t please everyone or do everything exactly right.
So, where can we turn for relief from guilt? Freedom from obsessive and oppressive guilt, I believe, can be had only through faith. Our Christian faith tells us to be honest with ourselves. We are indeed guilty. You and I do fail our families, friends, our God, and ourselves on a regular basis. That’s the “bad news” The Good News is that our sins may be great, but not greater than God’s amazing grace.
Imagine yourself standing in a courtroom. You are on trial for your sins. The jury in that courtroom is every single person you’ve ever let down or hurt – your mother your father, your children, your spouse, the neighbor you don’t like, telemarketers you’ve hung up on, your ninth-grade math teacher, your Aunt Tillie (whom you never visit) – every single person you have ever hurt or let down is there in the courtroom to pass judgment on you.
The prosecutor is your own conscience, and it reads out the long sordid list of your sins and moral failures. All of your sins are exposed. God, and everyone else you’ve ever known can see them all. Whatever you said in the dark is now heard in the light. Whatever you whispered behind closed doors is heard by all. Not even your secret thoughts are hidden any longer.
The verdict is clear. Guilty! Every sharp word. Every thoughtless deed, every ugly thought rises up to condemn you. You, realize that you deserve the guilty verdict. You deserve to be punished for your sin.
At the very moment you can’t defend yourself, God appoints someone to defend you. It’s Jesus Christ the advocate and Righteous One, the Son of God, radiant with power and glory. Jesus stands in the courtroom and pleads your case. He looks at you, and then to the Judge ands says, “Yes, this one deserves to die. But I have already claimed this one for myself – not because of this one’s goodness but because of this one’s faith. I’ve already paid the debt for the sin.” Then Jesus shows the nail marks in his hands and the spear mark in his side. And the onlookers gasp.
Then God, the great Judge, looks at Jesus and you and then raises the gavel and declares you not guilty, Not because of your goodness, but because you belong to Jesus Christ. Not guilty. Acquitted on all charges. Case closed!
We will never be able to wash our guilt away. Or ignore it. Or work it off. Freedom from guilt comes through faith. And there is only one response – thankful praise to God.
Sometimes the Lord’s Supper is called Eucharist. The word Eucharist means thankful praise. We gather around the communion table, and we remember what Jesus was willing to do for us, and we give thanks to God.
When we take communion next Sunday, let’s remember Jesus. Let’s remember his prayerfulness – how he got up early in the morning, and sometimes stayed up all night to pray to God. Let’s remember his gentleness, how he called people to himself and loved them. Let’s remember how he resisted temptation and never gave into sin. Let’s remember his concern for the sick, the needy, the forgotten, and the outcast. Let’s remember how he spoke out for what he believed. Let’s remember his courage in the face of death. Let’s remember how as he was dying he prayed for his enemies. Let’s remember how he was obedient to God, even though it meant death. Let’s remember how he loved us so much he was willing to give his life away so that you and I could find life. Let’s remember and always give our thankful praise back to God.
Sermon for January 22, 2006
Connecting with the Head
Ephesians 1:15-231; Corinthians 11:17-26
As the hospital’s chaplain intern, Pat Novak visited a patient admitted with an undiagnosed ailment. The patient’s name was John. His medical tests showed nothing -- psychological tests were inconclusive. Yet, John wasted away; he had not even been able to swallow for two weeks. Pat walked into the room, and saw John sitting limply in his bed, strung with IV tubes. He was a tall, grandfatherly man, balding a little, and his ashen skin hung on his body where the weight dropped from his frame. His hollow eyes stared at the wall. John seemed to brighten a bit as soon as he saw Pat’s chaplain badge. As they talked, Pat sensed that God was urging him to do something specific: He knew he needed to ask John if he wanted to take Communion. Chaplain interns were not encouraged to ask this type of thing in this public hospital, but Pat did.
John broke down. “I can’t!” he cried. “I’ve sinned and can’t be forgiven.” When Pat heard that, he knew he was about to break policy again. He asked John if he wanted to confess his sin. John nodded gratefully. To this day, Pat can’t remember the sin John confessed, but he recalls that it wasn’t terribly wicked. Still, it drained life from this man. John wept as he confessed. Pat hugged him, and told John his sins were forgiven. Then Pat got a second nudge from the Holy Spirit: Ask him if he wants to take Communion. He did. Pat gave John a Bible and told him he would be back later. John already sat straighter, with a flicker of light in his eyes.
Pat went to the cafeteria and wrapped a piece of bread in a napkin. Then he ran out to a shop a few blocks away and bought some grape juice. He returned to John’s room with the elements and celebrated Communion with him, proclaiming Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 11. John took the bread and chewed it slowly. It was the first time in weeks he was able to eat solid food. He took the cup and swallowed. John was set free, and his first meal was the Lord’s Supper. Within three days, John walked out of that hospital. The nurses were so amazed they called the newspaper, which later featured the story of John and Pat in its “LIFE” section (Charles W. Colson, The Body,1992, Word Publishing, pp. 139-140).
This morning we continue our reflection on the meaning of communion in our own lives and in our church. Last week we talked about manners at the Lord’s Table. Today we are going to consider three related words: communication, communion, and community. All three of these words are related by the same Latin root: communion. It means “sharing, mutual participation.”
First, let’s talk about Communication. Some of you may remember these chilling words from Washington Irving:
As children, we were terrified by the specter of the headless horseman riding through the night. But years of experience diminish our fear. For most of us, the nightmare is just a quaint fairy tale. Perhaps one of the reasons we no longer dread the ghost of Sleepy Hollow is that the very idea of a headless horseman is a paradox-why should we fear anything with no head? Because the head contains the brain--the center for all the senses, thought, and coordinated action--a headless horseman could not function and would pose no threat.
What happens if the head is separated from the body? It’s dead and useless. So, it’s significant that Jesus is called the Head of the Church. The Church needs a head to function, and Jesus is the Head. In the Bible, head has two meanings. The first is head as in chief ruler or head honcho. The head leader brings unity and represents all of the people. But, when Paul talks about Jesus as the head, he also means the body part. The head has the power to coordinate all that goes on in the body. Jesus, the Head of the Church, is the greatest power, the source, the beginning. Without the head the church is just another group of people. The Head gives us identity, purpose, direction and hope. Christ promised that nobody can cut us off from Him against our will (Romans 8:35-39). He gives us his body and he gives us a choice of whether to remain in Him or not. In other words, nobody and nothing can sever the body of Christ from the head except the body itself, by its own choosing.
If I could sum up the main function of the head, I would use the word communication. The head does all it can to maintain fellowship with the body. It is the nerve center. It keeps everything running. It speaks through words and through nerve impulses to other body parts. Let me just ask you: Are you connected to the head today? Are you growing in a life-giving connection with Christ. Can you hear his voice and react to his commands. Is your faith strong enough to become a sharing partner with Christ, or do you feel more like a chicken with it’s head cut off–you think you are getting somewhere on your own, but without the true head as your source, you know you will fall over sooner or later. Jesus has something he wants to tell you today. And everything you need to be reconnected to the head is represented at the Lord’s Table.
The second word for today is Communion. Communion is a sacramental way for God to speak to us just as the Word of God is a verbal way of speaking. And in the case of the Communion, it is a way for us to speak to God in response. God uses communion as a way to communication with us.
The act of giving something to eat is a sign of acceptance going all the way back to ancient times. In Biblical times -- and even in many places in the world today -- to refuse to eat with a person was like a slap in the face. Eating together sealed a bond of. At Communion, the God of your salvation serves you food and invites you to eat. God offers you food as a sign of love. And it’s not just any food. The bread and the wine come with a message.
When Christ died, he did two things for every person who would ever trust him as their Savior. Christ carried our sin and he offered up his perfection in our behalf. When God looks at a believer, God sees that the individual’s sins are taken away from the individual’s account charged to Christ. At the same time, Christ’s perfection is charged to the individuals account. In God’s eyes, a believer is just as perfect and worthy as Jesus Christ is perfect and worthy.
Some Christians take Communion in a casual way, as if it were no more important than having a morning snack. But there is more going on here. This meal is our memory of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is our way of celebrating the gift of grace–while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It is our reminder that Christ wants connect you to the Body of Christ. The bread is the flesh of Christ, given for you. The cup is Christ’s blood, poured out for you. Jesus did it for you. And he promises to be present with us as we eat the meal he offers us.
Let’s talk about one more word: community. Sometimes an individual Christian, for one reason or another, will grow negative toward the church. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t need the church, it’s just a bunch of hypocrites,” or, “Church isn’t that important. I just need my faith.” The truth is we need each other more than we like to admit.
A man from the big city was enjoying a relaxing drive in the country when a dog ran in front of his car. He swerved to miss it but lost control of his car and ended up in a ditch. After a few unsuccessful attempts to get his car out, the man sat on his bumper and waited for help to arrive. He didn’t have to wait long. A farmer who lived just down the road came to his aid with a big, powerful-looking horse. The man watched as the farmer hitched the horse to the car’s bumper. When the rope was secure, the farmer yelled, “Pull, Nellie, pull!” But the horse didn’t move. Then the farmer yelled, “Pull, Buster, pull!” But the horse didn’t move. Next the farmer yelled, “Pull, Coco, pull!” But the horse still didn’t move. Finally, the farmer said, “Pull, Buddy, pull!” And the horse dragged the car from the ditch with very little effort. The motorist was appreciative— and a little curious. “Why did you call out four names when your horse only responded to one?” he asked. The farmer smiled. “Oh, Buddy is blind,” he explained, “and if he thought he was the only one pulling he wouldn’t even try!”
Just like Buddy, we need other people to bring out the best in us. That’s why God created us to be part of a community -- part of a family -- part of the church. It’s very difficult to live the Christian life alone. I think living out the faith is easier when we can draw strength and encouragement from their prayers and support of a church family. Sharing communion together is our way of saying that we are partners with Christ and partners with one another. Receiving Holy Communion implies living in community. The Lord’s Supper is not an empty ritual, but a reminder of the life we share. Christ offers his Body and Blood to us so that we might become his living Body in the world.
We will celebrate the sacrament of Communion again in two weeks. In the meantime, I have some questions for you. Are you ready to acknowledge your connection to Christ, the head? Are you ready to confess your need and interdependence on the one another? Are you, as a community, ready to hear God’s communication and be God’s communication as we share in communion? If so, then you are getting ready to receive the body and blood of Christ in sacrament of communion.
Ephesians 1:15-231; Corinthians 11:17-26
As the hospital’s chaplain intern, Pat Novak visited a patient admitted with an undiagnosed ailment. The patient’s name was John. His medical tests showed nothing -- psychological tests were inconclusive. Yet, John wasted away; he had not even been able to swallow for two weeks. Pat walked into the room, and saw John sitting limply in his bed, strung with IV tubes. He was a tall, grandfatherly man, balding a little, and his ashen skin hung on his body where the weight dropped from his frame. His hollow eyes stared at the wall. John seemed to brighten a bit as soon as he saw Pat’s chaplain badge. As they talked, Pat sensed that God was urging him to do something specific: He knew he needed to ask John if he wanted to take Communion. Chaplain interns were not encouraged to ask this type of thing in this public hospital, but Pat did.
John broke down. “I can’t!” he cried. “I’ve sinned and can’t be forgiven.” When Pat heard that, he knew he was about to break policy again. He asked John if he wanted to confess his sin. John nodded gratefully. To this day, Pat can’t remember the sin John confessed, but he recalls that it wasn’t terribly wicked. Still, it drained life from this man. John wept as he confessed. Pat hugged him, and told John his sins were forgiven. Then Pat got a second nudge from the Holy Spirit: Ask him if he wants to take Communion. He did. Pat gave John a Bible and told him he would be back later. John already sat straighter, with a flicker of light in his eyes.
Pat went to the cafeteria and wrapped a piece of bread in a napkin. Then he ran out to a shop a few blocks away and bought some grape juice. He returned to John’s room with the elements and celebrated Communion with him, proclaiming Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 11. John took the bread and chewed it slowly. It was the first time in weeks he was able to eat solid food. He took the cup and swallowed. John was set free, and his first meal was the Lord’s Supper. Within three days, John walked out of that hospital. The nurses were so amazed they called the newspaper, which later featured the story of John and Pat in its “LIFE” section (Charles W. Colson, The Body,1992, Word Publishing, pp. 139-140).
This morning we continue our reflection on the meaning of communion in our own lives and in our church. Last week we talked about manners at the Lord’s Table. Today we are going to consider three related words: communication, communion, and community. All three of these words are related by the same Latin root: communion. It means “sharing, mutual participation.”
First, let’s talk about Communication. Some of you may remember these chilling words from Washington Irving:
On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow traveler in
relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was
horror-struck, on perceiving that (the rider) was headless!--but his horror was
still more increased, on observing that the head, which should have rested on
(the rider’s) shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of the saddle.
As children, we were terrified by the specter of the headless horseman riding through the night. But years of experience diminish our fear. For most of us, the nightmare is just a quaint fairy tale. Perhaps one of the reasons we no longer dread the ghost of Sleepy Hollow is that the very idea of a headless horseman is a paradox-why should we fear anything with no head? Because the head contains the brain--the center for all the senses, thought, and coordinated action--a headless horseman could not function and would pose no threat.
What happens if the head is separated from the body? It’s dead and useless. So, it’s significant that Jesus is called the Head of the Church. The Church needs a head to function, and Jesus is the Head. In the Bible, head has two meanings. The first is head as in chief ruler or head honcho. The head leader brings unity and represents all of the people. But, when Paul talks about Jesus as the head, he also means the body part. The head has the power to coordinate all that goes on in the body. Jesus, the Head of the Church, is the greatest power, the source, the beginning. Without the head the church is just another group of people. The Head gives us identity, purpose, direction and hope. Christ promised that nobody can cut us off from Him against our will (Romans 8:35-39). He gives us his body and he gives us a choice of whether to remain in Him or not. In other words, nobody and nothing can sever the body of Christ from the head except the body itself, by its own choosing.
If I could sum up the main function of the head, I would use the word communication. The head does all it can to maintain fellowship with the body. It is the nerve center. It keeps everything running. It speaks through words and through nerve impulses to other body parts. Let me just ask you: Are you connected to the head today? Are you growing in a life-giving connection with Christ. Can you hear his voice and react to his commands. Is your faith strong enough to become a sharing partner with Christ, or do you feel more like a chicken with it’s head cut off–you think you are getting somewhere on your own, but without the true head as your source, you know you will fall over sooner or later. Jesus has something he wants to tell you today. And everything you need to be reconnected to the head is represented at the Lord’s Table.
The second word for today is Communion. Communion is a sacramental way for God to speak to us just as the Word of God is a verbal way of speaking. And in the case of the Communion, it is a way for us to speak to God in response. God uses communion as a way to communication with us.
The act of giving something to eat is a sign of acceptance going all the way back to ancient times. In Biblical times -- and even in many places in the world today -- to refuse to eat with a person was like a slap in the face. Eating together sealed a bond of. At Communion, the God of your salvation serves you food and invites you to eat. God offers you food as a sign of love. And it’s not just any food. The bread and the wine come with a message.
When Christ died, he did two things for every person who would ever trust him as their Savior. Christ carried our sin and he offered up his perfection in our behalf. When God looks at a believer, God sees that the individual’s sins are taken away from the individual’s account charged to Christ. At the same time, Christ’s perfection is charged to the individuals account. In God’s eyes, a believer is just as perfect and worthy as Jesus Christ is perfect and worthy.
Some Christians take Communion in a casual way, as if it were no more important than having a morning snack. But there is more going on here. This meal is our memory of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is our way of celebrating the gift of grace–while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It is our reminder that Christ wants connect you to the Body of Christ. The bread is the flesh of Christ, given for you. The cup is Christ’s blood, poured out for you. Jesus did it for you. And he promises to be present with us as we eat the meal he offers us.
Let’s talk about one more word: community. Sometimes an individual Christian, for one reason or another, will grow negative toward the church. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t need the church, it’s just a bunch of hypocrites,” or, “Church isn’t that important. I just need my faith.” The truth is we need each other more than we like to admit.
A man from the big city was enjoying a relaxing drive in the country when a dog ran in front of his car. He swerved to miss it but lost control of his car and ended up in a ditch. After a few unsuccessful attempts to get his car out, the man sat on his bumper and waited for help to arrive. He didn’t have to wait long. A farmer who lived just down the road came to his aid with a big, powerful-looking horse. The man watched as the farmer hitched the horse to the car’s bumper. When the rope was secure, the farmer yelled, “Pull, Nellie, pull!” But the horse didn’t move. Then the farmer yelled, “Pull, Buster, pull!” But the horse didn’t move. Next the farmer yelled, “Pull, Coco, pull!” But the horse still didn’t move. Finally, the farmer said, “Pull, Buddy, pull!” And the horse dragged the car from the ditch with very little effort. The motorist was appreciative— and a little curious. “Why did you call out four names when your horse only responded to one?” he asked. The farmer smiled. “Oh, Buddy is blind,” he explained, “and if he thought he was the only one pulling he wouldn’t even try!”
Just like Buddy, we need other people to bring out the best in us. That’s why God created us to be part of a community -- part of a family -- part of the church. It’s very difficult to live the Christian life alone. I think living out the faith is easier when we can draw strength and encouragement from their prayers and support of a church family. Sharing communion together is our way of saying that we are partners with Christ and partners with one another. Receiving Holy Communion implies living in community. The Lord’s Supper is not an empty ritual, but a reminder of the life we share. Christ offers his Body and Blood to us so that we might become his living Body in the world.
We will celebrate the sacrament of Communion again in two weeks. In the meantime, I have some questions for you. Are you ready to acknowledge your connection to Christ, the head? Are you ready to confess your need and interdependence on the one another? Are you, as a community, ready to hear God’s communication and be God’s communication as we share in communion? If so, then you are getting ready to receive the body and blood of Christ in sacrament of communion.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Sermon for January 15, 2006
Sorry for the lack of sermon postings. I'm back oin shcedule this week (kind of). I am indebted to Alex Gondola, and his sermon "Table Manners" from the book Come as You Are: Sermons on the Lord's Supper (Lima, OH: CSS, 2000).
The Joyful Feast of the People of God
Luke 14:1, 7‑11, 15‑24
The Joyful Feast of the People of God
Luke 14:1, 7‑11, 15‑24
I am not the most well-mannered person. It’s not my mother’s fault, though. She did her best to teach me what she could. I remember going out in public as a child. I would run into a building first. Once inside, I would eventually realize that mother was not with me. She was standing outside by the door, waiting for me to open it for her. She never lectured. When I realized what I was supposed to do, I would open the door, and she would walk through and say, “Thank you.”
Good manners are important. There is a revival of interest in etiquette in this country, probably because we are all sick of hearing people’s personal cell phone conversations in restaurants and movie theaters. Remember Miss Manners? She still has a syndicated etiquette column. Her books have been wildly and unexpectedly successful best‑sellers. I love some of the titles: Miss Manner’s Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Painfully Proper Weddings, and Miss Manners Rescues Civilization!
Etiquette academies are springing up around America! One in Chicago charges $500 a day to teach the difference between a dessert and a salad fork. They also teach their students how not to eat spaghetti! Hint: Don’t get the end of a foot‑long noodle in your mouth, then suck it up with a loud smacking sound! For $175.00 you can even send your children to summer etiquette camp. And in Los Angeles, there’s a 24-week etiquette training course for street‑wise, high‑ earning rock stars and rap stars. These home boys and girls, straight from the “hood,” often need to negotiate million dollar contracts. They’ve discovered that they make more money when they behave appropriately, at least around record company execs. One recent graduate was a rhythm and blues star who used to amaze reporters by opening a beer bottle with her teeth. Her etiquette advisors told her not to.
So I thought, what about a sermon on manners: table manners, communion table manners? We talk to the kids about good manners all the time. How about a refresher on table manners as we begin to think about communion at TCC? What attitudes and behaviors do we need to bring to the Lord’s Supper? Now there are no clear guidelines in Scripture on the right way or wrong way to take communion. Different churches take communion in different ways. And that’s okay. Some have the Sacrament weekly, others monthly. A church I once served had communion only seven times a year. Some take communion at the altar rail, others receive it in the pews, some with wine, some with grape juice, some with wafers, some with loaves of bread, some with bread cubes.
I don’t think the details of Communion are critically important. But, our attitude is. Jesus dropped a few hints about attitudes in the fourteenth chapter of Luke. Jesus attended a dinner party put on by some people who didn’t like him. Jesus was so fascinating, even his enemies invited him to dinner -- although sometimes, as on this occasion, his enemies were also trying to trip him up. In this chapter, Jesus tells three stories about suppers. The first is the Parable of the Great Feast. A rich man invites lots of people to a feast. In those days, dinner parties were big events. They could go on for a week. No expense was spared.
The servants were sent out with invitations to the social event of the year. Yet excuses were all they brought back. Some of the excuses were lame. One man said he had just bought a piece of land. Now, he had to go see it. Don’t you think that’s suspicious? Who buys a piece of land without checking it out first? Another man said he had just bought ten new oxen and had to test them. Suspicious again: who would make an expensive purchase, like a car, without test-driving it first? A third man said he had to stay home with his new wife. Great idea, but totally out of character in that society. Sadly, in those days women were treated as possessions. It was the wife’s obligation to please her husband ‑ almost never the other way around.
Jesus’ listeners must have laughed on hearing those excuses. But, the host in the story didn’t laugh. He got understandably angry. No one likes to be taken for granted. Remember, the host in the story represents God. When Jesus first told the parable, the ones receiving the invitations were the Pharisees. They didn’t respond. Today, the ones receiving the invitations are us! We are each invited to be part of the joyful feast of the people of God, the Lord’s Supper. Do we recognize the wonder of that invitation? Do we accept it with joy?
I like the attitude of Thomas Merton and writer on receiving Communion. Merton was a Trappist monk who wrote that as he received the Sacrament for the first time as an adult, he thought to himself‑
Heaven was entirely mine... Christ, hidden in the small host, was giving himsey for me and to me, and with himself the entire Godhead and Trinity ... Christ was bom in me, his new Bethlehem, and sacrificed in me, his new Calvary, and risen in me... (God) called out to me from his own immense depths. (The Seven Story Mountain, Image Books, pp. 273‑274)
Thomas Merton sensed the wonder of God’s invitation to communion and received it joyfully. So should we. Gratitude is part of good table manners.
I like the story historians tell about the funeral of Charlemagne. Charlemagne was the greatest Christian ruler of the early Middle Ages. After his death, a mighty funeral procession left his castle for the cathedral. When the royal casket arrived with a lot of pomp and circumstance, it was met by the local bishop, who barred the cathedral door.
“Who comes?” the Bishop asked, as was the custom.
“Charlemagne, Lord and King of the Holy Roman Empire,” proclaimed the Emperor’s proud herald.
“I do not know him,” the Bishop replied. “Who comes?”
The herald, a bit shaken, replied, “Charles the Great, a good and honest man of the earth.”
“ I do not know him,” the Bishop said again. “Who comes?”
The herald, now completely crushed, responded, “Charles, a lowly sinner, who begs the gift of Christ.”
To which the Bishop, Christ’s representative, responded, “Enter! Receive Christ’s gift of life!”
In God’s eyes, we’re all equally needy. Charlemagne, Mother Teresa, you and me. None of us will ever be “good enough” to force entrance into the presence of God. I’m reminded of the definition of “nervous” I once heard. Do you know what “nervous” is? “Nervous” is standing in line at the Pearly Gates behind Mother Teresa, and hearing Saint Peter say to Mother Teresa, “I’m sorry, dear, you haven’t done enough!” When we come to the Lord’s Table, we’re all sinners in need of salvation, beggars needing bread. We are “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” Maybe not literally poor, crippled, lame, and blind, but spiritually poor, crippled, lame, and blind. God graciously includes us as guests at God’s Table. Good communion table manners include coming to the table without thinking too much of ourselves.
Good communion table manners also include coming without looking down on any other guest, for all of us are God’s equally beloved guests. King George IV desired Communion and sent a servant to bring the Bishop of Winchester. When the servant arrived with the Bishop, the King was angry. He felt his servant had taken too long. The King scolded the man and fired him on the spot. Then the king turned to the Bishop for Communion. But the Bishop refused to give it to King George. He saw that the King was still angry. Realizing the Bishop was right, the King called for his servant, apologized, and restored the man’s job. Only then could Communion proceed. Part of good table manners is extending graciousness to the other guests. As we have been forgiven and welcomed by God, let us forgive and welcome each other.
When we take communion, we invite all to come and joyfully celebrate the feast which Christ himself has prepared for us. It’s even enjoyable when we mind our table manners.
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Sermon for December 4, 2005
Keeping the Fire Alive
1 Thessalonians 5:16‑24
It’s that time of year again – time to fight about public religious displays. We will start to see mangers, flanked by toy soldiers, with Santa on the rooftop to worship the baby Jesus by the light of the Hanukkah candles. Perhaps Tthe holy infant will be wrapped in kente cloth to celebrate Kwanzaa. When it comes to religion in the public square, there are only two options: Get rid or all public religious displays, or include everyone’s. What we end up with is a hodge-podge of symbols that try to include everyone’s beliefs. I don’t find these displays very inspiring. I like to be mindful that not everyone celebrates Christmas like I do. But, what we get is a holiday buffet full of bland offerings and lukewarm sentiment.
Sometimes our faith gets that way -- bland, and runny, and so generalized that it stands for nothing. Some people want more. Last week I pulled questions out of the brown bag, and we briefly talked about the qualities of growing faith. I want to talk about that question in more depth this morning. How can we keep our Christian faith vibrant and real when we are tempted on every side to water our beliefs down and adhere to some sort of cornmeal mush religion ‑ a runny version of the faith that might not tastes plain and won’t upset your stomach? How do you keep the Spirit alive when you don’t feel God's presence? How do you stay spiritually vital when the bottom drops out and you feel like giving up? The Apostle Paul gives some advice to us in today’s reading.
Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Prophecy was a widespread practice in the early church. Paul saw prophecy as an inspired utterance, verbally delivered to a gathered group of people. Because of the charismatic and Pentecostal movements, we tend to think of prophesy as some special power to predict the future either for ourselves individually or for the world at large. I remember a book that caused some panic in Christian circles a number of years ago. Edgar Whisenant, a NASA engineer, wrote, 88 Reasons Why Christ Is Coming In 1988. I was sure an angry Jesus was returning to earth, and I was in big trouble. When ’88 went by and nobody told Jesus that he was supposed to come and judge the world, Whisenant published 89 Reasons Why Christ Is Coming In 1989. Paul did not have this kind of prophecy in mind. Prophecy is declaring the mind of God in the power of the Spirit. Since God completely revealed himself in Scripture, prophecy has to do with speaking forth the mind of God from Scripture.
One way you can keep yourself spiritually alive is to constantly put yourself in places where you are able to hear what God has to say to you -- not only going to church, but taking time to read and discuss Scripture and listening to the Holy Spirit. Let me just ask you, what messages are listening to? In what ways are you hearing, and reading, and being regularly spoken to by God’s Word? Paul encourages us to put ourselves in those situations. Do not despise them, for there you gain wisdom from God.
Then Paul gives a warning. Once you put yourself in situations where you are being spoken to by God, test what you hear. Anyone can stand up and say in a holy sounding voice, “This is the word of the Lord.” It’s your job to make sure that preachers and prophets are in line with Scripture. People on every side are telling us what God wants us to do, but there is so much that is counterfeit. So test what is said. Compare it to your knowledge of Scripture and the character of Jesus Christ. Hold on to the good and reject the bad.
Be Joyful. Paul mentions another quality of spiritually vibrant people: be joyful always. Many of us can name people who are wretched grumps. Those same miserable people go to church, sing hymns, and pray, hoping that God will somehow give them an infusion of joy to make it through another day. They are looking for some kind of heavenly transfusion that will bypass the misery of their daily lives and give them joy. God promises to transform misery, not to bypass it. Sometimes God does give us an infusion of joy to offset a bitter situation. But usually, God brings joy, by taking the ordinary moments and making them holy. Joy is not found in singing a certain type of music or getting in with the right group of people. Joy is found in following Jesus. When the power that is in Jesus reaches into our work and play, our happy times and our sorrows, and redeems them, there will be joy where once there was mourning.
I told this story last week. Bear with me as I tell it again – the good ones bear repeating. A pastor named Jack Hinton was leading worship at a leper colony on the island of Tobago, when a woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around. It was the most hideous face Jack had ever seen. The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. As she lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, “Can we sing “Count Your Many Blessings?’ ” Later, a team member said, “I guess you'll never be able to sing that song again.” Jack replied “Yes I will, but I'll never sing it the same way.” Have you counted your blessings? Have you seen how Jesus wants to touch you, and transform you? Can you count your blessings, even when life is wasting you away? Be joyful always.
Pray continually. Next, Paul says pray continually. There once was a shepherd who lived in the French Alps. Because of careless deforestation, the mountains were barren. Former villages were deserted because their springs and brooks ran dry. In 1913, while mountain climbing, a traveler came to the shepherd’s hut, where he was invited to spend the night. After dinner, the traveler watched the shepherd sort through a pile of acorns, discarding those that were cracked or undersized. When the shepherd counted out 100 perfect acorns, he stopped for the night and went to bed. The 55‑year‑old shepherd had been planting trees on the wild hillsides for over three years. He planted 100,000 trees, 20,000 of which had sprouted. Of those, he expected half to be eaten by rodents or to die due the elements. The other half was expected to live. After WWI, the traveler returned to the mountainside and discovered incredible rehabilitation. There was now a forest. Water flowed in once empty brooks. Willows, rushes, meadows, gardens, and flowers were birthed. The traveler returned again after WWII. Twenty miles from the lines, the shepherd continued his work, ignoring the war of 1939 just as he had ignored the war of 1914. The reformation of the land continued. Whole regions glowed with health and prosperity. The traveler wrote, “On the site of the ruins ... now stand neat farms. The old streams, fed by rains and snows that the forest conserves, are flowing again. Little by little, the villages have been rebuilt. People from the plains have settled here, bringing youth, motion, and the spirit of adventure." Praying continuously is like planting those acorn trees in a barren land. Those who pray are like spiritual reforesters, digging holes in the wasteland and planting seeds of life. Through these seeds, the barrenness of life is transformed into a rich harvest, and life‑giving water is brought to parched souls. Paul knows that if we have the faith and persistence to pray constantly ‑ to pray without ceasing, the world will be changed and we will be protected from spiritual dryness.
Give thanks in all circumstances. Paul also encourages us to give thanks in all circumstances. Mother Theresa told this story at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994.
One evening we went out, and we picked up four people from the street. One of them was in a most terrible condition. I told the sisters, “You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who looks the worst.” So, I did for her all that my love could do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said two words only: “Thank you.” Then she died. I could not help but examine my conscience before her. What would I say if I were in her place? My answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw, a little attention to myself. I would have said, “I am hungry. I am dying. I am in pain,” or something. But she gave me much more; she gave me her grateful life, and she died with a smile on her face.
We, too have something to be grateful for. Thankfulness is a response to joy. We have a God who loves us enough to send us a Savior. We are nurtured by God and given a place in God’s family. Our old identities pass away as God transforms us into new creations. We give thanks always, because no gift will ever be as good as what God has already given. In good and bad, in health or disease, in times of plenty and times of scarcity, we give thanks to God. It is our quiet response to the daily trials that come our way. Just imagine what could happen in our lives during Christmas if we did away with running ourselves ragged and instead took time to count our many blessings and give thanks.
Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. This is where the apostle leaves us; with the hope of our coming Lord Jesus, and the resources to stay strong and live in a new and different way in this day and age. May God himself, the God of peace, make you holy through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
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