“Not too hard, not too far”

Meditation on Deut. 30, select verses

Oct. 26, 2014
Here's the video link:
https://vimeo.com/110098344

***

      When all these things have happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you. Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back….

      Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. … Then you shall again obey the Lord, observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today… and the Lord will again take delight in prospering you … because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

      Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

***

        Someone asked me once if Pastor Jim and I compare notes before we write our sermons each week for our congregations. They wondered if we took turns writing—and used the same sermon at both churches.

        No, we don’t take turns writing sermons for each other. That would never work for us! But we do discuss the scriptures sometimes—and we usually come up with completely different messages.

        But early this week, when Jim and I looked over the readings, especially the gospel, we had a similar response.

       I said, “Again? Didn’t we have this scripture just a little while ago?”

       Jim had already come up with his sermon title, “Once more—with feeling.”

      It’s the part in Matthew when the Pharisees ask Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment?” And the Lord answers,‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’ 

       As we talked about the passage—and our similar response, it occurred to us that Jesus often repeated himself. Many of his teachings and parables had the same or similar message—love the Lord your God and love your neighbor, too.

   Sounds straightforward enough, right? Love God and neighbor? Then why did Jesus have to say it over and over again—and so many different ways?

    Because people weren’t doing it! They weren’t listening! They didn’t want to love God the way Jesus told them to love—with all heart, soul, mind and might! And they definitely didn’t want to love all of their neighbors—whether their neighbor was a fellow Jew or someone of a different faith. 

     Then Jim and I asked, “What about us? Do we love God the way the Lord wants us to? Do we love our neighbors, too?”

     It didn’t take us long to come up with an answer. “No.” No one loves the way Christ commands us to love. Human beings are conditional in their love. We love someone until that person hurts us; then we don’t want to love them anymore. Our love for God also waxes and wanes. Love with all heart, soul, mind, and might would mean that nothing would ever draw us away from our gathering for worship—not work, family, school or recreational activities; we would never take a vacation from church and our prayers truly would be without ceasing. Our calendars would be filled with ministry activities, instead of the many other things we enjoy. We would give more money to the poor and help more people in need. We would do as Jesus tells Peter, “If you love me, feed my sheep. Tend my lambs.”

      Everyone knows the greatest commandment—and the second one, too. We have all heard “love God and neighbor.” But Christ’s commands are just too hard to do.

       Frankly, some people have heard “love God and neighbor” so many times, they don’t want to hear it anymore. They may be thinking right now, “Please change the subject. Tell us what we want to hear! Tell us God loves and forgives us for all our sins. Assure us of our eternal life. Don’t tell us we actually have to do what Christ tells us to do, if we want to be followers of Him.

       Love God with all heart, soul, mind and might? Love neighbors, too? No, it’s just too hard to do.”

      But brothers and sisters, we live in a world plagued with hatred and violence, where children kill other children with guns in school.

       We have to try to love more!

       For if believers don’t model Christ’s loving ways to this broken world—who will?

***

     Have you ever noticed that Moses sometimes sounds like Jesus? Moses, too, had to repeat himself. But it didn’t do much good. In today’s reading in Deuteronomy, Moses appeals to his people to be faithful to the covenant of God—to return to the Lord with all their hearts. To listen. To obey. To choose the path of blessing—to love and serve only God.    

       But those whom Moses led out of captivity in Egypt argued and complained. They were hungry and afraid, tired of their nomadic wanderings in the wilderness. When God fed them manna, they wanted meat. They were sorry they had ever listened to Moses in the first place.

    Wasn’t it better when they were slaves in Egypt? At least they had homes and a predictable routine. Though their lives were consumed with back-breaking labor to build cities for the pharaoh, suffering under cruel overseers, at least they knew who they were and what tomorrow would be. In the wilderness, every step of the journey took a leap of faith. Every day, they wondered if they would survive the next.

    They didn’t trust Moses or the God he spoke with, face to face. They didn’t expect to ever reach the land of the promise—if it even existed.

     Here in chapter 30, Moses offers encouragement for those who are lost and afraid. He shares the blessings for the faithful, for those who listen and obey. The Lord will bring back all the exiles to the land that their fathers had possessed. God will “make it go well” for them and make them more numerous than their ancestors! God will restore their fortunes. They would have prosperity “in all their undertakings,” success in the raising of animals and crops.

     And what is this talk about circumcision of their hearts? In Deut. 10:16, when Moses talks about the “circumcision of the heart,” he is urging the people to obedience. But something is different here in chapter 30 verse 6; God is the actor, the one who does the circumcising of their hearts. This is a new covenant with the Lord, a covenant of grace, though it would still require obedience—listening to God’s voice. In a beautiful, poetic way, Moses reassures the people that this new covenant is not out of their reach; though they may have failed before, this time, they will be able to do what the Lord wants them to do. Because God, who will delight in prospering them, will also operate on their hearts—permanently alter them. With circumcision, there’s no going back to the way they were before!

    Moses says, “Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.”

    Moses tells the Israelites that they must make a choice; they can choose life and obey God’s commands, love the Lord God with all their hearts, and walk in his loving ways. Or they can turn away.

     “Choose life,” Moses urges, “so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him and holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days.”

***

      Like the Israelites long ago, we have a choice to make. We can choose the path of righteousness and blessing. We can listen to God’s voice and obey. Or we can allow our hearts to lead us astray.

      Friends! Choose life!

       Yes, it is the more difficult path. We have a lot of work to do in this world plagued by hatred and violence. But God’s Spirit will guide us to the higher ground! And with God’s infinite love, mercy and grace, we can stumble, yes, we can stumble. But we cannot fall!

      And one day, this violent world will pass away. God will make all things new! When Christ’s Kingdom comes to fruition, there will be no more doubts, no more fear, no more struggle, no more pain. We will know in full what today we only know in part. We will see our Lord clearly—as Moses did, face to face. We will finally understand what Moses tried to tell his people long ago, though, like us, they didn’t want to hear. That God’s Word is in our mouths and in our hearts. His commands are within our reach. They are not too hard, not too far away!

Let us pray.

Loving and merciful God, thank you for your grace that covers all of our failures, all of sins. Thank you that you didn’t wait for us to see the error of our ways and decide we wanted to change, but instead you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to lead us back to you. Forgive us, Lord, when we haven’t wanted to listen for your voice, when we haven’t wanted to love you more than anything and anyone, when we haven’t cared enough about our neighbors, particularly those who are lost and walking in darkness. Change our hearts, Lord, as you promised to circumcise the hearts of the Israelites. Mold and shape us to be your faithful servants, obedient to your commands. Remind us each day that your commands are not too hard or too far away as your Spirit dwells inside us. Stir us to compassion for those who may be hard to love; lead us to forgive those who have hurt us and let us down. Help us to be courageous models of Christ’s loving ways. Lead us all to the higher ground. In His name we pray. Amen.

   

    

       

“Feasting with God”

Meditation on Isaiah 25:1-9

Oct. 12, 2014

Here's the video link to this sermon:
https://vimeo.com/108785226

***

       O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name;for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled.
       On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

***

       

     I kept the Isaiah reading close to my heart this week as I visited and spoke with people who were suffering with illness or struggling with pain after surgery.

      Isaiah speaks of the Lord we can always count on—the one who has done wonderful things in the past—and has plans for us for our future, plans “formed of old, faithful and sure.” Listen to what Isaiah says. Our God is a “refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress.” He is a “shelter” from the storm. This God does not desire us to be in pain—or to be frightened by an illness or disease. In the coming age, when we are with God on His Holy Mountain, God will destroy “the shroud”—the garment of the dead. He will destroy the shroud that is “cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations.”  Because there will be no more death. Isaiah tells us our “(God) will swallow up death forever.”

      He assures us that all of the sorrow and suffering we experience in this world will come to an end! This Lord who hears every person when we cry will “wipe away the tears from all faces.”

      On the Holy Mountain, God is preparing for our eternal life with Him in the world to come. Just as Jesus in the Gospel of John tells us that He is going to prepare a place for his disciples in His Father’s house of many rooms, the God who speaks through the prophet Isaiah is preparing a place for us—but on the Holy Mountain, where all people will be invited to a great feast. Isn’t that wonderful! No one will be excluded! No one will go hungry in the Kingdom of God!

      And the Lord will feed us even more sumptuously than the “daily bread” he faithfully provides in this world. We will be feasting with God! And if we wait on the Lord—if we wait and hope and pray—one day we will see our God face to face on the Holy Mountain, and we will say, “This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

***

    While our reading in Isaiah provides comfort and hope for the discouraged—balm for the wounds of the afflicted—the Matthew reading is a bit disturbing. At first, one might wonder why the two passages are even linked as lectionary readings. On the surface, they seem to have only one thing in common—they are both about the Kingdom of God; both speak of the feast that will be prepared and waiting for God’s people.

     The passage in Matthew 22 is a warning for unbelievers to accept and respond to God’s invitation to life in His Kingdom. There is no other way to be saved! This invitation comes to us through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This passage is also a wake up call for believers who may have become spiritually lazy and have begun to take God’s gracious and merciful salvation for granted. This message is for the person who doesn’t wish to change and certainly doesn’t want to be changed by the Spirit. It is for the Christian who is no longer living by faith, no longer living in obedience and submission to the Lord.

     In Matthew 22, Jesus tells the Pharisees and the chief priests the parable of the wedding feast—how the king sends out his slaves to invite them to His Son’s wedding banquet. The king tells the slaves to say to “the guests,” “Look! I’ve got my dinner ready; my bulls and fatted calves have been killed; everything is prepared. Come to the wedding!”     

    But the people don’t come. They take no notice of the slaves; they go off to their farms and see about their businesses.  Some actually attack and kill the king’s slaves! The king responds by sending his soldiers to kill those who murdered his slaves and burn down their city.

     Then the king sends out his slaves once more to invite people to his son’s wedding feast. This time, he sends them to the roads leading out of town—bringing in both the “good and the bad.” Finally, the wedding banquet is filled. But not everyone belongs there. One man, for example, is not wearing a wedding suit. When the king questions him about it, he is speechless. The king has the man thrown out into the darkness, “where people weep and grind their teeth.” And the disturbing parable ends with Jesus saying, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”

  ***

     Friends, how should we interpret this confusing and complicated story? What can we learn from this to apply to our lives today?

     Who are the ones who haven’t accepted the king’s invitation—or have actually killed the slaves sent by the king? Is it upsetting to you that the king rejects a man who does come, but is improperly clothed? And what does Jesus mean when he says, “Many are called, but few are chosen”?

    Some of you may be thinking right now, “How do I know if I am called AND chosen? Will I be welcomed at the heavenly banquet table—to the feast with God?”

    Let us remember that this is a parable—an allegory—a symbolic story with a moral lesson, not to be taken literally. The wedding feast—the heavenly banquet with the Lord—is the Kingdom of God, the same as God’s feast on the Holy Mountain in Isaiah. And we can be assured that Isaiah’s God is the same loving God in the Gospel of Matthew. He is the same God who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to show us the way back to Him—and ultimately to die for our sins.

       And the question of the garment? Is there a garment we need for the wedding feast—for our lives in God’s Kingdom? The answer is, “Yes, there is a garment, but we already have it if we have our faith in Jesus Christ.”   

      Our garment is the righteousness of God—a gift to us through the work of Christ on the cross for our sakes—because we have no righteousness on our own. This garment of righteousness is something we must remember to wear every day! As the apostle Paul teaches, we must clothe ourselves with Christ.

     Finally, the parable of the wedding feast reminds us that life in God’s Kingdom requires more than just belief; it requires a faith that is lived out—in obedience to the King—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have to listen for God’s voice and respond in faith—and not be distracted by the things of this world—our jobs, school, families and leisure time activities. Even the suffering and pain of illness and loss can distract us from hearing God’s voice—and keep us from remembering God’s wonderful deeds in the past. Don’t let your sorrow and pain stop you from believing in His promises for the future—his plans formed of old, faithful and sure. Don’t let anything in this world steal your joy. Trust in the God who is our “refuge” in our distress. Our “shelter” in the storm.

     Let go of your fears for your salvation and let God wrap His loving arms around you. Hear Him whisper that you are His own.

    Hold onto your faith in the God on the Holy Mountain—the One who is preparing for all people a sumptuous feast. Hold onto the picture of the God who will wipe away the tears of all faces.

      Wait on the Lord! Wait and hope and pray! For one day we will see God, face to face. And on that day, we will say, “This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Let us pray.

Dear God of the Holy Mountain, thank you for your love! Thank you for preparing a sumptuous feast for us—and for all your promises for the future, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. Thank you for making a way for us to be reconciled with you through your Son, Jesus Christ—for forgiving us when we might be tempted to take our salvation for granted and not appreciate what you have done. Take away the suffering and pain of our loved ones. Help us to persevere through the trials that might threaten to steal our joy and faith. Help us listen for your voice, respond to your invitation, and rejoice in our salvation. Help us to be patient and wait on you, Lord, so that we will see you someday, face to face. In Christ we pray. Amen.

  

“Press On”

Meditation on Philippians 3:3-14

Oct. 5, 2014
Here's the video link:
https://vimeo.com/108120583

    For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh—even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

***

    Friends, I had another sermon prepared for today. But last night around 7 p.m., as I was doing a final edit, I decided to put aside the message I prepared and simply share with you what the Lord has placed on my heart.

       So I asked God to lead me—and give me courage.

       In our Philippians reading today, Paul is talking about the sin of pride—a sin that Paul has struggled with and that this congregation, one of his favorite churches, must have been struggling with. It is something that I struggle with, too. Mind you, Paul doesn’t use the word “pride.” He talks about being “confident in the flesh.” But it’s pride that he’s talking about.

      Maybe some of you struggle with pride, too. For me, it may be connected with perfectionism. When one works hard and tries to do everything right, the end result can be pride. Pride doesn’t like to be criticized. Pride doesn’t like to ask for help or to admit failure. Pride leads people to take on more than they should, to worry too much, and rest too little.

      Pride gets in the way of the Spirit’s work in us, because it keeps us from admitting or sometimes even seeing our need for the Lord. Pride whispers to us that we can do everything through Christ that strengthens us. But then we try to do everything without relying on Christ to strengthen us!

       Maybe, deep down, we think we don’t need God’s help with everything He calls us to do.

      I am confessing my sin with you today because I think pride has kept me from sharing a concern with you. I have shared this with our session, but this is the first time I have spoken openly about it with our whole congregation. I am doing so now because I believe this concern is serious and affects not just my ministry but the ministry of our entire church.

      My worry is the number of people with serious pastoral care needs. It’s no secret that we have an aging congregation. Currently, the people in need exceed the number of people who are willing and able to visit and minister to them. We are a small church, with families used to having a close personal relationship with their pastor—and I love this about our congregation! But we are also a church that is accustomed to a pastor who can quickly respond and help meet them in their time of need. This is quite a challenge for me now—when there are so many needs and I am pulled in so many different directions.

     This trend of those with needs exceeding those willing and able to minister won’t likely change any time soon. In fact, it may become more challenging as our congregation continues to age and we have fewer young and middle-aged people here to do the work of ministry. And it will become more challenging to me personally the longer I am here because the more deeply I will care, and the more I will feel that I must to respond to every need—or else I am a failure.

     I don’t know the answer to this problem. But I know for sure that it won’t be found if we deny the problem exists and aren’t willing to seek the Lord for the answer. And I know for sure that we won’t find a solution by looking back to what our church used to do in the past—because the demographics of our congregation and community are very different than they were years ago. This is a new situation for us, one that may require new ways of thinking about and doing ministry.

      And I am sure of one more thing; the Lord has a plan for us. He knows our needs. He will help us rise to meet this challenge, if we seek Him in His Word and through prayer, and as long as we are committed to doing His work, and open to doing some things that we have not done before.

      The first step is letting go of our pride and being willing to say to the Lord and one another, “I need help. We need help. Please help us in our ministry for your sake.”

***

       The apostle Paul’s message to us today in our Philippians reading is twofold. It’s a message of perseverance and trust, as Paul says, “Don’t look back! Press on with God’s work!” And it’s a warning to let go of our pride. Paul is saying, “Know Christ, understand His call to serve Him and be like Him in His sufferings. Understand your need for Him.”

       Paul uses his own life—when he was Saul—as an example of someone who was lost, walking in darkness and full of pride—“confident in the flesh,” though he believed himself to be religious. He was sure what he was doing was right, even while he was violently persecuting Christians, holding the coats and approving of those who stoned Stephen in Acts 7, and then “ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women,” committing them to prison in Acts 8. He was a man of God; zealous for his faith. He was a Pharisee—a well-educated man, well respected in his community. He knew Scripture and he knew how to follow all the rules of the faith—all the “laws”—to keep his right standing before God. He was proud to be a member of the nation of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born to the Hebrews!

   He says in Philippians 3:4, “If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more!”

    The Philippians know the whole story of Saul’s conversion without him having to go into all the details. They know that one day on the road to Damascus, where Saul planned to round up more of Christ’s followers and return them bound to Jerusalem, he saw a light from heaven and fell to the ground as he heard Christ’s voice.

     “Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?”

     In an instant, as the light blinded him to the things of this world, Saul saw himself as he truly was. And he was given understanding of who Jesus really is.

      This experience and his life since then as Christ’s apostle—persecuted, tortured, and imprisoned for Christ’s sake—leads Paul to say to the Philippians (in 3:8-9), “I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.”

 ***

         Friends, only in Christ’s light can we see ourselves as we truly are. Join me as we lay our pride at the cross and humble ourselves to Him. We have no righteousness of our own! We have only the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

         There’s nothing we can accomplish, gain or possess in this world that will bring us joy like the joy of our salvation. And our salvation is a gift to us from a gracious and loving God. There’s nothing in this world that will bring us peace like the peace of Christ. And that's also a free gift from our merciful, generous, and kind Lord.        

       Brothers and sisters, we need the Lord. And we need each other to be His Church! Our Lord has plans for us—to shape, mold, and use us through this ministry, if we strive for only one prize—the prize of the heavenly call.

         If we seek only one gain—to gain Christ and be found in Him.  

         And if we seek only one power—the power of his resurrection.

         Let us trust in the only One who will ever possess us—Christ Jesus, who has made us His own.

          Let us press on!

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for your love, mercy and grace, and for forgiving us of our sins. Thank you for sending your Son to us to show us the way back to You. And yet we often want to go our own path. Our pride gets in the way. We are stubborn and don’t want to ask for help or do something that we might not feel comfortable doing. We don’t want to need anyone. We don’t even want to admit sometimes our need for you and your forgiveness. But we are beginning to see the light—to understand that ministry is all about You—and not about us. And that we cannot be a church and minister to people if we don’t first humble ourselves to you and allow Your Spirit to guide and empower us to do your will. Lord, we lift up the many needs of people in our community of faith—people who need healing body, mind, and soul. Fill us with compassion and stir us all to be your hands and feet. Help us to press on towards the goal, the prize of your heavenly call in Christ Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.