“Fight the Good Fight”

Meditation on 1 Timothy 6:6-16

Nov. 30, 2014
Here's the video link to this sermon:
https://vimeo.com/113311897

***

       Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

      But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

***

   This is the time of year that I usually start feeling like I am running out of time. Falling behind. Many of you already have your Christmas decorations up. Over the weekend, kind elves wonderfully transformed our sanctuary for the season of Advent! Thank you! Some of you may have already begun or even finished your Christmas cards. I am in awe of you. Some are baking your holiday goodies. Some braved the crowds and did all your Christmas shopping on Black Friday—or plan to finish it off tomorrow on “Cyber Monday.” People are already posting photos of their family Christmas gatherings on Facebook!

     Yes, this is the time of year that I usually feel that I can’t keep up with all the expectations—not the expectation of others and not my own. Thank God I don’t feel that way this year! Or at least, not yet. I haven’t put up my decorations. I haven’t shopped or wrapped any gifts. I haven’t written my cards. And I haven’t baked any cookies or cleaned my house. And I’m OK with that!

      Now don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas! And I enjoy all the get-togethers and church programs in December! I am looking forward to our Christmas potluck next Sunday and playing Christmas “Jingo.” I am looking forward to when our Christmas bell choir plays on Dec. 14 and the children’s Christmas program Dec. 21.

       But the pressures of the holiday season can be so draining. Commercials on TV tell us we have to buy, buy, buy. We see other people rushing around and we feel we have to do, do, do. If we aren’t careful to keep our focus on the Lord, and the true meaning of Advent, we can become discouraged, exhausted and grumpy in these weeks leading up to Christmas. I think the timing is no accident! I think this is part of Satan’s plan to try to lead us astray at precisely the time of year that we set aside to celebrate the Christ child. Satan doesn’t want us to know the joy and peace of Christ’s Kingdom that our Lord’s coming ushered in.

       Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world. He offers to all who believe on Him a joy and a peace that the world cannot give. One that is not dependent on anything we have or do.

     During Advent, we remember and give thanks to God for the coming of Christ into our world as a babe in a manger so long ago. And we prepare our hearts and minds for His return. For He has promised to come again for His Church. And when He comes, we want the Lord to find us being faithful to walk in His ways, living as He calls us to live.

     But in a world of darkness, sin and temptation, remaining faithful to Christ’s call isn’t easy. We are continually engaged in an inner struggle, feeling pulled by the world to go in one direction, and led by Christ to take a different path. As the apostle Paul charges us, we have to “fight the good fight!” Fight the good fight of the faith!

***

       The “good fight” is Paul’s main message to his friend, Timothy, and the Church in our epistle reading today. Timothy, a co-laborer for the gospel with Paul, stays behind to guide the church in Ephesus, a city on the coast of modern day Turkey, while Paul continues his missionary journeys. In Acts 16:1, we read how Paul and Timothy met in Lystra, another city in modern Turkey. Timothy, the son of a devout Jewish mother and a Greek father, is already a believer when Paul begins to train him to be a missionary and leader in the Church.

     We don’t know the exact situation at the time of this letter, but there must have been some people in the faith community stirring up trouble, causing conflict and confusion. Just before this passage, Paul warns Timothy against those teaching something other than the “sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ.” They are “conceited, understanding nothing” with a “morbid craving for controversy and … disputes about words.” In verse 5, Paul says, “from these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth.” They may be preaching a prosperity gospel—that if you are doing what God wants you to do, God will bless you with wealth—or they may even be extorting money with false promises of blessings through their giving, as Paul adds, “imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” The writer turns the conversation to the right attitudes and behaviors of believers in verse 6, saying, “Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.”

     Yes, faithful living begins with the heart. Are we content with what we have? Are we grateful for what God has given us? People who are content and grateful don’t feel that they want or need anything more. They are not afraid of losing what they have. They are generous with others, freely sharing what they have and giving to people in need. We find that familiar saying in this passage—that we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it! What is the only worldly thing we need for contentment, says Paul? Food and clothing.

      But don’t misunderstand. The writer isn’t criticizing people with money or possessions. He isn’t blasting all rich people! The writer sees that the problem of his time is that people want to be rich for their own pleasure and make the pursuit of riches their life’s goal. The problem is when people love money more than anything.  Money becomes an idol! Is this a problem in today’s world? Of course! Is the love of money always a temptation for Christians? Yes, as long as we are in this world.

      What does Paul say is the temptation for people who love money? They will cease to be followers of Christ. They will cease to be faithful! Loving money, Paul, says, will lead to other sins, and, ultimately, to misery. Verse 10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich, some have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”

       The apostle reminds believers to remember our baptismal vows in verse 12, when we “made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses and in the presence of God, who gives life to all things.”

He urges us to “keep the commandment without spot or blame.”

      But contentment and gratitude are only part of the good fight. We must pursue the things of God, Paul says. Pursue gentleness, godliness and righteousness! Pursue faith. Pursue love.

      This is what it means to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

***

     Friends, on this first Sunday in Advent, let us be reminded what our Messiah’s coming truly means for us and the whole world! We are loved by God and reconciled with Him! We are forgiven of our sins! We have abundant and everlasting life!

      Yes, the call to remain faithful in this world of sin and temptation isn’t easy. But it is the way, the only way, to experience Christ’s peace.

      God doesn’t want us to overwhelm ourselves trying to make everyone happy or keep up with our neighbors. And the Lord certainly doesn’t want us to be overcome by debt trying to prove our love for others or make ourselves and our loved ones happy.

     In this season, especially—when every time we turn on the TV, we hear, “buy, buy, buy”—don’t wish for what you don’t have! Don’t push yourself to work and earn more and more—so that you can accumulate more and more. Much better is time with the Lord and caring for others! Much better is preparing your hearts and minds for Christ’s return. Our Lord is coming soon!

      Listen for God’s voice amid the noise and rush of the season. Don’t forget about your church. Come for worship and stay for fellowship. Don’t let your prayer life suffer. Be nourished on His Word.

       The Lord says, “My yoke is easy. Come to me, you who are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest!”

      He says, “I am the Good Shepherd. I lay down my life for my sheep.”

      He says, “Fight the good fight of the faith! Take hold of the eternal life!”

       Be content. Be grateful.

       Pursue gentleness, godliness, and righteousness!

       Pursue faith. Pursue love!

Let us pray.

Holy Lord, thank you for your love and for your forgiveness, offered to all through belief on Christ Jesus, your Son! Thank you for your willingness to suffer and die for our sins and your promise to return for your church, to come again! Forgive us, Lord, when we have been unfaithful, when we have allowed other loves in this world to distract us from loving and serving you, first and foremost. Prepare our hearts and minds for your return, O Lord. Stir a longing in us to see your face. Strengthen us to fight the good fight of the faith and seek to walk in Christ’s ways. Stir us to be content no matter our situation in life. Lead us to be grateful for you all of our days. Move us to share what we have with others, to be generous with your church, and to help people in need. Help us to pursue gentleness, godliness, righteousness, faith, and love.  In Christ we pray. Amen. 

“God’s Chosen, Living as Foreigners”

Meditation on I Peter 1:1-9   

For the Community Thanksgiving Service 

Nov. 25, 2014

***

     “Peter, an apostle of the Messiah, to God’s chosen ones, who live as foreigners among the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been set aside in advance by God the Father, through the sanctification of the spirit, for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus the Messiah. May grace and peace be poured out lavishly on you!  May God be blessed, God the father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! His mercy is abundant and so he has become our father in a second birth into a living hope through the resurrection of the dead of Jesus the Messiah. This has brought us into an incorruptible inheritance, which nothing can stain or diminish. At the moment it is kept safe for you in the heavens, while you are being kept safe by God’s power, for a rescue that is all ready and waiting to be revealed in the final time.

    That is why you celebrate! Yes, it may well be necessary that, for a while, you may have to suffer trials and tests of all sorts. But this is so that the true value of your faith may be discovered. It is worth more than gold, which is tested by fire even though it can be destroyed. The result will be praise, glory and honor when Jesus the Messiah is revealed. You love him, even though you have never seen him. And even though you don’t see him, you believe in him and celebrate with a glorified joy that goes beyond anything words can say, since you are receiving the proper goal of your faith, namely the rescue of your lives!”

***

         I was gathered with a group of Christians meeting a couple of weeks ago when the leader asked each of us to share what we were thankful for.  I was glad I didn’t have to go first because I wasn’t ready with an answer. The leader eagerly shared how happy he was that he and his wife would be with their son over Thanksgiving. They hadn’t been together on Thanksgiving for a number of years. The next person shared several things he was thankful for, beginning with a home with heat, his family and church, and some others that I can’t recall. He said he was feeling abundantly blessed.

         The next person was really prepared! He pulled a folded piece of paper from his Bible and said he had made the list some years ago when he was feeling discouraged. The list helped him to remember his blessings and to be grateful for what God had done in his life over the years—how the trials had helped to shape him into the man he had become. The next person gave thanks for her family—especially her husband and grandchildren—and shared a funny story. She ended by saying she was “loving life.”

      By this time, I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to say. I was, like the others who had shared, feeling blessed by my family and church. But my mind was on the funeral I had presided over 2 days before and the family that had just lost their mother, grandmother, great grandmother and wife. And I couldn’t help but think about how difficult Thanksgiving would be for that family and others grieving the loss of loved ones.  Because Thanksgiving is so often more about visiting with extended family and consuming a feast than a simple offering to God of our heart-felt thanks.  

     And then it was time for the second to last person to share what she was thankful for. I was the last!

      She was quiet for a few moments before she teared up and said that she was going to be “real” with us. She had been seeking the Lord that morning in her devotional time, praying for her children, and she was discouraged. The word she used was “broken.” She was feeling “broken.”

 ***

      Peter, in his letter to early Christians offers hope to the discouraged and guidance to those who may have lost their way or forgotten the gospel of grace. Peter writes to a small, scattered minority living in the Diasphora—outside the city of Jerusalem. These early Christians are definitely feeling “broken” and also despised by the world. These Jewish believers are rejected by fellow Jews and by Gentiles who see all Jews—even those who have accepted Christ—as Jews!

      Jewish people in those days were all “aliens,” “foreigners” or “exiles,” as some translations say in 1 Peter 1:1. These are people who have “suffer(ed) various trials and tests of all sort” as the writer says in 1:6. Most are not permitted to be citizens or own property.  Many living in Rome at the time of this letter may have descended from Jews who had been brought there as slaves.  Some were still slaves, as the writer addresses them specifically in 1 Peter 2:18, “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.”   

      Peter, from the opening of his letter to the end, emphasizes the value of every believer to God—even a slave—for you have been “chosen,” he says in 1:2, “chosen and destined,” or as N. T. Wright’s translation says, “set aside in advance.” God is not punishing you by making you live in poverty and slavery; the Father has had a plan for you from the very beginning! In 2:21, he writes, “For to this you have been called (chosen, set aside) because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.”

   The hope—our hope—is a new birth—a whole new life—in a world we haven’t seen and a Savior who has not yet been revealed. But the hope is a living hope because Jesus is alive! He was resurrected from the dead!

    For this people, many of whom cannot own property, there is an imperishable, incorruptible “inheritance” waiting and kept safe in heaven. You who are suffering and despised by the powers of this world, God still cares for you and is caring for you! You are “protected by the power of God through faith.” And I love this about Wright’s translation: instead of saying “for a salvation,” he says, “for a rescue that is all ready and waiting.”

    “A rescue!”

    And Peter says, “That is why you celebrate!”

***

     Friends, this is a good reminder to us of what Thanksgiving for Christians is really about. The reason we celebrate is not because we have plenty of food and many people to love and who love us. That’s not the real reason for our joy! We celebrate because of who we are—God’s chosen in Jesus Christ—and our living hope in Him! We offer up simple, heartfelt thanks to God for our hope that will never change, though

our situations may change as we go through different and difficult seasons of our lives.

      Sometimes we will “love life” and feel “abundantly blessed”; other times we will feel “broken.” We will feel truly like the “aliens” or “foreigners” that we are—that we don’t belong here and this isn’t our home. All of God’s chosen live as foreigners in this world. We are being made ready for life in God’s Kingdom, our eternal home. But we aren’t just sitting around waiting for the new life to begin. God is using us right now to build His Kingdom! As we respond to God’s call, we are instruments of Christ’s peace, tools of His reconciling love.

      After my friend confessed to being “broken,” we stopped and prayed for her. And the prayer ministered to all of us. For even those who said they felt “abundantly blessed” and were “loving life” had felt “broken” before.

     Then I knew what I was supposed to share—what God had been teaching me through the suffering of my faith community—that God loves my church even more than I do. He has a plan for our ministry, and accomplishing His plan doesn’t depend on me. This is God’s work! And God in His grace allows me to be one of the shepherds in this community and to sometimes be God’s hands and feet.

    But God’s plan does include suffering and trials for all of us. And it’s not my job to try to take all the suffering away, though I wish that I could. It is my job to walk alongside my brothers and sisters, sharing the peace of Christ—and to pray.

      We can be sure throughout our trials that our loving and merciful God is still caring for us! And the power of God, revealed in the resurrected Christ, has triumphed over the power of sin and death.

      You might right now be feeling “broken.” You may be wondering if you will ever feel happy and “whole” again. Peter assures us that there is something good about suffering—that it provides an opportunity for our faith to be tested and proven to be real.

      God wants us to be “real”—like my friend was the other day. Don’t hide your pain from one another! Let others help carry your burdens! Pray for one another!

      For it is when and how we endure suffering as a worshiping community that we prove our faith to be real. This is how we show the world our love for God and His chosen ones, called to be “foreigners” no matter where we go. Waiting and longing for our imperishable, incorruptible inheritance in the world to come.

         Rejoicing in our living hope!

Let us pray.

Holy One, we celebrate our living hope in Jesus Christ—today, tomorrow on Thanksgiving, and every day. We give you thanks for our families, friends, churches—our many, many blessings, including the abundant food that we have to eat. But help us, Lord, to be truly grateful for your work done for us through Jesus Christ and his suffering on the cross. Give us a faith that is genuine. Real. Stir us to offer up a simple prayer of thanks and praise to you for our salvation—for the “rescue of our lives” and the imperishable, incorruptible inheritance waiting and kept safe for us in the world to come. Thank you for watching over us, Lord, and protecting our souls. We pray, also, for those mourning the loss of loved ones. We ask that you make your loving presence known to them, that you heal and make whole those who are feeling “broken,” and that you lead them to be “real” and share their sorrows with others. Teach us to pray and to be faithful to witness, as we go through suffering and trials, to the One we cannot see, but still we believe in and love. Help us all to trust in you. In Christ we pray. Amen.

    

     

     

Here's the video link to yesterday's Christ the King service at Ebenezer.
https://vimeo.com/112726024

“Investment, Kingdom-style”

Meditation on Matthew 25:14-30
Nov. 16, 2014
Here's the video link to this sermon:
http://vimeo.com/112069526

***

    ‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

***

    I am always so touched by our congregation’s compassionate response to families mourning the loss of their loved ones.  At yesterday’s funeral, attended by more than 250 people, I felt in awe of my church family! Our gentle sister, Karen Polfliet, who had battled cancer for nearly 4 years, went home to be with the Lord Monday night.

    Funerals are a good demonstration of our church’s need for people with a variety of spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities who are willing to serve. In a small church like ours, especially, we need everyone! We need those who are willing, sometimes on short notice, to whip up a hot dish and call, visit, and comfort the grieving family. We need folks to plan the funeral reception, order and shop for the food, notify work groups and delegate jobs to the kitchen volunteers. We need someone to give the church a thorough cleaning, move chairs and tables, lock and unlock the doors, turn up and turn down the heat and lights. We need ushers, readers, musicians and soloists. We need someone to make funeral bulletins, and someone to take care of the sound. And sometimes, like we did this week, we also need people to clear away snow from our walkways, driveways, and parking lot.

    I feel very honored to have served the Lord alongside you this week. You were, truly, God’s hands and feet. Watching you serve with love, kindness and cheerfulness ministered to me!

      I just want to say, thank you all! And as Jesus says in Matthew 25, “Well done, trustworthy servants!...Well done!”

***

    

     In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents. Let me begin this discussion by saying that this is a difficult passage! Even the scholars can’t agree on what it all means. It’s complicated.

    As a parable, this is a story with layers of meaning and the characters, action and dialogue lead us to spiritual lessons. But this is not like the Prodigal Son in Luke, a parable we can easily comprehend and find so many applications and connections for today. We can confidently say in the Prodigal Son that the loving father in the story is our gracious Heavenly Father and the youngest son represents us—sinful, ungrateful humanity.

    We can’t do this kind of interpretation with the Parable of the Talents. Specifically we are cautioned not to interpret the characters and actions as symbolizing the interactions between God and God’s people. The “harsh” master in the story, friends, is not our Lord, despite the references to what sounds like heaven—“enter into the joy of your master” and hell—“throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

   But before we get to that discussion, what is a “talent”? If you guessed money, you were right, but how much? A “talent” or talenton in Greek was equal to the wages a worker could earn in 6,000 days of labor or between 15 and 20 years! So, going back to the passage, we read that the third slave received “only” 1 talent, but this was still a great deal of money—15 to 20 years’ worth of wages! The second slave received 2 talents—twice what the third slave received and as much money as one might earn working 30 or 40 years! The first slave received a whopping 5 talents, which would be an enormous amount of money today, perhaps a lifetime of earnings or more.

     Are you wondering why the man entrusted his money to slaves while he went away? I wondered that, too. But this wasn’t as unusual as we might think. For example in Genesis, Joseph, Jacob’s son, was sold into slavery and ended up in a position of great responsibility, managing the household of Potiphar, the captain of the palace guard. But Joseph was still a slave.

     Also, did you catch why the man gave a different amount of money to each slave? Verse 15 tells us the man gave “to each according to his ability.” The one, therefore, who received 5 talents must have already shown himself to be trustworthy and skilled at investing. The one who received 2 talents could also be trusted to do as the master asked, though the second slave was not as skilled as the first. Both the first and second slaves receive identical praise for their wise and reward for their faithful service.

     He tells each one, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave (or servant as some translations say). You have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

     And then there’s the slave who receives “only” 1 talent who is severely punished at the end. Why? He didn’t steal, waste, or lose the money. He didn’t act in an obviously sinful, rebellious way—not like the son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. But fear of his master kept him from investing the money he was given, though surely he knew that this would displease his master, whom he calls “harsh.” Could the claim of “fear” just be an excuse to hoard the money that had been entrusted to him? The slave could not bring himself to risk investing it; he buried it in a hole for safekeeping.

      The master punishes the third slave, calling him wicked, worthless and lazy. Why? Because it is a matter of trust. He simply didn’t do what he was expected to do with the master’s money. The slave who was given 1 talent has it taken away; the talent is given to the one who invested 5 talents—and now has 11! The master orders that the disobedient slave be thrown into the “outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

      And Jesus sums up the lesson of this difficult parable in verse 29, saying, “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

           

***

    I get to the end of this passage and I am not completely clear on how we might interpret and apply the lessons of this parable to our lives today. But it is important to remember that the “harsh” man in the story is not the Lord, though truly, his generosity with his slaves and the language of the reward—entering into their master’s joy and being entrusted with more responsibility, seems much more kind than harsh. It is the punishments that we grapple with as they seem too severe for the slave who struggles with fear. Or maybe it is because we, also, struggle with fear and anxiety sometimes when we come face to face with one of our master’s commands, such as love our enemies and make disciples of all the nations. When we would rather not have to talk to strangers—or even people we know sometimes—about our faith. When we are reluctant to give our time and money to help strangers in need.

      Bible teachers advise that we not get too carried away with trying to understand the allegory and symbolism but, instead, stick with the main message, which is this—that all that we are and all that we have are God’s gift to us to use for His glory—and to build up His church.

      Now that’s investment—Kingdom-style!

      For sure, this passage teaches us that fear will and does get in the way of ministry. It paralyzes us and keeps us from choosing to be obedient to God. It is fear that leads the third slave to be unfaithful, to bury his 1 talent in a hole in the ground. And what happened when he didn’t use the 1 gift that he had been given? Even that was taken away!

      But to the one who is given much—and is faithful to serve the Lord with what he has been given—and invest in the Kingdom—the Lord will give more and more!

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the many gifts and blessings you have given us! Thank you for inviting us to be partners with you in your Kingdom work—when and for providing the right gifts and abilities—all the treasures that we need to do your will. But Lord, sometimes fear gets in the way—not fear of you, perhaps, but fear of the tasks you call us to do, fear that we will not be able to do them. Lord help us to be faithful and obedient, to seek you each day for strength and wisdom. Lead us to forgive one another and love one another, to shine your light in the darkness and reach out to the lost and lonely and claim them for Jesus Christ. One day may we all hear your praise, “Well done, trustworthy slave. Well done!” In Christ we pray. Amen.