February 2007

Monthly Archive

February 25, 2007

The Measure of Character

Posted by Jon Martin under Sermons, Sunday Pulpit
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Someone once said that the measure of character is what you do when no one is watching. And there was no one watching in those days when Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in the wilderness. There he fasted and for forty days was tempted.

So what does this account say about Jesus’ character? It speaks to his absolute resolve to walk the path that leads to a cross and an empty tomb. On this first Sunday of Lent, we begin a similar journey in the footsteps of Jesus so that, in the weeks ahead, we too will make our way to Jerusalem and find a cross and a tomb.

In that Judean wilderness, Jesus was tempted three times. And each time, he showed his resolve. What if these temptations represent, as someone has written, not just a single, unique temptation like turning one rock into one loaf of bread to satisfy his hunger in that moment, but something more? What if each temptation is for Jesus the starting point for an alternative path into the future?

The first temptation, turning a stone into bread, would be the alternative future of Jesus’ own self-preservation. This path leads to Jesus meeting his own needs. When he gets hungry, he makes bread. When wants something, he uses his power to serve himself. Need influence? Make money. Need to feel safe? Build a wall. This is the temptation to a future of self-centeredness. He uses his power for himself. This future is offered to Jesus in the simple words: turn these rocks into bread to satisfy your hunger.

There’s no cross in this future for Jesus. In fact, it’s a future path that avoids suffering of any kind. It avoids serving others too and self-sacrifice. Does that path tempt you? The path of self-centeredness, the path of having every need or want met? Are any voices calling you down this path?

The second temptation would be the temptation to have absolute power. This is an invitation to a future of authority and fame. Command armies. Conquered everything in your way. Put your image on coins and statues and on government buildings. Live in a palace. Be feared, powerful, and ruthless.

There is no cross in this future. This path leads to increasing separation from everyday, normal life. This path is about of being alone at the top of an empire, and the cross is about being alone at the top of a hill.

The third temptation is an invitation to a future of God serving you. Leap from the pinnacle of the Temple and angels will come and rescue you. This is an invitation to a future of making God serve you. Go ahead, jump. Make God demonstrate the power to save you on your terms, on your schedule in public with everyone watching. Make God your servant.

There is no cross on this path either. A cross means trusting in God even in the face of despair and suffering and death and absolute silence. The cross means the abandonment of God, and this temptation exactly opposite of that. This temptation is about having God at one’s beckon call.

Jesus absolutely refuses to take even one step into any of those three futures. He resolutely stays on the path of God’s story and none other. It’s the story that begins in Galilee and leads to Jerusalem then to Calvary and then to glory. To be sure, each of the alternative futures offered its own kind of glory, an immediate, right-up-front glory. In God’s plan, however, glory comes last, not first. Glory follows despair.

As we begin this season of Lent, this story challenges us to consider what path we walk, and then to ask the question what voices are inviting us to walk alternative paths? What voices are tempting you away from the path of discipleship? Do any of these voices sound familiar?

o        Don’t you realize you can do better than that. Try this instead.

o        You know you’re not going to measure up, you should just quit now.

o        You’re not all that great at scheduling your time. You’re too far behind to make a difference.

o        That’s right. It’s okay to be hurtful, they deserve it.

o        Hey, your wants are just as important as your needs.

o        What happens on the other side of the world has no bearing on you. Don’t with war or genocide, just consume, consume, consume.

o        Doesn’t your bitterness make you feel alive?

o        People will stop liking you if your show your faults.

o        Numb the pain with this.

These voices and others invite us into futures that lead us away from the gospel. There is no cross in these futures. The season of Lent gets us pointed on the path does lead to the cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter morning. Jesus answered his temptations with a Word of truth. What response do you offer your voices?

Let me suggest two words: Water and community.Today we welcomed our newest member into the household of God. Chase is now part of this household. It is bold to call this commuity part of the household of God. But if we do call it that, then we remember that one voice, and one voice only, guides us. In the gospel of Luke, that voice is not the voice of temptation, but the voice who answers the temptations. It is the voice of Jesus.

Every baptized person begins a faith journey at the water’s edge. Whether that water’s edge is a font or a baptistery, a creek or a river, we start down a path as part of something bigger than ourselves. We begin that path as part of a community. Water and community. This is where our journey begins. Together then we walk a path that leads to a cross, and that path begins with water.God calls us together—regular, broken, people—and then fills us with the Spirit, the way the font is filled with water. Water and community, together they are our reminder that God made a perfect path for us to travel, even when lesser paths are offered to us everyday, because lesser paths are offered to us everyday.

Paul writes in the New Testament, The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart. Listen to that word over the voices that offer you other pathways. Give up listening to all the other voices in this season of Lent. By the grace of God, let this be the measure of your character.As we journey forward into this season of Lent, I challenge you to seek to be guided by God alone whether you are newly baptized and brand new to the household or its long time residents. Together we walk this path toward Easter. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

February 11, 2007

Our Truest Work

Posted by Jon Martin under Sermons, Sunday Pulpit
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Paul wrote in the New Testament that faith itself is a gift from God. So, what kind of faith did God give you? I came across a book that presents the idea that each of us has one of three different kinds of faith. Some of us have head faith. Some of us have heart faith. And some of us have faith of the hands. Not surprisingly the book is called Head, Heart, and Hands: Bringing Together Christian Thought, Passion and Action. It’s written by Dennis Hollinger, and I want to start off with some insights from this book.

I. Faith of the Head. A person with the faith of the head seeks to grow in the knowledge of God and humanity by studying the Scripture and theology. For this person, the goal of life is to know and profess a Christian understanding of reality. The Bible and theology are important elements for spiritual development. Conversion is seen as a transformation of the way one thinks. Old patterns and commitments give way to new perspectives because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the Bible a person with faith of the head reads: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2) They also read: always be ready to make your defense [apologia, a reasoned defense] to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you. (1 Peter 3:15)

Christians with faith of the head emphasize the knowledge of Scripture, an understanding of theology. They value the Scripture which points to God. The primary means of Christian faithfulness begins with thinking about God and God’s call to love God and neighbor.

II. Faith of the Heart. The second kind of faith is faith of the heart. People with this kind of faith see their Christian lives bound up in feelings, passion, and spiritual experience. Faith is inward and mystical. It is an emotional encounter with the living God. A person with this kind of faith sees conversion as God reaching into ones deepest core. The believer encounters God in a personal, living, dynamic fashion. Because of this feelings and inclinations of the heart are changed forever.

The Bible is read, not so much to be understood in its original context, but to have ones heart warmed and moved by God. The interpretation of the Word is more about the inner moving of the Holy Spirit, resulting in a sense of the Word conveyed to the individual.In worship, people with this kind of faith want music, Scripture, and sermon to help them feel something and to connect emotionally with God. People with faith of the heart connect with the words from the two disciples on road to Emmaus who said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)

III. The faith of the Hands. The third kind of faith is faith of the hands. Here the central focus of the Christian experience is action. True faith is expressed not in a stained-glass sanctuary on Sunday morning, but in care offered others, in a commitment to justice, and in acts of mercy. While faith is a decision of the will, it is demonstrated as an outward reflection of the living Christ. Faith is lived out in contrast to a faith that is inward and felt. People with faith of the hands read in the Bible that we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:10) From James they read, So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (James 2:14-17) And from the prophet Micah, He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

So what kind of faith did God give you? I don’t know why each of us receives one of these facets of faith over another, but maybe it’s related to how we approach other parts of life. Maybe it has to do with our experience or how faith was modeled for us by others. In Christianity, we even organize whole congregations and even some denominations around one or another of these kinds of faith. Hollinger points out that while we have a strong preference for one of these three kinds of faith, our faith should include some part of all three facets. He calls this a complete faith.

So, knowing this, how would we read this text from Luke about the day Levi, the tax collector, left everything to follow Jesus? After he left his tax booth he threw a party for Jesus and invited other tax collectors. When the Pharisees saw this they complained that Jesus was spending time with sinners. Jesus response was simple: sick people need a doctor, he said.The faith of the head people appreciate this response to the complaint. Those who are well have no need of physician, but those who are sick. I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (v.32) They appreciate that Jesus is always one step ahead of the religious thinkers. Also, faith of the head people understand that the call to discipleship is clearly laid out in these words of Jesus. In order to follow Jesus, we each have to admit that we are sinners. Only then can we grasp the depth of what Jesus came to accomplish. There is more that can be said about a faith of the head perspective, but I want to look at this text now from the faith of the heart.

The faith of the heart people imagine that Jesus sensed something unique in Levi. When Levi heard those words, “Follow me,” they touched something deep in his soul. Faith of the heart people report that there is power in the words Jesus speaks. They point out that Levi left everything behind to follow. His joyous response was to celebrate with a great banquet in his own home. He invited friends and colleagues so that they too could experience this connection with Jesus. When Jesus told the Pharisees that the sick need a physician, faith of the heart people seek that healing from heart outward. There is more that can be said from a faith of the heart perspective, but I want to look at this text from the faith of the hands.

The faith of the hands people identify with the verbs in the story. He got up from his tax booth and followed Jesus. He hosted Jesus in his home and invited people who were disliked and excluded by the religious establishment. Levi brought others near to Jesus and gave them food. In a world that values wealth and power, both of which Levi had and walked away from, Levi now follows the path of discipleship. This means standing for the oppressed, the captive, the blind, and the poor—the people labeled as outcasts by the religious elite.

Each kind of faith offers its own particular insight into this account of the call of Levi, indeed into all of scripture. It shouldn’t surprise you by now to know I have a faith of the head. Some of you probably figured that our early on. That is not, however, at the expense of what I can gain from a heart and hand perspective.               

So much of the world is segmented into groups and factions, many of which are at war with each other close to home, and on the other side of the world. We live in a world that magnifies our differences at the expense of our common ground. Knowing this, we have an opportunity to lead the way into a better world, a world in which our own faith is enriched because we have listened to another. When we risk doing this, the result is that our circle grows wider and our own faith strengthened. We have also made a statement against the division in our world. This is our truest work: to share the good news we have and listen for how others hear it.

Listen to these words from Jeremiah: I the Lord, test the mind and search the heart to give to all according to the fruit of their doings. And thanks be to God. Amen.

 

February 4, 2007

Belonging to Something Bigger than Yourself

Posted by Jon Martin under Sermons, Sunday Pulpit
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When I’m at the church on a Monday night, it’s great to see the lights on over at the manse, our 1853 farm house. I see those lights and I know that Troop 1784 is meeting. They’ve been over there for about two years now and it’s great to have a Boy Scout troop here at Pisgah.

I personally have fond memories of my own years as a Boy Scout in Northern California. I get a Christmas card each year from my old troop with a group photo. One year the photo was of a group of boys jumping off a rock into a river. I was happy to see that they are still doing that kind of thing. Remember late last year when those three climbers were missing on Mount Hood in Oregon? The search and rescue pictures brought back some memories of the time I climbed that mountain with my troop.

I have many good memories of my years in Boy scouts, and I hope the boys in our troop are also building good memories. For me Boy Scouts was a real God-send—although, at the time, I wouldn’t have expressed it like that. Boy Scouts helped me grow up as teenager, to learn about responsibility, self confidence, and leadership. The first time I led a public prayer was at a Troop gathering, though I had no idea what vocation awaited me. At the time, I wondered why I had been picked to lead the prayer. I was even, for a time, the troop bugler.

My experience in Boy scouts was the first time I ever felt like I belonged to something bigger than me or my family. There would be other moments when I sensed that I was part of something bigger, but boy scouts was the first time that happened. It was the feeling that I had something to contribute to a greater purpose. We said an oath together and a law and I felt was sharing in something important and valuable.

So what are the times in your life when you have had this realization—the realization that you were part of something bigger than yourself? Was it also your involvement in scouting? Was it playing football or basketball or some other sport? Was it playing an instrument in an orchestra? Was it cheerleading? Singing in a choir? Acting in a play? Was it the moment you stepped onto a college campus for the first time as a freshman or when you arrived for basic training? Was it the day you stood in front of a class to begin student teaching or the day you started your first job after college? Was it the day you were welcomed into the company of educated men and women? Was it when you first voted in an election, or were ordained as elder or deacon, or were sworn in as a citizen, was it when you first promised to do no harm, or to support the constitution? All of us have moments and memories in our lives when we realize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

That’s what I hear in the Luke text for today. Jesus invites these first disciples to belong to something bigger than themselves. They are called to follow him and learn. They are called to remember what he said and did so they could tell others and invite others to belong.

As part of a church family you belong to something greater than just you, and it stretches back across twenty centuries to that moment at the lake shore. These are some of the marks of what belonging means.

1. It means we come together as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is no secret society. It’s open to all who wish to follow.

2. Part of our gathering includes a meal in which our faith is nourished. At this table we all receive the same thing: a real experience of the abundant goodness of God.

3. Belonging means we look after each other because the one who fills the nets with fish redefines who our neighbor is. The bonds in this community of faith are real, and when we lose someone we grieve. When we welcome new people in the community we rejoice.

4. We all have some part in the endeavor. Paul writes about this by using the image of a body working together with Christ as the head. Each of us is a member of a great body of believers, which is the church with Christ as the head.

5. This one is decidedly more Presbyterian. We believe we make decisions better in groups than as individuals, and so every voice matters in this great gathering.

6. We are called to catch people. This means we aren’t a closed community. We invite others to belong so that the circle becomes wider. We have some sense of call to expand our ministry.

Belonging to the church means we share in something bigger than any of us. To be sure, none of us loses our individuality in the waters of baptism. Faith remains personal for each of us and God knows you as an individual person with all of your strengths and insecurities, successes and failures—and loves you for that. All of us are at a different part of our faith journey, but we are also in this together. That makes me think of that moment in this story when Jesus was sitting in the boat and teaching the crowd of people along the shore. We are part of that diverse crowd on the shore listening to the master. This is just before he tells the fishermen to cast their nets into the water.

After they cast their nets, there’s a moment when several people have to work together to haul in the net because it is so weighed down with fish. Both boats were filled. Peter said to Jesus, “Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man.” In that moment Peter sounds like he does not consider himself worthy of belonging to anything bigger than his own brokenness and certainly not anything Jesus is doing. I like what Jesus says back to Peter.“Do not be afraid.” I hear Jesus telling Peter not to let the fear of your own brokenness make you feel unworthy of following me. Jesus knows enough not to look for only holy people without sin to be his disciples. Anybody like that here? I didn’t think so.

In the church we belong to something bigger than ourselves, not because we are worthy or because any of us is perfect, but because Jesus calls people to follow him.We follow in our brokenness and the promise God offers us in this life is two fold. First, we make this journey as disciples surrounded by others and, second, God is with us. Isn’t that how this story from Luke 5 ends? When they had brought their boats to shore, as a group they left everything they had and followed Jesus. So it is with us, and thanks be to God. Amen.