Scripture for July 21st

1 Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the LORD said to me, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them. 3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," says the Lord GOD; "the dead bodies shall be many; in every place they shall be cast out in silence." 4 Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and bring the poor of the land to an end, 5 saying, "When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great, and deal deceitfully with false balances, 6 that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the refuse of the wheat?" 7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: "Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. 8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and every one mourn who dwells in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?" 9 "And on that day," says the Lord GOD, "I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. 11 "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.

 

 

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; 16 for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. 19 For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, 23 provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.

 

 

 

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." 41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; 42 one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her."

Quote of the Day

The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.          - Flannery O'Connor

Quote of the Day

I don't preach a social gospel; I preach the gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned with the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, 'Now is that political or social?' He said,'I feed you.' Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.
-Desmond Tutu

United Methodist Response to George Zimmerman Verdict

Many took to the streets to protest the not-guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman, but many also went to their houses of worship to find peace and seek answers.
Bishop Ken Carter, Episcopal leader of the Florida Annual (regional) Conference, sent a letter to the pastor and people of First United Methodist Church, Sanford, Fla., saying he was praying for peace for them but also encouraging the congregation to be a sign of God’s grace and peace in the days ahead.
On Feb. 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, was shot and killed by a member of a neighborhood watch in Sanford, Fla. The shooter, George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic, said he shot the teen in self-defense. A jury on July 13 found Zimmerman not guilty after deliberating for more than 15 hours.
“This is a teachable moment, and we dare not waste it,” Carter said.
“Beyond the civic conversation, United Methodists are called to reflect on what this means for disciples of Jesus Christ who are called to transform the world.”
Pray ‘we will help guide conversation’
The victims are many and the conversation on race has grown because of this case, said Bishop Minerva Carcaño, who leads the California-Pacific Annual (regional) Conference and is president of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.
“I pray that as persons of Christian faith we will help guide the conversation in thoughtful and prayerful ways. The life of a young man has been cut short. His family and closest friends will live with a hole in their hearts. A man has taken a life and will live with that burden the rest of his life. Racism, guns, violence, and the lack of security plague us all,” she said in a statement.
Pastors like the Rev. Doug Cunningham of New Day United Methodist Church in Bronx, New York, worked into the early morning to refocus his sermon and worship service on the outcome of the racially charged trial.
On his Facebook page he wrote: “We can’t preach peace when there is no peace.”
“There is a lot of hurt, and there were a lot of tears,” said Melissa Hinnen, student intern pastor at New Day. Members of New Day participated in a rally and march from Union Square to Times Square Sunday night.
Not guilty also ‘not innocent’
Bishop Mike Coyner, Indiana Annual (regional) Conference, said it is important to remember that being found not guilty is not the same as being found innocent.
“George Zimmerman is not innocent of the death of Trayvon. Moreover, our whole culture is not innocent of this sad situation. … All of us bear some responsibility for creating or allowing a culture of violence, suspicion, racism, crime, and tragedy to exist in our nation. The multiple murders in Indianapolis in recent weeks are a reminder that the Zimmerman case is not unique — such violence is everywhere, and the problems between whites, Hispanics and African Americans seem to be growing,” he said in an E-pistle.
Kathryn Lohre, president of the National Council of Churches, said that in the wake of the acquittal, people of faith should join in a renewed call for racial justice.
“The day after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, we, acknowledged ‘the tragic reality that exists for young men of color and their families who, because of their appearance, fear they will be victims of violence at the hands of police and others.’ As we seek to honor the memory of Trayvon Martin, we are called to action to protect the lives of all from fear, violence, racism and injustice,” Lohre said.
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Annual (regional) Conference, also called for peace and a nonviolent spirit.
“It may take much prayer for God to give this kind of strength to us and to all those who feel deep anger, shock, and betrayal in this time,” he said.
“In the face of such oppression, there is a temptation to become disengaged,” said the Rev. Theon Johnson III, co-chair of United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church. “We as the Church must advance the dialogue. We will move forward from this experience. How we move forward, however, will be determined by our willingness to show up and announce justice.”
The Rev. Pamela Lightsey of Boston School of Theology said, “you can’t lose what you never had” to the question of whether black Americans have lost faith in the justice system after the acquittal of George Zimmerman.
“So, to put this question to a grieving family, ‘Have you lost faith in the justice system?’ demonstrates an ignorance of the tragic history of slavery, civil rights, legal racial profiling and now Stand Your Ground laws. One simply cannot lose what has never been. The more sensitive question should be: What can we all do to ensure a legal system that ensures justice for all citizens and residents in our country?”
Visible signs of peace
Carter said he is encouraging the congregations in the Florida conference to reflect diversity, to question more publicly the “Stand Your Ground” law of the state of Florida. In Florida, as in more than 20 other states, a “Stand Your Ground” law provides significant leeway for using deadly force if a person feels threatened.
“I am praying for people of The United Methodist Church in Sanford. I am praying that they will be an outward and visible sign of God’s peace, justice, reconciliation and healing in the days ahead. I am praying that they, and we, do not waste this teachable moment. “

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Kathy Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 ornewsdesk@umcom.org.

Sermon 7-14-13 Who Is Our Neighbor?

     This story is far more than just a general moral command to go and help someone you see in need. In order to appreciate it, we have to remember that in Jesus’ day, the Samaritans and the Jews hated each other like poison. This hatred had gone on for centuries, since Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE. The Assyrians carried off the leaders of Israel, leaving only the poor to cultivate the land. Like Israelis and Palestinians today, both the Jews and the Samaritans claimed to be the true inheritors of the promises of Abraham and Moses and, therefore, both sides saw themselves as the rightful possessors of the land. The Samaritans had only the first five books of the bible (the Torah). They shared a common heritage with the Jews, but differed from one another radically in regard to the relative sanctity of Jerusalem and Mt. Gerizim. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be heretics and breakers of the ceremonial law. They looked down on the Samaritans pretty much like we look down on the Muslims and the poor in America today. Yet Jesus chose the Samaritan to be, not the villain as his listeners would expect, but the hero of his story.

     The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a notoriously dangerous road. Jerusalem is 2,300 feet about sea level; the Dead Sea, near which Jericho stood is 1,300 feet below sea level. So, in somewhat less than 20 miles, the road rises

3,600 feet. It is a road of narrow rocky passages, and of sudden turnings which made it the happy hunting-ground of robbers. In the 5^th century, Jerome tells us that it was still called “The Red, or Bloody Way.” As late as the early 1930’s, a travel writer tells us that he was warned to get home before dark, if he intended to use the road, because a certain Abu Jildah was adept at holding up cars and robbing travelers and tourists, and then escaping to the hills before the police could arrive. When Jesus told this story, he was talking about the kind of thing that had happened through the centuries on the Jericho to Jerusalem road. The kind of thing that happens in the inner cities of our country today.

     One could argue that the traveler was a reckless and foolhardy character. People seldom attempted the Jerusalem to Jericho road alone if they were carrying goods or valuables.  Seeking safety in numbers, they traveled in caravans, like the wagon trains the settlers used to travel west. This man had no one but himself to blame. Walking alone in that kind of a neighborhood, of course, those people attacked him. He should have known better! Ah! Is Jesus suggesting that having only himself to blame is NOT a valid reason for us to refuse to help? That we must be prepared to help others even when they have brought their trouble on themselves?
      Wounded and unconscious, the traveler lay beside the road and a priest hurried by. Today we would say, A preacher late for an appointment drove past the traveler and thought, "You never know if it's safe to stop these days.

Someone's probably called 911 already.” The priest couldn’t be sure but he feared that the man was dead; to touch him would mean losing his turn of duty in the Temple; and he refused to risk that. The Temple and its liturgy meant more to him than human suffering. The priest set the claims of ceremonial worship above those of charity.  Yet the commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. You can’t love God without loving those God loves, all of his creation. The two parts of the “greatest commandment” are inseparable.

     The priests behavior certainly reminds me of God telling the priests of Israel, through the prophet Amos, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24)
     A Levite seems to have gone nearer to the man before he passed by. But bandits were in the habit of using decoys. They would have one act the part of a wounded man, and when some unsuspecting traveler stopped over him, the others would rush upon him and overpower him. The Levite was a man whose motto was, “Safety first.” He would take no risks to help anyone else. Today, we might say,” A leader in the church drove by, but didn't stop. After all, it might be a setup for a car jacking.” You can’t love without taking risks

     Then, a Samaritan, one of those people, saw the wounded traveler and stopped to help. He came near. He was moved with compassion. Think of all the things Jesus tells us the Samaritan did: He went to the wounded traveler. He poured oil (a soothing agent) and wine (antiseptic) on the wounds and then bandaged his wounds. He put him on his animal and brought him to an inn. He took care of him at the inn. When he had to leave, he gave the innkeeper money to keep caring for him, promising to pay more if needed when he returned. These were things this man could not do for himself in his condition. The Samaritan did ALL that was needed. Not just enough to make himself feel virtuous. Clearly the Samaritan didn’t worry about making the wounded traveler dependent upon him. I think of helping others as a lot like using pain pills. When I had my knee replacement surgery, my doctor told me, don’t worry about taking pain medicine when you are really in pain. As you heal, we’ll reduce the dosage and when you are no longer in pain, you’ll have no problem stopping the pain pills.  Of course, you really have to have a relationship with anyone you’re helping in order to tell the difference between fostering dependency and truly helping. Are we willing to have relationships with the poor, the outsiders, those people?
     Then Jesus asked the lawyer, Which of these three do you think proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? While the answer to that question may appear to be obvious, "The Samaritan," that is not the answer the expert in the law gave, and that Jesus commended. The literal answer the expert gave was, "The one who showed mercy on him" (Luke 7:37). Jesus’ response, "Go and do likewise" is exactly his response to us, provided that we actually “do this” loving of God and neighbor. It’s not enough just to feel compassion. We have to actually start "doing" something. Compassion, to be real, must be shown in deeds. And the deeds must be done WITH those in need, not AT them. God’s gracious will is that we both give and receive love from whomever we consider “those people.”

     The lawyer asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor.” For the lawyer, God is the God of Israel, and neighbors are Jewish neighbors. For Jesus, Israel’s God is the God of grace for the whole world, and a neighbor is anybody in need. Jesus isn’t asking who the Samaritan regarded as his neighbor. He asked instead who turned out to be the neighbor of the half-dead Jew lying in the road. Underneath the apparently straightforward moral lesson (“go and do likewise”), one could see a much sterner challenge: Can you recognize the hated Samaritan as your neighbor? If you can’t, you might be left for dead.

Today, we might say: Can you recognize the poor minority single parent, or the alcohol or drug addict, or the unemployed veteran with PTSD as your neighbor?

     What lies at the heart of the confrontation with the lawyer then, is a clash between two quite different visions of what it means to be Israel, God’s people. What is at stake, then and now, is the question of whether we will use the God-given revelation of love and grace as a way of boosting our own sense of isolated security and purity, or whether we will see it as a call and challenge to extend that love and grace to the whole world.

     No church, no Christian, can remain content with easy definitions which allow us to watch most of the world lying half-dead in the road. And let’s face it, we are in the process of writing off at least a quarter of the residents of our nation as undeserving of a safety net. The passage of the agricultural bill without inclusion of the food stamp program, means a quarter of our children will go hungry. And that’s just the beginning of the drive to claim that the richest nation in the world can’t afford to take care of those in need. We have enough for those in need, just nowhere near enough for those with greed. 

     Anyone from any nation who is in need is our neighbor. Our help must be as wide as the love of God.

 

Scriptures for 7-14-13

Amos 7:7-17

 

7 He showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.

8 And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said, "Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;

9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jerobo'am with the sword."

10 Then Amazi'ah the priest of Bethel sent to Jerobo'am king of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.

11 For thus Amos has said, 'Jerobo'am shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'"

12 And Amazi'ah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there;

13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."

14 Then Amos answered Amazi'ah, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees,

15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

16 "Now therefore hear the word of the LORD. You say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.'

17 Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'"

 

 

 

Luke 10:25-37

 

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?"

27 And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

28 And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,

34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'

36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"

37 He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

 

Colossians 1:1-14

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colos'sae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints,

5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel

6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--so among yourselves, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth,

7 as you learned it from Ep'aphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf

8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

10 to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

13 He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was America Founded as a Christian Nation Sermon 7-7-13

     A few weeks back, I heard an interview with Christian historian John Fea about his book, Was America Founded as a Christian Nation[1] which focused on Fea’s assertion that history is far more complex than our current understanding of this question.

   I’m curious. How would you answer that question?

          Yes 2:1  

Comment: The founders were deists.

Reponse: Fea makes a good case that the founders were not deists.  They were rationalists, products of the enlightenment but within a Christian framework.

     Basically John Fea suggests that the answer depends on how you define Christian?

     I think it’s probably true that we can’t really comprehend “the pervasiveness of religion and its universal influence upon men, women and children.” during colonial times.[2]

Religion was established by law in both Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts—the Church of England in Jamestown, the Puritans in Massachusetts. Church attendance was required, enforced by fines and even jail.

     The Puritans sought to bring the Church of England nearer to the scriptural model as they understood it and  closer to the patterns of the Reformed churches of the Continent. They rejected every practice of the Church of England that they associated with Catholicism.

     One of the most successful of these settlements was founded by Puritans who arrived in present-day Boston in 1630 under the leadership of soon to be colonial governor John Winthrop.  On the voyage across the Atlantic, Winthrop delivered one of the best-known sermons in American history in which he called for the Puritans to build a Christian civilization that would stand as a “city on the hill”—a Christian utopia that would be a beacon of spiritual light to the rest of the world.

     Visible sainthood, testifying to a conversion experience and a life of exemplary moral behavior, was required for church membership, to partake in communion, to have their children baptized and to vote or hold office. Since both church and state were run by saints, they tended to work closely together in the creation and enforcement of laws.

     Although attendance at religious services was required of all inhabitants, church membership was never very high in Puritan churches and declined through the 17^th Century. Historian John Fea concludes, “while New England was governed as a Christian society, the majority of those living in that early settlement following the first generation of settlers did not necessarily conform to Puritan practice.[3]

   Seventy-five percent of the emigrants to Virginia came as indentured servants responding to brochures promising the opportunity to strike it rich. Once freed, they settled on the frontier where the soil was poor and

they were vulnerable to attacks from the Indians.  Within a few decades, the freed men were protesting against the colonial leaders. The introduction of slavery resolved the problem. Even poor whites could strike it rich by appropriating the labor of African blacks. In their sense of superiority over the blacks, the freed slaves allied with the wealthy plantation owners, and stability was restored.

     Both Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay began with high hopes that a truly Christian civilization was possible. Both societies did their best to embed the teachings of the Bible, as its leaders understood them, into their laws and statutes. In this sense, one might call them “Christian” societies. However, both colonies failed at maintaining societies in which public behavior was guided by the dictates of Christianity. In Jamestown greed and the pursuit of wealth among white settler resulted in the human bondage of thousands of Africans. It is one of the ironies of history that some of the greatest advocates for freedom (e.g., Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and George Mason) benefited the most from the introduction of slavery into Virginia.

     The Christian society in Massachusetts Bay was defined so narrowly that believers who deviated from Puritan orthodoxy were forced to leave the colony or, in some cases, were imprisoned or fined. Some dissenters, such as the Quaker Mary Dyer, were even killed for their obstinate lack of submission to Puritan authority.

          Roger Williams – Purity of the Church

          Anne Hutchinson – Works Righteousness

Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson probably had more impact on the subsequent history of the nation than the Puritans.

 

   After the French-Indian War  (1754-1763), colonists were united in patriotism as British citizens. However, the British had obtained a huge swath of territory, including Quebec, Canada. In order to provide protection against Indian attacks, George III wanted to tax the colonists for 1/3 of the cost of providing protection for them.  England would pay 2/3’s of the cost.  Several taxes were enacted and then repealed. The cost was not the issue, the issue was taxation of British citizens without representation.

   The idea of liberty had long been associated with Protestantism and every individual’s freedom to read the Bible.  However, the revolutionary ideas that would define colonial resistance to England were probably shaped more by John Locke and the English Whig party than by Christianity. The ever present threat of tyranny from government was central to English Whig thought.

   John Locke’s  Second Treatise of Government (1689) was written to explain why it was right for the English to remove King James II from office in 1688. Locke argued that when a government broke its contract with its people—a contract that required submission to government as long as government was protecting natural rights to life, liberty, and property—revolution was justified. Sound familiar?

     Christianity was present at the time of the American founding, but it often merged with other ideas that were compatible with, but not necessarily influenced by, Christianity. Basically the founders were well-educated in enlightenment thought and placed a high value on reason. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin all rejected the supernatural aspects of Christianity. There were also many Othodox believers.  Still I am struck by the degree to which enlightenment thought influenced their beliefs. For example, the only minister who signed the Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian clergyman and president of the College of New Jersey at Princeton developed a curriculum at Princeton that  reflected accommodation to the beliefs of the Enlightenment, particularly his acceptance of “The New Moral Philosophy.” The belief that There was a source of morality that did not find its source in the Bible or a special infusion of God’s grace!  Even the most orthodox Presbyterian clergyman showed an independence and individuality of perspective that is very different from the insistence on specific beliefs today. Indeed, there was extraordinary individuality in the founders’ religious views.

George Washington – The Role of Providence

     Since 1755, George Washington had wondered if Providence was preparing him for something great. The 23-year-old Washington served as an aide to General Braddock when his forces were ambushed. Braddock was killed. As Washington rode among the dying, two horses were shot out from under him and a musket ball brushed his uniform. He attributed his survival “the miraculous care of Providence that protected me beyond all human expectation.”

     The Battle of Brooklyn provided one of the best examples of the role of Providence. The revolutionaries had been soundly defeated by the British. Washington led 9000 men in retreat across the east river with horses and canons at night without the loss of a single man or piece of equipment. At dawn, the retreat was still in progress. The New York side of the river was sunny, but a fog covered the Brooklyn side of the river, so the British could not see Washington’s army in retreat. If the British had sailed up the river, the war would have ended. But the wind was in the wrong direction. The difference between victory and defeat was a providential fog and a wind in the wrong direction.

          After the revolutionary war, many shared Washington’s belief in the role of Providence in the creation of the United States. After all, a poorly equipped, ragtag army with little training or experience had defeated the greatest power in the world! How could one not see the hand of God in that outcome?   

     And then a few decades later we had the First Great Awakening and America truly became a Christian nation.

          The heritage that contemporary Christianity has lost by focusing on affirmations of faith is what was most central to the faith of the founders of our nation -- the role of God’s  providence.  May we recover our faith in God’s active participation in history.    

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[1] Fea, John (2011) Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction Louisville, KY Westminster John Knox Press

[2] Handy, Robert T. (1971) A Christian America: Protestant Hopes and Historical Realities. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 5

[3] Ibid. p. 87

Quote of the Day

"Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error. Give a loose to them, they will support the true religion by bringing every false one to their tribunal, to the test of their investigation." -Thomas Jefferson

Scriptures for 7-7-13

 

Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 17-21

12 "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I command you this day for your good?

17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

19 Love the sojourner therefore; for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

20 You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him and cleave to him, and by his name you shall swear.

21 He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and terrible things which your eyes have seen.

 

Galatians 6:1-10

¹My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 

²Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 

³For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 

⁴All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause for pride. 

⁵For all must carry their own loads.

⁶Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. 

⁷Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 

⁸If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 

⁹So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. 

¹⁰So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

 

John 8:31-39

31 Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

33 They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, 'You will be made free'?"

34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin.

35 The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever.

36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.

38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

39 They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did,

Facing Opposition, Sermon 6-30-13

Facing Opposition

 

     Last week, Elijah fled for his life to Mt. Horeb. There he heard the voice of the Lord not in the wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire, in the sound of silence. The Lord called Elijah back to work, commanding him to anoint Elisha to take his place. So, Elijah set out to find Elisha. When he found Elisha plowing, he threw his mantle over him. Elisha understood, left his plowing, and ran after Elijah. Then Elisha asked if he could take leave of his parents, saying “Then I will follow you.” But Elijah’s response challenged him to count the cost of discipleship and make a clean break with anything that would prevent his undivided attention. Jesus made the same response to the man who told him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Count the cost of discipleship before you commit. 

    Elijah and Elisha make a farewell journey to all the Holy places. Unlike Jesus’ disciples who never seemed to understand that Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem would lead to his crucifixion and death, all of Elijah’s disciples seemed to know that the time had come for Elijah to be taken up into heaven. Then, as Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan River, Elijah parted the waters with his mantle (like Moses and Joshua before him), and the two men crossed to the other side. When Elijah offered a last gift to Elisha, Elisha asked for a double share of Elijah’s spirit. After the miracles which Elijah had performed, perhaps Elisha felt he needed a double portion of Elijah’s prophetic spirit in order to be worthy to succeed him.  Do we feel the same way?  Do we wonder if we can live up to the faithful witness of our predecessors? Do we doubt our capacities to grow and sustain this church?

     A double portion of his Spirit was not Elijah’s to give, but he told Elisha that he would know God had granted his request if Elisha saw Elijah being taken up. Elisha watched as a chariot and horses of fire took Elijah up into heaven in a whirlwind. Then Elisha took Elijah’s mantel and stuck the Jordan River and the waters parted for him just as they had parted for Elijah, and Moses and Joshua before him.

     Just as Elisha was not on his own because the one who laid down the mantle had gone before: So, we are never on our own. We have a rich heritage, as well as memories of those who established this church, to sustain us. The mantle our forefathers have passed down to us will not enable us to part waters, but it does require and enable faithful discipleship. We are the recipients of the cloud of witnesses that have gone before us. Let us resolve to stand firmly on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.  

     There are many similarities between Elijah and Jesus. Both Elijah and Jesus raised a widow’s son from the dead. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Lord has power over life and death, and the capacity to give life.

     Both Jesus and Elijah listened to the guidance of God and were totally obedient. Traveling in obedience to God’s call is a central message throughout the Bible. Both Elijah and Jesus were taken up into heaven. That must cause us to stop and think. Apparently, God’s decision to take us up to heaven is not restricted to Christians. All who hear God’s direction in their lives and follow it with obedience, no matter what the cost are welcomed by God.

     There are also differences in the Biblical understanding of obedience. In the Old Testament, up until the story of Job, disobedience to God is assumed to lead to punishment. The book of Job teaches us that bad things can happen to good people. The bad things that happen to us are not punishments from God. Then, in the New Testament, it is the obedient one, Jesus, who is punished. And that becomes the pattern for Christian disciples.

     There are also important differences between Elijah and Jesus. Elijah killed all the prophets of Baal, and in the first chapter of 2 Kings (preceding our reading for today), Elijah called down fire from heaven to destroy his enemies. When James and John suggested calling down fire to consume a village that refused to offer hospitality to Jesus, Jesus rebuked them and went on to another village—in clear contrast to Elijah’s actions. For Jesus to attempt to find hospitality in a Samaritan village was unusual. When he did this he was extending a hand of friendship to a people who were enemies. In this case not only was hospitality refused but the offer of friendship was spurned. No doubt, therefore, James and John believed they were doing a praiseworthy thing when they offered to call in divine aid to blot out the village.  But Jesus would not permit it.

     The image of God we see in the story of Elijah is not the same as the image of God we see in the life of Jesus. Jesus was considerably gentler with those who opposed his ministry than Elijah but Jesus is considerably harder on his disciples.

               William Barclay suggests there is no passage in which Jesus so directly teaches the duty of tolerance as this.[1]  Tolerance has become a defect to many Christians today. Barclay holds up John Wesley as a model of tolerance, “I have no more right”, John Wesley said, to object to a man for holding a different opinion from mine than I have to differ with a man because he wears a wig and I wear my own hair;”  Wesley wrote in his diary, “The thing which I resolved to use every possible method of preventing was a narrowness of spirit, a party zeal, . . .—that miserable bigotry which makes many so unready to believe that there is any work of God but among themselves. . .We think and let think.” When his nephew, Samuel, the son of his brother Charles, entered the Roman Catholic Church, John Wesley wrote to him, “Whether in this Church or that I care not. You may be saved in either or damned in either;”

     Following Jesus was too hard for several who saw Jesus and thought it would be a fine thing to follow him.  They want to follow, but have conditions attached.  Are they ready to drop what they’re doing and come right away?  The obligation to bury one’s father was regarded by many Jews of the time as the most holy and binding duty of a son’; but Jesus says that that, too, is secondary to the call to follow him and announce God’s kingdom.

     What kinds of resistances does Jesus’ call stir up in us?  I would venture to guess that we are all resisting Jesus’ call in one way or another.   Placing our priorities, our needs, our efforts above the call to be still and listen to discern God’s will and then to be obedient no matter where it takes us.   How we resist Jesus says much about what we actually consider more important.  It identifies our allegiances.  And it gives us a basis to confess, repent, and learn to grow, if we will. Our resistance, our self-will is what Paul means by “sins of the flesh”. Of the 15 sins Paul lists, only one is a sexual sin, “fornication” (Galatians 5:19-22). The rest refer to behaviors that arise out of our self-indulgence.  

     If we seek to follow Jesus we will surely encounter opposition. It may be obvious or hidden, mild or severe. But opposition is sure to come. Not all the opposition we will face will come from the world. The opposition may come from within us—what God is asking us to do may seem way too hard, way too risky, or even impossible. We’re old, we’re tired, we’ve done our share. But did you ever notice how many of the people in the Bible God calls are really old! Not all—David was certainly young when he slew Goliath. But Abraham and Sarah, Moses, and Joshua were well past mid-life.

     The opposition may come from our church members or other Christians. “The conviction that our beliefs and our methods ALONE are correct has been the cause of more tragedy and distress in the Church than almost any other thing.” [2]There are many ways to God. He has his own secret way into every heart. He accomplishes his will for good in many ways; and no individual or church has a monopoly on his truth.

     The United Methodist church is currently struggling with this issue. The official position of the international church is that homosexuality is a sin and, therefore, no United Methodist minister can marry a homosexual couple and no United Methodist bishop can ordain or appoint a homosexual as pastor of a church. Yet the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church (along with the New England Conference and the Indiana Conference) has affirmed a statement of “Gospel Disobedience” which asserts that the United Methodist Church is in error on the subject of “homosexuality’s incompatibility with Christian teaching” and therefore, bishops, clergy, local churches and ministry settings should operate as if the statement does not exist. Cases can still be brought to the judicial counsel, but bishops are seeking to mediate rather than judge pastors on this issue.

     At our recent Pacific Northwest Conference, by an overwhelming vote, we

·        reaffirmed our previous position to work for full civil and ecclesiastical rights and privileges of all persons and to declare our opposition to restrictions of church laws on the participation of LGBTQ people in the UMC. 

·        affirmed and embraced the concept of “Gospel Disobedience” which was adopted by the 2012 Western Jurisdictional Conference.

·        Affirmed and embraced the 2012 Western Jurisdiction Conference resolution that the penalty for those convicted of the offense of ordaining or appointing a self-avowed practicing homosexual is a suspension of 24 consecutive hours and that those clergy found guilty of performing or using a UMC building for a same sex marriage receive the same suspension.

     I wanted to share with you my most important experience of the pain of the church’s opposition to homosexuality.  It speaks not to the pain of homosexuals or their children or parents or brothers or sisters.  I’ve had several experiences, but this one was the most painful and speaks to a pain which has so far gone unmentioned.  I share it partly to suggest that hate always hurts far more than we ever recognize.  

     My best friend married a homosexual. She was a beautiful person both inside and out. She and her husband deeply loved each other, they raised two children and remained together until she died. But throughout her married life, she lived with the pain of knowing that she was not sexually attractive to her husband. This pain caused her to put on more and more weight, perhaps she was eating for comfort, perhaps she was seeking to ensure she was not sexually attractive to any other man, perhaps she was legitimating her husband’s lack of sexual desire. But, of course, after a certain point, the body metabolism changes and the normal processes for losing weight (more exercise and less food) no longer operate. She became grossly obese and died a premature death because of her obesity.

     Through the years, I experienced her pain. And, perhaps, it was particularly intense for me because sexuality had been such a rewarding part of my marriage, brief as it was. After my husband was gone, I realized I could not bring another man into a household with two teenage boys and chose celibacy. With God’s help, this was a surprisingly easy choice.  But I still remember the pleasures of sex in marriage!

     Following Jesus is not easy. Following Jesus takes perseverance. The kind of perseverance this congregation showed when you refused to close this church. Since the backlash against the civil rights and women’s movements, I have clung to the belief that God does not require us to be successful, only to be faithful, and to rely on Him to enable whatever result he sees as best fulfilling his purposes. May we continue to show such perseverance as we seek to follow faithfully our United Methodist mission “to make disciples for the transformation of the world.”

      

 

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[1] Barclay, William The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke, 2001, Louisville, Kentucky: WJK Westminster John Knox Press, p. 154

 

[2] Ibid., p. 155