June 13, 2021 Prophets – Amos Amos 1:1, 5:10-17

            I think we all want to be “good people.”  We want to do what is right.  We want to be helpful and constructive.  We want our efforts to make the world a better place, even if it’s in just a small way.  While we know that all by ourselves we may not be able to make a difference, we believe that if everyone focused on making the world a better place indeed it would get better.  And we can look around ourselves – our homes and our neighborhoods – and see that truth becoming reality.

We want to have jobs that are fulfilling and worthwhile, and certainly ethical.  We look down upon people who try to make it through life by being manipulative, lying, and exploitative.  We place a high value on honesty.  And, without being smug or arrogant, we believe that our lives could be models for other people to emulate. 

We know that all of this take a good deal of hard work.  And it takes hard work over the long term.  You have to be responsible.  We know that bills have to be paid before luxuries can be bought.  We were probably taught as kids that our homework needed to be done before we went out to play with friends.  And in fact the education necessary to be a good person and to be productive takes many years.  And so we learned the value of discipline.

And indeed, with hard work, good choices, and a little bit of luck, most people can “make it.” 

In these ways we are very much like the people in the nation of Israel in the 8^th century B.C.E.  It was a period of relative peace.  There had been no major threats to the little nation from the surrounding superpowers, like Egypt and Assyria.  The peace seems to have brought about a period stability and prosperity.  Life was as it should be.

At least that was so for a relatively small number of citizens, but according to Amos, it was at the expense of the many.  The political, religious, and economic dynamics that were dominant were indeed working for some.  They felt like they were being good people.  They were living as God intended.  They were following the religious laws, worshipping in the right way, and making the correct sacrifices.  They were a model of righteousness for others to live by.

But Amos calls them out.  While some were flourishing, the majority were not.  The old tribal and family systems of land ownership were breaking down and a permanently wealthy class was emerging at the top.  It was probably happening legally and legitimately.  But Amos says it was wrong.

Remember in those days the economy was basically subsistence agriculture.  Most everyone worked in raising food.  And, according to the Old Testament economic laws, farmland could never be permanently sold out of a family.  It could be rented for a long period of time, but never permanently sold.  Houses in cities could be sold but not the surrounding land.  By this means there was always some measure of economic equality among the citizens.  As long as you had land you could survive.  If you didn’t have land you could be permanently impoverished. 

It is an economic system so foreign to us that we can’t really understand it in America today, but it was the intention in those days. 

…Except it doesn’t seem to have been followed.  People of means were using their means to gather more and more.  But feeling they were good people they didn’t feel they were doing anything wrong.  They were only making use of the opportunities that came to them.  And, after all, don’t the people with power influence the laws, if not outright make them?  Don’t those laws then reflect the needs and goals of their makers?  So of course what the wealthy and well-to-do were doing was legal.  They made the laws!

We read only a tiny excerpt from Amos and it doesn’t do justice to the full rant God gives throughout the book.  We didn’t read my favorite part, which is 2:4.  Here Amos is referring to the wives of wealthy men:

“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan

who are one Mount Samaria,

who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,

who say to their husbands, “Bring something to drink!”

 

The passage from chapter 5 that we read as our first reading talks about some of the subtle but systemic things that were exploitative.  Amos is very concerned with justice, specifically a fair legal system.  And throughout the book, Amos calls for the hearts of all people to be rooted in God, not in their own self-serving ambitions.

In the children’s sermon I used the image of a plumb line.  It is a powerful image.  A plumb line is a simple yet effective way to build something exactly vertical.  A plumb line follows gravity exactly and always points directly straight down to the center of the earth.  There is no deviation.  So too our hearts, or actually our entire lives, are to be focused on God’s love as the center.  That is easier said than done.  It is very easy to go askew.

In our quest to be good people we easily make the mistake of surrounding ourselves with things that help us to feel like good people but actually ignoring all the ugly things we don’t want to see.  You know the phrase, “Out of sight, out of mind.”  Without realizing it, we Americans do just that.

You may remember me saying things like this before.  We bring things into our lives that we buy at stores.  The stores insulate us from what it actually takes to produce things.  Few, if any, regularly see the factories where our clothes are made.  We do not see the mines where rare earth elements are extracted for all our electronic devices.  We do not live by refineries that make our gasoline or the foundries that process metal.  No, things for us come in clean pretty packages from a store.  We think that’s their origin; but out of sight, out of mind.

The same thing happens after we’re done with things.  We put out a garbage can and the waste of our lives just disappears; or maybe we do take it to the local transfer station.  From there, though, it’s just gone.  The landfills aren’t that far away, but I don’t believe any of us live withing sight or smell of them.

How about wastewater?  Where is the water (and everything else) that goes down your drain processed?  Do you even know where the water treatment plants are?  Perhaps.  But how many wastewater treatment plants are proudly placed among major thoroughfares?  And how would it be if one were upwind of Eastview Mall?

Do you know who made the clothes you’re wearing?  Again, out of sight, out of mind.  You know full well that almost all garments are made by people paid terrible wages.  Even, and perhaps this is too vivid, who made your underwear?  What unknown hidden person made the garments which touch you most intimately?  Again, we don’t know.

It is easy for us to think of ourselves as good people when all we see is that which is good.  Prophets like Amos boldly pointed out the ugly truth of everything that remained hidden.

I suppose I could all make us feel incredibly guilty about our lives of consumption and then the ridiculous way we call ourselves good people, when in fact our lives are very much like the lives of the people Amos condemned.  But I do not want to.  Amos’ message to the people is that it was too late.  They had been too bad for too long.  The destruction was inevitably coming.  Amos’ message was basically that when it did come the people would know why.

Perhaps it isn’t too late for us.  Keep in mind the image of the plumb line.  Use it to center your life on God’s love.  It is all too easy to spend our lives on opportunities to get ahead, or enjoy leisure, or look good.  But ultimately, what’s the point of that?  Only living in God’s love will really give you anything of lasting value.

I believe that when we do focus on God’s love we do everything from that perspective.  This always sounds ridiculous, but when you buy something – whether it be food, or clothing, or a new phone, or a new car – ask yourself how it will equip you as a child of God.

Also pay attention to the many things that are easy to ignore.  My colleague Johanna Rehbaum recommends that people regularly pray for the people who made their clothes.  When you get dressed in the morning say a prayer for the unknown people who made the clothes you put on.  Then live that day honoring their work.

The prophet Amos was not liked.  He reminded people of truths they didn’t want to see.  You simply can’t be a truly good person if you’re blind to everything bad your life causes.  But God sees clearly.  May we see with true sight and seek to live in a way that truly brings dignity and justice to all.

June 6, 2021 Prophets - Joel Joel 1:1-4, 2:12-17

I have been debating about how to handle our series on the prophets.  Originally we were going to do Amos today, but we’ll put him off until next week.  Instead we’ll look at Joel.  We’re basically going through the Minor Prophets in the order in which they are in the Bible.  That order is roughly the order in which they were written.  Hosea is pretty clearly the oldest.  Malachi is certainly among the most recent.  Two of those 12 though stand out as very different from the others.  They are Jonah and Joel.  What to do about them?  Jonah we’ll put off for last among the minor prophets.  Joel, however, I’ve decided to cover in order.

Several things set Joel apart from the other prophets.  One, we really have no clue as to when it was written and it is absolutely impossible to date it.  Biblical scholars guess anywhere between 800 B.C.E. and 300 B.C.E.  

Two, the destruction envisioned is not coming from another nation, but from the forces of nature – a massive plague of locusts.  

Three, nowhere does Joel tell us what the people actually did to upset God.  All the other prophets give an account of what the people are doing wrong.  Joel however, just calls for the whole people to return to God with all their heart.  

And four, Joel never gives any clue as to who the audience is.  Is it the northern kingdom of Israel?  Is it the southern kingdom of Judah?  It is certainly not a foreign nation, but the whole thing is vague.

Joel is a small book, only three chapters, but biblical scholars think it was written at different times – perhaps centuries apart – and yet it also reads like a cohesive whole.  On the whole it’s a strange little part of the Bible, yet it gives a grand vision of God and it delves into some deep issues.

I wish Joel’s message could reach Americans today.  We are a nation with deep and bitter divisions.  There seems to be no end of those divisions in sight.  Rather each faction seems to be entrenching itself ever more deeply.  There is little to no constructive dialog, and very little in the way of practical compromise.  

I probably don’t have to make a list of the divisions, you know them well, but I am going to list several major ones just so that we realize how bitterly divided we are as a nation; and realize just how much stress and tension we live in on a daily basis.

There are sharp divisions about race and racial justice, privilege and responsibility.

Divisions about policing and criminal justice.

Divisions about energy sources and the environment.

Divisions about issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, and human sexuality in general.

Divisions about political leaders and parties.

Divisions over voting practices, gun rights, abortion policies, and education.

Divisions over healthcare and paying its costs.

Divisions over taxation, government financing, workers wages, and more.

Divisions over immigration policies.

The list could go on and on, but let me round it out with one more obvious one – the coronavirus pandemic.  Divisions over mask wearing, opening and closing businesses, regulations on religious organizations, vaccinations, and who actually knows and speaks the truth.

Sometimes it is surprising we’re functioning as a nation at all!  We are incredibly divided over so much.  It’s like we are a cook pot constantly boiling over.

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Why can’t you all just get along?”  That’s a fine thing to say to children playing on a playground.  But it’s naïve in the extreme when it comes to the real world.  Issues are real.  Consequences are real.  There are winners and losers.  People get hurt.  Others get exalted.  Someone somewhere has to do the labor necessary to make things happen.

And so I do not take lightly what I am going to say next.  Our nation would do well to take a lesson from Joel.  Joel is not written to a nation that was divided, but the response he calls for is what we need.

What Joel calls for is a common response from all the people: repent by fasting and returning to God in worship.  He calls on all people to make their relationship with God central in their lives; the first thing in their lives, the defining thing in their lives.

This should not be new territory for any of us.  We know that we are all sinners in need of God’s grace.  Ultimately we all need God’s grace for salvation.  We can’t earn it.  We can’t deserve it.  It’s a simple as that.  That makes us all equal and all needy before God.  I believe that when people recognize that first and foremost in their lives it puts other divisive issues in context.  

That doesn’t mean they’ll be worked out easily, but it does mean that everyone recognizes that what is ultimate is their common need.  The conversation goes from there.  It goes forward with humility and respect.

Issues about race, gender, and sexuality – we are all sinners in need of grace.

Issues about the environment and use of resources – we are all sinners in need of grace.

Issues about laws, policing, voting policy, government taxing and spending – we are all sinners in need of grace.

I encourage you to read Joel in its entirety.  It’s only three chapters long.  Unless you know it’s between Hosea and Amos you probably won’t find it by just flipping through the pages of your Bible.  Joel begins with a locust plague that will utterly devastate the nation – total loss of all field crops, the fruit trees wither, vineyards are barren.  But moving on Joel says that maybe, just maybe, with a complete response of humility from the entire nation the crisis can be averted.  We never know if it was or wasn’t.  But Joel concludes with God pouring out lavishly on the nation in the end regardless of whether they responded well or not.

Our nation is not facing anything like an immediate locust plague that will destroy everything.  Our situation is not so immediately dire.  But the truth remains that we are all subject to God – that goes for all faiths and those of no faith and those who are atheists.  It is an unavoidable truth.  We need God.  We need God to be merciful to us, no matter how perfect we try to be, or think we are.

Joel tells us that God is ultimately merciful and loving.  We need not fear.  But we do need to recognize reality.

Who knows how long it will be before our nation starts to come together again.  It’ll either be a long time or it’ll be some crisis that threatens our very existence as a nation.  Regardless, we do well to live knowing our need for God, and our relationship with God, is central to everything about us.  That will make us good Christians.  And it will make us good citizens of this nation.  Then we will be agents of restoration and renewal rather than agents of ongoing division.

The road Joel called for wasn’t easy.  The faith-filled road for us isn’t easy either.  But it is the truth.  There’s no point denying truth.  And when that truth is ultimately good, then there is great reward in living it now.  

 

May 30, 2021 Prophets - Hosea Hosea 1

We need to start our look at the prophets by realizing two things. First is a myth we Americans have invented for ourselves. That myth is separation of church and state. There is no such separation. The Bill of Rights says that, “Congress shall make no law respecting as establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” That is not the same as separation. In truth they mix often and the lines are blurred. During this pandemic there has been a lot of debate about how much regulation the government can have on religious gatherings. At the same time, this congregation exists only because it was approved by the state of New York. And, if we wanted to close this congregation we’d have to get approval from the New York State Attorney General.

The constitution puts limits on what the government can do to the church. However, the church has free reign to influence the government. Most major church denominations, Lutherans included, have lobbyists who work regularly to influence legislation. We push to have our church perspective written into law. Where the line of political influence is drawn is that the church cannot back a specific political candidate or a political party. That’s why I get so upset during election season when people place political signs on the church property. However, any and all political statements are perfectly allowable.

The second thing we need to keep in mind is that all nations try to instill in their citizens that their nation is somehow special under God, or the gods, or under some moral principle that is greater than themselves. So even atheist nations claim there is some moral principle at work that they are enacting that makes them special or an example for others to follow.

I say all that because the prophets we find in the Old Testament understood themselves as having a message from God to speak to God’s chosen people. The ancient Jews saw themselves as a special nation chosen by God. They therefore had special obligations to God and they were to be an example to other nations. Their laws and their way of life was supposed to be in accord with God’s will for people.

The ancient Jews realized that anyone could be called by God to be a prophet. Some prophets were professional prophets on the government payroll. Some prophets had other jobs and they were called upon by God to just give one specific message for one specific time. There were no educational requirements or a prophetic ancestry, or any necessary background. It could be anyone.

How could you tell if a prophet was a true prophet or a false prophet? The answer was simple. You waited. If what they predicted came true then they were a real prophet. If what they predicted didn’t come true then they are false. Of course, if what they said was true and it was a warning to change your ways or something bad would happen, then you were living at your own risk!

Today we look at the prophet Hosea. He, like most of the prophets carry a message that the way the people were living was wrong and needed to be changed. God was not happy. God was going to either punish them, or allow punishment to happen to them for their unfaithfulness. We’ll get back to that in a minute. First though, we need a bit more history. Hosea is arguably the oldest prophetic book in the Bible. Covering the time between 750 and 722 BCE, Hosea’s message was directed to the northern kingdom of Israel.

You may remember from last summer when we did a series on the kings that King David unified the country and made Jerusalem the capital. The united kingdom continued under Solomon. But almost immediately upon Solomon’s death the nation split into two. Ten of the tribes rebelled and formed their own nation in the north. They called themselves Israel. The remaining tribe – Judah – was in the south and it stayed in the line of David. The northern kingdom hobbled along until it fell to the Assyrians in 722 BCE. The southern kingdom has its own ups and downs before it was conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. Hosea, then, prophesied during the final days of the northern kingdom.

In those days the Assyrian Empire was threatening Israel. They made regular military incursions into Israel’s territory. Feeling threatened Israel formed an alliance with Syria. Together they fought a war with Judah in the south to pressure them into forming an anti-Assyria alliance. You can read more about that in 2 Kings 14-17.

Into that reality came Hosea’s message from God. The people weren’t just worshipping God. They were also worshipping the Canaanite god Baal. Baal was the storm god. He was believed to be the source of rain and fertility in the land. He was worshipped in various shrines throughout the land. God was not happy. This was great unfaithfulness and a lack of trust that God would provide.

Hosea also spoke against the political leaders. King Jeroboam II was a relatively stable leader but after his reign there was a series of revolutions involving assassinations. The country was floundering and there was no stability to address the Assyrian threat.

Hosea 1, which we had as our first reading, pretty much lays out the whole image Hosea uses. God is condemning Israel for being like an unfaithful wife. Rather than living by God’s good laws and trusting in God they have been unfaithful and gone after others.

Notice that God is not condemning them because this happened once, or twice, or three times. Hosea describes it as if they’ve made it a way of life. He basically says the nation has become like a professional prostitute.

The prophets often used more than just words to convey their message. They used actions to enact things too. When we get to Jeremiah we’ll see him using things like an ox yoke and dirty underwear to make a point. (Yes, the prophets were a colorful lot!) Hosea does the same. God commands Hosea to, “…take a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom…” That’s a very offensive image. Did he actually do that? Was that indeed the background of his wife Gomer? (Now that’s a girls’ name you don’t see used anymore!) Who knows. Maybe. Maybe not.

And did he actually have a son and name him Jezreel, which means God sows; and then a daughter Lo-ruhamah, which means not pitied, and then a second son Lo-ammi, which means not my people? It’s hard to say. Some of my seminary professors thought it was indeed likely. Then again, they may not have. What is almost certain, and we will see this as the summer goes on, if some of the prophets were alive today they’d be locked up into mental institutions. God indeed spoke through some very unlikely people!

Whether Hosea actually did it or not, we get the picture. On the whole the nation is not living by God’s design. They will suffer the consequences. In this case God does not intend to punish them. It’s more like God is resigning them to their fate. There’s only so much God could do. And if the people were this bad, or this uninterested in God, well, then he wouldn’t stand in the way of the consequences.

The final verses of our reading capture something that is always a theme in the prophets though. There is always a message of hope. There is always the message that no matter how bad things get God will not utterly forsake them. There always be a remnant that God will work through. So, to use Hosea’s imagery, no matter how unfaithful the people are, God will stay faithful.

As the summer goes on we’re going to meet a variety of people in the prophets. Most of them were very offensive people. Their messages from God were not nice. That’s why so many of them were persecuted, jailed, and even killed. But they carried out what God called them to do.

May we as individuals, and as a nation, live by God’s commands. That does not mean strict legalism. The prophets do not declare that. What is means is living by the principles God has created for fullness of life. Then, whether things are successful or a failure, or easy or hard, God’s will is done. God will win in the end. It is best to be part of the winning team.

May 23, 2021 Pentecost Acts 2:1-21

Have you ever had a Twinkie, those little sponge cakes filled with vanilla cream made by Hostess? I never had one as a kid. My parents didn’t buy much in the way of processed food, and certainly not prepackaged snack cakes. Plus, the part of Pennsylvania I grew up in was devout Tastykake territory. I suppose the stores carried Twinkies, but Tastykake was all I ever saw anyone buy.

It was only several years ago that I had my first Twinkie. My daughter had a role in the middle school production of the Wizard of Oz. The concessions were always based on the musical, and someone decided that since there’s an army of Winkies they should sell Twinkies! I realized that now was the time for me to try out one of these junk food icons.

I went to the concession area and my son and I each bought a Twinkie. He had never had one either. I tore off its plastic wrapper and held the Twinkie in my hand. What delicious experience was I about to have? What had I been missing all this time in my life? I was about to find out. I took my first bite of a Twinkie ever.

At the risk of offending all of you who are Twinkie lovers, I was very underwhelmed. BLAND! I don’t know what I was expecting. Perhaps it was a richer flavor and texture of the sponge cake. Or maybe a stronger flavor from the vanilla filling. I don’t know. It was just bland. Since then I’ve not had another Twinkie. Maybe I had a dud Twinkie, but I doubt it. When I’m in the mood for a snack cake I’ll seek out a Butterscotch Krimpet from Tastykake! I will confess though that I am still curious about all the fuss I hear about deep fried Twinkies you can get at the state fair. I’ll have to go there and try one of them sometime. Although I don’t know how deep frying something in fat is going to improve it!

However you feel about Twinkies, everyone will agree they have a nutritional value of zero. I checked it out too. I went into a store and found some on the end cap of an aisle. Not being willing to spend any money on them, spun the package around to look at the nutrition information. Yep. Zero – unless you count like more carbohydrates than your body should consume in a day!

Twinkies are made from heavily processed ingredients and they’re loaded with preservatives. There’s not a trace of anything natural in them! That makes them easy to mass produce. And it makes them completely uniform. A Twinkie bought in Tops in Farmington will taste exactly the same as one bought at a store in Los Angeles.

In some ways I believe our lives may be like a Twinkie. While I won’t go so far as to say our lives are artificial, I think we often live insulated from reality – or perhaps I should say insulated from the rawness of the earth. When was the last time you made something from raw materials? Like you got the board you needed by cutting down a tree, or you created the shirt you needed by first planting the cotton, or maybe feeding a sheep? When was the last time you pumped and hauled your own water?

Do you see what I’m getting at? I don’t mean to criticize human progress. I certainly don’t want to condemn the way our economy is (at its ideal best) a complex community of people all working together for the common good. However, many of us rarely truly interact with the raw world. Other than perhaps raising some vegetables in a garden, we interact with a processed reality. It is predictable and uniform.

Similarly our society’s expectations of “success” tend to make us pretty predictable and uniform. Perhaps I could say our society has a cookie cutter approach to shaping us:

get an education,

get a job,

buy a house,

have a family,

save for retirement,

…oh, and do some community service along the way to make sure you’re a good person.

I think many people unknowingly wear blinders through life. They just do what everyone else tells them they’re supposed to do to be successful.

Sometimes when people pray to God for help in life I fear they may be asking for help to get through the preset model of life society expects. They want God to answer according to the way they think God has to act; because they’ve confused God and what society expects. But is God so bound? Certainly there are overlaps between what society considers virtues and the qualities Christian faith elevates as good, but they are not one and the same.

In the Acts 2 reading for this Sunday we remember that the Spirit is wild and untamable. There is the sound of a rushing wind. There are tongues of fire. There is speaking and understanding in different languages. And there’s Peter, who after years of following Jesus and never really getting it, is finally putting it all together. Let’s not underestimate the miracle of that!

There is no limiting or controlling the Spirit. The Spirit will act when and where God chooses to act. The Spirit will not be bound by any cookie cutter life our society expects. And the Spirit is not interested in giving us flavorless processed reality. The Spirit may come in very raw ways.

And yet the Spirit is also dependable.

For the last several years we have not followed the usual lectionary but chosen our own scripture reading series. However today our texts are right from the normal lectionary. I like the contrast there is between the Acts 2 reading with the dramatic entrance of the Spirit and the gospel reading from John 15 and 16. There Jesus speaks of the “Advocate” (as translated in the NRSV). We talked about this just a couple weeks ago. Staying closer to Greek it would be better use the word Paraclete rather than Advocate. You’ll remember that a paraclete is many things simultaneously: exhorter and encourager, comforter and consoler, helper, advocate, and counselor. And so we know the Holy Spirit, unpredictable as it is, is also sure and dependable. God’s Spirit is always with us. God’s support is constant and sure.

Today we have the Rite of Confirmation. Two of our youth will make an affirmation of their baptism and in so doing become adult members of this congregation. I don’t expect the Holy Spirit to come whooshing through this building in a visible way. And I don’t expect tongues of fire to appear on everyone’s head. But then again, one never knows.

We do not commend these two boys for doing what the church says is right and then give them a roadmap for the rest of their faith lives. Instead the questions they will answer will be about their priorities in life. They ask what are the guiding principles they will live by – and those principles are the working of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it might be a nudge. Sometimes it might be a whisper. And sometimes it might be the sound of a mighty wind and tongues of fire and all sorts of stuff.

The two boys and all of us are children of God. We are not Twinkies. God does not mass produce people into uniform disciples. God is with each of us as individuals and all of us as a community. God may call you to do something absolutely wild. The Old Testament characters Abraham and Sarah were in their 70’s when God called them to pack up everything in their established lives and just move on. Don’t dismiss the working of the Spirit because it doesn’t conform. God will be with you every step of the way.

And yet let’s not overlook the possibility that God may call you do something that the world labels boring and mundane; or unimportant. Again, the world’s labels don’t matter. We shouldn’t try to be thrill-seekers unnecessarily. Nor should we look down on those whose lives seem simple. The Spirit calls us and accompanies us always.

God is drawing us and all of creation into its sure future. The Spirit is with us always giving us an important place in all that God is doing.

May 16, 2021 Easter 7 – End Times John 17

 Since I had to miss the 10:30 worship service on May 16 this is the "letter" I wrote to be read in place of the sermon.  Thank you to Jim Spawton for reading it!

 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

I am sorry that I am not with you this morning.  My duties as the conference dean have taken me to Reformation Lutheran Church in Rochester.  As some of you may know, Reformation has decided to sell their building.  Today is the last Sunday they will be worshipping in it.  It is a sad time for them.  They’ve been at that location for over 150 years.  Their building has also played a large role in the faith history of Rochester.  It has hosted decades of vibrant worship, congregational activities, and countless community groups.  Unfortunately the cost of maintaining the building has become crippling.  It is being sold to another congregation who will hopefully continue to use it for ministry and worship.  It is important to point out that Reformation is not closing.  They are just selling their building.  They have not found a new home yet.

Almost all churches in our nation are struggling and declining.  Many will eventually close.  That is very hard news for us.  We think of the church as something that is permanent and ever growing.  We ask ourselves if we’re doing something wrong when a church declines.  Our own congregation is doing okay, but it is not growing the way we would prefer. 

There are no easy answers to these questions.  It is important that we remember that the church is God’s, not ours.  The church is in God’s hands and God will surely take us into the future.  That takes us to today’s worship theme – Judgment Day and the end of time.

In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke Jesus takes some time and teaches about: the end of the world, judgment day, and the ultimate revelation of God. 

John’s gospel, however, has no such teaching.  As John presents it, God is fully revealed to the world in Jesus.  There’s nothing important left to reveal.  As John presents it, if you want to know God look at Jesus.  Jesus is the fulness of God’s nature. 

Jesus’ arrival in the world then brings the world to a moment of decision.  As it says on the cover of the bulletin, “If one accepts Jesus as God’s revelation then one has judged oneself and decided to follow.  If one rejects Jesus then one has also judged oneself, and decided to reject God’s love and promises.”

There is a lot of sense to this.  If you live now in relationship with God then you need not fear any possible future judgement.  You’re already in relationship with God.  You’re accepted.  And if you reject relationship with God now, then even now you’ve removed yourself from God.

John’s gospel is very complex and often hard to understand.  In the midst of it all though, we discover that John does not depict God as a judge at all.  People judge themselves.

Keep that in mind as you hear these famous verses from John 3:
            “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light…”  John 3:16-19

Do you see how God does not want to be a stern and cruel judge?  God does not stand above us ready to smite us for every wrongdoing.  Centuries ago preacher Jonathan Edwards gave his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God.”  In that sermon Edwards describes sinners as spiders or loathsome insects God is dangling over a fire of destruction.  It is only by God’s supernatural forbearance that they are allowed to exist at all – but it would be God’s relief to let them fall into damnation.

That is not at all the way John 3 depicts it.  You can feel in John that God really desires to save and restore all of creation; and everything in it.  In John’s gospel the word “world” does not mean the earth or the universe.  It means that which has turned its back on God, or that which has rejected God.  It is that which hates God.  In seminary the world was called, “the sphere at enmity with God.”  And yet God so loves that which hates him that God is willing to die to save it.

In John’s gospel we realize just how deep God’s love is.  God is longing, actually yearning, for people to live in accordance with his love.  God does not want to condemn anyone.  God wants to draw all people to himself.  And God is deeply patient and persistent.

But according to John God does not force anyone to accept his love.  God will invite but not force.  God values our free will so that when we do respond to his love it is a genuine love.

As you read through John’s gospel you meet a number of people who encounter Jesus.  Many of them (like Peter, Nathanial, the Samaritan woman at the well, and others) meet Jesus and immediately accept him.  They respond and become his disciples.  That does not mean their fears and questions cease.  But they are on the path to discipleship.

And many of them (like the religious leaders, Pilate, the soldiers, and others) meet Jesus and reject him.  Some of them see Jesus as a threat and seek to harm him.  John portrays the love of God as a threat to the powers that be in the world.

And there are some who encounter Jesus, like the Pharisee Nicodemus, who can’t seem to make up his mind.  Nicodemus struggles to understand.  We never know what he decides, but he does represent a response to Jesus.  I think John includes him because he shows the authentic struggle many people have.  What is important is that these people are still turning to Jesus in their struggles.

What does this mean for our lives?  The fact that you are in a church for worship on a Sunday morning suggests that you have encountered Jesus and decided to follow.  There are loads of other things you could be doing!

What it means for our lives we find in John 17.  There Jesus prays for his disciples and all who come after him.  There Jesus sends his followers into the world so that they may spread the good news of God’s great love.  However, he also knows that the world may not like that love.  His followers may meet resistance and even outright opposition.

Do we shirk from that resistance?  Do we fear it?  Probably we do.  But we also need to hear Jesus’ promises.  Jesus said in his prayer, “I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.”  John 17:13

Challenging and difficult as it can be, the task of sharing the truth and love of God is not only fulfilling, but it is joyful.  Sharing God’s truth and love does not mean shouting it from a street corner.  Jesus didn’t do that.  Jesus’ simply shared God’s love with every person he met and in every situation.  That is something he can equip us to do too.

God does not desire to condemn the world.  John’s gospel does not see some end-of-time judgment day.  Instead John sees God reaching out to embrace the world in love each and every day.  But there are those who reject that embrace.  They refuse it.  And in so doing they have judged themselves.  They are placing themselves outside of God’s grace.  Rather than wanting to destroy them, I believe God mourns their decision.

Since we have God’s promise that we are loved into eternity we can take comfort and live in that love now.  Live securely in that love and let it guide you through every day.

Blessings, 

Pastor Jon

May 9, 2021 Easter 6 – Spirit John 14:15-31

 

            Today as we look at what John’s gospel tells us about the Holy Spirit two words come to mind: conserving and creating.

            In order to get at them we need to roll back our thoughts to the crisis the disciples of Jesus faced as a result of his death, resurrection, and ascension.  They had built their faith around him – Jesus alive, present, walking and talking with them, teaching them, guiding them.  Without him around, now what?

            John’s gospel does a particularly good job at helping us understand this.  In John’s gospel Jesus repeatedly says that he and the Father are one – or that he is indeed the fullness of God; and that he is the ultimate revelation of God to humanity about God’s nature.

            Many people see God in the Old Testament as stern and maybe a bit mean.  Then they see God in the New Testament as loving and gracious.  Or, they perceive God as Father to be powerful and judgmental; then Jesus is kind and mild.  There’s good reason for people developing these ideas about God, but in truth they are inaccurate.  God in the Old Testament is actually quite loving and forgiving.  There is plenty of accountability in the New Testament from God too.  And God as Father is not mean while Jesus is nice.

            Again, as John’s gospel portrays it, they are one.  You may remember these verses from last week’s gospel:

Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.

 

            So with Jesus being gone the question is, was Jesus’ revelation of God only fully available to the first generation of believers?  Was it only available to those who had physical contact with him?  Was Jesus’ revelation of God limited to one particular moment in history; and then become weaker after that?

            Now let’s move four decades further in time to the time of John’s gospel being written.  At this time we’re talking about a crisis of existence itself.  Whenever we read the gospels we need to keep the reality of that time in mind.  In the year 64 Rome had burnt.  Rome, the city that seemed to have been around forever, and would seemingly last forever, was crippled by flames.  Emperor Nero, leader at the time, is believed by many to have been insane.  Then Jewish revolts rise in Jerusalem beginning in the year 66.  In 70 the Romans obliterated Jerusalem.

            All the world was nuts.  Jews lived in fear and confusion.  Christians were part of all that mix.  Christians at that time were firmly certain that they were living in the twilight of the world.  The end was sure to come, and soon.  God had come in the form of Jesus to make an ultimate revelation of God’s nature and now God was going to wrap up the whole universal enterprise.

            Into all of that enter John’s gospel and its explanation of the Holy Spirit – or in John’s terms, the Paraclete.  Paraclete is a Greek word, and a strange one for us.  Despite being so-called “theologically educated” I still can’t hear the word Paraclete and not have the first image that comes to my mind be a little parakeet.   But the word is Paraclete.  There is nothing close in the English language.  Our Bibles translate it as Advocate.  That’s not wrong, it’s just very incomplete.  Paraclete means all of these things simultaneously: exhorter and encourager, comforter and consoler, helper, appealer, counselor, and advocate.  The Holy Spirit as Paraclete then continues the ministry and presence of God even as Jesus is no longer physically present.

            In a few verses past our gospel reading Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you” (15:4).  The Spirit then means there are no time or space limits on Jesus’ love, on the truth about God, and on our access to that truth and love.  And so, we go back to where we began with the Holy Spirit being conserving and creating.

            The Holy Spirit is conserving in that it enables us at any time to reach back and “remember” the physical life and ministry of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is responsible for the creation of the Bible as the Word of God.  We all have access to it at any time.  The Spirit also helps us in our reading and understanding of it, complicated and confusing as it can be. 

            Also, the continuation of Christian faith does not rest on our shoulders.  We did not receive something from the past that we must pass on exactly to future generations; with each passing generation risking watering down the truth of God’s revelation in Jesus.  No, the Spirit creates and maintains faith in us, and it creates and maintains faith in future generations.  Faith comes about by God’s grace and will, not by our own strength.

            The Spirit is also creative.  We do not worship the past.  We are not a religion that tries to stay stuck in time.  The Spirit enables the witness of Jesus to speak to new times and new circumstances.  It also helps us faithfully examine the past.  Remember I said that the earliest Christians were sure the world would end soon.  That thinking is throughout the New Testament.  There’s no denying it.  But the fact that we’re here shows that expectation didn’t happen.  Does that mean we chuck out the scripture as in error?  No, of course not.  It means the Spirit helps us understand their context and expectations.  It helps us interpret all of it in new light.

            Perhaps think of it this way.  The Bible is a writing from a specific time and place.  It has to be.  As such it cannot give all the information needed for all times and all places.  It’s impossible, and it wouldn’t work.

            Imagine if your task was to give an adolescent what he or she would need to hear from Jesus to endure what life will bring at age thirty, fifty, or seventy years of age.  Would it even make sense to the person?  Would they be able to take it in or make sense of it?  No.  Of course not.  In our own faith lives the Spirit guides and helps throughout with our lives as we learn and grow from different experiences and grow in wisdom.

            So it is with the scriptures.  The New Testament was written by the earliest Christians to engage their context.  They couldn’t write about what the world would be like in the year 235 or 1060 or 1517, or 2021.  However, by the Spirit those words can speak fresh and new in each age.  The life and teachings of Jesus – the principles of God’s love he embodied – speak to us now clearly and fully.

            It would be nice if the Spirit just gave us the answers we want and need.  But that is not the case.  It never was the case.  All of the gospels record the disciples struggling to understand and believe even as they were with Jesus first hand.  We shouldn’t be surprised to have the same situation.  I believe the Spirit doesn’t give us answers.  It accompanies us into each new day and each new answer.  There can be a lot of conflict and disagreement.  And people do get hurt and hurt deeply, but God’s love and presence is with everyone.

            The final thing that needs to be mentioned is that the Spirit’s work is through the community of faith.  We are not a collection of individuals with the Spirit working in each of us individually.  It is the Spirit working among us collectively.

            Today we have two baptisms.  While in extraordinary circumstances we’ll do a baptism in private, we always seek to do them as a part of regular worship.  It is the community of faith welcoming new people into the community.  We share a journey.  We share a faith.  We share the Spirit.

            The gift of the Spirit is with us always.  Sometimes we may feel it strongly.  Sometimes we may not.  But we need not worry.  For faith is God’s work, and God is at work among us.

May 2, 2021 Easter 5 – Church John 13:31-14:14

 You may know the little song,

“The church is not a building. 

The church is not a steeple. 

The church is not a resting place. 

The church is the people. 

I am the church. 

You are the church. 

We are the church together. 

All who follow Jesus all around the world. 

Yes, we’re the church together.   

While this hummable song is entirely accurate, I believe we all have the tendency to think of the church as: a building, a place, a worship space.  Seeing it as the people, and no more and no less, is always a challenge. 

Churches that own particularly historic or beautiful buildings have a hard time remembering that the church isn’t the building.  They easily become historical societies whose purpose is to maintain a building.

Churches can also go astray when they become social networking clubs.  Certainly one wants to have ones friends and neighbors as a part of the church, but there is a distinct difference between a church and a country club.

Many people see the church, and any religious organization, as a social service agency – or perhaps political activist organization.  While the church’s mission definitely gets into the role of social services, it is not an organization of do-gooders.  The church is not the same as the Lions Club or Kiwanis or Masons or any fraternal lodge organization.

The word “church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia – or “assembly”.  It is the assembly of believers, those who build their lives around the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

A few weeks ago I said the Lutheran Church has never fully defined what the Bible is.  We’ve never made a statement about what books are in and what are not.  We just accept the consensus created by Christians across the world.  When it comes to defining the church, however, we have made a very clear statement.  We find it in Articles 7 and 8 of the Augsburg Confession.

You’ll remember from Reformation history that the Augsburg Confession was written by those who would become known as the Lutheran Church as a definition of what they believed.  It was written at the request of the Catholic Church.  That makes sense really.  If you want to put down a rebellion, and you want to call all the rebels heretics, it helps to have them write out their beliefs.  You then have the proof you need to go forward with your heresy charges.  Of course the Lutherans weren’t too keen on being executed so they chose the words of the Augsburg Confession with great care.  They actually hoped it would help restore church unity.

Anyway, Article 7 says, “The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.”

That’s a very clear and crisp definition – congregation of saints where the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments rightly administered.  Article 7 goes on to say that church practices don’t have to be the same everywhere.  But then they write something very interesting in Article 8, “Although the Church properly is the congregation of saints and true believers, nevertheless, since in this life many hypocrites and evil persons are mingled therewith, it is lawful to use Sacraments administered by evil men, according to the saying of Christ: The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat, etc.  Both the Sacraments and Word are effectual by reason of the institution and commandment of Christ, notwithstanding they be administered by evil men….”

This reference to evil men is about corruption and problems with church officials.  Basically, even if the priest is a completely corrupt, horrible, and sinful person, the sacraments that priest administers are still fully valid.

But this does bring up the real issue.  The church is the gathering of saints where the Word is rightly preached and the Sacraments rightly administered, and it also includes hypocrites and evil persons.

Nowhere in the definition of the church do we say that people have to be perfect.  Right off the bat we recognize it is a mixed crowd.

The setting of our gospel reading is the Last Supper.  Jesus is giving his disciples these final instructions before his arrest.  It is always important to note that among these disciples are Judas, who will betray Jesus; and also Peter, who will repeatedly deny Jesus.  And the remaining disciples will all fail as well.

If these guys are the beginning of the church we see that calling them a “mixed crowd” is generous in the extreme.  God has not built the church on perfect people.  God has built the church on real people.

The original readers of John’s gospel would have heard the passage very differently from the way we do.  If John’s gospel was written in the 70’s or 80’s of the first century then it was a time of chaos and uncertainty.  If you lived in the Holy Land it was as if the world was coming off its axis.  The Romans had decisively destroyed Jerusalem and irradicated much of Judaism; Christianity along with it.

Families were being torn apart, especially Jewish families.  It appears as if in many families some began to follow Christ while others felt it necessary to cling to Jewish traditional faith all the more.  There was persecution from Romans and from religious officials.  Any number of people had been like Peter and denied their faith in fear for their lives.  And any number of people had been like Judas, and betrayed family members to the authorities.

The church was not a safe place.  You did not know who to trust and who not to.  Who was sincere and who was a spy?

And what about repentance and forgiveness?  Could you accept (or even believe) the apology of someone whose faith had failed, or had turned over your family members?  Could they come back into the church?

Keep that context in mind and hear Jesus’ words again, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Realize that those words are not just nice things to say.  In the context of fear, uncertainty, denial, and betrayal, they are radical and extreme.

Notice that Jesus does not give nuances.  He does not try to give a road map to navigate the complexities of the situations that would arise.  He says simply and clearly that the hallmark of his disciples would be love. 

Commentator Gail O’Day notes in the New Interpreter’s Bible, “Jesus’ teachings on love and discipleship are unrelentingly placed in the context of his betrayal and death.  The example to which the love commandment points is the love of Jesus for his disciples, a love that will receive its fullest and final expression in his death.  Jesus’ followers, therefore, are exhorted to love one another as fully as he loves them…” 

She also notes, “It is no easy task for Christians to love one another.  In many ways, it is easier to love one’s enemies, because one might not have to deal with them every day.  Jesus promised that the community’s love for one another would be a signal to people that they were Jesus’ disciples.”  (Volume 9, Pg. 734)

The church is the people, yes.  It is good people and bad people.  It is people we like and people we don’t.  It is people who are kind and people who are mean.  Last week I took a boundary awareness class as I have to every three years.  We talked about the church being a place for people who are safe and those who are not – including violent criminals and predators; and how do you establish boundaries to make sure they can be a part but also everyone kept safe.  The church is a complex community.  It is the community where the Word is proclaimed and the Sacraments are administered.  And imperfect as it is, it is a community of love.  Love as shown by Jesus.  Love that ultimately trusts the goodness of God, knowing that because of that, love can be lavish and lasting, even in the face of problems.