Christmas 1995

Well, is your Christmas tree still standing? Is it still up or have you taken it down and placed it by the roadside yet to be picked up? If your Christmas tree is still standing, does it still have some Christmas presents underneath it? Still carefully wrapped with bows. Well our Christmas tree is still up and we still have presents under our tree. People that we haven't seen yet. Relatives that we haven't been in contact with yet.

We still have Christmas gifts that are wrapped up in a trunk that we picked up from my parents and are to deliver to my brother and his family. Presents still wrapped carefully with a bow all pretty, waiting to be claimed by a recipient. Do you still have Christmas presents for you that you haven't opened yet? Gifts that have been carefully wrapped. Perhaps gifts that you received and you thought that you knew what it was so you just put it up some where and let it sit there and collect some dust. Have you received any gifts that you have not yet used?

When I was in high school I worked in a hospital, a very, very small hospital in Wake County. There in Wake County they have a couple of community hospitals that are a part of the Wake County hospital system. But the one in Apex had about 20 beds. I think it had ten rooms with two beds per room and I worked in that hospital for a while. Because it was such a small hospital with such a small staff everybody knew each other and there would be a Christmas party. People would bring gifts and they would set them under the tree there in the employee lounge. Usually by January you'd begin to see the gifts slowly disappear as people returned to work, or returned from vacation. But it seemed like there might always be one or two gifts under the tree unclaimed. Perhaps somebody went on a leave of absence. Perhaps someone went on a maternity leave, somebody resigned to go to new work. That one Christmas gift would be picked up and moved over to the snack tables so the tree could be taken out.

By about January or February it would have coffee stains on it, where people would be mixing their coffee and spill coffee on the wrapping paper. Before long we didn't know what to do with the gift, so there was a cupboard and stick it in the cupboard. There in the cupboard you see gifts from Christmas' past. There would be a collection of several years worth of unclaimed gifts.

Now these past few weeks, indeed these past few months, I've been speaking quite a bit about the gift of salvation that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I've tried to repeatedly to emphasize that it is just that, it is a gift, a wonderful gift of God's grace. Sometimes it's so hard for us to accept that. That it is a gift freely given by God, who's taken this wonderful gift, he's wrapped it up, put a bow on it, pretty wrapping paper and he presents it to us. All we need to do is accept this gift from God. It is a wonderful gift. It's a precious gift. Maybe sometimes we think that it is so precious that we want to be careful not to break it so we put it away. It is a wonderful gift. A very precious gift that must be very delicate and we want to be careful with it that we don't use it all up all at once so we save it. Let's not open it right away but savor it week after week and maybe open just one corner of the wrapping paper and peek and see what's inside. It's wonderful gift. It's a free gift.

You know the letters of Paul use that expression over and over. Even though it may seem redundant, a free gift, a free gift. It's as though the apostle Paul is anticipating that people will have difficulty accepting that it is a gift that comes without a price tag. You don't get this gift by subscribing to a magazine. You don't get this gift by responding to some offer on the television screen. It's a gift that is carefully given, carefully planned out and offered to you freely, without any kind of cost. That is where it remains for so many people. Perhaps like that Christmas gift, carefully wrapped in fancy paper and a pretty bow sitting under a withering tree, sitting on a cupboard collecting coffee stains, put away lest it be misused or broken or discarded.

Christmas is a wonderful season. It's a wonderful time. It's a time that is very busy and hectic for people. You're going to so many different places. When I was the associate pastor at St. Paul church, it seemed like there were so many Sunday School classes, so many circles of the United Methodist Women, so many fellowship groups in the church that I had to go to two or three different activities each evening. My last year there, Jo Anne and I counted up that between Thanksgiving and Christmas we had two free evenings at home. It was so busy and so hectic that when Christmas day came and went we spent the next week just sort of sitting in the den like this. Too tired to do anything. Too tired to look with wonder at what we had been given. Too tired to even think about Christmas anymore.

I was talking to Bonnie, our new secretary, and about half way through December things were really busy, activities taking place in the church and she was trying to squeeze it in the bulletins and make it fit and down towards the end of December she looked at me one morning and she said, "You know, there is a lot that goes on in a church in December." And I said, "That's right Bonnie".She said, "I always wondered why preachers always look a little bit like Scrooge about Christmas time." I said, "That's right." Now she knew the truth. Christmas, it's here, but we spend so much time in celebrating it before it actually comes that when it's here it's like that present that we really don't want to open. We're too tired to receive what has been given to us. The trees will come down, they will be out along the street and Christmas will quickly be forgotten as we enter a new year - 1996. There is a gift, it is a gift for you, it's a gift from God. Maybe it isn't wrapped in fancy paper. Maybe it isn't dressed up in a pretty bow. Indeed when the gift was first given, it was given in the lowliness of a stable. A child, an ordinary looking child. A child who's diapers had to be changed. A child who had to be nursed. A child who's every needs had to be taken care of by earthly parents.

When the shepherds came and looked with wonder upon this child, when the wise men came and looked with wonder upon this child, did they see there in it's simplicity what a wonderful gift that this was from God? Could they see the cost that it brought upon God? The gift of his son. The slaughter of the innocent, those children in Bethlehem? The persecution that would follow of the people who would accept. Could they see the great cost that this gift had to God? Could they see the great joy that it would bring to the lives of countless millions? A gift of peace. A gift of hope. A gift of love. A gift of nothing short but life eternal. That is the wonderful gift of Christmas. Like I said, it may not be in fancy paper or a pretty bow, but by all means please open that gift. It is freely given to you and all you have to do is receive it, accept it, open it, claim it. A new year is ahead of us. Put on the new gift that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen

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A Look at Stewardship

The man came to me in the midst of a stewardship campaign a number of years ago and he said to me, “Preacher I don’t agree with stewardship campaigns and I don’t agree with pledging. I think that it is wrong.” I asked him, “Well why do you think that it is wrong?” I mean I’d never heard that before. I grew up in a church and I was always used to the stewardship campaigns. I was always used to watching my parents and my grandparents fill out their pledge cards. It never occurred to me that somebody might think that it was wrong, morally wrong to do. The man said, “I believe it’s wrong because God wants to live by faith, and the church needs to live by faith. If you think that you need this much money to do what you need to do this year, have faith, and God will provide.” I said, “You’re absolutely right. The church must learn to live by faith. The church is the body of Christ. The church is the gathering of all believers. You are the church.” I said, “Isn’t it time you stepped out in faith and did your part. Show to us that you have faith that God will provide what you say you can pledge to the church.”

Faith! It’s a funny thing. A number of weeks ago we were talking about the different scripture lessons and they just seem to be dealing, week after week with the concept of grace. The grace of God. We emphasized how our salvation is itself a gift of God’s grace. It’s not because of anything that we do. We are saved by God, not because of what we put down on the pledge card, we are saved by God not because of what we do Monday through Friday or even what we do on Sunday, these are not the things that save us. We are not saved by God because we come and gather here in this church week after week. That’s not what saves us. What saves us is God’s grace and that alone. Then after that the scripture texts have been talking about faith. The faith that we have, the saving faith that we have in the grace of God. That by believing that God is so merciful and graceful that we are saved.

Now in today’s gospel lesson we begin to move yet even further. Have you noticed that, in the scripture lessons? It’s like the Christian life is like you come up to the edge of the pool and you stick your toe in the water and you just want to see if it feels O.K.. And God is saying, “Take your toes out of the water and jump in.” That’s what our lesson is about today. It’s about that kind of faith.

Our gospel lesson begins with a discussion of faith. The apostles, they go to Jesus. They say, “Lord increase our faith”. They recognize that there are so many things that must be done and they are afraid that they won’t be able to do them. “Increase our faith”. These are the same people whom the Lord had sent out earlier. Who went two by two, seventy of them, into the villages and the surrounding countryside. They came back from their mission and they said, “Lord, we were able to do great things in your name. Even the demons were subject to us in your name.” They had done great things in the name of Christ. Now Jesus says to them, “Yes, that’s true, I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven, but do not be proud of this. Do not be proud that the demons are subject to you in my name, give thanks rather that your names are written in the book of life.”

You see that is part of what faith is. Faith is not only being to do these things in the name of God, faith is being able to place them in their proper context. One of the real dangers of doing the work of God is that it can go to your head and then it ceases to be the work of God. This is what Jesus is warning the apostles who are gathered at the disciples. “Don’t let this go to your head. Remember that you belong to God.” So the apostles say, “Lord, increase our faith.” Jesus says, “I tell you, that if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to that mulberry tree, `be uprooted and plant yourself in the sea’” Now some of you have that faith the size of a mustard seed, tell that tree to be uprooted and move, man that’s something.

Look at the epistle lesson when Paul is writing to Timothy and he’s telling him all these great and marvelous things that God has been able to accomplish through him. Yet listen, listen carefully to the letter and what is he saying? He’s saying that he is in prison. He’s writing to Timothy from prison. Here is a man of God who is able to do great things in the name of Christ and he’s in prison. Yet he gives God glory for it, knowing that even in this adverse situation, God can do great things. The apostle Paul at another time prays to God, praying that the thorn that is in the side of his flesh, whatever that may be, be removed from him. Yet he acknowledges in his letters that God had not chosen to remove that thorn from his flesh. The apostle Paul recognizes something, he hears the word of God say to him, “My grace is sufficient for all of you needs.” So what about it? Are you disciples? Are you people who are called by God? Are you God’s people? Have you heard the voice of calling? Have you responded?

You know one of the problems that we have in the church today is that we treat the church as though it were a type of non-profit organization that’s run by volunteers. You can even go into a religious bookstore and you will see books on the ministry, the laity but it won’t talk about the ministry of the laity. They’ll have titles such as, The Care and Feeding of Volunteers. But when the disciples asked for more faith listen to what words he gives them. He says, “Suppose that you had a man who had worked in the fields all day, a servant. When he comes in at the end of the day, do you say to him, “Here, sit down and let me feed you? No, rather you say to him, “Gird yourself with an apron and prepare my supper and feed me, and then after I am fed then you may feed yourself.” It’s reminiscent of the words that Jesus gives the people who have gathered around to hear him on the Sermon on the Mount. He tells them, “You know if you give alms, give them in secret. If you pray, go to your closet and pray. If you do good things for other people, do it so none can see. Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Then he goes on to say, “If people see you and thank you, and praise you for what you’ve done, you’ve had your reward.” But if these things you do are seen only by your father in heaven, then your reward will be stored up for you.” That’s hard, that’s hard for us to take. That’s hard for us to accept. Every one of us, myself included, I like to have a pat on the back every now and then. I like to know that I am doing a good job. Yet the gospel tells us that we’re not to expect that. That the Lord has given us a calling and we’re to respond to it, we’re to be faithful to it because we love him.

There was a novel that I read not long ago, actually I reread it, I had read it earlier, by a woman named Margaret Craven entitled I Heard The Owl Call My Name. It’s the story of a young newly ordained priest, in the Church of England. He has had his physical for his ordination and doctor realizes that he is dying. Rather than telling the young ordinate he goes to the bishop and says, “Bishop this young man is dying. He doesn’t have but three years to live.” He says to the bishop, “Are you going to tell him?” The bishop says, “Yes I will tell the young man but, not yet. I’ll wait until the time is right.” The doctor asks, “Well, what are you going to do with him now that he has been ordained?” The bishop thought for a moment and he says, “You know, I’m going to send him to the toughest parish that I have, because he’s got a lot to learn and so little time. “ He went to that young man, just newly ordained, and he said, “I’m sending you, I’m sending you to a village, a small village. It’s up in the Pacific Northwest. There are Indians up there and you’re going to have to work with them. You’re going to have to learn their language, they speak English, some of them, but you’re going to minister to them.” Then the bishop says something very significant to the young man. He says, “After a while they will get to know you. They’ll even learn to love you. But they will never thank you because there is no word in their language that means thank you.”

I think that the apostle Paul realized that. Yet he discovered great joy in serving God. Part of the joy that he experienced was that he recognized that whenever the Lord would give to him a burden, whether it was a burden for some particular person or whether it was a burden for a city that he would be going into, a burden of concern for someone who had fallen away from the teaching of the gospel, he knew that no matter how heavy that burden may have felt to him, that he didn’t have to bear it alone. He remembered the words of the Lord Jesus, who said, “Take my yoke upon you for my burden is easy, my burden is light.”

That is what we have as Christians. When we respond to the call of the gospel, we become his servants. He shares with us his burdens, but they are not burdens that we must carry alone. He carries those burdens with us. If to do the work of the gospel sometimes seems demanding, and sometimes seems to be a thankless task, so be it, because a reward will be stored up for us and it will be great.

Hear God’s call. Hear it in your life. Feel the burden he has placed on your soul. Respond to it by the power of his Holy Spirit. Be loyal. Be faithful. Be the people of God. May God bless us all.

Amen

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Simple Things

In the Old Testament we have the image of a nation wandering in the wilderness. They had been led out of slavery, they had witnessed many wonderful miracles of God, and yet, we are told that in the wilderness they acted rebelliously. Even at the foot of Mount Sinai, when Moses was speaking to God and making the covenant on behalf of the Hebrew people, they were melting down their golden jewelry to make a molten calf to worship.

But, when you look closely at the Old Testament story, the one thing that really strikes me is the continual presence of God in their lives. God is present in the pillar of clouds by day, and the pillar of fire by night. They were given water and they were fed with manna. Maybe they didn’t live in nice expensive condos but they lived. God was with them.

The wilderness is a hard and demanding place. It is a place of uncertainties and loneliness. Sometimes we find ourselves thrust into the wilderness unprepared, not knowing what to do. The assurance of the Old Testament story is that even in the wilderness, God is with us.

Sometimes we choose to be in the wilderness. Sometimes we find its isolation a relief. Sometimes we are driven into the wilderness. John the Baptist lived in the wilderness preaching his message of repentance and baptism. Elijah fled to the wilderness for safety. The Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the devil. Although the wilderness presents its hardships and demands, whether we choose the wilderness or are thrust into it, one thing is clear-we find there an opportunity to be with God.

Do you know what it’s like to feel loss? Have you ever felt the pain of losing someone you love? Have you ever felt so bad that all you wanted to do was to withdraw from the world, to hide from the pain it sometimes hurls into our lives? In our Gospel lesson today, Mark tells us that this is what happened when Jesus learned of the horrid death of his cousin, John the Baptist. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to just escape all of the demands that people were placing on him-just for a little while.

It must be tough being Jesus. It was as though he had won a million dollar lottery and people would just keep coming to him saying-if only I had a few thousand dollars I could. . . Well, you know what I mean. Jesus, heal us. Jesus, feed us. Jesus, teach us. Jesus, liberate us. People were interested in Jesus for what he could do for them. Ooh, talk about stepping on a few toes. With what motivation do we approach Jesus? Of course he wanted to be alone for a while.

But this isn’t the story that Mark gives us. No, as the drama unfolds we see other players coming on stage: the multitudes – the crowds. When they heard that Jesus went away, they went after him. Many in their number were sick, and they were seeking to be healed. Many just wanted to catch a glimpse of this person they heard so much about. Some had heard that he was an inspirational speaker and they hadn’t been inspired for a long time. There they were the masses, dirty and common. They were crude and vulgar. They lacked the refinements of the Hebrew middle class. They lack the education of the scribes and the Pharisees. They were the masses that you see at the Malls-elbowing people to make breaks in the crowds to squeeze through to that table of sale items. They were the masses that you see at the stock car races-guzzling their drinks, on the edge of excitement, longing for the next collision of cars. They were the masses that you see everyday. And like masses of people everywhere they were probably obnoxious and rude. Here was Jesus, mourning the death of his cousin, tired from a week of preaching and healing, just wanting to be alone, but they wouldn’t go.

Mark tells us that when Jesus looked out at them his heart went out to them. In their confusion, their wantonness, he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. They wanted something from him, okay, he would give them something. But evening was approaching. It was late and he was tired. When he quit, the disciples were hoping that they would disperse. Now I don’t know why-maybe because they didn’t get there until it was so late. Maybe Jesus didn’t relent until it was late, but they wouldn’t go away. The disciples were anxious.

Now, this is one more thing to remember about the wilderness. Even when you are in the wilderness and seek to be alone, more often than not you won’t be be. Even as Jesus and his disciples sought to be alone in the wilderness a crowd followed him. Heal me. Teach me. And now, feed me. Oh, they were hungry. Jesus told the disciples to feed the crowd. They were aghast! Feed them! How could they feed this great crowd? They didn’t have the food to do it, nor the money to buy it. But then Jesus

took what they did have, a few loaves and some fish, and he blessed it, and broke it, and he shared it with the many people.

Remember Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz? All throughout the movie she faced peril-great danger. Throughout the movie, her desire to return home grows and grows until finally the good witch, Glenda, reveals to her that she had the means to do so all along-the ruby red shoes that she had on her feet. She just didn’t realize it.

The miracle of the feeding of the multitude was not that so many people were fed on so little. This was only a sign of the real miracle. The real miracle was the way that Jesus gave of himself. Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life; those who come to me shall not hunger, and those who believe in me shall never thirst,... I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if you eat of this bread, you will live forever.” (John 6:35,51)

The disciples were setting limits. They were withdrawing into a tight little circle. They saw the dirty crowd for what it was. They were selfish, wanton people who said gemme, gemme, gemme, all the time. They wanted to just keep them out. Isn’t this why they withdrew to the wilderness-to get away from these people? But Jesus broke through that tightly drawn circle and pushed through the limits. He broke through the limit that says there are some people you do not have to care for. He broke through the limit that says there are some needs that do not need to be met. He broke through the limit that says, “I just don’t care any more.”

He then took what seemed so inadequate-he took what seemed so insignificant-a few loaves and fishes, the products of simple human labor-and he then provided what was needed for all. He took simple things in life, like bread and fish, and made them a blessing from God.

Do you see the simple things in life around you? A moment shared together, a hymn that we sing, simple bread, simple wine-and through them we know the presence of Christ and receive his blessing.

Such simple things!

Originally written July 21, 1991

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Still Not Justice

I cannot imagine the pain felt by the Moores whose daughter was brutally murdered. While the Moores say they deplore that Governor Kaine has chosen to ignore the facts in this case, the sad reality seems to be that in their grief they cannot see the truth. They argue that the evidence points to the guilt of the Norfolk Four, yet the only genetic evidence points to a person who admits he has committed the crime alone. The fact that evidence has been ignored for so long is a disgrace to the judicial system of Virginia.

What I can say is this: while I imagine I want people to pay for the murder of a loved one, I would hate for innocent people to suffer for the crime. Yet the evidence is pointing in that very direction. When the innocent suffer in the name of justice, justice is perverted.

Governor Kaine has released these men on a conditional pardon when they should have received an absolute pardon. Furthermore, there should be an investigation in the detective who led this case and the judge who presided over it. When so many states are taking a look at the failings of their justice systems in the past, Virginia has seemed to be dragging its feet in doing so. We have seen a number of investigations into the corrupt handling of cases here in North Carolina (as well as other states). Why isn’t Virginia ready to clean house?

While the remaining members of the Norfolk Four may take some solace in being set free, they have not received the exoneration justice requires. I hope these guys find theselves free soon. I pray they will be able to make the necessary adjustments to freedom. I pray the Moores will one day find peace.

------------

The Norfolk Four, Wikipedia, Retrieved August 6, 2009.

Kaines' statement on the pardon in the Moore-Bosko case, The Virginian-Pilot, August 6, 2009.

Va. gov. allows 3 in rape-slaying to be freed, Associated Press, Thursday, August 6, 2009.

Kaine Grants Conditional Pardons in 'Norfolk 4' Case, The Washington Post, Thursday, August 6, 2009; 4:09 PM.

Statement of John and Carol Moore, The Washington Post, Thursday, August 6, 2009; 2:55 PM.

Though Norfolk Four freed, the debate still continues, The Virginian-Pilot, August 7, 2009. (Although dated the 7th, I retrieved this on the 6th).

Pardons in ”Norfolk Four” Case Fall Short, The Innocence Project, August 6, 2009 5:47 pm.

To learn more, try...

Wells, Tom and Richard A. Leo. The Wrong Guys: Murder, False Confessions, and The Norfolk Four. The New Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-59558-401-4.

Documentary on the Norfolk Four. (I had trouble viwing this online).

The Norfolk Four, www.norfolkfour.com, retrieved August 6, 2009.

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Being the Body

This is a the outline of my sermon printed in today's bulletin for note taking and reflection.

Ephesians 4:1-16 (NRSV)

¹ I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. ⁷ But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.” ⁹ (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)

¹¹ The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

¹⁴ We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

Being the Body

(1) In the opening verse, Paul calls us to lead lives worthy of the calling we have received from God. What does that look like?

Like this: We are to bear each other in love with humility, gentleness and patience.

Describe some ways you need to work on this in your own life. Towards whom do you need to show more patience or gentleness?

How are we in the humility department?

(2) There is a goal in all of this. Living lives worthy of the calling is necessary for our unity as the Body of Christ (See Ephesians 1:22-23).

Our Unity is acknowledged in every way...
one Spirit, one body, one hope
one Lord, one faith, one baptism
one Father of all

Notice there are 3 groups of one and 7 ones altogether. Seven being the symbolic number of completion. Three being the number of divinity. One being the number of unity in God.

Sadly, we still have some way to go to truly live in that unity. Look at all of the misunderstanding that occurred recently in Cambridge, Mass. It is easy to carry these same types of misunderstandings and missteps in the church.

In Paul’s day those same types of divisions existed. People were discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, status. Consider what Paul says earlier to the Ephesians about their status as Gentiles...

¹¹ So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision” – a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands – ¹² remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. (Ephesians 2:11-14, NRSV)

Also consider what he wrote to the Galatians...

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:28-29, ESV)

How do we need to work on “breaking down the dividing walls of hostility” in the church today?

In our nation?

In the world?

What do you see as some of the things that continue to divide us?

(3) Paul reminds us that God’s goal is to be in a reconciled relationship with all people and Christ provides us all the gifts we need to do this work.

Today’s lesson reminds us that regardless of the number of spiritual gifts there may be (see 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 for some of the gifts) they can be broken down into two basic types: Those that equip the saints and those that build up the Body of Christ (the church). These are sometimes referred to as Verse 11 Gifts and Verse 12 Gifts.

Verse 11 Gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors & teachers to equip the saints (equipping gifts).

Verse 12 Gifts: for the work of ministry for building up the church (building gifts).

Can you identify the gifts God has given you?

How are you faithful in using them?

How can you more faithfully use the gifts God has given you for building up the Body of Christ?

Neither set of gifts is superior to the other just as no gift is superior to another. All together these gifts are given by God to serve a common purpose: to build up the church!

In today’s part of Paul’s letter, he is especially addressing the importance of the Verse 11 Gifts (the equipping gifts).

These gifts are to help build...
...unity of faith
...knowledge of the Son of God
...spiritual maturity to the full stature of Christ

Verse 11 Gifts are used to help us all as God’s children to not be tossed about...
...by every wind of doctrine
...by people’s trickery

In love, we must proclaim God’s truth that we may grow into that one healthy Body. Each part must be working properly to promote the Body’s growth.

How do you think this growth should look at Horne Memorial UMC in these areas?

Physical growth:

Mental growth:

Emotional growth:

Spiritual growth:

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So, Do All Dogs Go to Heaven?

Have you seen the faked church sign debate on this question around the Internet? If not, you can look at it here. While some have distributed it as a real event, it is not. The signs were obviously made at a church sign generator. Nevertheless, it is an amusing reflection on the seriousness with which people can take both doctrine and their love for their pets. I confess that this question has come to my mind after receiving word from our veterinarian that our pet dog of 15 some years, Faith, has inoperable cancer and has only days to live.

Do dogs go to heaven? It is a question I often get from children who have lost a pet — usually a dog or a cat (I have never had the question asked about pet frogs or fish!). I always assure them that God’s love for us is so great that heaven will be a place of tremendous joy, and if our pets have brought us such joy wouldn’t God have them there for us? Yes, it is simplistic and we often express serious thoughts to our young in a metaphoric or symbolic manner. Instead of saying someone died we say they are asleep or they have gone to be with Jesus.

But, that is an answer we give to children. Do dogs really go to heaven? It is a serious question that deserves some serious reflection without giving in to sentimentality. What does it mean to “go to heaven?” In the US in general and in the South in particular, our thinking is often influenced by the dispensational views of theology, the afterlife, judgment, and heaven. Such thinking often tends to be strongly dualistic and contains a bit of anti-materialism and is marked quite frequently with an insouciant attitude towards creation and the environment. Creation is more often seen as something to dominate than it is something to care for. We see ourselves more as owners than as stewards. As we begin to realize that our view of life needs to be more wholistic to be more holistic, we understand that perhaps the Greek philosophical notion of the division of spirit and body is too contradictory to an understanding of a divine Creator who formed the heavens and earth and called them good. Even if creation itself experiences the corrupting force of sin (entropy?) and longs for redemption we must realize that it all comes from God’s hand.

Okay, I need to rein myself in a bit and focus more on the question. What does it mean to have a soul? In the Bible the word seems to primarily be used to indicate life (William J. Cameron, “Soul” in New Bible Dictionary, IVP, 1962, 1982). The words soul and spirit sometimes seem to be used interchangeably and spirit seems to simply be a life force. It is true that it is only humanity that is described as having God-breathed life through the nostrils, but perhaps this passage shouldn't be taken so narrowly.

In fact, in many of the images we are given of heaven, animals are described as being present. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. The lion shall lie down with the lamb. Children can play without fear at an adder’s den. Indeed, with all of the talk about having a spiritual body which is like our physical bodies without the flaws, it sounds like heaven is the New Creation — heaven and earth and all therein — fully redeemed by God. If this new creation — this new earth — can be described in the Bible as having trees and rivers and animals, why not the animals we have already known and loved? After all if this old creation is a flawed or marred expression of God’s imagination, surely the new creation is the result of God’s redemptive and healing memory — a perfection of what was meant to be.

It is of no fault of our pets that they suffer and die. Surely they are part of that creation that groans and awaits redemption. Now that I think about it, yes! Dogs do go to heaven. I don’t think I come to this conclusion on the basis of mere sentiment. No, I believe this is a view consistant with our biblical heritage.

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Bread That Satisfies

This month I am preaching from the lectionary epistle lessons (from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians). But the Gospel lessons come from the extended story of Jesus feeding the multitudes (John 6). I thought I would share some thoughts on those texts here at hermeneutic.org.

In Exodus, in the account of the wandering of the wilderness, we find that the Israelites often complained to Moses. They felt that they were better off in Egypt. Even though they were slaves, at least they had food to eat. Moses told the people that they would not go hungry, but that the Lord had promised to provide for their needs. And so they were provided with manna from heaven.

Now the scene changes. It is now much later, maybe about 1300 years later. The descendants of these Israelites recall these events and I imagine that for the most part they remembered it with fondness. Our scene in particular involves a group discussing this very story about manna from heaven. Well, to be fair they were discussing much more than that. You see Jesus had just finished feeding the multitude bread and they were following Jesus around. Now Jesus stops, and he looks at these people and says that the only reason they had been following him was that he had fed them. You know what he is talking about!

Have you ever fed a hungry dog or cat – a stray one at that? You know what happens! The dog or cat starts following you around! And you have a hard time getting rid of that dog or cat. I was recently visiting a friend and saw a cat in his back deck with bowls of water and food. I said “Ah, you have a cat.” He answered, “No, we just feed the cat.” Now Jesus had just fed these people and it didn't cost them one cent for the bill. Jesus had picked up the tab. The idea is that all these people were only interested in their bellies! Even today there are people today who see religion or faith or God as a means of achieving goals or success. Now goals in life are important and I imagine we all have them. But limiting your concern to the belly means you will really miss the boat and Jesus proceeded to tell them so.

He brings up the whole thing about manna in the wilderness. It wasn’t Moses who provided the manna but God. Jesus told the people to look to him for the bread from heaven. He takes it a step beyond that. Jesus said that he is the bread from heaven. Jesus not only places himself in a superior position to Moses but he is saying that he was superior to the manna from heaven – after all Jesus is the true bread from heaven. The manna from heaven was simply a type of what was to come and it had come in Jesus Christ.

Do you remember ever hearing the story of a man who went forth seeking a great treasure?

The night was cold. Perhaps it was because the sky was cloudless and the chilling light of the moon and stars shone over the young man’s shoulder. The effect was eerie to say the least. There were many shadows cast all about the traveler. But he didn’t notice any discomforting effects as the words of the sage still rang in his head. It was as though those words had been said that very afternoon: “To find your treasure, seek the path that is well worn.” But that had been months ago and the young traveler still wandered aimlessly about. He had sought out all the roads. Those that were wide and those that were narrow. But none seemed to lead to any place of significance. Oh, he had seen treasures all right. Treasures that he had been told of since he sat on his grandfather’s knee. But his grandfather had been dead now for some time. The traveler had been gone from home for nearly five years and he still had no idea as to how he would find his treasure. He had sought out the sage – that old wise man – only after spending these last few years seeking but not finding. It was really a last act of desperation to seek advice – you see, he wanted to do it on his own. For a while he would stop and ask people where he was but before long he was in places where he could not understand the language of the people.

He had a good home. A good father and mother. All his relatives and friends were kind and loving to him, but he knew there was more in the world and he knew it would be out there somewhere. He would truly discover who he was and find out what he was meant to be.

The night was cold, but in the distance he could hear the rooster crow, and he knew before long the warmth of the sun's rays would reach out and embrace him. He began to see signs of daylight emerging from the horizon. Many of the peasants were beginning to load their wagons with vegetables, eggs, and hay to head for the village. He noticed that the path he was walking on was old and wide. It was well-trodden. He could see potholes in the clay which had gathered water from the previous day’s rains.

As he entered the little hamlet, many of the villagers began hurrying out into the streets, probably to find food for the morning meal. He began to hear cries of the tradesmen, “Three shilling for a bolt of silk.” Others were barking out the price of their own wares. The stench of the sewers along the side of the road assaulted his nostrils, and he knew that it would not be much longer before the heat of the day would make the foul odor unbearable. He was about halfway through the village when he recognized its familiarity. Oh, all villages were really quite the same. The same kind of people with the same feelings and the same problems. He knew all that really differed from village to village would be the lord of the manor and perhaps the local dialect or language.

His skin stiffened all over his body, and the hair on the nape of his neck felt as though someone had brushed it the wrong way. Perhaps this is it, he thought. Could it be here, after 5 long years? Could this be the place of my treasure? The place of my fortune? And he entered into an alley, and the cries of the merchants began to fade in the distance. And he began to recognize faces. They were familiar faces. Faces he felt he had seen before. And he stopped and looked carefully about the alley, and thought that it, too, looked familiar; Suddenly his knees buckled. let out a cry of anguish! “No! It can’t be! It can’t be!” The young man realized that he had unknowingly returned home.

He turned into another alley, and in the distance he could make out his own home. He began to wonder what his mother and father looked like after these long weary years, and he thought how nice it would be to visit them on this morning after the cock’s crow. Images began to dance in his mind as he remembered his mother’s early morning routine of rushing to the bakery for fresh bread that would be divided among the family for breakfast. With new life in his limbs he hurried on home, and he came to the door and knocked on it. The door opened, and an elderly man looked at him, and after a few moments’ pause, the young man cried out, “Papa!” And, the two embraced and kissed and wept. The son was home, and he knew that he would never be happy anywhere else. He joined his family at the breakfast table and his father had taken the bread his mother had purchased, and broke it, and he blessed it and he passed it around. There was a marked radiance that shone forth on the table that morning as the young traveler remembered the words of the sage: “To find your treasure, seek the path that is well worn.”

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” And the people around Jesus said, “Lord give us this bread always.” This very day our Father calls us to come home and be fed. We are pilgrims as those before us were pilgrims. We are travelers. We are seeking a treasure. We are seeking the truth. We are seeking our home. And we find that well-worn path. At first it may seem to be an accident, but later we know the providence of God was involved. Our Father bids us to enter his house, and to sit at his table and he feeds us the bread of life. Our prayer should always be: “Lord, give us this bread always.”

Adopted from a sermon I preached on August 1, 1982.

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Sealed in the Spirit

I have been looking at this week’s Epistle lesson which comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Paul addresses his letter here “to the Saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus.” The message that follows is a timeless message. It doesn’t deal with any particular problems of the Ephesian church, but it is really a hymn of praise. It is a Christological hymn, one that praises Christ. Some scholars think it is a baptismal hymn, one that was used on occasions of baptism. It is quite possible that later in the church’s history, especially in the medieval period, that this text was used for the celebration of confirmation. This text deals with the sealing of the Holy Spirit, or rather I should say, the sealing of us in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Now, there are a lot of peculiar interpretations on this passage. For example, this is one area where we Methodists should separate ourselves doctrinally from the various Pentecostal movements, and I will explain this in greater detail later. But first, let us deal with the passage as a whole, and discuss its various parts.

St. Paul says blest be God who blessed us. John Wesley tells us that God’s blessing on us was his bestowing upon us “all spiritual and heavenly blessings.” And our blessing God is our acknowledgement of thankfulness and praise for what he has done for us. We bless him first because of his own perfectness, and because he is God. And secondly we bless him because of the many blessings he has given to us. And the blessings that God has given us are only a fraction of what we are yet to receive. The blessings in this life are only symbols of the eternal blessedness that is yet to come. St. Paul refers to the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This has often been understood as a reference first to the humanity and then to the divinity of Christ. To his humanity in that God is his God, as well as ours. Jesus worships him. He praises him, and prays to him. And it is a reference to his divinity, in that he is the Father of Christ – God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God. Christ is the divine nature that becomes flesh to live among us, and who not only acts as our mediator and redeemer, but serves as our exemplar in the faith – that is, he is the pioneer of our faith (Hebrews).

But St. Paul tells us that God “chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” As the author of Hebrews says: “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” In the Wesleyan tradition, we understand that God predestined those whom he foreknew. It was part of God’s general plan of election – that all should believe in the name of Christ and be saved. But in his foreknowledge, he knew those who would repent of their sins and believe in his name.

We have three particular blessings of God through Jesus Christ. We have first “redemption through his blood.” And often the classical terms of salvation, such as “redemption” escape us. We don’t understand their meaning. Let redemption be understood in the sense of purchase – that Christ bought us for a price, and that price was his blood, the blood of the holy and blameless Lamb – the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John). The second blessing we have is the forgiveness of sins. We have no righteousness of our own at this point. It is solely on the merit of Christ that we are forgiven. Forgiveness of sins – it is though the slate has been wiped clean. The stain of sin would remain but by the grace of God. God does not simply overlook the sin, but he removes the sin, that we may once more be restored to wholeness. And the third blessing that we receive is the “richness of his grace.” It is because of our new standing before God – because of the merits of Christ – that we live a life of grace. No longer must we be worried of depending on our own righteousness for salvation, because before Christ we had none. But now we live in the fullness of his grace. We have had restored to us in part that image of God. We have had restored to us in part that mind that was in Christ Jesus our Lord. We have had restored to us in part that state of blessedness which we may or may not obtain in this life, but which will certainly be granted unto us after death when we are united with the Father.

Indeed we see how these blessings to us are only symbols of what is to come. You see, God has a plan for creation. God has a plan for the fullness of time – and that plan is “to unite all things in Him” whether they be things on earth or whether they be things in heaven. “The corruption of sin has affected the very powers of the universe, and the divine plan of salvation embraces them too” (M. Burrows, Biblical Theology, p. 327).

The plan is to be fulfilled in the future. The plan is to be fulfilled in the fullness of time. You know Christ came to us in the fullness of time. In God’s own time. And so again in the fullness of time all things on heaven and on earth will once more be reconciled to God. All things are under authority of Christ. Heaven and earth has been placed under his feet. And when he has subjected all things under him, then in the fullness of time will it be turned over to the Father (Philippians – Colossians). But now we are people who have hope in Christ. We “have been destined and appointed to live forth praise of his glory.” This is what we are to do. This is why our fellowship is so important. Because it is a time when we come together to praise the glory of God, and we remember the commandment to love God and to love our neighbor. This is why we live in hope. And it is because of our hope that we are enabled to live lives of Christian love. “Christian love should be especially fervent and deep within the fellowship of the Church. The sense of community is strengthened by the responsibility of being God’s hold people, his chosen and loyal saints. This involves worthy living which will command the respect and admiration of those outside the Church.” (M. Burrows, Biblical Theology, p. 252)

But it is now in our fellowship – it is now in the Church – that we have come together to hear the promise of God and that through baptism and confirmation we are sealed into the promise of God. We are told what this is. First of all it is for we who have “heard the word of truth.” And the truth is proclaimed to us by the Word of God. From time to time, God has seen fit to raise up prophets and apostles to proclaim the word of God. And we must hear the word of truth, and we must respond to it. Secondly, we must respond “to the gospel of [our] salvation.” The Good News of Jesus Christ – that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (II Cor.). And thirdly we must “have believed in Him.” After we hear the word of truth – after we hear the gospel of salvation – our only able response is to believe, first and foremost to believe. That is, to trust in the word of God. To trust in Jesus Christ. To have our hope in his Gospel and in his word. To cast away all else, and to cling only to Him. And it is here – it is here that we are “sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.” Yes, our inheritance is the future. It won’t come until the fullness of time. But until that time – until we receive our inheritance – we have the sign, we have this pledge, we have this guarantee, and that is the seal of the Holy Spirit.

John Calvin said that “The Spirit accordingly senses as a seal, to seal up in our hearts those very promises the certainty of which it has previously impressed upon our minds; and takes the place of a guarantee to confirm and establish them” (Institutes 3.2.36, p. 542). John Wesley said that the seal is “both a pledge and a foretaste of our inheritance, ... [until] the Church, which he has purchased with his own blood, shall he fully delivered from all sin and sorrow, and advanced to everlasting glory.” (Notes, p. 704)

To understand the significance of sealing, we can look to the early church fathers, and they understood “sealing” in a sacramental sense that could be accomplished either by baptism or confirmation. The sealing itself was almost a sacrament of its own right. To the early Church fathers, the sacramental nature of baptism, that is the sign of baptism, was empowered by calling forth the Holy Spirit to consecrate the waters, that the sign of the sealing was the placement of oil in the sign of the cross on the forehead if the believer, and this was empowered by saying the name of Jesus Christ. Rudolph Bultmann said that “the sealing was the naming of Christ over the candidate, to impart power to him or her. The candidate is thus sealed as property of Christ. The candidate comes under the authority and protection of Christ.” (R. Bultmann, Theology, I, 137). In other words, once the candidate was sealed in the name of Christ, the forces of evil no longer had any authority over that individual. The individual was now under the domain and the protection of Jesus Christ, to whom that person had sworn allegiance “for Paul, the possession of the spirit is both the means of overcoming the power of sin in the flesh and `earnest’ of complete redemption hereafter.” (M. Borrows, Biblical Theology, p.77)

We then have much to be thankful for, and we have many reasons to sing praises to God. We are thankful not only for the blessings he has given us in this life, but we are thankful for the eternal salvation and blessedness that we have yet to experience. But the promise is ours! The promise is for us! The promise is for we have heard the word of God. It is for we who have heard the gospel of salvation, and it is for we who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He is our protector. We must trust ourselves wholly to Him. As he is the pioneer of our faith, and salvation, so let him be our guide to faith and salvation.

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