Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/31/14 Sermon - “What if you gain the whole earth, and lose your own life?"

Sunday 08/31/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title:

“What if you gain the whole earth, and lose your own life?”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c

                                            

New Testament Scripture Lesson: Romans 12:9-21

Gospel Lesson: Mathew 16:21-28

          Family, brothers and sisters, once again this is the Twelfth Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost. On the day of the Feast of Pentecost almost 2,000 years ago, the disciples of Jesus Christ were in an upper room when suddenly the Holy Spirit moved, their souls were filled, they spoke in different tongues, and the Christian Church was officially born.

          While last week in our gospel of Mathew reading, Jesus challenged us to decide for ourselves who He is, in today’s gospel of Matthew reading, Jesus asks his disciples, and asks us, another really hard question. Jesus speaks of people that don’t follow him. Jesus said, “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” Some of us have heard this in other bible translations as, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul” (Mt 16:25, NKJV).  

          Many of us have heard this scripture before, but how deeply have we really considered it and how deeply have we really thought about it?

          I mean, what does it mean to “gain the whole world?” Further, what does it mean to “forfeit” your life?

I suppose for me, when I think of gaining the whole world, I almost always think the game Monopoly. How many of you like playing the game Monopoly?

          As many of you know, the object of the game Monopoly is to financially destroy everyone, by taking all the other players money and property. I have in fact, seen some pretty intense games of Monopoly! Some people I have played with are quite competitive, thinking that the secret to winning is picking the shoe, or the car, or the thimble. Perhaps you have such a strategy yourself?

Yet is not the goal of the game of Monopoly to gain the whole world? Going even deeper, is it not the goal of Monopoly to gain the whole world, regardless of the pain and the suffering you inflict on other players? Many of you might know the quote: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” For some us, when we play a game like Monopoly we lose our sense of who we really are, and we become focused on “gaining the whole earth.”

While many of us might say that “gaining the whole earth” is not important to us, don’t we sometimes get caught up in a “Monopoly Mentality,” in that we buy into the lie that money, stuff, land, power, and etc. are the keys to happiness. We even have the Forbes 500 list of the world’s richest billionaires, don’t we? From what I understand, every year that Forbes 500 list is published, many people eagerly want to see who made the cut, or who is winning the most in the Monopoly game of this life.

While many of us know what real happiness is, don’t we sometimes catch ourselves trying to have that “Monopoly Mentality.” You know where try to get everything we can, no matter the cost? This is probably a bad time to tell you that one of the Family Game Night games that I have is Monopoly! We have yet to play Monopoly at a Family Game Night however, but when we finally do, I will the player saying, “Can’t you just let them keep Pennsylvania Avenue?”

So very clearly then, we live in a world today that is very much consumed with wealth, power, status, ownership, and etc. While I do think that it is important that we seek to have some financial stability in our lives, if we can manage it, are willing to do awful and abominable things to get even more? Just what is our threshold of doing bad and evil things, for profit, power, and possessions?

While what Jesus was talking about this morning can be viewed in different ways, I think that Jesus was telling his disciples and is telling us, that if you pursue a destructive path, whereby you will do anything for self-gain, where you will be shrewd, evil, corrupt, and sinful, and “do whatever it takes” to get ahead, then surely you cannot keep your soul and do that. Can you? It is very similar to the old quote, “don’t sell your soul to the devil.”

I remember when financier Bernie Madoff was convicted in 2009 of stealing billions and billions of dollars from people’s pensions, people’s pockets, and etc. Mr. Madoff amassed wealth, possessions, properties, and etc. that was an incredible display of pomp and greed. Yet Mr. Madoff did untold damage to so many people, and is now serving a 150-year prison sentence for what he did.

So my brothers and sisters, I believe that Jesus Christ was challenging his disciples in this gospel reading for today, and I believe that Jesus is still challenging us here today. Jesus asks us, do you build your kingdom, or do you build my kingdom?

To build God’s kingdom is to work hard, to make a living, but at the same time to be generous, loving, giving, caring, honest, and humble. To seek God above all things.

In our reading from Psalm 105 from this morning it says in 105:4-5, “Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.”

In looking at this reading from the Psalm, it seems evident to me, that if we are supposed to seek God and “his presence continually,” that we can’t do this, and at the same try to “gain the whole earth.” Can we?

In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or Letter to Romans reading from this morning, the Apostle Paul says, “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” Now how can we do these things, if we are trying to “gain the whole earth?” How we be giving and devoted to a church family like this, if our only goal in life, is to “gain the whole earth?” How can we fully live both for ourselves, and for God?

The Apostle Paul goes on to say in the reading from the Book or Romans for this morning, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” Do we try our best to do these things in this church and in our lives? Or are we trying to “gain the whole earth,” and build our own kingdom?

The Apostle Paul also tells the church in Rome to “Live in harmony with one another.” You can’t live in harmony though, if you seeking your own kingdom and your agenda only. The Apostle Paul lastly, tells us to love everyone, and seek to live in peace with them. Are we trying to do all that Jesus has called us to do to build his kingdom, or we too busy building our own kingdom?

In looking more closely at the reading from Matthew’s gospel from this morning, we have a shift in Jesus’ teaching and discussion at this point. You see from this point in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus now makes it very evident and clear to his disciples that he will soon go to the city of Jerusalem to suffer, be killed, and then be raised from the dead.

When Jesus says this, the Apostle Peter, being the Apostle Peter, took Jesus “aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”

Jesus then turned and looked at Peter and says to him, “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus then told Peter “you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

When we seek to “gain the whole world,” and when we seek to build our kingdom, are we not focused on human things, while forgetting divine things?

Then Jesus says next, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Jesus then says, “For those want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” At this point Jesus then asks the question about gaining “the world,” and losing one’s soul.

Jesus then says, “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of the Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.” He lastly says, some will not taste death, and he talks again about his return or second coming.

So it seems evident to me from the gospel reading from this morning, that Jesus is saying in me you find true life, true riches, true abundance, and in the things of this world you will find only destruction and death.

So which one is it for us then? Which path will we pursue? Are we going to serve God, and are we going to make the world better in the name of Jesus Christ? Are we going to continue to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” or will we forsake God, forsake Jesus, and try to “gain the whole earth?”

Can’t we sin that we have in our world today? Can we see the greed, the corruption, and the self-focused nature, that many have today? When we focus on Christ and his kingdom, we are putting light on all that darkens and all that pains this world.

I would like to tell you a story about greed, called “Why Would I Give It to You?” This story is written by an unknown author, and goes like this: “A highly successful businessman was once asked to make a substantial donation toward an urgent charity appeal. The businessman listened to the case presented then said, “I can understand why you approached me. Yes I do have a lot of money, and yours is an important cause. But are you aware that I have a lot of calls upon my money? Did you know my mother needs 24 hour nursing care?”

“No we didn’t” came the reply.”

“Did you know my sister is struggling to raise a family of eight on her own?”

“No we didn’t” came the reply.”

“Did you know I have one son in a drug rehab clinic and another doing voluntary work overseas?”

“No we didn’t”

“Well, if I don’t give them a cent, what makes you think I’ll give it to you?!”

So what is the point of all this? The Rev. Billy Graham famously said, “I have never seen hearse, pulling a U-haul behind it,” or something similar to that. Or as the singer George Strait says in his song “You’ll Be There,” “I’ve never seen a hearse with a luggage rack.”

So my challenge to you, and my challenge to me this week and every week after this, is how can follow Jesus more? How can we build His kingdom on earth more, as we await His kingdom to come?

Can we maybe give up that Starbucks cup of coffee, or that extra night out to dinner, and can we take that money and give it to the poor? Can we be the businessman or businesswoman that says yes, I will serve the Lord, I will build God’s kingdom in the here and now, as we await God’s coming kingdom. Will we truly welcome and love all people in this church? We will show them with our love and actions who Jesus Christ is?

Christian singer Mathew West says in his song “Do Something,” “I woke up this morning. Saw a world full of trouble now. Thought, how’d we ever get so far down. How’s it ever gonna turn around. So I turned my eyes to Heaven, I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?” Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of People living in poverty, Children sold into slavery. The thought disgusted me. So, I shook my fist at Heaven Said, “God, why don’t You do something?” He said, “I did, I created you.”

Brothers and sisters, the things of this world are fleeting and temporary, eternity with Jesus Christ never ends. Let us seek to follow Jesus and build His kingdom, as our own kingdom building will only end in destruction and the forfeiting of our souls. Amen and hallelujah.

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost - 08/24/14 Sermon - “Who do you say Jesus is?"

Sunday 08/24/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Who do you say Jesus is?”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 124

                                            

New Testament Scripture Lesson: Romans 12:1-8

Gospel Lesson: Mathew 16:13-20

          My brothers and sisters, today is the Eleventh Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost, that day so long ago that the Holy Spirit moved like a mighty wind, and the Christian Church was officially born.

On this day however, we visit a story from Matthew’s gospel that many of us have probably heard before. This story is the one where Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Or to put it even more clearly, Jesus asks his disciples who do the people you talk to say I am? What do they say about me? This is what Jesus wants to know.

The quest, the desire, the need to know who Jesus Christ was and is truly and fully, is the discussion and the study that has been going on for nearly 2,000 thousand years. You see, since Jesus Christ walked on the earth almost 2,000 years ago, people have been saying since that time, who was and is this Jesus of Nazareth? Was he just a man only? Was he just a prophet like Isaiah or Jeremiah? Was he mentally insane? Was he a con-artist? Was he the greatest prophet of them all? Was he the incarnation of God, meaning God in the flesh? Was he on this earth, both fully God and fully human?

These questions were not only raised by Jesus Christ himself in today’s gospel reading, but they were raised as I said, from the time Jesus walked the earth, up to today.

So you see, some people believe this about Jesus, while some people believe that about Jesus, but what is historically undeniable however, is that a man named Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth. You can pick up any secular New York State Global Studies book that includes a section on world religions, and you will find that it discusses Jesus of Nazareth in the section on Christianity. You can talk with history professors who are believers or atheists, and most of them will likely admit that someone walked this earth named Jesus of Nazareth.

So very few, if any scholars, whether they be people of faith or of no faith, will deny that Jesus of Nazareth existed. We know then, that there was indeed a Jesus of Nazareth, and that he walked the earth. The question again though, is who was and is Jesus of Nazareth?

Since there has been so much fascination for nearly two-thousand years now over who Jesus Christ was and is, there is literally a category of study about this, called “Christology.” Christology is the study of Christ. Our belief of who Jesus was and is, is our own personal “Christology.” As Christians, I would argue that our “Christology” is an important thing, so can we develop our own understandings of who Jesus was and is?

Well for starters, all throughout the gospels, Jesus Christ performed all manner of miracles. He healed the sick, he fed the 5,000 thousand, he raised the dead, he had control over the storm and of nature itself, he walked on water, and etc., and etc. If you believe that Jesus Christ did truly in fact literally do all of these miracles and amazing things, it would seem hard then to identify Jesus as just a mere man. I mean after all, what mere human being can do all of the things that Jesus Christ did in the gospels? Not to mention the resurrection. If Jesus Christ did truly and fully come back to life, mind, body, and soul, and if the empty tomb is still there in Jerusalem even today, which it is, then how could He have been just a man?

I have met some impressive men in my life, but none that can do all that Jesus did. It would seem then, that the only way to make Jesus human only in our minds, or to make Jesus only a high prophet only in our minds, is to deny the literal view of some or all of the claims that the gospel writers made about Jesus. By this I mean, if you believe that Jesus did not perform all of the miracles he did, if you believe that Jesus did not raise, mind, body, and soul from the dead, then it is quite easy for you to have a “Christology” of Jesus just being a man only.

I also think that for most of us at this point, we can quickly sift through the argument of Jesus being mentally insane or a con-artist, as it would seem that somewhere in the suffering of his crucifixion that something would have shown up to prove that he was bluffing or was indeed mentally ill. Yet we have no record of any of the sort happening.

So, if you chose to believe, as some of my friends’ do, that Jesus was just a man only, or that he was divine, but not equal with God, meaning you don’t believe in the Holy Trinity in the traditional sense, then you need to have a view of scripture and a theology that can defend your beliefs. Further, you have to view scripture and theology differently than the traditional way it is has been viewed for centuries. Some people then, view Jesus differently than others.

So once again, “Christology,” the study of Jesus. “Who do you say Jesus is?”

With all of this said, I will explain to you, who I say Jesus is. I will explain to you who our church and most churches in the world say Jesus is.

To help this, I want to first read from the beginning of John’s gospel. In the beginning of John’s gospel it says in 1:1-4:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”

So John says in his gospel, that before time itself was God, and the Word. The Word of God is the full truth of God, and the Word of God is what speaks life into nothingness. So if the Word always existed, and if “He” meaning Jesus was with God in the beginning of time itself, then was Jesus not God in the flesh on earth?

The traditional view of Jesus Christ, is that he was fully God and fully human. That Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. John’s gospel goes on to say in John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." So in this scripture, John is saying in his gospel, that Jesus was the truth of God, and was the grace of God, that He took on flesh and dwelt among us. To me, this verse is very clearly saying that Jesus Christ was God on earth, not a prophet, not just a man, but the Messiah, the living God in the flesh.

In John 5:18 it says:  ^“For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.” So Jesus was being accused of saying he was God on earth.

In John 8:58 it says: “Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” If you remember in the book of Genesis, the first person that God spoke to was Abraham. God also appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and when Moses asked God his name in the burning bush, God simply said, “I am.” In John 8:58, Jesus said “before Abraham was, I am.”

In John 10:30-31 it says, “The Father and I are one. The Jews took up stones again to stone him.” Stones were taken up against Jesus, because they heard him saying that he was God on earth, that he and the Father were one in the same.

Let me give you more scripture from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Colossians. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:9-10: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.” In this scripture the Apostle Paul is making the claim that Jesus is fully God or deity, and fully human.

So once again, in the world we live in, many people now, and many people all the way back to the time that Jesus walked this earth had a view of who Jesus is. “Christology,” the study of who Jesus is. It is an ongoing conversation and study that has been going on for almost 2,000 years.

This morning then, Jesus asks his disciples, as he asks us here, “Who do you people say that the Son of Man is?”

In our Psalm reading from Psalm 124 from this morning, the Psalmists talks about the Lord who loves us, who is on our side, and who protects us. It even says in 124:8, “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

In the reading this morning from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the church in Rome, or the Romans, he encourages the church to be transformed, to live sacrificially for others, and to find the part of the body of Christ where you fit. Find your place in this church, this life, and in God’s will. Given this, understanding who Jesus is, and your relationship to Jesus is an important thing. “Who do you say Jesus is?”

When we look more closely at the gospel reading for this morning it says, “Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi.” The gospel then says, “he asked his disciples, “who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The responses were that some say that he was “John the Baptist,” that he was “Elijah,” that he was “Jeremiah,” or one of the other prophets. Yet Simon Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then said to Simon Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!” Now do you think that Jesus would have responded so positively to Simon Peter if he gave the wrong answer to him? Probably not.

Jesus then goes on to say that he will build his church on the rock of God and on His truth. Jesus then tells the disciples not to tell anyone he is the Messiah, as it was not yet his time to be crucified.

I would like to close this message this morning with a story called “The Rich King,” by Soren Kierkegaard.” Here is how it goes:

“Once upon a time there was a very rich but unhappy king, unhappy because he was all alone in an empty palace. How he longed for a wife with whom he could share his life.”

“Then one day the king saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, riding through the streets. Enquiries revealed she was a peasant girl, but the king’s heart was captivated. He would make sure that each day he rode past her house in the hope of catching a glimpse of his love.”

“But the king had a problem. How would he win her love? He could draw up a royal decree commanding her to become his queen. But then he could never be sure he had won her love, for she would be required to obey a royal decree.”

“Perhaps he could call on her and try to win her over, appear in all his regal glory and sweep her off her feet. But no, then he could never be sure whether she had married him only for his power and riches.”

“Finally he came upon the perfect plan. He would come to her as a peasant. That was the only way to truly win her love. So he abandoned his palace and his riches and his comfort and put on the clothes of a peasant. He went and lived among the peasants. He worked with them, shared their sufferings, danced at their feasts, until finally he won the heart of the woman who had captured his.”

“So it is with God. Christ became one of us, lived among us, worked among us, suffered with us, and danced with us. All in order to win our hearts.”

The question then brothers and sisters, is “Who do we say Jesus is?” You know what I say, you know what the vast majority of Christians say, but “Who do you say Jesus is?” Amen.

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Ninth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/10/14 Sermon - “He's the one who walked on water!"

Sunday 08/10/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “He’s the one who walked on water!”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b

                                            

New Testament Scripture Lesson: Romans 10:5-15

Gospel Lesson: Mathew 14:22-33

Today is the Ninth Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost. On the day of the Feast of Pentecost, the disciples and the other early Christians were gathered in an upper room. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit moved like a mighty wind, they all spoke in different tongues or languages, and they then went forth proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the day of the Feast of Pentecost, the Christian Church was officially born.

This morning however, I am going to talk about yet another of Jesus Christ’s miracles. Last week, we heard the story of the “Loaves and Fish,” or the “Feeding of the Five-Thousand,” or “The Feeding of the Multitude.”

Yet this morning we have in fact, two miracles in the narrative or story of Mathew’s gospel. These two miracles are, one that Jesus walks on water, and two that Peter also briefly walks on water to, before he sinks into the water.

This morning’s miracles from Mathew’s gospel are then ones of pure faith. For when we are asked by God to do something that would otherwise be impossible, we must fully have faith. You see miracles often happen when there is a full and an abundant faith, and miracles often fail when we have little faith, or doubt, or fear.

In reading from the Psalm 105 from this morning, the Psalmist writes in 105:1-3, “O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.”

Knowing and believing fully in God’s deeds, God’s power, and God’s presence, is to have full faith and trust in Him.

The Apostle Paul supported this idea, when he told the church in Rome, or the Romans, about faith. In this reading from the Book or Romans from this morning, the Apostle Paul discussed the importance of faith. The importance of our hearts being in the right place with God. The Apostle Paul told the church in Rome to, not just to “confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord,” but “in your heart” believe “that God raised him from the dead.”

The other thing that the Apostle Paul asserts, is that faith in Christ is for all people, not just some. For as Paul said in 10:12-13 “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” So therefore, God, Jesus Christ, is for all people.

In today’s gospel of Mathew story, Jesus and the apostles had just feed the massive crowd with the five-loaves and two-fish. Mathew writes in 14:22, “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.” When Jesus had fully dismissed and dispersed all of the crowds, the gospel says that, “he went up the mountain by himself to pray.”

Now remember the Apostles were told to “get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side,” which is the Sea of Galilee. Yet Jesus prayed upon the mountain for so long, that when he finished the gospel says, “he was there all alone.” Further the boat with the disciples that had went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, is no longer on the shore. The gospel says that “by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

At this point by the way, it is probably somewhere between 3:00 am to 6:00 am in the morning. It was dark, there were no flashlights, or lights of any kind with the disciples. All they had was the moon and the stars.

Then suddenly they see a figure walking on the water towards them. They can’t quite make it out, and “they were terrified.” In fact, the gospel then says that they said, “It is a ghost!” They all had great fear. At this moment Jesus then said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

So you see, the disciples realized that it was not a ghost or a spirit that was on the water, it was Jesus that was walking on the water.

The Apostle Peter, being often too bold, often being someone who would jump without thinking, and often being someone who would speak before thinking said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” I would like to think that Jesus had just a little grin of his face at this point, and then he tells Peter “Come.”

Peter then gets out of the boat, his faith and his trust in Jesus at first is solid. He is focused on the Lord, and the gospel says, “he started walking on the water, and he came toward Jesus.” Then the gospel says though, that he began to sink in the water. When this happened Peter shouted to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” You see, for if only for a moment, Peter walked on water.

Jesus then reaches his out to Peter, and says to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Then Jesus and Peter went back to the boat, and the wind and waves ceased. Everyone who was in the boat then said to Jesus, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

So what is the point of this miracle, this story in the gospel of Matthew from this morning? While I believe that this was a true miracle, some would argue however that this is just a story to increase our faith.

The reality though is, all throughout the gospels, while Jesus taught us how to love, how to forgive, and how to have entire new way of being, what he really desired, what he really wanted, was faith. When we have unshakable faith as people, and as the church, watch how God can use us! Watch how this church and this community can be transformed! It is transformed by God working through us, but God’s fullest work will occur when our faith and our trust is completely in Him.

We then had two miracles this morning. One was that Jesus walked on water, and the other one was that, if even for a moment, Peter walked on the water, until he took his eyes and his heart off of Jesus.

When have we taken our eyes and our hearts off of Jesus, off of God? What has happened in our lives and in the lives of others, when we have taken our eyes and our hearts off of Jesus? Off of God?

For many of you that know me well, you know that I often don’t bring a lot of politics and the current news into the pulpit, but the events that have been occurring in the country of Iraq in recent days have been heavy on my heart. For many Christians are being killed, displaced, or forced to pay a tax, just to stay alive. Yet the Apostle Paul tells us in the Book of Romans from this morning, that God is big enough for everyone, and that Jesus loves us all. If we get to a place then, were we are willing to kill innocent people, harm the helpless, and oppress God’s children, then I wonder are our eyes and our hearts focused on Jesus? Focused on God?

It perplexes me then, that people who claim to be followers of holiness and righteousness, can sink, like Peter sank this morning, so low in fact, that they are willing to kill and do awful things to innocent people.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus calls us to holiness, not the sword. If we are defending ourselves that is one thing, but to brutalize, oppress, and even kill innocent people, to me this is to take one’s eyes and heart off of Jesus, off of God. This is when we sink in the water.

So family, my brothers and sisters, I end this message this morning with a quote. This quote is from St. Therese of Lisieux. Here it is, “I know God. He is a father, a mother, who in order to be happy must have his child upon His knee, resting on His heart.”

With this said, if we keep our eyes and our hearts focused on Jesus, on God, we can do big things, but when we take our eyes and our hearts off of Jesus, off of God, we sink. We become capable of doing awful and sinful things. So keep your eyes and your heart focused on Jesus. Amen.

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/17/14 Sermon - “What's in your heart?"

Sunday 08/17/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “What’s in your heart?”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 133

                                            

New Testament Scripture Lesson: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Gospel Lesson: Mathew 15:(10-20), 21-28

Welcome once again, on this the Tenth Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost, the day that the Holy Spirit moved, and the Christian Church was officially born.

Well I have a question for us all here this morning. How many of us here, try to watch what we eat? How many of us like to make sure that we eat enough vegetables, and fruits, and etc.?

We all, I am sure have grown up being taught frameworks like the food pyramid, and other more up to date nutritional charts and regulations. In fact, in our public schools today, in many of our cafeterias, we still have the posters of athletes, or actors, or actresses, that have those milk mustaches that say, “Drink milk.”

As a culture, we have entire companies and industries dedicated to the manufacture of vitamins, of supplement pills, of healthy drinks, and etc. So yes, I would say that as a culture, we are very aware that what we put into our body is significant and important.

Further, our external bodies are something that are very important in general, in this culture. For example, our culture says that we need to keep clean. Our culture says that we should shower often, use a myriad of soaps, body washes, loofas, scrubby things, and etc.

So our external bodies and what we put into them, seems to be highly important in this culture. For many of us, if we showed up somewhere looking dirty, tattered, and if we ate food that was seen as unclean or improper, would we not be judged by some people?

What is so fascinating to me though, is that in the United States, we actually market our food to be stylish and to be something that will make us want to eat it. Whereas many people are just happy to have any food at all. While in our culture, many of us like clothes, and like to be well dressed, many people are happy to just have any clothes.

It would say that it is undeniable then, that we have many social norms and values about what we put into our bodies, what our bodies are expected to look like, and we also have norms and values about cleanliness.

In our gospel lesson from today though, Jesus challenged the social norms and beliefs of the world he lived in, in Ancient Israel. You see in the world that Jesus lived in, it was the custom of Jewish culture to wash ones’ hands prior to eating. For the person must look and be clean on the exterior of their body, as to be seen as acceptable, and to then begin to put food and drink in there body. In addition to that, the food the person ate needed to be kosher, or following the Jewish dietary laws. In this way, there were certain things that were not to be eaten at all. Some things were seen as unclean.

These dietary laws and customs are still enforced and are important in many Jewish communities today. In fact, I know some people that still follow the kosher dietary laws and customs. There is nothing wrong with following kosher dietary laws, but in the gospel reading from this morning, Jesus was saying don’t use the kosher dietary laws and customs to mask your unclean heart and soul. Don’t use them as a crutch.

You see then, the way you acted externally in Ancient Israel, the things you did externally, and the rituals that you undertook externally, were seen as very important. By following all of the laws and customs of the Old Testament, one would have externally done everything required in their minds to please God.

Yet in our culture, and in the culture of Ancient Israel, that had and have such a focus on the external, what about the internal? What about what is in our hearts and in our souls? What about was is inside of our bodies, inside our hearts, and inside our souls?

By this I mean, we get and take the vitamins, we drink the protein shakes, we try to eat right, we wash up for dinner, and etc., and etc. Is this all we do though? What about our interior of hearts and our souls?

The reading from Psalm 133 from this morning talks about how it is “very good and pleasant when kindred live together in unity!” Is real unity though, just what we all do externally? I mean can we be united just by having the right behaviors, or does our heart and our soul factor in to? Should our internal hearts and souls be a factor in our unity as brothers and sisters? I would hope so.

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome, or the Romans, from this morning, he talked about disobedience. Specifically, that God does not reject us for disobedience, if we receive God’s grace and mercy internally. If we repent and ask God to fill us inside our hearts and our souls. So if we are doing everything externally that we think God wants us to, but if we do not seek God’s love and grace on the inside, in the heart, and in the soul, then what have we really accomplished?

In the gospel of Mathew from chapter 15 that preceded the scripture reading from this morning, was the story of Jesus eating with the Scribes and Pharisees, with dirty hands. You see Jesus intentionally sat down with filthy hands, and immediately the Scribes and Pharisees questioned him on this external dietary law or custom. Since his hands were dirty, he then was dirty, he then was unacceptable. He was not good enough.

Yet Jesus said that his hands were in fact dirty, but he told the Scribes and Pharisees that they were hypocrites, because their hearts and souls were dirty. By this, he meant that externally they seemed perfect, but internally he could see that they were broken, that they were sinners, and that they were far from God. Yet eating with unclean hands defiled a person, the Scribes and Pharisees proclaimed to Jesus. What good is the external though, if the internal is completely tarnished and ruined?

The real question then, is what is more important, making sure that everything we do externally is perfect, or making sure our interior is well kept? This was the point of why Jesus did what he did in the gospel reading from this morning.

So I am not advocating that you stop trying to eat healthy, stop showering, and etc., but I am saying that our souls, that our hearts, are what matter the most to Jesus, to God.

In the gospel reading from this morning, Jesus tells the crowd after eating with the Scribes and Pharisees, “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is was comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples asked Jesus if the Pharisees were very offended by what he had said and done. Jesus then basically tells the disciples, not to worry about the Pharisees, as they are “blind guides of the blind.” We have often heard it as, “the blind leading the blind.”

What Jesus was telling his disciples, the crowd that had gathered, and is telling us here today, is that if we are so focused on the external culture, laws, and norms, we can completely miss the internal portion of our lives. What God desires above all, is our hearts and our souls. Salvation is found, my brothers and sisters, with clean and repentant hearts, not clean hands.

The Apostle Peter however, was still confused by what Jesus was saying, and he then said to Jesus, “Explain this parable to us.” Jesus then asks the question, “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” Jesus then says, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

So I don’t think Jesus was saying that there is anything wrong with the Jewish hand washing ritual before eating, but that this in and of itself isn’t what faith is. That what you believe in your heart and soul, what you believe inside, is far more important than what you believe and do outside. Jesus said, faith is the thing that really matters.

I am still going to wash my hands for dinner tonight, but I am going to do it to be clean externally, not because it will give me salvation.

After this portion of the gospel reading for this morning, Jesus then went to the district of Tyre and Sidon. At this point, a Canaanite woman shouted for Jesus to have mercy on her. She said that her daughter was tormented by a demon. As she kept shouting, Jesus did not answer her. So she kept shouting, and finally his disciples said to Jesus, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” Jesus then says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house or Israel.” The woman then knelt before Jesus and said, “Lord, help me.” Jesus then said to the woman, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The woman then said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall for their masters’ table.” Jesus then said, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” The gospel reading then concludes by saying, “And her daughter was healed instantly.”

Jesus wanted to know that this woman really had real internal faith in her heart and in her soul. Due to this, Jesus healed her daughter, not because the woman’s hands were clean, not because she wore the right clothes, not because she ate the right food, but because internally she had great faith.

The external my brothers and sisters, is not enough to save us, it is not truly what Jesus desires most. I mean after all, in the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, did Pontius Pilate really think that just washing his hands with water in front of everyone would excuse him from his sins, from his part in Jesus’ crucifixion. No, our faith is much deeper than just the washing of one’s hands.

With all of this said though, I found myself this week continuing to be taken by the events in the Middle East, by what is going in Missouri with the young man that was killed there, and yes with the death of Robin Williams.

Maybe this is just my own opinion, but I think that Robin Williams was one of the funniest people who ever lived. His family and close friends have been all over the news this week. They talked about what a great person he was. That Robin always was concerned for others, that he made others laugh, and that everyone just loved him.

By the standards of our society he had great happiness and completeness. You see he had fame, wealth, love, possessions, respect, and much more. Whenever I saw Robin Williams on television, I would laugh so hard that I would cry.

I remember coming home this past Monday night from a Trustees meeting, and when I came back to the parsonage, I turned on the news, as I was looking for updates on what had been happening in Iraq, and in Israel/Palestine. Yet the headline said, “Robin Williams dead at 63.”

Then the news said his death was suspected to be a suicide. That Robin Williams had been suffering from crippling and debilitating depression. For anyone that has done any research on Robin Williams, you will find that he battled depression his whole life.

So why do mention the very unfortunate passing of a great comedian, actor, and person like Robin Williams here this morning? Here is why, while he always did everything externally to seem happy, to seem together, and to seem like everything was good, at times he was broken internally.

You see brothers and sisters, our society is so focused on the external, yet some people that we think have everything, that we think have happiness, are the most broken.

So eating food with dirty hands? I think that there is much more to worry about in this life than that. The real question that Jesus asks us though, is how is it with our hearts and our souls? Do we have trust and peace in him?

 The external things of this culture and this world will not make us happy, only when we deeply cultivate the internal life, the heart, and the soul can we truly know God more fully. So while we probably should wash our hands before we eat, this is not what is the most important to Jesus.

This week then, I challenge us all, I challenge myself, to look at the brokenness we have in the interiors of our hearts and in our souls, and let’s doing something about that. Reach out to a brother or sister, pray, read scripture, go to the doctor, and or etc. If we know of others who are broken inside, let us do something for them to. For we can find God with broken and dirty bodies, but we can’t find God if we cling to our broken and dirty hearts and souls. Only when we are clean and repentant inside, can we truly find Jesus, can we truly find God. Amen. 

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Eighth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/03/14 Sermon - “Five loaves and two fish"

Sunday 08/03/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Five loaves and two fish”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 17:1-7, 15

                                            

New Testament Scripture Lesson: Romans 9:1-5

Gospel Lesson: Mathew 14:13-21

Today is the Eighth Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost was the day that the Holy Spirit moved liked a mighty wind so many years ago. That the Apostles and the early Christians spoke in tongues, and that the Christian Church was officially born.

This morning though, we are going to talk about a miracle that Mathew recorded in his gospel. This miracle was that Jesus Christ, took five barley loaves of bread, and two fish, and from those he fed five-thousand people. It is important to remember though, that the “five-thousand” that Mathew accounts for in his gospel, includes only the five-thousand men that were present, as these five-thousand men also had their families with them.

Due to this, this miracle that Jesus performed was probably more like feeding twenty-thousand, or thirty-thousand, or perhaps much more. It is estimated that the population of Palestine at this time was about five-hundred thousand people. As a result of this, Jesus could have feed as much as one-tenth of the population of Palestine with this single miracle. This miracle is also known as “Feeding the multitude.” In addition to this, this is the only miracle other than Jesus Christ’s resurrection narrative itself that is listed in all four of the Gospels. So if Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, all wrote about the resurrection, and all wrote about the feeding of the five-thousand, then they both must be important.

Within this then, what makes Jesus more than just a mere prophet, like the ones in the Old Testament, was his ability through God the Father, to do miraculous things. Often times though, Jesus performed his miracles, to show us compassion and love, but he also performed them so that we would believe in who he was, and who he still is. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he said in John’s gospel 11:41-42 “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” Then in John 11:43 is says, “When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus then came out of his tomb alive.

While Jesus Christ took great joy in healing, feeding, and serving, really what he wanted from his followers then, was faith. In this story of raising Lazarus from the dead, he wanted the people to have faith. For Jesus so often in the gospels said to those who were sick or troubled, “Go, your faith has made you well.” In all these ways, Jesus was no mere Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, rather he was much more than a prophet from the Old Testament. Jesus was and is the Messiah. Jesus was the living God on earth, and he is now seated at the right hand of almighty God.

In this way, Jesus doesn’t just perform a miracle of feeding many, simply because they are hungry. He does it because they are hungry, and because he wants them to believe in who he is. You see miracles grow faith, and Jesus Christ wanted to grow the faith of his disciples and his followers that night. In addition to this, Jesus tried to embolden his followers, telling them to feed the crowd themselves. Yet they felt that they were not able to do so.

So today we look at something very simple, five-barley loaves of bread and two fish. Not exactly a culinary meal that you would watch being prepared on the “Food Network,” or on television show “Iron Chef.” In this way, on this night so long ago, what Jesus used to feed everyone, was common food. Perhaps it was the peanut butter and jelly of the day, or the hotdogs of the day.

You see so often Jesus took something common like loaves of bread and fish, and did something miraculous. Did something that no one thought was possible, and Jesus challenges all of us who may feel common to take the normalness we have and do the extraordinary for Him.

So while I believe that what happened that night was miracle, some say, “Well Paul it is certainly an inspiring story anyway.”

When I used to work as a social worker and then a tutor in Ithaca, I had many interactions with the Episcopal Church’s ministry, of “Loaves and Fishes.” In fact, one day I remember talking to a man about how I believed what Jesus did that night was a great miracle, yet he believed it was only inspiring story, with no miracle. I then told him, “Well whatever we believe it to be, it has moved us enough to feed these people here today.”

For when we “break bread” together, we are united. In many cultures one of the highest honors one can receive is to be invited to dine with a family in their home, at their table. Jesus wanted to take these total strangers, and be united with them. In the same way this morning, we will take the common things of bread and juice, and we will call upon the Lord to unite us together, and to spiritually feed us.

So whether we say the loaves and fish was a real miracle or just a story, can we deny that it was and still is transformative? While I believe that this miracle literally happened, the man I talked to Ithaca did not believe that this story actually happened. Yet the story still changed him, and it still changed me.

So if we took five loaves of bread and two fish today, and if we lifted those loaves and fish to God, would God transform that into a great feast? While I believe God can do all things, part of what Jesus was showing us that night I think, is that while God can perform miracles, often God uses us to be the miracles. Sometimes when things are dark and gloomy, God sends you to help, or me to help, or you to help.

I have heard so many stories of grandmas seeing virtually empty kitchen cupboards with a large family in the house, yet with the little that they had, they found a way to “whip up” a miraculous feast.

You see part of what Jesus was showing us that night, is that if we trust him, and if we come together, he can use us to do miraculous things. We can feed the multitude, we can transform the world, and we don’t have to wait for the five loaves and fish to multiply in front of us to do it! We can do it right now!

We have everything we need in the here and now to feed the hungry, to cloth the poor, and we as God’s people can come together, and we collectively can feed millions. I would like to think that Jesus would smile and say to us, “Well, I only fed a small crowd, as I wanted to show you what you can do through me.”

So Jesus tells us, through me you can do all things. Sometimes the miracle will come to you, but often the miracle occurs amongst us, and through us. It never ceases to amaze me what food pantries do weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Now if we asked one person to cover all the costs and needed food items for a food pantry, they would likely not be able to afford it. Together though, when we pool our resources, when we get a little here, and a little there, and we often have more than enough. Sometimes we even have “twelve baskets full” left over don’t we?

So to me, I think Jesus wants to know here this morning, do we have faith? Do we believe we can “make disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world?” As our resident Bishop Mark Webb of our Upper New York Annual Conference said at our recent annual conference in May, “We serve a God of Good News, not a God of Bad News.” In Jesus Christ, we can have forgiveness, transformation, renewal, and together we can transform the world. Do we truly believe that?

In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or Letter to the church in Rome this morning, the Apostle Paul says, I have “unceasing anguish in my heart.” He says this, because much of his friends and family in Israel do not believe in Jesus. Likewise, it is possible that many of our friends and family don’t believe in Jesus. Yet for those of us who have been transformed by Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, we know who he is. When we have friends and family whom we know don’t we believe that are angry, depressed, or feel hopeless, don’t we just want to tell them that there is hope? In this way our faith is about much more than just the cross and the empty tomb. While these are the cornerstones of what we believe, there is so much more to our Christian faith.

In looking at the gospel reading from this morning, Mathew writes, that Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. How many of you have had days that you wish that you withdraw in a boat to a deserted place by yourself?

Yet the crowds followed and waited. When Jesus saw the masses, “he had compassion for them and cured their sick.” The evening comes, and the disciples are concerned about all of these people needing to eat dinner. They recommend that Jesus send the people away to find food, but Jesus tells his disciples, “”They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” The disciples then did not have confidence in what Jesus said, for their faith right then was very thin. Jesus then took the five barley loaves of bread and the two fish they had, and she showed them what his gospel was all about. Showed them what real faith is. Then he had his disciples feed the people themselves, with twelve baskets. Twelve disciples, twelve baskets, and at the end, twelve full baskets were left over.

I would hope that the disciples and the rest of the people that day, had a little more faith after they had eaten dinner that night.

I would like to close this message this morning with a story. This story is called “Mr. Jones’ Missed Blessings.” Here is how it goes: “Have you heard the story about Mr. Jones, who dies and goes to heaven? When he arrives, St. Peter is waiting at the Pearly Gates and takes Mr. Jones on a tour of heaven. Mr. Jones is awestruck. The streets are paved with gold, beautiful mansions glisten in the sunshine, choirs of angels sing the most beautiful songs.”

“Partway through his tour of heaven Mr. Jones’ eye is drawn to an odd looking building, an enormous warehouse with no windows and just one door. What an odd structure for heaven! “You don’t really want to see what’s in there” says St. Peter.”

“But I do, I do” says Mr. Jones. He races across the lawn and pushes open the door to discover rows and rows of shelves, floor to ceiling. Stacked on the shelves are thousands of white boxes. The boxes all have names on them.”

“Is there one with my name on it?” asks Mr. Jones as he rushes to the J aisle. He finds the box with his name on it and opens it up. His mouth drops, his pulse quickens, and finally he says to Peter, “What are all these wonderful things inside my box? Are they the good things in store for me now I’ve reached heaven?”

“No” replies St. Peter. “They’re all the blessings God wanted to give you while you were alive on earth, but which you never received.”

“A sad look came over Mr. Jones. He looked into the box, to St. Peter and then back to the box. “Why?” he asked St. Peter. “Why did I miss out on all these blessings?” “Well, that’s a long story…” replied St. Peter.”

So brothers and sisters, what is the measure of our faith in Jesus Christ? Is it simply just believing to see heaven one day, or do we trust that God can take the ordinary things in our lives, our own loaves and fish, and use them to change the world? Brothers and sisters, this day allow the Lord to use you to change the world, one person at a time. Amen and hallelujah!