Sidney UMC - Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 09/02/18 - Sermon - “Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger"

Sunday 09/02/18 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger”                   

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9

                                            

New Testament Scripture: James 1:17-27

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

          Welcome again my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, on this our Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Also, happy September!

          I want to tell you a story. So about 10-years ago, I was a Family Case Worker in Tompkins County. During my nearly 4-years in this job, I worked with at risk boys and their families. As you can imagine, some of the kids that I worked with had anger issues. Due to this, I would sometimes sign-up some of these young men up for anger management training.

          I remember picking up from school one day, one of these kids who had real anger management issues. When he got into my car, I asked him how his day was, and then I told him that I had signed him up for anger management classes.

          Well he immediately got furious and started screaming. He then said, “you know what you signed me up for anger management classes and that really ticks me off! I am angry at you!” See the irony in what he said?

          There used to be a clothing store chain called Steve and Barry’s. When I was in the store one day, there was a t-shirt that said, “My anger management class ticks me off”. I decided to get him this t-shirt as a little anger management class graduation gift. It was pretty funny when I gave it to him.

          How many of us here have ever struggled with anger? How many of us have just lost our cool at times? Have any of you here ever pulled a Ralph Kramden, and said, “To the moon Alice!” (https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Honeymooners). I could give you a couple of Archie Bunker quotes to, but after all we are in church.

          Anger, rage, frustration, I think if we are honest, we can all say that we have had all of these at times. For example, does anyone here have “road rage” when you drive? Does it frustrate you when people are driving to slow, or when they cut you off in traffic?

          Or maybe it’s that thing that your friend, your wife, or your husband does all the time. You know that thing that you have told them over and over that bugs you, but they do it anyway. Anger, rage, frustration.

          Well, do pastors ever get angry? Never! Of course we do, we have our moments to! In fact about a week and a half ago I had a day. You know, a day! So Melissa was at the state fair leading Tioga County 4-H, and I was by myself for about a week. I being by myself might have been the first problem.

          On this day, it seemed like that as soon as my feet hit the floor that everything just went wrong. After all the debacles that I had that day, I decided to go visit some folks at the Oxford Veterans Home. Well, before I left, I ate a sandwich with a little barbeque sauce on it.

          I went into the Veteran’s Home and as I was going through to do my visits, I had a couple weird looks or glances at me. When I got back into my car afterwards, I thought to myself, “why were some people looking at me a little different?” So I flipped my rearview mirror down, and decided to take a “looksee” at myself. Right then I noticed a fairly long streak of barbeque sauce on my shirt. Well, that answers that I thought!

          So then I decided to head home to the parsonage. It was about 4:30-5:00 pm. I got out of the car, and shut the door. I then went to reach into my pocket to grab my car keys, only to discover that they were still in my locked car. This then gave me the opportunity to invite Sidney Police Department officer Christopher Dionne and another officer over to the parsonage garage with a “slim-jim” to get into my car to get my keys. At this point the head of our Tri-Town Nursery School Program showed up, and was looking at the fact that a Sidney Police Department SUV and two officers were in the parsonage garage. So I did what any responsible minister would do, and I stuck my head out the garage and told Kelly that the two officers had never broken into a minister’s car before, and wanted to give it shot! I then explained of course that I locked my keys in my car.

          So, now I have my keys, and I then go to the pastor’s office in the church, and I finish up my work for the day. I then go home, and am greeted by our dog Mylee, who jumped on my like a New York Giants linebacker.

          After this, I got the mail. In the mail, we had a Spectrum bill from our previous parsonage about almost $500 dollars. I called, I was put on hold, then put on hold, and then put on hold. Did I mention I was put on hold? One manager was called, and there manager was called, and I even think there manager was called. I remember thinking, “No wonder our cable costs so much”. After all of this, the person on the phone said, “we’re so sorry, this was a mix up, you are in fact all paid up as you said”.

          Well, it was now about 8:30-9:00 pm. I sat in my recliner and just looked at the wall for about 5-10 minutes. I felt angry, frustrated, exhausted. Melissa then messaged me and said, “Hey Paul how was your day?” I said, “Melissa it was great!” I told her what happened of course!

          My sermon title for this morning is taken directly from our Book of James reading. In this reading, the scripture says:

^“You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (Jas. 1:19, NRSV).

          So again, “let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger”. I wonder if Ralph Kramden and Archie Bunker just didn’t get the memo? We are supposed to be, according to the Bible, slow to anger. How many of us have had times therefore, where were slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to anger?

          Let’s look again at this scripture for this morning from the Book of James. It says once again:

“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures” (Jas. 1:17-18, NRSV).

“Everything that we do, every gift and every talent that we have, is from God. Or as this scripture says, “the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17b, NRSV).

The scripture then continues on saying:

^“You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls” (Jas. 1:19-21, NRSV).

          Anger then, can be destructive, and according to the scripture, it “does not produce God’s righteousness” (Jas. 1:20, NRSV).

          I do think that when we feel angry, that if we catch ourselves, if we pray, if we turn to God, before we say, “To the moon Alice!,” then that is just being human. It is trying to live our faith. I also think that getting angry is just part of being human to. Our goal as Christians though, with God’s help, is to try to overcome anger. To allow ourselves to be filled or sanctified by God, to the extent that the amount that we get angry becomes less and less and less.

          Can God help us with our anger? I believe that he can, and scriptures attest to this fact.

          The reading for this morning from the Book of James lastly says:

^“But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing”.

^“If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world”

(Jas. 1:22-27, NRSV).

          James is saying, if we look the part, if we say the right thing, but really are not changed, then we are just fooling ourselves.

          So about that bad day that I had a week and half ago. Did I blow my top after being on hold with Spectrum for a long time? Did everything else from that day make me explode? Well, I didn’t explode, but I bet you 5-10 years ago I would have. I would have been angry and lashed out, but in that moment, I thought and I prayed. I realized that Jesus Christ has called me to a greater purpose than being angry or aggressive. Like you though, I struggle with this sometimes to.

          In a society that is continuingly growing more and more secular, and where we are told that we can do anything we want, would that not include being angry. If people believe that there is no God, what is preventing or stopping their anger and their wrath? If anger feels good, then just be angry our society might say. Satan is devoid of God and God’s love, which is why he is full of anger and wrath.

          The solution to our anger, our wrath, our fill in the blank, is the love of God through Jesus Christ. The love that God has for us, through Jesus Christ, and this love that we share and live out with others. If we are not accountable to God, and if we have nothing keeping our anger and our wrath in check, well take a look at everything that is going on in our world today. How’s that working out?

          Now don’t get me wrong, there are many other reasons that we have all of the problems in the world that we have today, but how many of you can honestly say that you are a better man, or a better woman, because of the faith in God you have through Jesus Christ?

          I have met people that have said me, “pastor I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have faith in God”.

          God calls us to be:

“be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (Jas. 1:19, NRSV).

          I haven’t gotten this perfect yet, but God has been working in me, and I am much better with this than I used to be. This has made me a better man, a better husband, a better pastor, and much calmer when my Fantasy Football Team loses.

          In briefly looking at our Gospel of Mark reading for this morning, the connections to our Book James reading for this morning are significant. You see in the Book of James, we hear that the outward appearance matters not, if we don’t live up to what we think people see. If people think we are good, honest, and not angry, and we are, we not only deceive God, but ourselves. What good is that?

          In the gospel lesson this morning, Jesus is intentionally eating with unwashed dirty hands (Mk. 7:1-2, NRSV). Washing your hands and body in general is part of the Jewish law and religious teaching (Mk. 7:1-4, NRSV). Essentially then, you must do certain things to look and be presented as holy.

          Jesus then replies by basically saying, if my hands and my body are clean, but my heart and my soul is dirty, then what good is it that my hands are clean (Mk. 7:21-23).

          The point is, is that God sees the real person that we are. He knows all of our spots and our warts. If we are not angry or wrathful in public, but are so at home or in other places, do we think that we fooling God? May we be:

“be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (Jas. 1:19, NRSV). Amen.

Sidney UMC - Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/26/18 - Sermon - “How can we be broken bread and poured out wine?" ("I am the bread of life" Series) - (Part 4 of 4)

Sunday 08/26/18 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “How can we be broken bread and poured out wine?”

                                (“I am the bread of life” Series – Part 4 of 4)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 84

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-20

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 6:56-69

          Welcome again on this our Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. It is my prayer that like the day of Pentecost, nearly two-thousand years ago, that the Holy Spirit may blow through this place and through us in a new and a powerful way.

          This morning, I am concluding my four week sermon series called the “I am the bread of life” series. All throughout the month of August we have had readings from the Gospel of John where Jesus said of himself, that he is “the bread of life,” or “the living bread that came down from heaven” (Jn. 6:35, 51, NRSV).

          Of course, as I have said, Jesus wasn’t or isn’t saying that he is literal bread that feeds our stomachs, but rather that he is the “Eternal Bread” that feeds our hearts and our souls. Jesus again in John 6:35 said:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jn. 6:35, NRSV).

          Jesus is saying therefore, that you can fill your stomachs, you can have every possession, you can have power, you can have prestige, and etc., but that only he can fill that God shaped hole that we all have inside of us.

          Jesus takes his metaphor of him being “The Bread of Life” even further when he gives us the sacrament of Holy Communion of the Lord’s Supper. In giving the disciples and us the gift of Holy Communion at the Last Supper nearly two-thousand years ago, Jesus was showing us that not only is he the bread that can fill our hearts and our souls, but that he was “Broken for us”.

          The very bread and cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper symbolized not only that he is the “Eternal Bread,” but that would be, and was, broken for us and our sins on the cross. Jesus then is the “Eternal Bread” for our souls, and was “Broken for us”.

          Last Sunday, I preached on how Christ has called us to “be broken bread and poured out wine” for the world. Like breaking bread or even a cookie, we symbolically break and give of ourselves, so that people might know Christ and might be served. We are called to live sacrificially, to love boldly, and we are “called to be broken bread and poured out wine,” for Sidney and for the world.

           In finishing this sermon series this morning however, I want to elaborate on just how we are “called to be broken bread and poured out wine”. Last Sunday, I talked about how we can do this in a very general way. I even read a story about how Christians in two-hundred’s nursed people sick with the plague back to health.

          Yet what are some very specific ways that we ourselves can do this in Sidney and in the world each and every day? Here are a couple specific examples of this:

          Since I have been in Sidney for a whopping two-months now, I have often many days seen this blue car right outside of the church. The driver of this car Carol Hubbard is here sometimes 3-4 days a week. She brings left over bread and pastries from the Great American, and by the way she always gives me a donut. Even when Carol isn’t feel well, she still gets that food, shops, fills her car, and does so much for our Food Bank. She doesn’t do this for accolades, she doesn’t do this for awards, but rather she does this to serve her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Week in and week out, serving, bringing food, helping, and being “broken bread and poured out wine” to Sidney. Carol, thank you for inspiring me, the people of this church, and the whole community by showing us “how to be broken bread and poured out wine” to Sidney and the world. I also told Carol that if I knew that she donuts I would have been here five years ago. Is God calling you to help feed those in need?

          Here is another example:

From what I understand, for twenty-years or better, Mary Braun has lead the charge for our “Share the Bounty” dinners. As many of us know all too well, these dinners occur the last Thursday of every month, and over the years these dinners have fed thousands and thousands of people right here in Sidney. Mary, through “Share the Bounty” has inspired me, has inspired this church, and has inspired Sidney. This is how we “can be broken bread and poured out wine”. Any of you feel called to help with “Share the Bounty,” or feel called to do something like this?

          These are but two stories in many of the heroes of faith in this church, as there are many others that are being “broken bread and poured out wine” to Sindey and the world. Friends, what is God calling you to do? To start a program? Do a mission trip? Have a dinner? A prayer meeting? Give Pastor Paul a donut? I am praying for you, that God may continue to reveal to you how you can better serve Sidney and the world. Know that as your pastor that I want you to pursue those things that God has called you to, so that we might all better “make disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world”.

          Now I am not saying that all of us need to do something on an epic scale, but if Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the world. If he died on a cross for our sins, if he rose again, if his words and the Bible are true, then how can we then better live like Jesus Christ? I am here to empower and help all of you to do those things that God has called you to do.

          In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s epistle or letter to the Ephesians, Paul encourages us to be “strong in the Lord,” and put on the “whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:10-20, NRSV). If we do this, can God call us to do things that we can’t even imagine? Of course. For what is impossible for God?

          In looking at our gospel of John reading for today, it says once again:

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum” (Jn. 6:56-59, NRSV)

          The bread of life, come down from heaven, our “Eternal Bread,” “Broken for us”, that we might be “broken bread and poured out wine” for Sidney and the world.

          The gospel then says once again:

^“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father” (Jn. 6:60-65, NRSV).

          The gospel then ends once again by saying:

“Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn. 6:66-69, NRSV).

          So if this is our Lord and Savior, our broken bread, what is God calling us to do, specifically for Him and for each other?

          Well here is a list of some of things that Christians and the church has accomplished in the last two-thousand years. We have as Christians and as church created:

• Hospitals, which essentially began during the Middle Ages.
• Universities, which also began during the Middle Ages. In addition, most of the world’s greatest universities were started for Christian purposes.
• Literacy and education for the masses.
• Establishment of public libraries.
• Capitalism and free enterprise.
• Representative government.
• The separation of political powers.
• Civil liberties.
• The abolition of slavery, both in antiquity and in more modern times.
• Modern science.
• The elevation of women.
• Benevolence and charity; the Good Samaritan ethic.
• Higher standards of justice.
• The elevation of common man.
• High regard for human life.
• The codifying and setting to writing of many of the world’s languages.
• Greater development of art and music. The inspiration for the greatest works of art.
• Set “age of consent” to protect minors.
• Children’s rights and protection.
• Care of the aged.
• Care for mothers and babies.
• Hospices and care for the dying.
• Services and care for the ill in poor countries
• Human rights activism.
• Encouragement of philanthropy.
• Pioneered modern Social Work.
• Braille reading system for the blind
• Disaster relief, homelessness services, charity shops
• The concept of universal human rights and equality comes exclusively from the biblical idea that all people are created in the image of God.
• The eternal salvation of countless souls.

(https://poweringon.com/peeves/good-things-christianity-has-done/)

          We are the church, and this is what we do! This is what we have always done for the past two-thousand years.

So my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am being very specific to end this sermon, by asking how has our Lord and Savior specifically called you and called me to be “broken bread and poured out wine” to Sidney and the world. Imagine what we could do individually and together through God, His Son our Savior, and with the power of the Holy Spirit? With faith, hope, and love, God can us to do amazing things. Is God calling you to do something new or different? Let me know, because as your pastor I am ready! Amen.

Sidney UMC - Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/19/18 - Sermon - “Called to be broken bread and poured out wine" ("I am the bread of life" Series) - (Part 3 of 4)

Sunday 08/19/18 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:    “Called to be broken bread and poured out wine”

                         (“I am the bread of life” Series – Part 3 of 4)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 111

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-20

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 6:51-58

          Welcome again on this our Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Thirteen Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved, and the Christian Church was born nearly two-thousand years ago. I pray my brothers and sisters that the Holy Spirit may move here in Sidney and throughout the world, bringing forth revival and renewal.

          I am continuing this morning with my “I am the bread of life” sermon series. I haven’t checked with Price Chopper or the Great American here in Sidney in the past two weeks, but my guess is, is that maybe they have been selling more bread the last couple of weeks. Maybe some of you came into the store and bought a whole bunch bread, proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the bread of life! Who knows!

          As I have said the past two Sunday, for the entire month of August, we have readings from the gospel of John where Jesus refers to himself as “the bread of life,” or “the living bread that came down from heaven” (Jn. 6:35, 51, NRSV).

          The questions I have posed about these statements are:

1.     Did Jesus say this and other statements?

2.     If Jesus said these statements, what do they mean?

3.     Are these statements still fully authoritative for our lives today?

I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and that Jesus said every statement attributed to him in every gospel. If Jesus said then that he is “the bread of life,” and if he spoke to us the way that God spoke to Moses in the burning bush in Book of Exodus, then who is this Jesus (Jn. 6:35, NRSV, Ex. 3:14, NRSV)?

          I believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and I believe that he died for us and that he lives and reigns. We can have a personal relationship with him. We can invite him into our hearts, and through him be forgiven of our sins, and live with him in eternity forever.

          When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” I take him at his word (Jn. 6:35, NRSV).

          In the first week of this sermon series I talked about how Jesus is “The Eternal Bread”. Jesus told us on the first week of this sermon series that:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jn. 6:35, NRSV).

          So, if Jesus Christ is the savior of the world, which I think he is, and if he said this, which I think he did, he is saying that only through him can we be made spiritually whole. This means that I believe that nothing can so transform us and so fill our hearts and souls like Jesus Christ and his gospel. I believe that Jesus Christ, our “Eternal Bread” can offer us freedom, joy, hope, and peace, like nothing else in this life.

          Last Sunday, I talked about how Jesus, “the bread of life,” was literally broken for us on the cross. I talked about how Jesus’ body was literally harmed and broken, and how his blood was spilled for us. I talked about how the night before Jesus’ trial and crucifixion that Jesus had the Last Supper. At this supper, as many of us know, Jesus instituted Holy Communion, by taking bread and breaking it, and then by taking the cup of wine and comparing it to the blood that he would shed. This savior of ours, not only proclaims to us that he is “the bread of life,” but then he show us with actual bread and wine what will happen to his body. He then tells us to celebrate Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper “In Remembrance of ME”. Jesus is then, “The Eternal Bread” from heaven that fills our hearts and souls, who was literally broken and poured out for us.

          The question that I have for us to consider this morning then, on this the third Sunday of this “I am living bread” series is, what do we do with all this? If Jesus is our savior, if he died for us, and he gave us the sacrament of Holy Communion to remember him and connect to him, what should we do with all of this? Should we simply just worship more fully and passionately on Sunday morning? Should we have more enthusiasm in church?

          All of these are good of course, but what we should do not only in the church, but in Sidney and in the world, with this gift of Jesus Christ and his gospel? Another way to ask this question, is how are we supposed to live out fully the love Jesus Christ and his gospel?

          What I am driving at this morning then is this, is that our faith in “the bread of life,” Jesus Christ is more than just a mere transaction. This is to say, we don’t just repent of our sins, believe in Jesus, and then do nothing. Jesus has instead called us to be “broken bread and poured out wine” for Sidney and the world. Does this mean that we are called to be literally crucified and harmed like Jesus was? No, but it means that were are supposed to live sacrificially as he did.

          When a soldier is awarded a metal for bravery, when a police officer risks there life to save someone, when a firefighter nearly dies in a fire pulling a child to safety, they are living as “broken bread and poured out wine”. Are we living like this?

          In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s epistle or letter to the Ephesians for this morning, Paul tells us:

“Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.  So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:15-20, NRSV).

          Paul tells us that this time that we have on this earth is short. In fact, some of people that I have talked to in this church can’t believe how fast the summer has flown by. Some cannot believe how the years of our lives have flown by.

          My grandma said once that “life is like a roll of toilet paper. It gets smaller and goes quicker”. This life then is fleeting, brief, and these bodies that we have will wither and decay. The only thing that is eternal is God and His kingdom. Hundreds of years from now, maybe no one will ever know that we lived here on this earth, but we will be alive for eternity with Jesus Christ.

          I know that I have had days or times in my life that I have wasted. I have frittered time away worrying, or maybe in the past having a day where I thought that “the world was going to heck in a hand basket,” yet I cannot get that time on earth back. For it is “like a roll of toilet paper, it gets smaller and goes quicker”.

          Imagine then my sisters and brothers if we lived even more the way Jesus called us to live. Are we living as “broken bread and poured out wine” to the world?

           When I was on a mission trip to the country of Nicaragua last March, I saw a gospel of Matthew scripture on every building of the mission agency that we were working for. This scripture, Matthew 25:35-40 says:

“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’ (Mt. 25:35-40, NRSV).

          If we know “The Eternal Bread” that is Jesus Christ, if we understand that he was “broken for us,” then I believe that we can then better “be broken bread and poured out wine” for a broken world. As a church, we feed and help people, not just because it is a nice thing to do, but hopefully because we have been transformed by the hope and the love of Jesus Christ. As a result of this transformation, we go forth living as “broken bread and poured out wine” for Sidney and world.

          Or as St. Catherine of Sienna said:

“If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!” (https://www.romancatholicman.com/70-saints-quotes-to-elevate-your-game/)

          Or as the founder of the Methodist Movement, Rev. John Wesley said:

“Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn” (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/626960-light-yourself-on-fire-with-passion-and-people-will-come).

            You see, we live a world that is so broken and it need hope, and I believe that the hope of world is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. When live as “broken bread and poured out wine” in will not only transform Sidney, but the world.

          So how can we do this? Well I am starting Bible studies, and probably other ministries to grow and equip others. How has God called you to “be broken bread and poured out wine”? What ministry, what role is God continuing to call you to, either inside of this church or in the world? Part of my role as the pastor, is help train and equip each and every one of you, to “be broken bread and poured out wine” for Sidney the world.

          Let’s look again at our gospel of John reading for this morning about Jesus Christ, “the bread of life”. Again it says:

^“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” ^“The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever” (Jn. 6:51-58, NRSV).

          Jesus tells us that in him we can have peace, hope, joy, love, and eternal life. May we live this. May we live then as “broken bread and poured out wine,” the way Jesus lived and loved a broken world.

          I would like to share something with you, about being “called to be broken bread and poured out wine”. This is called, “The Power of Love and the Rise of Christianity”. The source of this excerpt is taken from, “Historical data derived from Henry Chadwick, The Pelican History of The Early Church and Rodney Stark, the Triumph of Christianity”. This is what it says:

‘Many historians believe that central to the rise of Christianity was the simple fact that Christians generously loved each other and their neighbours. They point out that in the ancient world mercy was widely seen as a character defect that ran counter to justice. Justice demanded people get what they deserved and was seen as appropriate, where mercy extended grace, love, and kindness to people who had done nothing to deserve it. Yet the Christians valued mercy. Christian communities became places where people tended to live longer and healthier lives, for when they suffered sickness, poverty or mishap they had brothers and sisters in Christ who provided for their need. And Christians extended love way beyond the boundaries of family and congregation to their pagan neighbours”.

“In 251 A.D. for example, a great plague struck the Greco-Roman world. Memories were revived of a plague a century earlier in which more than a third of the population died. Fear was everywhere. Those who could afford it fled to the countryside. Those who could not remained in the cities. When they went to the temples they found them empty, the priests having fled. The streets were filled with those who had become infected, their families left with no option but to push them out the door. Christian communities however took an entirely different approach. They saw it as their responsibility to love the sick and dying, so they took them into their homes and nursed them. This action meant that many people recovered who otherwise would have died. Historians suggest that elementary nursing could have reduced the mortality rate by as much as two thirds, but it also cost a number of Christian caregivers their lives”.

In The Early Church, Henry Chadwick comments:

The practical application of charity was probably the most potent single cause of Christian success. The pagan comment ‘see how these Christians love one another’ (reported by Tertullian) was not irony. Christian charity expressed itself in care for the poor, for widows and orphans, in visits to brethren in prison or condemned to the living death of labour in the mines, and social action in time of calamity like famine, earthquake, pestilence, or war.

So striking was the Christian commitment to generous love that when the fourth century Emperor Julian sought to restore paganism to the Empire he instructed the pagan priesthood to follow the example of the Christians:

Why, then, do we think that this is enough, why do we not observe that it is their [Christians] benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead and the pretended holiness of their lives that have done most to increase atheism [Julian’s word for Christianity]? I believe that we ought really and truly to practise every one of these virtues… For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galileans support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us (http://storiesforpreaching.com/category/sermonillustrations/love-2/).

          ‘See how these Christians love one another’. So my friends, my brothers and sisters, how is Jesus Christ, “the bread of life,” calling us to “be broken bread and poured out wine” for Sidney and the world? Know that I love you, know that I am praying for you, and together may we be “broken bread and poured out wine,” for Sidney and the world. Amen.