Sidney UMC - Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost - 09/01/19 - Sermon - “Why is there so much suffering in the world?" "The Realities of Faith and Life" Series - (Part 1 of 5)

Sunday 09/01/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “Why is there so much suffering in the world?”

    (“The Realities of Faith and Life” Series – Part 1 of 5)

Old Testament Scripture: Jeremiah 2:4-13

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Luke 14:1, 7-14

          My friends, brothers and sisters, welcome once again on this the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost. Twelve Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved nearly two-thousand years ago on the day of Pentecost, giving birth to us the Christian Church.

          In the history of the Christian Church, many Christians have suffered. In fact, according to some accounts of church tradition, all of the original Twelve Disciples chosen by Jesus Christ, except the Apostle John, died rather brutal deaths. Church tradition tells us that Saint Peter, for example, was crucified upside down in Rome, Italy. Some Christians were thrown to the lions in the Roman Coliseum, and some Christians even today are harmed, persecuted, tortured, and even killed for their faith in Christ. Where is God in all of this?

          A few months ago, a member of this church and I were talking. This person and I were talking about the different people who were sick at the time, who have died recently, and all the hurt in this world. This person told me that they struggle with their faith in God at times, because of all of the suffering that is in this world. Why would God allow such suffering? This person then asked me if I could preach about suffering from a Christian perspective.

          As a result of this request, for the next 5-weeks I am going to preach a sermon series called “The Realities of Faith and Life”. In this sermon series I am going to attempt to explain from a Christian standpoint some of the various parts of our faith and lives. This morning, I am going to attempt to address the question of “Why is there so much suffering in the world?” I am going to tackle this from a Christian and a biblical perspective. In the coming weeks, I am going to talk about what authentic Christian faith means in this world that we live in. I am also going talk about what to do when our lives seem hopeless. I am going to talk about seeking the lost, and I am also going to talk about greed vs. generosity. Now there are many other aspects of our faith and lives, but I am picking just five of them to discuss in this sermon series. Today is suffering, and why do we have it.

          Of the various reasons that people give up on their faith, or stop believing in God, it is sometimes because a tragedy or an extremely painful experience or events befalls them. In this moment, these people are unable to reconcile this tragedy, this experience, or this event with a loving God. So they stop believing. I have had people ask me, “Pastor Paul if there truly is a loving God, then how could God have let this happen?” I’m sure that we have heard or have even asked this before.

          I have heard, “But Pastor Paul, this person was so young and they had their whole future of ahead of them, why would God do this?”

          Among the myriad of other questions and statements that I have heard, I want tackle this real question of human suffering. Does God cause us to suffer? No, God doesn’t.

          I am going to separate this message out between moral and natural occurrences. Moral occurrences or moral evil is often human driven, and natural ones are more what we would call “Mother Nature” or random occurrences.

Now I am also assuming and believing in giving this sermon that we all have “Free Will”. This means that God allows us the freedom to make many decisions in our own lives.

In the Garden of Eden narrative in the Book of Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth. He created Eden, created Adam and then Eve. There was no suffering, no pain, and everything was perfect. God however, wanted Adam and Eve to choose him freely, so he gave them “Free Will”. God could have created Adam and Eve like robots that make no decisions, but God wanted us to choose him freely.

          Adam and Eve were to live in and to tend to the Garden of Eden. The garden was beautiful, abundant, and fulfilling. All Adam and Eve couldn’t do God said, was eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yet, they were tempted to do so by the devil, in the form of a snake or a serpent. Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, and they were expelled from the Garden. Within a handful of years Cain kills his brother Abel.

God could not have put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, but if God did that, then how could Adam and Eve really have free will? After all, there would not be a choice to serve and love God. Perhaps they could have done something else to offend God, but eating the forbidden fruit, as it if often called, did it.

          We call this the “Fall of Humanity”. The scripture in the Book of Genesis then tells us we are from now on going to live in a broken world that has sin, pain, suffering, and tragedy. Since we are no longer in the Garden of Eden, we are now in a broken and sinful world that has evil and the devil.

          How many of us here believe that there is evil in the world today? I know that I do. Yet, how can we know what evil is, if we don’t know what good is? If there is no good, then there is no evil, because how would we know the difference between them? Let me say that again, if there is no good, then there is no evil, because how would we know the difference between them?

          So within this new broken and fallen world, just like in the Garden of Eden, we have free will to choose God, or to choose evil. From a moral standpoint then, I believe that much of the moral end of suffering on earth, occurs not because of God, but because of our own sinful natures. The sins we commit are so often committed because we are seeking things for ourselves. In seeking things for ourselves we do great damage, harm, and hurt to others.

          When someone is randomly hit and killed by a drunk driver, they are killed because that drunk driver used their free will in ways that were sinful. Jesus tells us to reject sin, accept him as Lord, and follow him. Jesus says that he is the way that leads to life. Will we still sin after we know Jesus then? Of course, but we are then on a path to be more and more free of sin.

          Perhaps that drunk driver who before they hit and killed that person had faith in God, but now they don’t. Maybe they say, “If there really was a loving God, then why wouldn’t have God not put their person on the road when I was driving?” On the converse, the victim’s family who was killed might ask the very same question. Yet again, how do we know what evil is, if there is no good?

          You see friends, some people want to believe in a God that gives us no free will. Where everything is scripted and nothing bad ever happens. If we have free will though, then evil exists, but so does God, because good exists. If God is the source of goodness, then seeking God combats evil. So often the tragedy of humanity therefore again, is caused not by God, but by us. We are often the ones that kill, maim, destroy, and harm. “Well why didn’t God intervene and save that person?” One could then ask “Why didn’t God intervene in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned”?

          The problem I think is that we want a purely predictable world and we want no surprises. If we want no free will and we want to be robots, we could have that. Yet, would we really be living life? Sure there would be no evil, but how would we know the difference? Sin, from a moral standpoint, I think, is the root of so much human suffering.

          The other dimension of suffering that I want to address is natural suffering. This one is harder. Natural suffering is when a tree falls on a house and kills someone suddenly, a tornado, a hurricane, and etc. A child dies from a disease, you lose your spouse or loved one suddenly. These are the disasters and the tragedies where nature or things non-human cause the harm. Or to say it another way, no one did this to another person directly.

These ones are a little tougher, and some we can say “Why God?” God promises to be with us eternally, forever, but never promises that our lives would be perfect. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and is the key to salvation, hope, peace, and love. Jesus Christ is not a trust fund, a vending machine, or a publisher’s clearing house check. Some of us have come to learn about a God that exists when everything is going great for us. We get a raise, a new car, and or something else, and we praise God! We then find out we have cancer, and we lose our faith. We want a God that doesn’t allow pain, free-will, and who will give us tons of possessions and money, and etc. Do we really think that this is who the God of the universe is? If so, why didn’t God intervene when Saint Peter was being crucified upside down? Further, why wasn’t Peter mad at God as he was dying, as church tradition says he wasn’t? When we are mad at God, it is because we know the difference between good and evil. If something bad has happened, and if there was no good, would it bother us nearly as much? Let me say that again, if something bad has happened, and if there was no good, would it bother us nearly as much? The reality is we know what good is, but we have a hard time with evil and tragedy, don’t we? I know that I do. That doesn’t mean though that God doesn’t exist though. We are angry, because God does exist. Jesus comes to liberate us spiritually, not just “Buy me a Mercedes Benz,” as Janis Joplin said.

          Some people say, “Well everything happens for reason,” but often the reasons things occur is because of sin and evil. So much of human suffering happens because we cause it. I also don’t think that God is punishing us when bad things happen. Bad things happens because we live in a broken and a sinful world. So sometimes thing just happen. When we make decisions though, we need to take accountability for those decisions and not blame God. If someone stole money and went to jail, God didn’t make you do that.

          Friends there was no suffering when the Garden of Eden was created, and there will be no pain and suffering one day again, but not until Jesus Christ returns to earth. I don’t believe that God causes our suffering, but he can use our suffering to help others in the world. I also don’t believe that if we pray enough then we won’t suffer. We will all suffer. You will suffer, I will suffer, and the tragedy of humanity is something that we cannot escape. The poorest to the richest person will suffer and will die on this earth, unless Christ returns first.

          We have to accept that we will suffer sometimes, and most of us don’t like this, and as such, we want to believe in a God that fits this mold. It works for us, until the mold shatters. If God is eternal, which I think God is, if we are offered eternal life through Jesus Christ, which I think we are, then this promise is ironclad.

          So for example, why did some soldiers die in battle in World War II and some did not? Because we live in a broken and a hurting world. Maybe we can’t accept that, so then we reject God, the moral law giver and the source of all love and goodness. How can we reject God and fully admit there is evil on earth, and yet we still believe in goodness? What then, what do we replace God with?

This reality has brought us to what experts refer to as the “Post-Modern” Era that we are now living in. In this “Post-Modern” Era there is no longer “Absolute Truth,” as everything is purely subjective. This means that we all have different truths and different understandings of good and evil. Part of the reason for this, is that we have a hard time accepting an absolute God in a broken absolutely imperfect world. We cannot reconcile a sinful and broken humanity with a loving God. We then reject God, and God alone gave us the free will to reject him.

          Also, this all does not mean that all of life on this earth has to be terrible, as there is so much joy on this earth. It doesn’t mean that we just suffer and die and then go to heaven. I don’t believe though that we alone as human beings can create a utopian and a perfect society without suffering. Can we do better? Absolutely, and we should! If after thousands of years of recorded human history though, if humanity is still so broken, do we really think that we can figure all of this out on our own? Do we really reject God, because we don’t want to take accountability for our decisions and actions, and because bad things happen?

          I don’t want bad things to happen any more than you do, but God is with us, we are with each other, and the promise of Jesus Christ is eternal. For those who believe in him, we will be gathered together on the shores of heaven. Rich or poor in wealth, healthy or sick, the promise is eternal.

          In our Old Testament reading for this morning from the Prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah says once again in Jeremiah 2:13 of the people of Israel turning away from God:

“for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13, NRSV).

          Human evil and sin, causes suffering.

          In our New Testament reading from Hebrews 13:5-8 for this morning, the Apostle Paul once again reminds us about a type of human sin. Once again this scripture says:

“Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:5-8, NRSV).

          Friends, human evil and sin, causes suffering.

          Once again, our gospel of Luke reading for this morning says again:

“On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Lk. 14:1, 7-14, NRSV).

          Jesus is teaching us in the gospel reading for this morning how to be good. How to know the difference between good and evil, and how to treat each other accordingly. Friends, human evil and sin, causes suffering.

          Again, the natural tragedies that we don’t expect and were no human caused them directly, those are the toughest ones. We live in broken world though, and in a world where bad things happen. Even though there is bad or evil however, there is also goodness through God in Jesus Christ. Christ is eternal and we will be with him eternally.

          I was on my Facebook account this past Wednesday, and a quote that I posted on my Facebook page from four years ago from Tim Keller about human suffering popped back up as a memory on my Facebook account. I would like in closing to share this quote from Tim Keller about human suffering. Here it is:

“Some suffering is given in order to chastise and correct a person for wrongful patterns of life (as in the case of Jonah imperiled by the storm), some suffering is given not to correct past wrongs but to prevent future ones (as in the case of Joseph sold into slavery), and some suffering has no purpose other than to lead a person to love God more ardently for himself alone and so discover the ultimate peace and freedom.” ~ Tim Keller ~

          Friends, evil is exist, but God is good and reigns enteral. Amen.

Sidney UMC - Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost - 08/25/19 - Sermon - “The Prophet Jeremiah"

Sunday 08/25/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “The Prophet Jeremiah”

Old Testament Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 12:18-29

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Luke 13:10-17

          Welcome again, my friends, my brothers and sisters, on this our Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost. Eleven Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved nearly two-thousand years ago in Jerusalem, and the Christian Church was born.

          Long before Jesus Christ ever walked the earth, God was still present. Jesus existed with God before time itself, but God in the flesh never walked the earth until Jesus was born nearly two-thousand years ago.

          In the Hebrew Bible, or what we commonly call the Old Testament, God spoke to many people for hundreds and hundreds of years, before Jesus came. God spoke to Abraham, Moses, Noah, and many others. The Old Testament contains some of the history of Israel, songs, poetry, wisdom, creation, and many prophets. This morning, I want to talk a little bit about one of the people that God spoke to before Christ came. This person is the Prophet Jeremiah.

          Perhaps some of you know people named Jeremiah? If you do, it could be very likely that they are named after the Prophet Jeremiah. In fact, my middle name, Daniel, is from the Daniel of the Old Testament. The Book of Daniel is a book of the Old Testament that maybe many of us have read. Some consider Daniel a prophet, but certainly a big figure of the Old Testament, as he stood firm in the Lion’s Den, among other things.

          My first name, Paul, is named after the Apostle Paul. The reading that we have for this morning from the Prophet Jeremiah is one of the many prophets and people that God has spoken to.

          What is a prophet? How do we define a prophet? Let me give you some of the definitions listed from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Here are a few. A prophet is:

1. “One who utters divinely inspired revelations: such as”

A. “The writer of one of the prophetic books of the Bible.”

B. “One regarded by a group of followers as the final authoritative revealer of God's will.”

2. “One gifted with more than ordinary spiritual and moral insight especially: an inspired poet.”

3. “One who foretells future events: PREDICTOR.”

4: “An effective or leading spokesman for a cause, doctrine, or group.”

(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prophet).

          So this is quite a list of definitions of a prophet. Anyone here ever receive a divine revelation from the living God. Anyone here have God speak or appear to you, and tell you what he would like you to do? Anyone have God give you truths and or a message to spread to others? This is what a prophet is.

          The Prophet Jeremiah, according to one of my sources, was born about 645 BC (Africa Bible Commentary, pg. 879. Jeremiah was born about 650 years before Christ, and many scholars believe that God spoke to him about 627 BC, when was still a teenager.

          So we are talking hundreds of years before Christ was born and walked this earth. Many of the people of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible and all of the prophets, are the people that God spoke through. These people were given God’s instructions, God’s blessings, and these people were to carry God’s and will to others.

          Jeremiah walked this earth over 600-hundred years before Jesus was born that first Christmas in Bethlehem. Given this, what did God tell Jeremiah this morning, and how does this connect to our Christian faith today?

          Well, our reading from the Book of Jeremiah begins in the fourth verse of the very beginning of the Book of Jeremiah. In this reading Jeremiah receives his call from God, similar to the way a pastor receives there call from God to be a pastor. So let’s look once again at Jeremiah’s call to follow God, and to be a prophet of God’s message and hope in the world. Once again the reading says:

“Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:4-5, NRSV).

          Jeremiah is saying, he experienced God in a real, powerful, and a profound way. Rev. Billy Graham used to say that the word of the Lord came to him. Some might consider Billy Graham to have been a prophet of sorts. Jeremiah is also “consecrated,” as we in the church “consecrate” bishops. We ordain pastors and deacons, but we only “consecrate” bishops. This is a pretty high calling, as God tell him to be a “prophet to the nations”. This means that the truths that God gives to Jeremiah are still truths for us today. Truths for everyone.

          The reading from the Book of Jeremiah then continues saying:

^“Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jer. 1:6-10, NRSV).

          This is a pretty powerful scene here. God is speaking to Jeremiah, then touches his lips, promises to protect him, tells him to speak what he says, and gives him great authority over the nations and the kingdoms.

          One of the ways that we know about God today, what expects from us, and God’s nature is through God revealing himself to those before us. Many prophets, people, the disciples, and etc. These chain of revelations that tell us just who God is.

          Often the prophets of the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament were called by God to bring people back to right, holy, and righteous living through God. They were also called to challenge corruption, evil, injustices, and sometimes would give us clue to the coming of God’s son, Jesus Christ.

          Was Jesus a prophet? No, the scripture says that Jesus was and is the culmination and the fulfilment of all the prophets. Specifically, Jesus the living God and now the fullness of God’s revelation and presence on earth.

          Often in the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible, God called people to follow him, serve him, and to speak for him. Most Jews then and many now believe that “Mashiach” or the Messiah would come and save their people. Jesus is culmination of God’s revelation to the prophets and who came before him. Jesus was and is the fullness of God and spoke the words of life.

          In fact, in our Book of Hebrews reading for this morning once again, the Apostle Paul says this of Jesus Christ:

          “and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb. 12:24, NRSV).

          Our Jewish brothers and sister believe in and follow the teachings of the Hebrew Bible, or what we call the Old Testament. We believe, like them, that God revealed his will to them, and has spoken. Part of this, is the foreshadowing of the one who not just speak of God, but be God among us. The one would live, breathe, heal, die for us, be raised, and one day come again.

          When Jesus comes, he makes a new covenant with us, a new arrangement with us, as God made with Moses. So why do we still have Jews then?

          Well there are many reasons for this. One, this is the group of people that God first chose to speak to, and from that group now God is offered through Christ to the whole world. Jews predate Christians by centuries, and their heritage and customs are one that are passed down generationally. Some Jews also don’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah for many reasons to. Biblically speaking though, we are also supposed to have our Jewish brothers and sisters with us. The bible tells us some will retain the old way, and many will not.

          Speaking of Judaism, in Jesus being raised a Jew, today in our gospel reading were hear a little bit about that. How so? Well devout Jews observe the Sabbath, or as some Jews call it “Shavuot”. This comes from the Book of Genesis when God rested on the seven day of the creation story. Devout Jews from sun down on Friday, to sun down on Saturday cease work and in part go to worship God at the Synagogue or the Temple. Since Jesus healed on the Sabbath for example, so Jews feel that Jesus violated the Sabbath. If she Jesus violated the Sabbath, then how can he be “Mashiach” or the Messiah? The answer healing is not work, as the Pharisees were viewing the covenant or the Law that God gave to Moses very legalistically.

          It is the Sabbath, what is work, what isn’t? Many of us remember growing up on Sundays when virtually everything was closed, as we observed the Christian Sabbath. Our Sabbath is generally sun down on Saturday, to sun down on Sunday. Why Sunday? Well because Jesus was resurrected from the dead on a Sunday.

          In this morning’s gospel lesson once again, not only is Jesus teaching the Word of God on the Sabbath, which is ok to do, he is also teaching it in the Jewish Synagogue. The Synagogue once again, is like a church for Jewish folks. Jesus teaches in the Synagogues sometimes, because most Jews know the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible fairly well. Jesus then tells the people he is the one that have been waiting for. He tells them that he is the one that prophets like Jeremiah predicted would come hundreds of years before.

          Let’s look at our gospel of Luke reading for this morning once again. Once again it says:

“Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing” (Lk. 13:10-17, NRSV).

          Did Jesus violate the Law of the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament? No, I believe that he came to fulfill the Law. I also believe that religious leaders that attacked Jesus were being so “legalistic” or “nitty gritty” that made the Law more than it was really meant to be.

          The real problem I think, is not that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, but that he made the Pharisees and many of the other religious leaders look bad. Wanting retain their power, they got exactly what they wanted, and the got the savior of the crucified on a cross. He was dead and buried on that first Good Friday, but he rose on Easter, ascended to heaven, and will return one day in glory.

          Throughout the history of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, God has raised up Men and Women to be prophets. God has called men and women to speak the truth of God, and to challenge the people to turn from sin, and to embrace God. When we think all is lost, brothers and sisters, God will and does raise up leaders. Leaders that will speak the truth of God, that will lead people into holiness and righteousness.

          In the uncertain era that we are now living in, God will do what God has always done, he will raise up leaders. He will call men and women to be prophets and many others things. For as Jesus Christ said in Matthew 16:18:

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18, NRSV).

          God will and does raise up leaders. Leaders who will emerge when we think that all is lost. Leaders that will inspire us, give us hope, and show through God that better days are ahead. If we are faithful, if we believe, if we serve, love, heal, and forgive, I believe as God blessed his people throughout history, he will likewise bless us. Amen.

         

Sidney UMC - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/18/19 - Sermon - “Why faith has a cost"

Sunday 08/18/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “Why faith has a cost”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 11:29-12:2

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:49-56

          Welcome again, on this the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost. Ten Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved on the day of Pentecost nearly two-thousand years ago, giving birth to us the Christian Church.

          Welcome again my brothers and sisters, my friends, as well as our brothers and sisters from the Afton UMC and the North Afton UMC’s. What a blessing it is to gather to worship God, have baptisms, and celebrate what God is doing in our churches. Oh, and we have a dish-to-pass luncheon after church, like good Methodists!

Further, in God’s great sense of humor, this Sunday we have a challenging gospel reading. In this gospel reading from the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us that our lives will have challenges and trials, if we follow him.

          I have to admit, probably not the first gospel reading a pastor might chose on a Sunday with visiting folks from nearby churches. Oh, and wait for it, 5-baptisms! Let’s look at this gospel of Luke lesson for this morning briefly again, as there is a bit to unpack here. Once again Jesus tells us in Luke 12:49-56:

“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” (Lk. 12:49-53, NRSV).

          So at this point, I know what you are probably thinking, “Boy Pastor Paul, you really hit a home run with this gospel reading on a Sunday like this!” Well let me finish reading this gospel reading for this Sunday. Once again it says in our reading from the gospel of Luke:

“He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”                           (Lk. 12:54-56, NRSV).

          So again, “Really knocked it out of the park this week Pastor Paul, with visiting folks from other churches and 5-baptisms!”

          Now in my defense, this is the lectionary gospel reading that is being read at thousands and thousands of churches the world over this morning. What does it mean though?

          Let me read to you out of one of my favorite bible commentaries, called the Africa Bible Commentary. It says speaking of Luke 12:49-53:

“Jesus’ disciples should not expect to live a life of ease while they wait for him. He bluntly states that his mission will bring fire on the earth (12:49). It will lead to divisions even among close relatives (12:51-53). He calls for such a radical change from the status quo that his followers will inevitably be persecuted by those who want to keep things the way they are. Yet these changes are so important that those who have identified themselves with his mission should not give up, even if this brings them into conflict with those they love. The end result of their relationship with Jesus is worth all the discomfort they will endure on earth” (Africa Bible Commentary, pg. 1256-57).

          Jesus then uses an analogy of a rain cloud, wind, and scorching heat. Don’t wait until the rain comes, the wind blows, or the scorching heats comes, to do something about it.

          So what does this all mean? I believe it means this that Jesus did not just come to earth just to make a transaction of dying for us and our sins on the cross. Jesus dying for us is central to the Christian faith, needed, and necessary, but in addition to this salvation through Christ, is the transformation with Christ. In following and in being transformed by Christ through the Holy Spirit, we become new creations. We are saved, regenerated, restored, and are moving towards perfection.

          This means we will then live differently. It means that we won’t strive after only pleasure, materialism, money, status, power, and what we can get out of this world. Instead we follow Christ, love our neighbor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. In sharing this Good News, through the power of the Holy Spirit lives will be changed. Our desire for things of this world will lessen.

          Going out and getting really drunk and hung over, will no longer seem appealing. Doing anything moral or immoral to get more money will seem less important. Getting a house, a car, or something else that can’t afford just to impress people you don’t like won’t seem as important. Finding your fulfillment in dating relationships, material things, and all the other trappings of this world, just won’t matter as much anymore. In the contemporary Christian song, “I Wanna Go Back,” by David Dunn, he says:

“When I was a kid, I didn't care to keep up with the Joneses I was just happy that they lived next door” (“I Wanna Go Back,” by David Dunn).

          When we stop the partying, stop the wild living, stop acting like we once did, well will people criticize us for this? You get they will. Sometimes Jesus says this morning, it will be your own family members. It might be your neighbors, your co-workers, or others in society. Criticizing, mocking, and maybe even persecuting us, because we reject the trappings of this world. We chose to pursue social and scriptural holiness.

          Some of the world then, finds us strange, odd, and not going with the flow. Yet we get to a place in our lives, when the flow just isn’t working for us. We want something different, something more fulfilling, and nothing can fill us like the love of Jesus Christ.

          So, Jesus tells us that if we seek him, follow him, live for him and others, and not only for the things of this world, we will pay a price for this. In paying a price for this, we have the joy of Christ, the joy of each other, and have the peace found only in God.

          I would like to close this brief sermon with a great quote from Saint Thomas Aquinas, which I think put the gospel lesson for this morning into greater perspective. This quote is:

“Lust for riches, properly speaking, brings darkness on the soul, when it puts out the light of charity, by preferring the love of riches to the love of God”  (St. Thomas Aquinas).

So our joy is found in God and each other, not the things of this world alone. Amen.

Sidney UMC - Ninth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/11/19 - Sermon - “The conviction of things not seen"

Sunday 08/11/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “The conviction of things not seen”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:32-40

          Welcome again, on this the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Nine Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved on the day of Pentecost nearly two-thousand years ago, giving birth to the Christian Church.

          Today, I want to talk about what we believe and why we believe it. How many of us were afraid of the dark when we were children? I mean I could understand if you were in the woods with animals, but I mean afraid of the dark in your home. The power goes out, you can’t find a flashlight, and you are afraid. What are we afraid of? Monsters, the devil, other things? Maybe some of us are still afraid of the dark today? There might be real reasons that we are afraid of the dark to. Maybe something happened to us in the dark, or something else.

          When I was a kid I thought monsters were in my closet, and this whole “Bogey Man” thing didn’t help either. Yet, it seemed real. I mean real! Yet, I had never seen an actual monster, but I feared they were there.

          Our common two-thousand year Christian faith has some connections here. We believe that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord, who died for us. I have never seen Jesus in the flesh though. I have never seen the Heavenly Father in person, which is good because the scripture says that this would be so overwhelming that it would kill me. I certainly have never seen the Holy Spirit, but I have felt the Holy Spirit.

          So how do we know that God the Father, exists, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit? We have never seen God the Father, Jesus in the flesh, or the Holy Spirit, but we believe. Why do we believe?

          In the reading for this Sunday from Psalm 50 once again, the scripture says:

“The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting” (Ps. 50:1, NRSV).

          How do we know that God speaks though? Has anyone heard God before? The answer of course is yes. All throughout the Old Testament, Abraham, Moses, and many others talked to God. They encountered God, and through their encounters, God revealed to them his perfect will for humanity. God for example, gave Moses the Ten-Commandments.

          In the New Testament, the twelve disciples and many others, saw Jesus, touched Jesus, and were with Jesus. The scriptures, of both Old and the New Testament are the history of God revealing himself to humanity. As part of this Revelation, God tells us who he is, and how he wants us to live. God tells us not steal, and not to kill, for example.

          We know God, because God has revealed himself too many people. These people through divine inspiration wrote down all the things that we read in the scriptures. So do we know God through the scriptures? Absolutely. Do we know God through the two-thousand year generationally passed down faith of the church? Apart from the scriptures and apart from the tradition of the church, how do we know who God is? Or if we think God is speaking to us, how do know it is God? Sometimes cult leaders claim they are speaking for God, but if there teachings violate the scripture and the tradition of the church, then how do we know that it is God speaking to us?

          Our Jewish brothers and sisters thousands of years before us, claimed to have deep and intimate encounters with God, where God revealed himself. In the Old Testament or Jewish scriptures, God also promised to send a Messiah or a savior to the world. This savior was and is God’s son Jesus Christ.

          Yet, none of us here have every met Jesus Christ in the flesh. The only reason that we know anything about him, is from the Bible and the Tradition of the church. We have been told about Christ, read about Christ, and also, hopefully, we have felt the presence of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. All of this leads me to my sermon title for this morning, that is called, “The conviction of things not seen”. This sermon title comes directly from our Hebrews 11 reading for this morning, which once again says:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible”. (Heb. 11:1-3, NRSV).

          So faith assurance of things hope for, and the conviction of things that we cannot see. The Apostle Paul then tells us that our ancestors talked with God, and God led them. Our teachings, our understanding of God and our Christian faith has been given to us generationally by our ancestors. Faith guides, faith directs us. We cannot only believe in the Triune God, we can feel, see and experiencing God in our lives.

          Unlike monsters in my closet as a young child, our faith has stood the test of time. So what we believe as Christians come from somewhere, and who we say the Triune God is comes from somewhere.

          In believing and hoping in what we cannot fully see, hopefully our faith plays out every day and we can see God moving. The Christian faith is something that we have shared for two-thousand years, and for two-thousand years we have felt God, ben affirmed by God, and God speaks to us. Our compendium of who God is and his will for humanity, is contained within the Holy Scriptures and the Tradition of the church. Within this, there are certainly many ways to interpret the scripture, and some also have different understandings of our tradition.

          I would also point out that if he forget our past, then we have no future. Further, the faith of those who went before us matters, was powerful, and should inform our Christian faith. Our faith didn’t just pop up a few years ago, we have shared it for centuries. I has taken on various forms, all with Christ our Lord at the center.

          What is though a good definition of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? How do we define who and what God is? In our United Methodist Church articles of religion, or our doctrines, we are given such answers. In fact, the very first UMC article of religion defines God. It says:

“Article I — Of Faith in the Holy Trinity

There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost” (http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/the-articles-of-religion-of-the-methodist-church).

          So the official teaching of the United Methodist Church, is that there is one true and living God. This God is not flesh and blood like you and I. This God is eternal and everlasting, without body or parts, it of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness. This God is the make and preserves of all things. Further this in Godhead there three person of one substance, power, and eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

          So God the Father is a spiritual being, Jesus his son, took on flesh and came amongst us. The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the presence of God, like wind. This understanding of God is revealed in scripture, supported by the tradition of the church, and most Christians have always held this view of God.

          This means that we didn’t just conjure this up, as it is all throughout scripture. Specifically, the encounters that people had with God all throughout the Bible work with this understanding and definition of God. The Old Testament for tells of Christ’s coming, but this prior to it, however.

          So I haven’t just created our understanding and definition of God, we have had it for thousands of years, know that Christ only came two-thousand years ago. It has been the consistent understanding and relational truth of God.

          Hopefully though, we don’t scriptural, intellectually, and as a matter of tradition except the Triune God, hopefully have and continue to experience God. I see God’s handiwork in creation, I feel Christ’ love me, and the Holy Spirit moves in and through me. Further, our faith strengthens and enables us to do things that we otherwise would not be able to do.

          So as it is, we believe in a creator God that we have never seen, a savior that we have only read about, and a Holy Spirit that we read about, but hopefully that fills us. So how do we know who God is? Through scripture, the tradition of the church, our own experiences, and through reason. It is reasonably to me that God sent his son to save us, as we seem to be unable to save ourselves.

          We recite the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed, we are reading statements of faith of the Triune God that go back nearly 1,700 years or more. For centuries our faith has guided, sustained, given hope, courage, and power to those who called upon it. Does this mean that God will speak to us all in a burning bush? No. Will God tell us all to build an Ark? No. Will and angel of Lord appears to us with instructions? Maybe.

          The Apostle Paul, once again concludes our reading from the Book of Hebrews for this morning to talk about Abraham and his faith. Once again the scripture says:

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them”                                    (Heb. 11:8-16, NRSV).

          Abraham, one of the earliest figures in the Bible had faith, believed, God lead him. I have faith not only because of the scriptures and the tradition of the church, but also through my experience and reason. I have felt God, I have seen God heal, and I know God is real. Can I show you God in a tangible way right now? No, but he is as real to me as the breath that I am breathing and cannot see. God is as real to me as the steam breath that I breathe in the winter.

          So I can prove to you without a shadow of a doubt that God exists? No, but God also can’t be definitely disproven. What can I offer, a Bible that shows faith in God from hundreds of people. A faith that for thousands of years has moved, shaped, and led people. Our two-thousand year Christian tradition includes hundreds of millions of people who have not learned and believed in God mentally, but who have felt God and seen God move. This is why I believe that faith is a choice. We get to choose.

          This morning in our gospel of Luke reading, Jesus Christ, God’s son, who was fully God and fully human on earth, tells us once again more about God. This is what our gospel reading says once again for this morning:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Lk. 12:32-34, NRSV).

          Jesus tells us that the Heavenly Father wants to give us his kingdom and his blessing. We are to live for God and not possession. Jesus tells us of heaven, the afterlife with him. He is revealing to us, who God is, his nature, and what he wants from us.

          Jesus then tells about his return to earth, which is culmination of God’s revelation in history. Once again the gospel ends with Jesus saying:

“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” (Lk. 12:35-40, NRSV).

          Jesus says that after his death and resurrection that he will be returning one day to earth in glory. Our belief about God as Christians don’t simply just pop up like a cabbage or an eggplant, we have held them for hundreds of years. They have stood the test of time, and have been believed by hundreds of millions of people over many generations. Are the true, or is all of this just a accident? I don’t think so.

          I would like to leave you with a quote about God. I take this quote from a book I have called “Quotable Wisdom: The Saints”. This book has many great quotes from the saints of the church throughout history. This quote comes from Saint Anselm of Canterbury, and this is what it says:

“My soul, have you found what you are looking for? You were looking for God, and you have discovered that He is the supreme being, and that you could not possibly imagine anything more perfect. You have discovered that this supreme being is life itself, light, wisdom, goodness, eternal blessedness, and blessed eternity” (Quotable Wisdom: The Saints, pg. 1).

          The Apostle Paul tell us this morning that:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1, NRSV).

          I believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and I believe in his plan and his love. Do you? Amen.