Sunday
10/27/19 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “I Have Fought the Good Fight”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 65
New Testament
Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Gospel Lesson: Luke
18:9-14
Today is
Reformation Sunday, and it is also the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost. It is
twenty Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved on the day of Pentecost, giving
birth to us the church, and it is also Reformation Sunday.
The Christian Church has many many expressions. We have
multiple denominations, multiple understandings of the faith, and etc. While
the actual Reformation day is this Thursday October 31st, or
Halloween, or All Hollow’s Eve, this holiday, Reformation day, is not a holiday
that we should celebrate as one of anger or contempt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_Day).
For some traditions of Christianity, this Thursday is the
feast day of All Hallows Eve, or All Saints Eve, which leads into all Saints
Day. All Saints Day, is a day in the life of the church that we remember and we
honor those saints that have went before us, which is this Friday November 1st.
We will celebrate All Saints Day this next Sunday November 3rd, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween).
Reformation Sunday, or Reformation Day stems back to the
year 1517, when a German Roman Catholic Priest and university professor named Martin
Luther, nailed his famed “95-Theses” on the door of the “All Saints Church” in
Wittenberg, Germany. He was angered at corruption in the church.
Two years ago in fact, was the 500th anniversary
of the reformation. What sparked this reformation was the sale of indulgences,
or the selling of the forgiveness of sins to people for money. This enraged
Martin Luther, and today the Roman Catholic Church has formally acknowledged
this error and corruption that was within the church.
Martin Luther however, was excommunicated from the Roman
Catholic Church, and by this point he had thousands of followers called
“Lutherans”. King Henry VIII soon after pulled England out of the Roman
Catholic Church and created the Church of England, or the Anglican Church, or
the Episcopal Church. The founder of the Methodist Movement, John Wesley, was
an Anglican or an Episcopal priest. This is why the front of our church says “Methodist-Episcopal.”
We come out of the Church of England originally. We then had many other break
away movements as well. A large hallmark of the reformation is the belief that
faith in Christ is all that we need. That we are justified and made right
through the blood of Jesus Christ alone.
There are times that corruption and sin seeps into the
church though. This sin has far reaching consequences, and this has led to the fracturing
and the division within the universal Christian Church of 2.2-2.5 billion
people the world over. Part of the disagreement from the Reformation period
through today, is that of the Bible and the Bible alone being our only
authority as a church. Or should we put equal weight on the tradition of the
church. Meaning, for example, if the season of Advent and Lent aren’t in the
Bible, which they aren’t, should we still celebrate them? There are no Advent Wreaths
in the Bible, so should we have one? This is part of the Tradition of the
church.
The reformation brought the church back to the Bible, to
the Holy Scriptures, and depending on the church that you belong to, we have
some of the tradition of the church, all of the tradition of the church, or
none of it. As Methodists, we believe that Bible is our ultimate source of
truth and authority for doctrine and practice within the church and our lives. We
embrace some of the tradition of the church, but decline the parts of the
tradition that we find to contradict our ultimate authority of the Holy
Scriptures.
Perhaps
one day though the fragments of the broken universal church can begin to be put
back together, so that we might be unified again. Maybe not within our
lifetimes, but one day maybe.
What most Christian Churches share at the core of our
Christianity however, is the faith of the church. Most Christian Churches
believe in God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Most churches
believe that Jesus is our savior, who died for our sins, who rose again, who
ascended to heaven, and who is coming back in glory. From there we have
different practices, different understandings, but it all starts with faith in
God. For through Jesus Christ, we are delivered and reborn, and given eternal
life. One church baptizes babies, one does not, but Christ is Lord of all. If
we believe in him we are saved, and through baptism we become part of the
universal and Apostolic Christian Church.
In our reading from Psalm 65 for this morning once again,
we are given a psalm of praise to God. In this psalm we are reminded of who God
is, and of His love, hope, and His provision in our lives. For God is good
(Psalm 65, NRSV – Africa Bible Commentary, 681-82).
So thus far, I have mentioned that it is Reformation
Sunday, I have mentioned that at different times in the history of the
Christian faith that there has been corruption in the church. This sin and
corruption has had far reaching effects. Today we have multiple Christian
denominations and many different perspectives of the Christian faith. The
majority of Christians through rally around the essential and core believes of
the faith, around God, and the person of God in Jesus Christ.
When the church is as free of corruption as it can be
though, then the church is able to do amazing things. People can come to faith,
be transformed, and so transform Sidney and the world. The church when it grows
in faith and love, can be a massive change agent in our lives and in the world.
Part of the mission of the church, is to inspire people
like you, through the power of the Holy Spirit to be leaders within the church.
To discern God’s calling in your life, and to live out that calling for God’s
glory. Leading a ministry, loving others, this is the power of Christ through
the church.
With all of this said, for some of us, we might be at an
earlier point in this journey called life, some of us might be in the middle,
and some of us might be getting closer to the end. We don’t know fully, but we
will only be here on this earth so long. Generally speaking, as we age we tend
to think that we have less time left on this earth. Time goes by fast doesn’t
it?
This morning in the Apostle Paul’s second epistle or letter
to Timothy he is old and soon to die. As many do when they are getting closer
to their end, the Apostle Paul is considering his life. He is thinking about
his faith, how his life has gone, and what is to come. Many of us do this. Some
of us think about our pasts, and think about what our life is and what it has
meant. This is what the Apostle Paul is doing in this scripture for this
morning.
Earlier in the Apostle Paul’s life when he was the Jewish
leader “Saul of Tarsus,” he hated Christ and church, and he persecuted it. Then
he became a champion for Christ, and a great saint of the church. On this
Reformation Sunday, we acknowledge that greed, envy, power, and all sorts of
corruption and sin have at different times entered into the Christian Church.
Yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and his shed blood is still our hope, and the
hope of the world. I don’t believe that we have a corrupt church here at the Sidney
United Methodist Church, and I believe that we are doing our best to
authentically live out our faith in Jesus Christ.
As a pastor I have had the honor and the privilege of
sitting and praying with people in their last hours. Generally speaking, these
folks are never worried about how many hours they put into work or how much
money they made. They most often when I have sat with them, seemed to be
worried about their family, who they are as a person, what they have done, and
what they believe. Some folks that I have sat with who were dying were worried
that they were going to hell for things that they had done. While we all
deserve condemnation though, I reminded them that through Jesus Christ, we are
all made clean and new.
So let me ask us all a question here this morning, if all of
us here were very sick, and if we had only an hour to live, what we hope that
our life on this earth would have accomplished? Once again, if all of us here
were very sick, and if we had only an hour to live, what we hope that our life
on this earth would have accomplished? What would be the biggest thing that we
would want to die knowing and believing?
In looking at our reading from 2 Timothy 4:6-8, it says
once again:
“As for me, I am already being
poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought
the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on
there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all
who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8, NRSV).
The Apostle Paul tells his young apprentice Timothy, my
time on this earth is soon to be over. In reflecting upon my life the Apostle
Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith”. The
Apostle Paul says through all the ups, all the downs, through all the slings
and all the arrows. Through all the triumphs, all the nay-sayers, all the love,
and all the persecution, I have kept the faith. I don’t know about you, but if
I had an hour to live I would want to be able say that “I have kept the faith”.
The Apostle
Paul is not discouraged, but encouraged, as he says that through Jesus Christ
he will receive a crown of righteousness and life eternal. The Apostle Paul
concluded this reading once again by saying:
“At my first defense no one came to
my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! But the
Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be
fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the
lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his
heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (2 Tim. 4:16-18, NRSV).
The Apostle
Paul is saying that at times, he felt like we all do, deserted and all alone.
He doesn’t condemn those who have deserted him though, as he says that the Lord
stood by him and was faithful. God called Paul to preach the life giving gospel
of Jesus Christ to the gentiles, or the non-Jews, and he did so faithfully.
Quoting the Book of Daniel, when Daniel was put in a lion’s den and lived, the
Apostle Paul says “So I was rescued from
the lion’s mouth”. The Apostle Paul said, I made it, “I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”. The Apostle Paul puts his trust in God and praises
him.
Some of us can
say that in our lives that we been through some peaks and valleys. Some of us
have had to overcome physical, emotional, or mental conditions. Some of us have
lost children, loved ones, been through tragedies. Some of us have survived
natural disasters, been in wars, have had medical problems, and etc. Yet
through all of the slings and the arrows of this life, can we say with confidence
that “I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith”? I don’t know about you, but if I only have minutes to live, I first
want to tell Melissa and my family of my great love for them, but also, I also
want to be able to say that “I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”.
The Apostle
Paul is considering his life, and he is considering all he has said, and all
that he has taught. He feels content that he made it, and that he kept the
faith.
According to
church tradition, we think that the Apostle Paul was beheaded, around the same
time that the Apostle Peter was crucified upside down (https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/how-did-the-apostle-paul-die.html).
The Apostle Paul, who is in jail, and is sentenced to die, has peace and joy
knowing that to the very end, he has kept the faith, and has stayed faithful.
Some of clergy colleagues and other friends upon departing will say among other
things, “keep the faith”.
Sometimes in our lives the things that happen to us or the
things that we go through, seem to be things that grow or harm our faith. Do we
have faith through it all?
In our gospel lesson from the gospel of Luke for this
morning, Jesus reminds us once again, what truth faith looks like in this the
parable or story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Jesus says once again:
“He also told this parable to some
who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with
contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other
a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I
thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even
like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but
was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell
you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all
who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be
exalted” (Lk. 18:9-14, NRSV).
Jesus is
telling us, let our faith be true and authentic, and not fake and earthly. When
we get to the end of our lives here on earth, will we say, “we were a good
person,” or will we say “I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”. Our time here is limited, let us live for Christ,
and for each other. Amen.
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