Sidney UMC - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/06/23 - Sermon - “Feeding The 5,000 And Us!”

Sunday 08/06/23 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title: “Feeding The 5,000 And US!”                                

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

New Testament Scripture: Romans 9:1-5

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 14:13-21

          How many people here have ever been to a big dinner with a lot of people? Maybe it was wedding reception? Maybe it was a large event or convention? Maybe it was an awards ceremony? Maybe it was something else altogether.

          As you are thinking about the largest dinners or meals that you have ever been to, how many people were there? I am sure most of us have been to dinner or a meal with one-hundred people. How many of us have been to meal with two-hundred people? Anyone here ever been to meal with five-hundred people? How many of us have been to meal with over one-thousand people? How about over ten-thousand people? I have, and it was big crowd!

          I remember the first time that I went to the Upper New York United Methodist Church Annual Conference in 2011. I think there were about 2,000-3,000 pastors and lay people present. This took place at the Oncenter Convention Center in Syracuse, and at meal times we all ate in this massive room with tons of tables. The amount of food, coffee, water, etc., was just unbelievable!

          Some of us have eaten food at sports games before too. If you were at a professional baseball game, basketball game, and or football game, how many people were there? If all of the people at that game ate a meal, then how many people did you indirectly eat with? When I observe that many people are sharing food and drink, it really shows me how advanced our system of food and drink production in this country is.

          So, depending on how we look it at then, you could have been in a place where thousands of people were eating within the same space.  I have a quote that is fitting here. I don’t know if this is a real quote or more of a myth, but I remember hearing of the great Roman Army during the Roman Empire. The statement that I heard was that when the Roman Army stopped to drink water, “they drank the river dry”. Some of us might not think much about it, but imagine the amount of food it takes just to feed the people of Sidney, the Sidney Area, New York, this whole country, and the world. It’s staggering!

          Sometimes it is so beyond me that everything just works and keeps going. The gas station, generally speaking, always has gas, and there are always groceries on the shelves at the grocery store. The size and the scale of production in this modern world, is truly remarkable.

          Imagine then if you had to put a meal on for let’s say 5,000 people. How much food and drink would it take to feed and refresh 5,000 people? If were you in charge of this dinner, how much food would you buy? How much drink would you buy? My guess is that the head of food and beverages at Yankee Stadium for example, would laugh at needing to get enough food to feed 5,000 people, as I read that the record attendance at Yankee Stadium was 50,960 people, on October 6, 2011. This was of course in the new Yankee Stadium, and this was at a baseball game. There have been much more people at Yankee Stadium than this for other events. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Stadium). Makes our Thanksgiving dinners seems a little lack luster when we put in these terms. When this record attendance at Yankee stadium of 50,960 people happed, I wonder how many hotdogs, pretzels, drinks, etc. that were sold that night?

          I say all of this because this morning in our gospel of Matthew 14:13-21 reading for this we have a famous gospel story commonly called the “Feeding Five-Thousand” or “Feeding the Multitude”. Unlike the head of food and beverages at Yankee Stadium though, Jesus did not have truck loads of food and drink that had just arrived to feed his crowd. Instead, Jesus has two fish and five loaves of bread. This to feed a multitude. How could Jesus’ feed all of these people with so little food?

          This got me thinking about some of the large venues I have talked about, like Yankee Stadium, and how so many people can get fed. It is truly impressive when you think about it. Further, outside of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the “Feeding Five-Thousand” is the only other miracle listed in all four gospels, of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There is also a second miracle of the “Feeding Four-Thousand” in gospels of Matthew and Mark only.

          I was blessed in 2014 when I went to Israel/Palestine with my seminary group. Among many other places, we got to go to the place of the “Feeding Five-Thousand”. It was a beautiful place, and a really special experience for me.

          Some Christians and non-Christians over the centuries have decided that the “Feeding Five-Thousand” in all four of the gospels is only a story (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeding_the_multitude). Some of these people say, “how could Jesus have fed the multitude with only five loaves of barley bread and two fishes”? These sorts of arguments are common arguments that I encounter often.

Sometimes we are so focus with certain details of the story that we miss the larger context of the story. By the way, Jesus’ fed not only five-thousand men on this day, but including woman and children, I have read that it could have been to 11,000 people or more (Africa Bible Commentary, pg. 1,116). This would still make the head of food and beverages at Yankee Stadium laugh, even if Jesus fed more than 11,000 people on this day!

          I give you all of these examples to ask this, with God do we believe that feeding a multitude is something that Jesus did with only five loaves of bread and two fish? Do we believe that Jesus died on a cross on Good Friday, and psychically rose from the dead and walked out of the tomb of Easter Sunday morning? I do. Do you?

          To believe in the power of God, is to believe in miracles. People that have been healed from diseases and illnesses, people that have had experiences in their life where they believe with all their heart that God was there with them. To believe in miracles, is to believe that outside of the natural world that God is able to intervene and do as God will. This challenges us greatly sometimes when feel that God did not intervene where and when we wanted Him to. This is something that many of us struggle with. Yet, feeding a crowd, for Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the second person of the Holy Trinity, our Lord and Savior, yes, I believe that this miracle this morning happened. After all, other than the resurrection of Christ, it is the only other miracle that is listed in all four gospels. I am thinking that the gospel writers believed that this miracle was significant!

          This also addresses our perspectives of feeding a crowd. As the church, do feed people, just to feed people? Yes, but we should also want them to grow closer to Christ. Jesus did not feed the multitude today simply because they were hungry, but Jesus in addition to meeting the earthly needs of the crowd, wanted the crowd to believe in him. Often Jesus’s miracles were about much more than what Jesus did in the miracle, and more about creating deep and abiding faith in him. So, feeding 11,000 people or more at once, well if were to ask the food and beverage head at Yankee Stadium, they would probably say that number is child’s play.

          What was the goal of Jesus “Feeding the Multitude” this morning? I really like what our reading from Psalm 17:1-7, 15 says for this morning. Once again, Psalm 17:15 says:

¹⁵ As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness (Ps. 17:15, NRSV).

          Behold the righteousness and the holiness of Christ this morning, because this is the bigger picture of the “Feeding Five-Thousand”. Do I believe that this miracle really happened? I sure do, but it’s bigger than just the food. In fact, I have talked with folks from different churches before who have told me that they have various church dinners, but those dinners to do not result in more people coming to or attending their churches. I have asked some of these folks that if in addition to feeding people physical bread, do they offer people the spiritual bread that is Jesus Christ? We need to feed people food for there physical bodies, as this keeps their body alive, but to receive salvation we need the spiritual bread that is found only in Jesus Christ. Food and faith must go together, and the “Feeding Five-Thousand” in Matthew 14:13-21 for this morning, is no different.

          In looking at our reading from Romans 9:1-5 for this morning, the Apostle Paul says that everything he has said and taught about Jesus Christ is the truth. The Apostle Paul then laments that more of the people of Israel did not believe in Jesus, but since the Apostle Paul had witnessed the power, the mercy, the grace, and the healing of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, he believed in what God could do (Rom 9:1-5, NRSV).

          This leads me up to our reading from the gospel of Matthew 14:13-21 for this morning that, once again, is one of the four gospel narratives of Jesus “Feeding Five-Thousand” or “Feeding the Multitude”. Let’s look again at our gospel of Matthew 14:13-21 reading for this morning that says starting in 14:13:

¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick (Mt. 14:13-14, NRSV).

          At this point in his earthly ministry, Jesus had become so popular that crowds would amass to see and to follow him. Sometimes he could sneak away to rest. He tried to do the same this morning, as the gospel says that Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place. The crowds of people figured out where he was though, and by the time Jesus’ boat got to the shore a large crowd was already waiting for him. The gospel then says that when Jesus saw them people, he had compassion for them and that he cured the sick.

          After Jesus was loving, healing, and caring for all of these people, the evening was fast approaching. The Apostles were worried about all of these people going back to their villages and or towns to buy food for dinner before it gets too late and dark out. In fact, picking up in the gospel, it continues in 13:15-16, saying:

¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ ¹⁶ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ (Mt. 13:15-16, NRSV).

          Jesus tells the disciples to not send this large crowd of people home before dark so that they can buy dinner for themselves. Instead, Jesus tells the disciples you feed them. I really believe that Jesus did this to see if the disciples would trust in him. Do any of us ever struggle to trust God? The disciples though were not trusting Christ, they were only seeing their own limitations. I think that we all do this sometimes. In fact, continuing on in our gospel reading for this morning, our reading from Matthew 14:13-21 continues and ends with 14:17-22 saying:

¹⁷ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children                                                          (Mt. 14:17-21, NRSV).

          Beyond just the miracle of “Feeding Five-Thousand” or “Feeding the Multitude” was the power of Jesus Christ. People seeing him as Lord and Savior, and learning to do for others, as he has done for us. It is probably true, that some only wanted the food and did not accept Christ, but I am sure that some did. Not only did Jesus perform the miracle of “Feeding Five-Thousand” or “Feeding the Multitude” today, but he loves, heals, and forgives. All of this is designed to draw us towards him, and to have us live like him. Feeding others is something Christ told us to do, but we should the body and the soul. This is why the first Thursday of every month our ministry is called “Sauce and Cross”. Food for the body, and food for the soul, both needed, and both will keep us alive. One will keep us alive physically, and other spiritually.

          In closing I want to tell a story that I have told before, but that I think is so appropriate for the gospel lesson that we have for this morning. The title of this story is called “Heaven and Hell: The Parable of the Long Spoons”. Here’s the story:

“One day a man said to God, “God, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.” God showed the man two doors. Inside the first one, in the middle of the room, was a large round table with a large pot of vegetable stew. It smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. God said, “You have seen Hell.”

“Behind the second door, the room appeared exactly the same. There was the large round table with the large pot of wonderful vegetable stew that made the man’s mouth water. The people had the same long-handled spoons, but they were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The man said, “I don’t understand.” God smiled. It is simple, he said, Love only requires one skill. These people learned early on to share and feed one another. While the greedy only think of themselves… (https://sofoarchon.com/heaven-and-hell-the-parable-of-the-long-spoons/).

While I believe that Jesus performed the miracle of “Feeding Five-Thousand” or “Feeding the Multitude” this morning, I believe that Jesus was also drawing us to him. Jesus wants us to believe in him, to be like him, and to follow him. So often we are focused just on the miracle Jesus performed in the gospels, but part of that miracle, and maybe even the most important part of that miracle is the change in us through the miracle. The people of Christ understand feeding and caring for each other. The people of Christ also understand feeding the body and the soul. This is why “Feeding The 5,000 And Us!” matters. Amen.

Sidney UMC - Eighth Sunday after Pentecost - 07/23/23 - Sermon - “Farming And The Kingdom Of Heaven!”

Sunday 07/23/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “Farming And The Kingdom Of Heaven!”                      

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24                                       

New Testament Scripture: Romans 8:12-25

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

          So, what I originally thought that I was going to begin this sermon with this morning changed this past Wednesday July 19^th. It was not a big deal in the grand scheme of world problems and affairs, but my desktop printer in the church office stopped printing! My God in heaven! It was far from the end of the world, but it was really annoying and Keith Robinson and I spent entirely to much time try to get the printer to print again.

          I mean it printed from the printer, it copied, it scanned, but it would not print from my laptop. I normally just hit print, and hear the paper shuffling through. I don’t even give it a second thought. I know that I am starting some time off this Wednesday, and this little hiccup that happed this passed Wednesday July 19^th, showed me that maybe I really do need some time off!

          It was something so small, even though it took up a good chunk of Keith’s and my day, but I finally got to it print at about 7:15 PM this past Wednesday night! What did I do to make it print? I am not sure, so don’t touch anything! After I had trouble shot this printer issue this past Wednesday morning, Keith was great! I walked out of my office and Keith was watching a YouTube video on his phone on how to fix the problem. He open things on the printer, he blew in a few parts of the printer for dust build up, and periodically said “Pastor Paul try doing this on your laptop!” Now I still don’t what did it, but at 7:15 PM on July 19^th my little desktop printer in the church office starting printing again. Once again, don’t touch anything!

          The reason I felt foolish in hindsight though was that I allowed something so foolish to really get under my skin. Probably another reason I will be taking some vacation time starting this Wednesday. I am sure that I am not alone though, as we all have probably been frustrated over little things like this. For example, has your TV remote ever just stopped working? Has some other small piece of technology gotten wonky and you spent a ton of time trying to fix it or make it work right? I remember when I was a little kid if the TV image acted up on the screen, my Grandpa Winkelman told me to just walk up and slap the TV on the side to fix it. I just could not believe that I allowed something so ridiculous to get under my skin.

          Why am I telling you all this story, outside of feeling a little ridiculous? I am telling you this story to illustrate the technologically advanced world that many of us now live in. Some of our cars have screens, GPS navigation programs, we Amazon of Google devices in our houses or apartments that we simply ask a question and hopefully will obtain an instant answer. The world that we live in is very different than the world that Jesus lived in.

          Jesus lived in an agricultural world. What does this mean? It means that in the world that Jesus lived in most people were farmers, fishers, builders, cooks, and other types of jobs. There was no advanced technology, and most people were involved in food production, food acquisition, like hunting or fishing, building, or gather resources to heat and cook with. There were artisans that made clothing and jewelry, and metal workers and things like this, but the world was much more basic when Jesus lived almost two-thousand years ago. Even in the year 1800, when President Thomas Jefferson was elected the President of the United States, about Eighty-Percent of the people in our young country were farmers. There was a strong tie to the land, to the crops, to the animals, to the weather, and only in recent history has this reality changed. In the United States today we only have about one-two percent of the population is involved in any kind of agriculture.

It has gotten so bad in fact, that your pastor can get his feathers ruffled about his printer not printing, as this was not an issue in Jesus’ day! I say all of this, because if you grew up on a farm, like my Grandpa Winkelman did, and like my Father Ken in Illinois did, the number that claim this reality seems to be less and less.

          Biblically this is a challenge, because much of the bible was written to an agricultural audience. This does mean that the bible does not still have authority, because it does, but it does mean that the majority of people in our culture are not involved in agriculture anymore. Since many of Jesus’ parables or stories talk about things like a mustard seed, or wheat and tares, and etc., a society not connected the land, to the animals, and the weather, like many of our ancestors were, might not receive some of the scriptures with same understanding as their original audiences did. In a similar way in fact, Melissa has told me that 4-H Programs have changed some in different areas, to be much more than animals, farming, and things of this nature. Some 4-H Programs are now more focused on technology, and things that they perhaps would not have been as focused on years ago.

          For all of these reasons, my sermon this morning is called “Farming And The Kingdom Of Heaven!” Now it might be a stereo-type, but when I was growing up, I knew some farmers with strong faith. I really believe that the way a lot of the bible is written with the emphasis on farming, the earth, the weather, and these sorts of things, speaks strongly to the agricultural community. Given this, it is sometimes important for us to really explain what the bible is saying around farming and agriculture, so that people not involved in that way of life can really understand the scripture.

          What has not changed and will ever change, is the goodness and the love of God, and the hope that we share in Jesus Christ. Even if we are driving flying cars in 20-years, God’s goodness and love will never change. In fact, in our Psalm 139 reading for this morning, which is subtitled in some bibles “The Inescapable God,” that subtitle says it all. No matter how the world changes, God’s goodness and love will never change. We hear once again in Psalm 139:1-5 for this morning:

¹ O Lord, you have searched me and known me. ² You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. ³ You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. ⁵ You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me (Ps. 139:1-5, NRSV).

          No matter how the world changes, God’s love and goodness never changes, and hope of Jesus Christ is eternal and steadfast.

          In fact, in our reading from Romans 8:12-25 for this morning, the Apostle Paul reminds us in 8:14, once again:

¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ (Rom. 8:14-15, NRSV).

          Whatever era we are living in or through, Jesus Christ is still the best and only hope of the world. Jesus still died for us, and even if we are not as familiar with the agricultural or farming references that are made in the bible, Jesus is still Jesus. Turning away from sin and darkness and following Christ is our hope no matter when we are living or in what environment we are living in. Whatever era we are living in, being saved through Christ, and being filled and guided by the Holy Spirit is how we are offered salvation, made whole, and how we can live righteous and holy lives.

          This leads me to our gospel reading from Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 for this morning, where have a whole lot of agricultural or farming references. Starting in Matthew 13:24, Jesus gives us a parable or story that has agricultural or farming references. Starting in Matthew 13:24 it says with Jesus’ speaking, once again:

²⁴ He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away                   (Mt. 13:24-25, NRSV). 

          So, the farmer or farmers went out during the day and sowed wheat seeds. Yet, when the farmer or farmers were sleeping, an enemy came in and sowed seeds that were weeds. So, wheat seeds are sown, that will hopefully grow into wheat to eventually be harvested. Unfortunately, though, and enemy sowed seeds of weeds among the wheat.

          Picking up in Matthew 13:26 Jesus continues saying, once again.

 

²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷ And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” ²⁸ He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” ²⁹ But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn”’    (Mt. 13:26-30, NRSV).

          So, I am not a farmer, as I am the first generation of Winkelman’s to not grow up on a farm. As far as I can tell though, the reason in this parable that the master of the house wanted the weeds or tares to not be not be gathered until the harvest is that it could also destroy the grain. Jesus then says, leave the weeds or the tares with the wheat, until the harvest. The good crop and unneeded weeds will stay together until the time of harvest and collection.

          Jesus then explains this parable or story to his disciples. Picking up in Matthew 13:36, it says, once again:

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ ³⁷ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸ the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴² and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! (Mt. 13:36-43, NRSV).

 

          Even though Jesus uses a farming or agricultural reference in our gospel of Matthew reading for this morning, the real meaning of this parable or story has nothing to do literally with wheat and weed or tares. The real meaning of this parable or story is that we will all live side by side on this earth, whatever era or generation that we are living in. Some of us will seek Christ and some of us will reject Christ. Jesus says that the seeds of love that he sows and spreads will grow in many into strong wheat or faith at the harvest, but those who are hard of heart and reject Christ, will be like the weeds or the tares.

          Jesus is inviting us to allow his seeds of love, hope, salvation, and mercy to enter into our lives and to change us, lest we stay like weeds or tares! When the final harvest comes when Jesus Christ returns to earth, Jesus said that the angels will separate the wheat from the tares.

          Even though I think Jesus’ explanation of his parable or story of what the wheat and tares or weeds are is pretty self-explanatory, if we have little to no farming or agricultural knowledge, it can make it harder for us to read and to understand the bible. For those that have planted wheat seeds, seen fields of wheat, along with weeds, this parable or story will more likely make perfect and clear sense.

          For all of these reasons then, when we study the bible which was written in much

 more agricultural era, we should challenge ourselves to understand these farming or

 agricultural references, as Jesus used them often. This my friends are the reasons why

 “Farming And The Kingdom Of Heaven” is so important. Amen. 

Sidney UMC - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost - 07/16/23 - Sermon - “No Condemnation For Those Who Are In Christ Jesus!”

Sunday 07/16/23 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title: “No Condemnation For Those Who Are In Christ Jesus!”  

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 119:105-112                                      

New Testament Scripture: Romans 8:1-11

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

          We have all have had those moments or times in our lives, I am sure, where we did not feel good enough, or that we have felt lesser than. We might have even had moments or times of despair, where we thought all was lost, etc. Does God love us no matter what though? The answer is yes! For some of us though, we have had moments or times in our lives that were so hard that we might have felt God didn’t love us. It is not that God did not love us, but in those moments, it was hard to feel anything.

          I have talked to people that have told me that at different points in their lives that they were mad a God for something, or that at different points in their lives, God seemed much more distant from them than at other times in their lives.

          We have various scriptures that discuss wrestling with God. For example, Genesis 32:22-32 is about Jacob wrestling with God. Jacob wrestled with God all night, and Jacob would not let God go until God blessed him. Wrestling with God, struggling to understand God’s will for our lives, and drawing closer to Christ is part of the journey of all Christians.

          In fact, when I was going through the process of becoming an Ordained Elder in our UNYUMC we were asked to pick a scripture that spoke to us and helped to guide us. I chose one of my favorite scriptures Philippians 2:12-13 that says:

¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13, NRSV).

          Why is this one of my favorite scriptures? It is because while God always loves us, and while the love and goodness of God is constant and infinite, sometimes in our lives we are figuring some things out. Sometimes in our lives, we wrestle with God, like Jacob did in Genesis 32:22-32. In fact, I have talked to various people and even pastors that have told me that in their lives, sometimes God seems nearer to them, than during other times. Sometimes they are on the mountain top and on fire for Jesus Christ. Yet there are other times, where I have talked to people and pastors that tell me that they are “waiting on Lord”. You see, they have been praying and praying and waiting for an answer from God. God is truly Good all the time, and all the time God is good! Yet, in our lives sometimes we are working some things out, and this can make our walks with Christ ones that cause us to struggle sometimes.

          In our lives we have times where our faith shines bright, and we have times where we might be in the valley. The hope of the church and the community of faith though, is that we minister to and love each other. We might have walked into church today with our faith burning bright, and some of us might be in spiritual valleys, or anywhere in between. Wherever we are today though, God is with us, God loves us, and God never fails! There have been Sundays in my ministry where my spiritual gas tank was almost empty, and then there have been some Sundays in my ministry where my spiritual gas tank was overflowing. Wherever we are today, God is with us, and we are here to love and to serve each other.

          Last week, the Apostle Paul told us in our reading from Romans 7, in 7:15:

¹⁵ I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (Rom. 7:15, NRSV).

          Our journeys of faith in Christ are ones that hopefully lead us closer and closer to Christ, but many of us go through peaks and valleys. Where are you at today in your walk with Christ? Are you on the mountain top? Are you in valley? Or are somewhere in between?

          We are given in God’s word throughout the Bible, the idea that God’s love and faithfulness is constant and never ending. We need to follow God, and God will never abandon us or forsake us. Sometimes though we struggle, we all wrestle with God, because we are human. The Apostle Paul last Sunday said he is struggling with sin and brokenness, and was asking God to help him through that. We all struggle at times, and we as the church are here to serve and to love one another.

          Further, as we read the Bible, not only do we read about Jacob wrestling with God in the book of Genesis, but we have the struggles of Job in the Book of Job. We have men and women that are on top of the world, and then everything falls apart. We have the Apostle Peter promising to serve Jesus, and then denying him three times on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. As Christians we are all people forgiven by the grace of God, in Jesus Christ. We are all on a journey to be more and more like Jesus Christ. If you struggle sometimes, many struggle with you. This world can be a tough place, but God is good.

          We hear this morning in our reading from Psalm 119:105-112, in 105 speaking of the Bible that:

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps. 119:105, NRSV).

          God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. Even so, sometimes we struggle, and sometimes we suffer. We read this of various characters throughout the Bible, and we encounter this sometimes in our own lives.

          All of this leads me to my sermon title for this morning that comes from our New Testament reading from Romans 8:1-11. In Romans 8:1, it says, once again:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus     (Rom. 8:1, NRSV). 

          This is an amazing verse of scripture. Last Sunday in Romans 7, the Apostle Paul was saying that he cannot help himself and does things he should not do. We are all guilty of this in different way, yet this morning the Apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus is enough. We should not seek to do bad things and harm other people, but Jesus always forgives us. The damage we do on earth can sometimes not be undone, but Jesus always forgives us if we turn to him. So, if we are a new creation in Christ Jesus, we are not condemned, and can stand confident in his love, mercy, grace, and salvation.

           Continuing on in our Romans 8:1-11 reading, we pick up with the Apostle Paul saying in Romans 8:2, once again saying:

² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit  (Rom. 8:2-4, NRSV).

          So, in and through Jesus Christ, we are set free and not condemned. Maybe some of us have been condemned by others, or maybe we have condemned others. Maybe there have been times where we have been judged, mistreated, and made to feel lesser than. In Christ, we not condemned. In Christ we are worthy, loved, and we are enough. All I bring to Christ is my broken self, and he makes me whole. Daily I pursue him, and I strive to be made more and more whole through him. In doing this I grow in sanctifying grace and become more like Jesus.

          The Apostle Paul continues in Romans 8:5, saying once again:

⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Rom. 8:5-9, NRSV).

          It is tough to be connected to the Spirit of God all the time, as we are in the flesh. The Apostle Paul, once again, even admitted his struggle with this last Sunday in Romans 7. This I know though, when I am connected to Christ, things are much better, and worldly things seem to fade away. It is a constant struggle for many of us. To buy things, pursue things, eat and drink things, etc. We want happiness, we want joy, and we want contentment. The Apostle Paul is saying though that deep and true contentment comes from Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

          This does not mean that we should have nothing, but we should realize that things cannot bring eternal happiness. As we live in this world, realize that God is greater, and that the love of Christ is deeper than anything else.

          Even though we all struggle at times, and even though the Apostle Paul himself struggled, the Apostle Paul tell us once again in Romans 8:10-11 this:

¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you (Rom. 8:10-11, NRSV).

          Until the day we die and go to be with Jesus, or if he comes here first, we will have all sorts of temptations, struggles, and various things that compete for our time, our talent, our resources, and our hearts. The Apostle Paul tells us this morning however, once again:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus     (Rom. 8:1, NRSV).

          There are days in my walk with Christ that I feel like a superhero, and there are days where I felt like I did not move forward one inch. As we sow the love, hope, and peace of Christ though, we should remind ourselves that some of the seeds we sow in others will take root and grow. This idea of sowing seeds of faith is what Jesus is talking about this morning in his parable or story of “The Sower”. When I worked in social work between teaching and being a pastor, I had a framed picture of Christ’s arm. There was of course the nail hole, and in his Christ’s half-opened hand, and seeds were falling out of Jesus’ hand. The title of this beautiful poster of this painting is called “The Sower”.

          Sharing our faith in Christ and loving others is like sowing seeds. What will happen to those whom we share our faith with and love, however? Let’s hear what it says in gospel reading starting in Matthew 13:1 for this morning, once again:

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. ² Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ Let anyone with ears listen!’ (Mt. 13:1-8, NRSV).

          When we share our faith in Christ, when we serve and love others, some of these seeds of faith, hope, and love will grow in people. Some may never grow. Also, whether we are on the mountain top with our faith, in the valley with our faith, and anywhere in between, God can and still does use us. If you are on a spiritual mountain top this morning or in a valley of struggle and wrestling, God still uses us to sow seeds of love, hope, and faith. Don’t underestimate how God might be using us all this morning. For whether we are flying high in our faith this morning, or struggling, the Apostle Paul once again reminds this morning in Romans 8:1:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus     (Rom. 8:1, NRSV).

          Our gospel of Matthew 13 reading ends with 13:18-23 for this morning, explaining the parable or the story of “The Sower”. “The Sower” sews or spreads seeds that will hopefully take root and grow into grain that can be eaten to sustain our bodies. In fact, Matthew 13:18-23 tells this morning, once again:

¹⁸ ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. ²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³ But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty’ (Mt. 13:18-23, NRSV).

 

          Jesus says to us to let the seeds of his gospel, his love, and his hope, fill us and guide us. Even though we will have times of struggle and times of wrestling, God is good all the time, and all the time God is God. Further, as the Apostle Paul reminds us once again in Romans 8:1 for this morning:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus     (Rom. 8:1, NRSV).

          So, wherever you are spiritually this morning and in general, God loves you, and you are never condemned or lesser than in Jesus Christ. May it be so. Amen.

Sidney UMC - Sixth Sunday after Pentecost - 07/09/23 - Sermon - “Aren’t We All Like The Apostle Paul?”

Sunday 07/09/23 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title: “Aren’t We All Like The Apostle Paul?”                                

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 45:10-17                                      

New Testament Scripture: Romans 7:15-25a

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

          So, we have all had these moments in our lives. You know those moments where you are about to do something, but you know that you probably shouldn’t do it. We all do them. Maybe you’re running a few minutes late to an appointment, so you take your car to about 80-85 MPH! I mean you certainly could get a speeding ticket for going that fast. I am sure as we are driving that speed that we are also very aware that we could get a speeding ticket, but we want to get there on time!

          Perhaps some of you have been in a situation like this, and you got pulled over. Sometimes, if a woman is going into labor for example, or it’s an ambulance or a fire truck, I can understand why someone is racing to get somewhere. Sometimes though, people are not in hurry, they just want to get somewhere faster because they are inpatient. According to a law firm website that I researched; it says this:

The average driver saves 26 seconds a day by speeding.

People think it saves time. Maybe it does occasionally, if you run through a yellow light to avoid stopping for a minute. But, the time saved that speeding makes, on average, is about 2 minutes a week (https://www.coluccio-law.com/crash-risk-time-saved speeding/#:~:text=The%20average%20driver%20saves%2026,about%202%20minutes%20a%20week).

          Here is another example, you really should get to bed at 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM and night, but you know that movie that you have been wanting to see is on television. So, you stay up until about 12:30 AM watching the movie. During the movie, you periodically look at the clock a little worried about how late you are staying up. You know it’s probably not a good idea, but you really want to see that movie! The next day your tired and cranky, and you think to yourself, “I really shouldn’t have stayed up so late and watched that movie”!

          Sometimes our wants and our desires can put us in danger and can cause us harm, but we sometimes are willing to take the risk anyway. For me, it tends to be sweets. I love sweets and snacks, and I should eat less of them. This is probably true for many of us. We know that they are not good for us, but we eat them anyway.

          Sometimes people struggle to quit smoking, because they have told me that when they are stressed, a cigarette calms them down. Nicotine is also very addictive. I could go on and on with all sorts of vices, sins, and temptations that some of us struggle with.

          Now I don’t use these examples to be condemnatory, but to say that our journey to fully be like Jesus Christ, or to be “Entirely Sanctified” as the founder of the Methodist Movement John Wesley called it, is a life long journey. Maybe we have shed some sins, temptations, and vices that once had some level of control over our lives, but no longer do.

          One of the goals of the Christian life is to continue to shed sin and guilt as we walk with Christ, so that we might be more like him. When we are more like Jesus, we are more loving, more caring, more compassionate, more generous, holier, more righteous, and etc.

          The point is this, if we are honest, we all still have things in our lives that might have some dominion over us, and we know it. Remember, we are all growing and journeying with Christ, and all striving to be more like him. The question I have for us all then is this, where is there sin, temptations, and or vices in our lives that we have to work on removing? For some, this might be a sensitive topic, but I would challenge us to not feel this way, as we are all in the same boat here.

          As I have mentioned, I need to eat less sweets and junk food, and I know it. I also need to work less. Where are we all falling short? Where in our lives do we have things, behaviors, etc. that we need to surrender to Jesus Christ, in order to become more like Christ. We want that new car or truck, but do we really need it? How are we conforming our lives to Christ?

          Again, this can be a heavy topic, and one that if we are not careful can make us defensive and even anxious. Instead, this is an opportunity to become better. We all can improve, and Jesus came not only to die for us, but so that we might become more like him.

          Why am I giving all of these examples and diving into this topic so deeply? I am doing so, because, I am largely preaching on our Romans 7:15-25a scripture for this morning. Once again, the Apostle Paul, who is struggling with sin, maybe bad decisions, and or vices, says starting in Romans 7:15 this:

¹⁵ I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (Rom. 7:15, NRSV).

          So, the great Apostle Paul, who is attributed as the writer of almost half of the New Testament, is saying to the church in Rome or the Romans, I don’t understand why I am doing what I am doing. The Apostle Paul says that he does not do what he wants, but instead does what he hates. What are these things? Well, the Apostle Paul never tells us, nor does he tell us what “thorn in his side” is either. The Apostle Paul was certainly tempted by one or more things, as we all are. The Apostle Paul realized this, and told the Romans and us that he is struggling to do what he should do.

          The Apostle Paul then draws the conclusion that what he is doing that he says is wrong, is because of the sins that dwells in him. The Apostle Paul says that he cannot trust his flesh, because it fails him. In fact, the Apostle Paul says in Romans starting in Romans 7:20 once again:

²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. ²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. ²² For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, ²³ but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members                  (Rom. 7:20-23, NRSV).

This is really deep stuff. The Apostle Paul is saying that his mind and his body is in a constant struggle with his soul, and the love of God that is within him. It is true to say that temptations and impulses are all around us. We are encouraged to over indulge at every turn. We are often encouraged to consume, seek pleasure, and do everything we can for ourselves.

It can be hard to be a Christian in 2023 when there is so much vying for our hearts, our resources, our time, and sometimes even our very souls. What I deeply respect about the Apostle Paul in our reading from Romans 7:15-25a for this morning though, it that the Apostle Paul owns this reality that we all face on different levels. As we walk with Christ hopefully these strongholds in our life get smaller, but there will always be some.

When I was younger sometimes, I could get angry, but I rarely get angry like that anymore. I am trying to look at my life and continue to see how I can conform my life to the living Christ. Outside of leading people to salvation in Christ is us pursuing Christ and living like him in a variety of ways.

I love how our reading for this morning ends from Psalm 45:17 saying once again:

¹⁷ I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever (Ps. 45:17, NRSV).

          If Jesus Christ and his gospel are the best and only hope of a broken and a hurting world, which I believe they are, then the best way we can be the church for the world is to be more like Christ. I have never heard anyone say that someone was “Christ-like” and it be taken offensively.

          Do I want people to come to Christ and receive the free gift of salvation and eternity? Of course, I do, as this is the primary mission of the church. Beyond this though, as we are continually being sanctified or being more made into the image of Christ, our impact and our effect on the world will increase. As we pray, as we read scripture, as we love, and we heal, may strive more to be like Jesus. When we look more the like Jesus, when the church looks more like Jesus, we will make a huge impact on Sidney, the Sidney area, and the world. 

          What the Apostle Paul is acknowledging in himself this morning is that he is struggling with sin, bad decisions, and or some vices. In fact, our Romans 7:15-25am reading for this morning ends saying, once again:

²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!                               (Rom. 7:24-25a, NRSV).

So, what did the Apostle Paul struggle with, and what was the “thorn in his flesh?” We don’t know and probably will never know. I could have been various indulgences, lusts, greed, envy, etc. Things that many of us, if we are honest, are still striving to ride ourselves of.

I am also not saying that we should beat up ourselves, and I believe that we serve a God of love and forgiveness, not a God of guilt and shame. For example, we have people in our communities, and maybe even within our churches that are struggling with active drug and alcohol addiction. We need to love these people, because as the Apostle Paul says the morning, we all are probably doing things or thinking things sometimes that we shouldn’t.

This leads me to our gospel of Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 reading for this morning. Starting in Matthew 11:16 it says, once again:

¹⁶ ‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, ¹⁷ “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.” ¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; ¹⁹ the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds’ (Mt. 11:16-19, NRSV).

 

          Jesus is telling us here, that despite his teachings, the evidence, and all the miracles that both him and his cousin John the Baptist have largely been rejected. If we reject the goodness of Christ, and we do not try to be more like him, than what does this say about us? If we don’t follow Christ, then who do we follow? Who do we model our lives after? Who do we strive to be more like?

This gospel lesson then ends with Jesus, thanking God the Father. The second person of the Holy Trinity is thanking the first person of Holy Trinity. In completing our gospel of Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 reading for this morning, it ends, once again, with Matthew 25-30 saying:

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷ All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ²⁸ ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light’ (Mt. 11:25-30, NRSV).

 

          If you are not what should be yet, then you are like all the rest of us. Yet, Jesus tells to come to him. If we are weary and carrying heaven burdens, Jesus will give us rest. Take Jesus’ yoke upon us, learn from him, for he is gentle and humble in heart. In doing so, we will find rest for our very souls. Jesus’ yoke is easy and his burden is light.

          Within all of this, the Apostle Paul is telling us this morning, that while he loves Jesus, follows him, and spreads his gospel, that he is still struggling to be more like Jesus. Don’t we all, myself included, have further to go to be more like Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul struggled, in our own ways, “Aren’t We All Like The Apostle Paul?” May we continue to turn to Jesus, and continue to remove those things out of our lives that separate from Jesus. Amen.