January 24, 2021 A New Heart for A New Year - Give Me Courage to Strengthen Me

 

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This morning we continue the series of messages titled A New Heart for A New Year, which comes from a Celtic prayer, titled Lord of My Heart.  Here is that prayer – 

 

Lord of my heart, give me vision to inspire me,that working or resting, I may always think of you.

Lord of my heart, give me light to guide me,

that at home or abroad I may always walk in your way.

Lord of my heart, give me wisdom to direct me, that thinking or acting, I may always discern right from wrong.

Lord of my heart, give me courage to strengthen me, that amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice.

Lord of my heart, give me trust to console me,

that hungry or well-fed, I may always rely on your mercy.

Lord of my heart, save me from empty praise,

that I may always boast of you.

Lord of my heart, save me from worldly wealth,that I may always look to the riches of heaven.

Lord of my heart, save me from military prowess,

that I may always seek your protection.

Lord of my heart, save me from vain knowledge,

that I may always studyyour word.

Lord of my heart, save me from unnatural pleasures,

that I may always find joy in your wonderful creation.

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall me,

rule over my thoughts and feelings, my words and actions.

 

In this series, we are studying five themes from that prayer – vision, light, wisdom, courage, and trust.  Today’s message is on the theme of courage.  The line from the prayer for today is Lord of my heart, give me courage to strengthen me, that amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice.

     

For our Scripture text, we travel to the book of Joshua.  In chapter one of Joshua, the generation of wandering through the wilderness has ended. The Hebrew people are poised to cross the Jordan River, about to enter the Promised Land.  It was a moment that was centuries in the making.  After enduring centuries of bondage in Egypt, after holding to the hope of deliverance for many generations, so much was wrapped up in this moment.  After so many years, it had fallen to Joshua to lead the people across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land.  In this passage, Joshua receives a word of encouragement of God.  It is not only a word of encouragement, but also a reminder of the courage he would need in leading the people.

 

Joshua 1:5b – 9 – 

 

⁵ As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 

⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

 ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

 

This morning, as we move through this passage, and the theme of courage, I want to offer you three words, the first of which is,

 

The Moment.

     

This was not only the moment for the people, as they prepared to cross the river; it was especially quite a moment for Joshua, as their leader.  Moses had passed away.  Moses, the great liberator from bondage in Egypt, the great leader through the wilderness wandering, and the receiver of the Law.  Moses was the great leader for the people, but now, the mantle of leadership had fallen to Joshua.  This was a really big moment for Joshua, and I’m sure he wondered how he would ever fill the role that Moses so ably and capably filled.  Just as Moses before him, Joshua would face some great challenges, and resistance from the people.  There are always the naysayers, and it wouldn’t take long before that group would express doubts about Joshua, just as they did with Moses.  It probably began as they prepared to cross the river, as people began to express their skepticism about what was ahead – couldn’t Joshua find a better place to cross the river?  Doesn’t it look extra wide to you?  Why cross here?  Why am I always in the back?  Joshua always puts his favorites in the front.  Since I’m in the back, the water is going to be all stirred up and muddy when I have to cross.  What if I get swept downstream?  Who is going to help me?  I think I saw a snake.  I’m not getting in that water; not if there are snakes in there.  He sure isn’t Moses, is he?  You know, we thought Moses was too old, but Joshua is a little on the young side, isn’t he?

     

This was Joshua’s moment, and it was a really big moment.  He had big shoes to fill, there were many challenges ahead, and many challenges pressing in immediately upon them.  The people needed to become a nation, requiring a lot of work.  The people would sometimes be in agreement with Joshua and sometimes in disagreement.  

     

That’s why we find the repetitive nature of what God says to Joshua.  Did you notice how many times God told Joshua to be strong and courageous?  Three times God offers that phrase to Joshua, meaning, presumably, that it is the most important of all that is said in this passage.  The second time God uses the phrase, note that he adds that Joshua should be strong and very courageous (the word very is added this time). Aside from the three times God uses this phrase, we also read that God says, in verse 9, to not be afraid and do not be discouraged.  Do you get the sense that God is telling Joshua something?  I sure do, and I think God is telling him to buckle up and hold on, because he has been given a calling and a mission that is going to take him on the ride of his life.  It is also an indication that there is a lot of difficult work ahead for Joshua.  By the time Joshua hears these admonitions from God, he’s probably thinking, who is my understudy?  Who is the next person in line for this position?  I may not be up to the task.  I’ve noted God’s encouragement to be strong and courageous, and I understand that is a way of telling me that I have a really difficult task ahead, but I’m not sure if I’m up to it.  This is God’s way of telling Joshua that he has a lot on his shoulders, and he is going to need to remind himself to not be afraid and not to be discouraged if he is going to lead the people.  Joshua will need to repeat those words like a mantra, throughout each day, so he will be prepared when the times get difficult, as the times most certainly did.  As soon as Joshua stepped into that river, his life would change, and he needed to be prepared.  The Jordan River is not large.  In most places, it is probably no wider than this room.  In a metaphorical way, however, in a spiritual way, what it meant to cross that river was a really, really big moment.  It was crossing a border, a boundary, into an entirely new life.  It meant they were leaving behind their old lives and building something new.

     

Every person has a moment that comes to them, and those are defining moments in life. You might not have faced such a moment yet, but at some point, you will.  Granted, it might not be a moment like the one that came to Joshua, but it will be defining moment in your life.  And, it is important to note, it is not always a moment we want or that we seek out.  Defining moments come to us whether we want them or not, and whether we seek them or not.  Those are the moments when we must rise to the occasion, to be prepared for what has come to us.  You might be thinking, right now, of some of those moments in your life.  If you are, you know what I am talking about.  

     

When I think about the defining moments in my life, they were not moments that I sought out.  I did not look for them, and in most cases, I did not welcome them.  But they came, nonetheless.  One in particular, that might have been the most defining moment in my life, was one I wished would simply go away.  It was an incredibly difficult moment, and in that moment, I needed to hear what Joshua heard – be strong and courageous. Be strong and very courageous. Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid.  Do not be discouraged.  I did not feel strong or courageous.  I was frightened, and I was discouraged.  It wasn’t a moment that came and went quickly, which made it every more difficult. It was a moment that carried on over the course of some months, but God did indeed see me through.  

     

All of Joshua’s life was building to this point.  He had a good role model in Moses, and he had a lot of opportunity to observe and learn, but now the moment came to him.  I’m not sure how confident Joshua was in his abilities as a leader, but I am going to assume that he had his share of doubts.  This is obvious to me because God has to tell him, three times, to be strong and courageous.  He also tells him, remember, to not be afraid and do not be discouraged. I don’t think it is necessary to say such things to someone who is full of confidence.  God, clearly, saw Joshua as being more than up to the task of leading the people, even if Joshua did not.  Here is one of the important elements of leadership – the person God calls for a moment, is also the person God equips for that moment.  Let me say that again – the person God calls for a moment, is also the person God equips for that moment.  So rest assured, and be confident, that however lacking in ability you might feel, the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Whatever moment comes to you in life, God has equipped you for that moment.  Even when it feels overwhelming, even when you feel that you are not up to the moment, and when you feel that God has too high an opinion of your abilities and too much confidence in you, God knows what he is doing, and will be with you wherever you go.

 

The Step. 

     

When I was in high school, my dad had an inflatable rubber raft.  I don’t know why he had that raft, as I don’t remember him ever using it, but my friends and I used it.  We would take that raft – which was probably big enough for four people – when the spring rains would raise the waters in the creeks and ride it in the rushing water.  There was one creek, especially, in my home county – Buffalo Creek – which is a tributary to the Ohio River, and when the spring rains would come, that creek would rise several feet and turn into a rushing, torrent of water.  We would put the raft in a truck, drive to a place to put into Buffalo Creek, and pile six or eight of us in that raft and hold on for our lives.  It was not the smartest thing to do, I will admit.  Sometimes, when you are doing something foolish, you increase the level of foolishness. We would put on our motorcycle helmets – we all rode motorcycles as well – to protect our heads from low-hanging branches or rocks in the water.  This was not very smart, because if you fell out of the raft and into that water, the last thing you needed was something heavy to weigh on your head and pull it under the water.  Many years later, I switched to canoeing, which was a good deal safer.  For several years, I took groups to Falmouth, Kentucky, up in Pendleton County, about ninety miles from here.  We would canoe on the Licking River, which was, for the most part, a shallow, slow moving river.  In the spot where we put the canoes in the water was an outcropping of rocks, protruding about eight or ten inches out of the water.  The guy who ran the canoe livery once told me that when the water rose to cover that outcropping of rocks, they would not put canoes on the river, because it was too dangerous.  As he told me, only eight or ten inches of increased water level had enough current to knock you down and sweep you away.  My mind went back to when my friends and I got in my dad’s raft, when the water had risen several feet.  I did not say anything to the owner of the canoe livery about that foolishness!

     

Chapter three of Joshua tells us that when the Hebrew people were preparing to cross the river, it was the time of year when it was at flood stage.  Seeing the high water most likely did not instill confidence in the people.  But when they started to cross, led by the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, the waters stopped flowing.  But here is the important note – they had to first step into the water.  They had to have the faith that God would carry them safely to the other side.  Even though the water had stopped flowing, the rocks were most likely still slick and treacherous.  Whatever the fears, however, Joshua and the people took that step.

     

When you take that step, know that your life is going to change.  When the moment comes, we know we cannot remain still, but must go forward.  We all know the feeling of being frozen in our steps, unable to go forward, and how frustrating that can be.  We fear taking that step, because we know that once we take that step, it will begin of series of events that will alter the course of our life forever.  But we must take that step.  Once we take that step, there is much we cannot control, and that is frightening to us.  Stepping into a moment is like stepping into moving water, which can carry us away at any moment.  We might not be able to control our circumstances, but we can control how we respond.  Joshua did not always respond in the best way, and neither did Moses, or Abraham, or any other Biblical character.  Sometimes, the pressure and the stress of the moment can overwhelm us and cause us to make decisions that are not the best.  But we still must take that step, and trust that God is with us.  

 

The Need. 

     

Why does the moment come to us?  Because there is a need that we can meet.  With any need, it takes a great deal of courage to meet that need, so remember the words, be strong and courageous.  Be strong and very courageous.  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid.  Do not be discouraged, because when the need is great, so is the need for strength and courage.  Joshua needed to get the people across the river and into the Promised Land.  The time of the wilderness wandering was over; now it was time to become a nation.  The wandering in the wilderness bound them together, but there was so much more to do.  There was infrastructure to complete, governance to organize, and so much more.  The need was tremendous, and it would require so much from Joshua.  

     

Now, let me go back to that Celtic prayer as well, as I want to quote the line from it that serves as today’s theme – Lord of my heart, give me courage to strengthen me, that amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice.  I love that line, and I especially love that it says that we are to proclaim God’s justice among not only our enemies, but among our friends.  It is one matter to proclaim justice among those who disagree with you, or consider themselves to be enemies, but it is a very different matter when you have to confront your friends; that takes a great deal of courage. For Joshua, in building a nation, justice had to be a cornerstone.  The great theme of the Old Testament prophets was justice; everyone was to be treated fairly and with justice.  A cornerstone of our society is justice, although we have, at times, done a very poor job over the course of our history to see that it comes equally to everyone. 

     

We have been in a reckoning in our society for some months now – really for many years, but especially in recent months – over our failure as a society to treat people justly and fairly.  We often have this strange idea in our society – called a zero-sum game – that if you improve one person’s life, you must reduce someone else’s life.  If one group is elevated, another group must be reduced.  This is not at all true, but much of the contentiousness of our day comes from this kind of thinking.  There are too many who think, because you are lifting up this group, it must mean that you are taking away from my group, but this is not at all true.  Justice is for everyone, and treating everyone justly and fairly does not mean we have to take away from others.  In fact, the only way we can ever truly become the people God intends for us to be is for us to provide justice and equality to every person.

     

As I begin to wrap this up, let’s take it back to the individual for a moment. Everyone has a moment. Everyone.  What is the moment that you are either in, or is yet to come?  It might be very personal, but at some time there will also be a moment that asks you to consider how you relate to the world at large as well.  You will have moments in which you must consider something very personal, but there are also going to be moments when you have to consider how you will relate to the larger world as well, and it will most likely be a moment that will be about justice and equality.  How, in that moment, will you work for justice and equality for others?  How will you take your step to do so?  How will you meet the need for justice?  When you do, you will need to remember the words God spoke to Joshua – Be strong and courageous.  Be strong and very courageous.  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid.  Do not be discouraged.  

     

Amen, and amen.

January 17, 2021 A New Heart for A New Year: Give Me Wisdom to Direct Me

 

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This morning we continue the series of messages titled A New Heart for A New Year, the series coming from a Celtic prayer, titled Lord of My Heart.  In the series, we are studying five themes from the prayer – vision, light, wisdom, courage, and trust. Today’s message is on the theme of wisdom.  

     

As I have mentioned several times, I have been working in collaboration with five other Disciples ministers from around the country on this series.  As to the sermons, we share Scripture passages and a few themes.  Most of our collaboration has been with the video/study materials to go with this series.  In the video series, each of us was assigned one of the themes, and our responsibility was to choose someone we believe embodies that theme, and then lead the interview with the entire group on Zoom. As we talked about who would take with theme, in my mind I was thinking don’t give me wisdom, don’t give me wisdom.  Naturally, that’s the theme I ended up being assigned.  But that gave me the opportunity to ask a longtime friend of mine to be our interview subject.  I was grateful she agreed to the interview, because I believe she is a great representative of wisdom in so many ways. 

     

The line from the prayer that serves as our theme is, Lord of my heart, give me wisdom to direct me,that thinking or acting, I may always discern right from wrong.

     

As I thought about wisdom, there were two Scriptures that immediately came to mind, both in the book of I Corinthians.  One of the passages is in chapter one, which Jordan read for our Call to Worship, and the other is in chapter two, which is the one I chose for this morning’s Scripture reading.  Follow along with me as I read that passage.

 

I Corinthians 2:1-14

¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 

³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 

⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 

⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 

⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 

⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁹ However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 

¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 

¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 

¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 

 

Wisdom is a really broad, giant topic.  It’s a topic we could talk about for a long time, but I don’t have a long time this morning.  Narrowing the topic down was really difficult for me, and I struggled all week with how to condense this topic down to a manageable, clear message.  Please do not feel as though you need to tell me whether or not I succeeded in doing so.

     

What I will present to you this morning are two questions, followed by two statements.  So let’s begin with a question – 

 

What is wisdom?

     

As we are talking about wisdom, it seems obvious that we must define what it is that we mean when we are speaking about wisdom.  

     

When I began middle school, I was in the 7^thgrade.  Our county had just consolidated the school system and our middle schools were 4^ththrough 8^thgrade.  The middle school I attended had been the high school my father attended. Because of the population decline in my home county, that school is now closed and for sale.  It is a very strange experience to walk or drive past that huge school building and see a big For Sale sign out front.  When I was young, I would have rejoiced in thinking the school was for sale, but it is now a sad reminder of the decline of my hometown.  I remember walking into the auditorium for the first time, taking a seat, and looking above the stage at the inscription written in large letters on the wall – the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (which comes from Proverbs 9:10).  Well, the purpose of schools is to instill wisdom, so that’s a good verse to use.  

     

Thinking a bit more, however, requires asking this question – are wisdom and knowledge the same?  Schools are designed to impart knowledge, but is knowledge the same as wisdom? Personally, I don’t think so.  Knowledge consists of information we are taught, and information that we can learn in a classroom or by reading a book.  Paul is not speaking of knowledge, but of wisdom, and there is a difference between the two.  

     

The prayer that serves as our theme for these messages says this of wisdom– Lord of my heart, give me wisdom to direct me,that thinking or acting, I may always discern right from wrong.  There is the key – that I may always discern right from wrong.  Discerning right from wrong is a function of wisdom, not knowledge.  When we speak of discerning right from wrong, we are speaking about morality.  Wisdomis another word, basically, for morality. Knowledge can teach us a mathematical formula.  It can teach us accounting, for instance, but it takes wisdom to teach us whether or not we are using the finances in that accounting formula in a wise – or moral – manner.  Knowledge can give us the times and dates of historical events, but it is wisdom that allows us to interpret what that history means, and how we can learn from that history.  Wisdom has more to do with how we live, how we treat others, and what we do with our lives. Knowledge can teach someone how to be a good engineer, but not necessarily how to be a good person (and I’m not passing any judgment on my engineer friends by using them as an example).  Facts and figures can provide us with information about what has happened, or what is happening, in the world, but it doesn’t necessarily help us to interpret why the events happen.  Wisdom is a way of looking at the world that will provide us with a guide on how we should live.  Wisdom deals with the meaning and the purpose of life, and wisdom, unlike knowledge, cannot always be taught.  

 

Where Does Wisdom Come From?

     

In verses 4 and 5, Paul writes this – ⁴My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.  Wisdom, Paul says, comes from the Spirit.

     

When Paul is speaking of wisdom, he also reminds us there are competing wisdoms – or competing moralities – in any culture, in any society, in any historical moment.  There is not one, unified morality in any society.  Our society, for instance, does not have one morality.  We are, in actuality, a collection of moralities, and those moralities are often in conflict with one another.  Sometimes people will say, I’m just as moral as the next person.  That may or may not be true, as the shortcoming of that statement is that it assumes we all agree on a definition of morality by which we can compare how well each person measures up to that standard of morality. Too often, when we compare morality, we are comparing apples and oranges, because we are not defining morality in the same way.  Sometimes our moralities overlap, but sometimes they do not.

     

The early church, in many ways, set a very stark contrast with Roman culture, or Roman morality.  In Roman society, there was not much equality. Now, I’m not ignoring the reality that in American history we have not always practiced equality, but I’m not speaking about American morality; I’m speaking of Christian morality.  And while there were Christians in our nation who supported moral evils such as slavery, that represented not a true interpretation, application, or practice of Christianity.  No, that was an aberration, and a distortion of Christianity.  

     

In Rome, women had no standing. As Jordan spoke of the historical prayer in her Kid’s Korner message this morning, it reminded us that women were not valued in the time of the Roman Empire.  The early church gave women standing, and gave them equality. I realize there are those who will hear me make that statement and say, Dave, have your read Paul? I’m including Paul in my statement about women being given standing and equality, because Paul is too often misunderstood.  There are very specific and very narrow circumstances that led Paul to write about limitations for the role of women in the church, but those are circumstances that no longer apply.  The churches who make the claim that Paul’s words about limiting the role of women in churches still apply, are greatly misunderstanding and misinterpreting Paul. That misunderstanding and misinterpretation leads them, sadly, to subjugate women. Subjugating women is not practicing a true, Christian morality; it is an aberration of Christian morality.  The church, in the Roman Empire, gave women value that they did not have otherwise.  It was common in the Roman Empire for families to want male children rather than female children.  At times, female babies were abandoned.  The church rescued those children, cared for them, and raised them.  They took in those children because they saw them as being of value.

     

A lot of people in Rome did not have equality, or value.  If you were poor or hungry, you were basically out of luck.  Rome did not have government safety nets such as we have now; people were mostly on their own.  But the early church stepped into that gap and cared for people.  The church stepped in to take care of those who were hungry.  Feeding the hungry was the first ministry of the church.  The church took care of those who were sick, those who were orphaned, those who could not afford an education, and so much more.  Look at the origins of basically every move to improve society, look at every social movement, and you will find its origins in the church. Go to any hospital in this area and you will find that most – if not all – have their roots in the church.  As Jordan mentioned, tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr., day.  The work of Dr. King, indeed the Civil Rights movement as a whole, had its birth in the church.  As Paul writes, there was a very stark difference between the wisdom – or the morality – of that age, and that of the church, and that morality continues to lead us and guide us today.

     

This clash of moralities is what Paul was grappling with, and it is no small matter.  We are, obviously, in an historical moment where we see a titanic clash of moralities.  We all feel the difficulty and the confusion of that clash.  Now, contrary to popular belief, we have never had one, unified morality in our culture.  It might have seemed so, but that was because one perspective could manage to be dominant to the point that no other morality had a voice.  Today, with the advent of social media, the 24/7 news cycle, and the widespread dissemination of information, we are much more aware of the differences that lead to the different perspectives in our culture and in our world.  What we are now finding, and what is taking place in this historical moment, is that almost everyone now has a voice, and by giving voice to others, we are discovering there are many different views of morality.  This has led to a reckoning, to a moment when we must confront the painful truth that many people have been marginalized, many people have been overlooked, and many people have not been treated equally. Too many groups have suffered and too many people have been held down and there is now a reckoning for how people have been treated, and that reckoning is long overdue.

     

There is simply no way to avoid the clash of moralities.  In some ways, we can find plenty of agreement.  We can all, for instance, agree that people should not drink and drive, but not every issue is that clear.  We can agree, for instance, that everyone needs money to survive in this world, but how do we find agreement on questions such as how much money one person should have, or how we should use our money, and where should we – or shouldn’t we – spend our money?  There are businesses that just aren’t going to get my money.  I don’t like their business practices and I don’t agree with them, but you might disagree with me.

     

There is also the fact that different churches have different interpretations of Christian morality.  This comes about because of interpretations that are different, causing our moral perspectives to clash, and there are very real consequences to those clashes.  To once again use the example of women in churches, there are many churches who continue to refuse to allow women to serve in positions of leadership.  Such a point of view is a distortion of the gospel, it is an aberration, and such policies have had very real, and very difficult consequences, for many women.        

     

So, how do we know?  How do we know what is true and right?  How do we truly discern, as the prayer asks, between right and wrong?  There are people who would tell you that what I am saying is not true and that you should not listen to me.  They might say, let me tell you what our church teaches, and what our minister says. How do we know?  In John 18:38, Pilate asks Jesus the question, what is truth? Pilate had certainly seen others come before Jesus, claiming they were the Messiah.  I’m not sure how Pilate meant that question, whether he was sincerely asking or if he was mocking Jesus, but it is a question that is not without some measure of importance.  How do we know what is true when it comes to truth, wisdom, and morality?  I am not trying to make all this confused or muddled for you, and my intent is not to give you more questions than answers. What I am saying is this – we are dependent upon God’s Spirit, and we must listen to and depend upon that Spirit for wisdom.  

     

Paul is framing this as one of the most important questions that face us, so let me wrap this up by making two statements – 

 

Each person must choose.

     

Paul told the church at Corinth, ¹And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

     

Paul was very simple and basic in what he had to say – I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  The early church had what was known as the kerygma.  Kerygma is a Greek word that means proclamation.  Kerygma was the content of the preaching of the early church.  It was very simple, and very basic.  It did not go into doctrinal stances or into creeds or into obscure elements of theology.  It was taking the Gospel and putting it into what we would call a nutshell; it was the most basic elements of the Gospel message.  Paul said he did not come with fancy language, with eloquence; he came with one message, and one message only – Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Sometimes, we get so deep into the minutia of theology, and sometimes we get so deep into the weeds of interpretation, that we lose sight of what matters most.  I’m not saying that matters of theology aren’t important, but I am saying that some of the details that concern us are not of the greatest importance. 

     

One of the things I so appreciate about our Disciples heritage is that we have one primary theological claim. As I have said many times, we don’t have a creed and we don’t have a statement of faith.  We have one element around which we gather, and it is the great confession of faith made by Peter at Caesarea Philippi.  You’ll remember that Jesus took his disciples there and asked who do people say the Son of Man is?  The disciples gave various answers – John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  Then he asked who do you say I am?  Peter gave his great confession, saying You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God (¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.  Matthew 16:13-18).  That’s it. Jesus didn’t say, that’s great Peter. Now let me read a verse to you and see if you interpret it correctly.  And I want to know how you will translate this Hebrew phrase.  It was only one phrase that mattered – You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and it must always be primary.  That Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, is primary, and with that comes his primary message, which is love. Do you think we need more of that today? I know that may sound naïve, to say that love is the answer to everything.  But it is the answer to the violence in our world.  It is the answer to the harshness and the hatred in our world.  Every other answer has been tried throughout human history and has been found to be insufficient.  Nothing else has been successful; only love has been successful. The problem has been it simply hasn’t been practiced enough.  No one can avoid the choice that is laid before them about wisdom, or, as I have been defining it, morality.  As I quoted recently in another message, it is the message of I Corinthians 13.  Love is the ultimate in Christian morality.  

     

Each person must make that choice.  We live in a time when many people want someone to think for them.  They want someone to tell them what to believe.  They want to be told how to believe.  The problem with that approach is that you will never, then, have a mature, healthy faith if you are dependent upon someone else. If you are dependent upon someone else to tell you what to think, how to think, and what you should believe, your faith will never fully develop.  I know that in the times in which we live it is tempting to want to be told what to think and what to believe.  It reminds me of a friend of mine, back in seminary, who was very frustrated one day, and said, I just want someone to tell me what to believe!  He was in the wrong place if that is what he wanted.  

 

Choose the wisdom of God.

     

I will say this – it’s not always easy to do so.  I don’t know why we sometimes expect that it should be easy, but it’s not. We live in a time when there is so much contentiousness and there are plenty of people who do want to tell us what to think and what to believe.  But let us remember that we are part of the kingdom of God, and kingdom wisdom sometimes looks foolish to those outside of the kingdom.  We are called not to live for ourselves, but for others.  We are called not to be first, but to be last (So the last will be first, and the first will be last.  Matthew 20:6).  We are called not to be the greatest, but to be servants (The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.  Matthew 23:11-12).  Read the first 11 verses of Philippians chapter 2, where Paul writes so beautifully of the values of the kingdom of God (¹Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vainconceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ⁵In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: ⁶Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; ⁷rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:1-11).  To a lot of people, that would sound crazy.  To quote an old saying, in an insane world, it is the sane person who appears insane.  

     

No, it’s not easy, but it is the way of wisdom.

 

 

January 10, 2021 A New Heart for A New Year: Give Me Light to Guide Me

 

You can watch video of this service on Vimeo here - 

https://vimeo.com/499066045?fbclid=IwAR3-HR0wTWv-cJF8-WnJdVJtTn90mKZsLgMrcWjnZdYI-oaCwgERQEGHeJE

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Well…

Any hopes that 2021 would provide us with a reason for optimism seem to have quickly dissipated.  Kentucky has been reporting the highest number of Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began, squashing some of the optimism that came as a result of the vaccine rollout, and the positivity rate has climbed to over 12%.  Nationally, we have broken record after record on the numbers of cases and, with the new strain of Covid that is now spreading around the world, overwhelming hospitals and health care systems, we are aware that we still have some distance to go before this is over.  And then there is Washington, DC!  I am all for free speech, but last week’s events were something altogether different, and extremely troubling.  People seem to forget that speech has consequences, not only for the one who speaks but also for others, and I will say more about that in a few minutes.  

     

With everything that has happened over these past days, weeks, and months, it seems we cannot escape from the continual cycle of just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse… It’s getting to the point that I don’t want to think about what tomorrow might bring.  It seems there is much darkness around us.  So much has happened in our country, and around the world, that the darkness seems to be increasingly enveloping us.

     So let’s turn to this morning’s message.  Last Sunday I began a new series of messages, in collaboration with five other Disciples ministers around the country, titled A New Heart for A New Year.  The series comes from a Celtic prayer, titled Lord of My Heart.  In the series, I am sharing five themes from the prayer – vision, light, wisdom, courage, and trust.  When it comes to a new year, we are certainly an optimistic people.  To think, to hope, and to believe that things are going to be better is a great testimony to our optimism.  Today’s message is on the theme of light, which is especially appropriate for the dark times in which we are living.  The line in the prayer is, Lord of my heart, give me light to guide me, that at home or abroad I may always walk in your way.  However dark it might be, we have God’s light to guide us and it provides us with illumination both physical and spiritual.

     

Our Scripture text is John 8:12-18.  Follow along with me as I read that passage –

 

¹²Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 

¹³Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” 

¹⁴Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 

¹⁵You judge by human standards; I judge no one.

¹⁶ But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 

¹⁷ In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 

¹⁸ I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

 

This morning, I have two points to make, which come from this phrase of the prayer – Lord of my heart, give me light to guide me, that at home or abroad I may always walk in your way – and two verses from today’s Scripture text, combining them together for my points.

 

1.  Give me light to guide me – Jesus spoke to them saying, “I am the light of the world.”

     

Astronaut Jim Lovell was the first person to fly into space four times.  His most famous mission was that of Apollo 13, that could have ended in disaster, but thankfully, did not.  If you saw the movie based on the flight, or if you remember when the flight took place, you will remember what a gripping story it is, and the miraculous return of the three astronauts.  At the time, it seemed as though the entire world was watching, and praying, for the safe return of the astronauts.  In his memoir, Lovell writes of his time as a Navy combat pilot.  One night, he was returning from a combat mission and couldn't find his aircraft carrier. The ships lights were off due to the combat conditions and his plane’s navigation equipment was of no use because they were under total radio silence. He turned on his map light to see if he could calculate his position, but when he did, an electrical short caused all of the lights to go out.  Lovell was flying in complete darkness, over the dark ocean, with no instruments to guide him, and with no idea how he would find his ship.  It was then that he saw his answer.  There was a glow in the water, and he realized it was the glow of tiny sea plankton caused by the wake of a passing ship, his ship.  It was a miracle of God’s creation, and Lovell know he could follow the light as though it was a highway back to his ship.

 

 

I love that image.  Light, to guide one home.  With no idea how he was going to find his ship, there was the light to guide Lovell to a safe return.  

     

We speak often of light as an act of illumination.  Light guides us in a physical way, just as it did for me earlier during the Kid’s Korner, when I stepped into a darkened hallway behind this platform.  But we also speak of light as coming to a point of understanding, such as when we say, now I have seen the light.     

     

In the first verse of this morning’s Scripture reading, Jesus says, I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.  The image of Jesus as the light of the world is one of the most well-known of all the images ascribed to him.  Psalm 119:105 says, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

     

The image of light in the Scriptures is very powerful, because light calms us, especially in the face of darkness, which is a symbol of so much of what is negative.  After waking to the light of morning, after the nighttime brings us a frightening dream or magnifies our worries, the light makes us wonder, why was I so afraid?  There is nothing about the dark that can hurt me.  There is something about light that is so comforting, but when we are in the dark, it is so easy to be frightened.  Darkness magnifies every fear and intensifies every insecurity, but light washes away those fears and insecurities.  Wasn’t it wonderful to wake up this morning to the sunshine? After the days of the gray and gloomy weather, the light of the sun made us all feel so much better!  We feel the physical difference that light makes, but in an even deeper way, we feel the difference that Jesus, the light of the world, makes to us.    

     

When we speak of light as a force for illumination, I can’t help but wonder, how is it that people can see the same event, but see those events in such a different light, so to speak?  We understand light as a symbol of clarity and illumination, but how much illumination and clarity do we have these days?  Let’s think about the politics of the moment as an example.  As I said some months ago, how does a disease become so political? A disease is a disease.  But people see the context of the disease very differently, and come to different conclusions.

     

We use the word enlightened to indicate that someone has come to a right understanding of something.  We say they have seen the light, but how do we know what constitutes the right understanding, or point of view, about any particular issue?  In these times of great political division, for instance, how do we know for sure that we are on the “right” side?

     

Jesus was often critical of the leadership of his day, particularly the religious leadership.  In Matthew 15:14, Jesus spoke of the blind leading the blind, signifying a willful resistance to the truth. Sometimes, we are simply unable to perceive, understand, or comprehend the truth.  I used to be driven crazy by those 3D posters sold in shopping malls. I would walk down the mall and see people looking at them and I would mutter to myself about how silly it was. I did so because I could not “see” the 3D effect.  It was years before I could finally see the 3D image.  Sometimes, we just don’t perceive or comprehend something, but other times, it is a willful ignorance that causes us to miss out on the illumination that truth can bring to us.  We refuse to see.  We refuse to listen.  We hold to our interpretation of events and facts and the truth and nothing will move us. This was the criticism Jesus often laid at the feet of the religious leaders of his day.  To Jesus, it wasn’t a matter of misunderstanding or a failure of comprehension as much as it was an act of willful disobedience on their part.

     

When we look at our historical moment, it is obvious we need some light.  We need some illumination.  Now, I thought a lot about what to say about the events in Washington.  I thought about how much to say, or whether or not to say anything, about what took place there last week.  But some things you simply can’t ignore, and in the past ten months there have been many of those incidents that can’t be ignored.  In my almost forty years of ministry, I cannot think of another time when so many critical events took place in such a compressed time frame and compelled me to speak specifically to them.  Those of you at home who don’t like what I have to say can hit the mute button; those of you who are here in person will have to stick your fingers in your ears, I suppose, and I won’t worry about it.

     

To me, it is a matter of measuring our actions, and our attitudes, by those of Jesus.  Jesus is the one through whom we see the world, and one way I think that is important is in this way – Jesus never hesitated to speak the truth, and to speak it very forcefully, but he never, ever advocated or used violence.  In fact, Jesus rejected violence at every turn.  It is impossible to equate the way of Jesus with any use of violence.  Let me remind you that I said this back in the summer when our nation was experiencing so much social unrest.  I was very sympathetic to the purposes of the protests and what they sought to accomplish, but I condemned the violent actions that were sometimes a part of those protests.  To burn buildings, destroy businesses, or act in a violent manner is not compatible with the way of Jesus.  I say this again in light of what took place in Washington, DC last week – violence and the way of Jesus are totally incompatible, and anyone who speaks or acts in the name of Jesus and advocates for or uses violence is wrong.  It does not matter if they are a Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, or wear any other label.  The way of violence and the way of Jesus are never compatible and when anyone puts them together, we must condemn such attitudes, words, and actions.

     

When Jesus said, I am the light of the world, that was a powerful image to the people of his day.  They knew not only the reality of physical darkness – the artificial light they had was not very bright – but they knew also the darkness of the time in terms of the spiritual, economic, and political realities of the day, and he continues to serve as the light of the world, bringing that light to the realities of our day. 

 

2.  That at home or abroad I may always walk in your way –“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’”

     

My dad served in the Army during the Korean War.  He was a paratrooper, and I used to look at the pictures he had of their jumps, with the sky full of airplanes and parachutes.  That was back in the day when they had the large chutes, not like the much smaller ones of today.  They were much harder to manage and when the sky is full of parachutes, the winds could make it very dangerous.  He had a portion of a chute he kept, a chute that was badly torn when the wind brought him down in a tree on one jump.  I just can’t imagine jumping out of an airplane with a piece of clothed strapped to your back, but my dad loved it.  Can you imagine being the first person to do so?  Who would volunteer to jump out of an airplane, thousands of feet in the air, with a piece of cloth to bring you safely to earth?  I asked my dad one day how he found the courage to take that step out the door.  I just assumed you stood there until you gathered up enough courage, but he said, you didn’t have any choice.  You’re in a line and you attach your rip cord to a cable in the plane.  The commanding officer was in the back of the line and he starts pushing.  You didn’t jump out as much as you were pushed out.  As you go out the door, the cable pulls your rip cord and you hope and pray that it works.  At one point, he was stationed in Alaska, and really enjoyed it.  I know it’s a beautiful state, but that darkness.  Wow.  Barrow, Alaska (the name of the city was changed to Utqiaġvik in 2016) is 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle.  The sun sets in Barrow on November 18th, and it doesn't rise until January 23^rd. For 66 consecutive days, the sun never rises above the horizon.  66 days! I don’t think I could manage that kind of environment.  We talk about SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, where we feel the effects of the dark, gray days of winter.  Imagine what 66 days of no sunshine would do.  When you couple that with the cold, it must be a very tough place to live.  

     

Again, we remember and we proclaim that the light of the world, Jesus, in a very real way – not just a symbolic way – brings light to the darkness in which we have found ourselves for so long.  It has been many months now as we have been overwhelmed with so much – the pandemic, the social unrest, political unrest, economic struggles – and we think what’s it going to be tomorrow?  It has been an unparalleled stretch of time, with much darkness.  I don’t know that anyone living can think of so much struggle in such a compacted period of time.  Absorbing so much difficulty takes its toll on all of us.  I try to be an optimistic person, but I’ve found myself more and more recently to be expressing an increasing amount of pessimism.  I feel the darkness seeping into me and I feel it in a physical way, an emotional way, and a spiritual way.  But I remind myself, Jesus is the light of the world.

     

The French have a word, ennui, and one of the definitions word ennui is the inability to move forward.  I call it the feeling that your feet are stuck in the mud.  Do you ever feel that way?  It’s not so much a spinning of the wheels as it is an inability to move the wheels at all.  You can’t move your feet.  You feel as though you are up to your knees in mud.  You feel hopelessly stuck in place.  You’ve been so stressed out with the weight of all that has happened that you don’t know where to begin in terms of taking a step in any direction.  If you could take a step, you don’t know what direction to go, and you are frozen in place.  I think we have all felt that level of ennui over the past ten months.  That is when we must remember that Jesus is the light of the world.  The light of the world dispels the darkness, gives us direction, gives us illumination, gives us understanding, gives us guidance, and all that we need.

     

On Friday morning, I was surprised to wake up and find snow on the ground.  I think we had an inch and a half of snow, which is a good snow in recent years.  I’m not much of a fan of winter, but I will admit that the beauty of the snow does bring a welcome respite to the gray of winter.  On Friday, I am generally not in the office, so I do not go out and walk as early as I do on other days.  I go out to walk at 6:30 in the morning on most days, and this time of year it is quite dark at that time of day.  I would have skipped walking outside on Friday if I had to go out at my usual time. The darkness made it impossible for me to see the slick spots on the street and the sidewalk, but when I went out in the daylight, I could clearly see the places I needed to avoid.  What a difference the light makes.  I could clearly see where to step and not to step, whereas just a short time before, when it was dark, it would have been unsafe to be out walking.  

     

I know that we have all felt as though we’ve been through so much over these months. And while we have increased hope as the vaccines are now being distributed, it’s been a long, tough haul, and we are not yet at the end.  We still feel that darkness encroaching upon us, and that is when we must remember, Lord, give us light to light our way.  Jesus, in response, says, I am the light of the world.  Dispelling the darkness, helping us to see the way forward, and showing us the way. Jesus said, I am the light of the world.  Indeed, he is!