July 9, 2017 Music of the Heart: The Long and Winding Road

As I returned home yesterday afternoon from co-directing a week of junior high church camp, you’ll have to excuse me if I suddenly shout out hey gang, listen up please!  What did I just say?  Listen up please!  And I probably don’t need to wear a mic today, as my loud camp voice is still in effect!

Today we continue a four-message series titled Music of the Heart. This week’s message is titled The Long and Winding Road and is based on the song of the same name by the Beatles.  As much as I love The Long and Winding Road, I really wanted to use Let It Be, which is my favorite pop/rock song.  It would go well with the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and his statement not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42), but since I used that passage during Lent, I didn’t want to repeat myself. 

One of the reasons that music is so powerful is because songs are markers in time.  When we hear some songs they take us back to a time that was very important to us.  When I listen to The Long and Winding Road I am transported back in time to a period of my life that was very influential to me.

Our Scripture text comes from the book of Genesis, the story of God’s call of Abraham, a passage I have returned to often in my messages and in my own personal Bible study.  The theme of The Long and Winding Road fits very well into the story of Abraham’s call, as it movingly portrays, to me, the idea of a spiritual journey.  There is a great sense of longing and searching in The Long and Winding Road, and that search, that longing, is very evident in the story of Abraham.

Genesis 12:1-9 –

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.

9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Whatever Your Plan is For Life, Know That God Has A Plan for Your Life, and That Plan May Be Very Different From Yours.

I think that, deep down, we tend to believe it was easier for Abraham to follow God than it is for us.  I think, for some reason, it seems to us that it was easier for Abraham to pick up everything and follow God’s call, but it must have been every bit as complicated then as now; perhaps even more complicated.

And what I would like to know is this – how much time elapsed between God’s call of Abraham and Abraham’s response.  There is no indication in the book of Genesis about how long it took Abraham to respond to God, but it seems immediate.  Could we respond so quickly?  I don’t know, because it requires a lot of rearranging of our lives.

God has a plan for your life.  I don’t know how detailed that plan is and I certainly don’t know the generalities of the plan but I know that God has a plan for your life.  I am not at all a Calvinist (John Calvin was a brilliant theologian of the Middle Ages and a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation who gave us the language of predestination, the idea that some people are predestined to salvation and some are predestined to damnation, a concept that I do not buy into so I don’t believe that God plans all the minute specifics of our lives down to the nth degree.  You will never, for instance, hear me say, I guess it was meant to be), but I certainly believe that God has a plan for your life, and for mine.  And that’s all well and good, but here’s where it gets interesting – that plan may be far different from your own plan for your life.  I often have the privilege of hearing people’s stories, and they are fascinating.  One of the reasons why they are fascinating is because of the abrupt turns and detours they take; turns and detours that are unexpected, surprising, and very often, deeply meaningful and satisfactory.

One of the reasons why the story of Abraham is so fascinating is because of his embrace of God’s call upon his life, in spite of whatever plan he had formulated for his life.  I believe the call of Abraham serves as a template for all of humanity.  It does so, first of all, because the calling of God is upon each of our lives.  We often reserve the idea of calling for pastors or others serving in vocational ministry, but God places a call upon every person.  God called Abraham but did not call him into vocational ministry.  In fact, the people in the Bible who were called by God were mostly not vocational ministers.  I like to remind people that while I have been called into ministry, every person has been called to ministry as well.  Abraham was a typical person of his day, going about his daily routine when God stepped into his life and called him for a particular purpose.  We have no idea why God chose Abraham, and the calling of God can be quite mysterious.  Why does God choose particular people for particular roles?  I don’t know; he just does.  Abraham serves as a template, secondly, because he answered God’s call without knowing all the details to God’s purpose and without having a complete plan laid out in detail before him.  Most of us, when we travel, create a detailed itinerary.  We plan the trip, make our reservations, and put together a schedule for each day.  Abraham, apparently, answered God’s call even though he had not received many answers from God about the details of the journey.  God doesn’t even tell Abraham where he is leading him, only that he is to travel to the land that I will show you.  I’m not always the most organized person, but I certainly like to know where I am going before I strike out on a journey!

I arrived home yesterday afternoon from a week of junior high church camp.  When I go to camp I am always very impressed by the young people who come there to serve as counselors.  I think we had 24 counselors last week, most of whom were in their 20s.  And even at that relatively young age it’s fascinating to hear their stories of the abrupt and unexpected turns in their lives, turns that I believe were orchestrated by God.  And those turns extend to the students who attend camp as well.  One of the counselors told me that at one of the camps earlier this summer that 15 students expressed a sense of call to ministry.  I imagine those students already had a plan for their lives, but their lives are now beginning a different path.  Their lives will continue to have some abrupt twists and turns but all the while God will be with them and leading them.

When flying, I find it fascinating to look down from thousands of feet in the air to see such a different perspective.  From the air, we see that nothing is a straight line.  Rivers and roads meander like snakes, but they arrive at particular destinations.  Our lives are the same, but we don’t have the “from the air” perspective that allows us to see the beginning, the journey, and the end, so we must trust in the fact that God has a plan for our lives.

Over the course of my now 36-plus years of ministry I have tried to orchestrate a few of my own twists and turns, most of them very unsuccessful.  At one point, back in 1990/1991, I decided it was time for me to go a different direction in life, and I decided I would leave vocational ministry.  I went on several job interviews and had a few offers to go in a different direction in life, but when it came right down to it, I just couldn’t change from ministry.  But even within the now 36+ years of vocational ministry, as I look back, I can see how God has orchestrated a plan that has – at times – been very different from my own.  It has been full of very interesting twists and turns, and some of those twists and turns were, at the time, very difficult and very difficult for me to accept.  And even though a few of them are still difficult for me to accept, I can look back and see the way in which God’s hand worked and I now have a much clearer view of his plan, a plan for which I am very grateful.

Trust God’s Plan for Your Life, Even When You Can’t See It.

If you could go back in time and change three things about your life, what would they be?  Why would you change them?  And, do you think your life would be improved by the changes?  I have often wondered what Abraham thought as he looked back on his life.  I imagine that, to him, it was full of unexpected twists and turns, but I also suspect that he learned that those unexpected twists and turns became some of the most important parts of his journey.

How often have you said, as you looked back on your life, I wonder what would have happened if…?  How winding has the road of your life been?  And in what ways have those unexpected and unplanned twists and turns been a blessing to you?

Moses did not plan to lead the Hebrew people out of captivity in Egypt.  In fact, Moses did not know, for a long time, that he was a Hebrew.  And when he saw an Egyptian beating one of the Hebrew slaves Moses killed the Egyptian, fled into the desert, and did not plan on returning to Egypt (Exodus 2:11-21 – 11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.  16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah). 

Moses settled into the life of a farmer, and one day while tending the sheep of his father-in-law came upon the burning bush, which is the moment when God called Moses to go back to Egypt and lead the people out of captivity (Exodus 3:1-10 – 1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.  7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”).

Moses had settled into a comfortable life when God had interrupted him in the burning bush.  That interruption was certainly not part of Moses’ plan, but it was God’s plan.

David was tending sheep when Samuel came to find the next king.  David had no plan to become the king of Israel.  I imagine he had some plan for his future, which would not have included becoming king, but God’s plan found him.  (I Samuel 16:1-13 – 1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”  The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”  4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.  6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”  Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” 12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.  Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”  13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David).

Elijah was fleeing from Jezebel when God appeared to him in a still, small voice.  Elijah’s plan was to save his life by fleeing, but God sent him back.  That was definitely not Elijah’s plan, but it was God’s plan.  (I Kings 19:9-18 – 9 And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”  11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.  Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”  15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”).

And it wasn’t only individuals, but a nation as well.  Not long after the time of Solomon, Israel had divided into two separate kingdoms – Israel in the north and Judah in the south – and by 597 BC many of the people in the southern kingdom of Judah were carried away into captivity in Babylon.  Psalm 137 famously captures the despair of the people as they were lived in captivity. (Psalm 137:1-9 – 1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. 6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. 7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell.  “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” 8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. 9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

It was a heartbreaking time for the people, and was certainly not a part of their plan, but it was during that time of captivity when the synagogue came into prominence, which provided places of worship that exist to the present day.  It was during that time when many of the Scriptures were written and a time when religious life took greater prominence for many people.  It wasn’t part of their plan, but it was part of God’s plan.

What Does God Want You to Learn From the Long and Winding Road of Your Life?

I wish I could see and understand more while in a particular moment in life, but I mostly only see in retrospect, which means that my decisions in a particular moment are not always the best, at least in terms of God’s plan.  Too often, I try to take control of a plan, instead of seeking to discern God’s plan.

It was, in many ways, an interesting week at church camp.  As it always seems to do that week, it rained.  A lot.  We all have questions we want to ask God some day, and I have a question that has now moved into my top three, and it is this – why does it always rain so much the first week of July, at camp Wakon da ho?  It’s always nice weather the week before and the week after, so why our week?  On Thursday, we were actually quite excited because the sun came out after lunch and we were able to enjoy being outside.  Towards the latter part of the afternoon, when almost everyone was on the rec field, the clouds rolled in and it began to sprinkle.  It wasn’t enough to give up and go inside so we kept on with our activities.  Suddenly, I heard a noise, but couldn’t figure out what it was.  If you have never been to the camp, it is 150 – 200 acres of mostly woods, with the camp in a valley surrounded by hills.  Because of the hills, it is impossible to see what is coming at you, in terms of the weather.  I turned and looked at one of the hills and quickly learned what was making the noise.  It was a huge downpour moving quickly our way.  I could see the line of rain coming across the trees and it was making a loud noise as it hit the leaves with tremendous force.  The rain came on us so quickly, and so forcefully, that we had no time to get to the dining hall and take cover.  It was a torrential downpour, with so much runoff that the benches in the campfire area – between the rec field and the dining hall – were submerged under water.  By the time we got to the dining hall we were all completely soaked and muddy from splashing our way up the hill.  And then the lightning started, which meant we had to keep everyone inside the dining hall.  For hours (the rules stipulate that whenever there is lightening we must keep the kids in the dining hall).  While soaking wet and muddy.  It was a miserable time.  The kids were anxious to clean up and get into dry clothes, but the lightening would not allow us to go back to the cabins.  It was, it seemed at the time, the lowest point of the week, but in retrospect, it was when things really came together and we bonded much more strongly and became a more united community.  And, I’m sure, it was one of the most-shared memories of the week by the kids to their families and friends.  Difficulty is always a part of the learning experience, and in some mysterious way, I think it is safe to say that without that difficult day, we would not have had a week that turned out to be so meaningful.

So don’t discount difficulty, and don’t discount the twists and turns in life.  It would be wonderful if life always moved in a nice, straight line, but it doesn’t.  Life is always comprised of many surprising twists and turns, but it is in The Long and Winding Road that God makes his plan known.  And he does have a plan, even when we can’t see it!

July 2, 2017 Music of the Heart: One

There is a story about a Baptist church in Kentucky some years ago that had a disagreement, which led to a split.  Half the congregation left to begin a new church and the other half stayed behind to continue with the existing church.  The new church needed a name, and those who remained in the original church decided they should have a new name as well.  I don’t know if they were aware of the irony in the choice of the new names.  One congregation adopted the name Harmony Baptist Church and the other became Unity Baptist Church.

Lest we laugh too quickly we should remember that it is particularly ironic that, in Disciples of Christ churches, we are part of a faith tradition that grew out of a desire to lessen the fractured nature of the American church but which in turn contributed three more groups to the numerous denominations that populate American faith. 

Why is it so hard to find unity and a sense of oneness?  Why do some churches have such a hard time managing their differences?  Why do some churches have such contentious disagreements?  Why are the times in which we live so contentious, with so much disagreement and so much anger and so much division?  Well, the simple answer is, that’s human nature.  Humanity has always suffered the ill effects of division and contentiousness.

This morning we continue our four-part series of messages titled Music of the Heart, with each message based on a song.  This morning’s message is titled One and is based on the song of the same name by the band U2.  I love the music of U2.  They have written a lot of classic songs and one of the things I love about their music is the spiritual element that is such a strong part of so many of their songs.  They are very open about their Christian faith and it comes through in many of their songs.

The Scripture text for today comes from John’s gospel, where Jesus prays for his disciples, just before his arrest, and at the heart of that prayer is his desire that the disciples be one.

John 17:11, 20-23 –

11 Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,

23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

I imagine that the lack of unity must grieve the heart of God, so let’s talk about unity.  First, I want to say that –

1.  Unity is not uniformity.

A sense of oneness is at the heart of our Scripture text for the day.  Near the end of John’s gospel is this long passage – one of the longest passages of the words of Jesus in all the Gospels – in which Jesus expresses many hopes, including that of bringing a sense of unity and oneness among his followers.

  

     In terms of living up to that desire, we have not done very well, have we? 

    A good deal of the problem, I believe, is our inability to live with diversity.  Quite frankly, we don’t do very well when it comes to tolerating our differences, especially our differences in opinions.  In our present political and social context, it has become even more difficult to find any common ground or to find even the common decency to talk kindly to one another.  It seems to me, and I suspect many of you would agree, that we have devolved into a group of competing camps that seem only able to shout at one another. 

One of my favorite lines in the song One is this – we’re one but we’re not the same.  I really like that line.  In fact, I love that line, because it reminds us that unity is not uniformity.  We are not the same, and you know what?  That’s perfectly okay!  I can’t imagine what a world would be like in which we were all the same; if we all looked the same, talked the same, thought the same, and acted the same.  But so often we want everyone to be the same.  The desire for uniformity is so powerful among humanity.  When I was in high school I sewed a patch onto my blue jeans.  Back in the 70s that’s what we did – we sewed patches onto our jeans.  My jeans looked a bit like the bumpers on some cars.  You know those cars that have bumper stickers everywhere?  That’s how my jeans looked – patches everywhere, with different messages.  One of the patches said I’m a nonconformist!  Do you know why I had that patch on my jeans?  Because everybody else had that patch on their jeans!  There’s a lot of irony in expressing our nonconformity through conformity!

So many churches struggle to live with diversity that they fall prey to the temptation to enforce uniformity, which does little more than reduce honesty and authenticity and reduces open and healthy communication.  When I was finishing seminary I had an interview with a church and I was very excited about the potential opportunity.  The second question I was asked ended the interview.  One of the members of the committee asked me a question and I followed up their question with one of my own.  The committee member, I will never forget, looked at me and said, it’s a simple question.  It’s a yes or no answer.  If you can’t answer with a yes or no this interview is over.  And that was it.  There was no veering away from a strict uniformity in theological viewpoint.  I don’t mind when people ask me questions about what I believe, but I don’t like it if those questions are asked to see if I believe “correctly.”

There is actually a move in some churches now to ask their members to sign an agreement that they will hold to very specific doctrinal viewpoints and interpretations of Scripture.  I can guarantee you will never find such a movement in our church!  That some people insist on uniformity – even insisting upon it – is very hard for me to understand?

Some people make the mistake of believing that uniformity is what brings about church unity, but it does not.  Read I Corinthians 12:4-31.  It is a passage in which Paul writes about unity and he uses the analogy that the church – the body of Christ – is like a physical body.  Some people are like the eye, others are like the hand, still others are like the ear, and so on.  In that analogy Paul makes a fascinating point, as he writes that unity is not agreement, but each person using their spiritual gift for the benefit of the church.  It is the variety – the diversity – of people that actually brings about unity, because the church needs a variety of gifts, as well as a variety of perspectives, and ideas.  Sometimes I call people in the congregation and ask them to do certain things or to help me with certain things because I don’t have a clue about how to do them.  Imagine if we were all the same – what would we do?  Several years ago we had to replace the fire alarm panel in the foyer.  Mike Coleman chairs our Administration Committee and it is amazing to me the store of knowledge he has about all things technical.  Mike is an engineer, so he has the engineer kind of mind.  As we talked about that panel in a meeting Mike was kind of wondering out loud about some of technical aspects of that piece of equipment and said we needed to know the factory default code to the panel to be able to program it.  And he said something along the lines of this – that particular part usually comes from the factory programmed with such and such default code.  Now, on a good day I can spell default, so I looked at Mike and asked, why would anyone know that?  And Mike looked back at me with a puzzled look as if to say, why wouldn’t everyone know it?  Thank goodness he knew that information, as it sure simplified things for us, because I didn’t have a clue. 

We are fond of using the saying being on the same page.  I will agree that it is important to have agreement on some things, but not everything.  We don’t need to be on the same page for everything.  Imagine a one-page novel.  It was a dark and stormy night.  The winds howled and the rain raged.  Suddenly, the door blew open.  As Dave turned to face the open doorway, with rain pouring in, a flash of lightening illuminated a figure that filled the doorway.  Lightning flashed again, and Dave was amazed as the light revealed the person to be…Sorry, I can’t tell you the rest because it’s only one page and that’s the end of the page!

Here is a very important point about what Scripture says about unity – it is not uniformity.  Things might be simpler if we had more uniformity, but that is obviously not God’s intent.  The sheer breadth and width of diversity within God’s creation is breathtaking!

2.  Unity is found in a common purpose.

I don’t know about you, but there are times I wonder what it would be like to have the ability to travel back in time to enjoy certain experiences.  I would love to have the ability to travel back in time to observe the disciples.  They were a really interesting mixture.  I don’t believe Jesus did anything by happenstance; I believe everything he did was for a very specific reason, and that includes choosing a wildly diverse group of twelve disciples.  There is much I could say about that this morning, but time constraints do not allow me so suffice it to say this:  for all the differences between them – and there were very major differences – we don’t read much about those differences in the gospels or get even much of a hint about them.  Only a few times do we see the differences between them, and here is why, in my estimation – because there was a common purpose that lifted them above their differences.  Show me a church that is full of conflict, dysfunction, and ill health and I will show you a church that either does not know its purpose or has forgotten its purpose.

Unity of purpose is one of the great ways of lifting our vision higher, and that is the problem with some churches – especially unhealthy churches; they simply don’t set their sights high enough.  When Jesus prayers over and over about the oneness of his followers what he is speaking of, I believe, is a unity of purpose, that we would have the same purpose – the unity of purpose – that is demonstrated in the life and ministry of Jesus.  The purpose is to speak of and to live the love of God.

Jesus spent every day – day in and day out – for three years with his disciples.  Every day trying to plant into their hearts and minds the purpose of God – to love one another, to be people of grace and forgiveness, to reach out to those who are different than us, and to be a voice for the voiceless.

As different as the disciples were they shared a common purpose that helped them to rise above their differences and to work together to fulfill that purpose.  There were times that purpose was threatened by the differences.  In the early church there was a great deal of hesitation about welcoming the Gentiles who were pouring into the church.  They didn’t think the same, they didn’t dress the same, their backgrounds were very different, and some people, to put it bluntly, didn’t want them in the church.  Thanks goodness those people did not prevail.  But there is always the danger of that attitude taking over – “some” people are different, and we’re uncomfortable around “those” people, so maybe we should welcome them into our fellowship.

3.  Being one is a testimony to the world about the power of God.

I find verse 21 to be somewhat unnerving.  Did you notice the implication of what Jesus prays in that verse?  Listen to it again –that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  Listen again to that last phrase – so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  It sure sounds as though Jesus says the world will believe – or disbelieve – in him depending upon our being one.  That’s more than a little troubling, isn’t it?  Perhaps some of the people who have turned away from the church have done so because they tired of the contentiousness and division that fills some churches.  Those of us who have spent a lot of years in church have seen our share of such arguments.  We’ve experienced the arguments over the color of carpet, the design of a worship bulletin, and the style of music used in worship.  We all grow tired of such arguments, don’t we?  Perhaps those who have turned away from the church simply had enough. 

Shouldn’t churches be different?  Shouldn’t we, as the people of God, remember that we are called to a higher standard and a way of living and relating to one another that reflects God’s will that we be one?  I would like to think that churches would set a better example, but I am sometimes disheartened at the amount of division in religious groups and individual congregations.  I fear that instead of being an example to our culture, we are merely mimicking its behavior, and much of that behavior is less than encouraging as it is divisive and dismissive of people who are different in some way.  I don’t know what Jesus would think about the point at which we have arrived, but I don’t think it would bring him any comfort or joy.

In the hyper-divided context in which we live, is their any hope of creating a sense of unity around anything?  I believe there is.  We don’t have to agree on every issue, but we can love one another.  We don’t have to enforce a particular doctrinal stance upon others, but we can love one another.  We don’t have to look alike, act alike, or believe alike, but we can love one another.

If we do so, we can certainly be one.

June 25, 2017 Music of the Heart: I Am My Brother's (and My Sister's) Keeper

This morning we begin a four-part series of messages titled Music of the Heart, in which each message is based on a song.  I appreciate all the suggestions that I received after church last Sunday about possible songs for the series.  Some of them were good, others a bit questionable, so no, I won’t be using Achy Breaky Heart.  I’m only going to do four messages, but as I have received so many good suggestions I will most likely return to this idea at some time in the future.

All of us have our favorite songs and favorite genres of music, and we probably have a lot of variety in what we like – and what we don’t like – so I hope you’ll be patient with my musical selections if they are not ones that appeal to you.  Being a child of the 60s and 70s, I grew up a rock and roller.  I was one of the many, many Baby Boomers who decided to learn to play guitar after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.  I have played in bands for years and still prefer my music on the loud side of the spectrum. 

I am old enough to remember the advent of Christian rock music, and also remember when that genre of music was very controversial.  Many churches opposed Christian rock music, books were written in condemnation of it, and many Christian bookstores would not carry those type of records (at that time, Christian bookstores were the only place it was possible to purchase Christian music).  I was often criticized for having my foot in both those musical worlds – the Christian and the secular worlds.  Some of my church associates were critical of me for playing in rock bands but I always kept my foot in both worlds, and continue to do so.  I enjoy playing and listening to rock and roll, but I also love hymns and praise and worship music as well.  To this day, I still do not understand why some people think I should have to make a choice between those types of music.

The first “Christian” album I purchased was Sail On by The Imperials, in 1978.  It was the first of many Christian albums that joined my collection alongside the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Pink Floyd and others. As I said last week, I believe all things are sacred, and while we often make a distinction between sacred and secular music, I believe music is in and of itself sacred.  There are songs that do not carry a “Christian” label that convey very important truths and spiritual lessons, and that is why I purposefully chose the songs I did for this series.

The song for this morning’s message is by The Hollies, and is He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother  (we were careful to select this track from the CD to play before the service began.  I wanted to make sure we didn’t play the track Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress, but if we had, I guess we could have talked about the story of Rahab), and the title of the message is I Am My Brother (and My Sister’s) Keeper.  Our Scripture text is the very familiar story of Cain and Abel, from Genesis 4:2b-12 –

2 Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.

4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.

11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

There is so much in this passage that we could cover this morning.  This is one of the foundational stories of all Scripture, I believe, and it bears testimony to what I often say when we are studying passages from the Old Testament.  I know a lot of people believe the Old Testament is not interesting and that some of it seems irrelevant, but nothing could be further from the truth.  There are so many profoundly rich stories in the Old Testament, and the story of Cain and Abel is certainly one of them.

When we talk about being our brother’s – and our sister’s – keeper, there are many things we can, and perhaps should, talk about.  Time constraints, however, requires that I focus in more specifically, so this morning I want to concentrate on the core of this story, which is that act of violence that Cain commits against his brother Abel.

I will say three things about this passage this morning, and the first is this –

1.  Good and Evil War Within Each of Us.

During Vacation Bible School last week, I took notice of something in the kitchen.  Many of you are familiar with my love of chocolate, and it did not escape my notice that a very large, unopened, bag of M&Ms sat on the kitchen counter all week.  I waited patiently for someone to open that bag so that I could have some of those M&Ms, but no one did.  Finally, on Thursday, I could stand it no longer.  As it was the final night of VBS I was certain that bag would be opened, so I walked into the kitchen at regular intervals, in hopes of begin able to reach into that bag and get a handful of candy.  It remained unopened.  Finally, in an act of desperation, I asked, so what’s the deal with this bag of M&Ms?  Are they going to be used?  Sue then informed me she had brought them to be used in a treat but did not need them, but if I wanted to open the bag I was welcome to do so.  I did not need a second invitation, and immediately ripped open the bag. 

It may be a small analogy, but all week I worried about that bag of candy, and it seemed to exert some kind of control over me.  It was only a bag of candy, fortunately, but if a bag of M&Ms can occupy my mind, and if the pull to that bag can be so strong, what am I supposed to do when there is a much larger, more significant struggle that takes place inside of me?

All of us – yes, all of us – have within us a battle between good and evil, darkness and light, and righteousness and unrighteousness.  We all sense that struggle, and Paul sums up that struggle in a masterful way as he writes in Romans 7 –

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…18...For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.   21…Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

Cain and Abel are representative of our own selves – we all have a measure of good and evil within us, a measure of light and dark.  Which side is going to win?  It is very easy – and very tempting – to externalize evil, as though it is always something outside of us, but it is ever with us and we cannot deceive ourselves into thinking that we do not have the potential for both within us.

2.  Do the Right Thing Because It Is the Right Thing.

Righteousness is not a guarantee of blessing and protection.  Abel was a righteous man.  Genesis tells us that Abel brought the best and the firstborn of his flocks, and look what happened to him. Abel’s goodness and righteousness have nothing to do with his fate.  Abel did everything right, and yet his life came to a violent end.  Plenty of people, throughout history, have suffered in spite of their goodness and righteousness.

The killing of Abel is certainly a powerful repudiation of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that God will guarantee only wealth and blessing to his followers.  The prosperity gospel is a distortion of not only reality, but also of truth, as the killing of Abel is a reminder that simply because one is faithful to God and lives a righteous life, life will not be full of blessing and free from suffering and difficulty.  Throughout the Bible runs the theme that the good sometimes suffer while the evil sometimes prosper.  In John 9 we read the story of Jesus healing a man born blind – As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  Suffering happens.  Struggles happen.  It matters not how righteous and how good a person might be, at some point in life struggles and difficulties come.  Job is one of the most powerful examples of this truth.  Job, a good and righteous man, had done nothing wrong, and yet great suffering came into his life.  Job’s friends believe that his suffering must have been caused by sin, so they try to convince Job to confess his sin and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness.  Job, however, would not do so.  Job protested his innocence.

This plainly refutes the claim of the prosperity gospel, yet many people continue to perpetuate the falsehood of that distortion of truth and reality.  We are not always rewarded for our goodness, and we should not be surprised when we encounter struggles in life.  In fact, we should remember that, sometimes, doing the right thing may actually cause difficulty for us.  Refusing to participate in a questionable business deal, for example, might bring about negative repercussions for the person who will only practice the best of ethics.    

Difficulties, struggles, and suffering come to all people. No one is immune.  It matters not how good and how righteous a person might be, the reality is that life, at times, becomes very difficult for all people.  This truth is precisely why we must work for justice.  Many good people have suffered in spite of having done no wrong.  Some people are victimized by the reality of unjust and unfair systems, and we must work to disassemble those forces that cause difficulty and suffering for people.

We do the right thing because it is the right thing, regardless of the consequences.  Righteousness, though not a guarantee of protection, is its own reward.  We aren’t to seek after goodness, holiness, and righteousness for what they do for us, but because it is right to do so. 

3.  We Are Called to Live in Peace With One Another.

How is it that humanity seems to so easily engage in violence, real and portrayed?  I watch fewer movies and less and less TV, mostly because of the amount of violence that permeates so much entertainment.  Hollywood, obviously, loves violence.  Most big blockbusters are little more than a constant bludgeoning of endless, mind-numbing violence.  Take out the scenes of violence and a movie would quickly be reduced to very little dialogue.

Sadly, the violence in our entertainment is a reflection of the violence that fills the world of reality.  Real life is full of violence, and always has been.  From the beginning violence has been part of the fabric of humanity.  Read history and you will find countless examples.  The ancient world was a brutal place in which to live, but even in supposedly enlightened, modern era there is plenty of brutality that remains.  The 20^th century, in fact, probably saw more large-scale violence than any other era in history.

Of the many fascinating elements of the story of Cain and Abel is the reality that the first murder comes from a conflict between two men who were worshipping God.  That is a sad fact, isn’t it?  Now, I do not buy into the narrative that religion causes violence, but I do believe that people often use religion to justify their violence.  Religion is sometimes misinterpreted, misused, and misapplied in order to bolster and justify the actions of some people.  And, considering that so many people in the world are religious, many things will have religious overtones.  It is important to remember, however, most things are ever as simple as some people want to believe, and that includes the question of what causes violence.

One of the most interesting parts of this passage is the fact that Cain was the one who committed the act of violence, and yet God protects him.  Abel is the innocent, and he suffers; Cain is the guilty party, and he is protected.  God places a mark upon Cain, which not only identifies him for the act of violence he has committed, but also serves as a mark of protection.  It was, I believe, as if God was saying, that’s enough!  Violence never solves violence.  And while some might believe there is justification for retribution, there will be none.  God’s action is a powerful refutation of what we often call justice, which is too often only retribution or revenge under a more acceptable name.

In the violent world in which we live, I would hope we could all agree that we should not be making jokes about inflicting violence upon others.  It doesn’t matter your political or religious beliefs and affiliations, no one needs to joke about violence against others.  And, I will add, this is not a new development.  Though we have heard much about these distasteful remarks in the past few months, there have been many examples in recent years, and it is time to say enough!  Surely we can express our disagreements in a way that is civil and decent.

The words of Cain, am I my brother’s keeper, were said, most likely, with some sense of disdain.  Cain knew very well where his brother was, as he had killed Abel in a rage because of his jealousy towards God’s favor of Abel.  Cain believed he had no responsibility toward his brother, but he did.  Certainly, we would say that we have a responsibility to care for our families, but the implication of the story of Cain and Abel is one that reminds us that we are all brothers and sisters.  In the kingdom of God, while we have our own individual families, there is the idea that we are part of one larger family because we are all children of our heavenly Father, which binds us together in a spirit of unity that asks us to care for one another.  That unity sees beyond any kind of human-erected boundaries and borders that seek to limit our responsibility to care for others.

Cain’s question, am I my brother’s keeper, is a question that continues to resonate across the ages.  We are, after all, our brother’s – and our sister’s – keeper.