Summer Sermon Series: Witness

Micah 6

“Witnessing our Faith”

            In Christ, we are a new creation.  We have spent the summer discerning what it means to be a new creation in Christ.  What does it mean for our lives to be transformed through our faith?  Have felt moments of renewal in your own life, and if so, have you felt God’s presence within it?  Have you participated in moments of renewal within your greater community and felt God’s presence within it?        Transformations and renewals are happening all around us, all the time, and God calls us to pay attention to them.  To take the time to notice them, to take the time to participate within them.  Renewal and transformation happened yesterday as a group gathered together to help complete a Habitat for Humanity build.  Renewal occurred within our basement several years ago as people worked to clean-up after the flooding from the hurricane.  Renewal and transformation will be happening over the next year, as people in Texas rebuild their lives from Hurricane Harvey.      

 Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has a motto:  Out of Chaos, Hope.  This is the new creation.  This is participating in the work of God as people of faith, reaching out in times of need, in times of crisis, in times of chaos, and bringing hope.  Many of us are not physically able to muck out basements after floods, or help build a new home, but here, in this place, we offer many opportunities, for everyone to be a part of the new creation through donations.  We may not be able to take a group of people to Texas to help with flood recovery, but the school kits that we will be preparing in a few weeks, will be used for moments just like this.  We witness our faith, our part in the new creation, through simple ways of love and compassion by gathering school supplies. 

            How do we witness being a part of the new creation?  How do we witness lives that speak to love, that speak to hope, lives that proclaim there truly is more goodness in this world than bad?  We share our stories.  We share moments that reflect kindness, we tell of the love and goodness and hope that breaks into this world.  We say no to the negativity, we do not deny it, we cannot live in denial, but we say no to the violence, the brokenness, the barriers that separate, and we say yes to the ways in which we can create hope, create love, and create bridges that unite people. 

            The Kingdom of God can happen in simple acts of kindness.  This past week, I was so bummed out that I had not found eclipse glasses.  My parents were visiting, and it was a beautiful day, and I absolutely love the Turtle Back Zoo.  So, off we went to spend the day at the zoo, with the possible hope that maybe, just maybe the zoo had glasses for sale that day.  My mom suggested we bring some notecards just in case so we could at least make pinhole cameras.  Unfortunately, the zoo did not have glasses, and as the time came for the eclipse, we pulled out our notecards and tried to watch the eclipse through our makeshift cameras.  Our ingenuity was noticed by a father, and he came over and asked if we would like to use his glasses.  We thanked him, we each took a look, and gave him back the glasses, when he responded, no, just keep them.  We have another pair.  Now, we could have just said thank you and moved on through our day.  But, we noticed this as a moment of great blessing.  I said to both of my girls, please pay attention to this type of kindness.  The sharing, the participating in giving a blessing to others, this man was not just a kind person, but a true blessing.  Yes, the Kingdom of God can break in the world at the Turtle Back Zoo over something as simple as eclipse glasses.  So, we too, took the opportunity to share the glasses with another family.  Momentary community was created through that event.  And it could just come and go unless we share the story, unless we name it and embrace it and witness that this was not just another day at the zoo, but a moment where God’s presence broke into the ordinary and transformed the moment into a blessing.   

            Both of the passages I chose for today are about how we can witness our faith as a part of God’s new creation.  I love the passage from Micah:  what does God require of us?  Does God require sacrifice and great offerings?  People often think to be a Christian, to be a part of the church, one has to make great sacrifices and live a strict life of holiness.  People will say they are spiritual but not religious, because they don’t like the rules of the institution.  Micah is declaring, that the rules of the institution are not what God desires – but rather the way in which we witness our lives, the ways in which we live and bear fruit for God.  In very simple words, Micah proclaims: what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

            Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.  Do justice, what does that look like for you?  We may each have a different cause that we feel is seeking to bring justice into the world.  Our denomination and our presbytery have both been focused on the issue of Racism and at the end of Sept. our presbytery is offering intense anti-racism training.  If you have interest in this form of justice, all are invited to attend.  Others focus on ensuring that all are fed.  That the hunger in the world, and right here in our own community are issues of justice.  How do we ensure that every child has enough food to eat?  And so there is a movement of seeking a living wage rather than a minimum wage.  We have a huge population of what has been called the working poor.  People that have jobs, but still cannot pay rent and purchase groceries.  Do justice.  For some the calling is health care and for others it is housing.  Doing justice comes in many shapes and sizes, it can be political in nature, or just sharing with others.  Here in this place, we seek justice mostly through food and housing, with our relationships with Faith Kitchen, Roxbury Social Services, Family Promise, Homeless Solutions, and Habitat. 

            As we partner with our community, we are a part of the transformation and renewal that these various agencies are seeking to bring about.  Often, people mistake the word evangelism, as that negative action of going out into the community and trying to convert people to Christianity.  A few years ago I was at a street festival and sure enough, there was the street preacher with his megaphone, condemning people to eternal torment if they did not get their lives together and confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  It really made me sick to my stomach.  This is what pushes people away, instead of bringing them into God’s love.  Another church, in that same community, gathers under a large tree in a community park with art supplies and just allows people to gather, spend time doing art, and building relationships.  That church is growing, it is bringing people to God, not through threatening their eternal salvation, but through kindness, and goodness, and art.   The art allows a common ground to begin conversations, when people can then witness God’s love, sharing faith stories, not preaching on scripture, but giving real life stories of renewal and transformation.  Allowing a time where God’s light can shine through the darkness.  This is walking humbly with our God. 

            Perhaps we too can creatively think of ways to be a visual presence in our community in a non-threating way, that can allow us opportunities to share our faith with others, and witness to God’s love and goodness in the world.   It is through our own witnessing that disciples are made.  Amen.  

Summer Sermon Series: Let Us Build a House

Let Us Build a House

            In Christ, we are a new creation.  That is theme we have been exploring this summer.  What does it mean to be a new creation in Christ?  What does it mean that the old is gone and all has been made new?  Throughout his teachings, Jesus challenges people to think about who is their neighbor and who is their family.  In the new creation, our neighbor is anyone in need and our family is anyone in the faith.  Today, we explore building a house for God.  Traditionally, God’s house was the Temple, but God does not dwell in one particular place.  What does it mean, in the new creation, to be at home with God? 

            I never thought of the church that I grew up in as my home church, but once I moved away, I understood what that meant.  I constantly refer to this church as my home church.  It is the place where my faith began.  It is the place that nurtured me in my childhood and youth.  It is also the place I reconnected with when I decided to attend seminary.  It was and has been a special part of my life.  Yet, the last time I went to visit, there was a new sanctuary, and I hardly recognized anyone there.  My home church has drastically changed, and I realized what I hold in my heart, in my statement of calling it my home church, are the memories of my youth and the people that were a part of it. 

            What I remember as my home church is not a church building, but a collection of memories of people, Sunday School, worship, youth group, and mission trips.  It is not just one particular thing, but the way in God worked through all the pieces creating a whole.  Psalm 92 speaks to that experience:

The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ In old age they still produce fruit;  they are always green and full of sap,
¹⁵ showing that the Lord is upright;  he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

            I was blessed to be planted in the house of the Lord, a place that engaged me and allowed me to flourish.  People that modeled their faith, even into their old age.  On our summer mission trips, people of all ages participated and I saw how faith produced fruit. 

            People love to find little slogan signs:  such as, Home is where the Cat is.  Or Home is where the heart is.  Psalm 127 states:  Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  I have used this scripture passage on occasion when officiating weddings.  As a couple begins to build not just a house together, but a home, it is important that God is a part of it. 

            In creating a foundation for life, whether it is from being nurtured in the faith as a young person and entering into adult hood, or if it is starting a life together in marriage, we build upon what we have known.  We build upon our values, our priorities.  As Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, he reminds them, that as they build this new community, as they build this church, this fellowship of people, they must build upon a solid foundation.  He reminds them, that as Gentiles, they were at one time, strangers to God, but now, in this new creation, they too are a part of God’s people.   He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile both groups to God.  Both groups would be the Jews and Gentiles together.  Once there were two groups, but in Christ, Jesus, the dividing wall has been broken down.  He assures the community in Ephesus:  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God. 

            In life we create homes for ourselves, our own place where we dwell.  We seek a church home as we find a place where we can gather with people, build community and worship God.  In the new creation, we are to be the temple of God, we are to be the church.  The dwelling place of God is not to be a physical location, but should move with us as we traverse our daily lives.  

            After last weekend’s racial conflict, I found this statement that I have posted to my facebook page:  Be the Church:  BE THE CHURCH. Protect the environment. Care for the poor. Embrace diversity. Reject racism. Forgive often. Love God. Fight for the powerless. Share earthly and spiritual resources. Enjoy this life. God is still speaking. UNITED CHURCH of CHRIST."

            We are the church, we, God’s people.  Not the building, not our hour of worship, but us.  In the new creation, we are called to leave the building and go out into the world, being what God calls us to be.  We are to go out and share unconditional love to others, we are to go out and be active participants in our community, we are to go out, being the home in which we seek to build for God.  Amen.  

Summer Sermon Series: Fences and Gates

John 10

Gates and Fences

           

As we continue our journey of what it means to be a part of God’s New Creation, we continue with the metaphor of a seedling sprouting roots, growing in rich fertile soil, plenty of sunshine and receiving living water as it grows to produce fruit.  Now, if you have tried to grow a simple container garden or a larger garden or even flowers, you know in this part of NJ that between the rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and deer, the fruit of our labor is in high demand of often the wildlife beats us to it.  So, the serious gardener puts up a fence and creates some sort of gate in which to enter the garden. 

            In gardening, we want to protect our new creation, we want to ensure that it is allowed to grow and produce the tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and green beans for our enjoyment, not for an afternoon snack for the neighborhood rabbits.  I did see a sign in someone’s flower bed that said:  Bambi’s salad.  I’m pretty sure in my yard, it is the rabbits that have done the most damage to my flowers, but one year, we had a wood chuck that ate both of our Halloween pumpkins before we even got them carved. 

            Some things we can put a fence around, some things we don’t.   Why have Halloween pumpkins out if I put a fence around them?  Although, I have learned that by putting my flowers up high in an elevated flower display on my front deck has kept the rabbits out. 

            Fences, they are all around us.  Whether they are used to protect our gardens, to be a barrier around a swimming pool, or if they are used to mark the boundaries of our property.  They are everywhere.  As are gates or doors.  Often times these gates or doors are locked or have a safety system, such as on a baby gate, to keep children safe.  Gates near swimming pools are often difficult to open so young children cannot wander in.  Fences and gates are often good things. 

            Throughout history, especially Biblical history, gates have had more meaning than just the way in and out of a fenced in area.  The town or city gate was the place where people met to discuss important items.  It could be a place of hospitality as travelers sought to enter into the town, would the town leaders allow them in or send them away?  Did they come in peace or with bad intentions? 

            I just started to read the book:  I am Malala, about a young girl from Pakastan that is shot by the Taliban for attending school.  As it turns out, Malala’s father owns and runs the school created just for girls.  As he developed the school it grew from one school into several more.  The high school had classes for both boys and girls and Malala’s father is questioned about the fact that he allows both boys and girls to enter the school through the same gate. 

            Gates hold power, gates mark status, gates are the entryway into cities, towns, gardens, pools, and schools.  Fences protect and keep people and animals in or out, gates are the way to enter or exit.  It seems that gates are pretty universal, I googled famous gates and in India there is one called The Gateway of India, in France there is the Arc de Triomphe, the arch of Titus, and on and on.  We have them scattered around our own communities as well.  Over in Mountain lakes there are two pillars marking in the entrance into the community, and in Montreat, NC there are these arches that people sing a traditional song as they drive through to enter into this community. 

            So, when Jesus says, I am the gate, his statement has a lot of meaning.  He is not just a way to enter into God’s garden, but his statement has meaning related to the importance of gates in his culture and his specific place in history.  To enter through the gate, there is often conversation, gathering of people together, deals made, commodities traded, families reunited.  People learn from each other at the gate, people negotiate at the gate, people might have to make some form of pledge of allegiance at the gate. 

            But Jesus is not a locked gate, he is not a secret gate, he is not a gate only available for boys at the school to enter through, this gate is there for all to enter through.  At this gate there is an amazing gift of hospitality, a welcoming from God like no other people had experienced before.  A God that says all are welcome, whether you are rich or poor, educated or not, male or female, slave or free.  This is the place to enter, come through the gate and be a part of God’s amazing garden. 

            Over the last two thousand years, we people have done our best to put locks on that gate.  We have tried to convince ourselves and others that not all are really welcome.  We have created false fences and false gates pushing others away.  Come to the garden if you are like us.  Come to the garden if you believe exactly this.  We have put up locked gates around the sacraments of communion and baptism.  Thankfully we are reformed and always reforming.  We have found ways to name those human locks on God’s love and are seeking to remove them.  God cannot be locked, God will continue to find ways to open the gate of God’s love so that all may find a way to learn compassion, and care for each other, and so that we may bear fruit fully for God’s purpose. 

Jesus proclaims:  I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.  We enter the gate not to be brainwashed, not to feel guilty, not to push others away.  We enter the gate so that we may live these lives more fully and abundantly as we embrace a way of life that reflects God’s calling for us. 

From the internet, I found the following poem about God's garden:  

Plant three rows of peas:
Peace of mind Peace of heart Peace of soul

Plant four rows of squash:
Squash gossip  Squash indifference  Squash grumbling  Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce:
Lettuce be faithful  Lettuce be kind  Lettuce be obedient  Lettuce really love one another

No garden should be without turnips:
Turnip for meetings  Turnip for service   Turnip to help one another

Water freely with patience and cultivate love

There is much fruit for your garden  Because you reap what you sow.

To conclude our garden
We must have thyme:  Thyme for God  Thyme for study  Thyme for prayer
Thyme for each other  Thyme for friends

Summer Series: Compost Luke 14:15-24

Compost:  Creating nutritious soil

            Back in April, for Earth Day, I decided it was time to really get serious about composting.  This was going to be a spiritual practice for me, a way in which to be a good steward of God’s Creation.  As we have journeyed through the summer, learning more about what it means to be a New Creation in Christ, this was for me, a practice of being a part of the New Creation. 

            Compost can be seen as a parable or metaphor for the new creation, for the old is gone and is made new.  Jesus used every day images as he taught people more about God and the Kingdom of Heaven.  Being a part of the New Creation in Christ is like compost.  As you use your summer produce, take the scraps, take the parts that you don’t want to eat, take the wilted leaves and the used coffee grinds, take the bread that has started to mold, and place it together in a compost bin.  Allow it to rest, allow nature to do its part, allow it to be stirred once in a while, allow it to decompose and out of something that was seen as unusable, comes an incredibly rich soil. 

            I found this quotation that I felt connected to being a New Creation in Christ, where the old is gone and all is made new - "If a healthy soil is full of death, it is also full of life:  worms, fungi, microorganisms of all kinds ...  Given only the health of the soil, nothing that dies is dead for very long."
-  Wendell Berry,  The Unsettling of America, 1977

            In Christ, the old is gone and all is made new.  Nothing that dies is dead for very long.  We allow the parts of us that pull us away from God to die, but that does not mean that we die.  In letting go of what pulls us down, what causes stress, what might even cause hurt and pain to ourselves, we will find new life.  Compost is such an amazing example of this.  No longer can I see the tomatoes that I just didn’t get to eat or the cucumber skins or the strawberry stems, they are no longer detectable, but instead, together, they have become transformed into incredibly rich nutrients for new life to grow. 

            I’ve never thought about the parable of the dinner as related to compost until now.  But if you think about it, when read, it seems as if the right people were invited to the banquet.  It would be like making a yummy summer salad with all kinds of fresh produce right out of the garden.  But something goes awry and it seems that all the right people are too busy with other activities to be able to attend.  So the master asks his servants to go out and invite in what seems to be the least of these:  the poor and lame.  It seems like the things I would throw into the compost, the cucumber skins, the strawberry stems, the coffee grinds and the molded bread are what are being served.  Ugh, who would want to be a part of that banquet?   

That’s how people in the day and age of Jesus would have responded to this parable – this request to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.  Ugh, who would want to attend that kind of banquet.  These are unclean people and not to be associated with.  And yet, that is who is invited.  And just like my scraps in my compost, when mixed together, when allowed to do what nature does, those scraps are transformed into something incredibly nutritious.  God’s people too, no matter what we think of others or ourselves, when brought together into God’s family, into God’s banquet, become this rich soil.  The old is gone and all is made new. 

Is there something in your own life that you might need to symbolically compost?  Something that you might be able to allow to let fallow, and from it new life be given?  Compost takes time, it takes both rest and movement.  I purchased a tumbler, so that I can mix it up once in awhile, but I can’t just put my scraps in the bin and pull out soil in a few days, it takes months.  We too in our spiritual lives need time to rest, need time to fallow, need time to rejuvenate.  Today, I chose two passages about Sabbath rest.  God knows how important rest is for this created world.  Humans need sleep, but we also need Sabbath, we need time to rest spiritually, to focus on the various ingredients of being this new creation.  To dig ourselves into the rich soil, bask in the sun, and drink the living water.  Without these ingredients, and without the time to rest, the fruit we bare will not be the spiritual fruit that God calls us to produce. 

In the ancient laws of the Israelite people, there was great wisdom in the practice of Sabbath.  It did not just pertain to people, but also to the soil, to the fields, to understanding that in order to gain a great harvest, the ground too needed time to rest.  Plant your field for six years, but on the seventh, let it rest.  We know this to be true, it is important to rotate crops and not drain the soil of the nutrients, but why don’t we believe it is true with our own spiritual beings?   Sabbath keeping is essential to keeping our inner souls, our spiritual selves vibrant in God, and God continues to mix nutrients into our symbolic soil by calling us together to worship and to celebrate the sacrament of communion.  As we break bread today, we understand that nothing that dies stays dead for very long.  The gift of communion is not just Jesus sharing of his death, but that he will not stay dead for very long.  Out of death comes new life, it is the gift of Easter, it is the gift of creation, it is the gift of God seeking to permeate every corner of our lives and our souls.  Amen