tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77138189207063189012024-03-04T12:21:04.432-08:00Words of WelcomeSermons of a Disciples Preacher Ministering in Troy, MichiganRobert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comBlogger661125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-58639135943072663852024-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:002024-03-03T07:00:00.145-08:00Gathered in God's House --- Sermon for Lent 3B (John 2)<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54e61_hh5UuH2R0erUM3-jMhDqIRhAC1Q0GqP5gsYwKCMK-39QX2Zud0etnlsirSfXePX1xJxPnMC3T-0mX0USCel_xuUN3PEpTPkdQ1kDBWnM5INe737sSmXO7UzvpkqH3t0Ufw6DOZYjWWmpsd7_yjOFjAA8EYT3DR6lphd29RMb0pp24X8zQ/s657/Koenig-temple9238hei87tug6t-large.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="491" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54e61_hh5UuH2R0erUM3-jMhDqIRhAC1Q0GqP5gsYwKCMK-39QX2Zud0etnlsirSfXePX1xJxPnMC3T-0mX0USCel_xuUN3PEpTPkdQ1kDBWnM5INe737sSmXO7UzvpkqH3t0Ufw6DOZYjWWmpsd7_yjOFjAA8EYT3DR6lphd29RMb0pp24X8zQ/w478-h640/Koenig-temple9238hei87tug6t-large.jpg" width="478" /></a></p><br /><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+2%3A13-25&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">John 2:13-25</a></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I learned a nursery rhyme when I was a child that you might have learned as well. It described the church by having us interlace our fingers and repeat the rhyme: “Here is the church, here is the steeple. Open the doors, and see all the people.” It’s memorable, but what does it say about the church? Is it a building, with a steeple, or is it people? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Paul described the church, he used the image of the “body of Christ.” That doesn’t sound like a building or an institution. When Paul envisions the church being the “body of Christ,” it’s clear that he has people in mind. In fact, this is a very relational image since Paul talks about how the members of the body are equipped with spiritual gifts, so they can work together for the common good (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Cor.+12%3A4-11&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">1 Cor. 12:4-11</a>). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now you might be wondering why I started out talking about the church when our Lenten reading from John 2 tells the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple. The reason I’m doing this is that in this story Jesus compares his body to the Temple. So stay tuned as I try to connect the church with Jesus’ Passover visit to the Jerusalem Temple where he causes quite a ruckus when he tries to clean the Temple. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although all four gospels tell the story of the cleansing of the Temple, they place it in different spots in Jesus’ ministry. John puts it right at the beginning rather than at the end, and in this version of the story Jesus goes to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. Like any good pilgrim, Jesus went to the Temple to worship. He doesn’t go as a tourist as I have when I’ve visited ancient cathedrals. So, when he enters the Temple he’s horrified by what he encounters. He sees all kinds of animals being sold at a profit for the sacrifices along with money changers at work at their tables, again making a profit. Jesus is so offended by what he sees that he gets extremely angry. He went expecting a sacred place where God is encountered but instead, he encountered a marketplace, what the other Gospels call a den of thieves. In his anger at the desecration of what he called his Father’s house, he makes a whip of chords and drives out the animals, turns over the tables of the money changers, and tells the vendors to get out of his Father’s house. Thus, we have the story of the “cleansing of the Temple.” </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While John’s telling of this story might shock us if we envision Jesus as meek and mild and never getting angry. This story suggests that on occasion Jesus can get angry and even a bit violent. Jesus’ actions in the Temple quickly caught the attention of the authorities, which is why John slips in the comment that zeal for his Father’s house will consume Jesus. This story lets us know that as we read John’s story of Jesus, he will often be at odds with the religious and political authorities. Ultimately, that leads to the cross. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since in John’s Gospel this appears to be Jesus’ first visit to Jerusalem, you have to imagine what he felt, coming from Galilee, when he saw this magnificent building that sat on a hill overlooking the city of Jerusalem. When Herod the Great took over as the vassal king of Judea, he decided to turn the rather small dingy Temple the returning exiles constructed to replace Solomon’s Temple destroyed by the Babylonians into one of the great wonders of the world. Herod the Great might have been a Roman vassal but he had a big ego. So by remodeling and expanding the Temple, he created something to match his ego. While Herod saw the Temple as an expression of his ego, Jesus claimed this Temple for his Father. So we witness a clash of values. Jesus saw the Temple as a sacred space, while Herod viewed it as a public building. Since it takes a lot of money to build and maintain a building like this you have to find ways of paying for it. So, the Temple authorities turned part of the Temple into a marketplace.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As you can imagine the Temple authorities didn’t appreciate Jesus’ disruptive actions, especially since this took place during Passover. With so many visitors to the city, they stood to make a lot of money. So they confronted him. They wanted to know by what authority he thought he could cause this disruption of business as usual. After all, Jesus was nothing more than a peasant from the backwaters of Galilee who happened to be visiting the city. They wanted to see his credentials, since Jesus claimed to speak for God, they wanted him to prove it with a sign. Show us what you can do!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now the sign Jesus gave the authorities wasn’t what they expected. In fact, what Jesus said next caused confusion among these rather angry Temple authorities. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In his response, Jesus told the authorities that if they destroyed the Temple he would rebuild it in three days. Now the authorities knew that you can’t rebuild a magnificent building like the Temple in only three days. You might be able to build a small house in a few days. Habitat for Humanity does that all the time, but replacing a Temple that took decades and lots of money and labor to build will take a lot longer than three days. This is where Jesus turned the tables on them. He’s not speaking of the Jerusalem Temple, which by the time John’s his Gospel had been destroyed by the Roman legions, but his physical body. While the religious and political leaders might conspire to destroy his body on a cross, God would raise that body from the dead in three days. This is the sign Jesus offers his audience. It’s a sign that the disciples only understood after his resurrection (Jn 2:22). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Jesus compares his body to the Temple, he suggests that his body is the true Temple where God is encountered. Therefore, no human-built building, no matter how magnificent, can truly be a place of divine encounters. Instead, it will be his crucified and resurrected body that serves as the sacred space where God is encountered.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what does this story have to do with the church? I would suggest that while Jesus defends the sacred nature of the Temple in Jerusalem when he speaks of his body being the true Temple, he invites us to interpret this word through a Pauline lens. If we follow Jesus’ logic, then he is “Beth El,” the house of God. If Jesus is the house of God then our experiences of communion with God involve his body, which Paul suggests is the church. By the church, Paul has in mind people who are indwelt and gifted with the Holy Spirit rather than a building or an institution. As Paul reminds us, although the body of Christ has many members, it’s still one body. When Paul speaks in this way, he uses a relational definition of the church.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If the church is the Body of Christ, then like the Temple in Jerusalem, this body, the Temple may need to be cleaned once in a while. As Hulitt Gloer of Truett Seminary puts it: "</span>The ways of the world invade the church gradually, subtly, never intentionally, always in service of the church and its mission. Soon the church is full of cattle and sheep and turtle doves and money changers!" [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/42YSgn6" target="_blank">Feasting on the Word,</a> </i>p. 95]. When that happens, it’s time to clean house!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There has been a lot of talk in recent years about this being a “post-Christian” age. Christendom, which involved the merging of Christianity with the dominant culture, has collapsed. Therefore, being a member of a church no longer has much social value, although there are some in our country who seek to gain political power in the name of God so they can enforce “Christian values.” Unfortunately, history has taught us that this is never a good thing for either the church or the state. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Remember that after Constantine granted Christianity favored status, the cross was transformed from a symbol of disgrace to a symbol of political power. Ever since that “Constantinian Shift,” church and state have jockeyed for power over each other. Again, this isn’t good for either church or state. In fact, when the church has achieved political power, it has tended to experience the kind of corruption that Jesus protested when he cleansed the Temple. We’re seeing lots of examples of the corrupting effects of power over others taking place in churches across the land. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When it comes to matters of power, if we understand power to be the ability to do things, we see Jesus call his followers to embrace power that is submitted to God. Therefore, instead of seeking power over others, which is coercive, his followers should seek power with others, which involves working together to accomplish our goals. Again this work should be done in submission to God. As David Fitch points out in his book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3V1FMJn" target="_blank">Reckoning with Power</a></i>, the church fails when it finds itself on the wrong side of power. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, while buildings and institutions have their place, they do not define the church. To be the church of Jesus Christ is to be the Body of Christ. According to Jesus, that body cannot be destroyed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we continue through Lent, perhaps Jesus is calling us to do a bit of soul-searching. In the midst of our reflections perhaps he’s calling us to let go of the things that get in the way of being Christ’s body, equipped by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the common good.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">First Presbyterian Church </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Lent 3B</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #351c75;">March 3, 2024</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #b4a7d6;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Image attribution: Koenig, Peter. Christ Overturns the Tables of the Moneylenders, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58520" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58520</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"> [retrieved March 2, 2024]. Original source: Peter Winfried (Canisius) Koenig, https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/.</span></span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-64837182736240867642024-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:002024-01-28T07:00:00.249-08:00Freedom and Neighborly Love --- Sermon for Epiphany 4B (1 Corinthians 8)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://64.media.tumblr.com/a9a6cdf6d75a3a8d2d8c080733fadbf5/bfa9c4776cc2db87-04/s540x810/675185d261f0760f05e9e5a3b54d767e5edabbee.pnj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="540" height="515" src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/a9a6cdf6d75a3a8d2d8c080733fadbf5/bfa9c4776cc2db87-04/s540x810/675185d261f0760f05e9e5a3b54d767e5edabbee.pnj" width="412" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+8&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 8:1-13</a></b></p><p> <span style="text-align: justify;"> If you’re like me, you prize your freedom. You could call it an American thing, but it’s also a biblical thing. The problem is that when freedom goes rogue it can be quite destructive. Usually, freedom goes rogue when it becomes self-centered. That’s what happened in the Corinthian church. People were attracted to Paul’s message of freedom and then used it to their own benefit at the expense of their neighbors. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> When we read the Corinthian letters, we discover that this congregation was, to quote Steve Martin, full of “Wild and Crazy Guys.” One of the reasons for this was that this congregation was rather unique for its time. Corinth itself was a very cosmopolitan port city. Because of this, the church in Corinth was very diverse in terms of economic status and probably ethnicity. Since Paul planted this church, he felt a certain responsibility for its success. Paul wrote at least two letters to help the congregation solve its numerous challenges. This morning, we get to look at an area of concern that involves personal freedom and neighborly love in the context of a discussion of food and sacrifices to idols. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paul spends several chapters of this letter dealing with the way food functioned in the Corinthian church. The problems he encountered often had socioeconomic roots. As I said, the church at Corinth was a rather unique social and cultural experiment because it was located in a city that was an economic powerhouse that stood at the center of trade in the Mediterranean world. The church’s membership included slaves and businesspeople, Jews and Greeks, men and women. They all they gathered together in the name of Jesus in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise. The problem this congregation faced is that the people tended to bring their local customs and habits into the congregation, which caused problems. What was true then is often still true today. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Throughout this letter, Paul deals with questions sent to him by members of the church asking him for advice. The question here has to do with whether it is permissible to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You might wonder why anyone would eat meat sacrificed to idols. The first thing you need to know is that only the wealthy could afford to eat meat regularly. The second thing is that if you want a good steak in Corinth, you don’t go to the local supermarket. Instead, you go to one of the temples that sells the “leftovers” from the daily sacrifices. By leftovers, I mean almost everything except maybe an organ or two. In other words, the temples that dotted the city streets served as the butcher shops, restaurants, and worship centers all rolled into one. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here’s where that became a problem. Some church members claimed they had special “knowledge” that allowed them to dine at the local pagan temples without being corrupted. After all, they knew that “no idol in the world really exists.” Since that was true, then why not go to the temples and have a nice meal. After all, to borrow an old Arby’s tagline, the temples shouted out: “We have the meat!” The church members who possessed that secret knowledge believed that since they were free in Christ, it wouldn’t hurt them to go get a good steak?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Paul might agree with this assessment about the existence of the gods worshiped in the temples because he also believed that there is only one God. Nevertheless, not everyone in the church understood this truth. After all, this was a new congregation full of people who not long before had gone to those same temples to worship before joining the church and they might still believe that this food served as an offering to the idols. Seeing another church member eating at the Temple might damage their consciences. Paul reminded the knowledgeable ones that not everyone was at the same place in terms of spiritual maturity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> While we may live in a rather disenchanted, secular world, where even Christians struggle to believe that a spiritual world might lay beyond what we can experience with our senses, that wasn’t true in the first century. Paul believed that a spiritual realm existed and that not every spirit is benevolent. Whatever knowledge someone might possess about this spiritual realm, Paul wanted the members of the congregation to know claims to have special knowledge can puff up a person.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> What Paul wants this congregation to know is that while arrogant claims to knowledge can puff us up, it doesn’t build up like love. Therefore, Paul calls on this very diverse congregation to focus on loving one another. They might be free in Christ, but freedom is nothing without love. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> With this in mind, Paul asks the wealthier members, the ones who thought they possessed special knowledge regarding spiritual things, to consider the needs of the church members whom Paul calls “The Weak,” who probably were poor and living on the margins of society. He tells the “Strong” to remember that when “the Weak” see their wealthier sisters and brothers eating meals at the temples they can’t afford, they might begin to question their faith. They might even decide to abandon Jesus and return to their previous commitments believing that these idols might offer a better chance at success in life. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> There is a word in use today that speaks to what is going on in the Corinthian church. We call it privilege. When Paul speaks of knowledge, he’s not trying to be anti-intellectual. What he’s concerned about is this sense of privilege that some in the congregation were using to lord it over others. Paul wants these self-proclaimed “knowledgeable” Christians to acknowledge their privilege and consider the needs of the entire body of Christ. He tells them to let love be their guide. He wants them to choose a path that builds up the body rather than tears it down. In other words, he tells them not to let a steak dinner cause the spiritual downfall of another sister or brother in Christ. In making this plea, Paul draws on Jewish understandings of the covenant community when he tells them to “take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> While these “knowledgeable” Christians, the ones that claimed to possess gnosis or spiritual knowledge, thought they understood the spiritual realm, apparently, they didn’t realize that spiritual forces exist, what Paul elsewhere calls the “principalities and powers” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph.+3%3A10+&version=RSV" target="_blank">Eph. 3:10 RSV</a>), that can exploit our desire for freedom to destroy the covenant community. In other words, we need to understand that our freedom as Christians needs to be experienced within the covenant of love, which builds up the body rather than destroys it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Now, to focus on love doesn’t mean we don’t talk about difficult issues, including ones that seem political, like immigration and refugees, war and poverty. Jesus didn’t shy away from difficult issues. If you read the Sermon on the Mount, you will discover that he shared some very challenging words that not only addressed his context but ours as well. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> What we hear in this passage is a word of guidance about how to root our sense of freedom in Christ in our love for one another. As Jesus taught us, there are two great commandments. The first commandment has to do with loving God. The second commandment speaks of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. The author of 1 John connected these two commandments, letting us know that it’s impossible to love God, whom we can’t see if we don’t love our neighbors whom we can see (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+4%3A13-21&version=RSV" target="_blank">1 John 4:13-21</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Let us remember that Paul stuck his hymn to love right in the middle of his discussion of spiritual gifts that are intended to build up the body of Christ. As the hymn declares: </p><p></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #93c47d;">If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have love, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and I know all the mysteries and everything else, and if I have such complete faith that I can move mountains but I don’t have love, I’m nothing. 3 If I give away everything that I have and hand over my own body to feel good about what I’ve done but I don’t have love, I receive no benefit whatsoever.</span> [<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13%3A1-3&version=CEB" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 13:1-3</a> CEB].</blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"> Yes, knowledge can make us arrogant, unless it is rooted in love, which builds up the body of Christ.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What does love require of us? Perhaps Paul’s closing words offer an answer to that question. What he does is set aside his privilege. He tells the Corinthians, who have a tendency to prize strength over weakness, that “if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause of them to fall” (1 Cor. 8:13). In other words, love is the key to living the Christian life. We may be free in Christ, but that freedom is meaningless if it’s not rooted in the love of God and the love of neighbor.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p> </p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-12846655949880066162023-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:002023-12-03T07:00:00.147-08:00Time to Shake Things Up - Sermon for Advent 1B (Isaiah 64/Mark 13)<p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.soh.church/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/jesus-coming-in-the-clouds-768x512.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="427" src="https://www.soh.church/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/jesus-coming-in-the-clouds-768x512.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span></span><span></span><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+64%3A1-9%3B+Mark+13%3A24-37&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Isaiah 64:1-9; Mark 13:24-37</a></b></p><p><span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I have good news to share with you this morning. Advent has arrived and with it a new liturgical year begins. Today we begin a new journey that invites us to once again hear the story of God’s presence among us, as that presence is revealed in the life of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. If we pay close attention to the story as it unfolds, we discover that when God visits us, God tends to shake things up. In the words of the third prophet we call Isaiah, in his prayer of repentance, he calls on God to tear open the heavens and come down so that the mountains would quake and God’s name would be made known to a distracted world. Yes, when God comes down, the nations tremble. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The season of Advent invites us to prepare for the coming of the Lord. The Gospel of Mark begins with the announcement that God is sending a messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord by making the pathway for the Lord straight (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mk+1%3A1-3&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mk 1:1-3</a>). According to Mark, that messenger was John the Baptist.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This morning our reading from the Gospel of Mark invites us to listen to Jesus, who speaks of the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds with glory to gather up God’s people from the four corners of the earth (Mk. 13:24-27). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we think of Advent, we usually connect it with the upcoming birth of Jesus, but Advent also calls on us to prepare for a second advent. The first Advent took place two millennia in the past, while the second Advent has yet to arrive. Our annual journey through the Christian year reminds us that we live between these two advents. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, there is a reason why we focus on the first Advent. That’s because it precedes Christmas. So, we tend to spend Advent getting ready for the Christmas holiday. After all, there’s so much to do to get ready for Christmas. There are presents to buy, and travel plans to make, food to prepare, and parties to attend. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While Christmas is on our minds, the message of Advent runs counter to much of this seasonal activity. That’s because it invites us to slow down, stop, and look inward to check and see if there are spiritual things that need to be dealt with.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As Isaiah reminds us, if we’re not careful, we can lose sight of God’s presence in our lives. Isaiah speaks at times as if God is absent, though in reality, God isn’t absent, we just get so caught up in daily life that we can forget God is present. We call this practical atheism. I know how this works because it happens to me. So, Isaiah offers us this prayer of lament and repentance so we can reconnect with the God who at times seems absent. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is said that this season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, this season of Advent, can be a time when many feel this absence most keenly. This is one of the reasons why we are holding a Blue Christmas service this coming week. It serves as an opportunity to find solace by remembering that even when feel alone God is present with us.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While our readings from Isaiah and Mark remind us that when God acts, things can get shaken up, Isaiah also reminds us that God is our maker. Yes, God is the potter and we are the clay. When Isaiah reminds us that we are the work of God's hands, the prophet takes back to the second creation story, where God forms the first human from the <i>adamah,</i> or clay. After God fashions this first human, God breathes life into this new creation (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%3A4-7&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gen. 2:4-7</a>). Because God is our maker, we are God’s people. This offers us a word of hope because even when we feel alone or feel as if the world is in disarray, we are members of God’s family.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the reading from Mark, Jesus not only tells us that when the Son of Man comes in his glory to shake things up, but he also will send out the host of heaven to gather up God’s people from the four corners of the earth. But, since we don’t know when this second advent will take place, Jesus asks us to patiently keep watch. Stay alert, because the day of the Lord may come suddenly, without warning.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Over the years, I’ve chosen to begin the Advent season by singing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.” Yes, “O come, though Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death’s deep shadows put to flight.” </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This hymn reflects the message we find in both Isaiah 64 and Mark 13. Isaiah speaks of exile, while Mark speaks of God’s realm breaking into our lives, often unexpectedly. But, when God arrives, God creates something new. The coming of the Dayspring will cheer our spirits.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Both readings address the question of God’s apparent absence by letting us know that God is coming for God’s people. So be prepared. As Isaiah lets us know, we must pay attention to the ethical dimensions of God’s covenant with God’s people. As Rabbi Barry Schwartz points out, for Isaiah and for Israel, this “is the only way to move forward—the only path of light in a dark world, the only hope in an age of travail” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3NcnRed" target="_blank">Path of the Prophets,</a></i> p. 211]. This is why we have this opportunity, during Advent, to look inward and discern those areas we need to address before the coming of the Lord. As we do this, we can call out to God, “Lord, have mercy on us.” </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although Advent invites us to look inward and deal with the disarray in our own lives, it also offers us a word of hope that is symbolized by the first Advent candle we light. The opening verse of a Brian Wren hymn declares: “Hope is a star that shines in the night, leading us on till the morning is bright” [<a href="https://hymnary.org/text/hope_is_a_star_that_shines_in_the_night" target="_blank">“When God Is a Child,” <i>Chalice Hymnal,</i></a> 132]. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The past several years have been challenging. We’ve experienced COVID and watched as violence and political upheaval mark the world stage. Many of us are concerned about the state of our own nation which has become so polarized that anger is the most prevalent emotion among the populace. We may feel as if God is absent as we watch the ongoing war in Ukraine and the horrors present in Gaza and Israel. Many of us struggle to make sense of it all. The brazen attack on Israeli citizens and others by Hamas, followed by Israel’s devastating response, leaves us uncertain as to how we should respond. Then there is the politics of our own nation that worries many of us. So, it may seem as if darkness has enveloped us. In moments like this, many ask, where is God? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This was a question that both Isaiah’s and Mark’s audiences were asking. It’s a question many living today are asking. Our journey toward an answer begins with lament and repentance so that we might be ready when the Son of Man arrives in our midst shaking everything up in order to set things right. As we wait for that moment, let us put our trust in the God who may seem absent, but who is always with us even when we don’t feel that presence. Whether that presence is made known through earthquakes or still small voices, as we move through this Advent season, let us pause for a moment, and listen for God’s voice that speaks a word of hope in the midst of a noisy world. Then we can shout for joy because we’ll know that God is at work in our midst. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In a moment we’ll sing a song that declares:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span>Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast: </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God’s mercy must deliver us from the conqueror’s crushing grasp. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound, </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>till spear and rod can be crushed by God, who is turning the world around</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">[Rory Cooney, “<a href="https://hymnary.org/hymn/LUYH2013/69" target="_blank">My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Sound</a>”]. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, when the Son of Man comes in glory shaking things up to get our attention, let us join together in praying: “O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind, bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; fill the world with heaven’s peace.” </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, let this be our Advent prayer so that we might commit ourselves to joining with the God who shakes things up, so we might participate with God in the work of <i>Tikkun Olam</i>. That is the Hebrew phrase that means “to heal the world.” This is our calling as spiritual descendants of Abraham and Sarah, through our spiritual kinship with Jesus our Lord.</span></p><p><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Preached by: </span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">First Presbyterian Church (USA)</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">December 3, 2023</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Advent 1B</span></i></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-21376619324518808432023-11-12T07:00:00.001-08:002023-11-12T07:00:00.138-08:00Wedding Bells - Sermon for Pentecost 24A (Matthew 25)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/fool289374hfwe984758fh83.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="800" height="408" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/fool289374hfwe984758fh83.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><b style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A1-13&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 25:1-13</a></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Most of us have been to a wedding and maybe even <i>in</i> a wedding or two. Over the years I’ve been the groom, a co-best man, groomsman, usher, and of course, being a pastor, I’ve officiated at a few. Like most pastors, I have a few stories to tell. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Most of the weddings I’ve officiated went fairly well, though there were a few that could have gone badly. The most memorable event took place during one of my earliest weddings. That was when the bride almost went up in flames. I learned my lesson: Don’t let the bride’s train catch on the free-standing candelabra after lighting the unity candle. Better yet, don’t use free-standing candelabra. There also have been a few weddings that were delayed for one reason or another. In one a bridesmaid got sick on the way to the church and in another a drunk father-of-the-bride disappeared right before the wedding began. Of course, these were the exceptions, not the rule. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This morning, Matthew takes to a wedding scene where the groom’s arrival is delayed. This delay leads to problems for the bridesmaids who are supposed to welcome the groom and then lead him to the wedding banquet. According to Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids during Holy Week. It speaks to the delayed arrival of God’s realm in its fullness. Jesus speaks here of preparation and alertness. Be sure to stay prepared for any delay in the groom’s arrival because you don’t want to be locked out of the wedding banquet.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes Jesus introduces a parable with the words: “The kingdom of heaven <i>is like</i> . . . ” When he uses the word “like” you get the feeling that God’s realm is already present among us. This time, however, Jesus introduces the parable with the words: “The kingdom of heaven <i>will be like</i> this.” Those extra two words remind us that God’s realm isn’t fully present quite yet. Seeds may have been planted, but the harvest isn’t ready. In fact, it’s been delayed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we read or watch the news it’s clear that God’s realm is not yet fully present. The question for us is whether we’re prepared for the groom’s delayed arrival. Since the delay has been lengthy, we may get drowsy and fall asleep. That’s to be expected but do we have extra oil to light our lamps when the groom arrives?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to this parable, ten young unmarried women go out to meet the groom. They take lamps to light the way to the wedding banquet. Unfortunately, when the groom’s arrival is delayed things go awry.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This parable builds on a custom of the day when unmarried young women would escort the groom to the wedding site. The problem arises because as the night wore on and the groom’s arrival was delayed, the women fell asleep. You can’t blame them. They’re only human. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then at midnight, a cry went out waking them up and letting them know that the groom was about to arrive. So, they got up, lit their lamps, and got ready to lead the groom to the wedding banquet. That was their job. Unfortunately, five of the women were foolish and didn’t bring an extra flask of oil. Their lamps began to go out. The other five were wise enough to bring that extra flask.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now the foolish five asked their friends to share a bit of oil so they could keep their lamps lit. Their friends who were wise enough to bring that extra flask told them they were sorry but they didn’t have enough oil to share. So they told their unwise friends to go find a store and buy some oil. That’s what the foolish five tried to do, but it was the middle of the night and the stores were closed. By the time they returned, the groom and the five wise attendants had already entered the wedding banquet. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When the Foolish Five arrived, they discovered that the doors were locked. So, like Sheldon Cooper, they knocked on the door and cried out hoping to get the attention of someone on the inside, but it was too late. When the groom finally came to the door, he sent them away. So, they missed their chance to participate in the wedding festivities because they weren’t prepared for the groom’s delayed arrival. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Matthew included this parable because his community was feeling anxious about the delayed arrival of God’s realm. Since we read this story two millennia later knowing that the coming of the realm continues to be delayed, the question facing us is whether we’re prepared for when the realm arrives? In other words, are we like the five wise bridesmaids who have an extra flask of oil available so that when the day arrives we’ll be ready to light our lamps?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The issue here isn’t falling asleep, since all ten women fell asleep. We can’t stay on our toes forever, but we can still be ready for the groom’s arrival. While Matthew suggests that this groom is a bit unpredictable, since we don’t know when he’ll arrive, we can stay prepared for the coming of the realm. This parable reminds us that life doesn’t always go according to our plans so we need to plan for contingencies. That’s why we get vaccinations and purchase insurance. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While we might feel like the wise five should have shared their supplies, this isn’t a story about sharing. It’s a story about preparation and alertness. The church year begins and ends with warnings about the need to be prepared for the coming of God’s realm. Although the future’s details are unknown to us, John the Baptist’s message, like Jesus’ parable, is quite clear. Prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We might not know when the wedding banquet will begin, but we don’t want to get shut out. So, be prepared. Have that extra flask of oil close at hand. After all, timing is everything. We can cry out as we knock: “Lord, Lord, open to us.” In the end, according to Jesus, the groom will simply say: “I do not know you.” </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although these words sound harsh and judgmental, which many of us will find disturbing, this parable along with the others that surround it, including the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, serves as a reminder that judgment is part of the kingdom package. So, even though Jesus offers a word of grace and mercy, he wants us to know that God has high expectations of us.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So how might we stay prepared for the uncertainty that comes with the arrival of God’s realm? What might this extra flask of oil be? The central message here seems to be wisdom. The five wise bridesmaids serve as exemplars. Jesus tells us to be like them and we’ll be prepared. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What does it mean to be wise? This word from the book “Wisdom of Solomon” gives us a hint:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i><span>17 The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction,</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #274e13;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>18 and concern for instruction is love of her,</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #274e13;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>and love of her is the keeping of her laws,</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #274e13;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #274e13;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>19 and immortality brings one near to God,</span></i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; white-space: normal;"><i><span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>20 so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom. </span><span> </span></i>(<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Wisdom+of+Solomon+6%3A17-20&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Wisdom of Solomon 6:17-20</a>).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, the way we stay prepared is to draw on the wisdom of God, and that wisdom comes through instruction. In other words, to be prepared is to continue learning the things of God so we can put them into practice. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s easy to lose hope during difficult and challenging times. It seems as if such times are more common than times of peace and security. When we look around at our communities, we see and hear a lot of fear and anger and anguish. People wonder, where might God be in all of this? As the flame of hope begins to flicker and go out in the hearts of many, we may wonder whether we’ve missed something important. The world around us seems dark and foreboding. We know that Jesus promised to bring the realm of God into our midst, but where is it?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We’re not the first people to ask these questions. It seems that in every age, there are people who feel as if the last days are upon us. You never know; the realm may be close at hand. We could spend our time trying to figure out the time and date of its arrival, but we might be better off simply staying prepared for every eventuality. That means keeping the lamp of God’s wisdom always lit so when the time comes we’ll be ready to enter the wedding banquet. If we turn to the Gospel of John we learn that it is the Spirit of God who continually instructs us on the things of God, so let us stay in tune with the Spirit who brings wisdom (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+16%3A12-15&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Jn 16:12-15</a>). As we do this, we can follow Jesus’ example and plant seeds of God’s realm in our communities. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The coming of the realm might be delayed, but don’t lose faith or hope. Don’t get distracted when bad things happen. Instead, stay true to Jesus’ calling to be his witnesses until the end of the age. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John Buchanan, the former publisher of the Christian Century, writes of the parable:</span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The point is living expectantly and hopefully. Christian hope rests on trust that the God who created the world will continue to love the world with gentle providence, and will continue the process of creation until the project is complete, and will continue to redeem and save the world by coming into it with love and grace in Jesus Christ</span>. </span>[<a href="https://amzn.to/46awZGT" target="_blank"><i>Feasting on the Word</i>, </a>p. 286] </blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">May we be like the five wise young women and stay prepared by keeping our lamps full of the oil of wisdom. Then, when the time comes, we’ll be ready to accompany the groom to the wedding banquet.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Congregational Church of Birmingham (UCC)</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Bloomfield Hills, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">November 12, 2023</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pentecost 24A</span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">Image attribution: Tissot, James, 1836-1902. Foolish Virgins, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57765" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57765</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;"> [retrieved November 11, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Foolish_Virgins_(Les_vierges_folles)_-_James_Tissot_(cropped).jpg.</span></span></p><p><br /></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-20440775510923523132023-10-15T07:00:00.005-07:002023-10-15T07:00:00.151-07:00Making Our Own Gods - Sermon for Pentecost 20A/Proper 23A (Exodus 32) <p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Hortus_Deliciarum-calf09274.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="800" height="386" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Hortus_Deliciarum-calf09274.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dance of the Golden Calf</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+32%3A1-14&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Exodus 32:1-14</a></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When many of us were children, long road trips could be challenging. We can get impatient. From the back seat we can be heard asking our parents: “Are we there yet?” Such was the perspective of the people of Israel as they traveled across Sinai toward the Promised Land. They could be heard on many an occasion whining about their situation. Then, when Moses seemed to disappear after going up the mountain to visit with God, they got worried and decided to take things into their own hands. If Moses, who spoke for God, wasn’t around to lead them, maybe they needed new leaders and new gods. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, when God made a covenant with Israel, God gave the people a set of rules and regulations that defined God’s covenant expectations. We call these rules the Ten Commandments. This set of commandments begins with this proclamation: </span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;">I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth</span> </span>(<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ex.+20%3A1-4&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Ex. 20:1-4</a>).</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="white-space: normal;"></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The point seems clear. There is only one God and don’t make idols of anything. While these two commandments seemed clear enough, it didn’t take long for the people to mess things up. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Moses went up the mountain to receive further instructions from God, he left Aaron and the elders in charge of the people. When Moses' time on the mountain lasted a lot longer than the people expected, they got worried. What if Moses never returned? What would they do? Then they came up with a plan. Maybe they needed different gods and different leaders. So they approached Aaron and asked him to give them new gods who could lead them out of the wilderness. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, organizations regularly change their leaders, especially when things don’t go according to the plan. It happens in churches, businesses, and sports teams. Remember when the Lions replaced Jim Caldwell with Matt Patricia because Caldwell hadn’t produced a playoff win? Well, the Patricia era didn’t go all that well. Hopefully, Dan Campbell can produce that elusive playoff win. In the case of the Exodus, the people hoped that Aaron would prove to be a better leader than Moses. And Aaron seemed ready to take on the job. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When the people asked Aaron to create new gods for them that would do what they asked, he was ready and willing to comply. Even though Yahweh, the God Moses represented, told the people not to make idols, they decided they needed gods they could see, touch, command, and manipulate. Even though Aaron knew what God had done for Israel through Moses, it seemed as if Aaron wanted to have his own shot at the top spot. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When it comes to Aaron’s position in the leadership structure, Frederick Buechner might have gotten things right. He suggested that Aaron might have been a bit like many older brothers who get lost in the shadow of a more charismatic younger brother. Buechner wrote:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #93c47d;"></span></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aaron went quietly off into the ministry where in the long run he didn’t do so badly either except that the only people who know about it were the ones who turned to the religion section on the back pages. Moses, on the other hand, was forever making the cover. The pay-off came around the time Moses hit eighty and out of a burning bush God himself voted him Man of the Year. As usual, Aaron had to be content with playing second fiddle, which he did well enough until he got the break he’d been waiting for at last, and he blew it.</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite his theological training and time spent at the denominational headquarters, Aaron gave in to the people’s demands that he provide them with a new god who could lead them to safety. Buechner concludes with these words:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Nobody knows whether this was Aaron’s way of getting even with his kid brother for all those years of eating humble pie, or whether he actually believed with the rest of mankind that a God in the hand is worth two in the bush</span><span style="color: #93c47d;">. </span>[<i><a href="https://amzn.to/45Ahrfg" target="_blank">Peculiar Treasures</a></i>, pp. 1-2]</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since Moses seemed to be out of the picture, at least for the moment, Aaron had his chance to be in charge. Because he wanted to please the people, he decided to give them what they wanted. So, he directed them to gather up all the gold jewelry and bring it to him so he could melt it down and create an image. When he presented the golden calf to the people, they said: “These are our gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the Land of Egypt.” Yes, this golden calf, not Yahweh, delivered them from Egypt. At least that was the new story they told themselves.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aaron liked what he saw and decided to build an altar so the people could worship this new god of his making. In fact, he called together the worship and fellowship committees so they could plan a big celebration. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On the day of the festival, the people brought offerings and sacrifices to the altar and they “sat down to eat and drink and then began to party. It turned into a wild party!” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ex.+20%3A1-4&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">Exod. 32:6 MSG</a>). The people were excited because now it seemed like this golden calf was the kind of god they could control. They were so excited they danced and drank and got really drunk. Now, doesn’t that sound like a fun kind of church service? It might draw in a crowd, but of course, as Pastor Dan might say, the Presbyterian authorities likely would frown on such a service!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Even though the people down below seemed happy with their new god, Yahweh was not happy. You can understand how God might feel after seeing this rebellion take place on the desert floor. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When God saw the people worshiping this idol, God began to wonder whether liberating these “stiff-necked people” from slavery was a mistake. In fact, the LORD sort of disowned them and told Moses to go down and take care of this situation. After all, these were Moses’ people and Moses’ problem. Yes, these people Moses brought up out from Egypt were acting perversely by disregarding everything the LORD had commanded. Therefore, the LORD was ready to pass off responsibility to Moses. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This conversation between the LORD and Moses might sound a bit like what parents might say to each other when a child acts up. You know, one parent says to the other: “That child of yours sure messed up.” Maybe it’s “your child smashed up the car;” or “your child wrote on the wall;” or “your child flunked the semester in school.” </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God is so frustrated with these people that a more drastic idea emerges. Why not wipe out these stubborn people who won’t follow directions and set up idols in God’s place, and then start over with Moses. After all, since Moses was a descendant of Abraham and Sarah, God could start over with him and still fulfill the covenant God made with Abraham and Sarah. That way God wouldn’t have to continue putting up with this group of malcontents who “exchanged the glory of God for an image of an ox that eats grass” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+106%3A20&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">Psalm 106:20</a>). <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fortunately for Israel, Moses intervened and reminded God that it wouldn’t look very good if God brought the people out of Egypt just to kill them. In other words, what would the neighbors think? What kind of reputation would God have in Egypt after doing something like that? After Yahweh calmed down a bit and considered the wisdom of Moses’ pleas, God had a change of mind and decided to spare Israel. So the journey continued.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It would seem that idolatry stands at the center of this crisis. God had liberated the people, but when the process took longer than expected, the people got impatient and decided to exchange the God who liberated them with gods they could control. They got Aaron to make an idol for them. In doing this, they rejected the LORD who had commanded them not to create idols. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The story we’ve heard this morning invites us to consider the kinds of idols we create and embrace in place of God. Is it fame or fortune? What about our allegiance to the nation, do we place America ahead of our allegiance to God and the way of life Jesus reveals to us? There’s a difference between patriotism and nationalism because it’s one thing to love the country you belong to, it’s quite another thing to put one’s nation above everything else including following Jesus. One antidote to nationalism is to embrace the <a href="https://amzn.to/3ZSisyh" target="_blank">Lord’s Prayer as our pledge of allegiance</a> to the realm of God, which stands above every other realm. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We face strong temptations to create and embrace gods we can control and manipulate, especially when life gets difficult. Theologian Miguel de la Torre asks a good question: “Would we not be more secure if we were to rely on a god made of gold, or in reality, in gold alone?” That is, have we numbered ourselves among the stiff-necked people who choose “mammon over God” and “risk being consumed by their own greed?” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/45v0rHo" target="_blank">Preaching God’s Prophetic Justice</a></i>, p. 431]. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here is the good news: Despite the temptation we face to create gods we can control and manipulate for our own benefit, gods that include nationalism and greed, God is patient and long-suffering, merciful, and loving. Like children who test their parents’ patience, we also test God’s patience. Even though God can have a change of mind from time to time, ultimately God remains faithful to the covenant, even when we’re not. But, if we’re going to get to the Promised Land, we need to heed the words of God </span>that can guide us to our ultimate destination. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Preached by:</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">October 15, 2023</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pentecost 20A</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; white-space: pre;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left; white-space: normal;">Herrad, of Landsberg, Abbess of Hohenburg, approximately 1130-1195. The Dance of the Golden Calf from the Hortus Deliciarum, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left; white-space: normal;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left; white-space: normal;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55985" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left; white-space: normal;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55985</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left; white-space: normal;"> [retrieved October 14, 2023]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hortus_Deliciarum,_Der_Tanz_um_das_goldene_Kalb.JPG.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;"> </span></i> </span></span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-13110584229976563392023-09-17T07:00:00.001-07:002023-09-17T07:00:00.131-07:00Border Crossings - Sermon for Pentecost 16A/Proper 19A (Exodus 14)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Guidance_Day_and_Night_HR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="618" height="577" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Guidance_Day_and_Night_HR.jpg" width="445" /></a></div><br /><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+14%3A19-31&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Exodus 14:19-31</a></b></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We cross borders all the time. While crossing the border into Canada is relatively easy, as long as we have the proper identification, crossing the Mexican border is much more difficult. It’s even more difficult if you’re crossing over without documentation. People cross borders, whether our southern border or other borders, for many different reasons. Sometimes, they are refugees fleeing violence and persecution in their homeland. Other migrants might be seeking a better life in a place that offers more opportunities. I think one thing that many of us forget is that migration is not a new phenomenon. Most likely, if we are European Americans, our ancestors came to these shores for the same reason many come today. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> When it comes to immigration to the United States, it’s clear that our nation’s immigration laws and policies are broken. Fixing the problem will require careful attention that to this point our politicians aren’t ready to face. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There are other borders and boundaries that we face in life. They’re different from national boundaries, but they can pose challenges to our daily lives. Yes, it can be difficult to navigate the ever-changing landscape of our economic, cultural, religious, generational, ethnic, sexual, or gender boundaries.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Years ago, during my first term in seminary, I took <i>American Protestant Theology</i>. Each of my classmates and I had to make a presentation. I don’t remember what my topic was, but I do remember the presentation by an African-American classmate on Black Theology. He told us that unless we were Black we couldn’t truly understand the Black experience in America or Black Theology. Being young and naive, I found this difficult to accept. Why couldn’t I understand? After all, isn’t there just one kind of theology? You can see I had much to learn!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Over the years, I’ve become less naive and have discovered that there are some things in life that I will never experience, and therefore never completely understand. These are, you might say, borders that prove difficult to cross. The only way we can cross to the other side is to go as invited guests who will humbly listen to the people who truly understand. It’s a lesson that I’ve had to relearn many times over the years. I continue learning these lessons! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The reading from Exodus 14 involves a border crossing crisis. Israel has left behind the bondage of slavery in Egypt. In other words, they’re refugees seeking freedom in a new land. Getting there will be a challenge. They’ll face seemingly uncrossable borders as they head toward the Promised Land with Moses in the lead. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At first, the people of Israel were excited about their future, but then they faced their first obstacle, the sea. Not only did the sea stand in the way of their travel to the Promised Land, but Pharaoh had changed his mind and was now in pursuit. They found themselves in a most difficult position, with either slavery or death as the only options. On one side was Pharaoh’s army and the other side was the sea. The people, understandably, feared for their lives. They cried out to Moses: “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+14%3A11-12&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Exodus 14:11-12</a>). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The good news in this story is that God was with them. Yes, God would make a way for them to cross to the other side of the border and the freedom that it promised. According to our story, God tells Moses to lift his staff and stretch it over the sea. When he does this, the sea is going to divide creating a path for the people to cross over on dry land. There would be no need to build bridges or boats because God would build a freeway through the sea so they could cross over the border to freedom (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exod.+14%3A1-18%29&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Exod. 14:1-18)</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we pick things up in verse 19, Pharaoh is closing in on Israel but God is with them in the form of the Angel of God and the pillar of cloud, which had been leading the way to the Promised Land. Now the Angel and the Pillar move from the front to the rear of this group of migrants, standing between them and the pursuing Egyptian army. When darkness fell, this cloud lit up the night and so no one approached Israel. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now with the angel and the cloud standing guard over them, Moses stretched out his hand over the waters. When he did this, a strong east wind came up in the night and blew the waters apart making a pathway through the sea. The Israelites crossed through the sea on dry land so they could continue their journey to the Promised Land. When Pharaoh’s army pursued the people into the sea, we’re told that Yahweh, the LORD, looked down upon the army from the pillar and threw the army into a panic. So, with the army in disarray, the LORD told Moses to stretch his hand over the waters so that the sea might return to its normal depth. So, even as Israel escaped to the other side of the border, Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the sea. Now the people of God could continue their journey, though if you continue reading you’ll discover that this will not be the final obstacle, the final border, to be crossed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When I ponder this story, my thoughts go to the monument that stands at the edge of the Detroit<br /> River. The monument marks the spot where the Underground Railroad reached its terminus. The monument points us across the river where freedom and safety lay for these former slaves. But first, they had to cross that final boundary. While the river didn’t dry up, the people found a way to cross over to freedom.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaG96tODfGcpN7kGi52_NCS2Iamlpqc63DZOm6D9eVgXm31yygxYbqvxWVd6Is9oqUMqghNBwvPOy8R0ye7aWHEcH5BDNjkqGvPJ_yi7o0H3I1mzbsuuXX8wTf43G53uY51f1zCvFTrFaXS94ToSKo2YtOHyYayDgSWTvUjMzPZYdSVq22hBmfw/s5312/20170728_132019_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaG96tODfGcpN7kGi52_NCS2Iamlpqc63DZOm6D9eVgXm31yygxYbqvxWVd6Is9oqUMqghNBwvPOy8R0ye7aWHEcH5BDNjkqGvPJ_yi7o0H3I1mzbsuuXX8wTf43G53uY51f1zCvFTrFaXS94ToSKo2YtOHyYayDgSWTvUjMzPZYdSVq22hBmfw/w400-h225/20170728_132019_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Border crossings continue to this day all across the globe. There is, as I noted earlier, our own national borders that are compromised by the unwillingness of our political leaders to deal with a broken immigration system. But it’s more than that. The world we live in is facing many challenges, which give rise to migration. Until we work to resolve those challenges, we will continue to see people seeking freedom north of the border. Unfortunately, some of the proposed solutions to the crisis at the border are inhumane and even dangerous. Some politicians have suggested using the National Guard to shoot and kill migrants crossing the border. I don’t believe that this is a Christian solution. Although the problem of the border is bigger than what we can deal with this morning, this story from Exodus gives us a starting point for having that conversation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There are, of course, other kinds of borders that we face in life. We are all prone to erecting borders out of fear of an unknown future or unknown neighbors. Some of these borders are physical in nature but others are invisible but still very present because they exist in our hearts and minds.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’ve been working on a book that I’ve titled <i>Eating With Jesus</i>. I’m writing this book to stir up a conversation about the fences Christian traditions put up around the Lord’s Table. I’m arguing that Jesus didn’t fence the Table, so why do we put up fences? Why do we create unnecessary borders that keep people from encountering Jesus at his Table? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is another question that this passage raises for us to consider. That question has to do with whether in our daily lives, we’re border enforcers or border crossers? As we ponder this question, we hear a word from Scripture that reminds us that we’re not alone when it comes to crossing borders. The message here is that we don’t need to fear the path forward, because God is with us, even as God was with the people of Israel in the form of the pillar of fire and cloud. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This morning I come to you as a substitute preacher. I’ve been here before and maybe you’ll invite me back, but perhaps this passage has a word for you as you face your future as a congregation. You are in the midst of a season of discernment seeking to discern a path into a largely unknown future. Fear can set in. When fear sets in it can paralyze decision making. So my word for you this morning as an outsider is simply this: Know that God is with you. Yes, God is with you making a way for you through the sea so you cross over on dry land. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you get to the other side, and you will, be sure to celebrate. But also remember that this is only the beginning of the journey. There will be other obstacles, but take to heart the songs of Moses and Miriam in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+15&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Exodus 15</a>. Take heart in the promise that Moses proclaims, that God’s steadfast love will redeem you. Take to heart as well your congregation’s name, for you and I, each in our own way, are on a “journey of faith.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I leave you with the words from a Ruth Duck hymn you’ll find in the <i>Chalice Hymnal: </i></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d; white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i><span>Lead on, O cloud of presence; the exodus is come;</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In wilderness and desert our tribe shall make its home.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Our bondage left behind us, new hopes within us grow.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We seek the land of promise where milk and honey flow. </span></i><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> —Ruth Duck (1974) <i>Chalice Hymnal</i>, 633 </span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Preached by:</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Journey of Faith Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)</span></i></span></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Ann Arbor, Michigan</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pentecost 16A/Proper 19A</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">September 17, 2023</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #93c47d;"><br /></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">Moyers, Mike. Guidance Day and Night, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57143" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57143</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;"> [retrieved September 16, 2023]. Original source: Mike Moyers, https://www.mikemoyersfineart.com/.</span></span></p><p></p><p></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-67052395912011300142023-09-10T07:00:00.002-07:002023-09-10T07:00:00.261-07:00Owe No One Anything But Love - Sermon for Pentecost 15A/Proper 18A (Romans 13)<p> </p><p> <a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Thou_Shalt_Love_3902jhndfi8c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="800" height="370" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Thou_Shalt_Love_3902jhndfi8c.jpg" width="604" /></a><br /><br /></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+13%3A8-14&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Romans 13:8-14</a></b></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Let me tell you how it will be</b></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There's one for you, nineteen for me</b></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>'Cause I'm the tax man</b></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, I'm the tax man</b></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Should five percent appear too small</b></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Be thankful I don't take it all</b></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>'Cause I'm the tax man</b></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, I'm the tax man </b>--</span><span style="color: #b6d7a8;">-<a href="https://genius.com/The-beatles-taxman-lyrics" target="_blank">Beatles</a></span></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thus, sang the Beatles. It’s true that no one really likes the “tax man.” That’s true today and it was true in the ancient world. Nevertheless, Jesus told the people to give Caesar what belonged to Caesar and to God what belonged to God (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+22%3A21&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 22:21</a>). Paul seems to have agreed with Jesus. Here in Romans 13, he told his readers in Rome to obey the authorities and pay their taxes. Yes, it’s the right thing to do “to pay taxes for the civil authorities are appointed by God for the good purposes of public order and well-being. Give everyone his legitimate due, whether it be rates, or taxes, or reverence, or respect!” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%2013%3A7%20&version=NRSVUE;PHILLIPS" target="_blank">Rom. 13:7 JB Phillips</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As the saying goes, there are only two things that you can’t get out of in life. Those two things are death and taxes. So, even though it hurts to pay “the tax man,” you’ve got to do your duty. In fact, give to whatever entity you encounter their due, whether it’s taxes, respect, or honor. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.+13%3A1-7+&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Rom. 13:1-7</a>)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That’s the “give-to-Caesar” side of the equation. Now, for the give-to-God side of the equation—and just to be clear, this isn’t a stewardship sermon!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the first word we heard this morning from Romans 13, Paul tells us to “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” This is the one kind of debt that God wants us to incur. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I realize that most of us have incurred some kind of financial debt during our lives, whether it’s a mortgage, car loan, student loan, or some other kind of consumer debt. You’ll be glad to know that I’m not going to meddle in anyone’s financial affairs, but let’s see where this takes us.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The opening clause of verse eight tells us to owe no one anything except to love one another. The second clause in that sentence tells us why we should owe no one anything other than to love them. This is what Paul tells the Roman church, you should owe no one anything but love because “the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paul was a good, Law-abiding Jew, who knew the Law by heart. He was, after all, by tradition, a Pharisee (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Phil.+3%3A5&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Phil. 3:5</a>). Nevertheless, following Jesus, he knew that the primary law of God, after loving God with his full being was to love his neighbor as himself. While Jesus spoke of the two great commandments, he drew those two commandments from the Old Testament. The first commandment comes from Deuteronomy 6. It tells us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+22%3A37%3B+Deut.+6%3A5&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 22:37; Deut. 6:5</a>). Then there’s the second one, the one Paul picks up on here in Romans 13, which draws from Leviticus 19. It declares that “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+22%3A39%3B+Lev.+19%3A18&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 22:39; Lev. 19:18</a>). Jesus tells us “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+22%3A40&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 22:40</a>). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>These two commandments provide a summation of God’s Law, God’s Torah. If you fulfill these two commandments, you fulfill all the commandments. Since Paul knew these commandments by heart, and because many of his readers were Jewish Christians, they would know these commandments as well. So, he tells them and us that “the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This isn’t the only place where Paul shares this message. In his Galatian letter, where he highlights God’s grace, he tells the Galatian church that the “whole law is summed up in one single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal.+5%3A14&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gal. 5:14</a>). <a href="https://johntsquires.com/2023/09/04/love-is-the-fulfilling-of-the-law-romans-13-pentecost-15a/?fbclid=IwAR3lxmKCngCkky0lOnih_LZxi8yWJGdZPvS_TVILP03gIcB64kiFLTJ5bkI" target="_blank">John Squires</a> points out that according to Paul: “Law and love are here seen in close interrelationship with one another, not in opposition to one another. Love is the essence of the Law, bringing fulfillment to what the Law set forth.” So, there’s really no distinction between the Law and Love in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paul wants us to know that if we would just love one another as we love ourselves then we needn’t worry about breaking any of God’s laws. Of course, sometimes we need to be reminded of what loving one another looks like. So, Paul gives us a few examples. If you love one another, you won’t break your marriage vows, kill people, steal, or covet what belongs to the other person. Now, he could have added more commandments to the list. In our day, with all the mudslinging we see on social media and in the political sphere, the commandment concerning bearing false witness would be a good one to include. Paul didn’t feel the need to write them all down because he figured we get the idea. If you want to fulfill the Second Table of the Law, then love your neighbor. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The reason why Paul believes that we fulfill the Law when we love others is that “love does no wrong to a neighbor” (Rom. 13:10). The good news is that, according to the Psalmist, the Law of God is perfect, and revives the soul. It also causes the heart to rejoice. It enlightens the eyes and the teachings of God are righteous and more desirable than gold. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%28Ps.+19%3A7-10&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">(Ps. 19:7-10</a>).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Of course, sometimes people want to clarify the definition of this neighbor that Leviticus, Jesus, and Paul speak of. That’s the question a lawyer raised with Jesus. He wanted to know what was required of him to gain eternal life. Jesus responded by asking the Lawyer what the <i>Torah</i> said about gaining eternal life. The lawyer responded by telling Jesus that we should love God and our neighbor as we love ourselves. Jesus commended him for giving the right answer and told him to do these two things and he would live. Now the lawyer wasn’t quite finished with Jesus. That is because he wanted to know who is this neighbor he’s supposed to love (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-29&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Luke 10:25-29</a>).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s a question that many of us ask God. How large a circle must we draw. It can be difficult to love some of our family members, let alone the people who live next door to us. We might be satisfied with including fellow church members, but what about the folks down the street who worship at another church? Do we have to love them? What about those people who follow very different religions? Must we love them? What about the people who don’t share our political positions? I probably should stop here, because I might get charged with meddling. But that is the question the lawyer asked. How big a circle must I draw?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus answered the lawyer’s question with the Parable of the Good Samaritan (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lk+10%3A30-37&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Lk 10:30-37</a>). In this parable the person who exemplifies neighborliness is a Samaritan. While tradition has attached the adjective “good” to this Samaritan man, Jesus’ Jewish audience would not have agreed to this usage. You see, Samaritans and Jews were ancient enemies. So, Samaritans weren’t good people. They were the enemy and should be avoided at all costs. Yet, Jesus used a Samaritan, an ancient enemy, as the one who fulfilled his definition of neighborliness. In this parable, it’s the Samaritan who stops and looks after the person who had been mugged by bandits while the religious leaders pass him by. As you can imagine, since I’m a religious professional, this parable does make me uncomfortable from time to time! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, Paul doesn’t give us a definition of the neighbor. He just tells us to love our neighbor. If we do this, we fulfill God’s Law. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After Paul tells the people that the way they will fulfill God’s Law, God’s expectations, is loving their neighbor as themselves, he offers a warning to the Roman Christians. He tells them it’s time to wake up. That’s because their salvation is near at hand. Therefore, it’s time to lay aside the works of darkness, put on the armor of light, and live honorably. In other words, put on Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, but instead love your neighbor and you’ll fulfill God’s Law. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What Paul is talking about here is what it means to live in Christ. According to Paul, “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%28Rom.+10%3A4&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">(Rom. 10:4</a>). This call to love our neighbors is rooted in the call to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we might “discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While these Roman Christians lived under the rules and regulations of the Roman Empire, Paul wants the reader not only to obey these rules and regulations, and of course, pay their taxes, he wants them to also remember to obey the Law of God, which means loving their neighbors as themselves. That means, that while they lived in Rome they shouldn’t behave like Romans. In other words, don’t embrace the adage: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Instead, be like Jesus and love your neighbor as yourself. If you do this, you will fulfill the law of love, which does no harm to one’s neighbor. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">September 10, 2023</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pentecost 15A</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Image Attribution: Schnell, Sister Maurice, 1839-1902. Thou Shalt Love the Lord Thy God..., from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56207" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56207</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"> [retrieved September 9, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thou_Shalt_Love_-_Sister_Maurice_Schnell.jpg.</span></span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-56993745667714614162023-08-27T07:00:00.001-07:002023-08-27T07:00:00.148-07:00A Basketful of Blessings - Sermon for Pentecost 13A/Proper 16A (Exodus 1-2)<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://freechristimages.com/images-exodus/Finding-Moses-_Konstantin-Flavitsky.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="800" height="562" src="https://freechristimages.com/images-exodus/Finding-Moses-_Konstantin-Flavitsky.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #38761d;">Pharaoh's Daughter Finding Baby Moses<br />Konstantin Flavitsky, 1855</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+1%3A8-2%3A10&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Exodus 1:8-2:10</a></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When God appeared to Abraham in Haran, God asked him to pick up and move to an undisclosed location. In exchange for heading out on this adventure, God promised to make his descendants a blessing to the nations (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.+12%3A1-9&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gen. 12:1-9</a>). As the story goes in Genesis, Abraham and three generations of his descendants carried that promise forward. Due to famine and the providential placement of Jacob’s son Joseph in a position of power, Jacob’s family ended up in Egypt where Joseph was Prime Minister. Although Joseph ended up in Egypt because of some family dysfunction, his presence in Egypt brought blessings to his family and to the nations. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we turn from Genesis to Exodus, Abraham’s descendants still reside in Egypt. In fact, it’s four hundred years later and the family has been fruitful and multiplied. Their fortunes were about to change because a Pharaoh came to the throne of Egypt who knew not Joseph (Exod. 1:8). Pharaoh grew rather concerned about the presence of this group of non-Egyptians in his realm. He was concerned that if the trend continued, these Hebrews might someday outnumber the native Egyptians. Besides if Egypt’s enemies invaded, the Hebrews might side with the enemies. It seems that this new Pharaoh who didn’t remember Joseph bought into what some call the “Great Replacement Theory.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As you may know, there are many in North America and Europe, who embrace the “Great Replacement Theory.” This theory suggests that if immigration is left unchecked before too long White Christian culture and dominance will be wiped away. So, while we might want to welcome a few more Northern Europeans, we should let in fewer Asians, Latin Americans, and Africans. You know, people who don’t share our Euro-American Judeo-Christian values. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In these opening stories from Exodus, not only does Pharaoh buy into the conspiracy theory, but he decides to “deal shrewdly” with these Hebrews. So he ordered the enslavement of the Hebrews, who were put to work building two new cities and bringing in the crops to fill his new granaries. He hoped that by dealing ruthlessly with the Hebrews he could stem the tide of their population growth. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Unfortunately for Pharaoh, his shrewd plan didn’t work. The more he oppressed the Hebrews, the more they multiplied and spread across his empire. Since slavery didn’t slow things down, Pharaoh decided to try even more drastic measures. He called in the Hebrew midwives and ordered them to cull the Hebrew population by killing off the boys born to the Hebrew women. Since Pharaoh’s word was law, what were the midwives going to do? Will they obey Pharaoh or God? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to the story, the midwives who were named Shiphrah and Puah feared God more than Pharaoh. So instead of killing the boys, while sparing the girls, they let the boys live. When Pharaoh realized that this plan wasn’t working, he called in Shiphrah and Puah and asked them why the Hebrew women continued to produce baby boys? The midwives told Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were more vigorous than Egyptian women so that by the time they reached the mother, she’d already delivered the baby. It was too late to kill the babies since the mothers already held them in their arms. It seems that Pharaoh bought their story. As for Shiphrah and Puah, God blessed them with families of their own. This is how Kelley Nikondeha describes the aftermath of their defiance, “God blesses them and other Hebrews with families, allowing them to continue to be fruitful and multiply despite the genocidal climate” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3qT6tmL" target="_blank">Defiant,</a> </i>p. 33]. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, Pharaoh wasn’t going to give in that easily. He believed he was facing an existential threat to his rule. He wasn’t going to let these foreigners displace his people and undermine Egyptian culture. If the midwives weren’t going to help him, then he would order the entire citizenry to help him stem the tide of foreign influence. So, he issued a decree, ordering his people to throw every newborn Hebrew baby boy into the Nile, though once again they could spare the baby girls. The irony of this story is that it appears Pharaoh didn’t think women could be a threat, and yet the women defy Pharaoh’s attempts to eliminate the Hebrew people. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pharaoh was more successful in his efforts to rid himself of this perceived threat. He got his subjects to join his plan of extermination by playing on his people’s insecurities. It’s the same playbook that Hitler used when he tried to implement his genocidal plan to exterminate Europe’s Jews. If his plan was going to work, he had to convince the people that dark forces threatened the survival of the nation. Yes, Pharaoh tried to convince the people that the Hebrews were a security risk. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Might something similar be happening in our country? Could political forces be at work in our midst trying to drum up fear of the other, whether the “other” is a person of color, a Muslim, Jew, Gay or Lesbian or Trans., socialists, Chinese and other Asians, Mexicans and Latin Americans, African Americans or some other group of people that get added regularly to the list? Contemporary American proponents of the “The Great Replacement Theory” are working hard to make sure that the “other” doesn’t replace the dominant role that good white Christians play in our society. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pharaoh did his best to devise shrewd plans to defeat his perceived enemies. But none of them seemed to work. The midwives refused to obey Pharaoh’s orders. While many loyal Egyptians probably obeyed Pharaoh, we see further signs of resistance as we turn to Exodus 2. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In chapter 2 of Exodus, we hear the story of one family’s resistance, which led to a basketful of blessings. There was this family from the tribe of Levi who decided to have another child despite Pharaoh’s orders. When they discovered that the baby was a boy they hid him for three months. When they could no longer hide him, they devised a plan to save the boy.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The baby’s mother placed the baby in a basket and set the basket among the reeds along the banks of the Nile. The baby’s older sister, Miriam, watched over the basket until Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe. When Pharaoh’s daughter, saw the basket, she opened it up and saw the baby and she had compassion for him. While she knew that this was one of those Hebrew boys her father had ordered killed, she decided to defy Pharaoh. She picked up the baby and accepted the boy as her own son. Because the baby hadn’t yet been weaned, Miriam approached Pharaoh’s daughter and asked if she would like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby? If so, she could find a wet nurse, who turned out to be the baby’s mother. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Despite Pharaoh’s efforts to eliminate the Hebrew threat, several women beginning with Shiphrah and Puah exhibited greater shrewdness than Pharaoh displayed. When the baby reached the appropriate age, the baby’s mother returned the child to Pharaoh’s daughter who named him Moses, because she drew him out of the water. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kelley Nikondeha celebrates this act of adoption by reminding us that while women are often unnamed in the Bible, the baby’s mother’s name will eventually be revealed as Jochebed. While the Bible doesn’t name Pharaoh’s daughter, Jewish tradition gives her the name Bithiah, which is translated as Daughter of God. When it comes to Bithiah, Kelley writes:</span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bithiah received Moses as an unexpected gift. He, in turn received maternal love from her as he grew and matured. His Egyptian mother, who knew him to be Hebrew utterly other and different from herself, offered him daily care and unequivocal acceptance. And his dual identities became a pivotal gift that God empowered for a future act of emancipation</span>.</span> [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3OW2tKi" target="_blank">Adopted,</a></i> p. 52].</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here in chapter 2 of Exodus, we hear the story of three more women, Jochebed, Miriam, and Bithiah, who defy Pharaoh’s orders, even though Pharaoh didn’t think women were a threat to his power.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because these women defied Pharaoh, a baby would be drawn from the water and given the name Moses. Moses would grow up to become God’s agent of liberation for God’s people. Therefore, the promised blessings would be passed on to future generations.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> We live in an age when forms of Christian nationalism, white supremacy, and fear of the other run rampant in our society. Therefore, this story of defiance has much to offer us. It provides us with a lens through which we can view the “foreigner.” Perhaps it’s the child of a despised “foreigner” whom God will use to further God’s ultimate purposes. You never know how these things will work out. Whether we’re the “native” or the “foreigner,” perhaps God is calling us to nonviolently resist these forces of exclusion and oppression. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I turn again to the wisdom shared by Kelley Nikondeha. She writes that “the women of Exodus remain strong archetypes for us as we enter into the liberative work of our own era. They help us crack open our imaginations for the long walk of freedom that remains ahead” [<a href="https://amzn.to/3qT6tmL" target="_blank"><i>Defiant</i>, </a>p. 184]. <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Pharaoh’s daughter drew that basket from the Nile, she discovered it contained an agent of God’s blessings for the nations. Her willingness to defy her father, the Pharaoh, meant that God’s promise to bless the nations through Abraham’s descendants would continue on for another generation. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you look at <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A1-17&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus</a>, you’ll notice it starts with Abraham. That suggests to me that the promise of Abraham extends to Jesus, Abraham’s descendant. Then, if we turn to Paul’s letters, we learn that those of us who are Gentile Christians, have been adopted into Jesus’ family. Therefore, as adopted members of Jesus’ family, we too have been commissioned to carry a basketful of blessings into the world (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal.+3%3A27-29%29&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gal. 3:27-29)</a>. May this be our calling! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Congregational Church of Birmingham (UCC)</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Bloomfield Hills, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pentecost 13A/Proper 16A</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">August 27, 2023</span></i></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-32215311746766680362023-08-13T07:00:00.001-07:002023-08-13T07:00:00.152-07:00Impossible Possibilities - Sermon for Pentecost 11A/Proper 14A (Matthew 14)<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/fulljpeg/walkcn,m785mnf12908ghdf.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/fulljpeg/walkcn,m785mnf12908ghdf.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14:22-33" target="_blank">Matthew 14:22-33</a></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to the Gospel of Matthew Jesus went about Galilee proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. He revealed this heavenly realm in parables like the parable of the sower and the parable of the mustard seed. He also revealed God’s realm through his miracles. Last week we heard the story of the feeding of the 5000. We may not know how Jesus fed so many people with such little food, but we can develop suitable theories. However, when it comes to walking on water, that’s a different story. You might call this an “impossible possibility” of the miracle stories, stories that require that we use our spiritual imaginations. Then this story, as Brian McLaren suggests, can “play a catalytic role in co-creating new possibilities for the world of tomorrow” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3YAHxgy" target="_blank">We Make the Road by Walking,</a></i> p. 97].</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Today’s reading from Matthew 14 picks up the story right after Jesus fed the 5000. Matthew tells us that Jesus sent the disciples back across the lake and dismissed the crowd. Now he could finally spend time alone with God, which is why he went to this deserted spot along the lake in the first place. He needed a break, a sabbath. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While Jesus went up the mountain to pray, his disciples made their way across the lake in their boat. At least four of the disciples were experienced fishermen, so they should know how to handle a boat even if a storm came up. While the Sea of Galilee might not be that big a lake when compared with one of the Great Lakes, apparently it can get rough when a storm hits. When they reached the middle of the lake, a storm hit and it scared them to such an extent that they were susceptible to seeing ghosts. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s good to remember that even if Peter and Andrew, James and John, were experienced fishermen, the people of Ancient Israel, as a general rule, were not a seafaring people. In fact, they didn’t like the water, which is why they often used the sea as a symbol of chaos. So we shouldn’t be surprised that when the storm began to blow, stirring up the waves that battered the boat, tossing it to and fro, even the most experienced fishermen in the group became frightened.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With the wind and rain buffeting their boat, this already frightened and weary crew spotted a ghostly figure coming toward them, seemingly walking on the water. Like us, they knew that people don’t normally walk on water. Therefore, this had to be a ghost. People didn’t walk on water, but perhaps ghosts could. If this was a ghost, then they were probably doomed. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Matthew wrote this story, it’s likely he was addressing a community of faith with lots of questions about their future. Perhaps the world around them seemed chaotic. Fear might be running rampant in their community. Doubts might have been on the rise. Maybe Matthew’s audience saw themselves in this boat with the disciples. Perhaps that sounds or feels familiar when we think about our place as individuals and as a congregation in the world we live in. After all, the world around us does seem rather topsy-turvy. The winds are blowing and the waves of change and polarization are hitting us hard. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> As we ponder the message of this story, we might be able to identify with the disciples who are being tossed around by the waves. The church at large is facing challenging times. Across mainline Protestantism, churches are getting smaller. Fewer people are choosing to pursue ordination to serve congregations. Many of our congregations are aging and wondering about the future. It may seem as if the challenges of the day are too big to handle. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s been a little over a week since I returned from four days at the Disciples of Christ General Assembly. This was our first in-person gathering as Disciples since 2019. We discussed and voted on important resolutions dealing with matters of social justice and we reelected our General Minister and President. We also voted on a series of amendments to the denomination’s governing document that are designed to make the denomination more flexible as it faces the future. Overall people were feeling good about things, but the future remains uncertain. What’s true for the Disciples is true for Presbyterians. We’re all going through challenging times and wondering about the future.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Last Sunday we heard a word from Matthew’s account of the feeding of the 5000, which reminds us that we serve a God of abundance and not scarcity. Now we hear this word about stormy weather and Jesus’ stroll across the lake. When it comes to resources, my friend Ron Allen wrote some time ago about the way we go about stewardship.</span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #93c47d;"></span></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With respect to stewardship, the instinct is to huddle together inside the boat. We make sure we have life preservers and cling together. As congregations and the wider church, we often use our time, talent, money and other resources to preserve the institution as an institution.</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When we face the storms of life, there is the temptation to draw inward, but if I read the news correctly, this is not the time to stay within the safe confines of the boat. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What we hear next from Matthew might require us to use our spiritual imaginations so we can embrace the impossible possibilities of this story, so it can serve as a word of encouragement. This ghostly figure might have scared the living daylights out of the disciples, but they soon learn that this ghostly figure is Jesus. When Jesus drew near the boat, he spoke words of comfort: “Be encouraged, It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” Even if Peter was frightened by the storm and the sight of a ghostly figure walking on the water, when he heard Jesus’ voice everything changed. In fact, Peter, who was known for his impulsiveness, asked Jesus if it would be okay if he joined him on the lake’s stormy and chaotic waters. Jesus said to him: “Come,” and Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, just like Jesus. But when Peter looked around and realized that he was outside the boat, doubts began to form and he began to sink. Although he didn’t walk very far, he did take the risky step of getting out of the boat. The good news is that Jesus was there to rescue him when his faith faltered. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After Jesus pulled Peter out of the brink and into the boat, he calmed the waters. I think that Matthew wants us to know that just because we walk with Jesus doesn’t mean we won’t face stormy seas. When Jesus asked Peter why he doubted, I don’t think he was scolding Peter. I think Jesus was helping Peter and us recognize that getting out of the boat in storming seas can be risky. Yes, Peter is a man of little faith, but he has faith enough to get out of the boat. For a moment he embraced the impossible possibility that getting out of the boat offered him. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It would be safer and less risky to stay in the boat. It’s also easy for churches to look inward, enjoy each other’s presence, sing a few hymns, and share in fellowship, so we can forget about all that discord going on outside the walls. But, perhaps following Jesus involves heeding the invitation to join Peter and get out of the boat and step into the stormy waters. We may fail spectacularly when we get out of the boat, but as Lance Pape points out: </span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span>Jesus does not demand that anyone get out of the boat, but he seems as interested as anyone else to see how the venture will end. Even in failure, it does not end in a drowning, but in rescue, and ultimately in grace that swallows up doubt and inspires worship in those who watch from the safety of the boat. On this reading, the scold about “little faith” loses its edge, and we hear in it the good-natured ribbing of one who knows that when it comes to the paradox of faith, a little can go a long way (17: 20).</span> </span>[<i><a href="https://amzn.to/47qUsW9" target="_blank">Connections,</a></i> (p. 519). Kindle Edition].</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus may have asked Peter why he doubted once he got out of the boat, but I don’t believe he was scolding Peter. After all, he was the only disciple to get out of the boat to greet him. I prefer to think that Jesus was inviting him to do a bit of self-reflection about this step along the path of faith. After all, if we’re going to risk failure, we’ll need to do a bit of self-reflection from time to time. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We live in a world that needs to hear a word of hope. If we’re going to deliver that word, we’ll have to venture out from the safe confines of the building and our friendship circles. When we fail, and we will fail, perhaps spectacularly, the good news is that Jesus reaches out to us. He may even calm the seas of our lives. Then, we can join together and worship Jesus, proclaiming him the Son of God.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On the third night of the General Assembly, as we worshiped together, the worship leader invited us to sing together “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” We sang a lot of new music, but this was one of those songs everyone seems to know. So, we sang with gusto, all three thousand of us. It was stirring. In fact, I got choked up for a moment. This is the good news for us to take hold of: God is the fount of every blessing. So, let us join in the worship of the one who invites us to get out of the boat and begin navigating the sometimes chaotic nature of this world we inhabit. If we do this, then what seems impossible will become a possibility, enabling us to bless our neighbors.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Preached by:</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pentecost 11A/Proper 14A</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">August 13, 2023 </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Image Attribution: Klever, Julius Sergius von, 1850-1924. Christ Walking on Water, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57445" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57445</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"> [retrieved August 12, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_Walking_on_the_Waters,_Julius_Sergius_Von_Klever.jpg.</span></span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-25383942185508558772023-08-06T07:00:00.001-07:002023-08-06T07:00:00.139-07:00Time to Eat - Sermon for Pentecost 10A/Proper 13A (Matthew 14)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/feed4r786j0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="684" height="611" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/feed4r786j0.jpg" width="522" /></a></div><br /><p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A13-21&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 14:13-21</a></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One thing is true about religious groups. Even if we don’t always eat the same foods, we all like to eat. Muslims may fast during Ramadan, but once the sun goes down, it’s time to eat. Since I’ve been to a number of Iftar dinners I can attest that once the sun goes down the food and the fellowship is plentiful. Jews celebrate Passover with meals and again the food is plentiful. While the food used in the Lord’s Supper might be minuscule, Christians have been known to host meals with plenty of food.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we read the gospels, it’s clear that Jesus enjoyed eating with people. In fact, some of his critics suggest that he was a glutton. They also criticized him for eating with the wrong kinds of people. When we gather at the Lord’s Table, we remember Jesus’ eating habits, including the people he shared meals with. Sometimes Jesus was the guest, but at other times he was the host. This morning we hear a story about the day Jesus hosted a rather large gathering, whom he fed with just a few loaves of bread and two fish. But, Matthew tells us that he acted out of compassion. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to Matthew’s version of the story of the feeding of the 5000, the event took place right after Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded on the orders of Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A1-12&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 14:1-12</a>). When Jesus heard this news, he got into a boat and headed off to a deserted place so he could pray. His plan didn’t quite work out because when he got out of the boat a crowd quickly gathered around him. Jesus responded to their needs by healing everyone who came to him for help. Then, when Jesus saw that the crowd was hungry, he told his disciples to feed them. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to Tradition, Jesus had retreated to a spot near the town of Tabgha, just north of the Sea of Galilee. If you go there today, you’ll find a reconstructed stone church that dates back to the fifth century. Much of the church is relatively new, but an ancient mosaic lies in front of the altar reminding us that this is the traditional spot where Jesus fed the five thousand. The mosaic is brown and white and “depicts two fish flanking a wicker basket filled with a few loaves.” [Martin,<a href="https://amzn.to/3OqId38" target="_blank"> </a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3OqId38" target="_blank">Jesus</a>,</i> p. 256]. Whether or not this is the exact spot where Jesus fed the multitude, the shrine reminds us that Jesus made an impact on the lives of everyone he encountered. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The story of the feeding of the 5000 has its roots in the Exodus story. After Moses led the people out of Egypt, God provided bread from heaven to sustain them as they journeyed through the wilderness. Alan Culpepper suggests that this story, which begins in Sinai reaches its “revelatory pinnacle in the Last Supper, that would be celebrated ever after by the church and that points ahead to the great messianic banquet at the end of time (Isa 25:6)” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3DLMae6" target="_blank">Feasting on the Gospels: Matthew</a></i> 2:11]. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Biblical stories that include the provision of manna and the feeding of the 5000 are simply snippets of a larger story of God’s engagement with Creation. So, when we come to the Table to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we don’t just remember the Last Supper or even the cross, we remember the larger story that begins with creation and ends with the gathering of the saints before the throne of God. The good news is that we get to participate in this still-unfolding story of God’s relationship with creation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This particular story is remarkable because it’s the only miracle story that appears in all four Gospels. Even if they tell the story differently, the point of these stories is that God provides bread from heaven. This bread is the same daily bread we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we ponder this story of the feeding of the 5000 we might want to contrast it with the story that precedes it. Remember that Jesus headed into the wilderness after John was beheaded as part of Herod’s birthday celebration. Theologian Anna Case Williams points out that “Jesus is the host at this meal. Perhaps we are meant to see the contrast between the simple and life-giving meal and the luxury of Herod’s court and with his death-dealing banquet (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A1-12&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">14:6-11</a>)” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3KtIHoi" target="_blank">Matthew: Belief,</a> </i>p. 194]. One meal brings life to hungry people, and the other meal brings death to one of God’s people. Which meal should we embrace? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Even though Jesus retreated to a quiet place, the people went looking for him. They were hungry, and Jesus had compassion on them. While Matthew doesn’t say that Jesus engaged in teaching, I can’t imagine he didn’t take this opportunity to share his vision of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever took place that day, as evening drew near, the disciples got nervous. They wanted Jesus to send the crowd away to nearby villages so they might get something to eat. Jesus had a different idea. He told his disciples to feed the people themselves. They told Jesus, there are a lot of people here and we only have five loaves of bread and two fish. So, how are we going to feed the crowd? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus would not be deterred. So, he had the disciples bring the bread and fish to him. He asked the crowd to be seated and then, using words and actions that reflect what we see take place in the Last Supper, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples to distribute. These four verbs that appear in Jesus’ blessing of the meal—took, blessed, broke, and gave—also appear in the words of institution that we find in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+26%3A26-30&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 26. </a></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When everyone had been served and was full, the disciples gathered up twelve baskets of leftovers. How this happened, Matthew leaves to our imagination. But, Matthew does tell us that 5000 men plus an uncounted number of women and children ate that day. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If we take the instructions given in this story, a step further, we will hear Jesus calling on us to distribute the bread of life to the hungry of this world. That hunger might be physical because there are a lot of hungry people in our world, and Jesus has compassion on them. So, if we are followers of Jesus, we should also have compassion on those who are hungry and thirsty. There are numerous ways that this congregation can participate in feeding the hungry of our community and world. There are others whom we encounter in life, who experience spiritual hunger, and we’ve been entrusted by Jesus to share the bread of life and the cup of salvation with them as well. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we ponder the message of this story, I appreciate this word from Father James Martin. In his book about Jesus he writes that the bread and fish, as well as the bread and wine of communion, are simple elements that teach us something important: [Jesus] “ uses food to show us how the world should be: everyone filled and satisfied” <i>[<a href="https://amzn.to/3OqId38" target="_blank">Jesus</a></i><a href="https://amzn.to/3OqId38" target="_blank">,</a> pp. 265-266]. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes we may feel that we don’t have anything left to give. I’ve felt that way. But this story, whether we read it in Matthew or in one of the other Gospels, reminds us that God’s grace and compassion are sufficient. We live in an economy of that proclaims that the resources we need to live are scarce and need to be hoarded, but Jesus tells us that the resources we need are abundant and so we should share those resources with those who are in need. We just have to look at what God is doing in our midst.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Moses led the people across the desert, they weren’t quite sure if they would make it to the other side. It may have taken longer than they expected, but God was with them, providing them with the bread of heaven that sustained them on their journey. So, in the midst of perceived scarcity, there was abundance.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we ponder the message of this passage, I share this word from theologian Grace Ji-Sun Kim:</span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="color: #93c47d; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="color: #38761d;">We have a tendency to live with a mindset of fear and scarcity; we fear that we do not have enough to feed the poor or care for the sick. This passage gives us hope, whether we are individuals or small and struggling congregations: we have the means to do more than we think we can for God’s suffering people. Jesus offers a vision of the abundant life, the kingdom of sharing God’s resources here and now. The passage urges us to bring any small gifts that we have—money, talent, and time—to dedicate them to Jesus, because he will multiply what we have as we give it to others</span></span><span style="color: #38761d;">. </span>[<i><a href="https://amzn.to/44TU4hl" target="_blank">Preaching God’s Transforming Justice, Year A,</a></i> p. 344].</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus says to us: “you feed them?” When we respond by saying that all we have, are a couple loaves of bread and a few fish, is it possible that Jesus is telling us that what we have to offer is sufficient, so gather the people and feed them? The good news is that we serve a God of abundance and not a god of scarcity.</span></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">First Presbyterian Church (USA)</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pentecost 10A</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">August 6, 2023</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: #444444; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: #444444; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></i></p><table style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size: 12.96px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">Image Attribution: Icon of Christ Feeding the Multitude, from <strong>Art in the Christian Tradition</strong>, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. <a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57436">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57436</a> [retrieved August 5, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_feeding_the_multitude.jpg.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-89182614102251391332023-07-09T07:00:00.002-07:002023-07-09T07:00:00.147-07:00Do the Right Thing -- Sermon for Pentecost 6A-Proper 9A (Romans 7)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDA0BipGI0xf4GJw6gBGEvrRT7xnOqOsIVUVLx1-GLmaAy1FAF2vJjBuuCr4HGXwvfyEs5TRysaxzgjxCDYEUoHK9TZceLIhwr4ma1el8KJuRKz1Ura-qwDpDEU2IpXz89-9KoQYxy1KAzlJXJknfKGPl_sWaMyuXI-BP3RAMnXbAS3njZ-WRxPQ/s4000/20230504_210344.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDA0BipGI0xf4GJw6gBGEvrRT7xnOqOsIVUVLx1-GLmaAy1FAF2vJjBuuCr4HGXwvfyEs5TRysaxzgjxCDYEUoHK9TZceLIhwr4ma1el8KJuRKz1Ura-qwDpDEU2IpXz89-9KoQYxy1KAzlJXJknfKGPl_sWaMyuXI-BP3RAMnXbAS3njZ-WRxPQ/w480-h640/20230504_210344.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+7%3A15-25&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Romans 7:15-25a</a></b></p><p><span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Next Sunday, Dan will begin a series of sermons from the Book of Romans that starts in chapter 8. The </span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A1&version=NRSVUE" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">first verse of Romans 8</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> declares that “there is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Now that’s good news!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, before we can hear the good news, we need to hear the bad news. I get to deliver the bad news. So, once again I get to set the stage for Dan to deliver the good news, even if I chose this passage! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think Paul’s words in Romans 7 might resonate with many of us because it offers a rather realistic picture of human life. That’s because it speaks of the kinds of inner conflicts that we all face in life. You see, Paul wants to do the right thing, but he can’t seem to follow through. Why this is true, could be rooted in anxiety or a failure to recognize our own limits? We can even know what’s expected of us, and still fall short.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I don’t know about you, but I can commiserate with Paul. You see, forty years ago today, Cheryl and I got married. While I promised to do the right thing when it came to our life together, I’ve not always followed through. Just ask Cheryl! But perhaps that’s the way it is in life. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome, he wrote to a community he’d never visited. He knew some of the people, but you might say that this letter is Paul’s attempt to introduce the Roman congregation to his basic theology. Paul has been spending a bit of time in the letter describing the relationship of the gospel of Jesus to Jewish law. Earlier in the letter, he made it clear that whether we’re Jews or Gentiles, no one is righteous (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.+3%3A9-10&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Rom. 3:9-10</a>). However, despite the reality of our unrighteousness, all is not lost. The question is, how do we live faithfully before God? Paul continues that conversation here in Romans 7. He wants his readers to know that God gave the people of God the law so that they might know how to live together as God’s people. After all, how are you going to do the right thing, if you don’t know what that might entail? Therefore, we have the Law of the Lord, which the Psalmist declares is perfect. Unfortunately, as Paul reminds us, while the Law of the Lord might be perfect (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps.+19%3A7&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Ps. 19:7</a>), it lacks a mechanism that can help us keep the Law. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Hebrew Bible contains quite a few rules and regulations. In fact, there are more than six hundred laws. Then there’s the abridged version of the Law, which we know as the Ten Commandments. While this list might be briefer, I expect most of us struggle with at least a few of them, especially the one that talks about covetousness. Even if we downsize the number to two, even the command to love God with our entire being and love our neighbors as we love ourselves isn’t that easy to keep. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God’s commandments might be clear and they might enlighten the eyes. Yes, they might be true and righteous; they might even be “more to be desired than gold,” but that doesn’t make them any easier to keep (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps.+19%3A8-10&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Ps. 19:8-10</a>).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So why is it that we find it so difficult to do the right thing? Is it the Law’s fault? That can’t be true. So, what’s the problem? Once again, as Paul reminds us, the problem is sin. Sin is not just breaking the rules, though it can involve rule-breaking. It goes much deeper than that. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Theologians have spilled a lot of ink down through the centuries trying to define how sin works. Some people believe that our propensity to sin is genetic. We’re born this way. There are others who believe that it’s more like a very contagious virus that infects everyone it touches. Some people call this systemic sin. As for me, I lean in this direction. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If we think of sin being a virus that infects the systems we inhabit, then sin has an insidious power that gets in the way of doing the right thing. So, should we give in to sin and just get rid of the Law? Paul won’t go that far. He knows the Law doesn’t give us the power to fulfill its obligations, but it does serve as a diagnostic tool. Because it’s a diagnostic tool, we can discover where and when and how sin infects our lives, including our relationships with one another, with the world around us, and ultimately with God. While it’s not a cure, it can help us move toward a treatment for the disease. <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Long after Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, St. Augustine told a story from his own life in his Confessions that illustrates the problem at hand. According to this story, which is one of my favorites, Augustine and a group of friends came upon a pear tree full of fruit. They decided to cart off a load of the fruit, not because they were hungry but because it was there. This is what he wrote about this escapade: </span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d;">There was a pear-tree near our vineyard, loaded with fruit that was attractive neither to look at nor to taste. Late one night a band of ruffians, myself included, went off to shake down the fruit and carry it away for we had continued our games out of doors until well after dark. As was our pernicious habit. We took away an enormous quantity of pears, not to eat them ourselves, but simply to throw them to the pigs. Perhaps we ate some of them, but our real pleasure consisted in doing something that was forbidden.</span> [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3pGaEls" target="_blank">Confessions</a>, </i>2:4, (Penguin Books, 1961), p. 47]. </blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Augustine tells us that he knew the difference between right and wrong, but doing the wrong thing was too enticing to avoid! Does Augustine’s experience resonate with anyone?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Augustine seems to understand what Paul meant when he confessed: “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24). Both Augustine and Paul realized that the appropriate treatment for this sickness could be found in Jesus. As I’m sure Dan will point out next Sunday, the proper treatment for this disease called sin is found in God’s grace revealed to us in Jesus. Grace is the first step in a treatment program that can help us live into God’s purposes. We might not experience a cure right away, but we can find healing in God’s grace, such that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the Law serves as a diagnostic tool, and grace brings healing, that doesn’t let us off the hook. The Law points us in the right direction, while the Holy Spirit helps us move along the path the Law sets before us. In other words, the Law is aspirational. The Christian life involves living into those aspirations.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since we’re just a few days past the Fourth of July holiday, which celebrates the birth of the United States with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it might be worth remembering that the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence were also aspirational. Even today we’ve not fully lived into the “self-evident truths,” that we’ve all been created equal and “endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” It’s worth remembering also that Thomas Jefferson and the other signers of this Declaration didn’t fully comprehend the meaning of these words. That’s because they interpreted the word “men” to include only white men with property. It took a very long time for this nation to more fully embody the promise of the declaration. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve still not reached perfection. We still struggle to do the right thing when it comes to our neighbors near and far.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So we come back to the premise of Romans 7. There’s a virus running rampant in our midst. Sin is, as Ron Allen and Clark Williamson put it, “a power in which individuals, groups, and nations can become ensnared, like fish caught in a net” (<a href="https://amzn.to/3PNFvHd" target="_blank"><i>Preaching the Letters</i>, </a>p. 73). Unfortunately, we all get caught n the net at some point in our lives. Until we recognize this fact, it’s difficult to find healing so we can begin doing the right thing, even if imperfectly. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While grace might not prevent us from falling prey to sin, it can take hold of our lives and begin the process of transformation. Later on in Romans, Paul writes: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+12%3A2&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Romans 12:2</a>). <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, as we ponder our own sinfulness and give thanks for God’s grace that brings healing to our lives, we can pray with Reinhold Niebuhr:</span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span>Save us, O Lord, from our sins and our anxieties, and grant us so sure a hold upon your grace that the peace which passeth understanding may keep our hearts, and we be enabled to walk serenely through the tumults and trials of these days, redeeming the time because the days are evil.</span> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3PNwGxf" target="_blank">[<i>Reinhold Niebuhr: Major Works on Religion and Politics</i></a> (pp. 865-866). Kindle Edition]. <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></blockquote><span style="white-space: pre;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Robert D. Cornwall, Ph.D.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Pentecost 6A/Proper 9A</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">July 9, 2023</span></i></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-59984730866692173002023-06-04T07:00:00.004-07:002023-06-04T07:00:00.140-07:00We Have a Story to Tell to the Nations -- Sermon for Trinity Sunday, Year A (Matthew 28)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/hospitalityabe298ght1y.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="643" height="583" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/hospitalityabe298ght1y.jpg" width="468" /></a></div><br /><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A16-20&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">Matthew 28:16-20</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Today is, according to the church calendar, Trinity Sunday. Up to this point, since the beginning of the church year, we’ve walked through the seasons of Advent, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter, each of which focuses our attention on Jesus. Then last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost, which reminds us that God sent the Holy Spirit like a mighty wind to fill God’s people with power to take the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth. This morning we bring the story of God’s presence in the world to a climax as we celebrate Trinity Sunday. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s on Trinity Sunday that we ponder the full nature of God, whom we know as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons, Blessed Trinity.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+8%2C&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">Psalm 8,</a> which we’ve heard read this morning, doesn’t speak of the Trinity, it does proclaim God’s sovereignty and majesty. When we recited the Apostle’s Creed, we affirmed our belief, or even better, our trust, in God the Father, the Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. We professed our trust in Jesus, God’s only Son, who is our Lord, who lived, died, and rose again to sit at the right hand of the Father. We professed our belief in the Holy Spirit. While the Apostles’ Creed doesn’t say much about the Holy Spirit, the Nicene Creed invites us to confess the Spirit to be the Lord and giver of life. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, together with the Father and the Son, is to be worshiped and glorified. That is what we are doing this morning. We’re worshiping and glorifying the one God who is known to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Gospel reading from Matthew takes us to a mountaintop in Galilee where the risen Christ has gathered his followers for one last conversation, or so it would seem. In Matthew’s story of Jesus’ resurrection, Mary Magdalene along with another Mary, went to the tomb on Easter morning. When they arrived at the tomb, an angel appeared to them and gave them a message for the rest of Jesus’ disciples. According to the angel, the disciples were to go to Galilee where Jesus would meet them. Then, as they headed back home, Jesus appeared to the two women and gave them the same instructions (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+28%3A1-10&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">Mt. 28:1-10</a>).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now in fulfillment of those instructions, Jesus meets up with the disciples on a mountain top in Galilee. When they were all together, Jesus gave them a commission. He told them to “go . . . and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19). When Jesus told them to make disciples, he was talking about more than making converts. He was talking about helping the people of the earth enter into a life-changing relationship with God. Paul talked about being clothed with Christ in baptism, so that “there is no longer Jew or Greek, no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal.+3%3A27-29&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">Gal. 3:27-29</a>). To be in Christ is to be heirs of a promise made by God to Abraham, so that through the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, all the nations would be blessed (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.+12%3A1-3&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">Gen. 12:1-3</a>). This is, according to Jesus, our calling. We are called to be bearers of God’s blessings to the world. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After Jesus gives them this commission that is embodied through baptism, he promises that he will be with them until the end of the age. While the Gospel of John and Luke-Acts picture Jesus departing from his followers, promising to be with them through the gift of the Holy Spirit, in Matthew, Jesus promises to be with them always. It might not be bodily, but he’s not sending them off into the world alone. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Jesus makes this promise to be with them until the end of the age, we hear an echo of a word given in the beginning of the Gospel. If we go back to the beginning of Matthew, after the genealogy, Matthew tells us that an angel appeared to Joseph to reassure him after he discovers that Mary is pregnant. The angel tells Joseph to take Mary as his wife and to name the child Emmanuel, which means “God is with Us” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+1%3A18-24&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">Mt. 1:18-24</a>). As he concludes his message, Matthew assures us, the reader, that Emmanuel, “God Is With Us” will remain with us till the end of the age. With that the Gospel of Matthew comes to a close. As for us, Matthew leaves us with a story to tell to the nations.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we dive deeper into these final verses from Matthew 28, we discover that the disciples still aren’t sure what to make of Jesus. In Matthew’s version they’ve heard the testimony of the two Marys, but Jesus’ remaining disciples still hadn’t experienced the presence of the risen Jesus. So, when Jesus appears to this group of disciples on the mountain top, they worshiped Jesus, but some continued to have their doubts. It’s still possible for us to have our doubts and worship Jesus. The best way to think of this is to use the formula of faith seeking understanding. For most of us, we profess a form of faith in God before we fully understand what that means. In fact, seeking understanding of the things of God is a lifelong process.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When it comes to worshiping Jesus, we might say that the seeds of our Christian confession that God is to be understood as Trinity gets planted in this act of worship. The disciples might not fully understand everything about Jesus’ identity, but they knew that as Jews they weren’t to worship anyone or thing other than God. Nevertheless, here they are worshiping Jesus. So, despite their doubts and confusion, they knew something was different about him that warranted their worship. Now it will take several centuries for this doctrine to get fully developed, but we can see the foundation of this doctrine in passages like Matthew 28. So, as Tom Long puts it: “Probably all Matthew knows at this point is Christians must speak devoutly of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that such talk will not violate the Jewish insistence upon belief in the one True God” <a href="https://amzn.to/3IRfEdi" target="_blank">[<i>Feasting on the Word</i></a>, p. 47]. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With this confession in mind, we hear Jesus declare that God had given him “all authority in heaven and on earth.” It’s on the basis of this authority that Jesus commissions the disciples to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now the question is, what does this commission ask of us? What does this call to make disciples of the nations require of us? I’ll answer that question in this way. Jesus has given us a job. That job involves sharing a story about Jesus. When we tell this story of Jesus, we say something about God. The story we tell in both word and deed, is a story of love. It’s a story about creation and redemption. It’s a story of grace and forgiveness. You might say that this is a story of God’s gift of salvation that mends broken relationships with God and with one another. This is the covenant of blessing that I spoke of earlier, a covenant of blessings made by God with Abraham and Sarah. It is a covenant we enter into through baptism into the one God we confess to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is our calling, as followers of Jesus. The good news is that as we go forth, making disciples, we go out knowing that we’re not alone. We go with this promise of Jesus in mind: “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (vs. 20). This is good news worthy of sharing with the nations. Yes, in Jesus God is with us always until the end of the age. We go forth this morning, with a story to tell to the nations, carrying with us this benediction from Paul on our hearts, using the version of the closing verse of 2 Corinthians from The Message: </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“14 The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Cor.+13%3A13-14&version=NRSVUE;MSG" target="_blank">2 Cor. 13:14</a> <i>The Message</i>)</span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>Preached by:</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>Pulpit Supply</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>Trinity Sunday</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>June 4, 2023</i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">Image attribution: Rublev, Andreĭ, Saint, -approximately 1430. Hospitality of Abraham, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58465" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58465</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;"> [retrieved June 3, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angelsatmamre-trinity-rublev-1410.jpg.</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-40748584491352794662023-05-07T07:30:00.002-07:002023-05-07T07:30:00.140-07:00By His Wounds You Have Been Healed - Sermon for Easter 5A (1 Peter 2) <p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/good98j76543sjfhkd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="570" height="482" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/good98j76543sjfhkd.jpg" width="343" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2%3A18-25&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">1 Peter 2:18-25</a></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As you know, Pastor Dan decided to spend Eastertide working through 1 Peter in his sermons. There’s some really interesting stuff in 1 Peter, but unfortunately for me, he left me the most difficult passage to work through. Peter begins this passage by telling slaves to obey their masters even if that leads to suffering. He tells the slaves in the Christian community that if they suffer, they should make sure they’re suffering for doing what is right. If you suffer for doing what is right, you’ll receive God’s approval.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I don’t know about you, but this passage makes me rather uncomfortable. Not only does Peter speak about suffering, but he seems to give approval to slavery. In <br />fact, many proponents of slavery, especially here in the United States appealed to this and passages like it to defend slavery. Now, I could have avoided the discussion of slavery. After all, the creators of the Revised Common Lectionary chose to omit verse 18 and begin the reading in verse 19. The problem is that Peter is addressing the experiences of the members of the congregations who are slaves. The fact is, a large portion of the population in the ancient world was enslaved. So slaves probably made up a significant portion of the early Christian community. Since Peter couldn’t do anything about their status, he wanted to make sure that if they suffered it was because they did what was right and good. If they suffered for doing what is right, then God will bless them. I decided to include verse 18 because it sets up everything that follows. Before we move on from Peter’s word to slaves let us make it clear that we reject any form of slavery. It may have been part of human history, but it is not part of God’s desire for the human community. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since none of us here is a slave, what might Peter say to us when it comes to our experiences of suffering? Many people then and now want to know why good people suffer. If God is good, loving, and powerful, then why doesn’t God do something to prevent suffering? While many theologians, philosophers, and preachers have attempted to answer these questions, I haven’t found a truly satisfactory answer. That’s why this is a difficult passage to preach.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, let’s start with the reality of suffering. I expect we’ve all experienced some form of suffering in our lives. Some of us have suffered more than others. This suffering could involve health issues or job issues or relationship issues, just to name a few categories. One thing Peter wants us to know is that Jesus understands what it means to suffer. In fact, Jesus left us an example of someone who suffered but did nothing to deserve it. Therefore, suffering is not a sign that a person has done something wrong. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Earlier in chapter 2 of 1 Peter, after Peter reminds his audience that as believers they are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Pet.+2%3A9&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">1 Pet. 2:9</a>), he addresses them as “aliens and exiles.” In other words, they’re different from their neighbors. Therefore, they should live honorably among their neighbors “so that though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Pet.+2%3A11-12&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">1 Pet. 2:11-12</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peter is concerned about how believers conduct themselves in a world where they are strangers. Whether or not they are slaves, Peter wants them to live in a way that honors God. That might lead to suffering. That was true then and it might be true even today, though probably not to the same degree. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peter wants his audience to understand that Jesus suffered and died for doing what is right and good. Therefore, he shows us how we should live in the world, even if that leads to suffering. So, while Jesus was abused and threatened although he had committed no sin, he didn’t respond by threatening or abusing his abusers. Instead, “he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” Therefore, “he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that free from sin, we might live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:23-24). While Peter is speaking to slaves, he offers spiritual freedom even if they cannot obtain physical freedom. In doing this, Jesus shows us how to live in a world where suffering may occur. <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Early Christians tended to stand out in their context because the way they lived was so different from the way their neighbors lived. They didn’t participate in normal activities like going to the temples to offer sacrifices. It didn’t matter whether you were slaves or senators, in the early Christian community everyone was an equal. This was truly counter-cultural and probably perceived as a threat to the status quo. In fact, they seemed rather unpatriotic! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Peter wrote this letter, Christians formed a small, somewhat odd, community within the Roman Empire. They stood out because they were different from everyone else. That’s not true for us. It’s kind of difficult to stand out in our context. We don’t have to worry too much about suffering under the oppressive thumb of the government. We might even be friends with the governing authorities. In fact, this past week I offered the invocation at the Mayor of Troy’s State of the City Address. I noticed that a couple of members of this congregation were in attendance. While the city of Troy, and the United States as a whole, is politically, culturally, ethnically, and religiously diverse, Christians still make up a majority of the population. In other words, we don’t suffer much for our faith! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, perhaps Peter would have a different word for us. Instead of advising us to keep our heads down, he might tell us to follow the example of the ancient prophets and use our freedom to speak prophetically to the ruling authorities, calling for justice to be achieved in our communities. Let’s remember that Jesus tended to step on the toes of the people in power, which is why he ended up on a cross. Peter invites us to follow Jesus’ example.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Peter wrote this letter to the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, he spoke of these believers in Jesus in terms of being “exiles of the Dispersion.” He told them that God had chosen and sanctified them so they could be obedient to Jesus (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+1%3A1-2&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">1 Peter 1:1-2</a>). In saying this, Peter wanted his readers to know that their first and primary allegiance is to God. We might be citizens of the United States or some other country, but as followers of Jesus, our first allegiance belongs to God and not to country. We pledge allegiance to God every time we recite the Lord’s Prayer and declare: “Let your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!” </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The path set before us isn’t an easy one. It can be a bit counter-cultural. We might even suffer a little because of our allegiance to the ways of God. However, we don’t take this journey alone. Even if we go astray, like the Prodigal, God welcomes us back into the fold.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peter uses the analogy of a shepherd to describe Jesus’ commitment to reconciling us with God. He is the one whose wounds bring healing to our lives. He is the one who welcomes the lost sheep back into the fold. Yes, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who is also the guardian of our souls. (1 Pet. 2:25). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we consider this analogy of Jesus being the Good Shepherd, Psalm 23 gives some definition to the meaning of Jesus’ role as the Good Shepherd. He is the one who leads the sheep “through the valley of the shadow of death.” As God’s sheep, since we can trust the shepherd’s voice, we “shall fear no evil, for thou art with them.” </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While Peter doesn’t resolve the question of suffering in this passage, he does encourage us to stay true to our confession of faith in Jesus. None of us are slaves, but we can take to heart this call to live rightly, even if that leads to suffering. No matter what form our suffering may take, the good news is that Jesus understands our suffering because he suffered himself. Because Jesus suffered, the Father understands our suffering as well. Therefore, it is by his wounds that we are healed. As we continue through life, we can take hold of this promise, that Jesus, the Good Shepherd and Guardian of our souls, leads us on the path through the valley of the shadow of death toward still waters and green pastures. Therefore, we need fear no evil, for God, who understands our suffering, goes with us.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #ffd966;">P</span><span style="color: #7f6000;">reached by: </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Pulpit Supply </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">First Presbyterian Church</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Easter 5A </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #7f6000;"><i><span>May 7, 2023</span></i> <span style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Cranach, Lucas, 1515-1586. Christ as the good shepherd, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57054" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57054</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"> [retrieved May 6, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucas_Cranach_d.J._-_Christus_als_guter_Hirte_(Angermuseum).jpg.</span></span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span> </span> </span> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-9869727096723169442023-04-02T07:00:00.001-07:002023-04-02T07:00:00.167-07:00The Festal Path of Obedience - Sermon for Palm/Passion Sunday (Psalm 118; Philippians 2)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Hallelujah_HR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="641" height="640" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Hallelujah_HR.jpg" width="513" /></a></div><br /><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms+118%3A1-2%2C+19-29&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2%3A5-11&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Philippians 2:5-11</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We begin Holy Week today by waving palm branches and singing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.” While Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we know that this path led to the cross of Good Friday. But, for a moment we get to join in the parade welcoming Jesus into the city and into our lives.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The reading from the 118th Psalm declares that God “is good; his steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 118:1). It’s this steadfast love that endures forever that provides the foundation for our journey of faith with Jesus as we join him on the festal path of obedience.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we travel with Jesus through the gates of righteousness, we can join Jesus as he heads toward the Temple, so we can give thanks to God who is our salvation (Ps. 118:19-21). Therefore, let us give thanks to God, because “this is the day the LORD has made, [so] let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:22-24).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The reading from Philippians 2 offers us a hymn that gives us insight into Jesus’ mission. While this hymn doesn’t speak of the triumphal entry, it not only gives us a sense of what happens during Holy Week it takes us back even further in the story of Jesus. This hymn speaks of triumph but reminds us that tragedy comes first.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Before we get to Paul’s hymn, let’s go back to the first Palm Sunday. According to Matthew, Jesus sent two of his disciples to fetch a donkey and a colt so he could ride into the city in fulfillment of a word from the prophet Zechariah. As he entered the city, the people hailed him as the Son of David. That is, they proclaimed him to be the messiah, the savior of the people. Yes, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+21%3A1-11&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 21:1-11</a>). What started in glory leads to the cross of Good Friday. That’s where Philippians 2 comes into play. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Like many of his letters, Paul’s Philippian letter addresses problems present in the congregation. It’s good to remember that Paul wrote this letter from prison. He asks the congregation he had planted to make his joy complete by setting aside their disputes and coming together in unity. He offers this hymn as a guide toward that end. He tells them to be of the same mind as Jesus, “who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited.” While Jesus enjoyed all the prerogatives of divinity, he didn’t exploit that status but instead chose to be a servant to others. If Jesus can do this, why can’t we let go of our concerns about social status? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now this hymn is full of theological riches that beg to be unpacked. We could spend all day working through this hymn, but the point is that although Jesus was equal with God, he didn’t exploit that status but instead became human like us. The theological term we use to describe this act on Jesus' part is “incarnation” or taking on flesh. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If we turn to the opening verses of the Gospel of John, we read that the Word which is God became flesh and dwelt among us (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jn.+1%3A1-14&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Jn. 1:1-14</a>). According to Paul, the incarnate one embarked on a path of obedience that led to the cross. He did this so he could show us the way of salvation. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While this hymn has powerful theological implications that theologians have been exploring for two millennia, Paul was less interested in these theological questions than in the practical implications of this hymn. He wants the Philippians to know that if they follow the way of Jesus, which involves humble service to others, then they—and we—can shine brightly God’s light in the world. This starts with having the same mind as Jesus (Phil. 2:5). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we read Philippians 2, we quickly discover that Paul believes our ability to proclaim the good news that God’s steadfast love endures forever depends on our unity as the people of God. That means doing “nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,” but instead we should look out for the interests of others (Phil 2:3-4). After all, that’s what Jesus did in taking on human flesh.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We began worship by singing “<a href="https://hymnary.org/text/all_glory_laud_and_honor/fulltexts" target="_blank">All glory, laud, and honor </a>to thee, Redeemer King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosanna’s ring!” Then we sang “Hosanna in the highest! That ancient song we sing, for Christ our Redeemer; the Lord of heaven, our king. O may we ever praise him with heart and life and voice, and in his blissful presence eternally rejoice” [Jenette Threlfall, “<a href="https://hymnary.org/text/hosanna_loud_hosanna_the_little_children/fulltexts" target="_blank">Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”</a>]. These hymns exude joy. They invite us to join in the celebration. So, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s ahead. There’s another Palm Sunday hymn in the hymnal titled “Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd.” This hymn by Thomas Troeger offers us a warning: “Lest we be fooled because our hearts have surged with passing praise, remind us, God, as this week starts where Christ has fixed his gaze” [“<a href="https://hymnary.org/text/a_cheering_chanting_dizzy_crowd#instances" target="_blank">A Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd</a>,” vs. 4]. That gaze envisions the suffering and death on a cross that Paul speaks of here in Philippians 2. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If we’re going to be like Jesus and find peace and unity amongst ourselves and in the world, we’ll need to follow Jesus’ path of humble obedience and become servants of one another. It’s not easy. I know I struggle with being a servant to others, but I also know that it’s the path Jesus took. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Three years ago I based my Palm Sunday sermon on this passage. We were just a few weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic. While the congregation watched the service from home, three of us gathered at the church to bring a word of hope to the congregation. At that point, we didn’t know what was ahead of us, but I had noticed people who at that moment embodied the way of Jesus. Back before we had vaccines and when masks were in short supply, those deemed essential workers put their lives on the line so the rest of us could stay home and stay safe. Consider all the employees at our hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes—doctors, nurses, orderlies, kitchen staff, and more—who put their lives on the line in service to others. Some of those hospitals turned to people, like my mother, who sewed cloth masks to protect their personnel. Nevertheless, some of these essential workers got sick and even died in service to others. The same was true for the first responders including EMTs, firefighters, and the police. Then there were the farm workers, grocery store workers, pharmacy staff, and others like them, who had to go to work so we could eat and get our medicines. They all gave of themselves, perhaps not always willingly, but they did so nonetheless so that we might continue to live. In doing this, they embodied Jesus’ embrace of humility, which ultimately led to his death on the cross on our behalf. This is the message of part one of Paul’s hymn that speaks of Jesus’ path of humility in service to others.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the first half of the hymn ends with the cross, that’s not the last word. This hymn which connects the unity of the congregation to Jesus’ death on the cross, moves on to celebrate the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus. Death will not have the final word, because Jesus’ path of humility leads to his exaltation. The hymn reveals that when God exalts Jesus above every name, then every knee on earth and in heaven and under the earth will bend and every tongue will confess that “Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). This is the good news revealed during Holy Week.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Back in the fourth century, the theologian and bishop Gregory of Nazianzus offers us his take on Jesus’ path of obedience that parallels what Paul shares in his hymn:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Let us become like Christ, since Christ also became like us; let us become gods because of him, since he also because of us became human. He assumed what is worse that he might give what is better. He became poor that we through his poverty might become rich. He took the form of a slave, that we might regain freedom. He descended that we might be lifted up, he was tempted that we might be victorious, he was dishonored to glorify us, he died to save us, he ascended to draw to himself us who lay below in the Fall of sin. Let us give everything, offer everything, to the one who gave himself as a ransom and an exchange for us. But one can give nothing comparable to oneself, understanding the mystery and becoming because of him everything that he became because of us</span>. [Gregory of Nazianzus,<i> <a href="https://amzn.to/3M96zPl" target="_blank">Festal Orations,</a></i> p. 59].</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There’s a lot to digest in Gregory’s oration, but it does invite us to follow the path set before us by Jesus, who became like us so that we might become like him. While this path leads through Good Friday, it leads on further to the resurrection so that we might share in Jesus’ exaltation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let us go forth this morning remembering that before we “Crown Him with Many Crowns” we still have to sing “were you there when they crucified my Lord?” But that isn’t the last word, because next Sunday morning we’ll bend our knee and confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”</p><p><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #351c75;">First Presbyterian Church (USA)</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Troy, MI</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #351c75;">April 2, 2023</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #351c75;">Palm/Passion Sunday</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #b4a7d6;"><br /></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">Moyers, Mike. Hallelujah, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57147" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57147</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;"> [retrieved April 1, 2023]. Original source: Mike Moyers, https://www.mikemoyersfineart.com/.</span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-2179480367206342582023-03-05T07:00:00.001-08:002023-03-05T07:00:00.177-08:00Covenant of Blessings - Sermon for Lent 2A (Genesis 12)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/land260irgkuip.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="800" height="481" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/land260irgkuip.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+12%3A1-4&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Genesis 12:1-4</a></b></p><p><span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">The words bless, blessed, and blessing, appear regularly in the Bible. Jesus offers nine blessings to begin the Sermon on the Mount (</span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt+5%3A1-12&version=NRSVUE" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Mt 5:1-12</a><span style="text-align: justify;">). We find many words of blessing filling the Psalms. The same is true of the Book of Genesis. In the first chapter of Genesis, we read that God blessed God’s human creation and then told them: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (</span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.+1%3A28&version=NRSVUE" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Gen. 1:28</a><span style="text-align: justify;">).</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This morning in our reading from Genesis 12 we hear God make a covenant of blessings with Abram, better known to us as Abraham. God tells Abram to pack up the family and head off to an unknown land. If Abram does this, God promises to bless him and make him a blessing to all the families of the earth. The promise of blessings sounds good, but on the flip side, this promise involves quite a bit of risk on Abram’s part. Nevertheless, as Paul reminds us in Romans 4, Abraham acted in faith and God proved to be faithful.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When it comes to this covenant of blessing, what do these words bless, blessed, and blessing mean? The Hebrew word is <i>Barak</i> and it speaks about life, health, fertility, and longevity. God promised to bless Abram by making his name great and by making him a great nation. God also promised that other people would be blessed through Abram so that they too could share in God’s gifts. The opposite of blessing in Scripture is to be cursed. To be cursed means you don’t share in God’s gift of life. The good news though is that if we share in the promise made to Abraham, we too will flourish. That is, we can live a life led well that reflects God’s ultimate purposes for creation. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This theme of blessing runs through Scripture starting with creation and moving through the call of Abraham to the ministry of Jesus and then to our inclusion in Abraham’s family through faith in Jesus. The good news we hear today is that while God is the source of all blessing, as members of Abraham’s family we serve as agents of this blessing in the world (See Cornwall, <a href="https://amzn.to/3YmwF3S" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Called to Bless</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Abraham appears in the biblical story at the end of Genesis 11. At that point, his name is Abram, son of Terah. He’s married to his cousin Sarai and they live in Haran (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.+11%3A27-32&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gen. 11:27-32</a>). We pick things up here in Genesis 12 after the death of Terah. Abram is still living in Haran, minding his own business, when God shows up and tells him to pack up the family and head out on a journey toward an unknown destination.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not only did God tell Abram to pack up the family and head out on this journey to an unknown land, but God promised to bless Abram and make his name great and make him a great nation. Finally, God promised that peoples of the earth would be blessed through Abram.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Abram answered said yes to God’s call, even though he didn’t know where he was heading or how God would bless the peoples of the earth through him, he was a young seventy-five years old. That’s a decade older than me, and I’m not sure how I would respond at my age. Nevertheless, he said yes! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, there’s a problem embedded in this covenant of blessings. While God promised to make Abram a great nation, Abram and Sarai didn’t have any children and Sarai was well past the age of childbearing. So how was God going to fulfill this promise? At one point Sarai came up with a solution to the problem. Perhaps her slave Hagar could serve as a surrogate and produce a child for Abram. Surely that would fulfill God’s plans. While Hagar did bear Abram a son, that didn’t fulfill God’s plans for Abram and Sarai. Eventually Sarai, now Sarah, does have a son whom they name Isaac. It’s through Isaac that the covenant of blessings gets passed down through time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To get a sense of Abram’s call to bless the nations, we need to step back to the story of the Tower of Babel. According to Genesis 11, the peoples of the earth all spoke the same language. They decided to make their own name great by building a tower on the Plain of Shinar so they could storm heaven. God responded to their arrogance by confusing their languages and scattering the people across the earth. This serves as a reminder that God is God and we are not! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While God essentially curses the people by confusing their languages, God begins to turn things around in Genesis 12 when God makes a covenant of blessing with Abram so Abram could be an agent of blessing. While God begins this work with Abram, this work of blessing is going to take more than one generation. In fact, this work continues to this day. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We fit into the story because by adoption we are members of Jesus’s family, and Matthew connects Jesus with Abraham in his genealogy, where Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A1-17&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 1:1-17</a>). <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since Jesus is a descendant of Abraham, he inherited the family business, which is to be a blessing to the nations. Here’s where we come in. As Paul reminds us in Romans 4, we have been adopted into Abraham’s family through faith in Jesus (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+4%3A1-5%2C+13-17&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Rom. 4:1-5, 13-17</a>). Therefore, we’ve been entrusted with this call to bless the nations. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what does this mean for us? We might want to go back to the story of Babel and the building of a city on the Plain of Shinar. Not only did the people build a tower to storm heaven, but they also built a wall to protect themselves from outsiders. Old Testament scholar Gerald Janzen suggests that the confusion of the languages at Babel served as “a sign of the divisiveness embodied in the city walls and as God’s judgment on divisiveness.” We humans have a tendency to build walls to protect ourselves from others. These walls can be physical in nature or they might be metaphorical or spiritual in nature. The message of Genesis 12 is that God decided to tear down those walls by calling Abraham and Sarah to leave behind their place of safety and travel to an unknown land. In other words, instead of putting their trust in walls, they would put their trust in God, who is the source of blessing. So, as Gerald Janzen puts it: “now Abram’s name is to serve as a seed word in the reunification of the human family” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3mnaBce" target="_blank">Abraham and All the Families of the Earth</a></i>, p. 18]. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In his Galatian letter, Paul speaks of how the seed of blessing God promised to Abraham is embodied by Jesus (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal.+3%3A15-18&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gal. 3:15-18</a>). Paul then points out that when we’re baptized we clothe ourselves with Christ, so that “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ.” Therefore, by belonging to Christ we are “Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal.+3%3A28-29&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gal. 3:28-29</a>). Therefore, to be in Christ is to be an agent of blessing to the nations. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When it comes to better understanding what this call to bless involves, I have found the words of Rachel Naomi Remen helpful. Remen is a physician and the daughter and granddaughter of Orthodox Jewish rabbis. In her book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3Jd13cF" target="_blank">My Grandfather’s Blessings</a></i>, she speaks of a principle passed on to her by her grandfather. It has to do with the principle of <i>Tikkun Olam,</i> which is often translated as “to heal the world.” Remen’s grandfather told young Rachel:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“We need to remember to bless the life around us and in us, Neshme-le,” he would tell me. “When we bless others, we free the goodness in them and in ourselves. When we bless life, we restore the world.” [Remen, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3Jd13cF" target="_blank">My Grandfather’s Blessings</a>,</i> p. 327].</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I believe that is what God intended for Abram and his descendants. By responding to God’s call Abraham and Sarah entered into the covenant of blessing that restores the world to wholeness so that it can flourish as God intends. That work is not yet complete, but it is underway. While God first called Abraham and Sarah to take up this work, it is also our calling as adopted members of Abraham’s family through our faith in Jesus. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>David Arnow, a Jewish psychologist and author of the book Choosing Hope, points out that not only did God call Abraham to abandon his homeland for an undefined destination, but that call also reaches deeper into Abraham’s sense of being. Arnow writes: “It tested the strength of the two core qualities of hope itself—the willingness to embrace the possibility of a future fundamentally different than the present and the readiness to help bring it about” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3IOiZcs" target="_blank">Choosing Hope</a></i>, p. 49]. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Even as Abraham and Sarah said yes to this divine calling, when we respond to the call of Jesus, we commit ourselves to participate in this divine effort to create a different future that brings blessings to the nations by helping tear down the walls that divide us from one another. It is in fulfilling this call that the world experiences hope, which is much more than mere optimism. So, may we respond in faith to God’s call to be a blessing to the nations, even as Abram and Sarai did so many generations before!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">First Presbyterian Church</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Lent 2A</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">March 5, 2023 </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #b4a7d6;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Image attribution: Cross, Henri Edmond, 1856-1910. Landscape with Stars, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57008" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57008</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"> [retrieved March 4, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Landscape_with_Stars_MET_DT736.jpg.</span></span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-44082333337882350432023-01-08T07:00:00.001-08:002023-01-08T07:00:00.204-08:00Anointed for Service - Sermon for Baptism of Jesus Sunday, Year A, (Matthew 3) <p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/SAAM-1994.52_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="797" height="564" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/SAAM-1994.52_1.jpg" width="562" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lorenzo Scott, Baptism of Jesus</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+3%3A13-17&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Matthew 3:13-17</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Who do you think you are? That question might sound a little harsh, but I mean it in a positive way. Since this is Baptism of Jesus Sunday, we get to reflect on Jesus’ baptism as well as our own. In our reading from Matthew 3 this morning, God reveals something important about Jesus, but also about each of us. Paul writes in Romans 6 that baptism allows us to participate in the life of Jesus. So how might the word that God speaks concerning Jesus’ identity at his baptism help us define our own identity? Might we also be numbered among the beloved children of God, with whom God is well pleased?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It wasn’t that long ago that we were celebrating the birth of Jesus. We got to sing carols, light candles, and ponder the message of Jesus’ birth. That celebration continued through Friday when the season of Epiphany began with the magi’s visit to the Holy Family. This morning we jump forward several decades. The baby Jesus is now a fully grown adult. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The last we heard from Matthew is that Jesus’ family had returned home from Egypt where they lived as refugees. When Herod died, they headed home, but this time to Nazareth in Galilee rather than Bethlehem (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 2</a>). From there, Matthew jumps to the day Jesus went down to the River Jordan to receive baptism from John the Baptist who was preaching a message of repentance and baptizing people in preparation for the coming of the Lord. He was preparing the way for the coming of the one who would baptize not with water but with the Holy Spirit and Fire.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is where the story gets a bit complicated. If John baptized people for the forgiveness of sins on the basis of their repentance does that mean Jesus needed to repent of his sins? Wasn’t Jesus sinless? That’s what the Book of Hebrews tells us—Jesus was like us in every way but he didn’t sin (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Heb.+2%3A17&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Heb. 2:17</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mark and Luke don’t offer an answer to this question, but Matthew does. In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism, John tells Jesus that he, John, needs to be baptized by Jesus and not the other way around. In other words, John recognizes that Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and Fire. Jesus is the one whose sandals he wasn’t fit to carry (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.+3%3A11&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matt. 3:11</a>). Despite John’s resistance, Jesus insisted that John baptize him so that righteousness could be fulfilled.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While we tend to think of righteousness in terms of moral behavior, in this case, Jesus had something different in mind. By telling John that they needed to fulfill righteousness he means that this is part of God’s process to redeem and restore creation to the way God intended. By undergoing John’s baptism, Jesus shows solidarity with us so that God’s work of redemption and reconciliation can be brought to fruition.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paul’s description of baptism in Romans 6 helps us connect our baptism with Jesus’baptism. According to Paul, when we’re baptized, we participate in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. By being buried in the waters of baptism, we identify with Jesus’ death. Then as we come out of the baptismal waters we share in his resurrection (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.+6%3A1-4&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Rom. 6:1-4</a>). In this, the righteousness of God is fulfilled. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to Matthew, after John agreed to baptize Jesus, immersing him in the waters of the Jordan, the boundary between heaven and earth suddenly opened up and the Holy Spirit descended from the heavens in the form of a dove and rested on Jesus. Then a voice called out from heaven, declaring: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We hear a similar word later on when Jesus ascended the Mount of Transfiguration. While Jesus stood alongside Elijah and Moses, a voice from heaven declared: “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+17%3A1-8&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 17:1-8</a>). What is first affirmed at his baptism is then reaffirmed on the Mount of Transfiguration.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Matthew’s account of these scenes differs a bit from the picture painted by Mark and Luke. In these two gospels, God speaks directly to Jesus declaring: “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased” (<a href="Mk. 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22" target="_blank">Mk. 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22</a>). Whether anybody else heard God’s voice is unknown. But in Matthew, God declares that “This is my Son, the beloved.” In using the word “This”, Matthew envisions God speaking to the crowd rather than to Jesus. Whoever hears this voice, by making this declaration, God reveals that Jesus has fulfilled the righteousness of God in his baptism. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I don’t expect that most of us have experienced a baptism quite like Jesus’. But, even if a voice from heaven hasn’t declared each of us to be God’s beloved child, I do believe that God makes a claim on our lives when we’re baptized. That means, when we receive baptism we’re adopted into the family of God and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who cleanses us of sin and empowers us so we can participate with Jesus in God’s mission in the world. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we consider what it means to participate with Jesus in the mission of God, we can find some of the details revealed in the reading from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+42%3A1-9&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Isaiah 42</a>. In this passage, the prophet speaks to exiles living in Babylon. He speaks here of the Servant, in whom God takes delight. He tells us that this Servant of God would receive the Spirit and bring justice to the nations <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%28Is.+42%3A1&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">(Is. 42:1</a>). While each of the Gospels speaks of God’s embrace of Jesus in his baptism, if we turn to the scene in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus preaches in his hometown synagogue, we hear Jesus identify himself as the one God called to bring justice and healing to the nations (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4%3A18-19&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Luke 4:18-19</a>). The reading Jesus was commenting on came from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+61%3A1-2&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Isaiah 61</a>, but it’s the same message as we find here in Isaiah 42. Therefore, according to Matthew Jesus is the one who is filled with the Spirit of God so he can bring light to the nations, open the eyes of the blind, and bring the prisoners out of their dungeons of darkness. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, is what is true of the Servant named Jesus, true for those of us who seek to follow him? As I ask that question, I return to my opening question: Who do you think you are? Do you believe that you are a child of God with whom God is well pleased? Having been adopted into the family of God through your baptism, do you see yourself following Jesus along a path marked by humility and a commitment to the pursuit of the peace and justice of God? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In our baptisms we, like Jesus, receive our calling to live as servants of God. In receiving this calling, we’ve been given the responsibility to “bring forth justice to the nations.” If we will take up this mantle, then we’ll receive the Spirit of God who will empower us and not let us “grow faint or be crushed” until “justice is established in the earth” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Is.+42%3A4&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Is. 42:4</a>). This is the way of the kingdom of God that John proclaimed and Jesus embodied. Therefore, if we embrace Jesus’ calling, sealed in baptism, through which we become children of God in whom God is well pleased, we become God’s servants that are empowered to join Jesus in the mission of God that brings light to the nations so that the nations might know God’s compassion, justice, and peace. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Next Sunday Pastor Dan will say more about baptism along with offering an opportunity for you to reaffirm your baptisms. You might say that this year Baptism of Jesus Sunday is a two-parter. This morning you got to hear Part One, which lays the foundation for what comes next. I don’t know exactly what Pastor Dan plans to say in his sermon, but he will bring things to a conclusion by offering you the opportunity to reaffirm your baptismal vows. In doing that you can reaffirm your standing in the family of God. As you prepare for that event, know that God has made a claim on your life. Therefore, you are numbered among the beloved children of God with whom God is well pleased. May we continue the journey with Jesus begun in our own baptisms, so that we might continue to be God’s agents of light in the world. Yes, in baptism we become one in the Spirit so that the world might know that we are Christians by our love!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Preached by: </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">First Presbyterian Church </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">January 8, 2023</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Baptism of Jesus Sunday</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>Image Attribution: Scott, Lorenzo. Baptism of Jesus, from <strong>Art in the Christian Tradition</strong>, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. <a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56877">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56877</a> [retrieved January 7, 2023]. Original source: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/baptism-jesus-33953.</i></span>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-79416744464477447012023-01-01T07:00:00.001-08:002023-01-01T07:00:00.193-08:00Stargazers Visit the Holy Family -- Sermon for Christmas 1A (Matthew 2) <p> <a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Arrival%20of%20the%20Kings-Frank%20Wesley.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="800" height="519" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Arrival%20of%20the%20Kings-Frank%20Wesley.jpg" width="604" /></a></p><br /><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2%3A1-12&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 2:1-12</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Most creche scenes feature both shepherds and the three kings who kneel before the baby Jesus lying in a manger. While this setup makes for a nice Christmas scene, Matthew and Luke tell very different stories about Jesus’ birth. Luke offers us shepherds while Matthew tells a story about magi who follow a star to Judea. In other words, the shepherds and the three kings come from two different stories. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This morning we’re following Matthew’s version, in which Matthew’s magi from the east, who follow a star to Jerusalem where they visit King Herod. They ask Herod where they might find the newborn king of the Jews, whose star they saw rising in the sky. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This request made by the magi frightened Herod because he didn’t know that such a child had been born in his kingdom. Besides, he didn’t welcome possible rivals to his rule over Judea. Nevertheless, the crafty king asked his advisors where the Messiah was to be born. They pointed the magi to Bethlehem because the prophet had spoken of a coming ruler who would be born in Bethlehem. With this news, Herod sent the magi off to Bethlehem, but not before asking them to return with news of this child so he could pay homage to the Messiah. So, off they went, following the star to the home of the Holy Family. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you’re familiar with the rather sacrilegious Monty Python movie, <i><a href="https://youtu.be/WIjBO26qjYM" target="_blank">Life of Brian</a></i>, you may remember that when the magi arrived in Bethlehem they got their addresses mixed up. So, they mistakenly paid homage to a baby named Brian, even offering him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Fortunately, they realized their mistake, took back the gifts, and gave them to the appropriate family. Of course, this wouldn’t be the last time in the Monty Python version that Brian’s life would get tangled up with the life of the child born just down the street. This just goes to show that a star shining in the night doesn’t always provide exact directions. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, legend has it that these pilgrims whom Matthew calls magi or astrologers were three in number. That’s because the magi brought three gifts presented—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Legend even gives these three visitors from the East names: Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar. Instead of being kings, the title of magi suggests that they might be Zoroastrian priests from Persia who were known to practice astrology. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the comings and goings of the magi are shrouded in mystery, if you go to the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany you will find a golden casket that supposedly contains the remains of the three wise men. Whether this is true or not, as the guide at the Cathedral pointed out, is really a matter of faith. I might have questions about the story of the magi, their visit to Jesus, and the bones housed in the cathedral in Cologne, but I did light a candle in their honor when I visited the cathedral in 2019.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhYko6Y97fl5-aWRBMr-9u3Ug2730l2q12B3BfvuCpt6gEt1XlBgVaEr6LylKVqFfotbYV1VbxD_us2rjzr1rsiGABXXoyiBzJcpqvBSK-rvVkFJA-AGC-ND7Fe0ppv3aIc2arOf5wOkqIXEfSzmq_Fe46SVUfCIzz42daTVIP7nYIB45RsI/s4032/20190920_150622.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhYko6Y97fl5-aWRBMr-9u3Ug2730l2q12B3BfvuCpt6gEt1XlBgVaEr6LylKVqFfotbYV1VbxD_us2rjzr1rsiGABXXoyiBzJcpqvBSK-rvVkFJA-AGC-ND7Fe0ppv3aIc2arOf5wOkqIXEfSzmq_Fe46SVUfCIzz42daTVIP7nYIB45RsI/s320/20190920_150622.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We can get caught up in discussions about the historicity of this visit and the nature of the star that guided the magi to Jesus, but as with the bones in Cologne, what we choose to believe about the story is really a matter of faith. So, perhaps the better course here is to ponder the meaning of this visit and the gifts offered to Jesus. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What we can say is that the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, are all gifts worthy of a monarch. By telling this story Matthew lets us know that Jesus, not Herod or Caesar is king. By bringing in these witnesses from outside the Jewish community, Matthew suggests that not only was Jesus the true king of the Jews, but also the means of blessing to the nations. We see this possibility in Matthew’s genealogy that precedes this story. Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage back to David, which makes him a possible heir to the throne of Israel. Not only is Jesus a descendant of David, but Matthew takes lineage back to Abraham, with whom God made a covenant in which the nations would be blessed through Abraham’s descendants. If we follow Matthew’s story to the end, we will hear Jesus tell his followers to make disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+28%3A19-20&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 28:19-20</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Getting back to the magi, after they got updated information from Herod’s advisors, they headed off to Bethlehem. This information allowed them to reorient themselves to a more precise destination. So, they followed the star to the home of the Holy Family, without making a mistaken visit to the home of Brian and his mother.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When they finally arrived at the home of the Holy Family, they rejoiced and knelt before Mary and her child, paying homage to Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After they paid their respects to Jesus and his family, the magi received word in a dream to avoid returning home by way of Jerusalem.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As Paul Harvey used to say, now for the rest of the story you will have to read the rest of the chapter. What you find there is the story of a tyrant who was determined to stamp out any threat to his rule. Since the magi didn’t report back to Herod, the king sent troops to Bethlehem with orders to kill all the children under the age of two. Fortunately for the Holy Family, an angel warned Joseph to leave town before the soldiers arrived. So, the Holy Family packed up their things and fled to Egypt, where they lived as refugees until Herod’s death. When it came time to return home, they headed to Nazareth in Galilee rather than returning to their home in Bethlehem (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+2%3A13-23&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 2:13-23</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While we’re not singing that beloved carol “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” which describes the nature of the gifts presented to the child, the song’s chorus invites us to sing about the “star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.” This perfect light shining in the night is Jesus. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we contemplate this perfect light embodied here in the person of Jesus, might we heed the call of Isaiah, who cries out to us: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Yes, the “darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa.+60%3A1-3&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Isa. 60:1-3</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isaiah invites us to lift our eyes and look around so we can see the light of God present in the world. The story of the magi speaks of a star that guides them to the Holy Child. This child embodies the light that is God’s presence shining in the darkness covering our world. To give further definition to this message, we can step back into chapter 1, where Matthew tells Joseph to name Mary’s child Jesus because he will save his people from their sins, and that his name would be Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” Yes, this child will embody God’s presence in the world (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.+1%3A18-23&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matt. 1:18-23</a>). When it comes to Jesus being the light of God, we can turn to the Gospel of John for further definition because John calls Jesus the “true light, which enlightens everyone” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jn.+1%3A9&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Jn. 1:9</a>). Yes, he is the light that “shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jn.+1%3A5&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Jn. 1:5</a>). If Jesus is the light of God shining into our world, then where is that light leading us as we head into a new year? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we gather this morning to bask in the light emanating from God’s presence in Jesus, Matthew invites us to consider what gifts we might bring to acknowledge this light that shines into our world. While gold, frankincense, and Myrrh are gifts worthy of a monarch, perhaps the most valuable gift we can offer Jesus is our own life. Paul told the Roman church to present their “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.+12%3A1-2&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Rom. 12:1-2</a>). When it comes to the light of God, Isaiah told the exiles returning home from Babylon that the nations would gather in Jerusalem. He told the citizens of Jerusalem to look up as the nations gather because “then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa.+60%3A4-5&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Isa. 60:4-5</a>). With gifts that include gold and frankincense, all creation will “proclaim the praise of the LORD” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa.+60%3A6&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Isa. 60:6</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We may not have gifts of gold, frankincense, or even the camels that Isaiah speaks of, to offer God, but we can offer our lives to God so we might radiate God’s light into the world. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we begin this new year of 2023, having heard the message that the light of God is with us in Jesus, may we join the magi by giving praise to God for this light that shines into our world? May we each be agents of light to the world, proclaiming through word and deed the love and grace of God revealed to us in Jesus. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As Martin Luther King declared: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” [King, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3G8WDRk" target="_blank">Strength to Love</a></i>]. May we embody in our own lives this light that is the love of God revealed to us in Jesus as we begin our journey into this new year of 2023. </p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">So let us sing a song of joy. Yes:</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #7f6000;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Joy to the world, the Lord is come! </span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #7f6000;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let every heart prepare him room, </span></i></p><p><span style="color: #7f6000;"><i><span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>and heaven and nature sing. </span></i><span style="white-space: pre;"><i><span> </span></i> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #7f6000; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Northminster Presbyterian Church</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #7f6000;">January 1, 2023<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></i></p><p><span style="color: #7f6000;"><i><span>Christmas 1A</span></i><span style="white-space: pre;"><i><span> </span></i> </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">Image Attribution: Wesley, Frank, 1923-2002. Arrival of the Kings, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59233" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59233</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;"> [retrieved December 31, 2022]. Original source: Estate of Frank Wesley, http://www.frankwesleyart.com/main_page.htm.</span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-83908569128643005442022-12-04T07:00:00.001-08:002022-12-04T07:00:00.164-08:00Someone's Knocking on the Door - Sermon for Advent 2A (Matthew 3)<p> </p><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/www.rasmusen.org/special/ameliajane/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/image2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="440" height="531" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.rasmusen.org/special/ameliajane/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/image2.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Holman Hunt's "The Light of the World"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+3%3A1-12&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 3:1-12</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Someone’s Knocking at the Door,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Somebody’s Ringing the Bell</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Someone’s Knocking at the Door, </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Somebody’s Ringing the Bell</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Do me a favor and </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">open the door and let em in. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;">(Paul McCartney)</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paul McCartney’s song might not be your typical Advent hymn, but it does capture the essence of this morning’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew. It would appear that someone is knocking on the door of our lives. So, will you open the door?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, if you open the door, the person knocking could be John the Baptist who wants to warn us that change is in the air. The person bearing this message might seem a bit off-putting. According to Matthew John was an interesting character who dressed in camel skin clothes and toted a lunch pail full of locusts and honey. This is the message John brings to those who open the door: "Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” (Mt. 3:2, CEB). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, “You better watch out! You better not cry! You better not pout! I'm telling you why!” Someone greater than Santa is coming to town! John might not be wearing what some might consider his Sunday best, he wants to make sure we’re all cleaned up and ready to go when Jesus comes to town. That is, after all, one of the core messages of the Advent season.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John the Baptist figures prominently in the Advent story because he serves as Jesus’ advance man. He wants to make sure we know that the kingdom of God is about to be revealed. John’s job is similar to the one that prepares for a presidential visit to a community. The President doesn’t just show up on a person’s doorstep without any prior preparation. No, the presidential staff, including members of the Secret Service, goes ahead of the President to make sure everything is ready for the president’s visit. As you might imagine, nothing is left to chance. Even if it’s a last-minute visit! Since John serves as Jesus’ advance man, he wants to make sure we’ve changed our hearts and minds in preparation for Jesus’ visit. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, you and I might have a few questions for John. We might want to know more about this king who is coming to town. What kind of king is he? What will this kingdom of heaven look like? After all, there are all kinds of rulers and leaders in our world. Some can be benevolent and honorable, while others might be tyrants. So what will Jesus’ reign look like?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first thing John tells us is that he, John, isn’t worthy to the shoes of this coming messianic ruler. As great a prophet as John might be, the messiah is greater. While John baptizes with water, which cleanses the outside of a person, the messiah will baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire, which purifies our inner being while empowering us to live fully in God’s realm. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isaiah fills in some of the gaps in John’s message when it comes to the identity of this coming messianic ruler. According to the prophet, the one who is coming to reign on earth will bring gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. With these gifts in hand, the messianic king will rule wisely and justly. Not only will he rule wisely, but he doesn’t judge us with easily corrupted senses. While human judgments can be skewed by riches and power, these enticements won’t impress the coming judge who will rule on behalf of the poor and the meek (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+11%3A1-11&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Isaiah 11:1ff</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While John prepares the way by making the path straight for the coming of the Lord, he also wants us to know that this new age will be different from the current one. I know, you’ve heard that one before. Politicians are notorious for making promises they rarely keep. It’s not that they are evil people, it’s just making promises is easier than keeping them! Will things be different this time? That is the question on the hearts and minds of many!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This morning we lit the Peace candle. As we lit this candle, we invited God’s peace to enter our lives so that we could join Jesus in being peacemakers in this world of ours. Jesus spoke of becoming peacemakers in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus declared that “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.+5%3A9&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mt. 5:9</a>). So, when John knocks on our door he invites us to embrace the peace of God, so we might be children of God. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s true that peace is not present in this world. Wars and violence seem to be everywhere around us. Ukraine might be on our radar, but it’s not the only place where violence and death seem to have the upper hand. John’s Advent message is this: A new age is about to dawn. Someone is coming who baptizes with fire and the Holy Spirit. When he arrives, he’ll introduce a different kind of realm, the realm of God. This realm might start small, sort of like a mustard seed, but over time it will grow and make itself felt. While it will face significant resistance, including the messiah’s death on a cross, that cross will not have the final word. Peace might be slow in coming, but it will come nonetheless as we embrace God’s love that is already present in our world. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isaiah envisions this coming peace in dramatic terms. He envisions a wolf lying down with a lamb, a leopard with a kid, a lion with a calf, with a small child leading them. This is Isaiah’s vision of the coming heavenly realm that will be marked by innocence, trust, gentleness, and friendship. This might not be the way of the world, but it’s the way of Jesus. If we’re going to embrace the way of Jesus we’ll need to heed John’s warning and change our hearts and lives so we’ll be ready for our baptism with the Holy Spirit and Fire. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How will this coming king enter our world? According to <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew</a> the Messiah, unlike Caesar or Herod, won’t be born in a palace. Instead, he’ll be born in the little town of Bethlehem. While Matthew doesn’t offer us a creche scene, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Luke’s</a> image of the manger might be helpful here. It serves as a reminder that God’s realm is very different from our earthly realms. It’s a reminder to those in the Christian community who value power to control the lives of others that Jesus offers us a different vision of power. Jesus’ vision is that of Isaiah, who envisions a time when nations will beat "their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." When that happens, God’s peace, the peace that we’ve been called to embrace, will reign on earth as in heaven (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Is.+2%3A4&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Is. 2:4</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Someone is knocking on the door. Will you let them in even if they look and sound like John the Baptist? Are you ready to heed John’s message of repentance in preparation for the coming of God’s realm? This time of preparation, which involves repentance, starts with a bit of self-examination; something many of us struggle with. In this call to repentance, we hear the call to abandon lives of violence, anger, hatred, dishonesty, and slander, while we embrace God's peace, love, and grace. In this there is hope and there is joy, two other Advent themes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paul McCartney asks whether we’ll welcome into our lives the one knocking at the door. Charles Dickens, in <i>The Christmas Carol,</i> offers us another vision of preparation. Early in the story, the ghost of Jacob Marley visits his former partner. He comes to warn Scrooge about what awaits Scrooge if he doesn’t change his ways. Marley points to the chains that he carries. These are the chains he forged in life. In death he carries the weight of his disregard for humanity. If Scrooge doesn’t change his ways, he faces a future weighed down with even heavier chains. The good news is that Scrooge has an opportunity to change his life. Will he take it?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We don’t have to embrace Dicken’s vision of the afterlife to hear in it a call to live lives that honor God by caring for God’s creation, especially those who live on the margins of our society. Both Jacob Marley and John the Baptist want us to know that we will be well served if we travel light as we prepare to receive the coming King. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With that in mind we can hear this word from Jesus as found in the Book of Revelation: “Listen, I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into you and eat with you, and you with me” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rev.+3%3A20&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Rev. 3:20</a>). Will you open the door to John and to Jesus?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we ponder how to answer this question, might we attend to this word from Jimmy Carter who wrote a number of years ago: “We are always in the presence of the Holy Spirit, as my sister Ruth seemed to know. Whether the door is open or closed is our decision” (<i>Partners in Prayer,</i> Advent 2004, Dec. 3). So, since “someone’s knocking at the door,” will we let him in? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Minister-at-Large</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">First Presbyterian Church</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Troy, MI</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Advent 2A</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">December 4, 2022</span></i></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-16639020844741180422022-11-06T06:30:00.001-08:002022-11-06T06:30:00.185-08:00Serving the God of the Living - Sermon for Pentecost 22C/Proper 27 (Luke 20)<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.servicioskoinonia.org/cerezo/dibujosC/56ordinarioC32.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="474" height="534" src="https://www.servicioskoinonia.org/cerezo/dibujosC/56ordinarioC32.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.servicioskoinonia.org/cerezo/dibujosC/56ordinarioC32.jpg" target="_blank">Cesar Barredo</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%09Luke+20%3A27-38&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Luke 20:27-38</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The opening hymn invites us to remember all the saints of God, “who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed, thy name O Jesus, be forever blest!” </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While All Saints Day falls on November 1, the first Sunday of November seems to me to be an appropriate day to remember God’s saints who now rest from their labors and by faith confessed the name of Jesus, “forever blest.”</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I expect each of us can name several saints whose lives exemplified the grace, mercy, and love of God. With that in mind I would like to lift up the name of the Rev. LLoyd Saatjian. LLoyd served for many years as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara. He was, in life, my friend, ministry colleague, and mentor. When I arrived in Santa Barbara, he encouraged me to become a leader in the local faith community and when I experienced difficulties later on in my ministry there he stood by me, encouraging me to stay strong and continue with ministry in the church. So this morning I lift up Lloyd’s name as one who confessed by faith before the world the name of Jesus who is forever blessed. On this All Saints Sunday, I invite you to ponder in your hearts the names of God’s saints who made a difference in your life. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we remember God’s saints, we remember those who share in the resurrection of Jesus. The reading this morning from the Gospel of Luke speaks of that resurrection. The reading takes place during Holy Week. Not long before this moment in Luke’s story, Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph and then went to the Temple where he caused a ruckus by overturning tables, setting sacrificial animals free, and charging the folks who ran the Temple with turning God’s house into a den of thieves. So, it’s not surprising that this upset the Temple authorities, who by and large were members of the religious party known by the name Sadducees, the majority of whom came from aristocratic families, that included the High Priests. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As Luke reminds us, the Sadducees were known for rejecting belief in the resurrection and the afterlife. So a day or so after Jesus’ visit to the Temple representatives of the Sadducees approached him to see if they could embarrass him by demonstrating how ridiculous Jesus’ preaching of the resurrection really was. They based their rejection of the resurrection on their reading of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. Jesus will respond to their perspective by telling them that according to the Torah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is “God not of the dead, but of the living.” </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Before we get to Jesus’ response, let’s hear what the Sadducees had to say. When they approached Jesus, they posed a question about the resurrection by setting up a scenario that made use of the ancient practice of Levirate marriage. According to what is written in Deuteronomy when a man dies childless, the next brother in line must marry his widow and produce an heir for the dead brother (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deut.+24%3A5-10&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Deut. 24:5-10</a>). With that as the background, the Sadducees created a scenario in which a man died childless. Then, following the lead of Torah, the next brother in line took his widow as his wife, but he died childless. This continued on until all seven brothers had died childless. So if you accept the premise that there is an afterlife, who would she be married to in the resurrection? In other words, to whom would she belong in the afterlife? In their minds this scenario demonstrated how ridiculous and unreasonable this idea of resurrection is. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Before we get to Jesus’ response, we need to address the elephant in the room. I expect that the fact the woman in this story was forced to marry seven men with the expectation that she would produce an heir for her first husband might not sit well with everyone in the room this morning. This is a good reminder that we don’t live in a culture where women are the property of fathers and husbands. At least I hope we don’t! Therefore, following Jesus in the twenty-first century doesn’t require adopting first century cultural habits. For that we can be thankful! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As the rule in Deuteronomy demonstrates, the practice of Levirate marriage was rooted in a family’s need to pass on to the next generation the family name and property. While we might not practice Levirate marriage today, many families still hope that one of the children in the family will be a son who can carry on the family name. I know that it pleased my father when Cheryl and I produced a son to carry on for one more generation our family name. Whether that continues into the next generation is still unknown!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, let’s get back to Jesus. He listened to their story and responded by proposing that in the resurrection marriage and family don’t exist. Since no one dies, we’ll be like the angels, who apparently don’t get married. Therefore, their scenario doesn’t undermine the idea of the resurrection. When he shared this news, I can imagine some of the women in the audience breathing a sigh of relief because in the resurrection they would finally be free! On the other hand, many today hold tight to the hope that they will be reunited with their families in the afterlife. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While Jesus rejected the premise of the Sadducees’ scenario, he was more interested in demonstrating from the Torah the viability of the resurrection. While the Sadducees claimed Torah had nothing to say about the resurrection, Jesus pointed his inquisitors’ attention back to one of Israel’s foundational stories as proof of the resurrection. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the Book of Exodus, Moses has an encounter with God who appears in a burning bush. This encounter changes Moses’ life and that of the people of Israel, because it’s in this encounter that Moses receives his commission to liberate the people from slavery in Egypt and learns the name of God. It’s here that God reveals God’s self as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The way Jesus read that story, when God made this claim, God was saying that the three Patriarchs still lived in the heavenly realm. If they lived, then there must be a resurrection. That’s because God “isn’t the God of the dead but of the living. To him they are all alive” (Lk 20:38 CEB; <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+3&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Exodus 3</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While Jesus silenced his critics for the moment, the debate over the reasonableness of the resurrection continued into the present day. Although the resurrection stands at the center of the Christian faith, even many Christians struggle to make sense of it. I could try to respond to the contemporary challenges to belief in the resurrection, but on this All Saints Sunday, I would rather have us consider how the resurrection influences the way we live our lives in the present. What does the message of the resurrection say to us about the purpose of our lives? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the resurrection is something of a mystery because we can’t test it scientifically, I expect most of us here today assume some form of life exists after death, even if we can’t scientifically test this belief. Since we can’t test this premise, we take it as a matter of faith that what Jesus said in this encounter is true. The God we serve is the God of the living and not of the dead. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If this is true then surely God values life itself and so should we. Even though death is a natural part of human existence, I don’t believe God rejoices in death and neither should we. Therefore, this has implications for the way we live on this planet. It suggests that we have responsibilities for the welfare of everything that lives on the earth. The biblical story opens with the creation of the heavens and the earth. The message there is that everything creates is good. Not only that, but God created humanity in God’s image to serve as God’s representatives, serving as stewards of God’s good creation. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If the resurrection speaks to the importance of life, it also speaks to the purpose of life. Since we live in an age of uncertainty where many in our midst wonder about the meaning of life, the premise of the resurrection suggests that what we experience now is a harbinger of what is to come.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Consider the word that the prophet Haggai delivered to a group of Jews who returned home from their exile in Babylon to find their homeland in ruins. Many of these returning exiles asked similar questions to the ones we ask ourselves. Haggai addressed a community that was discouraged by what they saw around them. Their Temple had been destroyed and the foundation stones for a new Temple lay scattered around the Temple mount. The plans for the new Temple were disappointing. This new Temple wouldn’t be near as grand as the previous one. So, what’s the point of being members of God’s covenant community? They wondered whether God was even there with them? Haggai told his community that this rebuilt Temple would be a foretaste of what was to come. He wanted them to know that they should take courage and rebuild the Temple because God was with them. In fact, they should remember the promises God made to their ancestors when they came out of Egypt. Yes, God’s message to the people of Israel, and to us, is this: "My spirit abides among you; do not fear" (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Haggai+2%3A1-6&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Haggai 2:6</a>). <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, could the promise of the resurrection serve as a sign that God is never absent from us and therefore we don’t have to live lives filled with fear and regret? Instead, if we embrace the promise of the resurrection we’ll be free to live boldly before God and love one another as God loves us. </p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">First Presbyterian Church</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">November 6, 2022</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pentecost 22C/Proper 27</span></i></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-67141979269219544212022-10-16T07:00:00.001-07:002022-10-16T07:00:00.167-07:00Wrestling Til Daybreak - Sermon for Pentecost 19C (Genesis 32)<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/visionjacob82vo1f3s.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="800" height="466" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/visionjacob82vo1f3s.jpg" width="590" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">Vision of the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) by Paul Gauguin</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2032%3A22-31&version=NRSVUE;CEB" target="_blank"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Genesis 32:22-31</a></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">When I was a kid, my mother decided I needed to learn how to defend myself. So, she signed me up for wrestling camp. Now, I would have rather spent my Saturday mornings at basketball camp, but I ended up spending six Saturdays supposedly learning to wrestle. I think I tried my best, but I never became a very proficient wrestler. The camp ended with a tournament and much to my relief I got pinned in the first round. That was the end of my wrestling career.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I don’t know if Jacob went to wrestling camp, but according to our reading from Genesis, he was a very competitive wrestler. He even might have been Olympic caliber!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At this point in Jacob’s story, he’s reached the Jabbok River. His brother Esau lived on the other side of the river. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers and rivals. This relationship carried a lot of baggage that goes back to the womb. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Years before Jacob fled his homeland for that of his Uncle Laban. I’ll get to the reason for that in a moment. At this point in the story, Jacob gets up in the night and sends his family and goods across the river. With the family on the other side of the river, he returns to the safer side of the river. That’s when a stranger attacks him from behind. While the stranger might have surprised him, Jacob was no slouch as a wrestler and he fought back with a vengeance. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, this wasn’t Jacob’s first wrestling match. He started his wrestling career in the womb, as he tried to best his brother Esau from the very beginning. That means Rebekah must have had a fun pregnancy. Then when it came time to enter the world, Esau got a head start, but Jacob did his best to get around his brother. So Jacob grabbed Esau’s heel and tried to pull him back. Esau might have gotten out ahead of Jacob but they would continue to compete with each other for the rest of their lives.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The event that set up this moment in Jacob’s life took place on the day Jacob convinced Esau to trade his birthright for a nice bowl of stew. Then, to finish things off, Jacob tricked his father into giving him the blessing that was supposed to go to Esau. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>None of this sat well with Esau who decided to kill his brother. Sibling rivalries can get out of hand, at least in the biblical story. Since his brother wanted to kill him, Jacob fled to his uncle’s house. During his sojourn with his Uncle Laban, he gained four wives, eleven sons, and half of Laban’s flock. You see, Jacob was a trickster who wasn’t afraid to do what was necessary to get the advantage.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While Jacob seemed to be an unsavory character, God chose to work with him to bring blessings to his people and to the nations. However, if he was going to return home and claim his inheritance he had to face his brother who might not be ready to welcome him home. In fact, before he crossed the river he received word that his brother was bringing four hundred armed men to greet him. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since Esau didn’t appear ready to reconcile, Jacob tried to appease him by sending presents. Then he divided his family into two parties. He sent them over separately to see what Esau would do to them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, with Jacob’s entire party situated on the far side of the river, Jacob sits down by the fire and contemplates his future. He couldn’t sleep because he worried about what Esau would do to him when they came face to face. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As he sat alone by the fire, he began to pray. Jacob asked God to deliver him so he could fulfill the covenant promise God made with him years before at Bethel. On that occasion, Jacob had a dream. In that dream he saw a ladder running between heaven and earth with angels running back and forth. It’s at that point that God reaffirmed with Jacob the covenant promise first made with Abraham that through his descendants the nations would be blessed (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.+28%3A10-17&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gen. 28:10-17</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While he prayed, the stranger attacked him from behind, leading to a wrestling match that lasted until daybreak. Then, as the day began to break, with neither he nor his assailant getting the upper hand, his attacker pleaded with him: "let me go because the dawn is breaking.” </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jacob could have let go and claimed victory, but he wouldn’t let go. So, his assailant knocked his hip out of joint, hoping that this would give him the advantage. But, Jacob still didn’t let go. Instead, he demanded that his attacker first give him a blessing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The stranger agreed to these terms and offered a blessing that changed everything for Jacob and his descendants. The blessing included a name change. From now on instead of Jacob, whose name means “one who supplants,” he would be known as Israel, which means "one who struggled with God and men and won."</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, Jacob won his wrestling match with God. While he might carry in his body a reminder of his wrestling match in the form of a limp, his destiny and his identity were now assured. Armed with confidence gained through this struggle Israel was ready to face his brother. The good news is that they ended up reconciling. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now there’s more to the story than a wrestling match with a divine entity. Like Jacob, we may also find ourselves engaged in wrestling matches with God. It’s through these wrestling matches that we discover our true identity as God’s children.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now some Christians believe that God is like a professional wrestler. While a professional wrestling match is supposed to look real, it runs according to a script. Therefore, the outcome is predetermined. So some Christians believe that like these professional matches, God writes the script and provides a predetermined outcome.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Other Christians believe that our decisions and choices influence and affect the way God works in the world. I number myself among those who embrace this view. While God’s character might not change, the future is still open. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We all face difficult decisions in life that offer no easy answers. We often struggle to discern the direction God would want us to go. So, like Jacob, we pray and meditate. We might spend time reading Scripture and checking in with trusted advisors. We might even “ask the pastor” for advice.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Most of the time we make our life decisions without knowing how the future will turn out. We’re like Jacob who would take a risk when he crossed the river. His brother could kill him or they could be reconciled so Jacob could fulfill his calling to serve as the source of blessing to the nations. It was this wrestling match that gave him confidence that God would be with him as he stepped into the future. He invites us to do the same. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not everyone is comfortable with this idea. There are those who would rather not enter into wrestling matches with God. That’s because they’re not sure that God welcomes their questions and doubts. They’ve heard it said that we should simply live by faith and not ask questions. Jacob shows us a different way, and he is one of our most important spiritual ancestors. God didn’t reject him because he asked questions. The same was true for David, Job, Moses, Peter, and Mary. While Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, is said to be the chief exemplar of the life of faith (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Heb.+11&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Heb. 11</a>), he also had questions for God. Even Jesus had questions for God. In the Gospel of Luke, on the night of his betrayal, he went to the Mount of Olives to pray. He asked the Father to take the cup from him. He prayed so earnestly that his sweat became great drops of blood. He didn’t turn away from this path, but he did have questions and concerns (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lk+22%3A29-46&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Lk 22:29-46</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, as you sit by the fire alone in the dark, with the river before you, what are your questions and concerns? Whatever they are, you’re not alone. The answers might be slow in coming. You may have to take a big risk and cross the river without knowing how things will work out. We live in a time of great uncertainty. This is true for our own lives and it’s true for this congregation and most other congregations. We may need to engage in a few wrestling matches with God before we’re ready to cross the river. We may have to rethink the way we view God. Hopefully, as we participate in these wrestling matches, our faith grows stronger. We come to know that even in our darkest moments, God is there with us. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the messages I take from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+32&version=NRSVUE;CEB" target="_blank">Genesis 32 </a>is that God is not a passive spectator of our lives. In fact, God is an engaged participant who is willing to get into the ring with us. But when we participate in these matches, like Jacob, we may gain a new identity and a new confidence so we can cross the rivers of our lives. Yes, like Jacob we gain a new name that matches our new identity in Christ. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We stand at the river’s edge. We don’t know what the future holds. We can become paralyzed by doubts and concerns or we can join Jacob, that is, Israel, and follow God’s lead and cross the river. We take a risk in crossing the river, but that’s where our future with God lies. That’s where we’ll find the promised blessing. There may still be other rivers to cross, but we have to cross the one lying in front of us before we can cross the others. The good news is that God goes with us as we cross the river. So, with Jacob, as we get ready to cross the river, we can say we’ve seen God face-to-face and received God’s gift of salvation, even if we go with a limp!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">First Presbyterian Church </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pentecost 19C</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">October 16, 2022</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></i></p><table style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size: 12.96px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>Image attribution: Gauguin, Paul, 1848-1903. Vision of the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel), from <strong>Art in the Christian Tradition</strong>, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. <a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58468">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58468</a> [retrieved October 15, 2022]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Gauguin_137.jpg</span>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-49892589699086682672022-10-09T06:30:00.001-07:002022-10-09T06:30:00.173-07:00The Welfare of the City - Sermon for Pentecost 18C (Jeremiah 29)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/6331516045_75db8451f5_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="441" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/6331516045_75db8451f5_b.jpg" width="588" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+29%3A1%2C+4-7&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7</a></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While I once lived in a small town when I was a child, I’ve lived most of my adult life in cities. I started life in Los Angeles and lived briefly in San Francisco, but my first true memories are connected to my childhood in the small town of Mount Shasta. Although I tasted small-town life before I ever experienced city life, I know what it means to be a city boy, if you count the suburbs as the city! So, what responsibility do we have as suburbanites for the welfare of the city? That’s our question for today!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We’ve heard a word from the prophet Jeremiah, who wrote a letter to Jewish exiles living in Babylon. These exiles included the elders, priests, prophets, and everyone else whom Nebuchadnezzar sent to Babylon in the first wave of exiles who accompanied King Jeconiah and his mother. This was before the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple a decade later. At that point, the exiles still hoped they could return to their homes in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, Jeremiah wanted the exiles to know that their exile would last a long time. He told them to ignore the false prophets who were telling them they would be going home very soon. Instead, to borrow from a1960s slogans, he told them to “bloom where you are planted.”</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The experience of these exiles isn’t so different from what exiles and refugees and migrants have faced through the ages. We might think about the recent wave of Afghan refugees who know that they probably can never return home. The Venezuelan asylum-seekers who ended up on Martha’s Vineyard might also identify with these exiles. What these and other migrants and refugees and exiles have faced throughout history is how to make a life in a strange land. Yes, how might they “bloom where they’re planted?” <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While I’m not an exile or an immigrant or a refugee, I’ve tried to listen and understand the realities faced by those who move from one land to another. Just the other day I heard a word about life on the California-Mexican border, where many gather hoping to find a new life north of the border. Many are refugees. Their situations are dire. I’ve also learned a lot about what it means to be an immigrant from friends who come from places like India and Pakistan. I’ve heard their struggles. But they have tried to bloom where they’ve been planted.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of my closest friends is an immigrant from India who serves as the first Hindu woman in the Michigan House of Representatives. We’ve had many conversations about what it means to be an immigrant. While she’s definitely bloomed during her years in the United States, it’s not been easy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While most of us here today might not think of ourselves as exiles or migrants living as strangers in a foreign land, Jeremiah invites us to put ourselves in the shoes of the Jewish exiles living in Babylon. He invites us to put down roots and take responsibility for the world we inhabit. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the questions the exiles faced was a theological one. Many cultures have assumed that the gods are bound to specific geographic areas. So, while Yahweh might be the God of their homeland, did Yahweh travel with them to Babylon? In a world where “church and state” were intricately intertwined, they had to wonder whether they should pledge allegiance to Marduk since Babylon was his territory.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While things might look bad for the people, Jeremiah wants them to know that Yahweh had indeed traveled with them to Babylon. Therefore, he called on them to put down roots so they could serve as Yahweh’s representatives in Marduk’s territory. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since this would be a very long exile, Jeremiah wanted them to settle in by building houses, getting married, and having kids. In this time of uncertainty, they should carry on as the children of Abraham, Moses, and David even as they lived far from their homes and Temple in Jerusalem. While the people might be heartbroken over their situation, Jeremiah wanted them to know that God had a job for them during this difficult time. In fact, these exiles had a priestly responsibility for the land they were currently inhabiting. That’s because since they were still God’s covenant people and because God is faithful God won’t abandon them. Therefore, God wanted them to seek the welfare of the city they inhabited.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If they were going to fulfill their calling they would need a new vision that would empower them as they followed Yahweh into an unknown future. Song Mi Suzie Park puts it this way:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span>In the face of this religious upheaval, Jeremiah encourages the community to continue to have faith in God’s larger plan—a plan that seems utterly impossible, but which Jeremiah hints is possible for God. They are to hope and know that God can and will bring God’s promises to pass</span> [</span><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3RMbmWc" target="_blank">Connections,</a></i> p. 377]. </blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A few chapters later, Jeremiah reveals that new vision in the form of a new covenant God would write on their hearts rather than on stone (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jer.+31%3A31-37&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Jer. 31</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While this word about a new covenant was meant for the exiles, early Christians interpreted their experience with Jesus in light of this promise. While Jeremiah might not have us in mind, Paul suggests that we’ve been grafted onto the vine that is Israel so we too can participate in God’s covenant promises (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.+11%3A17&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Rom. 11:17</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The key to understanding what Jeremiah had in mind is found in verse seven. In a verse that I believe has powerful relevance for us today, Jeremiah counsels the exiles to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here is where blooming where we’re planted comes in. This call to become engaged with where we live and work doesn’t require us to take dominion over things, something the exiles couldn’t do. Instead, by pursuing the welfare of the city we pursue the common good of all. In this we find our own welfare. That means we’re all in this together!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I know you’ve been involved in these efforts as a congregation down through the years. I got to partner with you during my ministry at Central Woodward. That included helping create the Metro Coalition of Congregations more than a decade ago. We never got very big but we did some good work on behalf of the city. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we seek the welfare of the city, those of us who are citizens can make use of our rights to register and vote. We can join together in faith-based community organizing or interfaith work just to name a couple of possibilities. We do this, as Jeremiah reminds us because our welfare is tied to the welfare of the larger community. As people of God, we engage in this work not by using worldly power, but by depending on God’s Spirit so we can make a difference in our communities.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is a hymn in the <i>Chalice Hymnal </i>by Eric Routley titled “All Who Love and Serve Your City.” This hymn reinforces the message of Jeremiah: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;">In your day of loss and sorrow, </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>in your day of helpless strife, </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>honor, peace and love retreating, </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>seek the Lord, who is your life.</span></p></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The hymn closes with a conversation with the “Risen Lord” who answers the question “shall yet the city be the city of despair?” with a promise: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Come today, our Joy, our Glory: </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>be its name, “the Lord is there.</span>”</span> [<i>Chalice Hymnal</i>, 670] </p></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, the “Lord is there,” even in Babylon. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While this is good news, it also reminds us that we have a responsibility for the welfare of the city we as God’s people inhabit. So, whether or not we’re refugees, immigrants, or exiles, we can heed this word from Miguel De La Torre, who points out that Jeremiah isn’t asking the exiles to forsake their identity, heritage, or their God. Neither is Jeremiah asking them to assimilate into the surrounding culture. So, he writes:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jeremiah does not call the exiles to stop being Jewish or worshipping their God. Rather, as foreigners, we are to work for the common good of all who also inhabit the land where we find ourselves. Foreigners should be willing to learn from the land’s inhabitants, in the same way that the natives of the land can learn from the stranger in their midst. [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3CjfuaC" target="_blank">Preaching God’s Transforming Justice</a>,</i> pp. 427-428].</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Could it be that we are both guests and hosts at the same time? If so, can we be equally blessed in both roles? If I understand Jeremiah correctly, that would be true! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Congregational Church of Birmingham</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Bloomfield Hills, MI</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pentecost 18C</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">October 9, 2022</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #93c47d;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Image Attribution: Migrant Farm Workers, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56609" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56609</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"> [r</span></span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-27099913131134575752022-09-25T06:00:00.002-07:002022-09-25T06:00:00.173-07:00Reversal of Fortunes - Sermon for Pentecost 16C (Luke 16) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Koenig-lazar93829ye87.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="800" height="481" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Koenig-lazar93829ye87.jpg" width="601" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+16%3A19-31&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Luke 16:19-31</a></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At Christmas time our family watches as many versions of <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3S2rnby" target="_blank">A Christmas Carol</a></i> as we can. In Dickens’ tale, we see a man consumed by money. As time goes on, he turns everyone around him into an object to be used and abused. Scrooge’s life story reflects the word we hear in 1 Timothy 6. According to that word, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Tim.+6%3A10&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">1 Tim. 6:10</a>). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the pursuit of wealth plays a central role in the Christmas Carol and in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, there is one major difference. Scrooge doesn’t spend his money on himself. However, neither Scrooge nor the Rich Man, show any concern for the needs of their neighbors.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Scrooge has only one goal in life, and that’s to fill his vault with gold. Even though he’s the richest person in town, he’s also the most miserable. Since he’s miserable, he makes everyone else’s life miserable.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fortunately for Ebenezer Scrooge, he receives a visit from the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, who warns Scrooge to change his ways or fall prey to Marley’s fate. As you may know, Scrooge does change his ways and experiences redemption. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The story of Lazarus and the Rich Man is different in that it serves as a warning to Jesus’ audience, but it doesn’t really offer a happy ending like the one we see in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3S2rnby" target="_blank">A Christmas Carol.</a></i> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man, which is found only in Luke’s Gospel, we first meet up with a man who possesses great wealth. He even wears purple clothing, which suggests he might be royalty. He spends his days feasting on sumptuous meals. This is a man who wants for nothing. He lives in the midst of opulence and luxury. He enjoys a life of abundance. While he dines on this wondrous meal, he shows no concern for anyone else, including the poverty-stricken and sick man sitting at his gate. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This other character in this story, the poverty-stricken man, has a name. It’s Lazarus. It appears, in the story, that Lazarus is very sick since he’s covered with sores and cannot fend for himself. His only company is the dogs that roam the streets. He lays at the rich man’s gate hoping to satisfy his hunger with the scraps that would fall from the rich man’s table. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The picture that Jesus paints for us here isn’t very pretty. Though it is similar to the pictures, we see in brochures and ads that invite us to give to charities serving the poorest of the poor. In these ads, we see little children with extended bellies living in squalor. It tugs at our heart, but do we act? If we do act, do we do so wisely? My recommendation is to check with your denominational relief agency before you give to anything else. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While Jesus paints this picture of two men who live at the opposite ends of reality, the rest of the story involves a reversal of fortunes. According to Jesus, both men die at about the same time. They both end up in the realm of the dead, but their situations in death are the reverse of their previous lives. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lazarus, who suffered greatly in life, finds himself in the company of Father Abraham, the patron saint of hospitality. While he suffered in life, now in death he experiences abundance and healing. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As for the rich man, well, he lands on the other side of town. While Lazarus experiences healing and abundance, the Rich Man ends up being tormented by eternal fire. When the rich man looks at his situation, he begins to pity himself. Having lived the good life, he can’t figure out why he is suffering in death. To make matters worse, Lazarus was hanging out with Father Abraham. How could this be? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The rich man appealed to Abraham, hoping to get some relief from his suffering. When he saw Lazarus sitting in Abraham’s lap, enjoying a good meal, he asked Abraham to send Lazarus over to his side of town with some water to quench his thirst. Even though he was experiencing a reversal of fortunes, he still believed he was superior to Lazarus. Unfortunately for the rich man, a great chasm separated the two sections of the realm of the dead, so while they could see each other, they couldn’t cross over to the other side.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At this point in the story, the rich man realizes that there’s no hope for him, but maybe things could be different for his family members. So, he asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers, sort of like Jacob Marley warned Scrooge. Even at this point, the Rich Man doesn’t get it. He still sees Lazarus as at best his errand boy. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Abraham turns down the request, telling the Rich Man that if his family doesn’t listen to the words of Moses and the Prophets, why would they listen to someone returning from the dead. Besides, if Lazarus could go warn his brothers, why couldn’t he do the same? Could it be that he’s still too lazy to take care of business? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Rich Man insists that they’ll listen to a voice from the dead, but Abraham isn’t convinced. Besides, his brothers have everything they need in the words of Moses and the Prophets, that is, Scripture, to do what is right. Scripture is very clear, you should love your neighbor as you love yourself (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lev.+19%3A18&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Lev. 19:18</a>). If they paid attention to Scripture, they would know that God wants God’s people to care for each other. That especially includes those who are poor and sick. In other words we don’t need a visit from Jacob Marley and the three Christmas Ghosts to do the right thing. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You might be wondering where we fit in this parable. I expect that none of us is as poor and hungry as Lazarus, and none of us is as wealthy as this Rich Man. We might eat well, at least I do, but I doubt any of us see ourselves seated at the Rich Man’s table.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We may not be as poor as Lazarus or as wealthy as the Rich Man, but all of us have a share in God’s abundance. This leads to an important question. What is my responsibility for this abundance? How might I share this abundance that God provides in a way that blesses my neighbor? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I would suggest that we’re not without opportunities to share our abundance with others. Each denomination has agencies that do this work. Both the ELCA and the Disciples, my denomination, work through Church World Service to serve those in need across the globe. There are also local entities through which a congregation can serve the needs of their neighbors. I assume this church already participates in them. But could more be done? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When it comes to meeting the needs of our neighbors, some might ask: Well, who is my neighbor? The parable of the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-37&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Good Samaritan</a> answers that question. The neighbor in that parable is the one who shows mercy to the person who is standing in need of care. In other words, the question isn’t really who is my neighbor, but how am I supposed to be a neighbor.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s good to remember that Jesus defined his own calling in terms of a word from the prophet Isaiah: </p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #93c47d;"> </span><span style="color: #274e13;">“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"> because he has anointed me</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"> to bring good news to the poor.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;">He has sent me to proclaim </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;">release to the captives</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"> and recovery of sight to the blind,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"> to set free those who are oppressed,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"> to proclaim the </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;">year of the Lord’s favor.</span><span style="color: #93c47d;">” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lk+4%3A18-19&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Lk 4:18-19</a>)</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With these words of warning and calling in mind, we can consider also the role that the Table plays in the story. The question of food stands at the center of this word about neighborliness. Christians are a Table-centered faith, so I believe this story has Eucharistic implications. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In her book The Sacred Meal, Nora Gallagher offers an image of a web linking us to one another at the Lord’s Table. She suggests that Holy Communion involves “a web of people who were being stitched together” (<a href="https://amzn.to/3qQheTm" target="_blank"><i>The Sacred Meal</i>,</a> p. 6). With that in mind, she writes: </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus, in his compassion, says that the hurt of those who are hungry and poor and taxed beyond their means is to be taken seriously. It is not normal for people to be without food; it is not normal for someone who is blind or deaf to beg on the street (<a href="https://amzn.to/3qQheTm" target="_blank"><i>The Sacred Meal</i>,</a> pp. 20-21).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, when we gather at the Table today, we receive signs of God’s presence. These signs of God’s presence stitch us together as one people, committed to the common good of all. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the parable speaks of a reversal of fortunes, in many ways it underscores the truth that Gallagher offers. These two figures, one rich and one poor, were linked by a Table. Unfortunately, according to the story, the rich man didn’t understand the nature of this web linking the two men in life, which led to the reversal. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We needn’t embrace the idea of postmortem punishment to understand the message Jesus is trying to get across to us. In life, we are connected. That’s a message Jesus offered and that Charles Dickens underscored in the Christmas Carol. In this, we find good news! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Guest Preacher</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Calvary Lutheran Church</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Grants Pass, Oregon</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">September 25, 2022</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pentecost 16C</span></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Image Attribution: Koenig, Peter. Lazarus at the Gate, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58503" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58503</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px; text-align: left;"> [retrieved September 20, 2022]. Original source: Peter Winfried (Canisius) Koenig, https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/.</span></span></div>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-69975422958262745592022-09-11T06:30:00.001-07:002022-09-11T06:30:00.162-07:00No One's Left Behind - Sermon for Pentecost 14C/Proper 19 (Luke 15)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Swanson-Celebration.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="800" height="441" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/Swanson-Celebration.jpg" width="608" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Luke 15:1-10</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There are “in crowds” and the “not-so-in crowds.” It’s always better to be part of the in-crowd, even if that means living on the margins of the group. At least you’re inside the circle! Unfortunately, not everyone gets to live inside the circle. Even churches have cliques that by design exclude certain people. These cliques might not have secret codes or handshakes, but they do send signals letting people know they’re not welcome. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We see this played out in the 2007 movie <i>Hair Spray.</i> In that movie, John Travolta plays Edna Turnblad, the obese mother of an overweight but determined daughter named Tracy. Edna watches as her very talented daughter is kept from achieving her dream of dancing on the Corny Collins Show. Although Tracy is a very good dancer, she doesn’t fit the youth-oriented variety show’s image of a dancer. So, the “powers that be” collude to make sure she doesn’t get on the show. Even when a slip of fate lets her get on the show, her detractors are merciless. Fortunately, her determination and spunk make her a hit and she breaks down the walls for others. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the movie helpfully calls into question stereotypes and prejudices, it also affirms the principle that everyone, no matter what they look like, or where they come from, has value. Yes, Tracy— along with her mother; her somewhat oblivious father; and her friend Seaweed, a young African American dancer, who, like Tracy, keeps getting excluded from the show— is just as valuable as Velma Von Tussle, the former Miss Baltimore who is now the station manager. The same is true of Velma’s daughter Amber, who has all the physical attributes that society values in a star. While it appears that societal rules will exclude certain kinds of people, fortunately, in this version of the story, no one is left behind! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus knew what it meant to be an outsider. He was a Galilean and fatherless. He was also poor and hung around with the wrong crowd. You know, the sinners he shared meals with. According to his critics, who you hang around is indicative of your character. If you spend your time with the riffraff, then you must be riffraff yourself. After all, image, as everyone knows, means everything. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Like Tracy, Jesus wasn’t afraid to identify with the lost and the ostracized. That’s because he was committed to breaking the walls of the circle that divides the in-crowd from the outsiders.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We see this vision present in the first parable. While Jesus asks his critics whether or not they would leave behind ninety-nine sheep to find the one lost lamb, he must have known that a good shepherd would never put the ninety-nine in danger to find one lamb that wandered off. Nevertheless, Jesus believes this is the right way to go. We see something similar in the second parable where a woman loses one of ten coins and turns her house upside down to find it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus uses these parables to answer his critics who are grumbling about him eating with the riffraff. In Jesus’ mind, this is what God does. God is committed to making sure that what is lost gets found. In other words, Jesus believed in second chances and maybe more! The religious establishment, however, didn’t agree with this perspective. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As these two parables reveal, God is committed to making sure that no one is left behind. That shepherd in this story took a big risk when he shockingly leaves the ninety-nine behind so he could find the lost lamb. But to this shepherd that one lost lamb was just as important as the ninety-nine. As for the woman in the second parable, she is equally committed to finding what is lost. She lights the lamp and looks under the rugs. She goes to great lengths to find a single coin when she already has nine. Of course, that’s not the end of the story. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Both of these parables have a happy ending. That’s because not only does the shepherd find the lost lamb without losing the ninety-nine, but he throws a party to celebrate. The woman also throws a party after finding her lost coin. I find the parties intriguing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I might be reading between the lines when it comes to the parties that Jesus mentions, but remember that the question that led to the parables involved eating with sinners! These parables seem to suggest that we serve a God of abundance who is willing to be extravagant when it comes to celebrating the restoration of relationships. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I see this sense of abundance especially present in the second parable. While we can understand why she might want to search high and low for a lost coin. After all, that coin might be needed to pay some bills. But, then she throws a party. While Jesus doesn’t give us the menu for the party, I’m thinking it probably cost her more to throw the party than this coin was worth. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As for the shepherd, I can’t help but wonder if he slaughtered one of the ninety-nine sheep to feed his friends at his party. After all, in the parable of the Prodigal that follows these two parables and also serves as an answer to Jesus’ critics, the father slaughters the fatted calf to celebrate the return of his lost son. From Luke’s perspective, all three parables serve as a response to Jesus’ critics who complain about the kinds of people he eats with. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, it might not be prudent to throw a party when you recover a lost coin, but according to Jesus, that’s the way God works in the world. God’s love for the world is so abundant that God is willing to spend everything to make sure that what is lost gets found.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we read these parables, Jesus invites us to do a bit of theology. These stories reveal something about God’s identity and Jesus’ vision of his ministry. While this is just an ordinary shepherd and an ordinary woman, they represent for us God’s nature. This is a God who takes risks and isn’t concerned about proper behavior when it comes to restoring a broken creation. As I read these parables, I find a God present here who won’t leave anyone behind. Not only that, here is a God who loves a good party!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, as we ponder the message of these two parables, let us think once again about how they represent God’s identity. Is this not a God whose identity is defined by love? Is this not the God who welcomes everyone into the family? Of course, there are other understandings of God’s nature. Consider the image offered by Jonathan Edwards in his famous 18th-century sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” That image seems more in line with Jesus’ critics than with Jesus. At least, that’s my reading of the parables. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I opened this sermon with a word about cliques. I know that some Christians have taken great pleasure in drawing small circles so they can exclude certain people from the circle of God’s love and embrace. That has all the marks of a clique. Jesus, like Tracy, was known for challenging the cliques of our world. The God he revealed to us is, in my mind, a God who draws big circles so that no one is left on the outside of the circle. This is a God who takes great risks in doing what is necessary to find what is lost. That is because God loves God’s creation! We may need to experience some refining as part of the process of restoration, but I believe God is determined to make sure that no one is left behind.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When God finds us and brings us back into the fold, God likes to throw a party. Yes, God not only attends the party; God hosts the party. Since God’s resources are infinite, when it comes to the party, the cost is of no concern! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This means that whenever we come together as God’s people, we can celebrate God’s ministry of reconciliation. As Paul puts it, in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male and female, but instead, we are all one in Christ (Gal. 3:28). That means ethnicity, economic status, and gender, are not barriers to joining in the festivities. Now there are other barriers that we could add to Paul’s list, but I think you get the idea. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Therefore, let us rejoice in the good news that Jesus is always seeking that which is lost and celebrates when the lost are found. That, of course, requires a party. While we’re not gathering at the Lord’s Table this morning, is this not a meal that celebrates the breaking down of the walls that separate us from God’s love?<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">First Presbyterian Church</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">September 11, 2022</span></i></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #eeeeee;"> </span></span></p><table style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size: 12.96px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Image Attribution, Swanson, John August. Celebration, from <strong>Art in the Christian Tradition</strong>, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. <a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56538">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56538</a> [retrieved September 10, 2022]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-5229293071576337422022-09-04T07:00:00.001-07:002022-09-04T07:00:00.179-07:00 Made in the Image of the God with Dirty Hands --- A Sermon for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost/Labor Day Weekend (Psalm 139)<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/potter1376reydsm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="800" height="478" src="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/cdri/jpeg/potter1376reydsm.jpg" width="583" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+139%3A1-6%2C+13-18&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Psalmist invites us to sing God’s praises because we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Not only is God the creator of the universe, but God has formed our inward parts and knit us together in our mother’s womb. That means we matter to God. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first creation account reveals that we are created in God’s image. Then in the second creation account, in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%2C&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Genesis 2,</a> it’s revealed that God’s hands got dirty when God created the first human.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jeremiah reinforces that message when he describes God’s relationship to Israel in terms of God the potter. While Jeremiah uses that image to speak of God’s judgment on Israel, we can also read into that imagery a sense of God’s intimate relationship with creation. So, it appears that God isn’t concerned about dirty hands! (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+18%3A1-11&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Jer., 18:1-11</a>)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All of this suggests that life is sacred. Just as the Psalmist speaks of God’s intimate relationship with God’s creation, the prologue to John’s Gospel reinforces that message. According to John, all things were created through the Word that is God and this Word took on flesh and dwelt among us. It is through this Word that God is made known to us (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jn.+1%3A1-18%29&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Jn. 1:1-18)</a>. That means God knows what it is to be human. That is, in my estimation, good news because it reinforces the message of the Psalm, that our lives matter to God.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> This is a good word to hear on Labor Day Weekend as we get ready to enter the fall season. This weekend we honor all those who labor, whatever their vocations, but especially those whose work involves getting their hands dirty. That’s because the God of dirty hands can identify with them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Medieval Jewish commentator Rashi interpreted verse 14 of this Psalm, which reveals that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” in these terms: “I shall thank You for in an awesome, wondrous way I was fashioned; Your works are wondrous, and my soul knows it very well.” Yes, indeed, our souls know it very well!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This word about God fashioning us so that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” takes us back to those creation stories found in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1+-+2&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Genesis 1 and 2</a>. In the first story, God speaks the universe into existence. It’s a very poetic and beautiful message, and according to this liturgy everything God creates, including humanity (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.+1&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gen. 1</a>), is very good. When we turn to the second story, which we find in Genesis 2, things get a bit earthier. According to this creation story, God fashioned the first human from the dust of the ground and then breathed life into this first human. Then God placed the human whom God made from the dust of the earth in the Garden (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.+2%3A7&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Gen. 2:7</a>). God then fashions a companion for this human out of that first human’s body so they might share life together in the Garden. This suggests that God is a laboring God! In fact, according to the first creation story, God even takes a break after the work of creation is finished. That’s just a reminder that “all work and no play” makes one dull and that’s not good for anyone! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I started the sermon with words found in the middle of the Psalm, where the Psalmist gives praise to God because we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Now I want to go back to the beginning of the psalm, where the Psalmist speaks of God searching us and knowing us. There is in these opening words of the Psalm a sense of intimacy that reinforces the message that life is sacred. Yes, God knows when we sit down and rise up. God knows our paths and even what we’re going to say before we speak. According to the Psalmist, such knowledge is too wonderful to contemplate. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As I pondered this message, a familiar children’s book came to mind. It’s called the <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3Qhhvc6" target="_blank">Runaway Bunny</a></i>. In this book, Margaret Wise Brown tells the story of a bunny who decides to run away. At least that’s what the bunny tells his mother. The bunny goes through a series of scenarios, but each time his mother lets him know that wherever he goes she’ll be there to welcome him. To give you one instance, after he tells his mother he might become a bird and fly away, she tells him: “if you become a bird and fly away from me, I will be a tree that you come home to.” Finally, she tells him “If you become a little boy and run into a house,” then “I will become your mother and catch you in my arms and hug you.” So it is with God. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since you and I are just getting acquainted, I don’t know how this Psalm speaks to you. But I have a few thoughts to share as we head into the fall season. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maybe you’ve just headed off to school. Perhaps you’re excited but also a bit intimidated by the new school year. If so, remember that you are not alone and that you matter to God who knows you and is there with you. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since this is Labor Day weekend, if you are one who labors, this might be a word of encouragement as well, because God knows what it means to labor. In fact, if you take a look at the verbs in Psalm 139, you’ll hear that God searches and knows and protects. God forms us and knits us. God makes us and weaves us. So, while Labor Day may be a secular holiday and not a feast day of the church since we serve and worship a God who labors, it’s fitting to celebrate this day. After all, most of us, will at some point in our lives be employed in some form of work. Therefore, it’s appropriate that we honor those who labor even as we remember that God is always laboring on our behalf.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Theologian Joerg Rieger and his spouse, the labor organizer Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger, speak to the centrality of labor to our lives. They remind us that because we spend “the bulk of our waking hours at work [this] influences who we are as individuals and communities, shapes the images of our cultures and faiths, and defines us in more ways than we can count.” <a href="https://amzn.to/3wTSf56" target="_blank">[<i>Unified We Are a People</i>,</a> pp. 16-17]</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think the Riegers are on to something because one of the first things we often ask a working-age adult when we meet them for the first time is: “What do you do for a living?” We ask this because we want to know who this person is. And what they do at work speaks to who they are. Just in case you’re wondering, I’m a retired pastor who enjoys preaching along with writing books.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, if our labor helps define our identities, then, as the Riegers point out: “work is what allows people to use their abilities (as well as their disabilities!) in productive fashion for the common good, which increases the welfare of the community and of the planet as a whole” [<i><a href="https://amzn.to/3wTSf56" target="_blank">Unified We Are a People,</a></i> pp. 16-17].</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we read Scripture, we encounter a God who works for a living. We encounter a God who is a craftsperson, potter, garment-maker, gardener, farmer, shepherd, and tentmaker. In other words, Judaism and Christianity don’t lack images that can help us value work and workers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not only does Scripture speak of God as one who works for a living, but the Gospels remind us that Jesus himself was a laborer. The Gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus’ hometown folks treated him with contempt because he was simply a carpenter, or more likely because he was a common laborer. Therefore, they weren’t inclined to listen to his spiritual wisdom (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+6%3A1-3&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Mark 6:1-3</a>). However, if we encounter God in Jesus then we encounter the God with dirty hands who is always present with us. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, when we think about being “fearfully and wonderfully made,” it’s good to remember that we’ve been created in the image of the God with dirty hands! Therefore, as the people of God, let us celebrate this work of God by standing in solidarity with all who labor. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This morning, let us give thanks to the God with dirty hands, by honoring all those who labor, especially those persons who take on the most difficult jobs. During the height of the pandemic, we honored the first responders, especially nurses, doctors, EMTs, and police, people who put their lives on the line every day. As school starts, there are teachers who are often underpaid and underappreciated. I know this to be true because my wife is a retired school teacher. But there are all kinds of jobs, many of which can be difficult, dangerous, and even demeaning. We stand in solidarity with them as well. As we do this, we know that the God who labors stands with them as well. </p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">First Presbyterian Church </span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Warren, Michigan</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">13th Sunday after Pentecost/Labor Day Weekend</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #274e13;">September 4, 2022</span></i></p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #93c47d;"><br /></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> Image Attribution: </span><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">Ring, L. A. (Laurits Andersen), 1854-1933. Potter Herman Kähler in his Workshop, from </span><strong style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">Art in the Christian Tradition</strong><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;">, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57049" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px;">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57049</a><span face=""Trebuchet MS", arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12.96px;"> [retrieved September 3, 2022]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herman_K%C3%A4hler_i_sit_v%C3%A6rksted.jpg.</span></span></p><br />Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713818920706318901.post-56301623958345460082022-08-14T07:00:00.001-07:002022-08-14T07:00:00.163-07:00Here Comes the Judge -- Sermon from Matthew 25<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.servicioskoinonia.org/cerezo/dibujosA/57OrdinarioA34.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="531" height="577" src="https://www.servicioskoinonia.org/cerezo/dibujosA/57OrdinarioA34.jpg" width="389" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A31-46&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 25:31-46</a></b></p><p><span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">No one wants to go before a judge, at least not without a good attorney present! Perhaps, like me, you have had your day in court. My day came back in my 20s when I appeared in traffic court to make my confession of guilt for speeding. I didn’t need an attorney that day but some people do. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 25</a>, Jesus speaks of the day when the Son of Man comes in his glory to gather the peoples of the earth to face the day of final judgment. On that day Jesus, the Son of Man, takes on the role of judge and separates the sheep from the goats. The question Jesus raises for us is whether we’re ready to face the judge.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This reading from Matthew is sometimes thought of as a parable, but it’s not really a parable. Instead, Jesus issues a warning to us about the choices we make in life. He uses the images of sheep and goats. In this picture, on the day of judgment, the king will reward the sheep and punish the goats. The sheep are the righteous and the goats are the unrighteous. Both are judged according to the merits of their lives. This is a powerful and terrifying scene, and while we might think of ourselves as sheep, what if we’re goats instead? I don’t know about you, but that’s not a happy thought!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since we’re talking about judgment, we should probably cite the criteria on which we will be judged. Using the version in The Message, here’s what the king told the sheep: </p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #93c47d;">I was hungry and you fed me,</span></p><p><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,</span></p><p><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was homeless and you gave me a room,</span></p><p><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was shivering and you gave me clothes,</span></p><p><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was sick and you stopped to visit,</span></p><p><span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was in prison and you came to me.’ </span> (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A31-46&version=MSG" target="_blank">Matt 25:34-36, <i>The Message</i></a>).</p></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">With that, the sheep rejoiced that they had been judged worthy of reward. But they were a bit confused because they don’t remember doing any of this for the king, who is really Jesus. He told them that when they did it “to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Mt. 25:40). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then the king turned to the goats and issued a word of judgment on them because they failed the test. When they asked why they failed, because they don’t remember seeing the king in any of these situations, the king, that is Jesus, told them that when they failed to care for the least among them, they failed to care for the king. So, it seems that God holds us accountable for how we treat the most vulnerable in our midst.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So how are you feeling right now? Are you, like me, feeling a bit uncomfortable? While I want to believe that I have fulfilled the criteria mentioned here, I’m not so sure. I know that I’ve failed and the nations of the world have failed to fulfill these criteria.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While preachers often use this word to call on the church, the larger community, and the government to participate in humanitarian action on behalf of the marginalized, we usually stop with Jesus commending the sheep. Yes, follow the example of the sheep and all will be well. But, we tend to ignore the word given to the goats. However, the message is incomplete without this more judgmental word. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The way Matthew frames the story reminds me of those old Clint Eastwood westerns that I’ve enjoyed over the years. In many of these stories, Eastwood’s character serves as the angel of death, who metes out justice on people he deems to be evil. There is usually a day of reckoning at the end of the story, when the “man with no name” silently faces down the bad guy. Of course, the bad guy knows that death is at hand, but to make sure we get the point, the camera shifts back and forth between the angel of death and his prey. The music heightens the tension, but everyone knows that the evil one will get his just reward.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem with this vision, whether in the old western or in Matthew 25, is that the judgment meted out seems so final. We see vengeance but is there room for redemption? Is there no hope, is there no mercy, for those of us who fail to fulfill Jesus’ expectations of us?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we ponder both the call to serve, and the message of judgment, perhaps there’s another way of looking at this vision. Earlier in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25&version=NRSVUE" target="_blank">Matthew 25,</a> Jesus shares two parables that warn the reader to be on the alert for the coming of the Son of Man. One of the parables tells the story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids and the lamps they carried. The other parable tells the story of a land owner who entrusts resources to his servants, one of whom buries his resources so he won’t lose what he had been given. These two parables remind us that God provides us with resources to serve Jesus. The question is, do we use them appropriately? Perhaps this story, like the other two, serves as a wake-up call that reminds us that we have responsibilities to our neighbors. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This word, along with the other two, also could serve as a spiritual wellness check. Just like when we go in for our annual physicals, our health is judged based on a series of tests and observations. If you read the test results, you’ll notice there is a distinction between what is normal and what is not. If you have bad results, well, your physician will tell you to make some changes. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In this story, our spiritual wellness is based on how the nations treat those who live on the margins of society. But, even if this is a spiritual wellness check, it’s also a moment when the cover gets pulled off the evil that exists in our midst. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hear this word from Anna Case-Winters: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #93c47d;">Evil in human history must be finally and unmistakably exposed and judged. Evil doers must be transformed so that they can be freed from evil and reconciled to one another</span> [<a href="https://amzn.to/3zUzWxp" target="_blank">Case-Winters, <i>Matthew,</i> p. 283</a>]. </blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In other words, this act of judgment is designed to provide a path toward redemption, a place where we can be reconciled with God and one another. When this takes place, the least among us will be blessed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we stand before God’s judgment seat, we learn that compassion for others is the basis on which judgment is made. The Christian faith is rooted in two principles that are drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures. The first principle calls on us to love God with our entire being. The second principle calls on us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. In this vision, the nations are judged based on how they love their neighbors. If this is a wellness check, perhaps we can hear a word of redemption as well as judgment. I’m not sure what to make of the judgment meted out to the goats. It doesn’t fit well with my theology, and yet there it is, serving as a reminder of what God expects of God’s people. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Perhaps we can read this parable in the light of Scrooge’s question for the “Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come” as he looked upon his own grave: “Are these the shadows of things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?” If you know the story, as my family knows the story, at that very moment, just as he asks the question, Scrooge experiences a moment of conversion. At the end of his encounter with the three spirits, he declares that “I’m not the man I was.” So, he tells the phantom: “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” May this be true of us as we ponder this word about the day of judgment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What Scrooge learned from his visitations, and we learn from this vision, is that compassion is the heart of the gospel. So when you hear that the judge is coming, know that when we show compassion for others, especially for those with the greatest need, whether we know it or not, we serve Jesus. We may fail at this, but the good news is that the judge is gracious and full of mercy. So when we fall short, and we will, know that this judge, unlike the “man with no name,” wants us to succeed. That’s good news! But, there’s still the expectation that we’ll serve Jesus by caring for those in need.</p><p><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Preached by:</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Dr. Robert D. Cornwall</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Pulpit Supply</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">First Presbyterian Church</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">Troy, Michigan</span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">August 14, 2022</span></i><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #93c47d;"> </span> </span></p>Robert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.com0