"CARRYING EACH OTHER IN FAITH"

Luke 5:17-26

These four men fought through the crowd when he saw their faith, carrying their paralyzed friend on a stretcher. They fought through the crowd, because they believed that Jesus could help their friend. And, when they got close to the door of the house, they couldn’t get in, but they could tell that Jesus was inside. So they climbed up on the roof, still carrying their paralyzed friend, and a couple of them dug through the thatched roof, dug a section out so large that they could lower their friend in front of Jesus, right there in the room where he stood.
This must have caused everyone to take notice. Surely, some materials and dirt fell into the room when they dug. But, Jesus waited for them to finish their work. And, after they were done and lowered their friend in front of Jesus, we are told that “WHEN HE SAW THEIR FAITH,” he said: “My son, your sins are forgiven.” And, people started saying: “who does he think he is?, saying, ‘your sins are forgiven?’ Jesus looked at them and at the man: and said: “get up and walk!” And, the man on the stretcher was set free; he got up with limbs made strong by the almighty and he didn’t just walk, he jumped and praised God, right there as his friends gave thanks.

When Jesus saw their faith (not the man’s faith), he forgave and he healed the man. So far as we know, the paralyzed man didn’t say a word. We don’t know whether he believed or not. We know that his friends believed, and maybe even believed for him. THAT IS FAITH. BECAUSE THAT IS LOVE.

THESE FOUR FRIENDS LOVED THEIR FRIEND AND BELIEVED THAT JESUS WOULD HEAL HIM. THEY HOPED FOR HIM, EVEN IF HE HAD NO HOPE LEFT. THIS IS FAITH, BELIEVING FOR ANOTHER.

Now, we usually think of an individual person having faith for himself or herself. But, it just may be that for most of us, someone else believes for us before we have the faith to believe for ourselves. Someone comes before God and prays for us; someone believes in the God-given potential and promise within us even when we can’t see it ourselves. In a Charlie Brown movie, there is a song that goes like this:

“If just one person believes in you, harder enough and strong enough, believes in you, deeper enough and long enough, believes in you; then, maybe even you can believe in you.”

Paul talks about “faith working through love.” I think that is what we see here with these four men, and it touches the heart of Jesus. When he saw their faith/their love for their friend, he opened his heart to the man, the concern of these four friends.

Yes, we think often of what an individual believes. But, maybe we ought to take comfort in what WE believe. Because there will come a day, when you really need someone to believe for you. There will come a day, when you need someone to pray for you. And, that day will come for me as well. There will come a day, and it may be today, when it’s all you can do to just make it to worship, and you need to hear the songs of thanksgiving and praise, even if you haven’t got the heart to sing them yourself. But, you can hear those songs, and fill them touch your heart even when it is worn out.

When you come in to this place, you come into a place where we believe in the importance of your life, and we believe in God’s love for you. We live in that faith. And, we come to be reminded and to remind each other of that living faith, that love of God which surrounds us.
When you believe in God’s love for another person, that means God’s Spirit is working within you and through you. That is the power of God’s Spirit reaching out through you. Unless you feel God’s love for another person, you can’t speak to them a true word about God. If you feel God’s love for another, you will be a channel of God’s grace to them, whether you plan to be or not, whether you say anything or not.

Paul speaks of the love of God being poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This love of God is active, it causes you to see with new eyes, to feel with new hearts, to experience other people as children of the living God.

That’s what the community of faith is all about. When you’re tired and worn and weary, you find rest with the people of God. Of course, God has claimed everyone as his child. In Christ, God has designated every human being as part of the people of God. What God has willed, and what we do are two different things. We are called to be part of a community of faith.
A few miles away, members of two congregations and the families of Rev. Allen and her husband, are gathered before God as their son, little D.J. is baptized, and they are gathered in their faith, and they are believing for little D.J., looking upon him with the love of God in their hearts, believing in his dignity and the hope he has as a child of God. And, we are gathered here, holding little D.J. in our hearts before God. And, where a community continues to believe in God’s grace for a child as he grows, then that belief grows within him, day by day.

We need each other in the community of faith. We really do. If I’ve learned anything over the years as a pastor, it is that need of others in the church. Our faith, when it is isolated from others, can become false; it can become made up; it can come to just serve our interests and not have much to do with love of God and neighbor. But, the faith that I share with others, and join together with others in the church; well, that faith is tested by the living faith of others; and, it is tested to see if it really is true, if it is really that love of God poured out into our hearts. Because, as 1 John says: “if I don’t love my brother or sister whom I can see, then how can I love God whom I can’t see?”

The struggle to continue in the way of reconciliation, is right at the heart of faith. It is right at the heart of any family that stays together. Because, there are so many circumstances and actions and inactions that cause us conflict and hurt in our relationships, whether they be at home, in the wider family, among friends, or in church. And, sometimes, we just get weary, weary with arguments, weary with misunderstandings, weary and just wanting peace. But, where there are people, there is sin and imperfection of all types, and that goes for us, even when we are with those we love. And, our hearts get weary at times and just want to give up. Why does it have to be such hard work to get along? Why do we say such stupid things? Why do others? Why does conflict always rear its ugly head? Well, it does. But, for those who have faith, the dawn comes. For those who have faith, shouts of joy finally come after those times of weeping.

The community of faith teaches us how to endure in life, how to believe in difficult times, how to lean on others and support others in times of trouble. What the church really teaches in the long run is how to love and not grow weary, how to love with a love eternal, with a love that comes from God, a love that is so great that it raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and reaches out to gather more and more children into the fold.

So, where are you today? Are you here believing and loving and feeling that powerful healing of God in you, and reaching out through you today to others? Are you, perhaps, just worn out, and just hoping that somebody here is believing for you, because you are too numb to carry yourself before the Lord. Maybe a couple of us here today are like that man paralyzed and not knowing where to turn. And, the faith and love of his friends carried him before the Lord. That is faith – it works through love.

Sometimes the person who shows us God’s love is not the one we expect it from. I remember being in S.C., and having a real serious church conflict over race relations in the community. And, one of my elders, Archie was real mad at me over this. And, I guess I was pretty mad at him too. And, we were there celebrating the Lord’s Supper. And, I had served the 4 elders the communion bread, ‘this is the body of Christ broken for you.’ The last one I served was Archie. And, then I served the cup: “This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.” And, somehow I messed up and didn’t get any bread for myself during the serving. I didn’t even realize it. It was a tense Sunday in many ways. But, right before I was about to close the communion part of the service, I saw Archie motioning to me: and whispering, ‘you didn’t get the bread, you didn’t get the bread.’ And, he got right up, went to the communion plate and brought it to me and served me. I COULDN’T HELP BUT SMILE AND HE DID TOO. THIS IS MY BODY, I HEARD IN MY HEART, BROKEN FOR YOU. DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.

ARCHIE REACHED OUT THAT MORNING AND REALLY BROKE DOWN THE BARRIERS OF MY HEART, AND HIS HEART. FAITH, WORKING THROUGH LOVE. SOMEONE, EVEN WHO IS MAD AT YOU, THAT BELIEVES THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND THAT YOU ARE A BROTHER IN THIS FAITH OF CHRIST.

Sometimes others carry us before God. We don’t always know who or when. And, sometimes we carry others before God. Thank God for this bond we have in faith. None of us can make it alone; all of us can make it together. Amen.

Jesus Slips Away

1 Cor. 1:21-25; John 1:10-13

The Apostle Paul says that what he preaches is Christ crucified, the power of God and the wisdom of God, and he preached that Gospel in the midst of a world in distress, a world that needed a saving word amidst all the forces of destruction. And, we live in a world that is in distress. The peoples of this earth are like sheep without a shepherd, and it was that way around the time of Christ’s coming as well.

In the Gospel of John, we read that Jesus came unto his own but his own received him not. He came to the people of God. He was born a Jew among Jews. And, the very people of God rejected him. He was the light of the world, but those who were supposed to celebrate and proclaim his arrival did not. They didn’t recognize him for who he was, but a few did. A few of the Jews did receive him and a living faith began in the early church. You know, here we are about 2,000 years after this time. 2,000 years of church tradition and teaching that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the savior of the world. And, I wonder as Jesus tries to come among God’s people in the church . . . I wonder whether he is being received or not. Those words, “he came among his own and they received him not” may be relevant to our time as well. Could it be that the church that bears his name does not recognize who he is? You know, if Jesus came among us bodily today, would we recognize him as the Christ of God? I’m not sure we would if all we depend upon is the church’s teaching and tradition. You know, when Jesus came among the Jews, they had a long history of prophetic teaching and tradition, and they did not recognize him. In John’s Gospel it tells us that when Jesus came among the Jews at one point, a big group of them tried to make him king; they tried to seize him and make him into their king. And, we’re told that he slipped away from them . . he slipped out of their grasp because he would not be made into their image of a Messiah. But this wasn’t the last attempt to make Jesus into something that he is not.

What about the crusades of the middle ages? The church presented Jesus as the commander of a military force and sang “onward Christian soldiers” as they sought to annihilate the Muslims over in the holy land. And, surely when they called upon Jesus to be their military general, he slipped away from the church. Because he will not be made into what he is not. “He came among his own, and his own received him not.” And, then, in modern times, in our days: we have the Jesus of liberalism, who waits upon university professors to tell him what is proper and enlightened and what serves the interest of science and the academic elite. This Jesus is not seen as the Son of God, but merely as another wise teacher, whose teachings serve modern agendas. Of course, some of Jesus' efforts do support modern efforts that are focused on freedom and equality and finding cures for disease, because Jesus came to heal and make humans whole. But, ,where Jesus is only seen as a good teacher, he slips away from the church. Because he is the incarnation of the living God in human flesh. Even in his humility, he cannot deny that he is one with the Father. He will not be made into what he is not. And, then in modern times, on the conservative side of things, there is a revival of the King Jesus image, that sees Jesus as a victorious conquerer who rules over the victorious church where everyone is saved, separate and absolutely sure that they know the truth about absolutely everything that troubles the modern world. But, Jesus wouldn’t be made into some worldly king by the Jews and he won’t be by Christians.

And, so Jesus slips away from liberals and conservatives in our day looking for a church that will humbly receive him as he is. But where is that church? Where is that church in our day and how do we receive him as he is? Is there really room for Jesus in the Church that bears his name? The Bible reminds us that Jesus was more welcome at the tables of tax collectors and sinners than he was at the homes of the righteous Jews of his day. Where is that church in our day who will receive Jesus as he is?

First, the church needs to be reminded of the weakness of its preaching and the limitations of its knowledge. You know the Apostle Paul . . surely there wasn’t hardly anybody who could preach the Gospel like Paul, and what does he say of his preaching: “the foolishness of what we preach.” “God chooses to bring saving knowledge through the foolishness of what we preach.” He’s acknowledging his limits, that he can only point to God, not that he possesses some wisdom in himself. So that’s the first thing: the church needs to be reminded of the weakness and the limitations of its own teaching and preaching.

Second, the church needs to be reminded of its sinfulness and tendency to focus on minor problems while overlooking the major ones. As Jesus said: “You tithe mint, dill, and cumin, but overlook the weightier matters of the law: mercy, justice and truth.

And, Thirdly, and most importantly, Christians and all those who overhear the preaching of the church need to be told that they will never find the truth of God if they are simply relying on the tradition, the teaching and the preaching of the church. As long as your relationship with God is mediated by preachers and teachers, you cannot experience the truth and fullness of Christ. Only the direct experience of God is reliable. He is the only teacher. And, all of our teaching and preaching is to awaken that experience within those who hear. It is the awaken that desire for the experience in human beings to know God directly through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

When it comes down to it, the church can’t save anybody from destruction. Only God can save. The church can’t even explain how salvation comes in Jesus; we can only celebrate that it does.
I want to read you a prophecy from Jeremiah. I thought I could remember it but I can’t, so I’m going to have to turn to the prophecy. This is Jeremiah 31:31-34. Because this prophecy points so clearly to the truth that I am talking about. It says:

"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, [32] not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. [33] But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD
No long shall each man teach his neighbor, but they shall all know the Lord, from the least to the greatest."

Because, as the prophetic word says: “I will put my law within them; I will write it upon their hearts.” We live in this day that Jeremiah pointed to, that Joel prophecied about. This day when the Spirit of God has been poured out upon earth through Jesus life, death and resurrection. And, in this day of the Spirit, God has implanted a living word within us, if we could just find it. God has placed his claim upon every man, woman and child. He has pronounced his blessing upon all people in Jesus. The way to God is not through some church ritual or teaching, but through God’s living presence in human flesh – this presence that came among us in Jesus, and that seeks to come among us now.

Now you might have noticed as I criticized two or three different views of Jesus, I didn’t tell you exactly who Jesus was and how exactly God saves through him. Conservatives and liberals KNOW; but I am just a poor, limited sinful man who can point with a trembling finger at a mystery that I can’t understand. I can only point to God’s goodness and grace though I can’t really explain it. I feel like that blind man in the Gospel of John, when they started questioning him about who Jesus was and how Jesus healed him. And, what he said was: “I don’t know, but I was blind and now I see.” “I was blind and now I see, and this man did it.”
Through the weakness of such preaching, may God awaken your desire to know and receive him, so that you won’t have to rely on the weakness of human teachers like me. But, so that you can rely on the direct experience of the living God.

All praise and glory to the mystery of God that graciously seeks a place among human beings: to save and not destroy, to heal and not harm, to bring love and reconciliation, not hatred and division. He came among his own once, and they received him not. As Jesus seeks to come among us, let us receive him with humility and praise and glory to God that we might not reject our only hope.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

""Broken for You"

”Many are the plans of a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

-Proverbs 19:21

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, saying: ‘this is my body, broken for you.’ Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.”

-Mark 14:22-24

Since the earliest days of the church, believers have gathered to pray, break bread, share wine, and sing praises to the Lord. The Lord’s Supper has been a solemn and holy celebration since the very first believers gathered. This supper has served as strength through the trials of life, affirming that faith amidst human life is possible, affirming that God’s grace is experienced in human flesh. There has always been something beyond words about taking the bread and the cup in faith. It stands as a sign and a witness that God’s eternal power remains with us even amidst our broken and fragile human lives. And, here we are again. Coming as we are to the Table. Looking for God’s fullness in our emptiness, the Spirit’s energy in our weariness.

In Ecclesiastes it is written: “The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they join the dead.” Of course, this is a very grim view of human life, but it is the view that was impressing itself on the heart and mind of wise man long ago. “Many are the plans of a man or woman’s heart.” Thoughts and feelings swirl within us. Good thoughts, bad thoughts, confused thoughts, clear thoughts; good feelings, bad feelings, mixed up feelings. We human beings are subject to ups and downs in our inner life, up and down moods, thoughts. One day we are hopeful, the next we may despair. One day we are loving, the next we struggle not to be filled with hatred. And, so Ecclesiastes says: “there is madness in their hearts while they live, and then they go to the dead.”

And, there is some truth in that, no doubt. But is that all we are? Proverbs suggests that the plans and movements of our hearts are various, but then, the Proverb writer points to another reality: “but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” This Proverb points to the eternal amidst the experience of our time-torn lives. Because the life of faith has to do with the experience of change, uncertainty, ups and downs of this flesh and blood life and the life of faith has to do with the experience of the eternal life of God even and precisely in the midst of real, fragile human life.

It takes faith to be in the world but not overcome by the world. It also takes faith to not flee from the world.

One religious answer to the struggles and fragility of life has been to seek peace in a renunciation of flesh and blood reality. Christian monks have taken this route. . . Buddist monks have taken this route. . . Salvation is seen as escaping the bonds of this flesh and blood life. In this view, God is experienced by renouncing one’s fleshly nature, and affirming only one’s spiritual nature.

And, there is some wisdom in this impulse to flee from temptation and flee from the insecurity of human experience. But, this fleeing from life is not the fullness of faith, nor does the scripture lead us to renounce the goodness of life on earth.

In the 1500’s Martin Luther was faced with this very choice. Is salvation found by renouncing the flesh and seeking refuge from the flesh and the world? Or, is salvation found in affirming and experiencing the goodness of the flesh and the world in a living, earthy faith? Luther’s experience was that true grace is found in a holy affirmation of the created order, in the sanctification of human flesh and blood experience, not in fleeing from all that God created. Luther believed that God had become flesh, not to condemn human flesh but to restore and bless it.

And, I come to you this day, looking with you at the struggles and pains and anxiety of this human life, and having some sympathy with those who want to find a way to escape and flee from the struggle. But, I come to you this day, knowing in my heart, that we won’t find God by fleeing from God’s creation. We will find God in the reality of our flesh and blood experience, in the reality of God’s earth, and in being able to sing praise to the Creator for our daily bread, our daily struggles, our daily hopes, our daily failures and successes. But, I’ll be honest about one thing: I’m at the point of just wanting to run away from it. Run away from being responsible for others; run away from worrying over others; run away from struggling to make things right in a world where so much is wrong; weary with the struggle to overcome sin with righteousness even in my own life. Yes, I’d kind of like to find that mountain retreat and stay there a long time – anywhere where there is lasting peace.

But, its too late for that. Its too late for fleeing from life. I’ve poured myself into it, and there is no turning back.

The way of Jesus was not a retreat from life. He is the one who poured himself out for others. He came to redeem human flesh. He is God in human flesh, the blessing of God’s created order, the blessing of life on earth.

So, having come to faith in Jesus, there is no turning back from reality.

And, that’s a way of understanding the old hymn: “I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus . . no turning back, no turning back.” Faith is about this way of Jesus. Its about pouring our lives out in love for others, in concern for this life, this society, this experience. Its about honoring God in the midst of this world. And, that’s where my heart leads me to this communion.

Jesus and his disciples sat down together to eat supper. It was a solemn moment. He took the bread, gave thanks to God, and as he broke the bread, he handed it to his friends saying: “this is my body, broken for you.” It was an act which showed what he would do in giving his life for his friends and for all people. It was Jesus’ expression and commitment to be given in faith and love, to pour out his life in love for God, for the salvation of others. And, Jesus took the cup of wine and gave it to them saying: “this is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many.”

Now, I don’t really think the point of Jesus’ action and words: breaking bread, saying: “this is my body, broken for you” --- I don’t think he was real concerned with beginning a new ritual meal, or a sacred ceremony at religious services. What Jesus was doing was expressing his faith and love in the most powerful way he could, showing them what he had been doing and was to do, and telling his disciples to do the same for each other and the world. “Do this in remembrance of me.” He says: “Be broken in love for others in remembrance of how I was broken in love for others. Pour out your heart in faith and love, as I am pouring out my heart in faith and love.”

Of course, not everybody at the meal went out and showed love for others. Judas did the opposite of Jesus, and went out and “sold out” his friends for 30 pieces of silver. He betrayed their trust. You can partake of this bread and this cup and do just like Judas: consider money or popularity or some other good more valuable than love and faithfulness to other people. Surely, we’ve followed Judas’ way at times, instead of the way of Christ. Jesus says: “Be broken in love for others in remembrance of how I was broken in love for you. Pour out your heart in faith and love, as I am pouring out my heart in faith and love.”

That’s what this meal is all about. Real communion is about this faith, and is experienced in the giving of the self in love for others. That’s when the Risen Lord is experienced – when human beings pour out their souls in love for each other in the name of the gracious Christ. To really honor our Lord, and commune in his name, we probably ought to each take bread and break it, and pass it to another person and say: “this is my body, broken for you in the holy name of Jesus.” Amen. And, then go out and give of ourselves to others in the love of Christ. The real presence of Jesus is not in the bread and the wine, but in the flesh and blood struggle of love, the imperfect giving of the self in his name.

Do this in remembrance of him. Amen.

"Faith, not Sight"

Scriptures: 1 Kings 19:1-5; 2 Cor. 4:7-10; 2 Cor 5:6-7

“For we walk by faith and not by sight”

That sounds good, even beautiful. “We walk by faith and not by sight.” But, sometimes it gets old. Having to get up another day, with worries unresolved, with loved ones sick or in trouble, without seeing any evidence that healing is on its way, without seeing any signs that our children or spouses or grandchildren or parents or friends are going to get things turned around; we get up and trust and go to work, clean the dishes, try to pay our bills, take care of our little ones and our sick ones; we go on by faith, but we sure would like to have some good news in sight. We would like our faith refreshed with seeing good things happen in our lives and in the lives of those we love.

“We walk by faith and not by sight” is a heavy and deep saying. In those words, there is the admission that all is not well. In that holy expression, there is a lot of pain, and yearning for things to get better. “We walk by faith and not by sight” means there is a contradiction between what we hope for and what we are experiencing. As we are upheld by the eternal within us, our mortal bodies yearn for something good now. As the eternal hope drags us forward and lifts us up, our flesh and blood longs for peace, love, happiness, rest. Paul expressed the struggle well in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10: “we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; knocked down, but not destroyed . . . “

But, Paul never gave up looking for deliverance in the present time. He experienced it in Asia when he says: “we despaired even of life itself, but that was to make us trust, not in ourselves, but in the God who raises the dead.” And, the faith we have is faith in a God who acts in the here and now as well in the victory to come. In the Psalms it says: “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Old Simeon was a prophet in Israel, who had waited and waited on the coming of the Messiah, and then when he was very old, he got to hold that little baby boy, Jesus in his arms, and he wept for joy, for he had seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And, Simeon, said: “Lord, lettest now thy servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen thy glory!” I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That is our faith even when that goodness is not yet in sight.

In our lives, there are times of ease and of pain; there are times when life seems to go well, troubles seem far away, and there are other times where life is a struggle at best, where troubles seem to pile up one after another. In faith, we learn to celebrate in good times and have mercy on those with trouble, and in trouble we learn to be faithful to each other and “walk by faith, not by sight.”

“We walk by faith and not by sight.” What does that mean for me and you today? Is that a real experience that we can share with Paul, or are those just nice and beautiful and holy words that really can’t do much for us?

Walking by faith . . . is finding something worth doing when there seems to be nothing worth doing. By faith, we begin to hear God’s calling amidst our despair. As I despair that I cannot do anything to make a situation better, God begins to reconcile, to repair, to open a way where there was no way.

I’ll never forget certain meetings with church members over the years, when all seemed lost. The couple in South Carolina who had been married for 30 years and suddenly couldn’t stand the sight of each other. Or, the couple who had just been married for 2 or 3 years, and he had become totally disabled, and couldn’t work anymore. Or, the man at one of my former churches who decided life wasn’t worth living anymore, and I sort of chased him around the church yard talking to him for about an hour. People at dead ends . . absolute dead ends . . . out of ideas or hope.

And, everytime, God’s Spirit moved and showed us some way to go. Sometimes it came through a laugh or tears or just stubborn determination to go on. It never came through my wisdom, but through the faith we put in God and the response of that mysterious grace.

Well, that couple who had been married for 30 years, I got them talking a little bit. He had his bags packed out in his car, ready to leave for good, but had agreed to come by and talk to me at the church. And, as he talked, I looked at him and said: “you sound like you still love her . . . you’re talking about her in the third person, but all you say is good things about her . . . He broke down; she broke down . . Grace.

They used to say, “it aint over til the fat lady sings.” But, its not over til God says it’s over. And, so long as we look to God in faith, it ain’t over! And, these efforts of ours – to love and reconcile and have peace; we may have hit a dead end, but God’s Spirit is stirring . . new life, life out of death, love out of hate, joy out of sorrow . . He is the God who raises the dead.

We walk by faith and not by sight and faith gives us the deep assurance inside that our hope is real, that God’s promises are true, that love will overcome . . . We walk by faith and not by sight . . . You can’t feel it, but you believe so you get up and make the coffee . . you get up and clean the dishes, wash and fold the clothes, go to work . . . That’s the kind of faith I’m talking about. You feel like just laying down and quitting but something gets you up and helps you walk on.

The prophet Elijah was worn out after his struggles with Queen Jezebel. He said: “it is enough Lord, I am ready to die. . . “ He had the great victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, but now he was running for his life once again as the Queen was out to kill him before the next sun went down. But, instead of doing harm to himself, and instead of staying awake and moaning about it all, Elijah layed down and went to sleep. The next thing he knew he was being woken up by an angel of the Lord, who gave him food and drink and encouragement.

I’ve looked through the bars of jail cells, with a man or woman or even child on the other side, feeling all was lost – their reputation, their family, their career, their future . . . but, there are times when the light comes back in their eyes . a glimmer of hope . . for we walk by faith and not by sight . . .

Its not over until we have no place left inside for God’s Spirit. As long as we have room for God to work, its not over.

But, how do we keep that holy space inside of us? How do we keep our hearts open to God’s grace?

It has something to do with hope. And, hope has to do with still being able to believe that something good is going to come. It has to do with experiencing God’s love for us and God’s love for our fellow human beings in our hearts. This is one and the same experience. Faith is when God’s love is poured out into our hearts. We discover in joy that we love each other and that we are loved.

And, that experience of faith and love may be much closer than we think. When we are filled with God’s love and open our heart to another, the Lord is near, his grace begins to repair broken hearts, broken lives, and we begin to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

So, “we walk by faith and not by sight.” Are those just beautiful religious words, or is that an experience we have in our heart? With the worries that badger us, and the recurring problems we can’t seem to fix, can we really say words like this with conviction? Can hope and joy begin to grow once again in our hearts?

The prodigal son had run off with his inheritance money, wasted it all in wild living, and was desperate and broke and hungry and homeless and a long way from home. But, somewhere deep in his heart, he remembered his father, and he remembered that he was loved. His life had fallen apart, but he remembered his father. And, at that moment, hope began to grow. He decided, “I’m going home.” The young man had buried his love deep down, and hidden it from himself. But, when it seemed all was lost, he found it again. His father had long since given up hope of seeing his son, and then, one day, he saw him coming down the road, dirty and skinny and tired looking. His heart broke wide open, he ran, he embraced his son and wept. “We walk by faith and not by sight” and we believe in the God who gives us love, who gives us hope, and thank God, even gives us back to each other. Amen.

Mercy

Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-7: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercy and the God of all comfort, the one who comforts us in all our affliction in order that we might comfort those in any affliction with the comfort which we ourselves are receiving from God . . . “
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN, FOR THEY WILL BE COMFORTED.
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEY WILL BE FILLED.
BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY WILL RECEIVE MERCY.

Jesus left the crowds behind, and went up to the mountain to teach his disciples. But, he went up – not to simply teach them about God – but, to share his experience of God. Jesus opened his heart to his disciples and said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” This good word brings so many things to an end, and at the same time is a new beginning. This short and gracious statement brings to an end all rigid, legalistic, judgmental, anxious religion and begins something new – a new way based in the reality of Jesus’ life. His life was mercy. The way of God in Jesus is mercy. He was the one who said: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
In Jesus the old age comes to an end, and the new age begins. Jesus gives us a key here, opens a door to new life when he says: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” That teaching makes us stop in our situations of conflict and struggle and doubt and ask one question that silences all others: “what is the merciful thing to do?” or “how can I show mercy?” That question brings to an end church fights, theological controversies, moral confusion, selfish grappling, blaming and distrust. Come to think of it, if I start asking that question, it spells the end of my conflicts in the family, at work, with my neighbors. “Have mercy . . show mercy . . . be merciful in your thinking and acting.” But, what about my lazy co-worker? See what’s going on in their life. What about my wife or husband or child – I sure wish I could change them, make them more responsible, more thoughtful. “Show mercy.” Listen, be patient. It’s not your business to change people, only to love them. Your love gives God the room, to bring change, but the change comes from God, not you or me.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” What is mercy? To be merciful means to really consider the needs and situation of another person. What is mercy like? I think it’s the way you always hoped you’d be treated, but even better, because it makes you merciful towards others. Mercy is a place of refuge in this world – it is not business as usual in life – it is a place of grace and hope. It is living water in the barrenness of the desert. Mercy is God’s presence. When we have mercy, we honor God in the midst of the life. To be merciful is a way of treating someone that makes them feel their life is worth living. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

And, you never know when you are going to need that place of mercy. So, maybe showing it, you can store up a little for a time of need. And, that time will come. A time when you face something you never thought you’d have to face in this life – it will come. And, you will be in need of mercy, understanding, patience and love – deeper than you’ve ever needed it before. . . when you get that call in the middle of the night . . or the call from the doctor’s office with results from a test . . or that day you have a fight with a loved one that you never thought you’d have . . and, unfortunately for some us, that day you wake up and realize that you have made a mistake, hurt someone else, and you cannot take it back, and you cannot fix it. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” And, at times, we need mercy as badly as we need water and air and food.

The showing of mercy and receiving of it, are a central part of the movement of God’s Spirit in this world. Jesus was sharing with his disciples and others this life of God in the world. He was inviting them in to this river of God’s mercy. For the merciful are those who participate in the life of God – who experience mercy and are agents of mercy to others.
Paul celebrates this living presence of God in our lives, saying: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercy and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction that we might comfort others in their affliction with the comfort we are receiving from God.” This is our experience of God in this life that vacillates between trouble and comfort. Paul speaks of the active presence of God – the father of mercy and the God of all comfort.

“Blessed are the merciful (or those who comfort others), for they will receive mercy (the comfort of God).” We become merciful by finding life in this gracious movement of God in the world. And, often this comfort and mercy come through the kindness and love of others for us. They give God room to bless and save us. One day as Jesus was teaching in a house, the house got so crowed as people drew near to hear him and seek healing, and four men came carrying their paralyzed friend on a stretcher. And, it was so crowded in the house, that they couldn’t get in to see Jesus. But, they were determined to get help for their paralyzed friend. They believed Jesus could help. So they climbed up on the roof of the house, dug a hole through the thatched roof and lowered their friend down in front of Jesus. “My son,” Jesus said, “your sins are forgiven . . . rise up and walk.” Mercy. The mercy of friends, making room, making way for the powerful and saving mercy of God.

Unless we somehow experience God’s mercy in our trouble, how can we be part of this gracious movement that brings hope to the hopeless, life to the lifeless, love to the loveless? Unless we receive renewed life from God, we can’t pass on that power to others.

Could it be that we are receiving mercy, but aren’t aware of it? And, since we are not aware of it, it slips away before we know it, we lose it, and are unable to pass it on. For God is merciful and ever present. I am talking about a real experience of God’s healing, loving, redeeming presence in our mind, heart, body and soul . . . in our real struggles and joys of life. I’m talking about when you’re worried to death over family matters, over money, over your job, your friends . . . I’m talking about feeling like you want to disappear in some hole and not have to feel anything at all, and certainly not have to stand up and face the day. I’m talking about waiting on God on a morning like that, waiting in emptiness, waiting in anxiety, until the Spirit of God calms your soul, renews your heart and mind and feelings and makes you able to get up and face the day. I am talking about the comfort of God in the affliction of life’s struggles, the real comfort, the living presence of God.

You can always convince yourself of the 4 spiritual laws of salvation and convince others too and gather a big group together for church; but, if there is no experience of the living presence of God healing, then there is nothing real - no redemption and no presence of God.

Doctrines and creeds don’t save. Words don’t save. What saves is the shared experience of the living God. What this world needs is people who make a way for the coming of God into human hearts, minds, souls, bodies and communities. We make way by showing mercy. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” The merciful make room for God. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” means “give God room to work and save and heal.” Say, “yes, Lord! Come, Lord Jesus – in the name of the Holy God of all creation – come and claim this world; come claim my heart, my family, my church, my community – this entire earth. Come among us and be honored and glorified – for you are our hope in life and death, in good times and bad, in health and sickness – you, the Merciful. You are the Lord, giver of mercy. You are the Christ, giver of mercy. You are the Lord, giver of mercy. Come, Lord Jesus, unite us with the Holy and merciful will and movement of God, that holy presence of God, the holy hope of all people in God. Amen.”

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” The merciful know the father of mercy and the God of all comfort. And, those who receive mercy, pass it on, because they . . . we don’t know what else to do. We have mercy on others because why would we choose to judge and condemn – having been loved by God and others, why would it occur to us to hate or promote hatred? Father Moses was a very revered African Monk of the 4th Century, one of the most well known and respected of the Desert Fathers. He was holy and wise. One day all the elders of that Christian community gathered to judge a monk who had been caught with a prostitute. At this meeting they decided to cast the sinful monk out of their community. Father Moses arrived late at the meeting carrying a basket of sand. The basket was full of holes and sand was pouring out as Father Moses walked. He said: “Here I come with my sins pouring out behind me and I would condemn another?” On another occasion, the elders gathered in this same community to consider the immoral conduct of one of their monks. They voted that he must leave the community. Having heard the judgment, the condemned monk got up and walked away and the most respected elder among them who had remained silent in the meeting got up and walked out with him. Mercy.

Having known our own sin and the grace of our cleansing, why would we want anyone else to feel trapped in their sin, defined by their failures, cut off from redemption and covered with shame? Why would we not want to do everything in our power to help them on the way of repentance, restoration and reconciliation with God and neighbor?

We have been touched by him deeply. We have been shown mercy by the Savior and Liberator of all people. We came to religion in desperation, or even curiosity, like the woman with the sickness that could not be healed, we reached out through the crowd just hoping for a little help – we touched the hem of his garment, and he healed us through and through. And, he asked: “who touched me?” I did Lord. I touched you.

We, like Nicodemas, didn’t want anyone to know how badly we needed God’s grace, so we slipped in and asked about it in secret, in the night, when nobody could see us. And, he showed us the way to life and gave us hope to share.

And, God’s grace comes to us today. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” But, for some reason, so many of us keep him away – leave our hope and life at the door knocking. As the spiritual goes: “O sinner, why don’t you answer . . somebody’s knocking at your door.”
Realize, right now, Jesus seeks to come in to commune with you, but he’s also reaching out through you to others. Mercy. He seeks room in your life to reach out to others and bind us all to God and each other. Mercy. So, let’s not get all caught up in religious rituals and teachings. Let’s get too caught up in God’s mercy to worry over all that. The Spirit of God moves to fill our emptiness, to cast out demons, to save body, soul, mind and spirit. God doesn’t wait to make sure you’ve been baptized, or confirmed, or joined the church. He comes when he is ready to come – in his mercy. He comes like he did to Paul on Damascus Road, to John on Patmos, to Elijah in the desert. “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” Don’t say: “wait Jesus until I can clean up my house. It’s just not fit for you to come in. Wait until I clean up these dirty back rooms of my life. I’ll get that all in order, and then I’ll let you come in. Then, I’ll be ready to receive you.” Sometimes we treat Jesus like he’s our picky mother-in-law, like everything has to be perfect before he comes. God knows the backrooms of our lives. He knows those parts of which we are ashamed. Let him in. He will look at your life with you, not against you. He will guide you, show you how to clean what needs cleaning, how to fix what needs fixing, how to endure what needs enduring. Mercy. I said that showing mercy gives God room to work. And, I guess that even goes with having mercy on ourselves as we would for our friends. That gives God some room to work within us. When we quit running around in the dark parts of our mind and heart, and stirring up our guilt and self-hatred, then God has room to redeem and reclaim us for his good and merciful purposes.

The Good News is not some 4 spiritual laws that can be packaged, bought and sold. The Good News is God’s living presence – the shared experience of divine mercy in human life. Pray to experience this. Wait to experience this. Words about God won’t save; the shared experience of God will. To experience him is to have received mercy and to have received mercy is to pass it on. One love, one movement. The Lord’s words are true: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” All praise and glory and honor to God, the father of mercy and the God of all comfort. Amen.

"Soul, not Self"

Matthew 6:1-6: “Be careful not to make a show of your religion before men; if you do, no reward awaits you in your father’s house in heaven. . .
“Thus, when you show mercy on someone, do not announce it with the flourish of trumpets, as the hypocrites in the synagogue do . . .
“Again, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; they love to say their prayers standing up in synagogue and at the street corners, for everyone to see them. I tell you this: they have their reward already. But, when you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and pray to your father who is there in the secret place; and your father who sees what is secret will reward you.”

Jesus came teaching a way of life that shook up the religious of his day. Why was that? He was religious. Jesus went to synagogue, prayed, read scripture in the gathered assembly, debated about the meaning of scripture with the scribes and Pharisees. But, his way bothered the religious and attracted many who were not religious. Why did task collectors and prostitutes leave their trades behind and follow him, whereas many good religious people didn’t quite understand him, and, when they did, got angry at him?

Well, in this collection of Jesus’ teachings in Matthew, we get some clues about Jesus’s way. Like true prophets before him, he pointed the people away from appearances to truth, away from outer show to inner devotion to God. The prophet Hosea said: “I the Lord desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Religion as shaped by human beings is always about rules and rituals - show. Faith as given by God is all about mercy - heart.

Jesus says “don’t make a show . . do good, but not to be praised . . pray in secret . . before God”
One main point in all this is that true faith is first of all about God, focused on God, not on who you are among people, how you look to people.

And, later Jesus tells his disciples about this way of true life. He says: “if anyone would be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”
What I am trying to speak of this morning is this way of life, this way of faith, so that we might figure out how to walk in it. So that we might find this energy of life from God – on a path that Jesus describes as narrow and hard.

The way of Jesus is the way of the soul and not the way of the self. Now that I’ve said that, I’ve got to try to understand and explain what I mean.

See, first I said, I’ve got to understand what I mean . If you really understand something yourself, its easy to explain it to someone else. So, let me think out loud a few minutes about this difference between the way of the soul and the way of the self.
I want to try to cover two things: 1) describe the difference in meaning between “the self” and “the soul.” 2) describe how human religion caters to the self, whereas true faith builds up the soul.

First, about the self. We talk a lot about self, self-esteem, self-worth, a strong sense of self, self-understanding, etc. We don’t talk as often in our day about the soul. In fact, I think that our age has seen the replacement of soul with self (and, this has happened within the church as well). But, there remains some old wisdom in our language and expressions we use. We still say that someone is self-less and that is a compliment. We say that someone is soul-less or without a soul, and that is the deepest criticism. A person that is selfish is considered bad. Do you see what I mean? In our common talk, there remains a certain distrust of self. Even though, we also have a lot of positive talk about self. But, talk about the soul has all but disappeared from common speech.

Now, I understand that there is some real good in talk about self-esteem, self-worth and all that. But, I think that we have really lost something in talking in terms of self and not soul. Self is a word that divides us from others, distinguishes us from others, even causes us to compare ourselves and be in competition with other selves. Soul is a word that unites us with others, with our creator, with the depths and power of life.

Self is a way of talking about human beings that puts human beings at the center of value and the center of life. Soul is a way of talking about human beings that puts the Creator of life in the center and shows our dependence on God and our unity and interdependence with each other and all life. Well, I’m stepping out a little far without describing much with clarity. Now, I asked you to let me think out loud a little while.

But, I think I’m on to something here. The Hebrews considered the soul the center of human life, and spoke often of the ruach of man, that which came from God and was dependent upon God, which gave life and sustained life.

A soulish way of living is all about communion and connection with the Eternal God, the Spirit of all life. A selfish way of living is all about the destiny of the self, and only concerned with how the Creator and Saviour can guarantee a good destiny. A self-focused religion is not primarily about communion with God and others, but about self-actualization, self-fulfillment, etc. A self-focused religion is all about success, worldly or even otherworldy, but still its all about achievement and success fo r the self. The way of faith is about love, communion with God and other people, and communion with the created order as well.

False religion is about self promotion and protection; true religion is about love and a willingness to risk self for love of God and neighbor – that is soul
When you get knocked down, and get everything broken in you and about you, and it seems there is nothing left – what’s left is the soul, and that’s where the power of life, love, hope revives.
Wherever there is still love and a willingness to risk self for love of God and neighbor – there is soul.

Paul probably speaks of all this most clearly, so I want to turn to him. “If I speak in the tongues and men and angels, but have not love, then I am as a noisy gong and clanging cymbal.”

What you find in your self is needs for importance, affirmation from others, yearning to be better than others, or at least thought better than others, a need for security, etc. And, I’m not saying that all these needs are minor – some are pretty important. But, what you find in your soul is a much deeper need, to feel and know and experience the power of the Creator, the power that brought you into this world, and the power that will receive you when you die. What you find in your soul is the power of life when you thought you were dead, the raising from complete loss and emptiness to a desire to thrive for the glory of God and for the love of others. You can’t find that in your self, only in your soul. I know you can say: “well, you’re just talking about different words that mean the same thing. But, that’s the whole point of this sermon. Self does not mean the same thing as soul. And, the language we use to describe ourselves in turn makes us who we are. And, I’m trying to follow Jesus’ cues here. He asks those who are going to follow in his way, to deny self, take up the cross and follow in his way – his way of living out of the depths of the soul.

The Psalm goes like this: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” We come to worship to awaken our souls, to feel the power of life and holiness in our souls. To sing praises and be renewed body and soul. We don’ t come to worship to think about ourselves so much, as to be relieved of the burden of our selves. When my soul awakens, is brought to life, I am renewed to live, and freed from the burden of self-concern. Soul, not self.

Don’t be selfish; be soulish. Ignore your self, deny it, but take care of your soul – it is the secret sanctuary of the most high God. It is your connection to the power of life and resurrection and life and purpose and hope. It is your unity with others. Go to that place deeper than self – and you will find what is most precious – discovering it within yourself, you will see it in others as well, by the grace and glory and mystery of God.

Deep down, you are not some complicated, fabricated social self. No, deep down, you are soul, empowered by the One whose beauty and wisdom and creative love made this world, and without whose beauty and love and wisdom all things would disappear. If your soul comes alive, your body will be renewed. If you remain focused on self, your body will be dissipated. Because the connection, the unity is between soul and body – self is a human fabrication. Body and soul are created by God. Self is our distorted view.

I HAVE GOT TO GET CLOSER WITH THIS. IF I CAN’T, IT MEANS I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT. BUT, JUST MAYBE, YOU ARE STARTING TO UNDERSTAND THIS, EVEN IF I AM NOT FAR ALONG THE WAY MYSELF. SELF. SELF. THAT’S WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY OF ME GETTING THIS ACROSS. ITS SELF. GOD, LET MY SOUL OVERCOME MYSELF. ALL THIS PETTINESS THAT KEEPS ME FROM REALLY CARING FOR OTHERS LIKE I CARE FOR MYSELF, ALL THIS SELF THAT KEEPS ME WORRIED I’LL LOSE WHAT I’VE GOT, ALL THIS SELF WORRIED I WON’T BE RECOGNIZED, ALL THIS SELF, SELF, SELF. GOD, AWAKEN MY SOUL AGAIN, THAT SOUL THAT REJOICED AS A CHILD, THAT REJOICED IN THE WATERS, IN THE MOUNTAINS.
AMEN

Just Words: A Meditation on the Third Commandment

Scriptures: Genesis 32:22-32; Amos 5:21, 23-24; Matthew 7:21

Right now, on this Sunday morning, at this hour, all around this city and in other cities and towns and out in the country churches, ministers are standing up and saying religious words like “Lord, Lord”, and congregations are singing and responding with religious words. And, we hope that these words: “God” . . . “Jesus” . . . “Grace” . . . “Reconciliation” . . . “Holy Spirit” . . . “Salvation” . . . we hope that these words we use open up an experience of a reality beyond ourselves, a reality that can transform life, and make life new. We hope that these words are not just words, but part of a real experience of our Creator, the One beyond all human comprehension. We hope that these words don’t just pass on a religious tradition – that is, the beliefs of others – but, we hope that these words stir in us new life, new experience of the living God.

Often we think that the third commandment – thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain – tells us not to use the word “God” with cuss words or as a cuss word. But, we overlook the fact that the THIRD COMMANDMENT tells us not to use language about God lightly or without meaning or without any other purpose than praising and glorifying God (that means, not to promote our own cause, etc.). Today, I am focusing on the fact that we often use religious language, language about God, without meaning. In other words, it is in vain that we say the word “God” or “Jesus” when the reality of God and Jesus has no place in our experience.

For those of us who have been to church for years and heard words like “salvation” and “Jesus” and “sin” and “grace” and “heaven” and “hell” . . . For those of us who have gotten used to saying the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer and “Amen” . . . Well, for us, these words sometimes become “just words.” How many times do we speak and hear religious words with no religious feeling? Sometimes religious words become empty, because there is no reality – no real experience of God behind and in those words.

It was like that in the early 1500’s when Martin Luther was raised up as a prophet of God, to speak a gracious, living word from God to the people. The language of the church had become empty – repeated over and over again were words about the sacrifice of Christ, and the sacrifice was repeated again and again through the ritual sacrifice of Holy Communion: “this is my body, broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.” But, the focus at that time was all upon what would happen after death; the Word did not speak to the conditions of the present life – the here and now.

Holy words can become empty when they become more important than the reality they are supposed to reveal – when they become the focus, and take the focus off of what’s really going on. When talk about God and rituals about God become more important than experience of the living God, well, then you’ve got trouble. And, Luther spoke a new word into such empty times.

Luther spoke of a living God who was speaking in the present, who was doing battle with the powers of evil to save us in the here and now (the material and spiritual conditions of life) and forevermore. Salvation starts in the here and now or it doesn’t start at all. Religious words, even the words “God” and “Jesus” can become empty once these words no longer arise from a living experience of God. One reason Luther’s preaching started a Reformation was that people could feel something new and alive in Luther’s words. Luther was reporting from the front lines of the struggle between good and evil, and Luther was reporting loudly and clearly that our gracious God was on our side, full of love and goodness. Luther was being moved by the gracious Holy Spirit of God. He didn’t get up and simply repeat holy words, he bore witness to the Holy God and he used words in a new way – he spoke of God and the experience of God in a way that touched people – body and soul.

He didn’t present them with some trite formula for salvation in the hereafter; he bore witness to the living God whose grace was a reality for this life and the next.

As in Luther’s day, we live in a society saturated with religious language. If we are missing God in our lives, it’s certainly not because we don’t hear enough talk about God. . . If you’ve got cable, you can hear about any kind of Bible teaching or sermon you want. In some areas of town, there’s a church on every corner of the block. There are billboards reminding you about God, Mormons on bicycles, Presidential and Senatorial candidates who talk about God and faith, Jehovah’s Witnesses at the door. And, then there are church services . . And, the word “Jesus” and the word “God” and the words “sin”, “salvation”, “peace”, “redemption” and “Spirit” are used over and over and over again . . . Sometimes we forget that religious words are still just words. Often, it seems that we think that if we say and hear religious words, then all is well – it is accomplished. Sometimes we forget that religious words are nonetheless, “just words.” And, the purpose of religious words like other words is to communicate something important. And, the purpose of religious language is to communicate something about God or, even at times, something from God. Religious words are not the thing itself; they point to a reality beyond words.

Jesus was onto the problem with much religious speech: “Not all those who say, “Lord, Lord” will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my father in heaven.” In the sermon on the mount, he criticizes those who heap up words in praying. And, we say: ‘yes, we know what Jesus means – its not what you say; its what you do.’ And, that is true. But, Jesus didn’t then go on and say: ‘don’t use religious language.’ He wanted people to use language that arose out of a living relationship – that had the experience of God as its source. Jesus’ language opened up a way to the living God. He said things like: “blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth,” “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

When language arises out of a living relationship, and expresses that reality, it has power to transform and bless life.

What if you were married to somebody, and they told you pretty regularly that they loved you, but never acted like it? Wouldn’t the words: “I love you” become empty? But, what if you are in a relationship with another person that is really a loving, mutually supportive and joyful relationship and that person says: “I love you.” Now, those words glow with meaning and reach the depths of your soul.

I think that’s the way it is in our words about God and Jesus and faith. If they arise from a living relationship and experience of God, then these words and others are part of a reality that touches speaker and hearer. When Jesus spoke, people felt the reality of God draw near – now, that’s the living Word of God – when that happens.

Its sad to notice how empty language sometimes becomes in a religious setting. It’s a little hard to say, but I think I sometimes hear more true religious speech in jail cells, at parties and mixed in with some rough talk in the most unlikeliest places. Sometimes, the tax collectors and sinners speak more truly about God, than priests and religious persons. God gets tired of the emptiness of our solemn assemblies at times. The Word of the Lord came to Amos: “I hate, I despise your religious feasts and your solemn assemblies. To the noise of your harps I will not listen . . . But, let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.”

One of the biggest problems in our churches today is that we have quit bearing witness to the living God, and started using a religious formula about individual salvation that ignores the present experience of the living God. We’re all about this pat formula for eternal salvation, as if we’ve become eternal life insurance salesmen. “If you believe in God and in Jesus Christ as God’s Son, and if you believe that Jesus died for your sins; then all is well and you will go to heaven when you die.” Everything becomes about “when you die” and there is no talk about “when you live.” Its as if the salvation formula is more important than praising and obeying the living God! We get our salvation formula from the Bible. “The Bible said it; I believe it, and that’s it!” Everything is settled very simply – a formula for eternal life – accept it and you’ve got an eternal life insurance policy. Problem is: obsession with this salvation formula leaves out the present experience of our gracious and holy and mysterious God who touches our souls and bodies with a life we could have never imagined, a life that we cannot contain or control. All those religious formulas and all that “God said it” and “I believe it” and all the rest . . . Well, for me, it has become empty. I’d rather go fishing and look at God’s beautiful mountains, and lakes and skies than hear one more time about the eternal salvation insurance policy. What I hunger and thirst for in my soul is to hear about and experience the touch of God, the truth of God, the love of God in my soul and heart and body, in my relationships and in this world NOW! I want to experience my God whom I cannot control, whom I can’t comprehend, who is free from all the corruptions of human life and who is alive within or without the church, its religious language, books and preachers! I want that real salvation that begins right now – in my home, in my heart, in my body, in my community, in this world; not that false salvation that’s put off to the hereafter – not that opiate of the masses that hides instead of reveals reality.


Now, I’m talking about the God the Bible talks about, not the God whose Word we can carry around in a Book! The God who heals the sick, who raises the dead, who strikes fear in the hearts of tyrants – the living God, not some religious formula or rituals we can control.

The church’s preaching has become empty as it had in Luther’s day – sometimes cold, sometimes sentimental, but nonetheless without meaning. And, sentimental, emotional religion can be just as false and empty as cold, unemotional religion. There are Presbyterians that have a calm, cold religion that is not in touch with the living God, and there are Holiness, Pentacostal Christians that have dramatic, emotional experience at church that is just as out of touch with the living God. The quiet way and the loud way – that doesn’t matter. What matters is who causes us to be quiet or loud – ourselves or God?

As I get older, I am more and more struck by the lack of reality that colors so much of our religion. . . . the lack of love, the lack of honesty, both intellectual and moral. After all these years, we still won’t be honest about Darwin’s contributions to science, and admit that he was right about many things. After all these years, we won’t teach the truth that we know about how the holy books were written and how the church decided which to include which to exclude from the final form of the Bible. Do we really think that God needs defending? Do we really think God is afraid of truth? Is he not the One, the Holy, the Pure, the Only True Being in this world? And, God is true and God is love, and there is no falsehood in God and no hatred in God!

If the church is about worshipping a God of truth, we ought to not just be able to face the truth, but we ought to further it and celebrate it wherever we find it!!!

For some, the language of the church has become empty because it does not speak to their personal needs; for others, the preaching of the church has become empty because it does not speak to the scientific realities of the day; for others, empty because it does not speak truth to power – to the social and political issues of the day. If we in the church are to serve our Holy God, we need to redefine holiness . . . And, HOLINESS IS NOT STUBBORNNESS, IGNORANCE AND BIGOTRY.

If the language has become empty for you. If the rituals have become empty for you, be still and listen . . Be quiet and wait . . Or, be loud and ask questions – hard questions, even questions critical of the church’s positions. Whatever you do, don’t settle for anything less than an experience of the living God. Jacob kept struggling all night long with the angel of the Lord. He wouldn’t let go, until he was blessed by the living God. Don’t settle for commonplace religion – press on to know the living God! Amen.